Archive for the ‘Devices’ Category
Mac PR: both hands clapping February 5th, 2007
I just received an email from Apple. The message: “Go beyond Vista. It’s time to get a Mac.” Apple is known for it’s innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, so this instance is no real exception, however I still love the way they have taken the opportunity provided by Vista’s launch, as blogged by Paul earlier this week, to promote themselves. [1]
Here’s a screenshot of the email, the link is http://www.apple.com/getamac/
[1] For the record, I do not own a Mac, neither do I run any Mac products beyond iTunes.
Tags: apple mac, mac, apple, windows vista, vista, microsoft, mac os x, leopard, tiger
Posted in Applications, Devices | Comments (1)
How to avoid a bad breakup January 20th, 2007
I have been with her for just over a year. We hooked up in November 2005 and have been together, side by side, virtually every day, all day. I thought I treated her well, took care of her the way I should and yet it just wasn’t enough. Granted I dropped her about a week or so ago but I didn’t think it would end like this. This morning, my sexy little PowerBook’s hard drive conked in (it is a technical term). By the time I took her to Apple hospital I had learned a few important lessons and reinforced some earlier ones. They can be summed up with the following advice: backup often and as many times as you can!
So how do you protect your data from disaster and steer clear of the heavy drinking and/or deep depression that accompanies the realisation of just how much data has been lost or must be restored? I humbly offer the following from my own, very recent and painful experience.
Firstly, make sure your documents are backed up. This is old and good advice. I use an external drive which I back almost all my vital documents and settings files to every 2 days at around 2am. I think this is probably the longest you want to wait between backups if your documents change daily. After my baby comes back to me I am probably going to switch to daily backups. If you don’t have an external drive, backup to your iPod (with disk use enabled), USB drive or to DVDs/CDs. Just make sure you have some form of backup otherwise you will really be in a big pickle. Also make sure it works properly. An online solution have heard good things about is Amazon’s Simple Storage Solution (run by Amazon Web Services). The rates are pretty low:
- Pay only for what you use. There is no minimum fee, and no start-up cost.
- $0.15 per GB-Month of storage used.
- $0.20 per GB of data transferred.
The features are pretty good too:
Amazon S3 is intentionally built with a minimal feature set.
- Write, read, and delete objects containing from 1 byte to 5 gigabytes of data each. The number of objects you can store is unlimited.
- Each object is stored and retrieved via a unique, developer-assigned key.
- Authentication mechanisms are provided to ensure that data is kept secure from unauthorized access. Objects can be made private or public, and rights can be granted to specific users.
- Uses standards-based REST and SOAP interfaces designed to work with any Internet-development toolkit.
- Built to be flexible so that protocol or functional layers can easily be added. Default download protocol is HTTP. A BitTorrent(TM) protocol interface is provided to lower costs for high-scale distribution. Additional interfaces will be added in the future.
Another important lesson is to keep regular backups of your email, contacts and calendars. If you use services like Gmail and Google Calendar for your mail and diary, respectively, then you are covered there. But what about yur contacts? Well, Gmail has a contacts facility but you can’t really synchronise your contacts on Gmail with another service unless you use the import/export functions (not quite as good as automated synchronisations) so a service I use is Plaxo which has a free account. Plaxo enables you to keep in touch with other Plaxo users (as their information changes, those changes reflect in your address book) and also enables you to back your data up. Plaxo interfaces with Yahoo!, Aol Instant Messenger, Apple Address Book (via a synchronisation tool), Thunderbird and Outlook.
Don’t forget to keep copies of your original application installation disks and files together with the registration codes that you may need if you find yourself having to rebuild everything from scratch! Don’t forget all your office suite and operating system updates. If you downloaded them, keep them safe. It will save you a lot of download time.
Oh, one last thing. Insure your baby from the idiotic things you may do (and I have done). When faced with replacing all that data and the computer itself, the knowledge that it is insured makes a big difference.
It turns out my PowerBook can be repaired (the hard drive will probably need to be replaced) and she should be home next week. Till then, I am back on my PC and Google apps …
Tags: apple, powerbook, damage, crash, hard drive, tips, planning ahead, things to do, plaxo, backup drive, external drive, gmail, google calendar
Posted in Applications, Devices, Infrastructure, Tools | Comments (5)
i-What? Sorry, the Nokia Aeon distracted me … January 18th, 2007
This is a concept design that has shown up on Nokia’s R&D pages.
It isn’t quite mature technology (so maybe the iPhone is a few years ahead) but what a technology we are in for!
There are no details about the phone’s possible specifications and I am not so sure about the strip on the device’s face. Would that not get in the way of new applications that would take advantage of the full face of the device?
Either way, this is one slick looking device, should it ever go into production.
Tags: nokia, aeon, iphone, full screen, concept phone, slim, media
Posted in Devices | Comments (3)
iPhone versus iPhone January 17th, 2007
The launch of the iPhone wasn’t a welcome development for everyone. Cisco, the company behind the other one, the Linksys iPhone range, took great exception to Apple’s use of their trademark on the work "iPhone" and has sued Apple for trademark infringement. According to a Cisco news release issued on the 10th of January:
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 10, 2007 - Cisco® today announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Apple, Inc., seeking to prevent Apple from infringing upon and deliberately copying and using Cisco’s registered iPhone trademark.
Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after completing the acquisition of Infogear, which previously owned the mark and sold iPhone products for several years. Infogear’s original filing for the trademark dates to March 20, 1996. Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family of iPhone products since early last year. On Dec. 18, Linksys expanded the iPhone® family with additional products.
"Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Cisco’s iPhone name," said Mark Chandler, senior vice president and general counsel, Cisco. "There is no doubt that Apple’s new phone is very exciting, but they should not be using our trademark without our permission.
"Today’s iPhone is not tomorrow’s iPhone. The potential for convergence of the home phone, cell phone, work phone and PC is limitless, which is why it is so important for us to protect our brand," Chandler concluded.
With its lawsuit, Cisco is seeking injunctive relief to prevent Apple from copying Cisco’s iPhone trademark. For more information on the Cisco iPhone product line, please visit www.linksys.com/iphone.
Cisco has been blogging about the iPhone dispute quite extensively in its blogs. Its General Counsel, Mark Chandler, has been fairly active on the News@Cisco Notes blog (a fantastic example of how a blog should be used, by the way) about this dispute. According to Cisco, it has owned the trademark since 2000 when it took over a company called Infogear which had been pursuing the mark "before iMacs and iPods were even glimmers in Apple’s eye". Cisco says it has released products branded as iPhone for "years" and has produced updated iPhone products since last year. Apple apparently contacted Cisco a number of times about sharing the trademark and both companies were in fairly advanced discussions when Apple announced its iPhone last week. I noticed a post by Cisco’s Director of Public Relations, Penny Bruce, dated 9 January 2007 stating the following:
Given Apple’s numerous requests for permissions to use Cisco’s iPhone trademark over the past several years and our extensive discussions with them recently, it is our belief that with their announcement today, Apple intends to agree to the final document and public statement that were distributed to them last night and that addressed a few remaining items. We expect to receive a signed agreement today.
Either Cisco expected some sort of deal to be reached or (put on your tinfoil hats please) this post was published to pave the way for the lawsuit that followed. Chandler does make a valid point in his post titled "UPDATE on Cisco’s iPhone Trademark" where he says the following:
At MacWorld, Apple discussed the patents pending on their new phone technology. They clearly seem to value intellectual property. If the tables were turned, do you think Apple would allow someone to blatantly infringe on their rights? How would Apple react if someone launched a product called iPod but claimed it was ok to use the name because it used a different video format? Would that be ok? We know the answer Apple is a very aggressive enforcer of their trademark rights. And that needs to be a two-way street.
The plan was apparently for both companies to develop their own iPhone product range and differentiate their products "in a way that could work for both companies and not confuse people". This makes a lot of sense if the intention is to allow Apple to use the iPhone trademark and still protect it. I wonder where the benefit is for Apple to share the trademark from Cisco’s perspective though. If anything people may tend to associate the trademark with Apple’s device and not Cisco’s so, if anything, Apple’s use of the trademark would probably dilute it in the marketplace.
John Earnhardt, Cisco’s Senior Manager, Global Media Operations, posted a few answers to questions that have been asked about Cisco’s claims in his post titled "More Answers on Cisco iPhone Trademark Issue" where he talks about the Cisco’s intentions for the trademark and its discussions with Apple. It is a handy summary of Cisco’s position. In short, Cisco says the lawsuit is not about the money but rather about protecting its trademark. As Earnhardt pointed out on the yesterday:
We’ve been following our iPhone trademark issue in the blogosphere closely and it’s been interesting to see the commentary from some posters suggesting that somehow Cisco either in the US or Europe didn’t meet the requirements to maintain the iPhone trademark. Our response is pretty simple: We have met all elements required by all authorities to maintain our mark. We’ve been pretty direct about the fact that we’ve been shipping the iPhone since last spring.
(See also the ZDNet blog)
While I haven’t seen anything from Apple about this dispute, it has most certainly been debated quite extensively in the blogopshere. The Trademark Blog has a list of issues and comments on those issues. One of these issues is the fact that Cisco filed a particular affidavit in its sixth year of registration that sought seeking continuity of its registration and not another affidavit which would assert continued use of the trademark. This could be used to argue that Cisco had no intention to continue using the trademark. Certainly if Cisco had filed the second type of affidavit it would have made its position far stronger. Another argument is that the two devices are basically different products and on this basis Apple is not infringing Cisco’s trademark. There is some doubt about this approach though. Legal Blog Watch has pretty good coverage of the various opinions in the legal blogosphere and this post is worth checking out.
The saga becomes more entertaining as there are allegations that Apple created a front company called Ocean Telecom Services which tried to acquire the iPhone trademark in September 2006. Apple also applied for the iPhone trademark in Australia in that same month.
I wonder why Apple just didn’t called its device the "applePhone" or something like that. I suppose the one answer is that there was such a frenzy in the year or two leading up to the announcement about a mythical "iPhone" that Apple thought it simply had to capitalise on the brand that had been established by the fans. Either way, this is now very much a legal issue and the future of the iPhone brand will depend either on a settlement reached between Cisco and Apple or on protracted litigation in the years to come. (Take a look at this other post on the ZDNet blog).
Tags: cisco, apple, iphone, dispute, trademark, negotiations, blogging
Posted in Blogging, Devices | Comments (0)
Yes, more iPhone love and this time a demo January 15th, 2007
Ok, I know I am pretty close to having to rename this blog iPhone-chili or chili-iPhone (or something equally silly) with all the iPhone coverage but you probably want to see this. This video is a demo of the iPhone. While I stick by my initial thoughts on the iPhone, the interface on this device is very very slick and very much what you would expect from Apple:
Tags: iphone, demonstration, demo, interface, multi-touch, apple, mac osx, very slick
Posted in Devices | Comments (0)
iPhone? More of the same … January 14th, 2007
Seth Godin has pitched in with his thoughts on the iPhone. Sure it is a cool looking device but Godin says the iPhone doesn’t really do anything new. It doesn’t reinvent the mobile phone. The iPhone takes the functionality you see in mobile phones today and performs some of them a little better. Some of those functions are dependent on the Cingular network the iPhone will run on when it is released but, for the most part, it doesn’t exactly revolutionise the mobile phone.
Godin’s suggestions for reinventing the mobile phone include leaving voicemail messages for groups of people at a time, calling contacts or even strangers based on their location, interests and other factors you may think appropriate; incorporating a dating site’s functionality into the phone (perhaps also using geo-location services) and really facilitating targetted marketing in ways that you want to receive it.
Granted the iPhone isn’t just a phone, it combines a widescreen video iPod and an Internet communicator but none of those elements are really new. These elements are present in varying degrees in phones already on the market and in mobile devices about to enter the market. In fact, Nokia no longer refers to its coverged devices as mobile phones anymore but rather as multimedia computers What is making a difference now is how these devices go beyond the smartphone model with mobile phone and PDA functionality to becoming truly converged devices that handle good quality media, data and voice connectivity and additional services like GPS and social media.
Tags: mobile phones, iphone, seth godin, internet communicator, ipod, widecreen ipod, smartphone, social media, multimedia computer
Posted in Devices, Telecoms | Comments (0)
A direct path to a geek guy’s heart January 10th, 2007
I couldn’t resist sharing this one with you, especially given all the excitement about Macworld:
(People who know me will appreciate just how appropriate it is that I post this …)
Tags: mac in your top, how to get a guy, macbook, macbook pro, macworld, seduction, geeks
Posted in Devices, Fun, Media, Sharing | Comments (0)
Nokia and Vox come together January 10th, 2007
You may have noticed that I am a fan of Six Apart’s Vox. I have my personal blog on Vox and love using it for all the reasons I have talked about and then some. I was thrilled to find out that Vox has done a deal with my favourite mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia, to integrate Nokia’s Nseries phones with the popular blogging platform:
Nokia and Vox have teamed up to make it incredibly easy for you to upload video, photos, and updates to your Vox blog directly from your Nokia Nseries device. Get a free Vox blog today and you’ll be sharing your life and experiences with friends and family, whenever you like, from wherever you are.
And Vox members who register their Nokia Nseries device during sign-up will not only get an additional 1GB of upload bandwidth per month, but will also be eligible for future promotions, created with Nokia mobile bloggers in mind.
This deal clearly works on the assumption that blogging is going to go mobile in a big way (as a matter of fact, if you look up a Vox blog in your mobile phone’s browser, odds are you will see a mobile version of the blog rather than having to try view a full sized page on that tiny screen).
I think the assumption is a good one if you take into account good quality cameras (still and video), blogging software built into the phones and a myriad of services that allow you to post your content to photo and video sharing sites. Nokia has had its Lifeblog software for its phones for a little while now and last year TypePad released its mobile phone client. This latest deal with Vox is almost a logical step for both Nokia and Six Apart. Vox is a personal blogging platform, for the most part (you can’t do the customisations you would want to do if you were going to make money off your blog), and a mobile phone with the capabilities of the Nseries phones will work well as personal blogging devices. I like this quote from the Six Apart announcement:
As a lot of people have noted, Vox isn’t just blogging, It’s blogging enhanced by the power of a smart social network. But if your social network doesn’t work when you’re not sitting in front of your computer, your social network doesn’t work.
There are instructions and downloads as well as a demonstration on the Vox site. You can use your existing Nseries phone to access the service and all you really need to do is register a Vox account and start blogging (and even that is free).
If you don’t have a Nokia Nseries phone, you can still post to your Vox blog either by posting new content via MMS or email or you can use the Vox Mobile Smartphone Application which is pretty similar to the TypePad Mobile application. The application can be installed on Symbian smartphones and Windows Mobile smartphones.
Six Apart is really getting into this space. I think they are on the right track.
(Source: Splashcast)
Tags: Nokia, Vox, N-series, Nseries, Six Apart, mobile, moblogging, mobile device, blogging, blog
Posted in Blogging, Devices | Comments (1)
iPhone: widescreen iPod + mobile phone + communication device January 10th, 2007
It is true! There is an iPhone and true to form, Apple has unveiled a device that exceeds expectations. This very cool device is basically a widescreen iPod, a mobile phone and a communication device:
iPhone combines three products a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone also introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting you control everything with just your fingers. So it ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, completely redefining what you can do on a mobile phone.
As cool as the phone is, in theory, the specifications are a little disappointing:
Technical Specifications
Screen size 3.5 inches Screen resolution 320 by 480 at 160 ppi Input method Multi-touch Operating system OS X Storage 4GB or 8GB GSM Quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900) Wireless data Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) + EDGE + Bluetooth 2.0 Camera 2.0 megapixels Battery
- Up to 5 hours Talk / Video / Browsing
- Up to 16 hours Audio playback
Dimensions 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches / 115 x 61 x 11.6mm Weight 4.8 ounces / 135 grams
This is basically a replacement at an iPod nano level. While Macworld is far from over, I think this paves the way for a true widescreen iPod on a par with the bigger capacity iPod. I am probably not going to pass over my planned Nokia N95 for this gorgeous device but, man, Apple fanboy heaven.
I’ll be back later with more!
Update:
It looks like I am not the only person who isn’t impressed with the phone’s functionality.
Tags: apple, iphone, ipod, widescreen ipod, multi-touch, wi-fi, camera
Posted in Devices, Events | Comments (4)
Mac tablet to be unveiled at MacWorld next week January 6th, 2007
A high end tablet style Mac computer is going to be unveiled by MacWorld next week although not by Apple. The ModBook is a joint effort between hardware manufacturer Axiotron and Other World Computing, a Mac product manufacturer and reseller and while details of the features are a little sparse at the moment, here is some information in its capabilities:
- Write and draw directly on screen!True pen & handwriting recognition
- Built in iSight Camera
- Integrated CD/DVD combo drive
- The ONLY Mac solution with an optional built-in Global Positioning System
- Aircraft grade magnesium alloy for all terrain use
This must mean that Apple has no intention of bringing out a Mac tablet of its own, at least not any time soon so that pretty much narrows the field down for what may be unveiled at the MacWorld Conference next week.
Be sure to check back here for hysterical, Mac fanboy announcements about what is going to be announced. Some of the expected announcements include the release of Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard, the iTV (or whatever they are going to call it) and the much anticipated next generation iPod.
(Source: TechWeb via Yahoo! News and TUAW)
Tags: modbook, mac, tablet, macworld, apple, Leopard, iTV
Posted in Devices, Events | Comments (0)