Apple to Amazon: This Means War

Those of us are who are into Perl have heard it said that Perl is a write-only language. You can write it, but you can’t read it. To a certain extent, for beginners, that may be true. In fact this next article points out that “Perl, a major programming language used by untold zillions of developers, is no more intuitive to novices than a language with a randomly generated syntax.” Of course, that’s the point. Perl is exactly not a programming language for beginners and probably shouldn’t be used to teach programming.

Obfuscated Perl

But the article brings up a larger point, namely that language parsers were developed in the days when the CPU was running at a few megahertz. Could a more modern language benefit from a parser that has, say, a few hundred gigaflops at its disposal? Food for thought: “Why Aren’t Computer Programming Languages Designed Better?

Falling memory prices is always good for us, right? Right? Maybe not. “Falling memory prices may bring irritating, intrusive devices.

For a long time, various writers, (including me) have been suggesting that Apple get a firmer grip on its Internet delivery mechanism before it branches out into textbooks, TV and now, Siri. So when I see another company doing just that, it gives me pause. “Dish blasts out high-speed satellite broadband.” All the people in rural areas, stuck with the prospects if HughesNet, will rejoice.

While it’s true that Android fragmentation causes certain problems, one problem that is solves is that, at any given time, there’s a new Android phone being released. That gives the platform a chance to jump on new technologies more quickly than Apple can. “Visa certifies more smartphones for NFC payments.” Guess who isn’t on the list.

Here is more proof, via Alice in Wonderland, that traditional book publishers have yet to grok ebooks. “The major publishers have completely abdicated responsibility for producing the digital versions of their catalogues: it’s all handed over to amateurs. You see it throughout the industry. From the typographical horror of most eBooks, through to the lacklustre iPad titles being produced. The big problem is that most publishers don’t care about the iPad or eBooks very much, whether this is an aesthetic rejection based on the publisher’s historical reverence for the printed page, or a reflection of the relatively small profits to be made on the iPad so far, it’s hard to know.” This is good stuff; read more: “Chris Stevens on Alice for the iPad, Book Apps, and Toronto: a Q&A.

Alice in Wonderland

Rupert Murdoch doesn’t get it either. We knew that, but the underlying reasoning is the key here. The old world print publishers are working with the no longer valid principle of content scarcity to create value. It doesn’t work on the Internet. Mathew Ingram explains why.

Now that Ted Landau and I have jumped on the 7-inch iPad bandwagon, I am happy to report that our good friend, Erica Sadun has, at least, warmed up to the idea. Namely, she’d like one but still doesn’t think Apple will do it. Don’t worry, she’ll come around. “On the idea of a 7-inch Apple iPad.”

Companies have learned how to pass costs onto others, even their customers. Instead of a coupon, printed and mailed, Barnes & Noble sends you an e-mail with a bar code. You print it, at your expense, time, printer, ink and paper. Employers, as well, are so tired of buying and supporting thousands of smartphones that the staff doesn’t even want. They want iPhones. So, why not kill two birds with one stone? Pass the cost onto the employee. “Want a job? BYOD or Buh-bye.” This is a back door enterprise sales process that often gets overlooked.

The following is one of those “homework assignment” articles. It’s long, far too long for an informal Internet article. But the payoff is that it’s a virtual treatise on the business prospects for Apple in 2012. If you are an investor or just want to get more educated on Apple as a business, check: “Apple: Gearing Up To Go ‘Thermonuclear’ In 2012?

I’m singling this one out because of the author. Steven Levy wrote a great book about Google, In the Plex, and so he’s in an authoritative position to make some astute observations about Google and Google+. “Is Too Much Plus a Minus for Google?” By the way, Hitler doesn’t think much of Search Plus Your World either. (BTW, meet Danny Sullivan.)

We often hear about how Apple has “XX dollars in cash.” But how is that wealth distributed? How much sheer cash does Apple have, in nickels and dimes, and how much is in investments? Here’s the lowdown. “Getting Apple’s Cash Right And Why It’s Important.

I’ve written several times that the Amazon Kindle Fire is essentially a declaration of war against Apple and the iPad. Apple will have to fight back. For, as they say, more color on this, see Mike Elgan’s excellent: “Apple’s War On Amazon Starts Thursday.

_______

Alice artwork:  Wikimedia Commons