Apple puts muscle on Stanza, forces removal of USB sync

The wheels are in motion at Apple, once more. With the launch of the iPad, which Apple touts to be a Kindle killer, the brains at Apple are trying to make sure that any application that so much as has the potential of becoming a threat to Apple’s iBook application is crippled to the point of being a non-challenger. The latest victim is Stanza, a very popular e-book reading software that was recently acquired by Amazon. Apple has forced Stanza to remove the capability of syncing over USB. This maybe the first salvo from Apple across the bow of Amazon?

Though most people will not notice this change in Stanza, many users are angry over this. The biggest question is why is Apple forcing this now after the iPad has debuted? Stanza had been around for quite sometime now and Apple did not have any problems approving it’s iPhone app. But suddenly it finds this feature to be in violation of Apple’s closed, convoluted and clear as mud developer agreement.

Is this something really that important to blog about? Maybe not right now but this event could be significant in the future. It is an ominous sign for things to come. Look forward to Amazon’s Kindle app for the iPhone being crippled in a similar manner with the release of iPhone OS 4.0. The Kindle is, at least to me, way superior as an e-book reader and the Kindle application for the iPhone provides users with a choice. In order to kill the Kindle, Apple needs to close down all avenues for it to be a viable alternative. The new restriction on Stanza seems to be the first shot. What’s next? Only time will tell.

Apple’s latest iPad is a big disappointment

With much fanfare and hoopla Apple announced their newest creation – the iPad. And what a disappointment it was. Turns out that this massive secret product that Apple had been working on is a giant iPod Touch. That’s the best that Apple can do?

Here’s what I think this device is worth – nothing. Other than the big screen what does the iPad have that an iPod Touch or iPhone does not? In fact the device has some shortcomings that might prove to be its Achilles heel.

First and foremost, the iPad is supposed to “revolutionize” the way people consume digital media including videos, movies, audio, the whole shebang. And to make that happen Apple omits support for Adobe Flash in the browser!!! What the…..? Almost a majority of videos on the web run on Flash. Now that’s a crippling blow.

The entry level device offers 16 GB of space – enough to hold around 4 movies. Big deal. The iPod Classic can hold up to 200 hrs of video at almost half the price. Maybe that’s not that important.

The absence of a webcam means no video chat – another big blow to the usefulness of this expensive device. The cheapest of netbooks manage to cram one in, but Apple could not. Or maybe they thought people don’t need it.

No USB connectors essentially indicate that photos from digital cameras cannot be transferred directly to the device. Also pen drives cannot be used to transfer data to and from the device. The lack of a CDROM is another major shortcoming.

The device runs the iPhone OS and not the Mac OSX which is yet another major letdown. A full blown OS would have probably increased the appeal of this device manifold. Instead Apple chose to stick to the super restrictive App Store model where people would have to download a set of mini applications in order to do something that is otherwise available as a suite. Case in point Microsoft Office. The fact that the iPad does not run MS Office takes it out of reckoning for most business users. Sure Apple is working on a version of iWorks for the iPad but it won’t be a replacement for MS Office.

The iPhone OS also means that only one application will run at a time -  a severe limitation to a lot of people. While it was ok on the mobile phone, on the iPad it is a deal breaker, at least for me.

Tethering the device to the App Store and forcing people to use only Apple approved apps is another major flaw in the whole strategy. This model worked well for the iPhone since it was a subsidized device. So people did not really mind the restriction that much. But the iPad costs $499 for the starter model and you pay that money to own this device and not lease it. So the buyer should have complete independence to install what he likes from where he wants.

As for being an e-book reader, that’s a joke. The whole reason behind the current slew of e-books in the market is to provide the user with an electronic alternative to reading books while trying to make the experience easy on the eyes . That’s one of the reasons almost all the e-books sport a display that by itself does not emit light (e-Ink). The iPad has an LCD screen albeit a very good one. So in other words reading books on this device would be as tiring on the eyes as it is on a computer screen. Some casual reading might be okay, but nothing serious.

The dominant e-book reader in the market today, the Kindle, weighs less than the iPad. The Kindle’s design makes it easy to move back and forth between pages since the Prev and Next buttons are on the same side of the device. thus making one-handed operation easy. The iPad’s iBook application, a direct ripoff on the Classic application, needs the user to touch on opposite ends of the screen to move back and forth between pages. In other words you cannot navigate around a book with a just one hand. Quite a limitation as an e-reader.

Overall, the iPad has underwhelmed everybody. While there is a possibility that it will be made into a success  for Apple by the fanboys, it’s not a game changer. The only device that the iPad is probably going to kill is the Joo Joo, previously known as the CrunchPad.

iPad or iCrap? You decide

Apple’s web site says that the iPad is:

Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.

Here’s a snapshot of the website:

That’s a HUGE claim. Let’s put that to the test, shall we?

Most advanced technology
Look at the tech specs of the iPad and judge for yourself. Apart from the custom processor, which is more like a new processor rather than an advanced one, what’s so advanced about this thing? It doesn’t even have USB connectors on it. Oh by the way, doesn’t Google’s Nexus One have a 1GHz processor in it already?

Magical
In what way? What does it do extra that an iPod Touch or the iPhone cannot? Oh yes it has a larger screen. Where is the magic in that? In fact now app developers will have to create two versions – one for the iPod and the other for this giant iPod. The web browsing experience would be anyday less fantastic than on a proper computer because of the omission of Adobe Flash. Of course it would be more convenient than on an iPhone/iPod because of its giant size. The absence of a webcam further reduces whatever magic this device supposedly has.

Revolutionary
The iPod was revolutionary, the iPhone was revolutionary, but this? Oh come one Apple you can do better than that. The general consensus on various sites including blogs and Twitter is that this is a giant iPod Touch. So what did it revolutionize?

Unbelievable price
$499 is not cheap by any standard other than Apple’s. For another $100 you can get a Mac Mini which is more powerful and does all the magic that the iPad can do other than touch, has more storage, faster processor, more memory, and a way more powerful graphics card. Of course you would need to have a monitor too. So why is this price unbelievable?

The top end version of the iPad is available for $829 plus about $30 for the data connection. So comes to $859. The MacBook starts at $999 and even the entry level model will beat the hell out of an iCrap iPad, at almost anything. Again, why is this price so unbelievable?

All I can say is that description on Apple’s web site does not hold much water. Do you think otherwise? Feel free to comment.

Apple App Store: The beginning of the end

Just came across a very interesting article on the net that talks about Apple driving developers away from its App Store. Huh!!! Is that possible? After all Apple and it’s iPhone/iPod are supposed to be the best thing that has ever happened to the world. The truth is actually quite different my friends.

At one point the iPhone was probably the best platform for mobile applications. But the situation is quite different now. RIM’s Blackberry, Google’s Android and Palm’s WebOS have all changed the dynamics of the game. Consumers and mobile app developers have a lot of choice now. All the operating systems are quite capable and worthy and some of them are actually easier to develop for. For example if you want to develop for the Android or the Palm Web OS all you need is the SDK and a computer running Windows, Linux or Mac OS. But if you want to develop for the iPhone you need to have an Apple Mac computer. Ridiculous!!! What were they thinking? By constraining the development environment you are already alienating some of the developers.

The thing that takes the cake is Apple’s policies for applications that can be hosted on the App Store. In fact there is a clear lack of a consistent policy and every application, and by extension the developer, is at the mercy of the whims of an Apple employee. So if the Apple person reviewing your application on a particular day had a harrowing time tackling brutal traffic, or just learnt that his/her partner is cheating on him, then you could be doomed. Your application would be rejected for some seemingly vague reasons. And I am not pulling something out of thin air here, this has happened….on multiple occasions….and continues to happen even today. So here’s the million dollar question:

Who the f&*^ is Apple to decide what I can run on my iPhone/iPod ?

In some of my previous posts I had talked about how Apple might be losing developers if it does not get it’s act together. Here are a few of them:

• Apple iPhone will lose to Google Android powered T-Mobile G1
• 22 steps through iPhone development hell
• Arrogant Apple good for Google

In fact Apple has started losing developers. Check out this article. Most of the fanboys would be quick to dismiss this as a one off case of disgruntled developers. Probably true now but how long would this take to snowball into something bigger? More importantly can Apple afford to take a hit to their reputation? Google Android and the Web OS have opened up development to all and their store policies are more lenient towards developers. So what does Apple have to gain? The iPhone on Verizon seems to be a distant dream specially with the Motorola Droid faring quite well. Looks like it might pretty much be all downhill from here for the iPhone.

Disgusting Apple

Apple, the consumer electronics giant, makes products worth drooling over. The iconic iPod and iPhone have taken the world by storm and literally reinvented the portable music player and cell phone markets. But does that justify Apple’s high handed behavior with customers and developers?

Many Apple App Store developers have been complaining about Apple’s arrogance in disallowing their applications on the App Store even though similar applications were being listed. Apple has been totally silent on it. Very recently Apple denied Google Voice iPhone application an entry into App Store. Like always no reasons were given. This has been going on for quite sometime. But for how long are we going to tolerate this?

Recently, a kid’s iPod exploded when her father dropped it. Like any other consumer, the father approached Apple for a replacement. After going through several departments, Apple agreed to refund for the damaged product only if – check this out – the father agreed to sign a sort of NDA that would allow Apple to bring litigation against the customer if the customer spread the information about the exploding iPod. Here’s the link to the story.

Hey Apple, how about sticking a label on the product warning people that the damn thing might explode if dropped? Would they do it? Of course not. If they do, will those thousands of people who wear their iPods while jogging everyday morning buy them anymore? Surely not.

There are some people who are of the opinion that Apple is justified in asking for an NDA from the customer. If that is so, shouldn’t we, the consumers be justified in asking Apple for a label on their iPods informing us about the dangers? Cigarette packets have to have a warning from the Sugeon General, maybe Apple iPods and iPhones should also have something similar.

I am sure, if people who like Apple were to read this post, I would be flamed. But had something similar happened to a product from Microsoft or Dell, these very folks would be first in line to denounce those products and praise Apple’s offerings. Agreed Apple is a great company producing great products, but it is time Apple’s ardent supporters and all others start to realize that Apple might not have been doing proper checks when coming up with frequent generations of its hand-held products.

Sun sets: Oracle buys Sun

Finally the “Sun” has set over the land of Java. After years of ailment, Sun Microsystems entered into a union with Oracle Corporation. Initial talks with IBM failing, Oracle was the next logical choice to acquire Sun. Whether this union proves holy for the Java community is yet to be seen.

So what is the future of Java and related technologies? A million dollar question that does not have one single correct answer. But one thing is for sure there would be some turmoil. Sun had been the guiding light of the Java community for years. Whereas other companies like the erstwhile BEA, IBM and Oracle became rich on Sun’s technologies, Sun could never monetize them as well and never really came out of the doldrums in which it was pushed in during the recession of 2001. Ever since then analysts have been predicting the demise of this iconic company.

If a company is in trouble, one way out is to sell it to another. But is that the only way out? Apparently that’s what people think nowadays. Well surely there has to be other ways. Apple turned around without selling. There are other companies that also survived without selling themselves. I wish Sun could have done it.

With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle finds itself in a rather enviable position much to the chagrin of IBM – a miffed suitor. What happens to the Sun’s software product portfolio is anybody’s guess. Here’s a list of potential products that can be affected:

• MySQL: The open source database that was already dealt a heavy blow with Oracle’s acquisition of InnoDB. Will this be the last of MySQL?
• Netbeans IDE: With Sun’s backing, Netbeans has become a leading IDE for Java development. Oracle’s JDeveloper will surely have an effect on this brilliant piece of software.
• Glassfish Application Server: Another open source product that has been very well received by the Java developer community. With BEA’s Weblogic in its kitty, does it make sense for Oracle to further the cause of Glassfish?
• Open SSO: Sun’s open source security component for the enterprise. Will Oracle have a need for this?

Oracle, in turn, gains a lot more. First and foremost is Java. Java has become the predominant technology in enterprise software computing. With Java in its bag Oracle gets to call the shots on how things should move ahead. Whether this is good or bad is a subjective question.

This leads us to the most important question of all – will the Java Community Process(JCP) lose its democratic nature? Well it’s surely going to be affected and with Oracle leading the charge chances are many of the enhancements that make their way into future releases are stuff that Oracle wants. Of course there has to be some sort of consensus. But with Sun and BEA out of the way, who dares cross Oracle? IBM? Sure and it will. Specially now since they have lost Sun to Oracle.

I wish to God that what I say next does not come true. With IBM and Oracle on board, the JCP process might well become the battleground of egos. There is a high chance of conflict arising between these two companies. Till now Sun had worked as a mediator of sorts and things were chugging along. But now the situation is completely different. Both Oracle and IBM have the necessary tools and wherewithal to provide end-to-end services to customers. So why should one follow the other? If these two behemoths do not work well together, we might pretty well be headed towards a branch in Java technologies. So maybe we will have an IBM Java/JEE stack and an Oracle Java/JEE stack. Such a split may very well prove to be a crippling blow to the Java community.

Maybe, Java and related technologies should be spun off as another independent organization. This organization can be funded by the other stakeholders like Oracle and IBM but their processes should be free of any influence of a corporate body. A third party mediation strategy is extremely important.

But if a split does happen, where do we, the Java developers, go? Do we align ourselves with one of the two giants or is there another route? How about OpenJDK? I understand that it still has some way to go. But can it provide that other route?

Apple: The next Microsoft…only more dominant

With the iPhone and iPod, Apple has already found its way into the pockets of the consumer and chances are pretty high that it would remain there for quite some time. The success of the iPod and iPhone has spurred the sales of Apple’s laptop and desktop systems. Today, Apple appears to be the sole beacon of light in the otherwise dark global economic situation.

So what’s next for Apple? Where is the company headed? Difficult questions to answer. And even if we could it would be more of an educated guess. From a computer making company Apple has evolved to a consumer electronic powerhouse, thanks to the genius of Steve Jobs. But there is only that much that you can do with a mobile phone or a portable music player. The more interesting question would be which segment would Apple target next?

There are quite a few of them that could be considered. GPS navigation systems would be one where Apple can make an impact. Imagine a GPS system with the grace and elegance of an iPod or iPhone. Apple already has the pieces, its just a question of putting them all together in an appealing package. Handheld gaming consoles can be another area for them to explore. They can even take on Sony and Microsoft on the gaming console business.

There is another space where Apple could play a potentially game-changing role. That space is nothing else but the flat panel television arena. Dominated by companies like Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and LG, the flat panel television business has almost hit a saturation level with respect to innovation. If you go to buy a flat panel TV today, most of the models offer similar features. It’s really left to the consumer to decide based on their budgets and their impressions of the TVs in the showroom (maybe some online reviews can influence that decision a bit). But imagine an Apple television (no not the Apple TV but a an actual plasma/LCD TV). Apple has the required competence to produce a world class television that would probably knock the wind out of the sails of the established players. With Apple’s expertise in software and hardware the product could actually become as pervasive as the iPod. And Apple can gain a very firm foothold in the digital living rooms world over. Once they are there, there is virtually no stopping Apple. The next in line would be a music server, stereo system, A/V receiver, specialized speakers, surround sound systems, and the list goes on. With one single stroke Apple can conquer this last bastion that has been eluding even the best of the best.

Even though Apple strongly denies any such inclination, chances are high that they are already eyeing it. Such a move has the potential of establishing Apple as the dominant player in the digital living room space – a position that the company can then consolidate upon to mount a serious threat to Microsoft’s dominance on the desktop. After all an Apple eco-system for the living room that harmoniously co-exists with iMacs and Mac Books offering unparalleled interoperability and legendary user friendliness, is something that would be very very hard to ignore.

Would all this be good for the end-user? That’s a totally different question. I for one believe that monopolies are seldom beneficial towards the consumers.

Apple, Microsoft: Birds of the same feather

Microsoft is being sued in the European Union(EU) for antitrust practices – yet again. The piece of software that’s the bone of contention is Internet Explorer. In spite of being one of lousiest browsers, extremely prone to security exploits, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still holds a majority stake in the market of web browsers. Mozilla’s Firefox, comparatively a much superior product, comes second by quite a distance. The EU now wants to stop Microsoft from bundling IE with its Windows family of operating systems or bundle other competing browsers too. The rationale behind such a directive is to allow users the choice of trying out an alternative.Anyway, Microsoft’s practices have always been anti-competitive and for this reason it has been much vilified by the pundits.

On the other hand, Apple, in spite of being even more closed than Microsoft, has never come under the radar of the anti-trust laws. Firstly, Apple prohibits the usage of its operating system on any hardware other than Apple branded ones. The hardware that Apple sells has significant markups even though it is not necessarily superior. So for the same hardware capability, consumers pay an exorbitant price. Isn’t that anti-competitive? How is it then that Apple never comes under the scrutiny of the anti-trust sharks? When Psystar started selling computers with Apple Mac OS installed, Apple decided to sue to the company. Many thought it would be an open and shut case, but guess what? Psystar continues to sell its brand of Open Computers preloaded with Apple Mac OS. Psystar has also brought forward anti-competitive charges against Apple. Till date Apple has not won the case. So is there are a chance that Apple might come under the anti-trust laws at last?

And Apple is a really sore loser. The recently announced Palm Pre stole the thunder from Apple in this year’s CES. Experts are predicting that the Pre would probably dethrone the Apple iPhone. So what does Apple do? It responded with a veiled threat of suing anyone(read Palm) for violation of their IP. Well the iPod design was not Apple’s and they ripped it off. They survived that because the previous patent was held by an individual who could not renew it due to financial constraints. And being the unscrupulous corporate that it is, Apple did not even think of paying a one time royalty to the guy. But when sued, they brought him over to lend credence to their case in court.

So ladies and gentlemen, next time before maligning Microsoft over a coffee-table discussion, please give Apple a fair thought. They are no better than Microsoft. The only difference is that Apple enjoys the loyalty of a few high-nosed zealots that Microsoft does not have.

First impressions: The return of Palm – The Palm Pre

After pioneering a revolution in mobile devices like PDAs and smart phones, Palm, as of recent times, has found itself more and more out of the market due to stiff competition. Currently it is ranked fourth after the likes of Apple, Research In Motion(RIM) and Windows Mobile. All that is pretty much set to change if what Palm showed in CES lives up to its promise. And there is a high chance that it would.

Enter the Palm Pre. This is Palm’s latest entrant in the land of mobile devices, more specifically the smart phone segment. This segment is dominated by Apple and RIM. Even though Palm did have some success with its Centro, Treo and Treo Pro lines of phones, it was nowhere near to regaining the coveted leader position. With the Pre, Palm is pretty well set to pose a challenge that is serious enough to even topple the revered Apple iPhone.

If looks could kill or rather dethrone the iPhone, the Palm Pre has it. If functions and performance can poach users, the Pre has that. If coolness is such an important factor that entire cults grow around that, the Palm Pre is well equipped. The new design features a touch screen interface along with a slide out full keyboard. It sports Palm’s latest operating system the WebOS. The combination is stupendous.

The Pre is not only a pretty looking phone, but packs a mean punch too. There is innovation at its best coupled with legendary usability. Here’s a look at a few innovations that the Pre comes with.

Wi-Fi, GPS and email are standard on the Pre. The new Synergy system also allows a user to see all the conversations with a certain contact in a chat style. The universal search feature allows searching across contacts, Google, applications and even Wikipedia. Pretty cool, huh!

The Pre treats each running application as an activity card. Multiple applications can run in parallel and a user can switch between these running instances or activity cards with the mere flick of a finger. No longer do you have to close your email application to browse a web site. All notifications, like the ones for new messages, appear at the bottom of the screen and does not interrupt the user’s current activity. Quite nifty I say.

The calendar application in the Pre can show a combined logical view of calendars stored in Outlook, Google Calendar and Facebook. Also if a single contact is stored in different applications, they can all be linked together.

The browser is full featured and fast. It supports full HTML and has the now ubiquitous zoom and pan functions. Also all the applications installed on the phone are constantly updated via the internet. This gets rid of the rather dull “Update now” function.

Another innovative feature is the Touchstone wireless charging station with which the Pre can be recharged. The Pre attaches to the Touchstone device through magnets and remains in position without any cables or wires connecting the two. The phone can be used while charging.

The Plam Pre appears to be of fantastic value with the necessary looks and coolness. Check out the following gallery of images taken from the Palm website:

Here are the specs as detailed on Palm’s site and do not forget to watch the keynote presentation:
Carrier
Sprint
Operating system
Palm® webOS
Network specs
3G EVDO Rev A
Display
3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320×480 resolution HVGA display
Keyboard
Physical QWERTY keyboard
Email
Microsoft Outlook® email with Microsoft® Direct Push Technology
POP3/IMAP (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc).
Messaging
Integrated IM, SMS, and MMS
GPS
Built-in GPS
Digital camera
3 megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field
Sensors
Ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity
Media formats supported
Audio Formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV
Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
Image Formats: GIF, Animated GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP
Wireless connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, 801.1x authentication
Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
Memory
8GB of user storage (~7.4GB user available)
USB mass storage support
Phone as laptop modem
Bluetooth tethering
Connector
MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
Headphone jack
3.5mm stereo
Palm® Touchstonecharging dock
Compatible
Dimensions
Width: 59.5mm (2.3 inches)
Height: 100.5mm (3.9 inches)
Thickness: 16.95mm (0.67 inches)
Weight
135 grams (4.76 ounces)

Switch to Linux: Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) in Apple Mac OS X

Apple seems to be going the way of Microsoft and the rest of the crowd of pedestrian software vendors. First their iPhone 3G failed to deliver the goods. Then there were security issues galore. Then the Mobile Me fiasco. And now the last bastion has also developed chinks in its hitherto impregnable armour. The famed and fabled Apple Mac OS X has been greeting its users with the Blue Screen of Death that has always been associated to Microsoft Windows. Windows, a victim of vicious derision from the Mac fan boys, probably had the last laugh.

With the OS X 10.5.6 update Apple has left many of its loyal customers with unusable machines. Some complain that the only thing they are able to see after start up is a blue screen like the one with which Microsoft Windows users are all too familiar. Many others have complained about an infinite reboot loop, while others have seen their spanking new and expensive systems freeze up. One business customer actually had the misfortune of suffering from seven of his Apple computers freezing up with the update. When he contacted the customer service he was told that the reason for the freeze up may have been due to the number of third party applications that have been installed. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This comes from a customer service that is supposedly the best in the business? So does Apple expect us to only install applications that it has “approved” ? Are we going to see an App Store concept for the computers soon? Imagine Microsoft selling its Office suite for the Mac OS X through Apple’s App Store. That would be a day to remember. )

This is yet another blow to the bloated up egos of the Apple fan boys ? Is Apple’s bubble about to burst? I sure hope so.

To all the people who have been blind loyalists to Apple, WAKE UP!!! Embrace the power of open source. Switch to  Linux.