* Posts by Arctic fox

2770 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Nov 2009

'Real' JavaScript benchmark topped by...Microsoft

Arctic fox
Headmaster

@Reg Sim

I am not in any way defending this guy's benchmarking or any implicit assumptions he may be operating on. Indeed I am not in any way defending the ranking he has generated either. Several of the postings we see on this thread represent considered criticism of his work and they I have no problem with. I do however point out that the *main* thrust of *some* of the postings is that he *must* be some kind of paid shill for MS - it is that kind of posting where the messenger rather than the message is attacked that I was criticising.

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Even if you disagree with the guy's methodology some of the usual........

........comments from the usual suspects that imply he is a paid stooge for MS slagging off Chrome show very clearly that they did not bother to read this bit of the article:

"Crockford admits that he expected Chrome to top the list. "My guess is that they overspecialized for specific styles of programming, and that Chrome was tripped up by a real program. There are some very smart people at Google, and I would expect them to rectify this.""

Now you can agree or disagree with what he says but his comments (or his work for that matter) cannot simply be dismissed as paid for by The Great Satan From Redmond.

Samsung countersues Apple on new ground

Arctic fox

@Lars

"I cannot deny it, but Jobs is damned good at a number of things, indeed."

I agree, he is. Indeed it would be idle to pretend otherwise. That in fact makes me very curious to know to what extent he was involved in this decision and in what degree he actively (in his heart of hearts) supports it. If there ever was a CEO who understands the market it is S. Jobs, he cannot fail to be aware that this is *potentially* a very dangerous move. I would really love to have been a fly on the wall in the Apple boardroom when they took *that* decision!

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Interesting.

I note that on this thread and on the thread attached to the article that reported Apple's original writ there is a marked absence of "Phanboi" posting. Sure some people have expressed the opinion that there is perhaps a little too much similarity between the Galaxy S and the 3GS although even they usually have also said that they do not see the same with the Galaxy Tab and the iPad. It is almost as if Apple's very loyal fan-base are, at the least, somewhat uneasy about Cupertino's decision to go to war with their largest component supplier over breaches which, on the face of it, do not amount to that much (even if one accepts Apple's story) and certainly have not done Apple's sales any damage! Indeed I think that they are right to be uneasy because I do not believe that this in reality is about any perceived patent breach - this is IMO about the current state of the smart phone market. We are reaching a point where the smart phone market is on the verge of exploding and it is Android (currently) who appear to be riding the wave at a higher rate of knots than (relatively speaking) than the iOS. Samsung's high end offerings are beginning to represent a real challenge for Apple whilst HTC has reached the point where brand recognition in the marketplace is such that ordinary punters are now asking for that company's phones by name. Furthermore I do not believe that Cupertino dismisses the increase in competition that may be provided by future Nokiasoft phones as readily as some here at El Reg do. All in all the future is looking more challenging for Apple specifically because it is not unlikely that at some point they will no longer dominate the high end of the market - and that is what they really care about. They will IMO always sell well, they know what their customers want and how to design and build it. However, they clearly have decided to use every method they can get away with to protect their market position - that is a dangerous place to be in, Apple may come to regret starting this war.

Calling all readers: Want some new icons?

Arctic fox
Happy

276 postings and rising? On a "suggest an icon" thread?

We posterbois certainly know how to get our priorities right, don't we? Could we please have an irony-alert icon - for those who tend to miss that kind of thing? The joke-alert icon (although often useful) doesn't always fit the bill, if one is trying to be a *little* bit subtle.

Tron: Legacy 3D Blu-ray disc set

Arctic fox
Happy

@cloudberry: Great link. It really cheered me up after.......

.......having watched that steaming pile. In fact I laughed out loud at several points - very enjoyable to read something genuinely witty rather than merely sarky.

Arctic fox
Grenade

Hello! What part of the expression "total crap" is difficult to understand?

The film was third rate garbage. I had more "fun" watching the latest Transformers film than this steaming pile of guano. I cannot believe that some of the postings here are actually friendly towards this ******* and as for 80% - I beg your pardon?

ARM's Intel challenger set for 2012 release

Arctic fox
Happy

Now we are beginning to talk!

I have written on several occasions that I am not interested in an iThingy or equivalent as any kind of "supplement" (ie waste of time and money), I am only interested in a tablet when it is an all singing all dancing pc and can *replace* kit here at Arctic Fox Towers. When the tablet concerned can replace my lappie, the front room pc and my Kindle (which will be getting a little aged by then) I will be willing to part with some serious hard earned for the kit concerned. A little docking station in our TV bench connected to our home theatre system and we would be all set. Seven inch form factor could live in my coat pocket between home and work very nicely thank you.

'Fierce competition' drives Apple's iPhone 6 changes

Arctic fox
Happy

@Vicky Lamburn Re Screen sizes.

I have to say that I agree, the physical dimensions of ones phone if one spends a fair amount of the working day "on the blower" do have a considerable effect on user comfort. Amusingly enough my personal experience is the opposite of yours (I suspect the shovels I have at the end of my wrists are to blame!). My little old Wildfire (3.5 in) is for me far less comfortable than my Desire Z (3.7 in) when using it for a long conversation despite the fact that the "Z" is much heavier as well. It has to be said however that the competition in this (currently) ever expanding market is such that there are and will IMV continue to be a range of sizes that should ensure that we do not end up in a "one size must fit all" situation.

Apple sues Samsung over Galaxy look-and-feel

Arctic fox
FAIL

Pardon?

This means in practice that Cupertino have decided to sue *everybody*, merely starting with Samsung in the formal sense. The implications of the way they have framed their claim appear to be so widely drawn that they appear to be (in practice) demanding that everybody else get out of the smartphone business. They have had the lead in this market for the last 3 - 4 years or so but that (as was inevitable in a market growing at such a rate) lead has slipped. One simple question can be posed. Why now? Why did they not fire off a writ the moment that they saw the launch of the Galaxy S - if it was such a clear violation of their IP? Apple have apparently decided to declare war on the rest of the smartphone market - not the smartest move one could imagine. The company appears to have decided that vexatious litigation rather than impressive innovation is the way forward from now on.

Intel to pay OEMs to build Atom-Android tablets?

Arctic fox
Happy

@Steve Todd

With regard to the Atom Z670, Engadget is reporting that Intel's web site was showing an announcement that claimed that Asus' upcoming Eee Pad Slider would be using the Z670 rather than the Tegra 2 as previously announced. That claim has now been pulled from the Intel site - quite what is going on there is a bit of a mystery.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/17/asus-eee-pad-slider-making-the-jump-from-tegra-2-to-atom-z670/

WTF is... 4K x 2K?

Arctic fox
Happy

Too bloody right!

"And it’s arguable whether or not you’ll notice the extra definition on a set that would fit in a typical UK sitting room."

I should cocoa its arguable! If you do not mind sitting at the back of the garden in order to watch one of these hung on your front room wall then by all means go ahead. What would your viewing distance have to be? It is of course very interesting from the tech point of view and I am glad El Reg is covering it, but it is no way realistic technology for ordinary punters with an ordinary home even if they could afford one.

White iPhone 4 out by month's end

Arctic fox
IT Angle

For crying out loud.

This is just the kind of thing their marketing dept love. They get plenty of attention in the press for rather more relevant reasons without there being the slightest need to cover a bloody colour-change. What the hell does that have to do with IT? Apple's kit is often of interest for many here from the tech point of view - fair enough, I have absolutely no quarrel with that. However, I do think that feeding Cupertino because of the colour of the bloody thing is ridiculous.

STONERS are DESTROYING the PLANET

Arctic fox
Happy

I think there is no doubt whatsoever that marjuana has a major effect on the......

.......upper atmosphere. Well at least the longer the evening goes at the parties I attend the higher the atmosphere gets!

iPhone 5? You might be waiting till 2012

Arctic fox
Happy

@+++ath0 Re No way

I said absolutely *nothing* explicit or implicit about the likely merits or demerits of *either* the iPhone 5 *or* the first of the Nokiasoft phones. My posting in that respect was *wholly neutral*. I posted saying that *IF* these possible dates were anywhere near real then the atmosphere here on the threads at El Reg would be somewhat predictable. Lo and behold, you reply to my posting insisting that in the unlikely event that any Nokiasoft phones are launched in that period they will be a disaster and we see many other postings of the same general type (both pro and anti apple, and of the usual "high intellectual" standard). It is downright amusing to see my little prediction confirmed in spades so quickly. I should get into the analyst business, judging by this I could scarcely do any worse than the likes of Gartner et al.

Arctic fox
Happy

If those dates turn out to be somewhere near real it will be interesting.

The implication is that the iPhone 5 will be launched about the same time as the first Nokiasoft phones. I can already see the postings we are likely to get. This is going to be fun, the blogosphere here at ElReg is likely to get fairly "fraught".

Panasonic TX-L37DT30 37in 3D LED backlit TV

Arctic fox
Unhappy

@TonyHoyle re: Why?

A very good question in the context. There is indeed something very "odoriferous" going on in the telly market at the present time (the joke prices for the glasses being a clear indication). My gut feeling is that several if not all of the producers are running a shell game on the punters. The fact that most or all of them appear to be pulling different variations of the same stunt gives me a very bad feeling in my guts. You no doubt remember that several of the major producers got heavily fined by the EU for having engaged in a pricing cartel (Sammy squealed and got let off with a warning)? I am not claiming that they are necessarily doing the same thing here but something is going on that I absolutely do not like the smell of.

Arctic fox

@AC RE:A family of four will not have to find. → #

I do not quite see your point. The fact that there is so little 3D content available is true but merely supplements what I was saying about the manufacturers dishonest presentation and pricing of these TVs. In fact it reinforces my point that the TV *as sold' is in fact a 37 inch *2D* TV significantly overpriced for its quality and specs at £1100. Which in turn reinforces my point that if we evaluated the TV *as advertised* as a *3D* TV an average family *would* have to find £1620 - if one judges the TV against the manufacturers claims for it. Something I believe I made clear in my original posting. Furthermore I said nothing about bundling 4 pairs of these items with the TV - the specs cost too much (the producers fault) and without them (and the almost, in reality, 50% increase in the price if you do get them) the headlining of the TV by the manufacturer as a 3D TV is a dishonest exercise in the marketing of what is in fact (at £1100) an overly expensive 2D telly.

Arctic fox
Thumb Down

A family of four will have to find.........

............almost half the purchase price of the telly in addition to said price? In other words for an average family the real price of this tv is in fact over £1600? I have no complaints about this review in general (most informative and professional in fact) but I would ask that given you (I assume) take the price into account when you are grading the telly, do you really think that it is worth 80% when the real price for the average punter is in fact almost 50% higher than the manufacturers are claiming/pretending? Or to put it another way, given that it is not, in reality, a 3D TV without the glasses would one really have given it 80% as a 37 inch *2D* telly for which they are charging £1100? I am obliged to say that reviewed as a 2D TV I personally would not have given it more than 70% (max) at that price and no more than the same grade reviewed as a 3D TV *at its real price* of £1620.

I have to say that I am very cynical about the TV producers here, they remind me of the printer manufacturers - "cheap" printer and then they force you to open a major artery every time you buy cartridges! The claimed pricing of 3D TV is IMHO a deeply dishonest exercise.

Nokia to help WinPho outsell iOS in four years

Arctic fox
Happy

@To the MS doubters

They do not want to hear it old chap. They just want to scream and howl about Micro$oft. Regardless of what, in reality, might or might not happen. We will see what the future holds.

:)

A happy but unbiased Desire Z owner.

AF.

NoTW offers apologies, 'regret' over phone hacks

Arctic fox
Flame

Non, je ne regrette rien

That is the reality folks, let us be quite realistic about what they actually mean.

iPhone 4: Now with added jailbreaky fun

Arctic fox
Happy

@Neil Weller

Oh I take your point Neil, I was of course generalising. When it comes to producers SE's recent mea culpa with regard to upgrades and the fact that HTC have clearly been getting their finger out with regard to the Desire family are positive straws in the wind. Furthermore, some of the smaller carriers may well also be attempting to differentiate themselves from the big boys when it comes to the way they treat their customers. My impression is that *some* of (although by no means all) of the worst offenders are some of the big American carriers - at least to judge by the howling I have read at some sites like Engadget! The issue with updates is IMO about control - many of the carriers see upgrades as a way to maintain a firm grip on their customer's gonads - the fact that many of their customers dislike such eye-watering experiences is perhaps something that is at last dawning on some of these companies!

:)

AF

Arctic fox
Happy

With regard to WP 7

I think that you will find that it is not MS (spelt with or without dollar-sign - up to you) who are preventing punters from getting their up-grade, at least not in the direct sense. When you have used this tool to enable your phone, where are you getting the up-grade? From MS obviously. This whole business effects customers who have bought their phones on contract via a carrier. The agreement between the carriers and MS is that they can delay one upgrade cycle in order to ensure that they do not fuck up the update when they pass it on to their customers. As far as I can see the carriers are exploiting this for all it is worth (in the same way they do with the Android os). If you have bought your phone sim-free you will get your update as soon as it is released by MS. This is a perennial problem for all owners of either WP7 phones or (as in my case, a largely happy Desire Z owner) Android phones. The carriers take the piss out of their customers big time. That is one very good reason why I personally prefer to (terribly old fashioned of me) save up and buy my phones outright. I have not bought a mob via a carrier for at least ten years and I have no intention of changing that!

Virally spreading scam spreads over Twitter

Arctic fox
Flame

Modern mobile communication, one of the most extraordinary..........

.............of human history's technological achievements and what do millions use it for? Arsebook and Shitter. It makes you want to cry.

Teens who listen to music a lot are at high risk of depression

Arctic fox
Megaphone

I'm not bloody surprised.

I'd be terminally depressed if I listened to the shit they listen to day in and day out............

Shuffles off into the distance mumbling to himself "in my day ......."

Vodafone grabs £7bn, leaves France

Arctic fox
Grenade

Looking at the interesting down-vote pattern........

......here I am tempted to assume that there are some Vodaphone directors lurking here in the shadows on this thread, apparently as shy about actually *posting* as they are about paying their taxes. Oh and yes, they are of course tax-avoiding scum - now their stealth clad astroturfers can down-vote me as well.

Google bids $900m for Android and Chrome patent shield

Arctic fox
Troll

Really?

"RPX is an operation that seeks to help its clients reduce their patent litigation, and it does so by building a patent portfolio of its own and allowing clients to license the portfolio for an annual fee. "

I.E. They are cuddly patent trolls that will allow you to sign an annual feeding agreement.

Photoshopped image scam used in rogue Facebook app trap

Arctic fox
Happy

Well I'll be blowed! You must have......

........been reading my mind.

Firefox 'Do Not Track' header wins first convert

Arctic fox
Happy

I think we are being a little unfair here towards.......

...........many ordinary punters - they are not all Pavlov's mutts. An awful lot of people just ignore the ads *unless* they are actually on the lookout for a specific category of wares. I hate to spoil (for example) El Reg's day but I take absolutely no notice of the ads when I read here if they are not advertising something that I am *already* looking for. I am not saying that these buggers should not be kept on a reasonably short leash, I am just pointing out that the punter can contribute (and many do) by utterly ignoring any advertising that is not of immediate and genuine use to them. You can to a considerable extent control how far you can be used as click-bait. However, in general terms I do agree that advertising execs belong in the scorpion pits - just on principle, you understand.

US Army inks $66m deal for Judge Dredd smart-rifles

Arctic fox
FAIL

The battery is not "customer" removeable?

You have to plug the bloody thing into a wall-socket? I realise that these are prototypes but which dickhead came up with those elements of the design?

Single-patent lawsuit hits Apple, Google, Amazon, Priceline...

Arctic fox
Happy

No, their mistake.

Only the Patrician owns the scorpion pits.

Arctic fox
Flame

No no - much to good for them.

"Shut the company down and jail all owners for life."

Send them to the scorpion pits.

W**k-O-Meter

Arctic fox
IT Angle

I have to assume that this is either the......

...........release candidate or the relief candidate?

Stop sexing up IT and give Civil Servants Macs, says gov tech boss

Arctic fox
FAIL

Cutting costs/wastage?

By buying Macs? I am not slagging off Macs quality-wise (I use one in the lab at work, fine machine) but the buy-in/set-up/support/adoption costs are prohibitive when compared to similarly specced Windows pcs of decent build quality. Especially when they are being slotted in to an existing system. The guy is just mouthing off about something he knows very little about. Another example of the same type of thinking here in Brass monkey land. The firm Mm Arctic Fox works for has just bought all their admin-staff and the senior management iPads claiming that they can justify this on the grounds of improved productivity! They asked her if she wanted one - she pointed out that as a senior research scientist any applications she needs to run in order to be productive are rather more serious pieces of soft kit than those needed by personnel and marketing! This guy is just another senior manager opening his mouth and inserting both feet in it at one and the same time - impressive in the acrobatic sense but otherwise not much of a contribution in the greater scheme of things.

Surprise! Sprint denounces AT&T-Mobile deal

Arctic fox
Flame

If they let this one through........

.........then the attitude of the competition authorities in the US can only be described as the same joke in poor taste as that of the equivalent in the UK. This should be a no-brainer, so much so that it should have been the case that AT&T wouldn't even have attempted this merger let alone had serious hopes of getting it approved. Given the increasing importance of mobile communication and data transfer in the lives of the vast majority of ordinary Americans it is a disgrace that it is even possible that this could be accepted.

Fukushima scaremongers becoming increasingly desperate

Arctic fox

Lewis old chap, I (as a cautious supporter of nuclear power).......

........would say that you should tone down the triumphalism in your articles a touch - you are damaging the cause you wish to serve.

iPhone 4 SURVIVES plunge from plane

Arctic fox
Happy

I beg your pardon? "Only"?

........."was protected only by a Griffin Motif TPU case and an aftermarket metal backing"?

Are you quite sure that it was not also equipped with its own "Kevlar tactical vest with optional shoulder, collar & groin protection" plus parachute (available at your local Apple Store now!) - just that you forgot to mention it?

Steve Jobs vindicated: Google Android is not open

Arctic fox
Headmaster

To all practical intents and purposes this story would only.......

.........be relevant instead of nitpicking if the author has evidence that Google intends to *permanently* hold back Honeycomb. I would be most interested in seeing such evidence.

Dell Inspiron Duo

Arctic fox
Happy

@Rich 30: On Win 7's limitations

I have to say that I agree about the limitations of a tab loaded with Win 7 (that is of course part of the reason for the appalling battery life), it is not a touch screen os and no amount of "skinning" from any of the OEMs will achieve very much. For those wanting a Windows based tab they are just going to have to wait and see what the Win 8 (ARM) os is like. That should (combined with decent and appropriate hardware, natch) address the user friendliness issues with regard to touch and (I hope) battery life. If it does not then I am afraid MS can kiss the tab market goodbye - which would be a pity since a genuine workhorse tab (as well as the current sofa/horizontal/cup-of-tea/content consumption tabs) would also have a place in the market. All about choice and all that. When and if they market tabs that are *both* replacement *and* supplement devices (such that I can wave my HP lappie bye-bye) I will be entirely willing to pony up serious readies.

Steve Jobs must face the music in court

Arctic fox
Grenade

Real Player is bad?

Well, yes indeed it is. It is many a long year since I was foolish enough to allow that garbage anywhere near a machine I own. However I have to say that it is entertaining to hear criticism from the Cupertinies on this thread given iTunes, hmm? When it comes to garbage software iTunes belongs in the same bin as RealPlayer, for much the same reasons.

Amazon is best hope of a viable alternative to iPad

Arctic fox

@DZ-Jay

Actually I neither think it will be necessary or indeed wise for Amazon to start a "war" with Apple, why would they want to? The tablet market IMO is in its infancy and still far smaller than its potential. Android/Honeycomb tablets are going to be raining from the skies in the next few months at that is just a beginning. Amazon is aiming at what it believes will be a much expanded market for Android apps on both phones and tabs. If (and it is still an *IF*) Amazon elects to sell an own-brand tablet it will be as part of their strategy to compete for a share of the *Android* content market which they clearly believe has a very large potential. It is becoming increasingly likely that the table market is going to be several times the size it is today and it is likely that a hefty slice of that will be Android. That is where Amazon are aiming. Unless one believes that Apple has some kind of permanent lien on the tab market it is obvious that with the coming likely explosive growth in that market that Apple's market share will fall although their share will still be a large one of a MUCH larger market (which implies that Apple will be making even more money on tabs than they do now). This gives plenty of room for a major like Amazon to do a lot of good business. As to any expectation that Amazon would try and force Apple out of the market I can assure you that I do not share any such expectation. For such a thing to happen one would have to posit that the iPad will shortly become a big flop with Android taking over completely - clearly a total fantasy that I do not share. The tablet market is likely to be huge, there is plenty of room out there.

Arctic fox
Happy

I would be utterly amazed if Amazon was not.........

......exploring precisely that option. Their tactic in selling the Kindle at what looks something like cost has paid off big time and whilst a repeat success with a full song with choruses Honeycomb tablet is not guaranteed by any manner of means, it would be fairly astonishing if they were not at least tempted by the prospect. Decently built and specced tablet(s) populating the price-segments between £300 to £500 with perhaps the next Honeycomb build on board combined with their well established retail content operation (music, films, books and soon apps) would stand a very good chance of cleaning up. Indeed, if I were in charge at Cupertino I would be watching Amazon very closely, in fact I might even be looking at something fairly dramatic with regard to the acquisition of a major content provider - Apple have after all a fairly substantial "war chest" available them.

PS We may end up having to ask for an Amazon icon, with or without horns!

MS claims credit for Rustock botnet takedown

Arctic fox
Grenade

Well actually it is not the dog that is doing the shitting.

It is the "customer" who is shitting all over the sidewalk regardless of how often one tries to explain that they should keep it in their pants. How many articles in how many mainstream media publications warning said "customers" about downloading programmes of a certain type is it going to take before the brain dead finally realise that they are doing something silly? Interesting that many of us criticise (correctly in my view) Apple's walled garden on the grounds of freedom and choice, whilst at the same time many log on here to howl about "M$" on the grounds that they do not succeed in preventing said braindeads from fucking everything up. Do not misunderstand me, MS could clearly do a lot more to improve security (and I suspect they are aware of that) but I am piss tired of the fact that as long as the Great Satan From Redmond is involved many immediately find it convenient to forget that the biggest threat to a pc is the dickhead at the keyboard. Precisely how is "M$" supposed to stop these plonkers downloading that kind of shit without taking the kind of measures that would have us all howling a blue fit? So yes, the customer is NOT always right - sometimes they are completely wrong and ought to take some responsibility (that goes with freedom, right?) for their own behaviour.

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Ragarath You have got to understand the rules old chap.

When Microsoft are the subject of an article the following rules apply.

1. If MS have done something wrong, log on and howl.

2. If MS have done something right, log on and howl.

(Make sure you say that it was all their fault in the first place whether that is wholly true, partly true or not true at all.)

3. If MS are mentioned however peripherally, even if your posting is not even in orbit around the same planet as the article concerned let alone on topic, log on and howl.

4. Do remember to spell the Great Satan's name with a $-sign as often as possible whilst you howl.

As far as the subject of this article is concerned I am glad to see that MS appear to be taking their responsibilities seriously. I personally feel that they should have been moving in this way a considerable while ago but I am reasonably impressed with the sheer scale of the operation involving as it did MS officials, the Feds, the US courts and national compliance and policing authorities in several countries (including China's own CNERT-team believe or not!). So yes, on this occasion I am also willing to give Redmond a cautious thumbs up.

Apple 'gay-cure' app severely slapped

Arctic fox
Troll

RE no-brainers just don't 'get' freedom

You appear to have got off at the wrong stop old chap. The Daily Heil is just down the road on your right.

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Graham Marsden

Good point. One can just imagine their reaction to being told that their religious orientation is a disease and that impressionable young children should not be allowed to read the bible on the grounds that it "promotes" this degenerate lifestyle.

A glimpse at Amazon's app store

Arctic fox
Happy

Granted I haven't thought on this too long yet, but

I have been musing upon that possibility since I first got my hands on my Kindle 3 (about 6 months ago) and I have to say that I would be amazed if Amazon had not at least considered the idea. The droid tabs are just now beginning to come on stream and Honeycomb appears to be coming along nicely. If it were technically feasible to equip a tab with a screen that could switch between a conventional display and something that had the visual characteristics of e-ink I think that Amazon (and their OEM) might have a major winner on their hands. Such a combination might very well give Cupertino a run for their money - and from a very unexpected direction as well!

Intel and Apple: tablet d'hôte

Arctic fox
Happy

Thanks IAS.

I appreciate the reply. Had not thought of that aspect of it.

'iPad cads' dash fanboi fondleslab hopes

Arctic fox
Headmaster

Apparently the incompetence theory is doing the rounds

It looks like leading Apple supporters are not so impressed with Cupertino this time. They do not of course buy the "they did it on purpose" theory but they are not exactly kindly in their criticism of the Fruit Store. The criticism we can see here: ( http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple?tag=mantle_skin;content ) from Jason D. O'Grady & David Morgenstern (two Appleheads from way back when) at ZDNet is just one example of the feelings amongst many of the company's keenest supporters that are circulating on the net.

Basically you can pick your theory; *deliberate tactic* or *major league incompetence* on this occasion.

Arctic fox
Thumb Up

@Neoc Re: Re:Artificial scarcity

Indeed, it is difficult to believe that is not what they did. Well knowing that a certain proportion of their supporters would behave in the desperate way we are now seeing with the consequent loads of publicity around these stories of people paying 2 - 3 times the retail price on the "black market". It serves their publicity purpose of portraying the iPad at the absolute must-have shiney. Nothing could serve that aim more than the stories we are now seeing. The alternative is to believe that the production and marketing people at Apple are grotesquely incompetent in regard to several of their key tasks: predicting, managing and meeting demand. What ever one might say about Apple, THAT I just do not believe. Given the (largely well deserved, I have no problem saying that) huge success they have had with iPad 1 and the expectations that were building up ahead of a pretty much simultaneous world-wide launch of iPad 2 (in comparison to the "roll out" approach they used with iPad 1, USA first, natch) we are expected to believe that they thought that an initial production run of 500 K was going to be enough? My only response to anyone asserting that is "get out of here"!