Tag Archives: Amazon

August 4, 2024 · 21:00

The judge shouldn’t

I have two things on my mind. The first is the Olympics. I do not follow it every second, but I was ‘witness’ to two events. The first is a Canadian swimmer, I refer to her as Funny Flounder. I have a thing for alliteration. It is Summer McIntosh. This 17 year young swimmer, on her first Olympic challenge got 3 golden medals and one silver one, she also broke a few of her own world records. I reckon that over the next 6 Olympics she will win a lot more. It is amazing that any person at that age can have so much drive and focus. I know I have focus, but I could never achieve that result in any discipline, not even when I was in the height of my fencing days. Then there was the Dutch Femke Bol. I saw her in the last half of the leg she did, going from 4th to 1st and win the golden medal. I have never seen such an achievement and I am happy I did now. Yet, this was not what was occupying my mind. 

On my mind was the article (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/tech/apple-asks-us-judge-to-toss-antitrust-lawsuit) where we see ‘Apple asks US judge to toss antitrust lawsuit’ we are given that it is one of five blockbuster monopoly cases pending against Big Tech companies. It was a story originally by Reuters. We are given “a lawsuit by federal and state antitrust regulators accusing it of illegally monopolising the smartphone market, saying the case would have a judge redesign its popular iPhone”. Fist off, I am not an expert on anti trust lawsuits and it will probably show in a moment.

I stand by Apple in this case. You see these people are in a wrong state of mind (and then some). I do not have an iPhone, I am an Android person and I will remain an Android person. I have nothing against Apple, I have had an iPad since the very first generation in 2010, it my present from me to me to use in University. It never let me down and in 2020 I replaced it with the iPad Air. 

The first never let my down until it was replaced and I am happy with this one too. So I do like the iOS system. My issue was that the world was eager to play down the iPhone for too much and in an age of wannabe’s thinking of their ego we saw the iPhone take the market by storm. It pretty much destroyed Nokia, Motorola and Microsoft (yes they had a mobile once). It headed ahead of Samsung (a brand I hate) and made short work of Google Pixel and Huawei with their assortment of mobiles. Actually the US government reduced the market share of Huawei. So to these antitrust regulators I state ‘Screw you’ (with a clear lack of anti trust laws). You see whilst the others were propagating their own ego’s and hide behind marketing presentations that were there to ‘appease’ the share holders, Apple did something else, they approached the customers, they listened and approach clients with presentations and newish innovation. So whilst they did that and released the ear buds and the smartwatches, the people looked and listened and joined the iPhone crowd. And there is more, The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 has ben around for a while, so where were they when Netscape was murdered by Microsoft? We have United States of America v. Microsoft Corporation, 253 F. 34 as well as the overturning in 2001, after 11 years in court. There is a difference. Apple created iOS in a presumed (by me) towards the IoT (Internet of Things) and Apple has always heralded interconnectivity on their systems. I have two really bad issues with Apple, but not with my iPod and iPad, they always functioned perfectly. 

This matters, because the US regulators are apparently fond of shooting themselves in the foot. 

And that is what will happen if a judge redesigns its popular iPhone. And the setting (as I see it) is that they never minded anything as Apple stayed in its niche market, but now with the smart phone it is different. You see ever since I looked into matters (around 2011) I saw that the stage was going to change. Mobile devices were going to be generic with optional simplified hardware, the power as going to be the software. So 5 devices and one program solution and for the most that is coming to pass. We have Apple, Google, Huawei and Samsung for the most and Microsoft is out of THAT race. The lag that Motorola and Nokia have are just too big. So when I see “The Justice Department, 19 states and Washington, D.C., accuse Apple of an illegal monopoly on smartphones maintained by imposing contractual restrictions on, and withholding critical access from, developers” I say ‘bollocks’ The issue is who are the iOS developers? In 2011 I have cess to the development kits of Apple (schoolwork) and I never entertained it other than the assignments I had. I was an Apple user, not a developer (I regret that a little right now). 

So when we see “an illegal monopoly on smartphones” I say that this is not an illegal monopoly, it is a system setting that they selected, other than Android (Google, Huawei, Samsung) and Windows (Microsoft), actually I am hard to keep a straight face when setting Windows on a mobile phone. Can you imagine the CrowdStrike damage mobile phones might have had to endure? Oh and when we see this did anyone consider the consequences that were on IBM, who basically forced people to rely on IBM hardware. Perhaps HP can rephrase the nightmare they faced on IBM with their printers. 

There is a second tier to this all, we need to consider that The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 is no longer the best way to go about this for more and more devices. As the mobiles become more generic and it will be on the software to trample a path into this all. When we consider that Google now has the Pixel 8a, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8, Pixel Watch 2, Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet. At least three of these systems are nearly identical, they have 1-2 processors difference. Their difference becomes the software. But that is now, I expect in the next 2-3 years that there will be more devices all powered by the same software and optionally the connecting devices (through the mobile phones) . The lawmakers of 1890 would have never expected this and the differences will grow even more.  And a prime example here is Microsoft. We now get “All you’ll need is a compatible Fire TV Stick, a Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller, and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to stream Xbox games. Microsoft is working to allow Xbox Cloud Gaming to stream your entire Xbox library, and not just titles that are part of Game Pass.” Did anyone consider “a compatible Fire TV Stick”? So how long until they revamp the gaming industry with that solution? How long until they (a speculative view) impede devices through that connection where an error stops the Sony Playstation or Nintendo Switch to no longer with with their software because (speculative) software by Microsoft impeded it? Oh, they’ll be all apologetic, but the damage will have been done. We see (at Microsoft) “The Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter helps you automatically repair issues when you’re blocked from installing or removing programs. It also fixes corrupted registry keys”, so this issue has been around from Windows 7 (2009), and was still around in Windows 10 (2015), so it was an issue for at least 6 years. Do we really want them to get involved? Come to think of it, l I would be on the first plane to Shenzhen if it comes to that. Oh and I haven’t even considered the damage that solution would do to the Amazon Luna. Apple had a solution and it has propagated that solution to all things Apple. They marketed their solution widely and innovatively and innovation is what is missed in many Big Tech companies. Too give another example, last year Apple did something Awesome. We see a meeting with a youthful young sprout (Tim Cook) reporting to Gaia and getting lectured by her. The brilliance was that plenty of companies took a paragraph out of their time to publish that they are on track to be carbon zero. Apple made it a presentation (advertisement) whilst giving a report of their directions. It was funny and it was pretty brilliant. Google and Amazon missed the boat and there was no value in copying that. So that is the innovative presentations that are Apple. The bigger picture is that mobile phones are presented through marketing and Apple marketing slaps the marketing of Google and Samsung. So we see “an illegal monopoly on smartphones” all whilst the others aren’t doing their bit to keep up (or seemingly keep up), so why punish Apple for that?

As I see it the judge has to toss the case, of not for the logic then for the reality that if this setting is pushed and Microsoft steps in, then we come to the conclusion that the US government is merely a tools for Microsoft to stop it from collapsing on itself (my personal view).

Well that was me today. 190 minutes from Monday here now, Vancouver is still pre Sunday breakfast. Have a fun day everyone.

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July 22, 2024 · 20:17

What’s the deal?

That is the question and it goes beyond simple branding. It is the CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fake-labour-documents-sold-abroad-1.7253257) who gives us ‘Scams selling fake jobs to foreign workers may be operating outside Canada’ The routine is decently simple. 

  1. Someone in the world sets up links.
  2. They promise a job (at a charge)
  3. Person is scammed and in this example a 31-year-old from Lagos says a fellow Nigerian sold him fake documents after promising a job in Canada.

The problem is that not every one is internet savvy and more important. They think that Facebook (and other social media) is a safe space.

There is another way to look at this. For one “a travel agent who specialised in providing visas to Canada and the U.K.”

Let’s take this one step at a time. There are literally thousands waiting to get legally into Canada and the U.K.. With citizens in these places setting the stage. Do you really think that such a person has any chance? People in these places know people too. Do you think that they would allow the job to go to any foreigner they do not know, when they know people that they would happily offer the job to someone they know? In addition, there are genuine shortages, but they tend to be specialised jobs like nurses, doctors and so on. And when you are on social media who can tell which person is real, who is a scammer and who is a troll farm.

There is almost literally the chance that a offer that is too good to be true is either a scammer or a troll seeking intel. And the chances of a good deal go down and down more and more. 

There is a second part, but foreigners might not know that unless they investigate. You see labour market impact assessments (LMIA’s) cannot be sold, that I actually illegal. 

And on a second note, this year on the Hajj, hundred of people got killed by so called travel agents, there is every chance that they weren’t even a recognised travel agent (I have no data proving or disproving that).

Australia has a offering of empty appartments that is around 1%, do you think that those with an apartment will offer it on Facebook to strangers? They can make a bundle in cash and in social commitments to people they know. And that is mostly without risk. I would love to move to Canada (I think that an outstanding donation from Jeff Bezos or Andy Jassy has 98.9% more chance for me than any Facebook claim) and I never met any of these two youthful young sprouts. 😛

The article also has a statement that I firmly believe in “If it sounds too good to be true, it is. And generally speaking, an employer in Canada is not going to ask you for money to extend a job to you.” That is especially true for social media. The bulk of posts in social media is that they are out for money, it is the rule of me, myself and my bank account. The bulk of these people are honest dealers, tradesman or retail. But the bump of scammers is growing, especially in this economy. There is one statement I have an issue with. It is “Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault denounced LMIA fraudsters for targeting “vulnerable people.”” He is correct, but that group of people in this economy is getting larger fast. So new options are needed. I believe that here the embassies are the option. They should give clear notice to anyone going to their sites how to get on a track to become a foreign worker/resident/citizen. Also give clear scammer warning and especially that the sale of LMIA documents is illegal. Now, The Australian page for Canada is clear and direct, however I did not see the LMIA issue. I think there should be a warning for scammers (on every consul page) and why a Facebook group mail is nearly always a scam.

Me? Well I will in part rely on the sale of IP and get enough to retire in Toronto, we all have wishes and this is mine. 

Anyway have a lovely day, my day is almost done whilst in Vancouver it is 5 hours until this morning’s breakfast. Enjoy!

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July 19, 2024 · 19:18

A second visit

Well, it might have been a third time that I take a view towards an altered IP. This isn’t mine, it’s actually the property of Microsoft. The first game (Mass Effect) was released in 2007 and Mass Effect 2 was released in 2010. Mass Effect 2 is still regarded by many (and me) as one of the greatest tactical shooters. Mass Effect 3 is good, but it also gave us the greatest multi player shooters ever made. These two elements are the grounds of the massive fanbase of the series. 

The present we got at the launch party is still regarded by me as the coolest ever (see above), all the guests got one with themselves as the SPECTRE agent. 

At the end of game 3 there were a lot of complaints. I think that one was shoddy to some effect and it should have been set better, but the story was awesome. There were 4 endings (I never found the 4th, but I saw it on YouTube). And whilst going into this I accidentally found out another part which I will illuminate soon enough. It seems that Facebook is catering to Microsoft with accusations of spam. But I have my response for Facebook ready. Anyway back to the story. 

The new setting I created was set on the citadel. It happens after the slaughter starts and before Shepard makes its entry. In these weeks (optionally months) we are on the citadel. It has the familiar places (Embassy module and the stages from Mass Effect 2, yet there are a few hundred more places. This is a stealth game.

The story is that an engineer had smuggled his family on board, as such it he/she had a hiding place. As the slaughter (read: ascendancy) continues, this engineer needs to sneak its way around. The first thing that needs to be done is to secure water and sustenance. Also oxygen is needed (for the long haul).

Every place has three versions. The dirty stage (with bodies), the cleaning stage (with keepers) and the clean stage. They all have their own issues. 

One of the stages is to secure personnel manifests (with local celebrity locations), locations of interest and local artefacts. 

The races are Asari, Drell, Elcor, Hanar, Humans, Keepers, Salarians, Turians, Volus, Batarians, Geth, Krogan, Quarians, Vorcha, Yahg. The races in bold are the selectable races. In the citadel the Batarians, Quarians, Vorcha and Yahg have no embassy. As such they are the harder species to play. The Quarians (when found) will have information on the Geth. The Turians have data on Vorcha and Yahg and so on. As the game progresses once you have the data, you will face a setting where you have to install monitors all over the station to record what is happening as well as to set alarms so you can sneak your way around the station. You need to get a electronic shroud (a sort of digital cloak), enhance your hiding place as well as creating a few others where you can heal and rest in safety. In normal play the game will ignore several issues, but in hard more it will ‘see’ recording devices and start a hunt for you. Once this starts, you will have to set up a decoy to reset the alarm, the hiding place will be lost forever. 

To set this up it is more then a simple matter. The keepers are thorough in cleaning, as such it will be important to remain invisible. The largest issue I see isn’t merely locations, This place is huge. 

As you can see it is quite big. One idea is to set the stage by race (and most of the game on one of the platforms. It requires one huge LLM with deeper machine learning to create the levels. As I see it, per race you will need up to a dozen buildings (skyscrapers) to cover essential needs for the game. You will have to get the hardware you require for the tasks. The shopping district (ME2) should give you a camera and digital storage. No weapons in this game, however an idea comes to mind to get something like a mining laser (to cut through matter) and tools to open other areas.

Although the game seems straight forward. The idea came to me that the maker optionally have loads of other lore and concept art that they never used in the game. There would be use for them here. Also, other races would have data on humans like the illusive man, Shepard and so on. 

The larger setting I see is how to create a sphere of thrill and suspense that makes a stealth game, a stealth game. You see in ‘cheaper’ stealth games you carry everything making you a bulkier version of you with a backpack 15 times the size of you. So it is important to set the ‘sneak factor’ to find upgrades and better hardware to do the job. The shopping district will have a version one or two of an essential tool, but better versions need to be found. In addition to that, to set the tools to a random location requires a more spiffy setting. Or as they say, to be placed in ulterior locations where we have 1000 places it could be, but with references on items in logs (embassy and security). Then there is the idea of replayability. So as the citadel has hundreds of buildings per pillar, the stage comes that in a second game (with the same race) you will get confronted with different buildings. Similar but not identical, which gives new vibes to the game.

So, whilst we all see what Microsoft is up to with more rehashing the same idea. I took one look at a great game and created (optional) new IP in a day. This is why I see Microsoft as an agent of mediocrity. Now I will accept that this is not enough. More is needed to make this a great game, but I got them this in under a day (it is basically Microsoft IP). So feel free to to wonder what Microsoft is blundering around. If I can get this done in under a day, what are they seeking to rehash the old days? Don’t get me wrong I played Age of Mythology when it released in 2002 and it is a great game, optionally to play again. But considering all the IP they have (or should have) this is not enough. Lets face it they have GREAT IP. The Flight Simulator (2020) has truly become a great game (it was always great). It is a niche market, but for those into flight simulators it is the bees knees. Bioware had many great games. My personal favourite in D&D (Neverwinter nights, 2002) is still one of the greatest fantasy games ever. Both Dragon Age and Jade empires (not my favourites) are good games, where are they now? The problem is that some games need their scope readjusted. To coin an idea, the Multiplayer version of Mass Effect 3 could have been launched on the Xbox series X as a free to play game on that console. And free to play is important is important. They can still offer the loot boxes in the same way they did. For points fought over, or for a few dollars. And there is a market. This game is still played after 12 years. The is one hell of an achievement for a game released in 2012. So why didn’t Microsoft act? I got to the top 1% of players in 2013, there were over 1.2 million players at that point. Considering that the PS5 outsells the Xbox-X by 5:1 I would think that they squandered their markets. And this is a game that can flock hundreds of thousands to the Xbox (in addition to any other system), and no one thought this was a good idea?

As I personally see it Phil Spencer was all about capturing the player base (read: legally stealing), yet the the idea of bolstering its player base by offering playability was seemingly lost to him. And his hard times are yet to come. As I see it I might not have another option but to hand my IP to Tencent technologies. Partially this idea comes as Facebook removed my previous post under the fake guise of spam, which was not the case. The idea has merit as within two years Facebook would lose millions of advertisers. Troll farms create a lot of traffic, but not a lot of commerce, merely fake locations to advertise to, when retailers figure that part out, they will find another place to go to and there is my solution. I saw this three years ago, Whilst everyone was diving for digital dollars any way they could. I saw that the power of it all relies on engagement. And a troll farm only ‘seemingly’ engages. True engagement is seen elsewhere. That is the achilles heel of Facebook and the strength of Amazon (Tencent optionally too). So as I see it Microsoft lost out two times. Didn’t you wonder why Chrome has a market share of 65% and Edge a mere 5%? They aren’t looking in the wrong direction, they aren’t looking in the proper place to begin with. And I added my gaming idea as optional evidence part N. 

A setting overlooked due to the principle of spin. So whilst Microsoft relies on ‘The most powerful console in the world’, Sony and Nintendo are relying on the factor of fun and play and they are winning This year Nintendo had 123,000,000 players. Sony has 118,000,000 players. Now compare that with Microsoft and their 27.7 million consoles. And Tencent technologies is knocking at the door taking optionally more market share away from Microsoft. That is how bad it will get and I saw this 3 years ago. This is why I tried to get the solution to Kingdom Holding (so far no luck). In this environment Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud could score big, optionally the largest gain they ever had (speculative thinking by me). 

My weekend has stated, in Vancouver the day is only starting. Enjoy!

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July 18, 2024 · 20:53

Doubt it if you want

I got another message last night on me claiming that Google drops stuff and that I was sitting on IP worth billions. They all want the complete rundown, but these wannabe claimers and optional IP thieves want another freebee. I can do you one better. 

The setting is that your phone takes an image of any text and google Translate will translate the image. That was recently. Or better stated I got an advertisement on the matter today and things just clicked in me. You see (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/02/13/looky-looky/) which I wrote on February 13th 2022, so well over two years ago. I gave the setting that we see now. In my version I used Google glasses with a bluetooth link to the mobile. It was a setting to a new Watchdogs game. Now we get ‘the real deal’ that Google can translate it. Now, I am not claiming that they stole my idea. Google does its own thing and there is even a large chance that they never saw my story. So, what am I trying to say? Well I have been in IT over 40 years. I got into IT in the beginning of the 80’s. When you are that connected to hardware, software and IP. Your mind designs one, the other, or a combination. It is a natural setting. So when I stated that Amazon Google et al left billions on the floor, I was not kidding. The article ‘looky looky’ gives the example that I was ahead of Google by two years (more likely one year, the application did not write itself) as such they have a good idea and they made it work. I was venturing in another direction, one that Google rejected. As such only Amazon and Tencent Technologies remained (Apple as a possible third) The fact that Amazon left these billions on the floor as well made me go tsk, tsk, tsk. Now in the given example with the Google Glasses it was the story towards a game, nothing more. 

So consider that I was able to set the stage (a partial design) of what Google is not able to do. Once they connect to google glasses it comes close to exactly what I had in mind. As such I am speculating that I was three years ahead of them. As such I feel comfortable with the setting that 50 million console in stage one and up to 250 million consoles would be possible (any higher is possible, but I remain driven to conservative numbers) and in this in 4 territories are the focal point. Once this goes towards a massive crowd whomever goes that way will see a lot more revenue. Consider that this streaming solution would break the record that the PlayStation 2 had with 155 million consoles, the most successful console in history. I merely did this by expanding the scope of a console. That was the setting that Amazon and Google left on the floor. In a time when they are all shedding jobs, they overlooked in excess of 5 billion a year (based on my numbers) in the first phase. In addition to this recent numbers from the sources give a rise to speculate that it is possible (depending on production) that the 50,000,000 consoles would be reached within a year and that is less than 10% of a population in three regions and there are at least 9 more regions, so I am confident on my numbers. Amazon and Google left that much on the floor (Microsoft is not welcome here). So when you see that I came up with an idea more than two years ahead of Google, wonder what more they left lying around? I am an IT brain. There is every chance that other people have a different focus that people (and me) do not have. So what can you come up with? I merely focus on gaming and IoT. There is a lot of settings that others can see because their focus is there. A year before that I contemplated that these Walking tours on Youtube could be used by Google to consider a new trace. You see wouldn’t a walking tour video be more interesting if a retail client on that tour could place its advertisement in that video (close to where the shop actually is)? Consider that we got in April 2024 “buyers aged 18-34 are 130% more likely to book a showing if there is a virtual tour available for a listing” and several walking tour makers have well over 100,000 followers. That is real money and that is a real population. I mentioned this around 2020, so what did Google do about that? I still get all kinds of nonsense advertisement. So how much did Google miss out on in this setting? I don’t know, there is a lot I do not know on this, but it is possible that Google does not know that either. Perhaps it is not profitable enough. But what was true in 2020, might represent serious cash in 2024. Johnny Strides (Toronto) has 111K subscribers. Several Dubai video’s have almost 900K views. This is a direct population. People with interest in a topic is a population that engages with the maker (by watching and optionally with feedback), so what happened? Was generic pumping of advertisement enough? With so many fake accounts and farms, at some point Google will be requested to up the quality of their ‘population’. When that happens and advertisement can no longer be seen as a direct marketing channel. They will have to change gears, or they can start to up the quality of their viewers. Two simple examples and as soon as the 5G option for real estate starts elevating real estate in a place like Dubai the numbers start adding up. They had in Q1 2024 $29.9 billion. If this solution would only add 1% (I thing it might be as high as 3%), that amounts to an additional $229,000,000 And that is only ONE CITY. So what about London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco? You still think this is merely a bluff? All directions that Google should have done already and they didn’t. But they were were ‘eager’ to state two months ago “the company is “simplifying our structures to give employees more opportunity to work on our most innovative and important advances and our biggest company priorities, while reducing bureaucracy and layers.” Which is optionally their way of stating that they shedded 12,000 jobs. I just gave them two reasons to not do that, well one reason, they already dropped the Google Stadia, they never saw the 50 million consoles option, which leaves Amazon, optionally Apple and Tencent technology. Are you starting to see that they (others as well) dropped the ball?

All levels of people are rehashing the view of others on AI and IoT (Internet of Things). So why don’t they act what they preach? Oh and my real estate is merely one channel of a much bigger setting. Real estate was merely the most visible one, but not the only one. 

So have a great day and enjoy the upcoming Friday, for me that day is only 3 more hours away.

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July 11, 2024 · 08:23

News I saw two days ago

Now, I get it. It is to days old. Does it still matter? Yes, it does. The article in New Lines Magazine (at https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/why-pilgrims-are-dying-on-the-hajj/) is giving us ‘Why Pilgrims Are Dying on the Hajj’ with the subtext “Recent deaths of the old and underprepared at Mecca were caused not just by international racketeers but by Saudi visa reforms and digitisation” and I have issues with this. You see, there are several setting mentioned. 

“underprepared at Mecca” is one. This takes a few moments to explain and I will get to that in a moment. Then we get “international racketeers” which I am on board with and “Saudi visa reforms and digitisation” which is something I have not looked at, so that might be a factor. But the story gives us an interesting part which I had not seen before. We are given “Saudi Minister of Health Fahad Al-Jalajel announced that 1,301 pilgrims had died, with nearly 1,080 of them being “not authorised to perform the Hajj.”” So as I see it 83% of the people who had died did not have access to anything because they failed to get the right visa. This does give us another side, we get that 221 people died in this setting (they who had the proper access) out of 1,800,000 pilgrims. So from that we get that 0.0122% of people were a casualty of the heat. This means that 99.98% made it. I hesitate to add an ‘OK’ because I reckon that the heat got to too many, they merely were not a casualty of the heat. Yet no one is looking at that. If you would have had a concert with Taylor Swift with 1.8 million fans the damage might have been a lot worse. This does not reflect on the number one Swiftie and it might not have been on any healthcare. But none of the media reflected on the amazing job that the people under Saudi Minister of Health Fahad Al-Jalajel had achieved under one of the most horrendous circumstances. 

So when you see these facts “underprepared at Mecca” becomes more than debatable, it is a clear bad description of a setting only muslims will understand and to be clear many muslims are from an Arabic region (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain) so for them to be hit to that degree by the heat is something else (not sure how to describe that).

We see that the article gives all kinds of emotional settings (which I get as the media relies on emotion). We are also given “Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly explained that some travel agencies organised Hajj programs using personal visitor visas, which barred holders from entering Mecca. These pilgrims had to take desert routes on foot, without adequate accommodation, exposing them to extreme heat”. A clear setting of “international racketeers” and Saudi Arabia had been drilling down on this. And the part that partially offends me is “In order for the visa brokers, whose market has flourished with the change in the kingdom’s tourism policy, to succeed in providing services to those who want to perform the Hajj without a permit” It offends me because this is the direct consequence of greed. And still the media point the finger at Saudi Arabia, even though the data (when available) clearly shows the ‘illegal’ action of the tourist and the greed of the travel brokers. So how many of these brokers have been arrested or be given the proper limelight exposing their actions? The Hajj is clearly controlled for safety and health reasons. And as I see it there is little to no blame on Saudi Arabia and specifically the minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfig Al-Rabiah, I will go on and boldly state that he (and his staff) deserves a medal for guiding 99.98% of the Muslim population through a Hajj in such unbearable heat. However, the media does not look that far, because the blame game is more rewarding. 

My side
So, why am I so focussed on this? I am not a Muslim, so that is not it. It is the unreliable one sided push by the media and second is that I thought through an IP that will benefit up to 300,000,000 Muslims. That IP comes with a payday (I have non-altruistic reasons). The point becomes more interesting as Google and Amazon fumbled that ball. So I hope that either the Saudi government, Kingdom Holding Company (Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud) or Tencent Technology does pick up that ball. A revenue stage that would ensure $5,000,000,000 in phase one and close to three times as much after that and this is annual revenue. So, I am driven to this goal. Oh, and Microsoft was not invited to this setting. They might proclaim that they are the most wealthy corporation, but like their most powerful console they claimed to have was made the bitch of Nintendo with their Switch, the weakest console of them all. That is the price of mediocrity as I personally see it. So whilst the media might be going all about how Saudi Arabia fumbled “visa reforms and digitisation”, which I cannot confirm of oppose. The clear setting is that drilling down on visa brokers by the international community becomes essential. 

So, enjoy your day today. I am now 575 steps and 45 minutes away from breakfast.

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July 4, 2024 · 20:03

In the beginning

Two issues came to light, the first one is about an American cop. The BBC gives us (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72ver6172do) where we see ‘A Bugatti car, a first lady and the fake stories aimed at Americans’. We are given “A network of Russia-based websites masquerading as local American newspapers is pumping out fake stories as part of an AI-powered operation that is increasingly targeting the US election, a BBC investigation can reveal.

A former Florida police officer who relocated to Moscow is one of the key figures behind it.” We knew this, it is nothing new. The Dutch company Trollrensics is actively hunting down trolls and illustrating all the fake news we see (well most of it anyways). This article brought a small art to light that requires actions by both Amazon, Google and Microsoft. You see the BBC gives us “But before the truth could even get its shoes on, the lie had gone viral. Influencers had already picked up the false story and spread it widely”. This is a dangerous setting. Influencers are all about the traffic, they mostly lack integrity and have no clue on the desire to gain followers and their desire to get their golden YouTube sign. 

It is time that the United States and the European Union start to pressure these tech firms to chastise these influencers. If they cannot give ample validation of how they got the evidence how they verified the authenticity they get the full brunt of the consequences. If they are found spreading fake news, their Google rating is diminished, their video’s are all downgraded. And their video’s are skipped in searches unless a person asks for this (former) influencer by name (at which point several people can find the seekers). It is a little crude but the Russians are becoming too much of a nuisance. Oh, and by the way if they follow through on the threat to bomb the Netherlands, I will put my nuclear deterrent (a solution to make a nuclear reactor meltdown) on every BBS in Chechnya. See how they like that condition. Russia made enough enemies, if they have to protect every nuclear reactor in Russia they will lose 15% of their deployable troops protecting buildings they never had to before. Actions are needed and no one is doing them, they are all concerned with the bottom line. You see spreading fake news and false information is not a freedom. In this day and age it is a duty of everyone to not spread fake news and misinformation. Now I understand that not everyone is able to distinguish fake news from real news. I usually seek two official sources (the Guardian, BBC, Al Jazeera, Arab News, Washington Post, Boston Globe, LA Times) there are more but you get the gist. The complication is John Mark Dougan, an American ex-cop. Just questioning. Why would anyone in Florida relocate to Moscow? No matter how valid his reason is. As we are given “an AI-powered operation that is increasingly targeting the US election” we are given the notion that this is all about Trump (my speculation) and it goes from bad to worse. As such I need to do something. I am not a man of action (when you pass the 60 mark that happens) but I have a decent imagination to look outside of the box. Russia has 38 active nuclear reactors. They collectively have 200,000 people working there. Consider that the Russians would need to check them all, secure them all. That implies thousands of troops. Then they need to inspect all new arrivals. It will be a nightmare I reckon. In the mean time they face Chechnya and Pro Ukrainian Russian troops. Plenty to worry about and with the solution out in the open, the Russians get a new danger and optionally their other enemies come out of the woodwork. 

But that is another matter. For now we need to take care of the influencers. They are the first hurdle to stop traction of fake news. In this Amazon, Google and Microsoft could change the rating of anyone spreading fake news, Google especially. Put their ratings to minus 150 and the influencers seize to be a relenting problem. Remove these accounts and their flocks disperse. Now I am not sure if Google can do that. You know that any account holder of a Google/Youtube account has rights. Just changing this on the fly does not go over well. But Google can stop the fake news from spreading, they can also look at the followers of that influencer. But I get ahead of the issues. Something needs to be done and not enough (as far as I can tell) is being done. 

Enjoy the day.

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June 27, 2024 · 01:17

The side not illuminated

The BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5111qxl2nro) is giving us ‘Apple in breach of law on App Store, says EU’ We get a few sides, but one side is not given to us. We are given “European Union regulators have accused Apple of being in breach of new laws designed to rein in big tech companies” It sounds nice, but at present the station “rein in big tech companies” is at least sanctimonious. We are also given “The firm charges developers an average of 30% commission on its App Store” and the penalty is given as we are given “The firm faces a potential fine of up to 10% of its global revenue if it fails to comply with the rules”. You see the one part we are NOT given is that all these developers get a channel to publish their work. The get their million by harassing people with advertising. These developers have no interest in giving gamers a real gaming satisfaction (some, but massively too little). So the EU should consider the fallout. You see Apple and Google could do two things. Pull all the games with an advertising channel, stating that this is not permitted. The second part is that they can start charging for the service. The bulk of these gaming ‘companies’ will soon thereafter collapse. You see when all these companies get CHARGED for spreading these games and cyber security. The net thing we see is that these companies will go somewhere else and the dangers of servicing hackers becomes rather large. 

The next part is that this becomes a new setting where the UAE and Saudi Arabia will get the option to offer the same thing Apple and Google did, but charging a mere 5% to 10%, the rest will probably going to China, making the EU and US lose even more revenue. 

All this because the shareholders of Epic Games wanted more revenue and they got this by throwing a tantrum like a child so that they get charged less for services. And lets be clear, they were eager to accept the deal when they were small, now that they are big they can afford to pay for the services. But that is not the only part. Epic Games wanted another path and when even one of these 3rd parties get to be hacked and the players get the damage, Epic Games will face the largest class action lawsuit in history. At that point I wonder how the shareholders will reflect on a pay cycle that will cost them billions. They had a safe environment with Apple and Google, but when that falls away these two will help to give the victims all the numbers and all the support they need to clean out the vaults of all the game developers who took the greedy way out. In addition the EU will get a new problem. As game makers fall flat and optionally move to China or the Middle East the EU will lose revenue. In the last 8 years 10 games made $13,000,000,000. So what will the EU do when that goes to China (or the Middle East)? There are over 200 companies, 105 made over $500,000,000. This was a bad call. These politicians have a socialistic mindset, Take from the rich, but they forget that these rich companies set the foundation of growth. Sergey Brin, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were real innovators. The mediocrity of Microsoft is pushing them back more and more. And whilst they might be shown as the richest, they are losing more and more ground. Now with the EU, more and more business will move to better (read: non-European and American) shores. 

And the EU did this to themselves. Consider the DMA:

  • Business users who depend on gatekeepers to offer their services in the single market will have a Fairer business environment (But these services come at a cost, no more Freebees)
  • allow third parties to inter-operate with the gatekeeper’s own services in certain specific situations. (If hacked those services become nullified)

Just to part, the first will nullify these innovators, they cannot afford these services and they will go to a cheap solution making them a target for hackers. The second part will end some games, gamers have no patience and no humour. So when their game stops they will all cry like little children, their toy was taken away and when a hacker does get to upper hand, the class actions will come calling for all these companies. It is a war that the EU cannot win and the larger companies will become empty shells (my prediction). 

Until this first case was decided there was merely a threat of things, now it is coming to pass. 

I wonder what happens to the ‘fake’ economy in Europe when this starts. When advertising through gaming stops. What will the damage be? Amazon, Apple and Google have other means for getting advertising revenue. The others? Anyones guess, but there is a chance that a few hundred companies are sweating because no revenue meant no cost and that could stop now. So they need to find bankers. And what will those bankers demand? All issues that the DMA (Digital Markets Act) did not consider. I believe that this Apple case is opening a can of worms  no one is ready for and the implications are long term.

And now it is Thursday, Enjoy this day when you get to this point.

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June 20, 2024 · 18:02

Changing the game

There was a setting that was designed with the recently departed Google Stadia and the Amazon Luna in mind. I set the premise to 50 million systems in phase one and up to 200 million in phase two in mind. Alas Amazon wasn’t attracted to such a sales venue. Last night I pondered a few items and I occurred to me that the Apple Vision Pro was equally set to that premise. There is a limitation, they would have to be able to run Unreal Engine 5 environments. When that is possible the rest would auto fill in, the other parts would not need UE5. Take that and like it to the Apple Arcade and they would make Microsoft irrelevant within a year, optionally to years. It is the setting that will show the other players (like Kingdom Holding) that they lost out. When this setting goes to apple, they can define a new niche customer base. Apple Arcade matter because not everyone can afford the Vision Pro. Even if a cheaper version comes to market close to 75 million people would be left in the cold. And I reckon that Apple wants the entire cluster of people. The fact that you get an arcade setting that could be upgraded to Vision Pro almost sells itself. And my predictions were conservative. 200 million is a little over 10% of the entire cluster with Indonesia, Bangladesh and Egypt leading the way. Places were Apple have great growth potential. That and a largely untapped advertisement potential as well. In the end It is a market that will end Microsoft, it gaming and their edge population (the little they had in the first place). I have been going over the numbers in the first place and I can see no downfall here. 

Apple’s first task is to set the Vision Pro to deal with Unreal Engine 5, it is the cornerstone of success, or at least it will be. In the end Apple will have to open (or enhance) a data cloud in Saudi Arabia with later on added clusters in Indonesia and Egypt. But I reckon that when they pass 100 million added people it would be a trivial expenditure. And if they surpass the 10% group (which requires data insight that I cannot lay my fingers on) the entire setting will cost Microsoft and Facebook revenue that they currently think is ‘safe’. But they didn’t count on a wildcard and it was lost because they never looked behind them. Their was billions in revenue and it was left on the floor. I wonder if Apple ever considered that. Apple has no blame, their mission statement was based on their niche market. But technology and requirements changed. With Brics it changes even more. Now they have Tencent Technology to content with. Tencent might not have the Vision Pro, but my system was initially designed without it. The Vision Pro has as  see it a larger benefit, but it is a mere ‘nice to have’. You see, sales engineering has a three tiered awareness approach. It is set to ‘must tell everyone’, ‘nice to have’ and the rest. When you focus on the first line, most people tend to ignore the ‘nice to have’ but it is there that the setting gives people outside the designated clusters are found. So don’t set to the wealthy, just make sure that they see the upside, and Vision Pro would do that. It sets the premise of a solution from 5 billion in phase one up to 18 billion in phase two and that will not include advertisement money over a dozen countries. I reckon that this is more than I can imagine (because this has not been done before) and several parts were found be looking behind me, something the current captains of technology industry aren’t doing. They are all looking forward, to the mystical AI (which does not exist). I decided to look at what was forgotten and tinkered it into a new mould. This implies innovation patents and all that is outside of the AR and printable displays (see other stories on this blog). All that and more are a future stage for the implementor of this solution, which was exactly why I got to Kingdom holding. On the far end of that, there was the real estate upgrade I considered. In light of what I noticed around Dubai. A side not considered, because all these web solutions couldn’t think out of their pond. But water is here it is and as such they didn’t consider it and it is here were I saw a side that could elevate Tencent and Huawei to a larger profit margin, not just for Dubai, but a global solution that allow real estates on a global setting to elevate their business to unfold. Dubai makes it clear. Yet it will not stop there. As the song goes New York, London, Paris, Munich they will all see the benefit and after that all metropolitan areas will follow suit. So do you think I was kidding when I said that Google et al fumbled the ball here? They ignored billions in revenue and they are all chasing a false AI dream. In a few years they will realise that a hype is merely a path to awareness and not towards revenue. Revenue needs to be real and achievable. For that we get “fake and deeply flawed Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rampant”, a quote by Frederike Kaltheuner based on works of over 20 writers. You see what the people regard s AI is merely to sides if it. LLM (Large Language Models) and DML (Deeper Machine Learning), both powerful and both opening all kinds of doors, but it is not AI, or Real AI as they now call it. Like other awareness hypes created, it isn’t real and in the mean time I created the idea for something real that could the right party give up to 18 billion a year. So when did these parts hit you, does it make sense that Google and Amazon lay off around 35,000 jobs? I will let you decide on that. In the mean time I will place more IP online so that it can only continue as Freeware. The Public Domain will show the rest on what they all missed out on. It might give me some cash, it might not. But I Will get the last laugh. I will have kept it out of the hands of Microsoft.

Have a great Thursday.

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June 14, 2024 · 12:30

The teeth that bite

It is a phase we see, the teeth are the realisation that issues are catching up with the world. They knew already, but they decided to keep you all in the dark. For this we need to go to ‘Will China Replace the US As Saudi Arabia’s Main Ally?’ (at https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/will-china-replace-the-us-as-saudi-arabias-main-ally/) there we are given the setting that China is ‘optionally’ replacing the United States as the main ally of Saudi Arabia. You might wonder what this is about. You see, I predicted this happening on June 3rd 2023, a little over a year ago (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/06/03/would-you-believe-that/) in ‘Would you believe that?’ I even inferred that earlier, but that was more speculation then the application of Business Intelligence. A year ago, Now lets be clear, I am nowhere near as gifted in analyses as the people in The Diplomat are (or should be) so this is where I got to ‘they decided to keep you all in the dark’, the writing as on the wall and it will become worse. Even as the United Stated is no playing nice to the Middle Eastern nations (Saudi Arabia and the UAE mainly). Their need for cheap oil, their need to keep involved but it is too little too late. Saudi Arabia is catching on and China is there to take up the slack. Brics was an element, but a small one. China was already catering to the needs of Saudi Arabia. 

And that is also my new setting of sales. You see I created the IP that could give Saudi Arabia (or the Kingdom Holding, owned by Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud) And it could give either 5 billion a year in phase one and continuing to 20 billion a year in a later stage. Billions deserted by Google and averted by Amazon and Tencent Technologies as well (Microsoft was not invited). It merely required them to open their eyes. And with this setting there is a clear showing of elements where these players are shown where they lost out. For the most they are all on the AI horse (which does not yet exist) and more importantly, as this IP matures, the moment LLM (Large Language Models) and Deeper Machine learnings grow up and interact, the setting will become even brighter. One pillar of this could cost Facebook a little over 10% in the beginning with around 20%-30% later on. All because the captains of industry were asleep at the wheel. 

And do they connect? Yes, when China wakes up to this revenue and they see that they can go after the treasure trove of Facebook, they will have a vindication of TikTok, more importantly, TikTok could become the main driver in the Middle East, which should partially hurt Google as well (an unintended side effect). Now that the ties between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are strengthening, the game changes even more. When Bangladesh is reeled in the loss for America and Wall Street is nearly complete. Egypt is already on board, so 3 out of 4 are on the side of Saudi Arabia, all that because people are running after hypes and (more often then not) asleep at the wheel. 

Perhaps a little reminder is in order. Chasing hypes is the consequence of marketing, not sales. One is wishful, the other is an achievement. China seems to have it partially worked out, how far they have come is unknown to me, but the setting that the Diplomat needed to give credence to this stage implies that the controlling powers are now scared that the stage is taken away from them. I think it is already being taken away, but we need to see the news on that (if they even report on this). 

The stage is set to the discussion on China replacing the United States and the west, but the one part that they do not report on is the impact that this economically has. You see, this would push well over $135,000,000,000 from the US and EU towards China. It seems like it will be ‘regarded’ as small fry, but the lack of these funds will definitely hurt the EU and the US, should my IP have the larger impact than the stage changes even further. Consider the UK reporting on a loss of 4 billion, the EU on 65 billion and the US 66 billion loss, how much tighter will their belts end up being? In that same setting Beijing will get the extra revenue which will open door to second and third tier revenue. 

We can argue that I am not seeing this correctly and that would be fair. But I have been right for well over a year, the writing was on the walls on this one. And consider one little extra. I came up with the IP. Not Amazon and not Google, so when you realise that they were asleep how much revenue did they miss by chasing a non existing AI horse? And Apple? Not sure where they stand, they have been minding their own niche which is fair enough. Yet when we consider that they too left (for other reasons) billions in revenue. What learning should we take from that? I say learning because when you are focussed on a niche that is part of a market and you mind your store, you are not doing anything wrong. We need to also see this. But Amazon and Google should have picked up on this. They cannot hide that failure. Merely my point of view.

Have a great day.

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May 12, 2024 · 23:42

Microsoft and Microsoft?

I am back after 10 weeks of open heart surgery (life is a bitch). So I had some time to think.
Yes dubious is it, but I get a doze of Google bullying me to install something which I never wanted. At least 50 attempts were made and then at 02:00 I got a message and as I reacted I pressed the wrong button and now I have that bloody add-on EVERYWHERE. So the company that was about user choices, was about customer first has become nothing more than a second Microsoft. Well done Google. Perhaps this is the moment I switch to iOS.

But that is not what this is about. You see in Saudi Arabia there are all kinds of plans and they look very futuristic. But in this A thought occurred You see the line and Mukaab need waste management, any building does, but when you have that many people the numbers start adding up fast. So my mind started to grind the cogs. In 2021 I wrote the other path (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/05/20/the-other-path/) it is one of a few parts but it reverberated in me. You see that brought me to the concept of printable displays. You cannot solve all the parts, but what will be saved when you enter a stage of a paperless society? 

All that junk mail and advertisements stricken from waste management? It should be quite the saving. Add to that a setting for AR and the setting becomes a larger fuel point. Zo why printable displays? Consider that this display is as small or as large as you want it to be, not some x-inch display, be a flat surface and these could be anywhere in these places. Advertising, informing and optionally advising with optional QR codes. No paper used. 

The fun part is that these displays can be private (shops) public (malls and open places). People will be informed and they will be alerted to any event. Yes displays do the same but consider that Mukaab has hundreds of shops, hundreds of eateries and hundreds of events. How much paper is involved? The Line will be even bigger and a bigger headache in waste management, as such paperless seems the way to go. Now you cannot dismiss all paper (that would be silly), but consider the junk mail you had in one week and multiply that by 3,000,000 that is one saving worth considering. 

They already advertised that Mukaab has holographical options, now consider AR to add the shops. Consider the installation of secondary systems to draw in the crowds and these systems could be globally deployed. I wrote about that in the past. There is a interesting setting. In a time when innovation should be reigning, Google is about to become just another Microsoft. I wonder who programs their Generative AI, The fact that it ignored “I don’t want this” is enough to make me wonder whether the only worthy players remaining are Apple and Amazon. Time will tell.

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