AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Please indulge me while I get into what the Zune HD is. Zune HD is Microsoft's stunning answer to the iPod Touch with a well built body, interface, and OLED screen. There is not much more go to on at this time as a lot of information are still lacking and demos are limited to a special few (Gizmodo has a video). A few points about the "first" impressions from Gizmodo as mentioned in Appleinsider's post.  I'm looking at my iPod Touch here and I don't see how the Zune HD has a better looking form than than the Touch.  Far from it.  First of the all, the Touch body is has nice curves, no screws, and quite responsive.  The Zune HD as it is now has screws, thicker body, and it's got that original aweful brown hue. First of all, let's get this out of the way. HD for the Zune HD doesn't mean the video is HD quality.  It's got HD radio.  Done.  Let's move on. Now, this is the first looks anyone has is very subjective and Microsoft showed t...

Did you know this? Hulu made available today their desktop application for Mac and Windows computers to watch video directly without going through the browsers. Here's the link to get it: Hulu Desktop . Downloading as I'm writing this. Here's a short FAQ I took from their site about this: How is Hulu Desktop different from Hulu.com? Hulu Desktop runs directly on your computer and does not require a web browser. It provides an alternate way to browse and view content from the Hulu Library. Is the same content on Hulu.com available on Hulu Desktop? Generally speaking the Hulu library on Hulu.com will be available through Hulu Desktop. While our goal is to have the same content library available on through all of our distribution channels, we work together with our partners to determine availability of their content on these various channels. Do I need and account to use Hulu Desktop? No account is required to use Hulu Desktop, just download and enjoy. Can I access my profi...

Hello again. It's that time of the week where we watch our Friday movie clip thing. Again, this tradition started while I was in college, when movie tickets were $3.50 for a matinee and Fox in Westwood, California was (is) one of the better theaters to watch movies. This week's movie is ABC's upcoming series, V. I've been waiting for this for a long time. It's here. It's looking awesome and I hope V and sci-fi fans will flock to this show and support in next season. Have a great weekend!

It's obvious how much Palm loading up with ex-Apple execs and engineers has irked the people currently occupying the halls of Cupertino that is Apple's headquarter. What's not known is just how much Jobs and Co. is willing to let that slip out into the public. Outside of thinly veiled patent threats surrounding the Pre, there really hasn't been much said about the issue. Now, most bloggers (and Wall Street analysts with these blogs) believe that Jobs will officially return to work from his medical leave by introducing the next generation of new iPhones. No one knows if it'll be at the WWDC in early June or at a special planned media event. Whenever or wherever the new iPhones are unveiled, I can totally hear what Steve Jobs is going to say about the prices. "We have three models. $99. $199. And $299. (PAUSE) And no rebates required," to thunderous applause and laughter. (I don't know if there will be a $99 model. However, given how aggressive A...

It's done.  Slingplayer is now working with T-Mobile's T-Zone. But as you probably guessed, it didn't work right out of the box...ah...download.  It took some tweaking, frantic calls to Dave the mobile warrior, and persistence to get it finally working. It simply irks me that in this day and age we are limited by terms dedicated by self-professed wireless overlords who are fine with milking what they can from us with public spectrum.  But that's another issue.  The main issue is that I refuse to abide by those terms.  And I whole-heartedly encourage my fellow mobile warriors to put ATT on notice.  In your own manners. Now, back to Slingplayer.  I'm putting together a video that I'll have on youtube tonight or tomorrow showing Slingplayer for the iPhone working on the wireless network.  You'll notice it's on T-Mobile and not ATT.  Well, others have gotten Slingplayer to work on ATT's 3G network. Quality.  How is it?  Well, it...

Like all Macbook and desktop Mac users, I can't get enough of updates from Apple. New features, stability, and general bragging rights over our Windows peers. With the latest update, 10.5.7, there may be a bit of a surprise for hacintosh netbooks. In particular, for some users who bought a MSI Wind like myself and Dave the mobile warrior who turned them into "MacWinds", are experiencing longer battery lives. Is that possible? I'm gonna hold off on that until there are more evidence that this is actually happening. A couple of guys on forums reporting this is nothing. But that may change in the next few days as people give this recent update a try. The greater issue, if this happens to be true, why aren't there an explosion in reports of longer battery life for Macbooks? Also, why the optimization for MacWinds which Apple doesn't support. Here are possible scenarios. Imagination. All in the heads of these few individuals. Some lucky few are benefiti...

I'm a Palm fan. I've been using Palm PDAs since Palm III. Their best work was, I still believe that to be the case, is the Zire 72. However, I'm I bigger fan of Apple fan and I totally love my Apple gears. With that said, I'll gravitate towards whoever provide the best technology along with the best user experience at the end of the day. With that said, I read an article in Silicon Alley Insider that speculated on whether we'll see the iPhone at the WWDC. Personally, I don't think that'll happen. I'm not even sure we'll hear about the iPhone 3.0. But one of the points they made in favor of the iPhone being shown off at the WWDC is the idea that Pre will be available around the same time as the developer conference and Apple will want to spoil the party. Insider said " With the Palm Pre on the market as possible temptation, Apple will want to have its new iPhone out ASAP ." It's certainly a valid point. But it's not somethi...

I am not an attorney and I know no more about the law than the average mobile warrior. However, can ATT's crippling of iPhone's Sling app end up being in the courts? I think that is a possible scenario given that Sling's attorneys or iPhone users can make a case out of this. We all know that Slingplayers on other networks and devices work well enough over 3G networks. ATT's argument against the 3G use with Slingplayer on the iPhone is just utterly nonsense. It's one of those things you say and you struggle to take it back. We'll likely hear more about this in the coming days. And we've yet to mention net neutrality as a critical issue in all this as more and more people rely on their smartphones and mobile devices like the iPhone. Links: Wired , Appleinsider Note: It may be that ATT's argument that the iPhone isn't a smartphone for legal reasons. We doubt they really believe that but we've argued all along that the iPhone is a mobile de...

There has been a plethora of articles and blogging posts (line continues to be blurred between the two) about Apple's iPhone platform and the inways its made in the mobile gaming market. Personally, I think the final ruling is a bit further out.  Two or three years.  Still, there has been quite a bit of attention, including our own blogs ( Onxo and here) about mobile gaming in general and how iPhones and iPod Touches can benefit as more mobile warriors use it beyond playing music, making calls, and surfing the Web. I have to say that 90% of all my apps, both paid and free, are games.  They range from $1 and up.  And you know what?  During that time, I've not touched my other gaming gears.  And this isn't just coming from me.  Others have also noted this change.  Perhaps it's time for me to make a declaration about Apple's gaming but honestly it really is too early to say.  Nintendo and Sony have yet to respond to the app store in any m...

WSJ does a pretty good tech segment.  For those of you who have full access, you can attest to this fact.  Here's one where Quickoffice for the iPhone was semi-reviewed.  So let's get into it.  Two years into the iPhone's product cycle, Quickoffice is the first full-blown office suite.  For folks who use Palms and Blackberries for work, you might be familiar with the app.  Quickoffice's arrival couldn't have come at a better time as more and more businesses are opening up to the idea of adopting the iPhone into their rank of tech gears.  How does it stack up? When I first heard about Quickoffice, I was puzzled why they didn't simply wait until iPhone 3.0 is out so that it can take advantage of the new features.  Regardless, it is out and WSJ's post on the app has allowed me to save $20 until a more robust version is out.  So, what did WSJ's reviewer like or dislike about it? Liked the cut-and-paste.  However, this isn't iPhone 3.0's...

After Apple's event to preview iPhone 3.0, I realized that not much will take place between then and until iPhone 3.0 come out in the "summer". And summer pretty much covers, well, all summer. So, it stands that we expect things to be quiet. To my delight, that has not been the case. There has been no shortage of information about Apple, rumors that come from "well-placed informants", rumors that stem from other rumors, and just plain old stuff Wall Street analysts make up. And as it is today, people are getting more and more of their information through the Internet. Blogs, news sites, blogs on news sites that quote blogs, and so on and so forth. It's a cycle that is feeding itself. We all need eyeballs. Yes, readers. So, lots about Verizon and Apple. Pre Nano and ATT. Verizon with Microsoft. CDMA versus GSM. Apple's 10" tablet. So, what is going on with Apple's mobile gears and plans in the coming months? These are what we know: i...

I'm loving Nine Inch Nails' response to their app being rejected by Apple. When it was brought to my attention last week, I knew given their "coolness" with the very same Apple crowd, this was gonna be an issue. Here is what they said according to Macrumors. Be warned, there are bad words used here. I'm keeping them in there because I want readers to know the full brunt of the anger Apple's idiotic app approval process has generated. Here goes: From: iPhone Developer Program Date: April 27, 2009 11:44:12 AM PDT To: help@store.nin.com Subject: nin: access 1.0.3: Application Submission Feedback Please include the line below in follow-up emails for this request. Follow-up: XXXXXXXXXX Dear Craig, Thank you for submitting nin: access to the App Store. We've reviewed nin: access and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store at this time because it contains objectionable content which is in violation of Section 3....