Apple Sounds the PC Death Knell (or at least they’ve got the bell handy)

If Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, gets his way, the PC could be on its last legs.

For over two years now, Mr. Jobs and other Apple executives have been pushing the concept of a “post-PC era” where most people no longer have, or need, traditional computers and instead engage with the digital world though iPhones, iPods and iPads…

…”Once these new services begin later this fall, people who buy an iOS device can fully get by without a computer. They will no longer need to plug an iOS device into a PC to activate it; iCloud will automatically sync and backup people’s photos, music and documents. All software will be updated over the Internet.” Full story

Amazon Cloud Failure Takes Down Web Sites

A widespread failure in Amazon.com’s Web services business was still affecting many Internet sites on Friday morning, highlighting the risks involved when companies rely on so-called cloud computing.

The problems, which began early Thursday morning, affected sites including Quora.com, Reddit.com, GroupMe.com and Scvngr.com, which all posted messages to their visitors about the issue. Most of the sites have been inaccessible for hours, and others were only partly operational.

The Web companies use Amazon’s cloud-based service to serve their Web sites, applications and files. Amazon’s customers include start-ups like the social networking site Foursquare but also big companies like Pfizer and Nasdaq.

Amazon, which is a leader in this business, lets these companies rent space on its servers and take advantage of its big data centers and computing power. But that gives the companies little control if the servers fail.

Full story.

Apple Looks to a New Computing Era

Remember the floppy disk? I’m willing to bet Steve Jobs does. I’m also willing to bet he remembers when he killed it. It was 1998, to be precise, and the murder weapon was the new iMac, a computer that was missing the then-standard internal floppy drive. Last month Mr. Jobs rang the final death knell for another piece of technology: optical discs like DVDs and CDs.

For this execution, his weapon of choice is the new MacBook Air, with a little extra help from the iTunes store, of course.  During the unveiling of the new MacBook Air line, Mr. Jobs said these computers were next-generation laptops. This was reiterated in the commercials for the computers, in which a voiceover calls them “the next generation of Macbooks.”

In other words, don’t expect a DVD slot in your next Mac laptop, or your next desktop computer for that matter. Apple hopes to replace those discs with a fluffy white iCloud, where software, music, video and your own personal content fly around in the air like happy seagulls at the beach. Full story

Microsoft Moves Office to the Cloud

It has been a busy year inside Microsoft: the company is getting ready to introduce an entirely new mobile platform and a new type of Xbox gaming interface that uses the human body instead of a traditional controller. Now it is offering a new kind of Microsoft Office suite, called Office 365, which is based in the cloud.

In a press release on Tuesday, Microsoft said this new product was “the company’s next generation in cloud productivity” and that it “brings together Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online” into a single product that can be used by businesses and individuals.

Full story continues in the cloud…