IT and Media Looking back at 2012
2012 has been an action packed year in the world of IT and media so I thought it would be a good idea to do a round-up of the main events and emerging trends of the year. This is the way I saw it.
The cold war that has been fizzing away between Apple and Google ever since the latter launched the Android mobile operating system has finally burst into outright hostilities. Apple’s successful action against Samsung for patent infringement in their mobile phones was widely seen as a proxy war against Google because Samsung use Android in their phones. The case cost Samsung a lot of money, but doesn’t seem to have done them any serious damage. However, it has had the effect of making the newly launched Windows phone 8 mobile operating system a lot more tempting to handset manufacturers; some of the technology in Windows 8 is licensed from Apple. Meanwhile, Apple has launched its own mapping software, bundled in with its new iOS operating system. As it stands, the product is vastly inferior to Google Maps, but that will soon change and Google will have a serious challenger in an area where it once had a near monopoly.
Google is in a whole world of trouble elsewhere too. When gathering the data to launch Google Streetview, its vans also illegally collected masses of personal data via people’s wireless routers – expect some strong legal sanctions to follow. Google is also being investigated by the European authorities for artificially pushing online retailers in which it had an interest to the top of its own search engine results The current focus on privacy laws has had other effects too. When you go to large websites now, they normally have a pop up box advising you that they use tracking cookies and giving you the option to disable them. Expect to see this on more and more websites over the coming months.
With all these wars between technology giants it’s good to see an example of big firms cooperating with each other in the interests of their customers. DLNA (Digital Lifestyle Network Affiliation), an initiative first launched by Sony, has made it possible for different devices – smartphones, TVs, Laptops, printers – made by different manufacturers to talk to each other via your wireless router.
Another internet giant in the news was Facebook which launched its shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The shares are now trading at half their opening price which proves what many have long suspected to be true, Facebook has no proven business model for making money.
The year has seen a steady flow of new devices on the market. Amazon launched the Kindle Fire, a no-frills tablet computer with a 7” screen that retails for about £150; it is selling like hot cakes. Google promptly followed suit with the Nexus 7. Apple also launched the iPhone 5. Far and away the most significant new bit of kit, in my view at least, is the flood of hybrid computers that hit the shelves in November. Part tablet, part laptop, they really combine the best of both worlds.
This attack of the hybrid computers has been made possible by the launch of Windows 8, possibly the biggest step change in computer operating systems since the original version of Windows appeared in 1985. Windows 8 is in itself a hybrid system capable of operating on both PCs and tablets. One software system that has proved to be a damp squib is the Siri voice control system found on the iPhone 4S. It doesn’t work very well and, even if it did, no one can find a good use for it.
Finally, RBS discovered that their mainframe system is no longer fit for purpose when it crashed for two days. Several other high street banks have similar concerns about their own systems. Have a happy Christmas and New Year and let’s see what 2013 holds in store for us.
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