Apple & Amazon

Apple CEO unveils the new
Home Pod. A vary expensive
alternative to Amazon's Echo.

IN 2010 . Amazon and Apple were at "war"  for a while . Apple was accusing Amazon of underselling it's products and selling "fake apps" .  The war of words and accusations took a twist over the years . Amazon was pushing forward a market place that may have beaten Apple   If you have to compare Apple  to Amazon , first Apple has the most expensive , best production line  of  technological gadgets . Apple -Mac dominated the industry for decades . Now its all Amazon . Regardless . Amazon is buying the market with clever marketing schemes. (1)>>People are buying Amazon , shopping Amazon .  The idea of finding a cheaper alternative to Apple Products . Makes Amazon the # 1 choice . BUT there is always a catch to any products . Here I am going to tell you the good & bad about each one one.  There is always a run down . It's about competition. (2)>>The  New iPads, spiffed up iMacs and MacBooks, a smart home speaker, and most exciting of all? n a race to catch up with its competitors, Apple on Monday unveiled a smart home speaker and numerous software updates emphasizing artificial intelligence at the Worldwide Developers Conference.During its marathon two and a half hour keynote speech, Apple repeatedly touted its AI and machine learning capabilities across all three new operating system updates. Following Microsoft, Facebook and Google, which all emphasized artificial intelligence at their annual developer conferences, Apple threw its own hat into the AI ring, heating up the competition in Silicon Valley. Artificial Intelligence has always been the stuff of science fiction . Amazon was ahead of the game with Alexa . I never understood why Apple waited to long while Google & Amazon jumpped the wagon . Apple’s new voice-controlled home speaker, called the HomePod, is its challenge to Amazon Echo and Google Home in the smart home assistant space. Directly compatible with Apple Music and Siri voice assistant, Apple is relying on its superior acoustics and ease of use to woo customers away from competitors. Tapping Apple's (AAPL) Siri digital assistant, such a speaker is expected to serve as a butler as well as an outlet for listening to music. If the speculation pans out, the speaker would be Apple's first new product since its smartwatch in 2015. And it would mark an effort by Apple to catch up with Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOG).

Apple : "the Bad". & "the good" 

The Apple Watch is a great device . For
practical reasons I found no
use for it . Tell me why
please ?

With all I can afford from Apple INC , is their IPAD air 2 in my collection. I have the I -Pad mini Gen 2 {now defunct IOS} . I have to say that Air 2 is the best I Pad I have used , it's no brainier for me to get a hold of an IPAD-PRO { when I get a raise I hope } . The nitty-gritty on ALL APPLE based technology is unlike Microsoft - Linux systems is that you can get updates that last for years . Apple however,  is not long lasting or sustainable . You have to buy the latest gadget , every year they release something new . People dash the Apple stores sometimes camping outside like on a black Friday sale . The newest I-Phone for example  it's net price , when you buy it,  is going to cost you 1200 $ . You think I am that crazy to buy a 1200 dollar phone ? hell no , but there are people who love it . I have nothing against anyone with a great wallet - credit cards to go in and rush to buy the latest Apple craze . They Good things . Apple for me is Apple-TV . I love the 4th Generation { will get the 5th generation if out} but using my I-Pad air 2 I am able to mirror that pad to my TV screen and watch any video service . That I love . The  Apple-TV remote with Siri for example is vary limited , you can not browse the web with it . This has been the problem with Apple-TV since it's debut . The black Apple-TV box has similar software to the MAC-MINI . I know people who have (2.2)>>"jail broken" the Apple-TV by installing software in it that can enable the Apple-TV box to "act like" a computer , so enabling it with a web browser . There are so many possibilities with Apple products . I think personally Apple is too expensive . Sill Apple has to produce the Apple PC Stick . Intel has a PC stick that sells for 140 dollars with Windows 10 . You plug it into your HDMI port on your TV . And your surfing watching 4K movies and streaming .  It's MAC's and Desktop MAC sell close to 5000$. It presents a serious challenge to the "geeks" out there if their willing to spend all that money just for"fun" of having these nifty items at their disposals . For now I am buying anything from Apple with fiscal caution . 

Amazon : "the Good & Bad" .

Amazon's new Echo with
2 way communication
video .

I really did not get into Amazon till a friend of mine gave me a Fire Stick TV dongle . I was a bit curious since he installed (2.3)>>Kodi on it for me so I can watch movies . Honestly I had to set up a Amazon account with Credit Card. (3)>> I can tell you it opened a new world to me . I never though anything of Amazon till I bought the Echo Tap speaker with Alexa . My reason for buying the speaker was to listen to remote radio stations streaming . The Amazon Echo is a wonderful device . It can remotely control house hold devices besides ordering Pizza . So with Fire Stick with Alexa enabled streaming TV can be  fun at half the cost of Apple-TV . The real surprise  came when I discovered that there are Apps that work with your I-Pad so you can mirror it to the Fire Stick and watch your I PAD content on a Amazon system .   NOW FOR THE BAD . There are problems with some of the Amazon technology . I recently purchased a new Amazon Fire 8 HD tablet , and compared it with Apple I Pad . I was dismayed , but the Fire tablet is neat , it has a vary fast processor , you do as much with it as a I Pad . Why dismayed me was this tablet is a marketing device for seeing Amazon merchandise. It's great to have Alexa on it  . But the preloaded apps are designed to market Amazon store  . Yes there are advertisements that pop up on the tablet when it goes into sleep mode . Its so cleverly designed to get you to buy or watch Amazon TV if you have a Prime membership . Another problem is the APP STORE . It's full of "fake" apps that don't work , most of the apps crash . Another problem is you can't download anything from GOOGLE . Like PLAY STORE . Its installed with a browser called "Silk" which is tricky to run . Otherwise the Amazon Fire Table is OK for certain things. But over all if you want a table that is less expensive the Fire Tablet is for you .

Last The Future ?

It's 2020 . Apple just started it's own streaming "cable like" service , besides people flocking to buy the Apple Car . Hundreds of Apple employees were once rumored to be working on an electric car, but the project's focus has shifted to developing self-driving car software instead of an actual car. But its just rumors . If Diver-less cars are your thing . Its out of AI and Total Recall . The Apple Car is a tricky subject because we’re not even sure that it exists. Nevertheless, few products have been rumored as heavily – and debated so vociferously – as the Apple Car. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is already calling the car a "missed opportunity" due to its far-off launch. There's no denying that the evidence of an Apple Car is mounting, and it seems Apple is struggling to keep a lid on leaks.The long-rumored electric vehicle – supposedly developer under the codename ‘Project Titan’ – is tipped for either a 2019 or 2020 launch. It’s also alleged that Apple is developing the vehicle in Berlin (in part, anyway), with a team of between 15 and 20 “progressive thinkers” – so says the German media. The Cupertino-based technology giant is also reportedly in talks with manufacturers of charging stations for electric cars. If APPLE does make a electric car , my thought who would buy it ? . It's going to be more expensive than a Lamborghini sure enough . (4)>>AS I can see it . We might just have Apple drones flying along with Amazon drones as well  .Autonomous vehicles

have the potential to upend the transportation and technology industries, something that isn't lost on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Both companies have been in the spotlight recently for their self-driving vehicle plans, so let's take a look at what each is doing with driverless car technology and why. Even before that sci-fi concept becomes an everyday reality, however, automakers are looking to give motorists more options to connect with the outside world, whether to play smartphone apps through new technologies like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, or by integrating voice assistants — like Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Microsoft’s Cortana — into the vehicle.Looking at all of this through the lens of Hollywood gives us an apt analogy to help understand all of this: Star Trek’s Borg. 







NOTES AND COMMENTS:

(1)>>People are buying Amazon , shopping Amazon . Amazon reported its seventh consecutive quarter of profits, along with soaring revenue. Meanwhile, new research shows the company is responsible for 53% of all online sales growth in the U.S. But investors apparently can't wait to dump their shares of this e-commerce behemoth.  Amazon's $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods could mean big changes for the way people buy groceries — and just about everything else.Amazon could try to use automation and data analysis to draw more customers to stores while helping Whole Foods cut costs and perhaps prices. Meanwhile, the more than 460 Whole Foods stores in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. could be turned into distribution hubs — not just for delivering groceries, but also as pickup centers for online orders. (2)>>The  New iPads, spiffed up iMacs and MacBooks.  In 2013 Apple CEO Tim Cook’s keynote speech at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet conference on Tuesday was mostly a chance for the chief executive to rehash his well-worn talking points. But Cook also addressed a question that most consumers find themselves asking regularly: Why are Apple products so expensive?His answer — that Apple doesn’t want to sacrifice quality for price — served mainly to reinforce his argument that Apple values great products over all else. (In typical Apple fashion, he made some half-dozen references to Apple’s “magic” or “magical” products.) Yet he also suggested that Apple’s innovation and product pipeline is driven at least in part by an effort to produce new gadgets at lower price-levels.“Instead of saying, ‘How can we cheapen the iPod to get it lower?’ We ask, ‘How can we do a great product and do it at a cost that enables us to sell it at the low price of $49?’” he explained.Cook noted that tech observers wondered for “years” why Apple didn’t offer a Mac for under $1000. Well Cook was wrong . There are products that are cheaper than Apple . The Amazon Fire tablets have been getting better . There is Lenovo , Samsung . Other verities . Yes there is a  $49 dollar tablet that is good as a IPAD.(2.2)>>"jail broken".  In the new lingo . Jailbreak (computer science), a jargon expression for (the act of) overcoming limitations in a computer system or device that were deliberately placed there for security, administrative, or marketing reasons: Jailbreaking (iOS), overriding software limitations on the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. It means any device !  (2.3)>>Kodi. Kodi is a "hackers" dream app. It's a free media player . Kodi is a cross-platform software application whose core is mainly programmed.  It's is funny that it's not available on Apple Store  . You'd  have to jailbreak it in order to install it on any Apple product  . BUT it's found on most app stores for Android , Amazon -Fire TV / Stick easy installation Microsoft Store has Kodi. For info on KODI go to this url : https://www.androidcentral.com/kodi  (3)>> I can tell you it opened a new world to me . Shopping addiction is a rubber stamp of Amazon . You can buy just as much merchandise as in  Ebay at Amazon .  Amazon does such an amazing job with logistics and keeping their orders bundled and packaged efficiently, finding that rare gem on Amazon has kept me glued to the screen. (4)>>AS I can see it . We might just have Apple drones flying along with Amazon drones as well  . Apple has CarPlay, which integrates iOS into a car's infotainment system. Google has Android Auto, which is available in select cars from Kia, Chevrolet, Audi, Skoda, and other manufacturers. Amazon is a somewhat later entrant into the smart car battle, but it's moving fast.Ford, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Volvo have all announced Alexa integrations. And, thanks to the fact that Amazon allows Alexa to live in third-party devices, you can also get a smartphone version of Alexa for older or unsupported cars.