AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I want to begin with the best advice I can offer when it comes to using social media - do not count on social media to provide you with accurate information. Having said that, there are a number of uses for social media that can be productive and even informative but you should not use it as a source of up to date information. Unless you're the guy on the ground or the person provide you with information on the other end is some you trust with your life, I would take nearly everything we consume on Facebook, X, or any other social media with a big bag of salt. I am sure by now, we all know what is going on in Israel. Thousands dead, hostages, and a conflict that threats to erupt into a regional war instigated by very well coordinated terror attack by Hamas. I generally keep away from news on weekends but this caught my eyes. I went to Apple News, Google News, CNN, and Wikipedia to find out more what just happened. I then went to X to see what people are saying about it.  I saw a vi...

I was watching the morning news while eating my usual breakfast of oatmeal and a hash brown (a little treat before my Friday meetings, which I always dread—where's my 4-day work week?). A segment caught my attention: grocery sales are down due to people pursuing weight loss through a new drug called Ozempic. This reminded me of a subject I've thought a lot about and want to write about. The effects of Ozempic, a drug created as an anti diabetic mediation, was found to have weight loss effect. Despite its long list of side-effects (nausea, diarrhea, fatigue to name a few), its use has promising results for patients in terms of weight loss. It has even impacted sales of grocery, snacks, and even alcohol. Medical issues aside, what got me thinking was just how a small portion of the population who are taking weight loss drugs can have on the overall economics of our food chain. For me, exercise is important to my own weight control and loss, what has really helped me was portion c...

Conflicting reports about whether Apple will release a new MacBook before the end of 2023 have created uncertainty about if I will be able to get one this year. I am hoping a new model does come out soon, as I have been waiting to upgrade my 2016 MacBook. I had hoped to wait until my needs grow and my coding skills improve. However, if you know anything about the butterfly keyboard issue that has plagued years of MacBook releases, then you know what I am talking about. Apple even has a dedicated web page to deal with that. I think I have come to the end of the road with my MacBook's keyboard (down arrow is out of commission, the space bar works but it uneven, and the right shift eye is sticky, and the whole keyboard feeling shallow). And yes, while I had previously stated that I would try to wait until my needs warrant an updated  MacBook, six to seven years of dealing with the keyboard issue is enough. So, while there is a good chance Apple might skip this year's fall MacBook...

The 13.6” Macbook Air with M2 was introduced on June 2, 2022 at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference. It was given much attention due to the design change from the previous generations of MacBook Air. It was also a new M2 chip that was not only faster but had some features that were initially available only to the M1 Pro and Max.  Now, I wonder if we will be getting an October event like the one Apple just held in September for new iPhones and Apple Watches. I am going out on limb here and suggest Apple will not hold a major media event for any new Macs that they might unveil in 2023. There is suggest that Apple might hold back any new Mac refresh until 2024 and allow the 15” MacBook Air just unveiled at this year’s WWDC to hold things over through the Holidays. I consider myself an eternal optimist, and I'm eagerly anticipating the release of a new Mac, specifically a MacBook with the M3 chip. If my wish comes true, I believe Apple will likely produce a high-quality video showc...

I think it is not an accident that show, Foundation, based on Isaac Asimov’s series Foundation, is on Apple TV+.  Steve Jobs always knew he was not going to be around indefinitely. After he was done, Apple had to find a way forward while still retaining the essence of what made Apple the company it is today. And in a word, Steve Jobs had foreseen a future of where Apple and the market was headed and he helped laid out the foundation for Apple for decades to come much like the mathematician Hari Seldon in Foundation did. Who is Hari Seldon? He is a math professor on the imperial planet of Trantor - father of psychohistory that allowed him to predict the future. That’s pretty much the gist of it and the future of his empire was bleak. Instead of a dragged out downfall, he created the means to limit its fall to a mere thousand years. While the future of the tech market is hard to read for mere mortals like me, Steve Jobs did envision the need for Apple to be able to navigate the water...

The iPhone mini did not sell well the two years in its existence and it may have been the result of an Apple echo chamber of Apple employees who missed the days of being able to use the iPhone with one hand, analysts, Apple bloggers, and a very small segment of iPhone users. Judging by how quickly Apple got rid of the min and even is not considering the mini form factor for the next iPhone SE but is instead going with the iPhone XR form factor, I am right. Still, as someone who went from the iPhone 13 Pro Max down to the iPhone 13 mini a year later, I think the mini was gone too soon. There are two groups of Apple watchers (not watches) - one who just want Apple tech to get them through the day whether it is work, school, vacation, etc. Then there is the group that watches Apple closely and analyze every bit of news, tweet, whisper from Asia, or word from someone’s who knows a guy whose sister is married to the barber who cuts the hair of some barista who makes a special pumpkin spiced...

Main Points: Would an iPad mini with a 9” screen still be a mini? And would it still be popular among its supporters? iPad mini is optimized for consuming contends I’ve been using my 2019 mini for productivity as well. For writing, drawing, and light work, it’s fine. When it comes to serious productivity like spreadsheets or coding, you quickly run up against a lot of limitations.  As far as working with the mini, the 9” screen is better than the current  If Apple does go bigger, no idea when it will happen. A bigger iPad mini would allow Apple to accessorize it like all the other iPads in the lineup. The mini is the only without a keyboard case from Apple. I have 5th generation iPad that was released in 2019. I immediately upgraded from my 4th generation iPad mini when I saw the specs and Apple Pencil support. I have skipped the current mini with the modern form factor with an 8.3” screen. Previously iPad had 7.9” screens. So what happens if Apple decides to increase the iPad...