Author: Rick Sutcliffe
by Rick SutcliffeNovember 2014 The new iPhone six plusis just about everything Apple has touted–sufficient screen real estate, speed, snazzy design, plus runnable iOS enhancements to last for…well, the next year or two for some folk, though the Spy will make his serve far longer. Delivery took over a month from the order date, and except for a last minute glitch where the truck returned it to the depot (quitting time apparently arrived before the UPS driver did) was near…
by Rick Sutcliffe October 2014 iOS8 was introduced at WWDC with much hoopla but actually arrived with some problems, and has needed two updates since, the current one being 8.0.2. Also many users find it is too large to install without deleting a great deal of material from their iPuds. Hint: Use iTunes for the update. Given the usual spit and polish Apple puts into new releases, this whole episode seems odd, even a little Microsoftish–as if something has slipped there….
iSchool, or the Pitter Patter of little feats September is supposed to be back to school, but here in British Columbia of the frozen north, the public school teachers union and the Provincial government are so far away from each other in their contract positions that the mediator they consulted walked away from the dispute because his involvement had no prospect of success. It doesn’t help that after a previous government gave the union a sweetheart deal on class size…
May 2014 but, what are those somethings? Rumours continue to swirl about Apple and its certain/probable/possible/mythical/impossible product introductions for 2014 (some may be all five at once). Given Apple’s recent history, and that we’ve made it this far into the year without any major introductions, the Spy is convinced (has managed to convince himself–Nellie) that WWDC will be the venue for some significant product announcements. Our reader may recall that by delaying two minutes after 0900 on ticket sale day…
by Rick SutcliffeApril 2014 Wearable computing technologyhas been the “latest” buzz longer than most ideas (indeed longer than some ideas endure from conception to death), generating endless speculation about who will bring out what product in the genre and when. As often the case, the Spy has the inside track. Mind, he does not deal in speculation or rumour. However, he does keep his ear to the ground, his eye on the horizon, his nose to the grindstone, his hand…
Being insanely proprietary can be both a strength and/or a weakness. On the negative side of the leger, HP, Xerox, and IBM, by not being more particular about their in-house inventions and IP, all lost opportunities to dominate the personal computing market. Oh, yes, IBM did for a while, but because the software was controlled by Microsoft, and wasn’t exclusive, clones eventually turned their boxes into commodities, and they exited the market rather than compete on a consumer level–much to…
The Spy and wife own and she drives a 1991 Buick Regalthat in today’s terms is generally regarded as hopelessly obsolete driving technology. It has no informative car computer display, not GPS, no telephone, no heated seats, TV in the back seating area or anti-lock /skid braking system, and the climate control system is primitive and manual. Even the 2002 Buick Regal he drives has some of that, though it too is regarded as ancient by some people. Yet both…
A year of consolidation looms in parts of the high-tech landscape. For instance, television manufacturers will continue to exit this unprofitable sector and find other ways to (try to) make money. Sony in particular remains problematic. The Spy recently purchased a Sony 1040 receiver as both reviews and specs seemed promising. After all, very few receivers at any price have all of AirPlay, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and BlueTooth, and many no longer offer phono inputs. Sony’s model has them all at…
December 2013 Following up on comments in this space last month, the Spy still has had none of the issues reported by others who’ve adopted Mavericks. Apart from the need to upgrade a handful of programs, all continues smooth. However, iTim’s elves are busy at work releasing betas of the first incremental upgrade to fix issues some have seen. Of greater interest might be what they’re doing with system XI. And, the reader will recall the troubles reported here with …
The wave of Apple’s future was supposed to be a simplification of the user interface, a de-skeuomorphism of visual elements, and a unification of MacOS and iOS. The most recent version of the latter went a long way toward this mark However, MacOS 10.9, a.k.a. Mavericks, is, on the whole, a stay-the-course mild enhancement of Mountain Lion 10.8, nothing radical. Thos who want radical change will have to wait for MacOS 11. The important changes are in the upgrade process…
October 2013 “Hi Nellie.” I didn’t need to turn around. The sound of her cowboy boots and a certain air of eau de geek that pervades her space tipped me to her presence. “What’ya workin’ on?” “This column.” “Still into self referentialism as always, so no doubt you’ll quote us quoting us.” Lest we get tied up in logical knots, I ignored this sally. “So what’s got your shirt in a knot today, Nellie.” She rarely visited unless she wanted…
September 2013 A very long time ago even by non-Internet standards, the Spy advised people owning stock in typewriter companies to sell. In that same era he opined “collect postage stamps young woman, for soon they won’t make them any more”. To the former, anyone under thirty-five might today say “what’s a typewriter?” The Spy was right. But to the latter, he was only half so. True, anyone under ten today is likely to say the same thing about stamps…
In the aftermath of WWDC, the Spy notes his reader saw it here first–a modular multi-core MacPro, that is, a closed box with all expandability through external ports. He thought an all-in-one design possible, and didn’t foresee the cylinder, but rightly saw the demise of the tower more than a year ago. Doubled Thunderbolt speed will be nice, and it will be great to get the desktop machine back on the desk from the floor. With that kind of connection,…
When all is said and done with the usual caveat that most is said and little done, people make decisions with their emotions and guts, not their brains. This has been noted here before in connection with the stock market and the purchase of cheap imitation PCs (rather than the real thing–Macs). Last month’s Provincial election here in British Columbia illustrates the same principle in the practice of politics. (Note: in Canada, municipal, Provincial, and Federal elections are independent of…
A sudden spate of email from last October last week should have been a clue that not all was well with the Spy’s own company virtual server, where he has most of his mail accounts and the billing system for Arjay Web Services (WebNameHost and WebNameSource). Unfortunately, he failed to investigate until the following day, after customers complained about receiving bills they had already paid, even having their accounts suspended (all they on his big dedicated production server). A few…
There is no truth to the rumour – that Apple has become a third bidder in the suddenly interesting battle to gain control of Dell. Michael Dell himself began the process by trying to take the company private under his own personal leadership, but has hit a roadblock in the form of a second suitor who would likely show him the door. Apple was said to be ready to close the company, wind up its affairs, turn the assets into…
Apple’s stock continues to behave strangely, but with more explanation in recent weeks. Seems a couple of large hedge funds sold billions in Apple shares over a short period, driving the price down. More recently, another fund manager speculated on a stock split, which caused a short rally in the shares. Yet another wants to extract cash from Apple’s hoard into his own pocket. All these moves are both short-sighted and self-serving. Indeed, it seems to the Spy that any…
The great shift in the computing devices market is well under way, with sales of desktop units tanking, even of laptops flattening out (sic), while those of iPads (there is no tablet market) boom. In this milieu, there are some interesting byplays. First, sales of Windows machines have been hit far harder than those of Macs, and Windows 8 has not helped either Microsoft or the generic box assemblers. Indeed, uptake appears worse than that of Vista, when it first…
Some analysts are upbeat about RIM but the Spy doesn’t understand why. The new Blackberry and OS are too little and too late to make any difference. Colour this one more or less DOA, along with the readers’ choice of Sony, Sharp, and Panasonic. Both the smartphone and large appliance electronic markets are over-saturated with brands that are no longer viable. Others have become downbeat about Apple. Well, the Spy can understand that the stock may have entered a more…
Even before I heard the boots clunk on the table behind me I didn’t need to turn around to know who’d dropped in. Some people carry an unmistakable air about them. Besides, regular people knock, even though the door’s always open. Not Nellie Hacker. She, BTW for the new reader, helped me found this column back in the day. Well, at least she doesn’t wear spurs. “Hi, Nellie. It’s been a while since you popped by to see your old…
