By Graham K. Rogers

Opening Gambit:

Apple Stuff

So now we can work that up into a feeling of disgust against Apple. And although the FLA has reported that Foxconn's factories are way above average, that of course doesn't matter in the game of Apple-baiting as the FLA are already suspect, having been described as a pawn of the garment industry with Laura June on The Verge saying there is scepticism (of course there would be -- this is Apple). The FLA is called a management tool in another article by that same pair who wrote the previous NYTimes smear on Apple. Oh, but there was the thing that was fixed last week about contact data. Let's see . . . something there about user privacy that Apple is not controlling? What next: Apple rips off Growl (see below).

And so it goes.

But others are reporting on what is really happening. One of the comments that we saw in a number of sources, including Electronista (and TUAW above), was that the main problems seem to be boredom and alienation, which with thousands moved to what is basically a new city, is not a surprise. Some entertainment and some music while they work might be appropriate. With the situations in China, Apple is quietly getting on with pressuring the companies and the FLA visit already seems to be a positive. Every positive has a negative, so it was not a surprise to see a report on MacNN on Friday morning concerning the activists SumOfUs "criticizing the president of the Fair Labor Association, Auret van Heerden, for initially approving of Foxconn factory conditions. Inappropriate they say. Too early. Never going to give up are they?

Another positive came this week with the realisation, after his speech at the Goldman Sachs IT show, that Tim Cook was not a clone and does have a real existence. Among others, John Martellaro on The MacObserver, made some very positive comments on this. There were lots of other comments on Tim Cook who is beginning to appear a bit more often now, but one of them was rather interesting a begins to confirm an idea I have mentioned before. Bryan Chaffin on The MacObserver tells us that Cook is not ruling out the idea that Apple could use its own processors in future Macs. The advantages here are formidable, not least as any features designed in would not appear in an Intel chip near you any time soon. We also read in a report by Horace Dediu on ASYMCO that Cook reports more iOS devices were sold in 2011 than all the Macs in 28 years. Some context.

After the original report in the NYTimes that brought Apple to the fore and lots of others commented, we now have the breathless hand-wringing of the intellectuals to contend with. One who is cherry picking to suit an ideological argument is Robert Scheer, someone whom I usually respect but whose bandwagon analysis emphasises only the alleged bad points of the Foxconn operation, blames Apple for these and gets it totally wrong on the realities of how things are at the factories, writing, riding "roughshod over environmental protections, workers' rights and occupational safety standards in order to allow "flexibility" at the massive Foxconn and other plants in China where robotic work is performed by humans under conditions that even Apple has conceded in an internal audit are unacceptable under modern industrial standards". Actually, "were" unacceptable and as the reports from Apple have been making clear (and Scheer includes in that quote) were unacceptable. So they are being addressed.

Scheer continues his Apple attack by bewailing the amount of US money, most of which is not being repatriated, that is involved: profits that were made outside the US, both in terms of production and sales. He ends -- again not mentioning a single other US company that uses the same industrial facilities -- by going for the late Steve Jobs who will not be able to reply. What Scheer does not seem to want to grasp in his criticism -- for example of the inability of the workers to form unions -- is that the laws and mores of the United States do not apply in China, no matter how much I or Robert Scheer may want them to and that blaming Apple for the shortcomings of the American workforce and its political system is an argument that will not work unless the extent of the efforts being made are reported and the other companies are named. Or perhaps he is suggesting that Apple should pull out of China and takes its US investments elsewhere. Perhaps Apple would if it could.

With the problem that stemmed from Proview's actions on the name of the iPad, Apple took some steps of its own and started removing the devices from outlets, before the authorities could. I do not know if that ws to make sure they held on to the iPads or just to stamp feet and get noticed, but Mike Schramm on TUAW reports that these were removed from sale from Amazon China. My guess is that, with the devices so sought after -- and they can ship them elsewhere in the world if need be -- Chinese consumers are going to start moaning and the cause will be placed at Proview's door fairly easily. It should be noted that Proview is reported as being short of cash, so it looks to me as if they are edging close to blackmail (with a legal slant, of course).

However, despite the threats and the actions by Proview, it appears that not all of the authorities are willing to play the game as there may be a lot at stake. The company has been told that the Customs authorities do not think bans on export or import of the iPad are going to fly -- difficult to enforce, Electronista writes. As the Customs are the authority that is charged with enforcement, there is some pragmatism being exercised: many Chinese consumers love Apple products. They are checking with Beijing. Maybe their jobs will be made easier with iPads some time in the future.

As a late note on this, John Paczkowski on All Things Digital reports on some paperwork coming to light (he includes images of the documents) that appear to be a reassignment of the iPad trade-mark in China. We note that one of the countries mentioned in the documents is Thailand. I wonder where Paczowski managed to get this.

That other problem on data access had some swift action from several players this week, including Apple who issued a statement about what should happen -- we read on AppleBitch among others -- and what will be happening. There will be a request for the users to grant access, which of course some will complain about. What prompted the statement may have been another couple of US politicians stepping into the limelight for their brief moment of Apple-tinted fame. Chris Rawson reports on TUAW that Congressmen Henry A. Waxman and G.K. Butterfield have posed a series of questions that Apple are required to respond to in the light of their iOS app developer policies and practices that may fall short when it comes to protecting information. Chris Rawson is kind enough to list the questions and provides a link to Apple's brief response as reported by AppleBitch (above).

I had an email from Apple this week about new promo codes and things on the iBookstore which, as I am fairly unlikely to use until my wares are available in a Thailand store, I filed away. There are more details of this on iPodNN with what Apple is trying to do for those who have serious works that they want to publish.

Apple also released some updated printer drivers according to MacNN. When I read this, I checked, but there was nothing for me. I have not owned a printer in years and the odd things I need on paper are taken to the office where the secretary willingly prints the paper for me.

The Register almost manages a report without being wholly negative on Apple this week when it reported (in its own usual juvenile style) on the delays to an Apple store in Australia caused by the bankruptcy of the builder. Natalie Apostolou writes that Kell & Rigby, who have done work for Apple in Australia before, collapsed and the Brisbane store is expected to be delayed.

Apple did manage to shock me this week. Nothing to do with the factories or with the address book data, but with the PR shots that they use. I have always admired these and sometimes look at them (I have several disks that Apple used to supply when its demonstrators came on the press jaunts here) and wonder just how they produced that level of quality, and why couldn't I? Not enough shots is the simple answer (a lot more besides). We read in an item by Rene Ritchie on iMore who has a link to a video by one of the photographers: depth of field, did you say? 54 photographs from front to back to make sure that every part is in focus. As a note, just above the video (which is only 10 seconds) there is a note: iPod touch shoot, 2 days. Trust the Force, Luke, trust the Force.

There were several other reports by Friday morning, but John Gruber had the first lengthy and informative article on his one on one with Apple that I saw. As he writes it, it is Phil Schiller, spending an entire week on the East Coast, repeating this presentation over and over to a series of audiences of one. That in itself is astounding, but it is sure to make the chosen ones feel and react somewhat differently for sure. He adds a note about these private briefings. "Not merely to explain what Mountain Lion is - that could just as easily be done with a website or PDF feature guide - but to convey that the Mac and OS X remain both important and the subject of the company's attention".

I'll say. Gruber goes through some of the features in his article as he has been using it for a few days and comments that some are bound to look at one feature (the Notification Center) ad suggest Apple is ripping of Growl. I later found (via his Tweet) another article on the upcoming OS X by Jason Snell of MacWorld, who also includes a couple of screen shots (don't get too excited). Fancy, though, one on ones with Phil Schiller. Some who did not get this were less than pleased and were questioning the new strategy, particularly the way Apple has moved the goalposts once again. Read between the lines for example in Matt Brian's, "whipping up Apple fans and product owners into a frenzy" compared to Gruber and Snell (above). A frenzy: please. . . .

We also read on iPodNN some words reported from Tim Cook who in an interview with WSJ said that "Although notebooks and tablets will continue to co-exist, further convergence of the two is a possibility" which suggests that OS X and iOS will move closer as time passes.

With exquisite timing, Apple has announced the release of the Developer Preview of Mountain Lion:

Mountain Lion introduces Messages, Notes, Reminders and Game Center to the Mac, as well as Notification Center, Share Sheets, Twitter integration and AirPlay Mirroring. Mountain Lion is the first OS X release built with iCloud in mind for easy setup and integration with apps. The developer preview of Mountain Lion also introduces Gatekeeper, a revolutionary security feature that helps keep you safe from malicious software by giving you complete control over what apps are installed on your Mac. The preview release of Mountain Lion is available to Mac Developer Program members starting today. Mac users will be able to upgrade to Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store in late summer 2012.

The developer preview of Mountain Lion features the all new Messages app which replaces iChat and allows you to send unlimited messages, high-quality photos and videos directly from your Mac to another Mac or iOS device. Messages will continue to support AIM, Jabber, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk. Starting today Lion users can download a beta of Messages from www.apple.com, and the final version will be available with Mountain Lion. Reminders and Notes help you create and track your to-dos across all your devices. Game Center lets you personalize your Mac gaming experience, find new games and challenge friends to play live multiplayer games, whether they're on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Mountain Lion presents notifications in an elegant new way, and Notification Center provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps. System-wide Share Sheets make it easy to share links, photos and videos directly from Apple and third party apps. Twitter is integrated throughout Mountain Lion so you can sign on once and tweet directly from Safari, Quick Look, Photo Booth, Preview and third party apps. Mountain Lion also introduces AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send a secure 720p video stream of what's on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV.

More than 100 million users have iCloud accounts, and Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to set up iCloud and access documents across your devices. Mountain Lion uses your Apple ID to automatically set up Contacts, Mail, Calendar, Messages, FaceTime and Find My Mac. The new iCloud Documents pushes any changes to all your devices so documents are always up to date, and a new API helps developers make document-based apps work with iCloud.

Gatekeeper is a revolutionary new security feature that gives you control over which apps can be downloaded and installed on your Mac. You can choose to install apps from any source, just as you do on a Mac today, or you can use the safer default setting to install apps from the Mac App Store, along with apps from developers that have a unique Developer ID from Apple. For maximum security, you can set Gatekeeper to only allow apps from the Mac App Store to be downloaded and installed.

Mountain Lion also has features specifically designed to support Chinese users, including significant enhancements to the Chinese input method and the option to select Baidu search in Safari. Mountain Lion makes it easy to set up Contacts, Mail and Calendar with top email service providers QQ, 126 and 163. Chinese users can also upload video via Share Sheets directly to leading video websites Youku and Tudou, and system-wide support for Sina weibo makes microblogging easy.

Hundreds of new APIs give developers access to new core technologies and enhanced features within OS X. The Game Kit APIs tap into the same services as Game Center on iOS, making it possible to create multiplayer games that work across Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. A new graphics infrastructure underpins OpenGL and OpenCL and implements GLKit, first introduced in iOS 5, to make it easier to create OpenGL apps. Using Core Animation in Cocoa apps is easier than ever, and new video APIs deliver modern 64-bit replacements for low-level QuickTime APIs. Enhanced Multi-Touch APIs give developers double-tap zoom support and access to the system-wide lookup gesture. Kernel ASLR improves security through enhanced mitigation against buffer overflow attacks.

A lot to think about there. And as a start, the public beta of Messages was available for download, but when I checked first, there had been a problem. Users were asked to check back in a few hours. I downloaded it around 11pm in the end. I did the installation later and you need to register with an Apple ID. All up and running now and rather good (first impressions).

There was also an update to XCode, we were told by Jeff Gamet on The MacObserver, with the 4.3 version adding support for Mountain Lion Gatekeeper: a method of user control that will see off unauthorised apps.

There is a note on Friday from AppleInsider telling us that a number of older Macs will not be supported. This happens almost every time the OS evolves although some of those included may be a bit of a surprise and may include the older MacBook Pro from 2007 I still have. Chris Rawson on TUAW also writes on this.

And email on Friday morning had my invitation to join the Mountain Lion Developer seed program. Hmmmmm. . . .

Half and Half

We hear that the iPad has taken a hit in sales by a surge of the BlackBerry Playbook. There is more to it than that simple statement of course, and it is not just because it was in Canada, although that may have helped. AppleInsider tell us of a 10% increase in sales of the BlackBerry thing without independent email access due to massive discounts. It was also noted that there was a drop in iPad sales to 68% of the market allowing other devices to pay catchup. iPad 3 anyone?

While we are on statistics for the tablets, it appears that some 26% of doctors in Europe use iPads professionally. Does that mean that 74% of European doctors use iPads unprofessionally? Steven Sande on TUAW reports on a survey of docs in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK who own iPads (so you can ignore my frivolous statement). Uses? They browse medical articles on the web, watch videos, and look up information as well as showing interest in "using iPads to manage and educate their patients." An interactive pic on an iPad sure beats those massive posters in the surgery.

Talk about kicking a corpse, although I am sure this corpse might object to that. Kodak which is in a state of bankruptcy at the moment trying to flog off some of the valuable patents it holds, and under court supervision, is to be sued by Apple for some of those patents we are told by Electronista.

We are told by Foss Patents that Apple has won its injunction against Motorola on the Slide to Lock patent. It will probably be appealed and work its way through the system.

Other Matters

Local Items

Photos that aren't relevant (not a picture of you) are often deleted by moderators. This is an attempt to keep profiles interesting as some users just upload pictures of cats/cartoons or scenery. If the pictures were of you then please accept my apologies - you can email them to me and I will attach them to your profile.

When I saw the reference to cats, I had to chuckle as a number of users I know here and in the US regard cats as important parts of their lives and would be aghast if their photos of Fluffy or Snuffles were deleted. The unnamed moderators have made decisions on what a user is or is not allowed to use to indicate who they are: a profile. This is censorship.

We read of an expansion of broadband availability in Singapore in an item by Lim Yan Liang on the Straits Times, who reports of a fifth company called MyRepublic that has joined the others and will provide a next generation broadband service for consumers.

As part of a review of Scribble Press, an app that gave children the tools to write their own ebooks, I made some criticism of the Thai government One Tablet Computer, One Child initiative, that I think was little more than an election gimmick and is likely to fail. As an example of what can happen when an effective program is keenly initiated by educators, Alan Schwarz of the NYTimes has an item on a school in North Carolina.

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.