AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Apple and Facebook supposedly had a falling out over Ping.  It was probably why Ping launched without the rumored ability for users to tie it into Facebook.  It was over some API stuff but I think I know the deeper reason why Facebook was not a part of Ping. And it's the same reason why Twitter is a part of iOS 5 but not Facebook.  It has nothing to do with personality clashes. A few months back when Apple announced its subscription plans, publishers were upset.  Most people wrongly thought it was over the 30% cut that Apple wanted from each subscription iOS user bought.  Rather, it was the private user information lockdown that Apple instituted that publishers had no access to.  It was about the publishers' inability to resell or exploit the user information.  While it would be scary for a company like Apple to have such a fast database on its users all to itself, Apple has so far not demonstrated that they will give out that information to others th...

We know by now that Apple is allowing Twitter to ride shotgun on the iOS platform and Ping is likely going to get shown the door.  But it's hard to see just what Apple has planned for its social plays.  While I had hoped to hear something more substantive from Apple regarding social networks, it appears Apple will take its time.  After all, Google has throw effort after effort against Facebook and nothing has stick so far. Here's what we know right now beyond Twitter.  We know that Game Center will gain more social features.  Turn-based support is added as is icons.  I thought I heard support for messaging is added but I can't find that anywhere on Apple's iOS 5 website. Also, iMessage will bring messaging to iOS users.  This is a big play.  A very big play in fact.  Analysts are talking about Apple killing of SMS plans or RIM but it could be the foundation for something more.  Should Twitter piss Apple off in any way, iMessage may step ...

This isn't a rumor but a fact: iOS 5 has references to unreleased iPads and iPhones.  Now, take a deep breath.  We always knew that newer hardware is coming.  It's a fact of life.  Apple will always be upgrading and planning ahead. Earlier, I mentioned that we can look at iOS 5 API for clues to any mentioned features like voice control or mobile payment.  I did not think hardware could so easily be found.  What does this all mean? Nothing at the moment.  Steve Jobs has said that 2011 will be year of iPad 2.  And by the time iOS 5 is finally released this fall, the iPhone 4 will be 15-16 months old.  So, safe bet is that we'll see an updated iPhone before iPad 3.   More at Macrumors .

Techcrunch has been at the forefront of a rumored Nuance deal to power iOS and Mac's voice control scheme but there was not a peep about it at Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday.  Nor was any mention of NFC or mobile payment.   Both of these were not expected to be announced.  If they had, things would have gone through the roof.  So, we'll have to rely on the folks who would dig through the new API in iOS 5 and see what they come up with.  In the past, such efforts have yielded new information about hardware and new features. I have been making my coffee and pastry purchases at Starbucks with the SB card app and I found that to be very convenient so I don't have to pull out my wallet.  Between voice control and a more robust Siri or NFC, I rather with with voice.   We'll know in the fall after Apple releases the final version of iOS 5 and what new hardware will appear in the next iPhone.  Until then we'll eagerly wait to see if there are hidden gems ...

As expected, we got the bulk of what Apple has planned for iCloud.  At the same time that many questions were answered, quite a few remains unanswered.  For instance, what happens to iWeb and to people who build their websites around MobileMe?  For instance, like myself with my Greenjava site.   Just a couple of weeks ago, I took an Apple survey just on the subject of iWeb.  Had that not taken place, I would have thought that iWeb, which was not updated in the last iLife upgrade, is being kept around in the same way iDVD is. I'm sure we'll get the answers regarding iWeb and hosting by September.  I just would like to know as early as possible in case Apple plans on doing away with any kind of hosting.

One key question I came away from the WWDC keynote is if the Mac is on the way to reignite the PC war that Apple has lost in the 90s.  After all, Mac sales has outgrown the general PC market each quarter for the last five years and in the latest quarter, while the market shrank 1%, Macs have grown 28%.  Is something going on here?  Is the Mac doing to the PC what the iPhone did to the smartphone market? Granted the smartphone market is now dominated by Android because of Google's effort and it is a very good platform, Apple continues to play a big role in shaping it.  Not to mention that Apple has a majority of the profit in the smartphone business.  But Apple will never be able to dominate the phone market the way its iPod did to the MP3 market. With PC, however, there is almost a staleness to Windows that people don't get too excited over even with new versions.  People get excited about new Android devices and new OS updates but that is not the case with...

What about Apple's big day on Monday? Steve Jobs came on to the stage and helped introduced the next upgrad to its mobile and computing strategy for the future. What does it really mean? I don't know. It was fantastic to see many pieces come together. At the same time as I followed the various live blogs on the WWDC keynote, I can't help but wonder just what is it that Apple showed us today. Was this the future or was it just another lead change between Apple and its competitors? You have to look at the three main pieces of Apple's mobile, Mac, and cloud products but see it as a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. After all, isn't this always the case with Apple anyway? When Apple licensed the Mac OS to others, the Mac clones while mostly ran the OS adequately, it just never felt the same as a real Mac from Apple. The hardware, software, and services all worked together. With iOS running on the iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad and OS X running on the M...

Here's an excellent post from TIPB on what we want from iOS 5 but probably won't get - hey, it's what blogs are for right? My needs are simple.  I don't need wireless firmware upgrade.  Download half a gigabyte of information is seriously going to sap the battery life.  I don't want to have to download a big file and then having to plug my iPod touch back into the wall just so I have enough juice to enjoy new features.  Besides, updates from Apple are few and between.   What I really like is the suggestion to just outrigth steal from WebOS' Synergy.  Twitter and other social integration would be appreciated as  Siri on steroids.   More at TIPB .

It's a forgone conclusion that the next iPhone won't be coming out during its traditonal June/July period this year but mug later, like in the fall. If that's the case, what'll happen to the iPods? Are they going to get squished in along with the next iPhone launch? Or could the iconic line of dedicated music players pass through 2011 without an update until 2012? We really won't know until WWDC next week. It might provide a clue as to what we can expect when the next generation iOS devices. Personally, I am in the market for a 200+ GB iPod classic. iCloud or not, I am determined to take my media with me wherever I go. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Does it make sense for Apple to release an updated iPhone before the next iOS update is ready? Sure, and that could be why I won't be totally surprised if Steve Jobs goes on stage, reaches into the left pocket of his jeans, and tells the world, "this is iPhone XX".   But you say, "how can Apple do such a thing without the accompanying iOS?  Doesn't it need iOS 5?" Well, yes.  It would be nice to have iOS 5 ready but because of the fact that Apple did not talk about it back in April like it's done the last couple of years but, instead, in June, means it is not quite ready yet.   However, when the original iPad launched, it ran on iOS 3 and it was not until November when iOS 4 version for the iPad was released.   So, it is entirely possible that we can see a new iPhone next week.  It is highly improbably but that's another matter entirely.  

Don't know if you know they now, some Gmail was hacked by the Chinese, despite claims of innocence.  You know they did it, I know they did it, and they know we all know they did it.  With that settled, it's now known that Yahoo Mail as well as Hotmail were also in similar ways.   This Macworld post diplomatically did not mention Beijing by name as the perpetrator until near the end of the post but that their choice.  Having said that, the Google mail accounts of US officials, journalists, and activists were the main target.  I reckon gaining access to these same category of people is the same reason for the Yahoo and Hotmail attacks. And chances are, if you're reading this, you probably are just an average mobile warrior like me and not an ambassador something like that.  Still, it makes sense to change your passwords and such. As a matter of fact, changing the passwords to all your online accounts is a prudent practice, even if you're not a member of the p...

Apple will host its next World Wide Deveoper Conference next week in San Francisco.  And much of topics of what Apple wants us to focus on is out in the public.  OS X Lion, iOS 5, and, of course, iCloud.  But is that all there is?   I had been waiting all week long with glee, expecting to the blogs to run wild with rumors and speculations knowing well that most of it just stuff people are going to make up to get hits.  Imagine my shock when that has not happen at all.  It has been a relatively quiet week.  Maybe it has something to do with the long weekend we just had and folks are still exhausted.  I know I am.   Still, it is possible for Apple to pull a fast one on us and unleash something spectacular?  Yes, but I'm not hopeful. What?  No Crazy Rumors This Year? At this time the last few years, we were getting a lot of crazy rumors about this and that.  And of course, there was the Gizmodo theft of the iPhone 4 prototype and ...

Ready for a cheaper iPhone at $300 unsubsidized?  Well, an analyst has ventured a guess as to when it can happen.  Me, I think the sooner the better.  You know, competition and all.  But forget when but let's focus on what it can do to the market. Take the iPhone 3GS that debut in 2009 at $200 for the low-end model. And today, it's at $50 if you're willing to sign up for a two-year contract.  And yes, since the iPhone 4 became available on Verizon, the 3GS has helped AT&T fend off competition from its main rival.  While the $50 3GS has only 8 GB compared to the iPhone 4 with 16GB or more, it remains popular for a device that is about two years old. Suppose Apple continues to keep the 3GS on the market beyond this year after the next iPhone hits the market.  Whether it'll be called iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, Apple can sell the 3GS for much less unsubsidized or simply give it away if mobile users are willing to sign up for a two-year commitment. Also ke...

Okay, I'll wait in line to get an iPad 2.  In fact, I've done it back in April.  I didn't succeed in getting the models I wanted but I did. However, would I sell a body part to do it?  I would know sell a body part to even get an Apple IIc way way back then.  But a Chinese kid did.  Regrettably, he found out that it wasn't worth it. It's really sad and I'm not trying to make light of this.  And the situation occurred in China.  Plus, it's not some early teen kid but a seventeen year old.  He sold his kidney for 20,000 yuan which is about $3100 USD.  Now, the kid's health is failing.  I hope he pulls through.   This is a really bad symptom of a larger issue of materialism that China faces.  The iPad is a tool. Great but it like isn't being used by the boy further his education or career that we know of.   More at MacDailyNews .

Okay. I really was not raised by television. Growing up, I got at most an hour of TV a day on weekdays while on weekends, I get my fill of Saturday morning cartoons but for the rest of the time, the TV is off. Still, I’ve read about the volume of TV shows my friends watched growing up as I’m sure you have as well. And while some of what we watch could be loosely be construed as educational, things have changed. And yes, TV remain a big part of today’s children (for better or worse), so is the mobile tech. In particular, the iPad. Some schools have even gone out of their way to procure these still-hard-to-find Apple tablets for their kindergarteners. I even gave my nephew my original iPad. He loves it. He plays games on it and writes his numbers and letters. And in the past, I have recommended to my brother and his wife not to let my nephew watch so much TV, it fell on deaf ears. I get the usual irresponsible parental excuses. On a recent visit to my brother’s house, I note...

Just yesterday, another malware struck the Android Market Place. And personal data continues to be an issue with users and developers in a kind of warp sea-saw battle that has attracted Congressional interests (both good and bad and for political self-serving reasons). That has lead me to consider the state of app stores and if walled garden still deserves a lot of criticism or if more unsupervised ones are still the way to go. To date, there isn’t a lot of attention about iPhone and iPad users suffering from wide-spread malware while Android users, to some extent, has had to be more careful about what apps they install. However, iOS users does have only one legal app store while Android users continue to enjoy options to get their app needs from multiple sources. Having lived in both worlds, I have to say that I like being able to go about business free of whether my iPad or iPhone is being used to siphon off my private information. To some extent, malware and private info theft c...

Cloud is coming. That’s for sure and Apple has confirmed it just as much with its press release that Steve Jobs will also be headlining the keynote at next week’s WWDC event. Obviously, there is rampant speculation on what iCloud is and what it means for us Apple mobile warriors. I reckon it’ll be tightly integrated into the Mac as well as the iOS devices. No brainer there. Beyond that, my speculations are just as good as any rumors/leaks that are flowing all over those “pipes” that power the Internet. Regardless of what iCloud is, as a Mac and iOS user, I want it to be a seemless mobile computing experience unlike anything out there. Beyond what Google has available for its Webapps and Android. I want it to be many times better and more robust than the MobileMe experience I have had for the last few years. The iCloud is Apple’s chance to bring its legendary innovative energy that has made the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad a hit with and made Apple the most valuable publicly trade...