Top Bananas | Monthly Archives: July 2015

Can Windows 10 Save Microsoft? Nope.

Posted on July 31, 2015 by admin Posted in Software Leave a comment

What it is: Windows 10 is the latest version of Windows designed to correct the flaws of Windows 8 and provide a more seamless operating system for both desktop PCs and tablets.

During the Steve Ballmer era, Microsoft released two horrible versions of Windows: Vista and Windows 8. Why nobody at Microsoft could see how awful these versions f Windows were upon release remains a mystery. In hindsight everyone can see what was wrong with both versions, but at the time of the official launch, Microsoft was touting each as the greatest version of Windows ever. Now with Windows 10 officially released, what are the chances that Windows 10 will return Microsoft to its former glory?

Basically there’s no chance and it has nothing to dow with the benefits and features of Windows 10. Microsoft thrived when there were no choices. If you wanted a computer that could share files and connect with other computers, you had to choose a Windows PC. As long as there was no other option, sales of Windows PCs could thrive, even through the initial awful release of Vista. Then the world changed.

PCs require knowledge about using and maintaining a computer, so that barrier also stopped a large number of people from using a computer regularly. When Apple introduced the iPhone, they ushered in the smartphone era along with the iPad that defined the tablet era. Together the iPhone and iPad helped the world shift from PCs to mobile computing devices. Not only are smartphones and tablets much easier for more people to use, they require far less maintenance as well. That means more people can use a smartphone or tablet without special training or books.

Far more people are buying and using smartphones and tablets to access the Internet with each passing day. No matter how wonderful Windows 10 may be, it can only thrive if there are no choices. Even if Windows 10 manages to succeed in smartphones and tablets, both iOS and Android already have a huge head start. Most people aren’t going to abandon either iOS or Android just to go back to the frustrations of Windows again. Windows has a reputation for being something you have to use. Android and iOS have a better reputation of being something you want to use, and that’s the whole basis for the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) movement where employees buy and use their own devices instead of using company issued Windows PCs and Blackberry phones.

Windows 10 could be the best version of Windows in the world and it still won’t matter because the world has already embraced mobile computing where Windows 10 is the weakest. Windows 10 can keep people from abandoning Windows on PCs in favor of Linux or OS X, but it can’t keep people from using Android or iOS on smartphones and tablets. With the Apple Watch defining the wearable computing market, Windows 10 is at a disadvantage because it can’t run on wearable computers, shattering the Microsoft delusion of a single operating system running on multiple devices. What operating system is the Microsoft Band using? Chances are real good it’s not Windows 10 and standard Windows 10 programs won’t run on the Microsoft Band.

Will standard Windows 10 programs like Photoshop and AutoCAD run on a Windows 10 smartphone? Theoretically, but who wants it? Anyone really going to do serious CAD creation on a smartphone screen? Anyone planning to use the full version of Photoshop on a Windows 10 tablet?

If you look at software that runs on OS X, you can often find similar mobile versions that run on iOS. Yet these mobile versions are optimized for smartphones and tablets while the OS X versions are optimized for desktop and laptop computers. Given a choice between using software optimized for a particular device or software designed to run on wildly different devices, can you guess which type of software will be easiest to use?

Windows 10 can work perfectly and it still won’t matter. The desktop/laptop PC market is stagnant because people now have choices with mobile computing devices. Making Windows 10 run on smartphones and tablets isn’t the answer. Making software run efficiently is always the answer, and Vista and Windows 8 proved Microsoft couldn’t even get that right when running on desktop/laptop PCs.

There’s nothing wrong with Windows 10, but it’s no more the future than buggy whips and slide rulers are the future. If you’re happy using Windows 10, enjoy your decision. If you’re a developer, putting your hope that Windows 10 will become a massive success like Windows XP in the computer market is a fantasy that will never come true. The Windows era is slowly ending. It won’t disappear overnight, but it’s never going to regain its former glory, and that means the future lies in the world of mobile computing led by iOS and Android.

About Windows 10.

Whatever Happened to Integrated Software?

Posted on July 30, 2015 by admin Posted in Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Integrated software is a single program that offers multiple functions such as a word processor, spreadsheet, and database.

At one time, people used separate software such as Lotus 1-2-3 for spreadsheets, dBASE for databases, and WordStar for word processing. Then software publishers got the bright idea of creating an integrated program that would combine multiple features into a single program. One of the most popular integrated programs for the Macintosh was AppleWorks while MS-DOS had Microsoft Works. Ashton-Tate offered a more comprehensive integrated program called Framework while Lotus offered a similar program called Symphony.

The basic idea behind an integrated program was that you could do everything you needed in one program without learning different commands for a word processor, spreadsheet, or database. Then integrated software slowly died away. Here are several reasons.

First, integrated software’s main advantage was simplicity and familiarity. Once you learned how to use one feature of an integrated program, it was trivial to learn another feature. However that advantage evaporated when graphical user interfaces became popular and every program sported similar user interfaces with pull-down menus. The Macintosh had always offered a graphical user interface, but to MS-DOS users switching to Windows, the ability to use a familiar user interface among multiple programs stripped away the ease of use advantage that integrated software once offered.

A second reason why integrated software died was because it was good at everything but not very good at anything in particular. Back in the old days, it cost $495 for a copy of Lotus 1-2-3 to do spreadsheets, another $495 for a copy of dBASE to do databases, and another $495 for WordStar to do word processing. The cost of software often exceeded the cost of the computer itself. In comparison, integrated software often cost $149 although both Framework and Symphony cost $695. Yet the cost was still cheaper than buying programs individually.

What killed this advantage of integrated software was the lowering cost of software. Today you can buy the home edition of Microsoft Office for $140 or less and each program in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint) are far more powerful than anything an integrated program could offer. As dedicated software got cheaper, there was no reason to use integrated software any more.

Now consider the problem Apple currently faces with iTunes. Originally iTunes was meant to play music. Then it was tweaked to play video. Finally it was tweaked even further to connect to the iTunes Store. Over the years, Apple added the ability to buy e-books, movies, and music in iTunes along with the ability to synchronize your iPhone and iPad while backing up its contents as well. In other words, iTunes is slowly becoming the integrated software of its time.

Unfortunately iTunes’ gradual evolution means it’s not optimized for anything in particular, which was a major fault of integrated software. That’s why there’s a growing problem with iTunes and the desire to split its functions up into separate programs. Such a break up would simplify tasks, which is what Appel has partially done with their iBooks program for reading and downloading e-books.

The problem with iTunes is simply bloat. The more features you cram into one program, the less useful each feature will be to remain shoe-horned into the user interface of that particular program. In this case, everything has to fit within the design of iTunes whether it makes sense or not. Playing music is straightforward enough, but how does buying a movie or backing up your iPad fit into iTunes logically? It doesn’t, and that’s why Apple needs to break up iTunes.

If you thought iTunes is too clumsy, you’re to alone. Just look back to the past to see how integrated software once worked and then suddenly didn’t. Now you can see the same situation playing out again with iTunes. The goal should be simplifying tasks for the user, not burying multiple tasks inside the same program like Apple has been doing with iTunes.

Like integrated software, iTunes once had its place in the world. Now it needs to return to its roots and separate itself into multiple pieces. That will make everyone happier since each new program can be fully optimized for its tasks. Let’s hope Apple has learned its lesson about integrated software and decides to simplify iTunes once more for the rest of us.

Making Lifestyle Changes with the Apple Watch

Posted on July 29, 2015 by admin Posted in Hardware, Software Leave a comment

What it is: The Apple Watch defines the new market for wearable computers with one particular emphasis on health and fitness.

The first step to recovery from any addiction is to first acknowledge the problem. The second step is to measure your activity so you know what you need to change and what may or may not be working for you. When people try to lose weight, they count calories. When people try to break an addiction, they monitor how many times they stray back to their addiction. By monitoring your behavior, you can clearly see whether you’re getting closer or further away from your goal.

That’s what makes wearable computers such as the Apple Watch so compelling. With the Apple Watch, it’s constantly monitoring your activity from standing every hour to how many calories you’re burning during the day. Without the Apple Watch, it’s impossible to know for sure how much activity you’ve done or where you might be from your goals. With an Apple Watch, you’re constantly able to see what you’ve done every minute of the day. Not only does this give you a chance to see where you’re at, but it also gives you an incentive to do more if you feel you’re falling behind. In that way, the Apple Watch can keep you motivated to stay healthier.

In a recent survey by Wristly, Apple Watch users have been more aware of their health choices during the day. Once you’re aware of your activity (or inactivity) during the day, you can make more conscious decisions to increase your physical activity or ignore it. However if you ignore it, you’ll see the consequences of your actions displayed on your Apple Watch. A large majority of Apple Watch users report doing more standing and being more aware of their health simply by monitoring their activity.

If you think you don’t have a use for an Apple Watch, ask yourself if you have a use for better health. The Apple Watch can’t exercise for you, but it can help you track your physical activity so you meet a minimum requirement everyday. That translates into better health everyday, which translates into a healthier lifestyle. By making simple changes during the day, you can create a healthier life for yourself in the long run.

While the Apple Watch is more versatile than health tracking, that’s the number one use that everyone can use. Whether you’re a professional athlete or just an ordinary person, you can monitor your activity to see whether you’re meeting healthy goals each day. As long as you’re staying healthy every day, tomorrow will take care of itself, but it all begins with monitoring your behavior, and that’s where the Apple Watch shines.

Automatic Windows 10 Updates

Posted on July 28, 2015 by admin Posted in Software Leave a comment

What it is: To keep a Windows 10 PC up to date, Windows 10 will automatically install updates whether you want them or not.

Here’s the problem with Windows PCs. When a new update arrives, not everyone updates their computers. That leaves security flaws wide open. To solve this problem, Microsoft plans to have automatically updating where each Windows 10 must install updates. This solves the problem of making sure every Windows 10 version is up to date, but it creates a new problem of what happens if an update messes up your PC?

To fix this problem, Windows 10 will offer the ability to block certain updates that don’t work on your particular PC. You’ll still need to download and update Windows 10 with every update, but the moment you find an update that messes with your PC, you can uninstall and block it from installing again.

This gives you the freedom of blocking updates known to cause problems with your PC, but creates a more central problem with PCs. To deal with troublesome updates, you need to become computer-savvy, and to block troublesome updates, you’d definitely need to become computer-savvy. yet most people don’t want to become computer-savvy any more than most drivers want to become their own car mechanics.

The fundamental problem with PCs is that they require constant maintenance. With a smartphone or tablet, you can use these devices without constantly maintaining them. Try ignoring the operation of a typical Windows PC for years and you’re bound to run into annoying maintenance problems from disk defragmentation to Windows registry errors. These problems aren’t hard to fix, but they can’t be ignored either. That’s the fundamental problem of a Windows PC is that it forces users to become computer-savvy whether they want to or not.

Is it any wonder why people are flocking towards browsing the Internet on smartphones and tablets? Because smartphones and tablets are far easier to use without understanding the technical operating system behind the way they work. No matter what Microsoft does with Windows 10, it still can’t work efficiently without a knowledgable computer user sitting at the keyboard.

Software updates inevitably break something eventually. With so many different PC hardware on the market, it’s impossible for every Windows 10 update to install flawlessly, which means updates being installed automatically and killing a PC. For a computer-savvy user, that just means uninstalling the troublesome update and blocking it in the future, but for the average person, they won’t know how to do this. Instead all they’ll know is that their PC was working just fine until the latest update killed it. Then what do they do?

Automatic updates will create problems for computer novices. That’s guaranteed. Even Apple has problems with their operating system updates killing working iPhones, iPads, and Macintosh computers. When you force updates on people, you’re guaranteed to force problems with updates that don’t work.

That’s the reason why Windows 10 won’t magically cause people to flock back to Windows 10 devices. Want a Windows 10 smartphone that automatically updates and then doesn’t work? Want a Windows 10 tablet that automatically updates and suddenly fails when you need it most? Want a Windows 10 PC that automatically updates and stops working? That’s what Windows 10 users can expect because operating system updates will never work 100% correctly.

Automatic updates seem like the answer, but they’re not. The ability to block troublesome updates also seems like the answer, but it’s not. Updates will cause problems whether it comes from Microsoft, Google, or Apple. Forcing updates on people is guaranteed to cause problems. Good luck with automatic Windows 10 updates. For most people, it will work just fine, but for a minority of people, it won’t and unless you become knowledgeable about computers, there’s nothing you can do about it expect keep taking your Windows 10 device in to an expert to help you fix it over and over again.

About automatic Windows 10 updates.

What’s Behind the Drop in iPad Sales?

Posted on July 27, 2015 by admin Posted in Hardware Leave a comment

What it is: The iPad defined the tablet market. While initially a hot seller, iPad sales have continued to drop over time.

Many people worry that iPad sales are going down because people aren’t finding the iPad useful any more. That’s like saying restaurants are in trouble because once they sell a meal to a customer, nearly 100% of those customers don’t order another meal right away.

If you look at the initial sales of the iPad, you can see that sales skyrocketed right away. That’s because the iPad basically eliminated the need for a netbook. Unlike netbooks that were compromises of all sorts from their minuscule size to their underpowered processors and tiny hard disk space, the iPad redefined the tablet market. Sales skyrocketed because so many people wanted an iPad. Now sales are dipping not because people no longer find an iPad useful, but because their original iPad works perfectly well so there’s no need to replace it.

In the smartphone market, people are trained to replace their phones every two years once their two-year contract runs out. That creates a constant two-year cycle of smartphone sales. That type of built-in replacement cycle doesn’t exist in the tablet market.

If you look at each new iPad model, it essentially gets thinner, lighter, and more powerful. Yet there’s little reason for more power if your current iPad still works. Many people still use the original iPad 1 model that came out in 2010. Most likely those original iPad 1 owners won’t upgrade until at least a five-year cycle occurs. Most likely the iPad is closer to an eight or ten-year cycle than a two-year cycle.

Ignoring sales trends, you can see that the iPad recently sold 10 million units, which is about 9 million units more than Microsoft sold of their Surface tablets. While Surface tablet sales are trending up, iPad sales are trending down. Will they ever meet and switch places? Probably not.

The basic reason iPad sales are trending down is that most people who want an iPad already have one. Where the market for iPads exists is in the enterprise market, which is why Apple teamed up with IBM to create enterprise iPad apps. In the consumer market, there’s little reason to get a new iPad until later this fall. That’s when Apple will announce faster, more powerful iPad models with split screen multitasking along with a virtual keyboard that doubles up as a trackpad.

You’ll be able to get some of these benefits from the latest iPad Air 2 models, but to take full advantage of these latest features, you’ll need a more powerful iPad. That will give people a reason to buy a new iPad.

With just minor hardware improvements, there’s no reason why people should continue buying a new iPad every year. With major improvements, people will find a reason to buy a new iPad. Then they’ll hold on to them until another round of major improvements arrives that their older iPads can’t handle. While it would be nice for iPad sales to continue growing every year, that’s not going to happen. The iPad will likely sell in up and down cycles that rely entirely on major improvements to get enough people to upgrade.

Apple can still sell iPads to new customers, but their real growth will come from sales of iPads to existing iPad customers. Declining sales of iPads is just a minor warning that incremental improvements are never enough to get people to upgrade. Major improvements are necessary, but Apple can’t introduce major improvements every year, so expect iPad sales to rise and fall for the next few years. Apple is still selling more tablets than other manufacturers, but since they set the standard so high with initial iPad sales, anything less looks like a failure.

An iPad is a sturdy tablet that can last longer than two years. Just buy an iPad and use it for as long as you want. Then upgrade when you need newer features. That means you can expect at least five years out of each iPad you buy. How many other computer products can last that long and still be useful?

About iPad sales.

Apple Pay vs. CurrentC

Posted on July 25, 2015 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Software Leave a comment

What it is: CurrentC is a new digital payment standard designed to circumvent the credit card companies.

You may have heard of Apple Pay and possibly even Google Pay where you can assign a credit card to your smartphone or Apple Watch and pay by simply placing your smartphone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal. What you might not know is that there’s a third digital payment standard called CurrentC, formed by a consortium of merchants including CVS Pharmacy, Walmart, and Best Buy.

The biggest difference between CurrentC and Apple Pay is that Apple Pay is designed to work with current credit card companies like VISA and MasterCard. CurrentC, on the other hand, was designed by merchants to circumvent the 2-3% payment merchants must pay for every credit card transaction. By eliminating credit card fees, merchants hoped to keep more money for themselves.

That right there poses the biggest obstacle to CurrentC. If CurrentC catches on, VISA and MasterCard immediately lose millions of dollars of transaction fees a day. Think the credit card companies are going to let that happen without a fight? That immediately gives the credit card companies a huge incentive to back Apple Pay and Google Pay as a way to keep themselves relevant in the cashless society of tomorrow.

While credit card companies have zero incentive to help CurrentC and massive incentive to support Apple Pay and Google Pay against CurrentC, consumers also have little reason to embrace CurrentC. To make payments, consumers need to use merchant issued cards (instead of bank issued credit cards) or allow merchants direct access to their checking accounts to make payments. This doesn’t serve the consumer; it serves the merchants backing CurrentC. How many consumers will willingly give a merchant access to their checking account or carry around credit cards in addition to merchant-issued cards that are only good at merchants belonging to the CurrentC consortium?

Because CurrentC works against current credit card companies and creates additional hassles for the consumer, what are its chances of adoption? Probably very low to nil. When you look at Apple Pay and Google Pay that works with existing credit card companies and makes transactions more secure because it never gives credit card numbers to merchants, you get additional safety with little additional hassle beyond simply assigning a credit card to your Apple Pay or Google Pay account once.

Merchants who sank money into CurrentC are simply delusional. With so much resistance from credit card companies and consumers, there’s little chance CurrentC will get very far. On the other hand as people realize how safe and secure Apple Pay and Google Pay are, you can expect those standards to get embraced more widely, especially with the backing of credit card companies that are trying to eliminate today’s insecure credit cards.

The future of Apple Pay and Google Pay looks assured with the popularity of iOS and Android. The future of CurrentC looks dead on arrival. Just watch and see how far CurrentC gets before the merchants backing it give up altogether.

About CurrentC.