Super Cool German iPhone 5 Mock-Up

Ah, those clever, clever Germans have gone and built themselves a very realistic looking prototype iPhone 5, and all based on the many rumors and other info gleaned from the big-old-web. As you can see from the above video, it's also a thing of sheer beauty!

I must admit, seeing an Asian fellow speaking perfectly good-old German is also kind of neat too, but, boy, oh boy, just look at this thing, is this thing slim, or what? If your German you can read more about it here, or you can read more about it here in good-old English.

Many other web sites out there, like ObamaPacman, among others, have been covering the story of this superbly crafted prototype, but all I want to say is: if this is the real deal.... then Me's wants one, and Me's wants one bad!

Of course, what I really like about this prototype is that larger screen, something that I really want to see in the next iPhone. And, oh, did I mention how just amazingly thin this little bugger is... like wow! This thing even makes the already super-thin iPhone 4 look positively and utterly fat in comparison!

The most exciting thing about the new iPhone 5 and iOS 5 could be Apple's much rumored about new Assistant, a built-in system-wide voice control feature who's artificial intelligence totally and utterly blows away Google's mostly other wise excellent Voice feature. Those 'sehr klugger Deutschers' who created this iPhone 5 mock-up nicely sums up Assistant by saying:

"Besides the new design and more powerful hardware - more on that later - another big improvement awaits inside iOS 5. The so-called “Assistant” is probably the biggest innovation in this new version. Thanks to a revolutionary speech recognition software the iPhone 5 could become your personal, voice activated assistant. In cooperation with Nuance and based on the work of Siri, a start-up that Apple bought last year, Assistant will enable you to dictate E-Mails, SMS and every other piece of text. We already know other speech recognition software but Assistant is said to be able to understand your words in a very intuitive way. Even sentences like “Meeting with Steve at 7pm”, “How is tomorrow’s weather?” or “How do I get to the nearest Apple store?” will be understood by Assistant.

While Google is providing their own speech recognition in Android, it relies on Google’s servers. Your voice is sent to Google where it’s processed and then send back to your device. This requires an internet connection.

Apple’s Assistant is supposed to work without a network connection. All necessary processing takes place on the device itself. This power hungry feature obviously requires updated hardware. 1 gigabyte of RAM and the dual-core CPU A5 will provide exactly that. Most of the upcoming features of iOS 5 were already shown at Apple’s developer conference WWDC in June or have since been leaked by beta testers."

In conclusion, just let me say that if the next iPhone comes out looking like this super-cool German prototype, especially with its Assistant feature, then Apple won't have to sue all of the Android and other blatant iPhone rip-offs out there, because this thing will kill sales of all other smart phones, making them look pathetically like dumb phones in comparison.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Friday, September 30, 2011

Want Proof That Samsung 'Slavishly' Copies Apple? Here It Is!

Even though Steve Jobs apparently tried to personally defuse the patent situation between Apple and Samsung, Frandroids and other iHaters out there love, will still nonetheless still insist on telling you that Apple is totally in the wrong, and that it is nothing but a patent troll who innovated virtually nothing, and that its products are all the result of it first ripping off of what others have done first, but that Apple simply made popular by its marketing hype machine.

Well, if you don't think Samsung is 'slavishly' copying Apple, well you might want to think again after you view TUAW's post entitled: "No Comment: Proof that Samsung shamelessly copies Apple".

The photo of the app above is only one of the many pictures that TUAW uses to illustrate just how extensively Samsung did indeed 'slavishly' copied just about every little detail from Apple, be it from packaging, presentation, marketing, and even to app interfaces like the one above, it should be obvious to anyone that Samsung does indeed copy heavily from Apple.

In conclusion, my only message to Samsung would be to: to grow up and stop copying and start innovating instead.

And that's my short post for this Thursday, September 29, 2011

Let's Talk iPhone: Two iPhones Or One?

At long last Apple has finally sent out its invitations for the press to come and see, on October 4, its latest, and presumably its greatest iPhone ever, the now mythical iPhone 5.

As usual, Apple's invitation comes with a cryptic graphic, as seen on the left. It features four iPhone icons: one with the date, the time, the location and that of a mysterious phone complete with the number 1 encircled?

Does that mean that there will be only one phone unveiled, and not two as has been previously reported by some?

Yes, some are now saying that there will be only be one phone announced, and it's not going to be the iPhone 5, but rather just an updated iPhone 4S.

I hope not! That's because I"m personally hoping for both a cheaper, pre-paid iPhone 4S for the masses, and an ultra-whizz-bang, super-duper, me's-just-got-get-me-one-of-them new iPhone 5 doo-dads, complete with their rumored and utterly amazing Assistant voice input control feature with artificial intelligence that will leave all other iPhone copy-cat wannabes shrieking with utter and sheer, drop-dead envy!

Personally, the one other thing that I would also love to see included would be the inclusion of a much larger screen, and one that could easily compete with any of the Android phones out there; you know, the ones that like to pretend that they're actually better and more innovative and original then the iPhone itself, because, well we all know that they just happen to come with slightly larger screens, or a physical keyboard, usb dongle, or what have you?

This will also be the very first time that we see Tim Cook take the stage as Apple's new full-time CEO, but I wouldn't be all that surprised if we also see Steve Jobs make at least a cameo appearance, as it would be a great vote of confidence in not only Tim as CEO, but of Apple's over all future in general.

Of course, besides the iPhone itself, even though Apple's press invite directly states: "Let's talk iPhone", don't be too surprised if we hear a lot more about iOS 5 and its official release date as well, which I suspect will be released on the same day that the next iPhone is available for purchase, in about a week or two after the press event. After all, iOS 5 will be the very heart and soul of the iPhone, and, not to mention, the iPad and iPod as well.

Also, even though its basically going to be all about the iPhone this coming Tuesday, don't be surprised at all if it's also the day that Apple will announce that the Classic and the Shuffle iPods will be discontinued. With the sales of the iPod Touch rising, and the Classic and Shuffle dwindling, I think it only makes sense that Apple will continue making only the hot-selling Touch, and the Nano.

So, in the end, will there be two iPhones announced, the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5, or only one?

In conclusion, that's what I'm dying to know, but I will just have to wait until next Tuesday to find out, but I do know that I'm hoping for both of them, the iPhone 4S and the super-duper iPhone 5, which I believe will be the greatest, most dagg-nabit, super smartphone ever!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this cold, but sunny Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The iPhone 5's Mind-Blowing Killer Feature: Assistant (Siri)

I wrote about Apple buying Siri before. Siri was a company that made voice control software much like Google's Voice, but only much, much better.

The reason that Siri voice input is much, much better then anything else out there is simply because it also just happens to possess a high degree of artificial intelligence! Mind you, that intelligence will require specs of at least a minimum of 1GB of RAM and an A5 processor to work.

Google Voice is sort of like the Homer Simpson of voice control, charming and endearing, but, on the other hand, its really kind of just plain dumb. Siri, on the other hand, is like the Einstein of voice control input and 9To5Mac recently did a post highlighting some of the reasons why, and let me tell you they're really, really mind-blowing, and as they point out:

"From what we’ve heard, the Siri-based Assistant is described as the biggest game changer in this year’s iPhone."

And:

"Assistant is literally like a personal assistant, but in your phone. The speech interpretation is so accurate that users do not even have to speak very clearly or in a slow and robotic tone, according to a source familiar with the software. Users can simply talk how they would usually talk to another person, and the iPhone with Assistant will do its best to interpret the speech and provide accurate results."

Now, just don't try that out using Google's Voice, because it ain't' going to happen baby, unless, of course, the Big G also decides to copy it the way they have basically copied almost everything else from iOS and the iPhone in the first place, otherwise, Google Voice will remain the Homer Simpson of voice control input.

Below is an old demo of Siri, showing off some of its goodness, and for 'goodness-sake', that goodness has been amplified by Apple since it bought Siri, but as you can also see in the old demo, Siri was pretty good before Apple even bought it:

As 9To5Mac also noted, one of the coolest Assistant features is that:

"..... its integration with Wolfram Alpha. For those unfamiliar with Wolfram Alpha, it is an online computational knowledge system. With its integration into the new iPhone and Assistant, one could essentially ask their iPhone facts or questions of all types and get an instant response. For example, you can ask your iPhone a math problem or ask how many feet are there in 12.75 meters, and get an instant answer. The whole idea of having an infinite amount of information at the sound of your voice is unbelievably convenient and powerful."

Wolfram Alpha is a type of search, powered by artificial intelligence, so Assistant is apparently also smart enough to tap into others people's smarts besides its own, making it all the smarter in the process, which I also think is a very smart move on Assistant's part.

I also agree with Gizmodo when they describe Assistant as being 'giant news', because, quite frankly it is! I also think, as they quoted from 9To5Mac, its pretty cool too that you can just speak:

"..............make appointment with Mark Gurman for 7:30 PM and Assistant will create the appointment in the user's calendar. On noting events, Assistant also allows users to set reminders for the iOS 5 Reminders application. For example, a user could say "remind me to buy milk when I arrive at the market." Another example would be integration with the iOS Maps application. A user could ask: "how do I get to Staples Center?" and Assistant will use the user's current location via GPS and provide directions.

Another interesting Assistant feature is the ability to create and send an SMS or iMessage with just your voice. For example, you can say "send a text to Mark saying I'll be running late to lunch!" – and it will send."

Hopefully, the above will prove to be more than just mere rumors, because if they are true then they will give iOS an ability that will give the iPhone and other iOS devices a type of Hal artificial intelligence, as seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey., making them super futuristic in the process.

In conclusion, I am really stoked as they say about the possibilities that Assistant could be bringing to iOS devices, and hopefully very, very soon. The iPhone 5 and the latest version of iOS should be coming around October 4, and, for that, I simply can't wait!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this cooler, but nonetheless sunny Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Siri logo via: SMSEO

A Video And Pictorial Look Back At Apple's First Tablet Platform: The Newton Message Pad

The iPad may be a huge hit, but Apple's first real tablet, the Newton Message Pad was anything but.

Born in 1987, the platform eventually died out in 1997, a span of some eleven years, even far longer than I remembered it to be, so in todays short post I will take a short video and pictorial look back at Apple's very first tablet.

One of the contributing problems that helped to lead to the Newton's eventual death was its poor battery life, powered as it was by four triple batteries, and its infamous failure at hand-recognition, which was spotty and frustrating at best, but as you can see in the video above, it's looking not all that bad. Below you can see another demo of Newton's windows in action:

Of course, looking at the old Newton commercial from Apple makes the device appear far spiffier than the product actually was:

The ad above was designed, naturally, to show only theNewton's good side, while others, however, naturally took the opportunities to poke fun at the Newton's short coming as can be seen in the Simpson video and the Doonsbury cartoon, both shown below:

Well, I must admit that I've never actually used a Newton before, but personally I will at least say that I rather fancy the box that it came in, which you can also see below in all its glory:

Seen above is a very quick video tour of an original Apple Newton, and below another video of the eMate, a Newton that was designed especially for education, and one that even included... get this... a bloody-dang keyboard! The eMate had a clam-shell design that Steve Jobs liked, but that I thought was down-right ugly at the time, and frankly I still do!

Below is an entire Newton collection, and it might be noted that the original Newtons addressed many of the so-called deficiencies of the iPad that all of the iHaters love pointing out, such as: the lacking of a stylist, or lack of inputs, and what have you?

In conclusion, the Newton series of PDA's (personal digital assistants) was a rather good idea, if you ask me, but one that was rather badly implemented at the time, and frankly it was an idea that was a little before its time as well, but one that nonetheless still lives on in the hearts of collectors everywhere, and indeed, in many of the features and functions of today's modern tablets such as the iPad.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this glorious, warm and sunny, but I still rather be in Baden-Wurttemberg anyway, Monday, September 26, 2011

Opening Newton photo via: This Day In Tech History

Does Oracle Want To Kill-Off Android By Injunction; Can It Succeed If It Does?

Oracle's CEO, Larry Ellison, is a close friend of Apple's former CEO, Steve Jobs, and he once said something along the lines that he would do anything for him.

Well, if that's the case, then he may be about to do his best bud a very big favor when it comes to Apple's fight against the blatant ripping-off of Apple's iPhone and iOS from Google and its Android platform and licensees.

This is because of the fact that apparently not only does Oracle have an extremely good chance of beating Google in court over the former's blatant and deliberate abuse of its patents and copyrights, but now according to world-famous patent expert, Florian Mueller, from good-old Germany, Larry and company wants a-hell-of-a-lot more payback from Google than just merely big fat royalties or a big fat lump payment.

No, according to Herr Mueller any royalties or lump payments that Oracle might be entitled to receive from the big G would be nothing more than a substantial consolidation prize; what Larry and company wants, what it really, really wants is a total injunction against Android, plain and simple!

Wow!

Now, if that is indeed the case, then it would be one enormous nuclear like blast of the entire Android platform, and one that could literally destroy it overnight, and thus sending Google's engineers back to the drawing table to start all over from scratch, providing it even has the will or the money to do so?

It would also, at the same time, make all existing Android software totally dead-in-the-water if Android were forced to start all over from scratch.

Also, according to this very well informed Deutscher and world-famous patent expert:

".......... forget all the billion-dollar figures that make headlines. Besides explaining that the new damages computation doesn't specify future damages but wants those to be subject to a "separate, post-verdict assessment" (which would be made only in the event Oracle is denied an injunction), it's a clear vow to fight hard for an injunction, it makes it clear that Google's design choice to deviate from the official Java standard (which Oracle referred to as fragmentation in other pleadings) is a key part of Oracle's argument for an injunction (and for why a mere damages award wouldn't be sufficient in this case), and it refers to "many others' investments", presumably meaning other holders of Java-related intellectual property (note that Oracle is not even the only such right holder to be suing Google at this stage, since Gemalto is also asserting Java-related patents against Google, and there could be more than those two in the future)." (Emphasis mine)

Now that's what I call pretty heavy stuff, and the kind of stuff that must be keeping the boys in Mountain View up late at night, as they and their lawyers scramble, big time, to come up with ways in which they can wiggle themselves out of this mess, because as Herr Mueller further goes on to report:

" The bottom line is that a Java license can become more costly, possibly even far more costly, to Google than the proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility if Oracle obtains an injunction that Google can't engineer around. In that case, Oracle could shut down Android and make Google a take-it-or-leave-it offer, the terms of which would not in any way be limited by whatever Oracle previously calculated as damages." (Emphasis also mine)

Of course, assuming that Oracle wins this case, and it's is increasingly likely that it will, what impact could this possibly have on Apple's own efforts against various Android OEM's, such as HTC and Samsung, who apparently has such a weak case against it that it is now vowing to step up its legal attacks against it in order to confuse the courts, in hopes that Apple will find it easier to agree to letting them continue to violate Apple's existing patents.

Seriously, if Oracle can legally kill-off Android, what point would there be in Android OEM's continuing to fight Apple? None that I can think of, other than the weak prospect that they might get a few extra crumbs out of the deal, which I honestly can't see them getting in the first place, but I could be wrong, since I am not a patent expert like Herr Mueller.

Apple has a lot going for it in its fight with Android OEM's already, but if Oracle can succeed in not only making Android an expensive proposition, something that would surely happen if Google had to pay out huge royalties, plus gigantic multi-billion dollar lump payments, but if Oracle could literally kill-off Android outright by injunction, then Apple's fight against Android OEMs may no longer be necessary! After all, what advantage would they have in fighting for a dead platform?

So, in conclusion: does Oracle really want to kill-off Android by an injunction; and can it, if it does?

That's what we're all about to find out.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this miserable, wet and dreary Friday, September 23, 2011

Oracle vs Samsung graphic via: MobileWorld

A Video Look Back At The Master Of Product Introductions: SteveJobs

Whether you love him or hate him, one thing is for certain, when it comes to product introductions Steve Jobs is one of the greatest acts in all of tech and, for that matter, all of business.

This guy not only changed entire industries, including music, movies, computers, mobile phones and what have you, but he has also single handily touched the lives of every man, woman and child on the planet, and when it comes to product introductions, no one, and I mean no one does it better than Steven Paul Jobs.

Trying to define Steve Jobs is certainly no easy task, as he is many different things to many different people, but at least you can get a better grasp of this remarkable man by viewing what he has done, or said in some of the product introduction videos shown below.

The first video, even though not of a product intro itself, is of a very young Steven Paul Jobs elegantly describing how he views computers, as being like a 'bicycle's for the mind':

Speaking of computers, below we find another video of a very young Steve Jobs introducing a computer that did more to revolutionize computers than any other in history, the Macintosh, and which is also one of the very few surviving original computers still around, after many, many others have long since been relegated to the collective dust bins of history:

After being shamelessly booted from Apple, the company that he helped to co-found with the Woz and Ron Wayne, Steve went on to create another computer, and one that is now officially dead, but really isn't! That's because the heart and soul of his next computer, the NeXt, now lives on in OS X and iOS, as Steve elegantly demonstrates. It's also quite apparent that the OS X of today is, in reality, nothing more than a modern version of the NeXt from old:

Even though the next few videos are not exactly product intros, they do show how Steve felt about Microsoft and eventually Google, after they blatantly came along and copied both the Mac and the iPhone with their versions of Windows and Android. Steve's thoughts on what he thinks of Microsoft, trust me, are not exactly pretty!

He then goes on on tell how just amazed he was about programing; on how he believed in stealing great ideas; on how Xerox could have 'owned' the computer space, and how amazed and blown away he was of its graphical user interface. He describes how poorly he thought Xerox executed the GUI, and how 3rd rate Microsoft and its products were, and how he and his team were on 'a mission from God to save Apple', and despite how tasteless and unoriginal Microsoft was, he thought, for the most part, that they deserved their success:

Apple, and Steve himself, are not only about computers per say, but also about other devices and here we see Steve introducing another ground-breaking device, a musical one, the iPod. Looking back at this video it seems almost like yesterday, but incredibly it's from a full decade ago:

Below we find Steve enthusiastically introducing another great concept, and one that Microsoft is now also trying to replicate, the Apple Store, which also just happens to be one of the most successful and profitable retail operations in all of business history:

If there is any one product that helped to define both Steve Jobs and Apple, it has got to be the iPhone, one of the most copied and successful devices in all of history, and one that has defined and changed mobile telephones for ever, and here we see Steve introducing it for the very first time:

Last, but certainly not least, we see Steve introducing one of the most ground-breaking devices of all, and one that he says is Apple's finest to date, and one that others, to this point at least, have all failed at making a dent in with their own knock-offs, and that, of course, would be the iPad:

Of course, the above videos are only a few of what seems like a billion, zillion videos of, or about Steve, but they do give a brief glimpse into this remarkable man and his ability to introduce a product like nobody else.

You can see even more videos on Steve and his amazing ability to show off a product by also visiting sites, such as AllAboutSteveJobs, or YouTube, or by renting or viewing movies such as Pirates of Silicon Valley, etc.

In conclusion, however, just let me say that, that the few videos above should convince anyone, if their honest, that Steve Jobs is not only probably one of the greatest figures in all of tech history, but most likely he is the greatest of them all, and that goes especially when it comes to his keynotes, as they were so skillfully and masterfully done that they have become virtually legendary, and virtually great performances in-and-by-themselves.

And that's my 2 cents 4 on Steve Jobs 4 this gloomy Thursday, September 22, 2011

Photo of Steve Jobs throughout the years via: CultOfMac

Design Concepts: Is This The Coolest Printer Ever, Or What?

.

First Apple revolutionized smartphones with its use of multitouch, then it revolutionized tablets with multitouch, and now another company, Artefact Thinking from Seattle, apparently is thinking very much like Apple these days and is hoping that it can also revolutionize plain, old and boring printers in much the same way, by giving them deeply ingrained multitouch capabilities, as in its concept SWYP printer.

As far as this concept printer goes, well, I'm super impressed, because as you can see in the above video, this thing not only looks super cool and super sexy, but it also has many practical benefits that can make printing less of a chore and more practical, such as its abilities to automatically crop or to rearrange photos, etc.

Unfortunately, as already stated, this is only just a concept printer, but its one based on existing technology, so it's doable. However, sadly it may never see the light of day, which I happen to think would be a real bummer, but hopefully, someday, some company out there.... are you listening Apple?, will buy this concept and run with it.

When it comes to this concept printer C/Net's Jay Greene, wrote:

"Dubbed SWYP for See What You Print, the matte black device features a touch screen interface that seamlessly connects to cameras, computers, phones, and tablets. Once connected, the screen shows the various photos and documents on the device that can be printed and that users can tap to select.

Users can then select the image or document and crop and edit it with their fingers. And when the image or document appears the way a user wants, a simple swipe downward prints the page.

While Artefact has created the concept based on existing technology, it's not a working prototype. The firm has no intention of manufacturing the product. Rather, it wants to show its design chops, as well as prod the printer industry to rethink its approach to product innovation."

I have to agree with Jay Greene, that this is the type of product that you would have expected to have seen emanating from out of Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Its slim, sexy and down-right bloody cool and is, as far as I'm concerned, one product that is just screaming to be made and sold, and enjoyed by millions of people who, like myself, find printing to be a bloody boring chore. Yes, it would also be even cooler if the SWYP came with cheaper ink cartridges to boot, so here's hoping.

So, is the SWYP really the coolest concept printer ever, or what?

In conclusion: Damn right it is!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Biggest And Most Valuable Company In The World: Apple

Shell, Exxon, Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, Google, General Electric, Ford, Toyota, GM and Volkswagon, etc., all have one thing in common: they are very, very big companies, among the biggest in the world and each respectively worth billions and billions. In fact, they often have net worths and revenues that are often much bigger than that of many small and medium sized nations!

However, as big as the above companies are, one company is bigger than them all: Apple!

Yes, as AppleInsider pointed out, since yesterday, "Apple closed at new all-time high as the world's largest company," after its stock rose over some $11 per share. What's even more remarkable was the fact that the stock not only rose significantly, but did it as the market was generally, as a whole, in sharp decline!

With Apple's stock now trading at a whopping $411.63 per share, Apple's market cap now has surged by a whopping $22 billion or more past Exxon, the world's biggest oil company, and formerly the world's biggest company bar none! Thanks to Apple's recent stock rise it now has a market cap of approximately some $381 billion, and a market cap that virtually dwarfs all other big companies, as you can see from the selected companies listed below, in the billions:

Apple - 381.62B

Exxon - 354.34B

Microsoft - 227.9B

IBM - 206.77B

Wal-Mart - 180.78B

Google - 176.51B

HP - 45.52B

Dell - 27.13B

The last company on the list is especially interesting, considering how its CEO and founder, Michael Dell once recommended that the best thing Steve Jobs could do with Apple was to close it down and give 'the share-holders' their money back. Back then, Apple was worth a few billion dollars at the time, and Dell was worth around a staggering 90 billion! No wonder Eric Schmidt called Steve Jobs the 'greatest CEO' of the past 100 years.

In conclusion, I remember when Steve Jobs replied to Michael Dell's comment above, and to Dell in general, by saying something along the line that: "Where coming after you!" Boy, oh boy, and did he ever, and apparently not only after Dell, but apparently after every other company on earth to boot as well!

And that's my 2 cents on the world's biggest company 4 this sunny Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Chart via: AppleInsider

Survey Shows: 85% Prefer The iPad Over Android

Motorola once boasted that its Xoom tablet would end up sending all other tablets, and particularly the iPad, to the dust bins of history where they would only be seen in museums.

Well, despite Motorola's and Android claims that it would eventually out sell the iPad, the truth is that Android tablet shipments have been literally shrinking, not growing!

According to a recent survey by ChangeWave, the facts are in and they are not very pretty if your anyone other than Apple. Not only has Android, for instance, seen its tablets shipments slip from 34% to a little over 26%, but IDC predicts that dwindling number will only continue to shrink in the foreseeable future.

CNN's Asian business analyst, Rammy Inocenio, for instance, noted that the HP's TouchPad was not the only tablet to be sent to the history dust bins thanks to the iPad's success, but now Sharp's Galapagos tablets, which only came out less then a year ago, has now also been officially laid to rest as the CNN analyst wrote:

"But as new players have tried to take on Apple’s dominance, others have started to take their products off the shelves.

Just last week, Sharp was the latest company to take an axe to its tablet line.

The Japanese electronics maker announced it plans to halt production of two of its three Galapagos tabs – the 10.8-inch and the 5.5-inch – by the end of the month. They’ll keep the 7-inch, for now.

The wipeout of Galapagos, critics say, had to do with Sharp’s usage of its own operating system which made it tougher for app developers to create content. And the Galapagos line only launched last December."

When it comes to future planned tablet purchases, ChangeWaves survey noted that a whopping 85% of all people surveyed prefer buying the iPad over its competition, so I'm really not surprised that Sharp decided to pull the plug on its own tablets.

After the iPad, the most sought out tablet, according to ChangWave, was for Samsung's line of Galaxy Tabs, which only commanded a rather paltry 4%, followed by RIM's Playbook which commanded another 2%, and finally, the Xoom, which Motorola predicted would trounce the iPad, ending up commanding a much less respectable 1%!

When it comes to future corporate tablet purchase, with the exception of Samsung, who's future corporate tablet purchases rose from 6 to 7%, every other tablet OEM saw their future intended tablet purchases shrink! This include Motorola which shrank from a respectful 10% to only a dismal 4%, and RIM's PlayBook shrunk from a high of 8% to a measly 3%!

Windows 8, of course, has been getting a lot of praise lately, and especially for its Metro U.I., but it's still a long way off, and by the time it finally hits the market it may already be a little too late, because Apple for one thing isn't going to be standing still in the meantime. With Apple now clearly able to see just what Microsoft is up to, it can now easily, and quickly, respond to any challenges that Windows 8 might pose to the iPad.

I've noticed that when it comes to tablet surveys, no matter how many, they all all seem to point to the same general conclusion: that the king-of-tablets, the iPad, isn't bloody likely to be dethroned anytime soon.

In conclusion, Microsoft's Windows 8 tablets could change all of that, but more probably than not, the biggest change will not be it trashing the iPad, but rather that Windows 8 will end up trashing the rest of the competition, and especially the Android platform. Personally, I'm expecting, that by the end of the day, that there will be only two real tablet choices out there for most people: the iPad and Windows 8. All others will be battling it out for the crumbs.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny Monday, September 10 (already!), 2011

Opening photo via: InterMobile; chart via Changewave

The Ultimate iPad Accessory: The Bentley Mulsanne Apple Concept Interior

There are literally thousands of accessories to be found for the iPad, iPhone or the Mac Mini, but above you can see the ultimate in all iPad accessories.... a Bentley Mulsanne concept interior car, and one that features not just a Mac Mini and an iPhone, but, yes, count em, two freaking iPads!

Normally, a regular, run-of-the-mill, Bentley Mulsanne would cost you around a cool quarter-of-a-million U.S. bucks, but the Mulanne concept, with all those Apple goodies included, will cost you an extra one-hundred-thousand Euro's on top of that. But hey, at least your money will get you the ultimate Apple accessory, and most likely something that you probably won't see your local butcher, mail-man, or paper boy sporting.

The British, but German owned car, was shown off recently in good old Frankfurt, and has an interior that was designed to help you keep fully alert, awake, connected and fully in charge as you work from your luxury office on wheels, and according to AutoBlog, who's photo appears above (click to enlarge) , states the following:

"Rear passengers will enjoy the power-folding wood veneer picnic tables that drop from the backs of the front seats. The tables are home to separate iPad work stations, each of which includes a Bluetooth wireless keyboard. Keeping that iPad and keyboard combo in check is a Mac Mini mounted in the trunk. The Apple product brigade is joined by an iPod that can play music but also serves as the remote control for the rear seat information and entertainment devices. A telephone is nestled into the armrest alongside a Tibaldi pen. If you're not familiar with the Tibaldi brand of writing instruments, just know that prices range from way-too-much-for-a-pen to worth-more-than-the-car-you-drive. Regardless, we're sure it takes beautiful notes that pertain to the morning meeting, which you attended from the back of your super luxury sedan."

Yeah baby..... now that's what I call the ultimate Apple accessory! Unfortunately, that's one accessory that I don't think I'll personally be getting anytime soon, and not just because I'm a poor bloke either, but rather because if money was no object, I much rather buy me one of those German Maybach Excelero's at the reasonable price of a measly $8,000,000 U.S.! On second thought, why be greedy? I'll just take me one of those regular, good-old S-class or E-class Mercedes instead.

In conclusion, even though most of us will never be able to afford the ultimate of all Apple accessories, like the Mulsanne concept car above, we can still always drool over the video of it above and dream on, can't we?

And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, but cold, Friday, September 16, 2011

Steve Ballmer: Windows Mobile 7 Sales Not Exactly What He Had Hoped For

Microsoft's Metro U.I. looks quite impressive indeed running on a Windows 8 tablet, or for that matter a PC.

However, on the smartphone side of the equation I, like many others, don't seem all that keen on it.

Apparently, that explains why Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, recently told analysts at its recent financial meeting that, “We haven’t sold quite as many as I would have liked in the first year.”

In fact, Windows Mobile 7 sales seem to be going from bad to worse!

As CEO, Mr. Ballmer has to keep up a positive image, of course. In that regard he stated, “I’m not saying I love where we are but I am very optimistic on where we can be,” “We’ve just got to kick this thing to the next level.”

I'm not sure exactly what Mr. Ballmer means when he says, "... the next level", but surely after all the bad sales, Microsoft is going to need a lot of help, and a lot of luck if it thinks it can take on the likes of Android or Apple's iPhone, both of which report booming and growing sales. In fact, the hype and anticipation for the upcoming iPhone 5 is now even far greater than that of the fantastically successful iPhone 4, the world's biggest selling smartphone.

Microsoft, earlier this year for example, was more-than-happy to reveal Windows Mobile sales number, except, however, for the platform's actual sales figures. Now that can't be a very good sign, now can it?

In conclusion, a lot of people, including Microsoft, are hoping that its alliance with Nokia will turn the tables, but that doesn't make much sense to me. For starters, not only are Windows Mobile 7 sales tanking, but so is Nokia's share of the market. In other words: Windows Mobile 7 is like a sinking ship that is hoping that another sinking ship (Nokia) will save them! It ain't going to happen folks.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this, I wish I were in Freiburg Im Bresgau, Thursday, September 15, 2011

Steve Ballmer and Windows Mobile photo via: Business Insider

Microsoft's Stunning New Windows 8 To Challenge iOS, Displace Android

Above, you can see Microsoft's Windows 8 multi-touch interface in action, and it is, if I do say so myself, very impressive. In fact, it's so impressive that InfoWorld's Galen Gruman wrote: "Watch out, Apple: Windows 8 could trump the iPad."

Microsoft, of course, had the benefit of being able to sit back and observe everything that Apple did right, or as Galen Gruman also stated, "Microsoft has adopted Apple's usability religion with great fervor, and it looks poised to deliver an impressive result."

In another area, Microsoft also plans to 'ape' Apple's App Store by allowing Windows 8 customers to buy most of their software in the same manner as do customers now using Lion or iOS. Even though Microsoft is following in Apple's steps, at least they are also bringing a lot of their own innovation to the table and are not just simply copying Apple outright in the same way that Android shamelessly does. For that, I say kudos to Microsoft.

When Windows 8 finally hits the market it could very well indeed pose somewhat of a little bit of a problem for Apple's iPad, but, on the other hand, it will definitely pose a very big problem for Android. Android is nothing more, and nothing less then a blatant and inferior rip-off of iOS, and when it comes to HP killing off WebOS tablets, Galen Gruman also interestingly stated:

"If HP seen a preview of Windows 8 tablets, that would explain why he suddenly killed the WebOS-based TouchPad tablet last month. Windows 8 is very likely to squeeze Google Android out of second place in the tablet market -- after all, Android is largely an iOS imitation, and I don't see how Google will stand out if Microsoft joins Apple in offering compelling, differentiated innovation."

In a post entitled, "Windows 8 Slate Hands On: It’s Fantastic. (But Don’t Sell Your iPad.)" Gizmodo goes on to praise Microsoft's adoption of Apple's view of OS design, but also pointed out that it was far from being quite perfect yet, and noted, in closing:

"YUSSSSSSSS. Largely this thing is great. You hate comparisons, but I'm going to make them: It's not on par with the iPad (even the original version, to say nothing of the iPad 2.) There are simply too many things that don't work as they should. But it's already far more usable than any Android tablet I've encountered. By the time Microsoft gets ARM straightened out and can ship this OS on optimized hardware, it's going to really sing. This is, in fact, the first tablet other than an iPad I can see myself buying and using. It's early, but Microsoft seems to have a hit."

So, should Apple be quaking in their boots right now because of Windows 8 potential?

No, but, in conclusion, they should definitely be concerned, very concerned and one way for Apple to help offset Windows 8 stunning new interface would be to hire the Bazillion guy below, who designed this newer, and much more elegant way of implementing multi-tasking in iOS, so Apple, for heaven's sake, please, please consider hiring this guy before someone else snaps him up!

New Multitask Interface for iOS from Marcsheep on Vimeo.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Apple's First Tablet Was Not An iPad: Old Apple Prototypes

A lot of people will tell you that Apple's iPad is nothing more than just a big rip-off of tablets done before by other companies, and that Apple is really not innovating at all, but rather just copying what others, such as Android, Microsoft, Samsung and other companies have been doing all long.

They will tell you heatedly that all of the components and features from the iPad were either thought of, or done long before Apple ever decided to copy them. At least that's the impression I get when I read the various comment sections from the major sites reporting on the iPad, or any other bit of Apple news.

Well, the next time anyone should tell you otherwise, or that Apple never had an original idea of their own, including building a tablet like the iPad, then all you have to do is point them to this old post.

Yes, that's a 27-year-old Apple prototype tablet their talking about, and one that goes back long before Microsoft ever came out with their own non-selling tablets. What I find really interesting, is that this particular working prototype tablet not only included its very own attachable keyboard and stylist, but also had removable storage in the form of its included floppy disks! Wow, now this thing really goes a long way back, doesn't it?

When it comes to tablets, it can be arguably stated that the very first tablet to actually come to market was from Apple. It would be, of course, the much criticized Newton Message Pad which you can see below. Here we see Apple's oldest selling tablet along side that of its newer big brother tablet, the iPad, and the iPhone to boot.

The iPad, of course, isn't the only modern Apple product that had its design influenced by past prototypes either. Just take a gander at some of the designs below and you can see a laptop that looks suspiciously much like today's MacBook Air! The design comes from a book published a few years back by the founder of Frog Designs, a company that did prototype designs for Apple, way, way back in the early 80's.

The Apple Museam, or TAM, also has an interesting post on some cool, but very old Apple prototypes, including, of course, the Apple Penlite tablet. According to TAM: "The Macintosh PowerBook Duo Tablet computer was a combination of a PowerBook Duo computer and a tablet PC. It had a stylus pen, backlit display, vertically built-in floppy drive and ran standard MacOS software. The PowerBook Duo Tablet could also be connected to the Duo Docks and accessories.
The project was canceled in 1994 before the introduction of Newton Message Pad 100. Apple felt that it would be too confusing to have different pen-driven tablet computers."

In conclusion, if anyone should ever argue with you that Apple's foray into tablets is nothing but a recent idea, or copy, of what others are now, or have been doing for years now, well, you can just mossy them on over to this cool, but very old video of the Apple Knowledge Navigator, a tablet that highlights much of what the current iPad does now, but also a whole lot more. The Knowledge Navigator tablet was truly a type of 2001 Space Odyssey device, and one that seems to be almost alive... almost human!

And that's my 2 cents on Apple and tablets 4 this drizzly Tuesday morning, September 13, 2011

The Great OS Shoot Out - Windows 7 Vs OS X Lion: Which Comes Out On Top?

I use both Mac OS X Lion and Windows 7, and I love them both. Both are great OS's, but which one, overall, is the better of the two?

Well, that is exactly what Laptop Magazine wanted to find out, so they did this great shootout, which judged how the two primary OS's, in various different areas, stacked up against each other.

Of course, what we really all want to know is: which OS came out on top, OS X Lion, or Windows 7?

Well, naturally, you invariably always win some, and lose some, and each OS topped the other in certain areas, such as when it came to gaming, which, by the way, easily went to Windows. Gaming, of course, was only one of the areas that Laptop.com pitted the OS's against each other. The areas featured in their shootout covered the following:

- Interface
- Multitasking & Windows Management
- Touchpad Navigation & Multitouch Gestures
- Search: Mac Spotlight Vs. Windows Search
- Native Web Browsers
- Multimedia Experience
- Gaming
- Security
- Parental Controls
- Backing Up
- Special Weapons
- Value

Laptop's article goes into-depth into each of the areas listed above, and was something that I simply didn't have the time to do, so I'll just concentrate on the most important part of the article, its verdict of which OS was the better of the two. However, I still would highly like to recommend reading Laptop's entire article in order to get a better perspective and understanding of why one OS ended up topping the other.

And getting into which OS is the better of the two, well all you have to do is look at Laptop's nifty little chart produced below. Clearly, OS X came out on top, besting Windows 7 in seven of the 11 critical areas, including: its interface, multi-touch and navigation, search, multimedia, security and parental control, and, as well, its back up.

Windows 7, on the other hand, was easily found to beat out OS X Lion in the remaining four critical areas, including: multitasking, web browsing, value, and, as stated earlier, gaming.

According to the chart, however, both OS's tied when it came to the area of pocessing special or unique features.

Even though OS X Lion came out on top, Windows 7, I must say, is still a very great OS and, as Laptop pointed out, " Windows 7 outshines Mac OS X in some pretty important ways."

Nonetheless, and in conclusion, and, at the end of the day, OS X Lion 'roared' on to emerge as the best OS! However, it must also be remembered, that Laptop Magazine is a site that is dedicated to all things pertaining to laptops, so that's where their perspective is mainly focused, so desktop users just might want to take all of this with a little dash of salt.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this rather nice Monday, September 12, 2011

Windows 7 vs OS X Lion image via: Technology Herald

Patent Wars: German Courts Uphold Injunction Against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love pretty much anything and everything about Germany, be it the land, the cities, the architecture, and above all, I love its people.

Germans are, after all, extremely hardworking, fun-loving, friendly, intelligent and above all decisive and they show no fear whatsoever when it comes to making the hard decisions, and such was the case earlier this morning when the German court upheld its preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab.

According to Herr Mueller, of FossPatents, "Today's outcome means that Samsung has exhausted its options with the Düsseldorf Regional Court on the fast track". Samsung, naturally, says it will appeal the decision, claiming that it limits consumers choice, in which I reply..."blah, blah, blah!"

Samsung, as also noted by Herr Mueller, can still legally sell its original Galaxy 7.0, but the scope of today's decision means that if Samsung were to come out with a newer Galaxy 9, or 11, or what have you, they most likely would also be included in today's injunction.

Of course, Samsung can still, if it's lucky, have the whole thing overturned by appealing to a higher court, but today's latest legal win for the Cupertino giant gives it significant psychological mileage that can help it to set a precedent that other courts worldwide can reference, but are not necessarily subject to.

In regards to the above, Herr Mueller also noted:

"If the California-based court now also grants a preliminary injunction, it can't be accused of favoring its local hero over a foreign competitor after a court in a neutral country (in the sense that neither Apple nor Samsung are German companies) also decided to protect Apple."

Already, I've seen Frandroids complaining bitterly, on other blogs, that the German judge was "bribed', without, of course, any proof whatsoever. Expect to see a lot more of such nonsense from Android fans as the patent war between the American and Korean giants heats up.

Google's Android is now under serious attack and Google, a company that already has been proven to be knowingly willing to break the law, will stop at nothing the more desperate it becomes. Some are expecting that if Google doesn't sue Apple first, then Apple will most likely sue Google in the very near future for violating each others IP.

After all, Google didn't exactly spend $12.5 billion for MMI for nothing, and it has already begun to loan out patents so others can legally attack Apple, but so far nothing they have done seems to have had little or any effect in making Apple fearful or to back down. Whether by giving, selling or loaning out patents in order that others can gang up on Apple is all quite laughable, especially considering how Google once cried fowl that everyone esle was doing the same against its Android platform.

In conclusion, this latest legal win is good news for Apple but very bad news indeed for Samsung. It's not the end for Samsung or its knock-off products, or for Android for that matter, but it's certainly a major psychological victory that could end up having very real and profound legal and financial repercussions down-the-road, and not only for Samsung and Apple directly, but especially for Google and its iOS copy cat Android platform, and not only in Germany and Europe, but worldwide.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, September 09, 2011

iPad vs Galaxy Tab 10.1 via: CyberValley

Blog-4-The-Day: FossPatents

If there is anyone blog that is being constantly quoted from these days, including my own blog, it has to be FossPatents.

This blog, as its name suggests, is naturally all about patents, which as we all know, just happens to be big news these days.

One of the reasons, of course, that this highly-praised and much quoted blog is now so extremely popular is because of the on-going and ever increasingly more hostile patent war now raging between the world's most innovative company Apple, and its many, many would be copy-cat wannabes out there, such as Samsung, Google, HTC, Microsoft, etc.

It's all kind of a hell-of-a-you-know-what big mess, this patent war thing, and it is also one that is extremely hard for the average man or woman to legally grasp, so who are you going to call to help you make sense of it all? Florian Mueller, of course, and his award winning blog, FossPatents.

As far as his credentials go, he himself writes on his blog:

Florian Mueller is an award-winning intellectual property activist-turned-analyst with 25 years of software industry expertise spanning across different market segments (games, education, productivity and infrastructure software), diverse business models and a variety of technical and commercial areas of responsibility, enabling a holistic perspective. Florian advises clients on the patent wars surrounding mobile devices, and on their economic and technical implications. His consulting services are available directly (contact form, LinkedIn profile) as well as through three primary research firms (Gerson Lehrman Group, Coleman Research Group, Guidepoint Global Advisors) serving the financial community. (In order to avoid conflicts of interest, Florian does not hold or initiate transactions in any technology stocks or derivatives thereof.)

Pretty impressive credentials I say, and with credentials like those it's no wonder the world is literally beating a path to his door. Many, many times I've been able to come to a better understanding of patents thanks to reading Herr Mueller. Reading this great blog has also allowed me to be better able to sift through all of the legal gibberish out there, and which also helps to explain why FossPatents is probably and arguably now the world's number one authority on all things pertaining to patents, and listed below are just some of the many great posts to be found on this great blog:

These are the patents Google gave to HTC to assert...

Shocker for Android OEMs: Google document proposes...

Oracle President Safra Catz ready to talk settlement...

Google engineer admits to "strong indication that ...

Sun proposed Red Hat-style Android distribution wi...

Google objects to judge's proposal for jury select...

ITC review of S3 Graphics v. Apple: things may get...

German court orders Samsung to remove Galaxy Tab 7...

Judge inclined to order "the top executive officer...

Apple to ITC: Andy Rubin got inspiration for Android...

Trust me, the above posts are not only all excellent and well written, but they can really help the average reader to much better understand and appreciate all of the finer details from the complicated world of patents. Herr Mueller's is intelligent, concise, factual, fair, pulls no punches, and, most importantly, he tells it like it really is, and regardless of the outcome or what others might think or do.

In conclusion, along with Eran Dilger of RoughlyDrafted, and John Gruber of DaringFireball, I can't think of anyone better qualified to help you sift through all of the gibberish written elsewhere about the legally complicated world of patents than Herr Florian Mueller and his award-winning blog, FossPatents.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this dreary Thursday, September o8, 2011

Herr Mueller's photo via: FossPatents

Retro Gaming: Atari's iPad Joystick

Agggh! Today is one of those days were I have simply little time to write much of anything, so instead of doing a very short post on one of the most bad-ass Mac screen savers, like for ever, I decided to do one on retro gaming for the iPad, since I couldn't find a proper download link for the above. However, if you still want to see what it looks like in action, then you can just mosey on over here. There is a download link, but the hell if I can get it to work in my rushed state.

When it comes to retro gaming on the iPad, I wanted to focus on Atari's new retro joystick for the iPad, which will be going on sale this October 2, for $60 at Walmart and ToysRus. Dvice.com has a great post on this cool accessory, and an accessory that is similar to that of iCade, but according to Dvice, "Where iCade Ends And Atari Arcade Begins".

I must say that even though I'm not much of a gamer myself, I really, really love the idea behind both Atari's and iCade: the bringing back of good, old-fashion retro gaming. Ah... I remember being super stoked at all of the advanced computer graphics way, way back in those early days of computer gaming, and all of which now looks utterly lame in comparison with today's whiz-bang computers and their nifty-and-nimble, super-fast graphic cards.

With Atari's new iPad joy stick you'll be reliving the memories of tech-gaming gone by in no time, and playing games that even if they are rather simplistic, and even crude, in comparison to today's crop of shoot-em-ups, are still nonetheless quite addictive and more importantly.... downright fun, even if initially the only free Atari game available will Missile Command. For more games, of course, your going to have to pony up a little more dough, you know?

In conclusion, there are some things from the past that I really would prefer to not remember, such as the date I had with a certain hot chick, but these old Atari games, and particularly Battle Zone, are definitely memories that I would love to relive, over and over again, and now thanks to both iCade and Atari's upcoming joystick that is now a distinct possibility.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Atari joystick photo via: Gizmodo

Forget Parallels Desktop 6, Here Comes Parallels Desktop 7 Edition

Well, well boys and girls, as you can see in the above video, it's finally here....... Parallels Desktop 7, and it's sporting some whopping 90 new features, including full Lion integration! And the latest version of Parallels also includes its new Parallels Mobile application, and, of course, the now expected overall boosts in performance.

Some of the biggest features of the latest version, according to Parallels, are the following:

- Enjoy Lion functionality including Full Screen, Launch Pad and Mission Control, for your Windows programs

- Run multiple copies of OS X Lion or Windows and their applications on your Mac

- Use your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to watch and listen to Flash videos in Windows on your Mac; access and run your OS X, Windows, Chrome, Ubuntu and other operating systems, their applications and files on your Mac anytime from anywhere

- Windows on Demand - purchase and automatically install Windows on your Mac right from Parallels Desktop 7 in the U.S., Parallels does all the work

The above include some pretty neat stuff, and especially the idea of being able to purchase Windows on demand. Windows 8 isn't out, and won't be for awhile yet, but it's beginning to look quite intriguing if I do say so myself, so this feature appeals to me in a big way, not that I expect it to be anywhere near as neat or as cool as Lion, of course.

Parallels will also be offering a "Switch To Mac Edition" for anyone wishing to switch from Windows to a Mac, and, as well, a "Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition" that allows businesses and IT departments to fully support Windows based business applications for Mac users, including the ability to a configure, a policy-compliant solution that can easily fit into any existing business process, allowing for the reduce cost of deploying or maintaining their client-based software.

And speaking of cost, the cost for Parallels Desktop 7 is $79.99, or $49.99 for an upgrade, and if its as great as the specs suggest that it is, than that's easily money well spent. The new Parallels Mobile app, according to AppleInsider, will be "available in the App Store for an introductory price of $4.99; the standard retail price is $19.99. Current users of the free Parallels Mobile app will receive a free upgrade to the new Parallels Mobile app when it becomes available by simply updating the Parallels Mobile app on their mobile devices."

Overall, Parallels lists the additional benefits of using its Desktop 7:

- With over 90 new and enhanced features, this latest version makes your Windows applications feel like they were made for Mac. The result? A more intuitive and powerful way to use Windows and Mac side-by-side in a seamless user experience.

- Enjoy the best performance on the market

- New! Lion integration and support, including Launchpad and Mission Control for Windows programs

- New! Shared iSight and FaceTime HD cameras in both Windows and Mac applications

- New! Lion as a guest OS

- Enhanced! Up to 1 GB of video memory, for ultra-high resolutions and maximum quality settings (I especially did this one!)

- Enhanced! With the new Parallels Mobile App, copy-and-paste, enjoy audio, and access your Mac and Windows programs with your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

- Run thousands of Windows applications at lightning speed on your Mac

- Enhanced! Increased graphics performance: up to 45% faster for 3D graphics compared to previous versions

- Enhanced! Start, stop and resume Windows more quickly, as much as 60 %, every time you launch Windows

- Enhanced! When copying files within Windows, Parallels Desktop 7 outperforms its competitor by 120 %

In conclusion, as great as Parallels Desktop Edition 6 was, clearly Desktop 7 blows it away and not only in performance, but also in features as well. Yes, OS X is a far better, far more stable and far more secure OS than Windows 7 as far as I'm concerned, but if you want or absolutely need to run Windows, but don't want to have to reboot everytime by using BootCamp, then Parallels Desktop 7 looks like the perfect solution.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, wet and cold Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Google's Gift To Microsoft: Buying Motorola Mobility

Originally, Larry Page, Google's new CEO, claimed that they simply bought Motorola Mobility in order to help protect Android from the increasingly hostile patent attacks against it, and which threaten its very existence. Those patents, however, according to many patent experts are nothing more than pure and utter crap!

So, why did Google buy Motorola Mobility anyway?

For the hardware, or so says Google's former CEO, Eric Schmidt. So, who do we believe, Larry Page or Eric Schmidt? I'm not sure if we can be really sure of anything, when it comes to Google, except to expect a lot of double-speak.

According to some, however, what Google really bought was a nice big present for none other than its arch enemy, namely big old Microsoft and its Windows Mobile 7 platform, as it is expected to be the biggest gainer from Google's massive $12.5 billion purchase of MMI.

What made Android, of course, really take off in the first place was its many, many Android OEM licensees who were able to promote and turn out a zillion different models, but now with Google confirming that it really wants the hardware assets so that it too can produce a more high-quality phone like Apple's iPhone, well, this is going to have a major impact on those very Android licensees who must now be questioning Google's intentions with a fine-tooth comb.

Already, for instance, the biggest and baddest of all Android OEMs, Samsung, has now begun to hedge its bets precisely because of the acquisition of MMI by Google, by stepping up its offerings that use its own fledgling Bada OS.

Another major Android OEM, Acer, has also stated that it would consider the implications of the deal before choosing which operating system to use on its devices. Acer's Walter Deppeler, Acer's president of EMEA operations, also claims that the whole deal will benefit Microsoft, as it undercuts all of the other Android's OEMs.

Google will apparently gain some pretty-sweet tax right-offs from the deal, a lot of patents that are basically all too weak to protect Android much at all, and a chance to build a more top-to-bottom experience that is closer to that of Apple's iPhone than any other existing phone.

In conclusion, and in the end, with all of the legal proceedings now gathering against it, Google's Android may find that, if anything, the acquisition of Motorola Mobitiy will simply piss-off most of its OEMs big time, and it could be the beginning of the end for Android's many, many existing OEM licensees. Yuppers, Steve Ballmer must be dancing in the halls and doing cart-wheels right now, as Google's MMI acquisition could end up becoming the best gift that anyone, anywhere has ever given the software giant.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this gloomy Monday, September 05, 2011

Opening logo via: Mobility Feeds

My 2 Cents On The Acer Aspire S3 And Ultrabooks In General

One of the first UltraBooks is now out in Europe. It'll cost you a whopping 799 euros too, and it comes from Acer. It's the Acer Aspire S3, which can be seen in the German video presentation above.

Yes, if you think it looks kind of like a MacBook Air, well your right, but albeit its a rather uglier one. According to a hands on, by Engadget, they sum it up this way:

"Until we spend some good QT with it -- or any of the other newly minted Ultrabooks -- it'll be tough to say how sweet a value this is. And if it can perform like a champ -- lasting close to seven hours, as promised, and delivering a healthy punch on its ultra low voltage Sandy Bridge processors -- all of those niggles above shouldn't be a problem."

Well, unfortunately, I can't say too much either until I get the same opportunity, but in the meantime, I must say that despite how interesting Ultrabooks might appear, so far I really can't say that I've seen any compelling reason to choose one over that of a MacBook Air. This is especially so since they cost as much, or even more, in many cases as the MacBook Air itself. And, yes, they might sport some pretty impressive specs, but specs are not everything. As good as Windows 7 is, and as good as Windows 8 appears it might become, none of these Ultrabooks will be able to run OS X legally or easily, and therefore, in my mind's eye, they'll never be as good as one.

One of the reasons I say this is because buying an Ultrabook, or a regular Windows or Linux machine for that matter, will, in the end, leave you simply with less choice. Boy-oh-boy....... less choice, I can just hear all the Lin-tards and Win-tards out there now, because more choice is what they have always loved to claim that PCs had over that of the Mac. And, of course, they were absolutely right.... on the hardware side that is. But hardware choice means nothing if that same hardware also limits your choice in choosing what and how much software you could actually run on them. Sadly, PCs limits you to simply running just either Windows, Linux or some other half-baked OS, like Google's Chrome OS.

With a MacBook Air, on the other hand, even though you may not have quite the same choices in hardware, on the software side, however, a MacBook Air, actually will give you a much greater choice when it comes to the software side, as it can pretty much run any software, since it, and it alone, can run natively, or in virtual mode, just about any OS out there, including all of the software programs written for them!

So, in conclusion, as interesting as it is to see how these Ultrabooks copy the Mac Air's super-thin profile, or its large track pad, chicklet keyboard, back lighting, and overall general appearance, they'll still never be able to offer you the same freedom of choice when it comes to running the OS of your choice, or all of the software that was written for them, so yeah baby, I'll take a MacBook Air over any one of these Ultrabooks, MacBook Air pretenders, any old day.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, September 02, 2011

The Other Side Of Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs The Family Man

Most people see Steve Jobs as being one of the world's greatest businessmen, "the greatest CEO of all time, as well as one of the greatest marketers, greatest innovators, greatest showmen, and one of the greatest comeback stories of all time, but award winning writer Lisen Stromberg sees him just as her neighbor and as a great family man.

Lisen recently wrote about her world-famous neighbor, and said that she sees Steve not so much as many others do, like those of above, which is certainly all true of course, but rather she sees him as being more of a good father and as a good husband, and she remembers meeting him for the first time "....... years ago at a backyard pool party. I was so flummoxed by the off chance I was breathing in his DNA, I could barely say a word. I am sure I made a winning first impression as I stumbled over my own name when we were introduced.

I watched as he swam in the pool with his son. He seemed like a regular guy, a good dad having fun with his kids."

Lisen recounts numerous times that she met Steve on various other occasions, such as while walking with his son, or while holding hands with his wife doing the same, or while talking to his children's teachers, or at meeting him at a Halloween party all dressed up as Frankenstein, smiling as he greeted her own child by name.

However, she says what she remembers the most is "... the day I saw him at his son’s high school graduation. There Steve stood, tears streaming down his cheeks, his smile wide and proud, as his son received his diploma and walked on into his own bright future leaving behind a good man and a good father who can be sure of the rightness of this, perhaps his most important legacy of all."

In conclusion, Lisen's own observations on this amazing and remarkable man is most definitely true, as no description or title, be it the "world's greatest CEO", or what have you, could ever be, in my humble opinion, as important as being honestly described as being "a great husband or a great dad", so thanks Lisen for your closer and more personal look at this very private and very amazing man.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, September o1, 2011

Photo of Steve Jobs and wife Lauren via: respondingtooportunity