Unflattering Doc About Steve Jobs Coming - If Fair, Then It Needs To Be Made

Source:  Insider.

Many of our icons, good and/or bad, have flaws.  They're people just like anyone else.  No one is perfect and public figures or anyone with a big ego and personality tends to have amplified flaws.  That is what makes them great and infamous at times.  This is the same for politicans, celebrities, and innovators like Steve Jobs.  Certainly, anyone who has hear of Jobs have heard a story or two that highlighted his character flaws.

Now, a new documentary called "Steve Jobs:  Man In The Machine" (IMDB), it takes a look at Jobs' personal life and focused on specific events in his life that underscore what a selfish man and what a megalomaniac is he.  Admittedly, other films and documentaries only provided a passing glance at this side of the man and the many books about his seemed to want to rush through the early parts of his life, like how he treated his daughter Lisa and get to what the meat about his rise in Apple, his exile and "time in the forest", and his second coming at Apple.

A line in the documentary highlighted the kind of film this will be,"behind the scenes, Jobs could be ruthless, deceitful, and cruel".  Both allies and enemies of Jobs can attest to that.  Often times, I've wondered how these ruthless icons would be like if they were actual heads of states.  A smart bet is that their ruthlessness would be unchecked.  Given our more open and democratic society, it's already pretty bad.  Reality in Washington is not too far removed from Netflix's "House of Cards".  Imagine Larry Ellison in Putin's position. 

One should question the motive behind "Man In The Machine".  It's likely the director is not attempting to be fair and balance or simply trying to balance the the positive media regarding Jobs over the years when he took an nearly bankrupted Apple and turned it onto what it is today. 

Perhaps to take down someone like Steve Jobs is simply icing on the cake for someone like him.  Whatever his motives, the director will be offering a different look at Steve Jobs. 

Green: Warming Gas, Carbon Dioxide, Level in 2014 Same as 2013 Despite Booming Economy

Source:  New Scientist.This isn't really a tech or social media story that I normally like to share about Apple, Google, and others but the news that carbon dioxide emissions in 2014 was the same as the previous year is pretty significant.  And in some part, it has to do with alternative energy sources that came only despite a growing global economy.

The only times this has happened were during economic slowdowns experienced in the early 80s, the recession of 1992, and the Great Recession in 2009. While researchers at Tyndall Institute for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK had expected a 2.3% increase in carbon emission, changing energy use and patterns should have alerted them to the possibility that carbon increase should slow dramatically. 

As dirty as China is, renewable energy use is increasing in the Middle Kingdom while coal use is down.  Furthermore, tempered growth in China is also contributing to the carbon level in 2014 equaling that of the previous year. 

It's just one year and the trend is continuing carbon increases.  But the level in 2014 showed that it does not have to be this way.  Fortune 500 companies like Apple, Google, and Walmart have taken the lead combating global warming by switching over the solar, wind, and other renewable sources of energy. 

Furthermore, energy consumption of coal and oil is down in the United States as well.  This is despite the fact that gas prices have down come in the last year.  If we can put together a string of 4-6 years of lower carbon emission, who knows.  Perhaps that might be enough to reverse some of the warming effects.

And maybe in five years, a March day in Los Angeles like today won't be in the 90s and we'll start getting more rains and snow cover in the local mountains. 

The Case of the Shrinking iPad Sales

Much has been made about the iPad's diminish sales over the last year.  There is no denying that once of the last major products Steve Jobs introduced is not performing as well as most analysts and pundits believe it was to be.  Perhaps, there are even some at Apple that cannot see why the iPad isn't lighting the tablet market on fire or at least growing slowly.  It's the PC market that has shown life even as Mac sales continue to outperform.

The problem for the iPad, and tablets in general, isn't that there is not a market for it.  Problem with a majority of users and in the media is the preception of what a tablet is for.  Instead of a multipurpose device with the potential as a laptop replacement, it's being looked upon as a device for media consumption - for business, education, and entertainment.  Consumption.  Not production of content.  If you wanna do that, you still need PCs for the most part. 

The uses of tablets in my family and people around me is very evident.  As a mobile enthusiast, I use my iPad for product when possible.  There are limits for me and most people.  I am not an artist, so I find myself not producing art.  And even for artists and designers, there are better PC tools.  I write on it but I can do that easier on my Macbook when I'm not near my BT keyboard for the iPad.  I listen to music and podcasts but I don't write music or produce podcasts on the iPad. 

The young ones around me might do a bit more.  They play games on their iPads as much as I do - waging war against enemy clans, keeping Homer and the Snoopy gang busy, and whatever games fancy them that week.  There are some educational apps but the kids really seem them as games that also happened to teach them a thing or two useless.  Oh, and they do draw.

The older folks?  Reading.  Lots of reading.  Videos on Youtube.  They send each other pictures of their grandchildren.  Recently, I've trained my aunt to become very proficient at copying and sending links to her iMessage chat group. 

That tablets are not being used to its fullest potential is largely Apple's fault.  Clearly, Apple has not done a good enough job to advocate the iPad as a possible device for one to integrate into a process.  While Apple has done a good job highlight the iPad with a few videos that were filmed and produced on an iPad, there is certainly more that the iPad is capable of.  Apple needs to showcase how the iPad is benefiting productivity and enriching people's lives.

Intel Profit Warning: What Is Going On? More People Going Mobile And Less PC

It's been confirmed over the last year that tablet sales have been down.  So, does that mean PC sales are up?  Well, Mac sales are but the larger PC market is still stagnating.  Hence, Intel's warning.  So, what is exactly going on here?  What are the billions of people doing their computing on? 

For the most part, people are holding on to their computers and tablets longer.  The upgrade cycle has become longer largely because today's computers and tablets are so powerful.  While Microsoft struggles to stimulate demand for next version of Windows, Windows 10, it certainly has not help with the computer buying cycle.

When Intel warned that its outlook was not as rosy as stated, an interesting thing happened.  Microsoft and other tech companies associated with the PC market lost value while other tech giants like Apple and Google rose.  It spoke volumes about where the future is headed when Microsoft manages to stem the the PC market from bleeding for a peroid with Windows 10.  If anything, Micrisoft could be look to continue its Windows brand beyond PC and double its effort in mobile and tablet markets where it is barely a blip.

Furthermore, it does not help with Lenovo, Intel and Microsoft partners, install spyware in their laptops. 

As for Intel, it's multi-year plan to move beyond the PC and reinvent itself into a provider of mobile chips and services underscore again that more users while connected are doing so wireless on non-PC devices.

With over one billion Android devices sold and a couple of hundreds iOS devices sold in 2014, a vast major of them are not running Intel chips and Windows.  The question now is quickly and effectively can Intel, Microsoft, and the other PC guys pivot and become relevant again.

As consumers and mobile warriors, we want more competition and wish them luck.

If Apple Can Bring Innovation and Disruption To the Auto Industry, None of the Arguments For or Against Matter

This post from Boy Genius Report rehashed many of the reason why Apple is not likely to develop its own car.  The most talked about reason why Apple will not develop its own car is because of the historically low margin the auto industry has selling each car while Apple's products enjoy margins might higher.

If margin is more of an issue than the billions that Apple will likely make from selling cars, then that is correct.  It should also mean that Apple should get rid of some products with margins that are dragging down the iPhone.  Apple's crack team of executives have thought about this and will adjust the company as well as Wall Street accordingly. 

As far as margins go, Apple would make sure it can at least match if not exceeed the 15% margin that Porchse is pulling in and at least twice that of most luxuary brands. 

The other argument is the number of models Apple is likely to put out compared to BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and other high-end cars.  Telsa has only a couple of models.  Except for a few hiccups, it's doing quite well.  And on top of that, it has long-term plans in the works that should help the company stay lean and ahead of its competitors.  Apple with much more resources could manage at least that.

Then there is the argument that make a couple of extra billion dollars a year won't interest Apple.  Seriously?  If Apple looked at the number and auto landscape and think it is worth the risk, an extra $2 billion a year is not something it'll walk away from. 

The best argument that I can think of against Apple entering the auto industry is innovation.  What can Apple bring to the car that no one else has beyond just CarPlay and how it can maintain any competitive advantage over other auto makers.  In the smartphone market, Apple maintained a couple of years lead with the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad later but the market quickly caught up.  While Apple has managed to earn the lion's share of the mobile profit, the auto market is a different take altogether. 

So, it is not about margin and how much profit Apple can earn by selling cars.  It's about innovation and disruption of the auto industry and bringing a level of innovation that the auto companies have not faced in decades.  Even with the Model S, Tesla isn't quite putting the fear of Steve Jobs in GM, Ford, or BMW.  But Tim Cook and Apple can. 

And Apple has one advantage no automakers has, not even Telsa or Mercedes.  Apple's rich cult fans.  Period.

Still, I'm skeptical.  But I'm not Tim Cook and no one else is. Only he and a few at Apple knows whether it is worth the risk of developing and selling an Apple car.

Apple Watch Nano or Apple Wrist

There is some disturbing news that Apple is discontinuing sales of competing health bands like Jawbone UP and Nike Fuelband.  Granted, these are health bands and not actual watches and, granted, the Nike Fuelband is as good as discontinued, it really highlights a segment of the health monitoring market that Apple is not addressing with the Apple Watch.

Anything $250 and under market.  I would, in a heartbeat, get in on a $200 Apple band that monitors just steps and is integrated with the Health app on my iPhone. 

I'm hoping that perhaps after a year or so, Apple will introduce additional health monitor devices and other forms of wearables for those not interested in a fully functioning computer that sits in a wrist. 

I've been a dedicated user of the Up, Fuelband, and Fitbit - tried them all at different times as wear and tear forced me to get one or the other.  My latest was the Fibit Force that also monitored how many stairs I take.  After it died, just before Apple unveiled the Apple Watch last fall, I've been getting by with my iPhone Plus as a step counter.

It works just fine except I have to carry it with me pretty much everywhere. 

And frankly, I've already decided that I would use my Apple Watch for my daily workout and don't necessarily plan on carry it with me from the moment I wake up until I charge it at night.  A Apple branded band would be able to fill my needs between 6am and 5pm.  After that, I'll switch to the Apple Watch when I go on my run or the gym. 

Hopefully, like Apple often do after years of a product launch, it'll release the same device under a different form factor just like it has done with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod.  We got the original iPod that was then followed by the iPod Mini, iPod, Nano and the Shuffle.  The same with the iPhone and iPad.

So, let's see what Jony Ives and his design team can come up with and maybe they'll be able to address the $250 and under health band market.  It would be a real shame if it doesn't happen. 

Starting Own Music Streaming Services Equals Quick Billions?

Looks like Jay Z is trying to follow Apple's Dr. Dre, formerly of Beats, to become the next billionaire rapper.  That can be the only reason why he's starting his own music streaming service... (The Verge)