It’s around this time of year that a lot of people make new year’s resolutions. They make these huge promises to themselves with the full intention of carrying them through the 12 months to follow, but most begin to falter within the first month. Heck, there are people who give up on their new year’s resolutions moments after the NYE hangover subsides. Some people promise to quit smoking, whereas others resolve to lose weight, but most of these people end up puffing or binging soon enough.
With people making resolutions, so will probably be the case when it comes to a company’s new years resolutions. Naturally, this list is far from official, but here are five proposed resolutions for the folks at Apple. I hope you’re listening Cupertino. Let’s see how bang on I might be with the impending MacWorld Expo just around the corner.
I Will Not Over-Exploit Multi-Touch Technology
For the past few years, most people associated any sort of glossy white electronics — portable music players, notebook computers, and the like — with Steve Jobs and his team at Apple. You’ll notice, however, that this company profile has shifted slightly with the launch of the second-generation iPod nano. We saw more matte metallic finishes. This shifted again with the launch of the ubiquitous Apple iPhone, a device that doesn’t have any glossy white at all.
Instead, the hottest feature on the iPhone, and the one that had everyone talking, was the multi-touch technology found on the display. You see, touchscreen cell phones are nothing new. Look to the world of PocketPC phones, like those produced by HTC of Taiwan, and you’ll see a never-ending supply of PDA phones with touchscreen displays. I actually own one (T-Mobile MDA, aka HTC Wizard) myself. What made the iPhone different, beyond its Apple chic branding, was the fact that the touchscreen was designed with multiple touches in mind.
You can scroll, zoom, and flip with your fingers, using multiple points of contact at the same time. This technology is also being used in the Microsoft Surface computer. Well, as much as I think multi-touch is cool, there’s a strong possibility that Apple may over-exploit its popularity and start implementing multi-touch everywhere that they can. We could see the integration of multi-touch interfaces in the iPod (beyond the iTouch), the MacBook, and who knows what else.
In fact, there’s a rumor going around that a new MacBook will be unveiled at MacWorld 2008 and it’ll rock a multi-touch trackpad. This could also lead to a version of OS X specifically designed for multi-touch input. Can there be such a thing as too much multi-touch? Maybe. I just hope Apple doesn’t reach that threshold.
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Shop Like a PRO!
I Will Innovate With Newton
As with just about anything to do with Apple, nothing has been confirmed or denied about the possible revival of Newton. As you may recall, the Newton was an early line of PDA devices from Apple and it was supposed to compete against the Palm Pilots and Handspring Visors of the day. Officially, the handheld carried the name “MessagePad”, but everyone came to refer to the devices as “Newton” based on the operating system found within.
Needless to say, the Apple Newton wasn’t quite as huge a success as the company had hoped, but you also have to realize that Apple computers in general weren’t nearly as popular as they are today. Steve Jobs has done a fantastic job with branding and bringing the company’s products into the mainstream. Based on a growing interest in more compact computing solutions like the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, there is a distinct possibility that Apple will release a Newton-like device in the near future, probably cashing in on our love for the iPhone.
Rumors are swirling around all over the place, but most are pointing toward a slightly larger version of the iPhone. We could be looking at a device with a 4-inch screen, making it compact enough to carry around everywhere. Go with a 7-inch screen and the Newton competes in the UMPC market. The new device could easily run a version of OSX Leopard, sitting right in between the slimmed down version on the iPhone and the full featured version housed inside MacBooks and iMacs. You could also run more desktop-like applications. Just as Apple “innovated” with the iPhone (multi-touch, accelerometer, etc.), they need to do the same with Newton 2.
I Will Not Let Form Beat Function
Many people are interested in Apple products not necessarily because they are more functional or more powerful, but rather because they look nice. When you place the third-generation iPod nano next to anything from the Sandisk Sansa line of portable music players, it’s obvious enough which device is more physically attractive. Apple is about eye candy and this also comes through in the design of the user interface.
With this kind of mentality, it’s easy to get caught up in how things appear, only to overlook the more important functionality hiding behind the pretty face. I might get flamed for saying this, but the form over function philosophy might account for some of Vista’s lack of success. Microsoft wanted to make the OS more aesthetically pleasing, but many people complained about the clunkiness and how most consumer-level computers can’t handle what Vista is supposed to do. Don’t even think about running Aero without a half-decent machine.
Apple has done quite well on this front thus far, happily balancing form and function. I just hope that they don’t take the “look how pretty I look” mentality too far.
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Shop Like a PRO!
I Will Research Trademarks First
Apple has more muscle in the marketplace these days, but that doesn’t mean that they are immune to trademark infringement. I need not remind you of the fiasco behind the iPhone name and how Cisco Systems was on the cusp of filing some rather major legal action against Apple. Steve Jobs thought that he could just get away with it, largely because the whole “greater than thou” mentality that his company seems to have.
The firm needs to tread a little more carefully when it comes to patents and trademarks. They simply cannot go about and flippantly use trademarked terms whenever they please. From what I remember, Cisco approached Apple about the use of “iPhone” before the touchtastic mobile phone was revealed to the public. They had a chance to nip it in the bud and resolve matters amicably. Instead, it became an unnecessary battle of egos. I still remember the battle on Wikipedia over where “iPhone” should lead.
Sometimes, you need to get off your high horse. As cool and hip as Apple products tend to be, the company is not above trademark law. Get your legal department to research things more thoroughly before pissing off all the other companies in the world.
I Will Not Sue Websites
There are countless tech blogs on the ‘net that report on a variety of rumors. We watch carefully as phones pass the FCC process. We look to insiders to see what the next Microsoft Zune will have over its predecessor. Such is also the case with anything Apple-related, but Steve Jobs did not take kindly to Think Secret.
Apple sued the popular website, eventually coming to a confidential settlement that was supposed to be a “positive solution for both sides.” The net result is that Think Secret shut down, but innumerable other Apple fanboy blogs continue to exist and they continue to “leak” company secrets. It’s the nature of the Internet.
Lawsuits don’t make people happy. If you must take some legal action, then go ahead, but don’t take sites like Think Secret away from us.
Wishful Thinking or Nostradamus Accuracy
I realize that some of these new year’s resolutions won’t come to pass. Just like the fat guy who won’t go to the gym three times a week, Apple is probably going to break some of these promises that I’ve made on their behalf. Even so, I remain hopeful. Steve Jobs and the rest of the team in Cupertino continue to experience explosive growth and they show no sign of slowing down.
Many people who were once loyal to Windows-based computers are making the jump. The Apple iPod absolutely dominates the MP3 player market. All too many folks lust after the Apple iPhone. It seems that Apple can seriously do no wrong these days, so these New Years Resolutions could be some rather wishful thinking on my part. Or I might be surprisingly accurate like Nostradamus. Oh wait, didn’t that guy say that 1999 would bring the end of the world? I guess we’ll have to see at MacWorld this year just how many of these will be keepers.
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Shop Like a PRO!