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A Rhetorical Abstention from Reality
Here is a brief recap of President Obama’s State of the Union speech from last night:
No serious proposal for opportunity-centric tax reform to help the middle class and low-wage earners
No legitimate solutions that would help those living in poverty move up into the middle class, far above the poverty line
No hints of genuine bipartisanship
No fresh, new vision for a country hurting in a stagnant economy exacerbated by his policies
No debate or reconsideration/adjustment at all on climate science-related policies, even though Europe (of all places) is scaling back funding for such projects and the fact that scientists are progressively suggesting a mini-Ice Age may be upon us (the Polar Vortex, anyone?)
No mention of the debt
No mention of excessive government spending
No reexamination or humble remarks regarding Obamacare as he refuses to even entertain suggestions dealing with structural changes from Republicans, despite his nearly 20 executive orders/delays for the law
No new, innovative plans for the energy sector that would produce jobs and energy now
Nope, nothing.
And President Obama and the media calls the Republican Party the “Party of No”?
Handing Over the Keys
The new iPhone 5S features a futuristic entryway: a fingerprint scanner.
Apple has now successfully enabled us to rest our minds from remembering and typing one more password to access our phone or to make a purchase. Instead, all we need is ourselves and our trusty finger to press on the Home button on our phone. Just like that, everything is accessible. Surely it makes perfect sense since every single person’s fingerprint is different. In essence, it’s the perfect password.
It should be noted that Apple did not invent the fingerprint scanner, but this latest adaptation by the technology giant seems to be the best version for consumer purchase.
Initially, this technology seems like it could be the first spark of a fire for an infinite range of technologies to be invented/adapted in the future. For instance, just add “smart” to any device, car (not those), entertainment product, light switch, etc. Imagine the safety of owning an electric fireplace that is only operational by scanning the parent’s fingerprints…
The benefits seem clear, purposeful and cool.
And yet, it does feel a bit too personal. Our fingerprint is ideally unique. Our fingerprint is one of the undeniable differences we maintain against everybody else we come into contact with in our lives.
My fingerprint belongs to me and only me.
With this recent innovation, Apple is continuing the short-term and long-term discussion in society that is constantly dancing on the delicate line between cool convenience and privacy. After the recent revelations about the NSA, there should certainly be serious concern over the potential and/or likelihood of our fingerprints being turned over to security officials for who knows why. This skepticism is absolutely warranted (the last word seemed appropriate).
Is the fingerprint scanner a good idea?
It’s ultimately an issue of trust.
On the one hand, it’s an intriguingly cool technology seemingly built for the future. On the other hand, it also conjures up gentle thoughts of a world from the past…like around 1984.
Will you scan yourself?
And You Thought Kinkos Was Good
The possibilities and questions are endless at this point.
3-D printing is progressing at such fast rate that it may become just another part of our daily lives within a decade. A heavy proposition for sure. What does it mean? It’s a perplexing dilemma. On the one hand, when LEGO forgets to put a single piece into a box set of Black Beard’s pirate ship from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” it would have been much more efficient to have had a machine at home that could have printed the missing gray piece in a matter of minutes for my nephew as opposed to calling the LEGO Store and getting it shipped from Denmark.
True story.
On the other hand, purchasing a machine that prints 3-D objects will undoubtedly reduce commerce in stores (offline and online), consequently hurting businesses that are run by our neighbors, friends and people who are just trying to make a good living. Society will become much more introverted, which is a dynamic that has positives like convenience, but is (currently) outweighed by negatives, such as the decreasing inclination to go outside to a video rental store.
What will be the landmark case be surrounding patents? How will businesses adjust to this evolution of people being able to make and/or copy-and-paste a wide-array of things themselves that are normally sold in stores? What will the quality of the printed objects be? What positive effects on society will it have? What negative effects on society will it have?
3-D printing is evolving into pivotal issues of need versus want and quality versus convenience (just two examples).
At least we don’t need special glasses to see all this coming at us…
How to Make an Apple Shine
The logo of the global technological giant Apple clearly has a bite taken out of it. Clear as day. This has been the case for decades. It is unequivocally one of the most famous icons around the world. Unfortunately, the slowly evolving reality being formed is what the bite now represents. Instead of being synonymous with a leader, innovator and dream factory of ideas, the famous design with the bite is seen as its competitors taking a bite out of them as their healthy snack for the day.
(Macworld.com)
How does the apple get returned to the right hands? Or, more importantly, whose hands should be holding it?
Steve Jobs was a technological genius, but he was also a promotional wizard. The vacancy of both following his death in 2011 has clearly affected Apple in a variety of ways. Despite the phenomenal devices he and his business partners have created, the bright light and magic of the company that was founded in his parent’s garage in the ’70s has dimmed to a glow.
Once products are built and sold in the marketplace with sensational popularity, the success of such a company is usually directly linked to its leader and his or her personality. Jobs symbolized a vast intelligence, great mystery, anticipation, trust, wonderment and, above all, revolutionary consumer products.
He was a spectacular performer and leader.
Two years since his death, Apple has yet to figure out how to, as the “Jobs” trailer states, “…make Apple cool again.” This is the ultimate riddle to solve. How do the company leaders and employees make Apple universally and definitively cool again?
Despite the fact the iPod, iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro and so forth remain terrific products, the aura is gradually fading. The vibe is increasingly one of admiring this company in the rear view mirror…in memory of Steve Jobs instead of in celebration of Steve Jobs.
Apple is becoming a massive company as opposed to a visionary leader.
And rebuilding the latter is what, or rather who it needs right now behind-the-scenes inventing and in the public eye selling. It needs somebody who lives and breathes the brand. It needs somebody who will staunchly defend and promote the brand. It needs somebody who will dare to think outside the box into new dimensions.
The true replacement needs to be revolutionary.
Their current CEO is Tim Cook. Maybe it’s just me, but they’ve seemed to have had good fortune when being led by guys named Steve.
Of course, I’ve also seen women handle an apple with care while also using it as a key ingredient to make some truly amazing treats…
Jimmy's Daily Planet 