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This is Steve Jobs’ wardrobe evolution since 1998, the year he returned to command Apple as interim CEO. You gotta admire a man who is loyal to his style no matter what. But my favorite Jobs is the old school Jobs. More »

Steve Jobs’ sudden resignation is a shock, but might be the perfect point to take a second and look at the good, bad and as he might put it, “insanely great” parts of his life so far. More »

Microsoft isn’t too happy with the “post-PC” title Steve Jobs and others like to use for our increasingly tablet- and smartphone-centric world. With Jobs’ passion for everything sleek, thin and mobile, and consumers eating out of the palm of his hand, it seems like the PC giants of yore are being left in the dust.

“We’re not in the ‘post-PC’ era,” Microsoft VP of corporate communications Frank Shaw claimed in a recent blog post. “We’re in the ‘PC plus’ era.”

“In the past year, and again in the past few weeks, I’ve seen a resurgence of the term ‘post’ applied to the PC,” Shaw wrote. “Most of the time, new objects enhance and complement the things we’ve already got. They don’t replace them.”

Shaw believes that mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, set top boxes and e-readers are “highly optimized to do a great job on a subset of things any PC can also do.”

In recent years, the line between mobile and PC has blurred significantly. Although few have completely abandoned their notebooks or desktops, many people are relying on their mobile devices in more and more situations, especially when traveling. Some even factor in the iPad in notebook market share tabulations, since it’s increasingly use to replace notebooks.

But what exactly does the term “post-PC” mean? It’s a scary sounding word, especially to Microsoft. Redmond’s bread and butter is providing software to the personal computing platform. As that platform transforms from productivity to more entertainment and media, the company has struggled to stay relevant. For the first time this year, Apple overtook Microsoft in profits.

The shift towards the tablet platform has dramatically changed the way Microsoft and other PC-focused companies have had to think about computing. No mouse? No keyboard? Those have been staples Microsoft has included in their platform for about thirty years now.

In response to iOS and Android, Microsoft has made an about-face with its mobile operations. The company delivered Windows Phone 7, and partnered up with flailing Nokia for some solid hardware for the platform. And like Apple’s more “unified” OSX Lion, Microsoft is now bringing some mobile back to the desktop with its upcoming Windows 8. The company may even produce their own Windows 8 branded tablet, if rumors prove to true.

So it’s understandable that the company would want to spin the phrase around into something a bit more favorable towards their (historically) core product. But some analysts say Shaw doesn’t really need to fear the phrase. Not yet, at least.

“The post-PC era does not mean that older form factors of PCs — such as desktops and laptops — cease to exist,” Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps wrote in a May report. “It does mean, however, that those older form factors are joined by newer form factors that support consumers’ and workers’ desire for ubiquitous, casual, and intimate computing experiences. Today, those form factors include smartphones and tablets; tomorrow, wear-ables, accessories, and surfaces will contribute to the post-PC experience.”

So in a post-PC world, things like wireless connectivity and cloud-based storage allow us to do computing anywhere, anytime. We can take our computing devices on the go, filling the quiet moments of the day with personal, productive digital interactions: reading on a Kindle on our morning commute, pulling out our smartphone to decide where to grab dinner, a game of Angry Birds on the toilet. It’s a mix of technological advances (now our devices are small enough to carry around, and powerful enough to be worthwhile in doing so) and social behaviors (texting at dinner? A-OK!) have molded this change.

Microsoft’s Windows 8 seems to fit Rotman Epps’ bill for a “Post-PC” ecosystem: the touch UI and emphasis on apps for a personal experience, the elimination of a mouse and keyboard, the potential for a significantly speedier, ARM-based mobile product.

“Tablets are now a preferred vehicle for web browsing, media content and video watching,” says Randy Hellman, senior analyst with Resolve Market Research. “The position of the PC in the consumers’ device hierarchy is changing, but the raw power and utility of the PC – even if it is only a consequence of its form factor – will ensure it still plays an integral role in our device landscape going forward.”

In the blog post, Microsoft’s Shaw says that ‘non-PC’ objects do a good job of allowing people to communicate with one another and consume media in “innovative and interesting ways.” What they’re not good at, he says, is creation and collaboration. But one company is set on a mission to fix that: Apple.

When Steve Jobs announced the iPad 2, it wasn’t billed as just another device for consuming media. It was a device for creative content creation. “This is something you can use for real work,” Jobs said of GarageBand for iPad. But although apps like iMovie and GarageBand were ported over to the tablet form factor in order to foster tablet-based video and music development, there still remains a lot of room for improvement for the iPad to become a true tool for creation.

“Further on down the line as apps become more business capable, we should expect the PC form-factor and tablet ‘always-on’ experiences to converge for business users; making tablets and PCs one in the same,” Hellman says.

But for now, “Post-PC” definitely doesn’t mean no PC.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Those brilliant Apple dickheads just got a new patent victory. And you know what? Good for them! Good for you too, Android users included. I hope they win all of their wars, because that would be good for all of us. More »

A judge in The Hague just issued a ruling in Apple’s patent infringement case against Samsung, prohibiting “the marketing of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace for violation of Apple Inc. EP 2,059,868.” In an official press release, the court explains that The Hague judge ruled to “ban trading of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace,” adding that Samsung also violated other did not violate Apple patents with its Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 10.1v. The judge determined that Samsung violated patent 2,059,868, which deals with “method of scrolling,” but did not infringe 2,098,948 for “recording a flag in connection with multiple screen taps,” or 1,964,022, which relates to dragging a slider to unlock the phone. We haven’t been able to confirm, but from an online translation it appears that The ban will remain in effect through begin on October 13th. Hit up the source link for the full 65-page verdict (in Dutch).

Update: A dutch IP attorney has pointed out that the judge has ruled patent 1,964,022 to be null and void, meaning Apple can no longer make claims in the Netherlands based on this patent. The judge also found that Samsung did not infringe on patent 2,098,948. The infringement of 2,059,868 does not affect the Galaxy Tab 10.1. (Correction: the main patent in question is 2,059,868 not 2,058,868.)

Update 2: According to Tweakers.net, Samsung says that it will replace the software that infringes on Apple’s patent (the Gallery application, specifically), which should allow it to continue to sell the phones. Notably, that Gallery application is the standard Android one used in Android 2.3, which also explains why the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not affected by this ruling. Less clear is what the ruling means for other Android phones that use the same application.

Update 3: Samsung Mobile’s Kim Titus released the following statement:

Today’s ruling is an affirmation that the GALAXY range of products is innovative and distinctive. With regard to the single infringement cited in the ruling, we will take all possible measures including legal action to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability of our GALAXY smartphones to Dutch consumers. This ruling is not expected to affect sales in other European markets. Samsung has a proud history of innovation in the mobile industry. We will continue our plans to introduce new products and technologies that meet and exceed consumer expectations. And we will defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings around the world.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netherlands judge rules that Samsung Galaxy S, S II violate Apple patents, bans sales (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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