CEO Steve Ballmer Out at Microsoft

At the Wall Street Journal, "Microsoft Signals Change Ahead With Ballmer Departure."

And at Vanity Fair, "Microsoft’s Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That Felled a Tech Giant."

Bill O'Reilly on Internet Addiction

I just watched this. The 8:00 o'clock O'Reilly is on right now.

An interesting discussion at the clip. I took my youngest son to the doctor today and I was on mobile Twitter on my iPhone while waiting for the nurse to come into the examination room. After she came in and started updating my son's information, asking me some questions, my wife texted me with a reminder about the doctor appointment. I was holding my phone and started to reply to my wife. I'm in the doctor's room and my wife telling me the appointment's not until later. Huh? I start writing my wife back and then stopped. The nurse was still asking me questions. I apologized and put my phone away and concentrated on what was going on in real time.

Now, I don't use the phone very much so that was strange. On the other hand I'm on the laptop all day, while I'm having coffee in the morning, while I'm watching the afternoon news shows on CNN and Fox News, and later in the evening if I'm watching a game. I'll usually be blogging and tweeting through all these things. I'm just connected all the time. It's some kind of addiction. I wouldn't be happy if I couldn't go online and do all the things I do. And I wouldn't be able to work and teach effectively. It's just part of what I do.

But there's a time and place for it. And especially for young people, children, teenagers, and college students, people who grew up on the technology and is not a part of their lives but is their lives, I think it's creating a dangerous rewiring of human consciousness. As I mentioned the other day, I rarely see young people readings books. When I was young I always had a book. I never went somewhere without a book. If someone saw me and I wasn't holding a novel or something they'd say, "Hey, where's you book?" Nowadays, what students have read --- at least what I find from my students when I ask what they're reading --- is what they've been required to read in school, often some great literature. But I come across few students who are independently rich in reading skills, who read widely unprompted. The culture has changed, and this problem with Internet addiction, along with the larger issue of entire lives built around this social media, has led to a deterioration of social skills, literacy, and who knows what else. The Daily Mail reports today that young boys sext girls because their personal development has been completely arrested --- they don't know how to talk to girls even if they wanted to.

As people aways say, with all things, moderation is key.

John McAfee Spoofs McAfee Antivirus

Trippy.

At Guardian UK, "John McAfee's tips for un-installing McAfee software":

Tech entrepreneur McAfee releases spoof – and NSFW – video and mocks firm which made him rich and famous.

Apple Shows Hand for Staying on Top Through Innovation

At IBD, "Apple Shows Off iOS 7, iTunes Radio, Cylinder PC":

Apple (AAPL) on Monday responded to criticism that it isn't innovating enough by unveiling a revamped mobile operating system with a plethora of new features, a radically redesigned desktop computer, and an Internet radio service.

But the largely anticipated news failed to wow investors as shares dipped 0.7%.

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, executives shared their latest products with 6,000 software developers in attendance.

The cylindrical Mac Pro desktop for creative professionals is the Apple's boldest design since the short-lived Power Mac G4 Cube more than a decade ago. The black, 9.9-inch tall PC looks like oversized 35-mm film canister. It is one-eighth the volume of the current Mac Pro. It also boasts much faster computing and graphics processing. Assembled in the U.S., the new Mac Pro will be available later this year.

"This is the future of the Pro desktop," marketing chief Phil Schiller said. "This is a machine unlike anything we've ever made both inside and out."

More at that top link

And Apple's iOS7 page is here. The new Mac Pro is here. And the "keynote" page is here.

And some responses, at GigaOM, "Much iOS 7 design inspiration came from others but Apple elegantly puts it all together."

Also at TechCrunch, "Design, And Insecurity, Is Back At Apple," and at the Verge, "The design of iOS 7: simply confusing." (Via Techmeme.)

Apple Faces Limited Ban on Products

In tech news, at WSJ, "Ruling Blocks iPhone Sales: If Upheld, Decision Favoring Samsung Would Halt Sales of Older iPhones, iPads."

Generation Mooch

A great piece from Eliza Kern, at paidContent, "Generation Mooch? Why 20-somethings have a hard time paying for content":

I’m 22, and I took typing lessons in fourth grade, had computer classes on how to do Google searches and make Powerpoints in middle school, and joined Facebook when it launched in my early days of high school. Until I left for college, my family’s desktop computer was set to open to the New York Times homepage. (At the time, it was free for everyone.) My peers and I learned how to write research papers in high school by citing sources online and by not copying things from Wikipedia, and most of us read Hamlet with the assistance of Sparknotes.com. We discovered music on YouTube, and a few lucky kids got smartphones in high school, which were ubiquitous by the time we hit college.

My generation has grown up connected to the internet, and we’ve never been at a loss for finding news and information on the web — for free.

She's a good writer. And her experience is true of her generation, for the most part. She reads more widely than most students I teach, but other than that, pretty interesting.

Continue reading.

I'm Seeing Some 'Feedly' Links in My Sitemeter

Thanks to readers who are following the blog on RSS.

I'm seeing some Feedly links and I was reminded of this story I saw earlier, at Slash Gear, "500,000 Google Reader users convert to Feedly":

When one door closes, another one opens, and that statement proves very true for Feedly. After Google’s shocking announcement that it’s going to shut down its Google Reader service, Feedly’s user base has increased phenomenally. The service has already gained over 500,000 new users in just 48 hours. Feedly has done a great job in enticing Google Reader users to convert to its service, and it has launched new servers and increased its bandwidth by 10 times in order to keep up with demand.

RTWT.

It's easy to make the switch from Google to Feedly, but don't wait too long.

In Rare Move, Apple Goes on the Defensive Against Samsung

At WSJ:

In a rare interview a day before Samsung Electronics Co.'s 005930.SE -1.38% launch of a new flagship smartphone, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller on Wednesday played down the expected competition from the device. He also discussed how he believes products that run Google Inc.'s GOOG -0.28% Android software, such as Samsung's phone, are inferior to Apple's iPhone.

Mr. Schiller shared data on the iPhone's popularity and said Apple's own research shows that four times as many iPhone users switched from an Android phone than to an Android phone in the fourth quarter.

His remarks come as Apple has been gently suggesting similar messages in recent months as competitors such as Samsung have been gaining buzz—and market share.

Mr. Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of world-wide marketing, also said that Android users are often running old operating systems and that the fragmentation in the Android world was "plain and simple."

He added that "Android is often given as a free replacement for a feature phone and the experience isn't as good as an iPhone."

The executive said the Android devices suffer in part because different elements come from multiple companies, whereas Apple is responsible for all its mobile hardware and as well as its iOS operating system.

"When you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with," he said. "They don't work seamlessly together."

More at that top link, and at Bloomberg, "Samsung Targets Galaxy 4 at Apple’s Core IPhone Market."

RELATED: From Larry Page, at the Official Google Blog, "Update from the CEO."

Why Apple Won the Internet

From Michael Arrington, at Tech Crunch, "There Was That Whole Internet Thing, Too":

Before the internet all most people cared about was Office. And Office was really the only reason anyone wanted Windows machines instead of Macs.

I remember endless Apple v. Windows debates in the early 90s when I was in college. Macs were better machines, everyone said, the whole Office thing was a huge pain. It was difficult to transfer files between operating systems, and generally speaking if you wanted to do Office stuff you needed a Windows machine. Macs were for college kids doing graphics stuff. Windows machines were for grown ups.

That all changed in the mid 90′s of course. But before people bought computers primarily to get on the Internet Apple was hurting badly. Market share was so bad there was even a question about whether Microsoft would even continue making Office for Mac.

Then everything came together for Apple at roughly the same time. Steve Jobs came back in 1997. He got Microsoft to recommit to Office on the Mac...

RTWT.

Microsoft Windows 8 Adoption Lags

At IBD, "Microsoft's Windows 8 Is Looking Like a Dog":

While Apple (AAPL) names its computer operating systems after cats, Microsoft 's (MSFT) latest, Windows 8, is looking like a dog.

The percentage of PCs in use worldwide running Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system inched up to 2.7% in February, from 2.3% in January, according to Net Applications. Microsoft launched Windows 8 with a massive advertising campaign on Oct. 26.

Now four months after its launch, Windows 8 barely beats Apple's Mac OS X 10.8 operating system, called Mountain Lion, which had 2.6% usage market share in February.

By comparison, its predecessor, Windows 7, had 9.1% global market share four months after its release, says Vince Vizzaccaro, executive vice president of marketing and strategic alliances for Net Applications.

Even Microsoft's much maligned Windows Vista operating system still has greater market penetration than Windows 8. Last month, 5.2% of PCs worldwide were running Vista. Vista was released in January 2007 and replaced by Windows 7 in October 2009.

Microsoft's Windows 8 has failed to boost sagging PC sales. In the fourth quarter, worldwide PC shipments declined 4.9% from a year earlier, as more consumers shifted their focus to tablets and smartphones and away from PCs. Rival research firm IDC said global PC shipments fell 6.4% in Q4.

That's been bad news for PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), which has reported six straight quarters of declining year-over-year sales.

Windows 7 is the top PC operating system in use, with 44.6% market share in February, followed by Microsoft's ancient Windows XP, which was released more than 11 years ago. Win XP had 39% usage market share last month.

Microsoft controlled 91.6% of PC market share usage with its Windows family in February. Apple's Mac was second with 7.2% share.

But Apple dominates in the mobile operating system market. Its iOS software ran 54.9% of smartphones and tablets in February, Net Applications says...

Continue reading.

Apple's Falling Stock Causing Headaches for Investors

I haven't paid attention to Apple's share price, but apparently if you're an investor, it's not the best of times.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Coping With the Pain of Souring Apple Shares: Some Investors See a Cheap Stock, but Others Have Sold Everything; 'Headache, Not a Cancer'":

As the U.S. stock market flirts with record highs, investors who hold big stakes in Apple Inc. AAPL -0.41% are taking a beating.

Since peaking at $705.07 during the day on Sept. 21, Apple shares have fallen 36% to close at $453.62, erasing more than $236 billion in market value—a figure equal to about 35 times the current value of BlackBerry RIM.T +0.70% maker Research In Motion Ltd.

The pain has been widespread. About 60% of actively managed U.S. stock mutual funds that invest in big companies owned at least some Apple shares at the end of the year, according to investment-research firm Morningstar Inc. MORN +0.53% Ninety funds had 10% or more of their portfolios in the stock.

But Apple's plunge is affecting investors in different ways. While some are getting out for good, others are staying put or even buying more. And some are glad they avoided the stock altogether.

Most mutual funds disclose their holdings quarterly, but the 145 actively managed U.S. stock funds that hold Apple and reported monthly results sold a net 223,402 shares, or 3% of their Apple holdings, in December, according to Morningstar, a time when the stock was between 16% and 28% off its peak. Sixty-one funds sold shares, while 45 funds bought.

That doesn't mean all of them took losses. Even with the setback, Apple has generated a total return, including dividends, of about 28% annually over the past five years, versus 4% for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. In four of the past 10 years, Apple's stock price has more than doubled, and its only full-year loss over the past decade occurred in 2008.

Here are some examples of how professional money managers and small investors have reacted...

Continue reading.

Now, in related news, it turns out that my wife's iPad has a pretty serious browser glitch. It crashes a lot when I'm going heavy on the YouTube blogging. I love videos. And I thought Apple was going to be an improvement over the others, like Chrome. And it seemed like it for awhile, although it's been crashing pretty regularly, and not just this last few days. I found an article on this, at OS X Daily, "Fix Safari Crashing on iPad and iOS 5." I'm not going to worry about the fix, since it's not my device and my wife hasn't complained. We bought the extended warranty, in any case, so I'll bring it up with the Apple folks next time we're down at the Irvine Spectrum retail store. Still, folks should read this comment at the OS X Daily piece, from Martin Bloom":

In early Janurary I went onto the Apple Community discussion board because of my iPad 1 continually crashing after updating to IOS 5.  Specifically Safari would crash on sites rich with images and/or imbedded videos (techcrunch, techradar, etc).  Also iTunes wouldn’t stay open. And using the back arrow on sites like CNN and other news sites would bring up an old front page rather than the newer page.

At first I was just a viewer until some people, who were rudely dismissive of people’s crash problems, said that only signed in complaints were indicators of the breadth of the problem and the number of  ”views” didn’t count. So i signed in to: Re Safari crashes on iPad after ios 5 update.

I related that I had the same problems since ios 5, that I tried every fix written about to no lasting improvement, and that I sent a letter with a printout from the discussion thread to Tim Cook.  Next day I recieved a phone call and email from Apple’s Corporate Executive Relations Office. They were very empathetic and committed to work with me.  They listened to my background in the industry and my list of issues that were also expressed by others on the Apple Community under several separate discussion threads. The main issue being that Apple, apparently didn’t read the threads or was ignoring them.  I expressed that the single most helpful thing they could do would be some type of communication to the groups that they understand, they cared, and are doing everything to find a set of solutions.

They (Corp Exec Relations) assured me that they do look at the discussions, have replicated the problems in tech support and engineering. They also acknowledged a culture of keeping all work close to the vest and this could be hurting them by creating a perception of not caring about the user experience in a “post Jobs era”. They hooked me up with high level tech support and offered to work with me step by step to a resolution.  I said that working with me as an “one off” would deflect resources from solving the overall problems, since they have been documented and replicated.  I told them I would relate this conference with Apple to the discussion threads. These talks and emails with the Corp Office was over several days with much discussion about the impacts of the problems. This included losing the confidence in the reliability of Apple products since many of the iPad purchases and complaints were from PC platform crossovers who moved to Apple’s “because it just worked”. These new users, including corporations who bought hundreds for employees who were saying “never again”.

I then posted my discussions with Apple on the Community thread and was accused by a long time member of my post being a false, and self serving rant. He said he and other long timers took pride in reporting my abuse of the Community rules and had my post removed and my account banned.  I wrote back to the Corp Exec Relations office on the “irony of it all” since this had been a “keep the hope…..they do care” post. The Corp Office got me back on, removing the ban.  But now, no matter what I write, the discussion thread’s monitor removes it saying it is “off topic”.

I have not gotten back to Apple’s Corp Exec Relations regarding my posts being removed and am just waiting for the yet to come, update release with prayers of a fix for all affected users, and for Apple.  Yes, I am still a first in line fanboy.

Marty Bloom, Walnut Creek CA

Sent from my iPad

EXTRA: Here's more tech fun for you, from Twitter, "Keeping our users secure" (at Memeorandum). Twitter was hacked and 250,000 users had their data compromised. It's hard out there for a tweep!