Remembering Steve Jobs: ProPakistani

Remembering Steve Jobs
Apple After iPhone 4S
Mobilink Showcased Galaxy Tab 10.1 at Meetab

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 01:44 AM PDT

A person who was amongst the top influencers of our age is no more with us. The world is sad today; tech giants, celebrities, political tops are paying tribute to the person who changed the lives of billions.

Bill Gates Notes: "I will miss steve immensely. On his website Mr. Gates writes:

"I'm truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs' death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.

The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

Barack Obama, President of United States reacted by calling Steve "among the greatest of American innovators." White House Blog reads:

"Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.

By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun.

And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.

The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve's wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him."

Sergey Brin's, Chairman and co-founder Google:

"From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no farther than Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the macbook I am writing this on right now). And I have witnessed it in person the few times we have met.

On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much. My condolences to family, friends, and colleagues at Apple."

Larry Page's, CEO and co-founder Google:

"I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. My thoughts and Google's are with his family and the whole Apple family."

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder and CEO said:

“Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.”

Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO:

“Steve was a teacher to anyone paying attention, and today is a very sad day for everyone who cares about innovation and high standards.”

Howard Stringer, CEO Sony:

“The digital age has lost its leading light, but Steve’s innovation and creativity will inspire dreamers and thinkers for generations.”

Randal Stephenson, Chairman and CEO AT&T

“Steve was an iconic inventor, visionary, and entrepreneur, and we had the privilege to know him as partner and friend.”

Paul Otellini, CEO Intel:

“True genius is measured by the ability to touch every person on the planet. Steve did that, not just once, but many, many times over his amazing life.”

Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney Co

“Steve was such an original, with a thoroughly creative, imaginative mind that defined an era. Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started.”

Mayayoshi Son, Founder of Japan's Softbank

“Steve was truly a genius of our time, a man with a rare ability to fuse art and technology. In centuries from now, he will be remembered alongside Leonardo da Vinci.”

Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur,

“The PC era is officially over. #RIP #STEVEJOBS

Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Inc

“Today the world lost a visionary leader, the technology industry lost an iconic legend and I lost a friend and fellow founder. The legacy of Steve Jobs will be remembered for generations to come.”

Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner

“The world is a better place because of Steve, and the stories our company tells have been made richer by the products he created.”

Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter

“Once in a rare while, somebody comes along who doesn’t just raise the bar, they create an entirely new standard of measurement. #RIPSteveJobs”

Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman The New York Times,

“Steve Jobs was a visionary and a wonderful friend of The New York Times. He pushed the boundaries of how all providers of news and information interact with our users.”

Here's more coverage on Steve Jobs:

Time Magazine: Steve Jobs, 1955-2011: Mourning Technology’s Great Reinventor
WSJ: Apple's Steve Jobs is Dead
Bloomberg: Steve Jobs, Who Built World's Most Valuable Technology Company, Dies at 56
Reuters: A world without Steve Jobs
AP: The World-Changer: Steve Jobs knew what he wanted
ThisIsMyNext: Steve Jobs: 1955-2011
Los Angeles Times: Steve Jobs dies; Apple's co-founder transformed computers and culture
BoingBoing: Steve Jobs has died
People: Steve Jobs, Apple's Visionary, Dies
The Guardian: Steve Jobs obituary
The New York Times: Steve Jobs, Apple's Visionary, Dies at 56
The Financial Times: Apple: Jobs done but magic lingers
PCWorld: Apple Chairman Steve Jobs Dead at 56
The Economist: Steve Jobs
Wired: Steve Jobs, 1955-2011
Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Steve Jobs Departs a World He Helped Transform

Co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs was remembered at Apple as a “visionary and creative genius, dear friend and inspiring mentor.” He remained on the Board of Directors after he resigned as Apple CEO a few months ago.

One of Jobs’ last public appearance at an Apple Special event to unveil the new iPad 2 on March 2, 2011 in San Francisco, California.

One of Jobs’ last contributions – the iPhone 4 which he showed off at the 2010 Apple World Wide Developers conference on June 7, 2010 in San Francisco, California.

Steve Jobs back after medical leave, appears in January 2010, with the new iPad which has become the most desired object by technophiles ahead of the cellphone and laptop.

On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled a long-anticipated mobile phone device dubbed an “iPhone” that kick-started a new wave of smartphone generation.

In 2008, Jobs is all smiles as he holds up the new Mac Book Air after his speech to kick off 2008 Macworld. He took a medical leave of absence the following year.

In 2006, Disney bought Pixar for $7.4bn, making Steve Jobs Disney’s largest individual shareholder.

Steve Jobs in June 2004, announces the release of OSX Tiger and a new line of flat panel cinema displays including the first 30-inch model designed for the personal computer.

At the 2022 MacWorld Expo, Jobs introduces the all-new, flat-panel iMac computer which is now an icon for Pixar Pictures acquired in 1986 by Apple before Disney bought it in 2006.

Apple expanded its best-selling iPod series with a nano and video version. The product revolutionized how people listened to and bought music.

May 2001, sees Jobs introducing Apple’s new operating system Mac OS X during his keynote address at the World Wide Developers Conference in San Jose, California

In 2000, Apple Computer sees the iMac unveiled at the Macworld Conference in July as well as the G4 cube, new dual-processor G4s, a new mouse, new keyboard and new software.

Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as an adviser after it bought NeXT for $430m.

1993 file photo of Steve Jobs with an early version of the Apple Macintosh PC

In 1986, Jobs founded a new company called NeXT. Its first computer went on sale three years later for $6,500

In 1977 Steve Jobs (left) chairman of Apple Computers, John Sculley (center) president and CEO, and Steve Wozniak (right), co-founder of Apple, unveil the new Apple IIc computer in San Francisco

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak first began Apple in a Silicon Valley garage. Steve Jobs sold his VW van to help finance the venture. Their first computer went on sale in 1976 for $666.66.

In 1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak unveiled the first Apple computer in Palo Alto, California. It consists of little more than a circuit board and costs just under 0. A year later The Apple II with a one-megahertz processor becomes the first mass prod

The home and garage where Steve Jobs and his partner Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in Los Altos, California

Via BBC, Reuters and others

To read more, click: Remembering Steve Jobs
ProPakistani.PK

Apple After iPhone 4S

Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:05 PM PDT

At the "Lets talk iPhone" event, most of the people were expecting the long awaited arrival of the next-gen iPhone 5. Instead, they got the iPhone 4S, same design as the iPhone 4 with better processor and camera, one can easily say that it's an updated iPhone 4. This was disappointing for many for number of reasons.

Toughening Competition

First of all, Android. The iPhone 4 was falling down the list of best phones available in the market. Before the announcement for the iPhone 4S, there were at least half a dozen phones that were much better bang-for-buck than the iPhone.

Even Sony Ericsson had people excited with their new phones running on Android. The iPhone 4 simply wasn't as good as the HTC Sensation's and the Samsung Galaxy S ll's. And that led people to think that Apple would release something (iPhone 5) that would blast away the competition but this clearly didn't happen.

Check below comparison yourself – Green background is for the winner.

iPhone 4S is obviously not the best phone in the market, there are better Android phones out there which outperform it. Sure, they've innovated with Siri, the personal assistant, but it isn't revolutionary to the point that people will flock to buy the iPhone 4S because of it.

Long Wait for Next iPhone

There's also the fact that the time between new releases for Apple is much more than the Android competition. With phones like Galaxy S ll HD, HTC Titan and Droid Bionic slated for release in the upcoming months, the iPhone 4S might fall down the pecking order fast.

Expectations Were Not Met

Another reason is that Apple has managed to grab plentiful of fan-boys, with top possible expectations. Obviously, from a company like Apple, they will expect high. But they got shattered when an ordinary product surfaced. You will agree that the similar smartphone from a different company could have received different kind of feedback altogether.

So Apple is always at the cutting edge of stuff and the iPhone 4S simply failed to "wow" everyone. Speculations about the iPhone 5 were reaching a frenzy point before the event. A report suggested that more than half of North America would buy an iPhone 5. But what people got was the iPhone 4S, whose rumors, by the way only surfaced and picked up steam few days before the launch from sources that are not the usual and reliable ones.

Stock Effect

Reflecting the disappointment of the announcement, Apple stocks fell 5% after the announcement on Tuesday with the stock being down 9% at one point (see picture below). The fall however was recorded when the market itself was down. Right now, the stock seems to be recovering and will continue to do so as sales reports for the iPhone 4S come in. But that would not please Apple and their fans.

Usually after major announcements, one expects stock to explode which didn't happen. Recently Amazon stock went up 2.5% on the announcement of the Kindle Fire. And also, as Apple stock was going down, Microsoft and RIM stock went up. So have we got a comeback from these companies on our hands on the back of the new BlackBerry lineup and Windows Phone updates? Only time will tell.

The fall in stock for Apple can be attributed to a number of things. Apple has a history of its stock falling after major announcements (except for the iPad 2). Their stock fell more than 5.5% when the iPhone 4 was announced and it went on to become a huge money maker for the company and one of the most successful smartphones of all time.

There is also the fact that Apple is very secretive about their products. There are no prototypes, no statements. We see the products when they are near to sale or close to sale. And with Apple's success, that leads to rumors everywhere and unrealistic expectations.

Also, there are people who are trying to make money by buying stock and selling it just before the announcement of the product; Apple just might be a victim of its own success.

So will Apple be able to continue their domination and post huge profits? Or did the company make a mistake by disappointing their fans by releasing the iPhone 4S instead of the iPhone 5?

Feel free to share you opinion in the comments!

Note: This opinion was written before the death announcement of Steve Jobs.

Spec comparison via Engadget

To read more, click: Apple After iPhone 4S
ProPakistani.PK

Mobilink Showcased Galaxy Tab 10.1 at Meetab

Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:00 PM PDT

Read this post in Urdu

Mobilink organized a meetup for the bloggers in Islamabad to preview the new Samsung Galax 10.1 called the 'Meetab'

The Meetab, attended by over 50 bloggers from Islamabad, was a fun-packed social gathering with interesting talks on the impact of social media, the new jazz bananas and features of the new Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tab, the first ever dual-core smart tablet to hit Pakistan.

The bloggers also took part in various activities such as a quiz, a space invaders game and the most interesting of all – The Tweetathon.

The Tweetathon was an activity where bloggers had to generate maximum number of mentions with the hashtag #Meetab in a limited frame of time. Pakistani twittersphere was soon flooded with #Meetab hashtag, which of coursed offended some users.

Eventually Ehtisham Khan won the Tweetathon by generating over 200+ tweets and won the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tab.

Mobilink affirms that it will continue the tradition of having various blogger meetups around various parts of Pakistan in the future too.