AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I love Apple's new iPhone payment plan where you can pay for a brand new iPhone over two years and upgrade to a new one after 12 payments have been made to get a new one (you'll have to trade in the old one though).  And here's the kicker:  I am not even a part of this installment plan because T-Mobile had issues the day I went to the Apple store to get my iPhone 6S.  However, given its appeal, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Apple will expand this plan not only internationally and online so that you don't have to visit the store to do it (not sure how Apple will handle the part about you trading in your old iPhone), but Apple will include the iPad as well. When Apple add the iPad to the installment plan, it could be the catalyst that Wall Street and investors are looking for to jump start the iPad.  Furthermore, it could be also mean more sales as people who cannot or are unwilling to pay a premium up front for the iPad, iPad mini, or iPad Pro up front but ...

I decided perhaps I should try my hand at giving a product review. And it just so happens that I've got a brand-new Apple TV all set to go.  It'll take a week or so.  I don't see how people can review anything after spending only a day or two with it. Let me start by pointing this out.  I got it on Monday, 11/2.  I bought it home along with the controller and it's sitting by my front door.  And since Sunday, I've been watching Sling TV, Amazon Videos, Netflix, and my own iTunes purchases on the current Apple TV I have.  So, I've had the newly "no longer a hobby" Apple TV for almost 48 hours and have not rushed to open and put it to use.  It says a lot about the old Apple TV as an useful media center and what it is capable of with Airplay and how much better the new Apple TV better be for people to buy and use it as their primary media box for their home.

Here is a   Bloomberg post   about Holidays free shipping that struck a cord with me. Not all free shipping are the same but the post delved into something more important: in-store pickups. And not all IPSU ate all the same. I've experienced them before. Going to Best Buy. Wal-Mart. Even Apple stores. And the one thing that makes them a hassle even if you get what you ordered more quickly and free than online shopping is that you still have to wait. And I'm not talking about a couple of minutes. Tens of minutes. This is especially true for Apple stores. Move here. Line up there. Ten you have to wait until someone is free to help you.  Just add bad and mentioned in the Bloomberg post is that you have to walk around the store to find out where to go pick up what you need. And most of the time, when you do managed to find someone to help you, they haven't a clue what you're talking about. So far, Best Buy has the best of the lot because you just go tot he customer service ...

A woman was killed when she and her husband using Waze, the popular GPS mobile app, went to the wrong address.  Instead of leading them to a popular tourist distination, they ended up in the wrong neighborhood where their vehicle was opened fired upon by local criminals. This has sparked great concern over the use of GPS apps in Brazil as the South American country is set to host the next summer Olympics in 2016.  Perhaps Waze and other apps can update their apps to allow uers to rate the safety and accessibility of maps and locations.  Including myself, we've relied to eavily on technology especially the GPS that we take for granted we will be led to the right location.  For the most part, they do work as advertised. Source:  CNN .

Source:  TechCrunch Apple means business. Google really need to figure out another solution to show ads or money elsewhere as billions if not tens of billions of mobile revenue on iOS devices will dry up as Apple moves to block ads not only in Safari but perhaps even within apps that serves up ads themselves. Called" Been Choice ", it works its magic through a combo of Safari and VPN voodoo. However it works, it'll serve as a huge disruption to the current status quo for app makers who rely on ads as their main source of revenue. And oh, the app also works on Facebook's own ads as well.  As if it wasn't enough, content providers and publishers have already been running for cover and wondering what the future of publishing without the ability to serve not only adds but trackers as well. This app even works against Apple's own newsreader as well. Why are the creators of Been Choice doing this to them, Google, trackers, and publishers ask. Well, they want to off...

Though it is a no-brainer, but WSJ reports that GM (probably other car makers as well) will soon allow drivers unlock vehicles with their watches, specifically the Apple Watch.  You want to know what else wearables, and smartphones, can do for drivers?  Just watch Knight Rider from the 80s.  Replace KITT with Siri.  You get the idea.  We are headed into that direction and beyond.  Just don't expect your car to go airborne when you tell Siri "turbo boost!" For starters, GM will allow drivers to lock/unlock doors and to start cars remotely.  What else would you like to be able to control with your watches?

Here is a very good look-back post from Medium penned by the author Steven Levy who had written a book at length about Apple's iconic iPod and how Steve Jobs rolled over Carly Fiorina and HP to get the iPod into the dominant position it was years ago and even through today.  The focus came about because during the second GOP debate on CNN, Fiorina opportunistically mentioned Steve Jobs as his friend and to deflect her past failures and somehow linked them to Jobs' darker past.  The thing is that Jobs learned from his past mistakes, spent years in the woods finding himself again, nearly lost much of his wealth with NEXT and Pixar before Disney inked a deal with Pixar and Apple bought NEXT.  And he applied his lessons to turn Apple around with a string of innovative products like the iPod, iMac, iPhone, and iPad.  And even the Macs are selling better with each passing quarter in the post-PC era.  Sadly, even for those who agree with Fiorina's politics has to admit...