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Quoted – Amazon vs. Apple: Battle of the books – MSN

March 12, 2010 by 7 Comments
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Amazon vs. Apple: Battle of the books

With its new iPad, Apple is taking aim at Amazon’s core business and its Kindle book reader. Can the ‘e-tail’ pioneer keep up as books, music and movies go all-download?

Amazon.com has come out on top in the digital revolution that’s moving sales of books — as well as compact discs, DVDs and lots of other products — online.

But there’s a second digital uprising afoot, and some experts think Amazon won’t fare as well — and could lose a sizable chunk of its core bookselling business.

Any Amazon losses would likely be gains for Apple which could do to its “e-tail” rival what Amazon has been doing to brick-and-mortar competitors.

Apple’s chief weapon in this battle of online giants — the iPad — will be rolled out April 3, with preorders starting March 12. Among the many things people will be able to do with these flat touch-screen computers: download and read digital books from Apple’s new iBookstore.

One of the main reasons Apple dominates music is the popularity of its iPod players and its music-playing iPhone. Lots of companies make music players, but Apple dominates so thoroughly that “iPod” is nearly a generic term.

Though we won’t know for sure until it hits the market, with its smooth interface and bright color screen, the iPad seems sure to be a comfortable way to read books, believes Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in the Philadelphia area and an avid Kindle user. “The iPad is going to blow the Kindle away as far as ease of use and the quality of the screen,” he says.

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Quoted – iPad stoking doctor interest in tablet computers

March 2, 2010 by 9 Comments
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If the launch of the iPad has done anything, it has brought legitimacy to the tablet computer, a product that has long been considered the redheaded stepchild of computing.

It could be because of the buzz over Apple‘s latest offering, or because physicians who have grown to love their smartphones also recognize their limitations in a clinical setting. But more physicians than ever — more than 50%, according to a recent survey by Software Advice — say they are now considering buying a tablet. A separate survey by Epocrates, whose medical software has been a popular smartphone download, found that one in five physicians are planning specifically to purchase an iPad.

But experts say doctors shouldn’t jump on the iPad bandwagon without exploring other options.

But even if the device has all the features you want or need, it still might be wise to wait, experts warn.

In the survey by Epocrates, which developed a mobile drug reference tool for smartphones that it plans to expand to the iPad, 9% of physicians said they planned to buy an iPad when it is released in March; another 13% plan to buy it within a year. But 38% said they are interested but will wait for more information before finalizing their decision.

Scott Testa, PhD, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, said he thinks the 38% are doing the right thing. “I think it’s important that they probably not be the earliest adopters.” He advised waiting until Apple has “come out with the second version to make sure most of the bugs are worked out.”

“Usually the first people who adopt these products go through a little bit more pain that those that wait a little bit,” Testa said. “I think that’s true for many technology products.”

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/22/bica0222.htm

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Quoted – Microsoft Trots Out Office for Mac 2011 – MacNewsWorld

February 16, 2010 by 2 Comments
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Microsoft Trots Out Office for Mac 2011

Though Apple was conspicuously absent, Microsoft showed up at Macworld to give attendees an early look at its Office for Mac 2011 suite. The new version is more closely aligned with the Windows product, giving users who work on both OS X and Windows a more seamless transition. It also includes new collaboration tools and connectivity to Microsoft Office Web Apps.

The updates in Office for Mac were about what the market expected, Scott Testa, a professor of marketing at Cabrini College, told MacNewsWorld.

Coauthoring and collaboration, in particular, are in growing demand for these sorts of applications, he said.

“Microsoft makes so much money off the Office franchise — of course, they are going to keep up Office for Mac. It means a lot to them. Sure, the OSes get publicity, but the Office platform is what drives revenues for Microsoft.”

http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/Microsoft-Trots-Out-Office-for-Mac-2011-69330.html

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Quoted – Can Apple’s tablet spark a textbook revolution? – ESchool News

January 26, 2010 by 11 Comments
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Can Apple’s tablet spark a textbook revolution?

Can the release of Apple’s eReader tablet do for textbooks what the iPod did for music: combine an online store for purchasing books with sleek hardware that holds every text a student needs?

That’s the question many educators are asking as anticipation of Apple’s new tablet mounts.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is widely expected to unveil his company’s eReader Jan. 27 in San Francisco, and industry insiders expect the product to have a large touch screen that is smaller than a laptop screen but larger than an iPhone.

Education technology advocates say students’ allegiance to Apple and the familiarity of buying music or applications from the company’s online store and downloading those purchases on an iPod or an iPhone could make the new Apple tablet an instant hit on campus.

“This is huge for electronic print,” said Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College near Philadelphia who tracks campus technology trends. “Ten years from now, the idea of having a physical textbook is going to be very limited. … I really think just having the ecosystem in place for content delivery will be a very appealing aspect for consumers.”

In what technology analysts say is a response to the buzz about Apple’s tablet, Amazon recently announced that developers outside the company could begin making programs for the Kindle—the same way Apple officials encourage outside development of iPhone apps.

Testa said even if the Apple tablet is similar to the Kindle DX, college students could flock to the product simply because it sports the largely beloved Apple logo.

“I think from a marketing perspective, Apple is a spiritual brand,” he said. “Students will buy it based upon their prior experience with Apple. … That can’t be overstated.”

If Apple’s tablet propels the popularity of eBooks the way iPod did for online music, Testa expects illegal web sites for downloading textbooks to proliferate.

This would follow a pattern established with the rise of illegal music downloading sites on campuses to avoid the costs of the iTunes store, and it could create more headaches for university IT officials who have struggled to stop illegal downloading on campus.

“The Limewire of books is coming,” Testa said, referring to the popular illegal music site. “You can count on that.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/01/26/can-apples-tablet-spark-a-textbook-revolution/

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Rating my Predictions for 2009 – Looking 2010 – KFed and Britney still not together. .

December 31, 2009 by 12 Comments
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  • Many Newspapers continue to struggle those that have high debt levels will consolidate, retrench through bankruptcy, or good old liquidation. .continue trend of starting to limit home delivery or not produce “physical paper” and go with pure web strategy like the Christian Science Monitor.

B – Right on this “old” media is dead . . release of new ereaders like Apple‘s ISlate or whatever it is going to be called. . continues to kill physical newspaper companies. . Amazon will release a color screened Kindle by year end. .

  • Yahoo gets bought – Maybe News Corp, maybe Disney, probably Microsoft. This train wreck has got to end. (What was Jerry Yang and the board thinking when they rebuffed multiple offers from Microsoft?)

B- – Microsoft tried then did search deal. . .whatever next party is over . . Google has won. .

  • Facebook blows away MySpace Already happening MySpace is the Yahoo toFacebook’s Google . . .Niche social networking like Linkedin find place and start to chip at dominance of “general” social networking sites.

A- – No brainer

  • Android becomes more prominent Google’s open source smart phone OS challenges major phone Operating Systems with the exception of Apple’s Iphone.  Google releases smart phone with major carrier that is free and is supported by advertising. Android powered Netbook released by year-end

B – yes and no . . before my time with free Google phone but will eventually happen

  • Iphone becomes more dominant moves into second spot behind Nokia for the most handsets shipped 2009. Apple release Iphone nano smaller, more compact, cheaper

B- – no Iphone nano but keeps whipping more and world best-selling smart phone

  • Twitter becomes hottest and most prevalent new social networking technology

A – yep right on

  • RFID technology begins to take hold in retail starts to supplement bar code technology to enhance retail experience. .ie checkout and inventory control. Huge shot in the dark without Wal-Mart this will never happen this is an idea whose time has come but will probably be pushed out a few years.

D– Wrong too early. . buy some more time will happen. .eventually

  • Google tries to make big social networking push (again) via its own technology or through a variety of in house development and key acquisitions (Twitter)

F– Still struggling in this area. .no key deals

  • New Apple products will include Netbook, New Mac Mini, and Iphone Nano

D – Tablet coming

  • Hottest Retailer – Justice

B – yep for tweens -but these are probably hotter. .  Aeropostale . .Hollister. . Pacsun. . Juicy Couture. .really like  Forever 21 and Tilly’s

  • Big Three turns into Big Two Ford has legs, Chrysler has no value with the exception of Jeep division and Hemi technology, GM who  knows  . . . but if they were smart they would jettison US operations and focus on international.

B – Chrysler now owned by Fiat, GM is a shell and Ford by far the strongest and still has legs

  • Real Estate market through most of the US gets worse before it gets better no recovery until spring 2010 at earliest. Although I do see Obama administration switch some focus of bailouts from big companies to homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure.

A – Obama administration stepped up with tax incentives and low interest rates. .

  • Brittany and Kfed reconcile and become greatest husband-wife team since Sonny and Cher

F– Sorry . .what can I say. .

Predictions 2010

  1. Location aware technology becomes huge. .  serving up ads and social networking . . to name a few . .Twitter and Facebook location aware posts going to happen this year. . providers will know where you are and serve up some really cool . .apps and services
  2. Hottest Retailer. . Slow Growth . .Privately owned but very cool store. . Tilley’s . . . Southern California cool. .combined with discipled financials and expansion strategy. .
  3. Green  continues to be hot. .  Solar cheaper. . Chinese manufacturer’s continue to make cheaper and cheaper cells squeezing other manufacturers. .wind is big. .  solar will be bigger. .
  4. e-commerce continues to grow . .but. . .consolidation starts happening. . would love to see Amazon buy Ebay. .but may have anti-trust issues. . Amazon continues to dominate and make good acquisitions like Zappo’s this year.. . will continue to grow. .  nobody can beat Amazon online including Wal-Mart. .  this year. .  after 2010 . .look for Wal-Mart going straight at them. .
  5. Google phone coming sold directly by Google over T-Mobile network . .Motorola and other partners not happy but no other alternative. .  continue to get beaten in smart phone market by Apple
  6. Apple in US brings in other partner for network other then ATT. . I say Verizon. . total long shot is Sprint Nextel. . which in turn may be bought by Comcast in 2010. . maybe T-mobile gets bought by Google. .maybe antitrust issue but would be very cool. .and allow Google to deliver universal WiMax type of service to United States. .
  7. Google Chrome OS released . . Chrome browser continue to take market share. . hurt Microsoft and Firefox but biggest casualty will be Safari and MacOS . . this year
  8. Apple tablet released. . Color screen Kindle released. .eventually be two horse race between Apple and Amazon. . in tablet. . ereader category
  9. KFed gets back in action. .  gets back in shape and cleans up. . and reconciles with Britney. .

Happy New Year. . .

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