Siri, Apple's new 'artificial intelligent' voice control system for the iPhone, totally blows away anything that Microsoft or Google's Voice can offer, and according to Gary Morgenthaler, of Morgenthaler Ventures, ".... Siri has cracked the code," when it comes to voice input.
"This threshold, from mere speech recognition to natural language input and understanding, is one that Google cannot cross by replicating the technology or making an acquisition." and they quote Mr. Morgenthaler as saying: “There’s no company out there they can go buy.”
In other words: Google Voice is 'utterly lame' in comparison and it probably won't be catching up to Siri anytime soon, even though I'm sure that they are planning on doing just that, but unfortunately for Google, Siri is at least two years ahead of them!
In fact, Siri is so good that Google and Microsoft won't even mention Siri by name! They will bash it, of course, but as some point out that's not just because they are jealous of Siri, but also because they know that Siri also posses a real and major threat to not only their own voice input efforts, but because they know more importantly that it is a portal to the entire world of search in the future, as MacDaily recently pointed out.
Well, just this weekend Apple has done it again, taken a big swipe at Google by buying C 3 Technologies, a company that makes Google Earth and Maps look down-right amateurish in comparison, as you can also see in these stunning videos below and above!
Below we have a demonstration of how this exciting new rapid 3D mapping technology works, from its original creator, SAAB. The entire technology was built on military technology that was recently declassified:
In conclusion, Apple's latest purchase this C3 Technologies, its third mapping company, gives it the ability to produced some of the most amazing photo-realistic and accurate 3D maps available anywhere, and all of it with such amazing detail that it almost boggles my mind. You can see trees, or even zoom in and read the signs on buildings, etc.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, October 31, 2011
Yes sir, what you are looking at is a video from Microsoft's Office Labs, and it is a montage of what Microsoft's vision of what the future of technology will look like come sometime in 2019, a scant eight years or so from now.
Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to happen by then, if ever, but I do think, if anything else, that it's super, super cool!
It seems, according to Microsoft, that future Windows phones and tablets, among other things, will consist of nothing more than some type of super, duper-thin glass or plastic like material, much like those of a credit card. Sounds and looks super cool, but I can't see how anyone, other than God Himself, who could cram, RAM, CPU, graphic cards, etc., etc., into the space of something as thin as that.
The amazing thing about the above video was that it was presented by Microsoft's Stephen Elop, now the CEO of Nokia, all the way back in 2009 at the Wharton Business Conference.
If anyone could bring about what we see in the video above, well I would tend to think that it would more likely be from the likes of either Apple or Google rather than from Microsoft, but I do give them credit for creating the video, but like FastCompany's post from 2009, I think that there are lots of reasons why it doesn't or can't 'cut the mustard'.
At least Apple's own vision of the future, presented in this video, and hails all the way back from 1987, is a little more realistic and plausible. For one thing, thanks to Apple's recently released Siri, Apple's version of the future is already coming true as of this very minute, and I predict that it will become much more powerful and widespread as time goes on.
In conclusion, as much as I would love to see Microsoft, Apple, Google, or anyone bring about what we see in the opening video come to pass, I sadly don't think it's ever going to happen anytime soon, at least not in my life time, but with technology being the way it is, well you never really know, you know?
And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny Friday, October 28, 2011
Two small posts on AppleInsider could potentially point to some very big gains for the iPhone in China, the world's largest mobile market by far.
The first report published yesterday, shows that the iPhone has already displaced worldwide leader Nokia as the number one brand in all of China.
In fact, since China Unicom began selling the iPhone last year, Morgan Stanley noted that Apple's revenues have surged from $3 billion to a mind-blowing $13 billion!
AppleInsider went on to report that iPhone sales in China also seem to be having a halo effect on the Mac, iPod and iPad lines as well, stating:
"The firm notes that sales of iPhones are also driving purchases of related Apple products, noting that Mac use is nearly four times higher among iPhone users, where Mac user share jumps to 35 percent from the standard 9 percent of the general population.
iPod use is also higher among iPhone users, with 63 percent of iPhone users buying iPods compared to 30 percent share among other smartphone users."
AppleInsider's second report, published just today, indicate that one of the biggest factors preventing even more Chinese from adopting the iPhone was its higher cost, and is something that Apple is expected to address soon with a much lower priced model, which, as AppleInsider pointed out could almost triple the iPhone's sales in the world's most populace country.
So, what does this all potentially mean for Apple?
Well, first of all, China is already Apple's second largest market after the U.S., but if the current explosion of Apple sales in China continues it could mean that China will soon replace the U.S. as Apple's largest and most profitable market in the very near future.
According to Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO, Apple is barely scratching the surface in China and any introduction of newer and cheaper iPhones there could potentially mean an extra $70 billion opportunity for the world's largest tech company.
Considering the current Chinese sales numbers that Apple is getting, and numbers it could potentially get after the introduction of newer and cheaper models, it's no wonder that AppleInsider is also reporting that Apple's worldwide employee head count has recently shot up to 60,400 from 49,400 in the past year alone.
So, are iPhone sales about to explode exponentially, thanks in part to China?
I'm not totally sure, but it sure is beginning to look that way!
In conclusion, if the Chinese market trends continues to hold, then it's going to be very difficult for any one manufacturer or any one platform to topple theworld's largest smart phone supplier, Apple, from its lofty position any time soon, so take that Android!
The mobile patent war could be getting a little more intensified and complicated in the near future.
The reason, according to this report,is because Apple has finally been granted its 'slide-to-unlock' patent.
For Android phones especially this could be one more 'thorn-in-the-side' if Apple decides to use this in its on going legal fight with Android OEM's or Android directly. According to the report above, even though they are not patent experts, they point out that Apple's recently granted patent, 8,046,721 , should cover the following:
"- Unlock a device using a gesture on a touch-sensitive display;
- Display an icon telling punters they have to unlock the device;
- Design the icon to tell users which direction they have to swipe the icon to unlock the device; or
- Provide visual cues for users too dumb to remember the unlock gesture; .... "
Of course, this particular patent would also cover tablets, all of which, to my knowledge anyway, make use of the slide-to-unlock feature except Windows 7 tablets. OEM's in the future, if legally required to, could be forced to redesign their devices to get around this, and frankly that would be messy.
One way, of course, would be to give their devices dedicated physical sliders or buttons. That would in turn make their devices more complicated and less attractive, and possibly even increase their cost of manufacturing, even if that cost is ever so slight.
I'm sure a lot of people, Frandroids in particular, are going to be screaming bloody murder over this patent. They'll angrily accuse Apple of trying to stifle the competition, and you can bet your last pair of cream-puffed Micky Mouse panty hose that HTC, Samsung, Nokia, etc., etc., are going to try and fight this one as best they can, but I'm not too sure if they can?
Personally, ever since Steve Jobs warned that they had not only taken out over 200 patents on the iPhone, but that they also fully intended to enforce them, well I can't say that I feel too sorry for anyone who thought that they could just come along and violate Apple's IP while expecting Apple and others to honor their own particular patents.
In conclusion, patent 8,046,721 might be one of the iPhone's smaller patents, but it could, if Apple so decides enforce it, have a very big impact on ever smart phone and tablets as we now know them
And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, cold Tuesday morning, October 26, 2011
HTC slide-to-unlock photo via: Donavon.com; Photo of Slide-to-unlock matt via:Mizozo.com
Steve Jobs might have died recently, but he's still very much alive thanks to all of the numerous articles and TV specials, such as 60 Minutes interview with Walter Isaacson who wrote Steve Jobs, Steve's officially sanctioned biography.
With all of the hype surrounding Apple's iconic leader and co-founder it's no wonder that Walter Issacson's new book is trending on becoming Amazon's top-selling book for all of 2011. It might have taken the author some two years to write, but in barely the few weeks since Jobs untimely death on October the 5th., the book has gone on to become both the biggest physical and electronic selling book on Amazon, and according to a report that I read from the Chicago Tribune, the book wasn't even scheduled to be published until January 2012.
Sony Pictures is also planning to produce a major, full-length movie on the life and death of Steve Jobs, which will be based on Walter Isaacson's official biography. It's also being reported that the screen play itself will be written by Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the script for the Oscar-winning movie The Social Network, a movie which revolves around the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.
One of the countries with the biggest fan base for Apple products, as well as Steve Jobs himself, is, of course, the country that actually produces most of Apple's highly sought after products, the great nation of China. Here it is being reported that Chinese fans are snapping up Steve's recently translated biography, which is selling not only well, but also selling out quickly. Despite the fact that Steve Jobs could be as bruising as he was brilliant, Chinese admirers have expressed unstinting admiration for Jobs, with onebook buyer stating:
"I felt like he was talking to me face-to-face," said Da Peng Peng on China's most popular microblog service, Sina Weibo. "I've been touched by his astonishing honesty and absorbed in meditation over his ideas."
Overall, reviewers are praising and giving the book a big thumbs up. It's a book that describes how Steve thought of Bill Gates as being "unimaginative", and a man who probably have could have used a little acid once-in-awhile in his youth, while the book goes on to also describe Jobs absolute hatred of Android, a platform he vowed to destroy at all costs, and something that some people happen to think could come back to haunt Google and its Android platform in the future.
Even though I have only read several keys excerpts from Walter Isaacson's official biography, I have every intention of reading the complete biography soon. Like millions of fans the world over, I may never have personally met with Jobs directly, but indirectly, he nonetheless had a big influence on me so I'm really looking forward to reading it.
Steve's passion for making 'insanely great' products has literally gone on to help change the whole world, regardless of whether you actually own or use an Apple product personally or not. That's because it seems that most non-Apple products these days are really nothing more than just an Apple clone anyway, including devices from Android, Windows, Linux, which I happen to use a lot and in which I can easily see Apple's influence and impact.
In conclusion, as the South China Morning Post wrote: "Even in death, Steve Jobs is in focus", and I expect that focus and attention to continue for many, many years to come, and as far as Steve Jobs impact on the world goes?
It was big, very big!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this rather cloudy Tuesday, October 25, 2011
According to some, Steve Jobs absolutely hated Eric Schmidt, because believed that Google betrayed Apple after 'stealing' the iPhone's multi-touch U.I. for Android, which only added multi-touch sometime in 2010, a full year after Android made it to market in 2009.
However, to hear Eric Schmidt speak, he and Apple's late CEO, Steve Jobs, were practically the best of buddies and they both had an understanding and agreement that eventually Apple and Google would part ways, yet they and their companies would still remain on the best of terms nonetheless.
To quote Mr. Schmidt:
“We understood it was a possibility when I joined the board,” he said of the business conflicts. “We had adult conversations about it at the beginning and the end.
“All those reports in the press were wrong,” he added. “After I left the board, they had me to events and to private dinners.”
Well, that's one side of the story and others are now beginning to cast considerable doubt on Eric Schmidt's statements and the truthfulness there of, and especially ever since the death of the iconic Jobs. These would include Fortune's contributing writer, Eric Jackson, who wrote a recent post entitled, "What's Up With Eric Schmidt's Revisionist History Of His Relationship With Steve Jobs?"
Mr. Jackson basically infers that Mr. Schmidt's views of his relationship with Jobs, and Google's with Apple's, are pretty much, you know what? Or, in plain language, Mr. Schmidt's view of history is nothing but a lot of bullshit, and he backs that up with this quote by Jobs:
“We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business,” Mr. Jobs told Apple employees during an all-hands meeting shortly after the public introductionof the iPad in January, according to two employees who were there and heard the presentation. “Make no mistake: Google wants to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them.”
Jobs's quote, as Mr. Jackson points out, is in total variance with Mr. Schmidt's own comment below:
“As part of my joining the board, we understood that Apple and Google were going to be companies that partnered and compete. And we agreed that, if we were to more compete than partner, it would be right for us to split up. So it was all very cordial. Steve and I were and still remained good friends and I have just an extraordinary respect for his leadership. So on a personal basis, it was fine and I think it was the right thing to be part of Apple and it was also the right thing to leave when I did.”
Mr. Jackson then goes on to ask:
"Why is Eric Schmidt doing all these media appearances? I agree with Om Malik’s conclusion, he’s trying to re-write history. He’s trying to insist that everything was always hunky-dory between these two men, when that’s clearly not the case.
If Schmidt truly knows that things didn’t go down between them as he is saying, I find it pathological and scary that he would seemingly be waiting by the phone for Steve to die to hit the talk show circuit giving his view of history — all seemingly so we think highly of Schmidt as a smart guy and friend of Steve’s."
Well, personally I can't answer why Eric Schmidt is doing what he is doing, but Mr. Jackson certainly makes some convincing arguments that he was, indeed, trying to rewrite history to make himself, and Google look and come out smelling like roses. Whether that is indeed the case, well I know neither Mr. Schmidt nor did I know Steve, so I can't say for sure, one way or the other.
Of course, some people are hoping that Steve Jobs official biography, written by Walter Isaacson, will help clear the air? Already, one of the juiciestparts trows a considerable amount of water on Eric Schmidt's latest version of the events describe above when Steve threatened to destroy Android with 'thermonuclear war' as noted by TheDailyBeast, who wrote the following below:
"Walter Isaacson's biography offers new insights into Jobs's falling out with Google founder Eric Schmidt, an Apple board member from 2006 to 2009. Infuriated over Android phones that borrowed iPhone features, Jobs told Schmidt the product was “grand theft” and said, “I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.” He told Schmidt he would never settle because money wasn't important to him. "
Is Eric Schmidt really telling us the truth with his current version of events, or is he, as some contend, simply attempting to rewrite history in order to help cover his and Google's tracks?
In conclusion, that is something that I don't know for sure, of course, but I do know that if you have any reason to doubt both Mr. Schmidt's or Google's version of the events describe above, then I couldn't blame you for doubting, and especially after reading the Mr. Jackson's post, but then again you can probablly find just as many people who disagree with Mr. Jackson's post and point of view as do.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, but cold, Monday, October 24, 2011
Today is Friday, I'm bored, I have a headache, plus a stupid plugged upped sinus, and above all..... I'm sooooo.... dead tired, therefore I've decided to take it easy and make this post a shorter one than usual, but nonetheless sweet.
Sweet, because of the also short, but also sweet duet sung by Jonathan Mann(above) to his beloved Siri, the new whiz-bang assistant found in Apple's newly released iPhone 4S, and as well a brief look at the funnier side of Siri.
It's not surprising that people would sing a duet to piece of glass and aluminum either, since this particular piece of glass and aluminum tends to act just like a real human sometimes, albeit one with a very sassy and humorous attitude to boot!
Yes em, and it's precisely because of Siri's seriously sassy and humorous attitude that she has been getting a lot of press lately. And no wonder, Siri also just happens to 'say the darnedest of things', and things which enable her to moonlight as a part-time comedian in addition to her regular duties as being the best dang-tooting electronic assistant gizmo in the whole dang-tooting Milky Way Galaxy!
Siri is so seriously funny, believe it or not, that whole websites have sprung up just to quote the many hilarious things that she says, including sites like StupidSiriNet. I like the one where they ask Siri: "I want a happy ending," and Siri answers: "I've found 17 massage services... 13 of which are nearby."
If you ever wanted to know what would happen if Siri ever met up with another Siri, well the site posted this video below:
Another Siri site, ShitThatSiriSays, quotes the following Siri gems:
STSS: "Talk dirty to me"
Siri: "I can't. I'm as clean as the driven snow."
STSS: "Do you know Eliza? (Eliza was an old artificial intelligent app that acted as a psychiatrist)
Siri: "Eliza is my friend. She was a psychiatrist, but she's retired now."
And here's a take on Hal, the evil computer in the science fiction flick, 2001 A Space Odyssey:
STSS: "Are you going to kill me in my sleep?"
Siri: "I'm sorry David, I"m afraid I can't answer that?
As they say: "There's more where that came from," so be sure to check out the above sites which will help give you even more insights into Siri's comedic abilities, because I"m sure you'll get a kick out of em as much as I have.
Oh, and below Sir1 even does German, as you can see and hear:
In conclusion, here in Canada Siri's services are not yet quite implemented as well as they are in the States, but I must say that the little time that I got to spend with her makes me long for more, because she's just so damn smart, knowledgeable, sassy and above all, downright and hilariously funny. No doubt, Siri is the classiest and sassiest assistant that your likely to find anywhere in this galaxy at least.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny Friday, October 21, 2011
Yesterday I wrote a post on Unbuntu 11.10, Oneiric Ocelot, that I thought I had published, but incredibly that damn thing went mysteriously missing!
I only discovered that it was missing late last night, and quite frankly I have absolutely no idea, none what so ever, what happened to it! All day long I simply assumed that it was published and I had absolutely no clue otherwise.
Did I accidentally erase it; I'm I going senile?
Hell if I know the answer to the above, but today I've decided to do a much smaller post on my missing original, relying instead on the above (Ubuntu introductory video) and the videos below, as well as the the comments of a few others, such as my young nephew, Rob Williams, the editor-in-chief of the popular tech site TechGage, and others instead of my own.
Rob is not only a tech editor, but also happens to be a Linux expert to boot, and he explained that one of his biggest complaints about the last upgrade, 11.04, was with its new 'Unity' mode which does away with the classical Gnome task bar (think Windows), and he commented that:
"The biggest issues had to do with Unity, either with bugs or the tedium incurred when using it. Since that release, Canonical has fixed up those bugs and made the environment easier to use overall, while adding in some new functionality."
Personally, even though I rather like both Gnome and KDE, I find that the more I use Unity, the more that I actually like it. It takes a bit of getting used to mind you, but over time, I'm really beginning to think that I actually prefer it to the others.
There are four main new features with Ubuntu 11.04, consisting of: Ubuntu Software Centre, The launcher, The new dash (think OS X dock) and its new Application Switching feature, all of which are demoed in the following video:
Speaking of the New Software Centre, Ryan Paul, wrote in his post, "Dreamy Ubuntu 11.10":
I agree totally, the Software Centre is very appealing and to me, anyway, it's definitely one of the better features from 11.10. With over 36,ooo software titles available, it's not exactly Apple's App Store, but it's a great start and there's a lot to keep one happily busy exploring all the goodies contained within. I know, I spend a hell-of-a-lot of time exploring it on a daily basis already.
Below is a video of 11.10's upgraded Unity interface feature in action, and, if you ask me, it looks ever soooooo...... pretty, doesn't it?
Below is another video of Ubuntu 11.10, this time showing Compiz in action. Compiz is sort of animated OS X desk top graphics, but rather on steroids as you can see below:
The one thing about Linux that I've always loved was the fact that it has a type of 'try-it-before-you-buy-it' option, namely you can download it onto a CD or USB thumb drive and run it from there. This way you don't have to take the risk of wiping out your present OS and all of its precious data, yet giving you the opportunity to experience all that Linux has to offer!
Personally, I prefer to simply use Wubi which allows you to install it along side of your present Windows OS partition. Wubi modifies your boot-up, giving you the option of selecting to run either Windows or Ubuntu. If you fail to specify which OS you want, you'll automatically be booted into Windows which remains the default OS. Obviously, if you want to only run Ubuntu your better off eliminating Windows altogether and doing a reformatting your disk and installing a clean copy of Ubuntu, but if your like me, well you'll probably want the option of being able to run both OS's.
There are, of course, a lot of much more detail reviews of Ubuntu out there, like DeskTopLinuxReview's 7-page post that you can find here, or others here, or here, but all I want say, in conclusion, is that I really, really like Ubuntu 11.10. It's not perfect, of course, but then again, as far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a perfect OS, but 11.10 comes a lot closer than any other Linux distro that I personally have used in the past, and that includes all previous versions of Ubuntu.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, October 20, 2011
PS, for more info on this great OS check out the great Ubuntu site: OMGUbuntu
I've been dreaming of buying one of Canon's lovely little rigs, the 7D. It's truly a lovely little thing with some pretty impressive and spiffy specs. I would have been very satisfied owning and using it, but not any more.
The reason?
The all new, super dang-tooting, it absolutely blows me away , Canon EOS-1D X, the one camera to rule them all! (see video above)
It's also the best dang camera that you or I probably will never own, thanks to its starting price of around $6,800 U.S.! Ouch! But trust me, you get what you pay for, and even though the 1D X costs a bloody lot, you also get a bloody lot for your money, things like:
- dual Digic 5+ image processors for noise reduction
- EOS Full HD Video with Manual Exposure Control and Multiple Frame Rates
- Shutter durability to 400,000 cycles, Exclusive Dust- and Weather-Resistance, new Ultrasonic Wave Motion Cleaning
Now that's a lot indeed, and if you got the cash to burn, and your into photography, or simply the status thing, then this is your baby!
One of the best photo sites out there has got to be dpreviews, and they note in their overview of the EOS-1D X that the biggest change to this super camera is with its lovely little sensor. According to dpreview:
"When asked to for the biggest improvement in the new camera, Westfall stresses that every aspect of the camera has been re-assessed but finally concludes: 'If you had to highlight just one thing, I'd say the sensor. It's a new level for us in terms of image quality.'
'There's a couple of things that we consider when we think about IQ: number one on this sensor is noise. It's clear the noise level is better than in the 1D Mk IV or the 1DS III. The pixel size is larger than in the 1DS III or 5D Mark II (6.95 microns, versus 6.4) and the difference is even more striking compared to the 5.7 micron pixels in the 1D Mark IV. That helps us in terms of light capturing ability and increases the signal to noise ratio. In turn, that does nothing but help the dynamic range of the camera.'
And its this improvement in image quality that Westfall believes will make the 1D X appeal to 1DS as well as 1D users. 'I think the factor that's going to make that a reality is the noise level is better than anything we've seen before. With cleaner images, people are going to feel much more comfortable up-rezing an image. Not many people need a 21MP file to begin with, so they're going to love the IQ of this camera and the quality's good enough that those people who do need those huge files will find the images clean enough to use them."
Oooh, that all sounds so lovely, but if you think that sounds great, well you should check out what they say about the EOS-1D X's speed, body and auto focus changes, as well as its raw processing power.
Well, well, what can I say about this amazing camera, in conclusion?
Simple:
I want one!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this equally lovely Tuesday morning, October 18, 2011
Samsung has requested, in a counter attack, to have Apple's new iPhone 4S banned in Japan and Australia where Apple successfully had its own Galaxy Tab 10.1 temporally banned.
Samsung's released an official statement which included:
"Apple has continued to violate our patent rights and free ride on our technology," the firm said. "We will no longer stand idly by and will steadfastly protect our intellectual property."
Of course, what Samsung really wants is for some type of cross-licensing deal, one that would allow it to get away with copying the iPhone and iPad legally. Unfortunately, as Herr Mueller also explained, Apple told them that they "had a thicket of patents" and were only interested in possibly licensing some of its low-level patents, while keeping all major patents exclusively for its own devices.
As Herr Mueller noted:
"I have always assumed -- based on what Steve Jobs said last year when Apple sued HTC and on Apple's litigation tactics -- that Apple didn't start all of this Android-related litigation just to walk away with a $5-per-unit kind of license deal. Three months ago I already said that $5 buys a company like HTC a few songs from iTunes but not a patent license from Apple. Apple optimizes for product differentiation. Apple isn't Microsoft, which concluded a license deal with Samsung as well as eight other Android device makers. Those two companies have different business models in general and with respect to patents in particular."
I agree, Apple is no Microsoft and it approaches and views things from a different set of eyes. Apple loves to stand apart, and above its competition, with unique products and services that justifies their higher prices.
As far as Samsung's legal battles go, it's not looking all that rosy at the moment, but even worse, it's not looking good for Android over all, since, as Herr Mueller says , any ban on Samsung devices could easily be extended to include virtually all other Android devices being banned as well! This means that HTC, Sony, Motorola and Google will be crossing their fingers and watching this epic legal battle with the eyes of an eagle, because at least in Australia, it could end up being the death of Android not only there, but eventually leading to the death of Android worldwide, who knows?
Another big problem for Android, of course, is that besides Apple's legal attacks, another major company is gunning to shut it down as well, and hoping to get a worldwide injunction placed on the rapidly growing platform as well. That company is, of course, Oracle, and as far as its own legal efforts go, it seems to have the upper hand at the moment.
So, is Samsung's use of FRAND patents against Apple an act of desperation?
In conclusion, even though I'm not a patent expert at all like Herr Mueller, it is, however, becoming increasingly clear to me that it is! Both Samsung and Android are both seemingly up to their necks in some pretty hot water, and the question remains: for how long can they continue to stand in all this legal hot water without getting themselves seriously burned, or maybe even totally cooked?
And that's my 2 cents 4 this gloomy, dreary Monday, October 17, 2011
Ok, this seems totally crazy to me, but last night I read this report that shows that the Mac, when compared to PC's, is growing not only faster, but grew a whopping 20 times faster!
But if you think that's crazy, then get this..... IDC gives Apple even a bigger edge, with U.S. shipments of Mac's outpacing PCs by a staggering 80 to 1!
As crazy as the above sounds, if it is true, than Apple is going to have one hell-of-a-lot to be thankful for this coming American Thanks Giving Day. In fact, AppleInsider is reporting that:
"Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has announced an extended, full week of paid Thanksgiving time off for its corporate employees, a benefit that will extended to retail and international employees on alternative dates."
Wow, with figures like those, I wouldn't be too surprised if when Apple reports its next quarterly results this coming October 18, that they are also going to make Google's recent and impressive quarter of almost ten billion dollars in revenues look rather tame and anemic in comparison.
Just imagine, if they counted the iPad as computers, then as the author of the above press release noted, then things really would have been radically different indeed, as the iPad continues to cannibalize the PC and tablet markets.
When you throw in iPhone 4S, which broke all previous preorder records after selling over a staggering 1,000,000 units in its first 24 hours, then it looks like Apple can expect its already tremendously huge piggy bank to grow even bigger, a way, way lot bigger in fact.
In conclusion, even though Apple has hit some snags with its massive iOS 5 software upgrades recently, things continue to look rather rosy for Apple, post Steve Jobs. The question now is: can it keep it up?
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, October 14, 2011
Android users can deny that Android doesn't suffer from fragmentation issues all they want, but I can assure you that malware writers out there not only believe that Android's fragmentation issues are real, but are also taking very real advantage of them!
"But just when you think you have seen it all, along comes another twist, demonstrating that there is no shortage of ideas when it comes to social engineering. Because of the so called “Hardware Fragmentation” issue surrounding the Android Platform, a popular online streaming video service in the U.S. had initially pushed an Android client app in a limited release to certain devices that provided the best user experience. Owing to the popularity of the service, it wasn’t long after the initial release that multiple unsanctioned developer projects sprung up attempting to port a pirated copy of the app to run on devices that were not officially supported."
That's right folks, if you are using an Android device and your not careful this thing could turn around and bite you on the bum and worse, take a big fat chunk-of-change from out of your credit card or bank account! Yes, these cyber bad-guys are now tricking people into using their fake Netflik app to steal their precious, personal financial information, something that is by far less likely to happen using an iOS device, but I suppose it's possible, but extremely unlikely due to Apple's stringent App Store policies.
In conclusion, if you want a cheap copy cat mobile OS, well there are lots of them around nowadays, and since Android is by far the biggest of them all, it is naturally far more likely to be targeted by such creepy scum-bags, so remember: the next time your tempted to get yourself one of those shinny new Samsung Galaxy II S thingamajigs, think again, or at the very least be careful, very, very careful indeed by not kidding yourself into thinking that Android doesn't have major problems with both fragmentation and security.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, September 13, 2011
Above, via ObamaPacman, is a humorous take on a recent Apple commercial for its cool new assistant feature Siri.
On the serious side, however, the reviews of Siri and iOS 5 are now beginning to trickle in and they are, for the most part extremely positive, and as you can see from the videos below that Siri is beginning to look like one hell-of-a-killer feature, and one that so far the competition can't even begin to think of matching.
Well, now that the Siri reviews are starting to come in, Larry Dignan reports that the reviewers are becoming more and more impressed with its capabilities, even though as the last video above notes, it's still in beta, but as MobileBeat noted, it's still "Siri-ously cool".
Larry Dignan's also lists the following Siri reviewers that you may be interested in reading:
Personally, as far as my 2 cents goes, I'm predicting that Siri is going to be big, very, very big indeed, and I can see Apple's competitors scrambling once again to try and catch up to it. And trust me, the competition is coming.
Competition like Vlingo, which is also available to both iPhone users and its competitors already, and there is the upcoming Sensory that some are predicting will go even beyond Siri with its ability to cut out 'background noise'.
I'm also sure that Google, Microsoft and others, and possibly even Apple itself, will be considering buying this technology outright. Still, Siri's ability to understand a person's context in their speech is groundbreaking, and some go so far as to predict that Siri is going to be a type of 'silent revolution', and that we are now literally, with Siri, 'witnessing history in the making'!
Below is another video look at Apple's amazing Siri in action, a British one from StuffTV:
As already stated, Siri is still in beta, and it will get even more powerful, more exacting and more accurate in the future. I'm also willing to bet my last yummy red lollipop that it will also be integrated into other Apple products, like the iPad, AppleTV and the Mac, also making them seem more personal, powerful and dang-tooting fun to use in the process.
In conclusion, what we are seeing in Siri is the literally the beginning of Star Trex like devices, and devices that communicate with us much like we do with each other in everyday life. In other words, thanks to Siri at least Apple devices will seem almost alive... almost human! Some might find that creepy, while others, like myself, will find it totally mesmerizing, practical and indispensable, and you can quote me on that.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this slightly cold Wednesday, September 12, 2012
We didn't get a new body, or a larger screen with the recently released iPhone 4S, but what we did get, in actual fact, was the best dang-tooting super smart phone out there and that by a good country mile!
We also got a lot of cry babies, those who criticized that the iPhone 4S was nothing more than a minor or incremental upgrade, and nothing less. Of course, those big cry babies were all wrong, and I mean totally wrong as Johny Evans pointed out in his Apple Holic blog for ComputerWorld.
He wrote:
"When it comes to the iPhone 4S the critics will be exposed for what they really are, the new Apple [AAPL] smartphone is the best yet, will sell millions and the first benchmark tests confirm it's fast as a fast thing."
I totally agree, because for one thing, I can't possibly see how anyone could contend that the A5 chip, with seven times the graphic power, or its new two-way antenna, its supercharged camera, or its new Siri artificial intelligent assistant, could be called anything but than a major new phone, even thoug it still happens to use the old iPhone 4 form factor, which by the way, I still happen to think is still one of the sexiest form factors out there, and bar none!
I mean seriously, there's a good reason why Apple iOS devices, like the iPhone 4S, happens to dominate U.S. data traffic as PCMagazine recently reported, or why the iPhone 4S easily broke all pre-order sales records in history.
Simply put, it's because iOS devices, work better, operate smoother and give its users a better experience than that from other devices such as Android. Despite activating some 550,000 new devices daily, Android users apparently just don't enjoy using their devices as much, or otherwise it would show up more in such data reports as the one above!
Getting back to Johny Evans, he said that he tends to agree with "Ticonderoga Securities analyst, Brian White, who called the initial criticisms of the new iPhone 4S as being "superficial" and a "knee-jerk reaction".
Well, I tend to agree with the both of them, including the following statement regarding all of these so-called iPhone 4S critics:
"It's just the usual people celebrating the usual crush and the Android people trying to find fault as they desperately shore up their soon to be flagging, insanely insecure, patent-breaking so-called "mobile operating system".
Most of the iPhone 4S critics, from what I read in the comment sections of the major tech blogs anyway, seem to be coming from the Android camp and I wonder why?
Is it because they feel threatened by the fact that their platform of choice is a direct and blatant rip-off of iOS? After all, simply adding a larger screen, or giving it a battery draining animated desktop can hardly be considered being revolutionary or very innovative, now can it?
Android users can criticize the iPhone 4S all they want, but there's a dirty little secret out there that people should know about Android...... its extremely high return rates! In fact, according to one report, they are as high as 40%! Now that is staggering, and especially considering that the iPhone, at the height of its so-called 'antenna gate scandal', had a return rate of only a paltry 1.7% in comparison! But trust me, you won't hear the critics screaming much about that.
In conclusion, all of the critics of the iPhone 4S deserve, quite frankly, to be criticized, because as stated above, their criticisms are mostly just 'knee-jerk reactions' rather than based on any real facts what-so-ever. Many of these criticisms, and especially those coming from Android users, are just plain down bias and nothing more, and are based more on insecurity surrounding their own platform of choice rather than that of the iOS platform itself.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this rather nice Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Today is Thanks Giving Day here in Canada, so what I'm I going to do?
What else.... I'm going to talk about Germany, and in this case, ever so beautiful Niedersachsen, or Lower Saxony. After all, it's been a long, long time since I did one of my 'pic-4-the-day' features, so please enjoy the spectacular photo above from Dropser's Flickr account of "Rabenklippe" (cliff raven) // Blick von der Rabenklippe" above. (double click to embigen)
Yes sir, isn't it absolutely beautiful?
Seriously, just look at that amazing view... it's absolutely stunning indeed! That beautiful blue sky, those wispy and dreamy clouds hanging over that lush country side, and all of those trees.... millions and millions of them seemingly stretching off into the far-a-way distance seems just like utopia to me. The out crop of rocks overlooking this spectacular land of beauty is where I would absolutely love to be standing, and at this very minute!
Of course, Germany is the one country, other than my beloved Canada, that I especially love the most. Sadly, Niedersachsen is one part of Germany that I have yet to visit, but trust me, as soon as I can I will visit Niedersachsen if it's the last thing I get to do. One thing about this beautiful corner of this spectacular and beautiful country that really amazes me, is the fact that it looks so much like my own Canadian province of New Brunswick, a province that was named after the Niedersachsen city of Braunschweig, which is pronounced Brunswick in English.
Unfortunately, and in conclusion, under the Fair Use Act, I can only post so many photos of this beautiful land of Lower Saxony from Flickr or anywhere else, but don't worry, you can still see zillions more of them right here, including this amazing shot, and this equally stunning one, all of which highlights just how beautiful this part of Germany really is, and also helps to explain why I just love this amazing country, its amazing people, its amazing cities and its absolutely amazingly and beautiful landscapes so much.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this lovely Canadian Thanks Giving Monday, October 10, 20
Despite all of the doom-saying from all of the iHaters out there, the iPhone 4S is hardly what you could call a failure or a minor upgrade. Pre-orders have been reported to be so strong that Gizmodo has advised:
"Be patient when ordering as the Apple Store is up and down and both Sprint and AT&T are reportedly getting hammered. Just keep hitting F5 and you'll eventually get through. It just might take a frustrating hour and a half."
Individual commentators have repeatedly also reported on how frustrated they were in trying to to get through to to pre-order their iPhone 4S because of the high demand and long wait times were crashing systems.
Of course, one of the biggest complaints about the new iPhone 4S is that it doesn't feature LTE, or 4G network speed chips, but Apple is apparently betting that it can get away with that for now, because as others have pointed out, 4G speeds are nice when you can get them, but for the most part LTE is of only limited benefit since it is only available in a few areas. Apple is waiting for 4G to become available to the masses before it adopts the technology, and that when newer and slimmer 4G chips, ones that won't drain your battery so quickly, finally become available early next year. Apple is expected to use them in its real iPhone 5 then, but only until then.
One of the reasons that I believe the iPhone 4S is going to be a huge hit, despite its old form factor, is because of its more powerful A5 chip and graphics. These graphics are mind-blowing as can be seen in the video shown below running a demo of Real Racing using Apple's Air Play and Apple TV, running on not one, but four different screens!
Not only that, but just check out all of the iPhone 4S's graphic goodness as seen in the next video running Epic's cool and awesome new Infinity Blade 2:
In conclusion, besides Siri, the most awesome voice activation software ever conceived, the iPhone 4S's equally amazing graphic capabilities should prove, yet once more, just how wrong the iHater's criticisms of the iPhone 4S really are. For that, well they deserve all of the egg that they are about to get on their faces!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, but cold-as-hell Friday, October 08, 2011
With the passing of Apple's iconic co-founder, its very heart and soul, Steve Jobs, I won't say much about the man, because, quite frankly, what could I say or add that hasn't already been said, and by people far better and more knowledgeable than I?
Tributes are pouring in from around the world, from friends and foes alike, and they all basically express what could only be called, for the most part, the sincerest expressions of deep sadness and loss.
And what a loss it truly is, as it was Steve Jobs who more than anyone else who has helped to shape the very nature and overall direction of the entire world of tech for over the past 30 or so years of his short life, from pioneering the personal computer from its very inception, to the heights of today's dazzling technology, be it in the form of computers, music players, digital distribution, movies and TV shows or what have you?
Again, I won't say much about Steve's passing except that for me personally, I feel extremely saddened. Steve Jobs wasn't just one of the world's richest and one of its most visionary men, he was also a man that I grew up with in a sense as I watched and read about his enormous success's and his failures for over 30 years now, and therefore, and in a way, I feel like for me he seemed just like family!
In conclusion, I will simply close this post by quoting President Obama's words on Steve's passing, as he elegantly stated:
"Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it. By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world. The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve's wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him."
And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, but ever so sad Thursday, October 06, 2011
Tim Cook's big day has come and gone; the iPhone 4S is here and already people are bashing it because it's not the so-called iPhone 5, complete with a newer design and larger screen!
Yes, I too must admit that I'm a little bummed out because I was also hoping for a newer, slicker, lighter design, and more importantly, one with a larger screen. However, despite that the new iPhone 4S literally and easily blows the competition out of the water.
Yes, as great as the iPhone's new A5 chip is, and as great as its graphics abilities are (take a gander at Epic's mind-blowing Infinity Blade 2 graphics, for example), and the fact that the iPhone is now the only phone that comes with as much as 64GB of internal memory, and you still have yourself one-hell-of-a-whiz-bang phone, let me tell you folks. However, what really sets it apart is its ultra futuristic Siri voice assistant, a feature that sets it miles apart from any of its competitors.
The mere idea that you can simply ask, in plain English, French or German, various questions such as: how many square inch's in a mile, or how many days til Christmas, etc., etc., is totally mind blowing! Need to know how many square miles there are in Germany? No problem, just ask Siri and you'll have your answer in a flash, as you can see in the video below:
After having a hands-on with Siri, Engadget had this to say:
"The most impressive part was the demo of Siri, the new assistant that lets you do just about anything you can do on your phone -- but with your voice. We tried to psych it out with a bunch of random requests, including the history of Chester, Vermont (a lovely town) and the best Ramen places in San Francisco. Siri never faltered, never missed a beat. It worked as well as Scott's demo up on the stage. There's nothing better to say than that. We even sent ourselves a few text messages, which Siri transcribed to a T. Of course, the lady on the other end still sounds eerily robotic, but we're hoping for smoother responses from the alien within in a future update."
Well, if that isn't impressive, than I don't know what is?
Android users, those who love bashing Apple anyway, will tell you, of course, that Siri is nothing special. Why, they'll tell you that Google Voice not only does everything that Siri does, but it also did it first. Of course, to be honest, that's nothing but a lot of you-know-what? The truth is that Siri blows Google Voice totally out of the water, and even though you can get Vlingo a type of poor man's Siri for Android (as well as for the iPhone and Blackberry), it is no where nearly as polished or as accurate as Siri, as you can see demonstrated below:
According to a quick poll conducted by Gizmodo, where they asked the question: "Are you going to buy an iPhone 4?", the majority of those polled, some 40 %, answered that they would, which is rather encouraging considering all of the bad press that Apple has received for not releasing the iPhone 5, which according to one analyst will definitely be coming shortly sometime in 2012.
So, is the iPhone 4S a winner or a loser?
Well, in conclusion, even though I am still a little disappointed that we have to wait a wee bit longer for that sleeker, lighter, uni-body aluminum body iPhone 5, which will, hopefully, also include that much larger screen, the newly announced iPhone 4S is still one-hell-of-an-upgrade, and is unquestionably still the best dang-tooting smartphone out there and one that makes all other smartphones look, frankly, rather dumb in comparison, and all thanks to Siri.
And I would definitely call that, any old day, a winner in my book!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this gloomy and stormy Wednesday, October 05, 2011
