SiliconBeat

Apple Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook Cook dampened expectations today that Apple might enter the low-end netbook market, which has boosted computer sales globally during the downturn.

He spoke out more forcefully against the category than he had in the past.

“When I look at what is being sold in the notebook space today, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens — just not a consumer experience, not something we would put the Mac brand on,” he said during the company’s quarterly earnings conference call with analysts. “It’s a segment we don’t play in.”
Cook also said Apple’s iPod Touch and iPhone — which are basically pocket computers — address some of the reasons consumers are buying netbooks.
However, he seemed to leave the door open to an Apple netbook-type device, at least a crack. “If we find a way where we can deliver an innovative product that really makes a contribution, then we will have some interesting ideas in this space,” Cook said.
Needham & Co. analyst Charles Wolf speculated that Apple is possibly working on a device modeled after the iPod Touch with a larger screen.
Apple, though, is not in a race to the bottom.
“They are not going to start dropping prices to generate sales. If they did, it would destroy their margins,” Wolf said. “If Apple addresses the netbook space, they will move up.”

The stampede definitely is not on for H-1B visa applications for foreign workers.

In years past, the total alloted were snatched up in just a few days. Nearly three weeks after companies began applying for the coveted visas, the 2010 65,000 cap has yet to be reached.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reported Monday that about 44,000 visa petitions have been received. However, the agency has received about 20,000 petitions for H-1B visas for foreign workers with advanced degrees. The government hands out 20,000 visas to those with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.

It’s no wonder. Tech companies are laying off workers by the tens of thousands.

The latest iPhone app reviewer site will officially launch next week.
AppReview – available here – has information about more than 16,000 iPhone and iPod applications. In some cases, the review site, which recently was blessed with Apple’s official OK to be included in the App Store, provides demonstration videos.
The site claims it has one of the largest databases of user reviews.
So far nearly one billion apps have been downloaded from Apple’s App Store. And according to AppReview, there are 29,684 applications available from the Apple Store.

In the battle over image, Mac once again out-cools PC.

In a new Forrester consumer satisfaction report, the Cupertino company outscores its PC rivals – by a long shot.
In an analysis by Forrester Vice President Bruce Temkin, Apple came out on top in a survey of  five computer brands – Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway and Hewlett-Packard. The Forrester customer experience index gathered responses from more than 4,500 U.S. consumers about their experiences with major companies.

Apple had a  “good” rating of 80 percent. Compaq, HP, and Gateway, on the other hand,  garnered good ratings between 63 percent and 66 percent. Dell, meanwhile, came in with an image-bashing  “poor” 58 percent rating.

Ouch!

Dell landed with a thud in the most un-fun-to-use category. Maybe that’s why companies love to outfit their employees with Dells so much – the bosses sleep better at night knowing their workers aren’t enjoying themselves.
Apple led the pack when it came to ease of use – 17 percent better than the PCs. And consumers apparently would rather while away their time with a Macintosh computer. Apple garnered a 15 percent higher score than the others when it came to being enjoyable.
Temkin summed things up this way: “The Windows ecosystem needs an extreme customer experience makeover.”

The server wars have been fully engaged.
Cisco System executives this morning talked up their move against erstwhile partners – Hewlett-Packard and IBM – with their new Unified Computing System. They doled out details about their virtualization and data center vision, memory capacity and processing power.
But the power of the purse – promises of slashing corporate costs over the long term – was at the top of the talking points. The bad economy was their friend.
Several executives spoke in a talk-show setting during a Web cast aimed at customers.
Cisco says its solution for a 320-blade server configuration is 30 percent cheaper than a similar legacy system — $2.5 million compared with $3.6 million.
Cisco, which has been called an Internet “plumber,” not an architect of data center systems by HP, is giving companies “the ability to embrace innovation while driving down costs,” said Soni Jiandani, Cisco’s vice president of marketing for its server access virtualization group.

At 33, Apple is getting younger.

Or at least its consumers are, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. PJ’s 17th bi-annual teen survey – a national study of the buying desires of 600 young people – found Apple has got their attention.

The highlights:

Sixteen percent of students surveyed expect to buy an iPhone in the next six months.

Apple’s iPod market share nudged up to 86 percent,  from 84 percent six months ago.

Of the 40 percent of teens who legally purchase music online, just about all of them said they use iTunes, up from 81 percent one year ago.

“Apple’s dominance in the (consumer electronics) and online music markets is going seemingly unchecked,” Munster writes.

There’s a new app store on the Internet block.

Research In Motion today announced the BlackBerry App World, its answer to Apple’s successful App Store for the iPhone. And it joins Google’s Android Market in the race among software makers to create new reasons to own smart-phones beyond e-mail. Microsoft is planning to open its own online app store for its Windows Mobile operating system later this year.

Initially, RIM expects 1,000 apps to be posted on its site. It has a ways to go to catch up to Apple, whose App Store now is believed to have some 31,000 programs.

BlackBerry app developers will get 80 percent of royalties, while those who write programs for the iPhone keep 70 percent.

RIM said the applications will be a mix of business programs and fun things.

We interrupt your iPhone fun for a brief message.

All iPhone play and no security can make the pocket computer a dangerous toy.

VeriSign, a provider of Internet infrastructure services, announced today it is releasing a security app for the device.

Its VIP Access for Mobile application, which is free to consumers through Apple’s online App Store, installs a one-time-password credential on the phone. It can be used along with a username and password to increase security of online accounts.

The authentication service can be used at dozens of Web sites, including eBay, PayPal and AOL, which pay a fee of $3 to $10 per account, according to a VeriSign spokeswoman.

OK, you can get back to gaming.

Less than a year old, Apple’s online App Store is on its way to becoming a billion-dollar marketplace for iPhone applications that often sell for no more than a few dollars, according to Mobclix, a start-up that offers developers analytical data garnered from mobile devices.
The App Store, which allows independent software writers to sell applications for the iPhone, is growing 38 percent a month and adding 200 new apps a day, says Santa Clara-based Mobclix. The company expects the online store to be a billion-dollar marketplace within two years.
Already, more than 31,000 apps are listed in the store — 29 percent of which are free — substantially more than the official 25,000 apps Apple executives recently reported, Mobclix said. There have been 800 million downloads from the store, up from the 500 million Apple reported earlier this year.
“You have a new validation of how big of an economy this could be,” said Mobclix co-founderVishal Gurbuxani. “Mobile apps is not a new concept. But having a centralized distribution is new. Simplicity is the key — that’s where Apple is shining.”
The market is new and Apple will face competition from other major mobile vendors, including Microsoft, Research In Motion and Google, all of whom are building online app stores, as well, he added.
Mobclix reports that 60 percent of online buzz about App Store apps regard those that are free. This indicates that free apps supported by advertising could be a better business in some cases than charging a fee, said Gurbuxani, whose start-up is one of a handful popping up in the new iPhone ecosystem offering services to developers.
“It’s the behavior and intent of users that basically leads to actionable business insights,” he said. “It’s business intelligence you can act upon.”
For instance, Mobclix can provide data that shows 20 to 30 percent of users who download an application use it every day.
“It shows how many daily users they have,” he said. “It’s a way you can monetize your apps.”
Another service the company has developed is called Link Exchange, a viral ad model in which clients can advertise their apps on each others applications.

It has come to this: No more free waters and sodas at Cisco Systems. And the company will no longer pick up the bill for home Internet access.
The unrelenting economic downturn has claimed jobs and now long-enjoyed perks at the San Jose networking company. Employees this week were told that drinks now will only be available through vending machines and in the cafeteria — for a price. The company is also axing its policy to cover the costs of employee home broadband service.
While the announcement was met with a collective groan, a Cisco spokesman said the company hopes that trimming here and there can help avoid further job cuts. After all, the tab for free juices and broadband adds up for a company with some 67,300 workers, about 18,700 of whom live in the Bay Area.
Last month, Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers said the company would reduce its head count by 1,500 to 2,000 positions. But Chambers said he hopes to avoid major layoffs, which he defined as 10 percent of his employees.
In the fall, Cisco said it would reduce expenses — including travel — for this fiscal year by more than $1 billion.
The company announced a 27 percent drop in profits for its most recently completed quarter. And it expects the current quarter to see a 15 to 20 percent drop in revenue.