AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Source:   The Loop . You know a guy is connected when he gets information directly from Apple in ways that not even the press can. Apple told Jim Dalrymple, not the AP, CNN, or Reuters, that it has sold 100 million iPod touches since its introduction in 2007. That's a lot of touches.  How much compared to other gaming devices? Nintendo's wildly successful Game Boy and Game Boy Color  (wiki) sold a combined 118.69 million units since its introduction in 1989 in Japan.  It took Nintendo 12 years for the GB to sell almost 120 million while .  It was eventually displaced by the Gameboy Advance in 2001 which went on to sell about 81.5 million units in in seven years.  Sony only managed to sell 76 million PSP  (wiki) units in eight years. For the iPod touch, Apple managed 100 million units in 5.5 years. As a mobile fan, I love the fact that Apple's iPod touch is finding this level of success.  However, where does Apple go from here? ...

Source:   The Loop . here's my try to see how it feels about turning something that Apple do, as benign as introducing a 16 GB iPod touch without the standard rear 5MP camera for $299, into something bad like WSJ, NYT, and haters are so apt at doing.  So here goes. Tim Cook lied.  He said no new hardware and what's this?! Okay...I suck at it.  I think it's news about this new iPod touch variant but it is neither good or bad.  And without the rear camera, it's not for me either.  However, as  The Loop  said, it's the perfect gaming machine. I was considering getting one for my niece but I would want her to be able to take photos.  For $70 more, you get the iSight camera (the rear camera I'm talking about) as well as doubling of the memory to 32 GB at $299.  Another $100 will get you the 64 GB model which I understand isn't for everyone. I'm sure Apple has its reasons for coming out with the new 16 GB model - it now serves ...

Tim Cook talked about trade-offs that currently exists that is prevent Apple from release an iPhone with a bigger screen.  And until some of these trade-offs are addressed, that'll never happen.  Some of these trade-offs are technical while others are related to the what kind of a mobile experience a 5" iPhone can bring to the user. Let's focus on the technical ones here and discuss why I think that by releasing the iPhone 5 in the form factor it is in, Apple may have painted itself into a technical and design corner that is preventing it from releasing a 5" or bigger screen iPhone. With each successive iPhone update, Apple focused on how they were able to shave off a few grams here and there while making the iPhones thinner and thinner.  This was especially apparent with the iPhone 5 because it had a bigger 4" screen while managing to weigh considerably less. Should Apple be thinking about a 5" iPhone, the expectation for thinner and lighter will rema...

Source:   Steelcase , Popular Science . We text, watch videos, and consume information on our mobile devices quite a bit more now.  On our Android or iPhone devices.  Especially on our tablets like the iPad.  And it has changed the posture of our bodies.  Quite a few more postures than working on a desktop with a laptop, according to Steelcase, maker of office furniture.  Which is why they came out with Gesture for mobile and tablet users. And Gesture looks like. The website has more information about it but what I like it most is the built-in fundamentals for adapting to what the users wants and how the user sits when using a device.  Steelcase did their research based on 2000 individuals to craft the Gesture. My only issue is that it doesn't come with a head rest.  I suppose given what it is suppose to do, the head rest doesn't apply.  Too bad.  It would have been nice to see it come as an option (I'll be writing them to ...

Source:   Flavorwire . Here’s a brilliant chart of how to do the chicken dances on Arrested Development we have come to see and love but was initially embarrassed about it but no longer. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, dude, you have to watch the old shows on Netflix, DVD, or whatever other means you can. You will not regret it.  And to see what I’m talking about, here are a few compilations of the various chicken dances from members of the Bluth family from Orange County, California. I’m going to go on the assumption that you know what the Arrested Development is about.  Essentially, it’s about the head of the Bluth family who defrauded investors and was sent to jail while his family is constantly harassed by authorities, each other, and just idiotic decisions they make. It’s crazy funny.  And Michael Bluth, portrayed by Jason Bateman, put himself in charge of keeping the family together and rebuilding their former glory.  Seems like ...

You know what could get me to get an iPad mini even if it doesn’t have a Retina Display this year?  128 GB version. Yeah, I think that’ll do it.  Based on stuff coming out of blogs, rumor mills, and analysts with some credibility, it does appear that Apple isn’t going to be able to find a way to a Retina Display into the mini this year.  There are times when one source says one thing and another says another but it’s rare that they all agree. In this case, Apple is probably going to upgrade the processor and maybe beef up some other features.  Despite that, I think a 128 GB will get me to jump in.  It really can.  See, I got my mom a 64 GB version last year and while it was adequate, all my apps and only a few media already took up about 45 GB of space. While that leave me with about 19 GB, you have to realize that there are new apps and services from Apple that continuing to evolve how we use our mobile devices.  On top of that, apps are bettin...

This is an absolute disgrace.  I'm a middle of the road kind of guy and I absolutely think people should pay their fair share of taxes, including companies.  And like anyone else, I'll take deductions where I can.  Just like any company would. And because over the decades, the United States Congress has given in to special interests, of which Apple and Google were not around to lobby, Apple, HP, Microsoft, and Google's executives did what they were hired to do to minimize costs and do what's good for the company's future (and yes, shareholders too). Today's corporations are not just mindless soulless entities.  May of these rich such as Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Steve Jobs, and the Gates Foundation have gone on to do great philanthropic things around the United States and the world in areas of education, health, and fight against poverty. The companies are not stupid in trying to avoid legally paying their tax bills.  It woul...

Source:   MacNN . For years, while Android dominate the market, the iPhone market, particularly in the US, has grown at the expensive of Blackberry and Windows but starting to impact Android as well.  And surveys typically suggest that iPhone users are more loyal to their chosen platform than Android users are to theirs or even to their branded devices.  However, I wonder if HTC One could change all that. In fact, I think it will.  I think HTC has a winner with the One because of its awesome screen and high-end feel to the form factor and use of metal instead of the cheap feel of the Galaxy line.  It's good enough to make some iPhone users take a look at the HTC One as a potential jumping off point for Android than the Galaxy. However, there are a couple of things that might hold some users off.  One is the camera.  That's a deal breaker for me.  4MP?  Really, HTC?  I know there will be folks who will argue that megapixels isn...

Source:   Politico , Macrumors . For those waiting for the Mac Pro, looks like it could be one of the first Mac to be made solely in the United States for years.  At least that's the going convention on which Mac Apple's Tim Cook is talking about when he said Apple has invested $100 million to make that Mac here in the US. Here is an interview with Brian Williams of NBC last year where Tim talked about it. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy As you can see, it's not easy.  $100 million is nothing to Apple but it's something to most companies and what Apple hopes to achieve could be the spark of something big for consumer electronics and electronics in general. While this is old news, Politico has new details from Tim Cook as Tim start a PR trip through the East Coast which will end with his testimony on corporate taxes in Congress next week.  While that is a very important issue, it is outside the purview...

Source:  Cult of Android ,  CNET . At Google I/O, Google unveiled new Maps services and changes to the UI.  I've simplified it into bullet points.  It doesn't do justice to the whole user experience that will improve as a result but it saves you the effort of having to go through the Web looking for it all. 3D support with live cloud view Better and easier UI Real-time traffic Dynamic routing Zagat review Support for iPad Google Offers Desktop map search results will overlay on the map directly Sign into maps to create your own landmark and have that information available no matter where you are or which device you use All those are expected and great.  All of the above features have been in one map apps or another already.  What I like about the new Google Maps is the Photosphere which allows users to upload their own pics allowing Google Maps users to create their own street-view. Google Maps improvements will be coming to Andro...

(from  Auto Blog ) Services like Google Now and Siri are going to become a bigger part of our lives over the next few years and it’s quite possible that the next generation isn’t going to have to go through the antiquated search process we go through now, whether it’s through Google, Bing, or Siri. And in all likelihood, cars five to ten years from now will all support integrated systems for these AI systems.  Until that happens, there are millions of mobile warriors who commute in cars without the new and sophisticated integrations for systems like Siri (is there any out there for Google Now?). It would be great if someone can offer an accessory that would work with our mobile devices via BT or the plug and allow the user to use voice commands hands-free. Such a device will not cost too much.  $100?  I think even a module or stereo system with such support would be wildly popular for a few hundreds bucks. So, any enterprising engineers out there who c...

Source:   CNET . It’s finally here.  Google now offers Spotify-like service – pay $10 a month for streaming music.  Not sure how this changes the landscape of music consumption yet.  There could be some defectors from Spotify and Pandora, even put a dampener on any plan Apple has for its own music streaming service. Love competition!!!

Tim Cook said no major Apple product launches happening until fall of this year.  So, I find it funny that we still need posts from analysts or pundits affirming that.  The latest is that from the MacDailyNews / Cult of Mac stating that no new iPhone models will be coming.  What's interesting is that the two posts above quoted the same analyst, Peter Misek, as saying that Samsung will carve out a bigger piece of the high-end mobile device market from Apple.  It remains to be seen if that is so.  The thing is that bigger screen smartphones are gaining steam but there is evidence that they're limited in terms of adopters who really want something that big.  On the other hand, Apple's customary 70% of the mobile profit share has shrunk to 57% while Samsung has picked up nearly all of the rest ( Fortune ). Let’s go through realistically what we can expect in 2013: iPad/iPad mini.  I’ll go one step further.  We will see a new iPad this year but w...

Source:   NBC News . Last week,  I proposed that if Facebook and other social networks  or app developers, even search engines offer a paid version of their free services, it could go a long way in giving people choices regarding their private information and what is or isn't being shared.  After all, all these free services that have been blasted for sharing and selling user data to advertisers and third parties has to make money some how. My beef with the likes of Facebook is the lack of transparency, and not whether they have the rights to sharing information about their users.  Also, I detest how companies change policies on the fly to manipulate the public and change their relationships with the users. So, while I do believe some legislation is required to rein in those like Facebook, companies that provide free services can start charging them for people who are willing to pay to keep their information private. Seriously, right?  Why haven...

Okay, maybe like Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch was a disruptive force and that's why Steve seems to be okay with him.  But that did not stop Jobs from tell to Rupert face that he's blowing it with Fox News and pointedly asked if that's how he wanted to be remembered. On top of that, Jobs did something about it.  He pulled all Apple ads from Fox News.  It's an interesting dynamics between the two giants of our era.  Right now, the Murdoch empire has no problems ripping into Apple as WSJ has consistently done in the last year with lame click-bait posts. I'm sure Tim Cook and the Murdoch clan does not have the close relationship between Jobs and Murdoch. Source:   Cult of Mac .

Surface RT/Pro  (Microsoft) may yet take a sizable pie of the tablet market and create a halo effect for Windows Phone in the mobile market.  This is not to say that it will happen.  Apple, Google, and anyone else will have to keep innovating and make sure it doesn't happen.   You're thinking what is this guy talking about?  Surface sales barely register.  True but Microsoft isn't in this for a year or two.  Not like HP, Palm, Blackberry, or Cisco who all gave up easily. I'm trying to remember a product in which Microsoft just hit it out the park.  Can you remember one?   No One Microsoft Product Was An Instant Success Out Right Windows?  No.  Internet Explorer?  No.  It's dominant position is due to some illegal and shady tactics in which Microsoft was fined a lot of money.  Both products are still going strong.  Xbox? Right now, the Xbox 360 is probably the most popular console in the...

Source: Arstechnica. Adobe is going cloud-based and subscription for its Creative Suite. Microsoft has already done that with Office and more companies have gone down similar paths or are considering it. Take Apple. It's AppleCare warranty products, currently are sold in an individual basis per device, could become subscription based soon. For Apple, it could be a changing landscape of how business is conducted. Recently, Apple was targeted by the self-serving Chinese central government over warranty issues. What's to keep Apple from launching subscription services for other Apple products like OS updates and even iTunes services. iTunes Match is already something that Apple has offered since November of 2011. It's generally considered to be a precursor for a full on music streaming service. Furthermore, Apple is looking to strike a deal for video subscriptions as well. For Apple, they will likely take their time with this and see where the market is headed. Netflix's ...

I have one wish for the next OS X upgrade.  I know that with some apps, we can use the iPad's screen as an extension for the Mac if you need a secondary screen.  It's not a setup I've done but it's something I'm looking into. What I'm interested in is being able to Airplay from an iOS device to the Macbook's screens.  This would be an awesome setup that would entice upgrades of Macs and iOS devices that may create a very sophisticated and beneficial halo effect for all of Apple's products and ecosystem in in general. Such augmented Airplay features would also work with the iMac's screen or even a Cinema Display.  And I'm not just talking about mirroring. Mirroring would be a great first step. But I like to see it go further.  When the Mac with the display is being used as the Airplay display, it should automatically know and allow added features to be implemented. For instance, the user would be able to use the Mac's keyboard to co...

Source:   Media Post . Facebook Home has only been downloaded one million times since it came out.  You might that that's a lot but consider that Facebook Home isn't just any other app but, rather, it attempts to give Android users the feel of getting a new device. Put it another way, it's Facebook phone versus Android in a way.  And given how many more millions other devices sell than Facebook Home is downloaded, it's an utter failure on so many levels. I’ve got one word for that.  Pathetic.  Facebook is on its way to getting marginalized in ways that should shock its shareholders.  It’s being myspaced by a plethora of social apps that does not need to have any kind of centralized network like Facebook to anchor them. And more apps are coming.  Facebook can try to spend another billion to buy up the next hottest app like it did with Instagram but it can’t keep doing that for ever.  It’s looking to buy location/map app Waze ( Wired ) but ...

The Macbook Airs are great.  Just great.  My only complaint about them right now is that their battery lives could be longer.  I know, I know.  With me, it's always about the battery life.  However, I don't think Apple is looking to prolong the battery life of the Macbook line any time soon. In fact, if there is a redesign as some suggests, and it's likely to happen given how little the Macbooks and Macbook Airs have changed except for the Retina Display Macbooks.  Just how would Apple change the Air? It just happened that I was walking down the street today with my 11" Air.  It was light.  Not iPad light but it was not difficult to carry in my arms for about a third of a mile.  Now, I've got little girl arms and muscles so you can understand. I took a look at the shell, the whole form factor.  I really don't think Apple can make the Air any thinner.  Lighter?  Sure.  See, the bezel of the keyboard?  That's abou...

Source:   FOSS Patents . I haven't been following any of the mobile lawsuits for a couple of months and suddenly, I'm reading a string of losses for Google's Motorola (and Samsung to some extent).  Now, it looks like another Wisconsin loss could put Motorola versus Apple case back on grounds that is more favorable to Apple. So far, Google's use of Motorola's mobile and essential patents in lawsuits against Apple has not worked out well.  Most of the patents used by Google in countersuing Apple (Apple did start most of the patent lawsuits) are deemed  FRAND patents (wiki) . Essentially, FRAND patents are patents pooled by companies that are deemed essential for standards and companies have pledged to license them on reasonable terms.  And many courts have deemed their use in lawsuits unfavorable while some government bodies have begun looking to Google and Samsung for using FRAND patents in suits. And if most of Motorola's patents are either FRAND patent...

Yesterday, I finally had it with AT&T for my phone and Internet service.  So I switched to my local cable provider.  Good riddance to those arrogant bastards.  On the day when my new cable Internet service, phone service, and TV shows are on, I get to call AT&T and say good-bye. However, I used Siri to remind me in 11 months what I have to do:  call my cable company to make sure they’re not the ones who’ll end up screwing me over after their one-year special is up.  See, I’ll be paying $105 for faster Internet service, TV, and phone for a little over $100 after tax and everything.  In a year, that’ll go up another $25 and another $25 after that. So, while as much as I hate AT&T, I want to pad my wallet so with Siri’s help, I’ll be shopping around a bit to see if my cable company will keep my rates the same or will I be going back to AT&T or someone else. But this post isn’t about how I hate AT&T. I’ve written plenty on that and I’...

Source:   Engadget , Anandtech . Updated:   Appleinsider states the current Macbook Airs uses the low-power U-series chips which would might mean that any Haswell chips Apple employs for the Airs should only have the HD 5000, not the higher Iris or Iris Pro.  The HD 5000 would provide around a 50% increase in graphics performance. Whether that is enough to power a Retina Display on the Macbook Air and provide it with sufficient if not longer battery life is the main issue. -- Intel released details about their forthcoming CPU, Haswell, with bette graphics that could really provide more headroom for your next laptop, specifically, I'm talking about the Macbooks with Retina Displays.  The Macbook Pro and the Macbook Retina Display models both now sport Intel's native graphics processor but only the Pro version has a dedicated graphics processor unit. The current Intel graphics unit is the HD 4000.  The new Haswell chips will sport the HD 5000.  Aside...

Source:   Kickstarter . I'm in the midst of forming my thoughts on why science fiction shows doesn't work on television despite a few hits like Star Trek and the X-Files.  Any other shows have had to struggle with the idio network executives who simply don't get it or are too chicken to take risks.  Meanwhile, I came across this Kickstarter project formed by former Star Trek writers.  Along with an A-list of designers, music writers, and producers, they're going to produce Star Wolf. And in reading the synopsis of the story, the series producer and writer, David Gerrold and D.C. Fontana were right.  TV execs would never have picked this up. and even if someone were to do it, like SyFy, there will be too much interference from the network and its parent company. Take Stargate series, SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe.  Those shows were profitable with dedicated followings but it was still not enough for the network. Anyway, I don't know if ...