It’s time to admit it.  Despite all the forecasts and best hopes for the competition carving out a stake in the tablet market, it isn’t happening.  And it isn’t going to happen. Apple owns this market, and the best the competition can hope for is crumbs. Forever. Here’s why.

The art of the sound bite is to encapsulate a complex idea into a few words that sounds convincing, but are devoid of any technical merit. The sound bite is intended to persuade, not enlighten. This is how Apple detractors use the phrase “Open systems are better.”  But are they?

Apple has a vision for the way we’ll interact with Macs in the future. It appears first in Lion. But we can’t get there unless we learn to think differently, to become magicians with our hands so to speak. How will Apple do it?

It’s really clear now: the Macintosh is going to evolve quickly. The term “Mac” has been eradicated from the Mac OS X lexicon, the mouse is on the way out, and 75 percent of Macs sold are notebooks. Where does the beloved Mac evolve from here?

Technology is developing at an ever faster pace.  Technology developments, in turn, provide a way to develop even newer technologies. Companies want to sell us these new technologies, but only a few company’s products, like Apple’s, come with coping mechanisms included at no extra cost. We don’t even realize it’s happening.

Between the almost religious extremes of outrage and loyalty to Apple lies the heart of the matter regarding Apple’s iPhone tracking data. That is, how does Apple treat its customers?

So far, thoughts about Apple’s data centers have led to confusion, dead ends and contradictions. John and Adam have thought about what Apple may really be trying to achieve with its massive new data centers.

In my last Hidden Dimensions column I argued that modern technology trends, fate, and Apple’s self-imposed obligation to customers have led to Apple becoming the ultimate arbiter of which apps get approved for the App Store. But that doesn’t mean that Apple has to go it alone. Here’s a proposal.

Whenever there’s a heated debate, a breakthrough in insight can come from an outsider with a fresh perspective. This has happened in the case of Apple and the Exodus International app. A writer from outside our inner circle instructs us.

In previous years, Apple taught its field sales force from a book by Rick Page called “Hope is Not a Strategy.” Apparently, that’s the focus of the iPad’s competitors right now: hope.