Duh: Apple’s Out of the Woods
Last week I got to meet an Apple VP.
Meeting any sort of dignitary from Apple would make my day worth remembering, but this guy was the real deal. He was Apple’s VP of Education, John Couch. John goes far enough back at Apple to have been recruited by a 20-year-old Steve Jobs. This guy worked on the Lisa.
Like I said: the real deal.
Apple was at Full Sail to participate in the announcement of Project Launchbox, a program where students from nearly all our disciplines get MacBook Pro laptops and pro-level software like Logic and Final Cut Studio at very deep discounts. The announcement took place as over one hundred new students — the first of over 4,000 students in the next 12 months — unpacked their new Macs. The students were salivating as they waited to plunge their power buttons for the first time.
Why does our hip but small private college warrant this attention from Apple? It probably helps that Full Sail is the first college to try this on such a massive scale. But it goes deeper than that.
One of the most resonant things John Couch told the assembled mass of students and faculty during the announcement was that education was in Apple’s DNA. And this is absolutely true: so many of today’s most passionate Mac users have memories of the platform — and Apple’s attendant philosophy of user empowerment — that span the decades back toward their childhoods. My own elementary school was loaded to the gills with Apple IIs and eventually with LC 500s. These, plus the help of an SE at home, were the devices that taught me how to be creative.
Stuff I Like: 2007 Nissan Sentra 2.0S
I have distinct memories of my first car, a 1986 Chrysler LeBaron. Purchased with the help of my folks in November of 2001, she was forest green in color – the deep, glittering sort of green you might hope to see in the eyes of a woman who’s eager to spend some time with you. 
Sadly, LeBaron DAR-000, which in an act of criminal negligence I left unchristened, had troubles from the outset. Her primary logic board failed within my first week of ownership. Her engine shuddered for unfathomable reasons. One of her taillights wasn’t quite as bright as the other.
But at 16 years old, none of these things mattered to me. I loved LeBaron with the sort of passion that only the young are able to muster. For the first time, I felt myself the master of my own destiny. In the saddle of this fine steed, the world was a buffet of experience just waiting for me to grab a plate. With the help of my more automotively-gifted friends, I got her running on all cylinders and enjoyed a genuinely speedy little ride.
But like so many of the gifts of youth, LeBaron was to be a transient presence in my life. More…
A Place in My Heart: Logitech
It takes a lot of work for a brand to make its way into my heart. I think this is the case for any consumer. To win favor, brands have to do a lot of things.
First and foremost, they must be consistent. More than that, they must be consistently cool, consistently quality and consistently distinctive. They have to stand out from the crowd based on merits rather than marketing. Brands have to stand the test of time because no one wants to waste money on junk. None of this is easy, especially in an age of growing commoditization.
But, this year, Logitech pulled it off with me. 
I’ve been using Logitech peripherals off and on for the last five years. For most of that period, they were effective workhorses and while I had no rabid enthusiasm for the devices, they were “decent” in my estimation. The last year, though, something changed.
The keyboard and mouse sets got sexier. Their look and feel became more and more compatible with what I saw as ideal in such devices. When the time came to purchase a replacement speaker set for my Mac, Logitech was a name I was very comfortable including in my considerations.
After checking out some reviews, I not only ordered a 2.1 speaker set for the Mac but also a 5.1 set for my television and console needs. And here’s the crucial part:
Those speakers performed exactly as I expected based on previous experience with Logitech products. Their design was aesthetically pleasing, installation was easy and the quality of construction and workmanship was far in excess of my expectations.
And now, Logitech is in. Next time I have electronics needs, I’m checking in with Logitech first. 
I will do this because despite many opportunities to let me down, Logitech continues to impress me. This is why brand is important. Relationships are the ultimate arbiter of human action. In a world of enormous multinational corporations and fragmented, scattered markets, brands are the bridges that link the ideals of corporate visionaries with the needs and expectations of an ever-growing consumer base.
All that’s needed is that you do your job well. Every single time. A very difficult mandate. But a profitable one if you’ve got the vision to understand its rewards.
Stuff I Like: Gillette Fusion
Nonetheless, I decided in August that I would drink from Gillette’s cup and learn what awaited me with a Fusion shave…