Category: Computers, Internet & Technology

Interesting line of the evening

“The iPhone is now available from Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, but I tested the AT&T version, because it is the only one which offers the faster download speeds.”

The iPhone Finds Its Voice – Walt Mossberg

His review of the iPhone 4S and iOS 5.

“It’s a better iPhone for the same $199 entry price, at a time when some competitors are pricing their flagship smartphones starting at $299.”

“But owners of older iPhone models, or those with basic phones, will find this latest iPhone a pleasure and a good value.”

Fascinating review. If you’re interested in a smart phone, you should read it. One bottom line, Verizon is a better phone, AT&T better for data, and Sprint offers unlimited calling, texting and Internet for $110 a month. (It’s the same phone, that’s their cellular sevice.)

David Pogue tells us more:

You just hold down the phone’s Home button until you hear a double beep, and then speak casually.

You can say, “Wake me up at 7:35,” or “Change my 7:35 alarm to 8.” You can say, “What’s Gary’s work number?” Or, “How do I get to the airport?” Or, “Any good Thai restaurants around here?” Or, “Make a note to rent ‘Ishtar’ this weekend.” Or, “How many days until Valentine’s Day?” Or, “Play some Beatles.” Or, “When was Abraham Lincoln born?”

In each case, Siri thinks for a few seconds, displays a beautifully formatted response and speaks in a calm female voice.

It’s mind-blowing how inexact your utterances can be. Siri understands everything from, “What’s the weather going to be like in Tucson this weekend?” to “Will I need an umbrella tonight?” (She has various amusing responses for “What is the meaning of life?”)

It’s even more amazing how Siri’s responses can actually form a conversation. Once, I tried saying, “Make an appointment with Patrick for Thursday at 3.” Siri responded, “Note that you already have an all-day appointment about ‘Boston Trip’ for this Thursday. Shall I schedule this anyway?” Unbelievable.

Did you know?

You can get an iPhone 3GS free with a two-year contract. Free as in I can have a smartphone for nothing.

You can get an iPhone 4 (like I currently have) for $99 with a two-year contract. Cheap.

If you don’t like Apple or iPhones, fine. But if you want one, price is no longer a consideration.

Best Apple iPhone 4S line of the day

“It was like the child who convinces himself there will be a pony waiting for him under the Christmas tree even though no one promised one or even suggested such a gift existed.”

Nick Bilton, Bits Blog – NYTimes.com

And then after explaining how much is new in the 4S —

“So as people start asking me if I’m disappointed, I have to remind them there still was a shiny new firetruck under the tree there Tuesday morning.”

FYI I intend to get one to replace my 16-month-old iPhone 4.

Facebook Timeline: Important privacy settings to adjust now

With Timeline, every status update, wall post and photo ever posted since the day you joined Facebook becomes easily searchable to you and your friends. For many—early adopters especially—dredging up the past for all to see can be a privacy nightmare.

When your Facebook account is migrated to the new Timeline—which Facebook started rolling out Thursday—you’ll have one week to make any adjustments to your past posts and privacy settings before your Timeline will go live for everyone to see. You can publish it yourself anytime within the five-day waiting period.

Here are what your options are for adjusting your settings, based on the level of privacy you want to achieve.

Macworld

Latest iPhone 5 rumor is an awesome one

Want to send an iMessage without typing? I could just say “send a text to Barb saying I’m going to the bank” and the message is created and sent. You can also use Assistant with the location-based reminder feature in the iOS Reminders app, by using commands like “Remind me to buy Vitamin D when I’m at Whole Foods Market.” Voice requests for directions are also a feature — asking “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” won’t result in the expected response (“practice, practice, practice”) but directions from your current location to 881 7th Avenue in New York City.

Assistant also has a conversation view, in which the system literally converses with the user in order to provide the best results. Let’s say set up a meeting with Tim Cook on October 4th. You’d say “Set up a meeting with Tim Cook,” and the iPhone would respond by asking “Which email address should Tim Cook be notified at, home or work?” When you’d respond “Work,”, the iPhone would ask the time and date you want to schedule the meeting for. At the end of the conversation, you’d be shown the details of the calendar event for confirmation.

We’re told that you can speak to the Assistant in your normal tone and speed of voice; it’s that accurate. Assistant is also integrated with Wolfram Alpha, so you could also ask your iPhone questions like “Convert 10.2 acres to hectares” or “What’s the cube root of 924?” and get an immediate answer.

TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog

A New Term I’m Sure You’ll Be Hearing and Seeing

Second Screen

What’s the Second Screen? It’s the laptop, iPad or other device 85-million Americans use WHILE watching TV. At the Online News Association conference this morning there was a presentation on How ESPN and The New York Times Build A Second Screen For Readers. I didn’t bother with the details, but I thought the concept was one we’d all see much more about.

What Facebook Really Wants

The longtime goal of Facebook, and of founder Mark Zuckerberg…has been to build a separate Internet. … In the minds of people who work at Facebook, there’s the cold, confusing, open Internet that is managed by Google and its algorithms. You go there and you never quite know what you’re going to get. And then there’s the Facebook sub-Internet, where everything is kinder and organized by your friends.

From What Facebook Really Wants : The New Yorker.

Facebook now hosts 4 percent of all the photographs EVER taken.

If Facebook gets its way it will soon also be where you read your news, watch videos and listen to music — all shared with your “friends” of course.