By Graham K. Rogers

Opening Gambit:

Apple Stuff

The story is about an Australian mining company and the iPhone is not mentioned once in the story, although a comment writer managed to drag it in.

Biased, incorrect, blatant misrepresentation that spoils an otherwise good thesis. Include Apple in a story and the hits will roll on in.

Earlier in the week we wrote about the problems between Apple and Proview. This week they had a meeting in a Shanghai court and it all sounds rather exciting with a four hour shouting match according to Electronsita. It is clear that Proview did own the iPad name in China with its Internet Personal Access Device and it is also clear that it is currently broke: trying to use the publicity and the name to raise cash from Apple. But there is a dispute about whether they still own the iPad trade name and what any decisions may mean, although I am not sure of the argument that giving Apple the name as it is in China's interests would work in the west. If the case runs and runs, like Jarndyce v. Jandyce in Dickens Bleak House in the end the money may just run out: at least for Proview. They need to settle quickly and for a sensible price.

Later, according to the BBC Business site, Apple did win a reprieve as the earlier decision was suspended pending a major case later this month. But Don Resinger reports that Proview is not done yet as the company that is restructuring Proview is selecting law firms to sue Apple in the U.S. for alleged trademark infringement. They want $2 billion remember.

Another company suing Apple is Brandywine who claim they hold two patents for voicemail features. Steven Sande on TUAW reports on this and, heaven forfend, he uses the words "Patent Troll".

There was a fair amount of comment on the app, Path, and the way it used (or misused) data from Contacts on the iPhone and the app was amended. Apple also changed the rules to make sure that apps like this would ask for permission before accessing any such data. Now there is a further step that must be taken on the insistence of the Attorney General of California we read in an item by Matthew Panzarino on The Next Web: the customers must be told about such uses of data before they download the app. This will apparently match what is the norm at Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

We had heard this rumour as a "what if" idea before, but Brian Caulfield on Forbes is reporting that Apple had given serious consideration to the use of the AMD processors for the MacBook Air last year. But according to the information, AMD was not really ready for the step and Apple would not want to take any risks on something like that. The subsequent sales suggest that the right decisions were made. But what of the future? My money is still on a version or evolution of the A6 or something out of an Apple-only foundry.

With the airing of the ABC Nightline special on Apple this week, we knew there was lots more to come. Josh Ong on AppleInsider tells us that the documentary shows that despite all that automation, the iPad is virtually all handmade. While the ABC page that is Bill Weir's "Reporter's Notebook" that I found has a mix of text (script, interviews) and short video clips. There are 6 pages of this and each page has several clips. I have yet to find a full length version of the Nightline report.

After the transmission, there were a number of statements from the major players: Foxconn, Apple and the Fair Labor Association. Joanna Stern reports on the comments on the ABC News pages. There was clarification concerning one worker's hours; on the rates of pay and differences between entry level and those with experience; and how long discussions with Apple and the FLA had been going on. The ABC page accepts these comments at face value and on the page makes no attempt to qualify them. That may come later of course.

There were also reports as we see in an item by Josh Ong on AppleInsider, that Foxconn had hidden underage employees before an inspection by the FLA. There does however seem to be a contradiction in the statement, "All underage workers, between 16-17 years old, were not assigned any overtime work and some of them were even sent to other departments." As these are of legal working age that statement needs clarification. There is a lot more on how some people there may feel about Apple and the way workers are treated, but the main organisation doing the reporting here may have its own agenda.

And that point was rather interesting with the news from Daniel Eran Dilger that SomeOfUs, the organisation with a petition concerning the way Apple is working in China has changed the petition and removed "a primary claim it alleged against the company, substituting other deceptive wording after collecting tens of thousands of names with its original, very misleading allegations." As I read Dilger's article some of the facts revealed about the organisation and how its claims are misleading the (perhaps) concerned people who sign the petition. The word "agenda" again springs to mind.

I also loved the comments from Dell and HP who were reported in an item by Jon Russell on the Next Web as suggesting that if Apple does insist on pay rises going through for Foxconn workers, that could mean that the prices of consumer goods may rise as other firms follow the leader. Well, the US should really decide what it wants and maybe the media should have been looking at these other companies as well, rather than focussing on the easy target of Apple.

Tim Cook addressed the Apple shareholders meeting about dividends yesterday we read on Huffington Post. There is more cash than is needed (I think we guessed that) but the idea of paying regular dividends is not something that appeals to Apple, nor is the idea of splitting stock ($516 currently). The board is looking at what to do. One shareholder suggested a one-time dividend [and perhaps a gold rush?] "before the expiration of a provision that limits the federal tax rate on dividends to 15 percent."

Another question that had been expected was on the way the board votes for its members and there has been a change there. Dan Gallagher on MarketWatch reports on the meeting and tells us that future elections will be by majority vote. My link for this story was MacDaily News. A more general report of the meeting, including some positive comments on Cook's humour, wit and passion are in an item by Daniel Eran Dilger on AppleInsider.

As well as China, Apple has a major presence these days in Israel but rather than manufacture this is mainly research. We are told by MacNN that Apple are recruiting there are are after a Technical Recruiter -- someone to bring in the tech workers.

While elsewhere, Apple has confirmed that it will be building a data center in Oregon, Dara Kerr reports.

There was a fair amount of column space dedicated to the rumours around Office for the iPad with some saying it was rumour and others saying it was coming. Woody from Phuket writes on InforWorld, Of course it is coming and also suggests it is a foregone conclusion with the idea that it would make a good, "Oh, and one more thing" for Tim Cook. It is a nice analysis, but I still think it is way too late.

Things are changing up at Redmond and Microsoft is no longer enemy number 1 -- we are at war with Eurasia, we have always been at war with Eurasia -- with a positive warmth exuding from the direction of Washington State. Not only are there more and more iPad apps (with the possibility of more to come) but Redmond wants to hold hands with Apple and unite against Motorola-Google over the issues of FRAND patents (Steven Sande reports on TUAW): those that should be offered with Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Descriminatory licensing, often industry standards. But Motorola did not want to play the game and broke its promise and that has upset Microsoft who are unimpressed that Google is not reining in Motorola which it now owns.

A while back we reported on the way the USAF was looking at the iPad to replace the flight bags like the commercial airlines had begun to do. Early this week Wired's spencer Ackerman had a follow up to the earlier ideas with a suggestion that this was almost a done deal and that the considerable interest had gathered pace. The same day that report appeared, Mikey Campbell on AppleInsider reported that the Special Operations Command had cancelled the iPad 2 order and there is some speculation that it was because some Russian software was included. Never mind, those airmen are all fit so a 40-pound bag is nothing; and the extra fuel used doesn't matter either.

A rumour that appears from time to time concerns the smaller version of the iPad, but note the report on the Samsung thing below. Brooke Crothers tells us that a Taipei research firm is reporting that a smaller iPad is in the testing stage and there are some projections about what effect it might have. If it appears of course.

I have been using iCloud since Lion was released but not everyone has made the transition. Dave Caolo writes on TUAW how Apple is encouraging users to move to the new service as time is running short for the eventual closure of MobileMe which is due in June this year.

A rare report of Malware for the Mac this week came in an item from Jeff Gamet on The MacObserver who writes of a new version of Flashback that takes advantage of older versions of Java.

Half and Half

Hmm, yes I will put this in here as it could affect the way we look at Apple. The half-iPad that Samsung created -- the Galaxy Note -- was so praised and lauded by Samsung on its release that a lot may have been taken in by the hype, but Jonathan S. Geller on BGR has had it in his hands (sort of -- it is so ridiculously big for a phone) and describes it as "the most useless phone I've used." He adds in his mini review that it is "too big to be taken seriously" and that it "is a device fit for use only by such a small subset of the human population that I can't fathom how AT&T and Samsung are putting so much marketing resources behind it". It gets worse. I guess he is not impressed. Never mind, send it to Thailand and sell it alongside the BlackBerry stuff.

We read a report on Huffington Post concerning a new work of Art unveiled in London's Trafalgar Square. This is the same piece that is offered as a virtual edition on the [s]edition site. I looked this on Thursday, bought an edition of this and a Damien Hirst, Spots picture and wrote about the iOS App too.

Other Matters

Remember that Google's Schmidt was selling off lots of stock from the company -- about $1.45 billion worth? The Register's Iain Thomson is reporting that this may not have been a regular plan as we were told earlier but because he needs the cash for a divorce settlement. That reminded me of George Lucas who had to raise some cash quickly, so sold a company he had, called Pixar, to a young entrepreneur called Steve Jobs.

There was a shocking story about stalking of underage teens and entrapment by undercover police in the US this week in the NYTimes by Matt Bai. This would not normally get the attention of such a source (nor my attention either) except for the name of the unrepentant defendant: Scott Ritter. I can remember seeing Ritter as a major debating force at the time of the run-up to the Iraq. Now? Sad story.

Hitachi are reporting this week that they have shipped a record 25 million of their 7mm 2.5" hard drives and in the same press release tell us of a new second-generation 7,200 rpm, 7mm drive aimed at the laptop market.

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.