Apple vs. Google vs. Microsoft: Who Will Win? | PCWorld.
Apple, Google and Microsoft are locked in a three-way struggle for industry dominance, competing to varying degrees on hardware, computer and cell phone operating systems, applications, entertainment, Internet search and more.
Today, Google owns Internet search, Microsoft owns operating systems and applications, and Apple owns high-end hardware and entertainment and media devices. That may well change, though. So it’s worthwhile to ask: As each company looks to encroach on the turf of the others, which one is best positioned for the future — and which is most likely to fall?
Although Apple is riding high now, it’s the most vulnerable of the three. That’s because its success is built on the singular vision and talent of one person — Steve Jobs.
Read the rest of this entry »
by icanjusttypeanythi via. Reddit
I think some things need to be said out loud, for once, at least things that I’ve noticed:
1. It’s more about equipment than we’d like to admit.
Years ago, I started with a shit film camera. The PJ playing field was divided between those who could afford fast lenses and bodies that allowed quick film loading and those who could not. Talent meant not just knowing how to compose and expose a frame correctly, but also knowing how to trick your goddamn shitty equipment into doing what you want it to do.
Nowadays, especially those of you in college, the playing field is divided between those who can buy adequate equipment to get the job done, and those who can afford fucking MAGIC. Let’s face it: the asshole kid whose dad bought him a D3 and a 400mm f/2.8 is going to have a better sports portfolio than you when you apply to our paper. You’re both talented but we’re too fucking cheap to provide equipment and so was your school. As a consequence, he got all the primary shots he needed for an assignment in the first five plays and spent the next half-hour experimenting with cool angle choices and different techniques while you were still trying to get your 60D to lock focus quickly enough.
True, you can’t pick up a pro camera, set it to P mode and instantly turn into Ansel Adams, but if you’re learning on the same pace as everyone else and you are trying to keep up because your equipment can’t hack it, the difference will be stark, and frustrating. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. underestimated the “staggering” demand for the iPhone 4S when it started sales in China this month, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said.
“We thought we were betting bold,” Cook said about sales of the device in China on a conference call yesterday. “We didn’t bet high enough.”
Crowds pelted Apple’s oldest store in China with eggs on Jan. 13 when the shop in Beijing’s Sanlitun district failed to open on the first day of sales for the iPhone 4S. After Beijing police sealed off the area to remove more than 500 people, Apple announced that it would suspend sales of iPhones at all stores in Beijing and Shanghai “for the time being” to ensure safety.
Read the rest of this entry »
Apple is expected to rapidly deploy support for the new 802.11ac specification this year, adding so called “Gigibit WiFi” to new AirPort base stations, Time Capsule, Apple TV, notebooks and potentially its mobile devices.
The new 802.11ac standard achieves much faster wireless networking speeds than the existing 802.11n specification (in use on the latest Mac, AirPort and iOS devices) by using 2 to 4 times the frequency bandwidth (from 80 to 160MHz), more efficient data transfers through sophisticated modulation, and more antennas (up to 8; existing standards support up to 4, while Apple’s Macs currently use up to 3).
Read the rest of this entry »
The tech and Web community came together for a single cause and won!
Now if only OWS can get their act together..
(Credit: CNET)
(AP) – Yielding to strong opposition from the high tech community, Senate and House leaders said Friday they will put off further action on legislation to combat online piracy.
Read the rest of this entry »
This is just the beginning of the preparations.
Anonymous launched one of the largest hacking attacks in history today.
Gizmodo reports that – in response to the Feds’ shutting down of the extremely popular file-sharing site MegaUpload – Anonymous has shut down the sites of the main corporate copyright enforcers, including:
- Motion Picture Association of America
- Recording Industry Association of America
Anonymous has also shut down the main U.S. governmental copyright enforcers, including:
Plus foreign agencies, including:
- French copyright authority HADOPI
Given yesterday’s success in forcing so many congress members to back off of SOPA and PIPA, the timing could not be worse.
As free speech champion Michael Rivero argued after Anonymous took down DOJ’s website today:
In aligning with the pirates and attacking the DOJ, anonymous has handed the US government more justification for draconian controls on the internet.
I would not be quite so upset if this had occurred after Congress passed a draconian web censorship bill such as SOPA. But the fact that this is happening only 24 hours after the web’s successful protestconcerns me greatly.
Disclaimer: I have never used MegaUpload.com, and so may be underestimating its importance. I also don’t know what percentage of their usage is legitimate free speech, as opposed to piracy.
Anonymous Shuts Down Corporate and Government Websites Worldwide.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Apple’s value on the stock market briefly rose to $400 billion on Thursday, a record high for what was already the world’s most valuable technology company. The company’s market cap slipped below the $400 billion mark by midday as Apple’s (AAPL, Fortune 500) stock fell back from the all-time high of $431.37 it set earlier in the morning. Shares ended the day slightly down, leaving Apple with a $398 billion market value.
At $400 billion, Apple is worth more than Greece – Jan. 19, 2012.
