It seems that Apple has quietly retreated from the open source battlefield as Google Android and other platforms have embraced the chaos. This has perplexed some analysts, who have referred to the iPhone as an “open source wasteland“. While many have approached this from a mechanical point of view, focusing on software and hardware particulars or questioning the role of iPhone’s proprietary platform as a deterrent, I think it comes down to an issue of management philosophy or company culture. Google is a very fluid and unconventional company in many ways. They have often shot first and asked questions later in regards to projects that have become stellar successes despite difficulties in foreseeing profitability i.e. they take risks. And with open source there are risks. And in open source things can be fluid and unconventional.

Sure the iPhone is a proprietary platform but so is Windows, and some of the best loved applications or programs on Windows (such as Firefox) are open source. So I discount that theory. Not being involved in exploring open source does not translate to not taking a risk, but apple currently has no need to embrace open source as the gazillion apps available on their store seem to be selling just fine. In fact, though I love open source and do firmly believe that it will unlock all sorts of potential for programming in the future, that being said it can also be a pain in the ass. Models running Google Android platform have come under as the company has released its new Android OS with little to no heads up for customers. This has caused some headaches for developers suddenly faced with new obstacles or challenges. So in one respect the stability and dependability of iPhone still makes it a very attractive platform to develop for. That being said, all it would take is for Google to be a little more proactive about giving developers a heads up regarding changes to Android phones and much of this could be remedied.   One other possibility is that the new Google Nexus 1 will have automatic software updates to fix problems and inform developers that are programming in such a fluid environment. The US carriers and telecom manufacturers have already been tripping over each other to carry Google Android phones- why not develop a Google phone that bypasses Motorolla et all? Google reminds me of the Blob, remember that movie? But I still find myself really liking the company. It’s like a good Blob with people screaming and running towards it instead of away from it.

So maybe Apple is avoiding open source like it’s the Blob? Or the Son of Blob? So what does that make Apple? Maybe because it’s more focused on proprietary software platforms we can compare it to  Mechagodzilla…

So as far as company cultures are concerned Google is like the Blob and Apple is like Mechagodzilla. Tune in next week when I decide which sandwiches best represent the management styles of Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

While word hasn’t been confirmed yet the buzz seems to indicate that Apple will be releasing an earth-shakingly cool new product in the very near future. According to MacRumors.com the company acquired the domain name iSlate.com in 2007 which pairs nicely with the Delaware company acquired by Apple that filed the same trademark, Slate Computing, LLC. According to MacRumours.com Slate Computing could have been a decoy company made to look like an acquisition by Apple who have been doing R&D on the tablet computer the whole time. iSlate is not the only trademark that Slate Computing, LLC has filed for in the United States. The company also filed for a trademark for “Magic Slate” which pairs nicely with Apple’s recently released multi-touch Magic Mouse.

Because of all the hullabaloo Apple shares are at an all time high, but some questions whether Apple can succeed where others have failed. Other tablets have been criticized for not being user friendly or useful enough in general. If the hype about the iTablet or Magic Tablet pans out and the buzz is true, it will be an ebook reader, a web browser, a video library, and a games player all in one.

The day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday as its commonly known, is one big feeding frenzy for bargain hunters. Like hungry piranhas, they descend on malls around the U.S. on the hunt for the best savings of the year. Unfortunately, there are a lot of piranhas, so competition for the best deals is fierce. And many Black Friday shopping adventures end with more tears and empty shelves, than hundred dollar flat-screen TVs.

But, as one might expect, there’s an app for that. Actually, there’s a couple.

Mall Maps – You Are Here costs a mere $2.99 in the iPhone App Store, and provides shoppers with detailed floor-plans to over 1,000 American malls. It’s the perfect thing to plan the attack route and, perhaps more importantly, an effective exit strategy. Currently it’s the 9th most popular reference app in the store.

TGI Black Friday is a free app put out by the online coupon repository, Dealcatcher.com. As the source would indicate, it offers more than 8,000 discounts at major retailers.

ShopSavvy is another free app, available for both iPhone and Android users. And it scores well both for technical innovation, and retailer angering. Using your camera’s phone, you can go into a store and scan the UPC code of a product. The app will then tell you exactly how much that same item costs at all the competitor’s stores. Great for bargain-hunters, annoying for the folks selling the products.

So if you are the U.S. and you plan to brave the crowds on Black Friday, don’t leave home without spare water, pepper spray for crowd control, and your app-equipped iPhone.

You’d think that a major company with lots of money would have the best and brightest minds available on their marketing team, wouldn’t you? And I have to assume that this is exactly what Microsoft believes they have, but the recent launch of Windows 7 has left me and countless other bloggers scratching our heads.  Like a new line of Tupperware or lingerie, Microsoft has launched the new Windows 7 OS through a series of house parties being promoted through House Party Inc., a marketing company that specializes in promoting such house parties on behalf of clients. So if you think that you have:

a) an interest in throwing a party for a multi-billion dollar corporation that has fended off several antitrust lawsuits and has a reputation for developing bug ridden and frustrating operating systems

or
 
b) a lot of friends, relatives, co-workers and neighbors who would be extremely excited to stand around your desktop computer watching you use an operating system

or

c) nothing better to do with your time

Then you too can be a part of Microsoft’s marketing strategy! For more information just watch this excruciatingly disingenuous video on how you can get started.

 We live in the information age. We use information age technology and mediums to build excitement and to reach consumers. What Mircosoft has done is broken two basic rules of modern marketing. Your marketing strategy cannot be incongruous with the product itself. iPods are fun- therefore iPod commercials are fun. They use fun music and are colorful and “cool” because that’s what the product is. Cool and fun. Popsicles can’t be marketed as savory and hearty, and canned chunky beef soup can’t be marketed as refreshing.

An operating system is not fun, it is functional. I can’t imagine even the geekiest of PC nerds thinking that clean installing an OS or showing off its features to friends is fun. And if there is one, I doubt he has enough friends to host a party in the first place. This Microsoft marketing strategy has no legs, no legs at all. The only way that this marketing campaign goes viral is if everyone gets swine flu at one of these parties. Couple this with the fact that the new OS requires a clean install of your entire PC -or the purchasing of a new PC if that sounds like a bad way to spend your weekend- and you have the makings of a confounding marketing strategy. The marketing strategy and the product are competely incongruous. Apple is confident that all of this is going to turn more users to Mac. 

The second rule is bang for your buck. The brilliant advantage of the digital medium is that you can maximize your marketing by drawing people into your company and into the sale with new and flashy tricks. And you can reach millions very quickly and very cost-effectively. By encouraging a string of house parties Microsoft has bypassed the most effective and modern medium for marketing and opted for a format used extensively before the invention of the computer. Maybe they minimized the buck but I certainly doubt a bang will be following. Maybe they expected everyone at these parties to send out telegrams, faxes and carrier pigeons to their friends and family letting them know how great the house party for the new platform they went to was. I would’ve recommended contacting everyone through a more modern medium, something computer-based and maybe using internet technology, so we could get all excited about it in the new digital Agora- like we prefer to do now.

I’ll add a third rule. You have to understand as best as possible the trends in social behavior of the public when trying to engage them. We are social, and we use things like social media platforms. We use iPhones and Blackberries and we are constantly in touch with one another. How Microsoft can overlook the realities of basic human behavior and communication technology is baffling. Opting instead to focus on antiquated social medium for their product launch. This mode works when everyone is completely riveted to see something live, like a UFC fight or a Presidential election. It works for events, things that bring people together because of our natural desire to share big moments together and feed off eachother’s excitement. Maybe the execs at Microsoft are so cloistered from the general public that they felt this launch was an event of that magnitude.  

You think I’m being hard on Microsoft, Paul Wallis at Digital Journal rips Microsoft a new one- focusing more on the economic realities of consumer behavior in relation to Windows 7. Expecting consumers to buy new computers en masse in a recession is a tall order. There are plenty more things I could pick apart beyond the style and concept of their plan. Paul addresses some of those nicely though.

All this being said, many PC users will still of course rush out to get windows 7 because despite the dumbfounding marketing concept, the platform is supposedly much better than Vista and the other Windows operating systems. Microsoft has worked hard to fix the problems with these past systems, now they should work hard to overhaul their marketing strategy. 

Perhaps through the power of clairvoyancy Apple further weakened Microsoft’s marketing strategy by launching its new line of iMacs just before Windows 7 hit the shelves (today) stealing Microsoft’s thunder…or whimper. It’s just another example of how Apple is staying one step ahead (if not several) of Microsoft in product and especially in marketing.

LBI International/Hybris Software newly developed e-commerce platform QuickLive Lifetime is, according to the two companies, the only fully scalable eCommerce platform on the market.The “pay as you grow” platform enables online businesses to grow from software-as-a-service (SaaS) entry level to multi-million SKU enterprise ownership without the need to upgrade or change platforms-something that is both potentially risky (in terms of customer loyalty or familiarity with your storefront) and potentially expensive. The scalable  integrated eCommerce and marketing services platform is being launched at E Commerce Expo 2009 Today in London, England…which I am going to pretend I am reporting live from.

Back in North America, another development with big e-commerce implications is taking place. Apple recently announced that it will allow the purchase of virtual goods in its free apps on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Previously in-app purchases were allowed in paid applications only and through the Apple Store, but the app makers themselves were not allowed to sell product within the app like similar game makers and app developers on Facebook, who enjoyed more freedom. Many developers felt Apple was being too constricting and would benefit from allowing the similar freedom for eCommerce to flourish within its app realm. So expect a flood of frivolous things to now buy every time you play a game on your iPhone. The biggest winners so far are iPhone game app developers who account for 20% of the 85,000 apps available for the  iPhone and iPod Touch (yes…there are that many).

I know many Vancouver software companies are also pleased with this development as it opens the way for new e-commerce iPhone developments in the future, and puts pressure on other device makers to free up options to consumers as well.

Well I’m going to head for some fish and chips and beers now at the local pub with some local blokes I met at the convention today. Ta ta for now.

It doesn’t take a lot of digging to find a variety of death knells for the newspaper and magazine industry. With the public’s increasing dislike of actually paying to read stuff, the publishing industry is right up there with music labels and encyclopedia salesmen on the Once Promising Future, Destroyed by The Internet list. The New York Times is about to lay off 100 people. Media giant Conde Nast shut down four of their magazines, including Gourmet, which has been around for 68 years. And The Onion has even taken to mocking the industry by suggesting that the majority of newspapers are now purchased just so kidnappers can prove what date it is.

But with all that bad news, a tiny ray of light has appeared for the publishing industry. And it’s coming from a somewhat suprising source. That beacon of hope has arrived in the form of a seemingly insignificant change to the way Apple runs its App Store, combined with the promise of Apple’s new tablet computer. As of last week, the company now allows extra content to be purchased from within free applications. There are lots of ramifications of this policy tweak, but as Wired magazine points out, one of the biggest beneficiaries of this change could be magazine and newspaper publishers.

The idea is that people might actually be inclined to read newspapers and magazines on a tablet. Unlike the Kindle, say, a tablet will offer a rich reading experience, complete with photos, multi-media and all that good stuff. And according to Wired, newspapers and magazines could hook readers by giving away some of their content via a free app, but then charging people for additional content, from within that free app. As the ridiculous success of Apple’s App Store has proven, people seem willing to pay for content and applications, as long as its relatively inexpensive, and the actual mechanism of paying is easy and convenient. With in-app payment now allowed in free applications, both those criteria could be achieved for newspapers and magazines.

As with everything related to all this new-fangled technology, only time will tell if the publishing industry can benefit from the combination of a good content-delivery platform (Apple’s tablet computer) and easy-and-convenient payment options (in-app purchasing). But if the people calling the shots in that industry have any sense, they’ll do whatever they can to try to make it work.

The new online music seller 7digital made its U.S. and Canadian launch today, both as a stand-along website, and as a music store for BlackBerry users. And actually, 7digital isn’t new…it’s just new to North America. It’s been rocking out in Europe for 5 years or so, and while it certainly hasn’t knocked iTunes off it’s lofty perch at the top of the online music biz, 7digital has been making waves overseas.

Now that it’s launched on our side of the pond, the question is, can we expect to see it put up a good fight against Apple’s domination?

Well, you have to think it’s not going to win. But in the online music game, just surviving is akin to victory. Like many music stores that came before, 7digital is attempting to do something, anything, better than iTunes. And their main point of attack is price. In keeping with the theme of their name, they offer many (even most) tracks for 77 cents each, and most albums for $7.77. That’s a good 20%-ish lower than the common iTunes price of 99 cents per track.

Sound quality tends not to be a huge deal for most online music consumers (since the compression required by mass digital distribution detracts from the sound quality anyway) but audio connoisseurs would point to the 320kps bit-rate used on 7digital as an improvement over most of their competition. And some will be fans of the fact they distribute their music in mp3 format, rather than, say, the AAC format used on iTunes.

And though it’s not such an issue these days anyway, it’s worth mentioning that 7digital was Europe’s first online music to sell music from all four major music labels, sans-DRM. In fact, a year and a half ago, they made news by beating iTunes to the punch and becoming the first online music retailer to sell Warner Music catalog tunes without DRM.

So will North American users turn their back on iTunes to choose a more budget-conscious music option? Well, BlackBerry users will, but whether anyone else follows suit remains to be seen.

The iPhone gets so much press these days it’s easy to forget about the venerable iPod. Once upon a time it defined a technology, its name becoming synonymous with portable mp3 players. But these days nobody in the media talks about them all that much, except maybe to wonder how much those crazy iPhone sales figures come at the cost of their forgotten little iBrother.

The truth is that, despite their lack of splashy headlines, iPods still sell like crazy. In fact, sales figures for iPods in 2009 are right on pace with last year, despite the rise of the iPhone. And those numbers might just go a little higher with today’s big rollout of the new fifth generation iPod Nano.

It packs a couple nice new features into its skinny little frame – a pedometer, FM radio capability, an integrated microphone for voice recording. But the coolest, though not the most surprising, feature is the built-in videocamera. This isn’t exactly new territory for Apple, but its inclusion in the Nano is interesting.

It puts the iPod Nano in direct conflict with the very successful Flip Video camera. Obviously Apple knows that user-generated video has been a huge thing for quite awhile…and that people have been buying competitor’s products to shoot their own video. Now the addition of a camera to the Nano means a huge new population just got equipped with a device that lets them record, edit (in a rudimentary way) and upload homemade porn video to YouTube quickly and easily.

But what about the picture quality? When I first heard this announcement, I half expected it to be one step up from the Fisher Price Pixelvision kids camcorder. I needn’t have worried. It isn’t fantastic, but the iPod Nano’s video quality is pretty good. And it’s especially impressive when you consider how tiny the device is, and how much of its square-footage is taken up by stuff other than the videocamera.

The question now is whether a million people with a million new videocameras will actually be able to produce anything worth watching. If nothing else, we’ll probably get a few more good Fail videos out of the deal.

according to Business Wire, new research done by IT management group Spiceworks shows that a majority of small and medium sized businesses around the globe plan on buying new hardware and software in the next 6 months. One of those software upgrades will be the new Mac OS upgrade Snow Leopard. (Which reminds me, you’re gonna run out of cats soon Apple. Meerkat and Civet Cat don’t count. Call us when you do and we’ll figure out a new angle, maybe dog breeds or types of nuts? Mac OS X Cashew?) Snow Leopard is one of those upgrades where the average user might not think much of it. No new surprises or functions, no real gadgets or gizmos to wow you. It’s strongest features are that it is much faster and will free up memory for you. But it also gauges memory differently so pay attention to what’s going on when you look at how much space you need. It’s also more clear what applications are being used for what, and is easier to multi task. But what is possibly the best feature for those who use their Mac for business is the incorporation of Microsoft’s Exchange Server technology into Snow Leopard. This means that your built in Mail, iCal and Address Book, are integrate right into the Microsoft mail systems- effectively bypassing the need to purchase Microsoft Office. Just another example of Microsoft being squeezed from all angles by large and small companies alike.

While Google has been offering free browser alternatives to the Microsoft organizational and mail software another company, VMware has been developing virtual machine software that enables your computer to run more than one operating system. With a number of high ranking ex-Microsoft employees joining VMware and with its stated goal for acquisition of SpringSource, a creator of open source software development tools, VMware is positioning itself to seriously challenge Microsoft by sidestepping its OS alltogether and allowing users options for managing applications more efficiently through cloud based IT management systems and virtualization technology it has become renowned for.

Virtualization technology has been used predominantly in larger scale data management situations. It reduces the number computers a company needs (meaning less floor space and energy being used, less IT maintenence because there are fewer machines experiencing problems and less physical server space) VMware is banking that streamlining capital costs will continue to be of paramount importance to companies. As a recent NY Times article on the company puts it:

“Today, VMware says companies typically have one human administrator for every 50 server computers, while data centers with more than half of their machines virtualized can fairly quickly increase that to one to 200 or higher.”

VMware is the dominant company today in virtualized computer systems, and along with Google and its focus on cloud based data management comprise the greatest threat to Microsoft and its applications for data management. As businesses in Vancouver and around the world continue to upgrade their software and hardware we will likely find that cloud based alternatives to the traditional proprietarty software packages released by Microsoft and perhaps even Apple will increasingly be outdone by virtualized machines utilizing cloud based structures.

These are heady days for Steve Jobs and his posse at Apple. Even as the economy continues hobbling along with drops in sales and revenue across the technology sector, Apple just keeps making money. Lots and lots of money. Despite an overall drop in the sale of PCs, to the tune of 3%-5% versus a year ago, Mac sales actually rose 4% over last year.

But that ain’t nothing. Where Apple is really cleaning up is in iPhone sales. And it’s not because they’re selling a huge amount of them. Yes, iPhones are very popular, and yeah, everybody and their ten year-old cousin seems to own one. But overall, iPhones only represent 8% of revenues in the cellphone market. That’s good and all, but nothing worth writing a Senses post about. But what is truly amazing is that despite only owning 8% of the market, Apple accounts for a whopping 32% of the profit in the cellphone market. You can see it all laid out on this handy infographic.

Nokia, the biggest player in the industry, takes in about eight times as much revenue, and yet still isn’t pocketing as much profit as Apple. In fact, no other company in the cellphone sector is raking in as much profit as Steve Jobs’ merry band. But all that does raise questions about the pricepoint of iPhones. Clearly they’re selling lots of them, despite the economy, so consumers clearly aren’t complaining about the sticker price. One reason for that is that the carriers, AT&T and the like, are subsidizing the price you pay when you go and buy your iPhone. According to some calculations, if you buy one and sign up with AT&T, you might pay as low as $99 bucks. But Apple is receiving $474 for that phone with the difference being paid by AT&T. As I said, heady days for Steve and for Apple.