There Isn't an App for Steve

In these weekly columns I try to keep from editorializing and make sure the content is centered on all things digital. “Things” in this context have always been hardware, software or services. This week I am going to depart from that format and reflect on the recent announcement by Steve Jobs that he is stepping down as the CEO of Apple.

Anyone who knows me well will attest to the fact that I have very strong opinions about Steve Jobs and Apple. My biggest complaint is the high degree of control he and the company maintain over every aspect of any product or service they develop. Unlike many other high tech companies who manufacture hardware or develop software that can be used on many different digital platforms, Apple has always tried to either own or control all aspects of their product. There is no doubt that this control has sometimes resulted in superior products and legendary high quality customer support and loyalty. Some of this control is understandable, but some of it seems to smack of arrogance and a way to keep the customer tethered to the Apple cult.

For example, the battery in the iPhone can’t be replaced by anyone but the authorized Apple dealer. If you should replace it yourself, you void the warranty. Another control issue relates to Mr. Jobs and his refusal to accommodate “Flash” software in any of his new products. Oblivious to the fact that Adobe Flash is the format used by millions of video producers on the Internet, Jobs forces those with an iPad or iPhone to forego viewing Flash encoded videos or face violating one of the Apple commandments by installing the forbidden “jail break” software, again resulting in a non–supported warranty.

History is replete with people who have made significant positive contributions to society but were really not easy people to like. It is reported that Edison was a less then congenial fellow. It may be apocryphal, but Mussolini was said to have the trains running on time in Italy. (“Jobophiles” may find the last reference hard to take.)

Seriously, Jobs is sure to go down in history as one of the most significant persons in the Digital Age. Almost single handedly he developed products that have become the very standard in listening to music, making phone calls and interacting with the Internet. His products not only are well designed and well made, they are also intuitive to use. It is for the latter that he and Apple may be most appreciated. At a time when some high tech companies require the user to read incomprehensible manuals to operate simple devices like TV sets and phones, Apple products require little instruction. They work the way most non-geeks think they will.

It remains to be seen how a company that was so controlled by one person will fare when that leader is no longer at the helm. One thing is for sure, if Apple never introduces another new product, it will still remain a 21st Century icon.

Party to Mostly Cloudy

The recent announcement by Apple confirms that our computing future will soon go from partly to mostly cloudy. For more than a year now I have been discussing in this column the “cloud” and how it is changing the way we keep and use our digital stuff. If you missed earlier columns, cloud computing refers to storing our data, i.e. documents, photos, videos, music, all our digital stuff, on large servers in some remote location and connecting our computer, phone, iPad or other device via the Internet. Before the cloud, all of this stuff was stored in our devices.

There are many benefits to using the cloud. Since the remote servers are operated by large tech-savvy companies, they provide a level of back up well beyond what most of us have. Even if we do have the capability to back up our files, many of us just forget or put it off to tomorrow often with dire consequences. The cloud servers handle all of that for us.

Another benefit is that all of our materials are always available. Before the cloud, if I had a song on my MP3 player and wanted to play it on my laptop, the song needed to be stored on both devices. With the cloud, the song is available to any of my devices.

There is one aspect of the cloud that needs to be emphasized. You must be connected. You must have an Internet connection, either hard wired or wireless, to access your information. That being the case, important information that you may need in an emergency should be stored locally on a regular storage device as well. That way, if you do not have an Internet connection, that information is still available.

Apple is taking the cloud to new heights (sorry, I couldn’t resist) by essentially making the cloud invisible. In previous iterations of cloud computing, you needed to actively decide where you wanted your files to be stored. Apple is simplifying this process by developing applications that automatically store all files on the cloud. When you turn on your iPad or iPod or iPhone, the device knows that your stuff is on the cloud. When you create a document or take a picture or record a video, that material is stored there automatically. You don’t have to remember where you put it and you don’t have to “synch” your devices. They do it automatically. So that picture you took on your iPhone can be viewed on your laptop or iPod.

Apple’s endorsement and, more important, their skill at making the user experience intuitive and easy will advance the cloud concept. It will soon go from a novelty to the standard for storing and accessing all our digital stuff.

More "Clouds" on the Computer Horizon

It is getting cloudier these days. Don’t look for any heavy rains to quench our parched lawns but you may see some major changes in the way you access, use, and store information on your home and/or office computers or many other digital devices. I first discussed cloud computing in this column about six months ago. Since then the trend of migrating data, once stored on drives within your computer, to the cloud continues to accelerate.

At one point home and office computers were designed to handle all of your tasks with internal computational power. The data was in your machine. Computers were touted as having large capacity disk drives and faster processing power. Today you will see advertised laptops, netbooks, smart phones and other devices with relatively small internal storage capacity and modest internal processing power. This is possible because your programs and data are not stored on your machine. Rather, the data are sent to the cloud via the internet and the actual programs are running on very large computer servers located at datacenters around the world.

There is a famous quote by Thomas Watson, the former Chairman of IBM. In 1943 he said "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." In the years following that statement he was roundly ridiculed as computers became ubiquitous companions to most every facet of modern life. In retrospect, he may have been right on target.
What we are seeing today might be more than five large computers serving the world’s
needs, but for sure the trend is fewer “real” computers and millions of portable devices connected to them.

A few weeks ago, Steve Jobs, the flamboyant Founder and CEO of Apple held a press conference to release a new model of the MacBook Air. This newest laptop offering is less than an inch thick and weighs about the same as most fast food meals. This powerful but svelte machine from Apple has neither a hard drive nor any type of optical disc drive. You can’t insert a CD or DVD. Rather, the machine is designed to store a limited amount of data within the machine’s flash memory and use the Internet to connect to the cloud where all the heavy lifting and storage will be handled. So there is no more waiting for a DVD to come from Netflix. You will just log on to the Netflix site.

Many of us already use cloud computing without our knowing it. We store and share our pictures on Flickr or Snapfish. We listen to music on our computer or phone using Pandora. We have our calendars and address books stored on Goggle. Look for many more services to become available as the computing skies become cloudier.

Cloud computing does not come without some potential downsides. Next week we will look at some of the negative aspects and what you can do to address them.