Eyet Blogs

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Five Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Bob Rehm has seen the commercials, he’s witnessed the hype, and he really couldn’t care less that the iPhone is about to drop in Southwest Florida.

Yes, it’s a cell phone that can hold pictures, MP3s files, and includes a Web browser complete with Google search and map functions. Yes, it will be able to support wireless streaming of videos from YouTube.

And yes, it’s actually cooler — if that’s even possible — than the iPod, according to loyalists of the Apple brand.....

There's hype. There's hysteria. And there's history. The hype around Apple Inc.'s upcoming iPhone is abundantly clear. So is the hysteria. But how the iPhone will leave its historical mark after Friday's launch is to be seen.

Will the gadget - which triples as a cell phone, iPod media player and a wireless Web device - be as "revolutionary" as Apple CEO Steve Jobs has claimed?

Even if the product flops for some reason or stays limited to the high-end corner of the smart phone market, the iPhone has already jolted the industry, showing that it is not just the body and outward beauty of the handset that counts, but what's inside....

Remember the television ads for the Motorola RAZR?
The commercials showed off the sexy, thin profile of the clamshell handset and seduced more than 50 million people from 2004 to 2006 to buy it, making it the most popular cell phone ever sold.

But people want more now. There are plenty of slim, ultra-thin options out there, but not many make finding photos, saving phone contacts, picking up voice mail and selecting ringtones insanely easy.

"This is the most anticipated phone since Alexander Graham Bell did his," said Michael Gartenberg, an industry analyst at JupiterResearch. "Part of it is the fascination with Apple's products and how well they design them, but it's also about how poor the design in software is in cell phones now, and how much time Apple has spent working on this."

Apple's iPhone commercials show a finger swiping the touch screen display to activate the home menu, and with one tap on the photo icon, up pop your photos. Another icon zips over to your contacts.

Not a drop-down menu in sight.

"A few handset makers have been trying to make the phone simpler without having to refer to a manual that's 18 times the size of the phone," said Richard Doherty, president of The Envisioneering Group, a research company. "But Apple is going for the moon here.".....

Oakland Web programmer David Stillman, 21, hopes to be the first of his friends to own an iPhone.
Stillman, who has three Macintosh computers and two iPods, plans to trade in his two-year-old Sanyo phone for the high-end $599 iPhone if the all-inclusive monthly charges come to less than $100. Apple and AT&T Inc. - the exclusive carrier for the iPhone - have not yet disclosed the service charges.
Stillman says the best iPhone features appear to be the simple access to Google Inc.'s online maps and route directions and the intuitive user interface, which allows for easy scrolling through a contact list, fast searches through photo albums and quick callback for missed calls and recently dialed numbers.
Also, instead of just listening to voicemail in the order received, Apple has created what it calls "visual voicemail" for iPhone, an innovative way to see the list of voice messages so users can quickly choose the one they want to hear.
"The software is going to sell this phone - it's going to be so easy and obvious and will correct a lot of problems in other phones," said Stillman, who was waiting for Apple's flagship retail store in San Francisco to open Friday morning to do some shopping. "Other phones - even BlackBerrys - can do a million things but you can't figure out how to do anything on them.".....

Bottomline:

Oh my!! The buzz that the Apple iPhone has created pre-launch is unprecedented. As Steve Jobs will have you believe, iPhone is the coolest mobile phone, "it's all about the software inside", and the ease-of-use, the intuitive interface, the touchscreen, the iPod music player, the comprehensive Safari Internet browser, the YouTube video, the visual voice mail, the Google Maps, the pictures, the artificial intelligence, the photos, the wireless connectivity.....and more. Just one or two of these killer features have to be a big hit for the iPhone to rival the success of the iPod or the Motorola Razr. What will these features be? Would it be the Internet browsing? Would it be the music? Would it be the video? Or the fact that it would be the easiest mobile phone to operate. Would iPhone software come in the way of its operations and konk out when you are calling someone? Is the iPhone tested fully? Would iPhone connection be available everywhere and there would be no more "Can you hear me?". The industry is eagerly waiting for perhaps the biggest product launch of the 21st century.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index, and is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

Also check:

Seven Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Eight Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Nine Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Ten Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 15 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 14 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 13 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 3 - June 29 release
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 2
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 1

References:

Fans already saying ‘iWant the iPhone’ By Jessie L. Bonner
Originally published — 2:21 p.m., June 23, 2007
Updated — 10:20 p.m., June 23, 2007

Associated Press
Industry Awaits 'Revolutionary' IPhone
By MAY WONG
06.24.07, 4:04 PM ET

10 Ways to Save and Make More Money in Business

Don’t you just love Paul Simon? The lyrics to his songs are not only pleasing to the ears, but can be inspirational. Imagine yourself enjoying the warm autumn sunlight while listening to Paul's song, “50 Ways to Leave your Lover”. Now, stretch your imagination just a bit and think about how many "Ways" you can come up with for saving and/or making more money in business...

“The problem is all inside your head
She said to me
The answer is easy
If you take it logically”

So, let’s look at the problem logically for a minute. Here are four basic ways you can increase your profits:

1. You can charge more for your products or services.
2. You can sell more of your products or services to your existing clients.
3. You can find additional clients.
4. You can find ways to cut back on your business expenses.

"Slip Out the Back, Jack" (Simple ways to save money):

So, if you’re on a shoestring budget (and who isn’t these days?), then obviously you need to do everything you can to save as much money as possible, and make as much money as possible, as quickly and easily as possible. Here are 10 simple ideas you can use:

1. Know your target market. Who are your “ideal” customers?
Where do they shop? What do they read? What solutions are they looking for that your business provides? The more you know about your customers, the better you’ll be able to target your promotions towards them, which will increase your bottom line two ways – it will save you spending money on advertising that doesn’t work, and it will increase your sales, because you’re offering your customers what they really want.

2. Get double duty out of any contact with your customers. If you sell products, put your contact information on everything –products, bags, invoices sales receipts. Make it easy for everyone to find you. Give away something free. If you have a Website (and if you don’t, then get one), give your customers something for giving you their contact information. Free Ebooks, reports, or software are all good choices (just make sure it’s relevant to your customers). Anytime you send your customers anything – a product, a newsletter, an invoice –include a coupon or information about your latest products or services. To save money on postage, if you have a brick and mortar store, put a copy of your latest newsletter or an informational flyer in your customer’s bag after each sale.

3. Reward your customers. Set up a reward program. Offer them a reward for anyone they refer who becomes a customer. Or give your customers a free gift when they spend $50 (or whatever amount makes sense in your business). When they’re eligible for the free gift, offer them an upgrade to something bigger or better for a few dollars more. Start a customer loyalty program. Provide “customer only” sales, or promotions. Let your customers earn points, or “magic money” that they can use to redeem your products or services.

4. Get ready for your close-up. When you’re brainstorming about creating a promotion or advertising campaign, don’t forget about your local cable TV channel. You may be pleasantly surprised by how low their rates actually are. Create your own television commercial or infomercial. Although you may not be ready for prime time, you can still target your ad to reach your customers.

5. Get involved in your community. Find a nonprofit organization that is doing work you believe in, and either publicly support their program, or be one of their sponsors for an upcoming event or fundraiser. Use the advertising spot to let people know about the fundraiser (and, incidentally, your business). You could put together an inexpensive ad campaign that will help those in need, increase your visibility and let your potential customers know that you're supportive and aware of the needs of the community.

“Make a new plan, Stan” (Business Planning Basics):

6. Beef up your business plan. If you don’t have a business plan, make writing one a priority. Your business plan is more than just a way to interest investors. It’s a road map that will help you get from where you are now to where you want to be. That old saying, “If you fail to plan then you’re planning to fail” really is true when it comes to business.

"No need to be coy, Roy" (Ask your customers):

7. Get testimonials from your satisfied clients. But don’t stop there. What about creating your own television commercial that you can run in your store? (With a video camera and a little ingenuity, you could even create your own infomercial that shows customers how to use or get the most out of your products or services. If you’ve got a Website, put an audio testimonial on there. (And don’t forget to include pictures).

8. Speak up. Again, keeping in mind who your ultimate ideal customers are and what their most pressing problems are, write an article, offer a free seminar, or offer to be a speaker at local chamber of commerce or other organization or community meetings. Being perceived as an “expert” is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to get the word out about your business, and bring in more customers.

"Just hop on the bus, Gus" (Expand your business potential)

9. Create joint ventures. Even if your primary business is a brick and mortar one, you can still create a joint venture that will help you save money by sharing the costs for advertising. What about creating a special “sidewalk sale” with other business owners on your street or in your neighborhood? Or finding businesses with complementary products or services to yours, and creating a “package deal”? If your business is only online, look for ways you can partner with other businesses – maybe you could create solo ads and promote each other’s products or services in your mailing lists. There are a lot of ways you can save money and increase your client base if you’re willing to get creative.

"Just drop off the key, Lee" (Provide the key solutions)

10. Let your customers know you know what their problems are. It's sad but true that your customers don't care how good your products or services are. They only want to know two things: do you understand what their problems are; and can you solve them. Give your customers the "key" to their problems, and you'll have evangelistic customers who come back again and again.

To Discover How To Build Your Networking Empire Big and The Insider Secrets of MLM, visit http://mentormonique.successin10steps.com

Saturday, June 23, 2007

How not to teach programming: Getter and Setter Methods

I am far from the first person to rant about "Getter and Setter" methods. (some have even said they are evil).. but it's been awhile since anyone has posted a new diatribe on the subject, so what the heck:

Introducing "Getters and Setters" to neophyte programmers can be harmful unless it's done right... Yes, I said harmful.

Becoming a good programmer requires internalizing the concepts of programming... One must learn to think like a good programmer and that requires being able to truly grok "why" the concepts were developed, not just blindly adopt or obey them like religious dogma.

"Getters and Setters" are an artifact of the Encapsulation concept.
The Encapsulation concept, simply put, is to hide details that do not have to be exposed. Keep secrets: Do not tell anyone about the internal details of a program unless they absolutely need to know those details.

The big "why" of the Encapsulation concept is to preserve flexibility. People who use a program can only truly rely on the published details about that program. Keeping internal implementation details private allows the programmer to change those details in the future, as long as those changes do not impact the previously published details about the program.

I could easily launch into a discussion on the evil caused by programmers who rely on unpublished side-effects, but I will resist that urge (for now).

So back to "Getters and Setters"; Where's the potential for harm?

Consider the following Java class definition:

public class Dog
{
private int fleas;
public int getFleas()
{
return fleas;
}
public void setFleas( int howMany )
{
fleas=howMany;
}
}

This example is a pretty standard introduction to "Getter and Setters"... and in fact I copied it (with modifications to protect the guilty) from a very popular Java book. Nothing fancy, and certainly nothing that could possibly be harmful... unless of course you are actually trying to learn how to program.
This example focuses on language features and could be interpreted to read something like this:

"All data elements of a class should be private, and for each data element you should write one method to set the value of the data element and another method to get the value of the data element."

Sounds more like a rule than an explanation... and the neophyte will end up thinking that they have to expose every data element via a Getter and Setter. So much for Encapsulation.

Learning to Program is not just about learning rules.

Maybe it's a stretch to cause this example harmful... but it demonstrates a rule rather than a concept. This example shows "How"... but there is no clue of "Why?". What is the underlying principal we are trying to teach?
The following change to the method "setFleas" makes this example much better:

public class Dog
{
private int fleas;
public int getFleas()
{
return fleas;
}
public void setFleas( int howMany )
{
if(howMany >=0){fleas = howMany;}
}
}

Minor change, but now we have supplied a bit of the "Why?".

If all of data elements of a class are made private, then you can insure that checks can be run before anyone changes the value of any data element.

This isn't the only reason to encapsulate data, and it may not even be the most important reason to encapsulate data, but for an aspiring programmer it's a very important principal to learn:

If you don't check input parameters before using them, your program can get very messed up ("My dog has -3 fleas!"). The use of "Getters and Setters" is one way to guarantee that checks will be run before data values are changed.

As new programmers progress in experience, they'll come to appreciate the other benefits of using "Getters and Setters": Advanced concepts don't make sense unless you already understand the simpler underlying concepts.

If I am right, and teaching concepts is more important than teaching rules, then the obvious question has to be asked:

"What programming concepts should be taught first?"

I'll have to give that one a bit more thought.... What do you think?

Friday, June 22, 2007

Seven Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Apple Inc.'s iPhone was a top choice in a survey of people who plan to buy an advanced mobile phone in the next three months, a sign the new device may take market share from rivals.
The survey by ChangeWave Research found that 26 percent of likely buyers would choose the iPhone, a combination mobile phone and iPod that will go on sale June 29. It was tied for first place with Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry. The research firm asked 3,489 U.S. consumers if they planned to buy an advanced mobile phone, and if so, what brand they would choose.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) , based in Cupertino, California, is betting the iPhone's features such as a touch screen will lure customers away from the BlackBerry and Palm Inc.'s Treo. The U.S. market for so- called smart phones, which offer e-mail functions, music players and cameras, may grow 43 percent this year to almost $6 billion, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
"It appears that the Apple iPhone will have a huge impact on the smart-phone market,'' ChangeWave said in the report. The device "poses an enormous challenge to the entire industry.''
ChangeWave, based in Rockville, Maryland, said 7.8 percent of the consumers surveyed planned to buy an advanced phone within the next 90 days. The study was conducted in April.

Bottomline:

If the market of smartphones indeed grows to $6 billion this year, and 26 percent of likely buyers will choose the iPhone, this would translate to $1.56 billion in total revenue for the new iPhone in the first year. At an average sale of $549 per iPhone, the number of new iPhones sold in the first year could eclipse 2.84 million units. Most analysts predict that the first year sales of the new iPhone would be in the range of 3.5 million to 4 million units. This means, that an additional 1 million iPhones will be snapped up by existing iPod owners. With 100 million iPod owners all over the world, 1 million translates to only 1% of the entire population. It is plausible that at least 10% of the iPod owners would buy the new iPhone - this alone creates a market of 10 million new iPhones. The question then is really about the timing. How soon will Apple sell 10 million new iPhones? Would it take only two years, or closer to five years? The success of Apple and the new iPhone will be entirely defined by rapid acceleration of new iPhone sales. Anything less than the sale of a few million iPhones in the first year would be construed a failure.

Internet Marketing Inflection Point: SEMDirector

By Luis Galarza - Internet Marketing Beginners Training Guide Blog

Is Internet Marketing And Advertising Getting To An Inflection Point? Well, SEMDirector Believe So...

SEMDirector hosted a Fortune 500 and Global 2000 leaders to provide a two days enterprise summit conference on January 24 to 26 of 2007, this conference was organize to talk about why online marketing and advertising industry is getting into an inflection point.

SEMDirector also included as part of their announcements the new launch of SEMdirector "Organic Insight Software", this Internet marketing software integrates with Web Analytics systems like Urchin UTM and WebSideStory HBX to help users can add changes to their "Audit Score" with changes such as rank, traffic, and advanced conversions. This is a tool that can help you control Marketing Inflection Points in your online business.

Another of their announcements were Marketing Action Software Platform or MAP, which provides advanced ROI or return on investment results from search engine, analytics, and a few other online marketing data. This give users a complete business view from budget, purchases, customer service, and advertising spend. This marketing tools are excellent for small businesses but with more advanced knowledge of on testing, tracking and web conversions.

To learn more on how to marketing you business on the Internet click here.

To your success,

Luis Galarza, Internet Marketing Consultant

About Author: Luis Galarza is a respectable Internet Marketing and Small Business Consultant in the area of Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Also, he had teach 100's of entrepreneurs how to make money online without a their own product. For more information about his Free Affiliate Marketing Course.

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