Hot Brew: Apple's missed opportunities with iPad2

By Jack Gold

Apple(AAPL_) launched its iPad 2, mostly with improvements that were expected: a dual core processor 1 GHz with better graphics, front and rear cameras, thinner and lighter case, a gyroscope, an upgraded browser and java engine.

What was still missing (and I expected it to be missing) was Flash support. This is a key differentiator for the Android (and PlayBook) camps that provide Flash support. Despite Apple's claims, Flash is and will be important on the Internet for many years to come.

Of course, the battle between Apple andAdobe(ADBE_) continues over this issue and won't be resolved anytime soon.

Apple also released iOS 4.3, which has a nice new feature for iPhone 4 users (not for iPad users) -- a personal WiFi hotspot capability. This has been a competitive advantage for Android which has had this feature for a while, so Apple fixed that competitive disadvantage.

iPad2 also added video conferencing, but it only works with other Apple products (Apple didn't talk about any Windows or other phone versions of the FaceTime app). That's an issue for people who want to reach out to others that are not Apple device specific. Will Apple allow Skype or similar apps on the iPad to make up for that?

And Apple leveled the playing field for 3G-connected devices (as I expected, it did not announce 4G). Apple will make both AT&T(T_) (GSM) and Verizon(VZ_) (CDMA) models available so the carrier choice doesn't get in the way (and it increases Apple's channel).

The announcement went mostly as expected. The iPad 2 price stayed the same, which is typical of Apple when new HW comes out. And availability date is very quick (next week).

Overall, I think Apple fans who want the latest tablet will buy this (or upgrade from an existing iPad). But I don't see any overwhelmingly compelling capabilities that would make people sitting on the tablet fence go out and have to buy one, despite some attractive apps that Apple introduced.

Further I don't believe this is head and shoulders above the competition now coming to market (e.g., Motorola Xoom, and other next generation Android Honeycomb devices, Research In Motion's(RIMM_) PlayBook, H-P's(HPQ_) WebOS device, etc.).

I believe Apple didn't really move the bar all that much from the original iPad, and from where many competitors are now targeting their newest devices. And importantly, there were no real nods to business users in manageability or security. This is a challenge on the current iPad and isn't improved on this version (or iOS 4.3), despite Apple's drive to get large scale adoption of iPads into businesses.

By the way, Apple also missed the opportunity to make iPad truly multi-tasking in this release. I think they chose not to because it would have severely affected the battery life of the device. Probably a good tradeoff on their part, but it does mean some background tasks for business apps/users won't run very quickly (or not at all).

Many businesses are trialing (or even deploying) iPads. And iPad2 will be attractive with its increased processing power, on-board cameras (although not all businesses see this as an advantage), and great battery life. So business users are generally excited about iPad and for what the promise of a thin light tablet device brings to them. But generally, IT is disappointed with the device and how hard Apple makes it for enterprise IT to deploy and manage on a large scale. And security is lacking (no HW based encryption). This, I believe, is where Apple missed a golden opportunity with iPad2 and iOS 4.3

In fact, Apple did not address these legitimate IT concerns at all with the updated HW and SW. This means third-party "enterprise enablers" (e.g., Sybase, Zenprise, McAfee, MobileIron) will need to be deployed to manage and protect the devices in a corporate setting.

Apple could have provided more tools, especially by enhancing iTunes for mass deployments and more device management, and by including security in HW like it does in the iPhone (which, by the way, is more secure than the iPad at this point). But either Apple couldn't make the improvements within the timeframe of the new product release, or simply doesn't think it needs to. In my opinion, it's probably the latter.

End users love the concept of iPad. But its IT who ultimately has to deploy them in bulk and pay for the ongoing device maintenance and control efforts. There is a real and substantial cost to companies for deploying and maintaining these devices that users don't usually see or appreciate.

It's why Motorola(MOT_) has recently acquired a small enterprise management SW firm (3LM) to enhance its Android systems for enterprise manageability and security (and by the way, vanilla Android is even worse than iOS in enterprise manageability and security). And say what you might about RIM and PlayBook competitiveness, but it will be IT friendly right out of the box by emphasizing its enterprise roots.

Bottom Line: While business use of tablets and particularly iPads is growing rapidly, the need to deploy securely and manage the devices is a real challenge for organizations and one that end users demanding use of the devices don't often see.

With competitive devices coming to market that are approaching the usability and features of iPad, and that offer true enterprise features, I expect iPads in business to become less attractive, at least until Apple decides to focus on the IT requirements of the devices (something it has not effectively done for its PCs either), Apple has moved in the right direction with the iPhone, but needs to do more. This is an opportunity lost for Apple and a key differentiator for its competitors in the enterprise market.

Jack Gold is the founder and principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, an information-technology analysis firm in Northborough, Mass., covering the many aspects of business and consumer computing and emerging technologies.

Again, President Obama caught double-minded in moment of decision?

Will Obama stop Gadhafi?

Editor-in-Chief

We have all been told about how "cautious" President Barack Obama is by nature, in addition to all the other "endearing qualities" that made even the most conflicted of souls, vote him into office.

Now, while those supposed qualities may engender 'consensus' through requisite introspection, when it comes to making time sensitive and critical decisions, this President has been found wanting.

As one of those who voted for Barack Obama, three years into his Presidency, I am left with an unsavory sense of buyer's remorse. Not because he has performed poorly in office (on the contrary, he has done quite well given the hand he was dealt), but that I and most other independents would like to see him grow a backbone and take a more decisive approach on critical issues.

This piece will not delve into any of the domestic matters we have recently faced in the United States. I am more concerned with how much of a by-stander this President has been, while Hillary Clinton bungles her way through international affairs, on a daily basis.

Let's take a look at what is happening in North Africa - Libya, to be precise.

Coming on the heels of the peaceful overthrow of repressive dictators in both Tunisia and Egypt (quite unprecedented actually), the Obama administration has been found pussy-footing again, with regard to what it should do about Gadhafi.

The same way the administration waded (blind-folded) through the Egyptian revolution and ultimately got rescued by a disciplined Egyptian military and political hierarchy, the White House has been unable to formulate a coordinated and directed policy on Libya.

It is NOT enough to just have a policy on evacuations, food and other related logistics. That is operational naivety at its very worst. How can you stop the bleeding when you have not attacked the root cause of the blood-shed?

It is obvious Gadhafi feels he can do whatever he wants with his own people and get away with it. What is even more troubling is that much of the world is left to feel that way, at this point.

That will however change as soon as the most powerful man in the world finally grows a backbone and at least, takes the lead in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya.

That would at least, be a start.

George Soros: Oil producing nations must share wealth with their citizens

Soros predicts "bloody overthrow of Iranian regime".

Billionaire investor George Soros, has stressed that oil producing nations must share their wealth with their citizens or face the kind of revolt being witnessed in North Africa and parts of the Middle East.

In an interview with the BBC, Soros opined that Revolts in Libya were partly the result of "revulsion against a corruption" fed by the misuse of oil money.

More "transparency and accountability" was needed from other producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia he said.

Mr. Soros also predicted the Iranian regime would be overthrown in the "bloodiest of the revolutions". 

Libya produces 1.6 million barrels of oil per day and is the 17th largest producer in the world.

And Colonel Gaddafi's hold on power has been dependent on the billions of dollars in oil revenue that pour into the country.

Talking of the wave of governments being challenged in North Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Soros said: "What has caused the revolutions is a revulsion against a corruption that is fed by the misuse of natural resources like for instance in Libya.

"Transparency and even more importantly accountability in the use of natural resources is what you need for people living in those countries to get the benefit of those national resources.

"Libya produced enormous wealth which Gaddafi took as his own and now the people rebelled against it."

Asked whether there should be more transparency with what happened to oil incomes, Mr. Soros said: "Very much so."

And he said the US and Europe needed to more actively support the revolutions in Libya and elsewhere so that the new regimes will co-operate with the West.

"What is happening today in the Middle East is very similar to what happened in the former Soviet Union in 1989-91. But then it was a regime hostile to the West that was destroyed by the revolution," he said.

"Now it is regimes supported by the West, so the West has to regain the allegiance of the people in those countries by actually supporting the transition to democracy.

"It's very important that Europe and the US should be in front of the revolution rather than behind it because if they are behind it, they are going to lose the allegiance of the new regimes that are emerging and if they are properly supported they will be democratic regimes and it will be a tremendous improvement."

Is the business card dead?

Meishi/business cards - vital part of Japanese culture

Industries may change and brand names may come and go, but one tradition in the business world has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years.
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The exchange of cards between two people who are meeting for the first time is a ritual that goes back as far as business itself.

For most of us, the handing over of contact details is an important moment - a clear signal that a connection has been made.

But as our lives turn increasingly digital, technology is attempting to provide a range of futuristic alternatives to the old-fashioned card.

Ever since the arrival of electronic communication, people have been exploring new ways to share information with each other- from swapping email addresses to trading mobile phone numbers and, increasingly, connecting through an online social network.

A range of services have appeared to take advantage of this trend, including Bump Technologies, a two-year-old startup based in California's Silicon Valley. Its application, which users download to their phones, lets people trade contact details simply by tapping their handsets together.

It is an approach that has a number of advantages over the traditional paper card, says Bump's Sadie Bascom - particularly since nobody goes anywhere without their mobile these days.

"It's easy, always on your phone, and you never have to remember to grab a stack of physical cards or worry about them running out."

It also gives users the chance to add directly to somebody's address book - skipping the need to enter those details by hand or saving people the chore of rifling through piles of cards to find the details they are looking for.

"People's dependence on their mobile devices to help them manage their lives is increasing," she adds. "Why take a few minutes to type someone into our phone when you can bump and save their info in a matter of seconds?

Going digital has other advantages, too. Traders can include information that might be hard to fit on to a traditional business card, such as a portfolio or even a CV.

And for those who feel comfortable with the idea, forging a connection on Facebook or Twitter can prove a useful way to add personality to an otherwise sterile working relationship.

Given the explosive growth of the social websites over the past few years, some see this trend as a potential goldmine.

Investors including Sequoia - the venture capital group famous for backing Google, Oracle and PayPal - have pumped almost $20m into Bump, for example, in the hope that it can become a mainstream hit.

Meanwhile LinkedIn, the world's biggest business-centric social network, recently announced its plan to float on the stock market.

Analysts estimate that the launch will value the company, which lets people trade business contact information over the web, at around $175m.

While the trend to go completely digital might be growing, however, there is still a roaring trade in traditional cards. But even those are now getting a number of hi-tech overhauls.

Lower manufacturing costs mean that it is easier and cheaper than ever to make customised cards - leading some who want to stand out from the crowd to opt for innovative designs and materials such as aluminium and plastic that were previously too expensive to use.

London-based service Moo.com, meanwhile, has taken advantage of technology in a different way. Advanced digital printing techniques mean that Moo customers can use their own photographs to create a stack of hundreds of cards which each carry different, personalised images.

As a result the company, which now has customers worldwide and an office in the US, has built a strong following among creative professionals and technology-led businesses.

Richard Moross, Moo's founder and chief executive, says that this is because a physical card "conveys the card holder's personality through design".

"It's way more than just contact info," he says. "The more prevalent digital becomes, the more meaningful interacting is in the real world - analogue still rules at conferences and events. Using a digital business card can be a bit like talking on your phone at the dinner table."

Indeed, in some cultures, the role of the physical calling card is still hugely important.

While Americans might casually flip out a card from their wallet, for example, Japanese executives will carefully present their cards with both hands as a sign of respect.

But what is clear in almost every case, however, is that the advances in online networking mean the lines between professional and personal are becoming increasingly blurred.

The more information we share online through services like Facebook, Twitter and blogs, the bigger the idea of swapping contact details becomes - regardless of whether it's done physically or virtually.

"We have since seen a shift in the demographic as Bump gained popularity," says Sadie Bascom. "The majority of bumps now actually occur after 5pm, and our most used features are the photo sharing and messaging tools."

Source: BBC Business/Technology News

Apple launches second iPad tablet

Apple has launched the second generation of its iPad tablet computer at an event in San Francisco.

The company said the machine featured a faster processor, improved graphics, and front and rear cameras.

Apple leads the industry in sales of tablet devices, but has recently begun to lose share to rivals such as HP and Samsung.

The event was hosted by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January.

It had been widely speculated that he would not appear owing to his ill health.

Mr Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004.

Speaking on stage, he said: "We have been working on this product for a while and I just didn't want to miss today."

Up until September 2010, Apple iPads accounted for 95% of tablet computer sales, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

By the end of 2010, that figure had fallen to 75%, said Strategy Analytics.

The loss of share was down to the arrival of scores of new tablet devices, mainly based on Google's open-source Android system.

Other platforms have also begun to appear, including Microsoft's Windows 7 and HP's WebOS.

Ovum analyst Adam Leach predicted a two-horse race in the tablet market over the coming year.

"The platform dominance of Apple and Google will continue through 2011 and beyond," said Mr Leach.

"However, devices based on Google's platforms will only overtake those based on Apple's platform by 2015, when we forecast 36% and 35% market shares respectively," he added.

Apple has billed the iPad 2 as slimmer, lighter and faster than its predecessor.

The new device features the company's latest dual core A5 processor, which, it is claimed, delivers twice the processing power of the original iPad.

iPad 2 will go on sale in the US on 11 March, followed by 26 other countries, on 25 March.

In the United States, pricing will remain the same as for the first iPad, between $499 and $826. 

Other countries are also expected to retain their original pricing models.

CCS Insight analyst, Ben Wood, said that alone would worry other tablet manufacturers: "All of those guys are struggling to even match the iPad pricing, and if you are going to win in the tablet market and you are not Apple, you need to price against it."

Along with the updated hardware, Apple unveiled several new applications for the iPad 2, including the video editing package iMovie and music making programme, Garage Band.

However, according to James Holland, editor of Electricpig.co.uk, the company still has some way to go in refining the iPad's software.

"Where Android is still ahead is they have nailed a few of the interface issues, like notifications - when the iPad wants to tell you something it takes up the whole screen and you have to dismiss that to continue working," he said.

"Apple needs to up its game because it is positioning the iPad as a post PC device.

"At the moment it is slightly backwards in that it makes you do one thing at a time," said Mr Holland.

Source: BBC Technology News

Another "family values" Republican shows his true colors

NEW YORK - What started last month with an anonymous woman's Craigslist dating search for men who don't "look like toads" ended Wednesday with the resignation of two-term Rep. Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., a married father who passed himself off as a divorced lobbyist when he sent her a topless muscle photo of himself.

Gawker.com broke the story about the lying lawmaker under the headline "Married GOP Congressman Sent Sexy Pictures to Craigslist Babe."

Within hours, he had quit his $174,000-a-year job and issued this statement:


"I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness. The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately."


Answering a Washington-area "Women for Men" ad last month, Lee described himself as 39, divorced, a lobbyist and a "fit, fun classy guy." And to prove it, he e-mailed the shirtless photo to the unnamed government worker from Maryland.

Once she figured out the man she thought might have been a JC Penney model was actually a 46-year-old congressman, she went to Gawker with copies of their bantering e-mails about bad Craigslist dates.

Lee wouldn't discuss the incident Wednesday afternoon when intercepted by Fox News enroute to his car, saying, "I have to work this out with my wife."

He resigned later in the afternoon. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to set a date for a special election to fill Lee's seat. 

For a while it seemed he might try to tough it out. A Lee spokesman earlier told Gawker that Lee believed his e-mail account had been hacked around Jan. 21, although the date on the e-mails containing the topless Blackberry portrait was dated Jan. 14.

In the warp-speed world of online news, the Gawker story was added to Lee's Wikipedia profile by mid-afternoon, though it should be noted that in the case of the fit, fun philanderer, he was answering, not placing, an ad.

"In February of 2011 Representative Chris Lee was found to have been posting personal ads on Craigslist looking for women and lying about his age and marriage after e-mails and risque photos he sent to a woman were uncovered."


http://gawker.com/#!5756377/craigslist-congressman-resigns

Source: Politics Daily

Egyptian dictator Mubarak is richest man in the world?

Gamal and Hosni Mubarak (Egyptian Dictator)
Courtesy: Getty Images

President Hosni Mubarak's family fortune could be as much as $70bn (£43.5bn) according to analysis by Middle East experts, with much of his wealth in British and Swiss banks or tied up in real estate in London, New York, Los Angeles and along expensive tracts of the Red Sea coast.

After 30 years as president and many more as a senior military official, Mubarak has had access to investment deals that have generated hundreds of millions of pounds in profits. Most of those gains have been taken offshore and deposited in secret bank accounts or invested in upmarket homes and hotels.

According to a report last year in the Arabic newspaper Al Khabar, Mubarak has properties in Manhattan and exclusive Beverly Hills addresses on Rodeo Drive.

His sons, Gamal and Alaa, are also billionaires. A protest outside Gamal's ostentatious home at 28 Wilton Place in Belgravia, central London, highlighted the family's appetite for western trophy assets.

Amaney Jamal, a political science professor at Princeton University, said the estimate of $40bn-70bn was comparable with the vast wealth of leaders in other Gulf countries.

"The business ventures from his military and government service accumulated to his personal wealth," she told ABC news. "There was a lot of corruption in this regime and stifling of public resources for personal gain.

"This is the pattern of other Middle Eastern dictators so their wealth will not be taken during a transition. These leaders plan on this."

Al Khabar said it understood the Mubaraks kept much of their wealth offshore in the Swiss bank UBS and the Bank of Scotland, part of Lloyds Banking Group, although this information could be at least 10 years old.

There are only sketchy details of exactly where the Mubaraks have generated their wealth and its final destination.

Christopher Davidson, professor of Middle East politics at Durham University, said Mubarak, his wife, Suzanne, and two sons were able to accumulate wealth through a number of business partnerships with foreign investors and companies, dating back to when he was in the military and in a position to benefit from corporate corruption.

He said most Gulf states required foreigners give a local business partner a 51% stake in start-up ventures. In Egypt, the figure is commonly nearer 20%, but still gives politicians and close allies in the military a source of huge profits with no initial outlay and little risk.

"Almost every project needs a sponsor and Mubarak was well-placed to take advantage of any deals on offer," he said.

"Much of his money is in Swiss bank accounts and London property. These are the favourites of Middle Eastern leaders and there is no reason to think Mubarak is any different. Gamal's Wilton Place home is likely to be the tip of the iceberg."

Al Khabar named a series of major western companies that, partnered with the Mubarak family, generated an estimated $15m a year in profits.

Aladdin Elaasar, author of The Last Pharaoh: Mubarak and the Uncertain Future of Egypt in the Obama Age, said the Mubaraks own several residences in Egypt, some inherited from previous presidents and the monarchy, and others the president has commissioned.

Hotels and land around the Sharm el-Sheikh tourist resort are also a source of Mubarak family wealth.

Source: The Guardian

Carlos Slim unveils $8.3bn investment drive

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim says he is to invest $8.3bn in 19 countries, mainly in Latin America.

The bulk of the money, some $3.6bn, is destined for his businesses in Mexico, including telecommunications, mining and road-building.

Drug-related violence affecting some regions of Mexico was no reason to stop investing in the country, Mr Slim said.

Last year he knocked Bill Gates off the top of Forbes magazine's billionaire's list with a fortune put at $53.5bn.

The planned $3.6bn for Mexico, a 13% rise on last year, would go to a range of sectors, with the bulk going to telecommunications, Mr Slim told a news conference in Mexico City.

"Whoever doesn't invest, be it out of fear or caution, will be left behind," he said.

Mr Slim said he believed the Mexican economy would continue to grow in 2011 and 2012.

Violence and insecurity in the country were serious problems, he said, but violence could be found everywhere.

"What can be more worrying is economic uncertainty, to see that developed countries have huge deficits, high rates of unemployment, undercapitalised financial systems, and that they are merely adopting palliative measures that don't resolve the problems."

Other key countries for investment were Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina, he said.

Mr Slim, 71, the son of Lebanese immigrants, controls more than 200 companies across Latin America, ranging from telecoms, where he first made his fortune, to infrastructure, banking and retail.

In 2008, he bought stakes in the New York Times newspaper and in the struggling bank Citigroup.

Clash over U.S. spending looms with Obama speech

WASHINGTON – Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a clash over what is likely to be a central theme of President Barack Obama's address to Congress on Tuesday: deficit reduction and spending cuts.

Obama, a Democrat, is scheduled to make his State of the Union address at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday (0200 GMT on Wednesday), and the White House has signaled the president will focus his time primarily on the economy and U.S. fiscal woes.

Reining in U.S. spending is likely to be part of that equation, but both parties disagree on how to do that.

Republicans have called for $100 billion in cuts. Democrats are fearful that large cuts in domestic spending could stifle the still-fragile economic recovery and jeopardize hopes of reducing the 9.4 percent unemployment rate.

That debate, which has played out in recent days, continued ahead of Obama's speech. Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama, expressed skepticism on Monday that Obama would get serious about reducing spending.

"He's got to get on the road to fiscal sanity, and I'm not sure we're going to hear that," Sessions said in an interview with Reuters Insider.

"Business as usual cannot be continued. And I am just terribly afraid the president (hasn't) got it, that he's in denial. He's talking about investments, still, which are spending programs. And I'm really worried about that."

Obama plans to emphasize the need for U.S. global competitiveness in the speech and views investment in education and infrastructure as crucial to that effort.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said both political parties agreed the issue of spending cuts needed to be addressed.

"We're not going to have a debate in Washington about whether we need to make some changes and whether we need to control our spending," he told reporters.

"We're going to have, hopefully, a bipartisan discussion and work together on how we go about doing that."

Gibbs declined to comment on whether the president would outline vision for deficit reduction measures or whether he would now endorse specific proposals from the bipartisan deficit commission that made a series of controversial recommendations last year.


Source: Reuters