Apple's absence from Macworld

What do you think of Apple not participating in Macworld anymore? It's so hard for me to thing of Macworld continuing when Apple doesn't participate. My first thought was what a lot of others were saying - Macworld is dead. Honestly Apple doesn't need Macworld anymore in my opinion. With the developers conference and all the special events, why do they have to present something at Macworld anymore? And I also think that having to do something every January doesn't always mesh with the product cycles, so it actually makes sense to me.

But I'm a Mac-head! It's hard for me to see the demise of the Macworld Expo! What's your take?

New Mac Mini?

Rumor has it that Apple will refresh its much ballyhooed Mac Mini at Macworld:

Mac Mini Refresh

Will this be a major announcement? Will it be a game changer? I think Apple does have an opportunity to hit the Mac Mini out of the park! What do you think would make it a huge winner?

Amazon MP3 Download service a distant second!

It surprised me that the Amazon download service has not picked up a big head of steam:

Amazon Download

When I shop at Amazon, it is incredibly convenient to download the MP3 tracks they offer, and if you have an Amazon account I think it is laughably simple! It seems like a really good service, so I'm happy that iTunes is still top dog. Apple does have a nice position in that if you use their iTunes software for organizing music, it is just a click away from shopping the iTunes music store.

You are probably right, Stitch, in that the DRM just isn't a huge factor. I mean, Amazon is currently selling these tracks DRM free, so maybe it just isn't the must have feature (no DRM) for digital music buyers. Most of us really don't care - I know I don't. As long as I can play them on my iPod and burn discs I want, I really don't care. How about you guys?

Coolest Microsoft Application

I will be the first to admit that for the most part virtually everything from Microsoft as far as software goes has been pretty much a pain to use. Usually bloated with rarely used features and odd interfaces, making it a chore to use. But I believe this latest application called PhotoSynth is groundbreaking. It comes from a part of MS called Live Labs. Which I guess is a technology research area. This program allows you to take a set of still photographs which have some overlap in some way. And the program interprets there spacial relationships. Then allowing the user to view the photos by moving from one to another as if moving through 3D space. As if you were walking around the scene from the photographers viewpoint. It does all this automatically without any special photography equipment. It also allows you link pictures that are taken at different zoom levels. Check out the video in the link.

Link to article

One other interesting point is that this will be MS's first iPhone application. The comment was that the iPhone has sophisticated graphics which allow for porting this application to the iPhone. Other mobile phones do not have this capability.

Windows Market Share below 90%

For the first time in a long time, Windows market share has dipped below 90%:

Marketshare

So it appears the Microsoft stranglehold is loosening a little. Apple is growing. The trends point in the right direction. Will it keep going that way?

iPhone pinch feature missing in knockoff

Have you noticed that the iPhone pinch feature for zooming has not been found on the iPhone knockoffs? My guess is that Apple made sure that they had a lockdown on the patents for this feature so others could not simply copy it. It seems equivalent to the iPod scroll wheel which the iPod knockoffs tried to make dummy scroll wheels but were not allowed by the patents to duplicate it identically. This gave the iPod an unique advantage in marketing since the concept was such a hit with consumers. I believe that the pinch feature is the iPhone equivalent which keeps the iPhone on the cutting edge.
I can see the reviews of the iPhone knockoffs saying, "it has a touch screen, but I miss the pinch zoom feature of the iPhone".

Does the Blackberry Storm suck?

Check out the link to PC World:

Blackberry Storm

Several articles express disappointment in RIM's entry to the touchscreen mobile device market that Apple pioneered. Should we cry a little bit for them?

iPod Amazon success

Check out bestselling MP3 players on Amazon:

Bestsellers

It seems to me that when the Holidays come along, people want the iPod, not the imitations. The Zune is behind the third generation pink iPod nano, for goodness sake. I heard Microsoft is planning to lower prices on the Zune to spur demand. It really is a great time when Apple is eating Microsoft's lunch in an important market. A market that MS would love to be dominant, but just can't!

I have waited for these days, and I am savoring every minute!

Snow Leopard ahead of schedule?

Did you hear? Snow Leopard is rumored to possibly be ready in the first quarter of 2009? Would you consider upgrading? I think I might if they even offered a modest number of tweaks in addition to faster performance. Heck, faster performance may be worth it by itself, don't you think?

Labels Dragging Feet!

Gentlemen, check out the following link:

Sony going DRM free?

The labels have gone to extraordinary lengths to artificially keep iTunes down by letting other digital distributors sell DRM free tracks for about the same amount as iTunes is required to sell music saddled with the DRM. This article reports a "hunch" that Sony may allow iTunes to sell its catalogue DRM free at the higher bit rate. Thus far only EMI does that.

Will the other major labels finally allow iTunes to compete fairly?

Tough Economic Times

How will Apple fare in these tough economic times? To be sure, all tech companies experienced difficulties after the dot com bust. I'll never forget Steve Jobs prophetic words - how do we get through this? INVEST!! With billions in the bank, Apple is exactly the kind of company designed to take advantage of times like these. With all that liquidity, they really CAN invest at a time when there are great deals to be had. Lots if brilliant engineers want to be a part of a stable and great company.

I believe Apple will thrive. What's your take?

Are the new MacBooks enticing enough for Le?

Does the unibody seemless aluminum case make your heart race? Or does the large glass trackpad with gesture recognition and built in click button make the human to computer interface even more connected? Or does the bright high speed graphics enabled LED lit screen make everything just jump off the page? With the subtle details such as the sleep indicator light actually being visible through a thin layer of laser drilled aluminum, make you say Wow. The simplicity of the magnetic latch, and magsafe electrical connection, and the accelerometer to sense if the laptop is taking a fall and saving your data by parking the hard drive head. With so much going for them, is it time for your new laptop to be one of the latest MacBooks? I think yes.

New Notebooks!!

Gentlemen, I know it has been a while since I posted, but I've been taken aback by market volatility! I feel a little better now, and I'm wondering what you all think about the new notebooks? Do you think the new Nvidia chip is going to help? What do you think about the shiny screen on all models?

Acid test for web browsers

Have you heard of the acid test for web browsers? There is a web site,http://acid3.acidtests.org/ that tests on how well a web browser conforms to web standards. I tried it out for the web browsers that I have on my PC. This includes Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. The results are shown in the picture. Chrome got the best score with 79 out of 100. Safari was next, then Firefox. Internet Explorer was so messed up that you could not even read the score. I would say that is a zero.

Anyway an article on Macnn.com says that the Apple Safari browser is now the first browser to have passed this test. Congrats. LINK

I just find it funny that the most used browser is the least conforming browser. Makes you wonder. By the way, I know I should have tested this on a Mac but I am in between upgrades now. Just couldn't wait for the Intel based Macs when I made my purchase.

How much longer ...

How much longer do you think Apple can lock an iPod or iPhone by preventing upgrade of the memory size. Flash memory has become so cheap it seems almost criminal that Apple prevents users from upgrading on their own. I know it is a marketing ploy to keep people upgrading iPods/iPhones. But when you can buy an 8GB flash memory card for only $20, it really makes you wonder why the iPod Touch starting entry only has 8GB.

They will need a serious competitor like Sandisk to push this. There music players already allow for upgrades. At some point people will be tired of upgrading their iPod because of this restriction. This may be the reason Sandisk is #2 for music players, albiet only 8% market share.

I just checked amazon and found a 32GB card for $78. But in a year it will probably cost $30. What is the intended life span of the iPhone? I hope more than one year. I would want to keep it for at least 3 years. But with the limited memory, in 3 years 64GB will be the entry level memory card, and I would be far behind.

Could it be that Apple is afraid that they made a product so good, that if they allow for memory expansion, that people might not upgrade in 5 years? They might have a case for that. The only reason I would upgrade my cell phone is if it breaks. I only use it for phone calls.

I believe I have discovered the reason for Apple's forced obscelecence. They make their products too good. So we will be stuck with unreplaceable batteries and non upgradable memory for a long time.

New iPods!

What do you think of the new iPods from Apple? I like the wide assortment of nanos. The rectangular version is back and is so much better than the wide nano. That was the worst iPod of all time. Shake your songs, really cool. Yes it is a copy of Sandisks idea. But I am sure Apples impleamentation is better.
Marketing the iPod Touch as a cool gaming device is smart. You know many will be smashed because of the interface though. Rounded edges just make sense. Why so little memory though? Flash memory is cheap. I bought an 8GB flash memory for my camera for only $20.
It seems Apple purposely has to limit some of their devices to keep demand high for the high end items like the iPhone. Guess that's the way marketing goes.
All and all, the iPod updates were evolutionary. Apple I think is running out of ways to wow people with the iPod. The Touch is old news, with the update just bringing things more up to date.

September 9 Special Event

Gentlemen, here it is! Apple just announced a special event "Let's Rock" for September 9! New iPods? New iPod Touch? Does the Classic stick around? (How can they eliminate one of the best selling iPods in the lineup?) The Shuffle is getting a little long in the tooth, isn't it? Comments?

Macnight 2008 a Success

Gentlemen, I do believe we must conclude that Macnight 2008 was quite a success! Stitch, it was a pleasure to discuss the state of the Mac today, in addition to enjoying excellent food and libation along the way. I believe we must have a follow up to Macnight in the not too distant future, but we should converge upon the lovely desert of Tucson.

Myst on the iPhone?

Check it out:

Myst

Apparently they might release Myst for the iPhone. I still remember when Myst was the latest coolest game on the Mac! Back in 1993 or 1994, I still remember seeing the game. It was incredible. According to the article, the last release of Myst was in 2005, and the company all but disbanded after that. How times do change! I feel somewhat nostalgic!

Current iPod line on the way out?

Gentlemen, if this article/rumor is to be believed:

New iPod Line?

the current iPod line is set to be refreshed very soon. It makes total sense - now is the time to do it. Well in advance of the Holiday season, beat everyone to the punch. It seems likely the iPod Touch line will be revitalized at a lower price point. I am interested to see if the ipod nano design will be changed. Supposedly they may go back to the first generation iPod nano form factor, which is more rectangular. I don't know - the current line is pretty darn cool! What do you think?

iMac turns 10 years Old

I just can't believe it. Ten years have passed since the introduction of the original Bondi Blue iMac. Macworld does some speed benchmark tests beginning with a Grape iMac up to the current Core 2 Duo shiny screen iMac. I still remember the old ads for the multi-colored iMacs (yummy!). I must admit, I don't miss the old cathode ray tube iMacs! The current designs are definitely huge improvements. And yet, I still have a tinge of regret of never buying the Flower Power iMac model!

Apple Market Cap bigger than Google's!

Check out the article:

Apple Market Cap

I read an article earlier, but didn't believe it. Maybe it's from the same source, but it says that Apple's market capitalization is now larger than Google's. This really surprised me! Maybe it shouldn't, though, because Apple is becoming a really big player. Some would argue too big, because there's a lot of noise on the web about how Apple is now putting our mediocre products. But that is a topic for another post!

Correction! - Air is not best selling portable!

Correction - after checking the validity of my claims, I see I am completely wrong! The Macbook Air has fallen to number 4! Maybe I'm getting old - I thought just a little while ago it was number 1!

Rumor - New Macbook Air?

Gentlemen, the latest rumor is that of a refreshed Macbook Air. Supposedly the new Air would use the newer 45 nm chip at 2 Ghz which uses less power, and could include a 120 Gb hard drive! If they could keep the cost at where it is, this could be a HUGE hit this holiday season! It already is the best selling portable on the Apple web site. This still surprises me! Jobs is right more often than not about what the market will bear. He clearly called the Macbook Air market correctly. I would never have guessed that so many people would pay a premium for the razor thin form factor!

New Macbook Air

Fire at Apple HQ!

Apparently a fire broke out at the Research and Development complex. Who knows what Apple is "cooking up"? It has to be hot!

Fire at Mothership

Just in - Best Buy to carry iPhone 3G!

Is this a good idea? I don't know, but I do know that Best Buy has lots of traffic. An interesting consequence is that Best Buy will need to have representatives on hand to activate the iPhone, as you can't do it online anymore. Supposedly Apple needs more retailers at which to sell the iPhone because of the long lines at their stores! Robin told me that even a week after the iPhone went on sale, there were still lines at the Chicago store. (Yes, she went to Chicago this summer, and I didn't. Pooey!)

September Special Event?

Rumors abound that the Mothership will introduce a new Macbook as well as an updated iPod Touch:

September Event

Will Apple include finger gestures on the new Macbook? I think it's a little soon for that, but I've been wrong before! (I know, shocking, isn't it?)

Macnight Retreat?

I am back in town, and I was wondering about our Macnight retreat? Any ideas? I believe there are a plethora of meeting places and times which may be explored. Consider: The Apple universe is expanding and, indeed, promises to get far more interesting. I've heard of a rumored iPhone nano which could be "pay as you go". Talk about expanding Apple's reach! There are many people just like myself who just can't see spending an extra $1000 a year to have the internet at my fingertips at all times. But, give me WiFi access and a phone with the cool apps, and who knows?

I also heard rumor of new products or features which would be very difficult to copy by Apple's competitors. What could that be? Perhaps we could discover the meaning at a Macnight retreat? Let us begin the planning process sooner than later!

What's it like to work at Apple?

Here is a very interesting article that quotes an Apple insider on why it's cool to work at Apple. He makes no bones about it - it's tough working with Jobs, but it can be extremely rewarding. I think you need to have the same laser focus for quality and doing things right that Jobs has. I don't know that there are many people like that! Check it out:

Insider

Help save Macnight

I have noticed that the posts to Macnight have dropped off over the past year. Last year we averaged about 12 posts a month. In 2008 we are averaging about 6 posts a month. Has the Mac hysteria dwindled? Is there less exciting news coming out of Apple? Are we taking Apple for granted? I hope not. I believe it is because of the lack of a recent in person Macnight. How about a Macnight retreat. We can paint Apple warpaint on our faces, drink beer, and attest to our Appleness. I believe these types of retreats require somewhat of a near death experience, but I think we can cut that out.

New iPods, Macbooks!

Check out the article:

New Stuff

According to the article, Apple is taking the unusual step of suggesting to its resellers to stock up on a few weeks worth of iPods and Macbooks, as the supplies will get very short in the coming weeks. Is this an indication of imminent, but more substantial, updates? Why not just let supplies dwindle as they have in the past? Are we in for a major overhaul?

Mobile Me Uproar!

Gentlemen, what do you think of the recent uproar over the MobileMe rollout? Walt Mossberg can't recommend MobileMe because there are currently too many bugs, and it isn't truly "push". I happen to be a .Mac (and now, MobileMe) subscriber. I did have difficulties trying to get some files off my iDisk. I could just imagine someone who DEPENDS on the service for business, and not being able to access files. It would be MADDENING!

Is this a case of Apple trying to do too much at one time? What do you guys think?

Perfect Harmony

I thought this picture of the Tesla car company's showcase store in LA just happened to have an iPod billboard above it. Great minds think alike. The new wave in music and the new wave in automobile technology. So if GM goes by the wayside, there are many other American innovators ready to take your place! And yes the Tesla has a place for an iPod onboard.

iPhone Apps store

Is it cool or what?

Goodbye Bill

Well, the time has come and gone. And Bill Gates has finally moved on from Microsoft. And you know, based on his personality and Balmer's. I believe that for all that we despise Micrsoft for. With their monopolistic exploitive ways in which they try to intimidate everyone into following the MS way. Bill was the more sane one. He was more comfortable with the technology end of the business. So we can only conclude that it is Balmer that gave MS the ugly edge we so dispise.

So what happens now. Bill was probably someone who kept Balmer more in check. What will it be like with Balmer fully unrestrained. I believe it can only get uglier. Balmer will try to use the MS strongarm approaches of the past and kick them up a knotch. But MS has already shown weakness in its armor. Yahoo will not be part of MS. Google is an ever increasing threat. If Google convinces businesses that online "Office" tools which are secure are the way to go. Then the MS Office cash cow goes by the wayside. With Office gone, will the other dominos fall too. Do you really need a Windows operating system anymore? Granted many offices need programs outside of Office, but I would have to say that 90% of the software that businesses use is in Office. Google might spur other companies to put their software online, being OS neutral. Connection speeds are high and the desire to have all of your data in the "Cloud" as it is sometimes called is becoming compelling.

So if Balmer goes down the path of strongarming, he may be in for a big surprise. I have already read articles which hint that if MS doesn't hit another homerun soon, then Balmer may be gone in a couple of years too.

Should Microsoft worry about Apple?

Check out the following link:

WSJ Article

While it is true that Microsoft has been attempting to break into the music market with its much vaunted Zune player, this article notes that Microsoft has been ignoring Apple's threat to its dominance of the enterprise market. It says Microsoft is spending too much time worrying about Google while Apple appears to be preparing an assault in the business world with the enterprise friendly iPhone.

The premise is a little shaky - that businesses may want to switch to Apple computers to "ensure compatibility". I don't know about that - it seems to me that the iPod and iPhone are quite platform independent, wouldn't you say?

Jobs looking a bit thin

Did you notice how Jobs appeared thin in the WWDC keynote? I have heard the banter back and forth saying if he was or was not too thin. I believe it was apparent to anyone who has seen Jobs in other keynotes that he was much thinner. The black turtleneck looked like it was hanging on a skeleton. His face did not seem sickly thin though. I have read some comments that this may have been related to his rare form of pancreatic cancer which the treatment does cause you to lose weight. I saw Jobs give a commencement speech at Stanford where he talked about his cancer, and was told he was going to die in a few months but then after doing the biopsy, the doctors found it was a rarer form which is curable.
I don't think that Jobs is on his deathbed but his extreme thinning was noticible. I am sure after the first scare Apple has a solid succesion plan. Jobs has been picking top talent which would be more than capable of driving the company forward. I don't think that Jobs is as active in the day to day operations of Apple as he used to be anyways. He has always been the big picture guy. Anyway, he did not look sickly. You would surely notice that in his face so I don't think there is need to worry anyways.

SDK software examples were cool!

Have you seen the keynote speech from Jobs at the WWDC where they demonstrated some of the cool applications being developed on the iPhone SDK? One of my favorites was the insurance salesman's program which plays virtual musical instruments on the iPhone. Sure it isn't all that useful, but imagine the WOW factor when you show others this program. You just can't help but smile when you see it.

Another very promising one I liked is the one where the iPhone will track the location of your friends in the city on a Google map. Little bubbles appear above each friend with their picture and the ability to contact them immediately. Click on Veronica's bubble who is two blocks down from you and ask her to lunch. I think the Facebook generation would eat this app up. Of course it could cause problems if you notice that your girlfriend is out with your best friend. Ouch.

All of these games that use the accelerometers in the iPhone instead of a gamepad, could be sending some iPhones to the trash heap. Imagine tipping the iPhone back and forth to reach the Temple of the Crystal Chalise and oops the iPhone goes flying out of your hands and smashes on the concrete pavement. Boo hoo. I am sure someone will sell tethers to catch the iPhone if it slips. AKA, like a camera safety strap.

One complaint that I have read from some hard core developers is that Apple does not give them full access to all of the functions of the iPhone. Active GPS navigation is a no go. Apple seems to want to do one on their own. Garmin said they already had an iPhone app using hacks before the SDK but now Apple locks that out in the license. Actually I think keeping the core guts safe from hacks is a good thing. The majority of apps probably don't need to delve into the kernal functions.

iPhone 3G Excel Editing???

Gentlemen, check out the following link:

Excel Editing

As you know, the iPhone 3G is on the way! I was very impressed with the effort Apple has made to make the iPhone not only a consumer's dream, but also an Enterprise must have gadget! The future definitely looks bright!

You may also have found that as of yet, EXCEL and Word documents are viewable, but not editable. Well, the above link points to an article about Mariner Calc, which is a program allowing EDITING of EXCEL spreadsheets on the iPhone!!! Wow! If it's a reliable program, it could be huge! Not to mention other companies wanting to sell their version of an Excel editor on the iPhone app store. What you you guys think?

Invention camp calls home a Mac

My son is attending an invention camp this week for grade school kids. They tear down various devices and use the parts to make "new inventions". I have donated an old Mac that I had sitting in the garage collecting dust. It is a Mac Performa 5152? I think. Circa 1995. It was one of the first PowerPC versions. I bought it while in Cincinnati and was the Mac which I used to show MFan the glorious powers of the Mac. It still works perfectly fine, but of course the new software has bypassed this era. I just didn't have the heart to put it out on the curb. At least now it will go to a good use. My son really got a kick out of opening up the old beast and disassembling the components. I had to take out the CRT ( because of glass ) and anything with a capacitor in it. The circuit cards seemed enormous by today's standards. Huge capacitors throughout. The CRT weighed a ton. Yet the motherboard was close to the size of today's computers. It was as if the motherboard was placed in an archaic shell of outdated components. And the metal frame was like something from an Erector set. A bit of overkill. But then again, the CRT did weight a lot. Farewell to a worthy computing device, may you inspire new inventions in a new generation. OK, it is getting a bit sappy. I will stop.

My New work iMac!!

I didn't want to appear like I was gloating, but upon return to my office I found a new Core 2 Duo iMac on my desk. In nothing flat I was up and running. This machine truly defines "butta". The screen is magnificent, it is snappy, it is everything I need in a computer!

OSX 10.6 "Snow Leopard"

Gentlemen, Have you heard the latest rumor on the Mac OS? The word on the web is that the latest incarnation will be christened "Snow Leopard", version 10.6. It reportedly will concentrate more on security and speed improvements, and may be ready as soon as Macworld 2009. What say you, gentlemen? Le, you have a vested interest, as you will be switching to the fairer platform in the very near future!

When is Gates leaving MS?

I read a report about the last MS press conference where Bill Gates was remonicing about his past occomplishments, and how Balmer was having a hard time transitioning as the lead of MS. Of course they said that Balmer now has the hang of it. I was just wondering how soon Gates was leaving, anyone know?

Windows 7 Has a Dock

Have you guys read the news of the Windows 7 OS? (successor to the venerable Vista OS) Word is it will incorporate support for multi touch gestures as well as have a dock. Does any of this sound familiar? I dunno, sounds a little familiar to me! But who knows, the dock may not make it into the final release of Windows 7 which is still at least a couple of years off (if history is any indication).

Kindle on fire?

From the looks of Amazon's web site they make it seem like the Kindle is a big hit. Stating that they now have more in inventory and are ready to ship. Is this for real or is it just a bunch of hipe? You be the judge! I don't buy that it is a massive hit. Maybe a hit as big as the Zune. I kid. I kid.

Wall Street Journal : Dump Microsoft Stock!

The Wall Street Journal has suggested that now is a great time to dump Microsoft stock, because this latest acquisition fiasco of Yahoo shows that Microsoft's business strategy may not be any better than their software strategy! But to be fair, Microsoft does make some indispensable software for the business environment, so it's not like they don't make money. But, do we really think they could have taken on Google with the acquisition of Yahoo? Any comments?

Apple market value quadruple Dell!

Well, since that fateful shareholder meeting with Michael Dell in the late nineties, quite a bit has changed, am I right? There is no better time to be a Mac head than here and now! Apple's market value is quadruple that of Dell's, which does not surprise us, but no doubt gives Michael Dell something to regret at night.

Quadruple!

Has Le come to the bright side?

With all of the amazing new computer models from Apple, I was wondering if Le has taken the plunge? If I had some spare cash right now, I would consider one of the new iMacs. You seem to get a lot of bang for the buck. I have been using the laptop, and having the freedom is nice for a while but mostly for surfing the net, which my current laptop is fully capable of. Now for some serious power.

3G iPhone in June?

Fellows, I have been hearing persistent rumors of a new iphone design by June. What have you guys heard? Any truth? I hear it would incorporate 3G networking and a somewhat revised design.

MacFan back online!

Hey guys - sorry for my absence. Always lots of stuff going on, but this last week or so more than usual! However, I am back!!

Opencomputer runs OSX

Have you heard about the computer called "OpenComputer" which has been tweaked to run OSX Leopard? They are cheaper than standard issue Macs. They claim that Apple has a monopoly and that they are perfectly legal to do this. A Wired magazine article said that legally, Apple may have a hard time going after them and stopping them, but Wired suggested that Apple could just kill it through technology upgrades which would force incompatability. But this would also become a nucense to the regular Mac owners. I think most people would not want to worry about compatability problems cropping up down the line if the cost difference is not too much.
This may put pressure on Apple to keep prices lower than they normally would, at least on the low end. The hardware design from Apple has been compelling but how much more expensive should this be. A low end hardware competitor keeps it interesting.

Steve Ballmer pictures

Where do they get these pictures of Steve Ballmer? I know that anyone in the public light can have bad pictures taken of them, but I almost (almost!) feel bad for Ballmer! He comes off looking like a bumbling fool!

Knockoff Parade

Gentlemen, the parade of iPhone knockoffs continues and is as pathetic as ever. Consider Nokia's description of its as of yet unreleased iPhone knockoff. It is so sad, but it's all good for Apple. Supposedly there will be a 3G second generation iPhone to be released this year. As Le pointed out, how do they get around the power hungry nature of 3G? I'm sure we'll find out soon - Apple will not stop the innovation train for the knockoffs to jump on! Apple will be relentless!

Nokia Knockoff

Counting people is very very difficult

Well it looks like we are back to pencil and paper when it comes to doing a census count. The Federal government had contracted to a Florida company (yes Florida) to come up with a system to take the census on portable electonic devices. For a bill of anywhere from $600 million to $2 billion dollars. But low and behold a electronic counting system can be too complex and cumbersome, and yes this one is too. So for the 2010 US census they will be ditching the electronic system for pencil and paper. Of course now it will require more people to take the census (Why is beyond me. Maybe one to hold the paper and the other to hold the pencil! ) and may cost up to $3 billion dollars.
I am conviced that Apple could have adapted the iPhone to do this task for no more than $200 million, complete with iPhone hardware and Filemaker Pro and it would actually work. What a great advertisement for the iPhone that would be. But in Washington you help your friends with contracts where delivering a working product is not really necessary. Pay up America.

P.S: At the very least couldn't the census takers just take a laptop with them for the census? Why develop a system from scratch? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.



News Link

Samsung Instinct ready to take down the iPhone?

Samsung has a new phone called the Instinct which looks like it may be the best iPhone competitor to date. One catch is the monthly subscription fee may run about $100 a month. Even so, this looks like at least an honest attempt at competition. At least others are trying to keep up with the iPhone.

Instinct

What Macs can't do.

Caution the following link may be disturbing and vulgar to Macnight readers. Click if you feel up to it.

Macs_can't_do


Even so, the in your face nature of the link is actually quite humorous.

The Le Séance !

Oh great spirits, we are attempting to contact one our missing followers of MacNight. His spiritual name is "Le". Please release him to the Macworld so that others may benefit from his great knowledge. Why he has been banished for so long has concerned the Mac faithful. Please give us a sign that he is well, and that he will be enriching us with his great wisdom sometime soon. <... beep, please deposit 25 cents ...> Sorry, I have to go now. I'm out of change. <... I'm sorry you call has been disconnected. ...> <... Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep ...>

Motorola is splitting in two....

Well, it looks like Motorola has decided to push it's recently unprofitable cell phone branch of the company out of the main company into a separate company. It seems Motorola hasn't been able to create a hit in the cell phone market since the Razor phones. Even that phone only looked cool, but had problems, in my opinion. Some of the reasons for their problems was increased competition, including Apple's new iPhone. Motorola probably looked at all of the innovation in the iPhone and figured that this phone was so far ahead of the competition that it may be too late to even try to catch the technologies in this phone.

iPod music bundling

Gentlemen, this is one of the most unique ideas I've ever heard. Check out the Ars Technica piece:

Unlimited Downloads!

If I understand correctly, an option for purchasing an iPod would include an additional charge which would allow the purchaser to download an unlimited number of songs as long as they owned the iPod.

Is this right? It almost sounds too good to be true. I also understand another music player has that feature - for an additional $80. You know, it almost seems like a good deal! And, you own the music!

Now the article says Apple wants to charge an additional $20, not $80. I know I may sound crazy, but $20 in addition to the iPod would be a steal. I would think $40 to $80 would make more sense for UNLIMITED downloads!

Am I reading this right? And if so, what do you guys think?

Ars Technica Opinion Piece

Check out this article from Ars Technica:

iPhone Development

It is fascinating and talks about how crazy developers are to make applications for the iPhone, but how some are questioning the role of Apple as the so called "gate keeper" and taking 30% of revenues generated from software sales. On the other hand, Apple also takes care of all the "overhead costs" such as taking care of credit card charges, distribution, maintenance of the App store for the iPhone.

Stitch, what do you think?

Speaking of Steve Ballmer...

Check out this article from eWeek by Mac evangelist turned reporter Guy Kawasaki's interview of Steve Ballmer. Interesting read:

Ballmer Interview

Time for the iPhone blastoff?

With the latest news from Apple with their "Enterprise" solutions and "SDK", is now time for the iPhone blastoff countdown? After seeing the video of Apple's announcement, I was in awe. The iPhone will now be a fully secure network which links directly to Microsoft Exchange server for push email, push calenders, and push whatever. VPN support (virtual private network) which would allow an encrypted connection for sensitive data transfers. And with the SDK (software development kit) any business can customize their services and software on the iPhone. The SDK looked like is an amazing tool for creating applications quickly.
Businesses could get data from their own servers quickly and securely to their workers in a very portable device. Taking a laptop everywhere is not always convienient. Sales people are perfect targets for these devices. Any job which could need information sent to a remote location.
In addition, Apple looks like they want the iPhone to become a mobile gaming platform. With the full 3 axis accelerometer in the device. Instead of using a mouse or joystick for control, you just tip the iphone in different orientations. So the interface goes from mouse and joystick driven, to finger pointing and tipping.
The repurcutions of this may not be felt until later this year but like the initial iPod introduction, has been ignored by investors as being anything significant.
The iPhone incompasses all of what makes Apple great. It has a rock solid OS based on OSX. A great software development tool in SDK. They even have an iPhone simulator which run on your computer to speed development. Simple access to the cool features of the iPhone, touch interface, video, accelerometer, etc should stimulate quick development of awesome apps. Plus the attention to cool design and simple interfaces. Apple is firing on all cylinders now. Like the Venture Capitalist said, "the iPhone should be bigger than the personal computer". I think he is right.

Proud new owner of an iPod Classic

Yes the time has come where I have gone ahead and made the iPod purchase. Yes I have owned a shuffle in the past. And Christina has an iPod nano before they widened it. But I feel that the number of features and price have reached a point which begs the question. "Why don't you buy one!" I got a black iPod classic with an 80GB hard drive. I like the fact that you can do video on it if you like. It has a wheel based Coverflow feature. And the large 80GB storage have sold me on this model. The iTouch is cool but still in it's infancy. I would expect that the flash memory prices will drop quickly and then make this the iPod of choice in a couple of years. But the original draw for the iPod and what drew me to the Classic is the huge storage where you have "everything in your pocket". I have already loaded a classic Stanley Cup Finals game from the 1970's on it, to call up one of the greatest players to ever play the game, Gilbert Perrault. He played like a Mazda MX6, "just like butter". Soon it will be filled with "Science Friday" podcasts, and loads of songs. And it will nice to be able to pull up anything in an instant. Apple magic at it's best.

Nike and Apple Again

Have you heard that Apple and Nike are teaming up again. This time to use the iPod nano to collect workout data from exercise equipment in Gym's. They are in negotiations with major exercise equipment manufacturers to add access ports for Nanos. It appears that the Nike website for tracking running data has grown into a very popular community. And Apple/Nike want to expand this to more workout types. People can find exercise partners to compete against on the Nike site. Who would have thought this would be so popular. I thought that this pedometer/ipod gadget would come and go. But it appears to have staying power.

MacBook Air in short supply

Gentlemen, the new Macbook Air is reportedly in short supply:

The Air

And indeed, it is the top selling Mac on the Apple Store website. Are we to conclude that the Air is a hit, or is this simply supply shortage with Apple failing to accurately predict demand? It would be surprising to me if the Air retained this position even ahead of the Macbook, given the Macbook's excellent value (in my humble opinion).

Apple to buy Yahoo?

There have been rumors, albiet weak rumors, that Apple may be considering buying Yahoo. One of these rumors teams up Newscorp with Apple in the purchase. Some of the reasons given for the reason for Apple to want Yahoo include the following. Apple could use Yahoo to expand the .Mac vision which Apple has yet to see take off. Apple would have an automatic inroad into China for marketing all of its products. And the idea that Apple feels it could fix the search engine business.

Personally, I don't give this idea any credence based on how Apple operates in the past. They are the new product dreamers. Yahoo seems to be a hodgepodge of almost good online products. It would take a super organizer to sort through the Yahoo mess and find what is of value and what is a wasted effort. Apple doesn't fix other peoples messes. They start from scratch and fix things from the ground up.

Now for the contrarian view. How would Apple benefit from having Yahoo? They have a large customer base, which may not be as big as Google but is still quite large. So if Apple did buy Yahoo, would they just rewrite how the company operates into the Apple way of doing business? Simplifying their core business to a handful of functions. This may be plausible, but can Apple even be in the running to buy Yahoo if the deep pockets of MS are there to easily outbid Apple. But buyouts are not just the highest bidder. Yahoo stockholders may feel that in the long run, Apple would generate more money for Yahoo than the initial jump if MS buys them. And what would this do to the relationship with Google?

It is an interesting proposition, which if Apple jumps into would change the type of company they are once again.

Blue Ray Triumphs!

Well, Stitch, my wish has come true - Blue Ray is the next generation DVD standard! It is exciting, but obviously one needs the high definition TV to go with it! Do you guys have one? I'm hoping that with Blue Ray victorious, it might spur more High Def Tv purchases and drive the price down more. What do you guys think?

Leopard Update and Apple

I had to share this with you guys. Apple just issued a huge update of Leopard, and I can't help but say how happy I am to be a Mac Fanatic. With the first release of Leopard, Apple introduced the "stacks" idea for the dock - click on a folder, and the contents would either "fan" out or produce a square grid, and you could pick any item within. Apple was roundly criticized because they took away the nice ability to navigate through embedded folders like you could in Tiger.

Here's what I love - Apple put the functionality back in, and they made it even BETTER! Now, you have your choice of doing list view, fan view, grid view, navigating folders, etc., and it's even FASTER than before! People do criticize Apple, and sometimes those criticisms are well founded, but Apple does respond to their users. I find that time and again!

By the way, on my way to ASU, I saw a student carrying a Macbook Air to class just like a regular textbook. We actually played with one at the Apple Store. They are indeed as light and thin as advertised. It will be interesting to see how it is adopted. Seeing a student with a Macbook Air already gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling, though!

RIM files "multitouch" patent

Well, gents, I believe this harkens the era of first real competition for the iPhone. RIM just filed a multitouch patent, with the intent that the technology would show up in their phones. RIM already makes excellent smart phones, and I think they are the ones who can give Apple some real competition. I do believe, however, that Apple has incredible leverage with its software prowess and head start. This really is a good thing, because I think great technologies will come out of this. What's your take?

Garmin amazes with iPhone like cell phone

Have you seen the cell phone that Garmin has developed? It actually looks pretty cool and seems to be well designed. It has a touch screen and leverages Garmin's experience with GPS. They also support 3G technology. Who would have guessed that Garmin would produce such a cool phone. Jumping from GPS navigations systems to cell phones. Of course the devil is in the details. Right now it seems pictures are all that is available to review. No mention of price. Could this be real competition to the iPhone. Probably more so than the standard cell phone makers. But of course by the time this phone hits the market, the next generation iPhone will be released with more features. Probably including 3G.


Link

Microsoft takeover of Yahoo

Have you guys heard the news? Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo in a hostile takeover bid. There were talks before that broke down, but now Microsoft wants to take Yahoo. Supposedly Jerry Yang, founder and current CEO, wants to maintain Yahoo's independence. Microsoft wants to take them over because it would help them compete with Google. Is this a good idea? I can't help but dislike Microsoft swallowing up more of the competition. What's your take?

The mystery of fhe missing iPhones.

Have you seen all the news hype about the missing iPhones? Apple claims they sold something like 4 million iPhones to date, but AT&T say only a little over 2 million have been activated. The question is what happened to the rest. Some website claimed the rest have been unlocked and running on other networks. Even some stock analysts are saying this and noting that it will be bad for Apple because they will lose the monthly revenue from the AT&T customers. The sudden drop in the Apple stock is also attributed to this.

I just have to laugh. To unlock the iPhone you would have to break it open, mess with the electronics, void your warrenty, and hope it works. I doubt millions of people have done this. My guess is that the Apple numbers and AT&T numbers were released at different times and that is why they don't jive.

One other guess was that the some Apple fanatics just bought them to keep as collectors items. McFan are you one of these people? It is amazing what conclusions people will jump to, no matter how far out there is is.

Total Music to kill off iTunes?

I just read an article in Wired magazine which said that the CEO of Universal Music is trying to take away the strangle hold that iTunes has on digital downloads. I know this is old news but there is something called "Total Music" which Universal is trying to push which would replace owning music with a subscription service. It has been gaining traction. Universal has been courting the other large record companies to do the same along with Microsoft and other MP3 player companies.

The basic idea is that the new "Total Music" players would allow a user to play any songs they want in the library but they don't get to own it. The most interesting part is that Universal wants the music players to either give away the subscription for 6 months or even forever. Footing the bill themselves. I guess based on them recuping this cost with the profits from the player. It looks like iTunes has become the Microsoft empire of music which many want to remove.

It was interesting that in the article, the Universal CEO said that iTunes does bring in a substantial amount of money right now and they would not want to lose that. So they are going to have to be delicate about how they go about doing this.

Link

HD-DVD Player Sales tank?

Gentlemen, are the consumers responding? The article:

HD-DVD Sales

suggests HD-DVD player sales fell precipitously after Warner announced its decision. Do you think it makes sense? If Blue Ray takes off, are either of you guys poised to pounce?

Will Apple beat estimates

Today is the day that Apple releases quarterly earnings. The buzz on the street is that they are expected to exceed estimates for the last quarter. But with the whole stock market tanking overall will Apple be one of the few stocks to stay positive? We will know at the end of the day when Apple gives its official release.

IBM Lotus Notes on iPhone

I just read that IBM has teamed up with Apple to release a client application for the iPhone which will allow the iPhone to interface with Lotus Notes. Notes is IBM's email client which a lot of large companies use. It is the main competitor to Microsoft. We use it at my work too. This could make the iPhone even more enticing to business users. Let the collaborations continue! ( hopefully to break the Microsoft noose )

Time Capsule is the winner

Even after all of the announcements, I think the Time Capsule is the coolest one. The fact that it has WiFi built in is what sets it apart. So you plug this in and have it setup as your central database for backups. All of your computers can wirelessly connect to this device without you realizing it. Backing up in the background whenever you are hooked to the wireless network. Now backups are effortless. With so many people having notebooks now, wireless makes so much sense. Simple setup, and automatic backups over the air. Cool.

Stitch, you're right!!

Macbook Air - the thinnest notebook around! Pull it out of a manilla envelope. Le, do you have your credit card ready? Let's go to the Apple Store, man!

AppleTV Take 2 Price

Gentlemen, how's about $229 for the new Apple TV? (Free software upgrade for existing users.) Any comments?

Apple hits another home run?

Have you heard about the Expo? Movie rentals with Apple TV take 2! No need to sync back with the computer! Download in HD or regular DVD quality! (Although to be fair we don't know what resolution Jobs is calling "HD"). Almost all major movie studios on board. Gentlemen, is this internet movie rentals done right?

There's something in the air

That's the headline on the Apple website in anticipation for MacWorld. The keynote is tomorrow (Tuesday). Any ideas of new releases. My top three will be: 1) High speed iPhone with more memory. 2) A new AppleTV device geared directly to movie rentals direct from iTunes. 3) The big new device will be an Apple tablet computer which uses the touchscreen technology and reinvents the so far dead market for tablets. Any ideas from the MacNight crowd?

Making the iPhone

Gentlemen, check out the following Wired article:

iPhone story

I got chills reading it!

Great Article on the Music Business

Check out the following article:

CES Music Conversation

It talks about specifically what we have noted : the music industry cannot continue to operate the way they always have. The rules of the game have changed, and in fact, they changed 7 years ago with Napster. Interestingly, the article suggests the "subscription" model for music will become the standard. I don't know about that. Seems to me a heck of a lot of companies have tried the subscription model, and failed. Even Microsoft had to include the "buy" model because they weren't making it on subscriptions. The article is very interesting. I'd be interested in your take.

Paramount to dump HD-DVD?

Check out the article:

Paramount

Paramount originally backed HD-DVD, but is rumored to be considering a switch to Blue Ray. This would follow Warner's announcement that it will dump HD-DVD altogether. I think it would make sense so the consumer can move forward with adopting the more popular format, don't you think? It would be great to be able to buy an HD format with confidence!

HD-AAC

Gentlemen, check out the link:

HD-AAC

Do you think this is the knockout punch for the venerable CD and the record company executives who still daydream about the juicy profits they wrung out of it? Le, what is the audiophile's point of view on this format?