Guide To Hacking OS X On A NetBook

If your hankering for a Mac Net Book, well, don't look to Apple to grant your wish anytime soon. However, if you got the time, the patience and the spare change, and your not afraid to get your hands dirty, well BoingBoing.Net has compiled a great compatibility chart of the best netbooks for that perfect hackintosh project that you've been dreaming about.

As you can see from the chart below, Dell's Mini 9/Vostro A90 tops the list, while the Eee 1000H, HP Mini 1000 and the Lenovo S10 complete the top four. Of the lot, only the Dell managed to score on all ten of the categories listed. The Amiga, obviously, was never a serious contender, but it sure adds a sense of humor to the list, does it not?

As BoingBoing points out, however, hacking OS X onto a netbook isn't easy or for the faint of heart. Personally, I would dearly love to try hacking it out on one of those sweet little Dell Mini 9's, but, unfortunately, I also happen to be one of those faint-of-heart types (yes, I'm also lazy and I admit it). I have to also admit that the challenge, though daunting, is most tempting.

As far as the Mini 9 goes, Gizmodo did a great post on how to hack OS X on that swell little Dell. After reading their 'how to', I got the distinct impression that while it's not all that easy, it's really wasn't all that hard either.

Some of the things that you'll need for your hackintosh Dell Mini, according to Gizmodo's post, are:

"• Dell Mini 9 With 16GB SSD or higher (8GB SSDs will techincally work, but it will take some fiddling not covered by this guide)

• Retail copy of OS X 10.5.x (NOT an OEM copy that comes with a new Mac)

• A USB flash drive 8GB or higher

• An external USB DVD drive

• The "Type11" Bootloader: DellMiniBoot123v8.01.iso.zip (download link in this forum post)

• Blank CD to burn bootloader image (I actually used version 8.0 of Type11 on my CD-if your boot process with 8.01 is different than what's spelled out in this guide, you can download 8.0 here. Both should work.)

• Windows PC for preparing the flash drive (if DVD drive works fine, this is optional)"

Well, there you go, that doesn't sound too bad, now does it? But remember: you'll also need time, patience and a strong will to pull it off. But, boy-oh-boy, just think of the pride and sense of accomplishment that you'll also derive - priceless!

In addition to reading Gizmodo's guide, you can also get a better idea of the whole experience simply by watching this nifty little YouTube video below:

So, in conclusion, I don't know about you, but someday, I just might seriously get around to trying this out myself, just to see if I can do it without blowing up the entire neighborhood! In the meantime, however, I'm rather hard pressed for time and the extra cash needed, but if you ever personally decide to try it out yourself, then by all means, drop me a line and let me know how you make out.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, July 31, 2009

Chart via:BoingBoing.Net; Dell Mini photo: Gizmodo

The iPod Touch and ZiiLabs Plaszma Copy Cat Wannabe!

I was waiting for this, because I knew it was bound to happen, sooner or later, and it just did - Creative has announced a new initiative to take on the iPod Touch!

Creative ZiiLabs is hoping to open the floodgates, allowing any would be OEM challenger to try and take a big bite out of Apple.

Will it work? Will it have what it takes to topple Apple's Touch?

Well, that still remains to be seen, since no devices are yet available.

ZiiLabs officially announced that it's iPod Touch killer, or "Plaszma", will be an open sourced project, based on Google's Android initiative. I don't know about you, but it sure seems that I see Android popping up in a lot of different places these days, and not just for mobiles.

As you can see below, in this YouTube video, it rather looks like an iPod Touch, complete with it's ten-point 3.5 inch multi-touch screen, which they call, for whatever reason, multi-gesture. The Wi-Fi enabled device will include a GPS receiver, front and back facing cameras, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, SDC card slot, an accelerometer, headphone socket, 256MB RAM, and up to a whopping 64GB of storage. Oh, and before I forget, as well, X-Fi audio.

Exactly how long it will be before OEM's release a working device still remains to be seen, but something tells me that it won't be too long now. One thing, I firmly believe, is that no matter how well this device is, or how well it is perceived, this wannabe's biggest obstacle will be decided more on it's software side then on it's hardware side.

For one thing, when it comes to the software side it's going to have to confront the iPod Touch's huge and almost insurmountable advantage - the APP STORE and it's huge and growing software library! This isn't going to be easily matched by the Zii Plaszma, or anyone else, anytime soon.

That doesn't mean this new copy cat device won't build up a respectable library of apps, but I have the sneaky feeling that by the time they do, the APP STORE's already enormous software library will already have grown far, far greater than it is now. Some have even predicted that it could grow to some 100,000 plus apps, and that before the end of this year!

Despite it's well over 60,000 plus apps, of all sizes, shapes, categories, and price ranges, I would tend to think that Apple will still be watching this development with some interest, but, on the other hand, I doubt if their going to be losing any sleep over it, at least for the time being.

It's amazing to me, that when ever Apple does something, how its not too long before others try to copy and then kill it off. Take the iPhone for instance, the iMac's form factor, iTunes, the APP STORE, or the super thin-and-slim form factor of the MacBook Air, and on-and-on, etc.

What this says to me, is that Apple is clearly the leader in innovative technology. All others are just mere followers, mere wannabe's, aping it's every move. Even though their attempts have yielded some pretty interesting devices, most of them never seem to have quite the same impact, success, or the quality and lust factor of any of Apple's originals.

Again, will this new copy cat attempt to app one of Apple's more popular devices have any chance to succeed - maybe even to kill it off? Well, until they actually start selling these things, I will have to reserve my final judgement, but somehow, if history is our guide, then most likely not.

However, one thing is certain - it should help to keep Apple on it's toes, forcing it to innovate and improve upon the Touch in new and more interesting ways. Ultimately, I think that competition will be good for the Touch, provided that its fair, and, hopefully, that will be the case here.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, July 30, 2009

Future Safari Updates to Include Super Cool Animations

I've always loved Apple's 'Cover Flow' animation. It serves a very practical purpose by allowing you to visual see information in a way that makes searching fast, easy, fun and, as well, visually stunning to look at.

Cover Flow, as you probably know, is now also a part of Safari 4.0 where it is especially useful, at least I think so, for navigating through your web history. It's a big plus to be able to see, and thus better remember, what your looking for. The old way had you pouring over long, boring and tedious lists of similar looking words, that were and still are a pain in the old you-know-what?

Well, if your wondering what Apple could possibly visually add next to Safari, well you only need to look below. Here, in this YouTube video, you can get a taste of future. As you can see, Apple has developed some pretty amazing effects called 3D Transform. These were created for it's open-source project WebKit, on which Safari is built, plus several other browsers as well, including Google's Chrome.

Yes, as Surfin' Safari, a WebKit blog, points out, with 3D Transform, Safari will yet again transform how we view things on the net. Just some of the new 3D Safari animations features, that they highlight are as follows:

"translate3d(x, y, z), translateZ(z)

Move the element in x, y and z, and just move the element in z. Positive z is towards the viewer. Unlike x and y, the z value cannot be a percentage.

scale3d(sx, sy, sz), scaleZ(sz)

Scale the element in x, y and z. The z scale affects the scaling along the z axis in transformed children.

rotateX(angle), rotateY(angle), rotate3d(x, y, z, angle),

The first two forms simply rotate the element about the horizontal and vertical axes. Angle units can be degrees (deg) radians (rad) or gradians (grad). The last form allows you to rotate the element around an arbitrary vector in 3D space; x, y and z should specify the unit vector you wish to rotate around (we’ll normalize it for you).

perspective(p)

This function allows you to put some perspective into the transformation matrix. For an explanation of p, see below. Normally perspective is applied via the -webkit-perspective property, but this function allows you to get a perspective effect for a single element, with something like:

-webkit-transform: perspective(500px) rotateY(20deg);

matrix3d(…)

This function allows you to specify the raw 4×4 homogeneous transformation matrix of 16 values in column-major order. Have fun with that!

We’ve also extended one other CSS transform property, and implemented the four other 3D-related properties described in the spec:

-webkit-transform-origin now accepts three values, allowing you to specify a z offset for the transform origin.

-webkit-perspective is used to give an illusion of depth; it determines how things change size based on their z-offset from the z=0 plane. You can think of it as though you’re looking at the page from a distance p away. Objects on the z=0 plane appear in their normal size. Something at a z offset of p/2 (halfway between the viewer and the z=0 plane) will look twice as big, and something at a z offset of -p will look half as big. Thus, large values give a little foreshortening effect, and small values lots of foreshortening. Values between 500px and 1000px give a reasonable-looking result for most content."

Wow, and that's just for starters folks. In the meantime, if you interested in having and enjoying some of these cool, jaw dropping, features now then look no farther than Cooliris, a free photo-viewing utility that works on both Safari and Firefox. Cooliris gives you that photo-wall experience, and allows you to surf and view content from either Flickr or YouTube, or photos from your computer, in a flashy 3D environment that is sure to dazzle and amaze your friends. Trust me, I'm running it now and it works great and looks absolutely stunning! I'm pretty sure, if your anything like me - your going to love it! It will give you a glimpse of just what to expect in upcoming Safari releases, as Apple yet again goes all out and raises the bar of just what a browser can do.

Of course, all this visual glory comes at a price, namely performance, so it helps to have the latest and the greatest in hardware. But, from my own personal experience, I can tell you, quite frankly, that Cooliris works great even on an old eight-year old PowerPC system, the oldest that I have yet tried it on.

So, in conclusion, it's obvious that as exciting as the latest Safari release was, its only the beginning of what promises to be even a more exciting browser experience in the future. Yes, even though such dang-fangled contraptions can be big and nasty performance hogs its not that quite that bad, thanks to the latest advances in today's cpu's, graphic cards and OS technology, these issues are fast becoming increasingly mute. What's more, Snow Leopard and it's upcoming amazing Grand Central and Open CL technologies should utterly put all of those concerns to rest, once and for all!

So, when it comes to Safari and flashy animation goes, well, the future looks bright indeed, very, very bright. I barely can wait for Apple to start applying it's new open 3D Transform technologies not only in Safari, but also in future system-wide OS X upgrades as well, because, for one thing, this little tech-junky can never quite ever get enough of those dang-tooting, whiz-bang, freaking out cool visuals features for my liking, so I say - bring it on baby!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, July 29, 2009

China: Apple and Unicom Sign iPhone Deal

According to a report by Reuters, one of China's three largest mobile operators, Unicom, has apparently signed a three-year contract with Apple to supply iPhones to the massive country.

Reuters is reporting that:

"Under the agreement, China Unicom will purchase iPhones from Apple for 3,000 yuan ($439) each and guarantee annual sales of 1 million to 2 million units and at least 5 billion yuan in annual revenue, the newspaper said."

Unfortunately, contract talks between Apple and China's largest mobile provider, China Mobile (also the world's largest with 471-million users!), broke down because of disagreements over revenue sharing.

Well, all I will say is that it's bloody well about time! It has always struck me as a little strange that the world's biggest country did not have an official iPhone provider, especially since it's the country that just happens to build them all! Now, finally, Chinese lovers of the iPhone will no longer have to resort to the grey market, a market which is believed to have provided the country with up to 2 to 3 million unofficial and hacked iPhones.

What's really nice is that Unicom's guarantee of a minimum of 1 to 2 million iPhones per year should also guarantee Apple at least an extra $878-million in extra yearly revenue. This, in turn, should also help provide Apple's stock with a nice little lift at the end of the day. With an extra couple of million iPhone sales per year, these minimum Unicom sales could easily more than exceed those that Palm hopes to sell for it's iPhone killer, the Pre!

So take that Palm!

Of course, minimum is minimum, and there's no reason why Unicom can't maximize it's sales of iPhone's in such a massively populated country like China . And who knows, maybe they can even be able to double or triple those minimum numbers? If this is the case, then wowsie, wow-wow, because Apple's already high-flying stock could virtually explode into the stratosphere yet again!

Now if only I had a bucket full of Apple shares to call my own, because that would definitely be one of the sweetest iPhone calls that one could ever hope to make.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, July 28, 2009

New iTune Feature: 'Cocktail'

Its believed, that come this September, no less than Jobs himself, will be announcing a newer generation of iPods, complete with built-in cameras and, most likely, greater capacities.

However, what is also now emerging are reports that Apple will be announcing something else, something called "Cocktail".

Cnet news is reporting that Apple is working with all of the major labels to deliver a new and delicious 'cocktail' of features that would help, in effect, to re-create the heyday when people sat around with their friends to enjoy not only the music, but the album art that came with it - complete with notes, lyrics and other features that were not even remotely possible back in the olden days of vinyl.

According to Cnet:

"Under the purported plan, people going to Apple's iTunes store to download music would also be able to get an interactive bundle that includes material such as liner notes, lyric sheets, and photos, according to the Financial Times. The "interactive book" would let users play songs without having to return to the iTunes software, the story said.

The goal, apparently, is to spark sales of digital albums, with a nod to the music-listening habits of a bygone era. While Apple has long sold albums over iTunes, the online music store is renowned for the fervor with which customers download single tracks. Apple already makes album cover art available through the Cover Flow feature in iTunes."

Wow, that sounds good to me, really, really good in fact! I remember, like it was yesterday, when I would rush home, all excited, with my newest, latest and greatest album from the Beatles (yes, I'm really, really that old!) and do exactly that, go through the notes and album art. Ah, the good old days, when reading the covers of great albums like 'Rubber Sould', Beatles 65 (my favorite, by the way) and Sergent Pepper's was just so enjoyable and so much fun. That was an experience that, to me anyway, was easily worth the cost of the album itself, and one that, more-or-less, has become a lost art form.

Personally, if this happens, it would be another major plus for iTune's and it's users. No doubt about it, other services such as Napster, Amazon and Spotify will try to do the same, and not to mention Microsoft and it's Zune division. And why not? Why shouldn't the younger generation not get to experience the same joy that we, of the older generation, did?

Apparently, 'Cocktail' isn't the only thing that we might see soon for the iPhone/Touch, as reports of even more iTune goodies are rumored to be just around the bend as well.

These include reports that Apple may include music streaming as well. It's reported that Spotify, a highly successful and rapidly growing European music streaming service, has an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch ready to go!

Spotify has made a big impact in Europe and some think that it even has the capacity to kill off iTunes itself! Therefore, whether Apple would ever allow it is quite debatable. Since it's a major form of competition, I believe, like many others, that if music streaming ever does come to the iPhone, then it's most likely to be coming from Apple itself. After all, how hard would it be for Apple to build their own music streaming service?

So, if all goes well, in addition to a newer generation of iPods, I hope that 'Cocktail' and other new features, like music streaming, be it from Spotify or Apple itself, will also be forth coming, because these exciting new features could give newer generations of audiophiles the same opportunity to experience all of the joy that we, of the previous and older generation, got to experience, namely - getting as much fun and enjoyment from the outside of the package as what got from the inside of the package!

At least I hope thats the case?

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, July 27, 2009

Palm And Apple: It's On Baby!

It's on!

The battle between Palm and Apple goes to the next level. After disabling the Pre's sneaky and underhanded theft of Apple's iTune's, Apple came out, as promised, and blocked the Pre's ability to pretend that it was an iPod, and thus sync with iTune's.

Now, as many know, Palm, who apparently has no scruples or shame, the other day just updated their software to unblock Apple's recent iTune's block, thus allowing Pre users to once again sync their music via their competitor's software.

So, what's next? Will Apple update iTunes once again to prevent Palm from using software that it designed exclusively for the iPod and iPhone? Will Apple finally say, 'enough is enough' and take possible legal action against Palm for it's blatant copyright and patent violations?

After all, it doesn't make much sense that after spending considerable time and money to create iTune's for the benefit of it's iPod and iPhone users, that Apple will somehow just allow anyone, like Palm, to just come in and use it's software willy-nilly and to literally help steal customers away from it's own iPhone and iPod! Such a move would be suicidal on the part of Apple.

It's probably safe to say that Apple is not too happy with Palm these days and rightfully so. As Dan would say, "I mean think about it," not only is Palm shamelessly using it's exclusive software, without it's permission, for the benefit of the Pre, but the Pre itself was developed by Palm first coming in and poaching Apple's employees (over 250 of them!), including John Rubeinstein, the former head of Apple's iPod division, and not to forget it's blatantly disregard for Apple's ideas and multi-touch patents!

Clearly, in my mind, if ever a company deserves to get legally smacked hard on the back of it's head it's Palm. I'm totally mystified and, completely intrigued, at just how openly blatant and arrogant Palm has been in it's development of the Pre. Palm was in the dumps surely, and it was very desperate to say the least, but somehow that doesn't make what it has done, and is continuing to do, somehow legal or acceptable!

I don't know if it can, or if it will, but I would tend to think that it's quite reasonable to assume that Apple is presently considering some type of legal action against Palm, if it can't technically stop Palm from it's arrogant use of it's software and patents..

In conclusion, I don't think that we heard the last of this little tit-4-tat. Palm might be desperate, but I also think that their completely dead wrong and that their probably going to end up paying the ultimate price for their arrogance! As Seeking Alpha reported today, when it comes to Palm vs Apple, it's no contest!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, July 24, 2009

Image via: Gizmodo

Premium PC's: Apple Controls the Market With 91% Share!

When much of the PC world is suffering from the recession, Apple, on the other hand, is posting record-breaking records. Yes, Microsoft's 'Laptop Hunter' ads may point out the fact that cheap Windows PC's belong to Microsoft, but the reverse is true when it comes to premium PC's costing over $1,000 - that market clearly belongs to Apple!

Yes, Apple!

According to NPD, Apple now completely dominates the premium end, those costing $1,000 and up. NPD reports that it's share is now a whooping 91%, or some 9 out of every 10 dollars spent in this most important category! No wonder Apple is making money by the barrels full! Most units sold may be under $1,000 and PC's, but when it comes to making money no one, and I mean no one, does it better than Apple.

As Joe Wilcox points out, last year Apple's share was only some 66%, so it's obvious that as things get worse for PC makers, things are actually getting better and better for Apple and it's stylish Mac's.

Some of the things, that Joe goes on to point out, that the Mac has going for it are as:

• Mac OS X, iLife and hardware design differentiate Macs from PCs
• Most households have Windows PCs -- so a Mac is something fresh, new
• Most Windows PCs come with Vista, which has gotten lots of bad press
• Apple retail stores offer a singular purchasing experience
• Apple excels at lifestyle marketing; there is a Mac lifestyle
• Sales halo effect from satisfied iPod and iPhone customers help Mac sales
• Design priority: Apple emphasizes different features, such as super long battery life for MacBook Pro, than most Windows OEMs

The proof, they say, is in the pudding, and Apple is serving up a very delicious pudding these days as witnessed by it's incredible stock performance which is up, in a down market, almost doubling in the past six months alone!

The Windows fan boys can shout and jump up-and-down all they want. They can tout Windows 90% market share all they want, but when it comes to the best computers, the premium priced ones, it's not Windows - it's the Mac that dominates! If they want to brag that they control the cheap PC market, well that's their problem. For me, and obviously a growing percentage of people, it's not quantity, but quality that matters.

I agree with Joe, that even though Microsoft claims, without offering any proof, that it's 'Laptop Hunter' ads are a success, I say they are a failure, or as Joe puts it:

"Microsoft might want to reconsider its marketing, too. Apple's premium sales success means that from one perspective, Microsoft's "Laptop Hunters" commercials are a failure."

A failure indeed!

Because, when it comes to the PC business, it's not really how much market share that you have, but rather, more importantly, what segment of the market that you have. Apple's now familiar posting of record breaking sales and profits testifies that when it comes to generating profits, Microsoft still has a lot to learn from Apple. Personally, I much rather have a brand new, and fully paid for, Mercedes SL 550, than a dozen or so ten year old Lada's, because quality triumphs over quantity any old day in my book.

Of course, I know that Windows fan boys will point out that the premium market is a lot smaller, but in business that's not the point - making profits is! In that case, Microsoft is clearly the loser here. PC hardware may be cheaper than that found on the Mac, but the software, however, is also far more expensive. A Windows upgrade can be as much as three to five times that of OS X, and that's before Apple lowered it's previous upgrade price of $129 to that of a measly $29.

Apple has built up an impressive 91% of the premium market in dollar share, based on it's quality hardware and software. I don't know about you, but I rather pay a little more for a premium PC, and one with premium software, than less money for a cheaper computer that gives me a lot more problems and far less satisfaction!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, July 23, 2009

Image via: Apple

Apple Blows Past Google In Market Cap After Latest Earnings!

For the third of fourth time, Apple's market cap has surpassed that of Google's. At the time of this writing, Apple's cap was an astounding $141.32 billion vs Google's 135.06 billion!

The primary reason for this, of course, is yesterday's impressive quarterly results. After reporting sales of some 2.6 million new Macs, 5.2 million new iPhones and another 10 million plus iPods it's not surprising. These results would be quite impressive at anytime, but during one of the worst economic times in history, well it seems almost down right miraculous!

The iPhone and the iPod, and especially the Touch, have a lot to do with Apple's impressive quarter. However, despite the huge number of iPods sold, they are, for the first time, down somewhat. A lot of that has to do with cannibalization from the iPhone itself. However, what I find most impressive about Apple's terrific numbers is the growth of the Mac - up some 4%, despite lacking any cheap netbooks in it's line up!

Indeed, Apple's latest results are impressive, but what has me most excited is what is surely to follow. Namely, newer, faster and more capable, but also cheaper and more sophisticated models of the iMac, rumored to be just around the corner, and, as well, also for future models of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple's purchase of PA Semiconductors is expected to provide Apple's upcoming products with more power, speed and other capabilities that it's competitors will have a very difficult, if not impossible, time to compete with.

Who knows? Maybe, just maybe we will see a model of the iPhone with an actual physical keyboard? I'm hoping so, because finally, at long last, maybe people will stop bitching about it's lack thereof? Maybe also, and I'm really hoping for this one - an all-in-one iMac with a built-in, slide in/slide out, MacBook! Ever since I seen a patent for one I've been drooling for one, as I think it's one of the coolest concepts ever!

Whether I get my wish or not, I'm sure that Apple's next quarterly results could easily blow past yesterdays results by a considerably wide margin, baring unforeseen circumstances, such as the recession turning into a depression or something? Despite the recession, the Mac, as Joe Wilcox points out, seems to be defying gravity. Imagine what Apple could do once the recession is nothing more than a bitter memory?

In that case, then Apple's future quarterly earnings just might make yesterday's results look down-right pathetic in comparison. Here's hoping, anyway.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Apple Quarterly Results: What To Expect

Later today, at 2:00 PM Pacific Time, Apple will announce it's latest quarterly financial results.

These results will be especially interesting in light of the world's worst recession in recent memory. Apple did extremely well in it's last results, but can it continue to maintain, or possibly even do better this time around, or will the economy finally have caught up with it?

We are about to find out in a few hours, but, in the meantime, reports are already suggesting that Apple will do just fine, thank you very much. One such report says that MacBooks were flying off the shelves last month, and it goes on to say:

“Mac NPD for the month of June needs to be flat in order for the entire quarter to be tracking in line with Street Mac consensus,” he wrote, (Gene Munster) adding — in a golfing metaphor salesman slang — that he expected “slight upside to the flat bogey for the month of June, between flat and +5%” year over year.

Well, the NPD numbers came out and they blew past even his most optimistic expectations. Rather than up 5% in June, as he hoped, they were up a whopping 16%."

Siting the same report, AppleInsider says that Apple could be flirting another"with record quarter as Mac sales jump 16%." Wow, to post record sales in a time of economic expansion is something to behold, but to do so in one of the weakest economic climates since the great depression is doubly so, and maybe even triple so!

If it's true, and Apple does post another record busting quarter, than expect Apple's stock to soar into the stratosphere. That is, unless, of course, it's future conservative estimates are not too low? Such low future estimates could send Apple's stock crashing, as it has done in the past. Go figure? Apparently, however, in the financial world, future sales and performance projections weigh much more heavily then either past or present performance results.

However, if Apple can get past any negative downside to any possible low conservative earning call, plus coupled with the news that Apple may now be on the verge of finally bringing the iPhone to China, and along with news that the iPod Touch is about to get a major update, featuring both a microphone and camera, then Apple's high-flying stock may just fly all the higher still.

So, in conclusion, based on recent reports of high-flying Mac and iPhone sales, it appears that we can reasonably expect to see yet another block-busting quarterly result from Apple, and, hopefully, as well, yet another big boost in it' stock price.

Now if only I had a boat load of Apple stock!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Image credit and, as well, a live feed to Apple's Quarterly results, can be found here.

Web Apps, or Dedicated Hardware Based Apps: Which Will Prevail?

Google's Vic Gundortra, speaking at the MobileBeat 2009 conference, boldly predicted that the Web would prevail over the kind of dedicated apps presently found in Apple's extremely successful App Store.

Of course, Palm and Nokia agree with him on this point, but are they correct in their assumption? Well, it's only their assumption, of course, and one among many. At the very same San Francisco conference, for example, the BBC reports another assumption, this one, more-or-less, the complete opposite. Accordingly it states that:

"Apps will be as big if not bigger than the internet," according to Ilja Laurs, chief executive of GetJar, a leading independent application store.

"They will peak at around 100,000 by the end of the year. That will be a tipping point and after that there will be a gradual fall in the rate of development.

"The full blossom will come in ten years and mobile apps will become as popular as websites are today with consumers..."

Well, the question is: Whom do you believe?

Personally, even though I think that both web based apps, as well as dedicated hardware apps, will both flourish, in the end, I think it's clearly the dedicated hardware apps that will eventually prevail, and regardless of what some, like Vic, Palm and others may think, say, or are hoping for.

One of the main reasons is that Apple originally tried the web only based route already. Back then, even though it was a welcomed by developers, they themselves complained bitterly that it wasn't enough! Developers wanted more, no they even demanded more, and namely that Apple open up the iPhone itself and give them full access to the device full capabilities. It was their contention that it was needed in order to bring out the best, most powerful and rich apps that they could possibly create. Even though Apple relented for a long while, the developers proved conclusively that this was indeed the case, and after eventually giving in to their demand, the results are here for everyone to see..... the unbelievably successful App Store!

I can't imagine, after all of the fuss that developers originally made to get full access to the iPhone's internal hardware, that somehow, all of a sudden, they are going to accept the notion of going back to the limited prospects of simple based web apps. It just doesn't add up.

In fact, many reports have been recently made, such as this one from Gizmodo, that clearly highlight the limitations of web based apps. To put it plainly, for some things, such as high-level gaming, web apps - suck, and they suck big time! Don't expect, in other words, rich-like gaming apps appearing anytime soon on a Pre or Android based mobile, because for one thing - it's technically impossible!

Of course, for some apps, simple ones, then web apps are more than adequate, but if you want a device that can excel as both a dedicated hand-held gaming machine, and also a device that can run web apps, then Apple's approach is by the best, as it covers all the bases, both on the software and hardware side.

So, are people like Vic Gundortra correct when they predict that the web will prevail over stores like the App Store?

Hell no!

Whether apps are web based, or hardware based, app stores will still be crucial to the delivery of those apps. The biggest advantage of Apple's approach is that it can easily handled both - web based apps just as easily as it can the other. This is something that neither Palm, Nokia or Google's Android, and other simple web based devices will be able to do. Apple approach doesn't limited developers to the web, and as such, is by far the approach most likely to win in the end.

Yes, I know that web based apps, via HTML 5, will improve in the future, but so will dedicated hardware apps that have full access to the underpinnings of ever increasingly more powerful devices such as the iPhone. In the end, web based apps may become increasingly more powerful, but they will never be equal to the power of apps currently found in the App Store, and apps that can take full advantage of both the web and, as well, the full power of the device itself.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, July 20, 2009

Vic Gundothra photo via: MobileBeat 2009

Apple Begged Microsoft To Stop 'Laptop Hunter' Ads - I Doubt It!

Microsoft's COO, Kevin Turner, set Microsoft fan boys hearts all aflutter when he said that he received an alleged phone call from Apple legal that, more-or-less, begged and pleaded for them to stop their 'Laptop Hunter' ads, such as the 'revised one above (this one's a parody by the way, but funny).

Did that call really take place? I don't know, maybe it did, maybe it didn't, but increasingly I'm of the opinion that if they got a call, it probably wasn't from Apple, but rather one simply claiming to be from Apple. I'm not alone in being skeptical either. Tom Reestman stated pretty much the same, as did the fine folks over at Macknightowl.

As Dan would say, "I mean think about it", why would Apple beg Microsoft to pull their ads? For one, I would think that if those ads were really questionable, or illegal in anyway, then any response from Apple's legal department would be handled like those of any other legal request - done formally and in writing!

Second, anyone could have phoned Kevin, saying that they were from Apple legal, but without proof no court in the world, other than a kangaroo court, would ever, in a million years, take such anonymous statements half-seriously, and I suggest that neither should we.

I'm not saying that this is the case, but thirdly, this call could be nothing more than a bold face lie for all we know? Microsoft has certainly made similar like statements before. For example, when they did their own version on Apple's famous 'Switcher Campaign." As it turned out, Microsoft's version was a FAKE!

That's right, were Apple's campaign featured 'real' people, Microsoft' used 'fake' people, people who their ad agency simply just made up out of thin air! Good thing some sharp-eyed folk noticed that those fake profiles also included stock photos, thus helping to expose this particular lie. Many people may have forgotten this incident, but I haven't.

I'm not saying, of course, that this is the case here, because, for one thing, I simply have no way of knowing whether it's true, or if it isn't. However, I will say that it wouldn't surprise me one bit, like the fake switcher campaign, if it was.

Microsoft fan boys would love, I'm sure, for us all to believe that Apple is running scared of Microsoft and it's 'Laptop Hunter' ads, but I don't believe that for one moment. I tend more to agree with PCWorld's David Coursey, who wrote:

"Microsoft will never win a war of words with Apple. And it should give up trying. The result is never good: Better to ignore the annoying fly than to look stupid trying to swat it and repeatedly missing.

I am not sure why Microsoft feels the need to respond to Apple's taunting. When it does, all that happens is Apple comes off looking good and Microsoft looks like a lumbering, one-eyed ogre. But, I disagree with Macworld's Dan Moren who says Microsoft is "running scared." More like running stupid". (emphasis mine)

Microsoft is a company that is very well known for copying others, and especially Apple, who's influence on Microsoft can easily be seen in it's products, such as Vista and Windows 7, the Zune and it's creation of it's Windows Mobile version of the App Store, among others.

So, in conclusion, maybe Kevin Turner really did get a call from someone, maybe even someone one from Apple legal who really did request that they stop running it's 'Laptop Hunter' ads? I really don't know, but the more that I think about it, the more I tend to think that this is not the case, or, at least if it is, it's completely blown out of proportion.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, July 17, 2009

iPhone 3GS: This Is Crazy, Foolish, But Ever Oh So Fun And Cool!

People use their iPhones for a lots of things, whether it's playing games, surfing the net, monitoring their sugar levels and, believe it or not, even making phone calls.

Some people, however, use their iPhones for much more crazy, daring and nerve-racking, but much more down-right fun and cool purposes!

And that would definitely include the folks in the above YouTube video. Yes, they might be crazy and daring with their nerve-racking idea of taping an expensive 3GS to the underbelly of a RC airplane, but you got to admit this is fun, and it is definitely way, way cool!

Not sure if I would be as crazy and daring as these guys, but, then again, I'm no where near as fun or as cool as these tethering dare-devils either!

Nice work boys.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thanks to Engadget

Exotic Hotels: The Strangest of the Strange!

Above, you can see a rather intriguing picture, but exactly what is it?

Is it some kind of giant Chinese statue?

Well, if you guessed that maybe it was a giant statute of Fu Lu Shou, you would be correct - sort of!

That's because your looking not at a statute, but rather a real live working ten-story hotel, and one that just happened to be shaped as Fu Lu Shou, the Chinese symbol for good fortune, prosperity and longevity.

You can see more shots of this amazing and strange looking hotel from the fine folks over at KillerDirectory. They state that this hotel was built sometime around 2000/2001 in the Chinese province of Hebei, and that this particular hotel also holds the Guiness World Record for being the world's 'biggest image building'.

Now that I can believe.

If you noticed, the peach being held on the left side of the hotel, or by Shou, is in reality an entire hotel suite. No doubt too, this must also make it the one of the peachiest, if not the peachiest hotel suite in the entire world!

Boy, looking back, I have to admit that I've seen a lot of different hotels in the world. Some where beautiful, some exotic, some drab, some down-right ugly, and still others that were down-right breath taking, but never, ever have I seen, or would have ever imagined seeing, a hotel looking quite like this - no not even in fabulous Dubai!

I certainly find this hotel to be as interesting, as much as it is strange, but some how, I'm not really sure if I really like it? Sure, I have to admit that it's certainly colorful, bright and interesting and all, but it's probably, at the same time, just a little bit too strange for a conservative fellow like myself.

In fact, I would imagine, if anything, that this particular hotel would be somewhat of a tourist draw in-and-by-itself. I, for one, would certainly go out of my way to visit this part of the great nation of China, just in order to see this most fascinating hotel with my very own two eyes.

And I can't think of a better hotel in which to stay, once I got there!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Image via: KillerDirectory, via Gizmodo

Reaction To Huge Apple Product Line Ups

The video above is blurry, it's shaky and yet it's absolutely amazing - it's the recent long, long queue of people waiting patiently to be among the very first Singaporeans to get their hands on the new iPhone 3GS!

As Tom Reestman said in his blog, TheSmallWave - Wow!

Yuppers, this is certainly one hell of a wowser of a line up.

However, what I really find interesting, about these now famous long Apple queues, is the reaction of many detractors on just why that is. For one thing, these detractors will state that these huge line ups are due to nothing more than simple minded, dumb and clueless Mac fan boys, all of whom where just brainwashed by Steve's 'reality distortion field', and Apple's marketing machine, into buying anything and everything that Apple cares to cram down their throats! Certainly, they won't imply or say that it has anything to do with the fact that maybe, just maybe, Apple's offerings are really worthy offerings.

For example, one of my nephews (who I won't name) said, of the following video, on the opening of the very first Apple store in Tokyo's fabled Ginza district:

"Of course, that's because their just only CRAZY MAC FAN BOYS! What else do you expect? Of course their going to line up, but most people don't want toy computers, they want real computers, computers that cost less, with higher specs, and ones that can run real software. Apple is just too small and irrelevant; it doesn't matter, it's not important. These line ups don't mean a thing. But, I will grant you though, at least they look good!"

Well, that's pretty amazing when I think about it. How come, it is, that when people line up to buy something from Apple, their all labeled as being just mindless fan boys, and simple minded idiots who are brainwashed into buying every piece of junk that Apple tells them to?

It's funny, but I don't remember hearing anyone say that about the much smaller lines of people who lined up to buy the Pre, or the BlackBerry Storm, or even when people lined up to buy Microsoft Windows 95!

Why is it, that when people line up to buy one of Apple's competitors products, such as the Palm Pre, that you don't hear any one saying it doesn't mean a thing, because we all know that they are just a bunch of mindless fan boys?

Trust me, if Microsoft, or Palm, or whom ever, could actually command the kinds of line ups that Apple has been known to get, well, they would be shouting it from the mountain top, and stating that it's because their products are so cool, so wonderful and so fantastic! Surely, you won't hear them, or anyone else, saying it's because those lining up are a just a bunch of meaningless fan boys!

Maybe I''m wrong, maybe I''m missing something here, but this unfair treatment of dicing all Apple customers, by some, as being nothing more than a bunch of meaningless fan boys is not only unfair, but it's clearly the work, and propaganda, on the part of some other fan boys, namely those of the Windows and Linux kind, as well as to some high priced marketing by Apple's competitors such as Microsoft!

Mind you, there's nothing wrong with being a fan boy. If you love OS X, or you love Windows, Linux, or what ever, that's ok and fine by me. It's when it gets to the point of one fan boy denigrating another that bothers me. In other words, being a fan boy is NOT wrong in and of itself, but being an EXTREME fan boy certainly is! For a Linux or Windows fan boy to attack and paint all Apple loving fans as being nothing but a bunch of blind, mindless slaves of Steve Jobs is just plain wrong! And that goes the other way as well, when Mac fan boys attack, as I have sadly seen, their Windows or Linux fans.

Just because I personally prefer OS X to either Linux or Windows, doesn't mean that my Windows or Linux friends are anything less then human, so why denigrate them the way some do with Apple fans? Sadly, however, this is what extreme fan boys to like to do and their reaction, and corresponding statements, to Apple line ups, like those in Singapore and Tokyo are particularly childish and shameful.

I just wish this attacking others, for their choice of OS, phone, etc., would stop! It's childish, dehumanizing and just plain wrong!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, July 14, 2009

New MacTablet, MacNetBook: Coming This October?

The weekday starts off with yet another Apple rumor. This one, if true, is one that has been expected and long rumored for some time now - a real live Apple touchscreen netbook, or tablet.

InfoTimes is confirming that a 9.7 inch Wintex touchscreen is expected to ship as early as this October.

The actual form factor for such a device hasn't been reported, but the 9.7 - inch screen is actually some what smaller than many of the cheap $500 netbooks that Apple has denounced are nothing more than just plain junk. It's fully expected that any Apple's netbook, or tablet, will be priced more in line with Sony's premium device, the VAIO P, at around $800.

One of Apple's biggest complaints with current netbooks is with their components, or precisely that they are inferior to the traditional ones found in laptops. Since we know that Steve Jobs is very picky, it's most likely that any new Apple device will incorporate more traditional components, and, according to Electronista:

" but it's unclear whether the design would try to improve on the keyboard design or scrap it altogether for a touch-only design. Performance has also been a worry of Apple's and may leave it reluctant to use existing netbook components, particularly the combination of an Atom processor and Intel's own integrated graphics."

Whether, or not, Apple reveals something alone the lines of a netbook, or a tablet, I clearly expect that it won't be anything like the current netbook/tablet offerings, any more than the iPhone was anything like any of the other smart phone that came before it. I fully expect that Apple will create a premium and quality type of device, and one that will define both the netbook and tablet category for sometime yet to come. In other words, Apple is Apple, and since Apple tends to 'Think Different' we too should also expect to see a different type of device, and one that goes far beyond the current offerings of today.

Exactly what form it will finally take, we'll just have to wait and see what October brings, if anything. However, I'm personally hoping to see yet another block buster from Apple. Of course, looking back at the Apple TV, I thought the very same and so far at least that hasn't been quite the case. None-the-less, I expect that this will indeed be the case for any Apple portable touchscreen device, regardless of it's final form or factor.

So, with these latest reports coming out of China, I'm eagerly looking foreword to October. If all goes as I hope, well, I clearly expect to be wowed. I also expect that the competition will go into panic mode, and into over drive, as they shift course, once again, to respond to the juggernaut that Apple has become in the world of high-tech gadgetry.


And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, July 13, 2009



Image via: SlashGear via Gizmodo and Adam Benton

The Next Apple Keyboard - When?

A little while back Asus's Eee keyboard floored the press, as with BoyGenius. Asus basically created a keyboard computer and it's quite innovative to say the least. As you can see in the above photo, it looks, oh, so, so, very pretty!

The question that comes to my mind, however, is where is Apple? After all, it's been awhile since they introduced it's ultra thin, Chicklet styled keyboard. Surely Apple can produce something as compelling, if not more so, than Asus.

Don't get me wrong, the thin-as-paper Apple keyboards are great. I love them, when I originally thought I would actually hate them. I find typing on them much, much better than I thought possible and even though everybody else seems to be copying Apple's tiny little 'Chicklet' styled keyboards, especially for laptops, I think it's time that Apple does something better when it comes to keyboards, something amazing and something that will blow us all away.

I said it before, and I will say it again - I want a keyboard complete with a built in multi-touch track pad on board! The multi-touch track pads, as found on MacBook Pro's, work great and I can't see ever going back to the now seemingly primitive track pads found on today's PC's . Such multi-track keyboards truly would be fantastic to say the least. Imagine - you wouldn't need your mouse, at least for most things! Everything would just be there, in one convenient place, right next to your fingers. One could simply move your fingers, with minimum movement, and el-presto - keyboard nirvana!

I want Apple to not only include a multi-touch key pad, but one with a miniature multi-touch video screen, just like the Asus. For one thing, they just look so very cool. More than that, of course, they can be pretty dang-tooting handy and provide the user with all sorts of nifty info, and I don't just mean calendars, clocks, and what have you? No, I can see where they can provide you with all sorts of useful info, such as flashing warnings, or that you have an incoming mail from an important contact, etc. The list is endless.

Oh, and lets not forget to include some nifty programable OLED keys, just like the OCZ keyboard seen below, but only better of course.

So, what's keeping you Apple? When are you going to blow us away with a deluxe keyboard, and one that will put every other keyboard to shame?

Hopefully, soon. Very soon!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, July 10, 2009

OCZ keyboard photo via: OCZ Technology

Asus Eee keyboard photo via: BoyGenius

Chrome OS: Will It's Success Mean It's Failure?

Now that the dust from the news that Google is creating it's own OS is beginning to settle, I've been having second thoughts about what any real success would mean for Google itself.

With Google already being the 800 pound gorilla in search, and it's branching out into other cloud based software, in addition to mobile phones, etc., it would seem to me, that if Chrome OS were ever to become the 800 pound gorilla in OS's as well, that it would also automatically put Google somewhere it didn't want to be - squarely in the cross hairs of the Department of Justice, or worse - the more formidable European Union watch dogs. After all, monopoly is pretty much a dirty word to these people.

In other words: could Chrome OS's success mean it's ultimate failure? Or more specifically, Google as a company?

There is no denying that Google is a great company, one with vast sums of money, talent and other assets that are the envy of many, but it's also possible that too much success on the part of Google in the OS arena, combined with search and it's other initiatives, might be just too much for some people in power, and for them, it might be seen as, and dare I say the word - monopolistic?

Some down play Google's ability to create a viable alternative to Windows, but personally I think that is a rather risky assumption at best. Some even think that Chrome OS poses no real threat to OS X, but clearly with it's intention to create it's own OS, others are beginning to think that it might be time to kick Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, from off of Apple's board of directors.

Of course, it's clear that Google and Microsoft are not exactly the best of friends and that they are ruthlessly gunning for each other. In that respect, Cnet's Ina Fried, thinks that if Microsoft wish's to head off any challenge from Chrome OS, well, it has to look no farther than to Microsoft's other nemesis - Apple! Despite Microsoft's seemingly overwhelming lead in the OS space, OS X is doing fine thank you, very fine indeed.

That's because, as Ina points out,

"Interestingly, if Microsoft wants some tips on how to do this, it might want to look toward Apple. Essentially, this has been Apple's challenge all along: make the Mac experience enough better than a generic PC that it is worth the added cost.

The Mac's resurgence came when it had a strong OS--Mac OS X--combined with iLife applications that really nailed the experience for the tasks that people wanted to do on their computer at the time."

Personally, I am not sure what to think about Google's intention to enter the OS ring. On one hand, it's fabulous - because it will force everyone, Microsoft, Apple and all of the various other Linux distro's to work harder, smarter and leaner to meet any challenge by this new comer.

However, on the other hand, if Chrome OS is really, really successful it might basically seen as the consolidation of the whole internet under just a few hands - namely Google's!

Is that a good thing? I'm not sure, but it sure made the Department of Justice and the European Union sit up and take notice of Microsoft in the software area. Will they do it again if Google's Chrome OS helps Google to become the main source of everything that revolves in and around the net?

I'm not exactly sure how successful Chrome OS might become, or how it will impact the other OS's, and particularly Windows, but I am sure that the possibility exists that if Google's Chrome OS were to become too successful, it might just end up becoming Google's biggest failure as the DOJ, and especially the European Union, both contemplate and move to break Google up as a company.

Hopefully, that won't happen. If Chrome OS is really, really good, well then that would be a good thing indeed. More competition, not less, is what really drives the tech sector, and as long as Google doesn't abuse or misuse it's power and practices what it preaches - "First Do No Evil" and doesn't try to deliberately kill off the competition as Microsoft has tried to do in the past (successfully) with Netscape, then I welcome and look forward to Chrome OS.

What ever the case, and whatever it's intentions, Google's Chrome OS promises to become one of the hottest and most watched tech stories over the next few years. It should be fun and exciting to see where this all leads and what it could all mean, first for Google, and, as well, for Microsoft, Apple and the open source community.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, July 09, 2009

Google graphic via: TechTree

Bomb Shell: Google Chrome OS Is Coming!!!

It's official - Google drop a bomb shell today - it's coming out with it's own cloud based OS to take on OS X and Windows!

Yes, Google has announced, that only nine months after introducing Chrome, it's new WebKit based browser, it will soon also be adding it's own Chrome OS to it's stable of growing software offerings!

Google is attempting to produce an OS that is built on a different principle than all previous OS's, namely an OS that is completely designed and centered around the internet, and thus making it the first cloud based OS ever, at least that I know of!

Chrome OS will be an open source project, one that is lightweight and very fast, and one that will be targeted initially for low budget netbooks. Plans are, that sometime in the second half of 2010, Google will be able to place it's newest creation in consumers hands. Google's Chrome browser has attracted some 30 million plus users, and if they can repeat that for Chrome OS, then it will indeed become a really big OS player over night.

Simplicity, security and speed will the name of the game for Chrome OS, or so says Google. Google claims that the new OS will boot up and have you on the net in a few mere seconds and I would imagine that it will all be based on Linux. If true, this will be a big win for Linux as Google is the one company with the cash and talent that could take Linux and make it far more mainstream than it is now.

But what about traditional OS's, like OS X and Windows? For that matter, what about existing distros of Linux like the ever popular Ubuntu? Could it really hurt them, maybe even kill them off? Well, the outcome remains to be seen on that one, but if anyone can impact the current market, well, I'm sure it's Google. As if Steve Ballmer and the boys in Redmond were not already steaming mad about Google - just imagine what they must be thinking and saying now? I, for one, sure wouldn't want to be any where near Steve Ballmer right now, and that goes especially if I were a chair!

I'm not a prophet, so I can't say what will happen once this new and exciting project really gets underway, but I will go so far as to predict that it's going to have a big impact - I just don't know to what degree, or just how long it will take to do it.

At this point, Chrome OS is still a new project, and one that is apparently, according to Google, not based on it's Android initiative, and in Google's own words they say:

"Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google."

Google says that they still have a lot of work to do, and that they are going to need a lot of help from the open source community.

Will they get it?

You bet your Tom-Dick-and-Harry they will!

This has got to be like hitting the jackpot for them and they are probably jumping up and down for joy - this is going to be right up their alley. If it succeeds, it means that not only can they revolutionize today's computer OS's, but stick it to Microsoft and Apple at the same time.

Again, whether or not Chrome OS can succeed and negatively effect Windows and OS X, as well as current Linux distros, time will tell. However, I also think that this could be good news for lovers of OS X and Windows, very good news.

Why?

Because it 's going to make them both work harder, a lot harder and look at things far more differently then they do now, and especially if they wish to keep Chrome OS from eating into their lucrative OS profits.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Google logo via: Doobybrain

The App Store: Happy Birthday - Your One Year Old!

Happy birthday App Store and many, many more happy returns. That's right, it's been a whole year since Apple's amazing App Store launched. And what a year it's been, a year in which the App Store celebrated over 1,000,000,000 downloads in it's first mere eight months!

Starting out with approximately 500 apps, the App Store has grown, in it's brief existence, to a catalogue of some 56,000 apps plus, and still growing at the rate of 200 t0 400 new apps per day! Impressive indeed, and at the rate of it's growth, by this time next year, it wouldn't be surprising to see that huge number of apps grow to a mind-blowing 100,000 apps or more!

To get an idea of what a big deal that is, some 56,000 apps in a year, look at it this way, if you started downloading one app per day, or 365 per year, it would take you a whopping 152 years to go through the number of apps currently in the App Store. If you downloaded 10 per day, it still would take you 15 years plus to go through them all; over one-and-a-half years at the rate of 100 apps per day! In more practical terms, you could never really go through them all in your life time, and that's if the App Store never added another single app!

The App Store has not only grown in the number of it's apps, it's popularity and the number of downloads, but it has also become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, reason for the continual success of both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. No matter how cool, how sophisticated or how advanced other smart phones, such as the Pre or the Nokia N95 , become, the App Store has, and most likely will remain, overall the biggest advantage that Apple's offerings have over that of other smart phones. Trying to catch up to the App Store now , more than anything else, will remain one of the biggest challenges facing Apple's competitors.

At the tender age of only one year of age, the App Store is only a baby, and it's still only in it's infancy and like all infants, it will grow and grow until it's not only bigger, but a lot better and more capable to boot. The day will surely come when the App Store will have grown out of it's babyhood and matured into a much more advanced and better service. For that day, I can barely wait to what to see just how much farther and better it will become.

So, again, in conclusion, let me say, happy birthday, App Store, and again, many, many more happy returns!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Apple App Store image and link via: iTune AppStore ®

Planning To Buy A New iPod: Don't - Wait!

Since the iPod Touch just happens to share the same software, and basically the same identical hardware (minus the telephony) as does the iPhone, it's obvious to many, that many of the new features of the newer iPhone 3GS, such as it's upgraded camera and video capabilities, will also eventually be making their way into the next generation of the iPod Touch.

Evidence for just that has recently emerged and is being reported on by several sources such as TechCrunch. According to them, we can now prepare ourselves for such a video equipped Touch soon.

Apparently, sources in Asia are reporting that Apple has been buying up literally millions of cameras, cameras that are expected to find their way into each and every future model of the iPod, excluding the lilliputian Shuffle, of course. This indeed could, as TechCrunch says, have the entire low end video camera market, including the makers of the extremely popular 'Flip video' recorder, "quaking in their collective boots'!

TechCrunch even went so far as to say:

"Thank God those iPhones are so expensive, and Apple will only sell 20 million or so of them in 2009. If Apple added cameras to its line of iPods, there would be another 3+million of them hitting the market per month, and the low end of the digital video camera market could be crushed."

Well, I don't know about crushing the entire video market, but certainly makers of devices such as the Flip video would be severely impacted by such a move. Why bother to buy a Flip video, for example, when you can buy, for around the same price, a device with a built-in iPod?

Personally, in light of such an iPod, I can see absolutely no reason to buy such devices what-so-ever. The iPod Touch, though a little more expensive than basic models of Flip type devices, would be even a more compelling device. The big reason here, of course, is that the iPod Touch has instant access to the App Store's thousands upon thousands of apps, including some pretty nifty game titles! This, frankly, is a no brainer to me, and I'm sure that there are a lot of new Flip owners out there that will be 'flipping out' once video enabled iPod's start hitting the market.

Whether or not Apple sells 3 million a month or not, I can't say. However, what ever the number, I'm pretty dang-tooting sure it will be a lot. I was personally thinking about buying a Flip video recorder, but not any more. In fact, my personal advice, if your planing to buy either one of those or even an iPod is - DON'T! Unless, of course, you like the idea of being disappointed, or you like the feeling of being ripped off, because that's probably what your going to feel like once Apple's latest crop of video iPod's start hitting the street.

Of course, the big question is when?

How about next month?

Well, according to some reports that is. And to be quite frank, I tend to agree whole heartily. For one thing, now that Steve is back I'm personally quite sure he is very anxious to not only demonstrated Apple's latest and greatest, but also that he is healthy and is more than capable of doing his job. Hopefully, in the process, he can finally put to rest all of the media frenzy surrounding his personal health.

Amen to that brother!

I'm personally getting sick of all of the half-baked lies, innuendos, rumors and what not? I would love, like many, to finally see an end to this rather unfortunate side show.

Hopefully, as well, we will also get to see some bumped up new iMac's, with even lower prices to boot, but either way, since August is just around the corner, again I will say - don't buy a new iPod just yet - wait! August is almost here and if you don't, well, my personal gut feeling is that your going to be sorry if you buy now. So if you can hold off, do so. You can thank me later.


And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, July 06, 2009

Photo via Macrumors

One Very Strange, But Beautiful Concept Car!

Yesterday, Gizmodo did a post that I totally ignored, because, for one thing, I simply assumed that it was either about a piece of jewelry, or two, some type of strange looking ear buds or something? Boy-oh-boy, was I wrong - dead wrong! It wasn't any of those things. No, believe it or not, it just happened to be one of the strangest looking things that I've seen in a long time, namely .....

.... A CAR!

That's right dear readers - a bloody car! As you can see, in the above picture, via ecofriend.com, this is indeed one hell-of-a-strange looking vehicle. At first thought, I thought that it was not only strange looking, but rather down right ugly! But, of course, I'm beginning to think otherwise. No, it will never come close to looking as sexy as my favorite dream car, the Mercedes SL 550, but look at those lines - smooth, sexy and as curvy as any super model that you would find on a catwalk in Paris, London, Rome, Milan or New York.

This car is, naturally, a lot more than one that looks different (and thats putting it mildly), because this car also happens to be totally environmentally friendly. The designer, Harsh Vardhan, thinks that apart from cities, cars should be completely different and powered by technologies that all car manufacturer have thus far avoided. No, gas driven engines for this baby...... no way! Harsh's little baby would be powered by an on-board electric motor, one, that in turn, would be totally generated by magnetic fields! Probably not something that Shell, Exxon, or any of the incredibly rich oil states would welcome, but who cares about those fat cats anyway - they already have more than enough money.

Ecofriend writes:

"The Transporter TW (Twin Wheel) is based around an electric engine which produces a magnetic field to drive the large wheels. The wheel rims are suspended over a superconducting fluid where the changing magnetic field produces the motion needed to propel the vehicle. The power generator and motion is thus smooth, nearly noiseless and green. The occupant of the vehicle sits perched in a cockpit and operates the vehicle. He sits in a swivel seat, and he enters or leaves through a port at the rear of the cockpit."

Well, describing those two wheels as large has got to be another understatement, since the wheels loom larger than the rest of the car itself! Traditionally, cars ride on top of their tires, not within them as this one does! Strange, but still oh so very cool, don't you think?

This car, at least the one in the design above, is a one seater, but no doubt they would eventually have a two-seater version at some point. After looking at this thing, it came to mind that Harsh Vardhan would do very well applying for a job at another company that likes to 'Think Different", namely Apple Inc. I can just imagine what kinds of wild, cool and totally different creations that he and Jonatha Ive could come up with if they combined their significant talents as one.

Totally awesome, that's what!

So, there you have it, one strange, but, at the same time, one very beautiful concept car and my last post for the week. See you all, hopefully, this coming Monday, so until then, take care and have a great weekend everybody.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, July 03, 2009

Psystar: So Crazy That Their Nuts, Absolutely Nuts!

It's crazy enough that a company would go up against any gargantuan company, let alone a giant that was famous for it's sue-happy nature, one like Apple Inc. But that's exactly what one start-up, Psystar of Florida, did a year or so ago when it decided to start building and selling unauthorized OS X based Mac clones.

Even more crazy, that after filing for bankruptcy protection, that it claimed it needed because big, bad old Apple was putting an unfair financial burden upon them for suing them, they then turned around and insanely rubbed salt in Apple's wounds by introducing even more Mac clones!

Well, Apple clearly wasn't in the mood for playing silly games, so it appealed to the courts, asking to see Psystar's business records for it's case, but Psystar insanely said no, because, well - they had a perfectly sane reason - they didn't bother to keep any business records! Apple, of course, basically said "your nuts" and appealed to have it's case against Psystar proceed without any more silly delays, something that the bankruptcy proceedings would have normally given Psystar.

Of course, no rational judge in his right mind would agree to Psystar's silly assertion that it didn't keep any business records, so the judge promptly awarded Apple it's request, meaning it's case could immediately proceed without any further silly delays.

Well, speaking of silly, Psystar, who didn't find it necessary to keep any business records, and after filing for bankruptcy because it claimed it had no money, did what any company who was out of their cotton-picking minds would do - they just proudly introduced brand spanking new Xeon Hehalem based Mac clones for sale!

Gizmodo's, that great site on technology, says that it doesn't know what to think, stating:

"Psystar's been subject to all manner or canonization, criticism, popular support and backlash, but now I don't know what to think. On the one hand, all their talk about monopolies, freedom and victimization always stuck me as a little hollow. (David and Goliath? So you're going to kill Apple?) On the other, it now appears as though the guys who run Psystar are either clinically insane, extremely persistent, unusually ballsy or just poorly advised to an extreme. Or all of the above. As Mark said on the story, "they wont stop unless Apple cuts off their hands. And even then, who knows." That spirit alone has got to be worth something, right?"

Well, maybe Gizmodo's not too sure what to think, but I sure do and it's simple - Psystar's crazy! So crazy, in fact, that they are totally insane - that's what I think! What else can you call a company that behaves in the crazy way that Psystar does, acting like the courts and Apple practically don't exist! Psystar, as Gizmodo said, is acting like nothing really happened and there's nothing, absolutely nothing for them to worry about, so it's business as usual!

Let me see here. First, Psystar steals Apple's intellectual property, totally ignores the courts and then acts like Apple is the bad guy in all of this, and that they are the good guys, the little innocent David who heroically battle's the big bad boy, Goliath - I mean, think about it - how crazy is that? With Psystar acting stranger and stranger and seemingly more so, with each passing day now, I'm really beginning to think that Apple's assertion that someone, or some group, is really behind Psystar. The more I think about it, the more it doesn't seem like such a crazy idea after all!

So, in conclusion, I can only conclude that one day, and someday in the future, when you look up in the dictionary for the meaning of the words crazy, or insane, etc. you'll probably see Psystar's name illustrated as an example, because, quite frankly, they are so damn crazy that I think that they are completely insane and absolutely nuts!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, July 02, 2009

Mac Sales Up and Growing Despite Down Economy!

Even though the world is still in one of the worst recessions in living memory, according to Kathryn Huberty, of Morgan Stanley, you wouldn't know it from the sales of Mac's which she reports have the "most upside" as the PC market finally begins to stabilize after 2009's dismal first quarter and as reported by Fortune.

Compared to Hewlett Packard and Dell, which due to enterprise cycles and inventory restocking, are also reporting some good news, Apple's Macs, "Even before the new MacBook Pros launched," Kathryn writes, "Apple began to outperform the broader commercial PC segment - with commercial Mac shipments up 25% [month over month] in May versus market growth of just 1%."

Wow, what can I say - this is quite remarkable, and especially since it's coming from a lady who, in the past, was anything but bullish about Apple or the Mac. In fact, this is the lady who, based on one of her reports, helped to wipe out a staggering $18 billion dollars from off of Apple's market cap in a mere 60 minutes just last September!

Apple is expected to report it's next earnings later this month and it will be interesting to note how many more Mac's have been sold since this time last year, and it will be really interesting to see how this will compare with that of the general PC market overall.

I'm sure that the upcoming release of Vista 4, or Windows 7, will have some impact on future sales of the Mac, but then again, Snow Leopard should mitigate some of that. In fact, if Snow Leopard really delivers the expected increase in stability, security and performance claimed by Apple, then Windows 7 impact on future Mac sales could be quite minimal if any.

Now that the big Steve is back, though only working part time at the office, and the rest from home, I'm hoping and expecting some big things. For one thing, LoopRumors is reporting on the possibility that Steve Jobs will be appearing at an August 'Special Event'?

Hopefully, this will be the case and not only because of any new goodies that he might reveal, such as updated Mac's and iPods, but also to see how well he looks, sounds and performs. On that count, again, I certainly hope so, because if he comes across as looking and sounding healthy, then maybe, just maybe people might begin to shut-the-hell-up about all this talk about his health and how he is probably about to die any second now, taking Apple along down with him.

Hopefully, we will soon see not only a healthier Steve Jobs, but new iPod's and also lower prices on newer Mac desktops to go along with those of it's recently improved but lower priced MacBook's, and, as well, even further evidence that the Mac's sales are as healthy as ever and growing like weeds.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Mac photo via: Apple ; chart via: AppleInsider