Will Windows 8.1 renew our faith in Microsoft?

When Windows 8 arrived (paired with the ‘Surface’ release) is was mundane to say the least. It led to confusion as we gathered our ambition to figure out how to navigate the platform. Just like any other new tech there were bugs to work out, fixes to be applied and a sharp learning curve that strayed our perception that this was going to be an easement on functionality. Microsoft plans to quell those issues with their preview of Windows 8.1 (codenamed ‘Blue’) coming June 26^th. However, skepticism is still lingering from their Surface/Windows 8 release. Will their confidence be applauded? Are these new features enough to entice a surge in consumer spending?

The confidence that Microsoft has garnered over the years is abundant. They know they are a major player in tech, but they also know their abundance is due to consumer gratification. They may have sold 100 million Windows 8 licenses but they know they won’t sell more if they don’t tweak their product to our liking. Their consistent consumer base is supported by updates and tweaks. They know this, and they will utilize all their strength to clean every corner.

These tweaks that are implemented in Windows 8.1 aren’t anything grand…but they supposedly help the platform to perform much, much better. Here are some of them:

-          Lockscreen: Now you can use Skype and your camera from the lockscreen

-          LiveTiles: The sizes only allow for Small and ‘Very’ large but you can interchange or add more tiles if needed.

-          Search: Digs deeper and incorporates your SkyDrive account with internet searches.

-          Start Button: It has returned! The start button is back and you can now find things more easily. You can also switch between the ‘LiveTiles’ and Desktop Mode.

-          Snap: a new program that lets you view Apps/Tabs/Windows side by side, instead of one at a time.

Microsoft has realized where it needed to improve Windows 8. They are trying to make good on those issues with Windows 8.1. If they are trying to revitalize the PC market then they are stepping in the correct direction. This update required a decent amount of effort but some were already researched beforethe original release of Windows 8. Microsoft may be a long standing household name but our faith in them is starting to ‘turtle.’ As we approach the preview date of June 26^th I think we may see them become the ‘Hare’ once more in the tech market.

Is the Shine Coming Off Apple?

A report released this week by members of the Senate says Apple "has used a complex web of offshore entities, including three foreign subsidiaries the company claims are not tax resident in any nation, to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes." 

Apple has a number of highly unusual accounting strategies and a handful of subsidiaries in Ireland, where it negotiated a tax rate of less than 2%, to reduce its tax bill. The U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%. Apple avoided paying $9 billion in U.S. taxes in 2012 alone.

One Irish subsidiary, Apple Operations International, or AOI, has no employees or physical presence in Ireland. AOI reported $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, but its management structure allowed Apple to exploit a gap between U.S. and Irish law to avoid paying taxes in either country.

 Another Apple subsidiary in Ireland, Apple Sales International, had an effective 2011 tax rate of just five hundredths of one percent. Apple also ducked taxes on $44 billion in income by transferring the rights to its intellectual property though cost-sharing agreements with its subsidiaries. 

The California-based company holds more than $102 billion offshore, allowing it to avoid the 35% tax it would pay upon returning the money to the U.S. Apple recently borrowed $17 billion to buy its own stock from shareholders rather than draw on its sizable overseas cash, avoiding U.S. taxes as a result.

"A company that found remarkable success by harnessing American ingenuity and the opportunities afforded by the U.S. economy should not be shifting its profits overseas to avoid the payment of U.S. tax, purposefully depriving the American people of revenue," Senator John McCain said in a statement Monday. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook made no apology on Tuesday for saving billions of dollars in U.S. taxes through Irish subsidiaries and told lawmakers that his company backs corporate tax reform, even though it may end up paying more. Apple is not the first tech company to be investigated for these tactics, as HP and Microsoft had previously been investigated. 

The US has a budget deficit of over $15 trillion, yet Apple has chosen to spend I’m sure considerable time and money on ways not to pay taxes.  While not apparently breaking any laws does this make you question the ethics of America’s most cash rich company?  Lastly Apple backs corporate tax reform, yet it looks they have been doing everything possible to work the loopholes and not pay taxes.  Seems like Cook is talking out of both sides of his mouth. 

BlackBerry Announces Q5

The BlackBerry Q5 is the next phone to run BlackBerry's still young BlackBerry 10 operating system, but don't expect to see it outside of emerging markets. 

The Q5 is a BlackBerry Curve-styled QWERTY keyboard smartphone running on BlackBerry 10. The phone shares the Q10's screen size and resolution, but is designed to be lower cost and aimed at emerging markets. BlackBerry is targeting first-time and youth smartphone owners in those markets and will offer the Q5 in a variety of colors, including: black, white, red and pink, ugh.

BlackBerry continues to get back in the smartphone market with its high-end Z10 and Q10 smartphones, the market reality is that it still sells more legacy BlackBerry devices and it sells them in emerging markets such as Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. These devices primarily sell because they are inexpensive (comparatively) and carriers can bundle data services (such as BBM or BBM and Facebook) for low-cost rates.

With BlackBerry 10, the company's original strategy appeared to focus on the high-end of the market and using legacy devices to support the rest. Unfortunately, as Android handsets get cheaper and cheaper — and alternatives from companies such as Ubuntu and Firefox try enter the emerging market space — BBOS just isn't good enough.

A modern BlackBerry smartphone priced and directed at these markets might be enough to keep those users from jumping ship to a new platform. The big question, of course, is what impact this will have on BlackBerry's bottom line. BlackBerry currently has almost no margin on its BBOS devices (or even negative margin). It's unclear if the company will be able to sell phones at a price and volume required for these markets without taking a serious financial hit.

The Subtle Demise of the QR Code

QR Codes (Quick Response codes) are two dimensional barcodes that have information attached to them. These codes are generally scanned by a smartphone (or other device) which translates the barcode information into a webpage that notifies or persuades you to use a specific product. Its original purpose was to track vehicles during the manufacturing process. Marketers  transmuted them into another way to advertise product. QR Codes can now be found on magazine covers, coffee cups, window displays and even on buildings. How useful are they? The QR hype has ended and with the advent of new technology, trends and failing marketing strategies, they may be fading away into our history books.

These QR Codes are dependent on ‘smartphone’ technology. The camera captures the code; then software computes the data and displays the final form to you. With constant advancements in tech, how will this translate? With wearable technology it would impede your functionality. I really don’t see how Google Glass will want people’s line of sight to be completely disrupted by an advertisement for a new car. Will people make the effort to pull out their tablets, just to scan a code? Will smart watches give enough space to actually see the advertisement? Who knows, maybe QR will transform with the tech.

These codes were very popular for a while, but the ‘Trend is up.’ It’s been 20 years since the first QR code and I barely notice their existence. Sure they are around but they don’t relay any information without some effort on my part. Due to the effort, my Barcode Reader App is collecting digital dust. For a new trend to sustain itself it must continuously provide a benefit to society. Instead this causes more effort to view something we could already be looking at.

One of the main causes of QR death is the failure of marketing companies (departments) to properly promote the technology. How is a QR code on a moving vehicle going to promote a product if no one can ever scan it? Difficulties ingrained in the marketing have led us to be less enthusiastic unless we get something out of it. Even then, QR code coupons make us debate the effort vs the return on investment. If you don’t make it exciting enough in the first 3 seconds then I’m not scanning it.

There is much evidence that can be garnered to further authenticate the thought that QR codes are dying. Without a major evaluation and renovation of this marketing technology, the QR trend will be simply that…a trend. Advancing technology will soon surpass the need for it, and right now there is not enough popularity to keep it as a viable solution for advertising. QR codes have lost their ‘Fame’ and soon, may be forgotten.

iOS7: The Jony Ive Era of Modernization.

Jony Ive wants to ‘modernize’ Apples’ user interface.  If you don’t already know; Jony Ive is the Industrial Designer in Chief who was responsible, in collaboration with Steve Jobs,  for the hardware designs of the iPod, iPad, iPhone and iMacs.

Jony was originally the hardware designer  but Tim Cook advanced Ives’ position to encompass the user interface (home screen and icons) for the new iOS 7. It is set to preview in June and release around September.

They  plan to ‘Flatten’  and simplify Apples’ current bubbly  realistic looking apps. This means that shadows, reflections, gloss, 3D and texturing of Apps and designs will all be thrown away. Think of a flat colored box with an Application logo in the middle. This is what they are rumored to be doing; streamlining the interface. Current applications are digital representations of their real world counter parts like the ‘Notes’ or ‘Calendar’ App. This is called Skeuomorphism, and Jony wants it gone so the interface can be a simplistic stripped down interface. We can see his hardware designs beginning to form now can’t we?

The Windows Apps are similar to what Jony moving towards.

That is not all that Apple is doing with iOS 7; they are also looking into Gesturing and automotive integration.

Gesturing is the idea of swiping your fingers in a specific direction to get to pointed information. With the simplistic design-work being implemented, gesturing may be a great addition for ‘Glance-able’ information.  The idea is that we wouldn’t have to open the mail app to see our new messages.

The Automotive rumor is based on getting Siri and Maps to seamlessly integrate with your driving experience. The idea is to have iPhone ready hook-ups that would allow Apples’ user interface on the vehicle display. If they ever get Maps right, this would be a great utility. You could even interface with Siri hands free, and not have to worry with looking at your phone ever again.

Hardware changes have really modernized and traversed time since the iPhones inception, but the user interface has barely changed at all. Jony Ive has done so well with the hardware designs, that I can trust the new iOS 7 will be cleaner, modern, simplistic and easier to use. The design work of Ive’s has seemingly overshadowed any rumored technical advancements. This is ok though, because design can mean everything sometimes.