There was an interesting Apple iPad survey yesterday by one of the main Dutch news broadcaster (RTL4) asking:

Can you hardly wait to get the ‘revolutionary’ iPad?

21% said yes, while 78% said no, they can wait and RTL4 was also wondering in their broadcast what was so special about this new Apple tablet device; as was CNN, Wired Magazine and many Twitter Tweeters. One could argue that this survey is a positive for the iPad is still in pre-launch mode, yet then again, many will see this as a sign that the iPad is an iFail waiting to happen. (Apple stock ticker AAPL shows it down 4%+ last night)

Now this sounds familiar. Remember before the Apple iPhone came out (for instance, “Why the Apple phone will fail, and fail badly” from pre iPhone launch 2006)? Same sort of surveys and opinions it seems. As a matter of a fact, there was a time there just before the launch of the iPhone that many saw it being a complete and utter failure! To be honest, I was one of them. Wow was I wrong! (Just do this Google search, “iPhone will fail“, which I searched on dates from 2005 till end 2006 and it is kind of amazing!),  Read more... (331 words, 1 image, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

Apple Said to be Talking With Microsoft to Replace Google on iPhone… (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTsv9n41LCBM&pos=1

Bing has not looked bad as a search engine, this is very true. Wow, between Android, China and now this, has not really been Google’s week (Stock symbol: GOOG) – Conspiracy corner: Little know fact: Bill Gates made a huge investment in Apple, before Jobs came back on the scene in the late 90’s (1997)…. That’s right, Microsoft is (was?) a happy investor in Apple and literally may have saved the company at the conjuncture as well! See:
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-202143.html
Well, if you need desktop search for your Desktop Publishing file formats such as Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress, just let us know:
http://pagezephyr.com

“Electronic books may transform publishing industry” read the title on MarketWatch.com and the tag-line was, “Executives discuss impact of e-books at Frankfurt Books Fair.”

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Electronic books may transform not only the publishing industry, but the very definition of what constitutes a book. E-books — whether read on an iPhone, a Kindle or a laptop — are a hot topic at this week’s Frankfurt Book Fair.

“Books are just devices. Wikipedia is the new Britannica,” said Ronald Schild, managing director of Germany-based MVB Marketing- und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels GmbH.

“Digital content is superior in many ways,” Schild said Thursday at a panel discussion on electronic books at the fair. “Reading today is solitary process, but there are many other ways of reading. [In the future,] it may become more of a conversation.”

While electronic books still account for only a small part of global publishing, their popularity is growing. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN ) , which sells the electronic-book reader Kindle, is facing growing competition from other e-reader producers. In addition, many users are reading electronic content on their laptops, PCs and multi-functional mobile devices such as Apple Inc.’s (AAPL 189.91, -1.39, -0.72%) iPhone.  Read more... (692 words, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)