Who Is the Customer

post from Daring Fireball on 04 March 2011 08:03:26 PM. © Daring Fireball

From the official PayPal weblog:

As we?ve been saying since last October, Publishers need an easyway to monetize their content while also retaining informationabout their readers across multiple platforms. With Apple?ssubscription service, publishers lose both these controls and havefew options.

Publishers may well “need” access to subscriber data in their current business models, but there’s no reason they can’t change business models to adapt to a changing market. Just because at one point in history publishers could make large amounts of money selling their subscriber data to junk mail marketers doesn’t mean they have a right to maintain that business model forever.

PayPal understands that publishers and content providers need tomake money. That?s why PayPal for Digital Goods pricing has notchanged since 2005, and remains at just 5% plus 5 cents. Thisbeats both Google and Apple, while also allowing customers theoption to retain information about their readers across multipleplatforms.

There are two aspects to this. First, the rate that gets charged. Undoubtedly, PayPal’s fees are far lower than Apple’s. But the second is interesting — access to subscriber data. PayPay uses “customers” when talking about the publishers, and they see the access to subscriber information as rightfully belonging to the publishers. Apple sees the subscribers — the users of iOS device — as its customers, and they see the control over their personal information as belonging to them individually. Remember, Apple isn’t blocking publishers from subscriber data — they’ve simply made it an opt-in system controlled by the user. That’s a telling difference.

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Read The Full Article:
https://www.thepaypalblog.com/2011/02/will-publishers-back-the-new-ipad/

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RIM Turning Away From Smartphone Market

post from Daring Fireball on 04 March 2011 07:03:17 PM. © Daring Fireball

Interesting news from mobile CPU maker Marvell:

In a somewhat unexpected twist, Marvell?s report alsounderscored a shift by a major customer, Research In Motion Ltd.,to lower-end and lower-margin smartphones in emerging markets. RIMshares declined 2.9% to close at $66.47. […]
The company is widely known to also be a supplier to RIM?sBlackBerry, which is still a major player in mobile computing, butwhich has struggled in the high-end smartphone category in theface of stiff competition from Apple Inc?s iPhone and devicesusing Google Inc?s Android operating system.

This makes sense, technically. But, alas for RIM, it isn’t good news financially. (Via Kontra.)

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/marvells-weak-report-highlights-blackberrys-woes
-2011-03-04?siteid=yhoof

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Bugs & Fixes: Facing the MobileMe Calendar
upgrade

post from Mac 911 on 04 March 2011 05:05:00 PM. © Mac 911

Bugs & Fixes: Facing the MobileMe Calendar upgrade In May Apple will require MobileMe members to use its new CalDAV-based calendar. Here's what you can do to prepare.

Read The Full Article:
http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=a5ba4b9d958714e359a4bec0abb99f22

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D3 DSLR 2.2 for iOS - Min-U Guide a Complete
Reference to Nikon DSLR

post from prMac on 04 March 2011 03:55:00 PM. © prMac

Independent developer Ken Tidwell announces today D3 DSLR 2.2 for iOS, another in his series of Min-U Guides to Nikon DSLRs. The app provides quick, easy access to information by allowing the user to "drill down" through a topic, just like using the camera menus, until they find exactly what they need. A convenient alternative to carrying bulky, printed reference material, the app also includes a handy list of D3 Quick Specs, a troubleshooting checklist, error messages, and much more.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-22536.htm

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Points for Honesty

post from Daring Fireball on 04 March 2011 03:04:30 PM. © Daring Fireball

Jim Dalrymple, on Samsung’s response to the iPad 2:

?We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate,? LeeDon-joo, executive vice president of Samsung?s mobile division,told Yonhap News Agency. ?Apple made it very thin.?
Currently, the seven-inch Galaxy Tab is listed on AT&T?s Website for $549. The iPad 2 starts at $499 for the Wi-Fi version and$629 for the 3G model. But pricing is cause for concern whenSamsung releases a larger screen model. ?The 10-inch (tablet)was to be priced higher than the 7-inch (tablet) but we will haveto think that over,? said Lee.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/03/04/ipad-2-makes-samsung-rethink-inadequate-par
ts-of-galaxy-tab/

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IE6 Countdown

post from Daring Fireball on 04 March 2011 03:04:30 PM. © Daring Fireball

Microsoft:

10 years ago a browser was born. Its name was Internet Explorer 6.Now that we?re in 2011, in an era of modern web standards,it?s time to say goodbye.

Via Jeff Veen, who tweets:

I’ve never seen a company work so aggressively at getting people to stop using their product.

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Read The Full Article:
http://ie6countdown.com/

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Apples Post-PC World

post from Daring Fireball on 04 March 2011 03:04:30 PM. © Daring Fireball

Josh Topolsky:

It won’t be a debate about displays, memory, wireless options —it will be a debate about the quality of the experience. Apple isnot just eschewing the spec conversation in favor of a differentconversation — it’s rendering those former conversations useless.It would be like trying to compare a race car to a deeplysatisfying book. In a post-PC world, the experience of the productis central and significant above all else. It’s not the RAM or CPUspeed, screen resolution or number of ports which dictate whethera product is valuable; it becomes purely about the experience ofusing the device.

The thing is, for some of us, it’s always been this way. That’s why we stuck with the Mac during the stretches where Intel CPUs were faster and cheaper. What the iPad changes is that it takes things even further in this experience-first/specs-second mindset. Spec-wise — CPU speed, RAM, storage, expandability, pixel-count — the iPad pales compared to a MacBook. But experience-wise, it’s better. The iPad is slower, but feels faster.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/03/editorial-its-apples-post-pc-world-were-all-ju
st-living/

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To-do List App Leaves Out Distractions

Reuss New Media today releases Dropkick 1.1, available for iOS and in the Mac App Store. Dropkick aims for simplicity by focusing on the essentials: add tasks, drag-and-drop to prioritize, and check things off. It's so easy to use, you get the feeling it might actually help you get things done. The new update adds a few handy improvements like the option to create multiple lists, back-to-back task creation in the iPhone version, and more efficient keyboard navigation on the Mac version.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-22533.htm

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Vortimac Software Releases Dossier 2.6 -
Information Management Tool

Michigan based Vortimac Software today announces Dossier 2.6, an important update to their popular information management tool for Mac OS X. Featuring an easy-to-use interface, Dossier is an ideal solution for keeping and organizing notes, to-do lists, passwords, and virtually anything else. Version 2.6 features a substantial overhaul, including major interface enhancements, better support for import from various sources, upgraded help system, and dozens of other enhancements and bug fixes.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-22529.htm

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Camera Plus Pro Update: Attractive photo borders
and new photo effects

The Camera Plus Pro 3.3 update allows users to add attractive borders such as thin white, stamp, polaroid, torn, rounded black, grainy and more to their collection of photos. Now iPhone 3G users can also enjoy 18 gorgeous photo effects such as toy camera, homographic, coral and more on their iPhone. Pinch, pan and swipe gestures have also been added to the Edit screen for a better preview of the effects created.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-22527.htm

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