Apple in 2012

If the lineups at your local Apple Store are any indication—and they are—Apple had a really big 2011. Apple’s numbers were in no small part propelled by the success of the iPhone and iPad, already nearing their sixth and third year of production, respectively. And given that there were not a lot of changes on the hardware front in 2011, expect some significant upgrades from the Cupertino-based company in 2012.

iPhone — The Bread & Butter of Apple

It’s almost hard to believe that the iPhone was introduced by the late Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, a mere five years ago. Since then, the iPhone has become Apple’s ‘gateway’ device. It’s what gets consumers in the store.

The iPhone 4S had some nice features, including a peppier camera and zippy processor, as well as the much-talked about (and spoofed) voice-control feature called Siri. But the general consensus is that the 4S was heavy on promise but light on delivery.

These days it’s hard to keep anything under wraps—even for Apple. The Korea Times reports that Samsung will continue to produce the Apple-designed A6 chips for the so-called “iPhone 5” at its Austin, Texas, plant. The next version of the iPhone will carry the LG “Retina Display” that has become a hallmark of the device. Also expect to see a slightly larger screen, which will make it more competitive against the Android phones.

iPod — Apple’s Old Friend

Remember the iPod? It seems that everyone these days is talking so much about Apple’s new lineup that they have forgotten about the little music maker that first brought joy to ears around the world in 2001. Despite its falling numbers, the iPod remains a staple on Apple’s à la carte menu.

There is, however, speculation that the shuffle and the classic may be put on the shelf (not the store shelf, the metaphoric one) for good. That would surely be a sad epilogue for those who have come to love the little guy and its chubbier companion.

Increased wireless and Bluetooth capabilities are likely changes for the iPod, which should bring it more in line with its iPhone cousins.

iPad — The ‘New’ Kid on Apple’s Block

Although there have been a plethora of tablets dumped onto the market (dumped is an apt term given the haste many companies have shown in releasing a tablet), Apple seems to have hit its stride with iPad 2. Although there are arguably more robust and versatile tablet devices on the market, Apple continues to lead the way in design and functionality (if not in function). Strangers to Apple products may scoff at the limited scope of iPad tablets, but anyone who has ever used one will attest to an unrivaled simplicity and ease-of-use.

There is talk of an iPad 3 making its way through the techie blogs and Internet websites. About the only hint of improvement is the adoption of Bluetooth 4.0, Retina Display, and an upgrade A6 processor. There is even gossip of an “iPad Mini” set to go toe-to-toe with the Kindle Fire—a tasty, if bite-sized, prospect.

Macs — Yes, Apple’s Other Products

The entire Mac line is set for upgrades. From the Mac Pro to the MacBook Pro to the ever-popular and precocious MacBook Air, the line is undergoing a makeover.
Apple is reportedly introducing a 15-inch version of the MacBook Air as well as significant upgrades to the 11- and 13-inch versions, including extended battery life and storage capabilities. DigiTimes, the Taiwan-based techie blog and newspaper, also reported that higher-resolution monitors will be added to the MacBook Air laptops.

As for the iMacs, expect faster processors and a sleeker new look.

Apple TV — Back to the Future

We reported recently about the computing giant taking on television with the eponymous iTV. This is probably the most exciting prospect on the horizon for Apple. Apple’s set-top box has been quietly making a mark in the industry. The sales have been modest indeed, but not so modest that Apple has not had a moment to glimpse the future. With the rumored 32- and 37-inch iTV set be released in 2012, Apple will surely bring their sophistication and vanguard thinking to this ‘new’ medium.

Anytime a monolithic company like Apple strides into new territory, the prospect is both exhilarating and perhaps even a little frightening. Exhilarating because Apple has a knack for breathing new life into ‘dormant’ industries (such was the case when the company introduced the first iPod and the iPhone and now the iPad tablet). And frightening because it means big changes for some of the old-money players.

If you have ever been to an old boy’s club, the grey-haired, cigar-smoking members of the lodge do not like their business toyed with. This is fitting because it speaks to Apple’s lighthearted yet unflinching approach to business.

Regardless of the changes, 2012 promises to be a big year for Apple Inc. If you have any doubt, ask yourself when you saw an Apple Store for the first time (probably not that long ago) and if you have ever seen one empty.

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!

Clean and Organize Your iTunes Library With “Rinse”

If your iTunes library is starting to look like the virtual version of CDs scattered all over the floor, clean it up with “Rinse,” a software download that knows your music better than you do.

Rinse literally takes the majority of the work out of what can be a daunting task.  It doesn’t matter how much music you have, how poorly categorized it is, or how much information you’re missing.  Rinse employs an intelligent database technology that is able to identify tracks even when the artist’s name is misspelled or the album details are incorrect.  Other organizing programs rely on you having all the correct information to begin with.  Not Rinse.  It will remove duplicates, repair mistakes, find album art, and sort out your music genres with impressive accuracy – even if you have a penchant for obscure tunes.

If it makes you nervous to have a program sort out your music and make changes automatically, don’t worry.  Rinse lets you be as hands-on as you like.  No matter what function you’re performing, you have the choice to click either “automatic” or “one by one” – which allows you to preview every revision prior to saving it.  That puts you in complete control – but once you see how efficient and accurate Rinse is, you’ll probably be willing to click on “automatic,” and let the program sort out your iTunes library while you take a nice nap.

How Rinse Works

So – how exactly does Rinse tidy your music?

1. It removes all duplicate songs in your collection.  You’re probably wasting some valuable storage space by having identical tracks on, say, an original album, a greatest hits collection, and maybe a compilation.  Rinse finds your duplicates, let’s you keep the one you want, and erases the rest.  Or, if you prefer, you can keep the extra versions of the song, but have them marked as being duplicates.
2. It repairs mistakes.  Spelling errors, misinformation, incorrect album details – Rinse will find them and fix them.  Guaranteed.
3. It fills in missing iTunes info.  No more guessing what “Track 01” is, or wondering if “Unknown Artist” is the one you’re looking for.
4. It will find and add missing album art.  Tired of looking at that boring musical-note icon for every album cover that you don’t have in your collection?  Rinse will fix that.  It automatically finds high-resolution album art and imports it into your iTunes library.
5. It will organize your genres.  There’s no point in browsing by genre when you have nearly as many genres as you do songs.  Rinse will organize similar music into combined categories that make more sense.

The bottom line is that Rinse is a fantastic clean-up tool and an effective solution to the many organizational problems associated with iTunes.   The program runs with push-button ease but, if you do have a question or require customer support, help is available 24/7 on the company’s Facebook page.

Download the program for Mac or Windows, at www.rinsemymusic.com.