‘i’ Get Around…

Posted on June 7, 2011 by John

The Financial Times has released an application that is not captive to iTunes (as it resides independently on an iPhone / iPad Home Screen).

In sum; this is clearly in response to what many publishers felt was / were the rather draconian terms of Apple’s agreement regarding providing their content (including Cupertino’s demand that they essentially give-up their access to any given user’s subscription information) which is akin to selling the proverbial farm in this market segment. Moreover, on day when Apple’s iCloud was announced by Jobs himself; it’ll be interesting to see if this is a harbinger for other publishers, etc. to follow suit within this segment.

From FT: http://apps.ft.com/ftwebapp/?u

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iCould.

Posted on June 7, 2011 by John

Apple’s unveiling of their latest service offering seems akin to playing catch-up more than anything else. Yes; it has been rumored (prior to Amazon and Google launching cloud-players) that this was one of their next major announcements. Nevertheless, there are some challenges with Apple’s iCloud:

  1. What happens to MobileMe users who will cease to have said service during the gap between when this is shuttered and when iCloud officially opens?
  2. At this juncture; streaming videos is still an unknown. Will this service be offered? If so; will Apple charge extra for it?
  3. Many of the features of iCloud are currently offered by Google; so there’s not the landmark differentiation herein as with some of Apple’s other offerings.
  4. A major difference though is how Apple is providing an incentive for consumers to upgrade their OS (and/or just buy Mac device outright with it therein) in order to get access to their iCloud f0r free (which is certainly a differentiator).
  5. The old clash between being on a PC vs. a Mac (and, by extension, iPhone / iPad vs. Android / Tablets, etc.) is still inherent as interoperability seems to have also (in some respects) taken another step towards it being less so than more…

These are a few (of a numbers of) points that come to mind…

Finally, even though being able to stream your digital content to 10 devices is obviously more generous than the maximum authorization number that Apple currently allows; it is still the case that the battle between “I own X… I should be able to do what I want with it” versus “No, you are actually paying for the license to use X and we are going to attempt to limit your usage of it” still goes on…

From CNET: http://cnet.co/lDwvW1

Chart: Cloud_Comparison

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Openness Downsides.

Posted on June 6, 2011 by John

A lot has been stated about the upside of the cloud; Open Source; Share-ware, etc. Granted, there are a number of positive attributes (worth noting). Nevertheless, in light of the recent wave of hacks that have struck; one question is certainly posed: what’s the U.S. Government doing using Google to provide them email access?

Okay, cost savings and the push by the firm into the Enterprise (in direct competition to Microsoft) are two quick responses that come to mind. However, for all the ‘supposed’ paranoia and security measures that America’s bureaucracy is known for (particularly in the post-9/11 era) this does seem just a bit odd.

Finally, both Microsoft and Yahoo reported being hacked; yet, Google seems to be the focus of the media’s ire (and has been since the firm first reported them in their dust-up with the PRC which spurred them to re-route their search results through Hong Kong).

From IBT: http://t.co/AW6Hxpu

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‘iPranksters’

Posted on June 5, 2011 by John

A group of men (posing as what appears to be construction / city-workers in Hamburg) pulled a fast-one by placing a pseudo-Windows logo on the soon-to-be newest Apple store in the city.

From Fortune: http://t.co/Fs8aiPz

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Hackers Gone Wild…

Posted on June 4, 2011 by John

With Sony; Google; Microsoft and Yahoo all in the news regarding their systems being compromised… it looks as though Skype can now be added to the (what appears to be) growing list of technologies that are either: a) revealing their vulnerabilities and/or b) being cracked for malicious / ‘security’ purposes (as is rumored to be the case with Skype regarding repressive governments eavesdropping via said technology).

Granted, no technology is 100% hack-proof; yet, as the world continues to place greater and greater emphasis on our dependency / reliance on applications and software, etc. the on-going challenge of those who are seeking to use these mediums for less-than-forthright purposes is growing in direct (if not it seems in some instances, greater) proportion.

From Information Week: http://t.co/jrv3wia

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Specific Absorption Rate.

Posted on June 4, 2011 by John

Your handset just might be dangerous to your health (depending on how much / how you use it). And, as a Public Service Announcement (one would hope, anyway) Computerworld (and other media outlets) published data of their levels of radiation emitted.

From Computerworld: http://cwrld.us/iFaeXy

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Messier

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John

Google’s approach to Android (being allowed to roam free via the some would argue naive view that open source is more upstanding) continues to be challenged by reality. Towards that end, on the heels of removing multiple applications that were nothing other than a bogus front for viruses; Motorola’s CEO has gone on the record stating other quality issues therein.

Granted, Motorola is desperate to recover after a very long and painful downward spiral that they were in. Nonetheless, they have also essentially staked their entire future on Android… so if that has any weight at all, it will be interesting to see if other handset makers begin to echo more of the same sentiment(s).

From PC World: http://t.co/0kctPDb

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iCloud-ed?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John

Perhaps ‘reign’ is too strong of a term / word? Perhaps not? Whatever the case; Apple’s newest service offering is not going to be free (which should really come as no real surprise to anyone as they are after all a ‘for-profit’ enterprise).

Nevertheless, paying for something is one thing; having advertising surrounding it is quite another… Granted, the major recording labels are all looking at this as a potential revenue-stream (as are publishers for that matter) yet; Apple’s (rumored) cut will be 18% to 30% (which clearly demonstrates the firms’ power / pull within this entire space).

From the Apple Insider: http://t.co/7Olzx8M

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Non-optional Failure

Posted on June 2, 2011 by John

Viewed from the grand scheme of things – it is not the end-of-the world. Nevertheless, catastrophic data failures – do – happen. Towards that end; as the phoenix rises… so shall one’s on-line presence too.

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Begin Anew!

Posted on June 2, 2011 by John

First off; a thank you is in order to all of the people the world-over who regularly read the missives posted by the owner of this nascent online presence. It is humbling and somewhat surprising that a following has been built (which was not an intended consequence of the crude beginnings of drafting an initial blog post!) Yet; it is genuinely appreciated.

Secondly; an inadvertent maintenance effort (or what was supposedly a maintenance update) resulted in a complete removal of all the (Blogski) contents previously posted (since 2008 no less!)

Finally; live and learn as the present and the future is what matters most!

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