COVID-19

I’ve refrained from writing anything about the current pandemic because, let’s be honest, I’m not a medical professional. As time has progressed, however, I see nothing but the ridiculousness of Americans who have such strong notions of entitlement and privilege that they are putting the lives’ of others in danger. Obviously nothing I post here will change the minds of those who are too naive, or maybe ignorant, or maybe just flat-out too unintelligent to understand the basic concepts we’ve been provided for mitigating infections, but at least if I post it I can say I added my voice to those trying to encourage a logical, measured response.

First up, let’s just clear the air on legitimacy of sources. The following are sources I will trust the information from, and base my judgment of the risks and precautions I should consider in day to day behavior (yes, there are certainly other legitimate sources of information as well).

Overwhelmingly, legitimate sources all state the same things: wash your hands appropriately, use hand sanitizer if you have to be out and about and touch high-traffic/high-touch surfaces before touching your face, wear a mask, and keep your distance from others. It is ridiculously simple to understand, and yet instead of trying to be mindful of the health and well-being of others I consistently see people ignoring those precautionary actions (or worse yet, deciding they don’t care and are done being a respectful, considerate participant in Society and quit following the aforementioned precautions).

Maybe you are one of those who thinks you’ll deal with it like the flu, and if you have to get it at some point you might as well get it over with. There’s a list of reasons why that reasoning is insane and harmful:

  • Neurological damage from the virus has been confirmed (we can’t know the severity or impact of the damage at this time).

  • Cardiovascular damage from the virus has been confirmed (we can’t know the severity or impact of the damage at this time).

  • Respiratory damage from the virus has been confirmed (we can’t know the severity or impact of the damage at this time).

  • Immunity to the virus from antibodies (i.e. previous exposure) has NOT been confirmed.

  • This is not the Flu.

There are more reasons, but those alone should be enough for people to be cautious until we know of a proven, reliable treatment plan and whether any level of immunity is achievable absent a vaccine being developed and available.

If you still don’t want to believe the possible seriousness of COVID-19, I implore you to speak with people who work in a hospital in a place that has seen more than a small handful of patients requiring ventilation. You certainly wouldn’t be so flippant or inconsiderate about the well-being of others if you paid attention.

Reflecting on Apple

After taking some time to ponder the announcements made at the recent Apple event, and after spending some time reading the various analyses from others, a few things really jump out at me that I think warrant examining closer.First and foremost, the move to a 64-bit architecture and operating system may seem like nothing more than an attempt to be able to say "hey, we've got something no one else has" and capitalize on such a statement from a purely marketing standpoint. If we were discussing another company, I might even be inclined to agree. Here's the problem with such a statement, though: Apple has never used such a tactic before, and always looks at what adopting any technology will bring to the customer experience.Note, if you can't accept that simple understanding behind the way Apple operates, you might want to stop reading now.So, what possibilities could a 64-bit architecture bring to a mobile device? Efficiency and performance are obvious possibilities, as are pure power and capabilities, but in this case I think the move hints at some really interesting possibilities. (It's worth interjecting here that there is an excellent analysis of some of those possibilities with regards to other product lines here, which I noticed courtesy of Gruber at Daring Fireball.) One possibility is the implementation of enhanced/increased multitasking capabilities as a result of increased throughput throughout the system. Another is the potential for refinements in power usage and efficiency (think along the lines of using multiple threads to achieve a process in a shorter time, which lowers the power drain of a system by returning to idle quicker). Honestly, this isn't an area I'm well-versed in, but I can certainly see the potential.Another thought that sticks out to me regarding the performance improvements of the A7 and the move to a 64-bit OS lies in conjunction with the fingerprint sensor. Utilizing any strong encryption scheme requires some overhead, especially when considering that the need for seamless and snappy response are of paramount importance to an end user. This could easily be the groundwork necessary for re-imagining security on a mobile device. Imagine using the Touch ID sensor to access iCloud keychain (when released) data, and instead of having to remember or enter a security code the fingerprint takes care of verification? Or if access to Touch ID by third parties is allowed, and you no longer have to sign in to your banking/financial applications? Running on a system designed to leverage the performance gains of a 64-bit system certainly seems like a precursor to a smooth transition to seamless interaction in such a manner.And then there's the interesting idea that increased security might finally allow the virtualization of debit and credit cards in Passbook. Imagine if the entire Operating System could be run in an encrypted environment, which would only be possible (when considering the necessity of smooth and snappy operation from the customer experience point of view) with the power and performance possibilities a 64-bit system could bring to the table. This could prove to be the way to finally change the way people access financial resources, much like the oft-touted NFC chip promised but couldn't deliver.Naturally this is all speculation, but the key takeaway is this: if you don't understand that Apple only adopts technology when there's a reason behind the decision that's aimed at what it means for customers, then you haven't been paying attention to history. Sure, there are plenty of devices with different feature sets, and you should always choose the device whose features match what you want out of it, but to look at Apple's iPhone business as faltering or running out of steam is to look only at the current picture and not think about the foundation it suddenly created.