

A follow up to 'How to Seem Good at Everything: Don't do stupid shit' - jinfiesto
http://jinfiesto.posterous.com/a-follow-up-to-how-to-seem-good-at-everything

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ctdonath
Methinks this is why Apple does so well.

Other companies get sidetracked by confusing distributors with customers,
loading crapware on machines, building on "free" operating systems (as if that
will really save money), focusing on lowest costs instead of robust purchases,
taking users for granted, providing sub-par user interfaces & experiences,
etc.

While they certainly make mistakes, Apple focuses on doing things RIGHT, end-
to-end.

Cutting corners and doing stupid sh!t may seem like a good idea at the time,
but success still comes down to doing things RIGHT - be it now, later, or
paying the consequences for not doing it at all.

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chc
> _building on "free" operating systems (as if that will really save money)_

You're selling that business model short. Linux really is more cost-effective
than Windows for most tasks that aren't "Run GUI apps" — and Android is not
just leaps and bounds better than the proprietary operating systems that
preceded it (e.g. Symbian), it's competitive* with Apple and Microsoft's
modern offerings.

* Note: I say "competitive," not "better," because I personally prefer iPhone, but I know many people who like their Android phones better.

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drcode
I prefer to think of this as focusing on low-hanging fruit above all else. Not
taking care of problems that have a low cost/benefit would qualify as "stupid
shit".

It's easy, psychologically, to focus on achieving excellence in one aspect of
a large project. In the meantime, the project is hindered by other, more
mundane parts that could easily have been improved.

