Category Archives: IT

November 19, 2024 · 22:36

The Christmas sphere

Yup, we all go there, there is no holding us. Still it is not a setting that I would have guessed that the Republicans would enter (perhaps a small oversight on my part). It started on the October 9th 2024 when I wrote ‘Personal Perception’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/10/09/personal-perception/). Today, one of the coolest dudes I know from Uni (Thanks Yoshi) brought this to my attention (at https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/18/24300033/doj-google-monopoly-remedies-search-chrome-android-ai) where the Verge are giving us: ‘US lawyers will reportedly try to force Google to sell Chrome and unbundle Android’. Let me give you a small education. It happens in sports and n business. In uncertain times you keep your strongest players strong (example the Toronto Maple Leafs) and your businesses in pretty much the same order. As such there is an upside to all this (sort of). For Huawei Christmas comes early, as such, I personally believe It is up to Ren Zhengfei to get Merrick Garland (Attorney General of the United States) the hamper of all hampers this Christmas. (See below)

Fair is fair I think. With this sentiment the DoJ will hand mobile supremacy to Huawei and SymphonyOS on pretty much a global level. We are given (in the Verge) “Bloomberg reports that DOJ lawyers will try to break up Google’s search monopoly by targeting Chrome, Android, and AI Overviews.” And the supporting text “The Department of Justice is planning to ask for Google’s antitrust trial judge to force the company to sell off its Chrome browser after the judge ruled the company has maintained an illegal search monopoly, reports Bloomberg.”. It comes down to “Don’t underestimate the woke opponent population to destroy your their own army for you” It is the one reason Sun Tsu forgot to teach his generals among him (the silly bunny). 

As Google gets slammed left, right and in front of them by self centred greedy minded people We need to come to an understanding that Merrick Garland gave China the best Christmas present ever. In the first they took a slippery situation in 2019 to take resources and create Harmony OS and now it is its own solution away from Android and at present is available in 77 language for all 64-bit ARM, x86-64, RISC-V, LinxiISA systems. It is about the solution for smart systems and now as Google is about to be hobbled by its own justice system, the one global solution for nearly all parties. It is the one system that Apple feared, and it was partially secure knowing that Google could counter whatever Huawei could bring. That advantage is about to be gone. Ren Zhengfei had nothing to do but to await the American woke powers to be to become this stupid. And in the end the only America basically cut its own wrists right before the price fight. And that is merely part of it. You see our protection was “Finally, they will reportedly push for “a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were at the center of the case against Google.”” You see it was not for Google, it was for the consumer who relied on stability and protection from the dangers in the mobile worlds, the scammers. I reckon that by 2026 the world needs to become aware of the scammer danger and by 2026 they get more easy access to mobile users all over the world. Google was our protection and I reckon that 2026 will become the year of Huawei (2025 might be a little too soon). And that also reverberates all over the Middle East. A more clear example is given by “In total, we estimate Google’s products support between 4.3 and 10.5 SAR billion a year in economic activity. Over the last five years, the economic activity driven by Google Search and Ads has grown by 189% in nominal terms” (source: anonymous, the mouse we all adore). With this as well as “Google launched a cloud region in Saudi Arabia in November 2023, located in Dammam. The company had been in discussions with Saudi oil firm Aramco about a data center joint venture since early 2018, and plans for a GCP region in Saudi were officially announced in late 2020” If Huawei gets to show pockets of inconsistency (something the DoJ is about to deliver) Google will have a much harder time and with that part out in the open Huawei will get almost easy access to the United Arab Emirates as well. Yup, that was what the DoJ accomplished, all for the good of Huawei. Suck to be radical and woke, doesn’t it?

In addition Bloomberg gave us “Google’s regulatory affairs VP, Lee-Anne Mulholland, said that the DOJ “continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,”” gives me the sentiment that Lee-Anne Mulholland underestimated the ego of any woke mind to fumble a technology war. In other news, today I made a desperate attempt to something else and it brought me to the Canadian Consulate (in Sydny, a joke the Canadians will get). It was the most awesome experience ever. Never ever was I so happy to go to any Consulate, I actually left that place with the Christmas cheer in my heart. It took hours to make that feeling fade. 

So don’t think that I am all business (OK, I am all business at present). 

What does one have to do with the other? Nothing really, I just wanted to give you that Christmas cheer can be found in the most uncommon corners of the Universe (In this case in Australia).

So when you consider that the DoJ is pushing a radical agenda you need to consider why and more precise who does it profit. Because it is not the consumer and it is not Google. So consider that these actions are not seen in 2000 with Microsoft and with “the Circuit Court did not overturn Jackson’s findings of fact, and held that traditional antitrust analysis was not equipped to consider software-related practices like browser tie-ins”, now the setting changes. With this they enable Huawei to grab supremacy in all kinds of legal ways and it seemingly will hurt Google. So at that point what do you think will happen to Merrick Garland and his minions?  In those years Microsoft could play the games they did and now They are faced with Huawei and Tencent Holdings Ltd. And in this Pony Ma (Tencent) and Ren Zhengfei (Huawei) are about to get access to 1.8 billion consumers in a move that Google was unable to get. How is that for competitive laws? 

I reckon that the dust will settle around 2028 and the American ago will have to lick its wounds from that. Stupidity is about to end technological supremacy. I reckon they would have called me crazy around 2000. We only have to wait for the political ego to crush their own marbles. What a day.

Have a great day.

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November 18, 2024 · 12:04

The return of the man

That is what I had to see when I engaged myself to what I had lost. The Khaleej Times (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/tech/is-bluesky-the-next-twitter-why-millions-are-ditching-elon-musks-x-for-this-new-platform) where we are given ‘Is Bluesky the next Twitter? Why millions are ditching Elon Musk’s X for this new platform’ And we get the starting sentence “As discontent with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) grows, Bluesky has emerged as a fresh alternative, attracting millions of users in search of a better social media experience.” I currently have both. Hoping that this setting is the one that starts the cleaning services of X at the behest of Elon Musk. You see at present (at ZDNet) we get “According to the newest stats, it has shot up to more than 16.7 million since Tuesday, up from 9 million in early September and 12 million around mid-October.” At present the numbers give us 18.9 million users or a 9.3 member growth per second. Now we get that like me there are a few users that remain in both camps, but this will hurt the Musk advertisement numbers to no end. The giggle moment I had that there is even chance that at present X (yes, I use the expression now), there is a chance that bots are paying revenue to advertise to other bots. The reality is that brisk. To optionally lose 20 million people by December 1st should be a warning sign to Elon Musk (and not the first one mind you). And there is a larger concern for him. If every member attracts 3 to 4 other people The power of X will have been decimated to the largest effect before January 1st 2025. So what will come of this 45 billion dollar Edsel? Well, to close it down is to early to say, but there are a few suggestions that people from the FBI gave others, and I reckon that the NSA is on board with at least two of those suggestions. 

I gave the idea to Google a few months ago (merely because I wasn’t sure what Bluesky was up to) and I leave it to you to see where it goes from here. 

As I see it, there is a larger option for Bluesky and Nostr to get the bulk of what was formerly known as twitter to reduce its sentience to a mere hollowed out cadaver. How far this goes is up to Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino to decide, yet in this I think that the shareholders would want to make a massive turn about. Merely because the idea of bots advertising views to other bots might seem hollow to them. Its like a salesperson engaging with a non-decider in a company. It is a waste of both times (well, the non-decider might get a few meals and drinks out of this). So as ‘advertisement’ revenue drops (like brick) in that setting the shareholders will be massively unimpressed and so they should be. As such Elon Musk and Saudi prince and billionaire Al Waleed bin Talal al Saud, who rolled over $1.89 billion in former Twitter shares at the time of the deal. Might presumably see their stock diminish in value for a little over 40% by the end of the year. Well, I gave prince Al Waleed bin Talal al Saud the option of control of an idea to the extend of $5,000,000,000. An expected idea, that was merely the setting of IP in the first phase, which could grow to a lowly estimated $15 billion to $20,000,000,000 annual, after the second phase would be possible (not guaranteed). This would have costed him my fee of $50 million (post taxation) plus 3% annual revenue for 20 years (pre taxation). I think there is a chance he missed out on both. The first failure I personally did not see coming. 

I expected Elon Musk to be more mindful of his sink (that visualisation can be used in both directions). A friend of mine had evidence ready to be presented to Elon Musk showing him that the 45 billion was too high a price (his data showed the valid reason of diminishing that amount by 30%-45%, not a speculation, he had lot more data than I did. So as I see it, this setting will bring back the man Jack Dorsey by a lot more visibility and overly carrying suitcases full of dineros. As such The recent reports of the UAE taking the steps to set the stage with X could be faltered by the mere reason that they should have included Bluesky. I reckon that before the en of the year that move would be evidently clear. 

I wonder how this all plays out at the lemon-lime brand named X at present and the closure of this year. We’ll just have to see it. Anyways my day goes to fruition nicely as I do not own any stock in X. Still I have no stick in BlueSky either, as such I could be doing better.

So hasta lasagna to everyone and a fair Monday to all as well.

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November 16, 2024 · 13:33

Is it a public service

There is a saying (that some adhere to). How often can you slap a big-tech company around for it to be regarded as personal pleasure instead of a public service? There is an answer, but I am not the proper source of that (and I partially disagree). Slapping Microsoft around tends to be a public service no matter how you slice it. Perhaps some people at 92, NE 36th St, Redmond, WA 98052 might start seeing this as their moment to clean up that soiled behemoth. Anyway this all started actually yesterday. I saw an article and I put it next to me. I had other ideas (like actual new IP ideas), but the article was still there this morning and I gave it another look.

The article (at https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366615892/Microsoft-UAE-power-deal-at-centre-of-US-plan-for-AI-supremacy) gives us ‘Microsoft UAE power deal at centre of US plan for AI supremacy’ was hilarious for two reasons. The first is one that academics can agree on There is not (yet) such a setting like AI (Artificial Intelligence) and personally I am smirking at the idea that Microsoft can actually spell the word correctly (howl of deriving laughter by silly old me). And the start of the article gives us “Microsoft has struck an artificial intelligence (AI) energy deal with United Arab Emirates (UAE) oil giant ADNOC after a year of extraordinary diplomacy in which it was the vehicle for a US strategy to prevent a Chinese military tech grab in the Gulf region.” In this I am having the grinning setting that this is one way to give oil supremacy to Aramco and that is merely the beginning of it. And the second was the line “a US strategy to prevent a Chinese military tech grab in the Gulf region” and it is my insight that this is a clicking clock. One tick, one tock leading to one mishap and Microsoft pretty much gives the store to China. And with that Aramco laughingly watches from the sidelines. There is no if in question. This becomes a mere shifting timeline and with every day that timeline becomes a lot more worrying. Now the fist question you should ask is “Could he be wrong?” And the answer is yes, I could be wrong. However the past settings of Microsoft shows me to be correct. And in this all, the funny part to see is that with the absence of AI, the line “a plan to become an AI superpower” becomes folly (at the very least). There are all kinds of spins out there and most are ludicrous. But several sources state “There are several reasons why General AI is not yet a reality. However, there are various theories as to what why: The required processing power doesn’t exist yet. As soon as we have more powerful machines (or quantum computing), our current algorithms will help us create a General AI” or to some extent. Marketing the spin of AI does not make it so. And Quantum computing is merely the start. Then we get the shallow circuit setting and as I personally call it the trinary operating system. You see, all computing is binary and the start of trinary is there. Some Dutch scientist was able to prove the trinary particle (the Ypsilon particle). You see that set in a real computing environment is the goal (for some). The trinary system creates the setting of a achievable real AI. The trinary system has for phases NULL, TRUE, FALSE and BOTH. It is the both part that binary systems cannot do yet, as such any deeper machine learning system is flawed by human interference (aka programming and data errors because of it). This is the timeline moment where we see the folly of Microsoft (et al). 

So then we get to “It also entrenches Microsoft’s place at the crux of the environmental crisis, pledging to help one of the world’s largest oil firms use AI to become a net-zero producer of carbon emissions, while getting help in return in building renewable energy sources to feed the unprecedented demand that the data-centres powering its AI services have for electricity.” OK, not much to say against. This is a business opportunity nicely worded by Microsoft. these are realistic goals that Deeper Machine Learning could do, but that pesky setting gets the novel approach where people (programmers) need to make calls and a call made in the name of AI, still doesn’t make that so. As such when that data error is found, the learning algorithms will need to be retrained. How much time lag does that give? And make no mistake ADNOC will not tolerate these level of errors. It amounts to billions a day and the oil business is cut throat. So when I state that Aramco is sitting on the sideline howling, I was not kidding. That is how I see this develop. Then we get “The same paradox was played out at the COP 28 climate conference in Dubai last December, while Microsoft prepared to ink a $1.5bn investment in UAE state-owned AI and data-centre conglomerate G42, where Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC oil chief, chaired a global agreement to ditch fossil fuels.” This is harder to oppose. It is pretty much an agreement between two parties. However I wonder how the responsibilities of Microsoft are voiced, because it will hang on that and perhaps Microsoft slipped one by ADNOC, but that is neither here or there. You don’t become chief of ADNOC without protecting that company so without the papers I cannot state this will get Microsoft in hot waters. However, I am certain that any boast towards ‘miscommunication’ will hand the stables, the farm and the livestock (aka oil) right in the hands of China. You see, people will focus on the $1.5 billion investment by Microsoft, yet I wonder how much (or how long) the errors are unspotted. That will be an error that could result into billions a day lost and that is something that Microsoft is unlikely to survive. Then there is the third player. You see America angered China with the steps they have taken in the past. And I have no doubt that China will be keeping an eye on all this and whilst some might want to ‘hide’ mishaps. China will be at the forefront of illuminating these mistakes. And these mistakes will rear their ugly heads. They always do and the track record of Microsoft is not that great (especially when millions scrutinise your acts). As such this is a like standing on a hill where the sand is kept stable on a blob of oil, until someone walks that it merely seems stable, the person walking there became the instability of it all. Not the most eloquent expression, but I think it works and Microsoft have been trodding too much already and now China feels grieved (not sure it is a valid feeling) but for China it matters and getting Microsoft to fail will be their only target. Well, that is it all from me and looking at how this will go, I have a nice amount of popcorn ready to watch two players slug it out. In the meantime Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber has merely one thought “Did I deserve what I about to unfold?” And I can’t answer that because it is depending on the papers he co-signed and I never saw these papers, so I cannot give an honest response to that.

Let’s see how this fight unfolds on the media, enjoy your day wherever you are (it is still Friday west of Ireland).

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November 16, 2024 · 03:27

One step left for a new world

That hit me a moment ago. You see, 6 days ago I wrote ‘The easy lesson’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/11/09/the-easy-lesson/) it was an idea that could aid Apple in propelling their Apple Vision Pro, the idea hit me a week ago and now I see a few more angles to this. If Epic Games (makers of Unreal Engine 5.4) get a translation system online. It could propel the Apple Vision Pro even further. Areas like Tourism, Theme parks and even larger attractions could be visited, or seen in different ways.

I saw one side, then another and another. Apple seems to overlooked this, but the setting in high end tourism is easily made and the more are set to multiple sides it could boost Apple in several ways. As I see it, should Epic Games make the jump to make an engine that translates Unreal Engine 5 to a system that could be fed into the visionOS operating system. Apple would enjoy the upsizing, but in equal measure Apple and the game developers could get an entire new population to their translated games. We all know (or have heard of) “spatial computing experiences”, but how to set that? I saw the options about 4 years ago, not as the Vision Pro, but in other ways. And now I see that the Apple solution could work there too. And once this is going I reckon that Meta with its goggles would soon follow. The hard part is to make it work and not a simple figment of an idea that is nice or one title. This is why Apple needs to talk to Epic Games. The unreal engine would be central for conversion. We merely think of the Unreal Engine as a gaming system. But imagine that The game Assassins Creed 2, or Origin gets upgraded to Unreal Engine 5.4 and after that we get the translator to get the spatial system fed into visionOS. Consider that the spatial system let us walk through Florence, Venice, Rome and even Egypt (AC Origin) or Bagdad (AC Mirage), from there we could use it to teach us Latin, Greek, Italian, Baghdadi Arabic, Egyptian. It allows the goggles (to avoid confusion with glassware) to show us how it was then. It could also in a more frontal view of the Horizon games. To see the Thunderjaw next to you (a separate discussion). Once these systems are created the avalanche will build up and here Ubisoft has a distinct advantage through titles. So how long until the Vatican wakes up? And from there tourism gets a larger slice of this approach. And lets be fair, wouldn’t you walk through the streets of the cities we saw in the Assassins Creed games? See the machines in the Horizon games, or learn the languages of days gone by? The learning ability that is part of something bigger. A massively wild idea and perhaps contemplated by some. However, I cannot find anything in this direction at present. All options for at least two systems and if I had my way (I seldom do) there is even another side to the options I gave to the Saudi government. A way to propel the Saudi way of life to a much larger population. And now I see that the Apple Vision Pro device could do this even more so. 

It is not a step forward, it is a step to the left (or right) and it enhances the overall setting. It doesn’t replace it. A simple idea that others didn’t have (or rejected). I wonder how many considered this to be a futuristic path to learning languages? 

It has been Saturday for 3.5 hours now. Vancouver has a decent amount of Friday to do before it is here too. Have a great day.

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November 15, 2024 · 00:42

Yesterday’s news

Yup, we all have it. We all see it and sometimes we want to alter the prediction. It is not a biggie, or essential. Yet in this day and age where news is debatable and for the mere reason that we are blighted by anti-Trumpism, or anti-Bidenisms. We merely want some kind of a safe space to unwind. I usually do that be playing a game. At this moment I am all about Horizon Zero Dawn. As I see it the best IP we have seen released in the last 10 years. Over the two formats I have played (PS4/PS5) I found one bug in both versions and one additional bug in the PS5 version. It might have existed before, but I never encountered it. The game also have a few glitches, nothing big. Now the big part is that these are two bugs I encountered in a game that open and that big, it is almost uncanny to experience a game this perfect. But whilst I was playing the game my mind took a side step to an old game named Iron Helix. The game was made in 1993, an early example of a CD-based game, with video elements integrated with conventional 2D maps and controls. A simple pleasure. But in this day and age it could be made in something substantial. The video parts are updated, but this could be replaced with Unreal Engine 5. Now do not think it should include the original ship, but as a homage in the introduction it could be. Now add a objective to it like Salvaging, optionally pillaging (aka liberating) or a few other settings. In this we have the drones to find access and when updating these drones (after a mission) we could get into other places. A simple game from the beginning of the multi media game market could evolve into an actual behemoth. There is no fault by Drew Pictures (the developer). They might have moved on to bigger and better things. Yet there are a few elements in this game that are still rarely found in todays games. The publisher Spectrum HoloByte was ‘dissolved’ in 1998, but someone might still have the IP. And here lies the opportunity for the developer who has a clue (so to speak). 

A game that seems like a mere month of development time (mere weeks at this time, as the wheel doesn’t need reinventing).

That is what the ‘big’ boys like Microsoft seemingly forgot about. The IP is there, the IP when tweaked becomes a new product. No people like Phil Spencer give us things like “Microsoft will release more Xbox games on other platforms – “I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not’””. We were given this mere hours ago, all whilst we were also given “Microsoft is killing off Windows 11 Store’s no-download Instant Games (Arcade)” contradictions and added we were given “Microsoft open to more studio acquisitions, partnering with Chinese publishers” as I see it, they merely need a foothold for services as their hardware is rejected. In the meantime (in this blog) I added near free IP (for non-Microsoft systems) and The innovative designers can have a go at them, whist Microsoft (a personal view) keeps on fumbling the ball. 

I gave the notion of available IP at least 3 years ago. In the meantime we have not seen anything brilliant from Microsoft. OK, the flight simulator is absolutely brilliant. That must be said, but it is for a niche market and rightly so. Yet the larger Microsoft games are dangerously faltering. In this I am referring to Bethesda (Fallout and Elder Scrolls series). We are given “Hundreds of Bethesda video game workers, who work on titles like Fallout 76 and Elder Scrolls, are going on strike across the country. Workers in Maryland and Texas are walking off the job, claiming that the company has failed to address their remote work concerns at the bargaining table, and has begun outsourcing quality assurance work without the union’s agreement.” (Source: Inverse). Not a few, the mention of hundreds is a setting that will push back a whole range of projects and That could spell trouble for Microsoft. They bought this software house in 2020 for $7,500,000,000 and I winder what they have to show for it. Trouble is stirring in the houses of Microsoft and I don’t think it ends there. What are seemingly knee jerk actions (might be the impression that the media gives us) and that is never a good thing. So far Microsoft is (as I personally see it) the larger culprit in this. Only yesterday we were given “The “biggest Starfield update yet” is coming next week with over 100 fixes plus graphical improvements for NPCs and space sightseeing”. You see, the game launched over a year ago (September 2023) and we still see these message? Over 100 fixes? And there is Redfall, another Bethesda game where we are given (a year after release) “The story and characters are extremely forgettable, and the environments risk feeling lazy as a consequence of its own gimmick – there’s only so much hazy red skyline I can take. Redfall is technically bland and unimpressive, yes, but that somehow only highlights its unrefined charm.” Two triple A titles and they are both regarded as huge flops. In the meantime I laid out (in that same timeline) half a dozen games here for the innovative (aka non-Microsoft) designers. Half a dozen does not make me better, but I feel certain more creative. And in light of Iron Helix. It is not my design, but I improved a whole range of issues that the makers couldn’t consider in the day they made the game. A 80486 PC with 640KB does not go far, and now we can improve on a good idea a lot, making this an exercise in new IP as it becomes an innovative idea, or altered to the largest degree making it new IP and we could alter a few more parts (including the start narrative) giving us dozen’s of games with a larger prerequisite (optionally on the Amazon Luna, Nintendo Switch or the PS5 or PS5pro) all systems with a track record and that could entice Tencent To seek out the three makers I mention here. So Microsoft can partner with whomever they want, but their presentations might be lacking a few items. Even a few days ago I opted a new niche for Apple (and the Apple Vision Pro) which I made a mere 5 days ago in ‘The easy lesson’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/11/09/the-easy-lesson/). A mere idea, because that was all it was. Yet I got this in less than an hour. So where are the ‘successful’ ideas by Microsoft? Perhaps they filed it on a Solarwinds server?  No matter, Sony can pick up that slack, if not them then perhaps Nintendo, Amazon or Tencent. If all things fails there is a chance that Apple could fill up the gap that Microsoft left. It’s all competitive, true?

Innovation is for whomever sees it and can bring that idea to the others. A wallet is nice but wallets don’t speak and that is the lesson that some never learned. They all believe that ‘money talks’ is for real, but without an idea it becomes meaningless. That is how I see “Microsoft is killing off Windows 11 Store’s no-download Instant Games (Arcade)” and I am not attacking that issue. You try and you could fail. Nintendo did that with the WiiU, but from those ashes the Nintendo Switch was born and that is at present the second best system they ever had. 

Have a great day, It’s Friday here now.

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November 9, 2024 · 21:56

The easy lesson

The easiest lesson is too often forgotten and I fail to see why. This all started with some article on the Apple Global Vision Pro. And in 2009 Timmy the Cook gave us “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change. And I think regardless of who is in what job those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.” Yes, but at that point he forgot the golden rule of managing the ultimate golden Trump card. It is not the orange flavoured person, it is the issue to impress. I merely came upon this idea in less than an hour. It took me the greater part of 3600 seconds to reengineer an existing idea to cater to the Apple Vision Pro. It takes a conversation that Timmy the Cook needs to have with his half brother (Timmy Horton) to sit down and get us all a newly roasted coffee and get them talking. The idea I have is a jump to the side of these people and the other player can create a new setting to impress the entire Apple community. Is it possible? Yes, it is. Actually Nintendo did something similar several years ago, this idea has some reference to it and mostly it will be about the wow factor. It is entertainment in a different direction, but it will be an idea that can wow an audience. This and the freedom that it imposes will give the audience a rather large new setting. It might not be enough, but it gives the current audience a nice boost.

And in this I saw “Demand for Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset is said to be so low that production could be discontinued by the end of the year. According to The Information, Apple is said to have already significantly reduced production of the Vision Pro in early summer 2024.” this is the view we see a few months ago, a view that seems stellar against “Reports suggest that development on Vision Pro began in late 2015, and from that time until WWDC, Apple filed for over twenty thousand worldwide patents and spent about $130 billion on R&D.” And this is the sight we see where Apple missed the ball (as I personally see it). They forgot the first order of business, how to wow an audience. Perhaps Timmy was tired of listening to people in the sway of Microsoft, he has probably heard it all before and the laughable situation is that we have seen this before. You see someone else faced this in 1985 and in two years it turned the ship around. That was an essential lesson. The Apple Vision Pro cannot use that idea (likely too expensive) but it has  another arrow in its quilt. It can do something different and it needs one participant to agree on this. I think they will do it as it is something that hasn’t been done before. In the world of software the one idea that others cannot walk is the path that redefines a market, it has been done before and Apple might do well to consider the path that Microsoft and Ubisoft are unable to walk. It is probably the first time that they are left behind in multiple fields and it took me one hour to come up with this. A setting that seemingly no one decided to walk (Microsoft is likely too mediocre to do it). And it had a larger audience too, you see there is every chance that someone similar “Meta’s Reality Labs Achieves Record Q4 Revenue Surpassing $1 Billion, Driven by Strong Sales of Quest Headsets and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. Meta’s metaverse arm, Reality Labs, reported a remarkable Q4 2023 with revenue exceeding $1 billion, the highest in its history.” And that is probably the number two player it can entice. So there is a market ready to yield to more than it has and it took me one hour to get the idea rolling, so how many high paying bosses got caught short on this? It merely took an alternative view on the problem.

And in this day and age where we are given “Apple is laying off dozens of employees as part of rare cutbacks at the tech giant that will primarily impact employees in its services division.” and they are not alone. Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, they are all cutting back and whilst some people think that is crazy, the clear path is often sought in any place of appealing to investors. Yet it took me an hour to find a solution (in this case), I got several other ploys created in a day (including one that offered Tencent an initial additional 50 million consoles) and no one figured on why. Well, in case of Microsoft it makes sense, they rarely are on the upside of innovation, no matter how they spin this, they are merely champions of mediocracy. But Apple, they have options. It merely took one guy who can see the elements on look to think “What if we do…” and that was all it took folks. So dream big, imagine big and good things might happen to you when the right people are looking. By the way feel free to ignore the blatant idiots relying on golden words and a simple “I’ll do right by you”, they are useless and only cater to their own needs. 

Have a great Saturday. My Sunday is a mere 155 minutes away.

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November 3, 2024 · 22:49

The Apple folly

Last week I saw a video on the new iMac, so much to tell, so much to show and they give it. Yet they forget about the number one issue. Storage! I wonder if that is the achilles heel of some Mac products. And this isn’t new. I gave clear warning over three years ago.

But let’s take this from the first square.

The new iMacs are equipped with the new M4, 32GB ram and 2TB storage at C$3,449.00. You think it is the bomb, but the MacBook Pro with the near same specifications costs you C$5,149.00 and with 4TB it is $5,899.00, new new Mac Pro with only an M2 processor is C$9,499.00 and with 4TB it becomes C$10,249.00. As such in this day and age it would have been prudent to include a 4TB setting to the iMac. You see, the other options are more than $1000 more expensive. You see, all these influencers, vlogger and photographers. 2TB doesn’t hack it. 5K video’s grow in demand getting a quick 128GB per video and 8 video’s get us one terabyte in space. I warned about this a year ago and no one at Apple had the notion of taking heed a simple equation. Then there are the photographers who get into camera’s with 80MP or more. That gets us file sizes of 480Mb if saved to 16 bit tiff. With a photoshoot easily surpassing 50-100 shots, the drive becomes too small. As such either these people cannot consider the new iMac and they are forced to get either another Mac with 2 to 7 thousand dollar more or consider a PC as a solution. So we have 64 million YouTube creators or vloggers that cannot consider the new iMac, how is that for jollies?

And for the people slow of mind, I saw this coming a year ago and I wrote about it in Adaptation 103 on the 19th of October 2021 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/10/19/adaption-103/). 

So does anyone consider how Apple made this error. Do they want to push you towards the cloud? There is the real danger that whomever goes to the cloud, there intellectual property is possibly transgressed. As was reported this year in April “It was reported that 45% of breaches are cloud-based, and 69% of organisations admitted to experiencing data breaches or exposures due to multi-cloud security configurations.” In that atmosphere you want to push people to the cloud? That was my issue for years and with this iteration it seems that Apple might have lost the plot (as I personally see it). 

And I get that not everyone needs 4TB, but these groups (the vloggers) are millions where the new iMac is no longer an option. So how much business will Apple lose? Do you really think that the M4 chip and their so called AI version will fix that? I personally don’t think so. But you. Could make up your own mind. Personally I am not a vlogger, but I would like to be but I cannot do that on a MacBook Air, I can not afford a MacBook Pro and a Mac Pro is out of the question at close to 11 thousand. And that is before you get the Adobe solution, which is what pretty much every vlogger needs. So consider, has Apple made a booboo? I think they did and why be so happy about upgrading RAM from 24GB to 32GB and ignore storage needs? Jut a few simple question where we could surmise that Apple is nothing more than a new Microsoft (less error prone than Microsoft mind you).

Have a great Sunday, Monday is merely 80 minutes away here.

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October 30, 2024 · 14:47

The greed driven protocols

There is a setting that I had forgotten about and I was reminded of this by the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzp7y8e7vo) in here we see the headline ‘JP Morgan sues customers over viral TikTok cheque fraud’. To help you with this setting I take you back to 1981. I was in the draught army (pun intended) and like any teenager on a short budget I sometimes ran out of budget in week 3. Now when you had a postal account there was a nice trick. You had a postal cheque which could be cashed in for $500, no questions asked. Now this goes against your balance no matter how slim it was, as such you always had access to $500. As such in times in the last week you cashed it in without having a good balance and you started the month with minus something and then the wage came in setting you in the plus. Is you plan it nicely you could spread that minus over two months setting you in the clear. It wasn’t a great way, but when the numbers are aligned against you it was a solution. The interest was really low in those days, so it would set you back less then $2. All this happened in 1981, 43 years ago. So now we get “US banking giant JP Morgan Chase, is suing customers who allegedly took advantage of a glitch by illegally withdrawing thousands of dollars from its ATMs. The “infinite money glitch”, as it became known on TikTok, allowed the bank’s customers to write a large cheque to themselves, deposit it and then withdraw the funds before the cheque bounced.” OK, this had a little setting that people rote cheques to themselves and withdrew it before the option crashed. Then we get “Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that JP Morgan Chase closed the loophole a few days after several videos telling people about the glitch went viral on social media.” Is it really? I used the $500 option in the Netherlands 43 years ago as such, how did the loophole get created in the first place? As I see it this is all about greed driven protocols, protocols the negate certain timestamps, and now JP Morgan is crying fowl? Yes, another pun intended. And If I can recollect this setting, so can others. Is it fraud? That is the question. You see fraud is states as “wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain”. The wrongful or criminal deception is key. Were people allowed to write a check to themselves? If that is legally allowed the fraud fails. There is a financial gain, yet if these people claim that they were going to pay it back the fraud is wobbly at best. In the ned it is for a judge to decide if the case can be made. Yet even as I accepted what I did in 1981, there was never a step of personal or financial gain. I merely ‘allowed’ my account to be over-drafted for no more than a month and the maximum amount ‘borrowed’ would have been $500 for the best part of a week. As such the fraud setting becomes debatable but it hangs on the setting if a cheque can be written to ones self. 

As for the amount we are given “The amount of money kept by the defendants in the four lawsuits totalled more than $660,000, according to JP Morgan Chase’s lawyers” as such I wonder what other protocols (or better stated policies) were ‘glitched’ to make for easy money making by the banks. The fact that they are now turned against them is to some extent hilarious. The simplest setting is that you cannot write yourself a cheque for any amount. One simple rule that could have stopped JP Morgan Chase ‘losing’ money as I see it.

I might be wrong on this as I am not a banker. I asked Francesco di Medici and he agrees, but he reeled at the idea of a piece of paper supporting $660,000 so there is that too.

Have a great day.

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October 26, 2024 · 17:54

As ideas go

I just had another idea hit me square in the face. I cannot tell if it is a good idea, but as the evolution of eCommerce is going, there is space for this idea. In this case it is fledged to the conscription of Al C. O’Holloway (aka alcohol) and I just had an idea. To see the idea, you need to consider the elements. There are 3.2 billion video gamers in the world, and 1.17 billion play online. Now the idea is not set to online gamers, merely gamers. You see, when you are gaming you get hit by hunger and thirst. I for one rely on coffee and fruit juices. But not all are like me (I do like a drink every now and then). As such I was considering the online options of getting what you need and I tend to not like this. Going through the lists, or offerings tend to make me not like the order. I like to be in a store seeing what gives and that applies to food and drink. Now consider a gamer where he can walk into a store. Any store that offers the option like Dan Murphy (Australia) or LCBO (Canada). Now the store could be specific (like a location) or generic. You walk the isle and you see the bottles (an in per Unreal Engine 5 created). No list, just you strolling the lanes for what you feel like is a good choice. And the mind (read: brain) will link this to your actual visit to these places. The brain has that ability, more so then going over a list in catalogue. 

As we linger on the options, we get to add a certain bottle or brand to our Wishlist. I got this basic idea of the system (see below)

We have a walk through the booze browse place. We select items and we can then decide if it is an order, a consideration or a mere preferred drink (Wishlist). And as we walk and profile our drinking needs, we also get above the red line an update to our profile, more exact, it considers what you have placed in your profile any hidden traps. Perhaps you dislike beers, or wines and someone adding beer or wine will get red flagged and the fraud detection goes into high gear. This is not the final trigger, because you might order it for a guest. There is however a larger need to engage fraud detection in this day and age. As we keep on browsing we get to the end where the list is given and we decide making any item a Wishlist item, a preferred item or an actual purchase. The purchase is finalised and the delivery address is recorded (you might be gaming at a friends place) and the purchase is received and delivery is made through whatever option you like, possibly just an in-store pickup. Now you might want to think that there are other ways and you would be right. But eCommerce has its own grips on the matter and whatever the customer wants he or she can get. This way you are appealing to 3 billion gamers. That is not a simple Direct Marketing fling, that is a long term option and this market has been overlooked for too long. Optionally we see “They can get it in another way” vibe and that is not incorrect, but the sentiment in this day and age is just plain wrong. How long until this method is used for super markets? Consider that Dubai has a temperature of 33 degrees. Some like to go out and endure it, but as streaming systems evolve they want to walk around in their homes and see what gives at  Carrefour they have foods and fashion. And there is a larger need. It is obvious that the larger places will adapt to this first. But as this system evolves more will crowd the place. The idea that was started (to some extent) by Sony Home is now in a stage where a lot can opt to move in and it will go to a much larger place. You see 3 billion gamers are about 40% of the planet. I merely wonder why it has taken so long for others to adopt the idea.

And there is a secondary option. This might be easier way to stop fraud, because gamers will have profiles that have been around for years and these places will be able to find a lot more data on the transgressors of fraud as well as the stores trying a fast one on the customer, they are likely a lot easier to find, but that is merely a gut feeling of mine.

Have a great Saturday.

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October 25, 2024 · 15:20

When future and past are similar

I made a jump today, it was into the past. Somewhere between the release of Battlehorn Castle and November 2011, I had an idea. A set of quests to ‘automate’ defences and infrastructure in magic. It use actual NPC’s but beyond that, nearly everything went. It went nowhere (as it was not my IP). Yet the idea stayed in my mind. And today I ‘remembered’ the idea I had. 

It can be applied in numerous ways. It might be a DLC for Guerrilla (the Horizon IP), it could be added to any number of non-Microsoft IP’s and it could be added as a simple structure to anything. You see, the IP is sound and versatile as is any good given DLC.

So how did this idea come to pass?

As I revered Elder scrolls (for a long time), the setting of adding to Castle Battlehorn became overwhelming. I found myself wondering how any castle could be without guards. So I set out and created a magical oven, with at the heart the device it replicated. There was a blunt oven (maces) a sharp oven (swords), a range oven (bows) and a guardian oven (Halberts). And every oven needs to be create a few times. Then there was the issue of what materials as used. Iron, steel, or more advanced materials. You needed a forge to create the bars of material and the wood blocks to create the handles. As such, nothing is really made out of nothing (initially) but the setting applies. As you create a more advanced weapon more time per weapon is needed and the machine places it in the basket. A simple weapon (iron, or wood) is about an hour with a maximum of 6 per oven. Getting the weapon in Silver, or gold take more two or four hours. I didn’t want rely on Bethesda weapons to not get them on my back. And as such we now had a near automated weapon system. You needed to be able to forge the master weapon like a iron sword, steel sword or silver sword and the rest was made as long as you had the metals. In the upgraded version I upgraded the machine to require less materials whilst the manufacturing remains the same after that the next upgrade required less time, as such you added to the machines and had a abled guarding setting to your castle.

Then came the kitchens and there the stoves could set out food in bulk for the troops. And with every pen you had, you would add to the specials that the troops would like. A chicken coup, a cow pen, a pig pen and as such the foods would enable much stronger and more resilient troops. The option occurred to create a vegetable patch and as the troops grew, so would the need for more food.

I played with the idea on a few levels and in the end Skyrim was released and I buried the idea in the back of my mind. For some reason the thought got back to me on my morning walk. But in this setting I made a crossover between the bank job in Thief and Horizon Zero dawn (as this is released in 5 days), You see e have the foundries in Horizon for one reason, but what happens if there is a DLC that gets Aloy into a secret location where all is automated. There isn’t a kitchen, but all else remains. Sentries, guardians, servants and the place was all forgotten. Aloy would have to rely on stealth to get things done and that changes the game. She would have to find materials to create hidden paths. And that could be a more sinister task at hand. In the end there needs to be  great reward (like advanced stealth armour) and more powerful weapons. Optionally a more rewarding boon so that the DLC could be in any Horizon game.

I like to think that Guerrilla might like the idea of that DLC to hand to their respectful fans. There are a few other thoughts that I am considering, but out of all of the optional issues is the fact that I created a dozen ideas, all whilst Ubisoft is dropping stock (or better stated their stock dropped). And whilst we see “AJ Investments to go private after Star Wars Outlaws” I merely created over half a dozen IP ideas. Sucks to be Ubisoft. In other news Microsoft stock dropped 7%. They blame their cloud revenue. I say that mediocrity never leads to high praise. I reckon that Oracle largely protected a landslide sell off on Microsoft cloud issues. The creative people rule in almost all IT sides and Gaming has been largely responsible for better IT design from the 90’s onwards. BI people need to realise this and not play the blame game. If they need to blame someone they need only look into a mirror. 

And that sets the creative people apart. Not everything is a sure thing. Nintendo showed us that with the WiiU, it also led to the Switch which blew Microsoft out of the water in half the time that Microsoft needed to make minimum revenue (or more clearer stated, it took Microsoft from 2013 to 2017 to create the revenue which was surpassed by Switch within 18 months) That is the true sign of innovation. I believe that Microsoft is trusting its own spin, all whilst the creative will shoot any spin to smithereens in half that time and there is more to come. As Guerrilla will release the third game somewhere in 2026-2028, whatever Ubisoft or Microsoft had will be reduced to nothing in no time flat. Horizon was the latest true innovative IP in gaming and everything else fades next to it. This also holds true to whatever BioWare will bring in the shape of Mass Effect 5. Even there I had some idea (somewhere in my blog). The problem isn’t merely the bugs we faced in Andromeda (mostly PC) the design was shoddy. There were real moments of brilliance, but I feel that the wrong people tried to make a name for themselves and that went wrong. I set the stand for 5 to include 4 (or Andromeda) to give the fans something to bite into. And that would have created a much larger wave (my personal imagination). Now as we are given that it will not (speculated) come before 2028, people like Guerrilla will get a free reign with optionally gaming fans giving up on their Xbox (yay me). In any event, the set stage as I gave it in 2022 is now more robust as Microsoft has given us too little and Ubisoft has seemingly cancelled more than it released. Now the streamers will have their moment in creating the setting of a lifetime with the optional Tencent or the established Amazon Luna to create a new niche of millions of fans. I foresaw a first phase release of 50,000,000 consoles. With Microsoft only having sold 58 million there is a real state of transfer of gaming fans on a global stage. I envisioned a setting where that streaming solution could grace 150-200 million homes. The Microsoft BI group might want to say that this isn’t realistic, but as I didn’t fight the excellence of Sony or Nintendo. The streaming solution could be next to it, not replacing this. The very first mistake Microsoft made. And now as I have been correct a lot more than I was wrong, I feel certain that the ‘larger’ software houses seems to be ‘placed’ with the Microsoft mindset and we are now shown that it was the wrong mindset from the very beginning. Should Guerrilla also grace the streaming niche I reckon that some players might be going the way of investors of 1929 (read: jumping out of a window, not to be mistaken for a Russian suicide streak).

How wrong am I?

The interesting and valid question. The problem is that the media is not to be trusted. It is filled with stakeholders who need Microsoft to do well and they will downplay the drop of Microsoft. But the truth of the matter is that Microsoft and Ubisoft are seemingly run by Business Intelligence. It makes for a solid core, but excellence (in gaming) is never found that way. It is the creative mind that does that and not to forget the story writers as well. These elements are less seen in the games of today and again Guerrilla is the exception that establishes the rule. As such games of today, software houses of today are grasping back to yesterdays games to make up for that failing. There is also the need to replay the old games (a drive that is not to be underestimated). Yet as far as I can see the horizon, I believe to be correct and should Tencent decide to buy my IP, I will be able to prove it.

Have a wonderful Friday (Vancouver gets to see that in around 3 hours).

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