Microsoft Ads

I don't typically comment on inane TV advertisements, but I have recently realized something revealing about Microsoft's latest ads.

These are the ads in which a "shopper" goes out and considers purchasing a Mac, but ends up buying a Windows powered machine. They typically complain about the lower priced Mac having 2 GB of RAM or not being cheap enough. They don't tell you that a Vista powered laptop needs 4GB of RAM to operate as efficiently as a Mac with 2 GB. They don't tell you the Mac is clearly more powerful with a faster CPU, graphics and DDR3 memory. They don't tell you the Windows machine has a low resolution screen even though it is 17 inches diagonally, and it weighs 8 pounds and is twice as thick as Mac laptop.

But, I have always been irked by the line these shoppers utter at the end, "I'm a PC." This seems to be in response to Apple's ads in which actors portray a PC and a Mac. This line is spoken by human beings not portraying computers, but seemingly human beings hoping to be identified as a computer?

I could go on about people as computers illustrated by the millions of Windows users who struggle to use their computers rather than get work done, so they identify themselves with the computer they are supposed to be using as a tool.

However, the bottom line is Microsoft is belittling people. Microsoft believes these people identify themselves closely with a Windows powered computer. Mac users do not do this, in spite of Windows apologists' claims that Mac users are part of a cult. No, Mac users identify themselves with other Mac users.

Microsoft has been diminishing people for years by producing poor products, insisting bugs are actually features, providing poor service, and frightening users who do not know what will happen when they push a button in a poorly worded dialog box.

Go ahead Microsoft. People lacking poor self images will continue to switch to the Mac You can keep the masochists who will pay anything to be beaten more and more.

iPhone Soapbox

While I have written about this topic before, I will keep writing about it until iPhone users are better served. The topic is syncing between the iPhone (and iPod touch) and a personal computer.

Apple previewed features we will get when the 3.0 version of the iPhone OS is released. This includes better search, cut copy & paste, standard applications that are better, and much more.

But, they have provided no standard way to sync data between the iPhone and the computer. Yes, they are adding syncing for their own Notes application, but we need a standard way that can be used by all applications. Send PDFs to the iPhone for viewing, create documents in various applications and have those docs synced back to the computer. This is all needed now to make the iPhone a real platform.

Even FileMaker's Bento, just released on the iPhone has had to resort to customized syncing using the always unreliable Bluetooth connection.

I have made this suggestion before, and still see it as a possible solution. Apple should create a documents folder that all applications can access. The folder would be protected, and absolutely no execution of code could take place from this folder. But, documents intended for syncing back to the computer could be written to this folder by any application, and iPhone apps could read documents synced from the computer to this folder. Syncing would be handled by the iTunes application on the user's computer. The user would identify a synch folder on the computer, and iTunes would sync the contents of this folder with the contents of the corresponding iPhone folder.

This would allow iPhone apps to act as viewers for whatever docs the user places on the iPhone. Data base files could be synched back and forth. Documents could be created on the iPhone and synced back to a computer for further work. Apple could provide specific APIs for handling data to and from this shared doc folder, while maintaining control of how the folder is synced; via Bluetooth, WiFi or the iPod dock connector.

Maybe Apple doesn't like this, because it will provide a poor man's form of communication between iPhone applications. But, doing something along these lines makes sense and we need it now!

Marketing Power Passwords

I updated my iPhone application a couple of weeks ago. Afterwards, I sent out press releases to 50 or 60 web sites. It's really difficult getting noticed when you consider the number of new iPhone / iPod touch apps that come out every day. Unfortunately, the apps that get written up seem to be the games and the silly apps, and Apple is helping push the idea the iPhone is a game machine. Decent apps that help make it a useful platform are largely ignored. I would like to know about those kinds of apps myself, but they can be hard to sort out!

So, I will continue to try and figure out ways to market Power Passwords. Power Passwords on the iPhone app store. If I could just get one person in one of the big podcasts to recommend it, then ....

Of course, there is much more to marketing than sending out press releases, and that sort of thing. But then, I'm an engineer. I'm used to having computers doing what you program them to do. Relying on long shots isn't easy! I am considering releasing a free, but limited version of PP; but, what features should I include or exclude to garner the right attention for the paid version? Hmmm ....

1st Post on BlogSpot

Well, this is my firstblog on my new BlogSpot blog. I decided it is about time I use a real blog, instead of manually updating my home page at http://www.rhyman.net

I'll use this forum to get caught up on my reflections of all sorts of engineering topics, especially all things concerned with computer interfaces, and the Mac operating system, and all things iPhone/ iPod touch.