Apple Watch Update

These sort of Apple announcements don't usually provide enough to bother posting in here, but this update had one little feature that I just loved.

A "Theater" setting on the Apple Watch.

I've enjoyed my Watch, a lot, since it came out but one annoyance has been ridiculous. The use of the watch in a movie theater.

Yes, I'm one of those sticklers for turning everything off before the movie starts, and for loudly proclaiming the same to everyone sitting around me.  The Watch lights up when you raise your wrist and there has been absolutely no way to disable that feature, until now.  I've taken to turning my Watch completely off at the start of a movie, or removing it from my wrist and putting it in a jacket pocket, that makes me scared I'll lose it in the theater.

No more.

Oh, and there are other features in the update as well.  Read on:

https://watchaware.com/post/19889/watchos-3-2-theater-mode-sirikit

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  This is just one more example of how far behind Apple's software lags behind its hardware.  Ridiculous this has taken so long to get in place.

Hamilton

The musical.

Yes, count me as one of the obsessed.  So, I'll take a momentary break from technology in these pages to include a bit of the old school.

If you live in the Boston area as I do you now have about 18 months to wait for the arrival of this amazing musical:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater/dance/2017/03/27/hamilton-will-arrive-september-and-stay-for-two-months/

Or, make your way to Broadway in NYC:

http://richardrodgerstheatrenewyork.ticketoffices.com

Be sure to pick up the album of the Original Cast Recordings.  Great stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Original-Broadway-Recording

Have a Nice Day,

J.W. Gant

How Many iPhones have Apple Pay Active?

13%

Read on:

http://www.retaildive.com/news/study-13-of-all-iphones-in-use-have-apple-pay-activated/439089/

Will mobile payments ever take off?  Year after year it is next year.  Why should this year be any different? So long as payments is trying to solve a problems that doesn't exist this category will remain tiny.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Digital Video Movie Conversion with Vudu

Do you like movies?

Do you love movies?

Do you have stacks of DVD videos lying around, in boxes, or maybe on display as your "video collection"?

Did you recently buy a new UHD television and have quickly recognized your old video collection is junk?  Love the convenience of Netflix movies "in the cloud" that you don't have to keep piled around?

Trying to figure out what to do with your huge, horrible, collection of old DVDs?

Vudu has a solution for you.

I love when companies create legitimate solutions to legitimate problems customers have, and they've clearly done something great here.

Get the Vudu app for your phone.  Scan the barcode of any movie, DVD or Blu-Ray, pay a very small fee and you get the digital copy, for you to own forever, of that movie.  Bye bye DVD.

Wow!

Here is the official site:

http://www.vudu.com/in_mobile_disc_to_digital.html?CID=Email&SCID=mobiled2d&KWID=md2d_v2_hl_03232017

The fee is quite small but varies depending on the movie you are working from.  If you have a DVD those are originally 480p quality, not "high definition".  You can use the Vudu app to grab the same "SD" quality version for $2 or you can upgrade the quality by paying $5 instead.  This is opposed to buying a new blu-ray or the digital equivalent for, usually, at least $10.

Awesome!

Own the blu-ray and want a digital copy?  $2 please.

Two caveats I've found:

First, if you don't have a hard-wired internet connection to your smart TV services like Vudu are not very good.  The times they are a changin'.

Second, I'm a huge believer in "ultra high definition" or 4K, especially on TV displays larger than 50".  This service does not offer a UHD option.

Have fun folks, and Happy Movie Watching,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0248 - Mac vs. PC - Has Apple Left the Building?

Best Reading of the Day

I've always been brand agnostic when it comes to computers.  Whatever works is what I'll invest my money in.  So I've always kept an eye on the major competitors in the space.  For decades that has been Apple Mac and Windows PC.

One die-hard Mac user has given up on Apple and sees a lot to love about the new direction Microsoft is going.  Great read if you enjoy these sorts of things:

https://medium.com/charged-tech/why-i-left-mac-for-windows-apple-has-given-up-b48c0eaac64#.lpofyg332

Here is a snippet from the piece:

If you ask anyone who knows me, I’m probably the biggest Apple fan they know. Ask for a suggestion of what computer to get, and I’ll almost certainly either tell you the MacBook Pro, or to wait, because Apple is about to update its hardware finally.

But recently, I realized I’d gotten tired of Apple’s attitude toward the desktop. The progress in macOS land has basically been dead since Yosemite, two years ago, and Apple’s updates to the platform have been incredibly small. I’m a developer, and it seems to me Apple doesn’t pay any attention to its software or care about the hundreds of thousands of developers that have embraced the Mac as their go-to platform.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple App Store Revamped

Still can be hard to fathom, at times, exactly how enormous the app store business is.

Enormous.

Gigantic.

Any changes have enormous, gigantic ramifications and Apple has just changed quite a bit. Good to take a look:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-21/apple-s-app-store-gets-a-makeover

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Apple Inc.'s App Store has turned countless software developers into millionaires since its launch almost a decade ago. But working with the famously controlling company has often been frustrating. Apps were rejected with little explanation, and Apple has been stingy about sharing customer data that could have helped developers improve their products.

Apple can no longer afford to brush off the developer community. With sales of iPhone, iPad and Macs slowing, the company is under pressure to extract more revenue from services, a bright spot that includes the apps business.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0247 - Big Data in the Information Revolution

Best Reading of the Day

I'm a technology guy and a data guy so I'm very interested in all things related to those two.  I've also written about the challenges of the Information Revolution we are going through.  Finally, we are also aware of the "Black Swan" concept where we can't see a house of cards until it is too late and we plan for stability and certainty where a rare event can bring it all crashing to the ground.

Combine these with the American Political system and what do you get?  The 21st Century version has been very, very messy.

If you like big data, technology, and have any interest in what is happening in the USA then this article is for you:

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/how-big-data-broke-american-politics-n732901?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Big Data revolutionized the way American politicians win elections. In the process, it broke American politics.

Polarization is no longer just polluting the system — it's paralyzing it. The deepening divide between the right and the left has largely hollowed out the center of American politics, from the politicians who once occupied the large "middle" to the voters who once gravitated to them.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Chase Acquires MCX Mobile Payments Tech for ChasePay

A bit of news in the retail mobile payments space hit recently.  This is not an unexpected move given the events of the last 2 years.

Read more:

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Chase_s-Technology-Deal-With-MCX-Is-Likely-to-Boost-Chase-Pay-As-CurrentC-Declines

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Twitter and the Fakes

Twitter is the streaming consciousness of the world. I'm convinced of it and follow a lot of what is going on very closely thanks to it.  We've seen its impact in strange ways and good ways.  The immediacy is amazing.  Simply no better way for mass communication of simple ideas.  Yet that immediacy can be an issue too.

What if some of the accounts on Twitter are fake accounts to help distribute a fake idea?

What if 48 million accounts are fake and whole waves of "news" can be faked, moving markets, pushing public opinion, and forcing action?

Scary.

Read on:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/10/nearly-48-million-twitter-accounts-could-be-bots-says-study.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

A big chunk of those "likes," "retweets," and "followers" lighting up your Twitter account may not be coming from human hands. According to new research from the University of Southern California and Indiana University, up to 15 percent of Twitter accounts are in fact bots rather than people.

The research could be troubling news for Twitter, which has struggled to grow its user base in the face of growing competition from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and others.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Netflix is the Master of Streaming

... for now.

I have a Netflix account and enjoy some of the original content.  Especially 'Stranger Things'.

What about you?

http://fortune.com/2017/03/10/netflix-video-streaming-market/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

There's no question that Netflix is currently the king of the over-the-top streaming-video providers, with a service that reaches more than 80 million users in over 200 countries, and hit shows that drive millions of those users to "binge-watch" entire seasons in a matter of days.

All this has put Netflix in an enviable spot...

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Facebook Copying Snapchat

Back when Microsoft was doing this sort of thing they encountered anti-trust concerns.  The EU eventually forced them to take action.

Wonder how long Facebook has?  Read on:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/09/facebook-copies-snapchat-examples.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Mark Zuckerberg's company tried to purchase Snap for $3 billion in 2013, but the camera company politely declined the offer. Since then Snapchat's popularity and worth have skyrocketed. The company's market cap has been pegged as high as $34 billion, and held its initial public offering on March 2.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Loyalty and Marketing

Great little post with 15 "facts" about loyalty.

Cool stuff.

http://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2017/3/3/loyalty-mind-blowing-stats-tlp.html#gs.iXMhRkc

Here is one of them:

8. Nearly 80% of companies spend less than 30% of their time and budget on customer retention-focused messaging and content.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Are You Drinking Enough Water?

There's an app for that.

And a "smart water bottle" too.

Yeap.

http://www.nbcnews.com/better/diet-fitness/i-stayed-hydrated-two-weeks-it-changed-my-life-n731131

Their conclusions?

... I tried to drink four liters of water a day, which is when I really started to see a difference.

Pre-water challenge, whenever the clock would strike 2 pm, I'd have a headache. The afternoon slump and caffeine withdrawals were certainly real for me. Drinking more water throughout my day helped make my afternoons much more pleasant and headache-free, which made me more productive.

Happy ... Water Drinking,

J.W. Gant