Tag Archives: iOs 6

An Open Letter To Apple CEO Tim Cook



ear Mr. Cook,

Like many people, I converted to Apple products because it represented real value. My first Apple computer was a second-hand Mac Mini with a Power PC processor. I was impressed by the fact that a clearly obsolete machine could remain so useful and usable at several years of age, when other older computers of the same vintage were long gone.

My next Apple product was a white plastic MacBook with an Intel processor, which is now six years old. Impressively, the machine still remains highly functional today.

Since then, I went on to get a seventeen inch MacBook Pro, two Intel Mac Mini machines set up in home theater configurations, two iPod Classic MP3 players, an iPad 2 and an iPod Touch.

Apple purchases were easy to justify. An Apple computer might cost three times as much as a competing piece of hardware, but the Apple operating system could usually be counted on to continue to function years longer than a competing Windows counterpart. Back in those days, Apple machines were also repairable. My seventeen inch MacBook Pro has been repaired twice, and I’ve replaced the battery myself once.

In my mind, the Apple brand represented usability, innovation, and long-term value. It was easy to recommend Apple products to friends and family, because genuine value was present.

Unfortunately, in the past year or so there has been a change. Recent product releases have failed to excite me. New Apple laptop computer designs present hardware that is close to being non-repairable and disposable. Apple has become a high-end disposable Bic computer. In the realm of phones, Apple, once the innovator, is now failing to catch up to competing Android phone features. Apple seems to be preferring to go down the path of suing competitors such as Samsung in a desperate attempt to cling to past glories, rather than continue to experiment and innovate towards future effulgences.

Apple founder Steve Jobs was a brilliant innovator, albeit with some flaws – i.e., he tended to be controlling and manipulative. As a genuine innovator Mr. Jobs was ultimately successful in spite of those flaws, not because of them. It’s been a year since the death of Steve Jobs. I fear the remaining imprint of Steve Jobs on Apple as his personal innovation fades is deteriorating into Apple embracing the skeleton of the dysfunctional parts of the Jobs personality. The genuine innovator at Apple died a year ago. Growing tendencies toward control and manipulation remain.

Steve Jobs created an unprecedented amount of momentum, which Apple still benefits from today. Apple, now at its pinnacle has reached unbelievable heights even as there is an unnoticed malignancy.

For me, the thrill is gone. IOS 6 diminished my iPad 2 experience. I rely heavily on Google Maps, including both the satellite view and Google Street View. The new Apple satellite images in IOS 6 are clearly inferior and fuzzy when compared directly to Google’s superior satellite images. Street View is gone. The YouTube app is gone. Apple has embraced Steve Jobs’ desire to punish Google for coming up with Android and daring to compete with the iPhone. The removal of Google Maps and the YouTube app in IOS 6 is a move born out of spite, not innovation. Actions taken out of spite are always a mistake.

In Apple’s more humble past there has always been a core of users, often dubbed the “Mac Faithful” that would stick with Apple and buy their products no matter what. In recent years, under the renewed leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple was able to finally move into the mainstream, picking up a vast bulk of new customers that lack this zealous loyalty. People like me were enticed to buy Apple products by the genuine value they offered.

As a long-time consumer of technology, I lack this Apple zealoutry. My loyalty extends only to products that offer good value. I can only speak for myself, but at the present time I don’t see myself buying any additional Apple products anytime soon. I am wondering how many other recent Apple customers share my lack of loyalty?

What has befallen Apple is unfortunate. It was always fun watching the presentations of world-changing innovations. These days, not so much.

Sincerely,

A now-unhappy customer.


Apple is Giving Podcasts Their Own App on iOs 6



I am a big fan of podcasts and have been almost since they began back in 2004–2005. I listen at least twenty podcast a week, and produce one of my own Remembrances Back in the Day. So the fact that Microsoft seems to be giving podcast the short end of the straw is disappointing. Then there was a headline today that Podcasts aren’t listed in iTunes in the beta version of iOS 6. I thought oh no, don’t tell me Apple is following Microsoft’s lead. I should have known better. All Things D  solved the mystery, Apple is simply giving Podcasts their own applications, on iOs 6. Similar to what it did when it gave iBooks and videos their own apps and what they are also doing with the iTunes U. This will allow Podcasts to stand out from the crowd, instead of being lost among the music in the iTunes store.

I do wonder if it will have any effect on third-party podcast applications or as some would put are third-party podcast apps being sherlocked. I expect some will fall by the wayside but the better ones that offer more options will be fine

The biggest disappointment is that there will be no separate app for Podcasts on the desktop. Something which is desperately needed iTunes has become way too bloated. I would love to see separate application on the desktop for  Podcasts.  However a separate application on the iPhone and iPad is a good start.


Initial Thoughts on WWDC



My initial thoughts on what was announced at WWDC. First the good, the new Macbook Pro with retina display was definitely the highlight of the show. The display has over 5 million pixels on the 15.4 inch display with a resolution of 2880×1800 resolution. The Macbook Pro with the retina display weights only 4.46 lb. and is 0.71 inches thin. It has a HDMI port, 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports, SDXC card and 2 Thunderbolt connections. The fire wire port is gone. It has a Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor. It starts at $2,199 for the base model. They also are updating the Macbook Pro 13- and 15-inch without the Retina display.  They are both  getting the latest Ivy Bridge chips along with other hardware upgrades.  Ports included are 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 Thunderbolt ports, and an SDXC card input and a Gigabit Ethernet connection.

Mountain Lion will be available in July for anyone using Snow Leopard or Lion. It will only be $20.00 for the upgrade. iCloud update will allow users to drag documents into the cloud and then they will be available on all your Apple devices. The documents can then be edited on all devices. There will be a dedicated sharing button in Safari, making it easy to share your webpages to your Social networks.   Notifications will be coming to Mountain Lion. Facebook integration will be available in the Notification center. There will be a share button integrated into the system allowing you to easily share your photos, videos and other files out to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Vimeo.  It appears the Facebook integration is not coming until the fall.  A new feature Power Nap will allow you to set your computer to sync with iCloud, email and Time Machine while it sleeps. With Mountain Lion you will be able to use AirPlay to mirror content up to 1080p from your Mac to your TV. Game Center is also coming to the Mac and will work across all mac platforms.

Siri is coming to the current iPad and iPad 2 and will offer more information about sports, restaurants, movies and more. Facebook integration is also coming with iOS 6 with a tap to post option in the Notification Center. You will be able to turn on a Do Not Disturb feature which will silent alerts or incoming calls for a set amount of times. FaceTime will now work over 3G. Your phone number and Apple ID will be united under FaceTime. iOS 6 will include a Passbook feature which will allow you to store and access electronic versions of tickets, boarding passes and merchant cards. If you are near a store or movie theatre that uses the reward card or ticket that is in your Passbook an alert will pop up notify you. As expected Apple is getting rid of its dependency on Google Maps on iOs 6. It will use its own mapping solution with Yelp and crowd source traffic information integrated. There will also be turn by turn directions using Siri.

There were some disappointments. No mention of a new iPhone, although it seems to be a given with the introduction of iOS 6. It appears that Apple will no longer be upgrading the 17 inch Macbook pro and that line is going away. There is no upgrade for Mac mini or the iMac. There was no mention of the mythical Apple TV and no sdk was released for the current Apple TV, I found that disappointing. All in all I was happy with what was announced at WWDC. I will continue to watch what else is coming out of WWDC the rest of the week.