Siri isn’t dumb, she’s less consistent

Everyone loves to hate on Siri. The common trope equates to her being dumb or not up to par with the other voice assistants (largely being Alexa and Google Voice Assistant). I believe this perception largely comes from Siri’s greatest opportunity for…

Lance Somoza

Apr 16, 2018

Nikola Tesla predicted the smartphone in 1926

I saw this through Daring Fireball and just had to share. Here’s the relevant bit of a Tesla interview with Collier’s magazine in 1926:

When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain…

Lance Somoza

Apr 14, 2018

watchOS 4.3.1 suggests future support for third party watch faces

Guilherme Rambo for 9to5Mac found some interesting code in watchOS 4.3.1 that hints at third party watch faces:

[…] A component of the NanoTimeKit framework, responsible for the watch faces…

Lance Somoza

Apr 13, 2018

Chrome and Firefox will support a new standard for password-free logins

Russel Brandom for The Verge:

Web browsers are building a new way for you to log in, announced today by the W3C and FIDO Alliance standards bodies. Called WebAuthn, the new open…

Lance Somoza

Apr 13, 2018

Apple offers extended three year repair program for iPad Pro Smart Keyboards

Jordan Kahn for 9to5Mac:

Apple has launched a new extended repair program for its Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro, allowing customers experiencing certain issues with the…

Lance Somoza

Apr 13, 2018

How Google identifies who’s talking

From the Google Research Blog

People are remarkably good at focusing their attention on a particular person in a noisy environment, mentally “muting” all other voices and sounds. Known as the cocktail party effect, this capability comes…

Lance Somoza

Apr 9, 2018

Wired’s ‘4 Best Smartphones’ list omits iPhone X

Wired published a list of ‘The 4 Best Smartphones Money Can Buy In 2018’ earlier today, crowning Google Pixel 2 as ‘the best overall’, while ommitting iPhone X.

Lance Somoza

Apr 9, 2018

I am jealous of the new (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

From the Apple Newsroom:

Cupertino, California — Apple today announced iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition, the new generation of iPhone in a stunning red finish. Both phones…

Lance Somoza

Apr 6, 2018

A Healthcare IT Consultant’s take on Facebook’s play for patient data

Christina Farr for CNBC:

Facebook has asked several major U.S. hospitals to share anonymized data about their patients, such as illnesses and prescription info, for a proposed research…

Lance Somoza

Apr 5, 2018

Redesigned Mac Pro coming in 2019

Last year, in a move of unprecedented transparency, Apple invited a few journalists and bloggers to their campus to discuss the future of Mac Pro (as well as admit some mistakes in the current iteration’s design).