http://www.daniweb.com/forums/ Tech support, programming, web development, and internet marketing community. Forums to get free computer help and support. en-US Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:07:04 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.daniweb.com/alphaimages/misc/rss.jpg http://www.daniweb.com/forums/ http://www.daniweb.com/news/story241654.html Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:32:32 GMT Reports in the UK indicate that Apple is about to start selling the iPhone through Tesco. Given that this is an American site (see the way I spelled 'rumors' up there? I'm getting the hang of this) I should explain that Tesco is like our version of Wal-Mart over here. Stack stuff high, sell it cheap, doesn't mean it's poor quality but equally if it's there it's commoditised.

I'd assumed this had happened to the iPhone immediately it went multi-provider to be honest, but what's really caught my eye is the amount of people predicting some sort of price war as a result of this Tesco move.

It's not going to happen and I know, because I like expensive aftershave (Armani Code, for anyone in a generous mood around Christmas...no, thought not). The link might not be obvious immediately I suppose; the fact is, though, that many branches of Tesco (and Sainsbury and no doubt other supermarkets) sell this and other premium scents. And they might well shave the odd £1 or so off the price but mostly it still costs the same as it would elsewhere, simply because there's only one source of it so they can control the price.

Likewise Tesco sells iPods. Check the website, it's a simple fact. It's sold them for some time alongside cheaper media players and hey, guess what everyone, there's been no iPod price war.

So we come to the iPhone. Tesco is going to start selling it, and whyever not. It's a common enough product by now, it's commoditised and sells in quantity, I wish Tesco every success in adopting it. But the idea that this is going to bring the price down in itself is crazy - Tesco doesn't control the buying price, Apple does. And my guess is that won't come down any time soon.

P. S. The other thing I'm very pleased indeed to say due to this being an American website is to wish all readers and their families a Happy Thanksgiving. ]]> Mac Rumors and Reports GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread241654.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story241347.html Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:45:23 GMT Today even in the UK we have seen the news about the American First Lady, Michelle Obama, and the scandal over Google searches throwing out a racist image.

Let's leave aside the revulsion over this - it's a daft schoolkid prank and should be treated with that sort of contempt. Google had a decision to make about removing it or not and opted to support freedom even when it offends - we have similar stuff happening in the UK, check the recent media coverage of the British National Party over here. No link deliberately, otherwise they might get clicks.

I'm not here to write about censorship issues, though. What concerns me more is the nature of SEO and how someone has manipulated a search so that their stupid cartoon gets to the top of a major search engine. It's clearly been done with so much sophistication, so much skill in the underlying code, that it actually gets listed above the stuff the real Michelle Obama is doing, or maybe her husband, like running the biggest country in the world during a massive economic crisis.

Annoyed? Yes I am. Regretful that the Obama family has been dragged into something like this? Yes, but I accept racism exists. Hopeful that Google, Microsoft and the others will move some goalposts so this sort of trash stays in the trashcan where it belongs rather than at the top of the search lists? You bet. ]]> Search Engine Optimization GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread241347.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story240975.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:09:34 GMT My thanks to @girlygeekdom on Twitter for highlighting what must be the most surreal Internet marketing plan ever - British girl band the Sugababes are being used to promote Windows 7. There is a website called 'sugababeslovewindows7' to announce it.

I'm as flummoxed as anyone by this. Let's take to one side the fact that I'm a 44 year old man and not at all in the Sugababes' market - what exactly is this trying to say about the brand? That it's easy to use? OK, check - but surely it's no longer acceptable to dismiss young females as incapable of mastering difficult stuff. I know, I have a nine year old daughter and she already speaks more Spanish than I do.

So maybe it's supposed to be trendy? OK, maybe...but it's an operating system, guys, not an item of clothing or new dessert. Mac OS is arguably more fashionable but that's how you get about 5 per cent of the market. This stuff needs to be fashion-proof. Perhaps they think it's going to appeal to a particular demographic? Again I see no reason it should do so; a good OS should ideally be suited to everyone (and compared to Windows Vista, Windows 7 is doing a good job on that score).

I'm the last to blame the Sugababes, in case anyone's wondering. I have no doubt Microsoft is paying plenty for their promotional services and it's not in me to wish less income on anyone. It's Microsoft's view I find completely bewildering. I suppose coming from the same company that chose the Rolling Stones' 'Start Me Up' for the launch of Windows 95 only to have to edit it so the line 'You make a grown man cry' wasn't heard, this isn't a surprise. But even so...a girl band? ]]> Promotion and Marketing Plans GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread240975.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story239750.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:38:56 GMT Apple may have delayed the release of the tablet computer, according to a number of sources, because of component selection. Inevitably this has led to a number of reports that it's not going to happen after all; one website in particular believes the whole thing was a result of our overwrought imagination in Apple user-land.

I'm not so sure, but I do believe in the delays (if you can 'delay' a product to which you haven't attached a date). Apple made an astonishing amount of noise with the iPod when there were already music players out there, and it still owns most of the market. It did the same with the iPhone which most emphatically isn't the first music phone.

I have no doubt the company thinks it's about time to launch another category-killer, and a tablet - something HP and others are already more or less making - to demolish the e-reader-only market, zap a few portable DVD players and generally outsell every personal entertainment and business-lite device out there, would be seen as an excellent idea.

Two things have to be right, though. The price is one, and if - as reports suggest - that's increasing rather than shrinking as launch time approaches - then it's not yet ready for the market. The second, closely related, is the economy. People simply aren't going to buy an optional 'nice-to-have' when they're concerned about mortages and similar considerations.

For those reasons I believe Apple is indeed developing a tablet. I'd be surprised if there isn't a working prototype somewhere. But depending on how component supplies and the larger economy shape up, early 2010 is unlikely to be the optimum time to launch it - if 2010 is the right time at all. ]]> Apple Hardware GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread239750.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story238331.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:40:40 GMT Twitter has suspended its new retweet function (http://status.twitter.com/post/240745460/retweet-feature-temporarily-disabled). Now, this takes me back. When I started writing about technology this stuff was commonplace. A software company would announce a new version or a new package, its... Twitter has suspended its new retweet function.

Now, this takes me back. When I started writing about technology this stuff was commonplace. A software company would announce a new version or a new package, its target date would come and go and then it would be released as buggy as anything. Windows itself didn't get it right until version 3.1 (3.0 caught the imagination of the market, 3.1 worked a load better).

The fact that this doesn't happen any more is to be applauded = except here we are with Twitter issuing a new tweak and unissuing it within days. We'll gloss over the fact that you could already retweet manually.

Half of me hopes this isn't going to mark a return to the bad old days - for 'software company' read 'social media company' but the idea of premature releases remains constant. The other half of me is rubbing its hands saying 'here we go again, software people back on form...'

I'll keep you posted. ]]> Growing an Online Community GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread238331.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story237713.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:46:43 GMT Cellphone manufacturer Samsung has taken everyone by surprise by announcing its own operating system Bada - Korean for 'ocean' - will launch in December.

The intriguing question is why the company wants to do it. The Smartphone arena is at the moment dominated by a handful of players - Google's Android is making a lot of noise and when the dust settles we'll see where the market puts it (my guess is that it'll do well); Windows Mobile is doing well in the corporate market, so is Symbian, which also has a major toehold in the consumer market alongside the iPhone. Palm may be about to make a major re-entry if the Pre does as well as it hopes.

Samsung, with the Omnia, Toco and other models, has done well in the Windows Mobile market. It's one of the major suppliers. So, what's it trying to fix with a new OS?

We can only speculate. It's either a technical or commercial issue. Technical is difficult; the phones work at the moment so if there's an issue, it's an issue with future releases. Maybe Samsung wants more freedom to dictate its own future rather than hang around and add its overlay (which I find awkward to use) to the Windows Mobile OS. It could also be commercial; some reports suggest Samsung will scrap its Symbian phones in favour of Bada - maybe Symbian is charging too much for its system? Or maybe it's a technical thing with Symbian?

At the moment it looks like a lot of fuss over fixing something which, basically, works. Unless it can do to the market what Apple did with the iPhone two years ago (and I'd predict it won't), I can't see a reason for Bada that's public just yet.

And yes, Sopranos fans, I suppose if it adopts Microsoft's new(ish) search engine then that will make every search a Bada Bing. ]]> Cellphones, PDAs and Handheld Devices GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread237713.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story237206.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:35:34 GMT An Apple iPhone virus is on the loose in Australia. According to reports it's an odd one; it replaces your wallpaper with a picture of singer Rick Astley and an inoffensive slogan. It affects only jailbroken phones, in other words phones whose owners have fiddled with the operating system to allow the use of any software.

There are a number of ways of looking at this. First, it's a relief I use my non-jailbroken iPhone 3G, with all the protection Apple and 02 can muster on it. Second, what a peculiar thing to do - just put a virus out there that doesn't do any harm, just illustrates the possible damage malware could do if it were sent out by someone who isn't very nice.

This in turn raises the awkward scenario - that some virus writers may not be the idiot psychopaths everyone believes. I know an ex-hacker who started very early on, hacking into a member of the British Royal Family's bank account. He didn't do it maliciously, he wanted to highlight the fact that it could be done - and in doing so he believed (and so do I) that he was doing a lot of people a substantial favour, as nobody understood the risks at the time. He is now a security consultant.

I do wonder whether this instance is so different. It appears that someone well-meaning has put an infection out there that doesn't damage anything, just nudges data around a little and puts an extra picture and text onto a phone. The implication, clearly, is that you could suffer dreadfully if you don't address this; it seems benevolent in intent.

A nice virus, who'd have thought it. Coming soon: the happy plague! ]]> Apple Hardware GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread237206.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story235972.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:34:35 GMT It's almost reassuring to see a large company make basic mistakes like this - UK toy store Hamley's (one of our best-known retailers, a tourist destination in its own right so I'm told although personally I find it looks a little dated) forgot to renew its domain for a few days.

Inevitably it was infested with ads for a while.

I do wonder what these companies think they're doing. It must be almost a decade since the satire site B3ta registered introducingmonday.co.uk - a consultancy was rebranding as Monday, put a lot of serious corporate stuff on introducingmonday.com but forgot about the UK equivalent - and people are still being caught out.

I'm a self-employed individual and I manage to renew my domains because the registrars send automatic reminders. I have to ask myself, how easy do the registration companies have to make this stuff..? ]]> Promotion and Marketing Plans GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread235972.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story232693.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:32:19 GMT Sometimes you see something and you really, really hope it's a hoax. Take this story on Slashdot, which confirms if true that Apple has applied for a patent to put advertising into its operating systems.

I really, really don't want adverts when I switch my computer on. Actually that's not strictly true; I tried it once, when ISPs were experimenting with how to go free in the 1990s and one of the ideas was that you could push ads out to people. It rolled over and died because people ignored the ads and didn't click on them.

It will happen again if any major OS manufacturer tries to do it. I hope, hope, hope, this is a hoax. I'm fond of my Apple kit (most Apple users are, we have to go beyond rational because of the price) and would hate to see them blow it completely. ]]> OS X GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread232693.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story232568.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:51:14 GMT So I'm helping host an event for Google yesterday - called Atmosphere, it was based in London and had about 300 CIOs present. I was lucky enough to be chairing a couple of panel discussions (and will put YouTube links in here if anyone's interested in what CIOs from Amazon, Jaguar Landrover and elsewhere had to say on the cloud).

One interesting point was when a member of the audience asked what the panel would be doing about Windows 7. The response was unanimous. First they said they wouldn't be doing anything on day one of a release of a new system and no self-respecting CIO would disagree (for what it's worth I found this an entirely reasonable view).

Second, though, after agreeing there might be a place for it in a couple of years, they added that they didn't care about Windows, Macs or anything else any more. The one thing driving these international CIOs is what you can find on the browser - what's useful, what's working, what's productive, if it's stored locally they just don't want to know any more.

This could end up as quite a shock to that nice Mr. Gates and even that nice Mr. Jobs as it starts to filter out to the small business community and then the consumer market. Cynics will say it's thin client all over again. Other critics say that themassive advance in the 1980s and 1990s was that everybody had a personal computer on their desk. But as one of the speakers said yesterday, arguably the big change now is that everyone's going to have their own managed data centre on their desk without having to worry how it's done.

Windows? Mac? Linux? I wonder how long we'll care? ]]> Windows Vista and Windows 7 GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread232568.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story231763.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:37:32 GMT The Microsoft Windows 7 launch is all but upon us and I can't say I'm sorry. Not that I'm directly affected as a Mac user but Vista is now almost officially acknowledged as a flop and it'll be good to see Microsoft back in the game properly, in terms of a good system as well as market share.

The launch itself, though, is leaving me cold. In the past we've had a lot of showbiz from both camps. The launches were an event in their own right - remember as far back as Windows 95, when Bill Gates used 'Start Me Up' by the Rolling Stones as the soundtrack? With the line 'You Make A Grown Man Cry'? Now where was that when we were struggling with Vista.

Likewise this year's Snow Leopard launch from Apple. The critics - including me - said it was more of a nudge up, a maintenance release, than a full-blown new OS. The launch wasn't exciting, and neither was the last batch of iPods.

One of two things is happening, possibly both. First the recession is really kicking in. In spite of talk of recovery, no-one has the confidence to spend a lot of dollars marketing anything no matter how confident they tell us they feel. Second - and this could be a good thing - these companies are finally starting to grow up. There is suddenly an understanding that we're not going to go back to our desks, punch the air and behave as if they'd invented a new and better way of breathing, they finally understand that these are just systems that make computers run with a bit more juice.

Convinced? Nah, me neither, it'll be the money. Roll on Windows 8, I could do with a good gig... ]]> Windows Vista and Windows 7 GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread231763.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story231449.html Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:52:38 GMT Symantec has published one of those rare things - a report that contains an actual surprise. It seems some 4 million people have fallen for Scareware in the last 12 months.

I'm stunned.

Not because people are installing fake antivirus systems. That's a shame but in some ways it's inevitable; people on their own will fall for scams. No, what alarms me is that the IT community (and if we include journalists and bloggers that's all of us) are doing so little to dissuade them.

It wouldn't take much. An email sent to all remote workers reminding them that not only should they not install pirated software onto their systems, not only is clicking a link in an email from someone they don't know and filling bank details in after that a really, really bad idea, but if someone approaches you with AV software it's probably fake. Coming from someone they trust, like an employer, it could transform the way scams succeed on the Internet.

Now if you'll excuse me I have a mail telling me my ISP is going to close my account if I don't log on and confirm all of my passwords... ]]> Network Security GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread231449.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story228297.html Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:09:41 GMT It's official - Amazon is finally going to bring the Kindle e-book reader to countries other than the US, including my own UK. Thing is, there are going to be issues.

The first is a practical one. In the absence of any specific announcement to the contrary, we're all going to be ordering the American version and importing it for the moment. American readers might shrug and ask what the problem is as long as we can get the voltage right and recharge the thing. Well, yes, up to a point, kind of, and other half-hearted agreement; but if this thing carries an American sim card then guess what, we're going to be hit with international data roaming charges every time we download a book. Amazon is going to have to clarify this if it isn't the case, or amend it with deals with local carriers if it is.

If there is an issue then you have to ask why release internationally before those carrier deals are in place, and I may have an answer. Rumour has been rife for many months that Apple is ready to release some sort of tablet computer, which will act as a media/entertainment machine. Apple, you'll recall if you're outside the US, has done a brilliant job of blocking Microsoft every time there appeared to be a gap in the international market for the Zune media player. There'd be a new iPod, a new iPhone, something to block the gadget market completely just when you'd swear the time was right for a European Zune. If analysts are right and Apple is going to use the next MacWorld Expo to launch something that will do so much more than act as a reader, then it's going to block the New Year market and pull off the same trick again. Amazon had better make the best of the Christmas market before it emerges because the standalone reader could be a dead duck within months.

That logic holds good only if you regard Apple as the ultimate marketing big-bad, and there have certainly been signs of a tide turning against the company. But past history suggests you don't underestimate Steve Jobs and co's ability to create whole new product categories and leave the mass market with the impression that they're the first. The Amazon launch, in which non-Americans have to order kit from the US and are promised there'll be a more localised experience sometime, looks rushed and maybe forced; I can only think of the one reason why this should be so. ]]> Cellphones, PDAs and Handheld Devices GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread228297.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story227827.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:38:49 GMT Smaller businesses and people who use Hotmail as n email system or backup email system need to change their passwords - Microsoft has confirmed it's investigating a security breach.

It seems that in spite of the industrial strength security everybody of any size applies to these systems - and let's not single out Microsoft or be anti-anything here, nobody honest benefits from this sort of thing happening - reports are circulating stating that 10,000 email addresses and passwords have been taken.

You might want to change yours as a routine precaution. ]]> Network Security GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread227827.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story227242.html Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:52:45 GMT A judge has said a lawsuit can be delivered via Twitter. It's an interesting case, an odd idea and a pity there are going to be so many logistical obstacles.

The scenario is simple. Someone is posing as a (real) right-wing blogger - they've effectively 'borrowed' his name for a Twitter account and are putting notes up that the actual blogger finds objectionable. In British law, and I have no doubt other territories will have their equivalents, there is a thing called 'passing off', which means I can't pass myself off as someone else, they can't pass themselves off as me, and soforth. So the blogger doesn't need a trademark, he's protected.

Thing is, the Tweeter hasn't identified himself. So the judge has said the lawsuit can be delivered via Twitter - a link will take the Tweeter through to the text of the injunction.

Yeah...and then what? There are a great many things that can happen and only one of those involves the perpetrator actually being caught. The most likely is that he or she will ignore the lawsuit. If he or she can't be found then there's nothing to gain from coming forward. The second is that they shut the account down and start again under another name, and continue this sort of Twitter-tag for a while. The third is that he or she gets caught but denies having seen the Tweet with the lawsuit link (maybe you can prove someone opened a Tweet but I can assure you I have Tweetdeck running on my computer all the time so about 1500 people could 'prove' I'd opened their Tweets without any certainty that I'd read them unless I'd replied).

In fact the more I look at this, the less enforceable it appears and the more objections to Twitter as a means of delivery start to look. I'd be delighted if someone could prove me wrong but I just don't see how this can fly.

Details of the case are in a report here. ]]> Network Security GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread227242.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story226812.html Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:14:21 GMT Toshiba has launched a new selection of notebook computers - but they look rather like Netbooks. Priced at the upper end of the cheaper notebook market (and the exact cost will depend on your territory, let's just say they're starting at £429 in the UK) they're called the CULV satellites - that's Compact Ultra-Low Voltage to you.

They're nice looking machines and they're bound to do pretty well alongside heavier competitors. But they're full of contradictions. They are single core processors but the company decided Atom processors weren't going to be good enough. They're powered up to handle serious applications, the company says, but you're never - no, seriously never - going to want to edit multimedia or something on a 10.1in screen. It's just not going to happen.

The really baffling element is that these are for consumers rather than professionals. If someone says to a professional, OK, you can hook this up to a larger monitor and it'll have enough oomph to handle the serious work but remain seriously portable, or you can put an external DVD drive on if you want, that's one thing. If you say it to a consumer, and try to explain the single core/dual core thing to them, they're going to get bewildered.

Toshiba knows this, it had the misfortune to be selling televisions when high definition started (so things were HD ready, or they had full HD, or true HD, it still makes my head bleed to think about it) and now they have no option but to sell laptops in an equally complicated manner. It's genuinely not their fault, Intel has the market for chips all but sewn up.

I'm anticipating a lot of confused customers in the superstores. And the fact that these look so much like Netbooks isn't going to help. ]]> Cellphones, PDAs and Handheld Devices GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread226812.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story226306.html Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:29:38 GMT The iPhone's going to be sold by Orange in the UK as well as 02. I confess I was surprised at the announcement since I'd assumed 02 taking on the Palm Pre was as good as a statement that they no longer expected a monopoly on any other smartphone.

What's really interesting about this, though, is that it commoditises the iPhone in a way that wouldn't have been imaginable only a couple of years ago. More than one supplier selling the same bit of tin is going to mean the only way they can differentiate themselves, pretty quickly, will be on price.

This is where the whole debate becomes confused. iPhones sold on price? That's kind of OK because the technology is maturing, but then where's the incentive for the mobile company to sell them in the first place if there's no money to be made on them?

My guess is that Apple has realised, as it has in other territories already, that it's time to stop pretending the iPhone - neat though it is - is some sort of engineering miracle and start selling it as a phone again. This means going multi-channel, and it means more than one announcement is likely to be due; I have no 'in' here but I suspect Orange will be the first of a couple of iPhone announcements in the very near future.

This also means Apple will have to stop going on about iPhones as if they're the most exciting thing on the planet, ever, and find another product to excite everyone, just as it did when the iPod became a commodity.

My money is on a Mac tablet in January. ]]> Apple Hardware GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread226306.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story225641.html Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:21:09 GMT Occasionally you see something exciting, which is why I'm very pleased to tell you about WorkSnug - a new iPhone app, also coming to Android, I was shown by the founder a day or so ago.

It's one of those things that addresses a need you didn't know you had before. You take your iPhone 3Gs (and it does need that GPS function), you open the application and - as long as you're in a city that's covered - you hold the camera lense up to the street. You see the street on the screen but the clever bit is that you have an overlay of directions to the nearest publicly-available WiFi access.

Touch the various names of the access places and it goes further - you get a write-up on the venue, whether it's actually an eaterie or somewhere more congenial for work, and what the noise level is like. The start-up has been sponsored by Plantronics, so as you might imagine if the noise level is going to be bad you get information on the headsets available for Skype and other audio-related stuff.

It's going to be free when it's approved on the Apple iTunes store, and there will be the opportunity to leave feedback on the various venues. London will be the first city covered with San Francisco coming soon. If I had the 3Gs I'd be signing up on day one. ]]> Mac Rumors and Reports GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread225641.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story225494.html Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:59:40 GMT Another day, another Gmail outage - well, that's the way it can start to seem. Twitter was all a-quiver with how the system was down; people didn't know what to do about it and one wag put a note up saying the human species can last six days without water but only about eight minutes without Gmail.

OK, I was on a train and assumed the iPhone was playing up, briefly. I now know better. But I'm still not angry with Gmail. I'm just not.

Let's take an objective view of this. I pay for my Gmail but that's only because it's tied in with Google Apps. I can have it for nothing if I choose. I can also have Twitter for nothing, Google Docs and all sorts of stuff.

And guess what. Occasionally - and I do mean occasionally, it just feels like forever when you're going through it - the system falls over. I've seen Twitter failing, I've had difficulty sending Gmail messages out and receiving them for an hour or so at a time, but mostly it works perfectly. I am genuinely a happy customer because I pay peanuts, and that's only because I choose to, and for over 99 per cent of the time, I think, I get a good service.

Very few people seem to be making this point. We're all conditioned to expect professional-grade service for next to no money whatsoever. Maybe it's just me, but if anyone can explain how this excellence is supposed to be sustained over time or why we imagine we have the right to complain, just let me know. ]]> Promotion and Marketing Plans GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread225494.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story224639.html Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:55:17 GMT Apple (http://www.apple.com) appears to be having battery issues again - it is reportedly asking iPhone 3Gs users to get in touch if their batteries are running down. This tells us a number of things. First, that there is a real problem. When a business the size of Apple decides to ask its... Apple appears to be having battery issues again - it is reportedly asking iPhone 3Gs users to get in touch if their batteries are running down.

This tells us a number of things. First, that there is a real problem. When a business the size of Apple decides to ask its customers what the problem is, there is definitely something up. Second, Apple has been caught out by this. Nobody was expecting it and it looks as though they can't duplicate the problem in the labs - otherwise why ask the customers?

One possible theory to account for why this has happened is that Apple has actually allowed its biggest selling point to overrun its best selling products: there are simply too many apps for the company to be able to manage how an iPhone does. What does the product actually do, for example? It's a phone, it's a GPS, it's a games console - it actually depends entirely on what you happen to have installed on it. And unlike previous generations of phones with a bit of gaming, bit of music and bit of other stuff, the extras are at the heart of the iPhone and its competitors, which actually do more stuff than my first computer did 16 years ago. If Apple has no control over people's usage of their device and the demands they make of it I'm not surprised power is an issue.

But then, when I had my first iPhone 15 months ago, before they started upgrading the OS, the power didn't last a full 24 hours without a recharge. I now carry it with a battery pack case the whole time, just in case. And it's not a 3Gs, it's an ordinary 3G.

Call me cynical, but it's just possible this has been a bit of a design niggle for longer than Apple wants to tell us. ]]> Apple Hardware GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread224639.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story224011.html Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:10:32 GMT This week I went to an annual press launch in London. Called PlayBite, it's not half as salacious as it sounds, just a group of companies that share the same PR company (also called Bite, you can see where they're going with this) exhibiting stuff.

There were a few gadgets coming out - mostly 'same stuff as before only smaller and faster' (which is the trend after you reach a certain age in this game) - but the interesting thing for me was the number of new Netbooks on the market. One exhibitor in particular told me they weren't getting any demand at all for notebooks because everyone was buying the lighter device.

So, does this mean the death of the traditional notebook? I kind of hope not. I like having a full-blown PC (or Mac in my case) with me when I'm out presenting because you can do other things, you don't get mobile data costs because you need to get at information you already own, you can do proper work.

And yet there are so many free access points on my travels that I do wonder whether I'm just being illogical and justifying a handsome-looking Mac laptop because, well, it's shiny, which gives me an emotional attachment to it but which doesn't actually deliver benefits other than image (and when you're 44, going grey and overweight, the shininess of your laptop is only a token gesture in that direction).

I'm inclined to try and cope without it for a while - just take a netbook out with me and see whether I actually miss the full-blown laptop. The only thing is I'm a little nervous - the laptop's a matter of months old and I'd hate to find out I'd spent that much on something I didn't need! ]]> Cellphones, PDAs and Handheld Devices GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread224011.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story223281.html Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:48:02 GMT It was surreal to read today that Microsoft's Apple iPod killer, the Zune, has gone all high definition. That's to say that the new version announced today will have high-def capacity. Reaction has been positive; connect it to a TV and it'll be great, everyone's going to want one.

Well, tough, if you live in Europe. Because it's not launched over here.

And I don't just mean the high definition version isn't around. We in the UK and as far as I'm aware (happy to be corrected of course) elsewhere in Europe are a Zune-free zone. Microsoft simply hasn't issued them here.

There is of course the question, why on earth not? The answer appears to be that there's been some brilliant brinkmanship by Apple. Yes, I know Microsoft claims it's all about finding the right moment but we don't really believe all that hooey, do we? Apple, with a series of manoeuvres and iPhone or iPod releases, has ensured that it would put any Microsoft launch right into the shade as soon as it released anything.

It's an object lesson in how to trap your opponent into a corner, but there's actually more to it. This whole situation tells us that Microsoft doesn't have the confidence in the Zune as a competitor to Apple - I honestly can't see any other reason not to go ahead and release it.

So that's Microsoft, apparently not confident enough to release what should be one of its star consumer products. I do wonder whether they'll release it in January, although best guess is that's when Apple will release its tablet.

Will we ever see the Zune in Europe, high-def or otherwise? We might, but Microsoft had better hurry up and issue it while we still care. ]]> Cellphones, PDAs and Handheld Devices GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread223281.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story222978.html Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:24:09 GMT The UK has finally ratified the 802.11n standard for WiFi at last. Although we've had '802.11n-ready' kit on the market for a fair while, it hasn't been official as yet.

I can only hope people in stores will be able to explain what people are buying. I say this because of what happened the last time we had anything as '(standard)-ready', which was with high definition televisions. It wasn't pretty.

Essentially, the problem then was that there were too many versions of the technology around. People weren't clear what they were buying and the technical standard changed while they were buying. So things that were HD-ready weren't true HD, which really confused the hell out of people.

I hope the same doesn't happen with 802.11n. In theory it should be straightforward as people won't have had conflicting standards thrown at them. But I'm willing to bet nobody'll trust it at first. ]]> Networking Hardware Configuration GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread222978.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story222234.html Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:40:01 GMT Twitter founder Biz Stone has confirmed that the network might take advertising at some stage. More specifically he's refused to say it won't. The company has just revised its terms and conditions and as part of the overhaul Mr. Stone has said on a blog that he's keeping the door open to advertising. So he's not saying no, he's not saying yes.

This is an entirely sensible view to take since neither he nor anyone else can predict the direction a company will take at only two years old. Markets change, conditions change so of course he's keeping an open mind.

The Twitter community doesn't seem all that pleased.

This is going to be a bigger issue. Twitter and the rest of the social networking world has built itself a substantial problem. Everyone, by now, expects these things to be available without charge and mostly advert free. And I'm here to tell you, people, it isn't going to happen. Initial investments in these various start-ups were made way before the financial climate turned septic but even then it's massively unlikely that these businesses were set up without any thought of ever turning into profit.

It's going to look odd, in history, when we turn around and reflect that in a few very short years we all had free Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, YouTube, mail from Google and goodness knows what else. It's going to look even odder that we took it for granted. Sometime over the next few years we're going to have to decide in what way it's going to be acceptable to pay for it all; it'll be interesting to watch the resistant users in these communities as the financial realities start to bite. ]]> Promotion and Marketing Plans GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread222234.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story221990.html Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:47:49 GMT Apple has launched new additions to its iPod range and improved two of its working environments, iPhone 3.1 software is out, and joined by a new version of the iTunes store.

Only...there isn't much new in any of this. Let's take a look at the iTunes store first. You can now buy music in 'LP' versions, with extra features like little video documentaries. Well, forgive me for saying so but as far as I can see the company's been selling video for quite a while now. Adding the two together isn't new or revolutionary, and neither is adding art (I've had 'digital booklets' with downloads years ago). Yes it's a bit prettier and easier to navigate than before, but it's a bit like rearranging furniture. Convenient but not essential.

Likewise sticking a video camera on the back of an iPod. Apple makes a big thing of this and woo-hoo, so do many Apple fans. Steve Jobs himself made quite a thing of how they've been watching the Flip Video space.

This got me excited briefly I have to admit, because Flip has an HD model. High definition from something that small was...well, wasn't going to happen because it's not what was announced, this is ordinary if serviceable VGA quality video. Which is fine, but not something with any particular zap. The iPod Nanos remain serviceable and elegant and yes, there are some new colours, but that's about it.

And then there's the iPhone software upgrade. Apple fans will hate this but I've upgraded, had a look at the phone and - call me an idiot if you want - I can't see the difference. Apple says it synchronises better than it did, and it might well - as always, Apple, thanks for fixing a problem I didn't know I had. It was already working fine.

None of this would matter for any other company but Apple has built itself a reputation for making the next big thing. People were (ill-advisedly) expecting the announcement that the Beatles were available for legitimate download (on the day they released their remastered catalogue at great expense, yeah, that was going to happen!) or the long-rumoured Apple Tablet. Instead, the announcements following the distinctly dull Snow Leopard upgrade weren't actually much of an event.

There is nothing wrong with streamlining a Web design, adding an ordinary camera, all those things. But doing so with such a big event and jamboree about it is going to make Apple's events a laughing stock unless they have something substantial to announce next time. ]]> Apple Hardware GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread221990.html http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread220788.html Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:25:08 GMT We've just had a public holiday in the UK. On the last Monday of August nobody works, including the postal delivery men. Which is probably why it wasn't until this morning that I received my copies of Snow Leopard - one for the laptop and one for the desktop - for the Mac.

An Apple OS upgrade. This has always been exciting, with major stuff added, easier and better displays and so on.

Not this time. I have it on good authority that if you're working with Microsoft Exchange then it's an excellent thing and will make your system integrate much better. I'm not entirely convinced that community shouldn't just use Windows anyway, I have to confess. Probably someone, somewhere knows.

Outside of that, an extra keyboard and character viewer on the screen might come in useful - although I'm writing in English we have a lot of contacts on this side of the Atlantic who have a number of accents etc. in their name so easy access to those will be good. Easy access to recent documents just became simpler, although I see the stack of downloads on the launch bar has vanished by default.

And...er...that's it. Nothing more to report. Possibly one of the most-hyped but dullest responses ever. I forget who Tweeted last week that it was a service pack, but...it's a service pack. ]]> OS X GuyClapperton http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread220788.html