Out with the OLD and in with the NEW - works for technology too!

In the last few months I have not been of a good, positive, excited, entuastic, driven, mind-set to write a great deal. I have found my thoughts to be of a very negative , down, disgusted, disturbed, bent and that is not the way I like to be. I am a positive person (or like to think I am) of the ages.

Too many tech jounalists spend to much time trying to find what's wrong rather than looking for what's right. I am a fan of Guy Fieri and "Dinners, Drive-Ins and Dives" He doesn't review, for public presentation, the bad places, only the good ones. He has to go to the bad ones however his time is spent reporting on what works rather than what does not work.  He brings to the front good food and good people, and that's what it is all about.

I have read and believe in Norman Vincent Peale, Earl Nightengale, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Bryan Tracy, and my one big counselor and mentor; Tony Robbins. This year was not my best for living up to their standards. I am a Believer and and a Learner and this was a year of learning. I have to admit that my Faith is still strong however some of my other beliefs have had a change.  

I am looking forward to what Apple, Google, and  Microsoft, have in store in the New Year.  

One thing I expect to see clearly in 2015 is it will be the year the consumer takes control, both personally as well as in the Enterprise. "Power to the People!" We will buy what makes our life more productive and happier. 

If there is a resolution for me to make; I will practice the words of Roger Whittaker in A New World In The Morning; 

"Now I myself don't talk about a New World in the morning, New World in the morning that's today." ----- and everyday!

Happy New Year and may all your technology be good "stuff".  

Apple Innovates and Designs - What a Show!

WOW! Just got though watching the Live presentation by Tim Cook and supporting cast. I can sum it up in one word; IMPRESSIVE! Maybe I should say that four times.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were only the beginning. I was much impressed with size and weight as well as memory - 128 GB - I could put my music on my phone. Sleek looking, would look nice in my hand. I am still attached to my Samsung Galaxy S3 however come November, when the contract is up, I will have to look a the iPhone 6 Plus vs. the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

As for Apple Pay; it will give sleepless nights to Square, Pay Pal, and others. I suspect that Visa, MasterCard, Amex, won't mind. Of all the solutions for paying with your phone, this appears to be way ahead of anyone else. I did like Eddie Cue's explanation of the security and that is both important and would appear to be handled. I think that as soon as Apple Pay is lose on the public there will be 29,900 people trying to hack the security of which 29,000 will belong to Microsoft and/or Google. :)

I cannot wait for iOS 8. I do have an iPad 3rd Gen and iOS 8 is compatible with it. I know I won't have the latest chip but I get the upgrade for free and that is a good thing.

Now the Apple Watch - WOW! The design just put the others in the also ran class. What a product and the added features (as well as updates coming) make this an incredible buy. Johnnie Ive is a goldmine. I think if it were ready for Christmas they would have 1) sold out, and 2) cleaned up. Maybe that is why we have to wait until 2015 to get one. Meeting demand this late in the season could have been bad.

The final with U2 and the FREE album was a great closer. Before they were through I was trying to download. I did get an "Unavailable in the United States at this time" message however on the second click here it comes. I now have the 12 songs and happy.

I have to admit the presentation was fun even if their iTV delivery messed up at the beginning. Even if it took over 30 minutes to get it right it finally came though and was fun to watch. If there is one thing about an Apple event it is that the audience is with Tim Cook and anyone else who presents. I really enjoy the excitement that is created and it is aimed at the people.

Thanks Apple, Tim Cook, and all the people at Apple for some great devices and great competition.

Government, Broadband Providers, and Double Talk

In yesterday’s Computerworld the following article: FCC told to leave state laws against municipal broadband intact.

All I want to do is provide one quote and a comment. The quote:

The FCC, considering whether to preempt laws in 20 states that restrict municipal broadband projects, should instead give private broadband providers incentives to better service communities, several representatives of broadband providers wrote in comments to the agency.

The comment:

The essence of competition is to work to be the best. Private broadband providers want incentives to provide better service, what better incentive than competition? Unfortunately the private broadband providers are; 1) not smart enough to figure out how to be better, 2) their interest does not lie with the customer and providing better service.

I wonder what the incentives are that they want? Keep out competition? The system work needs competition. That’s the American way, or at least it was. Why would anyone give incentives to organizations with the lowest approval ratings?

Does Microsoft really have a Chromebook killer?

From ZD Net, Here come Microsoft's Chromebook killers | ZDNet:.

First my take is that Microsoft needs to be ahead of the game and not playing catch-up as it has in the phone and tablet business. Can Microsoft produce a Chromebook killer? I really doubt it. That market will soon be declining or closed to new entries.

Microsoft is innovating in an old market. What worked in the 80's and 90's and into the 21st Century is OLD now. Microsoft is still thinking innovation they way they did and the world has caught up and passed them.

Microsoft's thinking is tooooo much Enterprise. Who is buying Chromebooks? Not Enterprise. Who is buying Android devices (phones, tablets) or who is buying iPhones, iPads? It's not generally the Enterprise (although it has in some cases). The BIG buyer of all these other devices, Android or Apple, have been USER'S, the people in the street (or on the street), the individual consumer.

Microsoft needs to separate Enterprise from User and KNOW the difference.

'via Blog this'

Related articles

• The Google Chromebook, Suddenly, Is An Enterprise Contender
• Chromebooks: Long term threat to Intel
• Instead of Fighting Chromebooks Microsoft Want To Use Them

The Future of Jobs and the Robotic, or AI Influence

Recently Pew Reseach Center released a report regarding "AI, Robotics, and the Future of Jobs". It is a good read however I am not sure that it's impact is reaching the right people.

Yes the tech world understands. We have been there and listened to Ray Kurzweil sending the signals for quite sometime. There have been detractors to Ray Kurzweil's "Singularity" however every day there is more and more evidence of the eventuality, or potential, of Singularity in the future everyday. The question is not when will Singularity occur (Ray says by 2045) but how long until we begin to see the light of the oncoming train?

In today's world we keep on keeping on what we thought yesterday. We see the change as 'out there' and, in my mind, do not grasp the speed at which things are really changing. The rate of acceptance of technology today is, in my mind, incredible. Could most live without a smartphone today?

What will someone today graduating from high school today, in our current conditions, be doing in 10 years?

The realization that most of these graduates are using a phone as their prime computer added to the anticipation the smartphone will be going away for other devices in incredible to us. I am 75 and the smartphone is not a gadget anymore it is a practical, and needed, piece of technology today. I search for answers to questions that in the past would have been left unanswered. We can get opinions, advice, and knowledge instantly - well as long as the Internet is up and working.

The following article today at Gigaom takes another look. Check it out.
Pew releases AI, Robotics, and the Future of Jobs — Gigaom Research:

'via Blog this'

Related articles

• Google Sees a World Rife With Futuristic Robots
• Elon Musk says artificial intelligence is 'potentially more dangerous than nukes'
• Pew Finds Experts Divided On Whether Robots Will Be Good For Society
• Google's Ray Kurzweil on the moment when computers will become conscious
• Intelligent Robots Will Overtake Humans by 2100
• Scientists Are Afraid To Talk About The Robot Apocalypse, And That's A Problem

On Big Data Collection and Analysis

This morning in the NY Times is an article titled  "What Cars Did For Today's World, Data May Do For Tomorrow's". It is the kind of writing I find intriguing as it brings to front an interest in the data we are collecting. This interest being our ability to collect and then analyze that data for a benefit/purpose. I believe that in today's world this is an important quest and something we need to be aware of - VERY aware of.

I think we all know (or should know) that everything we do is being recorded in someway. If you are using an old alarm clock to wake then the time you get up is still private however if you are using a more recent technically significant device then there is the possibility that your alarm is being recorded. My example is the smartphone. What you do with that smartphone could be recorded and then captured. 

How does Google Now know that when I check in that it can tell me; 1) how far I am from home, 2) how far I am from Starbucks, 3) how far I am from work, and on Saturday 4) how far I am from my RV in the woods. I not only get the weather at home, on Saturday Google Now tells me the weather where the RV is. Google Now knows that I have an RV and knows where it is. Google Now knows all my appointments and with who, knows my interests (as in searches), and it can sense when I am driving or walking. 

Look at all the apps that we use and what they know. Is this being compiled someplace? Just read "Age of Context: Sensor's, Data, and the Future of Privacy" by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. I can believe that everything is being recorded. 

On another side this has great potential. In the article I mentioned at the top this data collection can really be a benefit for companies like GE, the Airlines industries, automobile industries. and so many more. 

Think about what you do, the company you work for, and think about the data that is being collected and how it can be used to benefit your life, your families life,  your community, your social network, and very importantly the product or service you are building? Collection of data can push you to build or do better. 

You should keep in mind there could be a negative side to this data collection. Who is watching the collectors? And I am not just talking about our Government.

U.S. Tech Corporations Limited to doing Business Only in U.S.!

One perspective of the courts ruling is that foreign governments will suggest to businesses within their borders that they only use communications services within their own countries. I am sure the governments of foreign countries will find services within it's own boarders to do business with. On the other hand; foreign governments might prefer the NSA to have their information than some secret service in their own country. Hmmm....double edged sword. 

Not sure we shouldn't consider using outside services for our own communications - just to be more difficult.

On the other hand the court also said (indirectily?) that if anyone in a foreign country uses a U.S. corporation for communications the U.S. will be watching (and listening, and reading) those communications. I suspect the NSA should be happy with this. The world now knows the reach of the NSA and "No One" is beyond the worlds "Big Brother". 

What's next? Newspeak? 

 
Alas, it's all for the "Greater Good".

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/ruling-against-microsoft-has-consequences-for-all-us-businesses/#ftag=RSS56d97e7