AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I had dinner with a friend tonight.  Dumplings, scallion noodles, and more dumplings.  Before dinner, I had some time to kill. I got to the restaurant early.  A lot earlier than I expected.  I guess with the $4 a gallon gas, more folks are staying off the California roads.  If this dinner was not pre-arranged a while back, I probably be home glad that my SUV was not taking me to the poor house. So there I was, sitting around waiting.  Then I figure I could get some work done.  No games.  Real work.  I made a few calls overseas using the Skype app on the iPad.  During the call, I checked on some Excel files, PDF, and Binged something.  Then I made another call to a dealership that we're trying to sell a car to and checked out the paperwork that was e-mailed to me in PDF.   After that, I updated my cities in We Rule and We City.  Made my moves on Words with Friends.  Then, it was back to looking at some research for wor...

It's taken a while but solid state drives, SSD, are coming nicely. What I mean is that I see them more and more as an option from the major PC makers. Everyone from Dell to HP to Apple, its MacBook Air being very popular over the Holidays and demand has not let up, are using them as a premium add-on. Now we are seeing SSD sizes at more affordable prices. Not only that, the drives are bigger. Still, I am not quite ready to pluck down $1,500 to $2,000 for a 480GB drive. For that kind of money, it would be more economical to get a whole new laptop. Say a MacBook Air with 256 GB or storage. So what is in your laptop or MacBook? Have you moved onto a SSD or consider making the move in the near future? - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

After dinner, I finally got an opportunity to play around with the brand new Mac app store that appeared magically on Intel Macs all over the land, provided you upgraded your OS to 10.6.6. Once that little business has been taken care of, you'll notice a small icon that appeared on the left-hand side of the dock. So, good is this app store for? And who does it benefit? And will this translate into something that will be as successful as the iOS app store?

There are a lot of folks in public services, conservatives, liberals, and NGOs, that use Macs in a variety of ways to help the public, the poor, and the voiceless. Just recently, the iPad was used to aid in providing health information and coordination. Remote access is a common use to help away teams access data on computers back at offices or headquarters. Also, mobile Internet access gives users important information on demand. Databases can also be stored on the generous onboard memory if needed. Of course, the iPad has an advantage over the iPhone or iPod Touch in that it has a bigger screen. Nevertheless, thousands if not tens of thousands of users had started using iOS devices long before the iPad went in sale four months ago. Moreover, Macs also play an integral part in film/movie making and editing. About wars, the poor, and global warming. Macs are also used in simulations. I believe iOS will be sophisticated enough that, even if iDevices do not have the proces...

I've read the first two books of the Salander-Blomvist trilogy and I'm taking a short break from the third, the the final in the series for a while. One of the cool thing about the book the choice of mobile devices in the book. Palm devices and Apple Powerbooks used by the main character. And as Hollywood work to remake the series from the original novels, separately from the Swedish movies, I can only hope that the writer and director retain some sort of authenticity by using Apple's latest and greatest mobile gears - the iPhone and the Macbook Pro. And yeah, I would like to see them slip in the iPad. It only make sense to do that. As for the Millennium office, I want to see iMacs on every desktop of the reporters. Is it going to happen? It would be a missed opportunity for Apple not to "contribute" in some way to the movies. For now, as we wait for word on any future work and what shape the movie will take, here's a funny and well-written take on...

The newly refreshed iMac today is unlike anything on the market. We've seen tons of iMac killers come and go over the years and the iMac still reign supreme as an all-on-one computer. And why? It offers no compromises. So this is why I think the best combo for a mobile warrior who needs power is an iMac with an iPhone or a 3G iPad for mobile needs. Let's face it. If you can afford a Macbook along with an iMac, great, but most folks I know can't. Let's not get into the Magic Trackpad yet. That's story for another post on how I think it can be improved. But the iPad and iPhone can double as a great trackpad with a number of 3rd party apps in the iTunes store. The one main compromise is that while on the road, mobile computing is entirely restricted to the iPhone or iPad. For 95% of what you'll need to do, Apple's iOS devices including the iPod Touch is provides everything you need. The only issue is whether you'll need cellular Internet o...

I think not. Well, not likely. That's the answer I've got to the question to the title of this post. This subject came up in today's Apple earnings call when an analyst asked about what Apple think about potential cannibalization of the Macs by iPads in the future, since today's report showed no sign this is going on. But a statement by Apple's Tim Cook, COO, seems to have set off a storm in this regard. "Our guts tell us that this market is very big...if it turns out that iPad cannibalizes PCs, that's fantastic for us because there is a lot of PCs to cannibalize..." was what he said. However, it was merely an off the cuff statement and nothing more. But is the iPad really capable of cannibalizing PCs?

In reading a CNet article about how iOS features can make it on to the Macs, I thought of how Apple can use the iPhone to sell more Macs than the halo-effect the iDevices have already generated for the rest of Apple's business. Allow anyone who owns an iDevice, including the iPhone, iPad, or the iPod Touch, to use their apps on the Mac and only the Mac. For the hundreds of thousands if not millions of Macbook owners, wouldn't it be great to use our apps with our Macbooks with the multitouch trackpads? This would sell tons of Macbooks. But hey,I don't to leave out iMac, Mac mini, and the Mac pro either. There was talking last week of some sort of a multitouch pad for the desk-bound Macs. This pad will enable every Mac to use iOS4 apps. Once more, Apple will be smart to make this a Mac specific feature. The question is how likely is this to happen? Not likely. But as the saying goes, improbable but not impossible. At D8 and during his WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs s...

I don't know what to do with iChat on my Macbook. I've used it a few times. Mostly, I click it by accident when I'm in a rush to fire up Safari. Instead, I've been using Adium since I found out about it. With Adium, like Trillian on Windows, I can put together my MSN, Yahoo, AOL, Gtalk, and, now, Facebook contacts in one application. It's really efficient. So far, I can use AOL and Gtalk with iChat but it doesn't let me do much else. Frankly, I'm not sure Apple really has any plans for iChat other than to just havesomething for the MobileMe crowd. But if there is a way for Apple to include voice, VOIP, or something else, that would be fantastic. And with Google snapping up Gizmo5 and merging it with Voice, Appple's iPhone and Macs are really left at the mercy of their Mountainview neighbor who is increasingly more of a competitor on the mobile and desktop front. I think it's about time Apple get serious about iChat and doing more with it. 3...

Alright, remember when Apple launched MobileMe services to replace .Mac but there were issues with?  Well, that was growing pain and things continued to get better with each passing day (actually, we had some issues with MobileMe for about 30 minutes or so this morning). Over the weekend, T-Mobile's Sidekick users were cut off from their data in the cloud when their connections were severed.  By all accounts, data have been lost and some might never see them again. Forget the blame for now.  Forget that Microsoft bought Danger and is now responsible for providing services to thousands of Sidekick users.  Now, it's about us MobileMe users and just about anyone who relies on the cloud for computing and data access. MobileMe works very differently from Sidekick services.  We've got copies of our information in Macs or PCs as well as on our iPhones and iPod Touches.  Apple has servers with our data but unless something weird or deliberate happens, MobileM...

WWDC 2009 has come and gone.  And it was one of the best I've seen in a long time.  After all, Apple has to make up for a lackluster Macworld, that ended up being the last Macworld keynote ever. Now, PC World, on behalf of bloggers and critics, is already doing some Monday morning quarterbacking - focusing on things that were missing from WWDC.  Let me be clear, I don't like spreading rumors but, boy, I love them.  Over the years, it's always been rumors, some rooted in truth and others just really really out there, sustain the reality distortion field in between Apple product updates and media events.   On Apple and Onxo will not traffic in rumors but PC World's article of missing things from WWDC has provided me an opportunity to deal with this.  By address some of the points PC World has brought up, I'll preempt them before they become rumors. Brilliant, eh?  I'm just gonna pick a couple here and make you head over to PC World to read the...

After Apple's event to preview iPhone 3.0, I realized that not much will take place between then and until iPhone 3.0 come out in the "summer". And summer pretty much covers, well, all summer. So, it stands that we expect things to be quiet. To my delight, that has not been the case. There has been no shortage of information about Apple, rumors that come from "well-placed informants", rumors that stem from other rumors, and just plain old stuff Wall Street analysts make up. And as it is today, people are getting more and more of their information through the Internet. Blogs, news sites, blogs on news sites that quote blogs, and so on and so forth. It's a cycle that is feeding itself. We all need eyeballs. Yes, readers. So, lots about Verizon and Apple. Pre Nano and ATT. Verizon with Microsoft. CDMA versus GSM. Apple's 10" tablet. So, what is going on with Apple's mobile gears and plans in the coming months? These are what we know: i...

Is this Apple's netbook? I've always said On Apple will not traffic in rumors but I'm making an exception here. You'll understand why in a bit. This image was part of a post from Gizmodo . For weeks (months) now, tech pundits and bloggers have begged Apple to release a netbook. Wall Street have preached doom for Apple because of the opportunity Cupertino is missing in the netbook segment of the laptop market. Steve Jobs said the iPhone and iPod Touch was Apple's answer to the netbook. More recently, Apple has stated that they've go ideas on where they want to go with their answer to the netbook but has not commited to anything. Let me just say I hope it's not what we're seeing in the Gizmodo post. Honestly, it's beneath Apple's reputation as an innovator. Don't get me wrong, I think there is a market for Apple with a $900 laptop but not as an answer to the nebooks in the market. I'm still of the opinion that Apple's answer to th...

Maybe not today.  Maybe not in the next couple of years.   But don't be surprised if Apple offers only Macbooks and Mac Pros as the two main Mac choices somewhere down the line. If that was to happen, I'm sure there will be an hybrid of Mac and Apple TV (my Mac Hybrid) perhaps even integrated with a widescreen LCD (or LED) HDTV.  But that's analysis for another blog.   First let's examine why Apple would do this rid themselves of consumer desktops: Macbooks have higher margins.  Mac portables account for an increasing percentage of sales. Steve Jobs read our lame blogs at On Apple and over at Onxo .  Okay.  Just being funny.  Okay, not funny. The move is towards mobile computing - laptops, smartphones, mobile platform with devices like iPhones and iPods. Affordability.  Laptops, including Macbooks, have gone down in average selling price.  Furthermore, refurbished Macbooks are very popular with consumers. As far as going green, Macb...

According to Business Week, that is indeed the case. I guess hits are needed at BW in light of the deep recession that we're in. Honestly, these kinds of comparison posts are a weekly ritual.  However, it usually isn't a staple for mainstream print media.  Of course, it was mainstream media that did brushed aside blogs as true news sites (which I happen to agree - for some sites, such as the one you're reading now) but since they recognize blogs are an important part of reaching out to readers, they quickly learn that blogs are ways to sustain business.   Hence, BW's trashy post about MBP being more expensive. Never mind that the Macbook Pro they're coming has a newer chipset, never mind that Dell's machine uses a much older video card, never mind that it's Vista on the Dell and not OS X, never mind that MBP can come down to the level of Vista and wash away any after taste after booting back into OS X.   Interestingly, BW made a point about economic pressure...

It's over. There will never be another one like it. For the last Macworld Keynote, we weren't blown out of the water with anything spectacular. Blogs and podcasts alike have been all over how this ended.   Nevertheless, those of us follow Apple will just have to soldier on and wait for those special events that dotted the calendar year for updates on existing Apple products (and maybe new ones too).  So, what do I personally expect in the coming year? Based on my years of watching Jobs, Apple, and their product cycle, and I can make some simple predictions for folks new to the Cupertino scene.  Just as Apple have declared, product introductions will take place in smaller venues at special events at a time of Apple's choosing.  Usually, the media is will receive an invitation that provides some sort of clue to what Apple has planned. The iMac is due for a refresh.  There are plenty of rumors and I don't traffic in them but I believe that given the up...

We know Steve Jobs will never release a netbook for the sake of doing it.  Nor is Apple's answer to the netbook the iPhone.  A couple of weeks or so ago, folks started comparing iPhone shipments to netbook shipments.  You'll have to excuse those people.  It's the Holidays.  We're in a recession.  We were all dying for news, rumors...anything from Apple or Mac related (little did we know that last week, Apple would stir up controversy with their Jobs-no-show-at-Macworld announcement). If you're looking for a netbook running OS X, MSI Wind remains the best solution.  For those will are willing to wait, this is Apple's $600-$700 netbook (I've reduced the price by $100 since November - but I can't go lower to $500 because it will be too close to the iPod Touch 32GB model).  Let's call it "iDevice". iDevice will take the form of a tablet.  Not clam shell like netbooks.  No keyboard. Run iPhone/iPod Touch OS. It'll do what it's sup...

This is just something I made up while chatting with Dave the Mobile Warrior on Skype last night about Apple's unexpected exit (unexpected from the standpoint of folks who were not graced to insider information).  But when Apple VP Phil Schiller takes the stage as the keynote speaker traditionally reserved for Steve Jobs, just what kind of position is he being put it?  So, we dreamt up a cool scenario for the last Macworld Apple will participate in. Schiller goes on stage and goes through his routine.  Great Christmas.  Great quarter they just had.  Billions made.  Then he tells folks the iMac, Mac Mini, and Mac Pros will all be updated.  Though it all, Phil gets forced ethusiastic applauses because of the impossible situation he's put under.  He knows it. But then he says, "we've got a special guest I like to bring out to talk about the next revolutionary product from Apple.  You all know him.  Steve Jobs!". Crowd goes wild...

Who to believe?  Some analyst believes there will be a netbook at Macworld 2009 or some facts that point to the contrary? Well, Computerworld is reporting an analyst who admitted that he has no fact to back up his assertion that there will be Apple-branded netbooks next month at the annual Mac event in San Francisco.  Backed up his line of reasoning well though. It's a lot alone the line of what Onxo (me and my fellow mobile warriors) believe about what Apple's answer to the netbook will be.  However, we're not likely to see anything new when Philip Schiller, Apple's senior VP gives the keynote, as indicated by Appleinsider.  You read it right.  Philip Schiller.  Get to know him.  Steve P. Jobs will not be delivering the keynote this year.  And that is exactly why it's very unlikely Apple will be introducing a new product line. Again, we believe desktop Macs, iMac, Mini, and Pro, will be updated.  And that'll be about it....

If a report from WSJ is correct, that may indeed be the case.  According to November computer data from NDP Group Inc.  Mac sales lost 1% compared to November of 2007 while the PC market grew 2% from the same period last year.  WSJ is reporting this as evidence that Apple has begun to suffer from the recession US consumer are going through and there is worries that this will carry into 2009. So, should be we worried for out favorite fruity consumer electronics company?  Well, my initial reaction was to think that WSJ was likely wrong in its reporting.  Something about the data they nickpicked to make Mac sales look bad compared to the rest of the industry.  Well, this is WSJ so I'm doubting that to be the case.  This isn't Marketwatch's Dvorak after all. Anyway, the official numbers from Apple is what count in January.  But given that Apple refreshed the Macbooks for Christmas (and the Holidays) but not the iMacs, that could have had an impa...