Steve Jobs passed away several months ago now, and the burst of news at the event, followed by the (just days later) release of Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson, has pretty much abated. So what possible news could Jobs be making now, from beyond the grave?… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
There was a recent article in the New York Times that pretty much singles out Apple as being to blame for the work conditions in China. Sure, they off-handedly refer to ‘other companies’ and repeatedly say ‘other devices’ as a footnote, but again and again it is Apple, iPhone and iPad that are mentioned.
Apple, the company that was one of the very last consumer electronics companies making stuff in the US while taking heat from everyone about how much their stuff cost and how slow they were to move from platform to platform? All of those other companies – Dell, Compaq, HP, IBM – were faster moving … because they were already running… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
There is always loads of data to mine in corporate earnings announcements, and yesterday’s Apple announcement is no different. Dan covered the highlights including iPhones, Macs, iPads and iPods … but I noticed a mention at GigaOM about AppleTV sales.
Apparently AppleTV sold 1.4 million units during the last quarter. I really didn’t think too much about that because I am constantly reading about how more and more game consoles are serving as full-service home entertainment systems since they can run Netflix, Hulu and more.
I also just assumed that Roku and other ‘set top boxes’ were dominating much like Kindle and Nook ebooks dominate Apple’s iBooks. I assumed that because while… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
It was only a few weeks ago when I posted the news that Android and iOS were in a virtual tie for market share of the smartphone market based on recent data, I said that ‘everyone wins’. I still believe that – I think that having strong competition in any market makes everyone work harder … and the results are better products for us as consumers!
Last week Nielson put out estimates of smartphone market share for the fourth quarter of 2011, showing that iOS had significantly closed the gap with Android for recent months. Now, after the final tally from Apple we have a report at Reuters showing that Apple… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
In case you missed it, Apple is doing well. (Okay, ridiculously understated and then some.) Yes, Apple reported revenue of over $46 billion and saw its profit exceeded $13 billion for the quarter. That translates to $13.87 earnings per share. For comparison sake, at this time last year the company earned $26.74 billion, or $6.43 per share. Yeah, wow. ‘Nuff said.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was positive but also a bit understated in saying
We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs,”. “Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.
Here’s a quick look at the numbers.
The iPhone was on a tear with… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
I love “Ghostbusters”. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. In fact, I had a plastic Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man decorating more than one of my apartments post-college. How can you not love it? It’s pretty much the perfect movie. And according to The Verge, back in the ’80s someone at Apple felt the same way, and made an anti-IBM/pro-Apple video called “Blue Busters”. It’s funny, though honestly I think the joke goes on for about a minute longer than necessary. Still, for the one-two punch of nostalgia and surrealism it’s worth watching the whole thing! Then maybe pop in the real Ghostbusters while playing on your iPhone 
The European Union has finally stepped up to handle the biggest issue facing the economy today. It’s a long time coming, but someone is finally asking questions and looking for answers. Yes, the “agency model” for ebooks is finally being investigated! What, you thought I meant something else?
According to Businessweek, several publishers as well as Apple are listed in the investigation, but not Amazon. My guess is that since Amazon was not soliciting contracts for the agency model (they were forced into it after a very public battle) they’re not under the microscope. It will be interesting to see if Amazon or any other retailer besides Apple gets included in this as the investigation… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
I’m always looking for ways to use Siri with new iOS applications to allow me to write on the go. But if I am going to pay for an application I want it to do more than one thing at a time. As I was reading through Dan’s article on using Elements to be able to sync dictated notes I thought I would download Elements.
During my search I happened upon the iOS application Knowtilus Pro. Knowtilus is a web browser that has 3 tabs. I usually don’t buy iOS applications that cost more than a few dollars but I made an exception with Knowtilus Pro at $9.99. I like the ability to… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
image courtesy of BerryReporter
Clinton recently wrote an opinion piece entitled, “As RIM Writes Off The Playbook, The Pressure is on Microsoft to Make a Complete Windows 8 Tablet“, in which he says:
This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that RIM is taking a $485 million charge for their lackluster tablet, the Playbook. The charge comes by way of a markdown in the value of the massive inventor that RIM still has of the devices. It is a brutal and costly reminder that if you kinda-sorta-maybe-woulda-shoulda your tablet strategy, the price can be steep. Very steep.
and
The challenge facing Microsoft is that they are behind when it comes to a tablet strategy. Regardless of what
Today’s deal brings us the current generation Apple TV for less than we have previously seen it. This generation is 80% smaller than the previous models and comes with a built-in power supply and bundled remote. It has built-in HDMI, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Ethernet connectivity, a built-in IR receiver, Optical Audio and a Micro-USB connector. Yes, it doesn’t have offer any built-in storage so it relies entirely upon streaming but it works great. And with HD movies starting at $3.99 and commercial-free TV shows at just 99¢ per episode you’ll love yours! Oh, and the new Apple TV also streams content from Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr, as well as music, photos and videos. Remember, this is BYOHDMI, bring… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
For most people, Steve Jobs is the iconic black-turtleneck & jeans wearing icon who led Apple from near bankruptcy to become the most valuable public company in the world before he passed away recently. But there are more and more historical views of him popping up all over the place – and this is one of the coolest I have seen.
It is from a PBS series called ‘Entrepreneurs’, with an episode from late 1986 looking at NeXT Computer when it was merely 11 computers and a long road ahead before shipping their first computer. It is great to see how Jobs interacted with employees, and of course the use of the now-familiar… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
Sometimes there is no better way to demonstrate that what a company is saying is pure rubbish than by putting it to a simple test. Apple’s Siri was released to simultaneous cheers and yawns – cheers from those who use it and yawns from Microsoft and Google (and their fanboys) saying that they already have the same technology.
This week Microsoft made a big deal about how they already had a ‘Siri-like’ technology and all Apple had going for it was ‘good marketing’. This is very similar to what Google has said, and is the sort of thing that plays well to the faithful. But is it true? TechAU took a look… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
My friend Peter K is a speaker, author, health and success coach, nutritionist and physical therapist. (His website Peter K Fitness tells his story, introduces his method and explains how his approach has helped countless people lead a healthier lifestyle. Some impressive testimonials are there too!) Peter is Elana’s health coach and played a huge role in her becoming as fit as she now is. (It also turns out that I had the privilege of officiating at his wedding more than a decade ago. A connection we did not make until Elana met him for her first training session.)
Peter is an entrepreneur at heart. He recently read the Steve Jobs biography and, to use his own words, the “book really resonated” with him. He jotted down a few thoughts while reading it and shared them with me. I, in turn, asked if I could share them with all of you. And so, with no further ado I present to you “Peter K’s What Steve Jobs taught me about being successful in business”.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
As someone pointed out in response to the Galaxy Nexus commercial – that was made by Google, which is why it was excellent. Now we get one for the Galaxy S II made by Samsung … and it is NOT.
Back in the 80′s Apple produced two infamous commercials – 1984 and Lemmings. They are well known by name more than 25 years later for very different reasons: 1984 showed a single person striking out against tyranny to choose her own path and give others the opportunity to make their own choices as well.
Lemmings was infamous for … well, calling PC users a bunch of mindless idiots.
Which is pretty… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
Earlier this week Apple sent all of their customers an email containing the image above promoting a Black Friday sale but not specifying anything. It is a classic Apple move intended to generate interest without actually revealing anything.
Well, the folks over at 9-to-5 Mac have gotten their hands on the actual sale brochure for Apple’s Black Friday event! Check out the image below:… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...
