Our story on the LifeProof case got us thinking about accessories, and that got us thinking about GoSolarUSA’s (GSLO) Volt Solar Charger for the iPhone. But the question remains: What happened to GSLO and the Volt Solar Charger?

An iPhone Powered by the Sun

If you Google the Volt Solar Charger, you will get a list of stories that are almost a year old. They are all promising, speaking of GoSolarUSA’s plans to go into production. GSLO President and CEO Tyson Rohde also had great things to say about the future of the Volt Solar Charger:

“There’s no question that the iPhone has completely revolutionized the smartphone market…We think it’s the perfect time to be bringing an incredible new iPhone accessory like the Volt Solar Charger to U.S. retailers.”

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LifeProof is just the latest in the evolution of the iPhone case, and at almost $80 a pop, it is an investment all its own. But is it worth it?

LifeProof’s 4 Proofs

The LifeProof website offers four proofs to convince you that this is the only protective case you will ever need for your iPhone. The first proof is water. LifeProof’s waterproof design is rated to a depth of 2 Meters (6.6ft), which exceeds IP-68, the highest International Protection rating. So you can feel safe filming movies under water ─ or underwater movies, for that matter. You can listen to music and add a little soundtrack to your dive experiences. You can finally text in the tub without ever having to worry about another expensive mishap. And it is also great for those unannounced inconveniences like being caught in the rain.

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Microsoft has invited journalists and the public for a Windows 8 Consumer Preview at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, which runs from February 27-March 1, 2012. This is probably the clearest indication that tablets and PCs running the Windows 8 system will be coming out some time this year. Although it is officially being called a beta version, all indications point that it is more likely a “public beta 1 version” Microsoft has used in the past in the pre-release period of other Windows products.

Microsoft Versus Apple — More than Just the Cool Guy Versus the Nerd

It’s been a ‘slow’ decade for Microsoft. Yes, Windows is still the most widely used OS on the planet, with its usage share resting at about 90 percent. Those are staggering numbers, and they represent a huge and diverse market, which is evident in the amount of effort used by hackers to attack the Windows operating system.

But for the first time in 20 years, Apple has surpassed Microsoft in quarterly profits and revenues as a result of a dip in PC sales and huge losses in Microsoft’s Online Services Division (which contains the search engine Bing). Microsoft’s Q1 profits for 2011 were $5.4 billion on revenues of $16.2 billion. Apple on the other hand had mammoth revenues of $26.7 billion and profits of $6 billion.

These numbers paint a picture of more than just quarterly profits. They reflect the difference between how Apple and Microsoft operate. The difference in revenue and profit for Apple is about 20 billion dollars. For Microsoft, it is about 11 billion. The numbers suggest a much leaner operating and marketing strategy on the part of Microsoft. You need only watch a few days of television or surf the Internet to understand that what drives Apple is innovation and marketing. That may all be about to change.

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When Thinkmatter CEO Darren Thompson packed his bags and headed to Mexico for 6 weeks — he left behind his desk, his car and minus-forty-degree Canadian winter days.   What he didn’t leave behind was his computer work station — the proverbial brain of the operation.

Thompson is just one of the many new breed of entrepreneurs who, through the use of technology, can be just as effective and productive sitting beach side in Mexico as he can be in his actual office.   With the growing popularity of cloud computing and the advancement in remote-control applications, a user can be 10,000 miles away from his desk and still work on his home-base computer via any web browser.

“In the past, I would literally cart an entire suitcase of electronics and files with me,” says Thompson.  ”Now, between my iPhone and my ultra-lite laptop, I can pull up a spread sheet, edit a graphic or run a program from anywhere in the world — as long as I have an Internet connection.”

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If you’re ever looking for an example of competition resulting in innovation and, ultimately, improved consumer products — you need look no further than the technology marketplace, and a little story about two rivals by the names of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.  There’s no questioning the genius of either man — but it’s also clear that, without the rivalry they shared, neither Jobs nor Gates would have achieved quite as highly.  Steve Jobs, in particular, took some painful lessons learned from his nemesis and turned them into pure Apple gold.  To understand that ironic cause and effect, you have to go back to the beginning…

Back in the eighties, in the true infancy of desk top computers, the field was crowded with companies attempting to gain market share.  At one point Atari was a market leader, with their box-like 16K contraption that offered nothing more than the most basic programming.  There was also the Commodore 64 – Atari’s main competitor.   But, as the industry started to grow,  two main players started to emerge.  One was a company called “Apple,” with its self-contained, giant-toaster-looking computer built in Steve Jobs‘ garage.  The other was a little company started by a Harvard drop out named Bill Gates.   Gates had shrewdly purchased the rights to something called DOS at the time, and then wrote a new program called Windows that made operating a personal computer much more simple for the non-technical user.

Steve Jobs had his fans

Right from the start, Steve Jobs’ company had its loyal — some would even say ”fanatical” –  user base.   Mac users were as die-hard then as they are now.  But back then, Apple was engaged in a life-and-death struggle to gain market share against this nerdy kid in Washington state who had a company called Microsoft.  The future of computing was at stake — and each of the two major players in the game was determined to win.

In retrospect, Steve Jobs and Apple really didn’t stand a chance.  Microsoft and Windows was licensed out to just about every major hardware company on the planet.  The result of that was that there were essentially two types of computers – Apple’s proprietary devices,  and every other computer by every other manufacturer in the world, all of which were running Windows and DOS.

For the consumer though,  what really made the computer was the software and programs you could run on it.  Computer gaming was a new trend back then – after all, this was a generation that had grown up in seedy mall arcades across North America.  It was an exciting development when you could suddenly play in your own living room, on your own computer.  The only  question was:  which computer would you buy?

In that dark time before the Internet, downloading, and file sharing, software was something you bought from a store.   And when you were deciding which computer to buy — your decision was largely influenced by how much software it was compatible with.  On one little wall in the corner, you’d see the Apple-compatible software – and, then, taking up ten shelves and four aisles of floor-to-ceiling space, you would see the software dedicated to Windows programs.    This is where Windows had an insurmountable lead over it’s main competitor – a lead that it has never given up.

It didn’t take a degree in psychology to know that Steve Jobs was not a happy camper when, in 1985, the company he created was wrestled away from him in the boardroom of Apple Inc.    Jobs went on to found Pixar, the company responsible for such huge hits as Toy Story and Finding Nemo.   He also created a new computer company called NeXT which was acquired by Apple in 1996 – a move that brought Jobs back into the near-bankrupt Apple organization.  As he took over the post of CEO and Overall Supreme Warlord – Jobs took those painful lessons he learned from Microsoft and turned them to his advantage.

Steve Jobs Applies the Lessons Learned…

It started with a new service called iTunes – introduced at the same time as a new portable music player called iPod; a handy little device that could hold 1000 songs in your pocket.   Then, in 2007, Apple announced that it was getting into the cell phone business and the world caught its first glimpse of the iPhone.   Shortly after that, Apple introduced the App store – a giant online software retailer where Apple was the only kid on the block.   It signalled the end of one era and heralded the beginning of another — an era where Apple no longer had to play second fiddle to Microsoft and Windows.  Steve Jobs had learned the hard way that no matter how cool or smart the device was – the real key to consumer loyalty was in having the software applications to make that device an indispensable element of the owner’s life.

Twenty years earlier, Jobs had learned from Bill Gates that no matter how smart your computer was – what made people buy it was the programs they could run on it.  Applying that knowledge, he built the entire Apple mobile empire on software that was only compatible with Apple devices, such as the iPhone, iPod , and iPad.

It’s a lesson that other companies may be learning right now — a lesson that is bringing Blackberry creator Research In Motion to the brink of bankruptcy, and a lesson that many new players in the Tablet and Smart Phone industry will learn as they fail commercially.  As the school of hard knocks taught Steve Jobs, it’s ultimately the software programs that make any device a must-have item.

Work From Your iPhone, iPad, or Android Tablet, With “GoToMyPC”

Citrix Online recently announced an addition to its growing line of telecommuting tools with the availability of its popular “GoToMyPC” remote access software for Android tablets.  That gives you one more option in an increasingly long list of ways to stay connected to your computer, no matter where you may be.

Whether you have an iPhone, iPad, laptop, or now, Android tablet, GoToMyPC lets you access your base computer with all its files, programs, and network connections.  You can be anywhere in the world and, as long as you have a device with an Internet connection, it’s as though you were sitting at your own desk.  GoToMyPC lets you run work programs that you don’t have on your home PC.  It makes it simple to grab a file that you forgot at the office.  You have access to everything that you need – every place you might need it.  And it gives you that access in a way that’s much simpler than duplicating files, or copying everything on an easy-to-lose thumb drive.

GoToMyPC is the Easy Solution

To get started, simply download the program to your base computer from www.GoToMyPC.com.  The installation is automatic and the program configures itself, with no restart required.  Once the install is done, leave your base computer on and connected to the Internet.  Then, log in to the website from another computer or device. You don’t need to install the program again – all you have to do is click on the connect button and, like magic, the desktop of your base computer will appear in front of you.  From that point forward, all you have to do is leave your base computer on and connected to the internet, and you’ll be able to access it from wherever you are.

You’ll enjoy a host of convenient features with GoToMyPC, including remote printing, the ability to cut, copy, and paste between computers, and easy file transfer from one desktop to another.  Keyboard locking and screen blanking prevents others from using or viewing your computer while you are remotely connected.  But if you’d like to have someone temporarily view or share control of your computer from another location, simply click on the button that says “Invite Guest to PC.”  Think of the possibilities – you can show a power-point presentation to a client in London while you’re in Toronto and your base computer is in Los Angeles.

Office managers can take advantage of corporate settings to manage multiple users with varying degrees of access to specific features and other security settings.  Speaking of security, all data travelling between your base computer and your remote access device is protected with 128-bit AES encryption, and account access is protected by dual passwords and end-to-end user authentication.  You can work with confidence, knowing your information is safe.  And – despite the “PC” part of the name – it doesn’t matter whether you work on a Mac or Windows PC.  In fact, feel free to mix it up, using a PC to log into a Mac desktop or vice versa.

Citrix offers a variety of subscription packages for GoToMyPC, depending upon your needs.  Every package includes unlimited remote access, free software upgrades, and 24/7 global customer support.  Check out the options at www.GoToMyPC.com.  You’ll never be tied to your desktop computer again!

“Dump Go Daddy Day” Numbers Not Known Yet

December 29th was marked as the official “Dump Go Daddy Day,” a protest born of the backlash against the Internet giant’s initial support of the controversial SOPA legislation.  A grass-roots movement enouraged customers to show their displeasure by taking their business elsewhere — and it would appear that many did just that.  But how many?  On the day following the protest, that’s the question everyone is asking.

Go Daddy Issues a Statement

Go Daddy’s CEO, Warren Adelman, issued a statement late Thursday, in which he said, “We have observed a spike in domain name transfers, which are running above normal rates and which we attribute to Go Daddy’s prior support for SOPA, which was reversed.”  Adelman declined to reveal the actual number of transfers, however, so protesters will have to wait to see how large an effect their actions had.  It could be a significant figure — it is estimated that, prior to Christmas, the company had already lost more than 37000 domains as a result of the controversy.