AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I value portability in today's computing devices. It's why I have not owned a desktop since my college days. I'm pretty sure that most college bound students who need to get a computer probably went with a laptop. Maybe even a small number of them might have opt for an iPad.  So out of the blue, I asked Bing Chat whether I should get a MacBook or iPad that I can use to code. Not surprisingly, Bing told me to go with a MacBook. Essentially, Bing found MacBooks to be more versatile when it came to the number of tools available for coding and development. It does think that the iPad has potential. The other issue it brought up is cost. I specifically asked if I should get an iPad Pro but it seems to suggest that there is no difference between a regular iPad and an iPad Pro given that the apps that are available for coding on the iPad run on all current iPads. So, if cost was an issue, the iPad would be the way to go.  On both accounts, I agree here just as I agree with another...

When Apple release the iPad mini 7, Apple should continue to keep the mini 6 on the market with a price drop. There are many reasons why Apple should make this move. I'll outline the reasons below.  Before I get into that, I want to note that I am currently on the iPad mini 5 and my wife got the iPad mini 6. While I always like having new things, I can't say that I am jealous of my wife's iPad mini. My mini 5 has worked so well for me since 2019 when it was first launched. I'm coding a bit on it and with the Apple Pencil, I'm drawing much better. I eagerly want to see what the iPad mini 7 has in store for us. Will it be enough of an upgrade for me to make the jump? We will have to see. Meanwhile, I hope that when it is finally released, Apple will consider keeping the iPad mini 6 around. Why it would be advantageous for Apple to having iPad mini 6 on saleon the iPad mini 7 is released? Here is why: Apple can lower the iPad mini 6 price by $100. It will help APPLE co...

With an aging MacBook that still continue to serve me, I do long for a M-series MacBook. However, do I really need one right this moment or in the next month or two? The conclusion after much deliberation is no. And that deliberation took months. And during that time, I certainly managed to muddle long with the Macbook from 2016. I will need one eventually. All good things come to an end and I think my MacBook is nearly that.  The keyboard was subpar to begin with.  The battery is about half what it was It does not support the latest OS anymore. However, I use Bing's ChatGPT powered search and ask whether I should be upgrading to a new MacBook now. The answer, depending on how you feeling about these AI-powered chat queries, I found was quite reasonable.  If my MacBook continues to serve my needs, including learning to code, well then by all means, keep it until it stops to serve that need or breaks down. Bing's AI chat suggested that if my MacBook is slowing or is strugg...

Most iPad Pro users appreciate Apple's effort to give us reasons to get the iPad Pro. For years, other than bigger screens, cameras (which I'll get to), keyboard and mouse support, and, in the past year, Stage Manager, there really is not a whole lot of other reasons why we need to get the iPad Pro. Please note that this is not a complaint article. We have no idea how much resources Apple is pouring into making the iPadOS experience that much better year after year both on the hardware and software side. I do agree with many of this year's review of the iPad Pro and iPadOS that if you already have the iPad Pro with the M1 chip inside, you are not missing anything with the 2022 iPad Pro upgrade with the M2 chip. And it is not likely going to make a big difference when Apple eventually release the iPad Pro with the M3 chip as well. So, what makes the "pro" in the iPad Pro then if we are not seeing a significant user experience? For me, it  has come down to Stage Man...

Would you like Apple to be on the current trajectory of making iPadOS more like MacOS through efforts like Stage Manager or simply let the iPad Pro run macOS? I am sure deep someone at Apple in the R&D department has an iPad Pro running MacOS and is loving it and lament that it is not allowed to escape the confines of the laboratory.  Okay, this is just me guessing really hard but I do not think it is out of the realm of possibility given that Apple has a history of doing this kind of thing. Even while Apple was selling Macs running on PowerPC, they had a parallel track of OS development on Intel's X86 chips that went on to do very well. And then of course, while Apple was selling Intel-based Macs, Apple was preparing to move the Macs over to chips developed in house. And so far, Apple has decided to make iPadOS more, well, iOS-like rather an allow the M1 and M2 iPads run MacOS. All the while, Apple is trying to increase a segment of users who want to only use their iPad Pro as...

Dear Santa, How’s your vacation been? Christmas 2022 was another resounding success. Credit to you and your elves. I know you treat them well and they’re just great wonderful magical creatures paid with union wages, great healthy care, education, and everything.  I don’t blame you for the inventory and inflation issues due to COVID. That’s all on us mortals. Now, I want to discuss something with you and you will realize that I’m actually doing this for millions of other Apple fans out there.  I would really appreciate it if you could send a couple of your top elven designers to Apple in Cupertino and design the next iPad mini.  There was chatter about a year ago that Apple is working on an iPad mini Pro. If this is not true, whoever started this false rumors deserves to be on your naughty list for the rest of time. But if this is true, an iPad mini Pro with Apple’s upcoming M3 chip is exactly what millions of Apple fans and I want. I’ve started 2023 on a very nice track s...

 There are a lot of chatter this week about the upcoming 15” MacBook Air that will be added to the 13.3” version currently on the market. Perhaps I’m not seeing it but I am not alone judging by the number of blog posts today about it, a few think that Apple should have gone the other way - a 11” or 12” MacBook Air would be the better route to go.  The question we have to ask is why is Apple making a 15” MacBook Air? And why is it called a MacBook Air? To be exact, the bigger MacBook Air will have 15.5” which is a mere half in from the 16” MacBook Pro. Apple probably believe that people who want a bigger screen but are not willing to pay for the professional specs will opt for a lower end laptop with a similarly sized screen. Not a bad line of thinking. Except this is the Mac market, not the Windows PC market. I use a 15” Windows laptop for work. I think it came from Costco and cost about $700. The 13.6” MacBook Air starts at $1199. How much would a 15.5” version cost? Let’s us...