When I initially heard about Apple’s new Find My Friends app, the first thing that came to mind were the ethical implications. How long before I read about the app being used to track an unknowing subject? Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before I got my answer.
Take the following post found on the MacRumors Forum:
Divorcing wife. Thanks iPhone 4s and Find My Friends
I got my wife a new 4s and loaded up find my friends without her knowing. She told me she was at her friends house in the east village. I’ve had suspicions about her meeting this guy who live uptown. Lo and behold, Find my Friends has her right there.
I just texted her asking where she was and the dumb b!otch said she was on 10th Street!! Thank you Apple, thank you App Store, thank you all. These beautiful treasure trove of screen shots going to play well when I meet her a$$ at the lawyer’s office in a few weeks.
thankfully, she’s the rich one.
Some users in the forum are questioning the legitimacy of the post, but the scenario is possible. It is only a matter of time before this or a similar story blow up in the media. People need to realize that technology does not have a moral compass. It merely provides tools to enhance our lives. No matter how many safeguards are put in place, the user ultimately decides on how to use it, and they should be held accountable for their actions.
Sprint’s launch of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S helped them make company history. From Sprint’s Press Release:
“Sprint today reported its best ever day of sales in retail, web and telesales for a device family in Sprint history with the launch of iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. We reached this milestone at approximately noon CT/1pm ET. The response to this device by current and new customers has surpassed our expectations and validates our customers’ desire for a truly unlimited data pricing plan.”
I wonder what percentage of Sprint’s iPhone customers are existing iPhone users coming from either AT&T or Verizon for the “truly unlimited data pricing plan.”
This is my next… has been having some fun with iPhone 4S’ Siri. So much that they posted a page of responses received while asking it unconventional questions. Head on over and see what interesting responses can be coaxed out of her.
My personal favorite:
Siri Response
Dustin Curtis provides his reasoning as to why Apple sticks with a 3.5” screen:
Touching the upper right corner of the screen on the Galaxy S II using one hand, with its 4.27-inch screen, while you’re walking down the street looking at Google Maps, is extremely difficult and frustrating. I pulled out my iPhone 4 to do a quick test, and it turns out that when you hold the iPhone in your left hand and articulate your thumb, you can reach almost exactly to the other side of the screen. This means it’s easy to touch any area of the screen while holding the phone in one hand, with your thumb. It is almost impossible to do this on the Galaxy S II.
Makes sense to me. Apple doesn’t compete on a feature list, they compete on experience.
This is my next… has posted an editorial examining why Apple’s Siri personal assistant may just work. It discusses the pitfalls of existing command-based digital assistants, like Ford’s SYNC, and how Siri may over come their limitations.
The article does examine two issues they feel could be problematic for the new technology. The one that caught my eye:
My second problem is that from all the demos I’ve seen, there’s no way to input text into Siri — it’s voice only. Outside of the mere inconvenience of that (you’re in a loud place, you’re in a need-to-be-quiet place, you’ve been gagged by your kidnappers), it feels a bit like a vote of no confidence from Apple. If Siri’s AI is truly magnificent, wouldn’t it be the preferred method of input for most things, most of the time? The lack of text input implies to me that Apple only thinks Siri is an efficient way to get things done when you’re running or driving or folding laundry. So I wonder, is it really an efficient way to get things done at all?
I would think that typing in the question would take more time than simply opening the app yourself. This may be why Apple decided to limit Siri’s input to spoken language.
