With the release of the iPad 2, the first wave of users seem quite jealous to the convenient upgrades and new options not available to the iPad senior. The way I feel is that I wouldn't have one unless it was a gift, and even then, I'd have to change a lot of the ways that I do my work and fun activities to accommodate using the device. I'm just fine using my Dell laptop from 2005, much less to mention the required MacBookPro for this masters degree. Although, I will admit, I use my Mac because Apple's interface is much more sensible than Windows will ever be.
Businessweek, Elle, Maxim, and Popular Science are magazine subscriptions now available on the iPad 2 through Apple's applications. How great is it that you can access everything you'd ever need, media-wise, without leaving the comfort of... where it is most comfortable to be. Any place with internet access is capable of hosting vast groups of iPad (2) owners... instead of seeing people reading books and magazines, there will now be a higher demand for wireless internet connections and the access of a power outlet for charging such items.
However, in the midst of the greatness, there are costs. Apple is demanding a 30% share of the subscriptions charges. This will drive the iPad 2's success and revenue up, but it may keep certain magazines from even desiring their presence in the app store menu.
So, I ask, where should the line be drawn? Is 30% too much for something that is already being stretched across many recipients? Where will the 30% be taken from? Who will lose enough for it to be a negative effect in the deal? These kinds of questions should come to mind to the magazine industry and maybe even be taken into consideration by Apple before tacking on almost a third of the cost. If that drives the prices up, how many consumers would rather by the physical copy? How many companies will phase out their physical copies? Very interesting...
(2011). Gigaom. Why Apple's Pushy Publishing Plan is Paying Off. Retrieved April 17, 2011 from http://gigaom.com/apple/why-apples-pushy-publishing-plan-is-paying-off/
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
CDs to MP3s... now clouds?
I remember my first MP3 player.. this huge bulky thing called a JukeBox made by Dell. MP3 players had been out a while, but my dad, being the computer junky he is, did his research and bought my brother and I the best for the money at the time.
(http://www.chaosmint.com/macintosh/moxiepix/b1_44.jpg) It was nearly the same size as the orignal iPod, but less expensive and I believe more computer-friendly (if not using iTunes) and it had 15MB, which was one of the largest at the time. I still have this machine!! I like to say machine because honestly when you use it, you can hear humming and clicking inside...
Anyway, mp3 players have come a long way from that point. We now have the million different types of iPods (touch, shuffle, mini... etc.) and others that are similiar, cheaper versions of the Apple product.
That being said, there are now advances on information sharing and holding. I'm sure you've seen the commercial for the Windows Cloud.. I personally like the one of the couple is sitting on the floor in the airport and they have delays, then he says, "To the cloud.." and the wall flips around, leaving the other passengers looking confused and dumbfounded. Then the girl takes control and decides to watch an episode of some kind of celebrity something-or-another and ends the commerical, "yay cloud." It's amazing how I liked to be entertained with something so "dumbed" as a commercial like that. Anyway, the basic concept is that their saved information from their home desktop computer is accessible by the laptop through the 'cloud.' Apple provides an application similar to this called MobileMe... coincidentally with a picture of a cloud.. hmm. So, with these programs available, it's like carrying around everything with you at all times (as long as there is connection to the internet.. Me.com for mobileme) without physically carrying everything everywhere!
Similarly, Amazon.com has produced the Cloud Drive, which allows users to upload their music files and stream them from any smartphone or any other device connected to the internet. There are also free services with applications for smartphones that are like radio without commercials. With these kinds of programs and services available, there are endless possible ways to listen to personal collections of music or genres and artists desired. The evolution from $20 cds with less than 20 songs, to $1 digital downloads, to free streaming is amazing and oh-so-convient to the digital age of today.
(2011). MercuryNews. Retrieved April 15, 2011 from http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_17787587?nclick_check=1
(http://www.chaosmint.com/macintosh/moxiepix/b1_44.jpg) It was nearly the same size as the orignal iPod, but less expensive and I believe more computer-friendly (if not using iTunes) and it had 15MB, which was one of the largest at the time. I still have this machine!! I like to say machine because honestly when you use it, you can hear humming and clicking inside...
Anyway, mp3 players have come a long way from that point. We now have the million different types of iPods (touch, shuffle, mini... etc.) and others that are similiar, cheaper versions of the Apple product.
That being said, there are now advances on information sharing and holding. I'm sure you've seen the commercial for the Windows Cloud.. I personally like the one of the couple is sitting on the floor in the airport and they have delays, then he says, "To the cloud.." and the wall flips around, leaving the other passengers looking confused and dumbfounded. Then the girl takes control and decides to watch an episode of some kind of celebrity something-or-another and ends the commerical, "yay cloud." It's amazing how I liked to be entertained with something so "dumbed" as a commercial like that. Anyway, the basic concept is that their saved information from their home desktop computer is accessible by the laptop through the 'cloud.' Apple provides an application similar to this called MobileMe... coincidentally with a picture of a cloud.. hmm. So, with these programs available, it's like carrying around everything with you at all times (as long as there is connection to the internet.. Me.com for mobileme) without physically carrying everything everywhere!
Similarly, Amazon.com has produced the Cloud Drive, which allows users to upload their music files and stream them from any smartphone or any other device connected to the internet. There are also free services with applications for smartphones that are like radio without commercials. With these kinds of programs and services available, there are endless possible ways to listen to personal collections of music or genres and artists desired. The evolution from $20 cds with less than 20 songs, to $1 digital downloads, to free streaming is amazing and oh-so-convient to the digital age of today.
(2011). MercuryNews. Retrieved April 15, 2011 from http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_17787587?nclick_check=1
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