As of Saturday night, Israelis are able to bring iPads into the country. The Communications Ministry has apparently decided that the wifi system in the iPad is not a danger to the security channels, as apparently had been thought originally.
So what happened? How does a “security problem” magically turn into a non-issue? Perhaps it was the heavy and embarrassing media coverage; or maybe they realized that indeed, as I reported, several Apple products that are already sold here already contain the problematic Broadcom chip that was at the root of the problem.
Whatever – the bottom line is that what could have turned into a boon for Apple’s Israel importer, iDigital, will now be working to its disadvantage, because it’s likely to be months before Apple is ready to supply international markets with iPads. Now anyone who wants an iPad can either peg a friend to bring one in for them. Or, they can order one from Mustop, which can get the basic wifi model one for $660, with all taxes and shipping paid. Too bad for Chemi Peres, son of Shimon Peres and the head of iDigital!
Happy Passover from the Robots of the R&D Institute for Intelligent Robotic Systems, Computer Science Department, College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion (thanks Marc!)
If you’ve been looking for a hi-tech job in Israel, there’s good news: New statistics indicate that the long drought in hi-tech jobs is over. A poll released last week by Israeli placement company Jobinfo says that demand for hi-tech workers is up 40% this year – while the numbers of those seeking jobs in the field has fallen dramatically, as companies retain their current workers and hire new ones.
Jobs in hardware development rose significantly – by over 30% – in the first quarter of 2010, compared to a year before. There was also a 12% increase in jobs for internet programmers – especially for developers with skills in PHP, Java, and C.
Along with the new demand, salaries have risen, the poll says. Engineers with 2 to 5 years experience are making 8% more this year than last, while salaries for web engineers have gone up as much as 20%. Jobinfo says that “The positive statistics are a positive sign that indicates that the time is ripe for hi-tech workers who lost jobs in the past to look for new ones now, and it is also an excellent time, in our opinion, for those who already have jobs to examine the opportunities in the marketplace.”
Well, of course they would say that – they’re a placement company! But still, the numbers don’t lie – and neither do the anecdotes, as a number of people I know who have been looking for quite awhile have begun new jobs in the past month or so. Yeah! Party like it’s 1999!
Over the past few days, Intel has been showing its new Xeon (Westmere) processor, which the company says has 40 percent better performance and 30 percent better energy efficiency. The processor features a chip that supports six cores each. Meant for use in servers, the Xeon is also the first processor to use Intel’s 32 nanometer manufacturing process, which results in processors with features as little as 32 nanometers wide. All of which means the Xeon – built on Intel’s familiar x86 architecture – can get much more done with less power, and is likely to find its way into new hardware. Already, IBM has announced a new line of servers that are faster and cooler running, all running on the Xeon.
Given Intel’s history in Israel, you always have to suspect that much of the work done on any new piece of hardware the company comes out with was largely developed in Israel. Alas, that is not the case for the Xeon (a derivative of the Nehalem processor). So I have been told by “informed sources” in Intel. Note, however, that the Next Big Thing from Intel – processors that use the Sandy Bridge (aka Gesher) architecture, with many improvements to the Nehalem series of processors. Sandy Bridge processor technology was largely developed in Israel – the project will be remembered for having its name changed from Gesher, the Hebrew word for “bridge,” after a political party (now defunct) emerged in Israel with the same name. Sandy Bridge-based processors will only be released in 2011, after the “life cycle” of the Westmere/Nehalem line peters out.
Although Israel can’t take direct credit for the speed and efficiency of the Xeon, it can take credit for an important security feature built into the processor: Included in all new Intel processors is the Intel Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Instructions Set. Tests showed that encryption/decryption of files was 400% faster with AES, and whole disks can be encrypted with barely any impact on performance (anyone who has ever tried to encrypt even a single file with a “regular” processor will understand the benefit).
1) From the presentation by Steve Jobs introducing the device, it appears that they will be having a deal with AT&T in the U.S. for the 3G network connection (confirmed, as AT&T announced that it will be offering unlimited iPad connection for $15/$30 a month). On the other hand, the iPad does have wifi, so you can easily bring one in and use it on any wifi network.
2) The new device is apparently unlocked as well, meaning you should be able to use any SIM card you want – but you may not be able to, because it will be using a new “micro” (3FF) SIM that you may not be able to get from other carriers. According to Engadget, “In fact, from AT&T’s perspective, this is better than a software lock in some ways — you’re not going to be able to download a hack that gets you on another network, so you’re totally at the mercy of your carrier at choice for providing a compatible card.”
3) Meaning that when considering official imports of the iPad, iDigital, Israel’s authorized distributor (which is NOT an Apple Store!) will have to work out deals with Apple for the import of the device, deals with one (all) of the cellphone companies for the 3G network (it’s hard to imagine Apple authorizing the imports without that, even though there is a wifi only version), and deals with someone to manufacture a SIM card for the Israeli market.
4) And, since the content you will be able to download, sync and use will be coming from the iTunes store (with Kindle-like book syncing probably to be added to music and video downloading, which will be an issue EVEN with the wifi-only version of the iPad) – access to which Israelis still don’t have even on “ancient” iPods and already old-hat Kindles – don’t look for the iPad to be officially sold here any time soon.
“Regarding [the iPad's] reaching Israel, it is still too early to determine [when, how and if that will happen]. We are acting in accordance with Apple policy, but we are working with the world [Apple] organization in regards to localization.”
The truth is I downloaded both Tunewiki and MeCanto from the Nokiaapp store at the same time, but I just realized a couple of days ago that MeCanto was made here too. As opposed to Tunewiki’s social music app, MeCanto is a personal music app – letting you connect your phone directly to your home music collection. You install the MeCanto application on your phone (Nokia, iPhone, Windows Smartphone, Android) and on your Windows computer, and you can create an instant streaming connection between your PC and phone. In other words, you can play all the music in your home computer on your phone. The application works immediately, opening a private network between computer and phone, but it will also upload your collection to the MeCanto servers, which provide a faster and smoother connection than the phone-PC VPN. And, you can log into your MeCanto account from any computer and listen to your music on-line.
MeCanto turns your phone into a true MP3 player – but it’s better because you can upload ALL of your music, without limitations! “Our goal is to enable users to store their entire music collection online and imposing some limit on storage will defeat that purpose,” says the company FAQ.
Here’s an email I got from MeCanto CEO Uri Keren the other day: “We are pleased to inform you that MeCanto made it to the top 10 finalists of the Nokia Developer Contest. Now we are asking for your vote by becoming a fan on MeCanto’s Facebook fanpage. On February 4th all votes will be counted and weighted together with the judges’ votes and the winner will be announced. Your support will allow us to improve MeCanto and provide you with a better product and service.”
If a criteria of Apple fanboydom is how much money one has given to Apple, I definitely have done my share to support the company. Here are my Apple credentials: I own an iMac, two Mac Minis, two Macbooks, two iPod Touches, and varied and sundry iPods.
With that said, here are my first impressions of the iPad.
1. It’s too big. Yes, I know it’s not a Kindle, but still.
2. The screen looks like it would be easy to scratch.
3 .64 GB memory is nice, but it would need an expansion slot to really be useful. Yes, I know it’s not supposed to be a laptop, but still. Steve says it’s “way better than a laptop,” but still – what would really be nice is if they would put that touch-screentechnology into a Macbook-type device.
4. It appears that Apple is positioning the iPad for use as a video entertainment device. When would you use it? Not at home, where you would probably want a big screen. On the road? But wouldn’t it be better to take a laptop or netbook, so you could get other stuff done besides watching video?
5. That said, it will probably be a big seller. Nothing Apple has ever made has been a bomb (except maybe the Newton, depending on whom you ask.)
The above is not to exclude the possibility that I will buy one myself.
There’s only so much you can put in a newspaper article (like the one I wrote on Google’s ‘courageous’ stance on China’s human rights offenses), I find – I’m often forced to leave out the juiciest nuggets. Like this week, when I wrote about how Google, so courageous when it pursues China for hacking into its accounts, somehow loses its nerves when it comes to net abuses in the Arab countries.
As my article points out, the Arab countries are far more obsessive in their censorship of web usage – and far more vengeful against those who violate the rules. Offenders who post information that displeases the various dictatorships they live in run the risk of jail time (think “Midnight Express” prison, not the Allenwood federal pen) – or worse, like torture. Is China any better? No; it’s just as repressive a society. But at least China strives to improve material living standards for its billions of citizens – unlike most Arab countries, where residents are expected to toil without complaint, making the barons and sheikhs who run their countries richer.
If Google had pinned its decision to “reconsider” doing business in China on Beijing’s oppression against human right activists – a claim that rings very hollow, given the company’s lack of backbone on Arab country’s rights abuses. Google’s complaints would be a lot more believable if they pinned their complaints on China’s industrial espionage or some other business motive. But human rights abuses? That claim only opens Google up to charges of hypocrisy.
Not that you can blame them for not wanting to start up with the Muslim world, given its reactions to images and words that “offend” Islam. No doubt they would say that they don’t want to “offend” the “culture” of the countries gracious enough to host their search engines and services. But the company has no problem taking on the “yellow peril.” Meaning that Google is more afraid of the Arabs than the Chinese – clear proof that the Chinese have a far lighter touch than the Arabs, imho.
And here, it seems to me, is the definitive proof: There is only one image in the world that Google Earth displays in a different format than anywhere else. The entire world as rendered by GE shows hills and dales, lakes and rivers, buildings, houses and cars. From an aerial view, you can look down and see the actual topography of the world – natural and man-made. Except for one spot: The Ka’aba, the center of Muslim worship, in Mecca. According to the Google Sightseeing blog post for this photo, the photo used is a Digitalglobe satellite photo, the only one used on GE. Why?
It took me awhile to figure out, since there doesn’t seem to be a ban on photographing or taking video of the place (you can watch Muslims praying there five times a day on many satellite TV stations in the Arab world). But then I saw the following on this web site, discussing the direction Muslims must bow when they pray: “As one is not permitted to take a GPS reading from on top or inside the Kaaba, an estimate must be made from various positions around the Kaaba.” That photo may have been taken by a Digitalglobe satellite, but it looks suspiciously like a pencil drawing (as you can see from the photo below; note the contrast with the buildings to the south) – something Google decided to put in out of “respect” to Islam, which probably would have frowned on (or, more likely, “strenuously” protested) inclusion of an aerial photo of the Kaaba in GE. Can’t say I blame Google for wanting to avoid trouble. But at least they could drop the pretense of standing up for “morality” when it comes to China.
That new sub-$200 tablet they showed at CES 2010? Its innards were developed in Israel!
I’m talking about the Freescale Smartbook Tablet, which PC World said last week out-Appled the rumored Apple tablet at CES (in that it is an actual product at this moment, as opposed to vapor-hardware). But at $199, the Freescale device beats any netbook – real or imagined – hands down, based not only on price, but on features as well.
The Freescale Tablet is a real hybrid device, combining the best of the cellphone side with the more convenient features of notebooks and laptops. It’s got a 7-inch touch screen, a 3-megapixel camera, a smartphone-style accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, Bluetooth, and options for a 3G Modem. And from the PC side, it’s got 512mb RAM, slots for MicroSD cards (up to 64 GB storage), a 1 GHz processor, and Wi-Fi. Plus a load of other features. The models shown at CES ran Android and Linux OS’s. And, it comes in cool colors! The company says it expects to be available commercially by the summer.
In this article (in Hebrew), Freescale Israel chairman Moshe Kashat discusses the i.MX515 processor, developed at Freescale’s labs in Herzliya:
“Leading edge users are demanding small devices with strong usability features. Our (i.MX515) processor provides them with high performance, including improved graphics processing, and very low energy use – with the result that users can go longer without recharging, up to a full day. We will undoubtedly provide a strong challenge to the netbooks using Intel Atom processors, and their challengers.”
(“… and their challengers.” Sounds like he’s talking about alternative processors – like the one Apple is planning!). The article also quotes Freescale Israel CEO and Marketing Director for Eastern Europe, Shmuel Barkan:
“Our smartbook opens a door to a new and wonderful world. We believe that our tablet will be adopted by the consumer market as the popular choice for the next generation of smartbooks. Freescale plans on being a leading player in paving the way for the smartbook to be a winning device.”
If you thought you weren’t getting the internet connection speed you’re paying for, you may be right. According to Knesset member Meir Sheetrit, the two companies in Israel that provide infrastructure and backbone services for internet connection – Bezeq (the phone company) and Hot (the cable company) – are not going to be able to provide the super-fast speeds they are promising to customers, except in maybe a few places.
Sheetrit suggests that the companies be required by law to tell customers the maximum speed they can expect in their areas, considering the potential for misleading customers. “Often, because of their naiveté, customers sign up for service at high speed and prices, only to find out that the company is unable to provide the service,” he wrote in a letter to the Knesset Technology Committee.
Sheetrit forgot to add what comes next – the near-impossibility of getting your money back after you’ve been ripped off by these vultures. It’s bad enough that they (by “they” I mean almost every large service company, not just ISPs) will try to sell you stuff you don’t need at almost every turn, but when the service or product they dump off on you doesn’t even work, trying to get your money back is out of the question – the best you can hope for, usually, is a credit towards a future purchase. In other words, once they’ve got your money, you’re not getting it back!
As I wrote in the Jerusalem Post, it’s a worldwide trend – service and quality you once expected as a matter of course is now “premium,” as companies, strapped for cash, nickel and dime us for everything they can squeeze out of us.
Why am I not surprised? This is just another manifestation of an attitude that you find in so many places, from the corner store to the bank to, of course, the government. They sweet talk you and act like you’re their best friend when they try to get you to sign up – but once they have your money, try getting the time of day out of them!
Here are a few good tests I’ve found which indicates how badly you are going to get ripped off:
Before ordering a service, call the company’s service line, and see how long they keep you waiting. While all companies are guilty of giving lousy service, some are less bad than others. As I do lots of research for my writing, I call companies like Orange, Bezeq, etc. to ask questions, even if I’m not a subscriber to the service. A good indication of what to expect is the “sales to service call” ratio – ie, the time difference between how fast the sales people answer the phone, and how slowly the service people talk to you. The bigger the gap, the worse the service, I’ve found.
Ditto for the sales pitches they give you, both recorded and live. Some companies will respond to nearly every question with a sales pitch, basically ignoring what you asked (but implying that your problem can be solved if you just ‘upgrade’). Often long times on hold are coordinated with repeated recorded sales pitches – it’s as if they keep you waiting just so they can get you to listen to their stupid ads! Avoid companies that do this, if possible.
Any service or sales person that does not implicitly understand that they work for you – and not the opposite – is a bad reflection on the company they work for. When I speak to sales or service reps, I’m very attuned to signs of cynicism or superciliousness. If the person on the other end of the phone sounds like s/he has his/her nose up in the air when they talk to you – like they’re somehow better than you (even though you’re paying their salary!) – it’s time to move on.
How do you resolve these issues? In Israel, a loud voice always helps. You have to be prepared “lahafoch shulchanot” (go crazy),as they say. Threaten to switch, cancel the service, or threatening to tell all your friends how bad the service/product is can help too, sometimes; most of the people you speak to on the phone don’t care one way or the other, but if you really do cancel or switch, you can be sure their manager will be listening to the recording of the conversation and probably call them on it, so if you can make them understand that it is they who are causing you to want to leave the company, they may think twice before acting nasty. Unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire single method that works every time; it’s a matter of experimentation, seeing which company reacts to what tactic.
But it’s worth the effort; when you confront the service providers and make them understand what they are doing wrong, you are contributing to an improvement of the consumer culture in this country – and maybe even helping the next person not to get ripped off!
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