Probably like a lot of people I would quite like the opportunity to own one of Apple’s iconic iPhones. One reason why I don’t is that they are not available in Dubai, at least not unless you have bought one in the US and have managed to unlock it. The main reason though, both for myself and I guess a lot of people in the UK for not getting one is the cost, not only for the handset itself but also the required 18 month contract.

Price cut on 8Gb iPhone

The big news in the mobile computing world today is the surprise announcement by O2 that they are cutting the price of the 8Gb model iPhone by a huge £100. The 16Gb model will remain at the same price. A lot of people have been speculating that this is price cutting on the cheaper model to shift existing stock prior to the imminent release of a 3G iPhone. This actually sounds plausible although of course no one from Apple has ever mentioned 3G officially.

iPod Touch

As I have said before the best way and most cost effective to access the iPhone platform is to go for the iPod Touch, which provides all the features except the phone capability.

Hot on the heals of yesterdays post about the BBC’s iPlayer being released on the Nintendo Wii comes the news that iPlayer is available on the Playstation 3! However in this case its not official, but has been done through the enterprising efforts of a PS3 owner who wasn’t willing to wait for an official version.

iPlayer easy on the PS3

Apparently the owner did it as a demonstration on how easy it would be for the BBC to support the PS3, and according to his website required only small tweaks to make the Javascript and CSS to make it work. Meanwhile the BBC have said that they will get around to the implementing the iPlayer on the PS3, but that this would have to wait in line along with all the other plans for the player. However the fact that someone has manage to get the iPlayer working on the PS3 has so impressed the BBC that they have offered them a job!

So with the iPlayer reasonably imminent, and with Sony’s Blu-ray winning the DVD format wars, now might be a good time to invest in a new Playstation 3.

How do you plan to access the iPlayer?

One of the biggest ideas from a technology perspective to hit the UK recently has been the BBC iPlayer. After a slow start this technology has really begun to take off, especially since the ability to stream programmes rather than just download them was added. In fact the popularity of the service has grown so much that the UK Internet service providers (ISP) are now complaining about the strain that it is putting on their networks. Being based in Dubai where the available TV is generally very poor, I am extremely envious of the UK residents ability to access the technology. Especially since I am still actually a holder of a UK TV licence!

Future plans

However having now got the technology now more or less sorted out the BBC are looking to add incremental new features to the service over the coming months, which should increase the usability and appeal of the service still further. So the UK ISP’s had better get their networks sorted out!

Wii to become iPlayer access device

One example of this incremental approach is the fact that the iPlayer will soon be available on the Nintendo Wii, which has become the fastest selling games console ever launched in the UK. The iPlayer will be soon be a channel on the Wii with an early test version available from this month, followed by updated versions later in the year. If you do plan to use this service, you may find that a USB Datel Direct LAN Adapter makes good sense rather than relying on the WiFi, especially if streaming.

Do you use the iPlayer?

I think you may have guessed by now that I am a big fan of online applications. I believe that in the near future a lot of us will use these applications, and that they will be the basis for a lot of new internet companies. The startup of internet companies around online applications is set to become potentially much easier. The latest news in the online application space is the announcement of Google’s new App Engine which is designed to let the designers of software as a service applications to outsource hosting and data storage for their applications by using key elements of Google’s infrastructure.

Google App Engine

Essentially the Google App engine is very similar in concept to the popular services that Amazon has made available and are presently used by many internet startups. There is one major difference and that is that the Google approach is a complete bundled service. This in theory will make it much easier for the developers and entrepreneurs, but I am sure the news will start a lot of discussions around the world about the advisability of putting all your startup’s eggs in Google’s one basket. I can see good arguments for and against. What about you?

Stylish Desktop

Of course if you have a great idea that is just busting to turned into an online application, you will need a computer that defines you as the entrepreneur that you are! How about this Sony Vaio all in one desktop which is both functional and stylish?

I have talked about virtual or online office capability before and there is an ever increasing number of companies with online applications that are providing productivity application functionality. Increasingly these applications are taking advantage of Adobe’s flash technology.

Adobe themselves are fast becoming somewhat of a major player in the online productivity applications space. They have recently bought an online flash based word processor, and have a stake in an online calendar and notebook application. It will not be long before they will end up with a complete online office based on their technology, one that has the potential to become a significant competitor to Microsoft’s and Google’s online suites.

Adobe has recently taken this plan for world domination one step forward by starting to build online versions of their own applications. Adobe last week announced the availability of Adobe Photoshop Express. This is an online image storage and editing application which will allow you to do some basic manipulation of images, and comes with about 2GB of storage. For most people though this is not yet going to provide a serious alternative to Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop elements on the desktop. However it does show Adobe’s believe in the online platform and for many people may well be a useful extension of the capabilities provided by Photoshop.

What do you think? Are you a believer in online applications? Have you tried Photoshop Express?

What do you think the office of the near future is going to be like? Will it be much the same as present with slightly faster computers with perhaps video conferencing being used more effectively? Or do you think it will be more radically changed with more people working in virtual teams or virtual companies, requiring a greater reliance on mobile and web based technologies to get things done.

Virtual office

Well IBM have been considering this problem too, and they have predicted that the virtual office will increasingly become more important, driven by such things as globalisation and increasing concerns about the environment meaning less travel. This will mean that the work environment will be become more centred around mobile platforms with increasing reliance on social networking and instant messaging for communication, with no place for desktop PC’s, phones or email. They also predicted that the traditional meeting would change rapidly as 3D and gaming tools would become more important enabling the ability to hold quick online meetings.

But when?

What I like about this sort of thing is that no-one ever specifies a timeline in which this is all going to happen! But for me, if I look at the way my kids use instant messaging and their mobile phones for all their communications, then indeed I can see that shortly there will be future generations of workers used to working together in these ways. The desktop is on its way out already with laptops now outselling them. I do believe however the inertia and the gatekeeper role of IT in large organisations, will serve as a drag on any quick change. I also think that 3D and gaming tools will first make their mark in the area of training, where I believe there is huge potential.

In the meantime I have been looking for a web cam to support my new virtual workplace! This Philips webcam which comes with a Multimedia headset and boom microphone caught my eye.

What do you think the office of the future will be like?

The iPhone is continuing along its disruptive path in the world of mobile computing. The iPhone, while actually having a very small foot print in terms of global mobile phones, (it is slightly bigger if you only look at “Smart phones”), is having a significant impact on the whole approach and the success of mobile computing. The iPhone has a significant number of issues, which can be quickly run off along the lines of:

• Lack of 3G - significant problem for surfing
• Low quality camera - way behind some of the competition
• Software and usability issues - learning curve with the keypad and lack of effective search

Despite these ongoing issues the iPhone is having a significant impact in some unexpected areas. One of these areas is in web browsing. Despite the lack of 3G the iPhone is credited with significantly driving up the level of data use on networks, and is becoming the websurfing platform of choice for a growing number of people. It also seems to be getting a disproportionate focus from 3rd parties. Last week the BBC launched a version of its iPlayer for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Users will be able to view streaming video of shows over WiFi networks. This might disappoint a number of people who would have preferred to be able to download the video to the device. The BBC has said that the iPlayer will be supported on a large number of projects in the future but it is interesting that they choose the Apple devices first.

In related news Apple have also finally announced their iPhone software development kit (SDK), and an application store so that users can browse for soon to be available 3rd party applications. Good 3rd party applications will increase further the viability of the platform for mobile computing. If you don’t need or want the phone capabilities I would say that the iPod Touch is increasing looking like a great buy.

I asked my son today if he knew what Netscape was and was really quite surprised to learn that he didn’t have a clue! To me it seems like only yesterday that the Netscape browser was bringing the Internet to the masses with this new thing called the “World Wide Web”. I heard a comment on a podcast today that equated Internet years to dog years, in other words 1 year on the Internet is like 7 normal years. That seems to ring true, especially given that my sixteen year old son doesn’t even know what Netscape is, and its already a long time since Netscape lost the browser wars.

This week AOL the current owner of the Netscape brand has announced that the Netscape browser will be no longer be supported. This sort of makes sense given that its market share is only around 0.5%, and that nearly everyone who would of been a Netscape user, is now probably using the Firefox browser anyway. In fact AOL is recommending that the remaining users upgrade to either Firefox or Internet Explorer, but my recommendation would be Firefox.

Netscape really was the start of the Internet for most people, and it is a shame to see the name finally go. It is the end of a era. For all those Nestcape users who will still need a computer on which to use their shinny new browser, I suggest having a look at the Fujitsu-Siemens AMILO Pro V3515 Notebook!

I came across a number of interesting items of news regarding laptops today while procrastinating on writing an article for work and I thought I would share some of the news with you!

Olympic Laptops

Lenovo the company that I have discussed recently has opened an auction on eBay for a series of special laptops bearing the “Cloud of Promise” theme to commemorate this year’s Bejing Olympics. In the UK the auction has started with a limited-edition Lenovo 3000 V2000, which is one of the new ultra portable editions of Lenovo’s popular consumer notebook. This one is autographed by UK Olympic medalist and badminton star Gail Emms. The proceeds of the auction go to the Lenovo Hope Fund charity, so if you’re interested get bidding.

One Laptop per Child

Other news was regarding the very interesting and in my view very important “One laptop per Child” project. Firstly the announcement that despite the negative position to the project taken by the governments of India and Nigeria, extremely successful pilot projects are now under way in both of these countries. These projects will hopefully show these countries the benefits of getting involved. Interestingly a lot of the testing of the wireless mesh capabilities of the laptop was done on an Australian farm in the outback by a volunteer farmer. His farm was considered ideal as it provided similar conditions to third world countries.

Lost Laptops

The Irish government has recently admitted that around 80 unencrypted laptops, USB drives and blackberries have either been lost or stolen in the last five years. So the UK government is not alone in this ability to lose potentially personal data on behalf of its citizens. This suggests to all of us that we need to think about encryption for our own laptops, and perhaps especially for USB drives which are so easily lost.

Featured Laptop

In the meantime after all that news why don’t you have a look at PriceGrabber’s featured laptop the Acer Aspire 5920 Notebook, just don’t lose it!

Dell is to remain focused on the computer business, so said Michael Dell yesterday. Dell has been touted as a potential buyer for the struggling Motorola group, and they really don’t want to talk about phones. Which of course means that Dell probably do have a phone in the works, or perhaps are looking at Motorola. If Dell really are looking at bringing out a phone, or buying an existing manufacturer, I am not sure that would be a good move for the company. It would show that Dell have moved from being a leader in logistics and efficient manufacturing to a follower of trends. Whenever they have tried that sort of thing in the past it has not really been too successful. What do you think? Should Dell stay focused on computers?

Motorola have also been in the news for having been passed by Apple in Q4 for numbers of “smart” phones shipped. That is pretty good going from a standing start at the beginning of 2007.

Apple does not look to be slowing down either, with the release today (in the US) of a new 16GB iPhone model in the States. So no 3G yet! In fact nothing else has changed on the new model except for the boost in capacity. The iPod Touch also gets the same treatment with a new 32 GB model being released, also just in the States at present.

There is no news yet when these models will be available in the UK, but I doubt that there will be too much of a delay.

Update: Good news! Both the models are available in the UK. The UK apple site must have been updated only hours after I wrote the above!