AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

The latest iPad (4th generation, or iPad 4) was introduced back in November of 2012.  It's only been four months since the last update, which was not all that different from the 3rd gen iPad except for some component updates over the 3rd generation iPad.  In fact, I think iPad 4 was the iPad with Retina Display that Apple wanted to release in the first place. Having said that, is now still a good time to buy an iPad?  The answer is yes.  I just bought one a couple of weeks ago.  It's a white WiFi-only iPad 4 with 32 GB.  As you can see, I've got my original iPad from 2010 in the background playing an anime on Crackle.   I bought the iPad 4 now because I needed it.  That's first reason for buying any tech.  If you need it and you don't have the time to wait another week, month, or even just a big longer, get it.  I bought it and had Apple came out with a new one today, there would be no regrets.  Simply put, the iPad 4 is ...

No one denies that China is a big market for just about anything you can sell.  Take this report from NBC News that China is on the verge of coming the world largest luxury car brand. China is already a big market for high-end European brands like Louis Vuitton.  Rolex is huge there too.  Apple reports that China is about to become its biggest market. Cars, high-end fashion likes purses and watches, and Apple devices. I still don't see a need for a cheap-ass iPhone, do you?

Source:   CNet . The impact of this Apple patent that allows users to sell their digital content to another is very important, more than just getting of things you no longer want:  music, video, apps.  And it could lead to lowering of prices of expensive TV and movies over time. First, music and apps in app stores are very cheap.  You can't argue against ninety-nine cents.  However, I do have a beef with TV and movie prices that cost more to buy and download than to have to go to Best Buy and picking up a copy, be it DVD or HD versions. That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  And over time, prices will come down as physical media sales continue to nosedive.  However, if Apple implements this patent, it could drive costs lower. Essentially, this is how Apple's patent would work: you buy a movie and you own the digital rights to watch it.  But you're disappointed with the quality of this crap out of Hollywood so you sell it to your wif...

Source:   iMore . Twitter just updated their iOS app in ways that is very Apple-like and so much so that I started writing this post with "Apple just updated their iOS app...".  What is much improved is search and a bit on looking at a webpage within the app. Small incremental updates to an improving app.  so much so that I've deleted one other Twitter app because the official one is already good enough. What also very Apple like is removal of features.  Additional video upload services is now gone.  Remember now Apple sometimes get rid of competitions from their Macs or iOS? One feature I really would like for a future update (sooner rather than later) is the ability to have more than one account.  It would really become the one true Twitter app for power users.  This isn't something that the average mobile warrior would need but it would silence that vocal minority once and for all. Back to the Apple-like improvements.  There were m...

Source:   Mac Blorge . See those black round balls where people can sit on them?  They're mostly for kids.  Which means they'll pee on them too.  

Apple HDTV.  iWatch.  Cheap plasticky iDevices.  What they all have in common is that they could be Apple’s potential downfall in diluting the brand too much.  Just as Apple did not make a small slow netbook when people were clamoring for it, Apple is now being pressed to release products to satisfy the irrational and manufactured doomsday scenario that for some reason, Apple’s $130 billion+ in cash won’t allow it to weather. Supposed if Steve Jobs caved to analyst pressure and release some cheap $400 Mac netbook that sluggishly ran the full OS X .  Apple would be crucified by the tech punids.  And then, how would Apple try to justify releasing $500 iPads or $329 iPad mini that doesn’t do all that the Mac netbook could run. Instead of the netbook, Apple answered with the iPod touch for a few years before killing off the market entirely with the iPad. Apple innovated instead of releasing a $400 garbage and waited for the right time to release a truly i...

With all the talk about Apple and other tech guys getting into wearable gears like watches, I wonder how many of those folks are shaking in their boots right now about. Or should they even be worried? Watches, along with those high-end purses, really speaks to status than anything.  So, while some brands could potentially suffer, certain brands should be able to weather any onslaught the mobile guys are likely to dish out.  It’s unfathomable that Apple, Google, or Samsung will have the cool factor to come out with $10,000 smart watches that can challenge Rolex’s name. Forget the uber-rich brands for now.  Even some of your more mainstream brands will continue to have appeals as regular watches simply because they are regular watches.  These days, everyone has a mobile device that could tell time and, yet, the companies that make watches, likely were hit hard during initial surge of smartphone adoptions,  have survived and still managed to keep on tick...

Source:   Android Community . Before there was the Surface RT and Pro, there was just the Surface.  It was Microsoft's own overpriced tabletop touch screen device.  It was pretty awesome by most reckoning.  Very much ahead of its time.  Now, check out the Android-based touch screen below. I don't know about you but I figure Apple certainly has something like this in Jony Ive's lab.  And I wonder maybe, just maybe Google should have head everyone off at the pass and release this instead of the Chromebook Pixel. Maybe Samsung'll do the honor.  Between Google's glasses, iWatch or whatever, this probably will get more mileage than those. So, guys, forget the smart TV.  How about the smart desktop or coffee table?  I think I probably will get more out of this than anything else.

Source:   Insider . We b*#ch and moan about analysts and, yet, websites continue to link to them.  But in this case, I cannot help feel I have to address the idiocy that is currently permeating on Wall Street with regards to Apple. Apple’s stock aside, it’s kicking butt left and right.  It’s dominating the tablet market in terms of units sold, not shipped like others.  iPhone sales were stunted by the fact that it could not make them fast enough.  The same goes for the iPad mini.  Changing Identities As far as Apple’s identity goes, Apple is no longer Steve Jobs’ company and certainly not in the way he ran it.  This is Tim Cook’s company.  What remains is the same innovative energy that existed before and probably with Tim Cook giving people greater freedom to innovate than ever before.  For those who laments the fact that Tim Cook may not be the product or design guy that Steve Jobs was, That is where Tim Cook is going ...

Source:   iMore . There is rumors that the next iPhone, the iPhone 5S is coming sooner rather than later.  Word is that the HTC One is coming.  But you know what? I think the Galaxy S 4 is also around the corner too.  In the US market, the next iPhone and Samsung's flagship device will should be out around the same time. What does that mean?  It means absolutely nothing if you've already got an iPhone 5 or Galaxy S 3.  Or even if you just bought the latest Blackberry device.  And if not and you're in the market for something new now, you can't go wrong with the top end devices on the market. It doesn't matter what will be on the horizon.  I've stopped looking at what's out there further down the road and I could not be happier.  Just being happy with what I already have or what I can already get on the market now. The iPhone 6, iPhone 7, Samsung S 5 and 6, or whatever else will always be coming out.  That's what's so great about ...

Unbelievable Bloomberg iWatch rumors :  Biometric on the iWatch?  Puleaze... The Loop called it.  I don't know where Bloomberg is being led here.  Yes, it's being led by someone for unknown reasons.  I figure at this point, it's probably Apple PR trying to screw with the market.  I can see competitors now scramble to figure out just what Apple is up to. At least, the Verge has something more real when it discussed issues with the battery life. Regardless, the consensus seems to be that Apple will release a new device unlike anything currently in its line-up.  It'll likely go up against a plethora of Android watches as well.  Oh, and don't forget Google's glasses as well. On Rumors:  It shows just how low journalism has fallen.  It has failed to keep up with changes blogging has done to reporting and now mainstream news sources have become blogs themselves by reporting on unsubstantiated rumors.  Can you imagine i...

If you don't know by now, Evernote has warned that everyone change their passwords because "Evernote's Operations & Security team has discovered and blocked suspicious activity on the Evernote network that appears to have been a coordinated attempt to access secure areas of the Evernote Service". ( Evernote blog ) A couple of observations about this.  Before I start, I want to say that this is not specific to Evernote.  In fact, various media outlets, like the New York Times, Washington Post, and WSJ, along with tech giants like Yahoo and Google in the past and, more recently, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft were all victims of coordinated and sophisticated hacking attacks. And with more of us putting our data in the cloud, through various services and webapps and apps, we have to assume that one or more of them is always under cyberattacks and threats.  Furthermore, we may even have to assume that some of our data has already been compromised. So...

Source: Yahoo . Recently, there have been some chatters out what iTunes and the App Store means to Apple's growing ecosystem. What folks are not talking about is podcasting and what it could truly mean not only for Apple's future but for media in general. The problem with podcasting is how it started and how folks have since come to see what it means. I've listened to podcasts long beside Apple made it a household name. They were everywhere. Not like today but if you google audio broadcast for the Internet, you would have found something. Of course, things have changed. iTunes is very easy place to find a podcast on just about everything and every subject you want to listen too. Tons on mobile tech, politics, entertainment. And now, video podcasting seems to be taking off. But the misnomer that this is amateur is still sticking. Obviously,for those I'd is who listen to them judiciously, we know that quality various. You've got TV broadcasts that are provided by net...