AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

CNN has a post dedicated to the iPhone 5 rumors on its frontpage.  Maybe I'm nearly the end of my work day and I'm tired so I'm not thinking clearly but I don't think there's anything wrong with that.  Just wanted to note it.  Maybe the mention of "iPhone 5" is a click-bait and I want in on it.  Well, that's what I think why CNN put the post and link front and center.  Seriously.  That or it's really really slow news day and that the impending shutdown of the federal government isn't big enough of a draw (pushed to the left of the website) or that CNN sources doesn't think it'll happen. Whatever the reason, what is not amiss is the fact that Apple's mobile strategy is now mainstream.  Technology, especially mobile tech, is no longer the domain of geekdom but that it belongs to society as a whole.  It's why there are long lines a month after the iPad 2 was launched, why it's sold out everywhere in the countries Apple has laun...

I fully expect for the keyboard to go away one day when someone develops an even better input apparatus to replace it.  Obviously, I'm not that someone so I have no idea what it is.  Can a multi-touch platform capable of displaying a virtual keyboard be it?  I know a lot of people will hate it but I think I can get used to the idea. If you have an iPad or a smartphone like the Droid X or the iPhone that does not have physical keyboard, you're already using it.  Some people like it. Others don't.  I'm okay either way.  I'm faster on a regular keyboard but I grew up using a typewriter.  Lots of kids today will only know about multi-touch, like my nephews. And Apple has been granted patents just to create a virtual keyboard of sort.  And one that could change patterns and shapes to the needs of the user. One of the strange things, years after the various newer generation Star Trek shows went off the air, the glass displays that gave the officer contr...

One of the things I expected from Apple's fresh of the Macbook Pro in March was the exclusion of the optical drive, the DVD reader/burner, with something else that is more aligned with Apple's mobile vision. That did not happen. However, GIGAOM has a cool post for those good with tools and taking apart computers to mess around with. Replace the drive with an SSD. Now, this isn't like the older Powerbooks that Apple used to make in the 90s when you can just swap out one expansion solution for another. It doesn't quite work that way. This solution presented, for someone like me, is like brain surgery. But I am sure many of you can give this a go. The total cost is about $400. At the end of the day, you get extra storage space, speed, and, as the writer said, great for developers. Me, I just like having more room. THE FUTURE. Repeating what I said at the top, I thought Apple would have and could have replaced the DVD drive and use the space for something e...

This is the very first post I've sent from from an iPad 2. Feels and looks the same as any old iPad. Well, except for the camera facing me from the right and the Smart Cover that is propping up the iPad 2 at an angle for easier typing. It's overcast in Pasadena, city about 10 miles or so northeast of Los Angeles. You know, where those Rose Parade is held each and every single year. While this isn't a review, I can say that the screen is very good despite sitting here in the outdoors where I am at at a coffee shop. The overall feel of the screen does seem to be brother than the original iPad with the setting at 50% brightness. Since I've passed along my iPad to my nephew a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would need to get reacquainted with the layout of the virtual keyboard but it's all second nature to me at this point. And I only was able to get my hands on the iPad 2 yesterday, I cannot say just how fast it really is. With the original iPad, it was loaded to the...

iWeb is the way to go for simple folks like myself who want to create our own sites and manage it ourselves.  Apple has made that such easy, albeit a bit more restrictive than I would like.  It's why I also use Rapidweaver.  Now, news come that Apple has patented iWeb for the iPad.  The question I'm sure many are asking is if such an app will ever see the light of day.  Heck, I'll settle for even a glimpse of it in the darkest of alley.  Okay, makes no sense but you know what I mean. I'm hoping Apple will make this happen.  There are a few things Apple has to do to make sure it works on the iPad as well as on the Mac. I've been using iWeb in conjunction with MobileMe to run my Greenjava website, a depository of relevant news on politics, economy, mobile, and coffee.  It works.  Not great but much better than anything that I've come across. But I cannot do that on the iPad.  The thing that is so robust about other web and blogging platfor...

I struck out again this morning at the Pasadena Apple Store. I take comfort in the fact that the iPad I ordered from AT&T is here. But given the demand among my family, I will probably relinquish it. I've got a favorite aunt who I want to surprise on Sunday. Meanwhile, I checked around local area Apple stores in LA. Quite a few of them still have iPads in stock as of this writing. I don't want to give you hope because the quantities are limited and I encourage you to call around. For instance, the Glendale store has the 16GB White Verizon model but nothing else. The Target on Colorado Blvd near Lake has the 64GB Black Verizon models. None of them are the 16 GB white AT&T one that I want. Still, if you're more open to other offerings, a little leg work and you should be able to get your hands on one. But you'll have to be quick.

Has anyone discussed this on the blog or anywhere else? Here I am at the Apple Store in Pasadena hope to even get a glimpse of the 16 GB ATT white iPad 2 that I have yet to be able to get for myself. What is interesting about waiting in line today is that I have been seeing a stream of Apple employees walking by and into the store. And the sheer numbers is amazing. I estimated about thirty people walking past us and into the store. I don't even pretend to know how many folks it takes to run a successful retail operation like an Apple storebut that is an awful lot of people. Not only that, there is an air about them that is vastly different from the other employees just arriving at the other retail stores. It's not arrogance. I've dealt with many of these Apple people in the past. And they are some of the nicest people who has not only a job to do but an strong desire to do their tasks well and provide the customers with the best help possible. And it became pretty easy to ...