AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

It's that time of the year again. Daylight savings is coming and and heat. At least in Calfornia, we have been having quite a warm winter and I don't see that changing much. To top that off, we are having quite a ride at the gas pumps. So, I've tooled up my bike, make sure everything is working as it should, and take it out today. So, I'll be looking to start up my recording of how much money I'll be saving by biking insteading of driving around my SUV. And where does mobile fit into all this? Our smartphones are yesterday's note pad. I used to use a little note book to record my bike rides in school, both high school and in college. It was neat to see just how much money I've saved over time because of all this. And since I've been looking for an app to do do just this, maybe I ought to write an app to do this for myself.

There is a spectrum crunch that is creating problems for users and the wireless companies.  What’s causing the spectrum crunch in the US?  According to CNN, the following are the main causes: Leading off is iPhone, iPad, & other mobile devices like Androids that are using more data than expected. Also the adoption rate of these mobile devices have increased. Inept government regulation – what used to work doesn’t anymore and the FCC has not moved fast enough Industry protectionism like the TV broadcast industry trying to wall off their spectrum. Hoarding – there are spectrums out there that are not being used.  Dish Network, we’re looking at you. How much of this can be fixed quickly isn’t known.  We can use more Wi-Fi but all of this is giving carriers reasons to ration and cap wireless use – thus driving up costs for end users like us mobile warriors. The problem isn’t really the users but a combination of carriers, industry players, and the governm...

First, let me say that what I’m predicting here is way in no way based on anything I’ve read or have been told.  This is just my own musing on how Apple can get iPads into the hands of million of students across the US or any other country that might be interested in giving their students the best opportunities that mobile computing can give today.  At the end of this post, I’ll reveal what I believe Apple can charge for it. Each iTexbook for Apple is going to cost about $15 a textbook.  And from K-12, we are talking anywhere from 4 to 6 textbooks per pupil.  That’s comes out to about $60 to $90 per student per year.  And let’s suppose that each student will be assigned an iPad that is good for three to four years.  Maybe even five. Now, let’s do the math.  At three years, that means the textbook revenue per student comes out to $180 to $270 per student.  Apple’s 30% is about $54 to $86.40 per student.  If you extend the iPad lease to 4 ...

I’ve just begun to play with Mountain Lion, OS 10.8, Apple’s next update to the Mac operating system that includes many iOS specific features like Messages and quite frankly, changes to key features with iCloud integration.  One feature that appears to be missing from all this is Siri.  Granted, Siri is still missing from the iPad 2, an oversight that I hope Apple will rectify with the next iPad release.  But would it be stupendous if Apple also makes Siri available to the Macs as well? I am thinking not just from a fan standpoint but also from a competitive standpoint in the mobile marketplace.  Windows 8 will be out by the third quarter of 2012 and tons of tablets and laptops that run Microsoft’s latest and greatest OS will be flooding the market. Right now, I think most analysts and bloggers are just concentrating on the meaning of Apple’s surprising and cryptic preview of Mountain Lion and pour over what’s there, and not what isn’t there like Siri.  ...

We've seen the Android 4 and what it is doing with the Galaxy Nexus - and anyone without the Nexus  simply will have to wait, either for the hardware makers to make Android 4 available as an update or to wait for new hardware like the Samsung Galaxy III to be on the market.  And while Android has done great in the smartphone market, Android tablets have not.  In fact, it has been the Kindle Fire, which really isn't an Android tablet given what Amazon has done to the OS, that has helped stem the iPad tide. This is why we need the Nexus tablet more than ever.  And there are many reasons why a Nexus tablet is so important.  Again, Apple continues to push ahead with the iPad and the next version, the iPad 3, is likely just weeks away.  And as much as I like the Galaxy Tab 8.9, Samsung for whatever reason is pricing them right up there with the iPad and has limited success as far as market-share goes. Furthermore, Windows 8 is coming and if it does well, we...

Let's be clear about the settings for Google using a vulnerability in Safari that allows itself and other online advertisers to set cookies even when the user has explicitly disallow third-party cookies to be uploaded.  Google acted like a hacker in this.  Forget about the technical details of how this happened.  They did it, got caught, and came up with the only explanation they have:  the opportunity was there and we took it.  And Apple is at fault for allow this to happen because this vulnerability is only inherent with Safari, not even with Chrome or Android's browser which shares the same Webkit framework as Apple's own browser, Firefox, or Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Now, Congress is looking into  this matter .  The thing is that Apple could have made this all go away had they come up with the patch to plug this old from the start.  I can't understand how Apple could have possibly not know about this. So far, Apple has stay customari...

First of all, we’re been pecking on our 3.5” iPhone screen for years now and we’re doing just fine.  On top of that, Steve Jobs, who’s known for misdirection on what Apple will or will not ship, said that we would have to file down our fingers just to use the icons on them useless 7” screens. Well, as limiting as those 7 incher screens are as far as screen real estate goes, I can life with a 8 or 9 in because I’ve tried it with the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and it works great. So, we’ve got years of great multi-touch experience on 3.5” iPhones, not just one finger touch and proof from Samsung that their 8.9” tablet works great, what is keeping Apple from releasing an 8” tablet? Oh, them fingers that need to be filed down?  Don’t worry.  8” iPads would be great for kids.  First, they’ll probably be cheaper to make and sell.  On top of that, those grade-school kids have little hands and fingers.  I’ve been them on my two, five, and eight years old nephews and s...