Enterprise

Apple: Students with Chromebooks ‘are not going to succeed’

Wants you to buy the MacBook Pro instead

Published

November 14, 2019

Luigi Leonardo

Are you buying the new MacBook Pro? Apple’s new 16-inch notebook is a powerful device built for heavy-duty use. If you’re a student today, a new MacBook is surely an asset, especially if you do heavy design work. In fact, Apple itself is advertising the device as the best option for academic life.

In a recent interview with Cnet, Apple’s marketing head Phil Schiller waxed poetic about the company’s continued dominance in academic institutions and creative industries. “College students’ [use] is dominated by Macs,” Schiller said. “In the majority of creative fields — writers, video editors, music creators and programmers — I think that’s an area that’s super strong.”

In fact, a quick trip to the nearest private college confirms this fact. Macs are super popular. “We just have great customers who love the Mac,” Schiller said.

Of course, the computing world isn’t populated by just Apple. Windows is still a capable alternative for a huge chunk of the world. Apple isn’t happy with Windows’ continued presence.

“The PC world is a world of sameness,” said Schiller. “You have commodity hardware [and] a generic operating system that has to work on a lot of stuff, so it doesn’t work great on any one thing.”

True enough, Apple’s devices are catered more for creative purposes. However, Schiller’s rant goes further. The marketing boss goes off against Google’s Chromebooks, lambasting them as the poorest option for students.

“You need to have these cutting-edge learning tools to help kids really achieve their best results,” Schiller said. “Yet Chromebooks don’t do that. Chromebooks have gotten to the classroom because, frankly, they’re cheap testing tools for required testing. If all you want to do is test kids, well, maybe a cheap notebook will do that. But they’re not going to succeed.”

Schiller’s follow-up tweet doesn’t do much to save face. “We discussed giving kids and teachers the content, curriculum and tools they need to learn, explore and grow. Not just to take a test,” he tweeted. Like the original interview, the tweet touts Apple’s superiority in bringing out success, despite their astronomical prices. To Apple, owning a MacBook is a requirement to be successful.

Schiller’s opinion is a strong statement against Google’s popular notebook. The Chromebook is still a massively affordable and massively flexible option for markets of all sizes. Despite the division losing strength, Schiller’s statement goes against all PCs, as well.

Enterprise

Google merges Pixel and Android teams into one superteam

Headed by Rick Osterloh

Published

April 22, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

For the longest time, Google kept Pixel and Android behind two different teams. While the Pixel team dealt with devices made by and for the brand, the Android team ships a product meant for brands outside of the company’s purview. However, the days of separation are at an end. Google is officially merging its Pixel and Android teams together.

In a shocking announcement, the company has confirmed that the teams handling hardware and software will fall under a single team headed by Rick Osterloh. Prior to the merge, Osterloh was the senior vice president of devices and service, which was Google’s hardware branch. He will now oversee both hardware and software.

Because of the new leadership change, Hiroshi Lockheimer, former head of Android, will now move on to other projects within Alphabet. Of note, the change is not harsh for Lockheimer. He and Osterloh had been contemplating on the merge for a while.

Now, why the change? As is the case with everything today, it’s all because of AI. Speaking to The Verge, Osterloh explains that the merge will help with “full-stack innovation.” With how technology is these days, it’s now impossible to develop AI without having a close eye on hardware, such as in Google’s AI developments for the Pixel camera. Merging the teams will help streamline development, especially when hardware is involved.

Despite the change, outside brands, like Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, remains confident of Android’s capabilities outside of Google. Just expect more AI coming out in the near future.

Enterprise

China starts banning AMD, Intel, and Windows

Only from government devices for now

Published

March 26, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

The ongoing trade war between the United States and China is putting a lot of companies out of business in one country. While all eyes are currently on America’s crusade against TikTok, China has launched a salvo of its own. The country has started banning AMD and Intel, starting with government devices.

Recently, as reported by the Financial Times, China has introduced a new rule that bans American chipsets and servers from government agencies. The new ban includes AMD, Intel, and Microsoft Windows.

In lieu of the now-banned brands, Chinese government agencies must use approved brands from a list of 18 Chinese manufacturers. Unsurprisingly, the list includes Huawei, another brand involved in the ongoing trade war. (Huawei is still banned on American soil.)

As with bans from America, China’s latest rules stem from a desire to implement national security. Both countries allege that using brands from the opposing side will open a potential avenue for transferring classified information.

Currently, the ban against the American chipsets are only affecting government devices. However, if it follows the same trajectory as Huawei and TikTok in the United States, a government-only ban might soon lead to an all-out ban on consumer devices. As TikTok is currently hanging in the balance, it’s unlikely that the trade wars will cool down anytime soon.

Enterprise

US sues Apple

For creating an illegal monopoly on smartphones

Published

March 22, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

So far, Apple’s greatest enemy has been the European Union. Months and months of claiming that the company engages in anti-competitive practices, the region has successfully caused Apple to drastically change a lot of things about the iPhone including the Lightning cable. Now, a new challenger wants Apple to answer for its supposed grip on the industry: the United States government.

Today, the Department of Justice is officially suing Apple for supposedly monopolizing the smartphone industry and stifling competition. The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s lineup of products prevent users from trying out other brands. For example, Apple limits how well a third-party smartwatch works on an iPhone, pushing users to go for an Apple Watch instead.

The lawsuit also includes an important pain point in Apple’s fight in Europe. It says that the company makes it difficult for iPhone users to communicate with Android users (and vice versa). Late last year, the company already committed to supporting RCS as a messaging standard, finally easing communication between the two systems. Their adoption has yet to arrive, though.

Though not as stringent as Europe, the American government is no slouch when it comes to questioning its own companies for pursuing anti-competitive practices. In the past, it went through Google and Spotify to protect the interests of its citizens. The lawsuit against Apple is no different, gathering signatures from sixteen states.

For Apple’s part, the company aims to get the case dismissed, alleging the lawsuit’s unfair scope of just the American people when it targets the entire world.