Daily Archives: June 14, 2011

Chappaqua realtor looks at the post-PC-era survival guide | Inman News for the Chappaqua NY real estate market

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A post-PC-era survival guide

How Apple, Google and Microsoft are reaching for the cloud

Flickr image courtesy of <a href=

Last week, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, Steve Jobs declared, “We are going to demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device. We are going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud.”

With the success of the iPhone and the iPad, Apple seems poised to lead the post-PC era. However, the cloud doesn’t discriminate against which device preference you have, and Apple, Google and Microsoft approach this new technology era differently.

Here’s what you need to know:

Apple
Apple unveiled a bunch of exciting products at the WWDC, including its latest desktop operating system, Lion, which has more than 250 new features; a new mobile operating system, iOS5; and the much-discussed iCloud.

ICloud could have a significant impact on the real estate industry. The platform will improve the data flow across devices, allowing users to share documents, photos, presentations and more with unprecedented ease.

Josh Ferris wrote an in-depth article, “5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses,” which covers these features in detail.

ICloud will be Apple’s foundation for the coming years, and its premise is very different than Google’s approach. John Gruber, author of the Daring Fireball blog, explains: “Apple’s is about native apps you run on devices. Apple is as committed to native apps — on the desktop, tablet, and handheld — as it has ever been. Google’s frame is the browser window. Apple’s frame is the screen.”

Google
Google’s investment in cloud computing is built into in the browser. They have a plethora of cloud applications that are perfectly suited for the real estate industry, including Google Voice. I recently spoke at the Google IT Summit to discuss Google Apps and cloud computing and had the opportunity to demo Chromebooks.

Chromebooks are laptop computers that are built for the Web, and my initial impression was that they are fast — super fast! In fact, Google states that the netbooks boot in eight seconds and resume instantly.

The browser is the operating system, and the machines are equipped with Wi-Fi and 3G. Applications such as spreadsheets, documents and photos are all accessed through the browser. Chromebooks are available to consumers and organizations with different pricing models. It will be interesting to see how sales stack up against the iPad.

Microsoft
I have always been surprised by Microsoft’s lack of timing in the mobile arena, and it appears that they are trying to change strategies. At the recent D9 conference, Microsoft showcased its new operating system, “Windows 8.”

The new OS, which is expected to debut next year, will utilize many features from Windows mobile, including touch interfaces. Unlike Apple, which offers iOS and Mac OS, Microsoft plans to give tablets, devices and desktops the same operating system. Having the same operating system across multiple devices in intriguing, especially if they can execute on the enterprise level. It will be interesting to see if they can streamline their products across the cloud and optimize the user experience.

The post-PC era can reshape the real estate industry. Cloud computing can alleviate IT hassles and expensive office infrastructure. Everyday products like Google Apps are replacing in-house servers, and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are cost-effective tools that allow agents to be more productive and efficient.

It remains to be seen who will lead in the post-PC era, but one thing’s for sure: These are exciting times.



    via inman.com

    Prudential Douglas Elliman cries online foul | Crain’s New York Business for Armonk NY real estate

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    One of the city’s largest residential brokerages, Prudential Douglas Elliman, cried foul against a small competitor on Monday.

    Elliman filed a complaint against brokers Saunders & Associates claiming that it illegally registered various Internet domain names associated with Prudential Douglas Elliman so that customers searching online are automatically directed to Saunders’ website.

    As a result, Elliman is seeking damages as well as a court order that forbids Saunders from “engaging in any further malicious and anti-commercial activity directed at plaintiff, including the registration of any Internet domain names associated with plaintiff,” according to the filing. The filing also alleged that Saunders stole the identities of several well-known and high-producing Elliman real estate brokers so that any customers searching for them online are automatically directed to Saunders’ websites.

    “This is an action seeking to reveal a gross violation of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s proprietary rights through the sly and dishonest registration of domain names by Saunders & Associates,” said Stanley Arkin of the law firm of Arkin Kaplan Rice, who represents Prudential Douglas Elliman, in a statement.

    Andrew Saunders, founder and president of Saunders & Associates, did not receive a copy of the complaint. However, Mr. Saunders said he is not aware of owning any domain names that should not belong to his firm. “If we did own names that are inappropriate, we will give them back immediately,” he said.

    Mr. Saunders acknowledges that his firm owns and has registered 3,000 domain names that might result in high page ranking when certain phrases are entered into Google for searches. According to the Elliman complaint, the “defendants’ marketing strategy is marked by nefarious, anti-competitive and illegal conduct.”

    The complaint also noted published news reports last month in which Mr. Saunders admitted misconduct in registering two domain names that belonged to brokers registered at Elliman and at The Corcoran Group. Mr. Saunders said he transferred ownership of those domain names back within a week of finding out about the act and claimed “an overzealous staffer” was responsible for inappropriately buying those names.

    The complaint claims that Saunders has not “relinquished ownership and control over all of the Internet domain names acquired to further their scheme. This includes at least one domain name closely associated with defendants’ competition, which continues to direct Internet browsers to a website registered and controlled by defendants.”

    Saunders & Associates, a two-and-a-half-year-old brokerage with 70 brokers, recently opened a second office in Southampton on Long Island and competes directly against Prudential Douglas Elliman in the Hamptons.

    via crainsnewyork.com