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Microsoft lies to XP users—and they start to love Vista
In about two weeks, Redmond has managed to turn a marketing idea into something that may just shock you. Microsoft blogger Ina Fried is reporting that Microsoft managed to trick XP users in San Francisco into loving Vista simply by telling them a small fib. The company told these users that they were using a new version of Windows, codenamed "Mojave." When asked about their experience with using Mojave, over 90 percent said they were impressed with what they saw. Then Microsoft told them they had been using Vista all along.
The company hasn't figured out how it will use this to market Vista (the company has video footage of users exclaiming "wow!" and so on), but the Mojave project will likely help in Microsoft's plan to tell the "real Vista story." This is some real ammo here: these are XP lovers saying they love Vista, not just more Microsoft employees giving statements to sell the software giant's latest operating system.
Bill Veghte, Microsoft's senior vice president of Online Services & Windows Business Group and the man who recently outlined the Windows roadmap, strongly believes that Vista's negative opinion by many users is due to poor perceptions created by the media, from Apple's anti-Vista ads to many journalists spewing Vista hate because it brings in the hits. Mojave is a perfect example of this—to an extent. Microsoft has time and again admitted that Vista has its problems, but has also emphasized that the majority of problems have been fixed. What's your take on the Mojave story? In about two weeks, Redmond has managed to turn a marketing idea into something that may just shock you. Microsoft blogger Ina Fried i... more -
Bill Gates vs Steve Jobs: the game
You don't need a degree in business studies to play this, but dexterity is required.
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La salute di Jobs preoccupa i mercati Apple non commenta: «Fatti privati»
SAN FRANCISCO (USA) - La salute dell'amministratore delegato di Apple, Steve Jobs, preoccupa gli operatori di settore convinti che il successo della società sia indissolubilmente legato al suo fondatore.
Ma Jobs, operato quattro anni fa di cancro al pancreas, rassicura: secondo indiscrezioni riportate dalla stampa americana, l'amministratore delegato di Apple avrebbe riferito al board di aver superato la malattia, anche se ha ancora problemi nutrizionali che lo portano, talvolta, a brusche perdite di peso. La salute di Jobs ha iniziato a preoccupare gli operatori quando, lo scorso mese, videro il fondatore della Apple che presentava il nuovo iPhone visibilmente provato e dimagrito. Nel corso della conference call seguita alla presentazione dei risultati trimestrali, gli analisti hanno espresso la propria preoccupazione sulla salute di Jobs. Il direttore finanziario, Peter Oppenheimer, si è limitato a rispondere: «Steve ama la Apple. Non ha intenzione di lasciare Apple. La sua salute è un fatto privato».
LA REPLICA - La risposta, però, come riporta tra gli altri il Financial Times, non convince gli analisti di settore. Soprattutto perchè un'eventuale malattia di Jobs potrebbe avere un impatto negativo sulla società, che ha comunque bisogno di una guida forte soprattutto dopo i cali in Borsa dell’ultimo periodo. Da maggio a oggi il titolo ha perso il 13% del suo valore, ben l’11% dalla conferenza annuale di giugno. «Se Jobs voleva che il suo stato di salute fosse un affare personale doveva togliere dal listino la Apple e renderla privata» spiega al quotidiano britannico Andrew Hargraves, analista della Pacific Crest securities. «Quando Warren Buffet si fece una colonscopia egli ne parlò con tutti e rese poi pubblici i risultati», sottolinea Steve Wallman a capo del Fondo di investimenti Wallman limited partnership. In ogni caso quello su cui tutti gli analisti sono d'accordo è che l'eventuale malattia di Jobs non può non avere una ricaduta sul corso azionario del titolo. «L'impronta di Jobs è su tutta la sua società inoltre lui è una figura pubblica» dichiara all'International Herald Tribune A. M. Sacconaghi jr analista della Sanford C. Bernstein. Per il giornale americano in ogni caso la Apple avrebbe già pronta una strategia di successione da utilizzare per tutte le evenienze.
SAN FRANCISCO (USA) - La salute dell'amministratore delegato di Apple, Steve Jobs, preoccupa gli operatori di settore convinti che il ... more -
iPhone apps: why we still need the iPhone app black market
A year ago, we said that no iPhone SDK meant no killer apps. It came, and the apps are here in staggering numbers. But many of the amazing apps and concepts we grew to love as unofficial apps aren't here, and only about 100 of the 500+ apps at launch in the official store are really useful or desirable—the rest are dupes or just bad. There are no less than five apps to turn my iPhone into a flashlight, yet I can't turn it into a 3G-powered Wi-Fi hotspot. Why? Because the SDK has more restrictions than Guantanamo—devs can't integrate with the OS and have to steer way, way clear of copyright and trademark issues—so the most innovative, game-changing apps might not ever make it to your squeaky clean iPhone. That's why we need more than Apple's official app store—we still need jailbreaking, Installer.app (now Cydia) and the best unauthorized third-party apps to make the iPhone an ultra-powerful open platform we really want. Here are the roadblocks: A year ago, we said that no iPhone SDK meant no killer apps. It came, and the apps are here in staggering numbers. But many of the ama... more
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iPhone vulnerable to phishing attacks
Security researcher Aviv Raff said on Wednesday that the iPhone's Mail and Safari applications are prone to URL spoofing and could allow phishing attacks against iPhone users.
By crafting a specially designed URL, Raff says an attacker could create an e-mail link that appears in Mail to be from a trusted site (a financial institution or social network). By clicking the link, Safari will open to the phishing site. The issue affects users of iPhone 1.1.4 and 2.0.
Raff, who has informed Apple of the vulnerability, declined on his blog to offer more details until a patch is available.
Until then, Raff suggests iPhone users "avoid clicking on links in the Mail application which refers to trusted Web sites (e.g. bank, PayPal, social networks, etc.). Instead, a user should enter the URL of the Web site manually in the Safari application."
Security researcher Aviv Raff said on Wednesday that the iPhone's Mail and Safari applications are prone to URL spoofing and could all... more -
Apple getting ready for 'product transition'
Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer's decision to warn financial analysts Monday that Apple's fourth-quarter gross margins will be negatively impacted by a "product transition" should be enough to get the rumor wheels turning: of course, it doesn't take all that much. The remark came within yet another Apple's earnings report that produced stellar numbers for the previous quarter but an outlook below what Wall Street had been expecting.
Oppenheimer deftly avoided several questions from analysts who tried to get a little more information on just what that "product transition" might involve. He used the exact same phrase last year in July during an earnings call to warn analysts of pretty much the exact same situation: that the transition would cause lower profits for the upcoming quarter. The result, new iMacs in August, and the iPod Touch in September.
There are two obvious scenarios that would cause a CFO to warn shareholders that his profit margins might be a little light heading into the upcoming quarter: lower prices, or more expensive production costs.
We already have a pretty strong suspicion that Apple is planning to introduce new notebooks during the quarter. It's been quite some time since the design of the MacBook has received an update, and with Apple's other notebooks sporting an aluminum enclosure these days, it's not hard to envision a similar design in the works for the MacBook based on Intel's new Centrino 2 technology.
But how would that change the margins on the MacBook? The MacBook seems to be the most popular segment of Apple's notebook lineup and perhaps switching to the aluminum enclosure for such a high-volume product would increase Apple's production costs for the MacBook.
Could Apple be considering overall pricing changes in the Mac lineup? One financial analyst seemed to suggest that with a line of questioning that Oppenheimer parried. Apple offers a smaller degree of customized options for Macs on its Web site than other PC vendors do on theirs, and the markup on some of the extra components is pretty steep.
The trouble with that theory is that there doesn't seem to be any real reason for Apple to change the pricing of the Mac at this point: the company just sold the highest number of Macs in a quarter in its history. Price doesn't seem to be an object to sales, so why take the margin hit?
Likewise, the iPhone pricing isn't likely to go anywhere in the quarter with the iPhone 3G just making its way out to the public. The subsidized pricing courtesy of AT&T isn't going to change that quickly: Apple COO Tim Cook admitted that the company's internal surveys revealed that a lot of people who liked the iPhone weren't going to pay $399 for it. Apple and AT&T are likely to give the $199/$299 pricing scheme at least the remainder of the year before revisiting things.
The most likely bet for a price cut is the iPod Touch, which sticks out like a sore thumb at $499 for the high-end model compared to the new pricing for the iPhone. Apple wants the iPod Touch to be the future of its iPod lineup, but it's a pretty pricey option compared with the rest of the iPod lineup right now.
Consumers responded very well last quarter to the February price cut for the iPod Shuffle, Oppenheimer said. Obviously, those people buying the Shuffle and those buying the Touch are looking for two very different things in a portable music player. But still, in a economically tepid year, every dollar matters more than usual.
An iPod Touch price cut makes perfect sense: drop the 8GB model, move the 16GB down to $299, and the 32GB down to $399.
Both of those products could take some time to ramp up to volumes that could make the margins more palatable, although it's important to remember that Apple's margins will still be 30 percent after the decline. That's still pretty healthy for a company in its category. Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer's decision to warn financial analysts Monday that Apple's fourth-quarter gross margins... more -
Apple Macbook Touch - Rumours of Gadget To Hit Stores This October!
There have been rumours flying that a MacBook touch could be hitting the market as early as October 2008. Allegedly these rumours are substantiated too, as they came from a MacDaily News source that broke the wireless iTunes story early as well. There have been rumours flying that a MacBook touch could be hitting the market as early as October 2008. Allegedly these rumours are ... more
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Pen-enabled Mac Modbook
The one and only pen-enabled tablet Mac, the Modbook, allows users to draw and write directly on the 13.3-in. diagonal LCD screen. The unit’s condensed form factor and integrated pen-based user experience is a real joy in terms of flexibility and control. And it’s fast!
This product seamlessly integrates an Apple MacBook computer, an advanced Wacom Penabled digitizer display, and Axiotron’s own hardware and software technology. It’s the only tablet Mac on the market. Since it runs on the Mac OS X Leopard platform, any application that runs on OS X like Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop will run on this unit.
All the features of an Apple MacBook are in the Modbook. Although it does not come with a keyboard or mouse for inputs, these can be connected via a pair of USB ports or Bluetooth. Text can also be entered through Axiotron’s Quickclicks software keyboard.
With a weight of 5.5 lbs, this product is a bit heavy, but when you try out all its features and capabilities, you’ll soon forget about the heft. It has the same features as an Apple MacBook, Leopard’s built-in Inkwell handwriting recognition, the same processing-power and memory-storage capability, a built-in iSight camera, a 24x DVD Combo drive or an 8x DVD Superdrive, depending on the model, and built-in GPS capability.
The most recent configurations include 2.1-GHz or 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors and 120-Gbytes or 160-Gbytes of hard-disk memory, respectively, which makes this product twice as fast and powerful as any slate-type tablet PC on the market. This tablet Mac is super sensitive with its unparalleled 512 levels of pen pressure sensitivity.
And its price is competitive. It is available in the U.S. and Canada exclusively through Axion authorized resellers, at a price of $2290 and $2499 (Canadian dollars), respectively.
http://axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook The one and only pen-enabled tablet Mac, the Modbook, allows users to draw and write directly on the 13.3-in. diagonal LCD screen. The... more -
MacBook Touch hitting streets In October?
COULD IT REALLY BE TRUE?
MacDailyNews via Geekologie:
"Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion's haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS. Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will. This is some sick shit. App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest."
COULD IT REALLY BE TRUE? MacDailyNews via Geekologie: ... more -
Apple Now Third Largest PC Vendor in the US
Apple is moving up the charts, toppling Acer to become the third largest PC vendor in the U.S., according to a survey from Gartner.
Apple defied a weakening economy to record a 38.1 percent growth rate in U.S. PC shipments, according to Gartner. Overall PC shipments in the U.S. grew just 4.2 percent to 16.5 million units during the quarter.
The company shipped 1.4 million units compared to Acer's 1.33 million, according to Gartner's survey. Dell held the top spot, shipping 5.25 million units and growing 11.9 percent year-over-year, followed by HP. Apple is moving up the charts, toppling Acer to become the third largest PC vendor in the U.S., according to a survey from Gartner. ... more -
Apple ha annunciato i risultati finanziari del terzo trimestre dell’anno fiscale 2...
Ieri notte, Apple ha annunciato i risultati finanziari del terzo trimestre dell’anno fiscale 2008 conclusosi il 28 giugno 2008.
Fatturato di 7,46 miliardi di dollari e un utile (netto) trimestrale di 1,07 miliardi di dollari, pari a 1,19 dollari per azione diluita. Numeri da capogiro se si raffrontano con quelli dello stesso trimestre del 2007, in cui l’azienda aveva registrato un fatturato di 5,41 miliardi di dollari e un utile netto trimestrale di 818 milioni di dollari, pari a 0,92 dollari per azione diluita.
Apple ha venduto 2.496.000 Macintosh durante il trimestre in questione, dato che rappresentanta una crescita in unità del 41% e una crescita in fatturato del 43% rispetto allo stesso trimestre di un anno fa. La company di Cupertino ha inoltre venduto 11.011.000 iPod durante il Q3-2008 che si traduce in una crescita in unità del 12% e del 7% del fatturato rispetto allo stesso trimestre del 2007.
In quest’ultimo trimestre le vendite di iPhone sono state di 717.000 unità, contro le 270.000 dello stesso trimestre dell’anno scorso.
Siamo orgogliosi di annunciare il miglior trimestre di giugno nella storia di Apple sia in termini di fatturato e utile […] Abbiamo stabilito un nuovo record per le vendite Mac, pensiamo di avere un vero asso con il nostro nuovo iPhone 3G, e siamo impegnati nell’ultimare alcuni altri meravigliosi nuovi prodotti da lanciare nei prossimi mesi.
Alla soddisfazione di Steve Jobs va ad affiancarsi la proiezione di Peter Oppenheimer (CFO di Apple) che prevede per il prossimo trimestre fiscale un fatturato di circa 7,8 miliardi di dollari e un utile per azione diluita di circa 1,00 dollari. Ieri notte, Apple ha annunciato i risultati finanziari del terzo trimestre dell’anno fiscale 2008 conclusosi il 28 giugno 2008. ... more -
iPhone in negozio: in 5 città, prezzi identici e poca trasparenza su sim e piani t...
Avete deciso di comprare l’iPhone, il nuovo oggetto dei desideri della comunicazione multimediale? Bene. Sappiate però che, entrando in negozio, vi potrebbero essere imposte condizioni di vendita tutt’altro che vantaggiose.
Noi siamo andati in giro per Milano, Padova, Firenze, Roma e Napoli e siamo entrati in 10 punti vendita Il Telefonino, Centro Tim e Vodafone One e in 16 tra punti vendita specializzati di grandi, piccole e medie dimensioni; e abbiamo chiesto di acquistare l’iPhone.
Innanzitutto, il prezzo è esattamente lo stesso in tutti i punti vendita (499 euro per la versione da 8 GB e 569 euro per quella da 16GB). In genere, su questo tipo di prodotti i prezzi variano da negozio a negozio a tutto vantaggio del consumatore; il fatto che in questo caso non vi sia di fatto concorrenza ci sembra sintomo di una strategia di vendita da parte di Apple, Tim e Vodafone davvero restrittiva. Ciò è dimostrato anche dal fatto che l’iPhone, al contrario di tutti gli altri prodotti della mela, è in pratica l'unico prodotto Apple a non essere venduto anche sul sito www.apple.it. A tal proposito chiediamo all’Antitrust di verificare se gli accordi di distribuzione stipulati tra Apple, Tim e Vodafone non abbiano creato questa mancanza di concorrenza sul prezzo di vendita dell’iPhone.
continua... Avete deciso di comprare l’iPhone, il nuovo oggetto dei desideri della comunicazione multimediale? Bene. Sappiate però che, entrando i... more -
Apple stock drops despite jump in Q3 profit
Shares of Apple Inc. fell sharply as investors focused more on the company's cautious guidance for the current quarter than on the blockbuster Macintosh and iPod sales during the previous three-month period.
"The quarter was a home run," Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said in an interview Monday.
It seems investors disagreed. Apple's shares sank $16.59, or 10 percent, to $149.70 in extended trading Monday, after gaining $1.14 to close the regular session at $166.29.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said it shipped more Macs in its fiscal third quarter than ever before — 2.5 million, up 41 percent from a year ago, with desktop shipments growing faster than laptops.
That's a much steeper growth rate than the overall global PC market. Total computer shipments rose about 15 percent in the three months ended June 30, according to Framingham, Mass.-based research group IDC.
Apple also said iPod unit sales jumped 12 percent, a strong showing despite last year's launch of the iPhone, which melds iPod features with those of a smart phone. Some analysts had wondered whether iPod sales would lag as consumers opted for fancier, but pricier, iPhones.
Shares of Apple Inc. fell sharply as investors focused more on the company's cautious guidance for the current quarter than on the blo... more -
APPLE-A-DAY TALK INVESTORS AWAIT EARNINGS & JOBS' HEALTH REPORT
Interesting article about Steve Jobs - amazing that he survived pancreatic cancer. Who knows what is really going on with him but highlights just how critical he is to Apple and the entire world of digital media...
"Industry concerns about Steve Jobs' health have not gone away more than a month after the Apple CEO appeared dramatically thinner at the firm's annual developers' conference, fighting what insiders at the time were calling a 'bug.'" Interesting article about Steve Jobs - amazing that he survived pancreatic cancer. Who knows what is really going on with him but hig... more -
Microsoft’s Windows 95 Architect Is a Happy Mac Convert
Software engineer Satoshi Nakajima, the lead architect of Microsoft’s Windows 95, picked up a Mac for the first time two years ago.
He was so impressed, he says he’ll never touch a PC again.
Satoshi loves Apple products so much, he started a company in April, Big Canvas, to develop for Apple’s iPhone platform full-time.
“We have chosen iPhone as the platform to release our first product (for) several reasons,” explains his company’s website. “We love Apple products… You need love to be creative.” Software engineer Satoshi Nakajima, the lead architect of Microsoft’s Windows 95, picked up a Mac for the first time two years ago. ... more -
Motorola cita un ex-dirigente ora in Apple
Motorola ha citato in giudizio un suo ex manager che ora lavora per Apple. L’accusa è di violazione dell’accordo di non-concorrenza ed il timore che l’enorme mole di conoscenze riservate - cui l’uomo aveva accesso - abbiano coadiuvato il successo di iPhone 3G nel mondo. Motorola ha citato in giudizio un suo ex manager che ora lavora per Apple. L’accusa è di violazione dell’accordo di non-concorrenza ed... more
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Mobilme, Apple new crap!
Apple launch its me.com, and guess what, total failure
Worst is, you can't even complain, their support is so badly done its unbelievable.
Can not even ask a question, like why your site is not allowing flock user?
as they web brewser is listed, not listing Flocks, and you can send the question without selecting!
Then, the promised 48 hours answer came a week after and as you can read, pretty useless
"Dear Customer,
We apologize that it took a little while to respond to you. As a result of the
overwhelming interest in MobileMe, the MobileMe Support team is receiving
higher volumes of email than normal. "
i believe the, overwhelming interest in MobileMe, means huge amount of complains!
All to add some service for the already, out of date and flawn, Ipod, thanks but I don't want them and now i am paying (still the last paying email account in the world!) for service I don't want and that complicate my life as i need now two browser, one for the mail, one for the rest of the www!
I have been using Mac from 89 but I am more and more disapointed by their unstopable growing greeds!
A not so any more Mac lover
Apple launch its me.com, and guess what, total failure ... more -
Microsoft's Real Problem: The Second Coming of Apple
It has been so long since Microsoft had anything real to worry about in these businesses that it's easy to take their perpetual domination for granted. Don't.
We've written frequently about the cloud computing threat: Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and other web-based services companies offering functionality and apps for free that Microsoft currently charges a boatload for. Microsoft is aware of this threat and is moving to try to combat it. But if it smoothly navigates a technology paradigm shift of this magnitude, it will be one of the first dominant technology vendors in history to do so. (Think IBM's transition from mainframes, DEC, etc.)
The second major threat, however, comes from a company that Microsoft once left on the edge of death: Apple (In fact, Microsoft actually helped save Apple once, by becoming a shareholder, so it could demonstrate to regulators that it did, in fact, have a competitor. At the time, it didn't). It has been so long since Microsoft had anything real to worry about in these businesses that it's easy to take their perpetual domina... more -
MobileMe: Apple chiede scusa un'altra volta
Il lancio di MobileMe sembra essere il più travagliato nella storia dei prodotti Apple. Dopo l’e-mail di scuse per i disservizi iniziali e l’estensione gratuita di 30 giorni, gli utenti si sono visti recapitare una seconda lettera di scuse.
Questa volta Apple chiede venia per la decurtazione di 121€ dalla carta di credito degli iscritti al nuovo servizio. Secondo la società di Cupertino l’importo di controllo della carta doveva essere di solo 1€: il fastidioso problema è stato causato da un errore nei sistemi informatici.
Oltre a restituire i soldi ingiustamente decurtati, Apple ha regalato agli utenti altri 30 giorni di prova. Facendo due calcoli, se sommiamo questi 30 giorni ai 60 giorni di prova gratuita e ai 30 elargiti in precedenza arriviamo a un totale di 120 giorni gratuiti.
Il lancio di MobileMe sembra essere il più travagliato nella storia dei prodotti Apple. Dopo l’e-mail di scuse per i disservizi inizia... more
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