暴民

如果今天美國的黑人跟金恩博士抱怨：“我們當年流血流汗爭來的民權，都讓這些亞洲人坐享其成。我們都被利用了。” 不知道金恩博士會如何答覆。

如果不是當年這些民權運動人士冒著被警棍毆打、催淚瓦斯洗臉的威脅，爭取民權，今天我們在美國的處境就大不同。我們能夠憑著專業知識找到好的工作，不受歧視。購屋置產，不受排擠。也都是這些前“美國暴民”為我們這些亞洲兄弟姊妹爭取後，才立法保護的。如果沒有財產權，工作權，投票權的保護，上了公車火車，不能隨便挑座位入坐。飛機票也買不了。不管你再優秀，都不會成功。因為“門都沒有”。

有人在第一線冒著人身安全的威脅爭取公民應有的權益，如果不能心存感激，最起碼不要冷言冷語。說他們被利用了？是的，就是我們這些安居樂業的良民在利用他們。

Inheritance of digital assets

I was wondering about this topic for quite some time. I just stumbled upon this article,

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/who-inherits-your-itunes-library-2012-08-23

This question is not just for estate and inheritance. In one or two generations, ebooks disappear with their owners. There is no longer a physical form to keep for archiving.  It is not because of the technology but the fact of non-transferable ownership. Can libraries and museums collect, display, and share digital contents once the writers are no longer alive and the publishers cease to exist? When publishing goes digital, are we handing those issues to commercial companies like Apple and Amazon. If so, these companies are enjoying more dominance and financial success than it is shown on the book.

iPhone nano

This is my wish for this holiday, a product that I would like to see.

Like an iPhone to an iPod Touch, the size of an iPhone nano should be similar to an iPod nano. It is small and its screen is only good for limited yet well defined functions, such as choosing an album, point-and-shoot camera and address book sync. It will not be a good game device nor a good email reader. It sounds like quite the opposite of all the trendy development nowadays: the bigger, the better. The latest phone is so big that you have to attend to your weight training and fitness program diligently in order to keep your arm strength up with the phone.

But an iPhone nano will be very good for one thing: tethering. It should have the same data connection capability as its cousin. It makes such a device a good companion for iPads and laptops. A user with such a device will not need a separate data contract or go through a complicated data sharing arrangement. When the data connection drains battery too fast, it borrows power from the big device it connects to. In my opinion, a cell phone with a near 5-inch screen serves no purpose well. A cell phone should be compact enough to be dropped in virtually any pocket. And the size of an iPad mini is the minimum to be adequate for a tablet. For people that need a cell phone with a long-lasting battery and a good-sized mobile device, this imaginary iPhone nano is probably a good alternative, if not the best.

Why now? The time is ripe to push further for tablets. The need for data connection is more a given than an after-thought. Wireless carriers may frown at the product as a double-edged sword. Can Android community do this? I have not seen a decent small Android phone yet. All those carrier-branded, dumb-down small Android phones look undesirable. Can Nokia do this? Nokia is very good at building solid yet cute phones. But Nokia may no longer have the influence to persuade carriers to promote such a product. Apple needs an inexpensive phone to combat Android in markets where carrier subsidy is not a preferred business practice. An iPhone nano may fill the bill and sells more iPad.

Apple Map

It started with a map application, CEO's apology for the bad user experience, and now the departure of a senior executive.

http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/30/us-apple-changes-idUSBRE89S18H20121030

It is obvious that Apple would want to have a map application of its own. What a smart phone or tablet can provide that a laptop cannot easily match is its mobility and portability. Many applications on iOS give users the ability to make decisions or acquire needed information on the spot in real time. Map data, or say information for location and surroundings, need to be integrated into the platform, iOS, for more interesting applications to happen.

Up to now, Siri cannot have a real conversion with its user. The usage is still limited to question-and-answer in a request-response fashion. When Siri is able to have a conversion, the conversation will have a context. The context may be defined by the state of the conversation on top of other inputs, say, an email, a previous phone call or voice message, or recent locations. Google search and map application may not be able to provide all that Apple needs, not to mention the competition between the two companies. 

Recent news reported Apple's executive, the head of iOS, Scott Forstall was let go for the blame of Apple map. I think office dynamics goes beyond one product flop. Apple has produced 'sub-standard' hardware and software before. It is not the first time and it will not be the last time Apple makes a mistake. Google has been working on map applications for years. Even if there is no bug in Apple's map application, it would not be as feature rich as Google's map in this first release. Judging from Mr. Cook's letter, Apple is working on some advanced applications that require integration beyond today's interface. For an iOS developer like myself, it is good to see someone firmly at the helm of the company. It is even more important to see the company make steady progress and eventually grow beyond its legendary founder. 

Monster Employment Index Europe

I have been following the US Monster Employment Index for a few years now.  I have not paid much attention to the Monster Employment Index Europe.  There was something caught my attention in the latest (January 2012) report.

The summary of the 2012-01 Europe Index reported,

• The Monster Employment Index Europe grows 9% on a year-over-year basis.
• Germany is the only country to demonstrate strong annual growth at 30%.
• The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and France continue to report negative growth rates.

I use the US Monster Employment Index as a simplistic current-to-leading index for the US economy. I would imagine there are many differences between US and European economies due to the regulations and political reality. The Europe Index reports only on seven countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and United Kingdom. Though not covering all of the European Union countries, it is interesting enough for me to keep an eye on from time to time. I looked back to last year's numbers, this downward trend has started around August/September time. If the Europe Index bears a similar characteristics to its US counterpart, the western Europe except for Germany is close to another recession.

Some media thought that Germany's export has benefited from a weakened EURO. If not, there would have been fewer people that can afford their new BMW and Mercedes. I don't know whether that is true or not, but I wonder Germany can single-handedly pull the whole EU along with it. It is troublesome enough to worry about the bad sovereign debts. And now the economy of Europe is in a shaky state. Maybe that explains why all my mutual fund holdings that have European exposures are in retreat.