By Graham K. Rogers

Opening Gambit:

I have had a distinctly non-tech few days as following the trip to Khaoyai over part of the weekend, on Monday evening I went to the National Theatre in Bangkok to see the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by S. P. Somtow, performing Mahler's 10th Symphony. A most interesting evening.

Apple Stuff

Apple must be doing something right if even the Register is able to write a positive review on the iPad mini. Alastair Dabbs tries very hard to find fault in his 3-page review, especially with the newly developed Lightning connector, and also in his introduction but ends up convinced that Apple has it right. How about that?

And a link from Daring Fireball takes us to Paul Thurrott who is usually wrong or at least odd about Apple from his Redmond-centric viewpoint, but he reminds us that when the iPad first came out he did suggest then that the 7" form factor was more appropriate.

There were so many reviews of the iPad mini released in the last couple of days that a search with Google (are we still allowed to say that? . . .) will reveal pages of them. However, Jacqui Cheng on Ars Technica tried to not like the iPad mini before she tried it, but ended up loving it. Her 3-page review is quite detailed and like many she comments on the screen (page 2): not Retina display. So people do notice the difference (despite some sniping from outfits like The Register when this was first announced for the iPad). She also comments on camera quality which is like the iPad 3.

Mention of cameras brings me to a TUAW report from Mel Martin who writes about the "Sandy" cover of Time this week: shot on an iPhone. There are some useful tech pointers in the article.

One idea that I have voiced on a number of occasions is the idea that Apple can use the in-house development of its Alpha processors and push these further, so that the computers could have their own. Apple could have absolute control of the design, meaning that other manufacturers would be months behind when a new product was released. This fantasy of mine appears to be coming a little closer according to a report from Mikey Campbell on AppleInsider, who cites Bloomberg who may have been talking to Apple people. The driving force behind this, according to Electronista, may be Bob Mansfield who recently returned from an almost-retirement. The first candidate may well be the MacBook Air.

There was much written about Apple's Maps app in the last month, but everyone has been waiting for Google's reply: a Google Maps app from them that will work on the iOS devices. As if to pre-empt Apple in its decision making, Chris Foresman writes on Ars Technica, Google believes that Apple will disallow the app in the App store. Damned if you do, damned if you don''t there, Apple. Kate MacKenzie on PixBebo thinks like I do that Apple should allow this app

I mentioned last week about the Pillips' Hue lights that can be controlled (color, brightness, time) from iOS devices; and I already have the app on my iPhone, even though the bulbs may not be here for a few months. Now we find in an item by Dave Caolo on TUAW that a council in London is installing iPad controlled street lights: 14,000 of them.

You remember all that wailing and gnashing of teeth about the lack of innovation at Apple, which began to die down with the tear-down of new products although if these people had bothered to listen to the presentations from Apple, they would have ben in less of a rush to talk Apple down -- because that is what it is really about: making sure the share price stays depressed so that when it does rise (as it inevitably does) they and their friends are first at the trough. Paulo Santos notes on Seeking Alpha that the October sell off was similar to the last time and has analysed the excessive options speculations which is what I had suspected. The stock becomes undervalued as a result of deliberate negative sentiments and when it rises, some make a killing.

On Monday I linked to an item on Ars Technica about the Fusion Drive and Lee Hutchinson there has been digging deeper and deeper. There was a further article by him on the new feature that was examined with the help of a service training document. In the article he is critical of early commentators (him too, eh?) who only gave this a cursory examination and I for one am grateful for this in-depth look in which they pulled a Mac mini to pieces and then the drive that it contained.

The lengthy item extends to 2 pages and this is not just a way to increase hits as the amount of information provided clearly justifies this (it also works with Windows installations, by the way) and he tests the way data is distributed, demonstrating how the software puts it all on the flash drive first (speed) then reallocates the data to the hard drive where necessary in a quick manner.

Back to the idea of innovation, we read in an item by Mikey Campbell on AppleInsider about a patent granted to Apple for an ionic wind generator: air is directed by magnetic fields to where it is needed most. The article has an explanation and patent drawings. Ah, yes. No innovation. . . .

There have been claims by Tim Cook, Phil Schiller and he who must no longer be named about the number of apps downloaded over the years. As a form of confirmation, Patently Apple reports that the number of iPad apps downloaded beats those for Android devices by a ratio of 5: 1. The article also mentions that Android phone apps downloaded are more than iPhone apps. More phones?

Not really a surprise when you think about it, but AppleInsider reports that devices running OS X 10.9 have been seen online so it looks as if Apple is running betas of the next version. June 2013?

Not that we like to include information on politics (I prefer Obama, so there) but Nigam Arora on Forbes thinks that a win for Romney would be bad for Apple and for General Motors (and others too) as he has "stated that he will declare China a currency manipulator on his first day in office" and that could lead to a trade war. He argues that this would push Apple shares downwards.

Yes, but if this were to happen, there would still be the desire for Apple products there, and there are still other markets that Apple does not serve as well as it could: one door closes, another opens. [My link for this was MacDaily News.]

Half and Half

So, corporations are no better and no worse, although the figures are much larger, which is why so many commentators get so tied up in knots about this. If Apple, Google, Microsoft, Enron (no, strike that -- I have made my point) cheat they would be taken to court and perhaps those responsible would be liable to imprisonment.

A comment then by AP as published in the Washington Post on the tax paid by Apple in 2012 needs to be read in that context. The report tells us that there were $36.8 billion earned outside the US in 2012, but that Apple only paid 1.9% on that. It should be noted that the money stays outside; if not Apple would be liable to a 30% repatriation tax: almost enough to pay for a small war. All that comes back is a small part of the profits and that is what Apple pays the taxes on. The AP article is factual in the way it explains Apple's responsibilities and liabilities, but that headline is designed to make people think that something is wrong.

Another article on taxes in the UK in the Independent, by Oliver Wright, has a prominent Google logo as the main image and tells us that the "Taxman admits Government powerless to force multinationals to declare profits" with references to Starbucks and Apple as well as Google. Reading the article, while the authorities think the companies should pay more taxes, the figures may be the result of creative accounting (or at least creative thinking): what is correct and what is desirable are worlds apart here.

So the tax laws in these countries are being shown to be fairly toothless in the light of free trade and internationalism and somehow -- liberal that I really am -- these corporations are being blamed for taking advantage of the regulations? As much as I would like to see them paying for much more, I have no axe to grind on the legality (morality?) of what they do. One slip on the wrong side and they could be prosecuted, so they employ people to make sure that they do it right; and doing it right also means taking advantage of all the laws, good and bad. So do not criticise the corporations, blame the legislators and the laws that they have made.

I mentioned the weakened electronics company Sharp earlier in the week and wondered how ripe this was for a merger or takeover. Others have been wondering as well and Electronista reports that both Apple and Intel are reported to be interested.

There was a fair amount of press this week about a FRAND decision in Wisconsin that did not go Apple's way. This is really complex and Groklaw has some information online for those interested. It has not been fully played out yet and there are related trials on similar technologies in other courts, so one day the dust may settle.

Other Matters

Just as a reminder, what he said about the Phone back in 2007 was: "There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share" adding "it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard" and "In six months, they'll have the most expensive phone by far ever in the marketplace [GigaOm et al]. You would think by now he would have learned to consider his words more carefully; and in addition the way the Surface is being marketed, there is still that Microsoft obsession with keyboards. Has nothing been learned?

Along with some of the news about the Surface and its Windows installation, came a report from Justin Rubio on The Verge that the RT operating system takes up some 16 GB of disk space: on a 32 GB device. Say, what? The 64 GB version has about 46 GB space remaining after all the Microsoft bloat is taken into account. Has nothing been learned?

As a note, the 32 GB iPad uses about 1 GB, although iOS devices may use space for data but this can be cleaned out from time to time as I detail in an item I put out this week on space.

Like Apple products, the Surface has been the subject of a tear-down and the result is that it appears Microsoft is making more money out of each device than Apple does out of its iPads, Electronista reports. They did learn one lesson then, but in typical Redmond fashion overdo things.

It isn't just in the tablet arena (or the phones) that Microsoft comes off looking second hand, but also in the shops: apparently poor copies of Apple's retail stores, right down to the t-shirts, and placed significantly close to the Apple outlets. Significantly empty too apparently. Part Dhebar on Unwired View reports on a recent experience he had buying a Surface tablet computer and if that is a good day, then it is no wonder the customers are filling up the shop over the road.

Let's be fair. To even the balance there is also a positive experience reported by an un-named blogger, who is an Apple user as well, at Virtual Pants.

Local Items

I also had a close look at the Lightning connector which was a litte smaller than I expected. At the other end, the power supply was even smaller than before and had slightly squared off edges. I had been discussing this connector with a colleague earlier and while I see evolution, he has seen the articles about the need to buy all the connectors again. I repudiated that as there is an iPhone 30-pin to Lightning connector for just over 1,000 baht in the Apple online store. I later saw an item by Jason Perlow on ZDNet who is rather enthusiastic about the new connector: "the company has clearly innovated" he writes. He looked at the current availability of connectors which he thinks come up short in most cases and concludes that this was one of Apple's better decisions.

As soon as I saw the iPhone, which was sitting on the desk, it was clear it was the new model: thinner and slightly longer, but I checked to make sure and he was pleased to let me have a quick look. There was a red 1 on the Settings icon which I had not seen before. When I had a look, it was the download (6.0.1) that was available for him.

In India where the iPhone 5 was released at the same time as in Thailand, Mike Schramm on TUAW reports that all 15,000 units are sold out.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.