Entries Tagged 'History' ↓

Daniel Eran Dilger
Is Apple’s announcement of Exchange Server support in the upcoming iPhone 2.0 software an admission of failure for the company’s apparent plans to push its own Exchange alternative in Mac OS X Leopard Server? Reader Pete Wann asked the question; here’s what I think about it.

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Daniel Eran Dilger
The previous article, The Unavoidable Malware Myth: Why Apple Won’t Inherit Microsoft’s Malware Crown, outlined that Microsoft’s malware crisis is a product of that company’s engineering mistakes, not an unavoidable problem facing whatever computing platform becomes the most popular in the future. Even for those holdouts who choose to ignore the realities of the malware economy–so they can insist that the only reason Macs aren’t infected with viruses is because Apple isn’t selling enough of them–there are other reasons why future platforms, including Apple’s Mac and iPhone, aren’t fated to be plagued with Microsoft’s malware crisis of the past and present.

There are five factors related to the future of computing platforms that will prevent Apple from inheriting Microsoft’s malware legacy. Here’s why these factors will have such a significant impact on the future of malware, and why the world’s greatest malware threat will continue to be firmly attached to Microsoft, the company that introduced the epidemic to the world in the first place.

The Unavoidable Malware Myth: Why Apple Won’t Inherit Microsoft’s Malware Crown

“No Windows for Old Men” composition by Michael Jackson.
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Daniel Eran Dilger
Jefferson Graham of USA Today reports that Amazon’s MP3 store “has quietly become No. 2 in digital sales since opening nearly six months ago,” behind Apple’s iTunes. That idea is being widely publicized by the big music labels, who hope to gain some leverage against Apple in order to push their own plans for the future of music sales. But is it accurate, is Amazon any threat to Apple’s iTunes, and what effect will the rumored plans for iPod-bundled music have on the online music industry? Here’s a look.

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Daniel Eran Dilger
Blogs have been buzzing about an article in Mechanix Illustrated from 1969 that made a series of predictions for life in 2008: flying cars that whisked commuters to work on autopilot at the speed of bullet trains, supersonic rocket planes, homes automated by a central computer, a society fed seaweed that tastes like steak, intelligence pills, and other science fiction ideas. Nobody has pointed out that the main prediction that has become a reality is represented by the iPhone.

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Daniel Eran Dilger
When the iPhone was unveiled a year ago, it was obvious that it would outclass the status quo in mobile phones, particularly in the US where mobile operators have been holding back innovation. Far less obvious was the potential for the new phone to rival dedicated handheld gaming consoles. Here’s how well the iPhone stacks up against the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP in both hardware and as a business model.

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Daniel Eran Dilger
Roger Kay has resorted to religious fantasy in order to find something assailable about Apple’s rapid growth in consumer electronics and its mounting impact on the enterprise. Using more idioms than one could shake a gilded lily at, Kay strung together a series of weak complaints that ranged from misstatements to completely false assertions, bound together by a non sequitur (and non secular) mortar of inanity.

Auf Deutsch: Roger Kay – oder die Flügel des Ikarus im Vergleich zum Höhenflug von Apple
Übersetzung: digital express

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Daniel Eran Dilger
Shortly after Apple announced the iPhone SDK, Sun announced the intention to bring its Java Micro Edition platform to the iPhone. Questions remain about whether Sun will be able to deliver, if Apple will allow it, and what purpose this would serve for iPhone users. Even more interesting is where Java came from, and where it’s subsequently going in the mobile arena.

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Daniel Eran Dilger
Certain pundits have developed a rash of malignant concerns about iPhone 2.0’s SDK. The first issue they’re scratching at is the iPhone’s apparent inability to run multiple applications at once. The suggestion is that the iPhone is a multitasking impaired appliance just like the original Mac or the Palm Pilot, and unlike the supposed multitasking powerhouse that is Windows CE, which powers Windows Mobile devices. That’s wrong, here’s why.

Auf Deutsch: iPhone 2.0 SDK: Der „kann kein Multitasking“ Mythos
Übersetzung: digital express

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Daniel Eran Dilger
This weekend I was invited to Texas to attend the monthly meeting of Apple Corp Dallas, the oldest user group in existence devoted to Apple products. It was fun to travel and the prospect of speaking in front of a large group was exciting, but while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak.

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Daniel Eran Dilger
In the smartphone business, Apple is like a Microsoft combined with a Motorola and a RIM; it makes money on software, hardware, and services. It also makes money at retail and with accessories, and software and media sales, and earns money back from its service partners. Other hardware makers can’t compete with Apple in all these areas because they’re all fixed into position as pawns of the mobile providers.

Apple’s iPhone Vs. Other Mobile Hardware Makers: 5 Revenue Engines

But what about pure software makers? Will Microsoft or Google or the open source community deliver a good enough equivalent version of the iPhones’ software features to enable generic hardware makers to catch up in the same way that Microsoft ported Apple’s unpatented Mac technology to the PC in the late 80s? Here’s a look at the threats posed by rival smartphone software makers, and how well the iPhone will be able to compete against them.

Auf Deutsch: Das Apple iPhone im Vergleich zu anderen Betriebssystemen
Übersetzung: digital express

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