We shouldn't blame Apple, we should blame ourselves

At 10 am EST you could hear the moans of disappointment across the internet.  People were outraged because Apple's major iTunes announcement was that The Beatles entire song catalog was now available on iTunes.  There was no announcement of iTunes Live Streaming, no cloud storage solution, no canceling of Ping, and no redesign on the hated iTunes 10 logo.  But I am here to tell you that the only people we can blame for this disappointment is ourselves.  Read on to find out why.

Why Can't we Print From Our Smart Phones?

Image credit: Databazaar blog

Now I know there are apps you can buy on the iOS App Store and in the Android Marketplace that will let you print from your phone, but why isn't it built into the operating system itself?  If smart phones are the next phase in evolution for computers, it should be a standard function.

Now honestly I admit, the need for me to print something from my phone doesn't popup very often, but when it does it becomes an issue.  Not enough of an issue to buy an app, but enough to make me wonder why this hasn't been solved by now.  I do have some theories why I think this is a feature that hasn't become a standard yet.  Hit the read link to see what they are.

With the iPad and New MacBook Air, is Apple Confused? Cause I Am.

Honestly I am surprised no one has really talked about this yet.  When Apple first announced the iPad, they made the argument that the user needs three product categories, a phone, a laptop, and something in the middle.  That something they said was the iPad.  Bigger screen and more horsepower than the iPhone, made especially to consume content.

The MacBook is meant to be used to create content since they have desktop like processors, dedicated graphics cards, and full size keyboards with multi-touch track pads.  But the new MacBook Airs have all  of those things too, or at least some version of them.  They also have many of the same features of an iPad like a long battery life/standby time, instant on from suspend state, and portability.  So where do the new MacBook Airs fit?

I don't think Apple is trying to create a new fourth category of device, but it doesn't really fit in the iPad or MacBook category.   Most people would just say that it fits in the netbook category, and I kind of agree with them, but Apple has said many times they don't see the point of netbooks.  So who is Apple trying to target?  Is this just what they think a laptop should really be? I think the answer to that question is yes.

The MacBook Air is just a temporary placeholder for what all MacBooks will be once the chipsets and batteries get small enough.  For the time being I think they are just targeting the netbook crowd; Steve Jobs just never wants to go back on previous statements that he has made.  So the real question is, do you see a need for the MacBook today?  Or will you just rather have a full featured laptop and an iPad?