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by hilzfuld on Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

Second Thoughts- Hardware vs Software

I know I wrote before that the cellular industry is becoming a software-dominated market, but there are still some signs out there, that I might be wrong about that. Take HTC for example. I remember when, not so long ago, HTC was a no-name generic type of company. They were the type of company that made handsets somewhere in the Far East but pretty much no one heard of.

A lot has changed since those days. HTC started making such good hardware that they have become one of the, if not THE, most dominant players in the cellular world today. They are now making phones for giant corporations like Palm, Google, and Microsoft. So maybe hardware does still appeal to some, and the software trend we seem to be entering, will take some time to really take over the market.

Alternatively, maybe what people are really looking for, is a combination of the two. They want a beautiful piece of hardware that’s form factor makes it easy to operate, alongside a user friendly, easy-to-use interface, and a fast and responsive operating system. Oh yea, and let’s not forget this week’s buzz word, an app store.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on Mac, Software, Tech

Tech and Marketing=Apple

I know it is a topic that is discussed and written about a lot, but I think there is a reason for that. Apple is really an extraordinary company, for so many reasons. What really amazes me about them is not the product or the technology they sell. MAC vs. PC, that debate is for a different time. I do not think there is anyone that can really claim that the original iPod, or the first 5 generation iPods for that matter (as opposed to the touch and the IPhone), were the best MP3 players on the market.  They weren’t! Yet they managed to sell 150 million iPods worldwide as of September 2007.

So how do they do it? It is very simple, their marketing abilities are unparalleled in the market. I recently read an article all about Apple’s “Marketing Machine” that left me absolutely stunned at how fundamentally different two huge corporations like Microsoft and Apple can be. Just one example that is mentioned in the article is the fact that when driving to one of Steve Jobs’ keynotes, you can notice all the billboards and buses have the current Apple products on them, and within a matter of seconds from the announcement of a new product, all that changes! The site is up and running with the new products, the store is already selling whatever it is Steve Jobs announced just minutes before, and the employees are even wearing new T-shirts. It is all just so smooth and near perfection.

Apple is the perfect example of superior marketing, merged with absolutely stunning and nearly flawless technology. They do however, need to do a little work on lowering their prices.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on PC, Software, Tech

Instant Gratification

I recently installed an external hard drive for my dad. When connecting it to the PC, I realized that some of his USB ports were 1.0 and some were 2.0. I conducted a little test to see if the difference is really that noticeable. The USB 1.0 was painfully slow to the point that I could not even let it complete the transfer, I had to disconnect it and reconnect it to the USB 2.0 port, where the speed was blazing fast.

Well good news, USB 3.0 was recently announced. The speeds that USB 3.0 support are nothing short of astounding. If USB 2.0 supports 480 Mbps, USB 3.0 supports ten times that. It can transfer (are you sitting down?)  27 GBs in 70 seconds. In the digital age in which we live, this will make things so much easier. Just the thought of backing up my whole PC in a few minutes as opposed to today’s few hours, makes me want to go out and exchange all my “old” USB 2.0 gadgets.

Now all I need to do is figure how to explain the importance of this “upgrade” to my wife. Any ideas?

-Hillel

Don't worry, it is backward compatible!

Don

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by Aryeh on Mac, PC, Software, Tech

Ubiquity – Understanding Language

When you’re on a website and you want to email the URL to a friend, why does it take so many steps? You need to copy the address, open Gmail, paste the address, add the name, and send. Alternatively, if I want to add a meeting to my calendar, I have to open Google Calendar, add an event etc.  Come on! We are in 2008, there has to be an easier way.

Ubiquity is the answer, its brand new from from Mozilla Labs. The technology uses open APIs to create a really easy-to-use command program. The shortcut keys are really amazing and very intuitive. It provides you with a set of commands, that when typed, activate certain actions that would have generally taken many more steps.

For example I could type “email this page to Steve” and my Gmail opens with a link in the body, and Steve’s email address in the to field.

Another example is, if I want to search for something or get directions to somewhere on Google Maps, you can type “map my home address to the location” and then email it by writing ” email this to Me.”

The best part is that you can easily customize the commands and shortcut keys to fit your needs.

So take a look at the movie below to better understand what I am rambling about.

Try it and let me know what you think.

Aryeh

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1516134&w=425&h=350&fv=]

more about “About Ubiquity“, posted with vodpod

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by Aryeh on iPhone, Mac, Mobile, Software, Tech

Android App Store

Hey,
Things have been a bit crazy around here, so this is going to be short. Following our recent discussions on cellphone software, I just read on TechCrunch that Android is coming out with their own app store.

My thoughts:

1. I think competition is very important because it will increase the quality of the apps.

2. I am pro the open sourced software, and I can’t wait to see what they have to offer.

3. It will be very interesting to see if they charge for the apps.

What do you think? Are you going to use Android?

Have a good one

Aryeh

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by hilzfuld on Mobile, Software, Tech

Looks Can be Deceiving: Software vs Hardware

First of all,  I would just like to introduce myself briefly, as I will probably be writing on this blog from time to time. My name is Hillel, and I work as a Technical Writer for a large telecommunications company in Israel. On the side, I am a gadget freak and a tech enthusiast. I am on Twitter under the name hilzfuld. OK now down to business.

I just wanted to throw a little theory out there. This is something that has been going through my head a lot recently, figured I would put it down on “paper”. In the rapidly changing cellular industry, I am noticing a theme that, in my opinion, reached its climax this week. I am referring to the fact that hardware is really becoming less and less important, whereas the operating system on which the phone runs, is becoming a crucial factor. Let me explain. For months, people were talking about the Gphone. This mysterious phone that Google was going to release. Google, however, as usual, was one step ahead of the game, and was not interested in designing the hardware, but rather the operating system, ie. Android. The big competition in the cellular world is no longer who can make the slimmest handset, it has become an ongoing war between huge corporations like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Symbian (to just name a few in no specific order), who can make the best and smoothest platform or operating system.

This is also very apparent when talking about the IPhone 3G. There were many enhancements included in the second version of the IPhone, but none more talked about then the SDK, or the app store. The enhanced headphone jack or the new slightly rounded sides are not what excited people, or at least not as much as the ability to add applications to the IPhone.

What did I mean about it reaching its climax this week? Well, Palm recently announced the release of their Palm Treo Pro and guess who is not making the hardware for this phone? Palm! They are having HTC design the hardware and they are going to worry strictly about what lies beneath. I don’t know about you, but to me, that seems like a clear indication that this industry is becoming a software-dominated one.

-Hillel

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