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Fortune Magazine names Steve Jobs CEO of the Decade

While Fortune magazine named Jobs CEO of the decade (really, who could argue with that after seeing how well Apple performed this last ten years?) Leander Kahney from Cult of Mac interviewed a Ken Segall, former creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day who revealed that Jobs initially hated the name iMac, even so far as to reject it twice along with about eight other names, four at the first submission, and four more at the second.

Although Jobs never got back to Segall about it, he ended up growing fond of the name and the rest is history.

Fortune supplements the appointment with testimonials from eight other high profile business executives about Steve Jobs which you can read here, starting with Intel's Andy Grove's.

Filed under  //   apple   mac   steve jobs  
Posted November 6, 2009
// 0 Comments

CrunchPad Crunched?

A couple of days ago I asked on Twitter about Michael Arrington’s $300 CrunchPad. The announcement of the device caught the attention of just about every tech head on the internet as he was aiming for a low cost tablet mainly for internet access back in 2008. The latest design that made the rounds was a pretty straight forward tablet. You can see it from the link above.

Turns out I wasn’t the only one wondering about it. Well, d’uh, the whole thing went into hype mode for about a year and then nothing since last summer.

John Gruber posted this story by Dan Frommer from Business Insider that says apparently Arrington couldn’t get it into production likely due to rising costs. Frommer also suggested that perhaps Arrington is working with Google to launch the device with the Chrome OS. 

Previously Arrington had said he’s working with Singapore’s Fusion Garage which developed a browser-based system used for the prototypes.

Either way, the CrunchPad is looking like a vaporware right now and competitors are beginning to fill the space. Amazon’s Kindle went international, Barnes & Noble is expected to launch the Nook soon, although they’re facing a lawsuit right now, and no doubt the East Asian companies are hard at work in making Android tablets.

And of course, the 10,000 pound gorillas that are the iPhone OS devices are making a killing in the market, costing less yet with more abilities.

Filed under  //   crunchpad   michael arrington   tablet   vaporware  
Posted November 4, 2009
// 0 Comments

From a dedicated Windows user

"I know Windows is awful. Everyone knows Windows is awful. Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's grim, it's slow, everything's badly designed and nothing works properly: using Windows is like living in a communist bloc nation circa 1981. And I wouldn't change it for the world, because I'm an abject bloody idiot and I hate myself, and this is what I deserve: to be sentenced to Windows for life."

The Age: Better the broken Windows than life with the Mac monks (via @dirgayuza)

Filed under  //   apple   funny   mac   microsoft   theage   windows  
Posted November 2, 2009
// 6 Comments

Twitter as news reader?

Smoking Apple's Milind Alvares on using Twitter for news feed instead of RSS:

"with the new ‘lists’ feature in Twitter (and especially so when major clients support it), you can pretty much have an RSS client right inside your twitter client."

Goobi's Soggy Tumblr : About RSS, Twitter RSS, and 'the personal touch'

Filed under  //   rss   twitter  
Posted November 2, 2009
// 1 Comment

Without Gates, Microsoft outpaced by startups

"But the problem with putting nontechies in charge of tech companies is that they have blind spots. Gates was quick to recognize that the Internet represented a threat to Microsoft, and he led the campaign to destroy Netscape. In those days Microsoft was still nimble enough that it could pivot quickly and catch up on a rival. Since then the company has become bureaucratic and lumbering."

Newsweek: The Lost Decade (via @gartenberg)

Filed under  //   businessweek   microsoft  
Posted November 2, 2009
// 0 Comments

Windows 7: Windows Gets a Wash

It’s finally here, a Windows operating system to cure your Vista woes. Windows 7, as it is called, is not really the seventh version of Windows, though Microsoft would rather you thought otherwise. But, regardless of naming debates, to most people — and to Microsoft itself — what’s important is that it’s not Vista. 

This year’s major operating system updates are, in essence, polished versions of their respective predecessors. Apple’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard, released in August, is almost indistinguishable from Leopard until you explore its nooks and crannies. Windows 7 is also not so different — it’s simply a better functioning Vista. 

Windows XP was released in 2001. Five years later, Microsoft created a brand new version of Windows in the form of Vista. 

But there was so much negative feedback from early adopters of Vista that it became the OS many people pretend never existed. 

As a result, the majority of Windows computers, especially in corporate environments, stuck with XP despite it being so far out of touch with the technology of the day. The old OS was robust enough that help desk and support personnel rarely bothered to recommend people upgrade. 

A poll from Forrester Research had Windows XP emerge as the OS preferred by 81 percent of IT departments. 

In the meantime, the onslaught of Mac OS X kept coming. While Mac sales slowly increased following the release of XP, they accelerated most rapidly in the months following Vista’s launch. Microsoft needed to act and Windows 7 is the result of three years of pruning and polishing.

Read more at The Jakarta Globe

Filed under  //   jakarta globe   review   windows  
Posted November 2, 2009
// 0 Comments

Barcamp Indonesia

So we’re having a Barcamp in Jakarta on Saturday, December 12, 2009

What, no announcement? THIS IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT! 

We’ll be doing this as we go. Kalo ga diginiin ga jalan-jalan, rencana  udah lama banget. Dulu juga ada yang mau ngadain tahun 2008 tapi kayanya ga jadi atau kalo jadi ga kedengeran karena di Barcamp.org ga kesebut.

What the hell is a Barcamp anyway?
Barcamp itu basically gathering orang2 yang like-minded to share ideas and discuss about things that interest them. Originally Barcamp diadain oleh geeks and about IT stuff; technology, internet, websites, gadgets, computers, etc. Here are some resources that you can read about Barcamp:

This is Barcamp. 
This is what you should expect. 
These are the rules. 
This is about sponsorship if required.

What’s important is everyone who attends has to participate. This can be by helping to organize on the day, by securing sponsorships if required, by presenting, by spreading the word about Barcamp, and by being active on the day. Ask questions, demand explanations, learn new things, share your knowledge.

Barcamp is a concept, not an event. You can use the Barcamp conference concept to any event you wish to organize. For the first Barcamp in Jakarta, we’re sticking to technology topics. This covers all the ones mentioned above.

We also have a special conference track specializing on presentation techniques, so if you’re not too keen on all those techie stuff, you can join in for the presentation about presentation. We’ll explain a few things about visual presentations and reducing the bulletpoint borepoints.

Do you have a topic to present? Ideas to share? Let us know in the comments or @ me or @barcampid on Twitter. 

We’re aiming for about 100 people and perhaps 20 classes in 8 hours. You’re free to switch mid-class to a different one if you lose interest. There will be a lunch break and a tea break. Food may or may not be provided, so please prepare your own just in case.

So where is this Barcamp?
We have no idea. At least not right now. We’re still looking for a location, preferably on campus, but an office works too. You got ideas? Must be relatively easy to access by most people.

WE ALSO NEED A PUBLIC AND OPEN INTERNET CONNECTION VIA WIFI.

Interested? This is our Barcamp wiki page. Still very bare, working on getting it filled up.

Filed under  //   barcamp   barcampindonesia   conference   event   geek   technology  
Posted November 2, 2009
// 3 Comments

Intel and Kaskus top Indonesia's Digital Brand Index

Late last week, IndoPacific Edelman and Brandtology announced that Intel and AMD top the list of brands most discussed online by Indonesians and that Kaskus and Twitter are the top two sites for technology discussions.

These results are from the first quarterly Asia Pacific Digital Brand Index for Indonesia. The DBI is a way to measure a brand’s prominence in online conversations across several hundred websites. This research aims to transform quantitative data from 51 of the largest technology companies in Indonesia into an insight on the primary brands and topics that generate online discussions. 

IP Edelman and Brandtology tracked online conversations between July and September 2009 on more than 469 sites including various social networking sites, message boards, Facebook, news sites and blogs. It found that Intel tops the list of brands with 5,743 mentions, followed by AMD with 4,971. Third on the list was Google with 4,427. 

Nine out of the top 10 brands were companies with significant inroads into the mobile industry although surprisingly, Indonesia’s largest mobile telecommunications company, Telkomsel, did not make it to the top ten. The rest of the list are Asus, Nokia, Microsoft, Acer, Indosat, Blackberry, and Excelcomindo (XL).

It is important to note that DBI does not measure brand sentiment, or at least not yet. Nanda Ivens, Director of Digital at IndoPacific Edelman, during a discussion of the results at Pacific Place, said that everyone knows that XL has been on the receiving end of some negative feedback regarding the quality of their service and as a result shot up to number 10 on the list. Ivens commented that future versions of the survey may consider taking sentiments into account for further detail and more insightful breakdowns of the results.

The index also revealed that that Kaskus (77.1%), the Indonesian online message board with the largest number of active users dominates the top ten websites that talks about technology and brands. Twitter (8.95%) and MacClubIndonesia (2.49%) are the only non Kaskus sites on the top ten list. 

It is unfortunate that Kaskus, a site with dozens of forums are separated on the list into its individual forums although a more aggregated breakdown may be less relevant due to the very low percentages received by other sites. Collectively though, a combination of all news sites edges Twitter to second place with 9.65% while blogs are placed 4th.

As Indonesia’s internet-connected population grows, online engagement of customers are rising in importance. Data from Indonesia’s ISP association (APJII) say up to 35 million Indonesians are on the internet. Facebook users account for 10 million users and growing fast, Friendster users are around 8 million. Mig33, a chat service for Nokia Symbian users have around 9 million users, while Twitter, the hottest kid on the block managed to grab 1.5 million Indonesian accounts according to data from Google AdPlanner.

Facebook fails to break into the top 10 because it is simply not where conversations about technology happens, at least not on a significant enough scale. Tech mavens are far more engaging on forums and on Twitter although Ivens also mentioned that household brands have a significant showing in Facebook. 

While currently this is only for technology companies and brands, the Digital Brand Index door may be opened for non-tech companies in the future.

Filed under  //   edelman   indonesia   social media   survey   tech   twitter  
Posted October 26, 2009
// 0 Comments

Apple taking shots at Windows 7

Looks like Apple wasted no time in taking jabs at the newcomer from Redmond, Washington. Windows 7 is barely 24 hours old and three new Get a Mac ads are already, as they say, on the air. The new ads did more than taking hooks and uppercuts at the newly released operating system just as they used to with Vista. In fact, you could almost say the gloves were never there in the first place.

The first ad on queue titled PC News features PC as an anchor for PC Action News crossing live to a reporter on scene surrounded by people eager to make the jump to a new operating system. Suffice to say, things didn’t turn out as well as PC hoped it would.

In the second ad, Teeter Tottering, we see Anne, an XP user, about to make the switch from XP looking for a fresh start, as she carries a box labeled, “Anne’s stuff”, which kept being taken away by PC. She says that she could stick to what she knows, but what she knows is pain and frustration. As with the first ad, this one touts customer satisfaction as the main reason for switching to a Mac.

PC insists that Windows 7 will not have any of the problems that Vista had in the third commercial, Broken Promises. Mac however remembers differently all the way back to Windows 3. Pay attention to the ‘tache and the flip glasses, oh and don’t forget the rolled up jacket sleeves while you’re at it.

You can watch the ads on Apple’s website.

Filed under  //   ad   commercial   get a mac   mac   pc   television   windows  
Posted October 22, 2009
// 7 Comments

Brand new Mac stuff

Following recent rumors and rumbles around the web, Apple "surprised" everyone with a slew of updates to many of its current Mac offerings. It's been a while since Apple refreshed its desktop Macs so it's rather expected that they would launch new iMacs and Mac minis around this time of the year. The Mac Pros on the other hand, remain as they are. What is surprising though is the trackpad-like multitouch mouse they call Magic Mouse.

Magic Mouse
Since the name Mighty Mouse is no longer available, Apple went with a new name for its new wireless mouse which is available with the new iMacs or sold separately for US$69. It's just a beautiful looking bluetooth mouse with no moving parts to remove and clean. Any action that used to require the little ball on the old Mighty Mouse now can be done by swiping your finger on the surface of the mouse. The mouse is powered by 2 AA batteries which will last through four months of use according to Apple.

Unfortunately Magic Mouse is not available in wired version but Apple is still selling the old USB Mighty Mouse, renamed as the Apple Mouse.

iMacs
Along with Magic Mouse, Apple is shipping brand new iMacs. Now in 21.5-inch and 27-inch sizes, the new iMacs lost even more of its Jay Leno-like jaw, and shaved more bulk from its back. The screens are now on a proper 16:9 ratio as you would find on a standard widescreen HDTV and the 27-inch model has a DisplayPort input that lets you plug in an external digital media source such as a DVD or Blu-Ray player, or even game consoles. All you need is a DisplayPort adapter which will be available in several weeks.

New in these iMacs are SD card slots which were introduced to the Mac line back in June with the current MacBook Pros. Apart from Magic Mouse, these new iMacs also ship with wireless keyboards, the ones without the numerical pad on the right. The back of the iMac is no longer black plastic but aluminum like the rest of the computer. It still uses the thick glossy glass panel on top of the LCD screen.

No, there is no Blu-Ray drive on these iMacs. Apparently Apple still considers it "a bag of hurt". 

Mac mini
The Mac mini is the computer people love to ignore or hate. Plenty of claims of its demise since Apple went with Intel but still, the little computer that could, persists. In fact, this tiny box of aluminum and plastic has a sibling now, the Mac mini server. The server model comes with no optical drive. In its place, it has an additional hard drive giving the unit a 1TB storage which can be set up as a RAID. The Mac mini server also comes with Mac OS X Server.

MacBook
If you thought Apple was going to kill off or completely replace the white MacBook with something more revolutionary or economical, think again.

Instead of succumbing to the popular calls, Apple redesigned the white MacBook with a unibody frame to bring it back in line with the Pro machines after the previous unibody MacBooks were upgraded into Pro status back in June. Instead of aluminum though, it still uses the same polycarbonate material. The bottom case however has a non-slip surface added which removes the need for rubber feet. 

With this new design, Apple finally brings the multitouch glass trackpad to the white MacBook, a built-in battery that can last 7 hours, a thinner and lighter unit, and one heck of a storage at 250GB. It also loses the separate audio in/out port, both now combined into one port like in the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

To differentiate it further form the Pro machines, its keyboard is not backlit and Apple has removed the Firewire port. While this has brought back the debate over Firewire, its effects may be lessened since the 13" MacBook Pro with Firewire is not too far out of reach. If you want to compare the MacBooks directly across the board, check out this page Apple put together.

Apple Remote
Apparently this is still around. Even though Apple no longer ships Apple Remote with its computers, Apple still sells them especially because the Apple TV needs it. The new Apple Remote comes in aluminum with the menu and play buttons relocated to below the circular navigation buttons instead of inside it. It works with any Mac since 2005 that has an infra red port. The new white unibody MacBook does not work with Apple Remote.

The bad news
None of these new Apples are going to be available immediately in Indonesia. Estimates on Apple's Online Store ranges from 2 weeks (optimistic) to December.

The new MacBook is estimated to arrive in 5 weeks, Apple Remote and Mac minis in 2-4 weeks, and the iMacs as well the Magic Mouse are expected in December.

Filed under  //   apple   gadget   imac   mac mini   macbook   magicmouse   mouse  
Posted October 21, 2009
// 0 Comments