The following video is part of our “Motley Fool Conversations” series, in which Motley Fool senior technology analyst Eric Bleeker and chief technology officer Jeremy Phillips discuss emerging trends in technology.
The threat is HTML5 replacing apps
via The One Threat to Keep Apple Investors Awake at Night (AAPL, ADBE, GOOG, MSFT).
The Fourth Turning is a Crisis. This is an era in which America’s institutional life is destroyed and rebuilt in response to a perceived threat to the nation’s survival. Civic authority revives, cultural expression redirects towards community purpose, and people begin to locate themselves as members of a larger group. Fourth Turnings have all been new “founding moments” in America’s history, moments that redefined the national identity. America’s most recent Fourth Turning began with the stock market crash of 1929 and climaxed with the end of World War II. The G.I. Generation (Hero archetype, born 1914 to 1928) came of age during this era. Their confidence, optimism, and collective outlook epitomized the mood of the era. Today’s youth, the Millennial Generation (Hero archetype, born 1982 to 2000), show many traits similar to those of the G.I. youth, including rising civic engagement, improving behavior, and collective confidence.
Howe posits that America is currently in or about to enter a Fourth Turning. The individualism, risk-taking, and conspicuous consumption of the recent Third Turning are winding down, and today’s social mood is marked by new sobriety about unpaid debts at home and unmet challenges abroad. Society is beginning to view the recent Third Turning as a period of drift when public problems were allowed to accumulate—problems that are now reaching a level of urgency where the nation must tackle them head-on.
Like all turnings, Fourth Turnings are pushed by the aging of each generation into a new phase of life. Yet unlike other turnings, the emerging lineup of generational archetypes is likely to push history forward in a sudden, concerted, and decisive direction. According to Howe, this is true today as well. As Boomers replace the Silent as elder leaders, they will reject caution and compromise and act on moral absolutes. As Gen Xers replace Boomers in midlife, they will apply a new pragmatic survivalism to management decisions. As Millennials replace Gen Xers in young adulthood, they will revitalize community, social discipline, and public purpose.
According to Strauss and Howe, there are many potential threats that could feed a growing sense of public urgency as the Fourth Turning progresses, including financial collapse, a protracted war on terror, a crisis of weapons proliferation, an environmental crisis, an energy shortage, or new civil wars abroad. The generational cycle cannot explain the role or timing of these individual threats. Nor can it account for the great events of history, like thebombing of Pearl Harbor, President Kennedy’s assassination, or 9/11. What the generational cycle can do, however, is explain how society is likely to respond to these events in different eras. It is the response, not the initial event, which defines an era.
With the generations aligned as they are now, the risk of a major continuing Crisis remains high for the next twenty years. Yet Howe emphasizes that the Fourth Turning will also offer crucial opportunities to fix national or even global problems that seem unsolvable today.
via Strauss-Howe generational theory – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Apple broke through a symbolic barrier at the start of September as a study of desktop market share from NetApplications revealed that it had broken through the six percent mark in desktop usage share for the first time. The Mac hit 6.03 percent in August and had gained nearly a full point over the course of one year. Although it had yet to dislodge Microsoft from its dominant spot, almost all the gain was at Windows’ expense, as the OS dipped from nearly 94 percent last August to 92.9 percent.
The new results also represented the first time NetApplications could break out mobile usage on its own and revealed that Android had far less control of mobile device usage when non-phone hardware came into play. iPads, iPhones, and iPod touch players combined were in the majority at 53.04 percent where Android, even with a rapid gain, was just short of 16 percent. The iPhone would still be in front in total devices owned by itself, NetApplications said: 27.39 percent were iPhones, while 22.5 percent were iPads and 3.14 percent iPods. Android 3 tablets combined had 0.46 percent.
BlackBerry traffic in this expanded view was just 3.33 percent, and Nokia’s Symbian was at 6.21 percent. Microsoft was still distant but had some consolation in Windows Phone’s share. Despite Gartner share data that showed Samsung’s Bada on top, Windows Phone at 0.22 percent was still being used more than Bada, which rested at 0.07 points.
Browser results were more favorable to Google. On the desktop, Chrome hit an all-time high of 15.51 percent, up over a point, where Safari dipped to 4.64 percent. Microsoft again hit a new low at 55.31 percent. Again looking at mobile share for the first time, Safari’s role as the stock mobile Safari browser on iOS gave it a virtually identical 53 percent command of the mobile space. Android’s official browser had leapt up to 15.73 percent, but it was still significantly behind Opera Mini, whose cross-platform nature kept it at 20.77 percent .
As before, NetApplications results reflect current users and not total shipments. They still imply that Apple has considerably more control of the desktop and mobile spaces than portrayed elsewhere, particularly in studies elsewhere that only cover smartphones. The iPad’s majority lead in tablets and Google’s near-complete absence in MP3 players have reduced Android’s perceived impact.
via Mac cracks 6% desktop share, iOS claims 53% real share | Electronista.
This Too Shall Pass 