Apple

Hey! Apple software has the most security holes!

A new report from security software provider Secunia shows that despite considerable security investments, the software industry at large is unable to produce software with substantially fewer vulnerabilities.
The latest data shows that Apple has surpassed Oracle and even Microsoft with accounting for the most software vulnerabilities, though the No. 1 ranking is related only to the number of vulnerabilities--not to how risky they are or how fast they get patched.

How did that happen?

A friend once told me: "He who does little makes few mistakes" -- Welcome to the big time, Apple. Enjoy it while it lasts.

I loved seeing today's headlines (many have been edited) stating "Apple results blow past estimates" (or similar).

Apple's doing very well right now, no doubt about it. The headlines struck me as funny, though. To paraphrase Renée Zellweger in Jerry McGuire, "You had me at 'Apple results blow'".

Even Steve Jobs looks uncool holding an iPad...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/ / CC BY 2.0

The iPad will fail to duplicate the iPhone's market success. It won't live up to the hype.

The iPad, though probably a masterpiece of design and execution, isn't going to sell like the iPhone.

Why? It's not the price. It's a cultural problem.

The iPhone is selling like mad because it's cool. Non-techies like it. It's sleek, sexy, and subtle. It's functional, luring users by offering cell phone capabilities (it solves a real problem out of the box).

The iPhone is the perfect size: It's sleek, small, lightweight, unobtrusive. Not much larger than a typical cell phone. It feels good in your hand. Whipping one out in a restaurant, bar, or other public place will not make you feel like a dork. To a casual observer, it's just another cell phone. Yawn. And therein lies the iPhone's appeal. When you use one, it looks like you are merely fiddling with your cell phone or PDA. And yet it's so much more than that.

My brother (a hardcore biker) and his wife have two iPhones, and they use them constantly. To the point of addiction.

But the iPad? No such luck. Pulling an iPad out of your backpack (you aren't going to keep it in your purse or pants pocket, are you?) in a public setting will announce your nerdiness to the world in big, flashing, neon letters. You may be a 'cool' nerd, but nerdy still. Even Steve Jobs (the poster boy for hip, cool techies) looks über-dorky holding one.

I know many people who do (or would) use an iPhone without hesitation, but "just don't get" things like the Amazon Kindle. They can't picture themselves dragging around a larger device, regardless of features.

Yeah, some people will buy the iPad. It might take a chunk out of the netbook market. But there are strong cultural factors that Apple must overcome in order to succeed with the iPad. The iPad, and other tech toys like it, will not become a ubiquitous presence like the iPhone–until the cultural issues become irrelevant, that is. And that may take a decade or more. Continue reading or add a comment»