99 Cent Rentals Gone From iTunes - What's Next?

As you may well know by now, the ill-advised 99-cent scheme that Apple created from about a year ago is now gone.  Good thing too.  I've never rented a show.  It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

People either want to watch their TV shows for free or to buy the whole collection for a set price.

So, what's next?  This is like red meat for me since I love speculating about this.  And with the next Apple even less than a month away, one such as myself can only hope that something else has been in the works to replace this.

Subscription video like Hulu or Netflix?

Steve's Resignation: What Did Woz Mean At The End Of This Post

9to5Mac had a good post show excerpts of an interview with former founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne.

At the end of the post, I wonder what Woz meant at the end about e-mailing Steve to get a product back.  

Plus, I wonder if Woz will get more involved at Apple.  I know his philosophy today doesn't quite jive with the larger Apple vision but he could still be an important part.  Morale-wise, he could be a difference.  

Mobile: Is Touchpad Or Last Gen Tech Good Enough? Let's Start With the Battery Life

I love the Triumph but I returned it for personal reasons.  I've got got my other mobile devices running at top efficiency.  My Android stuff, iOS stuff, and my laptops.  So I need to upgrade to anything at all for another year?

That was what I proposed in my theoretical post a couple of days ago.  And in a series, I'm gonna get more specific about apps, form factors, and, my favorite subject, battery life.

Let's start this post off with battery life.

Mobile: Which Company Should Apple Buy?

For some reason, people are speculating that without Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple will suddenly start making deals and spending its cash.  Wait, what?

Now, I am about big deals as much as the next guy, whether it makes sense or not just because it gives us something to yap about.  Google buying Motorola Mobility or something like that.  :But ultimately, we want that deal to make sense.  So, it's not going to happen just because Tim Cook is there in the CEO's office.  

It isn't as if Tim Cook was just brought on board like yesterday.  He was there for years with Apple and his loyalty to it and the vision that he helped created with Steve Jobs isn't just going to get thrown out the windows in weeks or months.  

But if Apple wanted to deal, who do you think they should go after?  What kind of tech do they need?  How would it help with their whole mobile vision?

Gaming: This is What The Future of Gaming Console Looks Like

I don't know if there is much more for me to say other than to watch this video.  It's Airplay mirroring in the forth coming iOS 5.

What you'll see is whatever shows up on the iPad is displayed on the TV via the Apple TV module.

Whatever you want to do with it, it works.  Presentation?  Sure.  Watching videos?  Definitely.  Gaming? Of course.

This folks, is the future of the gaming console and set-top box all in one.

I can't wait until I get my ones on it.

Mobile: Voice could Be the Next Killer App

Voice is about to be the next killer app. And I know Android users have had better voice command features than on another mobile platforms. While they're nice to have, they're not nothing like the computer on "Star Trek".

But that could be about to change.  According to Minyaville, search shows that voice on Google's Android has yielded some promising new features in the future. Meanwhile, Apple bought Siri last year, an intelligent app that allows users to speak into the app to get results back.

Here is a infographics from Medical Transcription that shows us just how all this will happen.

Microsoft Has a 4-Core Windows Tablet?!

According to Electronista, Microsoft has something really sweet here.  It's a four-core tablet running Windows 8.  I suppose it makes sense to try to leap ahead or at least keep up with the next generation Android tablet.  and iPad next year.

It's likely using Tegra 3 from Nvidia that is slated for release later this year.  And with Windows 8 tablets going to be big at CES in January of 2012, Redmond might as well use the latest and greatest.  But actual release is not going to happen until spring of 2012.

This gives Android and the iPad a lot of time to further entrench the tablet market.