No “iPhone Nano” or “Mac Netbook”

Apple exposed its complete lack of interest in building a stripped down, voice-only iPhone or a Mac-based netbook during its fiscal first quarter conference call Wednesday afternoon.

No iPhone nano

In response to analyst questions on iPhone pricing, Tim Cook, Apple’s acting chief executive, stated, “We are now in over 70 countries with the iPhone and you’re correct, some of them are non-subsidized markets.  Examples are, the largest is in terms of size of the market, our sales are clearly materially less in those markets than they are in the subsidized markets with contracts.  We are constantly evaluating the best way to play in these markets.  We know there’s a huge opportunity here, and we will make adjustments in the future there to play in a better way.”

Cook also destroyed the speculation around an “iPhone nano,” saying, “You know us, we’re not going to play in the low-end voice phone business. That’s not who we are. That’s not why we’re here. We’ll let somebody do that, our goal is not to be the unit share leader in the phone industry. It is to build the best phone.”

Steve Jobs made similar remarks during the last quarterly conference call in October. When asked why Apple only has one product offering in the vast smartphone market and what further opportunities for innovation or “other market opportunities within that market” Apple might have, Jobs replied, “I wasn’t alive then, but from everything I’ve heard, Babe Ruth only had one home run. He just kept hitting it over and over again.

Jobs added, “I think that the traditional game in the phone market has been to produce a voice phone in a hundred different varieties. But as software starts to become the differentiating technology of this product category, I think that people are going to find that a hundred variations presented to a software developer is not very enticing. And most of the competitors in this phone business do not really have much experience in a software platform business.”

“So we’re extremely comfortable with our product strategy going forward, and we approach it as a software platform company, which is pretty different than most of our competitors.”

No Mac netbook imminent

Asked about the sub-$500 netbook market, Cook answered, “We’re watching that space, but right now from our point of view, the products in there are principally based on hardware that’s much less powerful than we think customers want, software technology that is not good, cramped keyboards, small displays.”

Cook added, “We don’t think people will be pleased with those products. It’s a category we watch, we’ve got some ideas here, but right now we think the products are inferior and will not provide an experience to customers they’re happy with.”

Again, Jobs made very similar comments on the prospects for a netbook from Apple during the last call. “As we look at the netbook category, that’s a nascent category. As best as we can tell, there’s not a lot of them being sold,” Jobs said.

“You know, one of our entrants into that category if you will is the iPhone, for browsing the Internet, and doing email and all the other things that a netbook lets you do. And being connected via the cellular network wherever you are, an iPhone is a pretty good solution for that, and it fits in your pocket.

“But we’ll wait and see how that nascent category evolves, and we have got some pretty interesting ideas if it does evolve,” Jobs said.

Is Microsoft working on a “software center” for Windows?

Have you ever wondered why Microsoft renamed the Add/Remove Programs (XP and earlier) control panel applet to Programs and Features (Vista onwards)? It’s possible that Microsoft is considering its own version of something comparable to Linux package management systems. For those that don’t use Linux, think of it like a Windows Update for all your software. Such a system could completely revolutionize how users interact with software on Windows, not to mention the security advantages of only letting users install software deemed safe (which in turn could cause privacy concerns, of course).

Microsoft recently sent out a survey to Windows 7 beta participants, asking them various questions regarding “a single place for finding and managing updates for the programs on my PC.” Participants were asked to give a rating of 1 to 9 (or pick “not applicable”) for how important each of the following activities was for them:

• The ability to install a program on my PC.
• The ability to find the program I want to use on my PC.
• The ability to have all programs on my PC up-to-date.
• The ability for me to update specific programs on my PC at a time that is convenient for me.
• The ability for me to remove a specific program on my PC.
• The ability to set the schedule for updating programs on my PC.
• The ability for a program to automatically configure settings it needs while it is being installed on my PC (e.g. there is no need for me to manually configure the firewall, etc).
• The ability to block a program from being installed on my PC when the program publisher cannot be verified.
• The ability to ensure that only programs on my PC from publishers I choose to trust can automatically stay up-to-date.
• The ability to install programs on my PC from program publishers I trust, without any security prompts or warnings.
• The ability to see security prompts or warnings when trying to install programs from publishers I had not previously chosen to trust.
• The ability to install a program so that all the users sharing a PC can use it.
• The ability to install a program and have it usable almost immediately.
• The ability to install multiple programs on my PC at the same time.
• The ability to install programs without causing any noticeable slow-down to other programs on the PC.
• The ability to install a program without interrupting other activities I am doing on my PC.
• The ability to know that my PC has all the necessary requirements a program needs before installing the program (e.g. memory, hard disk space).
• The ability to know the identity of the company or vendor that created a program installed on my PC.
• The ability to find reviews and ratings about a program before installing it on my PC.
• The ability to quickly find the programs I use most frequently on my PC.
• The ability install or update a program without the need for a reboot.
• The ability to have a single place for finding and managing updates for the programs on my PC.
• The ability to know which programs are causing problems on my PC.
• The ability to restore a program to its original settings and behavior when it malfunctions.
• The ability to install a program to a USB key.
• The ability to discover which programs can be installed.
• The ability to discover which programs can be removed.
• The ability to discover the repair functionality for a malfunctioning program.

In short, Microsoft is trying to figure out what features and information Windows users would expect a potential software center to include. The software giant will have to work very hard with third party developers to get such a system working as wanted, but if that were somehow possible, it would definitely be worth the effort. Who wouldn’t want to be able to search for software locally or on the Internet, look at reviews, check requirements, download, install, keep up-to-update, and repair any piece of software from one control panel applet?

(You must know that this “software center” hasn’t been announced anywhere by oficial sources, this is just an speculation based on some things that Microsoft has done with it’s consumers, so please don’t consider this as a fact.)

Mounting Drives in Fluxbuntu (or any other Linux distro)

A major flaw with the current release of Fluxbuntu is the lack of a drive mounter tool. However, by following this guide, you can mount any drive:

1. Plug in your external drive and type: sudo fdisk -l

   Find your drive in there, you should be able to find it by it’s size. Make a note of it’s assignment. It should be something like /dev/sda1 or dev/sdb1

2. Edit /etc/fstab with the command: sudo nano -w /etc/fstab

3. Add /dev/sda1 /media/flashdrive vfat defaults,users,auto 0 0

Note: replace /dev/sda1 with the name of your drive and replace “flashdrive” with whatever you want to name your device.

1. Save that file with CTRL + O (That is a O, not a zero). Then press CTRL + X to exit.

2. Make the directory for the drive with the command: sudo mkdir /media/flashdrive

3. Optional: Make a way to access this from your home directory: ln -s /media/flashdrive ~/flashdrive

4. Reboot.

5. If the drive is not mounted automatically, use the link you made in the home directory to mount and open it.

6. You’re done!

How to Delete Undeletable Files aka “Files from H-E-Double-Hockeysticks”

Recently, I acquired a files on my desktop that I did not want. However, when I tried to send that file to the Recycle Bin, it refused to go. Xp claimed that it could not find the file. When all hope seemed lost, a little applicatation called DelinvFile came to the rescue. With a simple button press, it deleted this evil file.

If you ever have the same problem, you can download the software for free here.

My New 4.17 Lb Netbook

You’re probably asking yourself, “A netbook? One of those tiny, slow laptops without a CD drive?”

If you look at it, you would not call it a netbook. But, It is pretty slow. And it doesn’t have a CD drive. So it must be a netbook, right?

Actually, it is a Toshiba Portege 7020CT “Designed to support virtually all demanding applications, this top-end model offers powerful processing, massive storage capacity and state-of-the-art CD-ROM and DVD-ROM docking in an ultra-slim computer that performs well, be it on the road or in the office.”

The powerful processing: a Pentium 2

The massive storage capacity: 6.4 GB hard drive

As you can see, this is no modern computer. With 128mb of RAM, it’s not even able to run XP. So why am I keeping this hunk of junk around? The answer is quite simple, it runs just fine (with Linux).

What’s a netbook good for anyway?

• browsing the internet: I can do that, with Firefox 3
• checking the mail: gmail.com (it’s that simple)
• Word processing: Openoffice.org’s Writer
• being a second monitor: Wait, netbooks don’t do that! My laptop does however, with the free application Synergy. Now I can use the keyboard and mouse hooked up to my Windows desktop to control the laptop as well. Amazing!
• Being an awesome speaker system: A very un-netbook-like thing to do. But with a simple line in cable, the amazing speakers on the dock play wonderfully.
• Plus, it does what it needs to at a reasonable speed. It is not super fast, but It certainly provides stability and security with Ubuntu 8.04.

Sorry for the delay…

I’m sorry for my absense, a weekend trip to a no-internet zone is the reason for my sudden disappearance.

A few items:

• How to take screenshots on ipod touch: Press the hold and home buttons at the same time.
• Microsoft has released a public Windows 7 beta, so go try it!

Stats for ‘08

In ‘08:

• The website that referred people here the most was my old website. Glad to see that it still gets some hits!
• My 5 most popular pages: Super-Anticipated Cell Phones (with 1,424 views), Download Windows 7 (with 1,171 views), New iPhone Concepts (with 383 views), Windows Vista Stickykeys Backdoor (with 340 views), and 10 steps to a prettier, more useful and more secure flash drive (with 273 views).
• The search term that brought people to my site the most was (I couldn’t get a year stat, so this is for all-time) “blackberry pearl flip”

And for the final stats:

• Total views: 8,328
• Busiest day: 100 — Sunday, November 9, 2008
• Posts: 105
• Comments: 63
• Categories: 32
• Tags: 155
• And we have a Google Pagerank of 3 (That’s down one from last time – probably because of my period of inactivity…)
• And there have been 567 spam comments!

Not today

No post today, have spent my free time getting Fluxbuntu to work / upgrading it to 8.04.

Expect the 2008 year in review tomorrow.

What Happened in History Today? 1-13-09

Yes, I’m going somewhere with this…

In 1898, French writer Emile Zola published his “J’Accuse” letter, accusing the French in a cover-up in the Alfred Dreyfus treason case.

In 1941, Novelist James Joyce died in Zurich.

In 1990, Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the first African-American governor of the United States.

Come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!

I’m back! (Plus an app review!)

I apologize for my absence; I just haven’t had much time lately.

Today’s app review is about the app “Fluke – random app finder” by Rustybrick

First, the author’s description:

fluke – random app finder for iPhone / iPod Touch

Need an app to kill time? Why not use that time wisely and actually find other apps to waste your time? That is what fluke is all about!

Hope you enjoy, and we will love to hear your feedback!

fluke Includes:

• shake or click to find a random app
• limit the results to specific categories
• limit the results to free and/or paid apps
• rate apps you know about
• email apps to friends without leaving the app
• view a history of the latest apps you’ve discovered
• You’ll never be bored again!

Screen Shots:

Review:

Fluke is the stumbleupon of iPhone apps (with a few less features). Still, the app is a great way to find a random free app (or paid, if you want it).

Pros:

• Easy to use, good filter system.
• Provides a direct link to the app store.
• Free
• Keeps a history of previous finds

Cons:

• An ad is displayed after each thumbs up or thumbs down rating.
• Unfortunately, seems to show already owned apps frequently.
• Rating system is not based on the app store.
• A “genius” feature where the app finds apps other people who liked your apps like (a mouthful) would be nice.

Conclusion:

• Fluke does exactly what it advertises and is a perfect app to use if you have money/space to burn.
• Price: Free
• Rating: 4/5 (Great app, does what it should; if a genius feature was added, it would be a 5/5!)