Disclaimer: I try not to be repost other peoples content with minimal comments. The attraction is there, do not get me wrong. But when I read the same thing on four different blogs I get a little sick of reading it. That being said, there is a time when I have to give in. Given the multitude of news about everyone’s favorite tech company (Apple) this is one of those times.
Lion was released today. With it Apple killed off the white MacBook and introduced new Minis, Airs, and a Cinema Display loaded out with Thunderbolt. John Siracusa’s comprehensive Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Review is an excellent starting point to brush up on the 250+ features and improvements that can be found in the new operating system.
Like John, I find myself disliking of the Launchpad only because I am a power user in the most extreme sense. For the average user who is more methodically mouse oriented I can see it being a huge advantage. Everything is accessible from a common GUI that behaves exactly like the iOS app screens.
Stephen Hackett, who runs the popular Forkbombr1 blog, has his own OS X Lion Review on macgasm. I share most of his views, but one thing that struck me as especially poignant was UI changes to iCal and Address Book.
I’m not in love with some of the other changes to Lion’s UI, however. I am not a fan of the changes to Address Book and iCal. I just don’t understand the current trend in UI design that drives companies to make their applications look like real-life items.
Why does my calendar application need to look like a desk calendar that I can imagine in some smoky 1980s office?
WHY?!?!?!?
I fully agree with this sentiment. Why indeed? There should be no semblance to physical items. Physical items are created with physical constraints in mind. There is no reason for the digital representation to be similarly confined except to invoke a feeling of nauseating nostalgia.
Both reviews end in a similar fashion of agreement. Mac OS X Lion is a worthwhile upgrade with features and improvements that more then justify the $29.99 price.
In other news, Apple’s financial results came out yesterday. The big news? Apple has money. Lots of it. They just reported record sales and profits for Q3 2011.
On Tuesday, the company reported sales of $28.57 billion and net profit of $7.31 billion for the three-month period ended June 25, 2011.
The sales and profit figures-both quarterly records-increased last year’s third-quarter performance by 82 percent and 125 percent, respectively.
Source: Macworld
Massive profit and sale gains. Not unheard of for Apple, if anything it is expected.
Apple’s cash and marketable securities increased to $76,156,000,000. The increase was 15% sequentially or $10.4 billion in three months. That’s the equivalent of an increase of $11 per share (to a current $81.2/share.)
Source: asymco via Daring Fireball
After record Q3 earnings results and beating analyst’s expectations, the stock is currently trading after hours at around $400 (we saw it at $404 at some point, now it’s hovering at $398), which would imply a market cap of around $366 billion.
Source: TechCrunch
Take a look at the quick WolframAlpha comparison between Apple and Exxon Mobile.
Apple’s market cap is now just under $350 billion. Meanwhile, Exxon’s cap is just under $410 billion. With momentum once again, Apple is gaining ground. And if, as expected, Apple’s beats the Street again tomorrow, the stock should go even higher — after stellar earnings last week, Google’s stock added about $20 billion in value. This all points to Apple having a very real shot at becoming the most valuable public company in the world in the fall.
Source: TechCrunch
-
Update: Forkbombr is now 512 Pixels. ↩︎