Technews

EVERY MONDAY September 5, 2011

D3

By Allan D. Francisco

Steve Jobs reshaped the industries

U.S. Fights T-Mobile-AT&T Merger The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit opposing AT&T's planned takeover of T-Mobile, saying the huge merger would harm competition and ultimately American consumers. According to Justice officials, the deal is fundamentally disadvantageous for both the mobile phone market and subscribers. AT&T said it was surprised by the Justice Department's move. It plans to challenge the government's position in court. This corner applauds the U.S. government for looking after the interest and welfare of American subscribers. Definitely, too much market consolidation can only work against competition and consumer welfare. History tells us that when companies become too big, large enough to dictate what happens in the market, consumers are the first to suffer from increased prices and poorer quality of products and services. I guess, it would do a lot of good for the Philippine government to look closely at the AT&T and TMobile merger story. The local mobile phone industry is currently facing something similar with Smart's planned acquisition of rival Sun. Our suggestion, you might call it unsolicited advice, Mr. President, if it smells in anyway similar to its American counterpart, Malacanang should also oppose the local deal. After all, local consumers and their welfare could also use that kind of government protection. hen Steve Jobs resigned as the chief executive of Apple on Wednesday, his note to the public and the Apple board was short and classy. The gist was this: "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apples C.E.O., I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." As you can imagine, this news is rocking the world - and not just the tech world. Jobs, after all, has almost single-handedly reshaped a stunning range of industries: music, TV, movies, software, cellphones, and cloud computing. The products hes shepherded into existence with single-minded vision read like a Top 10 list, or a Top 50 list, of the worlds most successful inventions: Macintosh. iPod. iPhone. iTunes. iMovie. iPad. Hes done pretty well for Apple stockholders, too. Ten years ago Apples stock was at $9 a share; today, its $376. Apple is neck-andneck with Exxon Mobil for the title of worlds most valuable company. Most of the reactions online today read like obituaries - for Steve Jobs, if not for Apple. Is that appropriate? Well, only

Jobs is really gone. Aww!

f anybody ever needs a sign to convince himself that Steve Jobs has indeed relinquished day-to-day control of Apple, then he should

stop looking. Last week, there were reports by some media outlets, most of them incredulous needless to say, that yet again an Apple employee lost in a California bar what some quarters described as an iPhone 5 (or later) prototype. For those among you who have short-term memory loss, something exactly the same happened last year with the iPhone 4 prototype. Last year, Apple even had to resort to some bad-for-the-press lawsuits to recover the lost prototype and keep everything quiet and orderly. You know, like the way Steve Jobs have always wanted things to be. So, what does the whole brouhaha mean for Apple, certainly the world's coolest company right now? What does it mean for us, ordinary consumers who individually think the world revolves around them? Does Apple, contrary to all definitions of being a cool company, employ people so inept they would always bring some cool prototypes to some of California's more seedy establishments? And just as easily forget about them and leave those toys behind? Or have the company's marketing guys run out of ideas they had to recycle last year's storyboard? Either way, Apple is badly in need of those Jobsian marketing inspirations.

Jobss inner circle knows how sick he actually is. (He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004, had a liver transplant in 2009 and has had health troubles ever since.) But nobody, not even Jobs, can say for sure whether Apple can still be Apple without him at the helm. There are three reasons that it might - and one big reason that it might not. The good news: First, Jobs isnt leaving Apple. Hell remain as chairman of the Apple board. Tim Cook, whos been Apples director of operations for seven years, will take over as chief executive. You can bet that as chairman, Jobs will still be the godfather. Hell still be pulling plenty of strings, feeding his vision to his carefully built team, and weighing in on the companys compass headings. Second, the tech world doesnt turn on a dime. Apples pipeline is already stuffed with at least a couple of years worth of Jobs-directed products. In the short term, you wont see any difference in Apples output of cool, popular inventions. Third, even if Jobs isnt sitting at every design meeting, ripping apart or heartily embracing each idea presented to him, his tastes, methods and philosophies are deeply entrenched in the companys blood.

Few companies have as high a concentration of geniuses - in technology, design and marketing - as Apple. Leaders like the design god Jonathan Ive and the operations mastermind Tim Cook wont let the company go astray. So its pretty clear that for the next few years, at least, Apple will still be Apple without Jobs as involved as hes been for years. Despite these positive signs, theres one heck of a huge elephant in the room - one unavoidable reason why its hard to imagine Apple without Jobs steering the ship. (David Pogue, NYT)

Win a romantic getaway here

oveRepublik.com brings serious online dating to the Filipinos with its own concoction of technology and service made to suit the local palette. To get everyone in the mood for love, they offer every new subscriber a chance to win a Romantic Getaway to one of the three most romantic destinations in Europe. Says Allison Conde, PR Manager of LoveRepublik.com, Filipinos are quickly making more demands on what their online services should provide, we want to be a step ahead by providing them an online dating platform that is both safe and trust-

Power Mac Center in Pampanga

worthy, so they can fit romance into their lives that have been growing increasingly hectic." A unique feature of the site is the use of Love Chips. These Love Chips or points are accumulated just like experience points in an online game. If the subscriber uses features available on the site, such as chat, messaging, and more to communicate with others on their contacts list, the more Love Chips they accumulate. These points allow access to hidden features and can ultimately get real world tangible items.

Everything available to exchange for Love Chips is there to move the dating process forward. Subscribers can exchange them for flowers, drinks, dinners, and even hotel accommodations and airfare! With just an email address, some info, and your photo you can sign up for FREE and get a chance to win a Romantic European Getaway for two! Plus other items to help the winners prepare for the trip!

In photo during the Pampanga branch launch are Power Mac Centers President and CEO Lawrence Sison (middle) and Marketing Manager Joey Alvarez (3rd from right) with other PMC officers, the officiating priest and SM Pampangas Cherry Anne Taboso.

So, do you Google Sync?

Are you switching phones or computers any time soon and having a dilemma of how to transfer your data from one device to another? You dont have to worry, because theres Google Sync ready to serve. Google Sync has in fact been around for quite some time now, but still many people are clueless of this service. Thanks to our best friend Google, they have not settled only to be the best search engine there is, but also innovators of useful services that help us live a better life, technologically speaking. So what is Google Sync? Its basically a two-way service using over-the-air synchronization of Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar with our computer or mobile device. It works with PC, Mac, Linux, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian S60, iPhone, iPad, Windows Mobile, and other devices. What are the benefits you get when you use the service? Synchronize one and all. By simply following the instructions for your specific device at google. com/sync, you get to add, delete or change your data in Google and make it available to be synchronized to your mobile device (and vice versa). Any changes made to one device will be wirelessly synchronized to all other devices using the same Google account. Hassle-free data transfer. Whether you purchase a new phone or switch between two different mobile phone brands, your address book and calendar items are always ready to be viewed after a few minutes of synching. All you need is a working internet connection. Automatic synchronization. Never miss a calendar appointment ever again, because you can opt to either put the synching automatically or manually. Selecting Automatic will sync Google Calendar approximately every two

Glenn Richmond Ong

ower Mac Center (PMC), a chain of reliable retail shops and service providers of Apple products and premium accessories in the country, recently launched its newest Apple Authorized Reseller (AAR) store at Cyberzone in SM Pampanga. The ninth Power Mac Center store will provide Apple fans in Pampanga and nearby areas easier access to their favorite Apple products and accessories. The huge opening crowd, in fact, proved this. The store will also serve as a service drop-off point, becoming a convenient go-to place for non-Metro Manila customers looking for troubleshooting assistance with their Apple products. In addition, PMC Pampanga customers can now track the repair status of their products on the go via the newly launched online repair tracking service thru www.power-

maccenter.com. The Pampanga branch will also provide customers a by-appointment 1-on-1 training support for Macs. A Mac unit purchase from PMC also entitles the customer to an exclusive Mac tutorial session free of charge. Established in August 1994, Power Mac Center is a recognized Apple Premium Reseller,Apple Authorized Service Provider and Apple Authorized Training Center in the Philippines strategically located in nine major malls, eight of which are within Metro Manila: Greenbelt 3, TriNoma, The Annex at SM City North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Marikina, Power Plant Mall, SM Mall of Asia, and Festival Supermall. For more details on their latest offers and other Power Mac Center services and promos, as well as updates on the latest Apple products, visit their website at www.powermaccenter.com.

hours or whenever you make any changes on your mobile handheld, while selecting Manual will only sync updates when you want it. Minimal data usage. The Google Sync service is very helpful and yet syncing wirelessly over mobile connection utilizes minimal data usage only. As an example, you can already sync a total of 145 calendar updates and 30 address book updates using only 133 kilobytes. Runs on the background. Working on a document in your iPad? You wont even notice that synchronization is happening. Depending on which device you are using, the Google Sync app runs on the background, taking only a minimal portion of the RAM. That is how efficient it is. The next time your friend asks you how he can transfer data seamlessly in a quick, easy way, tell him to sign up for a Google account and make use of Google Sync.