Is China Trying to Screw Apple?
Chinese actor and singer Peter Ho criticized Apple on China’s Twitter-like Weibo service this week.
But don’t blame Ho. He was apparently just following orders. But orders from whom? And why?
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Will Apple Get Used?
Apple was caught last year selling Apple Certified refurbished hardware on eBay using the pseudonym Refurbished-Outlet. Allegedly.
The prices and details of these products were generally the same as refurbished products sold on the apple.com site. The products come with a one-year warranty and mobile devices contain a new battery.
But this week it emerged that Apple is lowering the prices on eBay, sometimes by quite a bit. For example, Apple normally charges $999 for a refurbed MacBook Air with 128 GB. But that same system with the same Apple inspection and one-year warranty went on sale in the eBay store for $899. Prices on other hardware products were slashed similarly.
(In addition, we learned, the company as been apparently working with “power sellers” on eBay to sell Apple hardware. For example, until they ran out of the 500 units put up for sale of 13-inch MacBook Pros selling for $999. These are new devices, not refurbished, and Apple is probably using the “channel” to clear out inventory.)
It seems to me that Apple is working behind the scenes to experiment with different models for selling refurbished and excess inventory. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple was also trying other channels for doing the same thing that we don’t know about. And I also wouldn’t be surprised if refurbished gadgets vanished from the Apple site altogether, and for those items to be sold in the darker alleys of the Internet (like eBay) exclusively instead.
But I think there’s a ginormous opportunity here for embracing “used” in a big way — and it’s something only Apple could pull off.
Why I Want Android At Home
While home automation enthusiasts have been enjoying home automation for years, the vast majority of people don’t have it because it has always been far too expensive and complicated.
But, as we know, Moore’s Law cures all. Suddenly, it’s clear that major Silicon Valley companies are now interested in getting into the home automation space.
It’s all the more interesting because this home automation will be developed as part of the so-called “living room” experience, where every home will have a server that controls not only the all-important DVR recording of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, but also controls the automated sprinkler system, the heating and cooling systems, the home security system and all the lights.
Although there are literally dozens of specialist companies most of us haven’t heard of doing home automation, it’s more likely that the big companies we’re all familiar with will battle for the future of home computing: Microsoft, Apple and Google are the leading contenders.
Why the Apple iWatch and Google Glass Don’t Matter
The Apple iWatch and Google Glass are both coming soon, apparently.
We don’t have all the details on either product. And we can’t even be 100% sure that the Apple wristwatch is going to happen at all. But most knowledgeable tech fans are expecting both and looking forward to seeing, buying and using them.
Excitement is warranted. No, I mean serious, pure geek joy is definitely called for. But not because of the iWatch and Google Glass products themselves.
There’s a much, MUCH bigger reason to be excited.
How Google Stores Could Transform Google
The site 9to5Google reported this week that an “extremely reliable source” says Google plans to open retail stores later this year.
The purpose of the stores, according to the post, is to sell Google products like the Nexus line of phones and tablets, and also to promote hard-to-understand future items like the Google Glass idea.
The author speculated that Google might also sell Google merchandise like T-shirts.
All this sounds like either crazy talk, or the kind of Apple envy that may have motivated Microsoft to open a chain of retail stores.
But I think Google Stores could be a huge advantage for Google.
Why An Apple iCar Is Actually a Great Idea
The New York Times‘ Nick Bilton reminded everyone recently what we previously learned from longtime Apple board member Mickey Drexler: Steve Jobs wanted to build an Apple iCar.
People tend to dismiss the idea as a goofy pipe dream. In fact, not only is an Apple iCar a great idea, it’s perfectly aligned with Apple’s history and mission.
Here’s how they should do it.
Should Google Deny Android to Huawei, ZTE and Amazon?
Google has two founders — and a split personality.
There’s the Sergey Google — the idealistic, Google Glass wearing, Vibram-loving Google where a campus full of brainy geeks invent the future.
Then there’s the Larry Google — the pragmatic, realist Google where starry-eyed optimism is balanced with sound business sense and smart strategic investment, enabling the company to adapt and grow in a changing global marketplace.
Should Google “Larrify” its Android policy and start denying Android access to companies that Google finds harmful to the world — and its business?
Why Is Siri Still In ‘Beta’?
Apple’s Siri personal assistant has been in development for 10 years.
Apple doesn’t let app developers use the word “beta” for iPhone apps.
And the company spends millions on — and make billions from — the advertising of their “beta” product specifically.
Given these facts, is it disingenuous, unfair, inconsistent, hypocritical and inaccurate for Apple to continue calling Siri “beta”?
Can Apple Still Dent the Universe?
Apple made a “dent in the universe” with its 1984 Super Bowl ad for the upcoming Macintosh.
At least that was Steve Jobs’ intention, according to the opening scene of The Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Whether all this universe denting was just Jobs’ reality distortion field or an actual change in human culture depends on your corporate loyalties, or lack thereof.
Any debate over the cultural impact of the Macintosh really boils down to how much of the graphical user interface revolution was determined or influenced by Apple, and how much of it would have happened regardless.
Because there’s no question that the shift from command-line computing to WIMP computing (windows, icons, menus and pointing-devices) radically changed the world, leading, for example, to the web, which is the dominant WIMP interface to the formerly command-line Internet.
WIMP computing also enabled powerful new tools for software programming, design (of everything), animation and a bazillion other things.
WIMP computing, and to some extent the Macintosh itself, really did make a dent in the universe, but not in the way most people imagine.
Is the iPhone Math Phone Better Than the Google X Phone?
Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.
When comedian Louis C.K. famously expressed that notion on Conan, he was making a commentary on the public’s instantly acquired sense of entitlement when confronted with new technology.
His observations are also applicable to the assumptions underlying nearly all the stuff you read about consumer electronics by bloggers, journalists and financial analysts.
The gnashing of teeth and ripping of hair over with everything Apple these days is a perfect example.
