The Enterprise Market: Apple vs. Microsoft

Note: This is an excerpt of a guest post, you can read the rest of the post at the link provided below:

Writing for Computer World, Jonny Evans recently wrote how long time Microsoft booster, and one of its staunchest allies, Lifetime Products, recently decided to switch to Apple’s mobile products and services and away from the Redmond’s because, as its CIO, John Bowden said:

“We love Apple. The bottom line is that Apple makes great products.”

Read the rest @ ObamaPacman

Apple's Siri Vs Microsoft's TellMe: Tell Me The Truth!

ObamaPacman recently did a great post on Microsoft's Chief Officer, Craig Mundie. The post is interesting because Mr. Mundie, who I'm sure is a nice guy and all, recently made the silly statement, along the line that: "Siri is nothing special; Windows Phone 7 has had the exact same feature (as Siri) for over a year now!"

Sorry, I hate to break the news to Microsoft, but as you can plainly see in the above video demonstration of Siri vs Microsoft's Tellme feature in action, well, they don't exactly quite stack up the same, now do they Mr. Mundie?

In fact, compared to Siri, well TellMe looks like a blithering and retarded idiot!

Boy, I would have loved to try out that same demonstration in that very same interview with Mr. Mundie. Hell, I'm kind of embarrassed for him thinking of it! Poor, poor Mr. Mundie, nice guy and all, but as ObamaPacman put it, he's a little "clueless!"

In conclusion, if you 'Tell Me', the truth is that: Mr. Mundie couldn't possibly say anything other than what he said, or otherwise he be out of a job! Luckily, he still has a job, but unluckily, that job sometimes requires fudging the truth a little bit, now-and-then, but no matter how well he tries... I ain't buying it!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Chinese Man Builds A Home Made iPad

Like many college students, Wei Xinlong was poor when it came to having the extra cash needed to buy his girlfreind an iPad, so what could he do?

Simple: he built her one, that's what he did!

Wei might have lacked the extra money to buy a new tablet or computer, but what he did have, however, was the extra determination and desire to study online and learn how to build a computer and, at a final cost of 800 Chinese yuan, or about $129 U.S. dollars, he ended up with a tablet computer that could allow his girlfriend to read online content, download apps, watch movies, surf the net, and play games and all by mere touch, just like a real iPad!

Wei also went into great detail to create the cover of the tablet, hand-carving the holes, and then polishing it before finally setting the rhinestones into place. According to ChinaDaily.com, it is about the same thickness and weight as a regular iPad, but clearly from the opening photo it looks to be much thicker, at least to me it does, and I can only assume that it is also heavier as well, which seems reasonable considering that its built from parts came from out of an old laptop, with the only new parts being a touch-screen and a new battery.

According to the ChinaDaily, however, his girlfriend thinks its lovely, remarking that:

"This is the best gift I've ever had, and I will keep it forever," she said. Sun added rhinestones to her gift."

Even though Wei's tablet has an Apple logo on the front of it, I've read nothing of the OS running on it, and since it's mostly built from parts out of an old laptop, I can only therefore assume again that it can't possibly be running iOS. Most likely it's running some form of old Windows, Linux or even an older Android OS, which would automatically make it anything but an iPad.

In conclusion, what Wei Xinlong might have lacked in money he more than made up for in determination, skill, and, of course, in love for his girlfriend, and like one netizen said, "It is an avant-garde present, which outshines a real iPad."

And that's my 2 cents 4 this gloomy Monday, November 28, 2011

Making Siri Even More Powerful Via SiriProxy

It seems just like bloody last week (come to think of it, it was just last week!) that somebody figured out how to use Siri to control a freaking thermostat simply by using their voice, as can be seen here, but now they have taken that engineering coolness even farther by producing the first app that will allow you to pretty much control any other app, via Siri, as demonstrated in the above video.

This first of all Siri apps is called SiriProxy, and it effortlessly enables Siri to control an app, such as FastPDfKit Reader, with nothing more than your own sweet voice. Of course, what's even sweeter is that SiriProxy should allow anyone, with a bit of tinkering, to customize Siri in ways that could potentially pave the way for Siri to become an all-the-more powerful and useful feature.

I can imagine, for example, this leading to Siri being able, via other apps, to either lock or unlock various electronic doors, be it for your home or car, or allowing Siri to control various other electronic gadgets such as security systems, stoves, lights, TV's, starting your car, or what have you, and all just by asking Siri, who would then carry out your commands sort of like an electronic Geni!

In conclusion, I have this sneaky feeling that when it comes to unlocking the real power behind Siri, which I personally think will be huge, SiriProxy is only just the beginning, and it is the beginning of something that will eventully help propel us into a type of Star Wars like world, and a world that will be just as fantastic as any of the so-called science fiction movies from the past, so be sure to check out even more about SiriProxy over at the MobFarm Blog.



And that's my 2 cents 4 this rather gloomy Thursday, November 25, 2011

Ice Cream Sandwich: The Oldest Android Phone, The HTC G1, Running The Newest Android OS Update

There's definitely a reason why some of the most up-t0-date updates are just too late and not so great for older phones, as you can see plainly see demonstrated in the above video.

In the video, Android's oldest available phone, the HTC G1, was hacked to run Android's newest OS update, Ice Cream Sandwich, which correspondingly melted apparently. Yes, it runs, but it runs amazingly slow..... like real, real slow! In fact, Gizmodo called the experience of running Ice Cream Sandwich on the G1 as being "crippling", but it's still a very cool thing to see, and it certainly highlights the skill of the ever so clever developers.

In conclusion, even though the above explains why you shouldn't really be trying to put the latest OS on the oldest hardware, it doesn't help to explain why the latest Android OS upgrades also doens't run on some of the newest Android hardware, as this chart clearly, and sadly shows, or why one study claims Android users are getting shafted when it comes to Android updates?



And that's my 2 cents 4 this snowed-over Thursday, November 2011

WinOnX: Run Window Apps On A Mac Without Running Windows

One of the best, if not the best, feature of owning a Mac is not only that you can run the world's best OS, namely OS X, but you can also run pretty much every other OS out there to boot, be it the world's largest OS, Windows, or the world's most open OS, Linux.

You can run Windows or Linux in vitalization mode, or you can use Apple's own Boot Camp feature to run Windows natively, or even Linux natively via Wubi.

However, if you simply want to run a few Windows apps, but you hate the idea of putting an ugly Windows OS on your beautiful Mac, then you can always use a program such as WinOnX, a $4.99 program based on the Wine project that you can download from Apple's Mac APP Store.

Below you can see WinOnX running the Windows versionof Firefox, and, by the looks of things, running it very smooth and very well indeed:



All-in-all, WinOnX works surprisingly well, even better than the folks over at RedMond Pie expected, so if your interested in only running a few Windows apps rather than installing Windows completely, then WinOnX might just be your ticket, so check it out.

So, in conclusion, WinOnX may not be the best solution if you run a lot of various different Windows apps, as not all programs are supported, but considering its low, low price and the fact that some people only want to run a few apps, here-and-there, then WinOnX looks like it might be a winning Windows solution for many.



And that's my 2 cents 4 this snowy, and I mean snowy, Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Google's Cool New Updated iPad Search Tool

The above video shows Google's newly updated and super cool search tool for the iPad. This is Google at its best, and so far as I know, not even Android has such a cool search tool, but I'm that sure Google will be updating its Android version along the same line very soon.

I'm not crazy about everything that Google does, or doesn't do, but this is one of the times that I have to admit that Google is right-on-the-ball with this update.

In conclusion, Google's updated iPad search tool is imaginative, innovative and looks to be a real hoot to use, and like I said, this is Google at its very best, so keep em coming Big G!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Running Ancient Games On Your Modern iOS Device

Last Thursday, Engadget did a post on a port of DOSbox, an app that will now allow you to run old DOS games on BlackBerry’s non-selling tablet, the PlayBook.

Of course, running ancient DOS games on a modern device is not really necessary these days, but boy-oh-boy, it’s nonetheless still fun to play around with, and especially if your one of us nostalgic types.

Why, even though I despised PC’s at the time, I still remember playing and enjoying various old PC DOS games on my friends old PC’s, smugly aware that I had a much better setup at home with my old Mac Plus and its glorious GUI and whopping 2.5 megabytes of RAM, and all running at a blisteringly fast 1Ghz.................

Please Note: This post was originally written for ObamaPacman, where you can read the rest here. ObamaPacman

AMD And Apple: What's Going On?

According to a report that I just read on AppleInsider, Apple was ready to ship a MacBook Air with one of AMD's Fusion Llano CPU's, however, only canceling it at the last moment due to production issues.

If true, I can just imagine how Intel would feel, and thus, in my mind, it would to help explain why Intel would suddenly give a massive $300 million injection to other PC OEM's to develop UltraBooks that would directly compete with the MacBook Air.

One amazing tid-bit, according to this report from SemiAccurate, is that the use of Intel cpu's in the current MacBook Air was not originally part of Plan A for the MacBook Air at all, but it was actually only a backup plan, or Plan B!

Apparently, even though the use of AMD's CPU's would have resulted in the lost of some CPU power, it would have, on the other hand, exchanged that small negative for a much more positive gain in raw GPU processing power!

AppleInsider also reported that Apple and AMD executives have already been seen in advanced meetings, since last year, thus leading many to conclude that something was-in-the-air, sort-of-speak, and apparently that it had a lot to do with the MacBook Air itself, a product that Apple refers to as being the future.

Considering that Apple has already bought several chip design company's recently, such as PA Semi, among others, some have been asking the question: Will Apple Buy AMD?

So, what's exactly what-in-hell is going on between Apple and AMD anyway?

Is Apple really considering using AMD chips in future devices, or even more incredibly, is Apple actually thinking of buying out AMD, lock, stock and barrel?

I don't know know the answers to the above, but considering Apple's huge piggy-bank of over some $81 billion cash, if-and-when Apple ever decided to use its chips, or to buy-out AMD, it could now do so for chump change!

By Adding AMD chips, or buying AMD outright, Apple would add more flexibility to its line of products, and it would mean that Apple would no longer be quite so dependent on either Intel, or other potential adversaries such as Samsung, to build its critical components, it could now do it alone, and all while making extra cash by supplying other PC OEM's lower-end AMD chips.

In that sense, and in conclusion, it would make total sense for Apple to buy AMD, and I'm kind of hoping that they do.



And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, November 18, 2011

Professional Photographer Annie Leibovitz Recommends The World’s Best Point-and-Shoot Camera: The iPhone!

Annie Leibovitz (wiki) is one of the world’s most famous and highly paid photographers, and as such she uses only the best cameras in the world, but when it comes to great point-and-shoot cameras Annie isn’t shy about recommending what she thinks is the worlds best: the iPhone!

Read the rest @ ObamaPacman

Will The iPad 2’s Price Soon Be Discounted? Short Answer: NO!

There’s a lot of rumors going around lately that, thanks in part to Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Apple will be soon forced to drop the price on its game-changing iPad, but is that really true?

Well, even though it seems to be true that the Kindle Fire pre-sales are selling like hotcakes, but as Andy Ihnatko recently noted in his own review: “Kindle Fire is no iPad killer – but it is a killer device.”

Still people, like Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope, thinks that the Kindle Fire’s super low $199 price makes the iPad overpriced, and that previous price drops from BlackBerry’s Playbook and HP’s recently discontinued TouchPad will present in the “near-term demand challenges” force Apple to discount the iPad’s current prices.......

Please NOTE: Today's post was written yesterday for ObambaPacman.com, to read in its entirety, please click-on the ObamaPacman link above.

Is This The Next Steve Jobs?

If the fellow on the left looks a little young, well it's probably because he is. Thomas Suarez is not only 12 years-old, but he's also a professional iOS developer and quite possibly, the next Steve Jobs!

That might seem like a pretty pompous prediction on my part, but trust me, this kid is more than just a bright kid who can develop clever apps such as, Bustin Jieber, a Whac-A-Mole type of game that allows one to virtually wallop Canadian teen idol Justin Bieber on the old noggin!

Besides being smart enough to actually program apps, one of the main reasons why I believe that little Thomas Suarez could grow up to become the next Steve Jobs is because of his professional presentation skills, which he more than amply demonstrated on stage recently in front of thousands of grown-up tech biggies at a TED meeting.

As you can see, in the video a little later on, Thomas, who says he takes his inspiration from Jobs himself, has a stage presence that is just as skilled and just as smooth as any professional speaker that I've seen or heard, if not more so, and he possesses a speaking style that is almost as mesmerizing as that of Steve Jobs himself, which would be a lot to say about anyone, let alone a 12 year-old kid.

On stage Thomas is a kid that is not only in complete command of his words, gestures, and over all stage presence, but, more importantly, he is in complete control of his audience. Thomas speaks confidently, and as one who knows what he is talking about. He is relaxed, professional, clear and to the point, as well as being totally engaging in both his body and facial expressions, and, quite frankly, he leaves me totally spell-bound, much as did El Jobso himself.

Not too many people, and especially at the ripe old age of twelve, will go on and develop their own company as he did with his, CarrotCorp. At his age I was still playing with Dinky Toys, or playing toy soldiers and cowboys-and-Indians!

In conclusion, what can I say about this super-bright, future tech titan and kid extraordinary?

Well, for starters, I have to agree with the Daily Mail, in jolly old England, when they themselves concluded:

“It seems the kid genius has a bright future ahead. Ending his TEDx talk with a note on his future goals, Thomas said he plans to build more programmes and expand into developing apps for Android.”

Hey, just don't take our words on it, see this amazing kid in action for yourself, and see what we're talking about:

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, November 16 (can you believe it already?), 2011

iPad Accessories For The Rich Among Us!

Many people who have iPads love to accessorize them by adding, well..... accessories. These may include adding one of Apple's $69 Smart Covers, or maybe even having your precious engraved by Apple for FREE

There are virtually tons of iPad accessories out there, but what if your really, really, filthy rich and you want something a little special?

Well, if your rich, as with most other things, then the sky's the limit here baby!

For example, in the opening photo, you can always get your shiny new iPad a motorized wall-mounter. This dandy little gizmo, from Bracketron & iRoom, and will only set you back a measly $999 or $1,099 depending on whether you want the vertical or horizontal model, and according to this post, the Bracketron & iRoom will:

"This motorized iPad dock works in a rather minimalistic fashion. Sensing your presence near the device, the dock opens up by putting forward the mounting plate allowing you to load or unload the iPad from the plate. After being put in the slot, the charging begins automatically, and also allows you to control the applications on the iPad normally. The reverse would happen in case, when you wish to unload the iPad or when the there is no power to operate the device. Under those circumstances, the iDock would open automatically allowing you to unload your iPad."

As lovely as the Bracerton & iRoom is, when your rich it means you don't have to stop there, because you can always just spend more of your lovely cash on the slightly more expensive ($1,286), and ever so equally lovely Armodilo iPad stand, seen below:

This lovely iPad stand is made of solid brass and is perfect for any one giving a presentation, or as Born-Rich stated:

"The Armodilo display solution comes as perhaps the top brass of products in its segment. A single device will let you set your tablet computers in either landscape or portrait mode, and in different styles which we earlier mentioned. Other notable advantages include the tough aluminum design, which is light and aesthetic in its design, along with being more secure to prevent any thefts. The Kensington security slot and Torx locking faceplate ensures, that no untoward access is ever granted to your computer. Even the finishing seems to have been done with great care with anodization and powder coating of the body."

As nice and as lovely as these two iPad accessories above are, why stop there when for another measly $5,500 or so (it's only money after all) you could easily also have London & Company have your precious iPad plated in ever so precious 24-carat gold, as seen on the right and above!

However, if a 24-carat gold iPad is a tad bit too much, then obviously your one of those poor type of rich people and your probably on a budget, but no problem.... you might want to consider the super low priced of this 24-carat solid gold iPad 2 bumper case. Starting at the low budget price of only $617 and up, these bumper cases are barely a tad bit more than your iPad to begin with, and as you can see they too are simply quite lovely indeed as well.

In conclusion, the above accessories may not be quite as lovely as this $8,000,000 iPad, but hey in this economy one has to show a little restraint after all. All I will add is, if you can afford any of the above then your a hell-of-a-lot-richer than little old and very poor me!




And that's my 2 cents 4 this windy, cloudy and miserable Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Snow Leopard And My Favorite Screen Saver Of All Time: LotsOfWater

One of my favorite screen savers has always been LotsofWater and I'm delighted to say that it is now compatible with Snow Leopard.

LotsofWater gives your desktop the appearance of being under water, as you can see above, complete with all those mesmerizing water droplets effects!

As you can also see in the video below, the effects of this screen saver, my favorite of all time, is very realistic portrayed and, as I sated above, quite mesmerizing to view the way in which it realistically distorts the water with each and every drop of water, and drops which you can specify to be as few or as many as you like!



I'm not sure why the simplest of things always have the greatest effect on me, but they do and LotsofWater has never failed to impress me each and every time I see it running.

Of course, to duplicate the natural effects of water rippling across the screen is anything but simple, and it helps to explain why this particular screen saver takes up a lot of computer horse power to work, so the clever Japanese creators note the following:

• Now a universal binary, and works on Intel macs! (However, it is not yet optimized for Intel processors. However, they should all be fast enough to run it properly anyway.)
• Added an option to dim the desktop. This makes the highlights on the waves look prettier!
• Added an optional clock.
  

In conclusion, even though LotsofWater is definitely my favorite screen saver of all time, its not the only cool Snow Leopard compatible screen saver out there, as the same folks that bring you LotsofWater also brings you LotsofSnow as well, so if your interested in these nifty little gems, and I might add FREE screen savers, or as I prefer to call em, "screeny's", then be sure to check not only these two out, but eight additional cool screen savers over at the FairerPlatform.



And that's my 2 cents 4 this warm but rainy Monday, November 14, 2011

What's The Big Problem With Apple's Stock?

With world stock markets in turmoil over the European debt crises it's understandable that stock, including Apple's, would be impacted negatively in some way.

However, Apple's stock has been particularly hit hard, and considerably much more so than any of its competitors, resulting in Apple losing over a whopping 5%, or more than $18 billion dollars, in just two short trading days!

The main reason, as reported by Forbes, was because,

"........... seems to be worries about reduced build plans for iPhones and iPads in the Taiwanese supply chain. As I noted in a post yesterday, DigiTimes reported that the company told iPhone 4S parts suppliers to delay some calendar Q4 shipments into the first quarter due to the fact that “sales of the iPhone 4S have not been as strong as those concluded in the pre-sales period.” This morning, DigiTimes also reported that Amazon.com has ratcheted up production order for the Kindle Fire, spurring worries that consumer interest in the device could eat into iPad sales."

Well, I say the videos below should help to prove that the above is nothing but stupid rumors, and to help prove the point AppleInsider recently reported that a crowd of over some 3,000 lined up recently to snap up Apple's latest iPhone in Hong Kong, resulting in a complete sell-out in a few hours, as you can see in the video below:



Apple seems to being doing mostly everything right these days, and yet after posting one of its biggest sales records and earnings in its history recently, Apple's stock still fell by over 10%!

So, just what is the big problem with Apple's stock lately?

The answer, the same as it always was: stock analysts!

After all, when you really think about it critically, Apple's stock was not punished because Apple got it wrong, but rather because most of these so-called analysts got it all wrong!

For years now they got it wrong by predicting Apple's sales and profits would be lower then they actually were, and this time around they got it all wrong by predicting that Apple's last quarter would be a little higher than it actually was!

So, in all fairness, and in all honestly, shouldn't it be they, the analysts, that deserve to get punished for being so consistently wrong all the time about Apple's stock, rather than the other way around?

In addition to the video above, the video below should also help to prove that once again these so-called experts are not to be trusted. These analysts should be asking themselves what company, other than Apple, that can attract such huge crowds for its products that people would actually hire professional line jumpers, like the ones that recently clashed with customers and security, and seen below in Hong Kong:



In conclusion, the biggest thing wrong with Apple's stock these days clearly isn't the stock itself, or the economy, or the lack of demand for any of its products, but rather the biggest problem with Apple's stock price is precisely of what it always was..... these so-called stock analysts who rarely, if ever, seem to be able to get any of their predictions right, and, as far as I'm concerned, these very same so-called analysts should only help to confirm all the more that we truly are living in a crazy world after all !!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this incredibly rainy Friday, November 11, 2011

Apple logo via: Forbes

Mobile Super Chips: INVIDIA Tegra 3, And The ARM Mali-T658

NVIDIA has a new mobile super chip, the Tegra 3, and one that promises to deliver real desktop CPU like horsepower! Yes sir, this little bugger should be able to do some pretty amazing things when it starts hitting the shelves come sometime next month, so color me impressed.

You can check out all of the mind-blowing specs here, but better yet, you can get a better idea of just what this super chip can do while salivating over the video of it in action below.



Pretty sweet hah?

Not only is that one sweet CPU, but on the spec side, well it should do extremely well in comparison with Apple's own A5, and even besting it in several areas. I'm not sure by what degree, but these specs are nothing to be scoffed at.

NVIDIA's new chip will be first featured in Asus's new Eee Pad Transformer Prime next month, and just in time to give Frandroids something to brag about now that they are about to lose their precious Flash, which frankly is something that I would have thought they should have been ashamed of, not proud!

Of course, Apple doesn't use NVIDIA CPU's in its iPads or iPhones, but rather uses its own designed chips based on the ARM's mobile architect, and thus far they have creaming all other mobile chips out there in performance, so should iPad and iPhone users now feel a little bit envious right now?

Maybe just a wee, little bit, but only for a wee, little bit longer.

That's because Apple is also expected to soon launch its next chip, the A6, in its next tablet, the iPad 3, which like the new quad-core Tegra 3, will also be a four-core powerhouse and one that should give the Tegra 3 another serious run for its silicon money.

Apple's A6, and subsequent chips, will be based on ARM's existing designs and eventually its upcoming Mali-T658, but they should also be somewhat unique as compared to other ARM based chips. That's because it will also incorporate other silicon goodness that will result from Apple's purchase of several silicon design companies, such as P.A.Semi and Intrinsity.

So, just what kind of performance can we expect to see from Apple's next little baby? Well, as you can plainly see in the video below, we should expect to see a hell-of-a-lot of mind-numbing, mind-blowing and real ass-kicking power, that's what!



A lot of that amazing performance will come from the Mali-T658's eight graphic cores. The Tegra 3, however, features not just 8, but 12 graphic cores. Nonetheless with all of the extra and unique silicon goodness that Apple will be adding in its own implementation ARM, well don't be too surprised if not only equals, but actually exceeds the graphics capabilities of the Tegra 3!

In conclusion, both the Tegra 3 and ARM Mali-T658 super mobile chips will be highly anticipated, and chips that should supercharge the next generation of tablets and smartphones, such as the iPad 3 and the next, and real, iPhone 5.



And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, but nice-n-warm, Thursday, November 10, 2011

News Flash: Adobe To Trash Flash!

If there is one thing that Android fans love to point out that makes their platform a better OS than iOS is that it runs Flash, the power sucking, pain-in-the-ass slow and security-flawed video and animation piece of software.

Steve Jobs, of course, refused to allow Flash on Apple's mobile products precisely because of the above, and apparently Jobs was right all along!

For another thing, as you can see in this video of Flash running on Android, Flash is painfully and startlingly slow!

Well, thankfully, Frandroids won't be able to foolish boast much longer and that's because of the shocking, but welcome news that apparently Flash is so bad that Adobe is being reported that it has briefed its employees that it will now cease all further work on Flash for mobile!

In other words: News flash, they are throwing Flash in the trash, and hopefully, we won't have to endure any more foolish bragging on the part of Frandroids! They bragged that it was an advantage, but I still say that it was a major disadvantage all along.

When you honestly consider that Flash has probably contributed far more in making devices insecure, as well as making them all run as slow-as-hell, while gobbling up enormous amounts of system resources in the process, then this has got to be great news for the tech world overall indeed.

In conclusion, the world of tech should have listened to Steve Jobs in the first place rather than mock him for making the courageous decision to put a stop to all of this Flash trash. It was precisely because of Steve's courage to face up to Flash that helped Adobe come to decision to finally to put Flash out of its misery.

Thanks Steve, and my you rest in peace knowing that you helped to remove this scourge from our devices!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Wednesday, November 09, 2011

No Flash logo via: AppleAdvice

Old And New Tech Bridging The Gap Of Time: Siri Talks To An Old Fat Mac!

Siri, Apple's new and futuristic voice assistant which is built into its new iPhone 4S is quite the gal.

She has even been described as Apple's beginning entry into the field of search, and one that could possibly even be a real 'Google Killer', even though others would hotly disagree. In fact, she was even pointed out by none other than Google's own Eric Schmidt, who described her as a potential threat to the Big G's core business.

However, whether Siri is a Google killer or not, or regardless of whether Siri becomes the beginning of Apple's own search efforts, Siri is nonetheless still a very, very cool piece of kit as the Brits would say, and one of the coolest things about Siri, though not exactly revolutionary, can be seen in the video below of Siri, one of Apple's newest technologies actually communicating with one of Apple's oldest, namely an old and very lowly Macintosh 512K, a computer that hails all the way back from over a quarter-of-a-century ago!



Of course, in order to work, the creator of this cool marriage of the modern with that of the ancient needed a little help from an old friend, an old Mac laptop computer, that could possibly be an old Pismo model, but I'm not exactly sure, but what ever model it was .... it worked beautifully!

YouTuber, Napabar got these two old timers talking to the new kid on the block and now, as they say, the rest is history.... they are now all the best of buddies!

In conclusion, I used to have an old Mac Classic, one that looked identical to the old Fat Mac above, and this brings back a lot of wonderful memories for me. Actually seeing Apple's new fangled iPhone 4S actually chatting, via its ground-breaking Siri voice tech, was especially uber cool for me, so cool, in fact, that I'll think I will just go and watch the video over again, one last time!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Via: Engadget, via DaringFireball, via Napabar

Is Google Running Scared Of Apple's Siri? Is It Really A Threat To Google's Traditional Search Engine?

According to someone who should know, Eric Schmidt, Google is running scared of Siri, which he contends poses a real threat to its core business, namely search.

At least that is what he recently stated in a written submission to a Senate anti-trust subcommittee that is looking into claims that Google is abusing its dominant lead in search, something that Google denies.

So, is Eric Schmidt and Google really running scared of Apple's Siri, and is it really a new way of search that threatens how we now traditionally do search via a browser?

The answer is probably a little bit of both.

First off, many believe that Mr. Schmidt statement is simply an attempt to try and deflect a lot of heat that it's getting over its dominant position as the world's premier search engine, and thus diminish the likelihood of it being charged under existing anti-trust laws, something that I'm sure Microsoft, Yahoo and others would dearly love to see.

In other words, to a certain degree, it's a lot of bull, plain and simple, but is it all bull?

I don't think so.

That's because even though Siri is still in an early beta stage, it nonetheless already makes Google's otherwise excellent speech tools, such as Google Voice, look rather old and antiquated in comparison.

Already, according to the BBC, and reported by CultOfMac, Siri is far more accurate than Google Voice, and, in the near future, who knows?, it could very well pose a very real threat to traditional search engines, such as Google's, as noted by others, including ComputerWorld's Johny Evans, who wrote:

"The way I see it, millions of Siri users have been putting the intelligent assistant through its paces this weekend. Overall, people seem pretty pleased with how things have gone. They're liking how accurately Siri picks up voice commands in loud rooms; they're noting its idiosyncracies; and it is winning recognition as the best-in-class solution of its kind."

Yes, according to Johny Evans, and others, Apple and Siri may just very well become the new face of the new search, and one that could totally do away with traditional search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo, etc.

In fact, when it comes to Siri, Google and Microsoft will rarely even mention it by name, and that has got to tell you a lot. Also, according to some, if you missed Siri then you missed the future of the web, that's just how important Siri could become, so it's no wonder that Eric Schmidt would admit that Google is running a little scared of it.

As far as Mr. Schmidt's statement goes, I have to agree with AppleInsider who recommends that you take his words with a "grain of salt", and that's because Google will desperately say anything, at the moment, that it thinks can help it wiggle out of being potentially charged under U.S. and European Anti-trust laws.

Not only that, but, in conclusion, Google knows very well that Siri is still in beta, and only time will tell just how well Apple will be able to position it to take on the world of search, but I'm still betting that it will do just that, and who knows, it could become just as disruptive as the iPod, iPhone or the iPad were, and now that is something that naturally Google would fear, now wouldn't it?



And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, November the 7, 2011
Siri logo via: CultofMac

European Commission: Could Samsung Be Charged With Being Anti Competitive??

German patent expert Florian Miller says it all in his recent post on November 3:

"European Commission investigating Samsung over possible abuse of FRAND patents against Apple."

Now that title really is saying a lot.

What this says is that basically Samsung, and for that matter, many other Android participants, are not only afraid of Apple's iPhone patents, but are in actual fact are now all panicking by desperately using FRAND patents in their legal battles with Apple!

This could be especially very big news indeed in the on going legal battles between Android OEM's and Apple's iPhone. If this goes the way that I think it could, then it could be very, very good news indeed for Apple and, on the other hand, it could be very, very bad news for Samsung and for the Android platform overall, or as Herr Mueller put it:

"Samsung's various attempts to shut down Apple products -- most recently the iPhone 4S -- with patents declared essential to the 3G industry standard have now given rise to an antitrust investigation by Europe's top competition "watchdog". This is the most important development to date related to the world-spanning dispute between these two companies. This investigation has the potential to force Samsung to withdraw most of its claims against Apple, but let's not forget that the underlying issue concerns the technology industry at large. Everyone -- not just Apple -- relies on FRAND standards."

Yes, the anti-competitive stance by the European Commission is still in the preliminary stages, but it's very likely, base on what I've been reading, something that could soon easily become official and that could spell big trouble for Samsung and for Android overall, and thus turning the Apple vs Android debate on its very head.

Samsung is basically, as far I can tell, acting like a big bully that is desperately trying, and by any means possible, to wiggled its way out of being punished for beating up the little kid down the street! In other words Samsung, and other Android participants, are seen to be getting super desperate as they run out of options in their legal battles with Apple. Or, as Herr Mueller put it:

"Samsung's various attempts to shut down Apple products -- most recently the iPhone 4S -- with patents declared essential to the 3G industry standard have now given rise to an antitrust investigation by Europe's top competition "watchdog". This is the most important development to date related to the world-spanning dispute between these two companies. This investigation has the potential to force Samsung to withdraw most of its claims against Apple, but let's not forget that the underlying issue concerns the technology industry at large. Everyone -- not just Apple -- relies on FRAND standards."

The use of FRAND patents as weapons-of-mass-destruction in cases such as Samsung vs. Apple are problematic for many reasons, and as Herr Mueller goes on to correctly point out:

"Samsung will now have to tread very carefully," if it doesn't, well it could find itself in very deep trouble with the European Commission and it will end up losing a lot more than it every would if Apple won its legal case otherwise.

Samsung isn't the only one who is using FRAND patents against Apple in what some perceive are illegal ways either. Both Motorola Mobility (soon to be Google) and HTC have also gone down the same path of desperation as Samsung and could also soon face the same hot breath of the European Commission down their necks for the illegal use of FRAND patents.

So, could Samsung end up being charged with anti-competitive behavior?

The answers seems to be a very real yes, but it's still too early to say for sure.

In conclusion, all I will say is that things seem to be going from bad to worse for not only Samsung, but for Android as a whole, at least in the legal sense of the word. Android many legal woes, and not just those coming from Apple, but also its legal woes coming from Microsoft and, more importantly, Oracle, may in the end be a little too much for both Samsung and the Android platform, with some now questioning whether or not if Android as a platform can even legally survive for much longer, at least in its present form, but we'll see, we'll see.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny old Friday, November 04, 2011

Opening image via: SamsungGalaxyReview.com

Wild Animals Acting Wildly: Or Moose On The Loose!

Last night I went to bed between 3 and 4 am. I woke up a few hours later with the mother-of-all-headaches, and one so bad that I really can't concentrate on doing much of a post for today, so I'll do just a wee, wee bitty short one.

Normally I post mostly about Apple, of course, but this time it's not the big Apple in Cupertino, but rather a moose who got drunk on a bunch of apples, fermented ones that is, as you can see in the photo above.

As bad as my old noggin might be feeling right now, I suspect that the poor moosey above must be sporting a noggin that makes mine feel downright delightful in comparison. Just look at the poor little bugger, not only is this moose as drunk as a skunk, but imagine what his friends are going to think, oh, the embarrassment and the shame of it all!

Poor moosy boy (or is he a she?) was discovered by 45 year old Per Johansson, who said that he heard a roar coming from his vacationing neighbour's garden and went to have a peek, and boy, oh boy, did he have a surprise after he saw what you normally wouldn't expect to see in southwestern Sweden on a late Tuesday, or any other day of the week for that matter..... a bloody moose drunk, and up in a tree!

The Telegraph of Brittain has a video, if your interested, of the whole embarrassing incident here.

Fortunately, and in conclusion, Johansson, with the help of police and rescue services, were able to set the moose loose by cutting off some limbs (fortunately none of them belonged to the moose). The now totally confused animal was still seen resting, with a huge hang over I'm sure, in Johansson's garden on the following Thursday.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, November 03, 2011

Will The iPad Lose Its Dominance To Android?

According to one analyst by 2014/15 the iPad will lose its dominance in the tablet space and mostly to Android, and he stated:

“By 2014-15 we expect Android tablets to acquire a majority share of the consumer market as the number of vendors and variety of models overwhelm the iPad,” Gold wrote in a Nov. 1 research note accompanying the data. “But iPad will continue to hold the largest share of the enterprise market where specialized features built into some Android tablets will be valued but which will take longer to gain share.

Personally, if you ask me, I think that particular analyst should be preparing to find himself a new job. That might be his prediction, and that's all it is, but I predict, like so, many, many times in the past, that this particular analyst is going to end up with a lot of egg on his face come sometime in 2014/15!

For one thing, while he's predicting that Android will have some 50 % market share compared to iOS's 30%, the fact remains that the iPad is not only shipping, but actually selling more tablets than everyone else combined.

For example: one of the biggest and best of all the Android tablets out there, the Motorola Xoom, only shipped a mere 100,000 tablets in the last quarter. The actual number of those actually sold is more-than-likely considerably less than that.

Other analysts, such as Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, shows that the iPad is now beginning to push aside traditional PC's in schools, which is yet one more reason why that analyst who is predicting the iPad demise should be rethinking his analysis, as this recent survey helps shows.... the iPad is clearly winning the education market.

Another sign that the iPad won't be losing its dominance anytime soon is simply the fact that they are now so extremely popular that people are now being warned about a flood of fake iPads now entering the market. Fake manufacturers don't, after all, go out of their way to produce fake copies of things that they know people don't want. No, they try to fake what they they know people do want, and what they do want is clearly the iPad. There are, of course, some fake Android tablets among them, but the vast majority of these fakes are of the iPad variety.

As far as the analysts go, I have noticed that they are pretty consistent on being one thing:

WRONG!

They have been consistently wrong, for example, when forecasting Apple's financial results, mostly by underestimating them, or by over estimating it as they did the last time around. In fact, they've been wrong for the past 60, yes 60, or more quarters! This is yet another reason why I predict that anyone who predicts that Android will be replacing the iPad, as it did with the iPhone, should be hunting for a new job.

So, will the iPad really lose its dominance of the tablet market to Android or others, a market it virtually and single handily created?

The answer is: it could, but I sincerely doubt it.

As long as the iPad consistently offers the users the best selection and quality of apps, as well as the best ecosystem when it comes to the downloading of music, tv, movies, etc., and it continues to offer the best hardware experience, then the iPad has nothing to fear from other tablets, be they Android, or Microsoft, or anybody else.

As C/net put it:

"The bottom line: The iPad 2 refines an already excellent product. Its easy-to-use interface, vast app catalog, and marathon battery life bolster Apple's claim to being the king of tablets."

In conclusion, another major reason why I firmly believe that Android won't be overtaking the iPad anytime soon is simply because I believe that there is a very high probability that Android will be legally shut down at some point in the near future by Oracle's, Apple's and Microsoft's on going and continuing legal attacks against it, but we'll see?

And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, but kind of cold too, Wednesday, November o2, 2011

Opening logos via: Mail2Web

The World's Most Expensive iPad 2: $8,000,000.00!

The world is seemingly on the verge of another major recession, if not worse. Millions are either out of work, or worried that they soon might be.

Millions have already lost homes, their dignity, their sanity, and their savings have seemingly sprouted wings and flown the old proverbial chicken-coop, but hey, what better time to not only buy a spanking new iPad 2, but the customized one in the photo above, after all its only a mere...... $8,000,000!

Hey, what's $8,000,000 if you got it right?, therefore I say "flaunt it baby!'

Seriously, I'm still jealous that one of my neighbors recently built a 28,000 square foot shack up the road from me, complete with 10 bedrooms, 16 baths, a five car garage on a spectacular three or four acre lot and overlooking one of the world's most scenic rivers, and the bloody thing only cost them a scant $6,000,000!

Ah, but if you bought this special, one-of-a-kind iPad though, just think of the pleasure that you would get the next time your having dinner at the nearest MacDonald's, or the local soup kitchen while the other customers, with their plain, everyday iPads, or worse... Xoom or Galaxy Tabs, got to see you playing Angry Birds on your fine gold and jewel encrusted iPad 2? The gold and jewel encrusted iPad 2: $8,000,000.00; the look on the other customers faces..... priceless!

In conclusion, at anytime the mere thought of spending $8,000,000 for a jewel encrusted version of a $500 gizmo would be rather insane, but spending that kind of cash in this economic climate seems to be closer to being downright criminal! But hey, if you got the money and your dumb enough to buy it, then I'm sure that Stuart Hughes would love to hear from you.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this, I wish I were back in Germany, Tuesday, October 1 (already!), 2011

Photo via: Silly Millions