Mark Evans, head of IT at RLB, is with us today as guest editor, helping to oversee the day's news and providing his opinion on the site's content.
Get it touch if you have any questions - either via Twitter (@itpro) or via email itpro@dennis.co.uk
To prepare Mark for the day ahead, we asked his thoughts on Apple's latest releases. Take a look below to see what he had to say.
Also don't forget to check out his thoughts on our latest news stories and review articles:
BT supports IT apprenticeships in new partnership
Smartphone and tablet revenues will outstrip consumer electronics in 2013
Project Ara: First impressions
Not with a bang but a whimper
(T.S.Eliot "The Hollow Men")
We all know that the stampede for the iPad Air is gathering pace and this Friday will see a rush for the new Apple "must have" which will only rival the clamour for the previous Apple hardware launch.
But why?
We are over the crest of the wave of ingenuity and novelty. We are now seeing all tablet manufacturers and OS developers doing more of the same, with only incremental improvement over any forebears.
Forgive me if I don't run around the room hollering and yelling in an ecstasy of excitement when I see what the iPad has evolved into. The same applies to Android tablets, so Apple fanbois, keep calm!
The iPad Air is slimmer than its predecessor. Wow. It has a 64-bit processor. Champion. It's lighter (hence the name). Yeah Evolutionary.
The release of OSX Mavericks evolutionary. If Apple had written OSX "Tabby" (continuing with their cat naming convention) and launched OSX Tabby on a new MacBook "Hydrogen" which boasted 3D holographic screens with no need for glasses WOW! I would be beating my way through the throng to buy (and then wonder what to use the 3D for afterwards, naturally).
But, no. Evolution -again.
This levelling out of innovation, this maturing of a market is no real surprise. Every new technology has a period of excitement and innovation, followed by the inevitable "maturity" which allows the accountants to remove all of the fun and force the innovators to sideline experimentation in favour of screwing every penny out of costs.
Forgive me if I don't run around the room hollering and yelling in an ecstasy of excitement when I see what the iPad has evolved into. The same applies to Android tablets, so Apple fanbois, keep calm!
