AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

First, I know nothing about what Apple is going to say in advance for March 2nd unveiling of the "iPad 2".  Zero.  Nada.  I'm not even going to get into what others say Apple will unveil.  Frankly, they're just delicious rumors for blog readers.  I'm gonna get ahead and make my own predictions and analyze each point and how iPad 2 is going to specifically influence the tablet market and the mobile market in general. March 2nd Event:  I'll have my venti mocha from Starbucks, wait for 10am PST.  I would have gotten the day's work done earlier in the morning just so I can spend the rest of the day pouring over the analyses, blogs, and, of course, even offering an opinion or two of my own on Apple's latest and greatest.   What is different this year is that Steve Jobs won't be there.  It'll likely be Tim Cook, Apple's headmaster until Steve returns.  He'll run through the numbers on Apple's successes over the Holiday quarter, the recep...

For years, we suffered at the hands of ATT's draconian rule because they were the only one we can get the iPhone from.  But it was not just the bad signals, dropped calls, and lies but it was also the stupid charges here and there. My credit card was compromised back in December.  It was also used for auto-pay for our iPhone accounts as well as our T-Mobile plans.  After reporting suspicious activities on there, all charges to the card were stopped. Now, maybe it was my bad that I didn't update the information with all the companies I use that card to make payments with but all of them were understandable about one missed payment that was quickly rectified once I received e-mail notifications.   Except one.  You got it.  Our iPhone overlord, ATT.  Not only that, they proceeded to charge me $40 for some kind of penalty.  Seriously, WTF?! All I know is that we're moving away from ATT for all things.  I'm happy with my WiMax access and my securi...

It's taken a while but solid state drives, SSD, are coming nicely. What I mean is that I see them more and more as an option from the major PC makers. Everyone from Dell to HP to Apple, its MacBook Air being very popular over the Holidays and demand has not let up, are using them as a premium add-on. Now we are seeing SSD sizes at more affordable prices. Not only that, the drives are bigger. Still, I am not quite ready to pluck down $1,500 to $2,000 for a 480GB drive. For that kind of money, it would be more economical to get a whole new laptop. Say a MacBook Air with 256 GB or storage. So what is in your laptop or MacBook? Have you moved onto a SSD or consider making the move in the near future? - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Okay, so we know that Apple will be unveiling the next version of the iPad on March 2nd.  And while I expect rumors about it to surface through the weekend, I fully expect them to be the "take it with a grain of salt" type.   Already, Engadget is backtracking on some of their earlier "confirmations" about the iPad and there were more than a few "I told you so" from other blogs.  One source versus another.  One leak that seems to go contrary to another but just as juicy. However, after reading them, I find them a bit lacking.   Sure, the Apple electrified the tablet market and we are on the verge of a bunch of competing tablets.  But a tablet is tablet.  Apple might add a camera or two to the next iPad.  Apple is likely to jazz things up a bit with faster processor and more memory but as far as hardware goes, I don't see much advances beyond what we can realistically expect.   Take the Mac fans' collective reactions to the new Macbook Pro lin...

I am not 100% there yet but I am very close to getting the new MacBook Pro that was introduced to us today. And I cannot settle on the 15" or the 17". And just yesterday, I was still waiting to see when the Air will move to Sandy Bridge. Here is are a couple reasons and why if you're in the market for a new laptop, you want to consider Apple's new mobile lineup. Thunderbolt, the new tech offered that will serve as the future port for all accessories. And this is leap and bounds what is available - USB 2, FireWire, and what is not even out yet, USB 3. And the CPU upgrade aside, which believe me is a big deal, we are talking a whole new dynamic of way to work. So far, the benchmarks are showing Mac Pro like power. That means we are talking about a mobile workstation that lets you go away and do anything. Whether this is about video work, coding the next Angry Bird, and writing that next great American novel, the freedom this power we are getting is really something to ...

I am on the west coast and that means as of the start of the writing of this post, I am two hours away from Thursday and, if the speculations hold, hours away from new MacBooks using Intel's latest and greatest mobile CPUs. I got the first unibody Macbook when it came out the first time in late-2008. It's still chugging along and I've got no real complaints about it though I would like it to have a longer battery life. So I eager wait and see if the newest mobile Macs what I need - speed and longer battery life than the current line of MacBooks. And if things don't pan out, I will probably look to getting a new battery and a faster hard drive. Of course, I'll be getting Lion this summer. Hmmm...that sounds like a lot of money already. The new MacBooks are beginning to look even better. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Here is a good post on what the real issue, like I've been saying, is about with respect to Apple's subscription plan. Again, it's not about the 30% cut which Amazon and Google (the 10% cut is from Web subscribers, not in-app purchases - as far as I know, Apple doesn't plan to charge publishers for Web access) all fully plan on partaking. At first, I was perplexed by the lack of defense from Apple and its defenders. I think as Apple stayed silent through much of the firestorm about nothing (which was absolutely brilliant), Apple gave folks nothing new to write about. And many Apple supporters probably thought Apple's rates were harsh as well. That would explain the silence at the start. But as time passed, I started to see posts that genuinely examine the issue and many began to realized that Apple was not unfair. If anything, it was once again change how things were done. No longer would publishers freely acquire user information and sell it to the highest bidde...

Though there is no official word from Apple, but it does seem like everyone is assuming that the MacBook updates will happen tomorrow. Let's assume that to be the case. Hey, Apple, where's iWork? I passed on the last update but I am so ready for this one. There are a couple of features that I can sure use that are available in the current version but I like to see if the next one makes it even better. One I am interested in very much is publication to iBooks and/or other ebook stores through Pages or another app. I am talking more that just ePub. Also, I am hoping for a simple app dev program that I hope Apple release. You know, a fun sort of App-making for dummies. Regardless, I eagerly await the next update. Hopefully, this will happen soon. Oh, and some tie-in with MobileMe would be great too. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

The mainstream media has not caught on to it yet and I've talked about it here from time to time. But be prepared to be bombarded with tons of media reports, blogs, tweets, and e-mails about it in the coming weeks or months. At week at the Mobile World Congress, near field communication, NFC, was being talked about as if it is the next holy grail of mobile. And to a follower of mobile happenings like myself, this is a big thing. In as few words as possible, NFC allows payments be made through mobile devices. Think of this as what you can already do at Starbucks. You can order and pay through the app. Well, this will happen in a much much better way. There are a couple of devices on the market with NFC capability, specifically, Google's Nexus S. But as with some technology, being first doesn't mean much. However, it is largely expected that Apple's next iOS hardware updates, including the next iPhone, will support mobile payment. And I expect an explosion of next...

Here it is folks. The moment you've been waiting for. Apple is due to officially unveil iPad 2 next week, March 2nd. Here is one bit of speculation on my part. There has been talk that Apple has already shipped some crates of new merchandise to its stores and retailers. The speculation is that they are new updated MacBooks. But what if they're not? Could they be iPad 2 units instead? More at World of Apple . - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

This is my comment response to another uninformed post with a click-bait headline.  This time, it's from one of my favorite site about ebook and publishing, Teleread. Their headline is " Steve Jobs muddies Apple subscription waters further with 'clarification' ".  I've been reading a lot about the Apple subscription issue so I can gain a better understanding of what Apple is trying to do and where the grievances are.  After all, isn't that the best way to go about getting a handle on things?   When I first read that Apple would take 30% of all subscriptions, I was flabbergasted.  30%!  Piracy!  As it turned out, this is way below Amazon's 70% cut on Kindle subscriptions.  Publishers are not concerned about that.  What they are not happy about is that Apple still will not share with them the vast and rich treasure trove that is the iTunes ecosystem that Apple spent the better part of the last decade creating. Here goes: How did Steve Jobs' e-m...