jeudi 6 octobre 2011

iSad : R.I.P Steve Jobs



5th October 2011 is a day to remember : Steve Jobs passed away after struggling with pancreatic cancer. He was the Chairman of Apple and former CEO of the company. His innovation to the making of smartphones, personal computers, mass market products for digital animation and other tablet devices is unforgettable : iMac, iPhone, iPod, iPad... you name it – they all have Jobs' mark on them – the iRevolution in the IT industry.

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”

Steve Jobs' death is indeed a great loss to the world. The entire world will definitely miss this visionary. Like many geniuses, he left too soon. He was only 56... Nobody expects such a tragic news. It was due to his pancreatic cancer that he had to resign as Apple's CEO last August. However, the last hours of his life was still filled with inspirational moments, which largely fed the mind of his inventors.

Though Bill Gates was the first one to put computer on every desk, but it was Jobs who had dared to put it in every home, and every room. With the passing years, he was also the one to put them in everyone's hand and pocket with the introduction of the iPhone and the iPad. The entire world uses smart phones invented by him. Moreover, he also brought about a great change in which movies (Pixar) are produced and music is sold (iTunes).



It was largely Steve Jobs' contribution that made Apple such a valuable company in the entire world taoday. He was not just a great businessman, a perfectionist but he was also a true philanthropist. His family members, especially his sister claimed that it was his hard work and willingness to succeed, his love to learn along with keen dedication to the family that made him the person he was to this day. Even though he struggled deeply and physically in his last hours, yet his sister claims that “death didn’t happen to Steve, he achieved it.” During his last hours, he was surrounded by his family members, and the words “Oh Wow. Oh Wow. Oh Wow” led to Steve Jobs death.

Many leaders and people around the world have paid their tribute to Steve Jobs. Apple has even dedicated a page to him : Remembering Steve Jobs . Giving the opportunity for people around the world to post messages and share their stories.

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Steve Jobs has achieved so many things in a wide variety of fields. He was a truly an inspirational person and is one of the reasons  he will be remembered by the world for ever.




mardi 4 octobre 2011

Let’s Talk iPhone: iPhone 5 ... iPhone 4S

Hello nerd herd !

If you were among all those who thought the next iPhone release would be the iPhone 5 – raise your hands !  - I AM !

Recently in San Francisco, Apple held its “Let’s Talk iPhone” event. Tim Cook was giving his first presentation as CEO since Steve Jobs stepped down last August.

Here are the specs of the new iPhone 4S :
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-4/specs.html
http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

Among those I have to highlight :
  • the powerful A5 processor chip – it will definitely upgrade the iPhone's performance
  • the 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording
  • the super display
  • the improved battery life span
  • Siri : the intelligent virtual voice assistant - THE coolest feature on the iPhone !!!

Here's one of the examples given by Scott Forstall during the event was : asking about the weather forecast.

Scott asked - “What is the weather like today ?” Siri brings up the weather forecast of the day saying “Here's the weather for today”. Forstall explained how Siri not only understand the words one can say but it understands the meaning of what is being said. The way of putting a query to Siri can be done in various way but Siri will still understand what you are asking.

A variation proposed by Forstall was “What is the hourly forecast?”, same response from Siri – providing the weather forecast for the day. Forstall only mentionned that you could ask more conceptual questions like “Do I need a raincoat today?” And Siri answered by saying “It sure looks like rain today” and displaying the weather forecast. Siri understands the concept of raincoat, umbrella and other key words that might relate to the weather and replies accordingly.

Siri has been integrated with different applications on iOS : the clock, the alarm clock, reminders, calender, maps, messages... Using voice commands, various tasks can be done hands free ! I found Scott Forstall's wrap up hilarious and pretty cool when he asked Siri “Who are you?” and Siri replied “I am a humble personal assistant”.

My review is going to be short this time. I will be talking about the iPhone 4S later on.  But in the mean time don't hesitate to send your comments on the event, the iPhone 4S or Tim Cook's performance during the presentation.


UPDATE !: Here's the video of the Siri demo :