Darryl.net

Dear technology-inclined humans,

With the advent of technologies like RightScale and Amazon’s EC2, system administrators should really care less where their machines are located. They should put a few “servers” on the west coast, a few on the east coast, and hey, why not Europe?

So here’s my request: please place all future elastic computing cloud data centers near a hydroelectric plant. As CTOs and CIOs begin to migrate their infrastructure into the cloud, we can push the carbon footprint of the Internet towards zero.

Thank you in advance,
The Earth

In reading that Citibank needs an extra $10 Bil in this weekend’s WSJ, I was reminded of the power of switching costs. It occurred to me that I would rather stay with the bank through some government takeover than to try to extract myself from the web of accounts and Quicken links and auto-pays I have set up there.

Here’s the rub though – if I wasn’t mostly happy with the product (I like their online banking, iPhone app, high-interest accounts, credit card link, global access, etc. etc.), I’d be out of there faster than you can say “bank run.” So, a few things to learn:

• Once you have a good product in place, set up switching costs to make your customers stay around longer.
• Get your customers who are using only one aspect of your product to use as many as possible. If they are not getting the full benefit, it will be easier for them to leave.
• If you feel like you are at a point in some business cycle where your customers are more likely to leave, perhaps you should give them an add-on product for free or at a discount (ahem, Citibank). ;-)

Recently, I’ve noticed how often my Apple iPhone decides not to ring, but merely notifies me that I have new voicemail. There I am on a busy sidewalk, waiting for a call that I know is coming, holding my cellphone in the air while a passerby gives me one of those “you’ve lost it” looks. Wait for it, wait for it… hmmm, she said she’d call… new Voicemail! D’oh!

I wondered if I was the only one. Did I have a dud? Should I return it? Judging by the Apple Support Forums, CNET reviews, and AT&T Support Forums, it seems I am not alone.

Then the thought came to me – maybe the Apple iPhone team noticed this problem during some beta testing. They debugged and searched and stayed up way too late trying to figure out what was causing this. And they gave up. “We’re not a mobile company!” the engineers complained. “But we do think differently and make cool software,” someone piped up. “That’s it! We’ll make a one touch voicemail, so if you do miss your call – you’ll see who you pissed off and can click on it and listen to it right away! No holding down the ’1′ button anymore. Oh oh – and we’ll put a big ‘Call Back’ button right under it.” And so it was done.

I have used that ‘Call Back’ button extensively – and honestly, the line-item voicemail feature is one of the coolest innovations on the phone. So – if this is true Apple, I’d like to know. And kudos for managing to placate what could have otherwise been a stop-ship issue: “Um, boss, the phone just doesn’t ring.”