東西 | dongxi

Twenty-six years ago Apple ran the still-famous 1984-based commercial during Super Bowl. In the commercial, the colorful heroine hurls a hammer at a giant screen of the Big Brother-figure, as an army of unknown mindless drones watch. Apple positioned itself as a champion of freedom in sharp contrast to this massive, controlling establishment. How times have changed.

Several iPhone app developers have reported that their apps have been pulled by Apple, due to sexual content (which Apple considers to be anything from skin to swimwear to silhouettes). MacRumors reports over 5,000 apps have already been taken down in the last few days. Apple’s reach is especially surprising, as the apps range from the overtly sexual (such as those that compile pictures of scantily-clad women) to games where the heroine is dressed in a slightly revealing outfit. [TouchArcade]

The developer for the Wobble app spoke to Apple and shared this list of rules:

1. No images of women in bikinis (Ice skating tights are not OK either)

2. No images of men in bikinis! (I didn’t ask about Ice Skating tights for men)

3. No skin (he seriously said this) (I asked if a Burqa was OK, and the Apple guy got angry)

4. No silhouettes that indicate that Wobble can be used for wobbling boobs (yes – I am serious, we have to remove the silhouette in this pic)

5. No sexual connotations or innuendo: boobs, babes, booty, sex – all banned

6. Nothing that can be sexually arousing!! (I doubt many people could get aroused with the pic above but those puritanical guys at Apple must get off on pretty mundane things to find Wobble “overtly sexual!)

7. No apps will be approved that in any way imply sexual content (not sure how Playboy is still in the store, but …)

I, for one, have always been extremely disturbed and offended by the list of certain apps found in the App store; my searches for language or cultural apps using keywords such as “Chinese” and “Taiwan,” seemed more to produce apps of Chinese girls than apps on China. However, their sudden shift to guillotine apps they deemed “inappropriate” marks a very unsettling position by Apple. Now, Apple has taken on the role of Big Brother, Mother, and Father, deciding for the rest of us, what is appropriate. While today it may be sexual content, what’s to prevent Apple from deciding action games too violent, or blockbuster movies too gory for our own good? Is Tomb Raider out of the question now; what about pictures of figure skaters or Olympic swimmers for ESPN’s FreezeFrame game; better put on a shirt Michael Phelps!

Strange enough, the App Store has an existing ratings system; instead of downright removing all Apps, it seems to be within Apple’s ability to restrict access to mature apps via their age ratings.  iPhones has parental controls, iTunes uses registration data; why not let consumers decide and give the responsibility to them?  Apple is all about quality control and the user experience; but when is it crossing the line? What is too much, too much?

While it’s ultimately Apple’s product and decision to make, consumers must ultimately decide whether to idly stand or to take a stand against Big Brother Apple.

I was more than thrilled to find the “Buzz” option available on my Gmail this morning (after the countless refreshes yesterday). While I did get to play around with Buzz on my iPod Touch, the Gmail integration added a whole other layer of depth.

So for those who are still unfamiliar with Google Buzz, it’s Google’s new (re-)attempt into bringing social networking to their users. A combination of Twitter, Foursquare, Google Reader, and Google Wave, Buzz compiles thoughts, photos, feeds, and statuses from one’s list of contacts, while allowing users to comment and engage in a “public” forum via your Gmail. For me, this resulted in a ever growing list of random thoughts, articles, and conversations (via commenting) by friends (and acquaintances) that I found myself checking several times throughout the day. Then again, I’m comfortable with social networks such as Twitter and Foursquare so Buzz wasn’t as much of a leap for me.

So far, I have to say I do like it.  Given my pre-existing and active community on Twitter and Google Reader, Buzz seems to allow for continued engagement on random topics tossed in throughout the day while also bringing in new faces. That for me was the biggest change – the number of new people being added in. Previously, my core group of people I shared with on Google Reader ranged in the 20s; after today, I found that list doubled. Most strange was seeing several of my non-tweeting West Coast friends (who I have to say are much slower to adopt social network-based services) join in the loop.

A few issues/quips that I do have so far:

1. No Facebook integration – The product DID just come out, but it’ll be interesting to see if Google and Facebook will work together, or work to keep their products separate from one another. As a user of both, however, it would be great to have my status updates synced.
2. Functionality/Too many windows – Issue one is just part of a larger problem with Buzz.  While Buzz DOES bring in feeds from Reader, Flickr, Twitter, etc., it doesn’t replace it, at least not yet. I can’t see @replies on Twitter nor will my Buzz updates show up on Twitter; shared Reader articles show up on Buzz, but I still have to go back to read all my other feeds. At the end of the day, Buzz is yet another page I have to keep up with, alongside my tabs of Twitter, Google Reader, GTalk, Foursquare, etc. Whether or not Buzz brings in (or replaces) some sort of unique functionality will be something I’ll be looking for the next few days.
3. Privacy – This issue is almost less about me than it is about others. I’m pretty open and public about my info, though I’m sure there’s several people who are concerned with personal information that may be sent out via Buzz, as Google leaves the default sharing setting at “Public.” A large reason why I use Twitter is the ability to follow some of my favorite personalities and organizations, such as leaders in technology, news, etc. Currently Buzz is tied to one’s personal Google email account, leaving several big names hesitant to adopt, at the risk of revealing their personal info (and getting bombarded by fans on their personal email account)
4. Organization – Already, my Buzz feed is flooded with entries (maybe it’s just because everyone’s home due to the blizzard). I’ve sorted through my contacts to only follow the ones I want to follow.  Still, compared to Twitter or even Facebook, my Buzz list is a big and intimidating, with giant boxes scrolling seemingly endlessly down my browser.  As the user base grows, it would be nice to compact or sort “buzzes” in a more digestible manner.

Still, all in all, it’s a nice step forward for Google, to keep pace with how the landscape is changing.  And at the very least, it seems to have invigorated a whole new audience to the Google world.

Even as Google and Apple are colliding head on, Google is already setting their eyes on their next challenger: Facebook. TechCrunch recently revealed Facebook’s plans of incorporating a full email system, which if true, can pose a challenge to Google’s Gmail service. Both companies have taken large strides over the years to branch far past their initial products and services to become full one-stop shops. While Facebook looks to adopt email, Google is planning on adopting an update that will allow Gmail users to “share media and status updates with friends,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal, bringing it another step closer to Facebook’s and Twitter’s social networking territory.

As online services and companies continue to consolidate, stronger, more in-depth products will continue to develop. Google’s phone, the Nexus One (as well as other Android phones) already takes full advantage of the various other products out of Mountain View, including maps, text-to-speech, and instant messaging.  Google Chrome (the OS, not the browser) and an anticipated Google Tablet are expected to follow a similar route.  Facebook is in an unique position to step into the mobile market as well; with personalized databases of contacts, events, and personal data and a desire to continue their monster growth (now in the top 3 for largest online display advertiser), a Facebook-phone doesn’t require a huge stretch in imagination.

While several of these “big players” have played nice, allowing for cross-channel integration (Google services on the iPhone, Facebook/Google integration on Palm, Facebook mobile apps, etc.), as these companies begin to overlap one another, the market could possibly see a more segmented field, similar to what we see with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo in video games.

This may leave the consumer in a confused position, however – even now, I sometimes wonder at the best way of reaching someone (Email? Facebook message? Twitter reply?).

Update
Google’s proud to pronounce the birth of their new baby, Google Buzz!

With videos on the Tiger Woods car accident and Leno vs Conan, animated news stories from Apple Daily in Taiwan/Hong Kong have become a viral hit. These videos, however, are just a fraction of the daily feed of “animated news” provided by media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英). While extremely popular across in Asia, the “news” videos have faced criticism from Western news agencies, such as CNN and the Washington Post.

As news worthy events occur, Apple News collects facts while a team of designers and animators quickly “fill in the blanks,” blending in actual photos and videos with conjectured animations. The result: a very sensational, entertaining, but hypothetical retelling of an event. Lai, however, defends his approach: “Is the whole part accurate? No. What is important is that we are keeping the integrity of the news. You know, if I’m talking to you and the animation comes out that I’m in a blue sweater instead of a red one, the detail is wrong, but it does not affect the integrity of the news.”

What some of these videos are sure to include, however, are the gory details.  With many of the animated new stories covering attacks and accidents, Apple Daily has also faced criticism for being too graphic for television (for children). Then again, the nature of these stories is probably what makes them so popular and viral, with the Conan-Leno video at over 480,000 views on YouTube.

While it may not be all that surprising how much it’s caught on in Asia, whether or not it’ll be making its way across to the American 10 o’ clock news will be another news story to watch for.

Apple Daily YouTube Channel
Apple Daily Taiwan (蘋果日報)

After a few days of doubt and skepticism of the iPad, the new Apple product started to grow on me; I was almost tempted to consider thinking about buying one. Those thoughts instantly dissipated the second these conceptual mock-ups of a “Google tablet” came to view. There’s only a few companies that have the resources and support to tackle Apple and Google has not disappointed.

In the conceptual mocks released by the designer of Google Chrome [Chronium], we get a small glimpse behind the potential of a Google-backed tablet.

Better yet, a video of the concept:

If the multitasking isn’t enough of a reason to rethink getting that iPad, consider the other twenty reasons: Gmail, Google Talk, Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google Search… well, you get the idea. While the thought of such dependency on Google can be quite unsettling (and a completely different topic to cover), the extent of Google’s reach across the web can also be one its largest strengths for how in-depth a new tablet device can be.  Between the iPhone and Nexus One, the level of depth provided by Google, especially when it comes to their own services (such as Gmail) is already apparent.

So though these pictures and video are still just a concept, they do point to a very high likelihood that we may soon have an interesting field of competitors that will give Apple a run for its money in the tablet market. Then again, as Apple and Google’s increasingly diverge in philosophy and audience, perhaps we’re just looking at an option that’ll feed the need that so many of us have been clamoring for since last Wednesday.