In the Web 2.0 echo-chamber  bad ideas spread fast. This time nodal sparks came from web celebs like entrepreneur Jason Calacanis and online broadcasting demigod Leo Laporte – both of which I have the utmost respect for, and both of which are proponents of the anti-Facebook movement.

I also respectively believe they’re taking things too far.

Calacanis is known for jumping to conclusions and he’s been wrong before. A great example of this was his Twitter attack on the New York Times’ David Pogue for daring to publish books on products from companies he writes about in the ‘Times. He attacked Pogue’s integrity and my opinion that he was wrong in doing so isn’t just an assertion – but listen to Pogue defend himself in TWiT episode 213 and decide for yourself.

Calacanis is clearly a principled guy who feels strongly about things. I’m the same and have made bad calls on that basis before too, so it would be hypocrisy for me to criticise him too harshly. But I believe he’s wrong about Facebook.

That Zuckerberg is an awkward kid with a track record of doucheness is undoubtable. He has been presented as such from all quarters and even the movie about the birth and rise of Facebook apparently casts him as ruthless and untrustworthy, amongst other things.

But so what? I’ve met some hard hitters in the tech space, including CEOs of large companies, and I can assure you that being ruthless is a common trait amongst almost all of them. Being untrustworthy, on the other hand, is a common trait with young men in general and Zuckerberg was very young indeed when he allegedly knifed business partners in the back. Raise your hand if you went through your teens without doing anything stupid… I didn’t think so.

If you’re going to quit Facebook because its leader is an arrogant know-it-all with weird preoccupations and because the company isn’t in full adoption of the open approach to privacy and technology in general then I would tender that you should be selling all your Apple products, deleting Windows off your PC and getting rid of all your gaming consoles. No more Kindle books, and you should probably sift through Google’s user agreements too. And good luck finding a mobile phone and network to use it on.

The fact is that Facebook is a great and useful service irrespective of its CEO being a douchebag (which may or may not be true). The privacy thing also isn’t as big a deal as some will tell you.

I’ve always been very wary of online privacy and have implemented advanced controls on my Facebook account since it was possible to do so. I have groups of users and I control who can see what. For example, I don’t let anyone except really close friends and family see most of the pictures and videos of my kids. Those settings have persisted and Facebook hasn’t changed them. My account is still as secure as it was this time last year.

The problem Facebook has is that it does privacy too well. It allows for advanced control of your personal content and I’m yet to see another service come close in terms of the granularity it allows. As with any feature in technology, if you don’t apply these controls then it’s you that has the problem, not Facebook. The user is still in control of what the public gets and what stays private in terms of specified user groups and networks.

Because it does this better than most, people expect Facebook to shine at privacy. They don’t care that Twitter is completely open because it’s always been that way, unless you have a locked account.

I am not suggesting that Facebook is faultless, however. The company certainly has played hard and fast with the information of people who do not lock down their information and accept the default settings. It also clearly plans to leverage its situation to make money. But I’m not sure those are malicious actions. God forbid anyone makes a profit, right?

My suggestion is that everyone takes a deep breath and calms down. Facebook is no more or less evil than any other company trying to drive a profit. We could pick out individuals from any organisation and form opinions of the company as a whole based on that one person – but this is shortsighted and infantile as far as I’m concerned. Zuckerberg is the baby and Facebook is the bathwater. Let’s not throw them both out – even if Mark has been peeing in the bath.

There are way more people involved in the creation and running of the company than just the CEO.

I’m all for open software and networks. I believe the guys over at the Diaspora project are on the right track with their plans for a “privacy aware, personally controlled, do-it-all distributed open source social network” and I can’t wait to see the fruits of their effort and funding. But for now Facebook is still a useful tool to me. I have no privacy concerns because I’ve taken the time to set things up properly. I don’t approve of everything the company does, but I could say the same for all the other providers whose products I use on a daily basis including Twitter, Sony, Apple, etcetera.

And, it bears repeating: if you accept the default settings then you can’t complain too loudly when they change. Lock it down like I did.

I had an enlightening discussion with science fiction author and digital rights activist Cory Doctorow in Croatia in 2008 where we discussed his abandonment of the Mac, amongst other things. Cory, who has a tattoo of a Mac on his right bicep, found himself at odds with Apple as a company in recent years and switched to Linux. I asked Cory how he was enjoying Ubuntu Linux, which he runs on a Lenovo laptop.

“I’m extremely impressed with Ubuntu,” he said. “But less impressed with Lenovo as a company.”

The problem? Lenovo’s user agreement for their laptops. The reality is that if you look at most technology companies closely enough you’ll find something to disapprove of. Sometimes you just need to consolidate that in terms of the advantages offered by the technology itself. Cory still uses Lenovo products. And I still use Facebook.

And no, I won’t be deleting my account today. Spare me the hype. I’d go so far as to say that most of the people who have been swept up in the anti-Facebook togetherness are ignorant as to exactly what it is they’re protesting.

But, if you do want to get rid of your Facebook account, check out Seppukoo – a service that aids you in your virtual suicide. And ra-ra for taking a stand.

In the enterprise space cloud is less remarkable than its most vehement proponents would have you believe. The IBMs and Microsofts of the world have established metrics, case studies and methodologies for how it’s done. And, as IBM CEO Sam Palmisano said in a meeting with press at Armonk, New York Yesterday – this cloud stuff is “nothing new”. He’s seen it all before. In the consumer space things are different, however, and here I include small business.

In that arena cloud is pitched as a vital next-level computing paradigm. And so it is. Google, Microsoft and Apple are all being challenged by the consumer market for cloud solutions that enable a distributed personal computing model where online is everything and individuals rely on multiple devices that need to be kept in sync.

Google is perhaps most favourably positioned in terms of this new paradigm. In its arsenal it has… well, the Internet. Everything Google does is intrinsically online. Orchestrating cloud services for its technologies is a natural progression more than a challenge.

For Microsoft and Apple, however, distributed meshes in personal computing are contrary to the centralised approach they inherited from a previous era.

Before we continue, we must separate Microsoft in terms of enterprise and consumer markets. We’re talking about the Microsoft that is pushing Windows Live and Office Live services here – not the Microsoft that developed Azure. To make the point again: the challenges and principles are different for corporates – we’re dealing with personal computing in the consumer sense here where a distributed typography underpins the trend.

While Google was born online, Microsoft has made great inroads in moving into the cloud. The laggard here is Apple – but I get the feeling it is about to take a giant leap forward.

MobileMe was part of Apple’s first play with cloud services, along with iWork.com. As is the typical Apple approach Steve Jobs and co. started with simple services that are slowly being ramped up. Apple never goes all out at the get-go.

Jobs clearly has big plans. In recent months Apple has been ramping up its server infrastructure. A new data centre for the company is being rolled out in North Carolina to supplement its existing site in Newark, CA. With an east-coast centre online Apple will apparently add five times more capacity at a cost of about a billion dollars. Either Jobs thinks that MobileMe is going to grow substantially, or Apple is planning something big and new in the cloud space.

Speculation is rife as to what this could be. Recent acquisitions suggest that an iTunes streaming service is on the way – something that would allow you to store your media libraries in the cloud and access them from anywhere. This seems logical, but I get the feeling there is more to it.

Services like Dropbox and Google’s pending Gdisk are making amazing things possible in terms of online storage, while companies like Carbonite are taking online backup to the masses. My prediction is that Jobs intends to take MobileMe, which already includes iDisk, and turn it into Apple’s “hard drive in the sky” complete with Time Machine backup and a range of services building on iWork.com, Mail and its other existing offerings.

With Apple’s developer conference around the corner iPhone fixation has once again hit the market – but I would pay careful attention to Jobs’ “and one more thing” when he presents his keynote because I think it is likely he will announce additions to Apple’s cloud offering. It just makes sense to include MobileMe with every Mac, including a cloud hard drive for media and other file storage and backup. Apple needs to do something now as Microsoft and Google continue to plod ahead in terms of cloud services and third-parties fill in the gaps.

The recent launch of Ubuntu Linux 10.04 also introduced Ubuntu One, which is Canonical’s first romp into cloud services that includes online storage and a music store with cloud media services. In the next few months and years we are going to see Ubuntu rising to challenge what Google, Microsoft and Apple are doing in the space and I’m inclined to think that Jobs’ strategy will more closely resemble Ubuntu’s than anyone else’s.

I remember buying my first set of Technics SL 1200 turntables and a cheap Behringer mixer ages ago and learning to DJ on that. Since then I’ve tried a number of more modern hardware alternatives – starting with CDs, then looking at computers and even iPod mixers. Nothing compared to my turntables. Will the iPad change that? I think not.

But when it comes to live production, which is more of what Rana is doing, then the iPad undoubtedly offers some advantages, especially given the low price of software for the device when compared to their hardware equivalents.

Before the launch of the Apple iPad many potential uses were postulated for the device. The most prominent of these was in publishing as people perceived new applications and media delivery to tablet devices that would impact on the world of magazines and newspapers. Movies, textbooks and social networking were all correctly predicted to be the kind of things that the iPad would be good for. But few guessed that the device would mean big things in the world of music.Within two weeks of launch the iPad app store had over 180 music-related applications with many of these being committed to actively using the iPad for making music.

The most obvious of these applications were virtual piano apps like Virtuoso Piano and interesting DJ apps like  iTurntable. But more sophisticated applications have turned up such as AC-7 Pro Control Surface that allows for the iPad to be used as a control interface for professional audio applications and hardware.

There are even guides sprouting up online for more complicated setups, like using the iPad to control Ableton Live. And, as is obvious from the video above, it’s possible to use the iPad as a serious instrument.

Music apps made their way onto the iPhone originally and some pretty impressive things were achieved – like being able to use the iPhone as a virtual flute or as a unique instrument in itself using the Ocarina application.

While rudimentary music production was possible, and even mastered, on the iPhone, the iPad with its larger screen and more powerful processor is taking things to a new level. The device has only been available for two weeks, so I look forward to seeing what musicians and producers manage to pull off with the device in the next year or two.

The problem:

The solution: The SilentRingTone™ that I have created for you. Here’s the deal: download the The SilentRingTone™ (right-click to download), add it to iTunes and sync it to your iPhone. Then make sure that you set specific ringtones for each of the people who you want to always be able to reach you. Now, when you don’t want to be bothered, change your default ringtone to The SilentRingTone™ and everyone except contacts with specific ringtones will get pure, auditory silence from your phone.

I’ve made this ringtone for the iPhone, but if you want to make your own silent ringtone it’s simple – create an audio file with a few seconds of… well… nothing in it. And if there are better ways to achieve this sort of functionality then let me know – this was all I could think of =)

From 1 April, Vodacom’s iPhone customers no longer have to wade through a long list of voicemails messages by calling 121 to get to the really important one that confirms that new job appointment or bond approval or marriage proposal…

Vodacom’s Visual Voicemail is a South African first voicemail management service for iPhone users, which enables customers to view their voicemail messages in a list format, including the number and time a voicemail came through, the same as with SMS or email messages.

From 1 April to 31 May, customers will be able to try out the product free of charge, while a nominal charge of only R9.99 per month will apply from 1 June. Customers who subscribe to Visual Voicemail for the first time from 1 June will get the first 30 days of their subscription free.

Vodacom iPhone users can use Visual Voicemail to read through a list of their voice messages; highlight the voicemail they want to listen to and, by enabling the speakerphone, listen, re-listen, ignore or delete voice messages in any order they please.

New and saved messages will remain in the customer’s 121 voicemail box for up to 7 days, unless the customer chooses to delete the voicemail message on their Visual Voicemail service which will automatically delete the message on 121.

Visual Voicemail will initially be available to all Contract, Prepaid and Top Up iPhone customers with iPhone Software Version 3 and higher. The service will be available on additional cellphone makes/models in the near future.

Shameel Joosub, Managing Director of Vodacom South Africa, said Visual Voicemail provides Vodacom iPhone users with an ability to, at-a-glance, view all their messages via an efficient and user-friendly interface.

“Visual Voicemail from Vodacom is a first for the South African market and will allow customers one-click access to any voicemail message in any chosen order in their mailbox. One of the great features of Visual Voicemail is that it allows customers to access messages, delete messages and compose messages, in any order they please, without dialing 121.”

iPhone customers can subscribe to Visual Voicemail by sending an SMS with ‘VVM On’ to 123 (FREE) to activate the service and ‘VVM Off’ to deactivate the Visual Voicemail service. Alternatively customers can call Vodacom’s customer care on 111, free from a Vodacom cellphone, or 082 111 from any other phone.

Good news! Thanks Vodacom.

The world’s largest PC manufacturer, HP has released more information about the Slate – its answer to Apple’s iPad. The latest information confirms some of the hardware specifications of the Slate, along with some of the peripherals that will be available for it.

We now know that the HP Slate:

• Runs Windows 7.
• Has at least one USB port.
• Has an SD card slot for memory expansion (up to 128GB extra) or getting media from cameras and other devices.
• Has two cameras, one on the back of the device and one on the front.
• Runs Skype, with video.
• Has a docking station that can be connected to a television or other additional monitor that it can push out high definition (up to 1080p) video to.
• Will be available in 32GB and 64GB versions with optional 3G connection.
• Will sell for between $549 and $599 in the USA.
• Rocks the Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor and 1GB of RAM.
• Has a GPS.
• Has a 9″ screen.
• Will provide about 5 hours of battery life.

How does this compare to the iPad? I think we’re really dealing with two different categories of device here.

There is little you will not be able to do with the HP Slate, which is really a tablet netbook, especially when it comes to content creation. The iPad is more of a media and information consumption device. It’s a computing appliance, while the Slate is a computer.

The iPad doesn’t multitask, doesn’t have cameras or USB ports and a SD card slot, all of which the HP Slate does have. But the iPad offers 10 to 12 hours of battery life as a result, and is also highly stable by all accounts, with less chance of operating system hangs and crashes.

The iPad is the device you go to when it’s time to play games, watch a movie or read books and your favourite websites. Sure, you could use it for content creation, but it is limited in this regard. The Slate, on the other hand, could allow for some serious work or collaboration, depending on what kind of keyboard solutions we see for (or on) it.

The iPad touchscreen and multitouch interface will undoubtedly beat the Slate, although I do take a risk in saying that, because we haven’t seen the Slate yet – but so far no one has come close to Apple in touch interface technology.

The Slate is likely to crash more often and will probably be less responsive than the iPad. I can’t imagine it being better for reading books or watching movies and the reduced battery life will be a big factor for some users – especially where price isn’t an issue.

But for most people the Slate will be irresistible. It costs as much as the iPad does, but you simply get a lot more bang for buck, barring battery life. And while I don’t see the two devices as being in the same category, I suspect most people would disagree with me.

The competition is closed and we have a winner. Thanks to everyone who followed the competition!

If you don’t want to read this whole post I’ll make it simple: follow me on Twitter and you could win one of the first iPads to land in SA. For more info:

The Apple iPad is now officially available in the USA and I plan to pick up two when I travel to Florida at the end of April – one for me, and one for you.

So here’s the deal: follow me on Twitter, and at the end of April (irrespective of how many followers I have), I will choose one of my followers (at random) who will get an Apple iPad. This will either be a device I bring back with me from the USA or, failing that, one of the first to be made available in South Africa – whatever. The point is that the winner will get one as soon as I can get my hands on it and I’ll take them out to lunch for the hand-over. At the Wimpy.

And I guess we need some rules here:

1. My family and close friends are excluded from this compo. Sorry peeps. If you aren’t sure whether or not you qualify, send me a DM.
2. The judge’s (my) decision remains final on who gets the iPad.
3. The competition closes on April 30th and the winner will be announced on 1 May. You have to be following me by 12:00 on the 30th.
4. When the winner actually receives their iPad will depend on when I can get hold of one. I’m expecting to be able to hand it over immediately, but if I can’t do that then patience will be required.
5. If anyone asks you – yes, this is me shamelessly trying to get more followers, and I don’t rightfully give a **** what they think about that.
6. If you want the cash instead of the prize… well, then we can talk. But I’ll think less of you.
7. If the winner lives outside of South Africa I will get an iPad to them as soon as is reasonably possible – but we’ll have to skip lunch. I know, it’s unacceptable… but you don’t have Wimpy there.

The Desire is comparable to the Nexus One, which is manufactured by HTC and sold by Google. There are still no plans to launch the Nexus One in SA, but the Desire is a practically identical phone with the same 3.7″ AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera and, most importantly, Android 2.1 operating system that you’ll find on the Nexus One.

The only real difference between the two is that the Nexus One is a quad-band device that supports WCDMA and associated American network frequencies, while the Desire is a dual-band GSM (with HSDPA) handset. The Desire also beats the Nexus One for battery life, apparently.

The Legend is a smaller smartphone with a slower processor (600MHz compared to 1GHz on the Desire). It also runs Android 2.1 and HTC’s Sense user interface.

It is uncertain at this stage what the new HTC devices will cost in South Africa or which networks will carry them – but since Vodafone carries both the Desire and Legend in the UK I think it’s safe to say that Vodacom will have both available on contract.

HTC faces legal charges from rival Apple who has accused the former of patent-infringement. Analysts have predicted that HTC will have to place new products on the back-burner until the dispute is settled. The Desire and Legend are firm competitors for Apple’s iPhone, which continues to dominate the touchscreen smartphone market.

Most important is the fact that Valve is not using emulation to make this all happen, as some suspected it would. Emulation would see the original versions of the games being played on the Mac in a spoofed Windows environment. Instead the developer has created a native version of its gaming engine – built for OS X.

This is an astute move by Valve, paving the way for native Mac games in the future and opening the system up to the growing market of Mac users.

Valve has been at the forefront of digital distribution in gaming, allowing gamers to buy and download games and other content, interact with a social network of other users and find servers to play multiplayer games on, all from the Steam software.

Said Gabe Newell, president of Valve, in a statement on his company’s website, ”As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients.”

“The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services,” he added.

Valve said that it currently provides over 1000 games on the Steam platform to over 25 million gamers. It also confirmed that licenses for its games would be usable on either PC or Mac versions of those games.

So, for example, The Orange Box compilation that I bought in 2008, with licenses for Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and some other games can now be used to play those titles on the Mac when the Steam client for Mac launches in April.

Steam also offers internet distribution of gaming software – so I will be able to download the Mac versions of those games without having to go out and find disks.

And one could, for example, play Half Life 2 on a Mac and then switch to a PC and carry on where they left off.

This places Valve way ahead of the pack when it comes to next-generation gaming, and also highlights the growth in market share of the Mac platform. At this point I should probably add that Blizzard – the company behind the Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft franchises, including the world’s most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, has been developing its games for both Windows and Mac for over a decade.

The upcoming Portal 2 will be Valve’s first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows and, thanks to the Source engine, the Steam system will bring a bunch of games over to the Mac at launch, and many more in future.

Now my only problem is that the Magic Mouse is crap for first-person shooters. Time to dust off the Microsoft mouse!