Its unlikely that Apple (or anyone) will catch up with Google for Maps.
Simply put, this is not just a matter of aggregating mapping data (which is a huge job, that Google has many more years of experience at and something like 6000 people working full time on.)
Its also a search problem. And again its unlikely that anyone (especially a non-search engine company) will be able to match what Google can do there.
This is the same reason Siri kind of sucks and simply doesn't match what Googles voice queries can do. The backend searches are simply much better in Google land than in Apples. Doesn't really matter how much you improve the top layer if the data underneath is inadequate.
Google should package Android and Motorola and spin it off. Then they could partner with Apple to provide the best in breed search to iOS customers (who appear to be the best source of revenue for Google because they do use the Internet more than Android.)
Not likely to happen though. Too many egos in the way.
Quite possibly true in the distant path. But demonstrably untrue since the Age of the Enlightenment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment) and the improvement in mankind's general condition from the accompanying industrial revolution.
You direct people away from what you are doing by simply relabeling it. The "institution of peace" instead of "institution of war" (Orwell's example was Ministry of Peace (war), Ministry of Love (torture), Ministry of Plenty (generally supplying barely enough to keep people from starving.)
The point is, does Nvidia consider the Linux market for their hardware big enough to justify open sourcing their drivers making it easier for their competition to see what they are doing.
For the desktop market Linux doesn't have enough penetration to seriously impact their sales. A slightly slower driver will be sufficient for most people and the number additional sales by having a GPL'd driver is probably not enough to make them GPL it.
Remember they consider that a GPL driver in Linux will impact their sales in the Windows market where they actually do make money.
Android may change this if it becomes a significant driver for sales of Nvidia parts.
And as Apple's maps database tech gets better so will Googles.
If Apple is serious about mapping they need to get an army of people doing the same things as Googles army of people working on their maps are doing (7000 people by some accounts.)
This is also a search engine issue in some respects... First you need the actual map data, then POI's, then the ability to search for some random thing and if possibly get an address that can then be displayed by the actual app on the phone.
The TomTom map data seems to be less goodly than Googles. The POI database (TomTom and probably lots of other sources) also seems to suck by comparison. If you are not searching via Googles search engine then probably the results there are not as complete as could be...
If Apple really wants to compete they have to solve all of the above issues. Its not just the map database, not just the POI database, you also need to tie it together with a kick ass search capability. Google has all of that and their end product improves daily. It will take a boatload of cash over years before Apple can seriously compare services.
That said the actual iOS app is pretty! Unfortunately Google's app when it is released will probably have a similar look and feel but be plugged into a much better search engine, a much better POI database, and better map database (and don't forget streetview!)
One of the interesting tidbits about streetview, Google apparently does pattern recognition to pull out data from signs, house addresses etc... So even if you don't actually use streetview you are benefiting from it when you do searches.
Except that for China Foxconn pays relatively high wages.
They use people because it allows them more flexibility in changing their production lines to adapt to their customers (Apple, Samsung et al) and higher quality where needed.
That said they will move to robots where possible when possible where it saves money, time or improves quality.
I'm waiting to see the riot when the two groups of agitators meet in front of Foxconn. One group complaining about Foxconn overworking its employees. The other group complaining that Foxconn is underworking (aka laying off) their employees. News at 11:00 brought to you by the Western World 24 hour news channels...
But obviously something. For example the vast majority of people who worked on farms 100 years ago are simply no longer needed there. Something like 50% of the population was needed to produce the food we eat back then. So one would assume that if the unemployment rate is less than 50% then something else must have popped up to for those people to do.
Ditto for most any manufacturing job that was done in the middle of the last century. E.g. the number of people required to build a car in 1950 vs. 2010. Yes, some of those jobs have gone overseas. But even if you pulled every one of them back on shore you would find that the number of people employed in the automotive industry would still be FAR less than it was 20-30-40 years ago. And they would be producing FAR more cars per employee now.
Most of the "raw materials" for something like an iPhone come from outside of China anyway. Foxconn is not making things up out of raw materials. They take chips and boards and batteries and glass and assemble it. The rest of the stuff is manufactured across the world by specialist factories.
Except of course that guy is maintaining multiple robots and the robots cost enough that their amortized cost / year for capital is many thousands of dollars.
But it does end up being cheaper, faster and in most cases with higher and more consitant quality.
Apple doesn't have Foxconn build their products because Foxconn is the cheapest place to build their products. Foxconn does the best job for the price paid.
Unfortunately Canada is a union friendly country. Until we get right to work laws think southern US states where you are not required to join a union to work in a factory.
You may or may not agree with unions on principle, but the fact remains that the jobs will migrate to where the cost of labor stays low and union demands are minimal. It is not a choice of a union or no union. Its a choice between unions and no jobs.
iPad mini's will be more mobile out of doors. They'll sell a higher proportion of LTE versions than the larger iPad.
iPads are perfect for PDF documents. But a bit big for reading novels in bed.
iPad mini's are about the right size for recreational reading. And again more portable (fit in purse or backpack better) so more likely to be with you for reading.
Both sizes will sell well. They solve different problems.
My understanding is that in an accident the driver of the car has to prove that the cyclist was at fault. The cyclist does not normally have to prove the car driver did anything wrong.
In the US and Canada the courts don't assume anything and tend to assume that anyone breaking the law starts out being at fault and has to work from that position if they want to show the other party was really the cause of the accident. Also our courts are happy to assign % blame, so even if the car driver was "at fault" if you where breaking the law then the court might say you where 25% responsible and reduce your damages.
But joggers should. They go just fast enough that tripping and falling could (and has on occaion) cause a serious head injury.
And, they tend to run across intersections at speeds where they might not be seen by someone in a car driving through (hey I know you have the right of way, but 3000lbs versus 150lbs means you really don't want to be a victim of my mistake.)
All in all... all joggers should wear helmets.
This would also be a boon to the economy. Think of all the jobs (well some will be offshore) that will be created in the design, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, marketing and sales of many millions of these helmets. The revenue from enforcement alone will cause many municipal governments to avoid bankruptcy!
Pretty much anything can and will be used by various factions to garner support for their causes. Hatred is such a motivating force to get people on your side.
I was getting an Ultrasound directed procedure done a year ago and commented to the Doctor doing it that the very expensive (I think GE) device he was using would be available as a dongle and iPhone app within a year or two.
He bristled at the suggestion saying that it wouldn't replace his decade of experience using them and interpreting the results.
I can sympathize to a certain extent. But I suspect that there are still a vast range of simple procedures that could be helped with this type of device. That over time more MD's (especially in the 3rd world) will gain experience (the hard way by simply using them.)
And since these are connected to devices with amazing amounts of CPU power machine based diagnostic tools will also be just around the corner.
There will still be the hard corner cases where only an experience and well practiced professional should be using this or something more expensive to figure something out (the "House" scenarios.) But there will also be a much better care at lower cost for a wide range of things.
Slashdot Mirror
In all but one location (now conveniently marked by a pole) you can easily walk in a Southerly direction.
Its unlikely that Apple (or anyone) will catch up with Google for Maps.
Simply put, this is not just a matter of aggregating mapping data (which is a huge job, that Google has many more years of experience at and something like 6000 people working full time on.)
Its also a search problem. And again its unlikely that anyone (especially a non-search engine company) will be able to match what Google can do there.
This is the same reason Siri kind of sucks and simply doesn't match what Googles voice queries can do. The backend searches are simply much better in Google land than in Apples. Doesn't really matter how much you improve the top layer if the data underneath is inadequate.
Google should package Android and Motorola and spin it off. Then they could partner with Apple to provide the best in breed search to iOS customers (who appear to be the best source of revenue for Google because they do use the Internet more than Android.)
Not likely to happen though. Too many egos in the way.
Quite possibly true in the distant path. But demonstrably untrue since the Age of the Enlightenment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment) and the improvement in mankind's general condition from the accompanying industrial revolution.
Orwell described the process in 1984, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink.
You direct people away from what you are doing by simply relabeling it. The "institution of peace" instead of "institution of war" (Orwell's example was Ministry of Peace (war), Ministry of Love (torture), Ministry of Plenty (generally supplying barely enough to keep people from starving.)
The point is, does Nvidia consider the Linux market for their hardware big enough to justify open sourcing their drivers making it easier for their competition to see what they are doing.
For the desktop market Linux doesn't have enough penetration to seriously impact their sales. A slightly slower driver will be sufficient for most people and the number additional sales by having a GPL'd driver is probably not enough to make them GPL it.
Remember they consider that a GPL driver in Linux will impact their sales in the Windows market where they actually do make money.
Android may change this if it becomes a significant driver for sales of Nvidia parts.
And as Apple's maps database tech gets better so will Googles.
If Apple is serious about mapping they need to get an army of people doing the same things as Googles army of people working on their maps are doing (7000 people by some accounts.)
This is also a search engine issue in some respects... First you need the actual map data, then POI's, then the ability to search for some random thing and if possibly get an address that can then be displayed by the actual app on the phone.
The TomTom map data seems to be less goodly than Googles. The POI database (TomTom and probably lots of other sources) also seems to suck by comparison. If you are not searching via Googles search engine then probably the results there are not as complete as could be...
If Apple really wants to compete they have to solve all of the above issues. Its not just the map database, not just the POI database, you also need to tie it together with a kick ass search capability. Google has all of that and their end product improves daily. It will take a boatload of cash over years before Apple can seriously compare services.
That said the actual iOS app is pretty! Unfortunately Google's app when it is released will probably have a similar look and feel but be plugged into a much better search engine, a much better POI database, and better map database (and don't forget streetview!)
One of the interesting tidbits about streetview, Google apparently does pattern recognition to pull out data from signs, house addresses etc... So even if you don't actually use streetview you are benefiting from it when you do searches.
Fortran II, punch cards and an IBM 1130... circa 1968/1969.
Except that for China Foxconn pays relatively high wages.
They use people because it allows them more flexibility in changing their production lines to adapt to their customers (Apple, Samsung et al) and higher quality where needed.
That said they will move to robots where possible when possible where it saves money, time or improves quality.
Please people. Use google. Search "pyramids slaves"
It is well documented that the Egyptian pyramids where NOT built by slaves.
I'm waiting to see the riot when the two groups of agitators meet in front of Foxconn. One group complaining about Foxconn overworking its employees. The other group complaining that Foxconn is underworking (aka laying off) their employees. News at 11:00 brought to you by the Western World 24 hour news channels...
I'll take an automated checkout any day. Almost always faster and less fuss. Gets me out of the store.
In short, I tend to shop at super markets that have them. Simply to save time.
I simply don't know.
But obviously something. For example the vast majority of people who worked on farms 100 years ago are simply no longer needed there. Something like 50% of the population was needed to produce the food we eat back then. So one would assume that if the unemployment rate is less than 50% then something else must have popped up to for those people to do.
Ditto for most any manufacturing job that was done in the middle of the last century. E.g. the number of people required to build a car in 1950 vs. 2010. Yes, some of those jobs have gone overseas. But even if you pulled every one of them back on shore you would find that the number of people employed in the automotive industry would still be FAR less than it was 20-30-40 years ago. And they would be producing FAR more cars per employee now.
Most of the "raw materials" for something like an iPhone come from outside of China anyway. Foxconn is not making things up out of raw materials. They take chips and boards and batteries and glass and assemble it. The rest of the stuff is manufactured across the world by specialist factories.
Being maintained by a guy making $85k a year...
Except of course that guy is maintaining multiple robots and the robots cost enough that their amortized cost / year for capital is many thousands of dollars.
But it does end up being cheaper, faster and in most cases with higher and more consitant quality.
Apple doesn't have Foxconn build their products because Foxconn is the cheapest place to build their products. Foxconn does the best job for the price paid.
Apple drop ships their phones and pads from the factory to either a store or end user. Typically either UPS or Fed-Ex. And it ain't ground or by ship!
Unfortunately Canada is a union friendly country. Until we get right to work laws think southern US states where you are not required to join a union to work in a factory.
You may or may not agree with unions on principle, but the fact remains that the jobs will migrate to where the cost of labor stays low and union demands are minimal. It is not a choice of a union or no union. Its a choice between unions and no jobs.
Its not like there are no robots or automated assemply processes in the current Foxconn factories.
Its just that there is less than some people think there could or should or shouldn't be.
Who will complain the most about this headline.
Workers displaced by robots in Foxconn factories?
or:
Fewer workers being abused by Foxconn after robots being added?
Over time fewer workers will produce more due to automation. Anyone doubting that is just being stupid. It doesn't need a headline.
Which is why they just released a new version of the iPod Touch!
With a 4" Retina display just likes its big brother iPhone 5!
Right...........
iPads are mobile within an office environment.
iPad mini's will be more mobile out of doors. They'll sell a higher proportion of LTE versions than the larger iPad.
iPads are perfect for PDF documents. But a bit big for reading novels in bed.
iPad mini's are about the right size for recreational reading. And again more portable (fit in purse or backpack better) so more likely to be with you for reading.
Both sizes will sell well. They solve different problems.
My understanding is that in an accident the driver of the car has to prove that the cyclist was at fault. The cyclist does not normally have to prove the car driver did anything wrong.
In the US and Canada the courts don't assume anything and tend to assume that anyone breaking the law starts out being at fault and has to work from that position if they want to show the other party was really the cause of the accident. Also our courts are happy to assign % blame, so even if the car driver was "at fault" if you where breaking the law then the court might say you where 25% responsible and reduce your damages.
No of course not.
But joggers should. They go just fast enough that tripping and falling could (and has on occaion) cause a serious head injury.
And, they tend to run across intersections at speeds where they might not be seen by someone in a car driving through (hey I know you have the right of way, but 3000lbs versus 150lbs means you really don't want to be a victim of my mistake.)
All in all ... all joggers should wear helmets.
This would also be a boon to the economy. Think of all the jobs (well some will be offshore) that will be created in the design, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, marketing and sales of many millions of these helmets. The revenue from enforcement alone will cause many municipal governments to avoid bankruptcy!
And how many after the recent YouTube video?
Pretty much anything can and will be used by various factions to garner support for their causes. Hatred is such a motivating force to get people on your side.
It just means that you'll have to buy it from an eBay seller in Hong Kong or Dubai.
I was getting an Ultrasound directed procedure done a year ago and commented to the Doctor doing it that the very expensive (I think GE) device he was using would be available as a dongle and iPhone app within a year or two.
He bristled at the suggestion saying that it wouldn't replace his decade of experience using them and interpreting the results.
I can sympathize to a certain extent. But I suspect that there are still a vast range of simple procedures that could be helped with this type of device. That over time more MD's (especially in the 3rd world) will gain experience (the hard way by simply using them.)
And since these are connected to devices with amazing amounts of CPU power machine based diagnostic tools will also be just around the corner.
There will still be the hard corner cases where only an experience and well practiced professional should be using this or something more expensive to figure something out (the "House" scenarios.) But there will also be a much better care at lower cost for a wide range of things.
MegaReader.... indie book reader that is almost as good as Stanza in most ways and better in some. And is actively supported.
Support your Indie App Developer!