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Why We Need Steve Jobs
Daniel Lyons 6/23/2009 12:00:00 AM
I just spent an hour waiting in a line at an Apple store to buy a product I do not need. It's the new top-of-the-line iPhone 3GS, and it costs $299, and I waited in line for it even though I already have last year's iPhone 3G model, not to mention a NEWSWEEK-issued BlackBerry, a low-end Nokia "feature phone," and a new Palm Pre, albeit a loaner unit. Why did I do this? Well, the new iPhone has a faster processor than its predecessor, and a better camera, and it shoots video. It also has more memory, so I can carry around more songs or movies. But really, I did it because I trust that whatever Apple puts out will be worth the money. I did it because I always want to have the latest and greatest from Apple. You see, Apple and its loyal customers (like me) have made a deal: it'll keep improving its products at a fantastic pace, and killing off its own products. In return, we'll keep buying whatever it makes.
Control Issues
Evgeny Morozov 6/20/2009 12:00:00 AM
The mandatory requirement that all computers sold in China carry security software has caused a stir among Chinese Internet users. Officially, the purpose of the Green Dam-Youth Escort software is to shield kids from online pornography, but most China watchers expect Beijing to use the program to block access to sensitive political and social online resources that the regime considers dangerous. The program is designed to thwart not just the browsing of undesired content, but also attempts to create unwanted content—it would shut down your word-processing program if the novel you're writing contains too many illicit words. And it can learn new words too, automatically installing updates to its text and image vocabularies.
Bumper Crop
Daniel Lyons 6/8/2009 12:00:00 AM
There was loads of speculation that Apple CEO Steve Jobs might make a surprise appearance at the company's annual developer conference in San Francisco today. In typical Apple fashion, the company did nothing to stamp out those rumors. For example, they might have simply told people that the rumors were not true and that Jobs would not attend the show. Instead, Apple exploited the hype and let everyone sit there waiting for Jobs to show up, proving once again that there is nothing, and I mean nothing, these guys won't do to get their fanboys worked into a frenzy. Alas, in the end, Dear Leader did not show. But the company unleashed a barrage of new products, including a new iPhone that sets Apple even farther ahead of its rivals in the smart-phone market. In fact, at this point Apple appears to be almost untouchable in this space, which is turning out to be the most important sector of the computing market.
The Spy In Your Hand
Benjamin Sutherland 6/6/2009 12:00:00 AM
Don't talk: your cell phone may be eavesdropping. Thanks to recent developments in "spy phone" software, a do-it-yourself spook can now wirelessly transfer a wiretapping program to any mobile phone. The programs are inexpensive, and the transfer requires no special skill. The would-be spy needs to get his hands on your phone to press keys authorizing the download, but it takes just a few minutes—about the time needed to download a ringtone.
The Palm Pre: iPhone Killer?
Daniel Lyons 6/4/2009 12:00:00 AM
Apple fanboys can breathe easy. The new Palm Pre smart phone has arrived, and while it's a terrific phone, it's no iPhone killer. But it does have some things that the iPhone lacks, like a physical keyboard. Its software and user interface are magical. And its multitouch screen is arguably better than the multitouch screen on the iPhone, which pioneered this technology. Despite all this, and despite what Palm's sugar-daddy investor, Roger McNamee, said a few months ago, not many people are going to race out and dump their iPhones in favor of the Pre. I know I won't.
We Do Not Trust Machines
Evgeny Morozov 5/23/2009 12:00:00 AM
When Ireland embarked on an ambitious e-voting scheme in 2006 that would dispense with "stupid old pencils," as then–prime minister Bertie Ahern put it, in favor of fancy touchscreen voting machines, it seemed that the nation was embracing its technological future. Three years and €51 million later, in April, the government scrapped the entire initiative. High costs were one concern—finishing the project would take another €28 million. But what doomed the effort was a lack of trust: the electorate just didn't like that the machines would record their votes as mere electronic blips, with no tangible record.