The contents of this post are purely opinion. If you don’t agree, please express your views in a calm manner – aggressiveness gets you nowhere. Thanks.

It’s something that people can argue relentlessly in frequent and repetitive tirades and pointless banter – what’s the future of technology going to be like? Unless you’ve got some good idea behind it, claims that are farfetched (i.e. “tablet computing will replace laptop use”, “standard search is not necessary anymore”) are nowhere to begin. (If I’d like to add, the very possibility of standard search becoming useless is a silly thing to suggest – I search for everything, I almost never use ’social search’, which will apparently replace Google in the next 2 years.)

But hell, maybe it’s necessary for my own little selection of view for 2010. And I’m not talking anything fantastical, but perhaps something glaringly obvious.

‘Social Media’ Boom Won’t Last Forever

I’m not saying that Facebook will lose members, nor Twitter, but it seems to the way that these massive social networking sites will stop growing so exponentially soon – there’s a limit to how many people own a computer and how many people there are on the Earth – and surely Facebook can’t keep growing so fast – else it’d 6 billion people using it ‘weekly’ soon – and yeah, that’s completely impossible (unless we’re in some kind of utopia). But there’s a trend zipping about and it’s that of the social media bubble declining. We have Facebook, for connecting with friends, requiring very little to set up a page (unfortunately leading to a ton of little kids running around on the site). MySpace served that purpose for a while, but a clumsy interface and difficult-to-use system makes it less popular for younger and older audiences. Bebo, too, before that, yet a strange decline for little explicable reason. We have Twitter, for sharing short little quips to audiences that are beyond our friends, beyond people we even know – sharing everything with the public domain, making news heard (or retweeting useless crap from celebrities).

The thing is, I doubt that the Social media bubble will grow any further than the build-your-own website trend (Freewebs, Geocities, Google Sites, etc.) or even the vast expanse of rip-off search engines (mostly using Google tech). Or even the .com bubble, and remember the crash that caused when it burst. Doing business in social media, unless for the giants Twitter, Digg, Facebook and MySpace, is pretty silly. But remember – innovation is key. An innovative product causes a huge audience – Twitter was remarkable in the sense of its simplicity, an idea that’d actually never been done before.

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The iPad announcement on the 27th changed eBooks forever?

Apple have kinda killed the whole idea of a $9.99 eBook – since the launch of the iPad, all the people partnered with Apple appear to be pushing on Amazon for the more expensive eBook model. Instead of the original Amazon controlled price of $9.99, each book publisher are now pushing for $14.99-$15.99 per book for new books, and then have that price slowly lower over time.

Macmillan was the first to suggest the prices, the noble one, and it suffered a brunt attack from Amazon – pulled from the Bookstore and the Kindle for a few days. However, Amazon quickly woke up to the fact that Macmillan was only the first – and that all the other ones of Apple’s educational partners will eventually succumb to this – 3 of them already have.

Now two other partners, Hachette and HarperCollins, have both dropped the $9.99 in favour of the $14.99 pricing strategy, and it won’t be long until Simon & Schuster and Penguin go for it to. Maybe even Apple’s dropped educational partner, McGrawHill, will change too.

Amazon’s strategy has slowly crumbled, but they may have tricks up their sleeves – such as exclusivity on new books and other tactics. We’ll have to wait and see.

But yeah, eBooks (iBooks?) are going to start costing more. Very soon.

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Bill Gates and Microsoft - 35 years of success

It’s been a long time since I’ve written an article concerning Microsoft, something I really aught to do more often. Partially because Apple hits the headlines more often than Microsoft, who don’t produce their own computers but simply their operating system. Which practically means Apple release new products all the time, but Microsoft only refresh their OS every 3-4 years.

Speaking of operating system refreshes, it’s hard not to notice the success of Windows 7. It’s replacing XP rapidly. It’s helping businesses to move away from old technology and move towards the future of new, updated technology – and help the entire computer industry move forward. Another prime example is the replacement of Internet Explorer 6 – something which hinders web development and Microsoft themselves even hate. Internet Explorer 8 is not a bad browser – it’s the best edition by Microsoft, and it attempts to co-operate with the modern standards, albeit not as capably as Webkit based browsers Safari and Chrome.

Microsoft have been in the Operating System business since way back. The friendly competition between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, which later may have seemed hostile, was a benefit to both businesses and helped Microsoft work to create a solid Operating system – something they accomplished in 1995 with the release of Windows ‘95, possibly the most recognized at the time. But they’re still working on the game – and hell, face it, Windows Vista was not their greatest success. They released Windows 7 in a move to correct everything and to patch up the bad PR from Windows Vista – and probably with a few handshakes and a little slipping of money under the table could have created some positive PR before the launch of Windows 7.

Even when you think about it, the company has generated 4 billionaires – one of them being Bill Gates himself, worth over $50,000,000,000. That’s 50 billion, and that’s a lot of money. If you’re comparing the success of Microsoft to Apple, be reminded that Steve Jobs is worth $5 billion, about 1/10 of Gates’ fortune. (I’m not saying Apple isn’t a success story, though).

The main thing that makes sense when you sit down to think about it is that Microsoft was growing. It almost seemed to stop, but it’s growing again. It’s back on track and it’s rolling faster than you can think. Windows 7 hasn’t just ensured the updated survival of the computer industry as a whole in an effort to push people from older operating systems, it’s changed many things in the computer industry, like the pushing of Internet Explorer 8, now the worlds most used browser. It’s not all it’s changing. Microsoft are producing new products that may be of some vague support to the computer industry, although admittedly they haven’t performed it with the best execution (a tablet running full Windows 7 and nothing else is not going to be as good as a tablet with a customized operating system). Take the HP slate for example. Yeah, it’s not the Microsoft Courier of our dreams, but it’s a product that is set to be an ‘iPad killer’ (oh the days of iPhone killers, iPod killers, etc.), and yet it’s still something worthwhile.

And even as big daddy Ballmer takes over the kingdom from Gates, it’s a reputable company and hopefully, just hopefully, their new hot-headed CEO manages to pull things together and to keep the company growing, because at the moment, Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8 are the best things that ever happened to them.

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Google China: Could end US/China Relations

Things appear to be heating up surrounding the whole [blippr]Google[/blippr] China controversy. China has now condemned the USA’s criticism over its internet controls, calling them ‘groundless’ and stating it could harm the relations between the two countries.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton called on Thursday for China to lift its internet restrictions and heavy laws against the spreading of content on the internet. She’s also urged Beijing to investigate Google’s complaints, that the hacking of GMail accounts had originated in China.

Ma Zhaoxu, Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the US government should “respect the facts” and stop “making groundless accusations against China”, ironically.

In fact, funnily enough, he went on to say “the US has criticised China’s policies to administer the internet, and “this runs contrary to the facts and is harmful to China-US relations.” If China don’t restrict freedom on the internet, why do they arrest bloggers? Just a thought.

Arguments such as these, caused over things even as simple as Google, could create a disastrous relationship between US and China.

Google China has been around since 2006 – at which point the internet giant agreed to censor searches for banned topics in China, for example the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, or Falun Gong.

Recently, Google got sick of all this censoring – and apparently, because of several attacks against their service, want to offer a completely uncensored search engine to the Chinese public.

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Well, yeah, the Macbook Pro is a beast of an expensive beast. But here’s a little chart from Gizmodo that show why Brazil users should not buy a Macbook Pro.

sux2bu, Apple.

[Macbook Pro Prices via Gizmodo.]

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Proposed Mockup for Apple Tablet

Today a statement from The Wall Street Journal confirms what weíve been hearing for a while: the highly anticipated Apple Tablet will possibly be publicized at the end of January and will ultimately be launched in March. The breakthrough however is that apparently WSJ deem to have found a price.

In reference to the report, the new gadget will assert a 10 or 11inch screen, which is nothing new. Whereas its actual function is unspecified, we can assume it will be a mix between an iPod Touch and a Mac. According to the WSJ report the principal piece of news is the price: $1000.

This may be an expensive price for such a product; the price is similar to numerous modestly powered PCs and Laptops. The question is whether people will choose a handheld tablet over a more practical laptop. However, the Apple Tablet could come with enough convincing characteristics to alter the entire trade.

Additionally, the tablet could include a nationwide Wi-Fi subscription service – similar to BT OpenZone, and if so this makes the tablet so much more useful, this could be another potential motive for the price. In the end we’ll have to wait until the end of the month to find out.

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Zynga have just surpassed an important milestone, one of which dignifies their impressive mass – they’re worth nearly $3,000,000,000. That’s more than Twitter. They’re massive, and I’m pretty sure this company is gonna set their eyes or a more dominative market.

Zynga, incase you’re not aware, are the company that create all those annoying games that force you to join them – Farmville, Petville, Fishville, Café World, Mafia Wars, even YoVille. Their cheap, easy-to-assemble and quick to push out games have proved a formidable force when it comes to online gaming – one that could almost be a fantastic business plan.

Zynga’s money-making strategy includes charging people Farm Cash, Café Cash, Fish Cash..? and many more ‘cash’ currencies that involve the purchase of virtual dollars. Of course, they also supply a free-to-collect in-game currency, normally called coins. There’s loads of cash-exclusive items, advertised provocatively and occasionally given away to random users to incite their friends to purchase the virtual money. It’s a business strategy not too unlike that of Sulake, the people behind Habbo Hotel. In fact, I wonder if sulk may feel a little threatened by the presence of a new online mega-giant.

They’ve not always been reputable, though. As a matter of fact the main argument against Zynga is the type of game they build – and it’s always nearly exactly the same as another game that has been released several years before. For example, Farmville is identical to Farm Town, Fishville to Fish Tycoon, Rollercoaster Kingdom to Rollercoaster Tycoon (come on, ripping from Chris Sawyers? That’s just low!) and various other games. Various other Mafia games have also complained that Zynga has been stealing their ideas.

I don’t really get how all these massive game companies can’t be earning the same as a start-up social media game. Still, Zynga are worth a fortune.

[Mashable]

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Comcast have finalized a bid with General Electrics for ownership of NBC. The deal is expected to close on thursday, as they await Vivendis sale of 20%.

The deal will set Comcast back $9bill in debt, while still raising them $6billion from cash contribution. The deal includes the spinoff of NBC Universal. There's nothing left to do but tons of paperworking, pencil tapping and preparation – yet some people still accuse the idea of being likely to take up to a year to complete.

As CNBC states:

The deal would make NBCU 51 percent owned by Comcast [CMCSA 14.97 0.31 (+2.11%) ] and 49 percent owned by GE [GE 16.16 0.14 (+0.87%) ].

Currently, GE owns 80 percent of NBCU, which the two companies have valued at about $30 billion.

RELATED LINKS
GE, Comcast to Benefit From Deal: AnalystsGE, Vivendi Agree on NBCU Stake ValueGE to Double by 2011?
The deal includes the spinoff of NBC Universal and $9 billion in debt. It also includes the merger of Comcast's content assets and a $6 billion cash contribution.

The deal would make Comcast one of the nation's largest entertainment companies rivaling the heft of its former takeover target, The Walt Disney Co [DIS 30.67 0.45 (+1.49%) ].

Interesting.

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After a dismal report of HP’s profits down a month ago, Dell have come forward with their profits for this quarter – and they’re equally dismal. Most computer part production companies, like NVIDIA and ATI, and to some extent Intel, have reported poor results recently, and now the big companies that build the machines are following suit.

However, among this chaos, who can forget how well Apple are doing? Their overall sales profits are up, for some unexplainable reason. Even though Steve Ballmer has been quoted saying that ‘during the recession, more people are realising how expensive Macs are’; more and more people seem to be buying into them (I can see from my college alone that a third of the class now own Macbooks).

We could see a major shift in the technology business – from the sturdy home machines, to more expensive ‘quality’ laptops and desktops, and also to Netbooks – which have snagged a decent market percentage, and can only be boosted by Google’s Chrome OS for Netbooks.

Check http://tekcube.net frequently for updates on the Computer Industry.

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Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has recently criticized Rupert Murdoch over his recent decisions.

Rupert Murdoch, as you may be aware, has recently made a decision to block all his content from Google, accusing the robotically-powered search engine of stealing his headlines to promote themselves (failing to realise that Google is used as a search engine, not a news site.)

Recently, the News Corp owner has finalized this, as well also blocking all content to non-subscribers – you know that means? That means that the entire content of many news websites, including The Sun in the UK, and the New York times in the US, will force users to pay a regular fee to access content – an idea to monetize the web (who can forget Murdoch’s famous quote: “Few internet businesses barely break even, or maybe make a few million”).

Biz Stone became famous for his invention of the popular update sharing website, recently becoming more information focused by changing “What are you doing?” to “What’s happening?”. Twitter is currently one of the most recognizable forms of media sharing, although recent growth rates have shown stalling in the websites activity – however, that’s no indication, as less people are using the web interface and more are moving to applications such as Tweetie or Seesmic.

Biz Stone’s argument is that news should be open to the pubic and that we shouldn’t have to pay for content that is nearly free to produce or that is already produced. More and more people turn to Twitter, especially Twitter’s trending topics as a way of recovering news articles and realize that what’s going on is most likely on Twitter. Twitter’s trending topics are a good way of seeing news that is happening at the moment – for example, ‘iMac’ and ‘Macbook’ were trending topics just 10 minutes after the release of their new iMac and Macbook. (Trust me, Trending topics have helped me write numerous articles on many occasions).

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Christopher Graham, investigator, and Information Comissioner

If you have T-Mobile, it’s likely some ad company has all your personal info.

That’s right – if you have T-Mobile, there’s a chance that your account data has been sold to a third-party, who participate in acts such as cold calling, text spam, etc. They didn’t just sell a few, they sold millions of user account details for large sums of money. This is an outrage on the highest level – a mobile operator who you trust, selling your personal details to someone you have no idea of, who cold-call you on the last month or two of your contract.

An investigation was conducted by Christopher Graham, after information of third-party dealings was in the talks, upon the mobile operators. O2, Orange, Vodafone, 3, and Virgin all reported innocence, T-Mobile stepped forward due to threats of prosecution and fines.

It’s shocking that something like this could have been allowed.

BBC tell us:

“Mr Graham, who was appointed earlier this year as the watchdog responsible for safeguarding personal information, said the data breach was the biggest of its kind.

He added that the case illustrated why there needed to be a prison sentence to prevent people from selling private data to third parties.”

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