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Introducing Operation Foxbook

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 22, 2008 at 6:29 pm

I do most of my Technologizer work these days on a 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop that runs three operating systems (OS X, Windows Vista, and Windows XP) and a full complement of applications for wrangling words, pictures, and Web sites (Microsoft Office, Photoshop, CorelDraw, Dreamweaver, and whatever else I need at any given moment). It’s a great tool for the job.

But tomorrow I’m going to set it aside for a few days and launch what I’m calling Operation Foxbook–an experiment that involves doing as much of my work on the Web and inside the browser (a specific browser–Firefox) as I possibly can. I’ve wanted to try this for a while–I wrote about the idea of a “Firefox PC” back in this post. But when I was at PC World, I couldn’t truly go cold turkey from desktop software, since we used Adobe InDesign, a decidedly local application, to crank out the magazine.

Technologizer, however, is all Web all the time–and I know of nothing I do for the site that simply can’t be done with a Web app. And the notion of computers that serve largely as containers for a Web browser has hit the big time–there’s a whole class of inexpensive, small notebook known as netbooks. So I’ll use one such machine, HP’s Mini-Note, to do my Technologizer stuff, and will blog about the experience. I know some of the browser-based apps I’ll use: parts of both Google Docs and Zoho, for sure, and the excellent Picnik photo editor. And Gmail, too, even though I continue to both love it and hate it. I’m sure I’ll need to seek out other apps as I need them, too.

Stay tuned–I may need your advice and patience to get through to the weekend without grabbing the MacBook…

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slotMusic vs. CD: The Ultimate Comparison

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 22, 2008 at 8:25 am

slotMusic is an innovative new format format for music distribution. The tried-and-true Compact Disc is a quarter-century old. I compared ’em point by point and found that the CD stacks up surprisingly well for an invention that predates memory cards, MP3s, iPods, iTunes, and music phones. Is it going too far to say that if the CD were introduced today, folks would hail it as a breakthrough. Maybe. But I know that if it went away right now, I’d miss it–and that I think it beats slotMusic hands down. Chart after the jump…

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The World Probably Doesn’t Need slotMusic

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 22, 2008 at 7:24 am

Music is about to get microscopic. Flash storage kingpin SanDisk is launching slotMusic, which it calls an “innovative, new physical music format.” Actually, what it is is DRM-free albums sold on MicroSD cards, along with a USB adapter. According to the New York Times, the albums may cost $7-$10 apiece; according to GigaOm, the format will launch with 29 (count ’em!) albums. SlotMusic has the support of major labels EMI, Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner, as well as physical music behemoths Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

SanDisk presumably sees slotMusic (whose site, incidentally, barely mentions SanDisk) as an opportunity to sell millions more flash cards a year. For consumers, though, I’m not sure if the format passes the “why?” test. Here’s SanDisk’s pitch:

“slotMusic cards enable consumers to instantly and easily enjoy music from their favorite artists without being dependent on a PC or internet connection. Users simply insert the slotMusic card into their microSD-enabled mobile phone or MP3 player to hear the music – without passwords, downloading or digital-rights-management interfering with their personal use.”

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Okay, Podcaster Wasn’t a Weird Aberration

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 21, 2008 at 4:55 pm

Here’s an apparent second example (this was the first) of an iPhone application I’d like to use–one which makes it easier to use multiple Gmail accounts in Web-based form, rather than in Apple’s Mail app–being refused access to Apple’s App Store on the grounds that it duplicates functionality in an Apple product. To quote the rejection letter MailWrangler developer Angelo DiNardi received:

“… Your application duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion. …”

Confusion? As a Gmail user, I understood DiNardi’s explanation the moment I skimmed it. Wouldn’t it make sense to let real people determine whether they’re confused by the purpose of his program?

In addition, Apple apparently criticized DiNardi’s app because there’s no way to edit a Gmail account once it’s been entered; you have to delete it and start over again. Possibly a fair point that would be reasonable to bring up in a review of said application. But Apple has okayed more than its share of schlock for the App Store, so it’s not entirely clear why it’s suddenly playing design critic with an app that serves a clear and useful purpose.

Let’s recap Steve Jobs’ explanation of why Apple might reject an iPhone app from last March:

No mention of there being anything offensive about doing something similar to Apple; nothing about apps being nixed because they’re not the most fully realized incarnation possible of an idea.

I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again: An App Store in which third parties aren’t allowed to tread too closely to Apple’s own programs is one that’s vastly less interesting–and one that’s likely to stunt the development of what can be and should be the most exciting mobile platform to date.

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Windows 7 Starts to Come Into Focus. Slowly.

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 21, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Okay, enough about Windows ads. Let’s talk about a far more important topic: Windows itself. Windows 7–the working name for the next version–to be exact. According to no less an authority than Steve Ballmer, it’s supposed to ship in late 2009–but this is Microsoft time we’re talking, so let’s say early 2010.

Microsoft has had shockingly little to say about W7 so far–more about that in a moment–but details are starting to leak out. This blog, for instance, has a bunch of screen shots from what it says is an early version of the OS–Windows 7 M3 Build 6780, to be exact.

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Ballmer Ties His Retirement to Live Search Success

Posted by Ed Oswald on September 21, 2008 at 11:29 am

Many had assumed the Ballmer era would end when his youngest child goes off to college, roughly in about a decade or so: he even hinted to that effect himself. Despite these earlier comments, the ever outspoken executive now seems to be quite frustrated over the apparent failures of Live Search, and will stay on until it becomes a success.

According to commenters in this post on Mini-Microsoft, and subsequently confirmed by Mary Jo Foley, Ballmer told employees that he would stay on as head of the company until Live Search’s market share bests Google’s.

The comment is almost unbelievable on its face. Does Ballmer really think that Microsoft will be able to turn its search fortunes around? As it stands right now, the company is going the wrong way. Web analytics firm comScore posted numbers Thursday that showed Live Search continues to lose share in the US.

For August, Microsoft garnered a 8.3 percent share, down .6 percent, while Google gained over 1 percent to finish with 63 percent of the market. Its share of queries also took a hit, down 7 percent over the previous month to 977 million. This marks the first time since May that the company has fallen below a billion queries, and follows a period where Microsoft had shown some growth.

I just cannot see at this point any viable way — short of monopolistic behavior — that will allow Microsoft to come anywhere close to equaling Google’s share of the market, much less surpass it. Maybe the Justice Department’s new-found interest in Google’s advertising practices and the threat of antitrust action may help Microsoft out, but I doubt it will do much.

Maybe the answer to whether we should really believe that Ballmer means what he says lies in understanding the man himself. Those who have watched him all know that he’s been known to make some pretty crazy statements, and his enthusiasm has been known to get the best of him at times, so maybe its best to keep in mind that this may be one of those cases. You never know, however.

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Wireless USB To Make Holiday Splash

Posted by Ed Oswald on September 19, 2008 at 11:13 am

With everything else going wireless these days, it was only a matter of time before USB–the de-facto standard these days for connecting peripherals–would follow suit. At Pepcom’s Holiday Experience press event in New York yesterday night, some of the companies behind this effort were on hand to show off their wares.

One of these companies was Imation, who was showing off the Apollo Pro WX, the first external hard drive to be certified under the standard. Available in capacities from 250GB to 1.5TB, it is part of a larger rollout of external harddrives from the company aimed at the higher end of the market.

Wireless USB promises transfer rates of 480MBps when the devices are within 10 feet of each other, and 110MBps within 30 feet. At the closer ranges, this is about as fast as most current wired external HDDs, although of course this is theoretical.

I can’t confirm how accurate these transfer rates are, but it appears to be pretty fast. In any case, this would be attractive to those of us who are annoyed by the amount of cables that may be cluttering up our desks.

Expected availability is in the fourth quarter of this year, however no specifics on pricing for the devices have been given. It would be compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X platforms. It would also ship with backup software, which Imation appears to want to target the line toward that segment.

The Pro WX was not the only device shown off Thursday night. WiQuest, the company that is behind the chips which enable Wireless USB, also showed off a wireless hubs for traditional USB by both Kensington and D-Link, and Wireless USB-enabled laptops from Dell.

Dell would be including the technology in select Latitude and XPS models, WiQuest says.

If you’re curious about what Wireless USB is and would like some more technical details of the specification, check out this Wikipedia entry.

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The Next Item in Your “Smart” Life–The Smart Pen

Posted by Ed Oswald on September 19, 2008 at 10:40 am

Probably the coolest item I saw at the Pepcom press event last night is actually something that’s been out for almost three months now, but has pretty much flown under the radar. It’s called the LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen, and for those of us who frequently take notes (::cough:: me ::cough::), it could make our lives ten times easier. Note-taking can be a tedious process, and even the fastest transcribers can still miss a word.

With this little device, that is going to be hard to do. Simply put it is a computer within a pen, which simultaneously captures the handwriting of the user while recording audio. Thus, a user just needs to tap on the portion of the writing where they would like to review the accompanying audio, and the pen knows where it is.

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Google Talks Like a Pirate

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 19, 2008 at 10:34 am

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, a holiday that dates only to 1995 but which is as beloved on the Web as any day of the year. Among the examples of the celebration going on all over the planet is Google Pirate–a new version of the search engine with an interface that, arrr, be in pirate-talk, matey. (Okay, that’s all the talking like a pirate I’m going to do today.)

It’s a good example of the Bizarro Googles I wrote about a little while back. And here’s an image, in case you’re too busy forcing your enemies to walk off the plank to click through and check out Google Pirate for yourself:

I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but I’m worried that Talk Like a Pirate Day has jumped the shark–there’s an interesting image!–since it’s hard for a holiday to remain quirky and culty when it’s been embraced by big companies such as Google. May I suggest that we all concentrate our efforts on making sure that Don Martin’s National Gorilla Suit Day receives the attention it deserves next January 31st?

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