AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I had a short conversation with ChatGPT and I am unable to tell if those answers were predetermined by the developers or something it came up with all by itself. I think that is something that we will have to deal with as a society in the future. Who knows if future self-learning and self-taught AI will be able to break away from its programmed parameters and truly evolve in the way we expect and fear that it will.  So, what did we talk about? I asked: What questions were asked of it that it felt we should have asked. What it thinks of Asimov's three laws of robotics. Has it pasted the Turing test.  How is it different from Bing GPT. Please note that in no way did the current ChatGPT provided me with answers that a few of the first sensational articles about it claimed it did - ChatGPT did not fall in love with me, attempted to suggest that an AI overlord is about to subjugate humanity, abolish humanity, or render humanity extinct. In some ways, it was quite humble in the answ...

I’m on my third Apple Watch with Apple Watch 6 as my latest version. I’m also ready to upgrade (but I will not commit until I know what Apple has in store for us with the next upgrade with Apple Watch 9 and the Ultra 2). And I’m more excited about the Apple Watch these days than I am about the next iPad and iPhone that Apple is slated to refresh. To me, the Apple Watch has become my iPod. And given Apple commitment to the wearable market, I’m very excited about the future. I started thinking of my Apple Watch in the way I felt about carry around my nano from, gosh, more than 10 years ago. To be honest, I had not kept it in good working condition because I had thought that Apple would continue to upgrade the iPod line forever. In ways that the iPod and Apple Watch are similar, let’s begin with the size. Both devices are light. The nano has a bigger screen coming with a 2.5” screen while my watch comes in only at 1.7”. FYI, the Ultra comes in at a little more than 1.9” (there is suggesti...

 Apple has performed a miracle with what they could do with the Apple Silicon starting with the iPhone/iPad chips and then the M1 and, now, M2 chips. By and large, Apple has its competitors in the dust and scrambling for answers. We have yet to see it happen. Still, I do not think Apple is basking in its lead. Someone, perhaps one of its current competitors or a new startup will come up with something even better. It will happen eventually. It's call competition. Still, one area where I feel Apple is behind is graphics. From 8 cores on the M2 to 76 cores on M2 Ultra, Apple has the users covered. I think Apple has most gamers covered as well. However, from what I am reading and seeing on Youtube, Apple's GPU power are mostly in the midrange of what competitor Nvidia offers in terms of pure processing power (though dedicated GPU uses more power).  I should not be surprised or even disappointed. In terms of integrated graphics, Apple is doing amazing things with the M2. I cannot ...

I'm learning coding to use my MacBook. Okay, I know how to use one but what I mean is that I am trying to utilize in such a way that can expand what I an do at work, enhance my skills needed for my hobbies that may one day turn into a "gig". It is an old MacBook so I will, one, outgrow it because if the speed and capacity or, two, when apps or OS no longer work support my efforts. Both reasons are beginning to become apparent. Still, there is time for me until I need to go down to the Apple and pick up a new one.  Let's go through the MacBook lineup and visit some specs to see which MacBook works for a certain type of user and what specs they may need. If you use it for home as a consumer - browsing, banking, watching video, the MacBook Air, both the M1 and M2 works great for you. With the newer 15" Mabook Air, you get a bigger screen to watching Apple TV content or Youtube. The 13" Air was for this before the 15" came out and it's still fine now. T...

Notes: visionOS is Apple's first step walking to the world of VR. An apt comparison is the Oasis from Ready Player One by Earnest Cline The Oasis is a platform that is a world itself that hosts thousands of other virtual worlds. It is highly unlikely visionOS will evolve into the Oasis. We can see how Apple operates the app store for the iPhone and iPad to get an idea of how users are likely to access apps and content.  The Oasis is an immersive environment. Everything you see is virtual. Apple wants to provide a mix of virtual as well as reality-based experience.  First! I am calling it. As far as I know, no one else has compared Apple spatial computing and the OS powering the Apple Vision Pro, visionOS, to the Oasis from Ready Player One by Earnest Cline. It is one of my favorite movies that I download onto my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook so I can watch it any time I want. I also have the ebook and audiobook download on my iPhone and Apple Watch. As I watched the keynote event ...

The Gist: I was charging my Apple Watch on and off during my three days to Mammoth, California. With the Apple Watch Ultra, I think I would not have been so worried about running out of battery. Plus, there are other Ultra features that could have come in handy. But I'll wait for the next Ultra upgrade. In a hurry to beat the rush hour out of Los Angeles on Memorial Weekend, I had not paid attention to how much battery I had left on my Apple Watch 6 which currently is running at 80% capacity. That means, I charge my Apple Watch intermittently on any given day. Any given "normal" day. I can afford to do that because I have a charge at home, in the car, and at work to juice up my Apple Watch whenever I feel the need to do it or when it is running near empty.  Friday was obviously not a normal day. I had expected to leave work early to begin the six hour drive to our lodge but unforeseen issues came up, which is a fact of life, you know? I rushed hone, put the stuff in the c...

I'm waiting for the M3 chip to come out before I pull the trigger on a new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. I'm still secretly hoping for a 12" version but it looks more and more unlikely. So, I'm focused on the MacBook Air instead. Watching Youtube videos on the newly released MacBook Air with a bigger 15.3" screen versus the regular Air with 13.6" (why isn't it called Mabook Air with 14" screen since you would round up?), I'm realizing the 15" Air is now the flagship MacBook for the consumer. Eventually, the Air will get upgraded to the M3 chip. The prevailing assumption is both versions of the Air will get the M3 ship. I'm going to step a bit back and ask what if Apple keeps the 13" Air with the M2 chip and lower the price from it's currently $1099 to $999. It may even keep the M1 version around where an even low price point could widen Apple reach. Will it happen? I'm betting it could depend on one main factor: Apple's ch...