Enderle!

Click on the graphic to see a full sized version and proof of how cheaply iPhone App Review will sell what little integrity they had...

Apple has started banning many applications for its iPhone that feature sexually suggestive material, including photos of women in bikinis and lingerie, a move that came as an abrupt surprise to developers who had been profiting from such programs.

A Sports Illustrated application tied to its annual swimsuit issue was still available for download on Monday, as was one from Playboy.

When asked about the Sports Illustrated app, Mr. Schiller said Apple took the source and intent of an app into consideration. “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format,” he said.

(Shawn's Comment: That has to be the lamest justification for app removal. As John Gruber says, "I don’t see how it’s anything other than hypocrisy to say that Time Warner can have an app showing swimsuit models and others cannot....to allow Sports Illustrated and Playboy to publish it and others not? That’s bullshit.")

One of the more interesting things that we know for sure about Apple's big event this week is the venue. Apple has booked the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, rather than hosting it at its Cupertino headquarters. To me, what this signals is that Apple isn't quite sure of this product and wants to distance itself, in a way.

Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein has never used an iPhone, and his company doesn't pay that much attention to Apple. Long term Apple Observers may remember that Mr. Rubinstein is a former executive vice president of Apple where he brought the iPod to market and was the first head of the division that was subsequently created around the device.

He made the comment in an interview with Kara Swisher of AllThingsD during last week's CES trade show in Las Vegas, which was posted Friday at the media outlet's site. When asked how he views Apple as a competitor in the smartphone market, Mr. Rubinstein said, "We don't pay that much attention to Apple….I know it sounds really strange."

It must have sounded strange to Ms. Swisher, because she flat out said that she didn't believe him. He insisted, however, adding, "I don't have an iPhone. Actually, I've never used one."

It’s generally not worth one’s time to point out that Rob Enderle is wrong about something. Enderle, for those of you who don’t know, is one of those “technology analysts” who gets paid to “consult” on the current trends and future directions of the technology industry. Why anyone would pay for his services is beyond me. Enderle is so frequently wrong about the market, misguided in his predictions, and fallacious in his analysis that I’d need to start a whole new website just to accurately catalogue the various mistakes he’s made and lies he’s told over the years.

Enderle posits that the negative press surrounding the JooJoo is going to badly damage the Apple Tablet’s reception, because Apple’s “secret sauce” is its ability to make us look at products with fresh eyes, and Apple has never released a product so close to the poor debut of a very similar product.

If you can’t see why that analysis is hilariously wrong, I strongly doubt that you and I are friends.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has told TG Daily that Apple is unlikely to launch a game console before 2015. According to Pachter, Apple is "way behind Microsoft" and may not be able to "ever" catch up.

(Shawn's Comment: OK - that guy should be *immediately* fired. For one thing, Apple already has a "game console" - it's called an "iPhone". Maybe he's heard of it? All the kids are raving about it...)

While it might seem irrational to say that Linux is driving Apple's pricing decision, I find it hard to believe that it is anything else. A price of $29 as reported by David Pogue in the New York Times looks like it is aimed directly at free Linux instead of the much more expensive Windows world.

I see the $29 upgrade for Snow Leopard as a shot across the bow of Windows users who might be thinking about switching to Linux.

Like a moth to a hot trend, Apple (AAPL Quote - Cramer on AAPL - Stock Picks) will fly into the netbook flame and get burned.

The company will unveil a 10-inch touchscreen tablet computer sometime this year, say analysts.

The tides have turned against Apple in the computer market, according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The comments from Mr. Ballmer came at the McGraw-Hill Companies’ 2009 Media Summit in response to an interview question about the momentum Apple is perceived to have.

According to TechFlash, Mr. Ballmer responded, "Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction. The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be."

Lawyers representing Apple’s intellectual property interests sent a cease and desist letter to Procreate over its use of the names Flypod and Podium for its products.

The letter states that Apple is concerned that consumers will be confused by the use of the term “Pod” in the product names, and that people may think that Apple is somehow associated with the products. Apple contends that the term “Pod” has been used extensively by consumers as an abbreviation for its iPod.

The Podium is an iPhone stand that Procreate makes for the original iPhone and iPhone 3G. The company doesn’t understand why Apple is targeting its product name.

Now that the cat’s out of the bag that Apple will be showing “advance preview of what we’re building” in iPhone OS 3.0 a scant week from today, let’s review some of the most popular iPhone ommissions/grievances or whatever you want to call them. Here are mine, in no particular order:

Software:
Copy and paste
MMS
Push notifications (*promised in June 2008)
Camera improvements: video, flash, more MP, image stabilization
Voice dialing (have to use Vlingo)
Turn-by-turn GPS navigation
Keychain support
Multitasking
Landscape keyboard
Tethering over Bluetooth
A2DP
Flash playback

Palm Inc.’s new Pre smart phone will lure customers away from Apple Inc.’s iPhone when subscribers’ contracts start expiring in June, Palm investor Roger McNamee said.

Sprint Nextel Corp., the phone’s exclusive carrier, and Palm have said they will start selling the device in the first half of the year. Palm, which pioneered mobile devices with its Pilot products more than a decade ago, is counting on the Pre to help reverse six straight quarters of losses totaling more than $650 million.

The Pre features a full touch-screen cover that slides up to reveal a Qwerty keyboard, designed to appeal to both iPhone fans and traditional smart-phone users. Speculation about the price and the release date has circulated on the Web since Sunnyvale, California-based Palm unveiled the Pre in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

“Think about it -- If you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market,” said McNamee, 52. “Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they’re going to buy.”

How do I know Apple stores are high rent? I live in Southern California, and every Apple store within 50 miles of me is in a tony, upscale neighborhood. A new store, for instance, opened in September near my home in the swankiest shopping center in the area--bar none. No Best Buy, Radio Shack, or Circuit City could touch this real estate.

Ditto for the East Coast. The Apple store nearest the town where I grew up is in one of the snazziest shopping spots in suburban Philadelphia. (The clusters of $40K-$50K cars is a giveaway.)

So, the coolest, hippest, greenest (though the latter is debatable) computer company is arguably the most elitist.

Here's the challenge: As consumers think hard (or not at all) about computer purchases, Apple is going to be more pressed than ever to deliver inspired, compelling designs to keep people flocking to its stores (and flock they still do).

Remember all those Gateway Computer stores? It started with a few here and there and then everything went all at once. The same thing happened to CompUSA and Circuit City. So, for Apple, the canary in the coal mine are its stores.

Over the past week, The Channel Checkers surveyed 15 Apple stores to track sales of iPod and Macs along with business trends at Apple stores in the U.S. We asked if the stores were discounting iPods in February and 73% said they were not while 27% said they were discounting some models specifically iPod Nano’s. The top selling computer was said to be the Mac Book Pro according to 73% of respondents. 66% of respondents told us they had sold fewer computers in the past month while the other third thought sales of computers were rising in February versus January. Despite the appearance of a slowdown in Apple computer sales, only 13% of respondents said they were discounting Mac’s while 87% said they were not, suggesting demand is strong enough to maintain full pricing.

Long one of Apple's greatest assets, the rumour mill is now a major liability for the Mac maker, says Seb Janacek.

The feverish interest used to sustain the company during the downtime between product releases and Steve Jobs keynotes.

The company last attended the New York Macworld event in 2002 and late last year, it announced the 2009 Macworld would be the last one it attended. Why is Apple cutting down? The rumour mill which orbited around them has spun out of control and is now damaging the company by setting expectations way too high ahead of events.

(Shawn's Comment: The stupidity of Mr Janacek is almost mind boggling. To posit that Apple is pulling out of Expos because of the rumor mill is stupefyingly idiotic)

Working together on behalf of the iPod and iPhone community, iLounge and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today announced the historic official launch of the iLounge Pavilion, the first unified pavilion area for iPod and iPhone products to be offered at an International Consumer Electronics Show. Debuting at the 2010 CES, this pavilion will for the first time give iPod and iPhone vendors their own dedicated, prominent stage at the world’s largest trade show for consumer technology.

Apple showing up at CES makes a lot of sense. Where better to hype a product than the Consumer Electronics Show?

(Shawn's Comment: Apple showing at CES makes *no* sense - why would they show in that mess when they can produce their own events?)

Fear not, Steve Jobs fans: Apple's abandonment of Macworld Expo doesn't mean that Stevenotes are gone forever.

Much has been made in the tech press about this nugget, mostly focusing on Jobs' health.

To this we say: C'mon. Are you serious? Do you really think Apple would cancel its attendance at all future Macworlds because Jobs isn't up to one speech?

SFGate reports that Cisco Systems will close most of its US and Canadian offices for four days—Dec 29 through Jan 2— as part of a plan to cut $1 billion in costs in the current fiscal year. The company forecasts that sales will fall 5 to 10 percent in the current quarter as the credit crisis chokes off corporate sales.

Stronger still is HP's plan to close its offices for two weeks instead of the traditional one. Further, Apple and Adobe reportedly are also asking workers to take time off.

Responding to an email about the inability to use Firewire HD camcorders with the new MacBook and iMovie, Jobs (more likely one of his minions) replied:

Actually, all of the new HD camcorders of the past few years use USB 2

(Shawn's Comment: Look at the supposed email from Jobs:

Do you see anywhere in that email where Jobs said, as the headline to this non-story claims, "You don't need it"? Once again, Jason O'Grady pulls BS out of thin air just to make a point)

"PCs are better than Macs. That is not something that can be debated."

"...have you ever seen a cheap Mac? No."

"Do Macs work in business? No, they do not."

"I'm very sensitive to exactly what mouse I have on my laptop. Can you find a range of choices? Of course you can't find a range of choices."

"...can you find the applications you want on the Mac? Well, you don't really get full Microsoft Office."

"Apple started doing stores because nobody wanted to sell their PCs."

"The number-one-selling smart phone is the Symbian, the number two is Windows Mobile, the number three is the Black Berry, and then number four is the Apple."

You mentioned that Vista is 60 percent less likely to be a victim of virus than XP SP2, but how does that compare with viruses on the Mac?

Brooks: You know, it's hard to get a direct comparison, Ina. I want to be very specific in any kind of the data or the information that I give you there is that you're running one system versus another. The best way to really look at it is based on the Internet services, and what's really going on out there in terms of things like phishing or other types of scams that can actually happen through your browser or Internet experience. That really is much more of a direct comparison.

In a random sampling of seven college students attending a lecture at one British Columbia university, conclusive evidence has revealed that 43% of college women prefer Apple's wildly popular Mac laptop over PC's. An eighth woman present remained neutral on the subject pretending to be more interested in the lecture than our research.

It's unfortunate that our inability to capture a wider photograph seriously impaired the final results of what was planned to be a comprehensive study.

Our team is currently collecting data for an innovative new study involving Macs and super models. We're anticipating the results to be quite favorable for Apple. The truth is out there.

"Citizen journalism" apparently just failed its first significant test. A CNN iReport poster reported this morning that Steve Jobs had been rushed to the ER after a severe heart attack. Fortunately, it appears the story was false. We contacted an Apple spokeswoman, who categorically denies this.

CNN's iReport:

Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven't seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.

We contacted Apple. Katie Cotton, Vice President of Worldwide Communications, replied quickly, saying "It is not true."

Apple's stock also took a major hit before bouncing back.

Not even Apple can escape the fallout from the global economic crisis, with it's shares tumbling this week. That hasn't stopped Apple's executive team reaping in more than 120 million dollars in bonuses though...

Timothy D. Cook, Chief Operating Office does rather well being on the receiving end of some 200,000 shares worth at least USD $21 million. yes, you did read that right.

After the COO comes Ron Johnson, the Senior Vice President Retail, along with Chief Financial Officer, Peter Oppenheimer. These fortunate chaps get a credit crunch busting bonus of 150,000 shares each.

Jonathan Ive, the iPod design guru and four other executives (Senior Vice President Worldwide Product Marketing, Senior Vice President Software Engineering, Senior Vice President Mac Hardware Engineering and Senior Vice President iPhone Software) get 120,000 shares each. That works out at USD $12.5 million each.

I feel sorry for Daniel Cooperman, a recent recruit to Apple from HP, who has to make do with a paltry 60,000 shares worth just USD $6 million.

Microsoft aired the second in its series of new ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates, and unlike the first ad, we finally discover that the pair are trying to find out what life is like for the average person.

Mac developer Daniel Jalkut thinks the ads are genius: "They are so random, indeed so touchy-feely, that the universal reaction among the 'smart-asses' I know, is to declare them ridiculous, not-funny, and utter failures. [...] So if you think the ads suck, don't worry, you're not the target audience."

You Look Nice Today's Adam Lisagor adds a salient point: "If you smile even once, the Windows brand wins."

Thus the heart of the matter: The ads are not intended to sell Windows: They're ads to sell The Windows Brand. Think of it as The Soul of Windows. If, by the end of this campaign, we only think of Microsoft as the company with the weird ads, then Microsoft will have saved Windows' soul.

To the ranks of chief executives who blame those terrible meanies who run hedge funds for their troubles — Jeffrey Skilling at Enron, say, or Jimmy Cayne at Bear Stearns, or Patrick Byrne at Overstock.com — we can now add a new name: the one and only Steve Jobs. According to Jim Goldman, who interviewed Mr. Jobs today on CNBC after his latest razzle-dazzle product announcement, the Apple chief executive said the rumors that he had suffered a recurrence of cancer came from “hedge funds with a big short position in Apple.”

As Mr. Goldman recounts on his blog, Mr. Jobs told Mr. Goldman that he wouldn’t answer any questions about his health on camera — hey, the man’s trying to protect his privacy — so every second of those seven minutes was spent plugging Apple products. Every other tech chief executives in country must wish for similar treatment. Off camera, Mr. Jobs allowed as to how he could stand to gain a few pounds, but assured Mr. Goldman that he was fine. And then he brought up the favorite bugaboo of beleaguered chief executives everywhere: those short-seller hedge funds did it.

Appleinsider's Sam Oliver reports that American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu put out a call to clients on Friday, saying they should be prepared for a slight letdown at Apple's event tomorrow, September 9 unless chief executive Steve Jobs rolls out something unexpected.

"While there is always room for surprise, it seems this event may be somewhat underwhelming versus previous expectations and events," Wu is quoted commenting. "Over the past several days, Apple shares have pulled back as expectations have likely come down."

As for major Mac-related announcements eagerly and impatiently anticipated MacBook Pro and MacBook refreshes or more radical redesigns, Wu thinks these aren't likely to be unveiled on Tuesday as the focus appears to be on Apple's non-Mac businesses.

Microsoft's Brad Brooks looks at it this way: Even if people aren't talking kindly about the new Windows ad, at least people are talking about Windows.

Brooks acknowledges it will take more than just ads to improve Windows' image. The key, he said, are the substantive changes the company is making, such as trying to improve the experience for buying Windows PCs as well as getting machines up and running. Here, Microsoft appears to be taking a page or two from Apple's playbook.

Microsoft is setting up store-within-a-store locations at major retailers like Circuit City and Best Buy, a concept that Apple employed at both Best Buy and CompUSA. Microsoft is also hiring between 100 and 200 "Windows Gurus"--Microsoft employees that will be positioned at retail stores to help customers learn more about the operating system.

From PC World
Foolishly, I thought I could walk into the store and purchase a MacBook in less than 30 minutes...the store was just too franctic for me to be able to think clearly when I was making my order. The whole experience was un-Zen. I barely had a chance to reconnect delightfully with my inner child.

(Shawn's Comment: If Retail really freaks you out that much and that easily, maybe you should stick to buying things off Amazon and playing with your inner child...)

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