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.

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.

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.

Apple violates antitrust laws

The ongoing battle between Psystar and Apple doesn’t seem to be headed towards a closure anytime soon. Psystar, a company operating out of Florida, was sued by Apple for copyright infringement. Psystar sells off-the-shelf Intel microprocessor based computers running Apple’s Mac OS operating system.

Apple’s EULA for Mac OS prohibits running the operating system on any hardware other than Apple-branded ones. Psystar claims this to be a violation of antitrust laws.  According to Psystar, Apple employs stealthware to stop OS X from running on hardware other than Apple approved ones.  Furthermore, Psystar claims that Apple’s Mac OS X is perfectly capable of running on  hardware that is less expensive than what is included in Apple’s machines.  This control over hardware that Apple enforces, is, according to Psystar, out of the scope of the copyright. (Psystar’s complaints are very similar to the ones about Apple bricking iPhones running unapproved applications)

Psystar was an unknown vendor before it stirred up this controversy. It is not clear how they are sustaining this legal wrangle with Apple by employing high profile law firms given that they were a little known shop till recently. Maybe there is someone else who is backing Psystar. Ever since the Microsoft Windows Vista fiasco, the major PC manufacturers have been unhappy with Microsoft. Maybe one of them is betting on being able to release the Mac OS X on its own PC platform. That would be a real slap in the face of Microsoft which has been arm twisting vendors and by extension consumers for a really long time. Apple’s Mac OS X on the PC would be a great alternative to Windows bloatware. Sounds like wishful thinking? Could very well be true if Psystar wins.

Mac OS is vulnerable to virus: Apple says yes and then no

The Mac zealots’ pride was recently dealt a hard blow when Apple published in an article that the Mac OS was also prone to virus and other malware attacks. In fact, in the article Apple advised its loyal fanbase to use popular antivirus tools from Symantec and McAfee.

So does that mean that the aura of the Mac OS has been destroyed and it has been brought down to the same level of mundaneness as Microsoft’s Windows family of operating systems? Well, not really. The fact of the matter is that the number of viruses in the wild for the Windows platform outnumber the ones for the Mac OS by quite a large factor. Also the ones that can potentially affect the Mac OS platform are relatively less damaging. Moreover the malware exploits on the Mac OS are not as popular as compared to the ones on the Windows platform. But does that make Mac OS immune to viruses? Of course not. No operating system is totally invulnerable. Nothing like that exists. But the level of vulnerability varies. The Mac OS was never immune to threats but less vulnerable. Those are two totally different things.

Nevertheless, Apple’s recent admittance dealt a serious blow to the bubble in which Mac fanboys usually prefer to exist. And Apple realized that. So what does it do? Simple, it deletes the line from the post and defends itself saying that it was from an old post. So that means the notion that the Mac OS was never vulnerable to virus attacks was wrong. It was very much threatened like the ordinary Windows operating system.

Kind of confusing I say. Can Apple come clean on this?

New Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro laptops suck

Today was the big day. Apple fanboys the world over had been waiting for the latest from the stables of the Cupertino based company. And today they got to see it – the dream laptops from the company that is often considered to be the final word in innovation. Sadly enough Apple’s laptops disappointed. 

There was hardly anything revolutionary about them. Some different price points, loads of aluminum, a more powerful graphics subsystem, solid state hard drives and some gimmickry in the name of touch gestures and glass trackpads. These kinds of features and specs were being offered in laptops from other manufacturers for quite some time now. I not quite sure how much does the glass trackpad and enhanced gestures add to the value of the laptops. So what is there in these laptops that would make them a compelling proposition for a new buyer? The short and sweet answer is nothing.

In their presentation Apple admitted that the recent growth in sales of their laptops had been fuelled by the disgraceful failure of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system. Accepted that Apple’s operating system is probably one of the best in the business but still how does one justify the cost of these machines? The hardware that is being used in them is the same as the ones in other laptops. So why the premium? Just for the OS? Is it justified?

Spec wise the new laptops spring no surprises. The standard Intel Core 2 Duo processors feature in all in speeds ranging from 2.0GHz to 2.8GHz. There is even an odd speed of 2.53GHz. Also the 2.8GHz speed processors come only in the 15″ MacBook Pro models and not the 17″ ones. Very odd indeed. The max RAM is limited to 4GB. Apple still does not offer a 64-bit version of the Mac OS on the laptops though both Microsoft and the various Linux distros do so. The MacBook and the MacBook Air also featured similar changes.

So what’s so different about these laptops? Practically nothing. In fact the new ones look bad. The serious coolness that used to be the USP of Apple’s laptops is missing in total in the new ones. A two-tone laptop from Apple? Come on. Was the design team on drugs when they approved this design?

In fact during the presentation Apple seemed to be more excited about the manufacturing process of the laptops rather than the laptops themselves. This, my friends, is really a huge disappointment. 

Apple has failed to live up to its own high standards of design with these new laptops. The specs have improved from the previous lineup but not to the extent to really turn heads. Sorry to say the new laptops from Apple suck.

$800 Apple MacBook soon: Hogwash

With the release date of Apple’s new laptops growing nearer, the web is live with speculations and rumours. A newer one is that Apple is going to launch a MacBook for $800. Apparently retail stores have already received price lists for the new laptops and they range from $800 to $3100.

And here’s why I feel that a $800 laptop from Apple is really a lot of hogwash. This statement is based on how Apple wants to be perceived. Ever since its shift to Intel based motherboards, Apple has gained more momentum with its laptops and desktop systems. In spite of this Apple has always maintained a very high markup on its hardware though the components it uses are pretty much the same when compared to Windows laptops. So why would Apple do so? Simple Apple wants to be perceived as an exotic entity. They want their customers to feel exclusive. What better way to achieve this than to markup their prices to the extent of putting their products beyond most people?

The only thing that would probably justify Apple’s pricing is their operating system. The Mac OS is right now the most user friendly system on the planet and Apple has every right to ask a premium for it. But when you add this premium to the already high markup that Apple keeps for commodity hardware, the final price just goes beyond most people. 

So the $800 MacBook is probably nothing but a lot of hogwash. What might be available at $800 from Apple maybe a netbook. What would Apple call it? The Mac NetBook?

Nvidia site shows the new Apple Macbook Pro laptop ?

Ok, so there is some speculation in the market that the new Apple laptops would be packing a mean graphics punch to them with new Nvidia chipsets. Apparently Apple wants the new laptops to appeal to gamers. That’s an uphill task considering the fact that till now the majority of the games available is for the Windows platform.

With the deadline for Apple’s laptop refresh looming there are lot of rumors doing the rounds alongwith some very interesting photographs of the purpoted new laptops. The reports about Nvidia playing an important part in the new Apple laptops have also sparked a new speculation – the laptop shown on Nvidia’s home page is actually the new Apple Macbook Pro. Take a look:

There have been reports that Nvidia has been showing off the graphics capabilities on the new Macbook Pros running on Nvidia chipsets to its employees. So there might be some credence to these rumours.

The design shown in the photo is more inline with Apple’s design philosophies as demonstrated in its previous models. But is this the one? Well we just have to wait to know the answer to that one.