Now that Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is official… how many people the world-over are left wondering: how much time will pass (if it does indeed happen) before it is no longer free; or working with non-Windows platforms, etc., right? Granted, this might not happen but Redmond deciding to charge for the use of Skype (in ways that it didn’t charge end-users as a stand-alone firm) is not out of the realm of possibility.
(Source) Top Tech Reviews: http://goo.gl/Ze9aK
Chalk-up Holland as the latest country that Samsung has been rebuffed in court (whereas a ruling went against them and in favor of Apple).
(Source) Reuters: http://goo.gl/Zbi0p
A quality problem: overwhelming demand. A non-quality solution: not being able to meet said demand. A PR-upside: lots of buzz being generated. A PR downside: lots of buzz being generated… A founder rolling in his grave: indeed, mostly likely, that’s probably so (if possible). A company that’s far from perfect: Apple.
Clearly, the OS5 upgrade is a mixed-smash in and as far as (at least) interest… whilst downloading it is presently another case (due to numerous issues being reported regarding long delays; bricked phones, error messages, etc.)
(Source) Reuters: http://goo.gl/7YkA1
S. Korea’s flagship electronics giant continues to get beaten in the court of law (as well as in some instances the court of public opinion) regarding their on-going patent litigation with Apple (with the Cupertino based giant essentially taking them to task at this juncture) as their latest ‘front’ (for lack of a better term) Australia has ruled against Samsung (again, as have other nations in the EU).
Long story short; if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery perhaps (in this instance) it is also the most expensive?
(Source) Wired: http://goo.gl/qZs9E
The ‘hits’ just keep coming for RIM… unfortunately, they are of the wrong sort as their current network outage (and the firm itself) bumble and stumble (which makes them look even more inept) towards Day 3…
(Source) MSNBC: http://goo.gl/Yk80W
As if RIM does not already have enough challenges: a) an unenthusiastic (albeit loyal) customer-base; b) dwindling sales due to re-releasing essentially the same handset (over the past few upgrade cycles); c) encryption / national security challenges from the Middle East and India (that have also distracted the firm’s focus); d) a continued falling market-share; e) a major network outage (to begin this week across Africa, the EU and Middle East); and, f) the enclosed news regarding a German-concern (BizzTrust) claiming to have created the world’s most secure Android handset (note: the aforementioned list is in no particular order)…
Granted, Android (and/or Google for that matter) is / are not above reproach. Yet, if the enclosed project (and the results therein) has any level of accuracy / merit that is widely commercially viable, RIM looks to have taken another broadside hit (as if it needed it too).
(Source) Fast Company: http://goo.gl/cB1uU
(Source) SIT: http://goo.gl/j3K1F
When you consider that (for example) a company like Verizon rakes in $7 billion (yes, BILLION) dollars per year on text-messaging fees alone it will be very interesting to see how (American) mobile carriers respond (i.e., in all probability try to squash) Apple’s latest offering (slated to be released this week) as an alternative to paying (essentially) a king’s ransom for an SMS (which by any stretch is a rip-off… putting it mildly). But what else should anyone expect from a firm like Verizon?
(Source) TG Daily: http://goo.gl/StnCU
As the tech-world slowly tries to return to normal (a relative term) the tributes to Steve Jobs continue to dominate the news (which is no surprise). Towards that end, one publication has gone on the record regarding the ‘tributes that he would have loved’ (which, one would hope that despite this subjective take at best, is genuine indeed). That said; what is certainly genuine is the outpouring of support and the unifying notion of how integrated technology is within our collective humanity (particularly at a time when civil society seems to far too often be anything but that).
(Source) Fast Company: http://goo.gl/eo6Nw
Google and Samsung have announced that they are going to postpone releasing new smartphones next week in light of Steve Jobs’ death.
(Source) Wall Street Journal: http://goo.gl/1RjHP
As the tributes continue to pour-in from around the world; countless people are paying their respects not so much to the ‘cult of Apple’ as much as to the symbolism of what Steve Jobs personified / represented (particularly at a time when there is so much global economic uncertainty about the prospect of actually being able to pursue one’s dreams). And, this is the underlying brilliance of what he embodied: doing what one loves (first and foremost) whereas what develops will allow for any given person to be able to see how their life evolved in retrospect.
Complicated yet simple; profound yet obvious… therein is the beauty of what Jobs can teach all of us: how many people the world over are actually ‘doing what they love?’ Moreover; if this was the orientation towards ‘success’ just think about how different our world might actually be?
