Episode #141 The theme for Apple’s event in San Francisco last week was, “The only thing that has changed is everything.” It sounds like marketing hype, but by the end of the event most of the audience (including me) seemed to agree. You’ve surely heard about the announcements: a collection of Apple Watches from…
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Analyst: "Hey Siri" Media Event no Game Changer for AAPL
His expectations for the next generation iPhone models are in line with other analysts. Mr. Um said, “We expect the biggest internal hardware addition to be Force Touch alongside memory, CPU, and camera upgrades and capacity to remain unchanged at 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB.” He expects we'll also see a refresh for the iPad mini,…
Vidity: A Potential UHD/4KTV Game Changer - Will Apple Play?
______________________ Vidity is the product of the Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA). This organization was founded by both movie studios, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment as well as storage companies SanDisk and Western Digital. It currently has over 50 member companies, most notably Intel, Qualcomm, Comcast, Samsung and Walmart. The goal of…
What You're Not Doing with Your Mac Matters a Lot
There is something magical about the story I'm going to reference below. I hope it will shake you out of your doldrums and inspire you. What's up here? You'll see down below. Image credit: Shutterstock Having worked in astrophysics, then the aerospace industry and finally the computer industry, I am well aware of all the…
How Apple Leaves Money on the Table and Still Flourishes
A question then arises. When Apple made this design and business decision, was it because Apple's executive team, led by Steve Jobs back then, believed in the importance of the customer experience or because Apple was trying to maximize revenue? After all, previous experience with the Macintosh showed that a closed system would probably suffer…
The Legacy Internet is Out of Addresses: What Apple is Doing
The original Internet address space, referred to as IPv4, provides for 232 (4.29 billion) addresses. You've probably seen examples of those addresses on your Mac and iPhone, for example, 192.168.1.1, where each of the numbers can be from 0-255. With the Internet of things, the proliferation of small Internet devices and the adoption of smartphones…
Basic Checklist for Identifying Network Problems
Modems and Routers Let's start at the beginning: there a wire (cable or DSL or fiber or what have you) coming from the street to your house, and that wire connects to a modem. That modem can have a router built-in, or you might have a separate router, for instance an AirPort base station. Routers…
Scratching the Surface: Sapphire vs Glass Apple Watch
It's a real guess at this point how quickly the Apple Watch will become obsolete in its first version. From the articles that have been published so far, the Apple Watch has an enormous amount of functionality. That considerable functionality isn't going to vanish, but the looks of the Apple Watch Sport could. Some rigorous…
Angela Ahrendts to Retail Staff: Push Online Apple Watch Sales
Apple wants us to buy Apple Watch online, not in its stores The memo marks a big change for Apple because its stores have always been the place to go see new products, make a purchase, and walk out the door with a brand new laptop, iPhone or iPad. In a memo obtained by Business…
No, the Apple MacBook is NOT a '4-year Step Backward'
The new Apple MacBook is designed for extreme portability and low weight. Its low power Core M processor provides support for thinner designs and eliminates the need for a fan. To achieve that, it makes a concession to speed. So while the benchmarks are similar to a four year old MacBook Air, this MacBook is…
Pyle Health Thermometer Works with Free iOS App
Pyle Audio has released a Bluetooth Infrared ear and body digital thermometer that works with iOS devices (iOS 6 and greater) and allows users to take a temperature in seconds without difficulties for the user or trauma to the patient. The thermometer works independently, but it also works with the free Pyle Health Thermometer app for iOS. …
Samsung Innovation: Samsung Pay and an iPhone 6 Lookalike
Samsung has also found that no one—and I mean no one—cares for its me-too services and solution-in-search-of-problem software addons to Android. What's a shameless IP thief to do? Well, if you're Samsung, you come out with an innovative service called Samsung Pay, a mobile payment solution that will launch with the Galaxy S6 sometime this…
The Digital Betrayal of the Consumer is Officially Out of Control
There is officially no such thing as computer security. At least from the most sophisticated attackers. Our only hope is that our profile is so low and are activities so mundane that we're off any entity's radar. If you disagree, I present several stories that came to the surface this week. 1. First, at least…
Digital Music: Can You Hear Above 16-bit/44.1kHz?
At best you'd think, “My TV doesn't display UV or IR so it won't make any difference since I can't see those frequencies anyway.” At worst you'd be concerned about getting a sunburn or a heat rash. Now imagine I said, “You should listen to my special audio version of Miles Davis's Kind of Blue…
Logitech Harmony Universal Remote Finally Gets It Right
Episode #103 For years I’ve been searching for the perfect universal remote control, one that was: Easy to set up and manage Able to control all aspects of all of my audio and video components Reliable enough that I could throw the device’s original remote in a drawer and never miss it Over the past…
iOS 8: Fixing Bluetooth Headset Connection Issues
Here's how to force your iPhone to use your Bluetooth headset when answering incoming calls: Tap Settings Tap Accessibility Tap Call Audio Routing Choose Headset Change Call Audio Routing to Headset to cut down on lost headset connections The default setting for Call Audio Routing lets your iPhone automatically choose where to send your calls,…
iOS 8: 3 Very Nice Weather Apps With Widgets for Notification Center
_________________ All three of these apps have some very nice features when used as a stand alone app: They're full-featured weather apps in themselves Their widgets vary in extent and design, so you will want to check each widget to see which one gives you the data you prefer. (For a refresher on how to…
Shellshock Flaw Poses Big Security Threat for Mac, other Unix Systems
Bash's Shellshock flaw poses big security threat for Macs and other Linux systems Shellshock is about a 25 year old security flaw in the Bash shell that lets code held in certain variables to be executed immediately and without the victim's knowledge. That code could give attackers deep level access to the system as well…
Rokform Sport v3 Case for iPhone 6: Serious Protection and Mobile Options
There is no way around it. Most any case for the iPhone will change its look, feel and heft. The question is, given that you want some good protection, what kinds of options do you want? Rokform provides a boatload. _______________________ There are many different philosophies of iPhone case design. Some are almost decorative in…
WSJ Lines Up Tim Cook to Kick Off Inaugural WSJDLive Conference
The Wall Street Journal announced Friday that Apple CEO Cook would headline its inaugural WSJDLive conference, the apparent successor to D, the conference that was headed by tech journalist luminaries Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Mr. Cook will be interviewed at the event, which takes place from October 27-29 at the Montage in Laguna Beach,…
How to Check Your AT&T iPhone Upgrade Eligibility
___________________ Method #1. Perhaps the easiest way to check is to call the number *639# (*NEW#) directly from your iPhone. Shortly, you'll receive a text message from AT&T. Here's how it looked on my iPhone 5s. Method #2. Another way to check is to use Apple's Apple Store app. On the home (Featured) page is…
An iPhone Veteran Evaluates an Amazon Fire Phone
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced the Fire Phone on June 18 with several novel features and a 4.7-inch display. This TMO review takes a close look at the Fire Phone from a technical perspective that steers away from politics and towards what the iPhone or any potential owner would want to know about this very…
A Mad Magazine Experiment with iPad Gone Sour
___________________ In September of that year, I wrote: … I’ve started a pilot project to eliminate most of my paper magazine subscriptions and convert to digital format on the iPad. Of course, this has been possible previously on the Mac in some cases, but the size and portability of the iPad creates a critical psychological…
Hilton to Turn Your iPhone into Your Hotel Room Key
Hilton is turning your iPhone into a hotel room key Hilton CEO Christopher J. Nassetta said, “Travelers can use their smartphones as boarding passes to get to their seats on an airplane, so it is only natural that they will want to use them as a way to enter their hotel rooms.” The new room…