Why Does Dvice Hate Apple?

There are two major tech blogs, Engadget and Gizmodo. Both have passionate fans, and both do quite well financiallly, especially compared to other blogs. So it's no wonder that awhile back, a third "major" blog came onto the scene: Dvice. Comprised partially of writers from other blogs, and financed by the Sci Fi Channel (Sorry, SyFy now) the blog generally tends to be a day late, and covers a fraction of the news of the other two. 

Both Engadget and Gizmodo do a solid job of covering the major Apple events. They both offer coverage that can be critical or praise-filled depending on Apple's news. That's not quite the same as objectivity, but it's what passes for it in the blogosphere. Which brings us back to Dvice. Yesterday, Dvice ran two stories on the iPhone 3.0, or just 50% more than they ran on an update to Microsoft's Surface. The Apple coverage included the headline "Apple introduces more ways to spend money on your iPhone," and from their other post, "Apple announced an update to the iPhone operating system at one of its love feasts in Cupertino today." I don't know, maybe it's just me, but when you promote and follow diligently Surface, which is in the hands of zero customers, and meanwhile neglect a device (when your name is Dvice) that's in the hands of millions of users, that seems like bad business. Perhaps that's why, despite the strong backing, Dvice is a very distant third to the other two blogs.

iPhone 3.0 Software Roundup

Well, that's that. We now know what to expect from the next generation of iPhone software. Let's get up to speed quickly:

Landscape keyboard? Yes. Copy/paste? Yes. MMS? Yes, unless you have the first phone. A2DP? Yes, unless you have the first phone. Tethering? Yes, but it's in the carrier's hands now. Expanded bluetooth support? Yes, but again, no A2dp for the first gen phone, and in the Q&A, they oddly mentioned they didn't have anything to announce about the ability to use bluetooth keyboards with the phone. Umm.. Flash? No. Video? No.

So with that, Apple addressed most of the pressing concerns. It's unfortunate to see the first-gen iPhones left out of the MMS and A2DP game. For now, we'll take Apple's word that these weren't implementable on the first phone. I stress, for now.

A lot of time was spent having developers show off what they can do with the new APIs for the 3.0 software. Most of the time seemed to focus on new ways to separate you from your money via new in-game purchases like extra weapons, levels, etc. That part really wasn't exciting for consumers, but I'm sure it'll rally the app troops looking for a way to turn bigger profits on a $5 game.

It's just a shame we have to wait until June for the official release of the software. What did you think? Good event, or did Apple leave out things from your wish list?

No Plastic Bags? Reality Meets Enviromentality

From Apple Insider, comes word that Apple is no longer offering plastic bags with purchases. Instead, they will offer to assist you with purchases of more than a handful to your car.

Macnn speculates this is related to the ban on plastic bags in San Francisco. Well, we pride ourselves on being green (read our report) but there's a problem with this move by Apple: there's no good alternative. Imagine how popular Apple-branded reuasable canvas bags could be! What a great way to advertise the brand (ok, maybe they don't need much more of that right now) and help the environment, without inconveniencing customers. Maybe, just maybe, Apple could even bring itself to throw in a canvas bag with a certain purchase amount. Crazy, I know, but if you buy MobileMe and AppleCare with that new laptop, the least you deserve is a $3 canvas bag from Apple.

Keep up the "green" work Apple, but help customers to have a viable alternative too.

Ten Reasons Microsoft Retail Will Fail

We put our heads together to bring you this list. As former Apple Retail employees, I'd like to think we have some perspective on what works and what doesn't with Apple's retail initiative, and why Microsoft can't hope to do as well. Let's Dive In...

#10. No fanatical fanbase. Yes, there are people who love Microsoft products. But we're talking about a different kind of fanaticism here. We're talking about the type of thing that spawned two Apple-fan movies this year alone. We're talking about people camping out for days before a store opens. Sorry Microsoft, your fans just aren't that wild for your products. Perhaps a possible exception for the xBox. There's a difference between loyalty, and being locked into a system.

#9. No Genius Bar Equivalent. Barring a major shift in how Microsoft handles customer support, there's no way they can create an equal to the genius bar. There are far too many different systems with far too many configurations. People can call Microsoft from the comfort of their home and be told they need to call Dell/Acer/Lenovo for their problem.

#8 No Product To Sell. Microsoft, you don't make computers. It sounds like you won't be making phones either. So that leaves you with Windows, Zunes, optical mice, and xBox consoles. An xBox is easy enough to find. I think everyone who wants a Zune has found one. I don't think people will be lining up to buy mice, and last time I checked, finding a copy of Windows to buy wasn't very difficult.

#7 Alienate Partners. Apple has managed to keep and even grow relationships with Best Buy, Wal Mart, etc. while increasing their own retail presence. Microsoft might be able to keep those same channels happy, but what about hardware makers? Will Dell be thrilled to see Lenovo laptops in the Microsoft store? Would HP be welcome? How do you appease the people who actually make the hardware your OS runs on, if presumably some computers will be present in the store?

#6 Products Aren't Sexy. In the early days, the Apple Stores brought people in simply by the stunning design not only of the stores, but the products as well. These were exciting and new shiny objects that many had never touched before.

#5 What Comes After Windows 7? You could almost sell me on the idea of Microsoft showrooms for Windows 7, and Windows 7 alone. Microsoft seems pleased with the results of their "Mojave Experiment," so I can imagine them wanting to get more people to see/play with their new OS. If you build a store around that though, what do you do after the OS is released and everyone who wants has had a chance to try it?

#4 Dress for Success? Close your eyes. (well finish reading this first...) You've just walked into your local Microsoft store. How are salespeople dressed? Do they wear khakis and polo shirts, leaving you to think you've accidentally stepped into a Circuit City (how's CC doing, by the way?) Do they wear t-shirts and jeans in an attempt to look just like the Apple employees? Do they wear some sort of cheeky Geek Squad-esque costume/uniform?

#3 The Economy. There are two types of computers selling right now: Macs and netbooks. Apparently in bad economic times, some people look for the best value/quality for their money. Those people are buying Macs. Others look for the bare minimum to get by. Those people are buying netbooks. Where does that leave Microsoft? No Mac ships with the Windows OS. Many netbooks use a flavor of linux, and those that do use windows, use XP, or seem to almost begrudgingly have Vista installed. So Microsoft, are you going to try to convince the value shoppers that they need a bigger, more expensive system, or will you try to talk Apple shoppers down to a cheaper computer, a computer which you most likely won't even have in store? Or maybe, just maybe there will be a Mac in there, running Windows 7 through Boot Camp... Hmm... we might have to re-think this whole thing...

#2 Bill Gates is Gone. If Gates had launched this initiative while he was still at Microsoft, maybe, just maybe it would fly. He would've brought a certain geek cred, and he always had a vision of where computing was headed. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong, you always knew he had a vision. I don't know what Microsoft's vision is these days. Apparently it's to look at what Apple's done in retail, and copy it. Which brings us to...

#1 Apple Already Did It. You cannot beat Apple for store design. You cannot beat Apple for buzz in a mall environment. (tangent: one of the secret strengths of Apple is the relationship building it does with other mall tenants. The traffic the stores generate benefits everyone.) Apple has created a formula that while imperfect, cannot be perfected by Microsoft. You don't think the same way. Any company selling an OS in no fewer than five versions cannot be expected to simplify or improve the retail computer shopping experience.

Really Apple, Not a Single Video Adapter?

I know, I know, we've been aware for some time of what would and wouldn't be in the box with Apple's latest laptops. Adam recently had a Ford's Focused segment on the shrinking amount of included accessories with Apple products.

Still, looking at iFixit's teardown of the 17" MacBook Pro drove the point home. The 17" model, even at $2,799, doesn't include a DVI or VGA video adapter. Unless you want to use the ONE monitor Apple sells using the new "standard," you're out of luck. Or more precisely, out $29 for the adapter you need. So if you're a road warrior, and especially if you give presentations on projectors, load up on adapters because there's ZERO chance you'll get this laptop hooked up to a projector out of the box. There's nickel and dime-ing, then there's just stupidity. Come on, Apple.