AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I do not know if Apple will ever release another 12" MacBook (regardless of whether it is an Air or a Pro but there has been a lot of attention focused on it recently. As someone who will need a new MacBook soon, but not immediately, I can afford to wait at least a year.  I am currently writing this post on a 2016 12" MacBook that I bought for the purpose of writing and some light professional work. The professional part is debatable but I definitely have gotten a lot of milage out of this MacBook. I love the size and for a while the battery life. The keyboard is fine though the right shift key is giving me issues. And the speed is fine enough for browsing the Web, coding at a beginner level, and, of course, writing. In a year, should my coding turn into more than just a hobby and other professional needs arise, I will be have to start the upgrade process. And by then, a 12" MacBook?  I'm hoping Apple just make it happen already in a year or so. Arguments for i...

I received a pair of AirPods Pro as a gift. Prior to that, I had avoided spending $250 on these little Bluetooth earbuds that I knew I had a good chance of losing. But after using it for more than a year now, I eagerly await the next version of the AirPods Pro and can’t wait to see how AirPods Pro 2 would be better than the original version.  As an Apple fan, you would think that I would have been all over the AirPods when it first came out. And if not the original AirPods, then I would go for the AirPods Pro because of its new form, active noice cancellation features, water proof against sweat, and longer battery life. But I didn’t buy it because knowing myself, there was a good chance I was going to lose it. But so far, I’ve  misplaced it many times but have not permanently lost one earbud or the whole set yet.  I’ve listed many other cheap pairs that I bought from Amazon so I have been pleasantly surprised.  Now I know I can be remarkably responsible in this r...

When iPhone 13 was released, it seemed to everyone that the M2 chip for the Mac would be coming out soon. So far, speculations about that has continued to ramp up on nearly a daily basis. And based on the latest update from the Internet, this is where we are at with the M2 chip and it raises a lot of fun questions. So, I’m going to sum up what I am reading right now. Let’s go through it together. The M2 will not debut until the second half of 2022 with newly redesigned MacBooks, that may or may be called “Macbook Air”. As a long time Mac user, I do not mind the MacBook Air if the name fits the size and use. But that’s another chat entirely.  Typically, second half means two things: Apple can introduce the M2 at its annual World Wide Developer Conference in June or at a separate event in October after Apple unveils the iPhone 14 in September. We just hit April so we will likely see more information leaked or speculated about the M2 specs itself like it’ll be based on TSMC’s new 5nm ...

 Source: Tom's Guide . Under-display Touch ID is not coming to iPhone 14. For supporters of Touch ID, it may never come to iPhones after that as well. It's a good thing. As someone who find Touch ID to be convenient a times, I would rather it return implemented a la the power button on the iPad Air.  For years now, I am used to unlocking the iPhone with Face ID. And from time to time when I have the iPhone SE with me, like when I'm using it as an iPod, Touch ID is very convenient. And on my iPad mini, the home button.  Here is why I am not a fan of under-display finger print scanner. I mean, it looks cools. To the engineers who has made it work on other mobile devices, great job! However, the smudges. There are enough dirt, oil, and dust that gets on there from daily use without an extra concentrated amount of all of the above around the finger print sensor under the display.  Aside from the smudges, there is a common sense reason why we will not see Touch ID sensor ...

Apple’s newest push into a non-tech market is finance and this one could be the biggest ever than Apple’s move into mobile market. According to sources, Project “Breakout” is Apple’s attempt to bring more financial tools and services to its users. There are a lot of speculations as to what it can mean but looking at how and where Apple can dive into, let’s just right to it and ask: Is Apple Bank is coming to an iPhone near you? The news came from Bloomberg . However, I feel Bloomberg should have done a deeper dive into this information from its sources at Apple or at least ask for clarity on the project. Immediately after the news came out, some fintech stocks dropped. However, I wonder if they should have been the ones to worry about Apple’s encroachment into the financial services market. Any time Apple moves into a new market, in this case, the financial services market, it takes years for Apple’s impact to be felt. And it is never felt in a jolt at felt throughout the market. It’s ...

I recently upgraded to a green iPhone 13 Pro Max mainly because I have grown more accustomed to writing, articles and coding, on a smallish screen compared to the iPad and the Macbook (I have also have a habit of coding/writing during minutes of down times that I have over the day insteading of firing up Twitter or Apple News to catch up on headlines) and I'll be traveling more so I wanted a better camera to take videos and photos. It's a heavy device going from the iPhone 12 mini and it got me wondering if a dual screen or folding iPhone with eight to nine inches of screen is going to make sense. Witht the iPhone Pro Max weighing in at 8.46 ounces or a little more than half a pound (240 grams), it got me thinking about the weight of what a dual screen iPhone would weigh and if it makes sense in the context of what's on the market. When we think of folding phones, we think of the Samsung offerings. And of course, we also have Microsoft's Surface Duo which I like a lot. ...

 "Make it so," Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship, the USS Enterprise, commanded in his familiar British accent even though he's French because, I did not know this, that by the 24th Century, French was became an obscure language. My hope is that Picard can just as easily command the USS Cupertino to get their engineering team finally allow MacOS work on any iPad with the M1 chips and beyond because it makes sense, it is doable, it is in high demand, and it will make Apple a lot of money.  One reason why I do not think Apple is ready for MacOS to run on an iPad is the experience - there are some UI issues that Apple needs to work out for touch interface. Of course, like most Mac users and increasingly iPad users as well, we have been using our iPad with a keyboard and mouse.  I have used Windows 10 and 11 on a HP laptop for work and half the time, I do not even remember that the screen has touch features. And I hesitate to use it because of smudges and it ...