By Graham K. Rogers

Opening Gambit

Apple Stuff

Another company closely linked to supplying components for Apple is LG who AppleInsider report are on the verge of putting new screens for an iPad mini with Retina display into production as early as next month.

In another article, AppleInsider reports that an analyst says the iPad mini with Retina display is coming in Q3 (Fall, as Tim Cook suggested) and that a revised version will be released in the new year.

A further report on supply chain movements came from Patently Apple who mention new iPhone components. There is also information about the automation that is being installed in some of the factories. That will please the NYTimes although I expect they will blame Apple for thousands of out of work Chinese at some time in the future.

Also on Patently Apple was some news about the Mac Pro, which lurches to a release at some time in the next few months. With Intel having just announced a new 22nm Xeon processor, there is some thought that this might be perfect for the update should Apple choose this.

One of the reasons that not everyone has an iPhone (and perhaps why the cheap iPhone is a dream of frustrated analysts) is because of the conditions that Apple sets before a carrier is allowed to get its hands on the device. It is perhaps mainly about the commitment to thousands of the handsets over a period of years. Neil Hughes on AppleInsider reports the findings of Horace Dediu who estimates that some 2.8 billion people are unable to access the iPhone because of Apple' conditions. But then, trying to make all those phones might create a costly problem in quality control: limited is safer.

Apple does not do very well in the German courts (see below) and Jordan Kahn reports on 9to5Mac that a Berlin court has told Apple it must change policies for managing customer data on its websites, as currently the terms are in breach of German laws.

In recent months I have been frustrated by the number of ill-informed commentators on Apple - some have only woken up to Cupertino in the last 12 months or so - and their poor interpretations of what Apple does. Wall Street has not helped by wanting everything. And now. But also by talking down the share price when they had talked it up only a few months before, shooting themselves and their investors in the collective feet. Some commentators - as well as myself of course - have been highly critical of this output, but in a world where people would rather read Rob Enderle than someone who has been following Apple for years, what can you expect?

One comment from Horace Dediu last week, that there was nothing wrong with Apple and that critics of Tim Cook calling for his ouster were neophytes, did hit home in some quarters and, although there are still those who will always think Apple is wrong/dying there has been a little less in the last few days. That was followed by a couple of comments from the establishment who clearly do not think much is wrong with Apple. In the first place, the Fortune 500 list for 2013 was published and Apple moved up, Electronista reports, from 17 to 6: Top 10 for the first time. Don Reisinger also has some information on this turn of events.

But that was not the only influential list as the Barron's 500 was also released and that had Apple at number 1, with Barron's Jacqueline Doherty writing, "Apple has shown what it takes - terrific sales growth and wisely deployed cash flow - to be a winner in our annual ranking" and that was while noting that the stock price had taken a beating [My source for this was MacDaily News.]

A note here on that share price, after going under $400 a coupleof weeks ago, the market (like Barron's) has taken note of the realities behind the company itself and the price was up to $460 on Tuesday.

Now, the financial bullies are beginning to see a different (or the real) picture and some of the cowardly analysts are putting their forecast prices up again. Neil Hughes reports on AppleInsider about the change of heart of one of these. Another appears to be that Greenlight Capital, who made such a fuss and did a lot of damage to Apple's share prices a few months ago, have decided to increase the number of shares owned, Neil Hughes reports on AppleInsider. Hypocrites: moral bankrupts (not AppleInsider).

We are all for letting children just get on with things when it comes to iOS devices. Several of my colleagues have iPads and kids. It is interesting to watch under-5s handle these computing devices as if they have been doing it all their lives. I suppose they have really. Most play games, but there is an educational element in many of the games my friends' kids have, so I was interested to see an app review by Kelly Hodgkins on TUAW that outlines two apps - Kodable and Hopscotch -that are aimed at teaching children about the basics connected with coding.

I am often pleasantly surprised by how little apps cost with many really good ones being free or just $0.99. I have a couple of expensive ones, but these are priced for content. I guess what developers lose in price per unit, they make up in numbers; and with an audience potentially in the several millions, one succesfful app could make a lot of money (less Apple's 30% of course). Also less the development costs, the time, the investment of signing up for the developers' system with Apple, a home or office, heat, light, staff (if you have them) and so on. Dave Addey is a developer and thinks that apps are priced too cheaply.

One thing he points out is that although there are 155 app stores, there are only 25 separte ones. So the Thai store would be under Singapore, I guess. One problem for him is the lack of a trial version: customers have to take it or leave it; and price is always a consideration for many. He does look at a number of alternative ways to increase revenue, but comes back to the time-limited trial version, something which works so well on the desktop computer. He also examines the idea of paid upgrades.

Both of these are good suggestions and ones which I would go for. I sometimes buy an in-app purchase as a way to say thank you, but not everyone is like that; and there is one really nice app I have that has an in-app purchase to "buy a beer" for the developer. Nice touch.

I have reported on the ways the iPad use has been expanded, such as in the medical profession and by airliines, but Steve Sande on TUAW also points out that there is growing use of the device as a form of cash register.

I use Apple's Notes as a way to jot down some information from time to time, but mainly because it synchronises between iOS devices and the Macs I use, so (like WriteRoom with its use of DropBox) I can have the notes on all devices I use. Sandro Cuccia of The Mac Observer makes some suggestions as to how users may get the best out of this app.

I put hints and tips here as a way to assist users get the best out of their devices: OS X or iOS. I do not approve of all and one from Christopher Breen on MacWorld this week has me a little bemused: a case of it'll be all right on the night. I know that in OS X it is possible to reverse the colours. It is part of what is now called Accessibility; pressing Control + Option + Command + 8 will do it on my computer and can give you a fright if you do not know what it is. The MacWorld article highlights a case in which an iPad did this after a user dropped it (not recommended). As it was out of warranty the user (and friends) gave it a whack. It worked. As dropping it caused a connection problem, more violence was the answer. Care, people.

A little more safe is a tip from Sharon Zardetto on MacWorld concerning the Finder Path bar. This is often overlooked but she explains what is is, what it can do and how to get much more out of it than most users will. I must admit, I was rather surprised about some of the tricks she outlines.

Half and Half

The EU has issued a Statement of Objections to Google to go with the one that Samsung had over the "outrageous" behaviour concerning licencing of the patents: the patent holder has to licence and at a Reasonable (or fair and reasonable) level, while Motorola/Google/Samsung must have misinterpreted that as "get whatever you can." As Apple was willing to enter into a licensing agreement, the problem was the price and the EU are unimpressed with Motorola on this.

Some more on this was reported by Jordan Kahn on 9to5Mac who tells us in the headline that the "EU Commission says Motorola's injunction against Apple in Germany amounts to abuse, prohibited by antitrust law" [Cue the sounds of lawyers running in all directions].

In another case in the US, Google and several handset makers have filed friends of the court briefs to try and stop the Apple request that certain Samsung devices be banned from sale, Jeff Gamet reports for the MacObserver

There are some people that should not make announcements, and some of these come from Redmond. We have seen several foot in mouth comments from the current CEO, Steve Ballmer (iPhone and iPad - duds he suggested) and the former CEO, Bill Gates is also prone to making sweeping statements that people think are the words of some god who cannot be wrong. He missed the Internet of course. There was nothing particularly brilliant about MS DOS, that was bought for $10,000 from a developer. The user lock-in was something else. And that is where we are now with the iPad.

But Bill thinks this is all wrong (well, he would wouldn't he) as despite faffing about with tablet computer for years before Apple had a go, things did not take off. Apple took charge, with iOS instead of that nasty Windows and the rest is history. However, at Microsoft, the iPad success is ignored and users are wrong. When the Surface was introduced, we were all told that what they really wanted was a keyboard, and for those who want them with iPads there are options. Most however are quite happy to tap and pinch away. Wrong says Bill Gates in an interview. With no keyboard, the iPad is frustrating, Zac Hall reports on 9to5Mac. That is not the impression I have when watching those kids, nor the hundreds I see with the device in this city day by day.

Also taking up this report and Gates' comments was Yoni Hessler on TUAW who adds that the market share for the iPad for the first quarter of this year was 39.6% as opposed the the 1.8% share for the Surface. It looks like what users do not want is a Surface, or a fan, or a full Windows system; but they do want more storage space.

With the iPhone and the iPad, Microsoft has been caught looking the wrong way, twice, and they are convinced of their own infallibility, despite the sales figures and other facts. 1.8%, eh? It looks to me that a keyboard is what they do not want.

There were a lot of negative comments on this view by Gates, but Ben Bajarin (comparing Gates to Jobs) suggests he is really for the business audience. I leave my link to MacDaily News as they do a good job, with suitably sharp comments on shooting this item down.

Other figures put out by Cannaccord confirm that Apple make a sizeable profit from the iPhone and is still the dominant player, Electronista reports, even though Samsung is catching up. These are the only two companies actually making real profits from Smartphones (LG made 1%) with Apple ahead at 57%. Note also that Samsung has more models.

A further report - this time from Piper Jaffray - examines the mobile web traffic share in the US and this shows that Apple has the lead and this is getting bigger. In the most recent figurs, Mikey Campbell reports, Apple's share is 69% while Android (all of Android, not just the Samsung bit) is 26.5%. The analyst believes the share is big because, "the iPhone is the most popular smartphone platform in the U.S.; iOS users are generally more engaged with their devices than their Android counterparts; and the iPad's influence in the tablet marketplace, which is seen to drive more traffic than a smartphone due to a Web-friendly form factor". Buy an Android device because it is not Apple and be unable to use it? That's smart.

Other Matters

Additional to this, Mary Jo Foley reports that Windows Blue, which is probably the next update (8.1) to Windows, and supposed to fix all the problems 8 has, will be fully announced in the next couple of weeks. There was much useful information about what it will, or will not be, in the article.

I suppose it was inevitable but in the US, the Senate has passed a bill which will tax sales over the internet, an area which so far has remained free of such levies. The Bill would allow "states to levy taxes on Internet purchases," so that means international purchases will still be exempt. Steve Musil reports that the legislation now moves to Congress for consideration and if they vote Yes, it will almost certainly become law. Billions of dollars are at stake and (of course) major retailers backed the Bill.

This week Adobe made a number of announcements about Creative Cloud and its Adobe Creative Suite 6 which will be accessible from the cloud with Adobe changing licencing totally (like Microsoft is trying to do with Office). Cody Fink on MacStories gives a complete run down of the changes and some of the implications.

I also saw a lot of Tweets on this with some long-time users saying they were ging to pull the plug and move to something else. Kevin Bostic on AppleInsider looks at some of the opinions being expressed and finds a split. Adobe's business models make it unattractive for me and I long for the day when Flash is no longer needed so I can avoid that awful website of theirs.

I mentioned last week the way the Echelon partners seem to take turns at demanding improved access to users' messages, and like the hot potato that it should be, this week we hear that it is New Zealand's turn. Mike Masnick on TechDirt reports that rather than porn, or terrorism, or even sheep stealing, the case of Kim Dotcom is being rolled out as the Kiwi's need for better surveillance tools.

Not that it seems to have stopped them as the article does mention a number of illegal cases of spying by the NZ authorities. That seems to be a pattern in most countries as if the laws do not allow it, they go ahead and do it anyway. Or even if they can get warrants, they don't bother and just carry out the surveillance. It sounds as if we need protecting from law enforcement agencies more than from criminals.

And a Dutch plan to authorize the police there to break into any computer or mobile device, anywhere, looks set to go ahead despite the obvious risks. Glyn Moody on TechDirt outlines some of the potential problems. I would also bet that if this does go ahead, other countries will be asking for help. . .

As I suggested a number of years ago in the articles I wrote on Echelon, not only do the authorities in the US have the ability to monitor all phone calls, a former agent said in an interview that they do this as a matter of course, Mike Masnick reports for TechDirt. Not that they can present the evidence in court (illegal surveillance) but this may help an investigation.

At the annual TIPA awards, Epson was awarded a prize for the Best Multifunction Photo Printer (2013) to the Epson Expression Photo XP-850 and XP-750. Epson's product information tells us that,

The Epson Expression Photo XP-850 and XP-750 are ideal all-in-one printers for photo enthusiasts. The XP-850 is a '4-in-1' unit that allows users to print, scan, copy and fax, while both printers include the Epson Connect feature that enables users to print wirelessly from smartphones and tablet PCs using Epson iPrint.

Local Items

A tweet from Richard Barrow links to an image of True's 4G prices and plans.

Late News

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.