AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Amazon sold a lot of Kindles over the Thanksgiving, Black Friday and through Cyber Monday.  That’s what it told us, what it wanted us to think, and made the press like Reuters repeat it over and over again.  How many tablets did Amazon sell?  No one knows because it has not released any actual figures.  So, I’m gonna make them up. The Kindle line, including tablets and ebook readers were collectively outsold by the RIM’s Playbook by a factor of 25 to 1.  And what’s worse and surprising, the Touchpad, you know, the HP’s WebOS tablet that isn’t even on the market no more, has outsold the Kindle Fire. Amazon, you failed.  As did the press for simply regurgitating Amazon’s press nonsense.

Source:   9to5Mac . Here is an interesting article speculating on what Apple could do with AMD if it decides to buy it.  First of all, that’s not going to happen.  It’s likely Apple has enough chip designing talent right now.  Any future buyout would be specific to a need, not a wholesale buyout like AMD.  On top of that, Apple is looking to transition away from legacy chip designs like Intel as iOS devices dominate Apple’s attention. However, it is fun to speculate.  A lot of reasons why Apple could benefit from buying AMD has been spoken for in the article.  I’ll let you read them yourself.  However, this is one particular point in the post that I find enticing for Apple fans. That is that the government wants to make sure Intel has a competitor in the market.  While I doubt Apple would run amok of regulators if it does find reason to buy AMD, consider that Apple has never shared its technology willingly with others, it’s unlikely to...

Source:   Marketwatch . "So-so" article about Black Friday shopping in stores.  We know this.  You can get decent deals online in relationship to standing in line and considering the savings.  It's about economics and the value of your time.  That's what I learned the last few Black Fridays. Another thing, we end up getting crap we don't really need and don't necessarily want. Also, it's crazy. More to the article.  Oh, one more thing in the article I thought is worth mentioning:  expect violence. Stampede.  Herds of humans that had just eaten millions of pounds of turkey coming at you. Good luck on Friday.

Source:   9to5Mac . This is huge in my mind.  Warner Brothers launched a new called for next day viewing called “Day After Us”.  Yes, a studio launching an app like that.  What is more significant is the ability to download it for off-line viewing. At first, I thought we’d have to pay a month subscription for that but apparently its free.  Maybe this is a test run and we will have to pay something in the future just like Hulu was pretty much free until, well, it wasn’t anymore. I like to see Hulu and Netflix follow suit.  With the ability to download movies or TV shows for offline viewing, it would greatly help folks who travel or have kids they need to entertain on trips without the benefit of wireless connection. Again, I say this:  this is a big deal.  This is the exact iTunes description for the app.  The link is here.  Big Bang Theory among shows that WB mentioned. Watch the most current episodes of Warner Bros popular te...

Here are some pics of the unboxing. After it has been restored, I'll take some pics with its camera so we can see how good it is. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Source:   USA Today . First, I thought Windows 8 was an interesting take on the whole UI experience - a drastic departure from the Start menu that we are so familiar with and the desktop.  There is still that but that's how what Microsoft would like us to see going forward.  It'll be a new dawn for Microsoft and Windows. However, things could be setting pretty fast if these survey pan out.  And they almost never pan out exactly.  But if it does, Windows 8 could be the worst version since, well, the original Windows.  No one remembers that.  Tech pundits will compare it to Vista.  Windows 8 may make Vista look like a glowing success. So, if people aren't buying Windows 8, what will they be considering as an alternative?  Some are just trying to stick with what they have.  We've got a few XP machines and even Vista.  As bad as Vista is, we're used to it.  And no one is talking about getting Windows 8. A good portion of t...

Source:   All Things D . I was not sure that Apple’s iPad was cannibalizing much of PC sales.  Sure, there have been in some cases.  If anything, I thought it’s been Macs that has been cannibalizing PCs.  Well, I am turning into a believer.  iPads are doing a lot of damage to the PC market, particularly the home market, And according to the ATd, the iPad mini will really make things worse for the PC guys.  Windows 8 launch or not, Surface or not, the iPad mini is about get us past the beginning of the post-PC era and more along the way of what we can expect in the tomorrow of tablets. And while there have been sub-10” tablets like the Nexus 7 and media devices like Kindle HD and Nook HD, none of them has the branding power of Apple when it comes to tablets.  And this is why the $329 iPad mini will really show us just how devastating Apple’s iOS and accompanying ecosystem will be. And this is just in the consumer market.  And this is just ...