Siri Speaker and WWDC Dreams

When the AirPort Express was first released I loved it. For my apartments, and even my first house, it provided adequate coverage - and the audio out allowed me to fill my home with music from my computer. 

When the AppleTV was released I liked the idea, and loved the photo screen saver. Putting photos on the TV with friends over led to reminiscing, sharing stories, and served as a conversation starter for new acquaintances. I assumed it was only a matter of time before the AppleTV converged with the Airport Express. Why wouldn't a box that provides internet and audio out converge with a box that needs internet and provides both audio and video out? The AppleTV seemed like it should be an evolution of the Airport Express.

When the iPad was first released it included a photo frame mode. I loved the idea that the iPad could 'live' on an end table as a photo frame and easily be picked up for use on demand. However, in landscape mode the power cord stuck awkwardly out the side and it wasn't easy to just pick it up off of a stand because you had to undo the cable. 

I had mostly given up on these ideas, but recent changes and rumors have me thinking about them all again. 

First, they unveiled the smart connector on the side of the iPad Pro. I immediately hoped for a dock where you can set the iPad on its side and a new version of picture frame mode to make my original dream a reality. This hasn't materialized, but maybe as part of iPad focused iOS updates this year? This could even come from a third party.

On the rumor side, when I hear that Apple is getting out of the Airport business and see the rise of mesh networks I think that the time might be right for the AppleTV to (finally) pick up the ability to serve as an access point - only this time as part of a mesh network. I've already got them spread around the house and connected to Ethernet where possible, so why not let them blanket my home in meshy internet goodness?

While I'm dreaming, why couldn't the iPad dock also be a mesh network access point? And why not add speakers and microphones to that dock for use with Siri?

I'm not that excited about a 'Siri speaker' in isolation. But a small, attractive, mesh network access point, that provides easy whole home audio, and provides a docking point for my iPad, and uses the iPad as a screen for photo display and weather, and timers, etc. when docked - that also happens to be said Siri speaker - sounds great.

I'd like to see the AppleTV do all of the same things, though perhaps without docking (or just a dock for an improved remote?) and with the added assumption of a connected TV. 

Of course these should all work together. Let the dock in the corner have the microphone that picks up my voice, but let the output be easily sent to the TV. 

Speaking of TVs and remotes, my other wish is for an IR blaster in the dock, an IR out port on the AppleTV, and support for sending IR commands via HomeKit. For example, if my receiver is in a cabinet with my AppleTV I want to be able to tell Siri to turn up the volume and have the AppleTV produce the IR command to make it happen. Similarly I want my next AppleTV remote to be able to turn up the volume on my receiver without line of sight. Overall, I want Siri to be able to control my entire entertainment setup - without relying on CEC.

Final side note, Marco Arment on ATP suggested that the Siri speaker will work like an Apple Watch - an extension of a single iOS device. He may be right, but I hope not. It should work like an Airport base station: settings live on the device, but any iOS device or Mac can configure it. Add a splash of the Remote app's home sharing setup for controlling AppleTV and we're in business. Tying a shared family device to a single iOS device sounds like a nightmare. 

Go Cubs Go

Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs on an amazing game 7, extra innings, rain delayed victory to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.

Just twelve days ago the Cubs hadn't even appeared in the World Series in my daughter's lifetime.  Or my lifetime. Or my father's lifetime. Today they are champions.

Go Cubs Go.

Proper Use

On Wednesday, October 19, Apple sent out invitations to a media event using the slogan "hello again". For context, the original Macintosh debuted with "hello" and the original iMac with "hello (again)".

hello graphics.png

I don't know what Apple will announce, but I do have thoughts about what announcements would constitute "proper use" of the hello reference.

Option 1: Major update to the iMac

Because the slogan is the same as the one from iMac intro, it could be reasonable to reuse it for a major update to the iMac line. However, the iMac has seen multiple major revisions over the years without such a reference. This is sort of the bare minimum threshold in my mind.

Option 2: iMac rebranded with a new name

The original Macintosh was a brand new thing - new hardware, new OS. The iMac was a brand new name and style, but not a brand new thing in quite the same way. Don't forget that the public beta of Mac OS X was still two years in the future when the iMac was released. Rebranding what we think of as the iMac today with a new name (Just "Mac"? That "i" doesn't really fit with the Mac lineup these days.) would seem like a solid option for justifying the reference.

Option 3: New canonical Mac line

This is hard to distinguish from option 2 at first glance. After all, what is the difference between a new Mac line and a rebranded iMac? Two things come to mind. First, the iMac could continue to exist (and be updated) while Apple adds a new line. I'm basically picturing the ever elusive "Mac tower between the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro" concept - with or without the accompanying destruction of the existing Mac Mini and Mac Pro lines. Second, the iMac could be replaced (as in option 2), but its replacement could be so fundamentally "not an iMac" that you can't reasonably call it a rebranding. For example, it could lose the integrated display.

I think any new Mac line might sufficiently meet the threshold. However, for such a theoretical new line to become the canonical Mac (even the canonical desktop Mac) I'm not sure that the iMac can continue to exist. If they hadn't already introduced the single port MacBook that could have been a valid interpretation of this option. The desktop equivalent of that could be an option here too.

Apple hasn't been updating their Mac line with any frequency of late, so adding a new line is hard to imagine. One option here would be a culling of existing Mac desktop lines. Who needs the Mac Mini, the iMac, and the Mac Pro when you can just have one new "Mac"? 

Option 4: Fundamental change to what a Mac or macOS is

Think: "Okay, forget it, we're adding touch screens". Or: "On second though, maybe iOS and macOS should be combined". 

Things that don't make the cut? Everything else.

Ups and Downs of Usability

If, for some reason, you can only give your user an up/down toggle. And you expect the user to use that toggle to navigate a numbered list. Avoid the temptation of 'one is less than two, so push down to reach the lower number'. This isn't a math problem, it is, effectively, a ranking. Number one should sit at the top. Pushing down should go to number two. 

I'm looking at you 2013 Nissan Altima.  

This gets me every time I switch to or from my favorite radio station (preset number 1). My only hope is imagining that the toggle is moving the entire list up and down behind a fixed selection marker.  

Lightning Mac?

Consider two possible futures.

In the first, Apple removes the headphone port on the next iPhone. While they are at it they also replace the headphone port on all their other devices with a Lightning port. 

In the second, Apple decides to keep the headphone port as is. Lightning remains iOS only. 

Now, how do you pair an Apple Pencil with your Mac? 

Back to the Tomorrow

In Back to the Future Part 2 Marty, Doc, and Jennifer travel into their future, arriving on October 21, 2015 at 4:29 pm. A date also known as "tomorrow".

I had never noticed that the AM/PM lights don't match before.

I had never noticed that the AM/PM lights don't match before.

As a public service announcement I'll just point out that from the time the opening music starts to the time they arrive is roughly 4 minutes and 2 seconds. Adjusting for time zones I will be pushing play at 6:25 pm tomorrow.

(Actually, if I hit play from the disc menu I have to add another 20 seconds or so to that. Your details may vary.)

Tom Magliozzi 1937-2014 →

I should have posted this earlier, but better late than never.

I remember enjoying Car Talk in my youth, but it wasn't often that I was in the right place at the right time to hear it. Only with the advent of podcasting and the introduction of a commute to my daily routine did I become a regular listener.

I'm thankful for many, many things this year. Car Talk is nowhere near the top of that list.

But it is on the list.

Chitauri Invasion of New York City

I wrote this shortly after The Avengers was released, but apparently never published it... interesting numbers. 

Using computer models created by KAC R&D for estimating nuclear weapons effects, as well as techniques developed for use in predicting damage in Japan from attacks by ゴジラ(Godzilla), モスラ (Mothra), and particularly メカゴジラ (Mechagodzilla), the damages and losses resulting from this weekend’s invasion by the Chitauri have been estimated.

KAC expects the physical damage from the invasion to be $60 to $70 Billion Dollars, with secondary economic impacts from cleanup, loss of business, disruptions to commerce and services, etc. causing an additional $90 Billion dollars. Casualties are undoubtedly in the high thousands. Therefore, we estimate the total economic impact to be at least $160 Billion dollars. This compares with the direct impact from the September 11th 2001 attacks of $30 Billion dollars (total impact $83 Billion). For additional context, comparable disasters include the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami ($122 Billion), the 1995 Kobe Earthquake ($140 Billion), and Hurricane Katrina at over $90 Billion. 

Post Event Damage Estimate (via Hollywood Reporter)

One hundred sixty billion dollars is an absurd amount of money. For scale keep in mind that the worldwide gross for The Avengers covers less than 1% of that, but Apple has roughly that much in cash. However, I'm surprised it isn't more. In fact, these numbers seem hard to reconcile. 

For some quick (and clearly totally accurate) calculations I turned to wikipedia where I found these not entirely comparable numbers that I will procede to compare: 

  • Katrina: "Federal disaster declarations covered 90,000 square miles (233,000 km2) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom."
  • September 11th: "Some 31,900,000 square feet (2,960,000 m2) of Lower Manhattan office space was damaged or destroyed."

Putting those areas into the same units we have 233,000 vs. 2.96. In other words, Using the KAC estimates, Katrina's cost would come out to $386,266 per km2 while September 11th would come out to $28,040,540,541 per km2. Something like 70,000 times more expensive per square kilometer.

Granted, my numbers for September 11th are probably way off. The number I used references office space, and I'm sure that not all of the area affected would have been included in an office space number. On the other hand, I suspect office space calculations also reflect offices in multi story buildings, and clearly some very tall buildings were affected. Maybe those innacuaracies somehow ofset each other, maybe not. But even if my numbers for September 11th are half of what they should be, or a tenth, or a hundreth, I'm not sure how the relative costs make sense.

Let's assume that my estimate for September 11th should be 100 times larger, even though I don't think I'm that far off. That would bring the areas to 233,000 vs. 2,960 and the costs to $386,266 per km2 vs. $28,040,540 per km2. That is still more than 72 times more expensive per square kilomter.

If this cost difference, or an even larger cost difference, is real it seems like it must be attributable to the type of area affected by the damage (New York City vs. New Orleans), and perhaps by the type of damage (building collapse vs. flooding). Seems like quite a mismatch.

Setting that question aside, the movie invasion was located in New York, and much of the damage was caused by stuff crashing into buildings, it seems like invasion damage should parallel the cost per square kilimeter of September 11th more closely than those from Katrina.

Google tells me that New York City has an area of about 1200 square kilometers, but at the rate above The Avengers would have only needed to destroy 5.7 square kilometers to reach the $160 billion range. Less that 0.5% of the city.

Apple Pay and Hardware

In September Apple announced Apple Pay alongside new iPhones and the Apple Watch. For payments in stores these two devices are probably all Apple needs. Of course, were it supported, I'm sure someone would use their iPad in the checkout line, but I don't see that being a major use case.

That said, payments in stores are not the only use case for Apple Pay. We already know that Apple Pay can be integrated into iPhone apps. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch to say that eventually we'll also see Apple Pay in iPad apps. So, what does that mean for future iPad hardware?

In the short term, say October, it probably only means Touch ID. That alone is probably enough to bring Apple Pay support to the full range of iOS apps, and isn't much of a surprise. I've basically assumed that Touch ID would spread to all future iOS devices from the day it was first introduced. In fact, it was probably more surprising to me that the Apple Watch didn't include Touch ID than it will be when the iPad does get it.

Perhaps less likely for October, but I think still a long term given, is NFC. I think the iPad has a role to play in Apple Pay in store check out scenarios, just not in the hands of the purchaser. Even before Apple Pay we've seen the iPad become a popular choice for certain point of sale scenarios, I think Apple would be foolish to not include NFC in a future iPad in some configuration that would allow it to become an easy Apple Pay terminal for accepting payments.

Of course, I don't think Apple Pay in iOS apps has to be the stopping point. Why not also include Apple Pay in apps from the Mac App Store? Or directly on websites? After all, Safari can already save and autofill your credit card details. Wouldn't it be better for the site to be able to integrate directly with Apple Pay?

So, with the Mac App Store and Safari in mind, what other hardware implications appear? I think Touch ID for Macs is another 'when not if' scenario. Which brings us to 'where'.

The existing power button on the various flavors of MacBooks would be a good candidate. However, the power buttons on desktop Macs aren't so conveniently located. In that scenario I could see arguments for the keyboard, mouse, or trackpad hosting the sensor, but all of those present complications for using a Mac with third party peripherals. I can't see Apple allowing third parties to include Touch ID in their hardware products, so maybe Apple is willing to draw the line and say that you only get Touch ID on your Mac with Apple branded peripherals?

At this point I think it is safe to say that I'm addicted to Touch ID on my iPhone. Unlocking is great, and apps like 1Password with iOS 8 make it that much better. To say that I'm looking forward to having Touch ID on my next iPad and my next MacBook is perhaps a bit of an understatment.

UWM

Although I have a long background in martial arts, I’ve never been a big fan of most fighting competions. Whether it is boxing, MMA, sparring, or something else they all have to cope with the same basic issues. Primarily:

  1. Real vs. safe
  2. Real vs. entertaining

Real fighting isn’t safe, and many effective techniques and styles aren’t entertaining.

On top of that, I subscribe heavily to martial arts as self-defense, and for obvious reasons fighting competitions aren’t self-defense.

With all that said, I still frequently wish for better ways to train in realistic scenarios. In my classes we have to favor safe over real pretty heavily, but it always leaves students wondering how something would play out without x restriction.

So, whether for use in competition or not, I’ll be interested to see if this goes anywhere: Unified Weapons Master

Via: Popular Science

Plans for Nintendo

Although I don’t think I completely agree with this or this, I definitely fall closer to the Siracusa camp. Here’s the crux of my issue with Gruber’s suggestion to test the iOS waters:

Put the same amount of effort into these games that Nintendo does for their Wii and 3DS games.

I agree that Nintendo could make amazing games for iOS. I agree that I would buy a hypothetical Mario Kart Touch in a second. And I absolutely agree that if Nintendo were to make an iOS game it would be critical that they put the same effort into it that they put into games for their own hardware.

The problem I have with this plan is that the issue with the Wii U isn’t hardware, it is a lack of games.

The Wii U launched in North America on November 18, 2012. I’m writing this in September of 2013. But where is the Wii U exclusive 3D Mario game? The Wii U Mario Kart game? The Wii U Smash Brothers? A new Zelda for Wii U? Shall I go on?

Nintendo can’t afford to put time into their own games for iOS until they sort out their issues with their own games for Wii U. Only when Nintendo can fill the pipeline for the Wii U and the 3DS with a steady stream of must have first party games should they even consider Gruber’s advice to allocate game development resources to iOS.

Building Maps

Me in December 2011:

I can’t wait for the day when my iPhone can navigate as well to a location within a building as it can to an address, or for when I can drop a pin when I park my car in an underground garage and be able to navigate directly back to it.

And now this from the Wall Street Journal:

Apple has acquired indoor-GPS company WifiSLAM […] The two-year-old startup has developed ways for mobile apps to detect a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals. It has been offering the technology to application developers for indoor mapping and new types of retail and social networking apps.

Can’t come soon enough.

Order

Worth a read for anyone who cares about Star Wars.

I don’t know that I’ll ever personally go for the so called Machete Order, but I love the idea of IV, V, I, II, III, VI.

Buckminster Fort

The confusion expressed in the comments about this fort makes me want to:

  1. Try this right now.
  2. Set children loose with the instructions at various ages to see what they come up with.
The twine running across the base of the fort from step 1 and the interior size both seem problematic for any serious play though.