Here’s a good group of statistics from Mary Meeker at Morgan Stanley.
In the second quarter of 2007 Apple’s revenues were as follows: 47% Macintosh range of computers, iPods 40% and iTunes 11%. Fast forward to the first quarter of 2010 and the revenue figures looked like this: iPhone 40%, iPod and iTunes combined 24% and Macintosh computers 28%.
One other delicious bit of data. If you look at a graph showing sales of PCs against sales of smartphones globally you will observe that sometime in 2012, smartphones are due to start outselling PCs. So is the PC dead? I don’t think so.

We’ve had Blood Diamonds , so perhaps next it will be Blood Minerals and Blood Phones. Huh? Simply that many of the mobile devices that we can’t seem to live without nowadays contain minerals, some of which come from countries run by people that are a bit nasty. For example, that new smart phone you’re walking about with might contain tantalum that fuels conflict in the Congo. Tungsten, cobalt and gold could perhaps be added to the list of suspect substances.

I’ve been searching for a last quote for the new book (Future Minds) and remembered this one.

“The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them.”

I love this. In 2003, 24 children were named Unique in America, but only one was called Xerox.

Vision Optic Co. in Japan has created glasses that stop people from falling asleep. The glasses, aimed at drivers and students preparing for exams, feature an earpiece vibrator that warns the wearer when they are about to nod off. When I was growing up the television closed down – literally – at midnight and there wasn’t much chance of going shopping or paying a few bills at midnight because all the shops firmly shut at 5.30pm. Convenience stores and online banking had yet to be invented. But it’s not just that we need more sleep to incubate ideas, we need to daydream more too. An article in the Boston Globe claims, when we daydream, a specific pattern of brain activity is activated. This is known as the default network and it is in this brain state that the mind starts to make connections between seemingly unrelated information, ideas or events.

A study led by Takahiko Masuda at the University of Alberta (Canada) has found that when Westerners look at an image they tend to isolate a central subject whereas East Asians tend toward seeing the image in its contextual entirety. For instance, when asked to look at a picture of an individual and judge his or her mood, a group of Japanese took into account the facial expressions of the background group whereas Western volunteers didn’t consider the expressions of the people in the background. Nobody to my knowledge has run this test using an fMRI scanner but it could be interesting to try it. Again, this all links back to different types of thinking and, in particular, how different individuals and cultures (and perhaps even institutions) acquire, process and retain certain kinds of knowledge.

I’m starting to have ideas in my sleep. One from last night – why not round up all retail transactions in the UK to the nearest 5p and donate the 1p, 2p etc to charity? It would raise millions and get rid of those stupid coins that are worth next to nothing.

How about this for a new way to build customer loyalty – not.  I was in Essex a month or so ago and needed to check my email, so I went into McDonald’s, next to Leisure World in Colchester, to use their excellent free wi-fi service. I got a coffee, then another one.  I have no idea how long I was there, I didn’t think it was important. Then I got into my car, which I had parked in their carpark, and drove off.

So imagine my shock when, yesterday, I got a bill from somone or something called MET Parking Services for fifty quid ($100) for staying too long! Yes, that’s right, there is a limit on how long you can stay there.  Silly me, I thought they might like my business. Turns out to be the most expensive cup (or cups) of coffee in history.

Apparently there are signs telling you this but I didn’t see them. Probably because I wasn’t looking for them. I didn’t get a ticket either. It’s all automated, of course. Talk about a fast buck. Next time I’ll use the drive-thru – at KFC.