Is The Palm Pre In Big Trouble?

When a company acts childish by poaching another company's employees, it's patents and attempts to use the other's software as their own, in a further attempt to try and steal it's customers, well it shouldn't be too surprising if they would also be willing to lie in the process as well.

That childish company is none other than Palm Inc., while the other victimized company having it's employees poached, it's patents and software misused is, of course, none other than its arch rival, Apple Inc.

Well, apparently, it now seems that Palm's claims that the Pre is resounding success may be a little way off from being the truth, or, in other words - maybe even a lie! 

At least, now one analyst is beginning to question Palm's claims of how just successful the Pre really is, and just how well it is actually selling. Apparently, the Pre's actual success may not be quite as rosy as Palm is palming it off to be, and according to a post yesterday in Gizmodo entitled, "Is the Palm Pre Tanking", they state the following:

"Palm says that they sold about 810,000 Palm Pre units. However, that figure may be bogus, according to analyst David Eller. He says that this includes all units sold to resellers, not only activated Pres. This may spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e."

Well now, as Gizmodo also points out, this is now all beginning to make some sense, and it kind of makes you wonder if the Pre's recent huge price cuts may be based more on desperation caused by slow or low sales than anything else? I certainly know that when reading about these cuts, that's exactly what went through my mind. As the Giz also goes on to say:

"It will also explain Sprint CEO Dan Hesse's less than enthusiastic comments about the Palm Pre, when he admitted in a Charlie Rose interview that the Pre couldn't play in the same league as the iPhone, "the Michael Jordan" of smartphones. "

Based on recent statistics  from Mobile Metrics which show Palm's new WebOS Worldwide Operating System Share, the Pre isn't exactly burning up the charts, or as one Palm invester claimed "every iPhone user would switch to the Pre when their contracts expire" hasn't exactly been happening as predicted either, as you can plainly see from AdMob's chart below:

Even though I don't desire to see either Palm or it's critically acclaimed Pre fail, let alone go out of business, the sad fact of the matter remains that, if they do - it will be their own bloody fault, and nobody's else's! The childish way in which Palm went about creating, and then promoting the Pre, was anything but professional and, as far as I'm concerned, not exactly what you would call entirely ethical either.

For one thing, trying to force Apple to share it's iTunes syncing software by pretending that the Pre was an iPod was irresponsible and childish on the part of Palm, and, as far as I'm concerned, deliberately using Apple's USB vendor number, instead of Palm's own, was nothing short of theft, and nothing less than down right lying on the part of Palm! 

So, is Palm and its Pre actually failing; is it a success or not? That, I honestly I can't say at this point, but I sure hope not. Again, however, if it does fail, Palm will have only themselves to blame!

Personally, I would like to see them both succeed, but to succeed on their own merits, not Apple's, or with its patents, ideas or software!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, October 01, 2009

Palm Pre promotional pic via: Sprint

Apple's Amazing APP STORE Record!

As you probably already know, Apple's App Store just recorded another amazing record - some 2 billion downloads!

This amounts to a daily download rate of some 4 to 6 million! And to think that the APP STORE is still in its infancy - imagine when it grows up!

No matter how you slice or dice it, that's an awful lot of downloads and apps. And, speaking of apps, as we speak the 125,000 plus APP STORE developers are not exactly sitting on their hands either. That's because each and every day - day in, and day out, 24/7 these developers are cranking out yet another 300 to 400 new apps daily!

Wow, just imagine if you decided to buy or try one new app per day, and how long it would take for you to try them all?

Well, first of all, at the rate of one new app per day, you would never get through them all! That's simply because each and every day you would have yet another 300 or 400 new apps added in which to try, in addition to the 85,000 apps currently on file. Each day these new apps would add approximately one more year needed in order to try them all, or another seven years for the week, and an astonishing extra 28 years to review just the new apps added each month!

Wow - now that's what I call totally impressive and wicked!

Ok, lets just forget about the new daily, weekly and monthly apps and concentrate just on Apple's current 85,000 plus apps! In this case, at the rate of one new app per day, we would only need, oh, let's say, about a measly.......... 232 years to go through them all!

Well, I don't know about you, but I simply don't have that kind of time to kill, so let's speed things up a bit and try going with some 10 new apps per day. In this case, it will still take you just short of a whopping 24 years to go through them all! Wait a cotton picking minute here, even though that's certainly a lot better, it's still much, much too long, so let's try a 100 new apps per day. Ah, there you go, now we're down to approximately a measly 2.5 years to get through them all!

Obviously, you get my point that the APP STORE is a huge deal, and its a huge attraction for any potential smart phone shopper. However, on the other hand, that huge selection of apps does pose one huge problem, namely - just sorting through them all! Already the selection of apps is so huge, so daunting, that it can easily be a huge hassle just trying to determine what is worth downloading, and what is not!

Still, it is a nice problem to have, and it's certainly a nicer one than what other smart phone users have to contend with, namely.... having precious few apps in which to choose from! Sorting through the useless apps from the useful apps may be a pain, but it's a lot better than having few, if any, to chose from!

Sorting through some 50 fart apps is bad enough, and trying to decide which games that you really want out of the 21,000 or so offered, to be quite honest, is a lot more than I care to even think about. Still, having such a wide choice of apps, in addition to all of the other amazing features of the iPhone and iPod Touch is what really makes them the best in their class.

Others may offer things that Apple doesn't, like OLED screens, HD radios, higher resolution cameras, and physical keyboards, etc., but none of them can even come close to offering what the APP STORE does. After all, when you think about it, smart phones and apps are like cars and gas, they need each other to work, and just like a car without gas, a smart phone without apps won't get you very far.

With apps covering some 2o different categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel, the 50 million plus iPhone and Touch owners not only have the distinction of having the best hardware and the best OS around, but also the best apps and the best selection period, and this is something I'm predicting will get even better as the APP STORE emerges from its infancy and grows into a more mature platform. And, as it does, we should not only see even more and better apps, but also a lot less of the growing pains that have plagued the APP STORE thus far.

As far as Apple's amazing record of 2 billion downloads goes, well, all I'm saying is - you ain't see nothing yet!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Apple and The Mac In Song!

Apple and iTunes, along with the iPod, have come to dominate music in a very big way these days, but did you also know that the Mac and Apple can also be found featured in song themselves?

Well it's true, and whether your an Apple fan boy or not, some of these songs like, "I Fell In Love at the Apple Store," are as Gizmodo said "........ catchy as hell", and I whole heartily agree with them, even though I must also admit I had to play the above song several times before it really caught on with me. It apparently was also made and recorded live at the Apple Store on 5th. Avenue in NYC.

Of course, it's not the only original song created about Apple or the Mac, as you can see in the next YouTube clip by clicking its title, "I Love My Mac". I particularly like this song's very catchy and witty lyrics and melody.

Then again, there's the song, a parody, "Mac For Life" sung below:

I've never been able to get into rap music myself, but the rap song below, "Mac or PC" is also rather catchy, as you can also see and hear:

"We Are Apple" is another song about Apple that is well done. It too is a catchy little song based on an old rock song, who's name, that due to a mental block, I just can't quite seem to remember, but I think is called, "What A Feeling". What ever it's called, it is yours to enjoy below:

Next we have some OS X music video, "Do It Again." This one features another catchy little tune and best of all - a very cute looking girl to go along with it all! After all, what's a good music video without a pretty girl, right?

Below is another Mac song simply entitled, "Mac Beautiful", which is also sung by yet another pretty girl. This song is based on one of James Blunt's famous songs.

Last, but not least, is an instrumental song not about Apple or the Mac, but rather one created entirely on a Mac and entirely with Apple's nifty little music program, Garage Band! The song is simply entitled, Song #1, and its haunting and eclectic melody makes me really want to reinstall Garage Band and try my hand at making a song myself.

There you go, eight individual songs about the Mac and Apple. I don't know if these will ever qualify as being great music, but they are certainly catchy and witty and I'm sure that they not the last that we're going to hear sung about either the Mac or Apple, which is a good thing, because I, for one, rather like em - don't you?

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Just How Big Is Apple's Influence On The Rest Of The Tech World?

Many people in the past, and even today, love to portray Apple as nothing more than a small and insignificant player with very little influence, or any real impact on the world of tech at large. But is that true? Just how big of an influence has Apple had, or is currently having, if any, in the overall world of tech?

Well, just last week, Intel just happened to demo an amazing new technology called Light Speak, seen in the the above YouTube video. Light Peak, as Cnet Stephen Shankland said, is basically a "One PC Cable to rule them all." type of technology, and one that could eventually replace all of today's different and various profusion of cables that now sprout from the front, back and sides of today's PCs with a single solitary fiber-optic link. Mr. Shankland also reported that:

"In a demonstration, Perlmutter showed a PC connected to a monitor across the stage showing high-definition video sent over a Light Peak optical cable. The cable can be as long as 100 meters and can carry data at 10 gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously, though Intel expects it will reach 100 gigabits per second in the next decade, said Jason Ziller, Intel's director of optical input-output program office, in an interview."

Wow, now I have to admit - I'm impressed, and big time! This is a fantastic concept and the idea of being able to simply use one single cable, instead of many, to basically connect to just about anything that you can think of, be it monitors, keyboards, external hard drives, cameras, scanners, etc., is really an incredible idea, and especially considering at the speeds they are touting.

However, what some people found to be the most interesting thing was that Intel was running the whole demo on a Hackintosh! This left a lot of people naturally asking the question - why? Well, according Engadget, we now know that Apple had a lot to do with Light Peak, namely that they where the real source and brains behind its very creation! It's another example of Apple practicing what it preaches to - "Think Different."

Yes, not only did Apple play a significant part in the creation of Light Peak, but since it was Apple that asked Intel to create it for them, and thus dictating its standards and overall design and implementation, I would tend to think that would make Apple a very big influence in the world of tech, don't you? After all, I don't think that Intel would just snap to attention for an unimportant client, now would they?

Now, maybe I'm a little crazy here (trust me, lots of people think so), but I must reiterate that Apple would have to be an extremely influential company to influence the likes of Intel, the world's largest and most important chip company, in creating a new standard that would directly threaten to kill off its own existing technologies such as USB, including it's forthcoming USB 3.0! Despite this, I can assure you, people will still over look this fact and insist that Apple is still a small, insignificant company with next to no influence in the overall tech world.

In regards to Intel, I can clearly remember reading somewhere, awhile back, that they stated that its new relationship with Apple had forever changed its outlook and its philosophy in the way it does and views business, and in many significant ways, and Light Peak is, apparently, proof of that.

Light Peak is just another example on just how much influence Apple really has, and that influence is about to completely change forever the overall tech landscape once again, as every other computer and electronic manufacturer begins to implement Light Peak in their products, starting with Apple in the fall of 2010!

This is all so especially interesting to me, as I can distinctly remember all of the snide remarks from my Window using friends when they constantly reminded me of just how small and insignificant Apple was. I remember how they would laugh about how soon Apple was going out of business any day now.

The funny thing, is that most of what people do on their PC's already has been significantly influenced by Apple own standards, standards which they, and a lot of other people, seem to think came either from Microsoft or from others.

It was Apple, after all, that brought the graphical interface to market for instance, just as it did with the mouse, laser printers, digital still and video cameras, CD & DVD players (in computers), FireWire, etc., or even how it was Apple that popularized Intel's own USB, which by the way, got its inspiration from Apple's former ADB (Apple Desktop Bus)! And lets not forget that trash can on your desk, or cut & paste, etc.

Well, now, apparently, we can add also one more significant and upcoming standard with Light Peak, and it begs the question again: Just how big is, and has been, Apple's influence on the world of tech?

The answer:

Very, very big and, in fact - extremely big, and a lot bigger than what most people would have cared or even dared to admit, or have ever given Apple credit for, and I suspect that its influence isn't going to be diminishing anytime soon. In fact, if anything, it's probably going to get a lot bigger!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, September 28, 2009

Faster, Better, More Capable and Sexier New iMacs Expected Any Day Now!

According to Gizmodo and AppleInsider, among other sources, we can now expect to see the iMac updated any day now, but just what kind of upgrades can we expect to see?

First of all, just let me say...... yippee..... this is exactly just what I've been waiting for!

There......., now thats out of my system, let me say that we should expect to see a much slimmer look and design for the iMac, and one resembling something more akin to the design of the new LED 24 inch Cinema Display!

Wow, I have to admit, that is one hell of a sexy looking display, and, as such, its a much, much nicer and more attractive design than that of the current iMac with its polished, metallic chin. The Cinema Display sports the same basic design as the iMac, but without the protruding chin, the monitor is just so much more modern, clean and down-right sexier looking.

It's also expected that, just like the recently updated MacBook Pros, the new iMac will also include much more affordable pricing and offer other features that, so far, Mac users have been lacking, such as a Blu-Ray drive!

Meanwhile, AppleInsider is also saying that:

"Meanwhile, a pair of other associated enhancements -- one believed to be related to audio -- should see this new generation of iMacs become the most versatile ever, according to another group of people who declined to elaborate because they were not authorized to discuss matter in detail."

That sounds very intriguing, but in addition to that, I'm also hoping that the next updates will include newer keyboards - ones featuring the built-in track pads from the MacBook Pros! I've been expecting them for awhile now, and, hopefully, they will make the cut this time around, because I, for one, find them extremely versatile and useful. Likewise, they should allow you to finally have the luxury of being able to ditch your mouse! Of course, in some situations, where extreme accuracy is needed, you'll still want to keep a good mouse in the house, but, nonetheless, for most daily tasks these multi-touch track pads should be more than adequate.

It's also reasonable to expect that some new guts to be included as well, including possible new i7 Intel quad CPU's (hopefully), and better, faster and more powerful graphic cards that would help to make any new iMac a much better gaming rig. Also, on my wish list is for a higher resolution web cam, a built in TV tuner, possibly even a built-in radio tuner and, of course, finally having that Blu-Ray would definitely make my day!

What's really interesting is that AppleInsider is also claiming that:

"The new all-in-one, dual-core desktops were finalized earlier in September and have been rolling off the Mac maker's Taiwanese product lines for roughly two weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter."

Wow, if that is indeed the case, then we really don't have to wait very much longer now, do we? October is just around the bend, but I'm hoping we wont' even have to wait that long.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, September 25, 2009

Project Pink: Microsoft's Not So Secret, Secret Smart Phone!

Microsoft had denied that it was interested in creating its own smart phone, but, apparently, just like they also denied that they were designing their own mpeg player (the Zune), they have also obviously been secretly working on several Microsoft branded phones, nonetheless, known as Project Pink!

Also, apparently, Microsoft's secret phone is no longer all that all that secret anymore, thanks in part to several pictures that were published yesterday by the fine folks over at Gizmodo.

As you can also see above, Microsoft's first Pink Phone features a sort of Pre like look, only stubbier and more rounded in shape. Microsoft is designing two versions named Turtle and Pure, which are both part of Microsoft's first attempt to create its very own smart phone since Apple launched its own highly successful and trend-setting iPhone over two years ago.

You can check out both phones over at Gizmodo, but if you ask me, the first phone above is down-right butt-ugly! The other is more iPhonish looking, but with a pull-down physical keyboard. Also, apparently, and according to Gizmodo, they will both be made by Sharp, who will also get to share branding with Microsoft.

Gizmodo also says that:

"It's been reported elsewhere that Pink phones will include Zune services, and have its own app store, making it as close to the Zune phone as we may get. We'll see if it's close enough in the coming months, though these are the only facts our source will let us safely publish for now."

Well, as many know, Microsoft really screwed its partners with its PlayforSure technology after they came out with the Zune, so many, no doubt, will also be asking if they will also do likewise with their WinMobile partner's, when and if these babies actually hit the market?

Personally, I'm not too impressed with either design, but then again, I will reserve my final judgement until after Microsoft actually gets around to releasing them. It's certainly possible that by the time they do, both designs may have changed considerably, which, in my opinion, would be a good thing indeed, especially since the first chubby, child like phone is so butt ugly! The second design is more traditional and considerably better looking than that of the first, but it doesn't exactly stand out from the other wannabe iPhone killers either.

The worst thing about these phones, of course, will be the fact that they will be running Windows Mobile, which has been falling far behind other smart phones of late. Personally, I can't possibly see how having it running on their own Microsoft branded hardware is going to help anything at all. However, considering the recent success it has been enjoying with the Zune HD, Bing and Vista 2..... whoops, I meant to say Windows 7, you never know, you know? Maybe Microsoft will surprise us all with another winner, but considering that the iPhone is currently so far ahead of the rest of the pack, I think that Microsoft's Project Pink will be a lot smarter focusing its attention on trying to kill off the other wannabe iPhone killers, rather than the iPhone itself.

But then again, as I said, you never know, you know? Maybe Microsoft's Pink Phones will finally be the iPhone killers that the competition has thus far failed to deliver, but somehow I sincerely doubt it.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, September 24, 2009

Pink Phone photo via: Gizmodo

The APP STORE Breaks Daily Record - 1,394 Apps Approved In A Single Day!

The APP STORE has revolutionized the delivery of software. It has also helped to make the iPhone and the iPod Touch the indisputable kings of hand-held devices for its sheer number of apps, now currently numbering at an amazing 81,161 in total!

Wow, now that's a lot of active applications by any stretch of the imagination, and it is this sheer number of apps which is the main reason why the iPhone and iPod Touch may be, well.... untouchable!

When it comes to new apps, Fortune reported that according to Apple's Aug. 21 letter to the FCC, it was issuing and updating some 8,500 new apps per week, which they also help to achieve by employing some 40 full-time staff members, or reviewers, working 7 days a week!

In addition, they are also reporting that Apple may have broken its daily record for new app approvals this past Friday, after approving an astounding 1,394 new apps, including some 302 games in a single day! This breaks Apple's previous daily record of some 947 apps, set on July 30.

Despite this seemingly huge number of new apps, the daily average for new apps is actually down a bit, from 356 per day in June, to an average of 296 per day currently. Still, that is quite an amazing number of new apps, and I'm sure that Palm, Nokia, Microsoft, LG and others must be going crazy in fits of envy.

AppShopper.com also pointed out that new apps, for much of September, were drifting along with a only some paltry 58 apps approved per day, so the 1,384 daily record represented "an avalanche of apps" on Friday. Some observations that Fortune points out concerning the APP STORE and its staff include:

• They work 7 days a week.
• Saturdays tend to be the slowest, but Mondays can be even slower
• Wednesdays tend to be especially productive
• A lot of work gets done on Sundays

Well, anyway that you slice or dice it, the APP STORE'S sheer number of apps is absolutely amazing by any account, and with up to a weekly average of some 8,500 new apps, either reviewed, approved or updated, I can't possibly see how anyone is going to be able to catch up to Apple now, though I could always be wrong. People may jump up and down on how great this, or that thing is, be it the new Zune HD, or the Palm Pre, or what have you, but no matter how good their hardware is, unless or until they can offer a software catalog equal or greater than the APP STORE - which they can't, and which they won't - they are forever always going to be at an immense disadvantage when competing against the iPhone and Touch!

It really doesn't matter, after all, how great a new piece of hardware is, or how many cool, unique or outstanding features it may have, because without apps, lots and lots of apps, well they are like a car without wheels, or a car without gas - they ain't going far, if anywhere baby!

So, in conclusion, the APP STORE'S new daily record of 1,394 new apps is great news indeed, and it naturally makes one ask how long will it be before the daily record of 1,394 is broken yet again, and just how long will it be before the APP STORE finally breaks the incredible 100,000 total app barrier as well?

Something tells me, probably not too long now.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Macintosh Portable At 20: A Look Back At How Far We Have Come!!

Way, way, way back in the dinosaur era of computers, Apple produced its very first portable computer, if you can even call it a portable considering that it weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds! At 16 pounds, it could easily qualify being more of a laptop crusher, as being a laptop computer!

Apple's first laptop was called simply the Macintosh Portable and besides its huge size, consisting of a 10" monochrome screen enclosed in a 15.25" by 14.8" by 4"body (when closed), this ancient dinosaur of a computer came with something equally as large as its physical size - its enormous price of $6,500-$7,300 dollars! In today's dollars that works out to about $11,288 to $12,677 dollars!

Ouch!

Wow, and to think that some people love to complain about Apple's current prices, why this baby makes today's MacBook Pro prices seem more like bargain basement steals! However, back in them olden days of 1989, this giant of a laptop might have been the most expensive, but it also featured the best of everything that technology could deliver, apart from its ridiculous and enormous size that is!

Well, if your into ancient technologies and you want to take a closer look at this incredible machine just to see how far we have come in the past 20 years since Apple released this colossus, then you need to look no farther than Techologizer's recent and most excellent post entitled:

"Inside the Macintosh Portable"

Technologizer takes a fascinating pictorial look back at this amazing old machine in a rather new and interesting light, and one featuring a lot of pictures of the machine from its outside to its insides, so if your not too squeamish of dissection pictures, then head on over - I promise there's no blood involved!

Just looking at the battery (below) for this thing is amazing. This little sucker was anything but little, as it weighed in at a mind-blowing 2.7 pounds or roughly the same as 10-and-a-half iPod Touch's! The battery took its place within a 2-inch deep battery plastic casing that could easily gobble up several iPhone's ! As you can see, this really was a dinosaur of a battery, but this removable lead-acid battery also did get anywhere between eight and ten hours of life, something that even today's very best lithium-ion batteries would have a rough time keeping up with!

Technlogizer's post illustrates a lot of surprising facts from this amazing piece of computer history, and offers up secrets that I never knew even after all of these long years since the day when I was a youngster with his nose pressed against the windows of a local computer shop as I dreamt, with my heart beating wildly, of owning one of these super-slick, and super thick gizmo's!

Commenting on Technologizer's post was Gizmodo, who lists the Macintosh Portable's specs as the following:

"• 10-inch (640 by 480) Monochrome active-matrix LCD
• 16MHz Motorola 68000 CPU
• 1MB RAM (soldered to the motherboard; expandable to 5MB via RAM expansion slot, or 9MB using PDF expansion)
• Expandable ROM slot (up to 4MB)
• 40MB SCSI hard drive
• 3.5-inch (1.44MB) floppy disk drive
• SCSI Disk Mode (so it could be used as a storage drive with a desktop Mac)
• Built-in trackball could be made left- or right-handed
• Monitor output (required soon canceled converter box)
• Ports: 2400 baud RJ-11 modem, external disk drive, SCSI, ADB, LocalTalk (printer), LocalTalk (serial), audio out
• 2.7lbs Lead acid cell battery (8 to 10 hours)
• 16 pounds"

Back to Technologizer, they sum up their post by saying:

"The difference between the Mac Portable and the iPhone or iPod Touch is a stunning reminder of technology’s relentless, progress. One strains your arm like a 16 pound briefcase, the other fits in your back pocket. A 16 MHZ CPU powers one, a 412-Mhz or 532-Mhz CPU powers the other. One includes one megabyte of RAM, the other includes 128 megabytes. One contains a 40MB fixed disk, the other 8,000 to 32,000 megabytes. One has a 2,400 bit-per-second phone modem, the other contains a 54,000,000 bit-per-second wireless network interface and a wireless telephone. Most staggeringly, one cost $12,667 (adjusted to 2009 dollars), and the other costs $99-$299. The difference? Twenty years."

This big laptop was a big commercial flop, but it was also a big technological breakthrough in many way and a masterpiece from the days of long gone bye. If you love technology and its history and wish to know more about this amazing machine and you better want to grasp and appreciate just how far we have come since it was released, then, by all means, check out Technologizer's post here.

Again, it's well illustrated, and even though its rather a short post, it's still filled with all kinds of interesting tidbits of a time, long, long ago when I was a snotty-nosed youngster and this was the pinnacle of the state of the art in computing hardware and software!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, September 22, 2009

See also Ars Technica's take on the 20th. Mac Portable anniversary: here.

Windows 7, Bing and The Zune HD: Is Microsoft On A Roll?

Various sites have been reporting that Microsoft's new baby, the Zune HD, is seemingly flying off the shelves. According to Gizmodo, for example, the Zune HD is quickly selling out at such sources as Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy and more, but is it really?

For one thing, as Gizmodo also states, "Of course, as commenters have pointed out, it's possible, if not probable, that Microsoft is using the time-tested tactic of short supply to make sure it sells out everywhere. Until we get some hard numbers, there's no way to tell."

People have been writing and heaping praises on the Zune HD's OLED screen, its HD radio and its UI software, but what's also is really interesting is how many are using the same opportunity to not only praise the Zune HD, but to also to dice the iPod at the same time! It's like there is this well-oiled, well-orchestrated campaign to trash the iPod and all things Apple in the process, and I wonder if someone, somewhere, with a very big piggy bank is behind it all?

In addition to the Zune HD, there also seems to be a lot of zing in Microsoft's new Bing, its answer to to the kingpin of search, Google. Already Microsoft's market share, which was in the single digits before, has now suddenly shot to a very respectful 10% of the search market, and all at Google's expense.

Personally, I still prefer Google, as do most people I think, but I also have to admit that there is a lot to like about Bing. I especially love how Bing features a beautiful new photo each day, complete with various and helpful links to subjects related to those daily pictures. It's a much, much nicer looking landing page than that of Google's, which, quite frankly, is pretty simple and out of date looking in comparison, and dare I say it - down right rather boring as well?

Last, but certainly not least, there is the take two version of Windows Vista, or as it is now better known - Windows 7. Windows 7 is by far and away the best version of Windows to date as far as many are concerned, and even though it seems to borrow heavily from Mac OS X, it also just happens to offer many unique and original aspects of its own. And just like Bing and the Zune HD, it has also been getting a lot of critical praise, and just like some with the Zune HD, often many are likewise seemingly using the opportunity to also bash and trash both Apple and its award winning OS X.

So, clearly Microsoft seems to be on a roll these days and has been getting a lot of something that it hasn't been getting in the recent past, namely - a lot of critical praise!

But does it really deserve all that praise?

Certainly, but only to a certain point.

Take the Zune HD for instance. As a dedicated music and video device it's a worthy competitor and, as such, it also deserves some praise. However, as a one-trick pony it's yesterday's news. OLED screens and HD radio are nice and all, but they are something that anyone can easily add to their devices, and they offer nothing revolutionary, just something that is new and a little different.

When it comes to the new 'in thing' these days, namely multi-tasking devices, the Zune HD, however, is utterly and totally blown away by the iPod Touch! Even if the OLED screen seems a little nicer to some, it's not that much nicer, nor is the HD a must have either. Zune supporters, of course, like to mention these things just as they also like to leave out mentioning that the Nano's FM has the ability to 'pause' live radio (just like Tivo for TV), something that the Zune sadly lacks.

People have also been praising Microsoft promise of an app store for the Zune HD that will feature the novel idea that all its apps will be provided free of charge by Microsoft itself! Microsoft is a big company and all, but if anybody believes that Microsoft is going to create and then give away more than 75,000 apps, like Apple's APP STORE, they are probably in desperate need of some serious help - and, most likely, a very lot of it!

When it comes to Bing, it may not exactly be the king of search engines, but it definitely has a lot of zing to it, and I hope it does well in the future. I like it a lot! It's sleek, fast and has some really nice touch's. But, as pretty as it is, in the here and now, Google is still the king and definitely the better and more compelling service, with more features and, most importantly - more and better search results. However, I could see that changing in the future with a lot of hard work on Microsoft's part. With Bing they seem to be off to a good start.

Regarding Windows 7, it's definitely a much better Windows, but is it really better than OS X as its fan boys would have you believe? Sure, maybe for some people, but all of the idiotic propaganda that Windows 7 is more secure, has better features, speed and power over that of Linux and OS X is just that - propaganda!

Windows 7 is an OS for the present, and one built mostly on the legacy of the past, the much hated Vista. Snow Leopard, though short on new features, is built on entirely on powerful and new core technologies like Grand Central Dispatch, Open CL, Core Animation 2, 3D Transforms, Cblocks, etc.

In other words, OS X is far more of a futuristic thinking OS than Windows 7 is! Yes, it's still built on the past foundation of Unix, but it's also the most stable, secure, fast and powerful OS's ever created and is the real heart of the business world, the one that major banks and government and scientific institutions are built upon - not Windows! The new underlining technologies that Snow Leopard brings today, will tomorrow power not hundreds, but literally thousands of new and exciting features that will soon start blowing away anything that Windows 7 lovers could ever even hope and dream of having - you just wait and see!

So, is Microsoft on a roll these days?

You bet, but for how long that I can't say. Will this stop the erosion of the Microsoft's brand, one that began several years ago and was intensified with the botched up release of Vista? I doubt it, because, after all, Vista is the exact same technology that Windows 7 is entirely built on, and Windows 7, as I have often said before, is nothing more and nothing less than mostly 'window dressing' on Microsoft's part. They simply cleaned Window up a bit, here and there, because, and unlike Snow Leopard which was 90% completely rewritten from the ground up, deep within the guts of Windows 7 nothing new has really changed. Most of its changes are all on the surface in the form of interface improvements, most of the major plumbing hasn't changed much at all! The core is still essentially Vista, but just dressed up in new clothes! Windows is the core of Microsoft, and if it fails, so will likely Microsoft's recent roll of critical proclaim!

That said, I still very much like Windows 7, the Zune HD and Bing and I wish them all success, something that I'm sure that they will achieve. But, then again, on the other hand, I still believe that Linux, OS X, the iPod Touch and Google are still far better technologies, because fundamentally, I believe they are still all superior products built from the insides out, rather than Microsoft products which seem to be more built from the outside in!

Microsoft may be on a roll, but the question is can they maintain it, and if so, for how long?

Time will tell, of course.

They say that, "good things come in three's" and apparently that seems to be the case here with the new Zune HD, Bing and Windows 7. Personally, I really hope that Microsoft does succeed with all three, but if they do, that they do it fairly and without all of the monopolistic intimidation, threats and other dirty tricks that Microsoft has been well known for in its past, facts that have been very well documented.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, September 21, 2009

First iPhone Physical Keyboard Goes On Sale!

Even though it took awhile, what I predicted would happen finally did - the first real, honest-to-goodness tactile keyboard for the iPhone has arrived!

"Yippee", I say while doing somersaults in the air - this is great news for iPhone fans everywhere!

Yes sir, the very first full fledged physical QWERTY iPhone keyboard, called iTwinge, is now available for pre order! I don't know if it's the slimmest or sexiest keyboard around, but it's a good start. It looks a little bulky, to me, but otherwise it doesn't really look that bad either.

The iTwinge will allow you, according to its manufacturer, Mobile Mechatronics to be able to simply:

• Plug it in. Turn it on. Type!
• Provides the feel & feedback of a 'real' honest-to-goodness tactile keyboard
• Results in faster typing
• Costs $29.95 U.S.
• Ships on the 19th. of November
• You can pre-order it here: “Buy”

Well, all I will say is it's about time!

Yes, I know that Apple says that a physical keyboard is not necessary, and that's certainly true for a lot of people, but not for all of the people! No, some people, for various reasons, some real and some imaginary, either want or need a physical keyboard and I really welcome Mobile Mechatronics 'slip on' keyboard.

Of course, I will have to wait until it starts shipping before I can pass final judgement, but at only $29.95 and promising low power requirements, while, at the same time, also promising faster, better and more accurate typing, well I'm sure this is going to be a big hit with a lot of folks.

Who knows? Maybe for some people who really wanted an iPhone, but couldn't buy one because they needed a physical keyboard, it just well may be enough to keep them from buying a BlackBerry or other physical keyboard enhanced smart phone? So there, take that BlackBerry, Palm Pre and all you other physically equipped smart phones who love to brag that you have a physical keyboard, but the iPhone doesn't, because now the iPhone has one too!

The iTwinge may be the first physical keyboard for the iPhone, but let me tell you here and now...... it aint' going to be the one last baby! No sire, you can expect a lot more manufacturers to get on this band wagon.

I'm also predicting that this will lead to the iPhone eventually having far better and more capable physical keyboards than most smart phones with built in keyboards. For one thing, people with built in keyboards are essentially stuck with them, where as iPhone users should end up having a wide choice of styles and features that other built in keyboards could never offer. This will allow iPhone users to easily and cheaply replace their physical keyboards, at a moments notice, anytime they need or want to, with newer and ever more sophisticated and capable keyboards!

So, once again, take that - BlackBerry and Palm Pre!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, September 18, 2009

iTwinge photo via: iTwinge via: Chip Chick

Prediction: Apple's Market Cap To Surpass That of Microsoft's Real Soon!

Yesterday, CNBC's Cramer's Mad Money predicted that based on new accounting rules, Apple's high-flying stock is about to hit $264, thus sending its market cap soaring to equal, if not greater value, than that of Microsoft's!

Wow!

You see, under the old accounting rules Apple and other companies had to defer their smart phone sales over a two year period, rather than immediately, and all at once. However, the new rules will allow Apple to report their sales all-at-once, and thus immediately making the value of value of the company more fair, and its future earnings to be much better adjusted, and resulting in a considerable uptake in the value of Apple's stock and likewise its market cap!

Yesterday, Apple's stock was up over $6.00 plus, or over 3.5%. This gave Apple a market cap of an astonishing 162 plus billion dollars, vs Microsoft's astronomical $223.21 billion smack-a-roo's! Now thats what I call the big bucks - very, very, very big bucks!

Cramer predicted that these new accounting rules will result in Apple's stock soaring by an incredible 40 -50%! This would grow today's' stock of $181.00 to an amazing and mind boggling $253.04 @ 40%. At 50% - whoa - baby, we're looking at a whopping per share price of some $271.50!

Yuppers, you got it - at 40% that would see Apple's market cap raised to a whopping $225 billion plus, and slightly more than Microsoft's present market cap of $223.57 billion! Wow, imagine if it did hit the fifty percent mark, which is certainly possible - then Apple's cap would be a mind blowing - $241.77 billion dollars and greater than Microsoft's! Already, Apple's market cap has blown past that of HP (108.22B), Dell (33.09B or some five times as much), Google (154.58B) and even I.B.M's (159.63B)!

I'm not sure, but I would suspect that the psychological impact of such a move would be huge, and not only for Apple, but even more so for Microsoft! Who would have ever thunked it, that Apple, which was on its death bed just before Steve Jobs returned to rescue it some ten years ago, could actually surpass mighty Microsoft in value? Already Apple has more money in the bank than Microsoft, so I guess, after all, it's not it's not that unreasonable that its stock, at some point, could do the same.

Well, I sure hope that this scenario pans out. Apple for so many, many years, has been played out as an underdog, standing on its last legs, and long after Michael Dell's infamous words that if he were Jobs, " He would shut the company down and return the money to its shareholders", Apple now stands on becoming the king of the tech world, at least as far as market cap and money in the bank goes!

So, could Apple's market cap suddenly actually surpass that of mighty Microsoft's? You bet, but nothing is guaranteed, so we will just have to wait and see, but if it does, it will be an amazing and historical milestone indeed. Truly, if there ever was a Cinderella type story of a tech come-back kid, it would have to be, and is, in fact, that of the story of Apple.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, September 17, 2009

Heads up to 9to5.com

Why Some People Think Apple Is Really So Incredibly Amazing and Awesome!

Above, via Fortune , via Gizmodo, via YouTuber's justanotherguy84, comes this incredibly amazing and awesome stripped down video version of everything except the adjectives take on Apple's recent 'It's Only Rock & Roll' event.

Justanotherguy84's video is a great and amazingly short two minutes long, and incredibly it only features the times when Steve actually uses adjectives to describe Apple, its amazingly great products and its awesomely cool services.

As you can see and hear, Phil Schiller, Apple's amazingly talented marketing chief and Apple's incredibly famous and amazingly awesome CEO, Steve Jobs, both really love to use adjectives such as great, awesome, incredible, etc., over and over, in their stupendously cool and utterly amazing presentations, and, as Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt asks:

"Ever wonder how Steve Jobs and company leave the indelible impression that Apple's products are really great, really easy and just plain awesome?"

Well now you know kiddo!

It's all a type of subliminal brainwashing that's incredibly not even that amazingly subliminal at times, and one that I find is most amazingly awesome, which is also so very and wonderfully really, really cool! But what is really the most awesome and the most absolutely amazing fact of all, is that, in many cases, and in many circumstances, and most of the time, what is really, really great is the simple fact that the use of these adjectives by Jobs, Schiller, also just happen to be the most wonderfully, amazing and incredible TRUTH!

How wonderfully, cool, amazing, stupendous, incredible, and fantastic is that?

Of course, but then again, I don't know, maybe I'm just one of those incredible fanatical Apple fan boys?

Nah, not really, but I'm definitely a big fan, that I am!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, September 16, 2009