think bubbles

Lenovo dumps classic keyboard on new ThinkPad laptops

From CNet reporting on the new T-Series from Lenovo;

"The new keyboard is based on the current ThinkPad X1, which some of the media have hailed as the best keyboard ever and even Stradivarius like experience," Bhatia said.

Stradivarius? Really?  It's a keyboard, not something to create a haunting masterpeice on!!  

"We also have a backlit keyboard option which gives users better visibility in dark situations."

Hey that's a really good idea, no-one's ever thought of doing that before....oh wait!

 

via news.cnet.com

CRESC | Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change

Apple Business Model: Financialization across the Pacific

via www.cresc.ac.uk - Download PDF

This is an interesting paper from the Manchester Business School and to be honest a lot of the financial elements went right over my head but the following very basic, fundamental falsehoods make me worry about the validity of the research;

"Apple with a current stock market value of $343 billion "  

Err guys it's either £343 billion or $560 billion but definitley not $343 billion

"because customers are locked in, like the owners of the 300 million iPods sold over the past decade who have to download from iTunes"

There are thousands if not millions of people who have had iPods for years without ever downloading a single item from iTunes.  No one, not ever, has anyone "been locked in" -  iPods have always supported industry standard, cross platform, open formats (AAC, MP3 etc).  iTunes and the iTunes Store simply make getting hold of stuff easier, and for the last 3 years even that purchased music has been DRM free - locked in?  Not really!

"the iPhone 4 had a gross margin of 72% or $452 on a selling price of $630" 

Where is the calculation that this is based on?  Every report I've ever read on the cost breakfown of the iPhone 4 has it the other way around; that they make around $250 per device.  Still very impressive when the industry standard is around $15-20 per device but half of what the report states.

Overall - worth a read but needs better confirmation of facts and is contradictory in parts.  If I had to mark it as a paper, C+!

Design case study: iPad to Windows 8 Metro style app

This is from Microsoft's new guide on things to take into account when porting an app from iOS (specifically iPad) to Windows 8 (Tablet version).  It's a good read and many of the points the design team make are valid and worth taking note of.

There's an awful lot right with Metro but the snippet below just sums up exactly why it is that Microsoft still don't truly understand the difference between a good UI and an obvious UI.  What Apple do is make their UI's as obvious as thy can, given the technology at hand.  Microsoft always try to go for the most technically great option - which is fine for the likes of techys like me (and probably you if you're reading this) but fails to meet the needs of normal, everyday users.

iOS - show obvious commands and where they are.

Metro - use a whole bunch of stuff hidden out the way, that the user has to learn a complete set of gestures or commands to access, and that change from page to page or App to App.

iPad app App commands are on the top of the screen when a user enters the selection mode.

Metro style app A. The app bar is hidden by default to provide users the immersive experience. A user can swipe from the bottom or top of the screen to open the app bar. B. When a user selects objects on the page, contextual actions for the selected items appear on the bar. The actions change depending on whether there are objects selected and where the user is in the app. Global commands are usually placed on the right side of the app bar. Commands that come and go should be placed on the left side of the app bar.

I do think Metro and Windows 8 will be a success and compared to using Android, give me Metro anyday, but if Microsoft thinks that just because Metro looks nice it's tablets will start to outsell iPads, I thnk they're sorely mistaken.

Just in case you don't believe me about 'real' people and Windows 8's UI, check this video of tech blogger Chris Pirillo's Dad  (an experienced Windows user) first use of Wndows 8.

via msdn.microsoft.com

The World's Gone Mad

This from a BBC article on £1 Million salaries.

"And before the financial crisis a million pounds was seen as small beer. "I remember seeing a 25-year-old telecoms analyst storming out of a meeting where he'd just been handed a million pound bonus. It wasn't enough."

Sad times indeed!

Apple's Online Services

So I get my Apple TV duly updated to the latest version (mainly so I can use the new AirDisplay feature) but find myself unable to access the other computers on the network as it can't set it up for Home Sharing.

I try (in best troubleshooting fashion) to isolate the problem by turning off Home Sharing on my laptop and try to turn it back on......ahhh...so now that can't have Home Sharing either because apparently 'an error occurred'! Oh good! I'm so pleased that I know what the problem is, let's looks on the web for an answer.

 ;-(

Well, what do we all do now?

So it's about 48 hrs after the world learned of the death of Steve Jobs, and I'm still in a state of numb shock.

Sure, we all knew that this was coming (and coming soon) but to come right on the heels of the iPhone 4S launch, was a bolt from the blue. There again it does explain the low-key, almost apologetic delivery of the keynote on Tuesday.

In retrospect, I take my hat to off to Tim, Phil, Scott et al. It must have been tough in the extreme to stand there, talking about the next piece of Apple kit, knowing that your boss, mentor and, I'm pretty sure, good friend was lying ill, just hours from death.

I've never felt a personal sense of grief for someone I didn't actually know before The fact that I do, even 48 hrs later, puts what they must have felt like into deep shade. My respect for Tim Cook, particularly, has grown immensely. An extremely dignified, quietly spoken man, I hope he can lead the company on and mould it in his own way, whilst trying to think "if Steve were still with us, what would he say right now?" at critical points.

For all of us who are deeply entrenched into a world where Apple dominates most of the things we do and love, let's hope so.

Why the best iPad business apps won’t be in the App Store http://bit.ly/eBn1mS

A good article about WebApps vs Native Apps but I think Brent is being a bit disingenuous with this:

"an entry in the App Store Directory (this will be the only remaining benefit to building native business apps in 12- 18 months)."

Surely this is the whole point? WebApps and Native Apps are not in competition with each other, they complement one another. A really quick example; my banks website for managing my accounts is extremely good and a really good web app (on any browser) but over a slow GPRS connection struggles. Their Native App has no such issues - why? Most of the information that the browser has to load is already on the device, so it files. Sure it.s not a complete as the web version but for the essentials it quick (in all circumstances) and therefore easy.

Download Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2

You see this is exactly the reason why, on the whole I try to steer clear of Microsoft solutions.  On the face of it SCCM 2012 looks great - options for iOS, Android, Symbian, Windows Phone etc etc.  Then when you click the link for the System Requirements.....it's  a 438kb, 7 page PDF.  

The System Requirements!!

Not a brief spec on what it does or a quick install guide - the frigging System Requirements.  Even after that, I've now read it 3 times and I'm still not exactly sure what's supported and what's not.  MS - a good company, with some great ideas and engineers run and controlled by fuckwits.  Jeez :-(

Download Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2

via technet.microsoft.com

iPhone 4 MacBook Air copulation

Steve: "Jonny, don't you think you've gone a bit too anal on the whole unified design principle this time?"

It really does fit!!

AFP548 - A Post-Xserve World: Day 1

AFP548 - A Post-Xserve World: Day 1

For those of you grieving at the passing of our erstwhile 1U hero, a well written and informative article on some alternatives - particularly how ridiculously easy it is to set up a RAIS.