MacNoob

October 14^th, 2011. Mark that date. I believe history will treat it as the day we began using speech to interact with our computers. It is the day Apple released the iPhone 4S with Siri, the automated assistant built exclusively into the 4S. Before I elaborate, a brief disclaimer. I am an unapologetic geek and a huge Apple fan. Having said that, I honestly believe I’m being objective when I predict Siri will be viewed as a transformative technological innovation.

Apple describes Siri as an “intelligent assistant”. After using it for just three weeks, I believe their description is accurate. We’ve been able to speak commands in varying degrees to our computers, cars and smartphones for some time now. So, what’s new and/or different about Siri? A lot. First, Siri doesn’t restrict what you ask or tell it. For example, my car is a 2006 model and uses voice input to dial phone numbers, set the A/C temperature or change the radio station, but I have to remember the exact commands and speak them clearly (and in just the right sequence) for the system to work. Not much intelligence there. Siri, by contrast really seems to understand the English language. For instance, I can ask Siri to “Tell Katherine dinner is at 6” and it is smart enough to know I want to send Katherine a text message. Siri responds, “I have created a new text message for Katherine” then displays “Dinner is at 6″ and asks, “Would you like me to send it?” I simply say yes and the text message is sent. Not extremely groundbreaking, I agree, but if instead of saying “yes” I said “Change that to 5:30“, Siri is smart enough to change the text message to read, “Dinner is at 5:30″! That’s my second point. The artificial intelligence built into Siri understands commands contextually. Siri knew I wanted to change dinnertime. It didn’t try to send a text message to “5-3-0″ or create a new message, “Change that to 5:30″. It responded like a human would. This is far beyond any voice recognition system I have ever used and light years ahead of what the Germans programmed into my sedan.

Siri also remembers relationships. I told Siri, “Ann Kelley is my wife” and after a confirmation, Siri remembers it forever or until I change it (I really hope I never have a reason to do that!). The same goes for all my daughters. So, when I ask Siri, “Tell the family my flight arrives at 8“, it creates an MMS to my wife and three daughters, “My flight arrives at 8″ and sends the message to all four. The same works with other relationships or nicknames like “boss”, “secretary”, “butt-head” and “landlord” or just about anything you can think of. Along the same vein, with a free iPhone app called “Find My Friends” I can ask Siri “Where is Katherine?” and up pops a map with the location of Katherine’s iPhone. I naturally assume that’s where Katherine is because if she gets more than a few feet away from her iPhone she has nervous tremors.

Siri is also very valuable when you travel. I was in Corpus Christi last week for business and didn’t know my way around too well. When I got hungry one evening I asked Siri, “What’s a good Mexican restaurant nearby?” and a list of Tex-Mex joints popped up on the screen complete with distance to, ratings and price ranges. Since I asked for a “good” restaurant the results were sorted by rating. Out of curiosity I rephrased the question to “Where is the closest Mexican restaurant?” and the same list appeared, but this time it was sorted from nearest to farthest. After dinner I asked Siri “How do I get back to the Hampton Inn?” and a map popped up on the screen with pushpins showing my current location and the hotel plus two different highlighted routes to get me there. While I was driving back to the hotel I received a text message. I asked Siri, “Read the text message” and Siri replied telling me it was from Robert and read the message, “When would you like to meet tomorrow?” I told Siri, “Reply 8:30 AM” and Siri sent “8:30 AM” in response and my hands never left the steering wheel. Next I asked Siri to “Create an appointment with Robert for 8:30 tomorrow morning.” and after a confirmation the new appointment was added to my calendar. When I was ready for bed back at the hotel I asked Siri to “Wake me up at 6:30“. Siri responded “I have set an alarm for 6:30 AM, Joe“, and did so. (Siri will refer to you using any name you wish. I tried “Your Highness” first, but that just sounded weird.)

Another thing that makes Siri so amazing is there’s no training involved. I didn’t have to memorize a list of things I could ask (like my car system made me do) and I didn’t have to train Siri to recognize my voice like Microsoft’s voice recognition software. I just picked up my iPhone and started using it. Does it make mistakes? Sure. Nothing’s perfect, but it is astounding just how accurate it is. Unscientifically, I’d estimate Siri gets it right about 75% of the time and the more I use it, the better it gets. I think that’s because I’m getting better at communicating with it and it is learning what I expect. I’m also learning that a good network connection is absolutely essential. Since Siri’s brains reside on Apple’s servers in North Carolina, a good 3G or Wi-Fi signal is necessary to send your requests. The only thing happening on the iPhone itself is the recording of your voice. That recording is then sent to Apple’s servers where those really powerful computers interpret your recording and formulate a response. That’s why Siri is so effective. With a good network connection Siri is also very fast. Even the most complex request takes only a second or two. Siri even understands Texan quite well (something I’ve found to be problematic with other voice recognition software). My wife jokes that I sound like I’m talking to a girlfriend when I converse with Siri (who’s automated female voice is just short of human). That’s the way it is, like a very natural conversation.

Currently, Siri is officially “beta” software. That’s geek speak for “not fully baked”. It also means that in addition to admitting bugs, Apple is just getting started with this technology. Some tech pundits predict Siri will be implemented on all Apple devices in the near future. I tend to agree. Given how well Siri works today, it’s bound to be completely astonishing a couple of years from now. Don’t misunderstand, we’re still a long way from HAL 9000, but Siri is the first voice recognition application I’ve ever been tempted to say “Thank you” to.

Tweet

When the first iPhone became available two years ago, I wanted one worse than anything. Unfortunately, I was locked into a contract with Verizon that wouldn’t expire for ten months. Of course, by the time that contract was done we knew the 3G version of the phone was eminent, so I waited a tad more. The lines (and frenzy) subsided a few days after the 3G launch, so I went and got my 16 GB phone at my local Apple store for $299 and said goodbye to Verizon. I was completely thrilled.
The first couple of months were rocky. I had to restore the thing no less than four times before Apple fixed enough bugs in the 2.0 software to keep the phone from crashing into an un-bootable state. Since then, life with my device has been grand. It has become so much a part of my daily existence, I don’t know how I got along without it.
Last Monday at the WWDC keynote we got the official word that the 3GS model would be available this month with a beefed-up processor, a compass and voice commands that my 3G wouldn’t have. My techno-lust immediately went into overdrive. As soon as the day’s sessions were over I went to Apple’s website to see just how much this new bangle would set me back. To my chagrin, the 16 gig model was $399 and the 32 gig was $100 more and I wouldn’t be eligible for an AT&T upgrade until 12/15/2009. Crap! At that point I’m thinking I’ll get my “S” model for Christmas. I’m an admitted fanboy, but I’m no idiot (my opinion only, think what you like). There’s no way I’m going to pay double what a new AT&T customer pays, no matter how much I want the phone. Its not the $200, its the principle. I immediately sent a “nasty-gram” to AT&T Wireless expressing my dissatisfaction with their pricing model. From what I hear, I was not alone.
As I prepared to write this, I visited Apple’s site again to make sure I had my facts straight and a curious thing happened. The $399 – $499 pricing was the same, but my upgrade eligibility date changed from 12/15/09 to 7/15/09! I thought this was a fluke, so I went to the AT&T site and the results were the same. Something has changed (in my favor) in the last week. Did AT&T cave to the mass protest from 3G owners? I’ll be curious to see what happens on July 15th.

Update: AT&T has made it official. On their site:

“we are changing the date when some iPhone 3G customers are eligible for our best upgrade pricing on the new iPhone 3G S. Beginning June 19, iPhone 3G customers eligible for an upgrade in July, August, or September will get our best upgrade price of $199 (16 GB) and $299 (32 GB).”

 Email This Post

I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about podcasts lately. More specifically, “What’s a podcast?” I know anyone who reads this blog is familiar with podcasts, but sometimes I forget there’s a whole world of Windows users and other computer illiterates who are unfamiliar with the concept of RSS feeds, iTunes and the world of new media. Since this blog is geared toward the new Mac user (i.e. someone intelligent enough to make a proper computer buying decision), I thought it might be a good idea to share some of my experience with netcasts (the brand-neutral term for podcasts).
I’ve been listening to podcasts for about three years now since buying my first iPod in 2006. I have a 30+ minute (one way) commute every day and since discovering on-line media I rarely ever listen to the radio any more. Instead, my drive time is filled with entertaining and educational podcasts that run the gamut from NPR to Diggnation. One of my first discoveries after buying my iPod was just how many hundreds of podcasts there are to choose from, both video and audio only. With big selection comes big confusion and it’s hard to trust reviews in the iTunes store.  Believe me, there are some real stinkers out there.  Once a week I’ll be reviewing my favorites until I run out.  Maybe it will spare you some of the trial and error I went through.
This week’s selection is my absolute favorite, No Agenda [link opens iTunes] with Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak or, as they like to say, Crackpot and The Buzzkill. Adam is an American living in London and is sometimes called the “Podfather” (by whom I don’t know, but it’s in Wikipedia, so it must be true) for his pioneering work in the new medium. John C. Dvorak is a long-time (since the ‘80s) tech journalist and television personality from the early ZDTV (later named TechTV) days based in San Francisco. These two share an amazing chemistry and their conversations about a range of topics make for very entertaining listening. The show’s title is an accurate description of its’ subject matter which can vary from world politics to food and wine and anywhere in between, all with an international perspective tossed in. The nicknames Crackpot and The Buzzkill [which they seem to enjoy] are derived from an only slightly exaggerated description of their personas. Adam’s take on things can sometimes make a conspiracy theorist blush, while John could turn the second coming into an overbooked dinner party. Together, they just work. Each hour and a half show, recorded twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays, is fresh and surprising because you never know what they’re going to talk about. I sometimes wonder if they know before they start recording. I think the impromptu nature of the production is what makes it so entertaining. That, plus the fact that these guys go together like sweet-n-sour. Their very professional combination results in much more than their sums.
One word of caution. I’d have to give No Agenda an “R” rating. Definitely not for the kids, but it is one of a very few shows that can make me drive around the block a couple of times instead of turning into the driveway.

 Email This Post

I know Apple knows what I want and need better than I do.  Let me rephrase that.  I know Apple thinks it knows what I want and need better than I do.  In their infinite wisdom, the decision-makers in Cupertino have decided video of any kind won’t be allowed on the iPhone.  Maybe they think the toll on precious battery life will be too great.  Maybe it’s because they know the tiny ARM processor can’t process more than 15 frames per second and they don’t want people to gripe about poor quality…and you know they would!  Maybe it’s a combination of the two, who knows?  In any case, Apple makes its product decisions based on what they think will make the largest group of consumers pleased enough to shell out [usually a premium] for their goods.  For the more geeky of us, that usually means some features we’d like get left out for the greater good.  One can’t argue with Apple’s success.  They’re obviously doing something a lot of things right.

Everybody knows cell phone video is basically crap, right?  The old LG 8100 I bought four years ago recorded video and it was crap, but I’m not Steven Speilberg either.  I just enjoyed having the feature to capture small, impromptu clips of my kids doing silly things or of my drunken friends making asses out of themselves.  The point is, the iPhone’s lack of video is what sent me down the jailbreak path in the first place.  Having a phone that does so many other things well, yet can’t capture even crappy video seems like a huge omission on Apple’s part, but then I’m one of the “more geeky” outliers.  Enter the iPhone dev team.  Within an hour of downloading QuickPwn, my iPhone 3G was jailbroken, synced and loaded with the Cycorder app.  Viola!  Crappy video!  That’s all I wanted and all I expected.

Qik and Ustream have taken cell phone video to the next level by providing the infrastructure for live streaming, and it’s FREE!  Qik was the first and when I heard of them I thought it was cool, but didn’t immediately get why someone would want to stream crappy video to the internet.  A few days later, I was watching the news on TV and there it was!  A reporter in some war zone streaming crappy video.  Not via a cell phone, but crap none the less.  The whole point of this capability is the same as any other phone application, portability.  Now, anywhere I can get a 3G or wi-fi connection, I have the capability to stream.  Robert Scoble was one of the first tech notables to utilize the Qik technology when he shoved his Nokia in the faces of numerous dignitaries at last year’s G8 conference.  I watched a couple of his “interviews” on YouTube and while I admired the technology, the interviewees looked at Robert like he had a screw loose which gave the whole activity a comical flavor.  I think the idea was far too “leading edge” for the old codgers who make up the dignitaries attending the G8.  My uses for this tech aren’t nearly so ambitious.

Downloading the Qik and USTREAM apps from Cydia was a snap, and both let you sign up for their free service right on the phone, even though I didn’t.  Both sites also provide the embed code for your stream, so adding them to the MacNoob.net web site TV page was a snap.  On the iPhone, both apps automatically log you in, so streaming is as simple as launching the app and touching the “broadcast” button.  You can tell Qik is the more mature of the two apps.  It provides quite a few more setup options than USTREAM and even lets you monitor real-time stream data like frame rate and resolution.  One really neat feature of the USTREAM app is its’ ability to conduct a simple YES/NO poll while you stream and then their web service e-mails you the results.  I haven’t done any sort of deep analysis of the video for either app, but I’m guessing the [320 x 240] frame rate is somewhere around 10 and the sound is surprisingly good on both.  It seems to be the same on wi-fi and 3G.  Neither app will let you stream with an EDGE connection.  I’ve streamed (and recorded) a couple of videos of our daughter and me while the wife watched on her laptop some 2500 miles away on a business trip.  For her it was much more enjoyable than the usual phone call, even though the quality was less than great.  I also plan to live stream from some upcoming events I’m planning to attend.  WWDC will probably be the first.  I may use it to augment the MacNoob podcast once it’s launched.  One thing is for sure: My iPhone will stay jailbroken as long as Apple rejects video apps like Qik and USTREAM.  But I’m a geek.

 Email This Post

Yesterday’s introduction of “High Definition” (in quotes because there doesn’t seem to be a good definition of the term) movies to the iTunes store leaves no doubt about Apple’s intentions to compete in the movie space the same way it does with music.  It was a move they had to make if they want to keep up with the big digital players like DirecTV, Dish, Netflix and Amazon and with physical media.

I’m a DirecTV customer and have a PS3 and a Dell Studio PC for my Blu-ray needs on two separate entertainment centers.  One includes a 52” Sony XBR 1080p LCD and the other a Samsung 52” 1080p LCD.  To say I’ve been disappointed with the quality of DirecTV’s HD content would be accurate for the most part.  The so-called “Premium” channels (HBO HD, Showtime HD & Starz HD) have never impressed me with their picture quality.  Compression artifacts have always been a problem as is contrast, especially in darker scenes.  My quality reference is a recent Blu-ray release of Indiana Jones playing on my PS3 to the Sony LCD.  Home movie viewing just doesn’t get any better.  The PS3 is still arguably the best Blu-ray player and while not the latest Sony offering, the 52” XBR4 is one hell of a fine display.  The point of all this name-dropping is to establish that I have some fairly solid equipment for testing HD quality.

Back to Apple.  The iTunes store has become nearly ubiquitous.  The stunning success of the iPod and iPhone has made that a reality.  Movie purchase and rental was a logical outgrowth of Apple’s music business, the largest in the world.  Before yesterday, I thought the movies offered by Apple in standard definition (853 x 362) were quite good, even on a 52” screen.  The quality is nowhere near that of Blu-ray, but even though the resolution is a bit less than DVD (720 x 480) the picture quality is comparable.  One major downfall of Apple’s format is the audio.  So far, every movie I’ve downloaded is only available with stereo sound.  That’s great for an iPod or laptop, but I find I miss 5.1 surround sound when viewing Apple’s downloads on one of my entertainment centers.  I guess Apple is trying to keep the file sizes low to make downloading less painful, but good audio doesn’t add that much and I have to believe it’s just a matter of time before this gets upgraded.  For now we’re stuck with synthesizing Pro Logic to fill all the speakers.

Apple appears to be taking a few “baby steps” into the high definition movie market (just like they did when they first offered movies).  There are only 12 titles currently available with a couple more available for pre-order.  To test the ecosystem, I selected Transporter 3 from the HD Movie gallery and iTunes took me to the usual detail page with a $19.99 “BUY HD MOVIE” button added to the page just above the usual $14.99 “BUY MOVIE” one.  Clicking the HD button began the download immediately (I have one-click purchases turned on).  What’s different is both versions of Transporter 3 began downloading, a 3 GB high definition file and a 1 GB standard def.  This was a bit of a surprise, but after I thought about it a minute the reason was obvious.  The standard def version is for your iPod or iPhone.  This is a nice addition, and something Apple didn’t have to do, I suppose.  An hour later [using my 6 Mb internet connection] both files were on my Mac.  One curious addendum: iTunes only lists the HD version in my library even though both files are in my “Movies” folder.

I was anxious to see what the new format looked like on my big screen so I started iTunes on my Vista media center PC, browsed to the shared library on my Mac and began playing the movie over my wireless N connection.  It was a little jerky for the first few seconds, but then it settled down and streamed flawlessly.  The picture was beautiful, and while not quite Blu-ray quality, I had to look closely to tell the difference and it was certainly better than the so-called high definition offered by DirecTV.  iTunes lists the resolution at 1280 x 544, but I just call it sharp!  Motion was smooth and the color was quite nearly perfect.  The H.264 codec Apple employs is [obviously] far superior to the compression method used by DirecTV.  If quality is your only deciding factor when choosing between the two, Apple wins hands down.  Another plus for Apple is portability.  When I record something on my satellite DVR, that’s where it has to stay.  I can’t even watch it from another DirecTV DVR in my home even though the two are networked.  DirecTV has recently offered a beta version of their software (Windows only) to run on a PC, but it is still too buggy for “lean back” viewing, and forget ever getting satellite content onto your iPod.

The downside?  Apple is charging twenty bucks per movie.  Compared to Blu-ray, it’s quite competitive but an on-demand DirecTV HD movie is $4.95.  It’s easy to give up a little quality and portability to pay 25% of the iTunes rate.  Apple is obviously not trying to compete with the satellite companies.  The Blu-ray market is a different matter.  Right now, assuming availability won’t be a problem soon, I’d say Apple has a leg up on the physical media HD standard.  With new Blu-ray releases going for $25-30 a pop, the $20 Apple offering is a visual equivalent (for most people) and you don’t have to leave your chair to buy one.  Plus, you can put a version on your iPod at no additional cost.  I was disappointed when Transporter 3 only played a stereo soundtrack but I’m not sure most people will care.

The next few months will be interesting.  Will Apple greatly expand their HD offering?  Will they offer Dolby 5.1 or TrueHD audio?  Is a higher resolution format in the works?  One thing that’s not in question: Apple is going after the Blu-ray market.  And, with infinitely more copies of iTunes out there than Blu-ray players, they may have a shot.

 Email This Post

When Amazon released the original Kindle in ’07 I bought one for my wife the first day.  She is a voracious reader (as am I) and I really thought she would enjoy it.  The only problem is, the books she tends to read aren’t always available in the Kindle store.  She’s an executive for a Fortune 500 company and her reading taste gravitates towards management theory and work redesign.  Neither genre tends to show up on the NYT best-seller list.  She does find time to do some casual reading and really enjoys the instant gratification the Kindle store provides.  Our ten-year-old daughter, on the other hand, has no trouble finding titles for the Kindle and [thank God] her appetite for reading is every bit as large as her mother’s and mine.  Can you guess where I’m going with this?  Three avid readers + one Kindle = conflict.

When Jeff Bezos announced the Kindle 2 last month I immediately began conjuring a $359 justification.  I have no huge complaints about our original Kindle.  In fact, it has almost become my exclusive book reading format.  I just wanted the new Kindle because it is, well, new.  With no birthdays approaching and Christmas nearly ten months away, I needed a good story to present to the finance committee (my wife) for approval.  I thank God every day for that paradigm because without her to check my techno-lust, things would get out of control in a hurry.  That’s a topic for another day.

Enter the Kindle app for the iPhone.  When I first heard about it I couldn’t believe it.  I guess I’ve grown so accustomed to Apple’s way of doing things that the concept of a free application that effectively eliminates the need for another $359 piece of hardware has become completely foreign to me.  I still want a new Kindle, but nothing short of loss or complete failure of our existing model will facilitate that purchase now.  Anyway, I went straight to the App Store, downloaded and installed the new Kindle app on my iPhone and Pod Touch.  I must admit to being a little skeptical at first.

After all, my 52-year-old eyes need a slightly enlarged font on the Kindle.  The much smaller iPhone screen would have to be a much bigger challenge, right?  WRONG.  The iPhone screen more than makes up for the smaller font with infinitely better contrast.  In fact, I think the iPhone reading experience is every bit as good as that of the Kindle.  For certain, turning pages with a finger flick feels more natural than the Kindle’s button method and the much-ballyhooed  accidental page turn is almost impossible on the phone.  Amazon let me quickly download any of my purchased books I wanted and the “Whispersync” took me to the right spot when I opened my current read.  One thing missing from the iPhone app is the ability to browse or purchase books directly from the Kindle store.  For that you’ll need to use a computer or the Kindle.  It’s a minor inconvenience and I can’t help but think that feature will show up in a future release (if Apple & AT&T don’t object).  Aside from that, adding or navigating to bookmarks, changing the font size, synchronizing and getting back to the main menu is completely intuitive after simply tapping the screen.  In short, after installing the app I had all my books, was reading and felt completely comfortable with it within five minutes.  Also, no more squabbling over the only Kindle in the house.  The only down side, I’m going to need to get really creative if I ever want a Kindle 2!

 Email This Post