Microsoft Expecting
Addressing an audience at the company's annual Financial Analyst Meeting in Redmond, Microsoft's COO, Kevin Turner, announced that a beta for Internet Explorer 9, the latest version of its popular browser, will be available fore download this September.
"The most beautiful thing about our browser story is the message is getting out with IE8, the safest most secure browser in the marketplace," Turner said. "We're really excited about IE9 which will be beta and coming out in September."
We don’t know that we would go so far as to say IE8 is the ‘safest most secure’ browser. Especially in light of Secunia’s allegedly 31% unpatched vulnerability rating. However, the unpatched vulnerabilities are not of a critical nature, in all fairness. We do know that until Microsoft de-couples IE from the operating system, we still suggest running a browser that is not OS-dependent, like Safari or Firefox. This will minimize the possibility of exploiting the OS via an attack on the browser.
Then again, we really do wish the government would run IE8 sometime this century :
The government has ruled out scrapping the use of Internet Explorer 6 on department computers, saying it will persevere with the bullet-riddled browser despite its high-profile vulnerabilities.
Responding to an online petition with more than 6,000 signatures urging government departments to upgrade away from IE6, the government said such a move would be "a very large operation" potentially at "significant potential cost to the taxpayer".
"It is therefore more cost-effective in many cases to continue to use IE6 and rely on other measures, such as firewalls and malware-scanning software, to further protect public sector internet users," reads the statement.
(sigh) Only in government. And since when is the government suddenly concerned about the cost of anything?
Google Getting Personal
According to Lookout, a US-based security firm, more than 80 Google Android wallpaper apps were collecting mobile phone numbers and personal details, including unique subscriber numbers. Many of the apps also “dialled home” to their developers, transmitting unencrypted sensitive data back to remote servers.
That can’t be good.
Apps for iPhone/iPod Touch
OpenAppMkt.com
What is it? Oh, just an online marketplace for web applications (apps) to run on your iPhone / iPod Touch, without that mean ol’ Apple as a gatekeeper. Which is precisely what Apple has maintained all along - if you don’t want to go through the Apple approval process, just write a web app and put it out there. No strings, no paperwork - just do it.
A bit weak in the selection department, at least right now. We are sure they will be offering more in the future. But lest you get us wrong, we applaud this effort. Someone is stepping up to try to make the web app market as vibrant as the iOS market.
Well played, sir or madam. Well played, indeed.
Shake that Money-maker
Apple Reports Third Quarter Results
All-Time Record RevenueEarnings Increase 78 Percent
CUPERTINO, California—July 20, 2010—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 third quarter ended June 26, 2010. The Company posted record revenue of $15.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.25 billion, or $3.51 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $9.73 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.83 billion, or $2.01 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.1 percent compared to 40.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 52 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple sold 3.47 million Macs during the quarter, representing a new quarterly record and a 33 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 8.4 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 61 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.41 million iPods during the quarter, representing an eight percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company began selling iPads during the quarter, with total sales of 3.27 million.
“It was a phenomenal quarter that exceeded our expectations all around, including the most successful product launch in Apple’s history with iPhone 4,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying Macs than ever before, and we have amazing new products still to come this year.”
Not bad at all. If one had listened to the press one would have assumed Apple was going down in flames.
Nokia and RIM Respond
So Nokia and RIM have responded to Apple’s assertion. RIM is up first :
"Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM's customers don't need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple."- Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, co-CEOs, Research in Motion
Now Nokia :
"Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas; the Nokia 8810, launched in 1998, was the first commercial phone with this feature.Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict.In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design."
We have to agree with the assessment of Eric Zeman of InformationWeek. It sounds to us, too, as if Nokia is supporting Apple’s position. Apple is basing their findings and their argument on the laws of physics, not marketing. It appears to us the RIM non-denial denial is more about deflection than anything Apple said or did.
Besides, if Steve Jobs isn’t correct about this being an industry-wide problem, then how do the rest of the manufacturers explain this ?
Call us crazy, but it looks like Apple knows what its talking about, and to the gall of everyone else - is right.
"Jesus! At Least Half Our Customers Must Have Called In...
Yes, if one is talking about one-half of one percent.
So the press was more upset over this problem - for God-only-
knows what reason - than the 3 million people who purchased
an iPhone 4.
For those not having a calculator immediately at hand, 0.55%
equates to 16,500 people out of 3 million. Not an insignificant
number, but hardly a disaster either.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the good Mr. Jobs really sunk
the knife in an gave it a few extra twists with the return rates
for the iPhone 4. 1.7% returned for what ever reason, not just
the tempest-in-a-teacup “AntennaGate” manufactured by the
so-called ‘press’.
That works out to be 51,000 returns. Or roughly 5 X more
than Microsoft sold of the Kin, if one uses the wildly
optimistic figure represented in the same ‘press’. Since the
‘press’ has been so wrong on this issue and took a story all out
of reasonable proportions, is it any wonder reporters enjoy a
lower reputation than Congressmen and used car dealers?
Apple did a double-time hurry-up job posting the video of
the press conference on its website, but the ‘press’ still couldn’t
get the story right :
Mr. Jobs said that to put the problems behind it, Apple would give free bumpers — cases that wrap around the rim of the phone — to all iPhone 4 buyers who want them. And he said those who had already bought the cases would get a full refund. The price of the bumpers from Apple is $29.
Customers still unhappy can return the phones for a full refund. The cases will remain free until Sept. 30.
No, that is not what Mr. Jobs said. He said :
“Why don’t you just give everybody a case? Ok. Great. Let’s give everybody a case. We’ve got our bumper case here, and we want to give everybody a free case. EveryiPhone user is going to get a free case. One for every iPhone 4. If you already boughtone we’ll give you a full refund for a bumper. And we’re going to do this for every iPhone 4 purchased through September 30.
We’ll re-examine this in September anddecide whether to keep going or maybe we’ll have a better idea. But at least throughSeptember 30th a free case for every iPhone 4 and if you bought a bumper we’ll give you a full refund.
Now, everything in life is more complicated than it seems on the surface. We’re going to send you a free case. We can’t make enough bumpers. Right. We were planning onselling them and making a certain percentage and you have the tooling done. We’re going to try to give a bumper to everyone.No way we can make enough in a quarter. So what we are going to do is source some other cases and give users a choice of cases.They will be able to pick one.
The emphasis is most emphatically ours. The point is the press
cannot accurately report the words of the CEO of the second
largest company on the planet. And that is a shame. If they
cannot do this yeoman’s duty, then precisely why should we
believe them on anything of import?
We must side with Mr. Jobs by weight of evidence. It would appear
the ‘press’ is not the least bit interested in reporting what is, but
rather they appear interested in reporting a pre-planned narrative.
What a Shock
This seems to be the only problem we have with Safari. It’s kind of spooky...
It’s almost as if Steve Jobs was right!
Freakin' Awesome!
Cars, played on actual cars! We are just geekin’ out here!
Surprise!
Lenovo : Apple Missing Huge Opportunity In Chinese Market
Apple to Lenovo : Surprise !
(Photo Courtesy of Xinhua)
Lenovo : Ah, crap !
We're All Wireless Now
We are all wireless internet junkies now. Well, at least a good 59% of us are :
Wireless Internet use grew by eight percent over last year with 59 percent of U.S. adults over 18 now using wireless devices regularly. That's according to new data from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The Pew Center surveyed 2252 people asking them about their daily online habits and how often they access the Internet using a laptop's Wi-Fi or mobile broadband connection, or via a mobile device.
The numbers jump to 84% when talking of those pesky 18-29 whipper-snappers. Why, in our day we had tin cans and string! And we liked it!
Big Business : We Heart the iPad
It would seem the Big Business world has a serious man-crush on Apple and their iPad :
Reservations aside, Wells Fargo saw how quickly the iPad might take hold amid businesses the weekend it was released. Finance executives of large companies -- those that generate more than $50 million in sales -- accessed corporate accounts with iPads, says Amy Johnson, a Wells Fargo vice president who works on the company’s online portal and mobile strategy.
Johnson used one of the iPads bought by Wells Fargo to demonstrate financial products during a May 13-14 conference. She says she now carries the iPad with her everywhere.
Hmmm... Wells Fargo. SAP AG. Tellabs. Daimler AG. What do you think they know that you don’t?
Other companies using the iPad at work include Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. Sales representatives in 40 U.S. dealerships in late May began using iPads on showroom floors to order on-the- spot financing options for customers, says Andreas Hinrichs, vice president of marketing at Mercedes-Benz Financial.
The company now is considering doling out iPads to all of its 350 U.S. dealerships.
This is the power of taking information with you anywhere. This is the dream of the paperless office writ large. This is the future, and it is happening now.
And this is making the most of your customer’s valuable time. Think about it.
Shocked! Shocked We Are!
Color us mildly surprised to find out some of Apple’s most staunch critics are on the take :
What most readers don’t know is that the Berkman Center and many of its leading professors have financial and personal ties to Google and other tech companies—ties that are not disclosed when these academics speak or publish, and that I discovered after auditing a class with Zittrain.
Oh, the tangled inter-webs we weave...
The class, it turned out, was funded by “a special grant from Microsoft,” according to Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer. Students were not made aware of Microsoft’s involvement.After finding out about the Microsoft grant, I became more curious about how academic work about the Internet is funded, and began asking the Berkman Center and Zittrain for more details. According to a statement provided on June 10 by Berkman co-directors John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, Google is the center’s top corporate backer and its fourth-largest donor (Harvard University is fifth), providing roughly $500,000 over the last two years to support an overall annual operating budget of approximately $5 million. Palfrey and Gasser say the Berkman project receiving the most financing from Google, StopBadware, is “now a separate 501(c)(3) entity,” but when I spoke to the project’s director, Maxim Weinstein, in May, Weinstein said he still works in Berkman-leased office space in Cambridge and that actual plans to phase out StopBadware’s relationship with Berkman are “fuzzy.”
The only thing ‘fuzzy’ here are the deplorable ethics being used. Sorry, we stand corrected - there were no ethics being used in a clear-cut case of conflict of interest.
There's the Right Way...
Software developer Jon Lech Johansen, who built an Android app for his music synchronization company DoubleTwist, published a blog post June 27 in which he noted that Google does not provide proper care and feeding for the Android Market.
"Unlike Apple's App Store, the Android Market has few high quality apps," Johansen wrote, citing a study from Larva Labs that Apple has paid out 50 times more money to developers than Google has.
Johansen added: "While the Android Market is available in 46 countries, developers can only offer paid apps in 13 countries. In addition, the price for foreign apps is not displayed in the user's local currency and developers do not have the option of customizing pricing by country.
"To make matters worse, you can't pay for foreign apps using your Amex card or carrier billing. There's also no support for in-app payments and changelogs (to communicate app changes).”
Johansen's biggest complaint is that the channel is loaded with trademark and copyright infringement, noting that there are some 144 spam ringtone apps clearly infringing copyright) that are being monetized through Google ads.
Perhaps Apple had it right when they decided a ‘moderated’ approach was the best way to maintain a high-quality marketplace for applications. After all, the ‘wild west’ died out for a reason...
