So you can’t get enough of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs? Yes, another Steve Jobs biography will be out March 24, and you can pre-order it on Amazon.
It’s called Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart to a Visionary Leader. It’s written by seasoned journalists Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli. Interview subjects include those who were closest to the Apple magnate, including current CEO Tim Cook, Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell-Jobs, and Disney CEO Bob Iger. It should be made clear that this isn’t the Steve Jobs biography in 2011. Many critics say Jobs was portrayed as a jerk and egomaniac. This upcoming biography has more human tales of Jobs. For instance, when Jobs was in desperate need of surgery, Tim Cook offered his liver, since they were the same blood type. Jobs turned down Cook’s offer. This left a long lasting impression on Cook. “Somebody that’s selfish doesn’t reply like that,” he said. This biography talks of Jobs’ potential job venues, like planning ?to buy Yahoo with Bob Iger. The book talks about Jobs’ return to Apple in the late 1990s, as Apple started to rise from being a struggling ghost of better days to one of the leading technology conglomerates of all-time.
Do we really need another Steve Jobs book? Do we really need another Steve Jobs movie? As long as people buy, then I guess so. I read the first book. While it was harsh at times, it did a good job showing that Jobs, despite being one of the greatest techies ever, was still a human being. Like the rest of us, he also made mistakes and bad choices. Nobody bats 1.000 in the game of life. But this new biography seems to show bonds between his co-workers that went beyond board rooms and computer labs. The story about Jobs’ liver medical crisis alone kind of makes me want to get Becoming Steve Jobs. Would you pay another $22-27 for another Steve Jobs biography?
For those of you around my age: We use to go to malls for the video arcade, toy store and food court. Today, people are going to the mall for Apple products; mall operators are seeing to it.
According to a real estate research company, the mere presence of an Apple Store alone increases a mall’s sale by ten percent. So this gives Apple a heck of an advantage. Not only can they get a low rental rate from mall operators, they can turn up pressure for neighbors to pay more, in hopes to prey off Apple’s foot traffic. Back in the old video arcade and toy store days, your major department stores paid near nothing, while small businesses paid the majority of mall rentals. Apple goes even further. Apple bargains to pay no more than 2% of sales in rent. Some tenants pay as much as 15% of their sales. Mall operators generally charge rent based on the retail tenant’s sale expectations.
But there’s another factor in play: The disappearance of smaller businesses that were once staples of shopping malls. Is it just me, or are small businesses closing down in malls all over the USA, being replaced by major corporate chains? And despite what the media and stock markets say, even major chains like Sears and JCPenney are struggling. Decades old chains like K Mart and Radio Shack are forced to shut down many stores. These stores used to be in shopping malls. So it seems like Apple Store may save the shopping mall altogether. So I say give them what they want, so long as it’s within reason. For mall retailers who complain of paying extra, think of the foot traffic you’re getting. If people are spending hundreds, even thousands, at Apple, they’ll probably come spend a little at your small business. Am I looking at the Apple mall invasion the wrong way?
I know this is Apple’s big press conference day, and it’s mostly about their smartwatch. I hope it goes well. I hope nobody has stolen their secrets.
I bring this up because their are some interesting documents floating around the Internet. These documents say the CIA (central intelligence agency) tried to breach iPhone and iPad security. The documents say the CIA has been trying to do this for years. In an event called “Jamboree” (no, I’m not talking about the Boy Scout national camp out), strategies and plans were discussed to exploit weaknesses in such electronics. These Jamboree conferences have gone on for years, even before the first iPad was released. Security keys and encrypted data were targeted to try and stop Apple’s attempt to provide mobile security to Apple users globally. The government did sponsor this potential invasion. ?With this invasion, if successful, spies can infect malware and test out weaknesses in Apple systems. The document said CIA spies came up with their own Xcode, a software that can get into apps and programs, through the backdoor, without the apps’ permission or approval. Of course, the CIA has no comment. Neither does Apple.
I notice a couple of coincidences here. I find it interesting this report comes out on the same day of this much anticipated conference. Who would gain from this kind of timing? Look at the fact that neither Apple nor the CIA are commenting about this Jamboree report. If you remember when the Edward Snowden scandal broke out, Apple said they were virtually forced to turn in records to the NSA. There’s a lot of finger pointing and things left unsaid. This story isn’t going away soon. But yet everybody is so giddy about Apple’s upcoming smartwatch. Assuming this report is true, will the CIA try to infiltrate the Apple Watch? If so, will they succeed?
Windows 10 is coming very soon and it could be the big computer revolution we have all been waiting for or it could be a dud? The new stylish Windows 10 could break the mold and remove the stains that Windows 8 brought with removing the true start menu and making a title start menu. Well they have heard the cries from Windows 8 users loud and clear! There will be an actual start menu in Windows 10. The compromise from Microsoft is there will still be a tile system but it will branch off the original start menu and you can remove the tiles if you don?t want them. This makes it easier for gamers to get their games.
The next great thing about Windows 10 isn?t actually about the OS but an item they you will be able to purchase hopefully in the not so distant future named the HoloLens. In the gaming world the idea of VR has been sought after for years. Now the HoloLens won?t be for every gamer but it looks like an amazing addition to anyone?s gaming gear.
The next thing on why Windows 10 could be the best operating system for video games is the streaming capabilities. Windows 10 will be giving you the ability to stream games from your Xbox One to your PC or tablet so you could play your game from another room in your home.
So here is a scenario, you want to play a game with your friend but you also want to watch a movie or tv show with your wife or significant other. What do you do? Easy with Windows 10, both! Sit down on the couch with your tablet and stream the Xbox one to that and watch the tv with your partner.
Microsoft is starting to get into the apps game, no not mozzarella sticks, but fully functional apps for your phone and pc. One big app on Windows 10 that gamers will not want to ignore is going to be the Xbox app. This app looks very close to steam which is an app from a company called Valve for all of your PC gaming needs. However the Xbox app will have text and voice chat for people who own Xbox Live. Also by pressing the Windows+G you can bring up a game play saving function which will allow you to record the last 30 seconds of game play. Which then you can share with other platforms making it one stop sharing shop!
Finally there is DirectX12. This is supposed to be a monumental upgrade from DirectX 11. The performance is rumored to be 50% better than DirectX 11 and cutting power consumption down half. With DirectX12 we will also see the first cross platform game in which people from PC and Xbox One can play together. An exciting prospect indeed.
Well if Microsoft can deliver on all of this stuff Windows 10 should be the best OS for Video Games. What do you think? Debate below!
Have you ever been browsing a museum or art gallery, when all of a sudden the painting seems to be alive ? looking back at you? You may think that this was brought on only by a passionate connection to art, or to the particular piece you were looking at, but now one can say that technology brings art to life. How? you may ask. Well, now that life-like art can be what NTT Communication Science Laboratories calls, Projection Mapping ? or HenGenTou, which translates to ?Deformation Lamps” in Japanese.
So, how does this technology work, in order to allow a particular piece of art to ?Come alive?? Projection mapping works by projecting a grey-scale onto a static image in the shape of specific parts of the image that are required to be seen to move or change. Movement is then added to the light projected, which the brain perceives as real movement. HenGenTou can be used in ambient lighting conditions, as well as be applied to 3D objects. Some practical applications for this technology can be applied in areas such as advertising, where a smiling face or fluttering text on a sign would be an eye-catching marketing ploy, and also in interior design, where illusions of an undulating could be created on floors and walls to capture a desired effect.
NTT promises of a public demonstration of HenGenTou later this year. Their aim is to have this technology fully developed for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and widely available after that. What better way to show how technology brings art to life than at the Olympics, where a huge show and spectacle are expected? The spectator of the upcoming games can certainly be expected to enjoy an experience of art and life colliding, thanks to the ever changing and growing world of technology.
The days of the server notepad is starting to become a thing of the past. Now with the technology of tablets and phones, not only can a waiter or waitress take your order with a mobile device. In some places you can place your order from the table without having to wait for anyone!
Companies like Aloha and MICROS are the major players in the restaurant point of sale (POS) market but now there are a lot of new players to game that could more cost effective than those big boys. Square is one of those players and they have a retail POS terminal and has strong foothold in the mobile POS market setting up deals with companies such as Starbucks, Whole Foods, Godiva and Uniqlo all from 2012-2014. Square isn?t the main POS but having the mobile part integrated into some major players says a lot.
Another player is an eCommerce site called Shopify which had a system launch in 2013. The new players are coming into the market and with good reason a study from Adil Consulting which is a POS consultancy, saw that 52% of small merchants now use a mobile POS for the majority of their payment processing which is a major change just a few years before.
Just to show you how powerful the mobile payment is becoming Starbucks reported that 14% of its US business was actually completed using its mobile app in 2014. Then you have Apple Pay, a payment industry guru Mike Dudas calculated close to 1% of the Wholes Foods transactions were happening on Apple Pay. Even at 1% it is amazing growth for a new technology that wasn?t even around six months ago.
So have you experienced this mobile revolution yet? Gone to Starbucks and used your phone or gone to a restaurant and ordered on an iPad or even seen your waiter or waitress put your order in? This new way to order food and pay is great and please don?t forget that Computer Geeks can help with any restaurant IT needs that may come up.
