Have you ever wanted to be part of a world record? Well, here is your opportunity. From the comfort of your Windows or Mac, simply download the new version of Firefox 3 to be released next Tuesday.
If you want to feel part of it early, simply go and pledge your support…
And set yourself a reminder to download the software from your desktop, laptop, home machine, kids machine, etc. Let’s see if we can obliterate Internet Explorer usage and have Firefox reach a 35% market share.
Here were my original predictions about the iPhone 2.0, updated with the actual announcement from Apple:
16 GB and 32 GB versions of the phone at $399 and $499 respectively and yes, there will be a 3G chipset as the entire world is predicting.
Apple stuck with the 8 GB and 16 GB versions of the phone, now with 3G, but with a severe price cut of $199 and $299 respectively.
No internal GPS chip, but the 2.0 software will support external GPS devices through Bluetooth or through the dock connector. GPS kills the battery life and I don’t think that Apple would be willing to trade battery life for handheld GPS when they have a good solution with triangulation and WiFi locations.
Internal “Assisted” GPS is onboard with the new phone.
The iPhone will be a little bit thinner and perhaps a little lighter from an upgraded glass used for the touch screen. There are mixed rumors about the iPhone getting thinner and some saying that it will get thicker. Remember, Apple would rather make it thinner and lighter. Can you really picture Steve Jobs going onto the stage and saying, “The new iPhone is 2 millimeters thicker than before and I think that our customers are really going to appreciate the added girth.” Seriously.
Steve downplayed the size other than to mention that it is thinner at the edges. The case is now plastic and the upgraded glass allowed it to be mostly the same weight.
No ‘haptic’ touch response. Totally useless feature to have the phone vibrate a little when you touch it. Seriously, the touch response is built in to your actual fingers. If they include this, there better be a way to turn it off.
Correct on this.
There will be a way to search your contacts database on the phone that is similar to Spotlight search where you just start typing part of a name, company, address, phone number and it narrows down the contacts as you type. I need contacts search all of the time as I remember part of someone’s name or a company name.
Mostly correct. Hard to determine if you can search business name or address from the demos.
The 2.0 firmware will have a task application that works with the Leopard task service. I think that the reason this wasn’t included already has more to do with getting tasks to play nicely with Outlook on Windows machines.
No task application, although the App Store will certainly get a full collection.
Along the same lines the Notes application will get more useful and will synchronize with the Leopard notes that are in Apple Mail. My way out theory on this is that it will support in-line voice notes. If Apple doesn’t do it, I’m sure that a third-party developer will go for something like this.
This may just arrive, but nothing for certain with today’s announcement.
The 2.0 firmware will include a built-in game, something like Solitaire. There will be a LOT of games released with the 2.0 firmware and the AppStore for the iPhone. iPod Touch users will be thrilled as well for the new games that will turn the iPod Touch into a viable player in the handheld gaming space.
No built in game, but the App Store will have at least 3 very cool games at launch as demonstrated yesterday. iPod Touch users will have to pay $10 to upgrade to the new firmware.
The really interesting news is going to be from third-party developers and what they release for the iPhone. Apple can focus on the core feature set knowing that there are thousands of developers just waiting to create cool applications for a very hungry market of consumers. Personally, I want Yojimbo to sync with the iPhone.
We saw demonstrations from a collection of companies including a music application from a single developer and very cool medical applications.
For email, each account can have its own default signature, perhaps even sync this with Apple Mail. I have no reason to expect this, but it is a little wishful thinking.
Still wishful thinking. We did get some better email management and saving image attachments.
This may sound really basic, but there will be a way to copy and paste text from one application to another. This is more a challenge with the touch interface than anything else as there isn’t a logical gesture for this that doesn’t require a little bit of training.
Not yet as far as I can tell. Perhaps in iPhone 2.1 or 3.0.
All in all, yesterday’s announcement is a bit of a yawn for me. Really, the big difference with the new iPhone is the plastic case, the 3G speed, GPS and a price cut. Functionally, my current iPhone will be able to do almost all of the same things (not the GPS or as fast) as the new model. Launching it in 70 countries is pretty special as well, but since I’m here in the USA, that wasn’t an issue for me.
The interesting announcement was revamping .Mac into MobileMe, and as a subscriber to .Mac, I’m curious to get my hands on the new features when this rolls out next month.
Oh, Google Maps, you sneaky dude. Did you just start showing real estate listings on your maps?
Head on over to maps.google.com and do a search for your area. Then click the “Show search options” link next to the “Search Maps” button. From the drop-down menu, you will see “Real Estate.” Click that and you will see houses for sale in the area.
When you click on any of the results you will see the usual Google pop-up balloon with information about the listing. From there, you can link to one or more websites for the listing.
I agree, it is too much. Why has is gotten so loud? The answer is simple: Web 2.0 enables conversations and the more people and businesses that come to the party, the louder it will get.
So how do you deal with all of the noise? Listen for the echoes from the crowds.
I think that you have to start trusting the noise rather than trying to sift through it. The genuinely great ideas, articles, events, products, companies, people, etc. will naturally receive the votes of the crowd and create a “virtual echo” that is powerful enough to hear beyond the first post.
So consider your experience. If you subscribe to RSS feeds, don’t try to read everything. Skim the lists and then search for interesting posts across all of your feeds. Don’t try to catch up if you get behind. The good stuff will stick around thanks to the wisdom of the crowd.
Way way back in 1997, Michael Dell boasted that if he were in charge of Apple, he would “shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” My how times change. As of the close of the market on Friday, Apple’s market value is at $159.49 Billion where Mr. Dell’s company is at a paltry $39.46 Billion.
So, Mr. “Dude, you’re getting a” Dell, with more and more companies embracing the Macintosh, the worldwide success of the iPhone, music sales greater than Wal-Mart… (If only I had purchased 1000 shares of Apple when Mr. Dell made his suggestion.)
AT&T has a real problem. People are buying iPhones and not signing up for service. Apple cares a little bit (they get a percentage of the monthly service) but they really make the profit on selling the phones. So, I will throw out my theory about the rumored price break on the 3G iPhone. (Please note that this is a theory only.)
The customer would purchase a new phone either from Apple or AT&T as usual. AT&T will offer a $200 activation credit on the iPhone with a new 2-year contract. AT&T will only subsidize the cost of the phone if they can get the activation. This would be a way to counter the number of phones that were purchased and never activated with AT&T (probably somewhere unlocked in Asia).
And while I haven’t heard about this part at all, I can imagine that this $200 activation credit would be for users who activate with one of the newer flat rate unlimited plans. AT&T is not going to give Apple an extra $200 per handset without an activation at the end of the tunnel.
For me, this is a very logical and simple solution that gets AT&T more subscribers and basically changes nothing for Apple’s profits.
For those of you that happen to be female and live in the Greater Philadelphia Area, I will be speaking at the event for the Women of Wit and Wisdom on June 26th, 2008 at 6:30pm at the Pyramid Club in Philadelphia. The details for the event have not yet been posted to their website.
Using LinkedIn to Promote Your Business
Is it 12 or 73 invitations that you have received from LinkedIn so far? You have either ignored them or perhaps created an account. So now what do you and you 4 connections do next?
Learn to use LinkedIn to improve your reputation online:
Create powerful connections for business networking
Give and receive recommendations
Promote yourself by answering questions
Create opportunities for new business
More information to follow about registration will be posted on their site. Hope to see you there!
I’ve known you since you were called GoLive CyberStudio.
I remember when Adobe bought you and GoLive 4.0 was released. You were such a special application and I officially moved away from NetObjects Fusion to author all of my sites with you. I even beta tested new features for Adobe for a while.
No one did templates and components and site organization like you did. You fit so well with my obsessive habits and made so many things fast and easy.
But the future was to be not quite so rosy for you.
Years passed, others caught up and lapped you, and Dreamweaver was so popular with so many developers. And you just didn’t evolve.
Now, you are officially a software orphan. Today is a sad day and I’ve shed my final tear for you.
But I will not submit to the evil Dreamweaver! I will use my text editor once again!
Once Adobe took ownership of Dreamweaver, I knew that this day would come.