AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I want a 4K TV too.  Though it's not for watching videos since no service, over-the-air or streaming, is quite ready for it.  Rather, I want it for my late-2013 Macbook Pro.  I've thought about it on and off.  The last time I did it was when a Chinese brand called Seiki was offering a 39" 4K HDTV for less than $400 ($339 now on Amazon). In fact, they've got a 65" version that is decently priced for less than $1200 today and likely can be had for lower right around Black Friday.  However... Of course, there is always a "however".  However, while they might be a step above "gimmicky" in terms of have a higher resolution than the ubiquitous 1080p HDTV, they are no suitable for use as Retina Display monitors that we have become accustomed to on our Apple laptops or iOS devices.  The reason is because while they have the resolution, the Seiki 4K TV cannot support 60Hz, which is the very least you need to have a smooth display for daily computing use...

I'm not a big Minecraft player.  I barely know what's going on in the world there.  However, after seeing my nephews automatically figure out how to pay it and link their games together, I began to give it a deeper look.  Then I found out that Microsoft was buying out Minecraft maker, Mojang. And yes, while Microsoft has pledged to continue support the game across the various platforms, I can't help but think about Bungie and Halo.  Microsoft bought Bungie and Halo support for other platforms including OS X and other consoles stopped.  So, you'll understand if I don't believe Microsoft.  Here are a few questions and notes regarding this purchase. Why now?  My first reaction was that it would help solidify Windows platform among the Minecraft mobile players.  The game would be exclusive (eventually, support for other platforms would dissipate) and if you want to play Minecraft you'll have to buy a Windows phone or Surface tablet.  Still, that...

We're less than a day from Apple's, what we hope, game-changing media event that will once again propel the company ahead of everyone else in the mobile market and mark 9/9/14 as the true launch date of the wearable computing market. Having said, that, I'm sure you've been looking the rumors and and pics of the iPhone 6.  And there have been plenty.  However, there is one thing that I noticed about these mock-ups that no one else has mentioned in their observations, tweets, or blogs. The iPhone 6, whether it's the 4.7" or 5.5" versions, looks like the original iPhone if you stretch it out a big and half its thickness. I still like the look and feel of the original iPhone.  The weight gave it a premium feel as does the aluminum.  The black front does as well. While I am still out on whether I'll be upgrading this cycle, I think if I do, I would get the black and gray version.

I love two-step verification.  I want it and I know a lot of folks do too.  I've been using it for Google and other cloud-based services for years now.  While Apple does offer it for some app purchases, it's time that Apple brings it to logging into iCloud. Right now, I just get a lame e-mail like this. This is useless in more ways than I can think of.  First, if I'm not in front of a computer that allows me to log into a desktop based browser (it's not that I can't use it on my iPad or iPhone Safari.  It just isn't optimized for them) to do get into the Apple ID page, it's useless.  Second, there is no option for me to do something about it within the e-mail. It's nice that I get a warning but doesn't help if I'm in no position to stop an unauthorized log-in. By the time I log in, the hacker could have already log-in himself and have already changed my password and other credentials. Now, the main impetus for me writing about this n...

According to the  Los Angeles Times , the FBI has joined the hunt for the culprit or culprits who leaked nude pictures of mostly female celebrities.  I didn't say actors because I have no idea who a couple of the names I read are.  Maybe they were sports figure. Anyway, if this could happen to them, it could happen to anyone - opening us up to potential blackmailing or other sorts of crime.  At best, just embarrassment.  This is a kind of sexual predation. Privacy is a big deal to me and I think we need to keep any eye out on this. If companies are not being careful about our cloud privacy and security, a large scale and very public case like this should.  So, let me go back a bit and explain in a couple of sentences what happened in case you like myself was away from the Web or television for this Labor Day weekend in the US. Apparently, someone hacked into an online photo account, with iCloud being named as the source of these pictures (there was ta...

So far, we've seen tons of leaks regarding for the next iPhone.  Plenty.  They're mostly for the supposedly 4.7" iPhone 6.  And come to think of it, there has not been a lot of information on the 5.5" iPhone either. So, why is that? This is a wild guess but I think I might know why. Both the 5.5" iPhone and the iWatch are going to be premium devices out of the gate.  So, what? Well, first let's go over what an $500 or more iWatch or $800-$1000 5.5" iPhone means. The two high-end iOS devices will be limited to some countries.  Not many countries are going to be able to afford a large influx of these devices.  It'll eventually expand but on a slow rollout schedule. Because of the price entry, markets like the US, Canada, some EU markets, and only the elite and status conscious in China and Hong Kong are will to shell out money for it. There has been talk that the sapphire covers Apple plan on using for the next generation iOS devices will be ...

Techcrunch's post regarding Xiaomi's blatant copying of Apple and casually throwing in Apple's copy of Xerox's GUI and mouse is very much erroneous and trying to equate Apple's past with Xiaomi is just wrong. First, I would like to acknowledge that Apple did in fact copy Xerox. It's a very well known historic fact. However, it was Apple that used that concept and brought it to the consumer market at a time when the GUI was still sitting in a PARC lab.  There was no Xerox version of the Mac in 1984 or at any other time before that. If anything, Microsoft's copying of Mac OS is closer to what Xiaomi is currently doing in copying what Apple does, what its products feel like, and the UI experience. And the "one more thing" slide that Xiaomi even used on its product launch event (which Steve Jobs is famously known for), Apple has never gone as far as to place competitor logos on its website and claiming as its own.  Just as TC's post mention...