The PlanetRecruit Blog

Making niche technology mainstream

Apple could be about to do for the cloud what it did for the MP3 player and the tablet computer – make previously niche technology mainstream.

For most, the first MP3 player was the first generation iPod, released in 2002 – when in fact they had been around since 1998. Most recently, since the release of the iPad manufacturers and people alike are falling over themselves to release and buy tablet computers. However, the concept of tablet computing has been around for some time, with Microsoft trying it as far back as 2001.

These innovations have hugely changed the way we think about and consumer media. Take music, for example. Many swore never to give up their CD collections and to continue buying CDs after the iPod release. Compressed music doesn't sound as good – true – and nothing beats owning a real CD or record, yet most music lovers will now have extensive digital collections. The same holds true for books, with research indicating more digital books than paper copies were purchased last year.

Lock, Stock and 10 Smokin' Websites

1. Creative Commons use a clever Google Images search that finds images with CC attributions tagged to them. This allows you to find works of art, photos, illustrations (of just about anything) with a license that suits you.

Website: http://search.creativecommons.org/

License: Creative Commons (varies)

 

Now Apple wants to "replace cash"

Whatever you think about Apple, you can't fault the company for any lack of ambition. Its latest wheeze? Just to "replace cash."

Yup, Steve Jobs may be taking a back seat for the time being but Apple's intent to stay ahead of the game and keep competitors on the back foot is as determined as ever. Now Apple says it is "aiming to replace cash" with compelling, robust, secure and easy-to-use mobile payment apps and systems for the iPhone and iPad.

The idea is to make both hard cash and credit card payments redundant for millions of consumers and strong rumour has it that Apple is prepared heavily to subsidise special new payment terminals in shops and restaurants as it gets into Near Field Communications (NFC) to take on new rivals such as Visa and Mastercard. Others say Apple may even be prepared to give the payment terminals away, swallowing the cost for the sake of entree to a market potentially worth trillions of dollars.

Viral marketing; mass consumerism; world domination

If you haven’t already heard of Groupon, it’s only a matter of time. I worked with the company about six months ago and I always suspected they’d have the potential to grow quickly. To say Groupon has grown fast is like saying Giant Haystacks had a lofty childhood. They’ve exploded on to the market and if they don’t admit that their next stop is world domination, I’d say they were being modest.

Groupon is built around collective buying power. The website features a daily deal, offering residents of over 150 cities the chance to snap up a genuine bargain. Assuming you’re based in a supported city – and they’re expanding rapidly so that’s surely only a matter of time – you can subscribe to their mailing list and gain access to these offers.