Amazon’s Charlie Kindel, Director of Alexa Smart Home, will be speaking at the CEDIA conference in Dallas on September 16. He’ll talk about the inspiration for voice recognition that came from Star Trek, the original series. This interview by CEDIA provides a foretaste of the presentation and includes an inspiring video of Captain Kirk voice querying the Enterprise computer. What’s also cool and interesting is Mr. Kindel’s description of how customer privacy is maintained with the blue and red indicator ring. He also points to the website a customer built to celebrate Alexa. This is nifty corporate messaging.
iPhone Charging Dock Station (Silver): $17.98
We have a deal for you today on an iPhone charging dock. I’m linking to a Silver model, but there’s also a Gold and a Rose Gold version to choose from. It uses your Lightning cable for charging. You can get it through our deal for $17.98.
Here's the Not So Secret Roadmap for 4K UHD TV
The old, unconsidered notion about 4K UHD TV is that it’s a gimmick by the TV industry. The assumption has been that 4K resolution can’t be utilized unless one sits really close, and the familiar HDTV is good enough. In fact, the industry is about the business of implementing a gradual, exciting technology roadmap. While this means that 4K UHD TV will be gradually including more advanced technology elements than simple resolution improvement, it also means buyers will have to be careful when and how they migrate away from older equipment. It’s all on Friday’sHere’s the Not So Secret Roadmap for 4K UHD TV
The Cellphone That Assembles Itself (Video)
You know that Arthur C. Clarke line about sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic? Behold a little wizardry from M.I.T. in the form of a “self-assembling” cellphone. Fast Company did a story on a lab at the university that designed a cellphone with six components. They are designed in such a way that when jostled together in a tumbler, the parts that fit together, stick together, while the parts that don’t, don’t. The possibilities for cheap assembly could be staggering—in this case, it could help put a cellphone into the hands of almost anyone. But the principles are not limited to cellphones. It’s fascinating to watch, and if you find it interesting, check out the full article.
AT&T's New Mobile Share Advantage Plan Costs Compared
On Sunday AT&T rolled out their new Mobile Share Advantage Plans and, along with them, their online comparison tool that shows you just what the new plans will cost you. Digging in this morning it’s pretty evident that only a handful of people currently on Mobile Share Value plans will actually save money with these new plans. Click through to see the math and the details.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-08-22: Interview with Airplane Mode's Dave Wiskus
This week TMO’s Daily Observations turns to the musical side of the Apple community. Today Airplane Mode’s Dave Wiskus joins Jeff Gamet to talk about the band, his musical journey, and finding success as an indie band.
Barbra Streisand Says iOS 10 Will Be Released September 30th
According to Barbra Streisand, Apple will release iOS 10 on September 30th. I know what you’re thinking: what does Barbra Streisand know about Apple’s release dates? Normally, Bryan Chaffin would be the first to say “nothing.” Followed by “Gimme a break.” But she has an interesting story, and it starts with Siri mispronouncing her name.
MGG 619: Security Breach!
Listener Jason had a security breach on his home network. Learn what he did that allowed this to happen, and what you can do to prevent it. Lots of other tips in this episode, too, like removing phantom app storage, enabling iCloud for iBooks after the fact, starting up in Safe Mode with a wireless keyboard, and much more.
Is it Worth it to Switch to AT&T's New Plans? Maybe
AT&T is doing away with its Mobile Share Value plans and introducing Mobile Share Advantage this weekend. The new plans do away with data overage fees in favor of throttling your connection when you use too much, and may save you money. But don’t rush out and change your contract without checking to see if you really are getting a deal because not everyone wins with AT&T’s new pricing.
PSA: New Mac Malware Tries to Trick Less Savvy Users
There’s new Mac malware in the wild aimed at users who may be a bit less savvy on the nerd scale. Discovered by Malwarebytes, this malware uses interface shenanigans to trick users into permitting other malware to be installed.