Apple COO Tim Cook Confirms Mobile Device Focus, Calls Apple TV a ‘Hobby’

on February 24, 2010

Apple’s (s aapl) Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook wasn’t shy about the company’s focus through 2010, in a conversation with Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey. The talk took place at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference this Tuesday in San Francisco, and was given before an audience of investors. An audio stream of the talk is available here.

In general, the talk was what you’d expect. Cook sang the praises of the company’s current offerings, and gave highest praise to the yet to be released iPad, a device for which the company obviously has very high expectations. But he also took time to frame one of the company’s weakest sellers in a fairly dismissive light. Read More about Apple COO Tim Cook Confirms Mobile Device Focus, Calls Apple TV a ‘Hobby’

Imran’s Plans for 2010

Imran Ali on January 20, 2010

2009 was a great year for me professionally, largely oriented around driving the successful production of several tech industry events that’re helping create a vibrant tech scene here in Leeds, England. From O’Reilly’s Ignite UK North, to the LSx09 festival, TEDxLeeds and a bunch of geek dinners, it’s been a good year!

A few things I’m really proud of: I finally launched a venture-backed startup I co-founded at 2009’s South by Southwest festival; I mentored a couple of undergraduates through their final year; was invited to hang with tech’s “great and the good” at ETech, TEDGlobal and Futuresonic; and helped bootstrap an open government initiative.

So what will I be up to in 2010? Read More about Imran’s Plans for 2010

Scott’s Plans for 2010: This Year Will Be Better Than the Last

Scott Blitstein on January 18, 2010

A long December and there’s reason to believe
maybe this year will be better than the last…

“A Long December”
Adam Duritz

2009 was a tremendously challenging year for me, both personally and professionally. But although it was a year of many changes, it was also one of tremendous opportunity. For me, the transition to 2010 is a logical time to pause and examine the direction my business is headed to reaffirm I’m on the right course.

So with that in mind, I’ve identified some plans or aspirations for things I’d like to accomplish to make sure that 2010 is a better year than 2009.

Read More about Scott’s Plans for 2010: This Year Will Be Better Than the Last

Meryl’s Plans for 2010: Continued Balance

Meryl K Evans on January 15, 2010

2009 had a few unexpected surprises, not all of them good. One affected my work, and that was my spouse’s layoff. Though I’ve struggled with New Year planning for new ideas and work, 2010 is off to a fabulous start. My spouse has started his new job and I’ve already landed a new project that takes me out of my comfort zone.

One of the things I like to do every year is take on a new project that challenges me. I’ve already done that this year, but I still need to fine-tune a few things.

Work/Life Balance

For the most part, I’m happy with my work/life balance. One advantage of a solo web worker career that I value is flexibility. I need to make some adjustments, because my spouse’s new office is too far for him to help with kids’ appointments during lunch hour. That’s my job rather than a shared one. He’ll also arrive home later, so chauffeuring duties will take a little more of my time. This is not a complaint, but rather an explanation of how things can change and affect us. We adapt.

Read More about Meryl’s Plans for 2010: Continued Balance

Georgina’s Plans for 2010

Georgina Laidlaw on January 14, 2010

For me, 2009 was marked by big work changes, and these precipitated big lifestyle changes. I went from working full-time in a city office as a copywriter to freelancing as a journalist and editor entirely from home. That’s right: as publications the world over raced to slash staff numbers, I entered the market. I always did have impeccable timing.

So I’ve changed the focus of my work, and effectively moved into a different field within the same discipline. And as you might expect, most of my plans for 2010 are about building on this new approach. Read More about Georgina’s Plans for 2010

Nancy’s Plans for 2010: A Year of Projects

Nancy Nally on January 13, 2010

A while back I wrote that I don’t believe in resolutions. But I did suggest that the new year was a good time to evaluate your goals, especially business ones. Events the past few months have made it an especially good idea for me to do that this year, so I decided I’d join other members of the WebWorkerDaily staff in sharing them.

Gear

I accumulated a lot of new gear in 2009, but that doesn’t stop me from still having some gear goals for 2010. One of those goals I already fulfilled by purchasing a Canon 270ex flash for my Canon XS last week. I can now avoid the recurring expense of renting a 430ex ii when I attend trade shows, and the 270 will do the job with less weight to carry.

Like Simon, I’m looking forward to an upgrade to my iPhone 3G (s aapl) when I’m eligible this summer, right after the traditional new model rollout time. I’ve also been shopping for EVDO card options after our Christmas week Internet outage (and another one caused by our cold snap this week in Florida) made me realize I needed a better Internet access back-up plan. So far, I’m leaning toward a MiFi from Verizon (s vz). Read More about Nancy’s Plans for 2010: A Year of Projects

Will’s Plans for 2010

Will Kelly on January 12, 2010

2009 was a challenging year for me professionally, but I learned a lot and am applying those lessons to have a successful 2010. Some good things happened in 2009, too, like joining the WebWorkerDaily team, meaning I am greeting this year with some renewed focus.

Renewed Focus on my Work

  • Work with multiple, diverse and interesting clients. When I was growing up my father always worked more than one job, which is how I’ve usually defined my work ethic. To date, anytime I’ve deviated from the definition, like in did in 2008/2009, trouble has ensued, so 2010 is going to see me going back to what works. Oh well, my dream of only getting one or two federal tax forms at the end of the year is no more.
  • Improve the proper care and feeding of my social media presence. In 2009 most (if not all) of my professional reconnections and potential writing opportunities came via LinkedIn or Facebook. My blog also helps people find me, so I am planning to regularly write posts for it rather than it just containing links to my WebWorkerDaily posts. Read More about Will’s Plans for 2010

Celine’s Plans for 2010: Continued Progress

Celine Roque on January 11, 2010

I enjoyed 2009, especially when it came to blogging projects. It was a great way for me to meet new people to share stories and ideas with; I even had a face-to-face meeting with a WWD reader from another country. Though I had fewer clients, I thoroughly enjoyed working with them all. This was probably a result of my effort last year to learn how to say “no” to prospects who showed signs of being difficult.

Because of these positive experiences from 2009, my goals and plans this year aren’t really about starting new things, they are more about continuing some long-term projects that I started last year. Read More about Celine’s Plans for 2010: Continued Progress

Simon’s Plans for 2010

Simon Mackie on January 9, 2010

2009 was a pretty good year for me, as it consisted of some big, positive changes, among them joining the GigaOM team to take over the reigns here at WebWorkerDaily. I’m not planning on making any major new changes in 2010, just a few subtle tweaks that should — hopefully — have a positive impact on my work and productivity.

Fit Out My New Office

Just before the holidays, I moved into a new house. One of the reasons I wanted to leave my last place was that it was small, with no separate office — I ended up working on the kitchen table, which was bad for my back, never mind the separation of my work and home lives. Now I have a spare bedroom, which I will be kitting out as an office space, complete with custom-built workspace and shelving — even a standing desk. Read More about Simon’s Plans for 2010

Dawn’s Plans and Hopes for 2010

Dawn Foster on January 8, 2010

2009 was a pretty good year for me. I wrote a book, launched a web site, organized a bunch of local events in Portland, had some fun speaking gigs, and worked with some great clients.

I have some plans for how I want to do things a little differently in 2010, and these fall into two primary categories. Firstly, I want to achieve a better balance between work and life and secondly, work on great projects that leave me inspired.

Achieving Balance Between Work and Life

  • Take more beach vacations! I haven’t taken a real vacation that didn’t involve visiting family since I started my own business. In my defense, I did take two beach vacations the previous year, but it’s time for me to start planning another nice vacation.
  • Stay healthy by eating real food (less junk) and working out to improve my physical strength and endurance.
  • Spend more time reading for both work and pleasure, with a combination of fiction and business / technology books.
  • Take another hard look at all of my side projects to get rid of any projects that I don’t really enjoy and don’t add value in some some way.

Work on Great Projects That Leave Me Inspired

  • Continue to do interesting work on fun projects where I can collaborate with people who inspire me to be better. This means picking projects where I can work with really smart people.
  • Keep up with my writing and blogging. I enjoy blogging, and writing blog posts forces me to think about things that I sometimes take for granted, and reminds me to share what I know in hopes that someone will learn something from my experience.
  • Start a few more web sites, like I did with The Crazy Neighbor. It’s a great learning experience, a good way to practice my skills and fun to experiment with something new. These also give me something to work on that are my projects, instead of client projects.
  • Most importantly, shift some of my work to doing tasks, rather than just advising. The downside to doing mostly strategic consulting is that I spend a lot of time advising other people and teaching them how to do things and I’m finding that while I love helping set strategy and providing advice, I miss actually doing the work.

What are your hopes and plans for 2010?