The future of the Mac has become fodder for discussions by a major financial publication that is getting lots of circulation at the same time Tim Cook, in a message to Apple employees, has reasserted the company’s commitment to the Mac. You’d think it’s either one or the other, or perhaps there are elements of truth in both.

The theory goes that Apple really no longer cares so much about the Mac. Despite selling four to five million units a month, and delivering the industry’s highest share of profits, many are concerned over the fact that product refreshes have been late, and there has to be a reason.

So we have that story in the financial publication, Bloomberg, suggesting that Apple has reorganized its design team and the Mac division is getting short shrift. Supposedly Jonathan Ive is spending less time looking over future Mac designs and paying more attention to the iPhone and the iPad, with the implications that these two products are far more significant to Apple. But that’s only half true! Apple is earning more from the sale of Macs than from the sale of iPads. In the fiscal 4th quarter for 2016, ending September, Apple sold 4,886,000 Macs with a total revenue of $5.7 billion. Some 9,267,000 iPads were sold, but revenue was lower, since the list prices are lower. It came to $4.2 billion.

Those results come across to me as a possible reason to deemphasize the iPad, except, of course, it’s still the most popular tablet on the planet.

So why pay more attention to a product that delivers lower revenue? The answer is that this isn’t the only example of where the article is assuming facts without evidence. After all, it’s not as if Apple is going to admit to the private interactions among its design and engineering teams. It’s almost as if an outsider has, without doing the requisite research, decided to make assumptions for a sensational article about the future of the Mac.

The writer goes on to explain that future Mac updates are apt to be extremely minor with a tiny iMac refresh and the usual refreshes for the MacBook and MacBook Pro. The release of keyboards with Touch Bar support will depend on the success of the new MacBook Pros.

Now just to be clear about all this, Apple’s approach to Macs in recent years has been to introduce a major redesign and then, for several years, refresh that design with faster parts. The iMac is somewhat of an exception with a mid-cycle update that included the 5K Retina display. The real question marks concern the Mac mini, last upgraded in 2014, and the Mac Pro, which had an overhaul in 2013 but hasn’t been touched since. As you count the days, you have to wonder what’s going on.

True, the Late 2016 MacBook Pro has been controversial. But it’s hardly a rush job, or an example of inattention even if you disagree with the priorities. Jonathan Ive claims that Apple spent two years developing the Touch Bar, and the thinner, lighter case and other changes required more investment than the usual Mac refresh. So why would Apple do such a thing if they are losing interest in the Mac? Is this a last-ditch effort to restore its luster. Or did the writer assume that the MacBook Pro isn’t doing well based on all the pro and con discussion, even though Apple claims record demand for the new models?

Now some facts ought to be considered before I deliver the counter argument. First is that the lack of significant progress in Macs may, in large part, be attributed to the limitations in Intel’s processor upgrades. With the greater emphasis on power efficiency, actual year-to-year performance boosts are slight. Some attribute it to the supposed fact that “Moore’s Law,” about the doubling of the number of transistors in an integrated circuit each year, has hit a wall.

Regardless, the benchmark improvements from one year to the next tend to be minor. So even though the Mac mini may seem long in the tooth, newer parts wouldn’t yield a significant performance  boost. Power efficiency isn’t an issue for a computer that is designed to function strictly with the power cord.

The Mac Pro is a more difficult issue, since there are speedier CPUs and graphics chips that would make a noticeable improvement. Indeed, it makes sense that some wonder whether this long-in-the-tooth workstation has a future, and it would be helpful for Apple to provide more direct reassurance.

On the other hand, some comments culled from a message posted to Apple employees the other day does appear to indicate that the Mac shouldn’t be counted out, despite the dire picture painted in that article.

The main part of the message is the assurance of the importance of desktop Macs to Apple, with Cook writing, “Some folks in the media have raised the question about whether we’re committed to desktops. If there’s any doubt about that with our teams, let me be very clear: we have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that.”

Notice he said, “great desktops,” which clearly implies more than a single model. If that’s the case the changes wouldn’t be restricted to the iMac. It may even be that a more significant Mac Pro upgrade is in the cards, but it would have been nice for Cook to be a little more detailed in his reassurances.

Perhaps those comments were written in anticipation of the Bloomberg piece, or just as a general response to all the concerns about the future of the Mac. Regardless, Cook appears to be promising more than a minor refresh. Let’s wait and see how it all turns out.

Apple’s critics are out in force this holiday season with end-of-the-year pronouncements. Some say it was a mixed back, but few speak of it as notable. Some suggest Apple had a really bad year, that it couldn’t possibly get much worse.

Clearly the latter rating doesn’t recognize the years when Apple was really in shaky condition.

Now if you based Apple’s success strictly on the number of new products that were introduced, you’d have a simple answer on whether they were successful in 2016. Not much happened of importance. It was more about falling iPhone sales, and the expected lack of significant new features before the iPhone 7 was released. The iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro were regarded as underwhelming.

Macs? Well, what happened anyway? Has Apple lost its cool, or is it trying to be too cool for its own good?

And what about the Apple Watch Series 2? Well, that seemed a sensible upgrade, although the fact that it came so late compared to the previous model — released in the spring of 2015 — meant that sales really tanked before they evidently recovered. But despite the bad news from IDC, Tim Cook went so far as to say that sales during the early part of the holiday season were the best ever.

As to the watch itself, reviewers said it was much faster, and the newest watchOS addressed interface issues that were designed to make it more usable. Most important for those of you using wearables for fitness. Apple added GPS, making it easier to take one with you without stuffing an iPhone in your pocket or purse.

What’s left? Well, I’m curious to see what happens when Apple is able to add a cellular radio to provide data and telephone connections without tethering to the iPhone. It’s not a matter of if, but of when; when Apple is able to do it in a reliable fashion without harming battery life or making the device larger. Even then, I suspect there will be versions with and without data/telephone capability. But imagine doing a FaceTime video connection from a smartwatch, the commercial realization of an old-time sci-fi concept.

I suppose it would be nice for Apple to finally release actual Apple Watch sales figures. Otherwise claims of high demand don’t amount to much, and one shouldn’t to rely on third-party estimates that are, at best, approximations.

Now when it comes to the iPhone 7, the perception that it would be a minor upgrade was very much based on the fact that the case was little changed from the previous version. Apple could take the same components, put it in a case that’s more distinctively different, and the critics would say it was a major improvement.

But if you look at the new features, the water-resistant capability, the new Home button, enhanced camera and wider color gamut, to mention a few, the iPhone 7 offered as many new features as previous iPhone upgrades. So much for expecting logic and reason. But I do agree that the failure of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 certainly helped Apple’s cause this holiday season.

In saying that, even the lesser reviewers have given the iPhone 7 pretty high marks. In one of those lesser articles, the writer appeared to mostly depend on specs when comparing the iPhone 7 to the Samsung Galaxy S7. So the ability to withstand water insertion was based on specs, not on actual performance, and thus the Samsung was rated better. The obvious performance differences were obvious, despite the fact that the Samsung’s hardware had what appeared to be more powerful specs. But the Galaxy S7’s usual inability to manage the resource-hungry Android interface without visible stuttering appeared in bold relief to the iPhone 7’s fast and fluid interface management. At the same time, the fact that the Samsung’s display has more pixels supposedly made it sharper than the iPhone 7, even though the latter has a Retina display, meaning enough pixels per inch for them not to be visible at normal viewing distances.

I’m also wondering how soon the Apple TV will add support for 4K and HDR, especially now that the higher resolution TV sets are mainstream.

Now when it comes to Macs, Apple didn’t appear to go as far as they should have gone. One MacBook refresh in the spring, and a new MacBook Pro in the fall. At the same time, manufacturing of high-resolution displays was ceded to LG in a curious move; orders are now being taken after a long delay. What did make a difference was the pedestrian design that made one doubt that Apple had much say in how the final product was realized. And what about the future of the Mac mini and the Mac Pro? When’s the next iMac refresh coming?

Well, it does appear that good things are on the horizon in the Mac universe. In a message to Apple employees made public on Monday, Cook delivered words of reassurance: “Some folks in the media have raised the question about whether we’re committed to desktops. If there’s any doubt about that with our teams, let me be very clear: we have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that.”

Apple in 2016 was a mixed bag with lots of unrealized potential. But there’s now hope for next year, especially for Mac users.

Over the years, a slew of alleged journalists and bloggers have written stuff about Apple that just isn’t true, or is partly true but quickly goes off the rails. Time and time again, their pronouncements are regularly refuted by a variety of columnists. Macworld’s mythical crypto-creature, “Macalope,” writes columns three times a week demonstrating when yet another online writer is making things up about Apple, or deliberately misunderstanding what they do, most likely to keep the AdSense ad dollars — from click-throughs — coming in.

What’s most curious about this phenomenon is not the goal of making money, but the fact that you can disprove the phony theories, misleading arguments, and outright lies, over and over again, and it doesn’t make a difference. To them, facts don’t seem to matter.

So you make the corrections — and I do it too from time to time — and a few days, weeks or months later, the same bloggers return to repeat the same nonsense. So is this all about the ad money, the need for attention — good or bad doesn’t seem to matter — or an honest-to-goodness belief in something that just happens not to be true?

Continue Reading…

Special Feature

There are dozens on online articles that claim to show you the simple way to start a blog. But, truth be told, many are only written with the sole aim of making quick affiliate commissions by recommending web hosting services. While web hosting is an integral part of a starting a blog, recommendations should never be misleading.

This guide is markedly different. I cut right to the chase and tell you want you need to do get it right the first time. The steps are arranged in logical order.

So, let’s get right into it.

Step 1: Choose a topic

What do you want to blog about? Do you want to blog about your business or a passion you have? As you consider this, also find out if there is a potential audience for your topic and the competitiveness of your chosen niche. You can gauge the level of competition by typing in your blog topic in Google and seeing the number of results that come up. If there are hundreds of millions, then your topic is too broad and competitive and you need to narrow it down. If there are less than a ten million results, then your topic is moderately competitive and, if the results are less than a million, you topic has low competition. You should target a topic that falls between low and moderate for the best results as a beginner. But, the most important point is that you must be passionate and know a good deal about the topic.

Step 2: Decide on Hosting

Your blog needs a platform to run the files and the files needs to be stored by a hosting provider.

The Platform

You will need to decide between a self-hosted and free blogging platform. Examples of free platforms are Blogger.com and WordPress.com. I recommend a WordPress self-hosted blog because it’s more professional. You will own your own domain name, for example, yoursite.com, and you will also be able to access some great features on a WordPress self-hosted blog. These include hundreds of thousands of free site designs and plugins. It is also very simple to install. Most hosting providers offer a one-click install solution. But, if you feel you want something that packs a little more punch, you can always explore other platforms such as Joomla and Drupal. But, be warned, these are not as easy-to-use for complete beginners.

Step 3: Register a Domain Name

If you decide you want a self-hosted blog, the next step is to register a domain name. A domain is the unique name that identifies your blog on the Internet. For example, Google.com is a unique name. When choosing a domain name, ensure you adhere to the following three rules:

1. Make it a .com. They are more recognizable.
2. The shorter the better.
3. Make it easy to spell and pronounce.

Annual registration for your domain will cost you about $15 per year; some host will charge a little less. However, you could save on the first year’s registration if your hosting provider gives you a free domain when you buy hosting.

Step 4: Find the Best Hosting

When buying hosting, there are number of things you need to look out for. One of these is the actual price. The pricing information can sometimes be deceptive. Be extra careful if there is an asterisk (*) against the price because that’s an indication that you should read the fine print. Some companies will advertise a monthly fee but in reality, they expect an annual payment. Also, consider the following before you make any payment:

• Support – how good is their support? Do they have phone, live chat or a support ticket system? A good host should have all.
• Reviews – what are other customers saying about the host? Check Internet forums and social media sites like Facebook to get a true picture of what people really think.
• Cost – As a general rule, don’t pay more than $5 to $10 a month for a starter package. But compare the features.

Step 5: Install the Platform & Configure

Next, install the platform using the hosting provider’s one-click install solution. If you decided to go with WordPress, simply log into the admin area using the credentials you created during install. You will be amazed at how easy it is to use the dashboard. Choose a blog theme for the thousands of free options, install and activate.

Step 6: Write your First Article

You are now close to publishing your first article. Navigate to Posts in the left hand menu and create a new post. Type your article in the editor and once done, click Publish. Type your blog address in a separate window and confirm your article is online.

Step 7: Optimize your Blog

This is the final step. Optimize refers to speeding up your website. As a blog owner, you cannot underestimate the impact of page speed on traffic, conversions and revenue. Research has established that 47% of people will close a site if it doesn’t load within 2 seconds and 40% will close it if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds. That’s scary, right? You bet! Which is why I have dedicated an entire step to ensuring your blog loads within two seconds. The following are some of the main culprits that slow a blog down:

• Too many plugins – in the case of WordPress, having too many plugins can slow down your blog down. Only install the plugins that you really need. If you are no longer using a plugin, uninstall it.
• Large images – images hog bandwidth. Crop them and compress to the minimum possible size using free tools such as Gimp. WordPress actually has plugins to deal with this.
• Bloated HTML, Javascript and CSS – Theme and plugin files may have lots of white space which helps the developers read the code easily. But, to a browser and server, white space occupies bandwidth yet a browser and server can understand the code without the white space. In WordPress, there are plugins that can minify HTML, Javascript and CSS by eliminating white space.

Conclusion

Finally, while these seven steps will help you set up your blog successfully, there are in no way exhaustive. To truly become successful, you need to continuously learn about what you can do to improve your blog. For example, WordPress has a sizable documentation which I recommend you read when you have some time to spare. You should also subscribe to other blogs that write about topics like search engine optimization, writing skills and monetization options.