OpenXava is a framework for Rapid Development of Web Applications for iPad, well-suited for business and database oriented applications. OpenXava allows you develop applications just by writing simple domain classes with Java or Groovy. The user interface is generated automatically in runtime, without code generation. Now you can use square brakets in @ListProperties to asociate one or more properties of the container entity to a property of the collection. In this way you can add arbitrary values as totals.
The US International Trade Commission, which was supposed to deliver its final decision on whether or not HTC infringes two Apple patents on Wednesday, has pushed back its commissioners’ verdict until next Monday, December 19. It is the second time that the ITC has delayed its decision. It was originally supposed to say whether HTC will be allowed to keep on importing its Android phones into the United States on December 6. The ITC’s reasons are unknown; word of the delay came overnight from HTC, which told Reuters it had gotten a notice of the postponement but that the ITC didn’t say why. Patent watcher Florian Mueller thinks it’s likely due to the ITC’s workload and that it doesn’t suggest anything good or ill for either side.
I recently wrote an article examining the basic offerings of Apple, Google, and Amazon, and hypothesized that they were all building ecosystems to get consumers locked in to one ecosystem or another. Here is another post in that series, this time looking at the Apple ecosystem. Apple’s Offerings Apple has some of the most innovative and sought after consumer products on the market right now. You likely don’t know many people that don’t own or use some Apple offering. Of the three companies we are looking at Apple is actually the only one that has an entry in the computer genre with the iMac, Mac Mini, and the MacBook Pro and Air, each coming with OSX Lion. Apple makes its own phone, the iPhone, with its own software, iOS and now the new search engine, Siri. The iPod is the most prolific music storage device. iPad created a new category of computing devices, and is being copied by all other companies. Apple makes its own router and backup storage drive called Time Capsule. Apple TV is used to stream media through your TV, including Netflix. iTunes is used across all devices as the most popular music service available. And don’t forget about iCloud, Apples new online storage. Apple has also developed Thunderbolt, a new data transfer port. Apple also has a social media service called Ping and a productivity suite to answer Office in iWork- Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.
Apple is in talks to buy five-year-old fabless Israeli flash storage maker Anobit Technologies for $400 million-$500 million according to a story in the Hebrew-language financial daily Calcalist repeated by Reuters, Bloomberg, TechCrunch et al. That seems like a lot of money for an Apple acquisition, which are generally software-related, but it’s previously bought processor design talent, which is how it comes by its own ARM chip. Of course Apple’s got a ton of money so it could easily peel off a half-billion and not even notice it. Anobit’s widgetry is used in cell phones and tablets including some iPhones, iPads, iPods and the MacBook Air. The start-up’s memory signal processing technology uses proprietary signal processing algorithms combined with advanced error correction and flash management schemes to improve flash performance, endurance and cost. Apparently it could double the memory in iPads and MacBooks.
The last of the discontinued HP TouchPads, which created an unexpected feeding frenzy when retailers like Best Buy marked their inventory down to $99.99 in August, are supposed to go on sale this Sunday around 7pm ET on HP’s eBay store after HP employees have first crack at however many HP has. They’ll cost $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB model. According to TechCrunch, which happened on an HP internal memo, all the units are refurbished with a 90-day limited warranty. Limit two to a customer. Accessories will cost $79 for the case, charging dock and wireless keyboard.
Apple took a hit Friday when a California federal judge said in a 65-page ruling that it couldn’t have a preliminary injunction preventing Samsung from bringing any more of its Android smartphones and tablets into the United States before the case goes to trial next July 30. Although the court allowed that Apple may eventually prevail at trial, the company supposedly didn’t prove it would suffer the kind of irreparable harm that couldn’t be solved by monetary damages. At the same time the court found Samsung’s tablet “virtually indistinguishable” from the iPad so the case’s eventual resolution, which charges Samsung with slavish copying, depends on whether Apple’s patents are valid absent a Samsung redesign.
Apple can’t call the iPad the iPad in China. A trademark infringement suit Apple filed after its application for ownership of two Chinese trademarks – iPad and IPAD – was thrown out of court. The Chinese trademark office said a local contract manufacturer called Proview Technology that makes flat panel displays and is reportedly close to bankruptcy owns the name and the court agreed. Proview claims it reserved the rights to the name when a Taiwan subsidiary of Hong Kong parent company Proview International sold the supposedly global trademark to IP Application Development, a British company, in 2006 for roughly $55,000. Apple bought the name from the Brits but Proview claims the deal didn’t include China. It says it’s had dibs on the name in China since 2001, 10 years before Apple’s iPad appeared, and used it on a failed tablet back then. It’s also reportedly registered the name in Europe, Mexico, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Daily, a made-for-the-iPad start-up national news service that kicked off in February, claims it’s heard from anonymous sources that Microsoft is adapting Office to the iPad. The blog puts the price at around $10, because that’s what Apple charges for its own iWork Pages, Numbers and Keynote programs. ZDnet’s Mary Jo Foley, who usually has the inside track on things going on at Microsoft, says she wouldn’t be surprised but wonders exactly how much functionality such a thing would have since Microsoft has to be wary of cannibalizing its second-biggest cash cow.
Apple’s Surprising Marketing Blunder. Along with hoards of other people, I upgraded my perfectly good iPhone 4 for the new iPhone 4S. Am I happy? No. It's a Product and Marketing #FAIL. Shocking - coming from the best marketing and product development company in the galaxy. I "listened" to the iPhone 4S launch - from live blog streams. I was honestly quite disappointed. A faster processor? The iPhone 4 was fast enough for me. Same "defective" exposed-glass design that is guaranteed to shatter the first time you drop it (my first iPhone 4 lasted two days). Heck, you can't even show your new iPhone off because it looks identical to the old one. No crowds of people asking you "what do you think of your new iPhone????"
Samsung has persuaded an Australian appeals court to overturn the temporary injunction Apple got from a lower court on October 13 forbidding the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 on the grounds of patent infringement. The iPad-competitive widget can now be sold ahead of a trial whose date has yet to be set. Apple is expected to appeal. The appeals court Friday said it had doubts about the justice of the injunction that the lower court slapped on the Samsung tablet. It was expected to rule this week on Samsung's bid to lift the restraint. Samsung argued that the lower court failed to consider whether Apple would actually win at trial. The presiding appellate judge reportedly found it difficult to believe Apple couldn't keep track of the damages it might suffer if it successfully pursued its patent accusations. Apple has claimed the impact isn't limited to iPad but also to Samsung's effects on iPhones, Mac computers and applications because they're tied to one another, a claim the appeals court called "speculative."
The US International Trade Commission overruled one of its own administrative law judges, who thought the Mac tread on S3’s IP, and threw out an S3 Graphics patent complaint against Apple’s Macs, iPad and iPhone, saying it has no case. HTC of course is buying S3 for $300 million ostensibly for patent protection. Now it looks like that was a dumb idea; its patents may not be valid or the IP may belong to AMD. The ITC, which can bar imports, did not explain its decision. HTC says it may appeal. Bloomberg expects the decision to put pressure on HTC’s shares.
After the market closed Tuesday, Apple said that Disney CEO Bob Iger had joined the Apple board and that Genentech chairman and former CEO Arthur Levinson, a long-time Apple director, would replace the late Steve Jobs as chairman. Jobs of course became Disney’s largest shareholder when Iger bought his other company, Pixar, in 2006. Levinson, Apple’s co-lead director since 2005, has been on the board since 2000 and has served on all three of its committees, audit and finance, nominating and corporate governance, and compensation. He will continue to serve on the audit committee. Iger, who’s also on the board of the US-China Business Council and the President’s Export Council, will also serve on the audit committee. In a statement Apple CEO Tim Cook said of Iger’s appointment, “His strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology, and expanding into new markets around the world which makes him a great fit for Apple.” Iger is currently building a theme park in Shanghai and to break ground in April reportedly took 10 years of talks with the Chinese government.
A student, Jonathan Mak, a student enrolled at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in graphic design, was surprised when his tribute to Steve Jobs went viral. "We are all susceptible to the pull of viral ideas. Like mass hysteria. Or a tune that gets into your head that you keep on humming all day until you spread it to someone else. Jokes. Urban legends. Crackpot religions. No matter how smart we get, there is always this deep irrational part that makes us potential hosts for self-replicating information. (see wikiquote) "Want to stay alive in the new world? You better get tech savy. Things are more complicated these days when it comes to all aspects of life thanks to the amazing technological advances we are all enjoying. Business is one of life's aspects that has been greatly affected by this surge in new technology. Those who familarize themselves, at the very least and submerging themselves even better, in the new technology will be the winners even if unintentional successes as was the case with Hong Kong student, Jonathan Mak who gave tribute to Steve Jobs by incorporating his profile into the existing bite out of apple logo. http://www.researchhistory.org/2011/11/12/apple-icon-with-steve-jobs-pro... This example is a perfect illustration of the power of the web.
Samsung wants Apple’s source code for the iPhone 4S firmware so it can see if it trespasses on three Samsung wireless 3G standard-essential patents. The move is part of an attempt to get the iPhone 4S outlawed in Australia. Samsung told the Australian court that banned its own Galaxy Tab 10.1 from the country pending trial that it also wants copies of the subsidy deals Apple signed with Australian carriers Vodafone, Telstra and Optus to see if Samsung is in any way frozen out. Apple has denied any patent infringement and claims to be using the IP under the Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory doctrine via its chip purchases from Qualcomm, which has a license. Patent holders can’t double-dip.
Maybe while Occupy Wall Street is busy tidying up the world it might want to take on the silliness of “expectations,” those hurdles companies are supposed to leap over because Wall Street guesstimates they should. “Expectations” constantly cost billions of dollars. They cost Apple billions Tuesday when it missed “expectations” and didn’t sell the requisite number of iPhones Wall Street thought it should although Wall Street knew as well as all the iPhone buyers out there that Apple was supposed to put out a new iPhone. The miss, as they say, cost Apple $28 a share adding to doubts about the shift in Apple management since Steve Jobs died two weeks ago even though Apple’s earnings and revenues were up “sharply,” as they also say. Apple earned $7.05 a share in its fiscal fourth quarter, up 54% from $4.64 per share a year a year ago when the company reported net income of $6.62 billion as opposed to $4.31 billion. Revenue jumped 39% to $28.3 billion. It was supposed to earn $7.26 a share on revenue on $29.69 billion, making it the company’s first “miss” since 2004. Apple only sold 17.07 million iPhones during the quarter, up 21% year-over-year, but down 16% sequentially and Wall Street figures it should have sold 18 million-20 million since it sold 20.3 million in its third quarter. Apple said it exceeded internal projections but sales were impacted by rumors of the coming of the new iPhone 4S leading to delayed purchases. The new iPhone did of course wrack up sales of four million in its first three days this passed weekend but that’s a fiscal Q1 record. The facts suggest a displacement Wall Street should have anticipated into its models. Meanwhile, Q4 iPad sales more than doubled to 11.12 million, roughly in line with most “expectations,” Mac sales jumped 26% to 4.89 million – while the overall PC business grew under 4% – and iPod sales fell 27% to 6.62 million. Apple’s gross margin of 40.3% was better than the 39.74% expected. Apple is now getting 63% of its revenue from overseas. Its new masters expect earnings of $9.30 a share for its first quarter against analyst expectations of $9.01 a share on $37 billion in revenue. Everybody says that’s anywhere near as conservative as Apple is known to be and a staid new CEO Tim Cook even predicted that Apple, with its “unbelievable” pipeline, will set “an all-time record” for iPhone sales this quarter. He could not predict when supply might meet demand. Apple has also cut prices on older models to attract the price-conscious. The company now has an amazing $81.6 billion in the bank. It may be time to reinterpret what exactly a growth stock is.
HTC’s attempt to block shipments of Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch into the United States failed Monday when the US International Trade Commission found that Apple didn’t infringe four HTC patents. The preliminary decision will either be confirmed or denied by the full six-member commission in February. HTC, the second-largest maker of Android devices, has another claim against Apple with the ITC still pending. Apple has already won an ITC round against HTC in a decision expected to be reviewed by early December.
Samsung opened a new front in its global patent war with Apple Monday when it asked courts in both Japan and Australia to block sales of Apple’s new iPhone 4S. It’s also trying to get iPad 2 and the iPhone 4 outlawed in Japan. In Australia Samsung has charged Apple with violating three wireless Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and HSPA patents that are 3G-standards essential, a factor deemed to reduce its chances of succeeding. A Dutch court Friday threw out a Samsung bid to enjoin the iPhone and iPad based on those kinds of patents. Apple also claims patent rights to Samsung widgetry via Qualcomm whose chips it uses.
US Federal Judge Lucy Koh said that Samsung’s Android Galaxy tablets and smartphones infringe Apple patents and can be barred from sale in the states if Apple’s patents prove valid. Apple claims that Samsung “slavishly” copied its widgetry and Samsung’s own lawyer couldn’t tell the difference between them in court from a few feet away when the judge held them up. Still, the judge did deny Apple an immediate injunction on one of its so-called “utility” or “scrolling” patents – at least tentatively – and made no decision on the “design” patents that obviously upset her. She said she would soon ahead of any a full-blown trial. Apparently she could go either way. Samsung has also lost its 3G patent claims in Holland Friday. It was trying to get an injunction against Apple tablets and smartphones based on standards-essential FRAND-unencumbered patents. It was basically laughed out of the court, which decided the royalties Samsung was asking was way too much to meet fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms. The court said if Samsung makes Apple a fair and reasonable offer and the companies still can’t reach an agreement then Samsung can file a new injunction motion. FOSS Patents figures Samsung will eventually have to try to settle with Apple on Apple’s terms, which will probably mean a redesign, removing functionality and paying royalties on patents Apple is willing to license. The blog says Motorola Mobility’s patents are also FRAND-pledged so Google can’t get much protection there. By the way, MMI just cut the price on a 16GB version of its Xoom tablet to $379, down from $499 for its usual version and undercutting the entry-level iPad by $100. MMI reportedly shipped 690,000 Xoom tablets in the first half. There’s a hearing in France in a few days on a Samsung motion for a preliminary injunction against the iPhone 4S also based on 3G standards patents. Apple did suffer one clear reversal. The Australian court that just gave Apple the temporary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet that it wanted denied it an injunction against any Samsung tablet and said it couldn’t have an early glimpse of such a device before its release.
Apple has gotten the temporary injunction it was seeking to block Samsung from selling its Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, according to reports out of the Sydney courtroom where its infringement motion was heard. Samsung’s lawyers previously complained that the thing would be a dead letter if it didn’t hit the market this month in time to capture the holiday rush. Samsung agreed a couple of months ago not to market the device ahead of a court ruling. A German court has also forbidden the tablet to be sold in Germany, the main European market. Both actions are supposed to proceed to full-blown trials probably next year although the Australian court is offering an early hearing. Samsung has resisted the idea of a quick trial. Defending its dominance Apple has accused Samsung of “slavishly” copying its technology in multiple jurisdictions. A hearing in the US is imminent. The Australian federal court upheld Apple’s objections to Samsung’s touchscreen and the gestures that control it that Apple claims are covered by two of its patents.
Steve Jobs died at home in Palo Alto, California at about three o’clock last Wednesday afternoon according to the death certificate issued Monday by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department in San Jose. About 90 minutes later Apple released the news. The immediate cause of death was respiratory arrest but the underlying cause was a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas that had metastasized. No autopsy or biopsy was done. He was buried Friday at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto. The document suggests that the cancer had spread to other organs five years ago, two years after the tumor was removed and three years before he got a new liver. He might have fared better if he hadn’t spent nine months trying to cure the pernicious condition with diet before submitting to an operation.
Pre-orders for Apple’s new iPhone 4S spiraled past the million mark within 24 hours Apple says. That’s better than any iPhone before it. The old Apple record was held by the iPhone 4, which was pre-ordered 600,000 times its first day. Apple SVP of worldwide product marketing said, “The first-day preorders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.” The widget hits Apple retail stores in the US on October 14 and are due to move out to 22 other countries by the end of the month. The pre-order floodgates opened before dawn last Friday, the day of Steve Jobs’ private funeral.
Google and Samsung have pulled the unveiling this week of the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android and Samsung’s new Ice Cream Sandwich-based Nexus Prime phone lest they seem insensitive to Steve Jobs’ widely mourned death last Wednesday from a rare form of pancreatic cancer. On its blog Samsung said, “Samsung and Google have decided to postpone the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event during the CTIA in San Diego, previously scheduled for Oct. 11. Under the current circumstances, both parties have agreed that this is not the appropriate time for the announcement of a new product. We ask for your understanding regarding any inconvenience caused. We will announce a new date and venue in due course.” A Samsung spokesman later told CNN, “We just felt that it wasn’t the right time to make a major product announcement while the world is still paying tribute to Steve Jobs. There’s never been such an iconic figure in our industry pass away before.” Google pretty much said the same thing. Reports suggest the event has been postponed till October 27 in London. However, the worldwide litigation between Samsung and Apple is not expected to be affected. They’ll be in court this week. Ice Cream Sandwich, which will probably be styled Android 4.0, is supposed to merge elements of Honeycomb and Gingerbread, Google’s smartphone and tablet widgetry, into one OS.
While it makes sense to take a strategic approach towards collaboration software, as a tool which will have far reaching effects on how a business operates, oftentimes, businesses opt for collaboration software in response to an immediate problem. This is a first of a series of informative articles we will feature on the HyperOffice blog [...]
With his passing just six weeks after stepping away from his role as CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs has made Wednesday, October 5th, 2011, one of those days that many of us will remember for the rest of our lives - a day when someone whose shining brilliance and persistence brought him victory after victory throughout the past four decades. The only thing that beat him, and even that took seven years, was pancreatic cancer.
Steve Jobs has died. Apple has put out an announcement saying, “We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.” Jobs, who only resigned as Apple’s CEO on August 24, has been fighting pancreatic cancer for years. He was 56 and died too young for all his gifts to flourish.