AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Source:   Flavorwire . Here’s a brilliant chart of how to do the chicken dances on Arrested Development we have come to see and love but was initially embarrassed about it but no longer. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, dude, you have to watch the old shows on Netflix, DVD, or whatever other means you can. You will not regret it.  And to see what I’m talking about, here are a few compilations of the various chicken dances from members of the Bluth family from Orange County, California. I’m going to go on the assumption that you know what the Arrested Development is about.  Essentially, it’s about the head of the Bluth family who defrauded investors and was sent to jail while his family is constantly harassed by authorities, each other, and just idiotic decisions they make. It’s crazy funny.  And Michael Bluth, portrayed by Jason Bateman, put himself in charge of keeping the family together and rebuilding their former glory.  Seems like ...

You know what could get me to get an iPad mini even if it doesn’t have a Retina Display this year?  128 GB version. Yeah, I think that’ll do it.  Based on stuff coming out of blogs, rumor mills, and analysts with some credibility, it does appear that Apple isn’t going to be able to find a way to a Retina Display into the mini this year.  There are times when one source says one thing and another says another but it’s rare that they all agree. In this case, Apple is probably going to upgrade the processor and maybe beef up some other features.  Despite that, I think a 128 GB will get me to jump in.  It really can.  See, I got my mom a 64 GB version last year and while it was adequate, all my apps and only a few media already took up about 45 GB of space. While that leave me with about 19 GB, you have to realize that there are new apps and services from Apple that continuing to evolve how we use our mobile devices.  On top of that, apps are bettin...

This is an absolute disgrace.  I'm a middle of the road kind of guy and I absolutely think people should pay their fair share of taxes, including companies.  And like anyone else, I'll take deductions where I can.  Just like any company would. And because over the decades, the United States Congress has given in to special interests, of which Apple and Google were not around to lobby, Apple, HP, Microsoft, and Google's executives did what they were hired to do to minimize costs and do what's good for the company's future (and yes, shareholders too). Today's corporations are not just mindless soulless entities.  May of these rich such as Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Steve Jobs, and the Gates Foundation have gone on to do great philanthropic things around the United States and the world in areas of education, health, and fight against poverty. The companies are not stupid in trying to avoid legally paying their tax bills.  It woul...

Source:   MacNN . For years, while Android dominate the market, the iPhone market, particularly in the US, has grown at the expensive of Blackberry and Windows but starting to impact Android as well.  And surveys typically suggest that iPhone users are more loyal to their chosen platform than Android users are to theirs or even to their branded devices.  However, I wonder if HTC One could change all that. In fact, I think it will.  I think HTC has a winner with the One because of its awesome screen and high-end feel to the form factor and use of metal instead of the cheap feel of the Galaxy line.  It's good enough to make some iPhone users take a look at the HTC One as a potential jumping off point for Android than the Galaxy. However, there are a couple of things that might hold some users off.  One is the camera.  That's a deal breaker for me.  4MP?  Really, HTC?  I know there will be folks who will argue that megapixels isn...

Source:   Politico , Macrumors . For those waiting for the Mac Pro, looks like it could be one of the first Mac to be made solely in the United States for years.  At least that's the going convention on which Mac Apple's Tim Cook is talking about when he said Apple has invested $100 million to make that Mac here in the US. Here is an interview with Brian Williams of NBC last year where Tim talked about it. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy As you can see, it's not easy.  $100 million is nothing to Apple but it's something to most companies and what Apple hopes to achieve could be the spark of something big for consumer electronics and electronics in general. While this is old news, Politico has new details from Tim Cook as Tim start a PR trip through the East Coast which will end with his testimony on corporate taxes in Congress next week.  While that is a very important issue, it is outside the purview...

Source:  Cult of Android ,  CNET . At Google I/O, Google unveiled new Maps services and changes to the UI.  I've simplified it into bullet points.  It doesn't do justice to the whole user experience that will improve as a result but it saves you the effort of having to go through the Web looking for it all. 3D support with live cloud view Better and easier UI Real-time traffic Dynamic routing Zagat review Support for iPad Google Offers Desktop map search results will overlay on the map directly Sign into maps to create your own landmark and have that information available no matter where you are or which device you use All those are expected and great.  All of the above features have been in one map apps or another already.  What I like about the new Google Maps is the Photosphere which allows users to upload their own pics allowing Google Maps users to create their own street-view. Google Maps improvements will be coming to Andro...

(from  Auto Blog ) Services like Google Now and Siri are going to become a bigger part of our lives over the next few years and it’s quite possible that the next generation isn’t going to have to go through the antiquated search process we go through now, whether it’s through Google, Bing, or Siri. And in all likelihood, cars five to ten years from now will all support integrated systems for these AI systems.  Until that happens, there are millions of mobile warriors who commute in cars without the new and sophisticated integrations for systems like Siri (is there any out there for Google Now?). It would be great if someone can offer an accessory that would work with our mobile devices via BT or the plug and allow the user to use voice commands hands-free. Such a device will not cost too much.  $100?  I think even a module or stereo system with such support would be wildly popular for a few hundreds bucks. So, any enterprising engineers out there who c...