The PalmPre versus Apple iTunes Sync Fight is Confusing

According to today’s news, the PalmPre is once again able to sync directly with Apple’s iTunes.

This will last exactly as long as it takes for Apple to figure out how disable the feature and then PalmPre users will be temporarily blocked once again.

Now, I can see why Apple might have a lot of hate for the PalmPre.  It was developed almost completely by ex-Apple folk and was released in an attempt to be a direct competitor to the iPhone, though most critics agree it loses in any sort of head-to-head battle.

What I don’t understand is why Apple thinks blocking the PalmPre’s ability to sync to iTunes is a wise move. Sure, it takes away a capacity many people like in their media players but it also opens the door wide to competitors looking to give folks a reason to try something other than iTunes as a media manager.  People will only look for an alternative if they can’t get access to the original, popular and rather well made iTunes software.

Not only that, but this discourages PalmPre owners from purchasing any music via iTunes.  This is a direct loss of potential revenue and again offers a great opportunity for competitors to step in and offer an alternative.

Considering how much effort is going into blocking the PalmPre from syncing with iTunes, Apple clearly has  their reasons.  I just can’t seem to fathom those reasons.

Baby Shaker iPhone App Short-Lived

Considering how hard it was for iFart to be approved for sale in the iPhone app store, one really has to wonder how an app called “Baby Shaker” made it through all the red tape.

For a relatively brief time, “Baby Shaker” was available for purchase at the iTunes app store. Now, after a few major blog posts and tons of twitters, the app has been removed.

Still, how did this ever get listed in the first place?

Other apps recently pulled by Apple include Nazi Sympathizer, iKKK, Puppy Kicker Lite, Skin the Cat, PedoFinder2 and Sexting: The Game.

What’s Your Privacy Worth? A Free Smartphone?

Image via Wikipedia

The NYT has a good article about the pros and cons of massive data mining and the state of our personal privacy.

As a jumping-off point they look at a program being run at M.I.T.

“Now, when he dials another student, researchers know. When he sends an e-mail or text message, they also know. When he listens to music, they know the song. Every moment he has his Windows Mobile smartphone with him, they know where he is, and who’s nearby.

Mr. Brown and about 100 other students living in Random Hall at M.I.T. have agreed to swap their privacy for smartphones that generate digital trails to be beamed to a central computer. Beyond individual actions, the devices capture a moving picture of the dorm’s social network. ”

While this is a relatively harmless and completely voluntary invasion of privacy it raises a slew of questions about what constitutes “private” actions and how, in this digital age especially, are we going to balance the technical ability to track and gather personal data with the rights of the individual?

NYT piece is definitely worth a read.

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A ZunePhone?! An Idea That Can’t NOT Fail.

Image via Wikipedia

God, I really hope the rumor of a ZunePhone is true – I need new material for my one-man-show entitled OMG MSFT = FAIL. Zune Zune Zune

“WHAT DO YOU get if you take an Iphone, remove the clean UI, user friendliness, nice industrial design, battery life, cachet, functional OS, and in general everything else that makes it worthwhile? The new Microsoft phone, powered by Nvidia.” (via)

Oh, Microsoft, I do so love to hate you. Yet, I still use MSWord.  I’m such a hypocrite.  Sigh.

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Dead Tree Media on a Death March

Hardly a day goes by that somebody doesn’t write about the decline of the newspaper in America.  Micropursuasion sees a perfect storm forming to take out newspapers once and for all due to rising fuel costs impact on distribution, environmental concerns about wasting paper and:

“Last but not least we have the growing popularity of speedy 3G-enabled smart phones, including the new iPhone 3G. The devices are declining in price while offering a lot more sophisticated experience for reading news.”

Tough to argue with their logic and tough to imagine that the kids of today will be picking up the daily paper off the front porch in the future.

Of course, the end of newpapers doesn’t mean the end of news, or journalists for that matter.  I really don’t think that the dying off of newspapers is such a big deal.

The terrible tragedy is what will happen to the paperboys (and girls) of America.  Lost, with no papers needing delivery, kids will no longer have that key first job experience.  The domino effect will lead to a drastic decline in the value of an American worker and a massive increase in early morning, kid-related crime.

So, stop worrying about the newspapers.  Worry about the paperboys!

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