Category: Information Technology

This week’s news about the Kindle updates has me wondering about MSFT. Something not talked about much, but strikes me as critical:  Amazon’s line-up and array of price-points. Allow people of “lesser means” get into this ecosystem. People will iterate up.

Google Android and Kindle understand this. Get us in, get us great content (which we happily (?) buy), let folks iteratively (I guess that is a word) upgrade; long-term, sustainable growth. Looking back at Microsoft, I worry they won’t get this. They didn’t with the Zune. Every Zune came with premium pricing. Perhaps now with tablets?

Plenty of MSFT devices are coming down the pike (here’s a big run-down of different MSFT Windows 8 tablets & the Surface) and that gives me some hope. Right now, though, there are several Android-eque tablets out there for < $100…(really) and even more for < $200. Without something in this price range, I worry that MSFT will not even be close to relevant.

Well, reckoning time comes soon. Apple’s announcement next week might well add to this. Answers arrive soon, ready or not.

Watched the Amazon press conference today. Well, more apt, I watched the CNet life coverage. The CNet crew are awfully fun. Most importantly, I came away longing for a new Kindle Fire. I don’t need or really want the HD features, and $150 is a comfortable price point for me.

But them I wonder: is the main attraction price point? Trying to cheap-out has always backfired on me. Well, perhaps price is what makes the Kindle attractive. I still like the Nexus. And, really, the iPad. If I was rolling in dough, I’d have one of each! I guess cash is a significant consideration.

So i should really start by considering my wants & needs. Primarily comes Google integration. Mostly email & calendar, but I’m pretty invested in Google stuff; so the more the better. But I’m also an Apple guy. Thus I have music, some video, and several apps from iTunes/iOS. However, not too much. Much of that came free, and/or with Android versions. I also need a solid web browser and Evernote. With those tools in place, I’m able to work with a device. Would I have all that with a Kindle Fire? The only piece I’m not sure about is the web browser. Would I be able to access key sites I use for work? I think I can check out Kindles at Staples, etc. Easy enough question to answer.

Beyond all that, I have a major concern with the whole ereader thing: my corner bookshop. Ereaders have their various ecosystems, and many are available on multiple platforms. However, there’s no place in that world for the local bookseller. Is this shop doomed? Or is there someplace for the printed page? And does resisting ereaders help prevent, or even slow this coming change?

So, I’m sure to make the tablet leap soon. Exactly which device isn’t exactly clear. Several good choices now, a few more coming (iPad mini next week? I’m disappointed there’s no low-cost Windows tablet right now). I guess I will see shortly.

I love some things about this age. I like sitting in bed working. Getting some calm family time, yet also arranging my day, answering email and the like. And making a much delayed blog update without too much effort.

Another “like” is being able to utilize wasted time better. Things like standing in line, waiting for the doctor. I don’t sit reading months old magazines; I get work done.

Crazy side bar: I’ve spent the later half of this year working for a real estate company. Same sort of work, whole new sector. I never would’ve guessed just how tech dependent real estate is. Or can be. Perhaps a piece of this tech utilization is related to locale. We are in a major tech hub. My team lives and breathes via Dropbox and Gmail. Acrobat is additionally critical. Most communication with our sellers is via email, or via website.

Thinking of websites and real estate, one thing I spend time researching are Home Owners Associations, water associations and such. People, in today’s age, there is NO EXCUSE to not have a website with key information. At least post contact information. You must make some effort to be found if you want to be paid.

To answer a requst via Twitter, here is the quick & dirty way to export photos. For this example, we’re putting the pictures on iDisk (MobileMe, if you will).

Open iPhoto, then “File”:

Then select “Export”:

I see a convergece of some troubling trends. First, device providers (such as Apple, Google and Microsoft) are creating devices that heavily utilize the net (smartphones, netbooks and such). On the opposite side we have the ISPs, not just the traditional hard-wire services (Comcast, Frontier, et al), but also wireless carriers (ATT, Verizon, etc). They currently need to throttle access. I see a train wreck coming as they’re moving opposite ways, but critically depend on each other. Somehow, the ISPs need to build out their infrastructure (based on the assumption that the throttling is based on lack of capacity, not on blind greed). It would be great if somehow the device creators, and content creators, could find ways to share revenue with the ISPs. Clearly, such would need to be done so that net neutrality is maintained, anti-trust is ensured and such. Basically, ISPs need to have the increased demand become income, not simply expense.

Hey folks, there’s a nasty Mac specific trojan running through the wild. It looks to be mostly transmitted by social engineering means. Particularly, with alarming “virus alert” messages from an infected website demanding you install MacProtector, MacSecurity, or MacDefendor.

If you have this beast, I recommend following the instructions posted in Apple’s forum.

There are a few discussions about this going on over the web right now. I came across this via Ed Bott’s pieces today over at ZDNet (#1 & #2). Bott’s replies to John Gruber’s “Wolf” post @ Daring Fireball has birthed some interesting discussion, including a clever rip by Walt Mosspuppet. In the end, it seems to be more of the old Mac vs. PC bickering that’s been going on for decades.

My concern, at this point, is that there are those who think that the Mac OS “superiority” towards virus and hack exploits makes them immune from concern. There ARE Mac viri out there. As a long-time Mac user who’s passionate about the platform, I think this attitude is not only bad but dangerous. We should remind people that they should be aware of the latest exploits out there and how to protect themselves. We can’t let ourselves get blinded by arrogance.

So, folks, don’t click on strange links, exercise caution surfing porn (if you must surf it at all), don’t trust alarmist pop-ups, and don’t give out your credit card number to a site that you don’t trust implicitly. To paraphrase a quip by Graham Hibbert (via Twitter), we need to make sure that, when the wolf comes, we are ready.

Now, go and practice safe computing!