Apple - Tag Archive

Will an Apple Television ever happen?

17 Replies Armenante

Since the release of the Apple TV set top box there have always been rumours that apple will try and break into one of the few corners of the entertainment world they are yet to conquer: the television market.

With the Apple TV set top box offering features such as streaming from iTunes to your television as well a streaming YouTube videos its a handy little device. However that functionality is in most television sets now a days, so what’s stopping apple joining the already quite competitive market?

Well for a start competition is already well established in the TV market with companies like LG, Sony and Samsung all offering so called smart TV’s. This means that apple would have to would have to do something very different to create a unique selling point. The features and the GUI of the Apple TV are already there, meaning that surely they already have the building blocks they need.

LG's LogoIf they were to add the Siri (their intelligent voice assistant) surely this would make a very effective home entertainment system. This is something similar to what Microsoft is already doing with the home entertainment system on the Xbox but it’s not quite as intelligent as Siri! The Xbox service can only follow commands and is not able to interpret them.

Rumours about an Apple TV are on the up again due to the pending release of Steve Jobs official autobiography. In an excerpt from a Washington times post Jobs has been quoted as saying to the author that:

“He very much wanted to do for television sets what he had done for computers, music players, and phones: make them simple and elegant,”

Walter Isaacson wrote.

Isaacson continued:

“‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ he told me. ‘It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud.’ No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. ‘It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.’”

Apple hasn’t announced any TV based products in its line up and the blogosphere doesn’t appear to be covering it that much, however I personally wouldn’t be surprised if Apple decided to make the Apple TV into less of a hobby and more of a competitive product for the television market.

If they did they would probably do it with the same drive, determination and overall design quality that they have carried along with the Mac computer range, iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Blackberry or crashberry?

20 Replies Christopher Roberts

Since Monday, UK users of Blackberry smart phones have been without email, Blackberry Messaging (BBM) and internet browsing has been very ‘hit and miss’ since Monday – the 1oth of October 2011.

For three days now UK Blackberry users have been without their phones primary functions, and now it has spread to the US. Earlier today USA users of Blackberry smart phones have also been complaining of a lack of messaging.

The problem is also thought to be affecting Africa and the Middle East. Basically Blackberry messaging systems seem to have ‘crashed’ right across the world.


Blackberry’s owner (RIM) has said that the initial problem was caused by core and back-up switch failures.

Basically, one of Research In Motion’s back-up systems didn’t do what they were supposed to when something went wrong with the service, resulting in a massive crash! The system is designed to ‘failover’ to a backup system if anything happens. This worked fine in testing, but when Blackberry actually needed it to work, it didn’t.

The Logo of BlackberryMobile phones were only initially designed to call and then text, however smart phones were designed to provide so much more, hence why people who have paid a premium to get one, are not best pleased at the moment.

Blackberry is currently rates the UK’s top smart phone, up there with Google’s Android systems and Apple’s iPhones, so considering it faces such tough it’s very important in terms of the phones future, for Blackberry to sort the issues out pretty soon!

Blackberry have started a section on their website called Service Update, where users can get info on the status of what’s going on with the issue, what Blackberry are doing to get on top of it, and hopefully soon how long it should be until services are running normally again.

So what do you think? Do you have a Blackberry? Are you satisfied with your service? How do you think this will affect Blackberry’s future in the smart phone market?

Steve Jobs – remembering a legend

20 Replies Christopher Roberts

Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman and chief executive of Apple – one of the biggest, most profitable and most well known brands around the world.

Unfortunately, yesterday, Steve Jobs has passed away, aged 56.

Many believe that Apple is where it is because of this remarkable man, and say that without him, Apple would most probably have failed many years ago.

Jobs was a one of the kind sort of man. He was for many years the face of Apple, as it seemed that nobody could ever really match his charisma, innovation or genius.

When the firm was struggling in the 1990’s, Jobs returned, and saved the business, setting it on its path to become the second most widely used global operating system.

In 2003 Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He took leave three times between 2003 and 2010, before finally resigning as CEO in August 2011, because of fears over his health.

Jobs was one of the richest men in the world when he died, and was also one of the most well known and influential people of modern times.

It is said that Apple’s marketing department used to consisted of Jobs looking in his mirror and asking himself what he wanted.

Apple’s competitor Google has paid tribute to Jobs on the home page of its global search engines.

Google's Tribute to Steve JobsThe link on Google’s home page leads to Apple’s homepage, which has a tribute to its maker, which takes up the entire page – just showing how important he was to the company.

Apple's tribute to Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs on the home page of Apple, as a tribute to the man who many believe made the company a success

If you click on his picture, you are taken to a page which pay’s tribute to the legend in the classic Apple way – a clear, white page, with just a paragraph of text paying tribute to him.

Apple's tribute paragraph to Steve Jobs

A paragraph featured on Apple’s site, paying tribute to Steve Jobs

Today the world has lost a great man, and has been left many unanswered questions.

Who will take over from Jobs? Will Apple now become just another technology giant, lacking in personality, eventually destined for decline and failure?

RIP Steve Jobs