AI Buddies Because Agents Are Too Formal (and Intimidating)

AI agents are poised to revolutionize how we interact with technology. Imagine AI as a helpful assistant, integrated into apps and features, that proactively aids us in work, school, and daily life. These "agentic AI" are designed to be autonomous, making decisions to achieve specific goals without constant human input.

Apple users with devices supporting Apple Intelligence will get a taste of this with the iOS 18.4 update, which promises a significantly enhanced Siri. This updated Siri will represent an early step towards agentic AI.

AI and I - What I used AI for This Week

Last Week was a busy week in terms of AI news due to Deepseek. Since last Monday, January 27th,  the AI landscape has changed quite a lot. Still life goes on and I do what I have to, including the use of AI chats.

Before I get into that below, I am concerned with the interaction between the new administration and tech companies which could result in AI models and services that do a disservice to users. Let me just leave it at that for now. 

• I used ChatGPT to see what answers it has about Deepseek. I away very interested in trying to see if OpenAI’s true thoughts about it somehow came across. I even pointed out that Deepseek distilled using ChatGPT. I got nothing new. I basically suggest to ChatGPT that is should be upset. It was not - it did have concerns but then it also praised Deepseek on its overall achievements. 
• I also asked Gemini what it thought about Deepseek and the possibility that it used ChatGPT for distillations and not Gemini. Gemini said it was a matter of avail, cost, and performance for specific tasks. 
• I used Copilot to help identify trends with some Excel data. It was limiting and frustration. I could only provide a small set of data from a big Excel file. I did not have the version of Office 365 that has Copilot built into Excel. I started looking into if there are open source models that are trained specifically for data analysis. Gemini suggestions that are not any but it did suggest Llama 2 for my needs.
• I asked Copilot the same question and it suggested BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) and GPT-3 from OpenAI. I will need to do some additional research find one that suits my needs.
• Gemini suggested that I try to run an LLM on Colab. I read that it was being done. I suppose it is a better way before doing it locally on my MacBook Air. 
• Who are the Yuuzhan Vong? Copilot told me and which Star Wars novels to read about them.
• What is a nautical mile? What about a knot? I learned it a long time ago in high school and got a refresher on Startalk but I used Copilot to give me a refresher. 
• Eratosthenes was the first to ever measure the circumference of the planet we called home. How he did it was simple but showed how far ahead he was of everyone else. ChatGPT and a model used by Duckduckgo confirmed it.

One other note about using AI this week: on occasion, I had to verify the facts provided. I think I will continue to have to do this for a while. In the beginning, my worries was all about possible hallucinations. Given the times we live in, fact checking is a fact of life. It is no different when using an AI chat to obtain the answers we need.

iMessage Versus Everyone Else; Developers Has To Evolve Or Become A Wiki Has-Been

One of the best examples of survival of the fittest, evolutionary pressure, or natural selection can be seen in how the mobile market is evolving. And with the introduction of iMessage in iOS 5, due this fall, we are seeing a lot of changes, or talk of changes in SMS, and how others like RIM's messaging implementation will be affected.

iMessage is already being herald as a winner. In the past couple of weeks, I have tried a few multi-platform messaging apps that served well enough. However, as with anything Apple, they can encroach at any moment into an field or function, that apps served, not previously available in its OS.

Developers of Whatsapp, Kik, KakaoTalk, and probably a couple of dozens others face a difficult choice this fall. Innovate or attempt to survive on other mobile platforms and leave iOS mostly to iMessage.

Like I've mentioned before regarding iCloud's impact on other cloud storage solutions, incumbents like Dropbox can see a silver lining in this. Apple competition does not necessarily mean the end of the world. There are positive examples of how Apple helped competitors.

• Just like the iPhone brought a lot of attention to smartphones.
• iTunes made it okay to download music.
• iOS-based Apple TV has been great business for Roku.
• iPad has developed a whole new mobile computing market that Microsoft previously failed to ignite on fire.  While sales of non-iPad competitors haven't caught on, it is only a matter of time before Android, Web OS, Playbook, and even Windows 8 begin to serve as strong alternatives to Apple's tablet offerings.

I am sure there are a couple of other examples. I reckon iMessage will force many innovate. And innovate goes both ways, doesn't it? Apple has a history of developing a great app only to allow it to languish. Sometimes, they come up with an incredible update such as Final Cut or allow it to due a quiet death (I am beginning to think iWeb and Ping will go down the latter path).

What of Blackberry Messaging, BBM? Word on the blog street is that RIM will release an app for both Android and iOS. And WSJ reports that Google is working on their own multi-platform messaging app or reinventing gTalk to compete.

So, I think messaging platforms will benefit from the attention that iMessage is going to bring. Instant messaging could also get a second wind as a result.

Everyone wins right? Wrong. iMessage, BBM, Google's offering, and the other messaging apps as a whole will put a big dent into the SMS growth - a cash cow for the wireless cartels across the world.

I don't have to tell you just what a rip-off SMS is. And I am safely in the majority as far as this opinion goes. While analysts do not see a sudden torrential shift in the messaging market, I think they are wrong. Dead wrong.

I predict a huge drop in the next 12-18 months as the revenue from texting takes a big hit. Just like the app developers threatened by iMessage, the wireless industry across the world will need to change. Somehow, I don't see that happening. Maybe a few can move and innovate quickly enough but most will wake up one day and wonder just where their steady and reliable billions in SMS profit went.

iMessage is both good for the wireless industry and great for mobile warriors regardless of whatever mobile platform your smartphone runs on.

Macs At About 15% In The US, A Stepping Stone For Apple's Mobile Strategy

By now, you know that Apple is doing quite well in some countries, more than the 3-4% of global sales that some firms like to publish. In fact, if you include iPad into the mix, as these same firms equate netbooks as regular laptops, Apple would be the largest PC maker in the world.

In fact, Apple has 15% of the OS market in the US.

But this charge here is a clear demonstration of just how far Apple has come in general and specifically, the Mac. That's right, this is about the Mac. And the Mac isn't going anywhere as many bloggers and tech pundits fear.

Now, not to rehash what you probably know through your day's browsing, but I want to focus just on how Apple can further make inroads into the psyche of the other mobile users. And let's face it, from now on, it's about laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Actually, in Apple's case, it's Macbooks, iPads, and iPhones. (Oh, and let's not forget the iPod touches. However, the touches do not get the respect that they deserve but Apple owes a large part of its mobile success to the touches. I'll follow up on a post another time.)

And what's important to note is that Apple is well positioned in these three segments of the mobile market.

And further more, Apple has managed to achieve something that will give it an advantage that no other companies, including Google, Microsoft, RIM, or HP has been able to achieve. I'll give you one guess.

Nope. It's not the ecosystem or the iTunes although we know it is also something that no others have managed to duplicate. It is as if Apple has secret magical dust that it used to make all these pieces work.

That I am talking about is the general familiarity of the iOS that millions of users have with it. And With the release of Lion (the next Mac OS upgrade), Apple brought what it learn from the iOS and incorporate some features into Lion.

It's launchpad that works like the screen swiping n the iOs devices. It's also the four finger swipes to the left and right. It's also about the new Mac App store that iOS users will be familiar with.

Another example will be the directional scrolling on the Macs now conforms with the way it works on the iOS. Swipe up, and you move down the screen.

And over time, Apple will prove both the iOS and the OS X that includes additional features shared between the two.

You cannot say that about the Android, Blackberry OS, or Windows Phone 7. And if you're an iOS user who happens to have a Windows machine and the next time you upgrade, you probably would take a look or two at the Macbooks because you're already familiar with its operations. You've seen it before and you have experiences with it.

Furthermore, Apple will increasingly follow Google into the cloud. Admittedly, Apple has been late to the game. But I think it recognizes that as people take up more iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks, it has to offer a solution that allows users seamless access to files and media.

We can already guess where Apple is going with mobile computing. In the next couple of months, we will learn more about Apple's mobile plans further, maybe as soon as April when it traditionally shows the world what it has planned for the next iOS. And later this summer, we'll finally get Lion.

And for iOS or Mac fans, or if you're just a general Apple fan, 2011 is going to be about iPad 2 as Steve Jobs said. It's going to be a huge year for Apple's mobile vision.

More on Apple's OS marketshare at TUAW, Macdailynews.

Xoom Is Faster Than The iPad But the iPad 2 "Zoom" Past The Xoom A Few Times Over

Rationalization from a lot of folks, especially Apple-friendly blogs, about the lack of specs about the iPad 2 during Steve Jobs' March 2nd iPad 2 keynote was that Apple is all about the whole experience. And that is correct. However, you can't help but feel a bit nervous for the iconic "post-PC" device for the lack of information.

And this came in light of the fact that what we knew at the time did nothing to assure us. However, over the weekend, Anandtech put all that to rest? What's the answer?

Let's use some math reference. Is "Zoom > iPad 2 > iPad"? No.

It's more like "Zoom > iPad" but "iPad 2 >>>>>> Zoom"!

That right, in Anandtech's review of the speed test, year-old iPad, while slower than the Zoom, held its own against the more recent Nvidia Tegra 2 powered Android tablet, the iPad 2 really blew away the Zoom is a few of the benchmarks.

Powered by Imagination Technologies'PowerVR SGX 543MP2, part of the magic behind iPad 2's new A5 chip, it is capable of displaying 9x (though we all know that's a bit of a stretch) the muscle over the iPad. I'm already impressed with the iPad's graphical prowess but, now with Anandtech's confirmation, I can't wait to get my hands on an iPad 2 to see for myself the speed.

What's significant is that Tegra 2 has been billed by the tech media as the mobile chip to rule them all. Obviously, Apple's investment in a few chip companies over the last couple of years has paid off big time.

The iPad 2 as a whole is faster than the flagship Android tablet by 2x to 5x.

Granted, the Xoom is powering a higher resolution screen but at the end of the day, your average Joe mobile warrior isn't going to care about that. Heck, they're not even going to care that the A5 ran circles around Nvidia's offering.

What we want are the apps, media, and ease of use. Just the whole mobile experience. Apple still has an edge on that but I don't think it's as clear cut as these numbers. What Apple needs to do is innovate on the software front as well. Personally, I want a strong Android coalition to challenge Apple.

Competition is what drives innovation and changes the dynamics of the market. Apple fans want it. Android fans want it as well. Certainly, I do too.

Still, impressive numbers all around for the iPad 2. I cannot wait to see what game and app developers can cook up with this kind of muscle.

More at Anandtech, a must read especially if you're into technical stuff.

FaceTime And Especially Skype To Benefit Huge From iPad 2

iPad 2 is huge but more than that, it will be even bigger for video conferencing. Likely yo benefit is Apple's own FaceTime. And Skype is likely to have much more to gain than ever.

As a matter of fact, Skype should send Apple a Thank You gift for releasing the iPad 2 with dusk cameras.

More than just boring old video conferencing for enterprise, FaceTime an Skype will gain from the home market. Consider how easy the iPad is robust already, it's icon focused UI allows for an 1-click access to either of the two apps for the less than tech savvy people like our parents and grandparents to stay in touch with their children and grandchildren.

I predict that Skype is likely to make an announcement about a spike in new users and downloads after the iPad 2 goes on sale on March 11th.

Apple's FaceTime offers a seamless sign-in process that will be welcoming to everyone. And its video quality is second to none.

And while FaceTime might have an edge over Skype in simplicity, Skype will dominate because of the tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of users that use its services already.

Skype or FaceTime, the ideal screen size of the iPad 2 for video chat may finally usher in a big change in social interaction.

And I reckon it will be the grandparents who will lead the way.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Pre-Game Analysis of Apple's March 2nd iPad Event

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 reception Apple products and services are receiving, and the new Macbooks that were just released last week.  

Then he'll hand over the rein to the iOS teams - the people who build the software and updated the iPad hardware.  We'll learn about the new features that will be available on the next iPad.  It's possible that Apple will unveil the hardware first - new case and specs.  

After that we'll see demos.  Some people don't care for it.  But I totally get that Apple needs to fill an hour or so of the presentation.  After all, people will fly from all over the country just for this.  It's a shame to have them come for a thirty minute or so press event.  But with all due respect to people who rather not sit through that, those of us who will go home later that night to watch the event after the fact can put a face or picture to what we see at home or work.  Most of us are working and are likely following live blogs instead of the stream.

Oh, and if you're fortunately enough not to be working or have to pretend to be working on the 2nd, Apple might stream the event.  They did that last time.

Then after the demos, Apple will move onto the last but very important part.  How much the next iPad will cost, who the carriers are, and when the iPad will be available.

Hardware:  I don't expect a revolutionary change to the iPad.  When the change from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4 was made, it was a big deal.  Don't expect something like that this time around.  We will not see a glass back for the iPad until Apple has provided touch-input on the back of the iPhone first.

But there is a short list on what I expect to see from Apple:

•  The case will change slightly.  We might see a thinner iPad.  Perhaps, the bezel might thinner as well giving us a smaller feel to the iPad.  There has been talk for years that area around the screen on the iPhone might disappear giving way to the 3.5" screen or a bigger screen.  Because of this, the iPad might be lighter still.  But I don't expect that to be the case.  
• CPU:  Faster and more efficient brain for the iPad.  There is talk that we might see a dual-core chip and Apple will move from the designation of the chip to A5 from the current A5.  I'm not sold on the dual-core part just yet.  Apple's iOS implementation is very efficient and rely heavily on the graphics component of the chip.  I don't see a need for dual-core just yet.  However, if that doesn't happen, I fully expect a higher clock speed.  An increase from 1Ghz to 1.2Ghz is kind of "meh" but increasing from to 1.5Ghz by the CPU when needed would be enough to satisify upgraders and enough to keep the new iPad ahead in the tablet market.
• More memory and storage.  It's possible we might see a 128GB model.  Apple will likely keep the 16GB model around on the low-end to keep prices low and maintain pressure on Google and its Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).  Heck, Apple doesn't even need to go all the up to 128GB on the high end from the current maximum 64GB.  Even 96GB will do just fine by my book.  And that might not even be necessary because I don't see any iPad competitor come out with a 64GB model.
• Memory will increase to 512MB from the current 256GB.  A lot of people will complain that Xoom, Playbook, and even the Touchpad will have 1GB of RAM.  Well, just like the fact that I don't see Apple having to go dual-core just yet, Apple has no need to go up to 512GB for the iPad 2 because of how resource efficient the iOS is.  Even Apple doesn't do multi-tasking in the same manner as everyone else.
• Cameras.  The iPad will have a frontal camera.  Apple is pushing Facetime.  Expect a big cheer for this when Apple brings it up.  It was an obvious omission on the current iPad.  I'm not sure about the iPad with a rear camera.  I don't see a lot of need for it but Apple will include it just because.  Even a low end 1MP will be more than enough.  1MP or 5MP, don't expect me to be holding up my new iPad taking family photos.  
• Additional accessory support.  The memory and camera module for the iPad was kind of lame.  I fully expect Apple to do more on this front.  I don't know about an SD card slot but if there one, don't be surprised if Apple cripple it enough for users to upload pics and movies only and nothing more.  No doc sharing.  No offloading apps into a memory card.  But wait for jail-breakers to bring that feature to us.  And because of jail-breaking and security concerns, there won't be an SD card slot.  I like to see Thunderbolt support but that's probably not going to happen.  Any added accessory support will have to go through the usual channel:  Apple dock connector.
• Home button:  there will be a home button.  I don't see Apple doing away with that just yet.  If it does happen, I expect Apple to move the home button rather than doing away with it entirely.  Hey, I'm all for Apple getting rid of it because it means Apple will implement some kind of a new touch scheme.  
• It'll use the same chip in the current CDMA iPhone to access the cell networks.  It makes sense to do this regardless if there is one universal model for the iPad to support multiple networks or two, one with CDMA support and GSM support.
• I think there will be only one model that will support both CDMA and GSM networks.
• What it will not have is near field communication, NFC, support for mobile payment.  
• Don't expect Retina support either.  Maybe in iPad 3 or iPad 4.  Some day but not on March 2nd.
• Extended battery life.  The current models have anywhere between 10-12 hours (real world uses) for the WiFi-only model and 9-10 hours for the 3G model.  I like to see 12-15 hours but given the lack of competition, I don't see Apple too worried about this.  Any increase in efficiency from the screen or CPU is likely offset by the thinner and lighter profile.

iOS Features:  We'll see the Facetime app for the iPad 2.  Honestly, that's all I got.  At this point, I'm expect to be shown a feature that I didn't know that I need or want, you know, typical Apple innovation.  There are some features I like to have but it looks like Apple will have iOS 4.3 installed that will bring subscriptions.  That was the main feature of the next iOS update and that has been well documented.  

Will there be added iPad 2 support with new features that we are not aware of?  I hope so but I don't expect to see that until iOS 5 in June that will come out with the next iPhone.

Carrier Support:  This is going to be a big deal. And it'll reveal a lot about the next iPhone.  As I said above, I think Apple will release only one model to support both CDMA and GSM networks.  Users who buy the 3G+WiFi iPad 2 will get to chose which network they want to subscribe mobile data too.  To keep down design and manufacturing cost, it makes sense to go this route.  

If this does happen, I eagerly look forward to see if Apple adds additional carrier support.  Personally, I will be pulling for T-Mobile but Sprint, which uses CDMA like Verizon, is more of a front runner.  

And additional carriers for the iPad now will offer clue to who else might be in the running to carry the next iPhone when it is released this summer.  Again, I am pulling for T-Mobile.

Impact:  The impact of iPad 2 will be huge.  And this is where I've saved what I think the pricing for the iPad 2 is going to be.  First, expect Apple to follow through with offering a low end model based on the previous generation iPad.  

Apple offer users the iPhone 3GS as well as the iPhone 4 and last year's 2nd generation iPhone as well as this year's 3rd generation touch.  So I think Apple will offer this year's WiFi-only 16GB iPad as the base model along side the iPad 2 models.  

Apple will keep the same pricing structure for the new iPad 2 models and offer the base model below the $499 price.  I think going as low as $399 is possible but that could be wishful thinking on my part.  At $399, it is going to ereader territory.  Look for this to pressure the low-end tablets and ereaders big time.  

For the $499 price, the WiFi-only iPad 2 will occupy this spot.  Apple might shave a bit off the $130 premium for the 3G model and offer the lowest 3G+WiFi iPad for $599 (without the need for a data contract), the same price as the Xoom only if the user were to sign up for two-year data access.  It's possible these two models will have 32GB of storage.  

If true, this will really put the hurt on Android tablet makers, Playbook with its smaller 7" screen, and possibly knock HP's Web OS based Touchpad out of the market.  And even if Apple ends up keeping the $499 and $599 iPad 2 with only 16GB, this will still offer more affordable alternatives to competing products.  

And at $399, Apple is forcing users to pick between high-end iPod touch with 64GB and the low-end iPad.  Mobile will have to make a hard choice but Apple could hardly care so long as the user buys an Apple product. As for the rest of the iPad line-up, we'll continue to see an incremental increase of $100 for models with greater memory.  I'm still not sure if Apple will offer a 128GB iPad 2 because it will have zero competitors in that space.  However, one only hopes that happen.

Apple sees the tablet market in the same terms as they see the MP3 market.  Just as the iPod dominate the music player market, Apple is going to damn sure that it can own the tablet market.  iOS tablets have an advantage in that it is essentially the first major player in the market and has the support of a very successfully curated iTunes ecosystem.  And Apple has sucked up a large manufacturing capacity for screens and other parts essential to making enough devices to satisfy demand, not to mention the billions in investments and procurement that Apple has already made (this was unveiled in the last financial call).

So I think I've just covered everything.  All of this based on my own conjectures, movement in the marketplaces, mobile news, and past Apple behaviors.  Will this pan out?  Well, there are parts that I hope to be wrong and hope that Apple will wow us beyond evolutionary upgrades.  So on the 2nd, get to work early, finish what you need to do, and clear a hour or two of your time to watching tablet history unfold.

March 2nd: Day of Reckoning In The Tablet War, Or It'll Be A Dud

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 line-up unveiled yesterday.  Thunderbolt was nice as was the new and faster Sandy Bridge chips from Intel.  But the more extravagant predictions did not come to pass.  

And that is the feeling we are getting from around the Web on what new feature the next iPad will have.  No Retina display.  It's not possible for Apple to economically include them in this iPad or realistically have enough to satisfy demand.  Thinner sure but longer battery life to separate the iPad from the Xoom?  I would like that except remember this next iPad might be thinner and lighter.  

So you see, the expectation is that we will not be wowed.  If anything, Apple might have some cute iOS tricks here and there that might excite the audience will draw a collective applause but at the end of the day, bloggers will say that if not for these new iOS tricks, the expectations will just be par.

But make no mistake, Apple will improve the new iPad enough so that it will sell millions.  It's almost as if one of the best running rumors going around the iPad might be right.  Apple is poised to unleash another surprise this fall along side the iPod refresh.  

For me, I don't think this is just idle speculation or wishful thinking.  Apple has been to predictable.  I reckon that Apple will need to change things up a bit and catch people off guard.

So while I welcome the iPad event next week, I don't expect much more than what we already know - just enough for Apple to make the iPad a compelling buy until autumn.

Mobile Payment Is Coming In A Big Way

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 generation Android devices to support this as well.

I really recommend reading up on it because just about everyone from your bank, credit card, wireless providers, and hardware companies will be getting in on this lucrative new business. Oh, and retailers would love this as well.

Also, there are also security concerns you'll need to be aware of.

So get ready media and ad blitz coming our way. I'll be devoting much much more attention than I have in the past. I started talking about almost two years ago, pointing the ease that the Japanese users have been able to enjoy with paying through their cell phones for years.

It'll be our turn soon.

Steve Jobs Was Confirmed To Be At meeting With The President; Meeting About The Future (2012 To Be Precise)

Reuters has confirmed that Steve Jobs was indeed present at the dinner with the President of the United States in San Francisco tonight.

That is fantastic news. And I hope President Obama was able to have a serious conversation about America's technological lead and innovative energy. Earlier, I write that I hope some sort of discussion about green technology took place.

And it is interesting that Reuters dedicated a whole piece on Steve Jobs and nothing on the actual content of the night's discussion.

But as I read the post, I came to realized that this maybe nothing more than to provide the President political cover with those who believe he has lost the support of America's businesses. That this meeting is more about the President's future and 2012 than America's future.

I cannot understand what meaningful contribution the CEOs of Twitter and Netflix has to offer on maintaining America's technological edge and learning.

Nor can I fathom what Facebook's Zuckerberg can possibly offer the president on any number of issues that ail our economy, energy policies, or K-12 education. Seriously, what does violating privacy time after time have to do with innovation at all?

More likely, the presence of the heads of these social and media companies was merely to serve as a reminder to a segment of the electorate that the President Obama had dinner with the guys who designed a way to efficiently mail them their DVDs and offer a way for them to share their lives with anyone who will read about it.

But who knows. Maybe Zuckerberg was there for the political gravy and President Obama did get some serious advices from the likes of Jobs, Schmidt (Google), Chambers (Cisco), Ellison (Oracle), and Levinson (Genentech) that will help him to get America back to innovating and working over the next couple of years and beyond.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

President Obama's Meeting With Tech CEOs: We Need A Steve Jobs Or Henry Ford For Green Tech

At the moment, at the writing of this post, President Obama is meeting with a few of Silicon Valley's heavyweights, Apple's iconic leader Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt. And though there are many thoughts and conjectures about what the meeting could or should be about, there is one thing that I think many missed.

Green tech. And right now even with tens of billions invested by the federal and state governments in incentives and grants and private investments, we are still a long way from getting off foreign oil and those pesky climate warming (or changing) coal.

What we need is a Steve Jobs for green tech. What we need is for President Obama to ask one of those tech visionaries to leave his current position and take up post at a new company that would revolutionize energy conservation and renewable energy production.

Imagine a healthy Steve being talked into taking reign of this new company. And it would have to be a private enterprise, perhaps with some grants from the government. That is as far as governmental involvement should be.

As a matter of fact, the Obama Administration should clear a path for this Steve Jobs led endeavor to succeed.

And how would Steve Jobs be convinced by this challenge? Better question is why would he do this?

Because Steve is Steve. The man who revolutionized computers, brought us the iPod, unleashed on the mobile market a device unlike anything they have seen before, and has once change how we work and play with the iPad.

Because it not him, who? Zuckerberg? Exactly.

And most importantly, Because Steve Jobs' ego is big enough for the challenge.

And yes, I am optimistic that Steve Jobs will beat what ailment he is offering from and has a lot of milage left to change the world again. Maybe even twice over.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

iPhone Verus iPad Touch (With iSpot or a MiFi) Update - Mobile Platforms Need To Free Themselves of Traditional Phone Services

I had a full weekend.  Dinners, coffees, trips to visit friends.  And it was my iPod touch with my Clear iSpot versus everyone else who had regular cell phones, Android device or two, and a bunch of iPhones.  How did that go?

Before I get into that, I want to say that I am very tempted to pull the trigger on the Verizon iPhone in the coming week.  I have said that my wireless combo of iPod touch and iSpot was how I want to go from now on.  And while it works very well for me, it isn't working too well for some friends and families.

I had an okay day on Saturday when I met up with friends for lunch.  It was like the old days.  We set up a place and time a day before.  And we met on Saturday as it was supposed to be.  And it worked out.  There was no opportunities for anyone else to try to call just before we were supposed to meet up and change the venue or the meeting time.  Personally, I found that to be annoying. And since no one could call me because I was on the way had really had no way to reach me. Just imagine driving on the freeways across LA in all that traffic and having to change and turn around or something.

Of course, if there was a need, they could still text or call me Google number to leave a message and with the iSpot, I would still be able to receive e-mails.  But I think the risk of me not receiving it was just too big of a risk.  And going forward, I think that would be the case.  

Obviously, I was still connected.  I was at Starbucks just before lunch and I was connected to the wifi there.  And obviously, the iSpot provided WiMax connection.  

Dinner went okay.  There was just too many moving pieces and the schedule was set up a couple weeks ago.  

However, this morning, it was a lot more difficult.  I met up with some close family friends for dim sum.  When I got there, there was a couple of hundred people ahead of us.  And waiting in line was crazy.  I was the first one there so I signed in for a table.  And I texted my friends that I had already gotten a number and they could take their time.  Meanwhile, they called me and left a voicemail telling me that they were going to be late.  

Then I called them back via Skype but that went to their voicemail.  Then then they called back and it went to my Google voicemail once again.

Finally, when our table became available, they had arrived.  

I supposed in some circumstances, having a phone would have been more convenient.  

Right now, I am waiting for a comprehensive VOIP solution.  And not just any VOIP app but a service built exclusively with mobile features in mind. 

Whether it's Apple, Google, or Microsoft, I like to see more more robust VOIP features built into the OS.  For Google, I like to see them open up Google Voice for developers to build into their apps.  This goes the same for Skype as well.  As for mobile platforms, it's time to take the next step and unleash the users from traditional phone services and really take communications mobile.  

Siri: Will We See Voice/Speech Integration in iOS 5?

I use Apple's Siri app on occasion.  And it's a decent app for process that pulls information from various sources.  However, I wonder if Apple will finally do more with it in iOS 5. After all, spending $200 million to buy it out must really mean that there is value in the app and the talent behind its development that the top echelon at Apple saw.

It is a very useful app as it is if you have never used it.  It's a voice query app and I have spend some time here and there to see what I can do with it.  

First, you can tap and say what you want to ask.  If the question is within reason, like "where am I?", Siri thinks for a bit and offers you what it thinks is the best answer.  When I asked it where my current location was, it showed me a map of where I am.  

And for lunch, I was able to ask Siri where is the location to the restaurant I'm suppose to meet up with my friends.  It was a very easy process.  No typing required.  

That's great, right?  But I want to see voice input/command more tightly integrated into iOS 5.  After all, the ability to do this is developing quite nicely on Android.  I am certain Apple can offer similar services for its core OS.

The only thing I can think of why Apple has not do so is because it plans on doing voice in that unique Apple way that will amaze us.  But time is short.  Apple risk falling further behind Google which has invested much resources in this direction.  

One issue that I see Apple working on is just how the artificial intelligence, for a lack of a better term, can react to the user.  Sure, I am sure Apple can implement the ability for the user to speak into his or her iOS device and have a SMS or e-mail typed up and sent.  Or even search for answers as we can now on Siri in a more integrated manner.  

But for Apple, that is merely doing what Android can already do.  No one would be impressed with that.  It must go beyond that.  I believe Apple will attempt to create an "understanding" between the iOS and the user.  

• Learn from the user's disposition.   
• Learn the user's speech and accent.
• Provide this service beyond just English or Spanish.  Chinese voice/speech integration is likely something Apple is working hard on as Mandarin is quickly become one of the most important language in education and commerce.
• Ease of use will be an issue.  With Android, you will have to activate speech commands.  I wonder if Apple will find a way to make the process more seamless.  Using Siri requires the user to launch the app.  It isn't different from how we would use any other app but Apple will need to make much more natural.  I don't know how.  For instance, after speaking to Siri, the user has to tap the screen to let Siri know that the question has been completed.
• Apple has to make speech/voice usage more natural and common. 
• Apple has to make it so that people will want to use it.  

As you can see, Apple has a lot of work and perhaps, there isn't enough time between acquiring Siri, adding new features, and eventually integrating it into iOS.  

For general uses, Siri is adequate but beyond a certain level of understanding, Siri has difficulties understanding what I want.  And if anyone can truly build a digital companion that provide answers to queries of users in an effortless way, it'll be Apple.

AT&T's "4G" Network Is Nothing To Write Home About

I inherited Mom's 3G iPad last week as she waits for iPad 2 with the better resolution and frontal camera so that she can conduct video chats for work and with friends. I have been using a Wi-Fi only version and more recently, bought an. iSpot for use with it to get the wireless Internet access.

And while ATT prides itself on having the fastest 3G network in the United States, I cannot be sure if that means much. And here is why.

In one day's use and based on past experiences with ATT in the past and with T-Mobile's own network and now Clearwire's WiMax service, I am in a good position to pass a long a few conclusions.

Today, WiMax is excellent if you can get it. It is wicked fast. I consistently get about 4.5 Mbps. When T-Mobile turned on their HPSA+ network last year, I went from about 1MBps on the Android G1 to about 3 Mbps. And my understanding is that things have vastly improved by quite a bit. We could be looking at speeds up to 20 Mbps by the end of 2011.

These two current scores are in contrast with an average of 2 Mbps that I am getting on the 3G iPad. There was about three bars.

However, all the speed on the world means nothing if you can't good signals. And while I might be able to see a couple of bars, I can't say that I am happy with the 3G speed from AT&T. On the iPad, I am still unable to get anything close to the WiFi signal through the iSpot or the G1 acting as a MiFI versus just the 3G on Ma Bell.

I still don't understand why that is the case. This is something that I'll probably need to get Dave the Mobile Warrior to chime in on this.

And this is a huge deal going forward. Presumably, the next iPad may have native wireless access to Verizon's CDMA network along side AT&T. Unless it is able to somehow shorten the latency time or flip a switch to boost signal, it will not matter if users cannot access AT&T's HSPA+ speed running 14-21 Mbps while the slower CDMA networking running 1-2 Mbps is accessible by users on the same area.

Trust me, Verizon will be going after potential iPhone switchers from AT&T. A side-by-side comparison of signal strength could be just what Verizon is eagerly waiting for.


-- Post From My iPad

iPhone 2G - Legacy iPhone, What Do You Use It For?

I am writing this post on my Macbook but I am listening to the latest podcast from Maccast.  And Yesterday, while I was donating a couple of units of platelets, the nurse whipped out her iPhone.  Earlier in the week, there was another iPhone that was still being used.  Now, seeing iPhones in public isn't like seeing the white tiger but seeing the original iPhone still in use is.

And while I know a few other folks who still happen to be swiping and tapping away on their iPhone 2G, they are quickly giving way to the iPhone 4.  So I want to know what they will use it for once their uses give way to more and powerful models.  

For myself, there is limited use as the battery life in my 3+  years old iPhone begin to give and crap under years of charges.  There is a slight crap on the upper right corner of the glass though unless you're looking directly at it, you can't see it.

Still, it works well as an iPod.  And while I go on runs, I use the iTreadmill app that more or less give me a sense of just how I am doing.  Accuracy in the general sense.  It's also a good device for my nephews to practice on.  In particular, the 14 months old loves to play with the pond apps and stare at his fingers and hands wondering why they're not wet.  

My mom has graduated to the iPad 3G for her Internet and Web use and her iPhone still works as her main phone. But years of drops has her claiming that the volume is erratic and sometimes, she does not see incoming calls.  But when needed and near a Wi-Fi hotspot, she is still able to e-mail and use the camera function.  

I don't know what the nurse was doing on her 2G iPhone.  I thought about asking but she seemed very immersed in her experience.  But I reckon she could be chatting away on SMS or updating her Facebook status complain how her patient's veins were so freaking hard to find.  

Here are some points that I think the 2G iPhone still shows that its still got some fight left:

• Browsing is still a first rate experience.  So far, not even anything from Nokia, RIM, or Android's browsers come close.
• A rich library of apps in the hundreds of thousands still work on the iPhone 2G.
• Slow on the 2G but let's be honest, 3G use is still spotting while the 2G network, EDGE, still provides the widest coverage.
• For Facebook, Twitter, emails, SMS, it can handle all your social needs as well as anything else including the iPhone 4.
• Multi-touch.  Intuitive.  Only its iPhone cousins match its use.
• Ease of use and clean UI.  Again, this is the only area where the 2G iPhone is matched by other newer iPhones.  And while devices on other mobile OS like the Android might be able to do more, it does not mean it is easy to use.  The 2G holds itself well in most areas and still manages to exceed anything else on the market.
• 2MP camera.  Alright.  Not the 5 or 8MP that are on the iPhone or competing devices but for quite shots, it is still okay.  
• Jail-breakability.  It has gotten easier over the years.  This is me we're talking about and if I can do it, it doesn't get any simpler than that.
• I can go into specific tasks that the iPhone 2G can do but it would have been apparent that you can do them on other devices.  And these would have been tasks that 90% of the things you do on a PC anyway.  E-mails, todo lists, texting and IM, surfing the web, and other rudimentary tasks.  So yeah, the iPhone is still powerful for every day use.

Back to me.  There are a couple of main issues that is keeping me from using the 2G as I did in the past.

• The battery life, I've mentioned above, was not quite it was like before.  And it is one of the main reasons that has kept from me using it even as a phone.  
• The speed.  Having been on the iPad and the 4th generation iPod touch, I can say the slow response and using more of the sophisticated apps is maddening.  It's no fault of the iPhone.  Rather, it's largely due to the age of the device.  Once known for speed and the revolution features it sported, it has now been passed by the new iPhone editions.  It's the nature of things.  
• Limited features.  The iOS 4 was the OS where Apple took the iPhone and really showed the world what mobile computing and communications was meant to be.  Folders, multitasking, and push notifications are just some of the new features that allowed the iDevices to stand further ahead of competition.  The increase ease of use is also something that may never be matched by other mobile OS platforms.  Unfortunately, the iOS 4 cannot be installed on the 2G and is stuck in version 3.  This is also the nature of things but I really love having folders.

Having said all that, I am not about to give up on my original iPhone.  I bought it outright from ATT to keep me busy when my dad was in the hospital for cancer treatment.  And it has been so good to me over the years and while it has been relegated to a glorified iPod, it still provides quick access to weather, stocks, and even quick memo recording.  

And the design is still unmatched as far as I am concerned.  The aluminum back cover is just nothing that was not matched until the Gorilla glass back of the iPhone 4.  And forget about the competition, shall we?  They're still stuck on the cheap plastic covers that are easily scratched up.  

So, this is what I plan on doing to prolong the life of my 16 GB 2G iPhone.  

• I'm planning on sending it in to have the battery changed later in the year.
• Having the front glass plate changed.  The crack I mentioned does not impede use but if I'm gonna get the battery changed, I may as well have that changed as well.  Or should I keep it and have it serve as a scar from the mobile experience?  

So, if you're still on the 2G, you still have one of the best mobile devices out in use.  In my opinion, this was the start of the mobile revolution we are currently going through.  It was upon the 2G iPhone that the current crop of iPhones and competing devices was built on.  And the future owes itself to this social-changing device from Apple.

And I owe it to prolong its use.  

iPad Versus Everyone Else

Is this about Apple and its iOS versus everyone else more like iOS versus Motorola versus Samsung versus RIM versus HP versus Sony? I can go on and on and name more companies in the mobile and tablet market. However, the gist is with many of these same companies fight to for a piece of the Apple pie, what are we Apple fans suppose to think about it?

Well, first, I want to say this is a great thing. More likely than not, competition has given us a lot of tech that we might not have otherwise seen on the market. Google and Android has certainly up the game. And let's be honestly, there are areas where Android is doing better than iOS such as voice control.

And it becomes necessary for Apple to try to catch up or surpass any advantage that Android might have over the iOS. And that is a great thing.

Today at CES, we saw a slew of tablets based on the Tegra 2 chip by Nvidia promising to run on Honeycomb, Android only version for tablets. And from the looks of things, Android tablets have come a long long way since the Samsung Tab running on Android 2.2, which by the way, cannot be upgraded to the latest Android tablet OS.

Imagine if Apple had done that to us original iPad owners. Regardless, I fully expect Apple to up the game when it comes time for the iPad 2. And let's be clear, looking at the specs from these new Honeycomb tablets, I see a lot of promises but we have yet to see Google and its partners deliver on the experience. And by no mean does it mean that competitors managed to create an iPad killer.

I still put the iPad head and shoulders above the competition. Nevertheless, I hope this has kicked Apple in the butt and force them to try and pull further ahead. And I fully expect Apple to deliver more powerful specs in the next iPad version but more importantly, I like to see Apple show us what else this magical device can do that no one else can.

Gauging Apple's Mobile Success By Examining Its Vision, Not Stock Price

I do own a couple of shares of Apple that I did not sell from way back when things were still bad. As a believer, albeit naïve at the time, I thought things would turn around. The naïve part would have come true had Steve Jobs not entered the halls of Apple Proper and took things over and shook the music, PC, and, now, the mobile markets.

I was watching a CNBC video today where two analysts, pretty much clueless about tech and what we mobile warriors are about, took both sides of the Apple stock. One thinks it’ll go up while the other thinks things about to come to a head for Apple’s stock price.

Where do I stand?

When Is iPhone 5 Coming?

Convention says that the iPhone 5 will not be out until the middle of 2011.  June has been the month that Apple released new iPhones since the iPhone 2G.  That did not change for the 3G, 3GS, or the iPhone 4.  Could 2011 be the year that Apple changed all that?  Here's why I think perhaps they might go ahead and change things up a bit.

There is a lot riding in the mobile market.  Tens of billions and Apple and Google are locked in an epic war for supremacy.  And with Google and its multiple Android hardware partners, they can easily stagger their device releases through the year, giving mobile warriors the appearance that something new and fresh is coming out of the Android camp.  

But with Android 3 release coming in the first quarter, giving Google the ability to attack the tablet market, I think Apple is in a position to consider moving up the time table for the iPhone 5 release. 

Just this week, Best Buy in the US gave out the iPhone 3GS for free with a two year contract while Radio Shack went ahead with a $50 discount on the iPhone 4 that cleared out its inventory.  So make no mistake that Apple is barely able to keep up with demand on the iPhone, but what Best Buy and Radio Shack may indicate that Apple is open to tweaking their sales model.

And if that was the case, Apple may also be open to adjusting their iPhone release plans.  And with so much at stake, I can see two things happen.

First, Apple might move up the release of iPhone 5 from June to March or April.  This will stunt any moves by its competitors to find solace in a period that typical is safe for them to release their smartphones without going up against the iPhone.  Remember when Palm released the Pre just a week or so before the iPhone 3GS?  Yeah, that didn't go well, did it?  And the Pre was a pretty neat phone by my reckoning.

Second, Apple might update the iPhone 4 with some hardware changes.  Google just announced the Nexus S with near field communication capability.  Apple might also jump on this and get into the mobile payment market before the iPhone 5.  Also, remember that we are still missing the white iPhone 4.  Apple said it will be available in Spring.   That might also keep the iPhone sale momentum going as millions of consumers look to satisfy their need to have a white iPhone.  

So adding NFC and a white case could be just enough to keep consumers from going with whatever new hardware that Google, HP, or Microsoft comes out in the first half of 2011. 

And let's not forget that Apple will be updating the iPad as well.  There are talks about hardware enhancements that I still consider as rumors.  However, my own speculations and observations of the market with the Samsung Tab release, the upcoming Playbook from RIM, and other Android tablet rumors seem to indicate most if not all of the iPad chatters are true.

Are we likely to see an earlier release window for the iPhone 5?  I wouldn't say it's impossible but it's not likely to happen.  I'd say some minor changes to the iPhone 4 is more likely.  And that is beyond just release it in white.  Personally, I would love to see an enhanced iPhone 4 move up to March and the iPad release moved up to February.

We'll just have to see how much pressure Apple is willing to take from its competitors.  And with the iPhone selling out or in short supply, I'm not sure Apple feels the need to budge.  Let's go back to what Best Buy and Radio Shack is doing for the Christmas season.  If that can happen, anything can.

Current State of Mobile Computing: Tablet or Laptop

Depending on who you talk to you and who you believe, the netbooks, perhaps even lsptops, are taking a sales hit because of the iPad.

Perhaps. Then there are those who are not so sure this is happen on a large scale. Given the potential that Apple may be on the verge of a $20 billion quarter and cuts on orders by dorm laptop and netbook makers, it has industry and mobile observers such as myself very excited.

Is this the beginning of the end of mobile computing as we know it?

More at Greenjava Mobility.

.Mac Homepage Discontinued on Nov 8, New iLife And/Or MobileMe Coming

Apple has made a lot of changes to MobileMe and has given folks ample time to move their contents out of .Mac homepage, which is why .Mac homepage will ease operations on November 8th. So this had led me to consider of iLife is coming soon there after and MobileMe improvements will be featured.

Rumors are abound that this may happen. Amazon has inadvertently posted placeholders for the new iLife product as well as a couple of books talking about a non-existent iLife update. And the currently version of the iLife is showing its age.

I'm a Mobile and iLife user, particularly iWeb to push my personal Greenjava website. I can use a whole host of new features to help me augment it. Looking at the bigger picture, it's about mobile for Apple these days. It's all about iOS.

Time to put up a wishlist on what I like to see and expect.