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Everyone reading this today should watch this clever “mockumentary”. You should because you are reading this through the internet. And the future of the internet is on the line. This short film shows how important “freedom of speech” on the internet is and how it makes a real impact in peoples lives around the world.
“This will brighten everyone’s day” is the slogan Apple Inc. used to promote today’s iPhone keynote in Cupertino.
At this event, there was absolutely no mention of Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, iPad, iPad mini or even iPods. It was all about their bread and butter, the iPhone. In fact, they introduced two (2) brand new ones. These are some quick points of my impressions on the event.
iPhone 5s
All I know is that it takes 4-5 seconds to home button + slide to unlock + passcode and even longer if you are using alpha numeric password.
Personally I unlock my phone ~50 times per day.
Saving ~4 seconds between slide to unlock and passcode is roughly ~200 seconds per day saved unlocking my phone or ~3 minutes. 3 minutes per day equates to roughly ~18 hours per year or more than $5,000 worth of lost productivity unlocking my phone.
That alone makes this touch sensor worth while.
M7 knows when you’re walking, running, or even driving. For example, Maps switches from driving to walking turn-by-turn navigation if, say, you park and continue on foot.
iPhone 5c
Looks better than I expected. I think we were all slightly fooled into believing that it would be JUST solid colours. While it is kind of, Apple brought forth their 80’s looking silicon cases that add contrast and variations in different color combinations. It think it looks fun. Overall, I feel this might just be Jony Ive’s most “pure” iteration of the iPhone to date, even more so than the 5s. The five variations are right from the new iOS 7 color palette.
“We believe the iPhone is an experience. And experience is defined by hardware and software working harmoniously together. We continue to refine that experience by blurring the boundaries between the two,” Ive says early on in the video. The words are spoken as only a man now in charge of both hardware and software design can speak.
But essentially, the 5c is just a plastic polycarbonate 5. The only downer is that off-contract, it is $545 for the 16GB model, which is only $100 less than the base iPhone 5s model. I thought it would have been cheaper in the $350 USD range.
On Apple’s new iPhone strategy
The most controversial aspect of today’s event was iPhone pricing. I see a schism developing among the tech punditry. On one hand, there is the belief that market share is king and Apple must address the bottom of the market because developers will begin to focus on Android’s sheer numbers instead of iOS. On the other side, where I stand, market share is not created equal. It is okay if Apple doesn’t address the lower end of the market since five consumers who don’t buy mobile apps or content is not equal to one who does. Looking at today’s events, I think Apple is doing the right thing gradually moving down market (iPhone 4 and 4S have not been discontinued). This strategy will only expand in coming years. With approximately 400M-500M (and growing) active iOS users with credit cards, I view the iOS ecosystem as now self-sustaining, capable of app innovation as long as the hardware and software back developers up. If I changed sides and instead only looked at market share, I’m sure I would have been championing Symbian, then Blackberry, and now Android. Market share is not everything.
I fully agree and could not have said it any better myself. We should all start following @SammyWalrusIV on Twitter.
Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden are the world’s happiest countries, according to the survey of 156 countries. Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Benin and Togo — all nations in Sub-Saharan Africa — are the least satisfied with their lives, the report said.
The United States came in at number 17 in the world in terms of overall happiness, but it still lags behind Canada (6), Australia (10), Israel (11) the United Arab Emirates (14) and Mexico (16), according to the Earth Institute.
It’s really interesting to see how the most socialist countries are often the most happiest. And Copenhagen was recently crowed the best city to live in the entire world. If you ever wondered how these Scandinavian nations are able to make money, check out this video on their economic system.
As a Canadian, I am happy to see that the country I live in is ranked 6th. And the only North American country in the top 10. I’ve been to many countries around the world and I can say that they all are beautiful in their own unique ways. I love learning about different cultures and traditions. Better yet, I love trying new foods! However, there is nothing that really beats the thrill of landing back at Pearson International airport in Toronto.
The 10 commandants for happiness and success
Don’t compare yourself to others.
Only surround yourself with brilliant and positive people.
Don’t be afraid to fail, failure is the best thing that could happen to you.
Find your vocation and have pleasure doing it.
Be careful when listening to people.
Be generous, share when you can.
Stay healthy, eat healthily, exercise and balance your life.
Don’t be afraid to disappoint anyone.
Don’t watch TV and don’t follow the media too much.
Have strong values and stick to them, no matter what.
These are some excellent points that we should all live our lives by. The last one happens to be my favourite.
New connections can allow these cells to operate at solar concentrations of 70,000 suns
“We have discovered that by inserting a very thin film of gallium arsenide into the connecting junction of stacked cells we can virtually eliminate voltage loss without blocking any of the solar energy,” says Dr. Salah Bedair
Essentially, scientists will be able to harness significantly more solar energy in the same square footage of panels. More efficient and effective renewable energy coming soon to a roof near you!
Infectious diseases don’t care about ‘why’ you choose to be unvaccinated
Most people have not lived in a time of plagues or remember their effects. Most people do not read history or look at the morbidity and mortality of vaccine-preventable illnesses in the third world. But the reality is that vaccine-preventable illness are still there and the barriers to prevent their return are surprisingly fragile. It doesn’t take much thinning of herd immunity to allow vaccine-preventable illnesses to come storming back.
Sadly, we live in a time to people in America being too comfortable. We have the likes of Jenny McCarthy wrongly linking vaccinations to her child’s autism.
Tesla Model S outperforms an Aston Martin
It is the future… today. It offers most of the usability of the world’s best luxury saloons, but with no tailpipe emissions and a fraction of the running costs. And it handles too.
Just look at those corner turns and acceleration. Simply exhilarating.
Elon Musk is pretty much Tony Stark
The system uses the Leap Motion controller to track hand gestures. Implementations of the system include a version using 3D glasses, a free-standing glass projection (as seen in Iron Man) and the Oculus Rift headset for the full virtual reality experience. To top it all off, the team then printed the part in titanium using a 3D laser metal printer.
What can’t Elon do? He is so going to Mars in his lifetime.
Pope Francis tells G20 to not engage in military action in Syria
“To the (G20) leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.