Caller ID on iPhone

I'd like to see a function where the phone immediately does a google search for unfamiliar phone numbers (i.e., those not in my phonebook) where there is no associated caller ID name.  It would just be a guess but sometimes useful.

airport express

I understand that Airport Express is due for a refresh soon.


I wonder how expensive it would be to add iTunes Match to the Airport Express as part of the "demotion" of the pc.


I know I can use Airplay to stream from my iPhone to an Airport Express or, alternatively, use the Remote app to stream from my computer to an Airport Express. But the first is somewhat taxing on the phone and the second becomes less attractive if pcs really do stop acting as central repositories for music.

Buying a dedicated match device solely for music seems unlikely to succeed but it could work as a bonus feature of an Airport Express (controlled through Remote, naturally). Sort of the way iTunes Match is a small feature of Apple TV.  Given that the Airport Express is already internet connected and has an audio out, this is a natural feature to add (and continue to distinguish it from other routers).

Kindle Fire comparisons

I think a lot of the reviews and analysis of the Kindle Fire are missing a key comparison.  Although the iPad, GalaxyTabs, and Xooms of the world are relevant, equally relevant (and perhaps more so) is the iPod Touch.

Like the Touch, there's no cellular connectivity.  Like the entry-level Touch, it is 8GB.  Like earlier generation Touches (which sold fine), it lacks a microphone, camera, etc.  And its screen is far bigger.

And so, for a lot of people who wanted apps (games) and media (movies/TV), the Fire will be an attractive alternative.  I don't think this matters much for Apple today.  Perhaps with a deeper pool of users built on this first Fire, a larger Fire will present a real alternative to the iPad.  At the same time, so long as the Fire concentrates on being a delivery system for Amazon-sourced content (and so leaves off features that work for apps but not for content - such as a front-facing camera), they may simply co-exist peacefully (and, by further fragmenting Android and, in any event, "unconcentrating" it, make it harder for an Android competitor to the iPad to succeed).

Chrysler resurrected

If Chrysler really does turn around and become a successful manufacturer for a meaningful period, I wonder if it is because Chrysler, out of nearly all other manufacturers, is very much a hit-driven company.  More specifically, they have often sold style in a mass market which, like most mass markets, is generally geared towards efficiency, reliability, etc.  And thus, control by an Italian group, from a country that manages to sell goods based more on emotion than data, could be the perfect fit for success.

japan-style deflation

Was deflation the cause or the symptom of the weak economy?  I suspect it was more a reinforcing symptom but that, even without deflation, the economy would still have been moribund.  Just thinking about QE2 and its purported goal of avoiding deflation (rather than pumping up asset prices, especially housing and equities).

batman themed lego sets

Lego stopped making Batman themed sets a while ago (2006-2008).  It's hard to find good information on why they stopped.  I thought of this because the website for the upcoming (October 2011) LegoLand in Florida has the following:  "Studio Store – Visit this store to pick-up all your favorite LEGO licensed products, like Clutch Powers ... Star Wars™ and Batman™".  If this doesn't just mean the videogame or t-shirts, it could be a sign that there will finally be new Batman sets again.  I know some people who would be very excited about that.

turmoil

Startling that there seem to be three relatively full-fledged civil wars going on in the middle east - all either in or directly adjacent to large oil producers - and yet no sense of impending doom or panic.  Am I missing something?  For example, not to see conspiracies, but that these are somewhat regulated conflicts where the ending is both preordained and better for the west?