By Graham K. Rogers

Opening Gambit

Apple Stuff

There is so much noise once again that I decided to separate the financial side of things this time into a Cassandra FUD special that is now available. Read that and despair, but click on the ads if you feel you must.

Surely not a coincidence: within hours of the Q2 figures being put out, Apple announced the dates for the WWDC conference. BY next morning there were reports that Apple had sold out in 3 minutes (Lex Friedman Macworld): some said 2. There were lots of comments on WWDC.

One from Erica Sadun on TUAW points out that because the sessions (and WWDC) are oversubscribed, Apple is offering video feeds for registered developers. This will be a great help to those in far-flung places (like here) who are short of time and may not be able to afford the fees.

On that, Apple announced on one of its WWDC pages that there would be 150 student scholarships to WWDC:

We will award a limited number of scholarships to student developers. The deadline to apply for a WWDC 2013 Student Scholarship is May 2, 2013 at 5 p.m. PDT.

There is also the comment on videos of the conference sessions on that page.

A press release from Apple outlined some of what will be on the agenda at WWDC, June 10 through June 14 at San Francisco's Moscone West, including learning "about the future of iOS and OS X, enabling them to create incredible new apps with innovative features." And . . .

• More than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies; more than 1,000 Apple engineers supporting over 100 hands-on labs and events to provide developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and OS X technologies in their apps;
• the latest innovations, features and capabilities of iOS and OS X, and how to enhance an app's functionality, performance, quality and design;
• the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS and OS X developers from around the world - last year more than 60 countries were represented;
• engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with leading minds and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment; and
• Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone, iPad and Mac apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

There have been a number of patents revealed this week that suggest Apple's closer involvement with the automobile industry. Patently Apple discusses one that would be invaluable here, or anywhere there is a large car park: ever lost your car, missus? The patent relates to future iPhones being able to locate your vehicle in a multi-tiered parking lot. This could actually be any place where a vehicle can be parked, stored, or docked. Where did we leave that aircraft carrier?

One patent which I am sure I have seen mention of before is reported by Mikey Campbell on AppleInsider, and this is preceded by discussion of that location patent. The second one on the page appears to be a more "intelligent replacement for existing automobile personalization systems offered by some manufacturers . . . which interact with the car . . . to open doors, roll down windows, start the engine, and so forth". Patently Apple also have information on this but provide more details and discuss the moves that Apple is currently involved in with some vehicle manufacturers, particularly regarding Siri.

Apple has had some problems in China of late despite it being a massive market that Apple wants to succeed in and Tim Cook's particular regard for the country. Now there is news from Kevin Kwang that Apple is to be fined some $118,000 for copyright infringement of three Chinese books: Apple did not have permission before selling the books on the Apple App Store.

An interesting note appeared on Thursday morning regarding an offer to have a cup of coffee with Tim Cook. This is not a free-for-all invitation to the Cupertino café but a charity fund-raising effort that Cook has initiated to raise an estimated $50,000 to support the The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. It is an auction, Jordan Kahn reports on 9to5Mac and there are strings attached. Pay your own travel expenses, and submit to vetting, which might cover the suggestion that one Tweeter made about Scott Forestall taking part in the proceedings.

Another Tweet gave me a laugh when AppleBitch posted: "Coffee with Tim Cook comes with two free sugar cubes, but you need to buy a $29 spoon & the espresso version will come later this year".

By Friday morning (here) Josh Lowensohn was reporting that the bidding had reached $210,000 and adds that a new Lamborghini Gallardo is cheaper.

We also hear that the revised plans for Apple's new campus in Cupertino have been submitted to the city planners, AppleInsider reports, "adding a few enhancements to the original proposal, including the addition of bicycle pathways and a slightly revised timeline." That campus plan looks wonderful. I wonder if Steve Jobs left a secret message in the design. . . .

There is other Apple/Mac input this time. One of the items I pulled out concerned the idea of switching to a Mac that has been aired before, but new users may not be aware of all resources available. Christopher Breen on MacWorld looks like he has a "Switching to the Mac" series and this week I looked at the article he wrote about buying a Mac. This is something I get asked from time to time and my first comment is usually, Why? Followed by what are you going to use it for?

Also from MacWorld is an item from Christopher Breen on sharing calendar. This would be useful for those in business, or families, although the facility does seem slightly complex: never mind, Christopher explains it clearly and is one of several this week I am saving for when I have more time to read and digest.

Lots of sites were reporting on Friday morning that the Twitter application for the Mac had been updated with support for Retina display among other things, while Mike Schramm on TUAW reports that the "biggest update is that you now get a camera icon when you're composing a tweet".

Half and Half

Other Matters

Instead of modifying it, the Home Office (Interior Ministry) insisted on going ahead saying such a system of surveillance was needed. Nick Clegg withdrew the Lib-Dem support and so the government cannot have a majority to push the bill through.

Mark my words on this (I am not wagging my finger): the bill will be back. Perhaps it will be in another form, perhaps some provisions will be diluted, but US allies feel that they must have high levels of citizen surveillance: what are they afraid of?

A contract is a contract and RT dot COM are reporting that "Iceland's Supreme Court has ruled that Valitor (formerly Visa Iceland) must pay WikiLeaks $204,900 per month or $2,494,604 per year in fines if it continues to blockade the whistle-blowing site."

An update on the problems with SimCity. EA promised to fix many of the complaints and apparently issued a patch. However, as Electronista reports, things have gone from bad to worse as some aspects of gameplay are worse, with a reported overall worse gameplay experience. Fans took to the Internet and complained. As a note, Electronista tells us that the Mac version will be out on 11 June. No thanks.

It does actually get worse as Barbara Ortutay on the Huffington Post is reporting that Zynga's Q1 2013 financial report has some good news and some absolutely awful news. A small profit was made. Revenue dropped. A N D "The number of daily players dropped 21 percent to 52 million, from 65 million." There is more in the article.

A report from Electronista also tells us that EA are laying off 10% of the workforce. And this is not for the first time. With the help being offered from other companies, it may be that some of the personnel will be able to find work quickly, but what of EA?

The web page saving service, Instagram has been sold to Betaworks, who are the same group that bought Digg, AppleInsider reports.

Local Items

With the channel changes, the digital data that was provided with the app was almost useless as well as that had not been updated, which seems a bit odd. But there you have it, anything about True and customer service (I use the term loosely) is odd. The reply told me that they would pass it to the relevant department for further improvement regarding the stated subject, which sounds to me as if they had forgotten or just not bothered. It certainly also sounds like a case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing.

A report in the Bangkok Post this week had me both despairing and laughing. Not that the Post did anything wrong: they simply reported the results of an ABAC poll on Thailand's readiness for the Asean Economic Community. A staggering 61.7% of those polled "believed Thailand is ready for the establishment" of the AEC. I am pulling my hair out at work trying to make some progress to have the English weaknesses recognised (note also the English First survey that puts Thailand 53 out or 54)

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has apparently arrived in Thailand and a Tweet from Richard Barrow sent me to the 2Mobile Cafe site which has a series of images taken with the camera of this device. So-so for quality (maybe the photographer) but the last three are interesting as they were taken at night, and we all know what happens with an iPhone camera after dark.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.