Digital Living

How to un-freeze a "frozen" iPad?

It is almost never happen, yet after using it without ever "hang" nor "freeze" for 7-8 months of continuous use, today -- for the first time -- my iPad freeze!

Facing such situation, I tried to press the home button with the hope the iPad would respond, it didn't; I tried to press the power button, still no luck. Seems it is completely "frozen"!

If the iPad has a replaceable battery, my next natural instinct probably would be to pull the iPad battery out. But the iPad had no replaceable battery at all. So: what to do in such situation? How do we restart a "frozen" iPad?

Apparently the people at Apple has prepared a way-out for us to solve such problem, even though -- as in my case -- the iPad almost never never never never freeze at all (after 7-8 months of continuous use!)

This are steps to do:

1. Press the iPad's home button and the power button at the same time.
2. Hold it for 1 to 2 seconds.
3. Keep holding it until the screen becoming blank and the iPad restarts.

The above simpler steps seems sufficient to help you achieve your goal, and -- in my case -- it indeed restart my iPad and make it run again as normal successfully.

Hence: next time similar thing ever happen to you, please don't panickly ruin your iPad by trying to "peel off" its casing (to find where its internal battery is), or trying to creatively "slot in" a needle through the iPad's pinhole, etc. 

A simpler "press those-two-button" technique will do. ;-)

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May be iPad 2 will be announced by March 2 ...

... and by February 24 perhaps we will see the latest "reincarnation" of the MacBook Pro lines too.

Rumors said that this upcoming MacBook Pro ...

• will incorporate the new Intel i5 processor, 
• will have a better connectivity technology called Light Peak (rebranded "Thunderbolt") -- which gives higher-speed I/O connectivity between the MacBookPro computer and various external devices, 
• will include an SSD drive which would enable Instant On (or Instant Booting) capability -- similar to the iPad instant on capability, 
• will enable the user to store massive amount of data inside their computer, as this MacBook Pro line will have an internal 320Gb Hard drive accompanying the SSD Drive

If such specification is true, then definitely this would mark a pretty significant upgrade to the MacBook Pro line. It would bring a machine that is superbly fast (as it has fast processor), can transfer data in and out very rapidly (as it has fast I/O), will be able to instantly on (or very rapidly) with almost "zero" start-up (a.k.a boot) time -- similar to the instant on capability of the iPad, yet still allow people to store massive amount of data (because it is still being equipped with 320Gb of internal Hard drive).

This would be pretty fascinating "pro" machine to experience and see.

We will see whether the MacBook Pro line will indeed be revealed on February 24 (which was rumored to be the same day as Steve Job's birthday), and whether iPad 2 will be as exciting as people hope it to be, on March 2nd.

Fascinating!

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"Borders" filing for bankruptcy

We indeed enter a new era. After the shocking news of Blockbuster's bankruptcy last year (2010), this year Borders group -- the second largest US bookstore-chain, with 650 stores -- seems about to declare bankruptcy and plan to close around 30% of their underperforming stores. The stores scheduled to close are reported mainly to be all "superstores" which cost Border USD 2 million in losses per day!

I still remember Borders Bookstore as one of my "favourite destination" every time I visit Singapore since 10-15 years ago. And I still remember how I keep wondering several years back, how come -- even so many years after the internet era begin -- I still can't order those books online. As a result: I order my books online from the excellent Amazon.com, and never look back.

Today when I try to checkout how is Borders performing recently (and being curious whether I would be able to order books online now from their stores) I heard that the Borders Group itself is in the process of filing for bankruptcy. It's pretty sad news indeed, because while physical bookstores seem to tumble (it was reported Borders has posted USD 800 million in losses since 2006 as it lost marketshare to competitor -- such as Amazon.com), e-book business seems to flourish. In the beginning of 2011 Amazon.com's even repoted that their e-book sales is -- for the first time, in the US -- even larger than its paperback book sales!

Seems people indeed are still clamoring for books, it is just the way they want it delivered and packaged probably has significantly changed. 

Indeed, consumers around the globe probably has entered deeper and deeper level of the new digital era (and new digital way of doing things) whereby everything is being digitized. More and more business transforms (or innovatively being transformed) into digital everyday. Digitalization has touched music business, broadcasting business, video business, advertising business, book business, and seems it will for sure touches many more businesses to come.

Facing these tremendous changes, those companies that doesn't change in time, or "refuse" to change, or "pretend" that no changes is really happening nor necessary ... their market seems to dissipate very quickly.

Truly sad. 

ps: Borders opened in 1971 in Ann Arbor, MI. It grows to become the second largest US book-store chain with 650 stores. Yet, as it enters the digital era, it has to put a "RIP" banner on its stores, and filed for bankruptcy.

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Get Skype 5 now -- it enables you to do group video conference! ...

.. and even better: the new Skype 5 interface (at least as seen & experienced on my Mac) also makes it even simpler and easier for you to make skype-to-phone and skype-to-land-number calls too!

ps: With such, eventually, who would need "physical desk-phone" anymore? Skype simpler approach might (eventually) takes over.

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Are we seeing the "early sign" of the "total collapse" of the Nokia phone empire?

Reading today's news about "Nokia & Microsoft Partnership in the phone market" makes me awash and wonder: Are we seeing the "early sign" of the "total collapse" of Nokia phone empire? or are we seeing the "start" of something "different" instead?

Nokia as we knew it was once the king, the Raj, the emperor of phone market. Its phone was well-known for its simplicity; it was sleek, extremely easy to use, loveable phone for everybody. Nokia branded phones define "user interface excellence" of its era; something that other phone company seems hard to copycat, nor to compete with.

Yet, as the world's need transform from needing a "phone" into needing a "smarter-phone", from needing a "phone to talk" into needing a "phone to stay connected", Nokia offerings seems step by step felt being lag behind. Design wise, for quite some time Nokia sticks with its once very popular "candy bar" phone designs, along with its keyboard and stuff, while at the same time the market gradually moves forward towards touch. Even more disturbing: Nokia's underlying phone "operating system" seems increasingly lack many of the essential features that modern smartphone operating system need, while modern smartphone & tablet operating system consistently leap forward very fast to define a new defining standard.

As a result: we hear "the shocking news" that we saw today: "11.2.11 -- Nokia+Microsoft: Here We go!". 

While the "decisive act" taken by the Nokia management is "shocking", the key question to ask is: Is this the right strategy? 

What kind of "next generation phone" characteristic that we would see in the near future as Nokia -- the once king and maharaj or the "phone" empire" -- start embracing the currently unpopular (and increasingly irrelevant) Windows Phone OS to its currently unpopular "phones" and "smartphones"?

• Would we see a "better" Nokia phones in the near future -- as the result of this "strategic initiative" ?
• Would we see a "mass market" Nokia smartphones that is aimed solely towards the low-to-mid end market?
• Would we also see a "high-end" Nokia smartphone that would eventually be able to stand up equally (and as elegantly) as the current smartphone market leaders?

• ... Or  ... would we see the "early sign" on the "end" of the Nokia empire instead?

We don't know yet what this "two kings marriage" would produce until the first handset out of this "strategic combo" is released in the marketplace. We don't know yet whether it would be a beautiful promising charming princess that is coming out of this, ... or whether it would be a fading "frog". (Do take a look at the attached picture to "get a bit of the feel" of the conceptual ideas on how a Nokia+WindowsPhone smartphone combo might feel, behave & looks like).

In such context, the magnitude, consequences and impact of this decision is staggering. In one way, such decision might marks the "rebirth" of Nokia into the new age; in another way it might also marks the "final attempt" made by Nokia (and Microsoft in some way) to save its remaining castles, before the collapse of its remaining "phone system" empire.

We'll see how the future goes.

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Yesterday HP Releases TouchPad, Pre3 & Veer, and with such we no longer see any trace of the Palm brand in the market

Palm (or shall I call it HP) yesterday announced its latest WebOS based devices: the TouchPad -- a tablet with UI experience that seems as beautiful and as exciting as Apple's; the Pre 3 -- a smartphone for "pro"; and Veer -- an "S"-size smartphone device that is as small as a credit card!

While the innovation is pretty exciting, sadly it is at the same time marks an "end" to the existence of the Palm brand in the marketplace. WebOS is now called an HP WebOS, and none of these new devices carry the Palm logo nor the Palm brand anymore. Even the rumored tablet, which some people initially would be called "PalmPad", finally being introduced as an "HP TouchPad".

Palm was a great and iconic brand. Long before the days of iPhone, iPod and iPad, there was a time when Palm devices was everybody's favourite. Yesterday announcement, I guess marks the era when "Palm branded device" is sadly over. Tragically, while the Palm brand itself vanishes, at the same time, the Palm-Computing model that Palm successfully pioneer and initiated continue to flourish in the form of smartphone devices that skyrocket in terms of marketshare beyond PCs, as well as continue to evolve in the form of tablet devices that now extremely popular.

For Palm lovers, admirers and collectors, I guess the last of the great Palm device that you can buy (with Palm logo still attached behind it) is Palm Pre 2 and the Palm Pixi. After that, you will see HP devices and logo everywhere.

Is eliminating the Palm brand from WebOS based devices a correct branding judgment for HP/Palm? or would it be a "wrong" one? I personally think it's the wrong one. Similar to the Apple brand that was in "big trouble" 10-12 years ago, Palm brand until today still have alot of "iconic" factor to it that actually can be leveraged. In the case of Apple, Steve Jobs greatly turn around the situation, and makes everybody loves the Apple brand once more. The "soul" of the excitement is still there in the Apple brand, the same way it was still somewhere there in the Palm brand. 

Yet people and current management at HP might have different opinion and ideas about such. People might afraid that if they introduce something "Palm", the market will steer away from it. Such was not the case with Apple when Apple-brand was in its deepest trouble 10-12 years ago. Once people see that the innovation is truly great, people can re-attached their love and respect to the brand faster than everybody can imagine.

But the fact of the matter is: from now on it would no longer be a "Palm", instead it will be an HP. With such, life goes on, and we'll see how the future goes with the renewed "Palm computing segment" that HP yesterday initiated and starts to enter with HP's own brand / "re-brand".

"R.I.P" Palm. (1996-2011).

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