Was I Wrong About Apple?

I have predicted the demise of Apple for many years. However, since their market value is now an unbelievable 700 Billion USD I must admit that I may, and I mean may, have been wrong.

Many, many years ago it was said the no one ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the American people. We may now be seeing another example of that phenomenon. Apple is selling a gazillion iPhones despite the fact that there are dozens of far better phones using Android available for consumers at MUCH lower prices.

Jonathan Gruber of MIT may well be exactly right, voters in America are stupid. After all, we did elect Czar Obama twice. God help us.

Pentax Black Friday Sale

The time has finally come— the biggest US Pentax lens sale is here!  From November 27th until December 1st (Black Friday Weekend + Cyber Monday), you can secure big savings on nearly ever lens in the current Pentax lineup.  The discounted prices listed in this post are at the two biggest authorized Pentax dealers in the country, so you can shop with confidence and enjoy perks such as gift card rewards and free expedited shipping.

Some of the hottest deals this year include $300 off the DA 20-40mm lens (see below) as well as record-low prices on HD Limiteds and substantial savings on Star lenses.  Also, be sure not to miss the great Pentax camera deals!

Several rock-bottom lens prices prices (listed below) are also available exclusively through the Pentax Web Store, though note that additional tax and shipping charges will apply, and the Pentax Web Store only ships to US customers.

There Will Be No Tech Post Today

Decline in Tablet Shipments

As Apple rides a cresting wave in the stock market with its market cap now dancing around $700 billion, a dark cloud moves in from IDC. The analysts report today that full-year iPad shipments will decline for the first time in its history, amid a sluggish market overall for tablets.

Apple — which ironically now offers more models of its iPad tablet than ever before — will ship 64.9 million iPad tablets in 2014, a decline of 12.7% on the total number of shipments a year ago. The bigger tablet market will see shipments of 235.7 million units, growth of 7.2% over 2013.

This is a big drop in growth. As a point of comparison, tablet shipments between 2012 and 2013 grew 52.5%.

Google’s Android operating system, following in the footsteps of its prevalence in the smartphone market, will continue to remain the most popular operating system for tablets. This year, it captured nearly 68% of the market, working out to almost 160 million devices shipped.

But this is not the whole story for OEMs. While Android will continue to keep its place as the leading operating system, Apple, with 27.5% market share, remains the single-biggest brand in the tablet market. IDC tells me that in Q3 specifically, Apple’s iPad had a 22.1% share.

So why the reason for the decline in tablet shipments? IDC appears to echo the observations of analysts like Gartner, who have been pointing out that tablets are following a sales cycle more akin to PCs than smartphones (fitting since it’s PCs that tablets are believed to be replacing).

TaxACT and Obamacare

TaxACT Free Edition and Deluxe are updated with the latest tax law changes and 2015 ACA calculations. After consumers answer simple questions about their 2014 taxes and health insurance, TaxACT generates a personalized HealthWatch report with calculations and information for marketplace applications, including:

• A detailed breakdown of 2014 income for a more accurate estimate of 2015 income to help recipients of the Advanced Premium Tax Credit avoid a large bill on 2015 tax returns
• Policy numbers for any current plans held by household members
• Basic information for each household member

HealthWatch also includes exemption guidance and an estimated individual shared responsibility payment for all of 2015 based on 2014 household and income.

"TaxACT's ACA calculations give an advantage to Americans applying for 2015 marketplace," says TaxACT President JoAnn Kintzel. "Having those exact numbers means the Premium Tax Credit and subsidy amounts you receive for 2015 are less likely to impact your refund in 2016."

MSFT Adds Dropbox to Office Mobile

Microsoft today updated the Office app for Android smartphones, adding support for Dropbox and further integration with the company's own OneDrive cloud storage service.

The update to Office Mobile -- the name of the all-in-one app that includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint -- was promised two weeks ago when Microsoft announced a partnership with Dropbox.

Shortly after Microsoft and Dropbox trumpeted the deal, the former updated its iOS apps -- Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the iPhone and iPad -- to let users connect to their Dropbox accounts from within the apps.

Android's Office Mobile now does the same.

"With today's update, you'll get the same integration in Office Mobile for Android phone, including the ability to ... add Dropbox as an online storage location, browse your files on Dropbox, [and] use Office Mobile app for Android Phones to edit your Dropbox files and automatically save them back to Dropbox," Microsoft said in a short blog post today.

Unlike Office for iOS, which Microsoft has split into separate refreshed apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Android's Office Mobile retains an older UI and the three-app grouping that was formerly the sole option for iPhone owners.

The new Android app also now lets users share a link to a OneDrive-stored document, spreadsheet or presentation via email. OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud-based storage and sync service, and competes with Dropbox.

Aereo Has Thrown in the Towel

Aereo Inc.’s quest to shake up the television industry with its online-streaming service has come to an end.

The Barry Diller-backed startup sought bankruptcy protection after the U.S. Supreme Court said its TV service violated programming copyright protections. The nation’s highest court rang the death knell for Aereo in June, handing a victory to broadcast giants including CBS Corp., Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s ABC, Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox Inc.

Aereo had been striving to revolutionize broadcast TV viewing, offering live and recorded programs via the Internet for as little as $8 a month. The Internet-TV startup’s failure eliminates an alternative to cable and satellite bundles, which can cost $100 a month and include channels many subscribers don’t watch.