I know my readers. If this doesn’t get you excited about studying physics, quantum mechanics and superconductivity, nothing will. You’ll just have to watch this OMG video, Flash and all.

It’s Magic!

For you who are ultra-conservative about privacy, “Google To Begin Encrypting Searches & Outbound Clicks By Default With SSL Search.” The catch is that you’ll have to be logged into Google. To me, it’s just a reminder of how our innocent HTTP protocol and browsers from the 1990s has been manipulated to serve others. This seems like only a baby-step back in the right direction.

Does Siri know your name? How to pronounce it? Here’s a helpful how-to on how to teach Siri what to call you and how to say it.

More on Siri. This next Flash video is also worth looking at. (How many of you keep Chrome around for just that?) The song itself, the lyrics and the presentation aren’t important here. It’s the portent of the relationship we’re all about to form with our female companion, Siri, for evermore into our technical future. “A duet with Siri (an iPhone 4S song)” A sign of the times to come?

Unlike some humans, Siri didn’t fall for this trick.

We’ve been hearing bits and pieces about how hard Microsoft has been working to be innovative with Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango). I’d like to take you outside your comfort zone and have you read this. Forget that the author has been using a 3GS. Forget that he doesn’t know much about iOS. Don’t even look at the author’s name. Read the article first, then, if you must, peek at who wrote it. But form your opinions first. “Windows Phone 7.5 vs IOS 5.”

Whaddya think?

This week, our Ted Landau wrote a fantastic article on iOS 5. But if you haven’t had enough, and want to learn some other cool things about this terrific OS, check out “24 Secret iOS 5 Features You Need To Know About.”

At Apple’s earnings report this week, Tim Cook surmised that the tablet market could end up being larger than the PC market. Without getting into deep numerical analysis, Dan Frommer took a cut at analyzing that scenario: “Will the tablet market really grow bigger than the PC market?”

Why didn’t we get an iPhone 5 with 4G/LTE? Jonny Evans explains the fragmented nature of 4G not only in the U.S. but elsewhere. “This is why Apple’s iPhone 4S doesn’t support 4G/LTE.”

Will quad core tablets and the newest version 4 of Android, named “Ice Cream Sandwich” make any headway against the iPad? Kevin Tofel at Bloomberg ponders the issue, and starts off admitting the problems tablet makers have had. He’s hopeful that better software, able to exploit better hardware will make dent. So, while he tried to have it both ways, it’s still interesting to see what the issues and hopes are for the iPad competitors. Ever hopeful: “More CPUs Won’t Solve Android’s Tablet Problem.” I had my own take on all this earlier today.

I have been using The Weather Channel’s app for the iPad, and it’s pretty darn good. But it got even better this week. The new version is downright gorgeous — a must-have. “The Weather Channel Launches All-New Interactive 3D App for iPad.” Here’s the iTunes link for the iPad.

Learning can be a fairly random, unorganized process. We have to teach ourselves how to learn in a systematic way. But this software, discovered by Jessica Parks with AllThingsD while (I think) attending AsiaD, helps manage the learning process better. In light of the popularity of Siri as an assistant, I know many of you will be intrigued by this other “personal learning assistant.” Here’s the link (and pun): “What Should I Study Next? Oh Wait, iKnow!”