Digital Revolution

Complementing his marvelous Thoughts on Flash, Steve Jobs described tech cycles to justify Apple's position in D8. Essentially, tech cycles means that technology grows from infancy to maturity to the grave. While, in the case of Flash, it's certainly correct, the mantra has widespread influences so that tech blogs began to apply it across all technologies. However, email is clearly a counterexample in that it never enters the grave. There are pieces of technologies that are close to eternal. The most conspicuous implication of the widespread mantra is that technological revolution occurs everywhere, rather than in specific fields. As a instance of the mantra, tech blogs claimed that smartphones are going to be replaced by other sorts of technologies, ruling out the possibility that smartphones in certain form may be close to eternal. These tech blogs were not far from Jack Ma's view. We believe, however, that these tech blogs are misguided and misinterpreted the famous Stev...

Everyone knows bugs can plague software, but buggy software from Apple still makes big money. There is a unsatisfactory response to the situation: regular backups. For Macs, Time Machine seems quite reliable. For iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, the reliance on iCloud for backup is quite dangerous, because iCloud reliability isn't very impressive. Yet, people often store critical information on mobile devices. There are cases like losing all Apple Books upon update. It's a horrible experience. The reason Apple can get away with this is that there is little regulatory and legal pressure for fixing bugs. As noted before, consumers have little power and often can not make Apple pay for damages. It seems that this is a much more important issue than crude antitrust against Apple.

Intermediate Value Theorem is a basic theorem in calculus. Usually, there is nothing more to say about the theorem. But with the rigorous bounds obtained in numerical algorithms that we discussed before, much can be done through the basic theorem. In mathematical research, existence is often very hard to establish. Part of the reason is most existences afford no constructive description. Here we are left with indirect methods like the Intermediate Value Theorem. Traditionally, numerical algorithms offered insights but were not applicable in rigorous proof. With rigorous bounds proven, numerical algorithms can be utilized to provide rigorous estimates of simulated values. Together with the likes of Intermediate Value Theorem, existence of objects can be established rigorously. Providing rigorous bounds for numerical algorithms is a game changer.

To many people who do not like fitness, Apple Watch has been a redundancy. The case is about to change with the introduction of Apple Watch Ultra. Although Apple Watch Ultra has been marketed as a sports watch, its life-saving features beyond fitness can really help, like for people who climb mountains. Fitness was controversial primarily due to misunderstanding. Since completing fitness circles can not guarantee actual fitness, it's been described as a flaw. However, life-saving features could really matter in case of emergency. Although the coverage of Apple Watch Ultra in tech blogs has been quite mundane, containing additional marketing material for Apple, Inc., its subtle expansion of scope in apps is really pleasing. Because the watch can be taken to harsh environments, it offers possibilities for apps like real-time care. The main drawback is still the somewhat usable but unsatisfactory battery life. Many tech bloggers speculate Apple Watch Ultra indicates the future replace...

The biggest news this week is of course the launch of Apple Watch Ultra. Before covering the topic, however, there is a point about hardware and software that seems worth making. Hardware innovation depends on material properties, whether it's faster, more durable, or thiner. To match market sector and hardware, there are lots of experimental/physical facts to be harnessed. Physical laws don't bend, that's the hard part of hardware innovation. Gut feeling is that hardware ideas are harder and harder to come by, which is why software innovation is more important in the long run. Software ideas are almost limitless, but the trouble is that the entire landscape is a mess. To be wise enough to blast a trail is crucial. If the judgement here is correct, vendors will drastically improve software locked onto hardware to deliver whole package. Hardware will be small steps forward, and software advances, though huge, will be severely subject to hardware. The future isn't closed ...

Compared with Google, Apple is slow in delivering a cloud platform for developers. Apple's consumer cloud business has been a spectacular success, but its developer cloud offer, Xcode Cloud, is very limited. So far, developing cloud applications that run on macOS relies on third party vendors, and macOS isn't built for the cloud. Clearly, there is a lot to improve. Modern applications often contain cloud components and if Apple is serious about a all-Apple developer process, it should build its own cloud platform. Cloud platforms have been known to be extremely messy. Apple's philosophy is simplicity. There are huge challenges to be overcome in order to build a cloud platform by Apple's standard. However, the advantages of building critical applications like ERP on Apple platforms definitely make sense for better corporate adoption of Apple products. In the business world, Microsoft wins big with good desktop-cloud integration. Apple should consider. Sure, cloud is not ...

Apple Music has been a phenomenal success. The collection is vast, and almost everyone can find familiar music to listen to. However, exploring the entire collection isn't easy. The Music app only offers browsing by specific criteria. There is clearly a navigation problem. Compared with the App Store, Apple Music lacked a Today section that offers descriptive introduction to music. Since most people aren't music historians, they mostly rely on trial and error to discover music, which is terribly inefficient. If Apple Music offered proper introduction to music, rather than simply advertising, the music discovery process would be much more enlightening. The current status is like a outsider jumping into Renaissance art without art history training. The entire context, meaning, and symbolism are inaccessible. There is a need for proper guidance. Although everyone knows Taylor Swift is great, it would be much more informative if some context can be given. Perhaps thoroughly underst...