AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Guess what? I am writing this post from the iPad. Now, you know that I've done that for eons. Others have done this as well. What's different this time around is the wireless connection that I am using. Posting through T-Mobile's EDGE. With the GSM 3G iPad model, I am limited to AT&T in the United States. There is T-Mobile but a couple of things prevent most users from using their iOS devices with T-Mobile. Most users. I like to consider myself as more adventurous when it comes to my mobile needs. See, the issue facing T-Mobile users from is that the 3G network and the iOS devices are not compatible. Hence, you're limited to EDGE speed even if you are able to get it work. Secondly, Apple has switched over to using micro sim cards. And those micro sim cards are not provided by T-Mobile. So even if you're willing to go with the slower wireless speed, the sim card issue remains an obstacle. However, if you're willing to take the EDGE speed, you'll need...

Better kinda late than even later.  I'm talking about Apple's iCloud information about migration from MobileMe and for new users. Just about everything so far has been as expected.  iWeb hosting and iDisk are gone.  But we now know that there will be web access for those who like to access their mail/calandar/contacts through a browser. I can't say that I'm bitter about iWeb.  I've said before that I took an iWeb survey only a month ago.  It made it looked like Apple was soliciting information on my use and what I think can help them improve up on. More at 9to5Mac , Apple .

You know you're disruptive when other companies get sued because of the doors and possibilities that your product opens. After Time Warner was sued and eventually settled over its iPad app that allowed subscribers to stream services they order, Cablevision is being targeted by Viacom for virtually the same reason. This is pretty impressive considering that the tablet market did not exist 14 months ago.  And today, the iPad IS the tablet market.  After all, the iPad accounts for about 90% of the world's tablet traffic and 97% of the US market.   It's likely we are seeing the beginning of a turmoil in the video subscription industry, namely cable and satellite.  Don't be surprised if these apps are the precursors to video-only services for live TV. Source: Macrumors

1 Million T-Mobile customers are also iPhone users.  Most are still using pre-iPhone 4 devices but more than a few have taken the knife to their sim card and turned it into a micro sim to fit the iPhone 4. It's interest that just now, T-Mobile is bring this up.  Why?   The most likely reason is that Apple has begun selling unlocked iPhone 4 in the US and T-Mobile, while in the midst of a merger with AT&T, hopes to take advantage of the change. If you think about it, that is about $90 million extra dough iPhone users pay T-Mobile each quarter to access 3G data.  And not only that, while we pay for 3G access, we only get EDGE because the iPhones does not run on T-Mobile's 3G network   So for about $300 million a year that T-Mobile earns, it makes sense to advertise this seemingly insignificant figure.  Oh, and to make it easier on us, T-Mobile is working on securing micro sim cards so we don't have to cut up ours. So attracting users who are willing to br...

You've got roughly six months left until Christmas.  Enough time to change your ways. But if you remain naughty, Santa will bring you this...no, it's not coal.   it's worse  (Wired).

1 Million T-Mobile customers are also iPhone users.  Most are still using pre-iPhone 4 devices but more than a few have taken the knife to their sim card and turned it into a micro sim to fit the iPhone 4. It's interest that just now, T-Mobile is bring this up.  Why?   The most likely reason is that Apple has begun selling unlocked iPhone 4 in the US and T-Mobile, while in the midst of a merger with AT&T, hopes to take advantage of the change. If you think about it, that is about $90 million extra dough iPhone users pay T-Mobile each quarter to access 3G data.  And not only that, while we pay for 3G access, we only get EDGE because the iPhones does not run on T-Mobile's 3G network   So for about $300 million a year that T-Mobile earns, it makes sense to advertise this seemingly insignificant figure.  Oh, and to make it easier on us, T-Mobile is working on securing micro sim cards so we don't have to cut up ours. So attracting users who are willing to br...

I'll make this quick and short.  A survey with disturbing results showed that 90% of enterprises have been hacked and they are losing the battle. And it appears they're not learning from this because 60% of them had been breached at least twice.  Sophisticated malware as well as social engineering as key for such breaches. It's just unfortunate that such a thing can be avoided but the education in this regard is severely limited.  And most companies are too scared to admit it's going on. And the recent rash of Android malware will only make it worse as more enterprise users go mobile with their work.   Source: InfoWorld .

Apple's PC share in the enterprise market is now up to 11%. That's nearly 21% growth from about a year ago.  All this is due to two reasons: Halo effect from iOS.  iPhones and iPads have done wonders for Apple's Macs.  Companies figure that if iOS devices are this great, maybe Macs are just as awesome.   Then there's the "bring your own" device to work scheme that more companies are adopting.  Allows for happy and efficient workers.  They are not forced upon them devices and PCs that are not elegant to work with.   It'll be interesting to see where things go from here.  Apple has retained a foothold through its millions of dedicated users throughout the vast business spectrum.  There has some more effort on Apple's part to sell to enterprise but in the short-term, it will still be folks like us who continue to help Apple out.   Aside from ourselves doing well, why would we try to convince others to adopt iOS devices and Macs?  Think...

Hulu got an offer for sales.  According to Business insider, tweets from CNBC and WSJ (they're very close to each other) indicated that Google is not the company that made the solicitation.   So, if not Google, then who?  I know people want to think that it's Apple or Microsoft.  I doubt it.  Between the two, I'd said it's more likely Apple but even that's not likely. I think Facebook makes more sense.  It has shown interests in video streaming with its own endeavors but I think they've largely been major fails.   Also, in contention could be cable companies.  They're stuck in the Dark Ages of cable video and getting Hulu could also be a route for the company to avoid becoming dumb pipes for broadband. Whoever it is, it figures going after Hulu is cheaper than buying Netflix and is a faster route to the living room to challenge Netflix.   It'll be interesting once this deal is closed.  Can't wait. Note:  As a mobile fan, I would lov...

There is an app that the Israeli government is requesting that Apple pull from the store that they said is potentially fostering violence against Israel.  The app name is called ThirdIntifada. According to the Yahoo News post, it is an Arabic term for varying degrees of uprisings against Israel.  I only said varying because, while I know a lot of it is violent, I don't know if all of it is.  Semantics aside, I do believe in the freedom of speech and religion to a point.   Doing a quick check on iTunes, the app has received three stars with no reviews to read from.  Plus, just about everything is in Arabic, including screen shots so I have no idea what it's saying.   The request to remove the app came from Israel's information minister to Steve Jobs.   I am bringing this up because from Yahoo's post, I am not able to corroborate the claims.  I guess I have grown not to take anything we read at face value.  Could be the Yahoo post is as it says...

RBC surveyed 1500 iPhone users and found that Apple may have 150 million iCloud users total, if you count in the number of iPod touch and iPad users.  Is that a lot? According to figures provided by 9to5Mac, that's about 75% of Google's 200 million Gmail users and half of Twitter users.  It's no wonder Twitter is feeling pretty good about being integrated into iOS.  Still, all of these numbers pale in comparison to Facebook's 700 million users. On top of that, iTunes Match could add $1.5 billion to the music studios and Apple's bottom-line. That and in of itself is a pretty huge number.  Should apple want to leverage this along with its other social initiatives, iCloud could be the basis of a social network to challenge Facebook and Google.  Should this be the case, Apple can fold the fledging Ping into it and provide a better integration with FaceTime and iMessage.  And let's no forget Apple's photo streaming features.   All of this can be done will p...

I'll be sharing with you my thoughts in the various mobile platforms regardless of their sizes today and how they can survive through tomorrow and even thrive. I started thinking about this last night while listening to various podcasts during my run yesterday. I think it's critical that we examine where things are without getting too caught up in the various fanboyism and take a good look at how things can turn out. The iPhone 4 death grip was an issue but to this day, I cannot say for sure if it was such a big deal. While Apple probably got a B- for how it handled it, things could have turned out even worse for Cupertino. Today, everyone is piling into RIM and its aging OS that runs on the Blackberry. As far as I'm concerned, the Blackberry OS reminds me of Mac OS 8 and 9 which was a patchwork that Apple desperately tried to push out to compete with the better and faster Windows 95, 98, and XP. Still, Apple prevailed and I like to see what are the chances ...

This is something I can get behind.  uBeam - A wirelessbase charging system better than anything on the market with a farther range.  On one side, you plug into the wall socket an ultrasonic transducer and on the iPad, iPhone, or another device, an adapter. The transducer sends off an inaudible sound to the adapter which then converts the sound back into energy to charge your mobile devices. How will this sound affect the human body?  I don't know if it will at all.  Even dogs will not be able to hear this.  And I've got a few more questions about it. Like how efficient is this system and how much it'll cost. In the TUAW post where I found information, it mentioned that someone like Starbucks can install this and virtually free up the wall sockets.   Source:   TUAW .

The next step in mobile chips is naturally going to be more sophisticated and faster than the current chips that power the top line mobile devices.  Tegra 2 from Nvidia is making waves with Android smartphones and tablets while Apple's A5 chip powers its iPad and, probably, the next generation iPhone.  Both of these chips are dual-core running at 1Ghz.  Also powering these chips are powerful graphics units.  And while it took years for desktop CPU to go from single core to dual core and an even longer period of time for laptops, mobile device chips are made the move faster and there is already talk about quad-core chips. So, I wonder what is better for overall mobile performance.  And how does that balance with the battery life? At this point, I think the current chips are good enough for our mobile needs.  And in fact, the previous gen chips, like the single-core Qualcomm Snapdragons running at 1Ghz as well as the A4 chips powering the iPhone 4, are doing ...