Final Blog!!! / New iPhone

First, I would like to take this opportunity to scream: FINALLY, THIS IS MY LAST POST...EVER!!!!! Okay but seriously I thought this day would never come. When Professor Drake gave us this task back in January, I told myself there is no way I will be able to write something consistently every week. But I am glad that I did instead of just slacking off and then having to scramble to get in 5 posts in one week. Overall, I thought the whole blog idea was really fun. I usually spend my time anyway finding cool information on the internet and this allowed me to share my findings with others. As well as seeing other interesting information found by my classmates.

My last post is about a very, very unlucky young Apple Software Engineer. Gray Powell was given a 4th generation iPhone prototype to test in the real world. Well he had it in a special case that disguised it as a iPhone 3GS. Unfortunately, he went out with some of his friends, drank many beers and ended up leaving the prototype iPhone on his bar stool.

Well the story goes, a near by fellow bar patron found the phone, not knowing that it was a prototype, and waited for Gray to come back (he never did). Next day he discovers that it is something special and tries to call Apple to let them know that he has something that they might want back, but no one took him seriously. Before you know it, he ends up selling the phone to online tech blog giant, GIZMODO, for $5,000. Gizmodo then ends up leaking many, many pics and videos showing off the prototype of the iPhone that will be unveiled in June. There were many doubters that this could be the real deal, but then Gizmodo received a letter (shown above) from Apple's legal team asking for the phone back. This all but confirms it real.

This is really crazy to me. Imagine how you would feel knowing that you single handedly led to Apple's next great product being leaked out to the world? Hopefully Gray gets to keep his job because anyone could of made that same mistake.

Original story found on GIZMODO

Hacker educating Microsoft and Apple

The three time repeat hacking contest winner;Charlie Miller, of the annual Pwn2own contest is tired of the way that computer industry companies tries to fix it flaws and bugs. That is why he won't tell Microsoft, Apple and Adobe about the 20 flaws and vulnerabilities it has in its software. Instead he will show and teach them how to find the bugs themselves. He recently just won $10,000 in the hacking challenge and has been the winner the past 3 years.

He states that he wants change and says that he is tired of the lack of progress in software security. He talks about companies making patches here and there,which makes the software perform better but its doesn't improve the security of the product. Miller finds the mistakes of the software by using what is called a "dumb fuzzer", a tool that automatically looks for flaws in software by inserting data to see where the program fails. Miller found vulnerabilities in Apples Mac OS 10.6 and safari browser, Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation maker and in Adobe's PDF viewer and Reader.

PC World Article

Miller demonstrated how he came to finding the bugs in front of Microsoft,Apple and other vendors in hopes that the companies would listen and improve of their security standards. He knows he might seem like a bad guy in some peoples eyes but he wants them to take initiative and do more fuzzing to improve on security. Maybe this the way to put the pressure on companies to do so.

Apple and Google Together Again??

First let me start off with talking about the great time I had at Menlo on Friday. Surprisingly not that many people showed up from our class (opportunity to get inside a great company and extra credit). But I felt like Menlo was just an overall "cool" place to work, they had the type of creativity that you would think only Google had in its work place. Basically the programmers were writing coding that you would find in IS315 (a bit more advance) but in pairs of twos. And every week you would be paired up with another partner.

On to my article of the week. Well after all my numerous articles about Google vs Apple. And the fact that the two CEOs, Steve Jobs of Apple and Eric Schmidt of Google, have had a public fallout, GIZMODO has posted pictures showing the two enjoying a cup of coffee last FRIDAY the 26th in Palo Alto, CA. A reader of the web blog saw the two and snapped these pics. The reader aslo overheard a little bit of their conversation. "Enthusiastically, "They're going to see it all eventually so who cares how they get it." Which seemed to be about web content, said the tipster. And, "Let's go discuss this somewhere more private," after they noticed the crowd gathering around."

I think this would of been a really cool site to see. I would of probably went right up to them and pitched my 30sec speech of why I am the perfect hire for either company lol But all joking aside, I think this might be the first step to maybe the two companies making amends. They probably realize that business might be better for the both of them if the two giants get a long.

Full Story can be found on Gizmodo

Co-Inventor of XML goes in on Apple

First I want to give you guys an update on what's happening with the Global IT Club. Well as everyone knows this is Ethos Week and today former Vice President of Intel Corporation, Ken Fine, will be speaking at 5:30pm. Next week, we will be making a field trip to Menlo Innovations. This is a great opportunity for anyone that is interested in the company to get an up close look at what happens on the inside. The field trip will be next week Friday, March 26th. If you are interested in attending or have any questions, let Jenelle, Chris, me or Professor Drake know.

Now for my main feature story, the punches between Apple and Google just keep rolling. Yesterday, newly hired Android developer, Tim Bray, went off on Apple on his blog. Bray who recently left Window Mobile to join Google, expressed his dislike for the way Apple handles its app store and developers. He explained that Apple's "vision" of its internet future "omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It's a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord's pleasure and fear his anger."

Those are some really harsh words. But Bray did say that as much as he hated that aspect of Apple, he still thought that the iPhone's hardware and software were both great. I really have to agree with everything he said. Recently Apple removed thousands of apps from the App Store that they felt were inappropriate. Some just showed women in bikinis or had names such as iBoobs but didn't actually show any nudity. They removed such apps but kept the ones made by "Big" companies such as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit App and the PlayBoy App. Why keep some and get rid of ALL others? I just don't get it and thats why I feel Android has a leg up on the Iphone.

This Article can be found on MACWORLD via Macwold UK

Apple launching patent war!

I found this interesting article on cnn.com about Apple trying to sue HTC. They are claiming that HTC violated a number of its patents for the iPhone. They haven't specified which ones yet but once they do we'll get a better look at why they're trying to sue HTC. There's quite a bit of speculation as to the reason they have decided to move forward with a lawsuit. One of the reasons is to try to set a precedence by winning a lawsuit against HTC, Apple could have strong suits against companies like Motorola, Samsung, or Sony Ericsson. There is even speculation that Apple could eventually go after Google and Microsoft.

Why sue HTC? I think that it is a warning message to any other companies that would try to steal their "technology." I'm not really sure whether it has any merit or not, but I'm pretty fed up with Apple, and I'm sick of hearing about them and their iPhone and iPad, etc. There are more than 200 patents on the iPhone right now, and that makes me wonder what exactly they patented that they are afraid of other companies stealing. I'm not sure about patent laws but it makes me wonder how a company can patent that many things and not expect another company to at least use the idea of their product to create one of their own, or even build a newer better version of their own. I think that Apple is grasping at straws and trying to hold on to whatever market they can in the cell phone industry. Android phones are growing in popularity real fast, and I think the main two reasons for this are multiple phones with different carriers, and the software is open source.

This sentence from the article is specifically interesting to me, "If Apple's arguments include technology that is inherent in the operating systems provided by Google and Microsoft, and if they are not exclusively part of the hardware and software design provided by HTC, then Google and Microsoft may be forced to defend their technology." I would love to see Google, Microsoft and Apple go at it in court, it would be like the heavyweight fight of the century...and I would love to see Google and Microsoft bitch slap Apple because it would be hilarious.

Apple Failure

Everyone always talks about how successful Apple is and how their name means quality. However, Apple has had its fair share of failures. One of the biggest failures was the Apple Lisa. This computer debuted in 1983 and had a price tag of almost ten thousand dollars. It was the first commercially produced computer to have a GUI interface. It seemed the Lisa had what it would take to become a highly successful PC.

However, many companies were turned off by the price and instead ran the cheaper IBM PCs. The only entity that ran the Lisa exclusively was NASA who used LisaProject for their project management. Although the Lisa was a very advanced computer for its day, it still ran very slowly when compared to other less expensive models of the time. Another factor that helped doom the Lisa to failure was the introduction of the Mac in 1984.

The Mac cost less and people flocked to this new Apple product. The Lisa seemed doomed from the begging. Its price was too high for what it provided to the customer. It was also cannibalized by Apple’s introduction of the Mac. In 1986 after a failed make over the Lisa was discontinued and was left as just a bad memory to Apple. It just goes to show you that not everyone can be successful all the time and making mistakes is just part of the success process.

Apple Inc.

The other day I had to read a case paper about Apple Inc. It was interesting to see how Apple started out and how they revolutionized a lot of the technology we know today. Apple Computer joined the world in 1976, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak began making computer circuit boards in their garage. A while back Steve Jobs was fired, which is one thing I never knew. Here is some examples of things that we use that might not exist without Apple and Steve Jobs.

Apple created things such as the iPod, Mac, iPhone, and millions of apps that we use everyday. Apple has created two great partnerships, one with AT&T when they created the iPhone, did you know Steve Jobs went to Verizon also, but Verizon turned down his offer. Steve Jobs wanted to own all the rights to iPhone but pair up with a strong wireless service to offer great connection. He told AT&T that they wont have any control over what he does or how it’s offered. And although reluctant they took the offer that Verizon had turned down.

Another great partnership is Apple and Nike. They have created the Nike + iPod. Nike + iPod has a chip that as you go bike or run it will track of the distance and speed from your previous workout. Also it has a feature that when you begin to slow down it will change the song in your iPod and gives you a previously selected “pump up” song to help you keep up your goal. Learn more about this at apple.com.

App Development: iPhone vs. Android

Apple's custom application integration changed the way we use smartphones - phones integrate into our daily routine, changing how we are connected to the world. The days of simply checking your email are gone - you can remotely connect to your computer from half a world away. The development of the android operating system created an open source solution to programmers, attempting to "free up" the market and make platform development easier. The iPhone, however, still has a tedious approval process, but maintains a larger customer base. This fact alone poses one question: what do developers prefer? It's simple.

The larger the customer base the better, meaning that Apple has won by a landslide. The platform in and of itself is simple to program for, the SDK is available to nearly everyone, and only a small portion of applications fail to pass the application process. Developers have access to daily download statistics and have near complete control over their application. The Android platform, though powerful, simply does not have the subscriber base.

The iPhone has also begun to seep into business with its simple exchange integration and, with the recent upsurge of business use, many business have begun to create their own applications for use. The android platform still has the stigma of being a toy, much like the iPhone did at first, but can not quite seem to shake it. Apple set the barriers of entry very high within the app market, and only time will tell if other platforms can compete.

Google VS Apple

Google is looking to go to war against the Apple iPad. Google is already in the design phase for their own tablet that would run on the Chrome OS system. Google has been trying to break into the operating system market for the last few years and recently launched the Droid smart phone, a joint venture with Motorola. Google wants to branch out into more fields than just being a search engine. Right now it seems that they have their sights set on taking a bite out of apple.

Google is a highly successful technology company who revolutionized web searches and whose ventures continue to create new ways of using the Internet. Apple has one big advantage over Google; they have been in the computer business for over thirty years. Apple knows the computer business in and out and just how hard it is to make a really good product that people want to purchase at a premium.

Google has probably done its research and knows what they are getting into but I can’t help but think that they may get more than they bargained for. The business of service is a lot easier to manage than the business of manufacturing. Google has a lot going for it but Apple is not going to down without a fight. Where Google is going to go in the next ten years is going to be really interesting. Will they be successful? Only time will tell.

Apple iPad

Apple's latest product - the iPad, is a simplified tablet-style mac that serves very similar functionality to the iPhone. iPad has a 9.7in backlit screen with both horizontal and vertical viewing capabilities. It will have access to over 100,000 applications in the iTunes app store at launch, and will start at roughly $500. There will be two versions available: AT&T 3G capable and a version that is only wi-fi capable. The AT&T version will have a base price of $30/month for unlimited data access using their 3G network.

The device functions much like a netbook in terms of processing power, but is able to render high definition video for up to *ten hours* using Apple's new 1GHz A4 processor. Many assumed that this new device would be a fully functional OSX macintosh in tablet form, but this tablet is more of an accessory device - an intermediary unit for the most common daily activities. With full Safari browser, eBook capabilities, and the vast array of applications and accessories available for the unit, this unit will not suffer from any lack of capability in comparison to its netbook brothers.

As a side note, Apple has yet to differentiate this product from the iPhone. It uses a similar navigation system, the same base applications, has the same capabilities - including using 3G data networks - and will hold the same general functionality of their current top-seller. Many users have already stated that they do not have plans to acquire the device unless major differences truly do exist. The unit will be released in March and I am sure that we have much to learn yet.

Apple's New Idea

Well, I recently read an article that Apple has a big surprise for consumers. The company has scheduled a press conference on January 27, 2010. Experts believe that Apple may reveal there next big idea, the Apple tablet. Apple lovers are curious on what apple will deliver. Will it be an enlarged version of an iPhone or will the setup be completely mind blowing? The tablet is expected to be a 10 or 11 inch touch screen with wireless capabilities and possible cost is around $1,000.

Apple with the help of Steve Jobs has become the leader in digital music downloads via there application Itunes music store. Also itunes are capitalising on the smart phone apps via there extensive App store. Other big products from Apple are the ipods, itouch and the iPhone.

I myself use some of Apples products like there ipod and there itunes store. I just hope that apple doesn't disappoint consumers. I know apple is doing well with the iPhone which is pocket computer but can they replicate that success with a tablet which is larger scaled.

What if IBM and Apple Merge?!

After blogging about how Google can take on Microsoft and vice versa, I was interested in the writer of the article, Rob Enderle. I followed his articles and came across another interesting "what if" discussion on the merger of IBM and Apple. Even though chances of such a merger is really zero to none just because both companies have redundancy in products as well as in customers, a look at the similarities and differences of both giants would not hurt. In the following paragraphs, a discussion of how the two companies could benefit from each other if they do merge will take place.

Lets take a look at the similarities of both IBM and Apple. First, just as Apple has Steve Jobs to lead it successfully through its life cycle, IBM is successfully lead by Sam Palmisano who has managed to reward IBM with often the strongest profitability. Second, Both companies has solid bases for carrying business and gaining global attention; IBM focus on its intellectual property base in system cooling and analytics and energy management. Similarly, Apple focus on its rich operating systems and differentiated product line. Third, Both companies try to ignore price competition and concentrate on product value. Lastly, they both have loyal customer base that consists of different groups from individuals to organization and government sectors.

Moving on to the differences; While Apple inserts customer voice on its marketing strategies, IBM fails to do so. Most of IBM top products serve as back end products that has no apparent advantage to many customers. On the other hand, integrated marketing and products development is perhaps the biggest success factor for Apple. Second, IBM is known or having high end products that usually gain wide satisfaction of customers whereas Apple fails to provide the equivalent quality due to different customers' perceptions. Lastly, IBM does not solely depend on Sam Palmisano because it has a strong structure, however, Apple pretty much runs on Steve Jobs; whenever he's sick, Apple stocks go down and vice versa. In conclusion, If both companies looked at each other strengths and weaknesses, they will be able to enhance their presence in the market which eventually means more customer satisfaction.