Steve Jobs was more than just a a tech industry visionary and genius. Historians will see him in the same genre as the Henry Fords and Nelson Rockefellers. Let’s just think about what Apple-channeling-Steve brought to our world: from a strictly product perspective: Apple ][, Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes. From a cultural perspective, he brought us the personal computer, the mp3 music player for the rest of us, the smartphone for the rest of us, the tablet for the rest of us, legitimized digital music and movie downloads, and he essentially led the entertainment and telecom industry into the 21st century. I count myself fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time to have not only witnessed this history, but to have played an active role in it, starting my tech career with assembly language programming the hardware in the Apple ][.

The nearest possible relevant comparison is Bill Gates. Even though Gates is a giant in the industry, he doesn’t even begin to compare to what Steve brought to our world.

When one passes on, the Orthodox Christians say, “May his memory be eternal”. Regardless of your belief system, the memory and legendary “Reality Distortion Field” of Steve Jobs will eternal as the man that represents more than any other our entrance into the 21st century.

Aloha, Steve Jobs

Apple is clearly the world’s greatest consumer electronics company and today’s unveiling of the new iPhone 4S keeps them on top of all the other players. Key features like full HD 1080p video recording, improved camera, and integration with “Siri” a futuristic gee-whiz feature that acts as a personal assistant to your voice. The demo shot here shows Siri helping me find a Greek restaurant which is pretty cool because I’m Greek! :)

Any installed app that has “Full Internet Access” permissions (which you would think is most if not all apps as they typically use a Net connection for their functionality) also has access to a lot what we might regard as private data including phone and sms log data (including phone numbers)

Many HTC phones have been identified as affected, including EVO 4G, EVO 3D, Thunderbolt, and Shift. Other HTC phones may be vulnerable too but that has not been confirmed. You can get in-depth technical information from “Android Police“

Right now there is no patch or workaround. My recommendation is that you only install or run “name brand” apps that wouldn’t unnecessarily have an interest in violating your privacy

Every so often Google launches one of those “gee whiz” features and this is one of them. Maybe you’ll be the one to uncover the next theoConspiracy?

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Summary: If you get an email about something that’s too good to be true, always Google it with the word “hoax” appended. You’ll be amazed to find out that Elvis has indeed passed away and aliens have not in fact invaded the president’s brain.

Today I got an email from a family member asking me about whether she should buy the iphone 5. I asked her why and she loved the idea of the “holographic keyboard”. Huh? Suddenly I thought perhaps I was getting out-geeked by family members learning about new features before I did. Say it isn’t so! Apple is usually very secretive about future iPhone Pheatures and other than guessing what’s next by analyzing Chinese case manufacturer designs, we’re pretty much in the dark until the very end.

Quick searches (“iphone 5 hoax”) landed me to this now-famous (21 million views!) YouTube which shows an incredibly impressive demonstration of the (now watch the wording here) “iPhone 5 Concept Features”.

Yes, it’s a hoax. Sorta. It’s actually a brilliant marketing play by Aatma Studios on a “concept” with “our vision of key features” that an iPhone 5 or “subsequent models” could have

In other words, this is vaporware. Doesn’t exist. My recommendation is that you wait until after the formal launch to decide if iPHone5 is right for you.

I am speechless after seeing the concept video of the iPhone 5 that is set to be released later this year. It is an ultra thin design, has a laser keyboard and has holographic display. Just Wow!