Results tagged “tech” from Volume of Interactions

It would be the first step toward creating machines that are more powerful than the human brain. These supercomputers could be networked into a cloud computing architecture to amplify their processing capabilities. Meanwhile, algorithms that power them could get more intelligent. Together these could create the ultimate machine that can help us handle the challenges of the future, says Kurzweil.

Steve Jobs at his brilliant best. Disarming a roomful of journalists who, like sharks surrounding a wounded beast, thought that the iPhone "antennagate" was their best chance to get Jobs to cry "uncle".

Boy, were they wrong.

• The phone is fast, really fast. Applications open the moment you access them. Not sure if older models are the same, but this is how a smartphone should perform.
• Stable -- not a single crash or hangup yet. I'm a pretty messy user, jumping from one app to another very quickly. Make a call, hang up, check email, while email is loading, jump out to Facebook, then jump back to email, then switch over to iTunes, then back to Facebook. All in a just a few minutes. The iPhone handles the transition without a hiccup.
• Maxis 3G is decent -- i'm going to put this as a Good thing, though it has a lot of flaws. Malaysian Internet users all know that "broadband" is subjective, so even a half-way decent service is welcome. Maxis 3G, is, on average, a "half-way decent service". In the heart of the city, speeds are usually blazing fast. Connectivity is strong and i can imagine this is exactly how the iPhone was meant to perform as an Internet-capable device. Safari loads overseas web pages in a flash, gmail downloads even large attachments faster than my fixed line Internet connections can, YouTube is a dream, and even getting large music files from iTunes takes just a few seconds. But... 3G coverage is limited, and even where it is available like at my home in Kota Damansara, if the signal is weak, then the zooming speeds become crawling turtles.
• Google maps on the iPhone is... uber. The addition of the compass to the iPhone really opens up its potential as a semi-GPS device. The phone probably determines your location through a process of triangulation based on Maxis coverage, so it isn't 100% accurate, but its pretty darned close. The ability to plot out directions on the phone from your current location to your selected destination is extremely useful. Even for a person that doesn't travel too much, i've found some very reasonable uses for this: surf over to http://www.foodpoi.com, find a restaurant i want, then type in the address in the phone, and voila, i get directions how to get there.
• I never thought that having mobile iTunes would be that handy, but it is. There is a very handy little iPhone app called Shazam. I hear a song on the radio i like (i listen to a lot of oldies at BFM89.9), i let Shazam have a listen, it then tells me the name of the song, i'm then able to download it directly from iTunes into my phone. Very, very nice.

1. Getting an email AND sms from Maxis informing me that my iPhone was ready for collection today.
2. The Maxis staff -- more than half the people there today were picking up their iPhones, and it was obvious from the moment i walked in that the staff were under tremendous pressure from their customers. Its a credit to their training and energy that even right to the very end (i was one of the last customers they served before closing up), they still kept a smile on their face and even managed to crack some jokes and share a laugh with me.
3. Being able to reduce the price of my iPhone further from RM1990 to RM1590; downgraded my plan even further after i realized i didn't need something so expensive
4. Actually getting the iPhone in my hands -- its a real beauty, exactly as advertised. Initial playtesting shows, yes, it is just that good.

1. Holy crap me, the traffic congestion around the Maxis Centre, the crowd was huge.
2. Getting #974, and having to wait nearly 90 minutes before it was my turn to speak to the rep for my phone.
3. The really, really annoying customers who had not pre-ordered the phone, and expected to be given one today just because they want one and have the cash to pay for it. Stock of the iPhones are extremely limited, and the initial batch Maxis ordered just covers pre-orders, nearly no extras -- not any fault of Maxis apparently, there is a universal shortage of available iPhones.Not only were they rude to the Maxis staff, but they took up valuable time as well from genuine customers (like me) who would be able to receive their phones today.
4. Stupid Malaysians who don't understand the concept of "TAKE A FUCKING NUMBER". At least twice, i witnessed customers just cutting in when a rep was free and their number was not called yet. The rep actually didn't turn them away, and this led to a longer wait time for other customers who had the courtesy to wait in line.
5. Technologically brain-dead iPhone users -- Maxis setup a phone clinic by the side, specifically to assist customers to initialize and prep their new iPhone for the first time. This counter soon became congested as customers took forever to understand simple messages such as, "NO, SIR. YOUR SMS FROM YOUR OLD PHONE CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED TO THE IPHONE."
6. Massive mis-coordination between Maxis and the retail Apple centres such as eMachines. Customers are supposed to pick up the iPhone from the retail centres they ordered the phone from, however, delays in the stock arriving to them have led to irate customers who were promised their phones today. To appease them, the retail centres have asked them to go to Maxis Centres to get their phones. Big Mistake. The Maxis Centres only have the phones that were pre-ordered from them. This led to several angry customers, and some silly dramas ensued.

- can download my favourite series to watch anytime, anywhere.
- no longer beholden to the strict timetables of normal TV time -- if i want to catch the latest episode of House i don't have to be in front of the TV at exactly 8pm, every wednesday night. I can choose to watch it on the way to work or during my lunch break the next day.
- eventually, i can terminate my subscription to Astro (satellite tv provider) -- and just turn to the Internet to download the content (and pay for it) that i'm really interested in. Astro provides thousands of tv content... 99.99% of which i'm not interested in and don't watch. To be able to pay for the 0.01% of available content that i do want to watch, and nothing else -- thats an awesome option to have as a consumer.
- as video devices become more sophisticated, i can imagine interactivity with my favourite episodes of tv shows like House could become available -- how would i rate the latest episode? a pop-up screen at the end of the episode appears, and my rating is submitted (with my permission) during my next synchronization with my PC. Or i can choose to view some commercials at the start and end of each show, and this will give me a 10% discount on the next episode download. Literally, a thousand new opportunities open up for the savvy marketeer.