Thanks to Our Wired World, We’re Running Out of Numbers

As our dependence on mobile technology grows, our need for more numbers to link those magical devices grows too.

SO much so, mobile service providers and governments are coming up with more creative ways to keep us from running out of numbers.

They can do what is taking place in Canada’s largest city today – Toronto gets two new area codes as of today, 437 and 365.

This adds a millions of potential phone combinations to an already crowded see of 10-digit codes.

Or you can go the way of some big service providers, which encourage you to have one number which is shared among all your mobile devices.

Alternatively, you could cut the cord with your phone company, and go completely digital, using a Voice Internet Protocol (VOIP) based service such as Skype.

Maybe that’s why software giant Microsoft recently bought out Skype – which incidentally is giving out free VOIP calling for one month, to current MSN account holders, to lure them over to their newly acquired messaging platform.

All of these solutions work – for now.

What happens when Apple’s iWatch, Samsung’s version of the iWatch and Google Glass from the search engine company hit the streets later this year?

Think about all the numbers most people currently have – home landline, office landline, their personal smartphone and tablet, and then their work smartphone.

Some even have separate lines for their home office and home – both landline and mobile.

We’re swamped in a vast ocean of 10-digit dialing.

I remember years ago, when we only had to dial seven digits to connect over the phone. That’s before we got the addition of ONE – just one area code to our major urban area.

Now here in Toronto, we have six – SIX – area codes, and you’d never not dial the area code plus the number you are dialing.

As technical advances release us from the cables and cords of the past, allowing us to be free, and still be wired to the world, we’ll need to work together to ensure we don’t run out of numbers to connect our wireless devices.

Otherwise, regardless of how wonderful the tech is, it’ll be useless.

Wearable Tech and Its Impact on the Modern You

As wearable technologies like Google Glass and the rumoured Apple iWatch are making headlines – and neither product has been released to consumers yet – it raises the real question, just how life changing will all this tech you wear be?

Very life changing.

Immensely life changing.

Imagine the cute salesperson trying to sell you a new whatchamacallit starts flirting with you big time. You’re instantly attracted to the bright eyes bashing about you – but you don’t know anything about this person.

Using your Google Glasses, you conduct a Google search of the person’s face, and instantly find from their Facebook profile that they went to the same university, studied Environmental Studies, have a dog, and appear to post a lot about hating their work – which is where you are now.

Hmmm.

You bring up their LinkedIN profile and see they used to be a manager of a bank, and have worked on and off in retail and telemarketing.

Hmmm.

You check out their Twitter page and see they recently had a sex change.

Moving on.

Despite the fictional scenario, all of those things – and more – could be quite possible if the smart folks at Google use technologies already widely available – facial recognition, voice commands, and the ability to access search results from those voice commands.

Aside from a lot of lonely nights for our fictitious sales person, what if the reverse happened to you, but instead of a potential date, you were being interviewed for a job?

We’ve all been warned not to post anything online that a potential employer might take offence too – but who listens to free advice these days?

As you sit there, describing yourself and where you want to be in five years, that potential employer could be seeing your drunken pictures posted on Google Plus, or that video you posted of your old boss picking her nose on YouTube.

Don’t worry, there are lots of other great places to work.

Even the rumoured iWatch – and we all know most products Apple leaks out as rumours actually are released – could be a source of pain for those in the hot seat.

It’s bad enough when friends go out to spend a great time with each other, only to ignore each other most of the night as they gaze eyes-down into their mobile devices.

Only with the iWatch, those eyes will be on each other’s own wrists, texting, tweeting, posting updates, checking the scores of your favourite sports teams.

Kind of defeats the whole point of hanging with friends.

Though I suppose there is one benefit to all this wearable tech – unlike our phones which we put in our pockets, rarely do we take off our watches and glasses, so the excuse: “I accidentally tossed my tech in with my clothes wash,” just won’t hold.

But people lose watches all the time.

Hmmm. 

Honestly Apple, Really? NO

Today the tech world is swirling with yet another rumour about the latest product that might be coming from Apple – a cheaper version of its flagship iPhone.

The rumour says the “new” cheaper version, will have a larger screen, and a new design, and is economically priced for third-world economies.

For years, Apple’s marketing mantra has been to leak rumours, mis-information and in some cases actually intentionally leave prototypes of their latest tech in public places, to be mysteriously found and leaked to the world.

Remember when the prototype of an iPhone was “accidentally”left at a bar, and it’s grainy amateurish pictures went viral over the social networks?

This is how they “surprise” us with their product launches; to keep is guessing as to which rumours are true, and which ones weren't.

Honesty is the foundation of any relationship, except it would appear, if you are an Apple customer – gossip mongering is hardly an honourable form of communications.

Seriously Apple, when you first rumoured, leaked and yes – lied – about your future tech toys, it proved to be a very successful marketing campaign.

But come on now – we’re all a little older and wiser to this game, and we’re sick and tired of hearing about what may come.

Just tell it like it is. Give it to me straight up and honest. I can take it – and I bet so too can everyone else.

Real trend setters are constantly changing their tactics, because that’s how you set the standards everyone else wants to follow.

If you keep dancing to the same song, eventually others will get bored and just walk away – WALK AWAY I SAY.

We all miss Steve Jobs, and we've all heard the rumours that Apple won’t be the same without him.

Prove those rumours wrong, by giving us something more than just more rumours.

Apple’s iCloud Almost Killed My Outlook

I've said it before, and I’ll say it again – I love my iPhone. From a design, usability, and functionality point of view, it’s an amazing piece of tech.

But, as I've also said before and will say again – I hate Apple’s software which they force you to use on their devices.

Apple’s iTunes often crashes, must be uninstalled and then re-installed to resolve issues, and on more than several occasions, has simply stopped working for no reason whatsoever. One minute it was fully functional, the next it’s hung or “bricked.”

Being an old school techy, I tend to take a while to gravitate to new technologies. I read reviews, read up on bug reports, and wait until I see the initial bugs which come with all early stages of tech are resolved.

I’ve been keeping out of the cloud for this reason – it’s still a new and somewhat experimental technological marvel. I’m used to backing up everything – including my iPhone – to my computer.

However, there are some cool benefits to sharing data with the cloud. Responses to emails from my iPhone would be in my Outlook on my computer, and any other iOS device I share via Apple’s iCloud. All my photos, apps, and other data would be available in the cloud too.

If Apple’s iCloud wasn’t like their other software which is complete and utter garbage.

I’m a very tech-savvy person. You know that friend that you always call when your latest tech suddenly stops working and you can’t figure it out? I’m that friend.

I don’t know why I thought iCloud would be any better of an experience than Apple’s immature iTunes – I read lots of instances of conflicts between MS-Outlook and the iCloud. But there were work-arounds, so I figured, if I encountered one of the many problems I read about, at least I could fix it. (And I'm using MS-Outlook 2007, which is supposedly fully compatible with Apple's iCloud.)

At first, when I tried to just turn on iCloud on my computer, it kept freezing. I did a search, and just like iTunes, the solution was to uninstall the application on my computer, reboot my system, and re-install it fresh.

I did this, and voila – it worked. Though someone should be challenging the Apple software team about why their software becomes corrupted so easily, and OFTEN requires their CUSTOMERS to uninstall and re-install it!

Although iCloud said it would take less than a minute to sync my computer with the cloud, it took about five minutes, and when it was done, my Outlook looked like it had never been used – all my emails, contacts, calendars and notes were gone!

My iPhone, still had all the emails, contacts and calendars which it had originally, but nothing from my PC was on my iPhone which wasn't already there prior to this so-called iCloud ‘sync.’

Now, being a techy geek, I had anticipated potential problems, so I made a backup of my MS-Outlook PST file prior to doing this iCloud thing. I always keep backups, but I made sure to make a current one so I wouldn't lose anything should the iCloud prove as well designed as iTunes.

And that’s a good thing – I immediately turned off iCloud on my iPhone and PC. Uninstalled the iCloud Control Panel on my PC – no I didn't re-install it – are you mad?!?!?

Then I copied the backup MS-Outlook PST file over the now corrupted one by iCloud. All my emails, contacts, calendars and notes were restored. Though I lost a few notes on my iPhone which for some reason iTunes didn’t sync with my PC (which I also did just prior to this iCloud trial), everything was back to normal.

I could only imagine the horror a regular iOS device user (iPhone, iPad, iPod) may go through installing and using iCloud. Most people aren't as geeky as me, and probably wouldn't even know how to backup their MS-Outlook, let alone restore it.

Apple has come under fire recently, as their new iPhone and iPad mini aren't as groundbreaking, heart-stopping amazing tech releases which we came to expect under Steve Jobs.

Many critics claim that since Job’s death just over a year ago, Apple’s once bright star will start to dim.

I don’t think this dimming has as much to do with the tragic loss of Jobs, but instead has been building over time.

Apple started as a computer hardware company, when they launched the first Apple Computers. Their third generation Apple IIe desktop computers back in the 1980’s were the start of their popularity in the home. They were forced to create an operating system – software – for their hardware to run.

Software has always taken a back seat at Apple. Their software has been designed much like their hardware – visually stunning, and extremely user-friendly – almost innate for most people to figure out.

However, as a hardware company first and foremost, their software is always buggy to the point of failing to do what it’s supposed to.

Apple’s iTunes is clunky, crashes, needs to be re-installed, and often fails to sync properly.

My recent experience with Apple’s iCloud – it’s clunky, crashes, needs to be re-installed, and it failed to sync properly.

Sound familiar?

If Apple wants to remain the shining star which Steve Jobs created, it’ll have to start catching up on the software side of things – because although I love my iPhone, as most with these devices do – I can’t stand iTunes or the iCloud – as most forced to use this software probably do too.

Hey Apple – Love the iPhone, Fix the iTunes

The tech world is always buzzing with the latest rumors from Apple. 

Will the next iPhone have a virtual keyboard which projects itself onto any surface? How about a holo-beam, capable of projecting anything on the iPhone’s screen into thin air – similar to the holodeck on Star Trek The Next Generation, only much smaller? Will they introduce a male version of the digital personal assistant Siri, so you can choose whether your phone is male or female?

Apple has an amazing marketing machine. They get the word out about their products through the rumor mill. Usually, when a rumor is spread about a company’s products, services, or even the company itself, it is negative. But Apple intentionally creates rumors about potential products and product features to generate so much media and geekdom hype that come launch day, we’re all like meth addicts climbing the walls waiting for our next fix.

Apple’s products for the most part are also technological break-throughs that rock the world, and change the way we do things for ever.

Remember the original Sony Walkman? A massive -- by today’s standards -- square of plastic, with a row of control buttons on the side.

We’re not talking about the next generation Walkman, which had the CD-player in it, we’re talkin’ the original from the 1980’s – long before anyone had ever seen a metallic disc – unless you’re referring to a heavy metal rock band’s metal-painted record. Remember those?

Both the record and the audio cassette became history as CDs and DVDs took the world by storm.

But the real innovation which shook the world was Apple’s iPod – a tiny portable MP3 player, which allowed you to carry more music, and it was crystal clear because it was digital audio.

When Steve Jobs first announced the iPhone with his famous phrase “this changes everything,” he wasn’t lying.

Before the iPhone, all most of us did on cell phones was talk, text and occasionally surf the net, using really bad text-driven cell phone browsers.

Who would have thought we’d ask our Smartphone for directions, what the weather forecast will be like, or to name the song currently playing in the restaurant?

Apple’s marketing machine is slick and creative, but their hardware products are also equally impressive – if not more so.

However, Apple’s software is surprisingly really, really, REALLY awful. Or at least it is on my MS-Windows machine, which may also be part of the issue.

Whenever I plug my iPhone into my computer to charge and sync with iTunes, I always cringe, watching with a tummy-turning uneasiness to see how iTunes will screw up my iPhone today.

Unless you jailbreak your iPhone, you have to use Apple’s iTunes to download and update apps, podcasts, and the latest updates to the iPhone’s operating system -- iOS.

You’d think Apple would have put as much care into creating iTunes, as they did their iTunes-dependent devices – iPods, iPads and iPhones all require iTunes for content management, unless they are jailbroken.

Think again.

It’s as if iTunes has a mind all its own, some days it’s in a great mood, and syncs without any issues.

The next day, it gives me an error and refuses to sync. Sometimes all it takes is unplugging my iPhone, closing iTunes, and starting again. Sometimes I have to delete backup files. Sometimes I have to enter crazy chaotic command line codes from an MS-DOS prompt window. Sometimes I just say ?!?!?! it and reset my iPhone to factory settings, and then restore everything from my network’s backup.

iTunes sucks – no – it is a disaster of an application. My iPhone can be working perfectly, and iTunes may have worked just as perfectly previously. But without any updates or warnings to either, when I plug in the iPhone – poof – iTunes decides to go all meshuguna crazy on me, and throws a fit. 

Maybe it’s because of Apple’s long standing rivalry with Microsoft. I run MS-Windows machines – as do about 95 percent of the planet – so maybe the Windows version of iTunes isn’t as error-free as it’s more native Apple-based Operating System (the Mac OS)?

If it is – Apple – get over it. Not everyone using an iPhone is going to change their entire platform to conform to your standards.

Whatever the issue – Apple really needs to seriously fix iTunes. Although Apple let the genie out of the tech bottle by giving the world its first real Smartphone, they are no longer the only game in town.

Why I’ll Never Become a Mac

For those of you who know me, I LOVE my iPhone. I really do! I have over a 150 apps on the thing, and I’m constantly getting new apps that do amazing things.

 

And that is why I really do love my iPhone – it is an amazing mobile device.

Before the iPhone, we thought the ability to surf the Internet in clumsy, text-driven mobile browsers was as good as it was going to get.

As Steve Jobs was famous for saying: “this changes everything,” when he introduced the iPhone.

I get real-time updates from all my social networks on my iPhone, and I can respond in real-time, from anywhere. If I’m standing at a bus stop in Toronto, Canada, I can use a cool app on my iPhone to tell me when the next bus will arrive at the exact stop I’m at – it uses GPS and the latest traffic and scheduling info and it’s never – never – wrong.

If I’m at a bar or restaurant and there is a tune playing in the background I don’t know but like, I have an app that “listens” to the song, identifies it, and even displays the words in karaoke fashion so I can sing along!

I can shoot high quality HD video with my iPhone, cut a whole movie, and upload the piece to YouTube. 

I have an iPhone 4, not the iPhone 4s, so I don’t have Siri. But I have an app that closely mimics Siri (Vlingo) so I can say: “Call Parent’s home” and my iPhone dials my parent’s home. I can ask Vlingo to google things, create text-messages, and a few other cool things that Siri can do.

Oh, yeah, and it is a phone, with text-messaging and all that good stuff too.

Did I mention, I LOVE my iPhone.

Despite my love affair with my iPhone, I’ll never buy an Apple computer. All my life I’ve had PCs. From my first IBM PCjr, running at a staggering 4.77MHz, to my custom-made power computer, which I built myself, running at 1596 MHz – we’ve come a long way since the 80’s.

Not that Apple doesn’t produce cool tech – just look at their iPhone, iPad, even a lone single-purpose device like their original iPod was pretty cool.

But Apple computers are overpriced and as good as their hardware is, their software sucks. Before I get lynched by all the Mac Heads out there, hear me out.

What prompted this writing wasn’t an all-out attack on Apple. It was a software update to my iPhone’s operating system, iOS. Yesterday, I received notification that there was a new update available to my iOS, prompting me to install it.

I ignored it – for now and the immediate future.

Every time I’ve updated my iPhone’s iOS, I spend HOURS fixing, debugging and correcting it to make it work once again. On more than a few occasions – all but one so far – I’ve actually had to revert back to a backup of my iTunes from my network, to restore all my apps and data after an update.

 

Maybe iTunes is just exceptionally buggy – but it’s the software which Apple uses for all iOS devices – iPhone, iPad, iPod – to manage their content and update the operating system software. So you’d figure Apple would make sure it ran smooth as silk, because millions of people around the world are depending on iTunes, to keep their iOS devices up and running.

All operating systems, and most apps have regular recurring updates, but every time my Windows-based systems update, the process takes mere minutes – not HOURS – and I don’t usually have to panic about whether or not the update will cause my device to stop working.

I’ve learned, when Apple releases an update, wait a week or more before installing it, so they can work out the bugs.

I don’t have to do that for my MS-Windows systems.

When Apple updates the iOS, they actually format the hard drive, reset the phone to factory settings, and then re-install the operating system with the new and improved iOS.

When I update my MS-Windows systems, a small patch file is downloaded, and updates the parts of the program which have been modified, not the whole system.

There have been many comparisons between Steve Jobs and BillGates. Although they competed for market share in the highly competitive tech sector, they became good friends. But the approaches both took in deploying their products shows.

When Apple releases an update, they know they will get a lot of calls to tech support and people dropping into their Apple Stores seeking help to get their devices running again.

When Microsoft releases an update, they expect it’ll work on most of the computers out there, and don’t anticipate any need to offer additional support.

Maybe that’s why Apple’s products are so much more money? For the cost of a mid-range Mac, I can buy a far more powerful PC. Maybe Apple builds their constant need for tech support and personal customer attention into their product pricing?

Whatever the reason, although I’m sold on my iPhone 4, and looking forward to the iPhone 5 when it comes out, I’ll never switch to the Apple platform for computers.

Apple will have to work hard to earn that respect from me. And they can start by creating iTunes updates which don’t make me worry whether or not my iPhone will work afterwards.

iSociety -- How Rude?

There's been much talk of late about manners, technology and society. Seems the more technology brings us closer together, the further it takes us from being a civilized society.

No longer does one wait by the phone, or rush to the mailbox for an anticipated call or letter. Thanks to email, online chat and the social networks, we can now reach out to one another instantly.

But technology is also making our society -- well, to be blunt -- rude.

This past weekend for example, I decided to enjoy the summer-like sun by taking a hike in my local park trail. I always have my iPhone with me, and because of the amazingly warm wonderful weather, decided to take some pictures of Mother Nature in one of her good moods.

Being all alone, I had no one to hold my iPhone. So, I'd find a nice picnic table or park bench to rest my phone on, and using one of my self-photo timer apps to snap pics with me in them.

Picnic table Many picnic tables in this area have suffered burns from portable barbecues, but this one has been modified to incorporate a heatproof barbecue stand. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was sitting at one of these picnic tables, viewing some of the shots I snagged, when a couple came over and sat down next to me.

Odd, and awkward I thought -- usually people don't venture up to strangers like they used too. And if they do, it is only polite to ask if you can join them.

Then this couple -- not kids, probably married and in their 40's -- began setting up a picnic lunch. The man began fiddeling with his picnic basket, and the woman unfurled a plastic red and white checkered table cloth over the whole table. 

The table cloth actually covered part of me, and my iPhone, which prompted the woman to make her first and only contact with me -- "sorry" she said. Without a bat of an eyelash, or even the slightest hint of concern or interest in me, she adjusted the table cloth to cover the table, and leave me a small corner of space.

iDevices Make for an iSociety of Me's?

How rude!

I know, I don't own the picnic table, it isn't mine. But I was sitting there, obviously using it, the proper thing to do is to politely ask if you can join someone, and then ask if they can set up their picnic blanket. Not simply toss it over anyone and everyone already present, without a care in the world.

Not to slam one of my heros, but maybe Steve Jobs created a society of monsters by creating the iSociety we live in, unintentionally of course, when he first announced the iPod, the iPhone and then the iPad?

Steve Jobs shows off the white iPhone 4 at the 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference Español: Presentación del iPhone 4 por Steve Jobs en la Worldwide Developers Conference del año 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We spend so much time with our mobile devices interacting with those we know and care about, that when face-to-face communications with real people in the real world occurs, we just don't know how to deal.

But there is more to it than that. Because we spend so much time interacting within our iSociety, we have lost the one thing which separates us from the animals.

That one thing makes or breaks social structures, and can make or break your day.

It's a sense of empathy for those around us, and a sense of self awareness within that group of others around us.

Essentially, we've stopped caring about those around us that we don't know, and when others demonstrate this lack of caring towards us, we feel anger and resentment.

We've truly become an iSociety, where the only people that matter are me, myself and I.

How sad. For you and for me. 

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• Man robbed after being duped in online sex chats (todayonline.com)
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