AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Here's a short clip.  I wouldn't call it anything else but that.  Clip of their re-imagining of Wonder Woman. Acting.  Well, what acting?  But totally dig the costume. What do you think?  Recognize the actress/model?

Source:   NPR . Here's a neat breakdown of just how much cable companies have to pay per subscribers to carry certain channels from media companies like Disney and NFL.  What's interesting is how much companies have to pay for Fox News.  You'd think it's more of an entertainment ("feel good (let's get angry together)" channel) than a news channel. Also, more on why ESPN is able to command such a bigger subscription rate ( NYT ). You would think that maybe some other new players (oh, you  know), certain high tech companies with huge ad or hardware profit margins, could step in, pay more or even upfront, to secure new deals to provide users with a new business model to compete against the bundling that cable guys have been forcing down our throats for decades. Considering how little the NFL channel costs, getting a deal together for the top ten or twenty cable channels is nothing for Apple, Google, or Microsoft.

Just like a couple of minutes ago! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I ordered two iPhone 5s's.  One for me and one for my brother.  He's a decent guy, ungrateful at times but he served the country well.  Anyway, both of them were ordered a couple minutes after midnight on Friday, September 20th. I was fortunately enough to have both of them shipped at the time they were this Monday out of Zhenzhou, China.  And along with the half million iPhone owners tracking that same UPS99 flight, we saw it land safely in Louisville, Kentucky.  And from there, we go our separate ways. Here's what's interesting. My information said that I would not get my iPhones until this Thursday.  But I had hoped that somehow, they would squeak by and make it out on the UPS to Ontario, California flight today. When I woke around 5 am PST to check, sadly, one of the tracking numbers said "The scheduled connection was missed". I was like "frak!" and I went back to bed.  This morning, I tracked the other number right when I woke up.  I ...

There is global warming.  And science isn't a religion.  An as a spiritual person who believes in God but ain't a nut about it, the world and the reality as we know it was not created in the mere hours/days the Bible said it was.  Damn there are many stupid ignorant folks out there. Having said that, it is very sad for me to hear how there are folks who believe that by installing iOS 7, it makes your iDevices water-proof.  First, those folks do not deserve to own an iOS device.  Second, the sheer naivety of these folks is just shocking. NO!  There is no OS, iOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry, or Android that will make devices water-proof, fire-proof, baby-proof, drop-proof, and, obviously, stupid-proof. Source:   Cult of Mac .

Apple's iMessage implementation is one of the most useful features on the iPhone, iPad, and Macs.  But it leaves out those with are not a part of the Apple ecosystem - like Android devices.  So, I had been wondering how long before someone figures out a way to get iMessage working on other platforms. Well, it's happened in the form of an app.  It's called iMessage Chat ( Google ). Oh yes, everything about this app goes through China.  Does it work as advertised?  Not at all. It works by spoofing a Mac computer and pretends to be sending messages to iOS users.  However, that isn't the case.  In fact, testings have shown that messages are sent between Android users of this app but messages never reach real iOS users ( Appleinsider ). That Google allows this through Google Play is beyond me.  No fact, many websites, including us here, are saying to avoid this at all cost. And really monitor your iCloud accounts or, better, change your pas...

I've been tracking my iPhone 5s along with hundreds of thousands if not millions of US buyers, eagerly waiting for the arrival of our "precious" at our doorsteps.  Well, in the past, you just have UPS or whoever Apple contracts out to make that happen. Today, there's Flight Aware.  It's a real time tracking website for flights.  I still have no clear idea how any of my fellow eager iPhone owners figure out which flight is which but I don't care.  Here's my current flight out of Incheon International in Korea to Anchorage, Alaska . Judging by these numbers and ETA, the UPS delivery date for Thursday for my iPhone 5s should make it.  From there, I'll have to rely on others again to figure out the collecting flight from Anchorage to wherever my iPhone is supposed to go in the Midwest before coming back out west again to California and into my little hands. Here's the thing that I gathered from this.  I know where Zhengzhou, China is now.  I k...

I've been going through forums at various Apple and Mac sites to find out information about my iPhone 5s, still stuck in Asia somewhere, and there appears to be a few main issues that many are concerned about. First, there are a group of iPhone 5s buyers who have a ship date of 1 to 3 days with a promise of delivery around the last couple of days of September into October 2nd.  I was excited when I began hearing that some folks have received an updated e-mail from Apple that their product has shipped along with a tracking number.  I only got mine this morning.  I've got an estimated delivery date of end of day September 26th, two to seven days ahead of Apple's own estimated delivery window.  So now, many of us are wondering how realistic that is.  Some speculated maybe some of these 1-3 days iPhones are actually sitting in a warehouse awaiting delivery here in the US.  I think that's unlikely.  In fact, things have been heating up all day. It's kinda o...

Did Microsoft mess up with the Surface 2 introduction and the Surface 2 itself?  I hope articles like this because the writer seems to suggest that they know better.  I've been guilty of this but I tend to be more optimistic than other writers and I always give a product or service the benefit of the doubt before making bold predictions. Here in this post from Read Write , the writer suggests that Microsoft has failed once more with the Surface 2 by not connecting it with the users.  Instead, it walked about what kind of horse power it has.  I admit that at one time, that would have been enough to sell me on it.  But no more.  And for the more sophisticated mobile society we have today, that is also true. There is one main issue here and that's the effect the iPad has on the user.  There is an element of joy that you get from using the iPad that is not matched like other tablets. The same can be said of the iPhone when you hold it in your hand. ...

As you know by now, Microsoft has just released its new Surface 2 tablets, RT and Pro, looking to try to gain a foothold in the surging tablet market.  Based on specs alone, the Pro model has a better shot but folks can still buy cheaper Windows 8 laptops if they want a keyboard.  RT is better and could help Microsoft convince Redmond fans this is the Surface worth buying. Both are good for Microsoft.  What's not good is my prediction:  iPads and Android tablets will dominate the Holidays/Christmas sales and really show the tech industry what the post-PC era looks like.  And that is not going to be good for Microsoft.  It'll be very bad for Microsoft. While I have said before that there doesn't appear to be much new innovative features that Apple or Google could bring to their tablets, iPad and Nexus, (or even Samsung), they will continue to improve on previous models with new OS and add features that will further enhance tablet productivity and close any g...

A Canadian insurance company, Fairfax Financial, will by the iconic but down on its luck smartphone pioneer, Blackberry for $4.7 billion. It works out for the Canadian government as BB will remain in Canadian hands ( NBC ). - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

MacNN reports that Apple Store app for the iPhone now allows the user to check to see if the local Apple store has the iPhone model of his or her choice in stock. You can see the "check availability" during the checkout process.  Also, you can also order an iPhone and pick it up at the store as well.  As of today, there are still lines waiting for the iPhone 5s. And if you missed it, Apple sold over 9 million of the new 2013 iPhones so far.  And if you're wonder, supposedly the 5s sales leads the 5c sales by a factor of 3.5x to 5x depending on the market.

I'll be first to admit this.  When Surface came out, I thought it was promising.  It was going to get Apple and Microsoft to go head-to-head in the tablet market.  I'll admit this. It has been stagnant.  And look at how long since Apple has released a real update.  That was last spring in 2012 with the iPad 3. And Android tablets are not lighting the world on fire.  Sure, lots of sales in the low-end but Apple still dominate the money share and the tablet app market as well. So, I'm glad that Microsoft has decided to stick with Surface.  Then again, it's not like it has any other choices.  This is do-or-die for Redmond. With Surface 2, Microsoft has something that Surface last year should have.  A real feel of mobile that the Surface just didn't have.  Even when Apple came out with the original iPad in 2010, you can see that it was a very polished device.  No so with Surface. With Surface 2, both the RT and Pro version, you ...

I went to the Apple Store in Pasadena yesterday to get the battery on my iPhone 4S checked out. No other intentions. I had a mid-afternoon genius appointment. It should have been easy. Get in, hand over my iPhone to a genius, and get out. Wow. A line! It was around 3:30 in the afternoon. And the crowd inside the store was just as crazy. Neither of these pics did justice to the craziness both in the store and outside. Apparently, those people in line wanted the 5s and while Apple did have them in stock, it was a slow go as far as getting the eager iPhone owners paired with the right iPhone configuration. There lots of folks there for the genius stuff but even more from folks checking out the iPhones. And if you're wondering, I didn't see a old version of the iPhone 5s on display to touch and handle. Plenty of the silver and space gray versions. What I was really curious about was the iPhone 5c line. If you recall, I have been unkind to the colors that were online from various le...

There seems to be confusion going on about the T-Mobile version of the new 2013 iPhones.  I've personally bought two of them.  One of them will be used with T-Mobile itself.  The other will be for my brother who has an AT&T sim card.  I bought him the T-Mobile version because I was unable to buy the AT&T iPhone 5s outright. On Apple's order page last night, the T-Mobile version was said to be unlocked.  Today, that's a different story.  Even so, perhaps, there was an omission one way or another.  No one seems certain whether the T-Mobile version of the new iPhones, 5c or 5s, is unlocked at this time. It makes sense that the T-Mobile version would be locked into its network.  However, if the iPhone is bought at a full price, it should be unlocked no matter what.  However, it appears that T-Mobile is looking to get users to sign up for service. What also adding to my confusion on this issue is that on my iPhone, the order confirma...

Source:   Marketwatch . Apple and Google showed that you can disrupt the norm by offering new services that solve problems, creating new industries, or create chaos in existing ones.  Anyone can do that.  Look at Twitter and how it has become so ingrained in society today.  Then there are companies that show that if you don't try to get out ahead of everyone else and feel safe about your situation like Palm did, you can find yourself quickly relegated to nothingness. Today, that company is Blackberry.  When the iPhone hit the market back in 2007, no one including Nokia, Palm, Microsoft, and RIM (before they became just Blackberry) thought Apple could offer anything in the phone market that they did not already offer that was better, including the fact that many smartphones then had physical keyboards while Apple's iPhone did not. Steve Balmer, "ousted" CEO of Microsoft, famously suggested that he looked at the situation, what Microsoft had to offer, and...

Last night, I took a small nap and woke up just before midnight Friday to order my iPhones.  As I've said before, it was seamless for me.  Maybe it's because I'm in the same time zone as Apple.  But as I was waiting to order and even after for about an hour or so, I followed many of the online forums and Twitter to gauge what's going on outside - in the hundreds if not thousands of retail locations where people were lined up, waiting for that moment at 8 am or whenever the Apple or reseller stores would open, and get inside and buy the iPhone of their choice. Once, I lined up at the Manhattan Beach, California Apple store to pick up my original iPad pre-order.  A couple of friends went with me.  That was fun but I got there at 5 am which was nothing like what others have done to get ahead of the line.  Lining up even day before.  Or days. Another time, I went at 3 am to line up at the Pasadena store for the iPhone 4S.  But that was not on laun...

Source:   iMore . iOS 7 has a new feature that isn't as sexy as the new camera or Touch ID but it is still pretty neat.  It's called Multipath TCP. Multipath TCP allows users to maintain connectivity between WiFi and cell signals so when the mobile warrior move from one network to another, say you're at a coffee shop and you walked out into the parking and loses the cafe's WiFi signal, iOS 7 knows to pick right off using your LTE or whatever cell signal you've got. It works by staying connected to both networks at the same time.  My question is then about what the battery life?  It's great that there is no interruption but you have to think that there is always power being drawn when the cell antenna has to work in this fashion. I lack the technical background to answer this, I do believe this is a fair question to ask. Then comes my second question.  Who gets this new ability?  Any with iOS 7 installed?  Apparently, that is the case.  N...

I was able to order a silver 64 GB iPhone 5s for my brother who has courageously served this country.  He deserved it.  And after that, I was happy.  I also got one for myself.  If there's anything I don't cut back in, it's my mobile devices. And even now, you can still get iPhone 5s (iPhone 5c models as well if that's your color) with a 7-10 day ship time if you go with a carrier.  The unlocked T-mobile models, ones that I bought, will take a bit longer. All in all, it was a wonderful ordering experience not seen in previous years.  Getting the iPhone 4s was an ordeal and I don't even want to talk about the iPhone 5. I still have a mind to see if I can get to an Apple store to get one and cancel my online order if there are still stock left this even or sometimes this weekend.

I was able to order a silver 64 GB iPhone 5s for my brother who has courageously served this country.  He deserved it.  And after that, I was happy.  I also got one for myself.  If there's anything I don't cut back in, it's my mobile devices. And even now, you can still get iPhone 5s (iPhone 5c models as well if that's your color) with a 7-10 day ship time if you go with a carrier.  The unlocked T-mobile models, ones that I bought, will take a bit longer. All in all, it was a wonderful ordering experience not seen in previous years.  Getting the iPhone 4s was an ordeal and I don't even want to talk about the iPhone 5. I still have a mind to see if I can get to an Apple store to get one and cancel my online order if there are still stock left this even or sometimes this weekend.

Nothing more to say... - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thanks to Dave the Mobile Sage, he sent  this website (mixpanel)  that tracked iOS adoption.  Specifically, iOS 7 is what we're interested in.  In less than 24 hours, it's already at 1/3 of the iOS market. That's fast.  Can you imagine this kind of adoption for any other platform.  Certainly not Android and, even with closed ones like Blackberry, Web OS, or Windows Phone, you can't get this kind of adoption rate. It's good for the platform.  Great for the end users.  And all around high-fives for developers.  

This  CNET post  about binge watching of TV shows seems to suggest that its a Netflix only phenomenon but it's not.  It's happening on other online video services as well. (Nielsen Chart) This should not come as a surprise.  Folks are watching shows on Netflix, Hulu, and others through their phones and tablets.  Maybe on their TV too.  And the ability to watch these shows anywhere, at home, on the go, or even at work makes this new video watching behavior easier. But while mobile is important, what's more important is that online services makes the whole season of a show available at the same time.  With all two seasons of Scandal on Netflix, I would not have been able to binge watch it since Sunday night.

Source:   Wired . Here is an interesting Wired post about what Microsoft should do about its mobile situation, which is bad, and maybe to turn things around, it should open up Windows. The post has a thing or two to say about past attempts at open source.  It's likely, in my opinion, Steve Balmer, current and outgoing CEO, didn't go for it.  Just like he didn't go for projects that could have put Microsoft ahead and put the iconic software company in a stronger position. It's why the post believes a new CEO could utlimately do what Balmer was too afraid to do.  It's unlikely.  I'm tell you that now.  But even if somehow, the new CEO was brave enough to try, it would only be the first step.  It may slow the bleeding but won't stop it. Microsoft will still need something new that convinces hardware makers, software developers, and, more importantly, businesses and consumers that it has something new and innovative.  The new CEO will need its...

Starting today, anyone with an iOS device that can install the brand new iOS 7 will also get a special new treat and feature:  iTunes Radio. I'm assuming that Apple will release the iPad version of iOS 7 as well. Essentially, iTunes Radio is Apple's new modern answer to give users the ability to stream music that they like and, hopefully, discover new ones.  There's word that Apple is also hiring special human curators for this new feature. Did I also mention that it's free?  This is significant because this will really hit some music streaming services hard.  Today's music streaming services like Pandora, often used as the service most likely to be hurt by Apple's entry into the radio streaming biz, offer limited free services and rely on paid services in order to generate revenue. And even if Spotify doesn't directly compete with Apple's iTunes Radio because Apple doesn't let users picks specific songs to stream like Spotify, free is going to...

A Trojan file for the OS X on the Mac has been found.  Right now, the threat is benign because the backend server where commands are send to and from is down. Still, it does mean that the threat of this and future malware is very real ( Macnn ). Essentially, the image file is a real app that will try to install itself but will require admin permission.  It could mean that the user will be prompted to enter a password for their account. The Macnn does try to point out and sell that the threat is low but I think it's overdoing it.  Threat is a threat no matter what it is supposed to do, damage or not.  This Trojan and others all depend on element of social engineering and lack of smart computing practice. I did read a post a few weeks ago regarding such threats.  Best line of defense is to think before you click.  Second, for general day-to-day use, your account does not need to be an admin level account.  Without it, such malware would not no wher...

This pic says it all.  Not sure what iPad app the guy is using to fire the mortar.  Maybe it's Angry Birds.  More  speculation here at MacDailyNews .

Source:   Phandroid . As you know by now, Google Glass is a very neat idea but also controversial because of the privacy nature of the device.  However, unlike what stuff like Facebook is doing, Google is actually advancing technology and a potentially useful device in society.  But this isn't about privacy here now.  It's about the technology itself. See, Glass need a data plan to work.  Carriers are more than happy to accommodate user's hunger for data. As long as you pay a separate plan for it.  Stupid right?  Because they won't just let you tether it off your mobile devices, your Android smartphone. Until now.  Google made a gutsy move by releasing an app that would allow Glass to tether to the smartphones running Android.  In the latest Glass update, you can pair Glass to the dedicated app on your device and have it pull information that way. Neat.  It's a tether to an app so carriers cannot object, right? We'll see. ...

There is something about Apple's method of upgrading its iOS devices that has made me upgrade each and every single year since the original iPhone except for the 3GS.  What is it about each year's upgrade that compelled me to do this?  And it's not just me.  Others I know as well. Granted that for those locked into contracts, I get that your upgrade cycle might be different.  Of course, you can still upgrade like I do by buying the iPhone outright from Apple or your carrier, paying for the full price.  I do this by convincing myself that I'm worth it.  And for the most part, I'm frugal and I hardly splurge.  On top of that, my $30 T-Mobile plan likely has your $70+ plan beaten. Still, once the iPhone 4 came out, I have said to myself, "5 megapixel camera.  That's good enough.  And it's retina display.  How much better can it be for the next one?  What? 4S?" I think it over and this was even before the 4S is close to being out....

Lots of chatter this weekend about No more beta references about Siri on Apple's digital assistant's page. Frankly, I had always assumed that Siri will stay in perpetual beta because of the nature of the service and its on-going learning process. So with Apple giving the official work, I thought there was only one way to find out. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm willing to give Tim Cook the benefit of the doubt. It's why I am undecided about last week's iPhone 5s and 5c event. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm still iffy on the Cook era so far in areas of innovation, Apple's influence on mobile, and Apple's role as a technology leader. Here is the thing. We elect president to a four-year term in the United States. Through all the crap that cable TV says about this and that, the American electorate doesn't make its final judgment until the whole term had nearly been served. And Cook is still early in his term. So, I'm still digesting the 9-10 iPhone event. It was rather boring. Nothing that left us on the edge of out seats as we sat at our desks reading the live blogs. Even so, there is much to look forward to. If not for leaks, Touch ID, new colors, iOS 7, and even the 64-bit A7 with the M7 coprocessor would have brought some excitement to Appledom. And let's not forget there at iOS features, less wel...

Apple announced this week that they are going with a new chip in their iPhone 5s, the A7. That was somewhat expected. What was not expected was that the chip would be 64-bit. While there was some controversy about whether going from 32-bit to 64-bit in the PC market was really beneficial to the end user, Apple had indicated that iOS 7 had been built to take advantage of the 64-bit chip architecture in the A7. I'm sure some of that is true but there is likely some embellishment as well. But not to be outdone, Samsung also announced that 64-bit chips are also on its roadmap. My question is this: is Android 64-bit ready? If not, is Google working on that? A quick Google search showed that Android is indeed not far behind Apple in the 64-bit race. However, one note of interest is that many of our apps on the PC, including Apple's OS X, are still running as 32-bit apps. And the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit started almost ten years ago and we are not quite there yet. ( The Verge ...

Thanks for nuthin', Apple.  American company that does its art in California is what Apple advertises itself to be.  And I get that China is a very important growth territory now and in the future.  I get that.  So, while I also get that Apple will allow the Chinese to begin preordering the iPhone 5s on September 17th ( 9to5mac ), three days before anyone else in the world would be able to order online or in the store. That just doesn't sit well with me.  Apple is an American company through and through.  I get that it is a multi-national company now and the "American" part has become much more fuzzy over the years.  It's why it specifically mentioned that devices are designed on California rather than the USA. The 9to2Mac post mentioned problems with previous launches - like scalpers, gangs, and unruly behavior.  I'll be honest, folks.  The last time I went to wait in line at the local Apple store for a launch, there were plenty of Ch...

This Youtube video of an iPod nano has been making rounds.  Ordinarily, such a video would not make me excited at all.  But for the fact that this is the "space gray" that is supposed to be the same color as the black iPhone 5s, folks want to see what their black iPhone 5s will look it. I had not considered the new black/space gray version until I saw this nano. The main reason is all the focus on the gold model and now nice looking it truly is in person.  Also, the white/sliver looks very nice if you're not into the gold. After watching the video of the space gray nano below a couple of times, I'm giving the black version another look.  My current iPhone is back.  Then I got thinking further.  Why can't Apple make an iPhone with the same body as the nano but only bigger for the 4" screen, or maybe even the future and rumored 5" version next year? Wouldn't that be awesome?  Well, one can only hope.  Check out the video and see if the blac...

Today, a dumb Wall Street firm downgraded Apple stock because of the following reasons.  One, iPhone 5C preorders are still happening without sell-outs and, two, because the iPhone 5s isn't available for preorder, the ongoing thinking is that Apple did not make enough to accommodate the demand.  Having said that, this nameless firm did not heed Tim Cook's warning regarding using only a couple of data points in the supply chain to try to discern the bigger picture. Here is a bit of the bigger picture I doubt Wall Street is seeing.  The iPhone 5C is the iPhone 5 with colorful plastic covers. A heck of a lot easier to manufacture than the iPhone 5s I'm sure.  And given previous demand for the lower tier iPhones, Apple likely made damn sure it has ample supply. Furthermore, Apple is including a couple of new elements in its first wave launch.  First, NTT Docomo, the last major Japanese carrier hold out , will be launching the iPhone along with its competitor...

I don't know. I get that this year unless Blackberry does something spectacular during the holiday sales, this may well be its last Christmas. On that note, it'll be hosting an event on 9-18 . So far, based on what's out there and leaks, it'll doesn't have anything that truly stands out from the crowd. But I'm a hopeless optimist. Yes, folks, we want more competition, not less. So far, people aren't all that excited about this year's Galaxy and iPhone updates. This is a window of opportunity for the iconic Canadian smartphone pioneer. - Posted using Mobile

Boy, that was a long title. I came by scientific background with the title can be a paragraph long. Just ask anyone on published a paper. Yeah, enough bragging. During the live blog of Apple iPhone event, learning the iPhone 5S has the same megapixel as my iPhone 5 was pretty disappointed. Despite what Apple has said at the event, I cannot help but think that Apple was trying to pull a fast one on us. You know, using the famed reality distortion field. However, upon reading more posts from experts. I think Apple I had done the right thing. Sure, Apple's competitors have been hammering the new iPhone by comparing megapixel on their own cameras. But if you're not aware, megapixels being nothing at all. Maybe just a little bit. But there are other factors that work. This post from Anandtech provides a very detailed analysis and initial thoughts on the iPhone 5S' new camera system and sensors. Essentially, the writer was pretty optimistic about the direction that Apple has ta...

I'm following iMore's forum where a bunch of Apple fans and future iPhone 5C owners are gathering for Apple's online store to come back online for the preorder rush. Plenty of other sites are probably standing by as well. If you're new to the Apple scene, we don't get a lot of excitement like this. Maybe just three times a year at most. And it's been a while. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I have never seen this before. This is what the Apple Store looks like just before the preorder starts for the iPhone 5C. I wonder if we'll see the same thing next week when the iPhone 5S start selling. Right now, Apple fans are waiting eagerly to order their new iPhones. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Source:   BGR . T-Mobile's consumer friendly plans, though not as perfect but close to what we all want, is paying off as it recorded a record number of new subscribers in August.  That's great news.  We'll have to see just where these customers are coming from and if it's enough to get its larger competitors off their butts and following T-Mobile. It could be a while before you expect the likes of AT&T, one of the most unfriendly companies as far as consumers are concerned, does anything.  However, T-Mobile's lower monthly plans, because it no longer subsidizes devices, has created transparency never seen before in the wireless carrier industry. For those new subscribers, what's not to like?  No more two-year plans that lock you in.  You pay for the plans you want and the cost of the phone is a separate line item charge if you pay T-Mobile on a monthly basis for the cost of the phone.  Once you're done paying off the phone, you only pay for ...

Apple HQ is in Cupertino.  That in California.  That's in the Pacific time zone.  That means it's pretty awesome to be living in California where I'm at because I'm in sync with a lot of Apple going-on.  Events are PST and that means most launches are as well. So, this is why the iPhone 5C preorder starts midnight PST - 12 AM, Friday morning.  Unfortunately, the iPhone 5s won't be available for preordering like other iPhones in the previous year.  Maybe Apple wants buzz by forcing fans to line up.  Maybe, as is likely the case, 5s supply is constraint at launch.  Whatever the reason, I'm hoping that Apple will make the iPhone 5s available for ordering on September 20th midnight, a week from this Friday. That means my strategy for ordering a week from now, assuming Apple does open up order for the 5s on the same day it makes it available for purchase in the stores, also applies to you folks looking to order the 5C, about ten hours from now. To star...

Source:   Apple , iMore (iPhone 5 specs) I was "meh" or mildly pleased with what we heard about the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5C from Apple on Tuesday morning.  There was one major disappointment in my mind.  Yes, the battery life.  I'm sounding like a broken record but, my fellow mobile warriors, you know as well as I do that battery life is everything when we are increasingly on the go. After seeing Apple wowed us with the 9 and 12 hours battery life for the Macbook Airs, I had high hopes for the iPhone 5S.  I was not expecting a substantial increase in battery life.  20-25% Overall increase in battery life would have been all I asked for. Well, well, well...I guess we sort of did.  Under LTE Internet usage, the battery life for the iPhone 5s and 5C stands at 10 hours, just like Internet use under Wi-Fi.  The iPhone 5 only had 8 hours of LTE use. Not bad.  Would have love to see Wi-Fi upped a bit but we can't have everything now, can...

Regarding Touch ID, Kevin Rose has tweeted.  That's a good bet. apple's touch ID will extend to tablets, laptops, apple tv remote, within the next 18 months. Purchasing all apps/media will be with touch. — Kevin Rose (@kevinrose)  September 11, 2013

Source:   CNET . By going 64-bit with the A7 chip, doubling the processing power for the iPhone 5S, Apple knows that in the short-term, probably a year to year and half out, iPhone users are not going to see a whole lot of advantages. In fact, we may never see anything tangible at all except for a few iOS tweaks that made the system snappy and maybe only a handful of apps will truly take advantage of the new CPU architecture. What's interesting is that Apple called this a desktop-class architecture.  Obviously, Apple is looking to turn iOS devices more into a crossover than just a regular sport car and not quite a truck either. Think of it this way. With PC sales slowing, includ Macs though not collasping like Windows-based PC, Apple has to continue to innovate and make sure its iOS devices, particular iPads, will pick up some slacks that the Macbooks do.   Final Cut, more advanced iWork features, and other video or sound apps will need this 64-bi...

I like this Mashable take on the iPhone 5S.  They call it a reboot rather than a straight up upgrade.  Makes sense.  Plus, there are not going to be a whole lot of apps out now that will true take advantage of the whole package - iOS 7, the M7 co-processor, and the 64-bit CPU.

I haven't post anything about Apple's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C event yesterday.  Sorry, just woke up from sitting through the live-blogs yesterday morning.  Seriously though, it was pretty boring.  Not boring as in the event itself was but the fact that much of what Apple unveiled had been widely leaked through blogs, Weibo, and insiders. However, that doesn't meant there isn't anything to talk about.  And I'm sure I'll chime in at some point.  I'm going with a 64 GB iPhone 5S.  No way I'm waiting in line for it on the 20th and I doubt I'll find what the right model on the 21st, the opportunity and day I'll have to wait in line for it. So, I might not be too picky about which carrier (since they should all be unlocked) or color.  I'm leaning towards white/silver model.  But I do want the 64 GB model.

Source:   Arstechnica. Talk about despicable.  AT&T is using 9/11 to sell the Blackberry Z10.  Now, if I'm Blackberry, I'm be calling AT&T to get that ad off Twitter and anywhere else AT&T has posted it.  Of course, in today's social media, it's all over Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr. Man, what a bone-headed move.  I wonder who the brilliant guy who approved this is.  Arstechnica has a post and pic.  I'm not going to dignify AT&T's actions.

Source:   The Verge . Okay, Apple accusing and suing Samsung over design patents and UI implementations could be construed as anti-competitive and abuse of the patent system by some.  Personally, I think companies should steer clear of each other and do their own innovations, no matter what, and there won't be all this court action where lawyers get fat and rich. So, while the mobile war could be counted as an isolated incident in and of itself if not for this.  Dyson, famed vacuum maker, has now sued Samsung for the same thing that Apple has sued Samsung for.  Dyson is now suing Samsung for a vacuum-steering system patent that the Korean giant just lifted and put into its own system. This won't be Dyson's first dance with Samsung either.  It won a case against Sammie. While this may not be mobile related, it may speak to an inherent behavior of Samsung.  And with wearable gears just beginning to permeate in the minds of mobile warriors, I don't ...

It's been a quiet day considering that Apple's iPhone event tomorrow in Cupertino is slated to be the start of the mother of all Apple unleashing of products for the rest of 2013 through 2014.  After all, that is what Tim Cook promised us.  Having said that, while rumors have been delicious, again, it has been a quiet day. Perhaps, many leaks and rumors I'm reading have either been confirmed or deemed plausible.  And that leaves very little and little possibility of last minute surprises for today or even for the event itself. Having said that, while combing through blog posts of recaps, summary of rumors, and speculations, I've compiled a list of surprises ranging in their likelihood of happening from "just way freaking way" to "yeah, I can see that happening. Prices of the iPhone 5C - dubbed the less expensive iPhone.  Can Apple surprise us with the lower $500 advertised price?  Perhaps.  At $400?  Very plausible.  $350?  I can see t...

Did I just make up a word worth of being put in a dictionary?  Revisionistic. That is what I think could be going on with John Scully, the for Pepsi seller of sugared water, who was lured away by Steve Jobs over to Apple and subsequently resulted in Jobs leaving Apple. Here is  more details from Scully  himself. If would be nice of someone could confirm or deny his version of events.  However, Scully's admission of his own lack of understanding of the visionary leadership that Steve Jobs brought is very revealing.  And perhaps up to that point, hardly anyone has ever encountered the kind of leadership that Jobs brought to a company.

We're at a Japanese restaurant in Pasadena, CA on a busy Friday night (I should be able to make it home in time for the NASA moon launch tonight - if not, I'll watch it on my phone). Even at this time, there is a long line of people waiting for their turn to be seated. I like the people here. The servers work very hard, running around. I got to thinking. While it is good to have some interaction with the servers who are always smiling, it would sure help with efficiency if I could order via a dedicated app, leaving the servers to waste as little time running around. It's my understanding many establishments already equip their servers with Android devices or iPads to enter orders. How cool is that right? Even so, those places are in the minority. What I want, a dedicate app would go beyond ordering food. If I need a refill, more napkins, or need to order something else, I can use the app instead of trying to get the attention of our servers. And one more thing, specials. S...

JAVRIS, if you're not aware, is Tony Stark's version of Siri but vastly better. It's what Siri should be and more. Well, we are a long way off from that. However, Marvel Comic, owned by Disney, will be releasing a JAVRIS app for the iOS platform. Now, don't get excited. It's an app that will simulate some of the Iron Man look and feel at best. It will not work like that in the movie. However, as an inspiration, Apple should look to JAVRIS in the Iron Man movies and strive to make Siri like the digital assistant. Right iOS version does some stuff that Siri already does with ease - messages, weather, etc. But it sounds like real purpose of JAVRIS is for Marvel to sell ringtones and the movie to users. It is unlike enough for me to download and keep using it. However, I do hope that the head of the Siri team watched the Iron Man movies and will get his team working on a JAVRIS-like Siri. Source: iMore . - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

This is posted from Clouding Around on NASA's moon launch of the LADEE to study its thin atmosphere.  You can download the  Ustream app (iTunes)  to view it on your mobile.  Whatever you're doing on a Friday night, it's probably worth dropping for a few minutes to watch this live launch.  How often can you say you witness a mission to the moon? -- NASA is due to launch the  Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer  around 2330 (11:30 PM EST).  According to NASA's page, "LADEE, managed by NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., is scheduled for launch at 11:27 p.m. EDT on Sept. 6 from Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE, pronounced like "laddie") is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmenta...