Mike Elgan - page 4

Why Apple Needs a Really Expensive iPhone

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sateliphone

 

Some pundits are predicting, and others are advocating, that Apple launch an iPhone that’s much cheaper than the current iPhone in order to keep up with Android phone sales.

This is crazy talk.

Apple doesn’t need a cheaper iPhone. They need a more expensive one — much more expensive. Here’s why. 

How Apple Could Really Change the World: Kill Office

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Microsoft is looking for a handout.

Microsoft told AllThingsD this week that the company has insisted that Apple lower its 30 percent cut for Office 365 subscriptions sold through Microsoft Office for iOS.

Microsoft probably assumes that since they have such an iron grip on the office suite market — in most industries, you’re essentially required to use office, or at least share Office-compatible files — that they’re “special,” and deserve a better deal than tiny software and app companies that aren’t massively profitable corporations.

I think that not only should Apple stick to its current position of saying no to this request, they should go further. Much further. They should try to replace Microsoft Office as the de facto standard for Office software with iWork — to kill Office as the global standard.

The late Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs used to talk a lot about “changing the world.” And he did. But what has Apple done for the world lately?

I’ve got a great new way for Apple to truly make the world a truly better place: Kill Microsoft Office.

First I’m going to tell you why Microsoft Office deserves to die. Then I’m going to tell you how Apple could do it.

Apple To Make Hollywood an Offer It Can’t Refuse

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Speaking to NBC talking head Brian Williams this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years.”

Cook went on to upgrade Apple’s efforts in television from a “hobby” to “an area of intense interest.”

These cryptic comments support what Steve Jobs’s biographer, Walter Isaacson, told an interviewer, which is that Jobs said off the record that he wanted to “reinvent” TV, that Apple had “licked” the problems associated with said reinvention, and that Apple’s solution would liberate TV viewers once and for all from “all these complicated remote controls.”

If you want to tease predictive meaning out of these two Apple CEO statements, the key is in what each of them said and to whom and why. 

5 Killer iPhone Cases You’ll Never Get Past Airport Security

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iphonecases

iPhone cases come in all shapes, sizes and purposes. This has been the case, so to speak, since iPhones first hit the market in 2007.

But the somewhat recent explosion in crowd-funding iPhone case projects has radicalized the available offerings.

Some cases offer aesthetics. Others focus on protecting the phone. Still others extend battery life.

One phone, for example, does it all. The AQUA TEK S for iPhone, a Kickstarter project that has already far exceeded its fundraising goal, makes your phone water-proof, shock-proof, dust-proof and, the piece de resistance, die-proof — it has a solar panel to charge to charge the phone!

One of the coolest or craziest categories of iPhone case, depending on your perspective, is the kind that provide personal self defense. These cases turn iPhones into a deadly weapons.

And almost all these phones do at least one other useful function besides self defense.

So why is an iPhone case a good place to build self defense? It’s simple: You carry your phone everywhere. So anything you want to make sure you have all the time no matter what, you need to attach it to the phone. So if you want to always have a way to defend yourself, build that defense into the iPhone case and you’ll always be prepared.

Don’t try to take these cases on an airplane, though. None of these cases is likely to make it past airport security.

Here are the five best iPhone cases for self defense:

Is This the Most Bad-Ass iPhone 5 Case Yet?

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ElementCase is now selling (for pre-order) the limited edition Sector 5 Black Ops iPhone 5 case for military and espionage types.

It features a non-glare anodized finish with super gripping edges, back and corner.

It comes with a “tactical holster” and a “non-glare privacy screen” and “Black Ops CNC machined amber RF inserts,” whatever the heck those are.

It’s not cheap, though. The SRP is $199.95, and it ships December 6.

 

Why Apple Has GOT to Fix Siri

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Siri, Apple’s voice-based virtual assistant is a mixed bag of good things and bad. And Siri faces an increasing competition in the market, especially from Google.

I believe Siri is probably the single most important feature Apple offers for three future Apple devices. In fact, I think Apple is betting the entire company on Siri.

And that’s why they’ve got to fix it. 

Sh*t Steve Wozniak Says

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Everybody loves the Woz.

And what’s not to love? Steve Wozniak is a one-of-a-kind genius who invented the personal computer. He’s a millionaire who spends his money having fun, rather than trying to control the world. He’s a practical joker. He’s an iconoclast. And he’s a nerd’s nerd and a geek’s geek who believes in technology and the power of change.

But even the biggest Woz fan has to admit: The man loves the spotlight.

And the main way he grabs it is by saying what nobody expects him to say. 

What Apple Can Learn From Microsoft About TV

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Apple’s current “hobby” — also known as Apple TV — doesn’t tell us much about Apple’s future plans for the living room.

It’s a good product under the right circumstances. But five years from now, living rooms are going to be transformed by all-encompassing systems that turn TVs into video phones, gaming systems, home automation control centers and artificial intelligence assistants.

Does Apple have what it takes to compete in the living room? 

Why I think Apple is Building An Ad Hoc Social Network

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snapchat

Steve Jobs was a Buddhist, a religion founded on the concept of the impermanence of all things.

And everything is impermanent. Especially Apple products.

A lot of users complain about Apple’s everything-is-temporary philosophy. But I think Apple will increasingly embrace it — and even launch a social network whose main feature is the deletion of your posts. 

Why Giving Jonathan Ive Too Much Power Is A Great Idea

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Ive

 

And just like that, the old Apple is dead, and a new Apple is born. I believe you’ll see massive changes to Apple products by next summer.

Apple had to re-create its products to correct a recent string of failures, including the catastrophic Maps debacle and the ongoing train wrecks that are Siri and skeuomorphic design.

Here’s why putting Jonathan Ive in charge of software design was an insanely great idea.

(Picture courtesy of Eyevine) 

Why Apple Could Still Own the Living Room of the Future

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Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Google and all the big-screen TV makers want to own the the all-purpose living room entertainment system of tomorrow.

Smart TV systems, which will incorporate movies-on-demand, gaming, web surfing, videoconferencing, home automation and more (even TV shows!) are likely to become the next big opportunity for content-driven platform companies.

But is time running out for Apple to make its move?

The surprising answer is: No, not really. Apple’s got plenty of time. And there’s no need for Apple to make a TV set, either.

Here’s why.

The Truth About iPhone Factory Workers

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Foxconn may be hiring less workers because existing workers are more willing to stay on.
Foxconn may be hiring less workers because existing workers are more willing to stay on.

The Apple iPhone has become the poster child for the problems of Chinese and American labor.

One strain of conventional wisdom goes that while rich, entitled Western elites whine and complain over trivial issues like maps and purple haze on screens, abused, exploited Chinese factory workers slave away to make those iPhones in unsafe factories and under exploitative conditions.

The iPhone represents the shafting of the Chinese worker.

Another strain of conventional wisdom goes that greedy Apple (and other companies) ships factory jobs overseas to China, where Chinese factory workers get all the jobs, and American workers are left in the unemployment line.

The iPhone represents the shafting of the American worker.

Here’s an idea. Let’s stop accepting these brain-dead caricatures, and insist on the truth about iPhones, factories and workers.

Drone Warfare Comes to Cubicle Conflict

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pingpongdrone

The cubicle wars continue unabated, sparking an arms race of unprecedented idiocy.

Now the conflict is escalating with a new weapons system coming online that could tilt the balance of power: A $130 iOS-controlled ping pong ball-dropping drone aircraft.

Called the iStrike Shuttle, the 3-channel office drone is remotely piloted via an iStrike Controller app on your iOS device by way of Bluetooth.

The app features G-Sensor and Joystick modes for flight control.

The iStrike Shuttle is available in November from Hammacher Schlemmer and Dream Cheeky.

Here comes the video.

The Best Thing About iPhone Is the Stuff Apple Doesn’t Make

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Another year, another iPhone. Since 2007, Apple has been churning these gadgets out like it’s a bodily function. Each iPhone is undeniably better than the last, although sometimes not in every respect.

iPhone fans always say it’s the best phone because it has the best overall user experience, best out-of-box experience, best industrial design, best selection of apps and a few other things perceived as being “best.”

But the iPhone itself is not the best thing about the iPhone platform. It’s the universe of crazy customization and expansion products that support the iPhone. 

3 Products Will Be Crushed by the iPad Mini

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ihavealovelybunchofcoconuts

It’s beginning to look a lot like an iPad Mini Christmas. Credible reports say over-worked factory employees in China are already churning out small iTablets in large iQuantities, and that Apple will summon fawning journalists Wednesday to participate in an October 17 iPad Mini infomercial — I mean product launch.

I predict that the iPad Mini will dominate holiday sales, take over the education market and destroy three current products on the market. 

Why the iPhone 5 is Too Radical

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iphone5rus

You’ve heard the collective judgement by the tech echo chamber: The new iPhone was just like the old iPhone, only taller.

The iPhone 5 is boring. Apple is too conservative. They didn’t really change the phone, but only made minor tweaks.

And that’s what’s wrong with the iPhone 5: It’s just not radical enough.

Here’s the problem: The echo chamber not only got this wrong, they got it backward.

The trouble with the iPhone 5 is that it’s too much, too soon.

Let me explain. 

App Turns Your $849 iPhone Into a Bike Light

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monacle

A kickstarter project wants to make an app-and-case product that magically transforms your $849 unlocked 64GB iPhone 5 into a fricken bike light.

I jest. It’s actually a great idea. The “Monocle” will be (contributions willing) a tough nylon carrying case with a hole in it where the iPhone’s flash goes. You lash this thing to your belt, use the app to set its flash rate (which is calculated by the app based on battery life and estimated ride duration), and off you go. The iPhone will flash red, making you more visible to cars so you don’t die.

Go here to donate.

Apple’s Announcement Left Us With 6 Unsolved Mysteries

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We get nearly all our official information about Apple and its products through occasional announcements or developers conferences, such as the big announcement this week in San Francisco.

As we approach each event, there are things we know, things we don’t know.

During the event, there’s a reshuffling. Some questions are answered during the announcement. And some questions emerge from the announcement itself that remain unanswered.

Here are the 6 biggest questions that were either unanswered in the event, or which emerged from the event. 

Will Apple Save the Wristwatch?

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iwatch

The wristwatch has fallen out of fashion. Sure, a few geezers still wear watches out of habit. Hipsters wear them ironically. Geeks wear them defiantly. And the fashionable wear them decoratively.

But these people are the minority. Bare wrists are the norm now.

People think the wristwatch is dead because our phones tell time, so they’re redundant. But that’s not why.

The reason most reject wristwatches is the same reason most rejected tablets until Apple shipped the iPad in 2010: The available selection is too bloated, clunky, expensive and poorly suited to how people really live and work.

In other words, the right kind of watch would get everyone wearing them again.

Apple mainstreamed tablets by re-imagining what a tablet is, by making it touch and with app and at low cost with a compelling user interface.

Will they do the same for the wristwatch? I think they will. 

Passbook Already Deployed?

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passbookdownunder

A web site called Australian Business Traveler reports that a reader checked in for a Virgin Australia flight today using the airline’s mobile web site on his iPhone, and Passbook popped up. He’s running iOS 6.

According to the site, iOS 6 noticed his mobile check-in, and offered to save his boarding pass into his Passbook account. He grabbed this screenshot.

Read the whole story.

Is Apple Haunted?

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Trip Chowdhry, the Managing Director of Equity Research at Global Equities Research, told a financial writer a few months ago that Apple’s biggest challenge without founder Steve Jobs is that Apple lacks a “unified force.” In order to become unified again, Apple would need a “supernatural person” overseeing things.

But according to Thai Buddhists, they may have exactly that — the reincarnated spirit of Steve Jobs himself, who they say is living in a “mystical glass palace hovering above his old office at Apple’s Cupertino, California headquarters,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

I’ll tell you in this post more about Jobs’ so-called reincarnation, and also about several ghosts caught haunting various Apple products. (And I’m not talking about problems with the MacBook Pro Retina screens.)

Here’s all the spooky stuff that’s going on. 

Why Apple Sues

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jobsminifig

Apple’s critics generously assign a variety of motives to Apple for filing lawsuits.

Apple sues because it wants to control the market, overcharge for its products, exclude competitors from the market or punish competitors for daring to not think different. It’s all part of Apple’s “quest for global tech domination.

But these aren’t actual motives. These are appeals to emotion. They’re legitimate perspectives, but expressed to negatively encapsulate spectacularly complex technical, legal and ethical issues into sound bites that make you want to agree with the author that Apple is bad and wrong.

Apple has only one motive for patent lawsuits, and I’m going to tell you what that motive is.

Facetime Over 3G: Too Little, Too Late!

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hangouts-good

When Apple announced its Facetime two years ago, it looked like an appealing, easy-to-use feature that might finally make video chat mainstream and routine.

The best thing about Facetime has always been its seamless integration into Apple’s Phone and Contacts apps. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much the only good thing about it.

From the beginning, Facetime has been almost unusable because of limitations. Not small limitations, enormous ones. Here’s what I’m talking about.