A Big Day In Technology

Many milestones in technology have been realized in the last day that I thought was worthy of mention. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger protocols will soon be compatible with one another. This is a huge move for both corporations, who have been battling head-to-head for internet supremacy. This may swing the pendulum back to these protocols, as it is widely rumored that AOL IM has the majority of the market, when it comes to instant-messanging services. I also think it's a matter of survival, as Google has released their own instant messanging client, based on the open-source jabber protocol.
   Synergy is happening in the IM networks, and I predict, within five years, all protocols will be interchangeable with one another. What a wonderful day that will be.
   
   
2. China launches it's second man mission to space. Any time a country can display the technological and economic power to put a human being into space is commendable. Even if you do not agree with China's ideology, you can't ignore the fact that it is one of the most powerful nations in the world. I predict that China will become the most powerful nation in the world, surpassing the United States of America, within ten years.
   
   
3. Apple released its' fourth quarter financial results yesterday, boasting it's most profitable quarter in the company's 30-year history. When I consider the success of the Apple II, and the original Macintosh, I find it hard to believe that Apple has never been stronger than it is today.
   Much of the profits were due to the success of the iPod. Most notably, the iPod Nano, sold one million units in the last 17 days alone. This is huge for Apple, but it goes deeper than that.
   You probably have heard of the "iPod Halo effect". It's to entice PC users away from their clones, and buy Macintosh computers. It also helps that Apple has OSX, the operating system that is more stable, more secure, easier to use, and doesn't get viruses. From what I see, the Halo effect must be working, since Apple is selling more macs than in recent years, probably as many as the introduction of the original iMac in 1997.
   Speaking of iMacs, Apple today released it's brand-new iMac, and even though it's the same form factor as my model, it has some very exciting features that makes me want to ditch my current model and upgrade. The new model sports a faster processor, built-in wireless networking (including Bluetooth) some fancy new software, built-in iSight webcam, a remote control, upgraded graphics cards and a bigger hard drive, all while slashing the price by 100 dollars.
   This is huge. It's free money, especially when you consider the iSight sells for 200 bucks, the Airport Extreme card sells for $150, and a bluetooth dongle costs 100 bucks. That's nearly 500 dollars of free peripherals!
   

Show me a PC that sports as many features as the brand-new iMac -- one that sells for $1299US or less, and I might reconsider. This is the biggest bang-for-the-buck I have ever seen Apple offer.