Recently in Apple Category
Keep in mind that Apple practically disappeared from the public consciousness in the early 1990s, after Steve Jobs was ousted from the company. Computing in the mid-1990s, for most households, meant buying a big desktop with a separate monitor and possibly, an external modem. Anyone with a new PC had to connect several components to each other, and then connect power cords and a phone line their wall. Everything would usually work, but not until people ended up with a tangled mess of cords behind their wall. The brilliance of this ad is that, unlike Apple's modern current commercials, the company doesn't tell the viewer that buying Apple will make them cool. It simply tells the viewer that their product is easy to use, and I like the straightforward approach.
Jobs, one of the computing industry's pioneers, was one of the most important American business figures of the last half century. As the founders of Apple, Jobs and business partner Steve Wozniak, were instrumental in bringing the computer to the household and the classroom.
Many had expected the iPhone 5, a technological marvel that would have raised its owners' children, prepared five-star cuisine and paved the way for comprehensive peace settlements across the globe.
Instead, Apple announced a new phone that is reportedly an upgrade from a previously released product. It also has a voice-recognition feature called Siri.
Here's the real story from the San Jose Mercury News:
In a closely watched but ultimately anticlimactic product launch, Apple (AAPL) on Tuesday unveiled its latest iPhone, with a low-key Tim Cook emceeing his first event since iconic CEO Steve Jobs resigned in August.
Disappointed fans jumped all over Apple for releasing merely an upgrade to the iPhone 4, dubbed iPhone 4S, instead of the widely expected iPhone 5. But analysts reminded them that many cool features -- faster operating system, slicker camera and video -- were hiding under the hood.
"The improvements in software and the new camera, for example, are impressive," said analyst Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies Associates. "But if you don't have a new look on the outside, people tend not to get as excited."
Cook seemed comfortable on stage but was working a room clearly missing the energy Jobs used to infuse into these events. The real star of the show was Siri, the new voice-recognition feature billed as the user's "personal assistant," a female voice that soon will be helping millions of Apple fans answer e-mails, make dinner reservations and remember to pick up the dry cleaning, all without a single key stroke.
As of this writing, the world has not fallen apart.
Apple, of course, has the big advantage of creating a market for tablet computers like the iPad and being able to deliver a product to its fiercely loyal fan base. Other companies, like Hewlett-Packard, have tried to break into the tablet business but have not been able to knock the iPad from its perch. Hewlett-Packard, of course, made the bewildering decision to cancel its TouchPad tablet this summer, mere weeks after entering the marketplace.
Amazon seems to have been paying attention to the failings of other iPad competitors. Unlike previous tablets, the Kindle Fire is not trying to be an iPad clone. It's got a much smaller screen than the iPad. It has a much smaller amount of storage space. It doesn't have any cameras, so you can't use it to take pictures or do video chats. And it only connects the Internet via WiFi, not the cell phone networks.
But those differences help make the Kindle Fire distinct -- and allow Amazon to offer it for a much lower price. At $200, the Kindle Fire is in a completely different league than the iPad and the iPad knock-offs. That price is even $50 cheaper than Barnes & Noble's Nook Color, a similar device that's marketed as an eBook reader. It's a price that, in these tough economic times, is going to be a lot more accessible to mainstream consumers.
The San Jose Mercury news is the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and Sun's sister newspaper.
The new cloud player launches in the iPad's Safari browser, rather than as a standalone app.
Apple balked at Amazon's inclusion of a button that directed users to Amazon's website within the Kindle app, so Amazon removed that button from its app.
Apple's aim is to direct all in-app purchases through iTunes, where the company receives a 30% cut.
The new Cloud Reader works on the iPad browser, Safari, and on Google's Chrome browser. It does not yet work on either Internet Explorer or Firefox.
To access the Kindle Cloud Reader, visit read.amazon.com.
From Disney Interactive entertainment:
In Disney Universe, players can select from more than 40 classic and contemporary Disney character costumes, including Alice ("Alice in Wonderland"), Mike ("Monsters, Inc."), TRON ("TRON: Legacy") and Stitch ("Lilo & Stitch") to explore six different worlds inspired by legendary Disney and Disney•Pixar films. Each world will allow players to experience objectives and missions that follow Disney and Disney•Pixar movie storylines. Players will select a character-based costume, with each costume offering a specific tool that changes and grows in power as players adventure through the game. Disney Universe offers frenetic gameplay, multiplayer with up to three friends and slapstick humor that will appeal to players of all ages.
Disney Interactive announced the game as a release for Mac, PC, PlayStation 3, Wii and XBox 360.
From the get go, Disney Interactive is also announced plans to sell a lot of DLC for this title. This writer has no objection to DLC as long as players get their money's worth and aren't nickled and dimed with small bits of content. Free advice to publishers: Bundle your DLC like a good PC expansion pack and customers will like you more.
I like to post links to coverage from the San Jose Mercury News, The Sun and Daily Bulletin's sister paper in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
Merc staffer Troy Wolverton reports today that Apple's new iOS update will make changes to the location tracking software that allowed iPhones and iPads to track users' whereabouts.
An excerpt:
The iOS update seeks to address many of the issues with the location file identified by the researchers. According to Apple, the update will limit the amount of data kept in the location file, will prevent iTunes from backing up the file to users' computers and will delete all information in the file when users turn off location services.
However, the update doesn't necessarily address all issues with the file. Apple has said previously that it will continue to store 7 days worth of location data in the file even after the update. Forensics researchers, who have said that they have been using the location data stored file in criminal and other legal investigations, said that even that amount of data would still be useful in their work.
