flint

Why the Magazine Industry Wants Its Own App Store

This is so sad it's laughable. They will try and fail because an agreed standard is not possible between these dinasaurs. They will spend hundreds of millions of dollars for it not to work, just like the record companies. And just like the record companies, they will holler and scream that Apple is too strong, holding them back and too restrictive when really the opposite is true.
For sure they will try but without a manufacturer making a compelling tablet type reader that sells well enough to make their investment in their own store worthwhile, their efforts are doomed to failure.
Why am I so sure? Apple already holds a full hand of aces - the app store and 100,000 apps. This is the added value that makes the purchase of a tablet worth the investment. Tablets are expensive to make and without other compelling content they are barely marketable given netbooks are so cheap.
Will a front end on a netbook or laptop be enough to convince people to cough-up for regular subs to get their magazines? I don't think so... the internet is free... right?
Ok, so Apple is yet to produce a tablet but nobody really believes they won't do they?

Apples to Apples: Will History Repeat Itself as Android Gains on the iPhone?

This is one of those articles that starts with a premise - 'Apple is doomed to fail' by dint of history repeating itself, then tailors each argument to suit this false assumption.
For example:
'In terms of range of products they(Apple) have left every other platform behind. However the business model employed here is easily copied.' Lets see, what exactly is their business model?

Utilise your core strengths in software - 'OSX' and high quality hardware design, manufacturing skills, legendary ease-of-use, beautiful product design, integration, and sheer chutzpah in offering a product so different to anything else on the market. Add in the marketing which actually is small potatoes in terms of overall development costs, build the first online app store to offer decent terms to developers, with lots of goodies for the consumer which is essentially free at the point of entry and what do you get?
Clue... something that is almost impossible to clone without the same level of investment at every stage of the product's life.
You make it sound as simple as sourcing all the bits to produce the same effect for another company.
Your mistake, repeatedly, is to think that all these aspects of a products development are the same for anybody else and that Joe Public will be content with something almost as good as the original.
If it were that simple there would be more than one Apple in the world and we know the answer to that... its just not possible and especially not in the short timeframe available to Apple's competitors.
I don't own an iPhone(I'm waiting for more competitive contract terms here in the UK which will surely follow now that we will soon have three distributors) but have sampled every so-called smartphone available and also handled the Droid. None comes anywhere near the iPhone for all round user satisfaction.... and it seems that the vast majority of it's users think the same. This is the distinguishing factor and it remains to be seen whether the legion of Android phones will get close to the high standard of Apples 3 year old design.
Meanwhile.... Apple is hard at work on the next iteration whilst the rest of the phone world plays catch-up.
No, the next few years will not be like the computer wars - not even close.

Is Cisco Going to Compete with Apple in the Living Room?

@techseer.... that is deliberate irony..yes??

"Apple's not in the same league as Cisco in terms of revenue and market dominance (oh, except for a little music player, sorry). Cisco could crush Apple in anything if it wanted to"

*Sigh*

Ok you got called on the first sentence. Now I'll call you on the second. Just what has Cisco got either intellectually or product wise which could in any way compete with Apple's products??

Of course everyone I know wants $50,000 switchgear to enhance their consumer experience....

Microsoft: Losing Market Share in a Non-Existent Browser Market?

"... its work in surface computing and the Xbox." This is arguably true. But even this technology(and Apple's MultiTouch and Gestures functionality) is only half a step away from existing(human) interfaces.
The Holy Grail would surely encompass neural networking and Holographic Volumetric display where potentially limitless storage, retrieval and processing of information should be possible.

Looking forward, the immediate question is whether a punt on this 'next generation' Microsoft technology, is a worthy investment. My guess is no. I just don't think Microsoft in it's present form is capable of a 'great-enough' vision. The debacle over Yahoo indicates different struggles to ensure future market share functionality.

Time to Stand Up for Steve Jobs

First, thanks for injecting some sanity into what is increasingly becoming a feeding frenzy where morals and common sense are thrown to the dogs. Apart from the insensitivity shown by these commentators, the whole approach seems to be much like a tabloid newspaper where they poke you in the eye then shout guilty when you try to defend yourself. Unprincipled scurrilous behaviour.
The problem for Apple seems to be that, having once pulled back from the brink(though the death-knell arguments were never very convincing), that they are now ripe for media destruction all over again, only to miraculously rise phoenix like from the ashes of the bonfires built by the media pundits themselves using the strawman argument.
I see a rocky road for Apples share price despite their present unparalleled good governance. It's almost as though Apple is expected to excel all the time - something that is never expected of any other company.
Cupertino I expect will just roll their eyes and carry on as usual - with or without Steve Jobs, there is just too much momentum in the company to suddenly fall apart.
Buy, like you never did before. When world financial equilibrium is restored, Apple will dwarf every other 900lb gorilla in their markets.