AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

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.

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...

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 t...

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 t...

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 Technologie...

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 wi...

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 recep...

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 lin...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 c...

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...

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. T...

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 iTreadmil...

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, Andro...

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?

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 f...

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 .

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.