All Apple All Day

There are quite a few lists of "Apple's Greatest Flops" floating around the web. This isn't EXACTLY one of those lists. Some of these products sold pretty well. One was everywhere. Instead, this list focuses on products that didn't have a purpose, that had a tragic flaw or were tragically underpowered - products for which Apple probably wishes they could have a "do-over". We aren't going to talk about the Apple Newton MessagePad on this list, because at least there was vision  involved. That product's failure was in that it arrived too soon (1993) and tried to do too much, and with too little connectivity. It was essentially a PalmPilot, with attempted handwriting recognition, 5 years too early. If you take a Newton, add a cellular radio, and allow it to exist in a world with cellular networks (like, say, 1998), or home wifi (like, say, 2002) it's a phenomenally powerful device for the nineties, right? Basically, a proto-iPhone. Let&

Great news ! Honda (and presumably Apple)  just announced a number of car models that will feature Siri Eyes Free , and the Acura RDX is among them . (And the Accord, but whatever.) I drive a 2008 Acura RDX, and while we still have a handful of years left before we think of trading it in, it's good to know that our next car will have Siri Eyes Free. (Because the RDX is awesome, it got even better with the 2012 revamp, and we're sticking with it indefinitely.)

The big news from Apple this week wasn't all that much news at all. As rumored, they announced a 128 GB iPad 4. Which I'm sure is awesome. But is it really necessary? Or interesting? It certainly has no power to stir the hearts of men. It's just a spec bump. It's barely worth writing about - I can't imagine that Apple is going to move a ton of these at $799. But it feels strange that Apple even thought this was necessary. I agree with Citibank analyst Glen Yeung, who feels that this was a "defensive" move , perhaps made in reaction to Microsoft's upcoming Surface Pro. Apple? Doing things in reaction to Microsoft releasing some product? In 2013? Has the world gone upside down?! Dogs and cats, living together... mass hysteria! And yet.... Mr. Yeung may be right.  It's hard to argue that the iPad mini was a defensive move, intended to compete with the Kindle Fires and assorted Android tablets in the low end of the tablet market. And now, 128G

This is the first in a new AAAD feature - the High Five. A list of 5 items that fit into a common theme. Today, the top five Apple products I never owned, but that I'd really wanted. (And in many cases, still want, and plan to incorporate into our new house.) Some of them were flops that washed out of stores before I'd had a chance to get one - others were major sellers that came out when my only disposable income was a weekly allowance. One is a best-seller that's still part of the product line.  This isn't a list of "quirky Apple products no one remembers", like the QuickTake camera or the 20th Anniversary Macintosh, or the Mac TV. Today's list consists of 5 Apple things that were well-known enough for me to Apple-geek-out over, but that for one reason or another, I never acquired. Let's get started after the jump with the computer pictured right here.....

Logitech recently announced that they're selling several lines of business, including their Harmony remote control division , and while there hasn't even been a whispered rumor about Apple among the suitors, Apple should be considering the purchase. Apple doesn't necessarily need to purchase Logitech's Harmony division... but they should seriously consider co-opting what Harmony used to do well in the remote-control market. Apple's expertise in user-interfaces could deliver a remote control device that would act as a central hub for home entertainment and automation.  And the best way to do that may be by purchasing Harmony - if only for the IP and the optics.  To the extent that Logitech is selling patented tech with the Harmony division, that tech could help Apple in developing the iRemote. And even if no helpful patent or tech is included in the sale, the acquisition of a major remote-control maker like Harmony would demonstrate - conclusively - th

Our previously-documented issues with Comcast just got stranger today. This is just getting pathetic.  If you hadn't read my previous posts, we were going to switch our internet provider from WOW to Comcast - primarily b/c WOW charges $50/month, and Comcast had an introductory offer at about $35/month for the first 6 months.  So we called a Comcast tech, who told us that he couldn't install internet service without laying new cable and digging a trench in our yard, and that he couldn't dig a new trench until spring...  ...so would we mind if he just dragged a few hundred feet of coax across our yard, to be buried at some indiscriminate point in the spring when they might be able to schedule it?  Well, yes. Yes we would mind. Because that is stupid. 

You know what's expensive? Pretty much any iPhone plan. But you know what's really expensive? Two iPhone plans - one with AT&T and the other with Verizon. A family divided (on cellphone providers) is an inefficient family.  So, yesterday we bit the bullet and got Mrs. AAAD a white iPhone 5. The old white iPhone 4 is headed to eBay. We'll pay AT&T $135 in early termination fees, and we'll pay Verizon a $35 activation fee.  Totally worth it.