As I mentioned in my OS X wish list Apple has held their early 2016 event and the next event is likely to be Apple's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC). The most successful product in Apple's history is the iPhone. The iPhone managed to come about at the right time to allow Apple to propel itself to become one of the most valued companies in the world. Besides the design of the hardware, the other crucial aspect of the package is the software, iOS. Let us look at some new features of iOS that some would like to see this year.

iOS

iOS has come a long way since the initial version, iPhone OS 1.0. The feature set within iOS has definitely grown over the years. One of the biggest changes that was introduced iOS 4 was multitasking. Multitasking allows users to have applications run in the background while they are performing other tasks with their iOS devices. While multitasking has made progress, the biggest change to multitasking came last year with iOS 9. That feature is the ability to have side-by-side applications. This recent feature has made tremendous progress in productivity gains for users. While at WWDC 2015, when Apple unveiled the ability has to do side-by-side applications, as well as slide over, no one could predict that Apple would unveil the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in a few short months.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is the product that the side-by-side applications was designed for. While side-by-side also works on the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4, and 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the 12.9-inch iPad is the device that can demonstrate the utility of the feature the most. On the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, you are able to run two applications in portrait mode, and will only be missing a minimal number of pixels. This means that you effectively have two iPad Air 2's side by side.

Many have indicated that the iPad has not had the best marketing message over its six short years. This includes the initial message that the iPad was for consumption. Over the past few years Apple has attempted to change the prejudice towards the iPad by providing features that make the iPad a productivity device. Regardless of the message and what one may choose the believe, there is one thing that people cannot deny; the word "Pro" in "iPad Pro" is meant to indicate the it is professional device. There are a few applications that could cement the iPad Pro as a truly professional device. The biggest one that come stop mine is absolutely a "Pro" application. That app is Xcode.

Xcode

The ability to run applications side-by-side, as well as the sheer horsepower that the 12.9-inch iPad Pro has under its hood, has lead many developers to wonder "Where is Xcode for iOS". While there are many tricky areas that would need to be flushed out in order to make Xcode on iOS a reality, it is possible. One of the limitations of any development environment is memory. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro has 4GB of memory, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro has 2GB of memory. This would be enough to do some development directly on the device. This is one of the reasons why the iPad Pro would be the preferred platform. The iPad Air 2 also has 2GB of memory, but it may not be ideal given the reasons below.

One of the downsides of Xcode, as it stands right now, is that to be able to develop an iOS application you need a Mac. Imagine, if you will, the ability to build an application, its assets, and test an application all on iOS device. There are a couple of justifications for this. With Xcode 7, you are now able to run your own applications on your own iOS devices, without paying for an Apple Developer account. Now imagine being able to build an application that only you will use, and doing it all on your iOS device. Even better, doing so with Xcode and your application running side-by-side. Talk about live debugging.

One of the possible issues with Xcode on iOS is building interfaces. One of the best tools for this would be the Apple Pencil. Given the iPad Pro has the ability to use the Apple Pencil, the ability to create smaller touch-targets would make this easier to do. The ideal would be to require an Apple Pencil, so that the touch targets would be smaller. Even without an Apple Pencil, it would be possible to do some basic interface building. Being able to snap the interface to a grid, could be an option when not using an Apple Pencil.

The last possible reason for Xcode on iOS to exist only on the iPad Pro is to give the iPad Pro a truly professional-level application. One of the possible issues with this idea is that it would require the ability to be able to target specific devices, or limit installation and options based upon device capabilities. Apple could use some private APIs that would allow them to limit applications to specific devices, if they chose to do so.

Limit based upon device

Many developers have requested a feature that would allow them to target specific devices. This would be a significant benefit for game developers. It would allow developers to build assets tailored specifically for devices. This is already doable, to an extent, using asset slicing and on-demand resources.

To fully implement this, it would take some work not just within iOS but also on the iTunes Store. One of the requirements would be the ability to indicate on the store what devices the application is compatible with. Besides this, it would also require some work on the developer's part to verify compatibility as well as indicating which devices are compatible. This last aspect would be the least of the concerns, since it would behove the developer to provide the best experience possible for their applications.

Apple knows all of the devices that a user has attached to their iTunes account, so Apple would be able to alert users that an application is not compatible with any of their devices and would allow them to confirm they want to purchase the application regardless of their inability to actually use the application.

One of the possible downsides to adding the limit would be that some developers would only allow the latest and greatest devices. Alternatively, Apple could allow developers to just set minimums for applications that they submit. It is not likely to be a feature that comes about, but one that could add some appeal for both users and developers.

A side benefit for this could be personalized application curation. A section on the iTunes store that would show users applications that would work best on their devices. Again, this would take some integration between the iTunes Store and iOS, but it could be feasible.

Final Thoughts

iOS has seen its share of new features in the last 9 years. Just as one might begin to think that the new features that will be added will begin to wane, Apple surprises users and developers and keeps adding new features. It will be exciting to see what Apple has in store for this year's World Wide Developer Conference.

Apple has already held their "early" 2016 event, the next big event for Apple will likely be its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), which is typically held in June. While we do not know anything that Apple will unveil at the conference there are a few things that we could possible end up seeing.

OS X

Apple released Mac OS X 10.0 in March of 2001. In the intervening 15 years, Apple has gone from the name of Mac OS X to just OS X. On Episode 123 of The Talk Show with John Gruber Apple's Vice President of Marketing, Phil Schiller, was asked about the casing of the various operating systems of Apple (iOS, tvOS, watchOS). Gruber asked why OS X was different. Schiller responded "give us time". As Jason Snell of Six Colors has postulated "OS X will be renamed to macOS". This is entirely possible and given the hints, it is likely to occur.

OS X 10.12's Name

OS X 10.0 through OS X 10.8 all had codenames. These were based on "big cats". After Apple unveiled OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, many questioned what the next name would be. Beginning with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Apple initiated a distinct naming convention. Leopard gave way to Snow Lepard. Lion gave way to Snow Leopard. 10.9 was skipped over. Following OS X 10.10 Yosemite came the current operating system, OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Each of these indicated that it was a refinement to the prior name.

When Apple unveiled the name of OS X 10.9, they indicate that they joked about going with "Sea Lion". Instead they opted to set up naming for the next decade and those names would be based on places in California. Some have begun wondering what the next version of OS X will be called. Given the indication by Apple that they were setting themselves up for the next decade, it will likely still be a place in California.

During their September 9th, 2015 event, Apple announced a new feature for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, 3D Touch. During the demo Apple quietly announced the release date of OS X 10.11 El Capitan. This was done while showing off 3D Touch on an email. Also during that same demo Apple showed an email with three place names within it. These names are Manteca, Tehachapi, and Arroyo Grande. It is entirely possible that Apple was being facetious in revealing the names. It is also equally possible that one of these names is the name. This is purely speculation, but it is possible that it is true. We will see when WWDC happens what the actual name for OS X 10.12 will be.

Siri

Since Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Apple has been bringing parity between iOS and OS X, in terms of applications and features. One of the features that many users would love to see on the Mac is Siri. Siri has become a very useful tool on iOS. Bringing it to OS X could allow for an even more powerful Siri engine. With running Siri on OS X it could also bring additional functionality to Siri itself.

One possibility for additional functionality is the ability for Siri on OS X being capable of searching for a file. At first glance one might think that this is not possible, but if you look at Siri on the 4th Generation Apple TV, the voice transcription on tvOS is pretty accurate. Given the amount of power that an OS X machine has today, bringing this functionality to OS X one could easily imagine being able to use Siri to find a file. More over, it may even be able to be triggered with the same phrase, "Hey Siri".

Accessibility is one of the areas where Apple focuses their attention. One method of being able to do this is to have Siri on OS X be able to do dictation. While OS X's dictation has been decent, it seems as though Siri's dictation and transcription is much better than the built-in dictation on OS X.

Along with Siri coming to OS X, it would also be nice to have developers be able to integrate with Siri. I am imagining that developers would be able to add their own custom actions. For instance in a podcast app, an iOS user could play a podcast directly from Siri. If not completely custom actions, Apple could ease into this by allowing certain actions. This would be similar to the way that Apple introduced multitasking in iOS.

The downside to this is that there are currently 33 languages supported by Siri. Enabling developers to access Siri would mean that Apple would have to add the names, words, and the like to Siri. Even so, if there were to be limited actions, Apple would be able to control the custom words that would be allowed.

UIKit

Some individuals have noticed that OS X has not received a significant amount of attention by developers. One of the ideas of attracting developers back to OS X is to bring UIKit to OS X. The rationale behind this is that doing so would allow iOS-only developers to feel more comfortable with programming on OS X.

In theory, this is a sound idea. There is a possible downside to this idea though. OS X has a different set of paradigms than iOS. Some of these includes, a browse-able filesystem, ... and a mouse for pointing. This last one is the biggest hurdle to overcome. UIKit itself is designed for touch and not

iTunes

One of the things that you will hear from a cross-section of the population is just how bad iTunes is. It is not that it does not function like it should, it does. The issue is that it is just too bloated. iTunes has to perform many different functions and they are all contained within one application. I could easily go into breaking it up, but this site has already done the hard work. It would be really nice to see Apple re-think iTunes and break up the functions into individual applications. Doing this would allow individual applications to be updated on their own.

Final Thoughts

While this is only a few things that we could possibly see at this year's WWDC, specifically for OS X. There are likely many things that we will not know about ahead of the date of the keynote. Even though I tell myself that I will wait to install the betas, I will most likely install them on day one. I know I will be very interested to see what new features and refinements that next version of OS X.

I am just posting this without any comment. Just watch the video. Thanks to @Hacks4Pancakes for tweeting this out.

There are millions of people who use iOS devices on a daily basis. Many of us take for granted the fact that we can easily articulate and communicate what we are thinking. Yet, there are those that cannot do so, at least not as easily. While technology may allow us to do many things on the go that we could easily do elsewhere, it can assist others in opening up an entirely new world. This video, by Apple, epitomizes that and brings to light what technology can do for a subset of the population.

It looks as though Stephen Colbert may get his own emoji with a future Emoji update.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the case of Apple versus the FBI. To quickly recap, The FBI wanted Apple to create a custom operating system for a phone that was used by one of the San Bernadino shooters. Apple was ordered to do this by a judge because the FBI "exhausted all possible routes" for breaking into the iPhone and could not do it without the assistance of Apple.

Last week, the FBI asked the court to put a stay on the order in order to investigate a way to break into the iPhone. Today, the FBI has requested to vacate the order compelling Apple to assist. Vacating an order does not mean that the FBI will not request the same assistance in the future. The request to vacate effectively means that the request never happened and nothing occurred.

The reasons for the FBI requesting this is most likely for a couple of reasons. The first being the they were able to access the information on the phone; which they were able to do so. The second reason is likely due to the likelihood of the FBI losing the case.

The third reason is released to the second. If they were to proceed and lose, it would set precedent and hamper any future, as well as existing, efforts.

What happens in the future is unknown. The order being vacated does not impact any other possible case. Apple and the FBI have both indicated that Congress needs to determine what the proper balance between customer security and the needs of law enforcement.

It is not the last that we have heard regarding government needing assistance with getting into an iPhone. This case, for now, is done.

Apple breaks up the year into three different parts of the year; Early, Mid, and Late. Each part is four months. Apple generally has one event in each of these parts. Apple has held their early 2016 event; dubbed "Let us loop you in".

Apple has unveiled a bunch of new products. Let us look at each of the announced products.

Apple TV

Last Fall Apple unveiled the 4th generation Apple TV. There is no new hardware, but there is the new release of tvOS 9.2. A few of the new features of tvOS 9.2 include: Folder Support, additional Siri dictation, including passwords, conference room display mode, bluetooth keyboard support, and now iCloud Photo Library with Live Photo support.

This is a nice upgrade that adds in some features that users had requested.

Apple Watch

Last year at the March event Apple provided details for the availability of the Apple Watch. Some may have anticipated that the Apple Watch would be a product that is released yearly. If you were hoping for that, Apple has dashed those hopes.

Apple has positioned the Watch as a fashion product. While they may not be able to release new hardware every season, they are able to provide new personalization options by releasing additional bands.

The Apple Watch now has a new type of band, the Nylon Band. The Nylon Band is available in seven different color combinations; Black, Gold and Red, Gold and Royal Blue, Pearl, Pink, Royal Blue, and Scuba Blue. These bands come in both 38mm and 42mm varieties and are $49 each.

Along with the new Nylon Bands, there are three additional Sport Band colors: Apricot, Royal Blue, and Yellow; Two Classic Buckle bands Red and Marine Blue. Two Modern Buckles, Blue Jay and Marigold.The last new bands are the leather loops, Storm Gray and White.

The last change to the Apple Watch is one that will temp more to purchase the Apple Watch, a price drop. The new price for the Apple Watch is $299 for the 38mm and $349 for the 42MM Sport versions.

iPad

While it may not have been the first tablet on the market, the iPad can be considered the one that put the idea of a tablet front and center in the mindshare of the public. Even though it is not at its peak and has fallen, it has not deterred Apple from continuing to innovate the iPad.

iPad Air 2

The iPad Air 2 received a single change, a $100 price drop. This means that the iPad Air 2 is now priced at $399 and $499 for the 16GB and 64GB models respectively. There is still the Wi-Fi + Cellular models available at $529 and $629 for the 16GB and 64GB model.

iPad Pro

Back in September Apple unveiled the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple has now released the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. This is the spiritual successor of the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2, but is also very closely related to the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is similar to the larger model. The 9.7-inch model supports the Apple Pencil and also has a Smart Connector. With a Smart Connector comes a new Smart Keyboard as well.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro also has the same A9X Processor and M9 Co-processor as the larger iPad Pro. There are also the same four speakers within the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. This means that as you rotate the iPad Pro, the speakers are able to automatically adjust the sound.

This is about where the similarities between the iPad Pros end. There are some other improvements that have been made to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro has a brand new display that Apple is calling True Tone. The display utilizes the same color gamut as the Late 2015 iMac, the DCI-P3. This means that the colors will be truer to life. This is not the only difference between the two iPads.

One of the features that many have question about the iPad is the camera. The camera on the 9.7-inch iPad is a vast improvement over the 12.9-inch iPad Pro's camera. The camera

The last difference is the colors. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is available in four colors; Silver, Gold, Rose-Gold and Space Gray.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro still comes in the 32GB and 128GB models. Along with this, it is also available in a 256GB model. This comes in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models. The price of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is $599, $749, and $899 for the Wi-Fi models only. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models are $729, $879, and $1029 respectively.

12.9-inch iPad Pro

While the 9.7-inch iPad Pro was the primary iPad shown off, it was not the only one that got some additional options. While there are no change to the form-factor of the larger iPad, there are a couple of additions options.

The 12.9-inch iPad is now also available in 256GB models of both Wifi-only and Wifi + Cellular. Along with this, a clarification has been made that the 12.9-inch iPad Pro can now utilize the lightning to USB-C cable and the 29-watt USB C power adapter. This combination will allow for super-fast charging of a 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

This method is not possible with the 9.7-inch iPad. This is due to that product only having USB 2.0 controller.

iPhone

Apple's best selling product the iPhone continues to sell really well. Apple is known to not divulge the breakdown of models that are sold. Even so, Apple did mention that they sold 30 Million iPhone 5s phones last year. This is a lot of phones that were sold based on 2013 technology. There are many reasons why some might prefer a smaller form-factor phone. They could range from pocket size, better fit in one's hands, or even just as Apple stated, cost. While using an iPhone 5s would be able to use some of the latest software features, you cannot easily upgrade the hardware inside of the phone. Apple has provided a significant update to the 4-inch form factor. That update is named the iPhone SE.

iPhone SE

The iPhone SE the successor of the iPhone 5s, Apple's 4-inch iPhone. The iPhone SE has the same case as the iPhone 5s, except instead of glossy chamfers, they are matte. The outside of the phone looks the same as the iPhone 5s, except for the colors. The iPhone SE comes in the standard four colors, Gold, Rose Gold, Silver, and Space Gray.

The innards of the iPhone SE are the same of the iPhone 6s with an A9 processor and the M9 co-processor. Along with the processors, there is a secure enclave and first-generation Touch ID sensor. This is the same Touch-ID Sensor that has been in the iPhones, prior to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

The rear camera is the same ƒ/2.2 aperture, Five‑element lens that is in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, minus the optical stabilization. Just like the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus you are able to record 4k video at 30 frames per second, 1080p at 30 or 60fps.

The only item not improved is the FaceTime camera. On the iPhone SE, it is still the same 1.2 Megapixel camera that was in the iPhone 5s. The likely reason for this is due to the lack of physical space within the physical case. There is one slight improvement, the addition of Retina Flash.

In case you are not aware, Retina Flash is the ability for the screen to light up to produce enough light that makes it easier to light up your face and surrounding area when taking a selfie.

The wireless connection on the iPhone SE has been upgraded to include 802.11AC. This means that the iPhone now supports 802.11A/B/G/N/AC. Unlike the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the iPhone SE does to include the MIMO technology.

The iPhone SE comes in two sizes, the 16GB version and a 64GB version. It comes in the same standard four colors, Gold, Rose Gold, Silver, and Space Gray.

You can order an iPhone SE today for $399 for the 16GB model and $499 for the 64GB model. The iPhone SE begins shipping on March 31st.

Final Thoughts

The events that Apple has held early in the year are not normally ones where brand new, completely unknown products from Apple are released, and this is the case with this year's event. Even so, Apple has released a solid set of updates.

The product with the least number of changes is the Apple TV, since it received only an upgrade to the software. The software is a minor upgrade, but provides a couple of key features that some users have been hoping would be added.

While the Apple Watch Hardware has remained unchanged, the addition of the new Nylon bands, as well as the new Sport bands and Modern Buckles will provide even more customization options for users. The reduction of the price for the Apple Watch may entice even more people to give the Apple Watch a try.

The release of the 4-inch iPhone SE continues to provide the smaller form-factor that many want and yet only minimally compromises on features, with the lack of 3D Touch and 2nd generation Touch ID sensor, being the only trade offs.

The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is a great successor to the iPad Air 2. The 9.7-inch size is what most would consider the "standard" iPad size. The new True Tone screen will make an even better experience for iPad users. The addition of the Smart Connector and ability to use the Apple Pencil will allow the iPad to be even more of a PC replacement.

Well played Mr. President, well played indeed.

https://www.facebook.com/abcnews/videos/10154186657713812/

YouTuber CGP Grey has created a video that puts some serious doubt on whether Transporters in Star Trek could actually work, but not necessarily for technical reasons. Well worth the watch. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nQHBAdShgYI

I have been gaming for quite a long time now. Since my teens I have primarily been focusing on playing First Person Shooters. The series that I tend to play include Call of Duty, Battlefield, Duke Nukem, and Wolfenstein, among others.

Along with the first person shooter genre, I have also played other genres of games. As I have written on this site and others, I have reviewed a few of the Lego-based video games, and will likely review another one in the future, once it is released. Beside these, I also enjoy puzzlers like Portal and Portal 2.

But I am not here to review a game within those categories, but instead, FireWatch. FireWatch is developed by Campo Santo and Panic Software.

Cost and Requirements

Firewatch is $19.99 and is available from Steam for PC and Macs, as well as for the Playstation 4. The requirements for the game include a Geforce 450 with 1GB of memory, 6GB of RAM and 4GB of storage space. On the Mac side it requires a 2011 Mac, running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion or later, with a discrete graphics card with 1GB of RAM. The discrete graphics card is a requirement.

I bought the game for the Playstation 4, because I knew that my 2011 iMac would not be able to handle the game due to the video card requirement. My 2015 MacBook Pro might have been able to handle it, but I do not normally play games on my MacBook Pro, so the Playstation 4 it was.

The Story

The game is a first person mystery game. You are Henry, and you have come out to Wyoming to get away from life. You are equipped with a very limited number of items, the primary one being a radio. On the other end of the radio is a woman named Delilah, who is your boss. Throughout the game, additional items are provided, but the best of all, none of them are weapons. I will not give away anything that happens.

It is not a long game, it took me approximately four hours to complete the game. I finished the story, but did not inspect every single area possible. You can explore many different areas of the game. Since there are no weapons, it makes the game a bit simpler and appealing to a broader range of users.

Visuals

The game is very visually appealing. The graphics are stunning and I love the scenery and the views. The game takes place at different times throughout the day, so you can see different scenes. Ones that include sunrise, daylight, sunset and even at night. The variety of times that you play, works very well with the story and only enhances and heightens the emotionality of the game.

Issues

While playing the game there were several times that I experienced stuttering audio. It was not that there was stuttering, but the stuttering made the audio completely un-listenable. I had subtitles on, so I was able to follow along. Given that the game is only about three weeks old, I'm sure the issue will be fixed, but it still made it difficult to hear the game. That was it in terms of issues. Only the audio was an issue.

Final Thoughts

Even though Firewatch is a short game, it is a fantastic game. From the moment that you start the game until the end, the game plays on your emotions. If you do not feel something while playing the game, it may be best to re-evaluate your life. The game goes very deep. I do not think a game has really made me think this much since I played The Last of Us. I finished the game about two hours ago and I am already thinking that I need to replay the game.

The one thing I would like to see is the game become available for the Xbox One. It is my preferred platform, but even playing on the Playstation 4, it was a great game. If it ever does become available for the Xbox One, I will likely end up buying it there too.

If you enjoy games that make you think, I would absolutely recommend getting Firewatch. It will be well worth the price. If I had to sum it up in six words: "Buy it and play it today."