In 2007 I purchased a Trekker/Maestro for $2,000 among other assistive technology devices (i.e., Note Reader II, etc.). At that time I composed an e-mail to one of the various blindness-oriented e-mail lists suggesting how nice it would be if a single device could support all the various aspects of assistive technology. Little did I know that such a device was being initially released by Apple - the iPhone. I wished I had that $2000 and waited for what coming; it is truly amazing and definitely life changing! > > **************** > - Bill > - "Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis." > - Translation: to "The damned and accursed are consigned to the flames of > hell." > - Mozart's Requiem, "Confutatis Maledictis" >
> On May 3, 2017, at 1:28 AM, M. Taylor <mk...@ucla.edu> wrote: > > CNET: 10 ways the iPhone changed everything > > Ten years ago, Nokia was the world's largest phone maker. Microsoft was > gearing up to launch Windows Vista. And the best new products at CES > included a wireless TV and an MP3 player that streamed internet radio. > > Then, on Jan. 9, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a device that went on > to change the world -- a $499 iPhone that came with 4GB of storage. It was a > mobile phone, a music player and an Internet device. > > "iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years > ahead of any other mobile phone," Jobs said at the time. > > Since then, Apple has sold more than 1.2 billion iPhones and has become the > most profitable public company in the world. Copycat phones from companies > like Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Xiaomi proliferated across the globe, and > now even people in places without steady electricity have smartphones. > > "It's difficult to understate [the iPhone's] impact," Reticle Research > analyst Ross Rubin said. "The ripples it has created affect wide swaths of > our lives." > > Here are some ways the iPhone has changed the way we live: > 1. We're always on > > It used to be you'd fire up your computer, wait for your Wi-Fi to connect > (or your dialup connection, if we're going wayyy back) and open Internet > Explorer, Safari or some other web browser. Now you're connected to the > internet all the time. If you're not on Wi-Fi, you're linked through your > cellular network. > > It's not just inescapable connectivity that the iPhone helped bring about. > It's also how we actually access the internet. The iPhone made mobile web > browsing useful for the first time. Every other mobile web browser before > that was painful, in the words of CNET's Kent German. Soon came a flood of > apps, which removed the need to open a web browser at all. > > 2. Tablets, watches and headphones, oh my > > Multiple devices are either tied to the iPhone or exist because the phone > was created. There's the iPad, essentially a larger iPhone you use at home. > And there's the Apple Watch, which is tethered to the iPhone. > > Then there are all the accessories spurred by the popularity of the iPhone, > like phone cases; Bluetooth speakers and headphones; and charging docks. ABI > Research estimates that revenue in the global mobile accessories market will > top $110 billion in 2021. > > "Given users' attachment to their smartphones and their wants and needs to > personalize and protect them, the aftermarket mobile accessories market is > showing no signs of slowing down," ABI analyst Marina Lu said. > > 3. The key to happiness > > You may not remember this now, but Apple's first iPhone didn't have such a > thing as third-party apps or the App Store. That changed in July 2008, when > Apple introduced the iPhone 3G and its iPhone 2.0 software. > > The App Store is what made the iPhone a must-have device. There are now more > than 2 million apps in the App Store, with essentially every company making > one or more apps. And the iPhone and App Store have spawned industries that > couldn't exist without smartphones. There'd be no Uber or Lyft to shuttle us > from place to place, for instance, or Instagram or Snapchat for sharing our > photos. > > 4. Everyone's a shutterbug > > Sure, we had cameras on our phones before the iPhone. But the Apple gadget's > combination of easy internet access and apps like Instagram inspired > people's inner photographer. > > As a result, lugging around an actual camera became redundant. > > "We as a species take more pictures than we ever had in the past by an order > of magnitude," Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart said. > > 5. Livin' live > > The phone's camera also means you have a portable camcorder (remember > those?) at your fingertips. And on top of that, the phone's connection lets > you broadcast video immediately. That could mean talking to your family > members on the other side of the country or shooting a cat video for > YouTube. Or, thanks to services like Facebook Live or Periscope, the > technology can be used for filming police brutality or instantly reporting > something you've seen. > > On the flip side, having these smart devices on us at all times lets law > enforcement and corporations (like the makers of those apps on your phone) > track us. Apple has taken a strong stance on privacy, but security remains a > big concern for users. > > 6. Putting the digits in digital > > Touchscreens once were rare. Now babies are swiping at TVs and wondering why > the screen doesn't change. Interactive screens are in virtually everything, > even refrigerators. When Jobs introduced the iPhone, he said, "We are all > born with the ultimate pointing device -- our fingers -- and iPhone uses > them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse." > > He was more right than he could imagine. The appeal of a touchscreen phone > forced Microsoft to embrace touch in its software and get its hardware > partners to make touchscreen phones, tablets and computers. > > It's almost surprising to see a device today without a touchscreen (though > Apple maintains it won't be putting touchscreens in its Mac computers). > > 7. You are here > > The introduction of mapping on the iPhone meant you no longer had to feel > like an embarrassed tourist in a new city, clutching a giant paper map on > the street corner. Google Maps and Apple Maps are two of the most-used apps > on the iPhone, and they've steadily added features over the years, like > public transit directions. > > The first iPhone had only 4GB of storage. > > 8. Gaming goes to the next level > > The iPhone reinvented the idea of mobile gaming. Apps like Angry Birds, that > anyone could play using their fingers on the touchscreen, became hugely > popular, and payment models changed. Many games are now free to play -- > instead of charging a sales price, developers came up with the idea of > in-app purchases, which let you pay for new levels and features as you go. > > Seven of the top 10 grossing iPhone apps are games, like Pokemon Go, > according to market tracker App Annie. > > 9. Cash ain't king > > Apple wasn't the first company to talk about mobile payments, but it did > make even your grandma aware of the technology, which lets you use your > phone to purchase things. Goodbye, cash. Hello, iPhone. The iPhone's Wallet > app also can store retail coupons, reward cards, and passes for flights and > movies, all in one place. > > Cash isn't dead yet -- there still are many places that don't take mobile > payments -- but using your phone at the checkout stand is more common than > ever. > > 10. But wait -- there's more > > There's no way to sum up all that the iPhone did in just 10 points. So > here's a grab bag of additional stuff. > > Apple basically killed Adobe Flash on mobile devices and made endless > scrolling a very good thing. You never have to carry a calculator or > flashlight anymore, and visual voicemail lets you easily skip forward in a > meandering message. Podcasts mean you don't have to listen to the radio in > real time -- and they give you new options, such as the hit show "Serial." > > Social media has also shifted heavily to mobile devices from desktop > computers, letting people feel connected to friends at all times. Facebook > said that in its most recent quarter, roughly 84 percent of its $6.82 > billion in ad revenue came from mobile ads. > > At the same time, the iPhone has been linked to the rise in > attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and short attention spans in kids. > Governments use mobile devices to spy on their citizens, and consumers give > up a lot of personal information in exchange for services like Uber rides. > > But even with the negatives, don't try to take someone's iPhone away. > > Original Article at: > https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-iphone-ipad-q2-2017-earnings-revenue/ > > Mark > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > caraqu...@caraquinn.com > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
