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TheAppleBlog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products.
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A Patent Nightmares are Made Of: OS X With Ads

Halloween has come early this year, and I’m not talking about today’s release of Windows 7. Engadget reports (and I find it difficult to share this with you, dear readers, because I know it will cause you discomfort), in April last year, Apple filed a patent application for (shudder) an ad-supported operating system. That's right. Mac OS X festooned with ads.

The abstract of the patent reads as follows:

Among other disclosures, an operating system presents one or more advertisements to a user and disables one or more functions while the advertisement is being presented. At the end of the advertisement, the operating system again enables the function(s). The advertisement can be visual or audible. The presentation of the advertisement(s) can be made as part of an approach where the user obtains a good or service, such as the operating system, for free or at reduced cost.

Oh Steve, say it ain't so. Tell us Patent Application 20090265214 is the result of too many late nights in "creative meetings" with your minions at Cupertino. Tell us it's a misguided concept you've since abandoned (and wish had never made it through the red tape, to be filed with the USPTO). To hell with it, you can even tell us you're just patent trolling, and that'll still be preferable to the unthinkable, horrifying possibility that you actually took this idea seriously.

What on earth would motivate Apple to consider something like this? It can’t be the competition. The upcoming Chrome OS from Google may well be ad-supported in some manner, but we have to hope it'll be implemented the same way Google currently injects ads into Gmail. Perhaps Apple explored the possibility of an ad-supported OS as a means for offering cheaper Macs? But the cost of a Macintosh computer is tied closely to its hardware and besides, since when did Apple start searching for ways to deliver cut-price computers? This isn't Dell we're talking about.

Here's an extract from the (typically lengthy) patent description:

The operating system is configured to present one or more of the advertisements to users of the computer device. In some implementations, the operating system can disable one or more functions during the presentation of the advertisements and then enable the function(s) in response to the advertisements ending. That is, the operating system can disable some aspect of its operation to prompt the operator to pay attention to the advertisement.

This paints a picture of some twisted low-level hijacking of the OS while ads are played. For example, imagine your pointer suddenly stops responding to mouse movements (or disappears altogether) only to be restored after a commercial or two (for products you don't want, or simply can't afford) finish assaulting your senses with bright colors and boisterous music. What makes this worse is that you hit the mute key ages ago, but the OS temporarily turned the sound on again. You know, because you can't enjoy all the subtly exquisite levels of torment an ad has to offer unless you get the full audio/video experience.

Yep, that's a cold sweat that just broke out on your brow. Sadly, there's more of this horror. The patent also describes an OS-provided framework of which third-party applications can take advantage to deliver the same ad-driven pain:

The software platform provides a framework upon which one or more application programs (e.g., programs, services, user interfaces) may be executed. For example, the operating system can disable input to, or output from, one or more of the application programs while the advertisement is being presented.

So imagine, if you can bear to, an ad-supported version of iWorks. You're writing that essay or juggling multiple documents to prepare that report that was due yesterday. You're lost in a world of footnotes and references, utterly absorbed in your task when suddenly, boom! — every Pages window freezes. There's not a blinking carat to be seen anywhere. Then a horrible ad for life insurance starts playing — you know, that one you hate so much that, when it plays on TV, it sends you diving for the remote in a mad dash to hit the mute button. But you’ve already learned that mute won’t help you now.

It plays for 30 skin-crawling seconds. You're desperately trying to stay focused on your suspended workflow, grinding your teeth as you endure this torment. But then — the horror! — it's followed by another ad, this time for Microsoft Office!

30 more seconds (and severely worn tooth enamel) later, you're settling back into your document… then boom! It's time for the OS to hang, because Burger King wants to tell you about its new Windows 7 Whopper…

OK. Dry those tears. Have a stiff drink. This isn't real. I mean, it might have been prototyped (gods forbid) but just because there's a patent for this ghoulish monster, that doesn't mean it's going to happen.

Not yet, anyway…

In Q3, NewNet focus turns to business models and search. Read the, "NewNet Q3 Wrap-up."

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iTunes Tweets: How Spamtastic!

Right now, as you read this, there are five iTunes-flavored profiles over on Twitter, providing their followers with SMS-length dispatches on music, podcasts, TV shows and other content on offer in Apple’s titan digital media platform.

They are, it must be said, almost entirely pointless. For some reason this week they've received a fair bit of coverage from the Mac tech press, but there was (and remains) both little good to say about them and little incentive to actually follow them.

Here's a quick rundown of the accounts (stats as they stood at time of writing) plus one random example tweet from each.

@itunestrailers
Joined March 12, 2009
466 tweets
1,164,348 followers
“10 new trailers now live: http://www.apple.com/trailers/ #indie #comedy #drama #family #doc #action“

@itunespodcasts
Joined June 18, 2009
43 tweets
4,119 followers
“Grab the season four premiere of “Dexter” for free: http://tinyurl.com/ycwvnhs“

@itunesmusic
Joined September 15, 2009
8 tweets
6,362 followers
“Pre-order Norah Jones’ newest album, “The Fall”, out 11/17. http://tw.itunes.com/BXB #iTunes“

@itunesmovies
Joined October 15, 2009
2 tweets
2,164 followers
“See Where the Wild Things Are this weekend? Check out the first movie written by co-writer Dave Eggers,Away We Go:http://tinyurl.com/yjoocqe“

@itunestv
Joined October 16, 2009
1 tweet
1,810 followers
“Watching Act 2 of I Kissed A Vampire. http://bit.ly/Eynfm“

Riveting, no?

Little Value

These accounts serve as little more than adverts for iTunes content. But that's what you'd expect, right? Me too, and that's not really the problem I have with them.

The problem is that, with perhaps the exception of one, they read exactly like those trashy, URL-packed, soulless memos from users claiming to be "Media Marketing Evangelists" but whose spamtastic Tweets contribute nothing of real value to the Twitterverse. A stream of endless bit.ly'd links to content you might (but probably don't) care about is of value to no one.

It wouldn't be so bad if the tweets were sometimes infused with some personality. If we got to know a little about the person tweeting them, we might start to connect and, y’know, care. After all, connecting with people by discovering what they're doing or thinking is the founding purpose of Twitter. Sure, there are no hard rules and people are free to use Twitter however they wish, but the best Twitter personalities have in common at least this one salient property: they don’t simply advertise their wares. They actually share their real lives with the Twitterverse.

The Twitter profile dedicated to Podcasts is by far the least pedestrian of the lot, and manages to occasionally sound like its author actually cares about the content, is enthusiastic about the content, and is driven to share their love of the content. But I’m being very generous here. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's consistently interesting, but then, "interesting" is such a subjective term on Twitter. After all, knowing that Bob in Wyoming is now brushing his dog, or Barbara in Essex just did a double-sneeze is hardly the stuff of journalistic excellence. But then, it's not supposed to be, is it?

And yet, the authors of these iTunes Twitter accounts remain anonymous. The bit.ly'd ads keep on flowing. This isn't marketing brilliance on Apple's part. It's turgid, mechanical, conveyer belt link-posting.

Apple is a famously tight-lipped company. Beyond its meticulously rehearsed official events and sporadic press releases, it usually has nothing to say. And with these five Twitter accounts, Apple proves it's possible to continue saying nothing… 140 characters at a time.

Growing mobile data use turned up heat on carriers in Q3. Read the, "Mobile Q3 Wrap-up."

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Microsoft Becoming Apple With First Retail Store, Online PC Sales

Talk about biting someone else’s style. Not only is Microsoft trying to add some cool factor to its brand using celebrity influence, a game which Apple has long had in the bag, now it’s also opened its first official brick-and-mortar retail store, and it even just began offering PC hardware for sale via its online store. Next thing you know, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be wearing black turtlenecks.

A revamp of the web site is part of the Windows 7 launch campaign, and it includes a brand new store that stocks more than just software. You can now purchase a range of Windows 7-toting computers from HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Sony, which are the real heavy-hitters in the PC arena. You can also pick up a single desktop, a Lenovo A600 all-in-one. Selection seems slim, but Microsoft is being a good copycat and not overwhelming consumers with an overabundance of choice.

All of the computers available on Microsoft’s web site come in stock configurations only, with no customization options beyond the ability to choose a color on select models. Users looking for more in the way of upgrades should still continue onto the manufacturer’s web site to order their machine, but Microsoft isn’t playing to that crowd. Instead, it’s aiming at first-time buyers or people with little to no computer expertise who just want the buying process to be as simple as possible.

And if you’re not too keen on the fancy new Internets, you can always take a trip down to Scottsdale, Ariz., where Microsoft today opened its first retail store. Here’s Microsoft’s own description of what it’s like, since I’m a little out of reach of the Scottsdale area:

As soon as you enter the store, there are laptops on large cedar tables, with seating so shoppers can sit and tinker. The walls are lined with giant LCD screens that envelop the space with landscapes and product images designed to create interest and spark curiosity. Below the images, stylish all-in-one PCs are set up with Zunes, Xboxes, headphones and widescreen displays, showing how all the items work together to create a multimedia experience.

Toward the back are laptop bags and an array of software titles before you turn the corner and reach a veritable mecca for Xbox enthusiasts — a gaming zone featuring a 94-inch widescreen, with immersive sound, seating and an array of controllers to play with.

Sounds like the whole premise is designed more around showing, rather than selling, as early speculation suggested. Microsoft is clearly pushing the experience, rather than trying to sell the component parts. I’d say something snarky about how this points to a lack of imagination on the part of your average PC customer, but being Mac users, I’m sure we can all come up with much more creative snark on our own.

All of this image and distribution re-imagining on Microsoft’s part is great news for one company: Apple. There’s no better sign that you have your main competitor on the ropes than when it resorts to parroting your moves. All Apple needs to do is continue to set the trend, and watch as Microsoft tries to follow it.

As Q4 begins, online video is now mainstream. Read the, "Connected Consumer Q3 Wrap-up."

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It's Windows 7 Day: Are We the Early Adopters?

Apple did pretty much everything they could to steal some of Windows 7’s thunder by announcing some pretty major hardware changes earlier in the week, but Thursday is here nonetheless, and that means Microsoft’s latest OS is on store shelves now, ripe for the picking. Question is, will Mac users be helping with the harvest?

I’m getting a copy (might pick up a burger, too), but for me it’s a legitimate business expense, so the decision, even without an upgrade path (I’ve just been using the Windows 7 RC on my iMac, and don’t have an existing retail license), it makes financial sense for me to have access to a Windows machine. Maybe you’re in the same boat.

The question isn’t really whether Mac users are also Windows users, since recent research on the subject seems to indicate that yes, there is in fact plenty of crossover. I’m wondering whether it might be the case that Apple fans not only buy Windows, but that we might also represent a big chunk of the early adopter crowd for this new incarnation.

Everyone I know who is buying a copy of Windows 7, upgrade or otherwise, uses a Mac. It may not be their primary machine (yes, that does actually happen), but they have one nonetheless. Most of those people are planning on installing Windows 7 on a boot camp partition or a virtualized PC using Parallels or VMware Fusion.

I know you’re thinking that I probably surround myself with like-minded people, and as a result have a lot of Mac-using friends, but that isn’t the case. The majority of people I know are exclusively PC users, and not a single one that I’ve talked to plans on upgrading today, or even in the near future.

As Mac users, we have a tendency to also be gadget addicts. I’ve found we’re more interested in all tech, not just our own, perhaps because we consider ourselves connoisseurs in the area thanks to our impeccable taste. For me, and for many others that I know, that interest translates into a pretty heady case of gadget-lust, one of the symptoms of which is early-adopterese. And also a willingness to acknowledge when a company besides our beloved Apple releases a smart, well-designed product.

Fact is, Windows 7 is a huge improvement on its predecessor. I say that as someone who’s been using preview versions since the first beta was released. It’s not Snow Leopard, don’t get me wrong, but that won’t stop me from being among the first to jump on board. Anyone else making that jump today? If you are, what are your reasons? Do you consider yourself an early adopter with tech in general?

In Q3, Uncle Sam was the green IT king maker. Read the, "Green IT Q3 Wrap-up."

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