Why Microsoft “don’t get it “

For a while I have been ‘coming over from the dark side’ – that is to say I have been embracing the world of Apple. To some that classes me as a geek, historically Apple products were the preserve of the ‘Guardian reader’ set, not a bad thing in any way, but a stereotype that probably didn’t help their marketing! This puts me in the minority, but if I am honest I don’t care, as I find the Apple way so much less stressful.

With the massive growth of the iPod, iPad and iPhone, Apple are now a major player in the hardware market (for example they have almost 80% of the tablet market). Historically they have been weak in the world of software – and by weak I mean they did not have the business market particularly catered for – that was the province of Microsoft – and still is. But for how long?

Computing in the business and home market is going mobile, we are all getting smartphones, and the tablet is making desktop computing far less of a necessity. Our PC at home is used rarely now, either iPad or Mac has taken over. Consequently we are all keen to have our data available where ever we are – cloud computing by any other name. And who is doing this best and appears to have a game plan going forwards?

In my view it’s Apple and not Microsoft. I have started using Apples iCloud with its Numbers and Pages packages – all my documents are automatically available on all my devices (including my PC). The program’s are nothing like as ‘belt and braces’ as Word or Excel, but who uses anything like the full potential of those packages – they are just too complicated! Also on an iPad the Numbers spreadsheet is way better than anything Microsoft or any third-party converter can offer.

Apples iCloud is in its infancy, MobileMe was not a success, but the mobile OS has developed and I think we will see great things from Apple over the next few years in mobile data sharing and working – they never get things wrong more than once!

And what about Microsoft? Windows 8 is just about to appear and from what I have heard it is just Windows 7 with a weird front end. Their Office package has a web version, but it is not catching on (probably due to being too complex). Microsoft may be about to start to see the end of their dominance – a good thing?

 

How much time does a PC lose you in a week?

I am writing this on my iPad while I wait for my Microsoft based Laptop to be repaired by scan fix – it tells me that I have a very nasty Rootkit type thingy which has rather upset my laptop. Now I am not a ‘dodgy’ user and am usually rather careful about what I open on my PC, but this time I have been caught out and we are now at around two hours and counting since my laptop became unusable.

This rather annoys me, (actually it really annoys me) as it is totally un-necessary. If I was using a Mac I wouldn’t be suffering from the scumbags that create these ‘bots’ and virus things. It has also set me thinking, Microsoft have the computer market firmly clasped by the privates, most business environments use Windows and other Microsoft packages. But you and I are fully aware of the down time that we all suffer from their software being the target of certain sections of society. Yes, windows 7 is much better, but there is still the issue of viruses etc that are nearly all aimed at the PC user.

If we didn’t suffer crashes and the other viral issues etc how much more work could we get done? A search of the Internet doesn’t come up with any figures for this, but it does bring up pages of details about crashes!

So if I ignore the enforced crashes and just look at boot times (to a fully useable state) for my laptop and mac this suggests the following;

Laptop average boot time – 4 minutes
Laptop turn off – 1 minute
MacBook average boot time – 1 minute
MacBook turn off – 15 seconds

That’s an extra 3 minutes and 45 seconds a day because I use a PC

So over a year that’s almost 20 hours wasted before we suffer any crashes or the delightful “program is not responding” messages. I believe we are probably looking at probably a working week a year lost to the PC – I think on that basis Microsoft should be paying me for using their software – not the other way round!

Reliance on one system is never healthy, it is about time that more people moved away from Microsoft – you never know it might even increase the time you have to work!

 

iPad 2 or 3?

spot the difference?

After all the hype Apple finally launched the new iPad this week – I say ‘the new iPad’ because they don’t appear to be clear as to its official title. Apple are referring to the new iPad, not iPad 3 or iPad HD as the press were suggesting. Going for a generic ‘iPad’ moniker is probably sensible as it would sound silly in a few years time to say iPad 8!

The launch has set me thinking if I would want a ‘new iPad’ – it’s not a simple decision because the new one isn’t as different as it might have been. The retina display is a nice touch (it is amazing on the iPhone 4) but that is a small screen that benefits hugely from the extra definition. The iPad user is only really going to notice the better resolution on HD movies or photo editing, not something that is important to me at this time in the way I use my iPad..

Also the new unit is slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2, not a particular step forward in my view. Also are people really going to use a tablet to video or take photos? A better camera is nice, but again I can’t see a benefit for me.

So I am happy to stay with my iPad 2, I can see it giving many years of use like most Apple products. Having said that I am sure Apple will sell as many of the ‘new iPad’ as they can produce – so what do I know?

 

Sinclair ZX81

Having blogged about the Raspberry Pi the other day it set me thinking about the old Sinclair ZX81 in the attic at my Mums. The ZX81 ‘the first home computer’ was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Scotland by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair’s ZX80 and was designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public. It was hugely successful and more than 1.5 million units were sold before it was eventually discontinued in 1984. It even found success in the United States, where Timex manufactured and distributed it under licence.

Little did I know that this week is actually the 31st anniversary of its launch! When you consider what modern technology can do it is interesting to look at the spec (and price) that was a cutting edge machine in 1981!

Introductory price – £49.95 for the kit, £69.95 for the assembled machine (equivalent to £143 – £200 in 2012).
Operating system Sinclair BASIC
CPU Z80 at 3.25
Memory 1 kB (64 kB max. 56 kB usable)
Display Monochrome display on UHF television
Graphics 24 lines x 32 characters or 64 x 48 pixels graphics mode
Dimensions 167 millimetres (6.6 in) deep by 40 millimetres (1.6 in) high
Weight 350 grams (12 oz)

Even the most basic mobile phone is way more powerful than this today – who says we haven’t made progress over the last 30 years!

 

More proof (if it was needed) that Apple products just work!

it's all in the hinge....

This week I have been on the hunt for a case for an iPad, I already have ‘a solution’ on my personal iPad which works perfectly – but it is too costly for a work funded iPad. Let me explain;

On my iPad I have an Apple smart cover - the one that folds back into a triangle to support the machine for typing etc. it has a magnetic bar that holds it onto the iPad and clever hinges that work brilliantly. It is however £60 (it’s a leather one), it still needs a case for the rear of the machine (brilliantly provided by an Incipio smart feather case). Total cost around £85, but it works and I am very happy with it – especially the Apple bit!

So I have been looking for a cheaper alternative for my second iPad – shouldn’t be difficult. – right?

Well actually it is very difficult, there are lots of cheap imitations of the Apple product, but they just don’t work as well – they are not all bad (although some are), just not as good!

I have ended up with a ‘Skinny’ from STM, it is £35 and is not exactly what I was after but appears to work how I want it to. What it has highlighted to me though is that there is a lot of rubbish out there from manufacturers for apple products and although Apple products are expensive they all have something in common – they just work!

 

iPad two years in…..

Amazingly the iPad is two years old (last week) – it has taken me two years to get into the iPad owners club, but I have to say now I have one I can really see the attraction!

When it was first launched there were a large number of people who said it was a pointless piece of kit which would never take off – well history has proved them wrong – and it is still in my view the machine to beat.

Why? Well it is a well worn adage about all things Apple – but it just works.

Hand an iPad to almost anyone and they can get into using it very quickly because everything is so intuitive. We have a number of ‘new users’ in the office and they just love it. They are all iPhone users but the experience is so much richer and better on the iPad.

Since getting mine a few weeks ago I have found a number of things that are better than I expected (and I had high expectations). They include;

Browsing – so quick and easy on a touch screen device, our desktop PC at home is slow and is becoming used much less because of this.

Wordprocessing – I have downloaded the ‘Pages’ app and have found it brilliant. the keypad on the iPad works really well (despite what some people say). And using iCloud allows me to share the files across my devices and keeps them synced.

Spreadsheets – The ‘Numbers’ app is also brilliant and allows me to use graphs on my iPad – something that other spreadsheet apps don’t allow. It syncs to iCloud as well.

Evernote – If you don’t use this you are really missing a trick – it is superb.

Games – I am not big into gaming but some of the driving games are amazing.

So all in all I love my iPad, it is not a total replacement for my laptop but it goes a long way towards it. The big plus is the fact that is instantly on. I am sure that Apple will develop the OS even more over the next few years which can only make it better!

And iPad 3 is due in only a few weeks?

 

iPad – a laptop replacement?

I have recently joined the iPad owning millions – due to a ‘significant’ birthday and a very generous wife (thanks Wendy!). I have been a fan of the iPhone ever since we got them at work and have been lusting after an iPad since they came out a couple of years ago.

Is the divide becoming blurred?

Well, now I have one and I have been giving it a bit of a ‘shake down’ to see what I can use it for at work to help ease my day. I have a laptop which runs Windows 7 which is my day-to-day machine, but I have always felt that the iPad could take some of the load – and be much quicker and portable! I am still working on this but will report on my thoughts shortly.

It appears however that I am not alone in this belief as we have been bringing a few iPads into the firm to try out in a variety of our departments. The general consensus appears to be that they are useful and being used more and more. This also appears to be a general trend across the world – recent research has found quite a high percentage of iPad use in the business environment already.

The role of the iPad in the enterprise was explored by IDG Connect in their “iPad for Business Survey 2012″. The survey found that 12 percent of workers indicated that the iPad has “completely replaced” their traditional laptop. Another 54 percent said the iPad has “partly” replaced their laptop, and instead complements it on the go.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that they ‘carry their laptop around less’ now that they own an iPad.

So it appears that the tablet that ‘no one would want’ according to much of the IT world is starting to take over! Yet another example of the genius that was the late Steve Jobs.

 

The end of an era for music?

The new vinyl?

I grew up in the age of vinyl and the single, album and EP – words that probably mean nothing to current teenagers, but rather defines my age group. At college we all shared music by recording each others albums onto cassette (which got surprisingly good before its demise). We then embraced the CD and the start of the age of digital music. I was still happy with the CD, it gave me a ‘hard copy’ of the music that I could do with as I wished. It is probably an age thing, but I still can’t bring myself to download music from iTunes (unless it’s free) – partly because of the lack of a ‘hard copy’ and partly due to the sample rate – the quality is really not as good.

I do however accept that I am a dying breed – the download generation is with us – and it is even a religion now!

So perhaps it’s surprising that 2011 was the first year that digital music sales surpassed physical media sales. But, it’s finally happened. Mark it down: 2011 was the year that the world is officially a digital music consumer – and I am consigned to the ‘has been’ consumer for music!

A report by Billboard has revealed that 50.3 percent of all music sales in 2011 were digitally purchased, up 8 percent from last year. Sure, it was only a matter of time, but if I am honest I had assumed that the digital music revolution toppled sales of CDs years ago.

The major influence in all this? It is clear that Apple, Steve Jobs, and the revolutionary iPod completely turned the industry on its head. Napster may have started the revolution, but Apple’s iPod was the death knell for physical media. But I would suggest that this evolution in music consumption is far from over. Streaming music through applications like Spotify and iCloud, potentially, could really take us into a period where we finally have access to history’s entire library of music for a monthly fee – something we accept for TV access already.

That’s still a big leap for me – I still love my CD’s, but it is the start of a trend that will without doubt slowly envelop even me.

 

Thanks Apple!

a bit of an upgrade!

I blogged a month or so ago about my 1st Edition iPod Nano – the first of the thin apple iPods and my favourite by a long way. I purchased it whilst on holiday in Chicago a few years ago and it has provided sterling service ever since – either in my car (now replaced by my iPhone) or now in a dock in the conservatory hooked up to a stereo unit.

Apple contacted me in November to say the unit had an issue with its battery – it could catch fire when charging – so a box was sent out for me to return the unit for a replacement to be sent back to me. They said to allow six weeks for the exchange unit to arrive.

Now – I am a bit of a geek – so I tend to read many of the Apple ‘techi’ web sites, it is amazing what you can learn from them and this was no exception!

Not long after the world-wide replacement program was announced the rumours started about what the replacement unit would actually be – the original documentation said a similar first edition unit. But, as time passed the rumours suggested Apple had an issue – they didn’t have enough spare parts as so many units had been returned to them (obviously they last longer than even Apple expect!). Initial rumours were then along the lines of Apple waiting to get as many units back as possible so they could cannibalize them – not a popular choice but acceptable to me.

However, more recent posts on the sites have suggested that Apple are actually sending out the latest Nano as a replacement – that is the 6th edition with the colour touch screen that can also be used as a watch! Now this did get me a bit excited I will admit – although I was not counting my chickens on this!

But, I have now received my email confirming the replacement is on its way to me – and guess what? The product model code it states in the email is indeed a 6th edition Nano – Result!

So I have gone from a 2GB 1st edition to an 8GB 6th edition at no cost due to Apples fantastic customer service approach.

Way to go Apple!

 

About time Microsoft!

One of the Microsoft ‘fanboys’ main complaints about the world of Apple products and software is that it is a very ‘closed’ system. Apple maintain very close control over what people can run on their Macs, this is arguably why there are no significant virus issues on Macs (and why the average Mac user is so smug!)

Microsoft have therefore in many people’s view been part of the problem with current virus and trojan issues – IE6 has been ‘full of holes’ for years but is still one of the main browsers used around the world. Also the people who use it are mostly going to be the ones who don’t have sufficient security on their PC’s thereby allowing remote control or access by ‘bad people’.

Microsoft have acknowledged that IE6 is a nail for a while but have done nothing more than ‘suggest’ people upgrade!

Well finally they are going to act and actually update people’s machines without their consent! Not quite true as you will be able to opt out (not sure why you would) but if you have auto update activated (and everyone should) it will push either IE8 to XP users or IE7 to Vista and Windows7 users.

Perhaps this will finally start to make the job of the spammers more difficult – and perhaps Microsoft are finally discovering that Steve Jobs was correct all those years ago when he fell out with Bill Gates – control is good!