Futurospect

1 Million in 24 Hours and 20 Million in 24 Days!: Apple and Google

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 01:42:00 +0000

Lion was announced last Thursday, and everybody was excited about the update. No matter if they are new to the Mac or they are experienced Mac users, they all got their hands on the latest operating system as soon it was released. One of the most amazing thing that happened was it got 1 million downloads within 24 hours. For comparison, when Leopard was released only 2 million copies were sold in 4 days. Apple's new way of distributing the new operating system certainly has something to do with the record sale. On the other side of the tech world, Google+ just got over 20 million users with in less than a month. That is also a very significant number for a service that is only available through private invites. In today's post we will be examining why both Appel and Google got record high number with in so little time.

I would like to talk about the Lion sales number first as it is more recent. Apple got over 1 million downloads within 24 hours, yet almost everybody who is part of that 1 million downloads installed the new operating system with little glitches. I am now shocked how well Apple's server handled those humongous 4GB downloads. There was no report of Apple's server being shut down due to the load, and it is because of the smoothness and easy of downloading and purchasing of the new operating system that made people switch. People no longer need to wait inline to get to an Apple Store then wait in line at the check-out line to get their favorite operating system. Instead, due to the advancement with Internet speed, we can purchase, download, and install operating system all within the comfort of our house. It is that easy of use which is a signature of Apple that made that many users switch to Lion in so little time. Also the installation process of Lion is practically automatic as the user only had to click less than 3 buttons to finish the installation. And in no part of the installation was the user required to search for a serial number or any other information related to verifying the authenticity of the product. Everything is smooth and automatic, that even the least tech savvy user could complete the installation with no problem. Apple again won over the users with its famous ease of use and innovative technology. It is those reason combined that made Apple so successful on the first day of the Lion sale. It is no doubt that Lion will gain enormous success as it not only added many new features, it also revolutionized how OS can be distributed, and how it is installed. It is very likely in the near future, we will see more operating system being updated digitally instead of using a old fashioned optical disk.

I also mentioned that Google hit 20 million users yesterday, and now I will analyze how it accomplished that. First people have to understand that Google+ is a private invite only service right now, so unless some of your friends is in Google+ you won't be able to join Google+. Nevertheless, Google+ still managed to have over 20 million users in less than a month. It is unprecedented how fast companies are attracting their users. Unlike Apple, Google got that many users with the completely new idea of sharing and communicating online, as well as the huge user base that Google has. Google, being the largest Internet company on the planet, it has a very large and diverse group of users, since almost everybody on Earth has used Google some point in their life. It is with that large and diver group of users, Google can experiment many new services, like Google+. Google doesn't like to keep beta testing only internally, it wants users to participate and provide feedback. It is that philosophy that got Google+ that many users. Also it is the private invite that makes people want to join Google+. People often believe if something is invite only, then when they have the invite it will make them special. That theory works on Google+ as well. If you can recall back when Google+ was first released, people on the internet was searching for Google+ invites like crazy. People even started to sell invites on eBay for unbelievable price. Therefore, that shows how people are attracted to invites, and the power invites have on attracting users. Also Google+ wins over the users with new way of sharing stuff on the Internet. There was Facebook and before that there was MySpace. Even though, Facebook and MySpace all created in mind to share your life on the Internet, they never got it right. Too much information was shared with too many people, and that causes privacy concern. Eventually, people can no longer freely share their life on the Internet. That is not the case with Google+, Google+ offers easy sharing control for anything your decide to share. Therefore, that eliminates the privacy concern, and make sharing life easier. It is because of Google's belief in innovative technology, and the possession of a large user base, Google+ can successfully grow from a small social project to a service that will redefine the entire SNS industry.

The Internet is becoming more and more powerful as we speak, and more things can be done on it or with it that was never though possible few years ago. It is because of Internet, can new technologies be developed, and new products and services like Mac OS X Lion, and Google+ to be developed.

Mac OS X Lion Finally Released: First Hand Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:20:00 +0000

As a major Apple fan I had been monitoring the progress of Mac OS X Lion's release, and I am happy to announce that Lion is finally out of the cage in Cupertino. Just this morning, Mac OS X Lion is released to the public, which is aviliable for download on the App Store. I personally have downloaded from the App Store this morning and the installation process was very smooth. However, according to other sources the people who have the Gold Master version of Lion has the final release since the MD5 hash is exactly the same between two of the versions.Therefore, people who have GM basically means they get a "free" version of Lion. Back to the main topic, I will discuss how I feel about this new operating system, and some of my troubles.

My first contact with the operating system was when I installed it, and the process was so smooth that I only had to click less than 5 times for the entire installation process to complete. The app you download from the App Store will do everything automatically, and the installation will complete in about 20 minutes.

When the installation completed, the welcome screen greeted me, which is also a little surprise since it got a complete new design that shocked me a little, and here comes the first problem. I have an Eikon To Go fingerprint scanner to login to my computer. However, because I upgraded to Lion, the software developed by Upek no longer works so I had to log in manually. It is not too much of a hassle, but it was a little annoying, and I do understand it is not the fault of Lion but the application.

Mission Control

The login process for the first time was a really slow, and it took about 3 minutes to login and another 3 minutes to finally be usable. I suspect that is just the first time login since logins after that was pretty fast. When I get a new software I like to check the settings to see what things I can tweak, and when I opened the system preferences pane nothing much changed, except the addition of Mission Control. I went through all of the preferences panes, and I found minor updates. For example, the new multitouch videos, the ability to encrypt entire disk, Versions in TimeMachine, location warnings, and more. Those things were minor but they were new and interesting so they grabbed my attention. Some also quite minor is that Lion now has spell check like they do in iOS. I was confused, but then I thought about bringing the beauty of iOS to the Mac OS.

iOS Like Autocorrection

Performance was another issue I had when using Lion. I have an old 2009 Unibody MacBook Pro with 5 gb of ram and a fairly slow processor. Lion did not run smoothly the first time I booted as it my computer constantly freezes, but then I thought it might be the problem with Spotlight trying to reindex everything I have. However, even after the indexing, my computer is still not as zappy as I hoped it will be, nevertheless it in usable condition. I did not experienced any serious performance compromise after installing Lion. Just minor decreases due to the new features in Lion.

iOS Scroll

The most complained feature is probably the iOS like scrolling. I love to be able to have real fluid scrolling in Mac OS X, but the reverse scrolling thing is a little weird. Unlike most people, I did not change the setting back to normal since I want to be able to get my self use to this. However, I still find myself confused all the time. Also the scrolling is a little laggy at times, it could be just the problem with my computer. Another feature that I found to not work as well as I hoped for is Mission Control. First of all it is confusing to use Mission Control, especially when you have a lot of windows open. I still don't understand how Mission Control arrange all of the windows, sometimes it is this way and other times it is another way. However, I do like the ability to be able to quickly arrange spaces, which is something I was never able to in Snow Leopard. Another breakthrough feature is Auto Save which sounds like a spectacular idea, but is hard to use. Since documents in your computer is not on iOS, where there is only one place to store it, there are many places you can store your files in Mac OS. Therefore, Auto Save still prompts you where to save the file when you have never saved it before. However, I found out that if you are in a supported Auto Save application, and you just quit the application, it doesn't prompt your to save the file. That was a nice surprise, since that was how I imagined Auto Save would be. Lastly, I kind of half like and half hate the new multitouch. Lion comes with a lot more new multitouch gestures, but now it all become confusing. I don't know which gesture to you especially for going from pages to pages like in LaunchPad or Safari. I am always confused about whether it is two fingers scroll left and right or three fingers scroll. I do feel the power of the new multitouch, and I think I just need to get use to it.

Odd Auto Save

Now here is comes some compatibility issues that I ran in to because of the update. First of all Camouflage, an app that hides all of the files on the desktop stopped working. Actually it only half works as the files would reappear from times to times, but it was more annoying than not having it on so I just disable it. Second, and very importantly, TimeMachine won't back up to my QNAP server anymore. I know I should be using a Time Capsule for TimeMachine, but QNAP offered it in a more flexible package, and now when I try to back up it will tell me the server does not support AFP. I know Lion is just released, and companies had little time to develop their new software. I just hope they are working as hard as they can on developing them.

LaunchPad

Those are some of my experience with Apple's newest OS: Lion. I do love the new OS with the ton of features, but I also got my complains. Tell me in the comment field if you have installed Lion, and how do you feel.

More Mac OS X Lion Rumor! Lion will announced Tomorrow?

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Migration Assistant Update

First of all while I was searching for news to write I couldn't find anything that is worth for me to write, so today's post again will not follow the usual format. Second, as an Apple fan I have been keeping my eyes on any rumors that states when Mac OS X Lion will be announced recently, and I saw a rumor today that I want to share with all of my blog readers.

According to some sources that Mac OS X Lion will likely be released tomorrow or in about 24 hours due to many reasons. First of all, Apple released its migration tool update this morning (Beijing Time), which according to many people is a sign that Apple will release Lion very soon or even perhaps this week. Personally I have to agree with those people since Apple is trying to prepare everybody's Mac so they are ready for the huge update. Since Lion is the first OS X release that is going to be released completely digitally, so Apple needs to make sure every Mac that meets the update requirement have the appropriate software updates so they can seamlessly update to Mac OS X Lion. The second reason that Mac might release Mac OS X Lion tomorrow is because according to few sources that Apple Store has got the Mac OS X Lion installation disk to install on to the Macs that are in display in Apple Stores. Besides the installation disk, posters were also shipped to Apple Stores to be displayed when Mac OS X Lion is finally announced.

Well it certainly sounds very likely that Mac OS X Lion will be released this week or even perhaps tomorrow, but we have been getting way too much of those rumors lately that we can no longer raise our hope so high. Therefore, the only way to know if this rumor is true is to wait for another 20 hours. If this rumor is correct, by midnight today we will be able to get our hands on the latest Mac OS X. Are you excited for this update? Tell me in the comment field, and share the anxiety of waiting.

Baidu Launches Its New Chrome Looking IE Browser

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Baidu Browser Download Page

Baidu, the search giant of China who has three fourth of the market share in China launched its first browser yesterday. It is a big leap for Baidu who is the most used search engine in China to take on the browser war. However, Baidu's new browser might not be that competitive after all as it uses the IE engine and has a Chrome looking UI.

A Little Background Information:

Baidu actually started designing its browser half a year ago, and it had its first internal beta on March 8, 2011. Although some people suspected the beta release to be a week after the internal beta, in the end it was not released. Until 18th of July 2011, which is yesterday, Baidu finally released its first web browser that take advantage of Baidu's search engine like Google's Chrome browser. Baidu's browser is based on the IE engine which means the performance of the browser depends on which version of Internet Explorer you have installed. Therefore, many of the vulnerabilities that IE suffers will also be reflected on Baidu's browser. To make it more user friendly, Baidu put on a Chrome looking UI on top of that IE engine, therefore it is essentially a Google Chrome looking IE browser. Many of the features that Baidu Browser has is almost a replica from Google Chrome, like the App Store, Omnibar, and Sandboxing security.

In Retrospect:

Google Chrome Logo

Baidu is not the first search company to create a browser that specifically leverage the power of its own search engine. Google is an obvious one that had the first version of the chrome browser back in 2008. The Chrome browser is definitely a success as it offers a minimalistic design that Google likes, and provides ton of speed for viewing highly interactive sites. Google uses the Chrome browser as a way to push the use of web apps on computer, and gradually ditch the traditional applications. Almost a year after Chrome was released, Sougou, another Chinese search company that is kinda of like Yahoo released its browser in 2009. Its browser offers user speed boost for viewing websites, bookmark syncing, and both WebKit and IE engine for speed and compatibility. Sougou's browser offers user a lot of unique features that other browsers didn't offer, and that is why a lot people used it instead of other browsers. Also since Sougou is localized for China it offered features that is find to be convenient by many Chinese. For example the WebKit and IE engine that is driving the Sougou browser will offer compatibility on many Chinese websites that only supports IE. In retrospect, it was smart for Baidu to launch its browser as it will be a way to make users use the Baidu search engine, as that will probably be the default search engine built in to the browser. By releasing a browser Baidu will certainly get more search traffic.

Sougou Browser

In the Future:

I have to say when I first saw the Baidu browser it instantly reminded me of Google Chrome. The UI is almost an exact replica of Google Chrome, and the feature set is also identical. I believe, this browser will only attract users who currently uses IE or IE based web browsers unless Baidu adds WebKit engine to the browser. I am not saying that IE engine is bad, it has great compatibility on many IE specific sites, however, when it comes to the new web IE falls short in many areas. For example in the Mesh Transform Benchmark, Baidu Browser took 1750 millisecond, while Chrome only took 74 millisecond. That number might seem small now, but when applied to heavily interactive sites it will create a big difference. Baidu's browser also offers little new features that will attract potential users. For example, it offers the same features as Google Chrome browser which means current Chrome Browser users will not likely switch to Baidu Browser. Unless Baidu adds some really unique features to its browser, it will not be as popular as Chrome or other browsers.

Baidu App Store

Baidu's Version of Omnibar

Baidu's move to release its browser is kind of like when Google released its Chrome browser. They both did it so people can use its own search engine. However, Google Chrome offered unique features that made people choose it while Baidu's browser offers no new features that will attract users. If you are a Windows users and would love to try out the new Baidu Browser please download it here, and tell me how you think of it in the comment field.

Google Fighting the Social War with Open Data Term

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 03:47:00 +0000

Google Takeout Home Page

Facebook is probably considered to be Google+'s biggest competitor by most people, and recently Google released a new feature that might just make people consider Google+ instead of Facebook. Google now offers an even easier way for its users to take their stuff from Google when users don't want to use Google anymore.

A Little Background Information:

Google has announced Google Takeout which is a service that allows users to take their stuff from Google to store on their own computer for safe keeping. That feature is not used very often, but it is good to know that Google offers that so taking stuff from Google is a breeze. Just few days ago Google will add web history to Google Takeout which make moving away from Google even easier. Google is few of the companies that actually makes moving away from its service easy, on the other hand Facebook which is considered a major competitor of Google in the social area lacks that feature. Facebook has also been reported to be blocking external browser plugins that will download user's data to their won computers.

Facebook's version of Google Takeout

In Retrospect:

Google Takeout

Google's announcement of Google Takeout almost a month ago was a wonderful idea for people who uses Google constantly and want to keep a copy of the data they have stored on Google. Although, people aren't going to use that feature all the time since they would probably only use it once in a while to back up the data they have on Google. Nevertheless it was a very convenient feature for those who are paranoid of their data security, and those who want to take all of their stuff with them when they leave Google. I have to say Google is the few companies that I have seen that actually officially supports users downloading their data to their own computer. Many other companies like Facebook does not allow this to happen. For example, Facebook does not have a feature that allows users to download the data they have on Facebook to their own computers. Even though there were work arounds using browser extensions to fetch that data to user's computers. However, those work arounds are often blocked by Facebook. Even though Facebook does offer users the option to download a copy of their data on Facebook, that data is not portable to other services. That means Facebook created a very close environment for its users and forcing them to stay with Facebook all of their life.

In the Future:

Folder Structure of Google Takeout Zip Archive

As online social networking becomes more and more necessary in people's daily communication, and as people put more and more things on SNS like Facebook and Google+ it is getting crucial for users to easily download those data back to their computers. Google Takeout let users easily download all of their data from Google+ in a simple click, and consolidates all of the files in a zip archive for convenience. If Facebook does not offer that feature in the future, it might start to loose users since users can't easily leave its service and take all of their stuff with them. Other companies that store a lot of user data might also start to add feature like Google Takeout for users to easily leave their service thus giving users the impression that this company knows that their service is good so it made it really easy to leave its service. When companies don't give users the ability to easily leave a service it makes users less wanted to stay on that service since users won't know what they will do if they do want to leave the service. Although many services offer to delete data off of their server when user's account is deactivated, it will be much useful for users to actually get all of those content that they have previously stored on that service.

Google Takeout with the newly added web history for all of the +1 sites will be even a bigger convenience for the users even though most users are not going to use that feature. However, it is certainly nice to know users have the ability to take all of their stuff from Google+ to go. Tell me how you feel about Google's update on Google Takeout in the comment field.

Week of July 10 - 16 Update: Apple and Google Are the Main Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:42:00 +0000

This week's weekly wrap-up comes a little late due to the fact that I am on a trip, and I am in Chongqing where the hotel provides very limited Internet. Also not too much happened in the tech world this week besides few disputes. Nevertheless, I will present to you this week's weekly wrap-up, and I am still waiting for Apple to announce Lion (If you haven't figure my now I am an Apple fan). Enjoy your weekend and see you next week.

Major News:

EA Acquired PopCap for $750 Million
Apple's Continues Patent Fight with HTC and Samsung
Google's Brand New Design
Google Sets Earnings record, See 550K Android Activations Daily
Report: Foreign Hackers Stole 24,000 Military Files in March Attach Against Pentagon

Minor News:

Apple Gets Initial Success for Patent Dispute Against HTC
Google Release News Badges, good or bad?
Google+ Reach 10 Million Users with a 1 Billion Shared Items Daily

Minor News Update: Google+ Reach 10 Million Users with a 1 Billion Shared Items Daily

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:27:00 +0000

I have friends who are skeptical about the popularity of Google+, well just on July 14 Google officially confirmed there are more than 10 million Google+ users and more than 1 billions items are shared every day in addition to the 2.3 billion +1s everyday. It is remarkable how fast Google+ gained popularity, and people are not only sighing up for the service, but they are actually using it everyday. Google+ just opened a little over two weeks ago, and it is still a currently a invite only service yet it already got 10 million users. There is no doubt that some people signed up for Google+ just to be part of something new, but the majority of people use it as a new way to connect people. When Google does release Google+ to everybody in the public a lot more people will join Google, and Google+ will truly be Google's first successful social program. However, I also believe that Google won't make Google+ completely open to anyone to sign up so soon since Google+ is about connecting people you really know instead of just adding a bunch of friends like what Facebook is for. Therefore, it makes sense for Google to make Google+ though invites only thus controlling the people who are on Google+, but also there is no doubt that Google+ will eventually be open to everyone as the service gets more mature. I believe the future of Google+ is bright, and Google has finally got what social means.

Minor News Update: Google Release News Badges, good or bad?

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:23:00 +0000

Just few days ago Google released news badges for Google News. Essentially people earn news badges by reading articles from Google News, and the more one person read about one category of news a higher level badge that person gets. Eventually people can share those badges to others as a way to show your interest, also Google claims this will personalize the Google News experience. To be honest, I don't use Google news that often so I have not got any badges yet. However, the idea of news badges sounds kinda bizarre to me. Why do people need badges to show what they are interested in or get personalized news? I think News Badges is a way to promote users to use Google news more often since the badge system will encourage people to read more news on Google News. Personally I believe Google needs to rethink the concept of news badges, as it is not really attractive to me right now. Google need to clarify what is the point of news badges as I am still confused so is many other people on the web. If Google is really trying to offer personalized news, then it could just improve on its current personalization with the sliders on different topic. Why create badge system for each category? If you think you know why Google created the badges system tell me in the comment field.

Minor News Update: Apple Gets Initial Success for Patent Dispute Against HTC

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:20:00 +0000

I covered how Apple filed patent infringements earlier this week against HTC, and just few days ago ITC ruled that HTC infringed two of Apple's patents. This is a sign of Apple's early victory over the patent disputes, and ITC's ruling of HTC over intellectual property theft could cause the ban of HTC phones in the U.S. market. A less direct-impact solution is to reach an agreement with Apple over the use of patents, but the question is will Apple, as a leader in innovating technologies, license HTC's use of the patent? No matter which route HTC decides to take, the manufacture price of each HTC phone will increase by an unknown amount on top of the licensing fee that HTC is already paying to Microsoft for using the Android OS. HTC, being a major provider of Android based smartphones holds a remarkable market share around the globe for its low price yet feature rich smartphones. However HTC might not be able to keep the current price after the patent dispute, as HTC will either have to stop selling its smartphones in U.S. which will make it increase product prices in other countries to make up for the lose. On the other hand, if HTC does purchase license from Apple for using those two patents, the fee that HTC needs to pay Apple for that license is also not going to be a small amount. No matter what HTC is not going to benefit from this patent dispute, and it is doomed to pay for its use of Apple's patents. As both a HTC smartphone user and an Apple fan I am feeling a lot of conflicting emotions since I love both of the companies. Lets hope this patent issue can be solved soon so both companies can do what they do best, creating great products for consumers.

Friday Comic: Mac OS X

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:49:00 +0000

It is Friday again, and it is time for another comic. This week's topic would be about Mac OS X, and I assume many of you might actually have seen this before, but I do know that many out there still haven't so have a laugh and happy Friday.

Mac OS X Lion Still Unreleased: Continue Waiting Folks!

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 03:04:00 +0000

As an Apple enthusiasts I was a little disappointed that Mac OS X Lion is yet to be released. So today's post is not going to follow the format of the previous post, and it will just be my opinion on this new operating system. And it is Friday so let's make things fun and different.

First of all I have to state that I have never tried Mac OS X Lion personally, but from the massive amount of descriptions and videos that I have read and watched online I have a pretty good idea of what Apple's latest operating system is like. The feature that I am looking forward to the most is probably Auto Save and Versions. Those two features is also probably in most people's most wanted feature in their operating system. I do understand that that feature will need to be implemented in to third party applications, but right now most of the apps that I use that require saving is Apple built. That means I would expect Apple to release an update to implement the Auto Save feature in to those applications like the iWork suite. Also the implementation of Auto Save makes me realize why Apple did not implement auto save into iWork like Microsoft Office. Apple's Auto Save actually constantly saves your document and produce version so users can go back to any time point and restore the work. Personally that is enough of a reason for me to upgrade to Lion. Auto Save is seriously a killer feature in the computer world, as it is the first attempt of any operating system to Auto Save all of the work, but I am sure other companies will catch on with this technology.

Versions

The second best feature that I am looking for is the hassle free installation process. I have watched videos online of people installing the beta versions of Mac OS X Lion, and they all described the process to be relatively painless except few bugs that is probably fixed in the final version. When Lion is truly released to the public people will be able to one-click purchase, download, and install the new operating system. I would assume even a non-tech savy person would be able to handle the install. Another feature that caught my eye is that ability to easily install the Lion Server on top of any Lion install. I have to say I have been wanting to try out Mac OS Server for a long time, but never had the chance to to since previously it required me reinstalling the entire operating system. With Lion Server downloadable from the App Store it will finally make my dream come true.

Mac OS X Lion Server

The last feature that I love about Lion is the ability to encrypt the entire hard drive using FileVault compare to just encrypting the home folder in Snow Leopard. If you know me I am a guy obsessed with security, I encrypt all my thumbdrives and my computer to ensure all of the data is safe. Previously I could only use FileVault to encrypt my home folder and True Crypt to encrypt other files on my disk. However, in Lion I would be able to encrypt the entire hard drive right in the operating system without any other third party applications. The ability to encrypt the entire hard drive is certainly another reason that makes me want to upgrade my laptop today.

Apple computer owners around the world are anxiously waiting for Mac OS X Lion to be released to the public, yet the release date is still unknown, and most of the rumors going around the web have been incorrect. I seriously can't wait to upgrade to Lion, even though I have the option to install the Golden Master of Lion, but I feel like trying out the final thing so I can have a good memory of Lion. Although there are many people who criticize many of Lion's new feature like Auto Save, for its ambiguity of whether the file is saved or not, and LaunchPad for its lack of functionality. I believe those are all impressions of Lion when they don't know Lion that much, and they are not that used to Lion. I think if people use Lion long enough, people will get used to it, and they can't go back to the previous operating system. Mac OS X Lion is another major release of OS X, and it is putting Apple years in front of the competition for many of the innovation in this release.

Lets all wait for Mac OS X Lion to release and leave a comment to tell me how you feel about Mac OS X Lion.

iOS 5 Beta 3 Overview: Assistive Touch Interface & AirPlay for FaceTime

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:18:00 +0000

aDuring the WWDC 2011 over a month ago, Apple announced that it will release Mac OS X Lion sometime this month and iOS 5 this fall. Previews and Beta version of those two operating systems were available for developers to download, and test their applications on them. Today, I would be talking about some of the major improvements in the latest iOS 5 Beta version that was available for download earlier this week.

A Little Background Information:

iOS 5 is the latest iOS version that Apple has announced, and it is not yet finalized. Currently, it is still only available legally for people who has a developers account so developers can try out this new OS to adapt their apps to it. The latest iOS 5 beta is beta 3 which was released this Monday, and with it, it came with the standard set of bug fixes as well as some new features. The most interesting feature of all was the assistive touch action menu which can is designed for physically disabled people to use certain functions of the iPad like, shake, rotate screen, lock, volume up, etc. Although, this feature is designed for regular use, it does seem very interesting for any tech-savy people to use. The next new feature introduced in iOS 5 Beta 3 is AirPlay for FaceTime, that allows users to display the FaceTime video on their big flatscreen TV for a even more immersive experience. There are definitely some issues with this like picture quality, and latency issue, but this is a good enough start to show that Apple is constantly expanding the use of its AirPlay technology.

In Retrospect:

Both of the new features introduced in iOS 5 Beta 3 were present in another form in previous beta versions, but in beta 3 Apple improved on the existent technology to make using iOS devices easier. For example, in previous version of iOS it had controls for physically disabled people like zooming, VoiceOver, Black over white, etc. Those features were useful for people who needs them, and Apple this time in Beta 3 made it to the next level by creating an intuitive touch menu to enable more features for physically disabled people and people who just want to try something new. The new touch interface allow features that used to be controlled by buttons to be able to be controlled by tapping a simple button on the screen. This is a major improvement and allows more people to easily use more iOS devices. The second new feature in iOS 5 Beta 3 is the ability to AirPlay the FaceTime video so the the call can be projected on a flat screen TV. AirPlay used to be only for playing music, video or pictures to a home stereo system or a flat screen TV. However, now the functionality of AirPlay just dramatically increased which shows AirPlay can be applied to apps more than just music, video, and pictures.

AirPlay for FaceTime

Assistive Touch Interface

In the Future:

The iOS 5 Beta 3 released this monday got two new features that may seem interesting at first, but not so useful afterwards, however, when you look at the potential of those two features they are very powerful. The assistive touch interface for accessibility sake could be the future of iOS devices, a touch screen with no buttons. All of the buttons will be built in to the OS, and that could enable new designs for Apple for its next revolutionary device. The AirPlay for FaceTime is also a competitor for Cisco, who currently has a solution for video conferencing using flat screen TVs at home. This time Apple's attempt for integrate AirPlay in to FaceTime might be Apple's way of saying "I am after you Cisco."

FaceTime on iPhone

There is still sometime before iOS 5 is finally released so many more features will be added to the final version of iOS 5. iOS 5 is probably the biggest release of iOS ever, and it will be interesting to see what will be included in the final release. Tell my in the comment field how you feel about iOS 5, and the anticipation begin. Just a side note, if the rumor is correct, iOS is going to be released to the public on July 14 which is going to be tomorrow morning if you are in China like me.

EA Acquires PopCap for $750 Million

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:13:00 +0000

If you are a big EA games fan than you might have already heard the news that EA just acquired PopCap, the leading provider of causal games on electronic devices, for $650 million cash and $100 million in shares. Although I am not a big gamer I have played a few of EA and PopCap's games, and they are all great at their expertise. EA is famous for its heavy weight serious games like Need for Speed, FIFA, Madden NFL, and The Sims. On the contrary, PopCap is known for its light weight and causal games such as Plants vs Zombies, Zuma, and Bejeweled. Those two companies are quite the opposite of each other, but it is that that will make those two companies stronger and more competitive after this acquisition.

A Little Background Information:

Electronic Arts started it 1982 as a game publisher for home computers, then it expanded to more handhelds and later gaming counsels. EA is constantly catching up with the digital trend such as digital gaming goods and services, and has reported a $833 million in sales for the 12 months ending in March 2011. With many famous titles that appeal to a wide range of users on all popular devices, EA is very successful in the gaming industry. PopCap is a much smaller company that started in 2000 which is devoted to creating casual games on a variety of platforms. People know PopCap from its light weight casual games that can be played occasionally for entertainment like Plants vs Zombie, Bejeweled and many other small games.

In Retrospect:

Electronic Arts and PopCap are two companies with very different goals in mind. PopCap wants to create entertaining causal games like a small private film producer. Where as EA wants to create blockbuster games that have people waiting in line to get them so a little like Hollywood. In November 6, 2008 EA did confirm the closing of its Causal Label and merged it to Hasbro. However, with the raising number of mobile devices that can play games, EA acquired Playfish for 275 million dollars in 2009 to create social casual games, and most recently in 201 it acquired Chillingo, the publisher of Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, for 20 million dollars in cash. From that we can see EA is constantly trying to catch up with the trend of the current gaming habits. I am not saying that people aren't interested in big games like Need for Speed on their computers or gaming consoles. It is that more people have a mobile device that is capable of playing games, so the trend is that more people are likely to purchase a casual game designed for mobile devices. Also since mobile games are less expansive it attracts a larger crowd to purchase them. PopCap has also realized the trend of causal games, and that is why starting in 2007 it started to buyother casual game developers to expand its development force. The market has quickly turned from heavy weight games to casual games in the past few years as mobiles devices get more popular and powerful. With EA's acquisition of PopCap it is suggesting that in the future, EA will release more casual game titles for the the mobile platforms like iOS and Android.

Need for Speed Shift Screenshot

In the Future:

Both EA and PopCap are strong companies in their own areas, and EA's acquisition of PopCap will only likely make EA more competitive in the casual gaming department. This acquisition also means PopCap will have EA as a resource for future gaming development thus making PopCap games even better in the future. The benefits that EA get from this acquisition along with the other causal game developers that it acquired few years ago is that EA will be a more rounded company that is capable of producing both good traditional games but at the same time producing popular casual games on portable devices or on the web. All and all this acquisition is beneficial to both companies as they all get stronger and more competitive.

Personally I am not a serious gamer, and I occasionally play some casual games on my phone or on my iPad. I definitely prefer causal game over the more traditional types, so i am quite looking forward to what EA will release in terms of causal games. Tell me how you think about this acquisition in the comment field.

Apple's Continued Patent Fight with HTC and Samsung

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:35:00 +0000

If you have know Apple long enough then you should probably Apple is very serious about its patent, and any violation of it will cause big trouble. However there are two companies, Samsung and HTC, that have copied Apple's design according to Apple, and they are being sued right now. HTC should not be a surprise to most people since the patent dispute begin ever since HTC released their first Android based smartphone, but Samsung is also included in this time's law suit is a little shocking. From the look of it Apple this time is really trying to hit back its competitors hard, and the impact might last a little while.

A Little Background Information:

Recently Apple has been filing complaints to the International Trade Commission (ITC) about the violation of patents by HTC and Samsung. Apple is calming Samsung's Galaxy S's lines of smartphones and tablets look too much alike Apple's iPhones and iPads. To fight back, Samsung filled a countersuit claiming Apple's use of 5 patents relating to wireless technologies. HTC has been on Apple's watch list a long time ago when HTC released their first Android smartphone with multi-touch capability. Apple also claims that the multi-touch technology is patented by Apple and cannot be used by HTC or Google. HTC has been fighting with Apple about patents for a long time now yet no real results have came out it. Maybe this time things will change.

In Retrospect:

Apple certainly likes its patents highly protected, and to quote Steve Jobs "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," In the past, Apple has also had few patent disputes with companies like Nokia, and Personal Audio, but they all ended badly with Apple loosing the case. Therefore it makes sense that Apple is using the patent dispute with Samsung and HTC to get some revenge. Apple has been constantly filing patents and trademarks for example the famous App Store which companies like Microsoft and Amazon are fighting for. It can be interpreted that Apple is a bit controlling with its technologies and its innovations. However, Apple never really had a very good record of wining law suits, therefore from that record Apple might possibly loose the battle with Samsung and HTC this time.

In the Future:

Apple's patent disputes with other companies might cause some good companies like HTC and Google to be tired of creating new technologies that might get sued by Apple for coping theirs. In the end, less company will be left on the technology market for people to choose. If Apple does win the patent disputes this time, HTC and Samsung will need to pay a big fee to settle this issue as Apple is being really serious. In the end, Apple is not going to stop its pursuit for other companies to create their own stuff unless no other companies are competing with Apple.

Creativity and originality is crucial for a product, so I agree with Apple's action of defending its technology. However, the problem is some of Apple's reasoning is not that reasonable, for example Samsung's Galaxy S phones and tablets don't look that much alike iPhone or iPads. On the other hand, many companies around the world, especially in China are coping the iPhone or the iPad directly, yet Apple cannot see it. Is Apple really trying to restore originality to the tech world or is it just trying to get revenge because it lost the lawsuit against Personal Audio and Nokia? Tell me what you think in the comment field.

Google's New Interface: Hate or Love?

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:33:00 +0000

Recently Google has been under going some major construction projects too adjust the entire design of the website to suit the new Google+ Project. If you haven't been on Google lately then read this post and find out what has changed, even if you have been on Google lately also read this post for a detailed reasoning behind many of the design changes.

Google's New Home Page

Google's Old Home Page

A Little Background Information:

With the release of Google+ many of Google's services have gotten a design change to suit the new direction Google is going with design. Most notably is the home page which has a black bar in place of the previous white bar to Google's most popular services. This black bar also serves as a notification system to remind users of their Google+ notifications. Technically all of Google's services have gotten a design change ever since Google+ was released, but since most of them only got this black notification bar so i won't mention all of them here. Second is Gmail, which got a much simpler design. Gmail's design change is not set by default, but users can go in to Themes and choose the Preview theme. The new theme has a much simpler design that goes well with the other design changes Google has made recently. Thirdly is Google Calendar, which now has a UI that looks much like the new Gmail theme. The new theme is also enabled by option, and looks much better compare to the previous UI. Lastly is Blogger. As a response to make all of Google's new product more HTML5 looking, Google has enabled the new Blogger interface on ALL Blogger Draft users. The new user interface is definitely cleaner and more modern looking compare to before. And nevertheless all of the design changes Google made recently is Google's first step to modernize the UI of many if not all of Google's products.

In Retrospect:

Gmail's New Interface

Google is constantly making small even tiny design changes to its web page to catch up with the trend. From the earliest Google home page to today's sophisticated Google home page that allows user to put their custom pictures on it, Google has certainly changed a lot in the past 13 years. However not all of the changes Google has made is favored by everyone. For example, the black notification bar that is implemented with the announcement of Google+ is often disliked for the over contrasting color. But on the other hand, it is a super easy way for people to reply something on Google+ since they don't even have to leave the page they are on. Personally, I like Google's new notification bar on some of Google's pages like Google's home page, Google's calendar page, and Gmail. Just like others, I find the color of the new notification bar too contrasting with the color of the rest of the page on Google Reader and Google Docs. I think the major problem with that is because all of the other pages have gotten a design change that makes them more modern looking which suits the new notification bar. However since Reader and Docs still uses the older UI which makes the new notification bar stand out instead of fitting in to the entire page. I do understand how many people will cry for the old UI to come back, but time never stops so Google needs to catch with the trend. I am almost sure that Google will create a new UI for Readers and Docs since Google has used the same UI for all of this time, so it is time for Google to "redecorate" some of Google's products.

Google Calendar's New Interface

In the Future:

Google Reader Interface

Google will slowly roll out the new design as default to all of Google users so they can all benefit from the new design change. Also since the Internet has already stepped in to the HTML 5 era more of Google's design will have HTML 5 components that will allow more speed and convenience on the user side. It is also inevitable that Google will redesign all of the UIs for Google products in the future as Google has been using many old UIs for many years now.

No matter what Google does in the future with its UIs there will be this small group of people who will never be happy with it like what happened to Facebook when it got a UI redesign. When a company grows to an enormous size every small change will create a huge feedback on the user side and there will be many that hate the change. However, no matter how many people hate the new design, time doesn't stop, so a company needs to change its design accordingly to catch up with the trend. Leave a comment on how you think about the recent Google redesign, do you like it? or do you hate it?

Week of July 3 - 9 Update: Apple, Facebook, andokia Are Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:43:00 +0000

As the week comes to an end, it is time for another weekly wrap up. The major news of this week covers Facebook's newest feature, Apple's Server attack, and more interesting things that happened in the tech world lately. So enjoy you weekend with a dose of tech news and opinions.

Major News:

Facebook's Awesome Product
Apple Server Attack
iOS Security Issue
Verizon's Release of its new metered data plan: Most expensive in the industry (From DailyTech.com)
Nokia Drops Smartphone Prices in Europe (From DailyTech.com)

Minor News:

Minor News Update: Google Shuts Down Realtime Search Because Twitter Deal Ended?

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:41:00 +0000

Google Realtime 404 Page

Google Realtime Landing Page

Google recently shut down their Realtime search for tweets on Twitter. Google states that the reason they shut down the service so they can "incorporate our recently launched Google+ project into this functionality going forward" However many says it is because of Google's two year deal with Twitter ended recently. Twitter did make an agreement with Google to provide tweets for Google to display on its result page back in 2009, so it is very possible that the deal have ended and Google had to shut the service down. Although the realtime search page is reporting back a 404 error, the landing page http://www.google.com/landing/realtime/ is still functioning. That might suggest that Google is not shutting down this service permanently, and it might just be a upgrade to encompass more realtime sources like Google+. Personally I rarely uses Google Realtime search so it doesn't affect me that much, but there must be people out there are that hating Google just because they shut down this service. I will suggest to wait a couple weeks and see what Google will do with the Realtime search, and in my opinion, this service should be back and running in about a couple of weeks.

Minor News Update: Google+ iOS App Submitted for Review

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:40:00 +0000

Google+ iOS App

Google+ is the hottest thing that is happening in the tech world right now, and Google+ users on the iPhone can finally have a a standalone app for using Google+. Many sources states that Google has submitted for Google+ app to the App Store for review and it should be released very soon. This is certainly good news for the large amount of people who uses iPhone and Google+ and they would no longer need to use the web app, and benefit more cool features like Instant Upload. However, I am a little concerned if Apple is going to approve it right away since many of Google+'s feature like Huddle and Instant Upload might be interfering with Apple's iMessage and iCloud. Let's just hope Apple does eventually approve it, so iPhone users can finally stop using the limited web app, but then Android users can no longer laugh in their face for not having a standalone app.

Google+ Webapp

Minor News Update: Microsoft Makes a Deal with China's Search Giant: Baidu

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:38:00 +0000

Baidu's Home Page

Recently Microsoft just made a deal with China's search giant: Baidu in cooperation to create a "better" search experience in China. Baidu, which hold more than 75% of the Chinese search market is the preferred search engine in China because its familiarity to users. Even since Bing was introduced, it never really got a slice of the Chinese search market because Baidu was in its way. This deal that was made earlier this week will certainly increase Bing's usage in China.The deal allows Microsoft to tap in to the huge Chinese search market, and Baidu gets the advertising revenue. China has been notorious for censoring information on search engines, and that feared off many companies like Google. How will this deal really benefit the people is still unsure so we can only let time tell us the rest of the story.

Baidu's Search Results for Bing

Friday Comic: Data Security

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:17:00 +0000

This week we have talked about security twice on my blog, and I thought what better way to celebrate this week with a comic relating to security. Hope you have a good laugh and enjoy your weekend.

From TheLadders.ccomic: http://www.theladders.com

iOS Security Vulnerability: How Will the Future of Mobile Security Turn Out?

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:37:00 +0000

Ever since the day the Internet was invented there were security issues that made surfing the web a dangerous act. As technology evolves more and more people have access to the Internet on the go with their smartphones, and that makes mobile security a much bigger issue than before. The most popular smartphone operating systems on the market are iOS, Android, and Blackberry's OS. Since iOS has a huge user base, it is frequently targeted by hackers. Recently, Federal Office for Information Security of Germany released a notice on how viewing a malicious PDF file on an iOS device might leak your sensitive personal information to the hackers.

Background Information:

The German Federal Office for Information Security is warning people about the vulnerabilities in Apple's iOS. By opening any specially crafted malicious PDF files on any of the following devices:

* Apple iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 with iOS 4.3.3
* Apple iPad and iPad 2 with iOS 4.3.3
* iPod Touch with iOS 4.3.3

can potentially leak sensitive personal data to hackers. The list of devices being affected by this vulnerability is quite comprehensive as it includes all of the recently released iOS devices as well as any iOS devices with the latest iOS 4 system. The Federal Office does mention that no attacks have been observed, but they claim attackers could exploit this vulnerability very soon. If attacked, the attackers will be able to view the user's passwords, online banking data, calendars, e-mail content, SMS, contact information, as well as access to built-in cameras, intercepting telephone conversation, and GPS data. The best way to prevent this attack is to not open any malicious links or PDFs on websites or in email. For more information please go to the BSI https://www.bsi.bund.de/ContentBSI/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/Presse2011/Schwachstelle-im-Apple-Betriebssystem-iOS-06072011.html (in German)

In Retrospect:

The future of mobile security: Back to 20th century?

This is certainly not the first time iOS has been reported to have security flaws, back in 2010 there was a security vulnerability that allowed attackers to take full control of the user's device. From that it just shows no operating system is 100% secure especially when there are so many variables in real life. People always have this assumption that all of Apple's operating system is 100% secure, and it won't get attacked by hackers. That was the case few years ago when Apple is still a less known company, and very few people thought about buying an Apple product. Also, the products few years ago were much simpler, and did not have the functionality as today's mobile devices. The other reason why mobile devices can cause more damage when attacked is that people have more personal things on there, and they are not fully encrypted. For example just few month ago, there was a talk about Apple storing GPS tracking data in the phone and it is visible to others. That was a sign how personal a smartphone or a mobile device can be. However one thing needs to be clear is that iOS is not the only mobile operating system that has security problems, Google's Android OS also have a lot of security vulnerabilities that users should be aware of. First of all Android faced the same problem of storing GPS data on user's device. Another problem that plagues Android users is that many sensitive data is not sent to the server encrypted thus making hackers very easy to access user's information. One fact that everybody needs to understand is that both iOS and Android among other mobile operating system have security vulnerabilities, however, since they are not as popular as iOS or Android hackers spend less time exploiting those security problems.

In the Future:

As mobile devices becomes more and more powerful, and the operating systems they have become more comprehensive, it is almost inevitable that there will be some security problems. However what the bigger problem is how will companies like Google and Apple fix those problems so minimum damages is done. Currently Google and Apple are not the fastest at releasing updates, and users don't always update their devices so they have the newest operating system. With Apple's announcement of iOS 5 OTA updates, it will make getting updates a whole lot easier, and faster. However, on the Android side it is a little harder as not all devices are compatible with the next version of Android OS which makes patching security vulnerabilities a little harder. Another problem with the future of mobile security is that people are putting more personal information on their mobile devices than on their computers. For example they have their SMSs, contacts, GPS, passwords, etc. With the increasing number of personal data how will the current mobile operating system stack up to those challenges? The best we can do right now is to store minimum data on our mobile devices and use common sense when viewing website so we can control the damage from security vulnerabilities to the minimum.

Leave a comment and tell me how you keep yourself safe online when using a mobile devices. Happy Friday and Stay Safe.

Facebook's New Video and Voice Calling: Will it stand the competition?

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 01:31:00 +0000

Most you that keep up with the current tech news have probably heard the announcement of Facebook's "awesome" product today. Facebook announced that it has integrated voice and video calling in to the Facebook chat system, with the help of Skype, allowing easy video and voice calling for all users. The main reason for Facebook's announcement of this feature is probably to combat the competition is has been getting lately. However, when I heard the news there were many things that made me wonder is this really how they are going to respond to Google+ Hangouts and is it really that easy to use? Read on to know why I wonder about these questions and you might ask yourself the same questions afterwards.

Background Information:

If you have not that up-to-date with the current news then I will fill you in on what happened this morning (UTC +8:00). Facebook just announced its version of video and voice calling with the help from Skype. Every user who uses Facebook will eventually be able to use this feature with just a click on the video calling icon in the chat window that already exists in Facebook. There is not much set up to do on the user side as long as you have the Skype app downloaded and enabled. Also later on, Facebook will also integrate PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) later on, as well as group video calling. This feature will roll out slowly to all users of Facebook in the next 7-10 days. Facebook expects 10% of the user to be enabled with this feature by this Friday.

In Retrospect:

Facebook is the largest SNS on the web right now and it has over 750 million users. The announcement of this video calling capabilities in Facebook will certainly affect how many of us communicate. Skype has had an app on Facebook that allows voice calling for users since 2010, but it is not used by too many people due to its limited capabilities. However, this time, it seems Skype and Facebook has worked hand in hand to create the most intuitive experience for the users to video chat by integrating the video calling right into Facebook's chat system. First, there are many good things about this announcement, since 750 million users will be able to do free video calling right in their browser! That was something that could not be imagine 10 or 5 years ago. Second, it allows Skype to reach to a greater user group that probably did not use Skype for many reason. On the other hand, there are also many short comings of this new feature that might keep me away from this feature. First of all, it doesn't support group calling, right now, and it will likely be released as a premium add on. As of now, Facebook's video calling does not support group calling, and since Facebook cooperated with Skype, which has group calling on the desktop client for a price. It is very likely that Facebook will release this group video calling feature as a paid premium add-on instead of a built-in free feature. Personally that is the biggest drawback of this new video calling. Google has released Google+ Hangouts which allows group video calling right in the browser with a simple Google Video and Voice plugin, and the best part about it is that it is free. I do understand it might be more difficult for Facebook to give group calling feature to users for free, but at least integrate it in the initial launch since video calling with just one person can be awkward and boring. That is the biggest drawback of Facebook's video calling feature and it is the biggest reason why I would not use it as often as I would have. Secondly, each Facebook user has a lot of friends, and some users don't even know 25% of their friends. Therefore, the problem arises as how can people make sure only some people can video chat with them? I do understand you can decline a video call, but in my opinion that looks rude and unfriendly. I would wish that Facebook could implement a setting in the privacy settings panel to allow only certain people to chat with you. Lastly, how reliable will this video calling feature be? In my experience Skype has never been a stable service, I failed to login twice in month because of a error on their side. Personally, I wouldn't trust Skype for its service, and that is why I have a little doubts about reliable will Facebook's video calling be if it did cooperated with Skype. If Skype cannot keep its reliability at a high level, then users will be more disappointed then if they didn't have this service.

In the Future:

Many things that Facebook said it will do in the future sounds very promising, and could be borrowed and used by other companies. For example, it said it will include this video calling feature in to Facebook's mobile app which is a fantastic news in my opinion. So far I believe Skype is the only widely used VOIP service that supports video calling on mobile devices. Therefore that means people will be able to communicate more freely than ever before, since they don't even need to be in front of their computers. Second, I believe the integration of the video calling feature right in to the browser is going to be the future. That is because less and less people are likely to install bulky software on their computers just so they can video chat. The ability to video call right in the browser is certainly pointing towards how cloud based services will sprout in the future. Lastly, Facebook said it will likely to have PSTN calling feature integrate in to this system in the future allowing more convenient communication method for the people. On another note, Skype is working with Facebook on this project, that means a large number of Facebook users might begin to use Skype more and more often when they do familiarize with Skype's service. It will be a great gain for Skype as its user base is relatively small compare to Facebook's, and this announcement just might dramatically increase Skype's user base.

From Facebook's announcement about its new video calling feature, and how in the future more feature will be added to make it more robust, it seems like Facebook is competing head to head with Google's GTalk feature which has existed for a a good 3 years now. It will be interesting to see how much people will use Google's video calling and how much will use Facebook's new video calling. They do both seem easy to use, but it will all come down to a preference of how much friends that you want to video chat is on each service. All and all it will certainly to watch how Facebook's new video calling feature will progress. Leave a comment and take the survey on the side bar to tell me how you feel about Facebook's video calling feature.

Mark Zuckerberg is Google+'s Most Popular User?

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 02:34:00 +0000

If you haven't been living under a rock you probably haver heard of Google's new social attempt, Google+. Google+ has been out for trial for a few days now, and it is becoming more popular among the users. However, something really interesting came up as more famous people joined Google+. Facebook's Founder Mark Zuckerberg is apparently the most popular person on Google+ according to the Google+ Statistics (http://socialstatistics.com/). You might be as surprised as I am when you saw that. How can Google+'s main opponent be more popular than Google's CEO Larry Page? Mark Zuckerberg has over 34,000 followers on Google+, over 10,000 more followers than Larry Page. It might be that all the Google+ users were intrigued by the appearance of Mark Zuckerberg on Google+ so they all started to follow him. From that news it can also be interpreted that Mark Zuckerberg likes to try out new things, and doesn't want to many enemies with Google when Google announced its social networking solution.

No matter what Google+'s future is like, at least it has attracted the attention of many people even including Mark Zuckerberg. We will wait and see what Google+ will turn out like when more users use it, and see if it will really become a Facebook-killer.

A New Era of Education: South Korea is Starting its Electronic Textbook Project

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 02:11:00 +0000

Tablet has been the most talked about topic in the tech world ever since Apple's iPad was released a little over a year ago. People have certainly see the different possibilities that tablets can benefit our lives. There was a rush in book publishing to move more and more title to ePub formats so they can be viewed on portable electronic devices everywhere. The newspaper industry has also made attempts to move their newspaper to tablets like the iPad. Those newspaper on the tablets are certainly more diverse and engaging than the real newspaper, but in my opinion it just doesn't feel right. Just like when you open a book there is a special feel that is not found when reading an Ebook on an iPad. However, the portability and convenience of ebooks on tablets is certainly appealing to people, and South Korea even decides to replace current textbooks with Tablets by 2015.

A little background:

South Korea has always been at the edge of technology, and just last week the Ministry of Education, Science and Education of Korea announced that it will spent over $2 billion on developing the tablet idea. It is also said that South Korea will build a cloud based system where student can download their textbook on to their tablets to read. South Korea has always been world renowned for its superior and strict education, so when South Koreans want to improve the education quality, they are not joking about it.

In Retrospect:

Tablet is not really "new-new" technology when you have got tablets computers 4-5 years ago. However, back then, tablets computers are not as powerful as today's and they were less portable. The idea of replacing textbooks with ebooks have also been around for a little while now ever since Apple released its tablet, the iPad. With the iPad, people saw the different possibilities that device can bring, and the prints industry almost had a revolution of brining everything to the digital age. However my thoughts on digital textbook is that it will never be as convenient as the real textbooks. I have tried using online textbooks before, and it was so painfully slow and rigid that I couldn't learn freely. On the contrary, digital textbooks will certainly be lighter and more convenient for the student to carry than a half dozen thousand-page textbooks. Also the ability to use electronic textbooks will mean more interactive elements can be added to the textbooks thus increasing the student's interest in learning. Apple has already showed us how using iPad in learning can increase basic skills by a great percentage, and that number might also apply to South Korea when it starts to use eTextbooks.

In the Future:

Although the idea of deploying eTextbooks seems easy to people, there are many trouble the South Korea education ministry might encounter. First is who is going to supply the electronic textbooks? Is the ministry just going to scan current textbooks in to compatible format and give it to students or are they going to create completely new textbooks from the ground up? Personally I believe it will be more beneficial to create the textbooks from scratch as publisher will be able to use the new technology to its maximum capability. Another question is how will those tablets be distributed to students? Will the students own those tablets or are they going to be belong to the schools, and students pay a fee each year for the tablet and the authorization of the textbooks? The problem with letting the students to own the tablets is that they might become more easily damaged, and students might find other ways to use the tablet that are not educational related. However letting the school owns it and distribute to students each year will create more work on the school side, and parents are less likely to pay the fee for the tablets since they won't have complete ownership of the device. Also how much will each tablet cost? If it too high parents will not pay for it, and it is too low how will the government operate this new technology? Lastly, will the students be able to download the textbooks to their tablet, or are they going to be stored in the cloud? If they are going to be downloaded, then wouldn't some tech-savy students be able to copy the textbook off the device and upload it to file sharing website online? If those textbooks are going to be online, what happens when the server goes down? Will the students just be sitting in their classroom and listen to their teacher and have no textbooks? There are certainly many problems with this project, but technology is constantly advancing, and we are bound to reach a period when conventional textbooks are just not good enough.

There are still many details that need to be ironed out before the final deployment of the electronic textbooks in South Korea, and with the amount of money they have put in to this project they certainly have promised to the public that they will do a great job. If the electronic textbook project does become successful will other countries catch on with this new idea? Comment and let me know what you think about this grand project.

Apple Server Attacked: "Not Yet Serious."

noreply@blogger.com (Luke Wang) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 01:29:00 +0000

Recently a report that one of Apple's server has been compromised has been going around the web, and the security of Apple is being called in to questions. So here is a little background information on the issue.

On July 3, 2011 the Anonymenous hackers group attacked one of Apple's server for collecting surveys (http://abs.apple.com:8080/ssurvey/survey?id=), and a list of users names and passwords have been released to the public on Pastebin.com (http://pastebin.com/tkmZDG9m). This list is comprised of 27 user names and correlating encrypted passwords from one of Apple's SQL databases. The hacker group did state that it is "not yet serious" and "Apple could be target, too. But don't worry, we are busy elsewhere." Although that message might a little reassuring that most of users's passwords and username are safe for now, it still worries a lot of users about their online accounts security. As of the time I am writing this post July 5, 2011 9:00 (UTC+8:00) Apple has not yet released any official documents over this issue.
Apple certainly has advertised its customers about the security of their products, however, when it comes to their own servers they have been hacker more than just once.

In Retrospect:

The compromise of one of Apple's survey SQL database is not much of a shock if you consider much worse things have happened to Apple before. The most notorious attack on Apple's service is probably the hacking of user's iTunes accounts. Ever since iTunes became popular there were account that were hacked and sold illegally online for profit. Users of iTunes are left with nothing but sadness and desperation when their accounts are hacked. Hackers would hack people's iTunes account and sell them on eBay or any other C2C websites. People's accounts that have been hacked usually cannot recover their lose, and usually the most they can do is to freeze their account. However, even that will create a loss anywhere between $100 - $1,400. Apple has certainly added more security methods to protect user's accounts, like reverifying credit card information when logged in on a new computer, but they don't seem to be working as effectively as Apple expected. The number of accounts being hacked is still high, and reports of users' huge loses are still everywhere on the web. Therefore, considering Apple's previous experience with hackers, this time's attack is a rather small and not so harmful one considering no user information is being compromised just yet.

In the Future:

The hacker group did say it is "not yet serious", so we don't have to worry about it too much now. However, from what the hacker can do in so little time, Apple needs to increase their server security to ensure future attacks will be harder, since nobody wants to see another PSN attack happen. The hacker already showed they can hack in to one of Apple's SQL database without too much trouble, therefore they can potentially create bigger incidents if Apple does nothing to increase their server security. Apple is famous for its "bullet proof" Mac OS X operating system, but their own servers seem often compromised. Therefore, Apple needs to respond to those hacker attack incidents to calm people's mind about their accounts' security as well as to restore their image on their products' security.

Apple has taken the survey server offline so Apple has certainly realized the problem, which is a good first step. Let's hope no bigger damages would happen, but it is always a good precaution to change your Apple related passwords (iTunes, Apple ID, MobileMe, etc.) now and make them less vulnerable to attacks.