The Washington Post reported that in 1994 Fidler was doing research in Colorado for Knight-Rider and came up with the idea for what we now call an iPad. Interestingly enough Fidler’s next door neighbor in 1994 was Apple who developing the ill-fated Newton, an early PDA.

Check out Fidler’s video from 1994 on YouTube (which has gone viral) to see what how he described the iPad.

Of course the tablet computer is an old concept, and originally with a pen, so it’s no wonder that Fidler’s design in 1994 predated the 2010 Apple iPad.
 

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

I welcome you to read my August Technology Law Column at eCommerce Times entitled “Apple Mounting Trademark Challenges.”  

Given the headlines of Apple’s great market value my column was very timely to explain Apple’s legal risks at a time of great success.

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

Actually the standard to obtain a temporary injunction is so high they are rarely granted. 

Apple needed to prove that it had irreparable harm, money damages would not suffice, and it would ultimately win at trial. Which meant that at the trial Apple would have to prove “trademark infringement, Apple must show ownership of a legally protectable mark and a likelihood of confusion arising from Amazon’s use.” Amazon’s defense was that App Store is a generic mark “because Apple’s App Store is simply an online store where consumers can search for, choose, and download apps.” 

In January 2011 Apple announced that more than 10 billion apps were downloaded so Judge Hamilton’s ruling may have an interesting impact on the future for Apple and the app world!
 

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

I’m aware of the somewhat arbitrary nature of the split, but thought this was worth experimenting with as a model: very technical or theoretical discussion on my blog, more direct library-talk here on Techsource. I hope you excuse this bit of meta-commentary here, and enjoy the article. Thanks.

What do the changes in Apple’s new OS (OSX Lion), iCloud, and iOS5 mean for libraries, and why did I say earlier that I think this might “introduce a ton of problems for IT administrators”? Because like its iOS devices, Apple means for iCloud and Lion to be tied to an individual, and assumes that a computer is used by a single person. In looking at the way they’ve set up Lion, iCloud, and iOS5, I’m not at all clear how shared systems (aka, public use computers) might be able to benefit from the advances that Apple is putting in front of users.

 Some of the advances in Lion, like document versioning, could be useful in a public setting. Versioning saves every update/change to a given document, and allows for rolling back to a previous state…useful for those instances where someone accidently erases a paragraph they decided they now need. But many public setups use Deepfreeze or other software to restore to a known state after logout/reboot, and wipe any existing new files. This means that public users won’t benefit from the auto-saving nature of Lion. It’s also unclear how authentication will work with iCloud, other than use of it will require an iTunes account…something else that we can’t expect our public users to have. It will be interesting to see exactly how iCloud works in Lion, as the update to turn on iCloud support isn’t due for another few weeks. But I can’t imagine a situation where it is actually useful for public access systems.

I’ve spent some time in recent presentations talking about how personal electronics are designed to be personal, and not institutional. A lot of issues we have with managing things like Kindles, iPads, Nooks, and such, are that they just aren’t designed to be dealt with on an institutional basis. The expectation is that they have an owner (singular), and that all the files and interactions on the devices are those of that person. Things get complicated quickly when you need to have these devices managed by more than one person, or checked out to patrons. As a user, I love the direction that Apple is taking it’s computers…but as a librarian, and as an IT manager, I am not looking forward to computers going down the same road of single-user-expected that personal electronics have.

Apple products are unbelievably popular in China as reported by the NY Times. In the last quarter alone Apple had revenue of .8 billion in revenue in China and:

For the first three quarters of Apple’s fiscal year, revenue in greater China was .8 billion — six times that of a year earlier. Last quarter, Apple may have even generated more revenue in China than Lenovo — the Chinese PC maker that seven years ago acquired I.B.M.’s personal computer business, according to a survey by Bloomberg News.

It may be better for Apple to allow the counterfeit Apple Store to operate to sell more Apple product and worry about the trademark infringement by some licensing agreement rather than trying shut down these counterfeit "Apple Stores."

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

1. Apple
2. Google
3. IBM
4. McDonald’s
5. Microsoft
6. Coca-Cola
7. AT&T
8. Marlboro
9. China Mobile
10. GE

Of course one reason for Apple’s value has been its great success in retail. No wonder J.C. Penny hired Ron Johnson to be their new CEO (Johnson was Apple’s senior vice president of retail).

Since so much of the world is dependent on eCommerce, including J.C. Penny, it will be interesting to see how Apple and J.C. Penny fare. I wonder what this portends for the future of eCommerce?

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

So maybe the Internet is still not secure enough for all users to rely on iCloud, but the iCloud announcement was unique for many reasons. Not the least of which was that Apple pre-announced the iCloud in advance of the Apple WWDC (World Wide Developers’ Conference), highly unusual for Apple.

The cloud is unbelievably hot today, and the iCloud is obviously one more way that Microsoft and PC manufacturers will have to re-invent themselves. That is, if iCloud is a success which may seem automatic given Apple great on successful innovation. But it’s possible that Internet users will prefer to keep their own computers and not rely on the cloud. Of course many folks are worried about security, maybe the FBI’s recent break-in will be a wake-up call. Stay tuned.
 

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

Marc Rotenberg (executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center) was pleased that “Apple acknowledged a mistake and they fixed it.”

It’s unlikely this is the end of the controversy as surely some bad event will force governments do re-think location data privacy issues.

Do you like the notion that Apple and/or Google are tracking your location?

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

Why does Apple collect and compile this location data?
How is this data generated (GPS, cell tower triangulation, WiFi triangulation, etc.)
Why is this data not encrypted?
Does Apple believe that this conduct is permissible under the terms of its privacy policy?

We all know that cell phone contain GPS devices so our location hardly a secret, and Google even uses GPS movement to help display Traffic on Google Maps.  However Apple’s collection of this data creates a new level of public awareness.

What do you think?

Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog

I discovered the fruit memo pads about two years ago, when they were launched in Japan by D-Bros. Both apple-shaped and pear-shaped memo pads were looking so cute and fresh that I wished to have one for myself. It was too hard to order them from Japan because of the shipping costs and the high price of per item, but now I have the pleasure to review one of these, thanks to Mini In The Box that sent one over for review.

You can find both the apple-shaped and pear-shaped memo pads at MiniInTheBox.com at .89 and there are other fruit memo pads available as well, like the strawberry model. The apple memo pad I have received from them is the large version with 150 pages, 2 paper clips and a real fruit net in white.

The fruit memo pads come in pieces that you have to build the memo pad with. There is the paper memo pad that you need to open to reveal the fruit shape, two clips that hold the apple open, the net that holds the fruit, and the small stem that you can simply set inside the apple, just like in my photos.

A fruit memo pad like this one is a good office gadget, if you like, especially for those who use to note things down. I leave messages or instructions in the kitchen for the other members of my family and it surely doubles as a decoration item next to the clock on my fridge. More than that, I recommend you to get more of these if you need to make gifts to many people and don’t have much to spend.

Enjoy the photos and find out more about the apple-shaped memo pad at MiniInTheBox.com.

Related Unique Gift Ideas:

• Leaf-It Post-It Notes

Unique Gift Ideas and the Latest Gadgets for Women