Intelligent Assistant Competition on iPhone

There have been a few interesting moves in the intellegent assitant space on the iPhone as of late.

Microsoft’s Cortana App got a significant update. I like the new design a lot better. It’s simpler and feels more native to iPhone than it’s prior iteration … so long as you like the color purple. (So much purple.) The feature set is similar to many of Siri’s. You can get the weather, check your calendar and set yourself reminders. The app can also give you proactive notifications, like telling you when to leave for you next appointment based on traffic.

I’ve been in Chicago for a few days speaking at a conference and tried using Cortana as a Siri replacement. It performed admirably. I didn’t experience any transcription failures and it was even able to get me directions (using Apple Maps).

Also, Amazon announced it is going to put Alexa on the iPhone. Interestingly, they’re not putting Alexa in the Alexa app but instead the Amazon app, which makes a lot of sense if you’re in the business of selling products from Amazon.com. Alexa in the Amazon app is not, however, limited to just buying stuff. You can also ask it about the weather or the time in Tokyo and it will give you an answer. Although Amazon’s announcement states Alexa in the Amazon app can work with third party skills, I had mixed results. The Angry Bard gave me Shakespearian insults but the Automatic skill couldn’t tell me anything about my car.

An interesting bit about Alexa in the Amazon app is that it doesn’t give you any screens. Just like the Echo on your kitchen counter, the interface is entirely voice based.

Neither of these services feel like Siri replacements at this time. Siri’s tight integration with the operating system make it my default. But I did learn in this experiment that having an icon in my dock to activate an intelligent assistant was not terribly inconvenient. If Apple doesn’t keep pushing forward with Siri and somebody else makes something better, I could easily switch.

Apple and Education


Future Source Consulting did a study of the most popular operating systems in education K–12. According to their report Apple is at an all-time low with Mac OS accounting for 5% and iOS at 14%. The big winner is Chrome OS, that has grown to 58%. That makes sense. Chrome OS can run on very inexpensive hardware and is very easy to deploy and manage in a school setting. This jives with a report from an education-IT friend of mine that said a thorough understanding of Chrome OS and its management is a golden ticket in that field.

Clearly Apple’s angle in all of this is iPad. Years ago Fraser Speirs guested on the Mac Power Users and he justified his preference that kids learn to make presentations with iPad Keynote over mastering Microsoft Word by explaining, “I’m training CEOs, not secretaries.”

I’m sure a lot of the reason for Chrome OS’s dominance is cost. It is a lot less expensive to purchase Chrome OS hardware and schools are (too) often underfunded. These numbers give me an excuse to take another whack at iOS software. It needs to get better for productivity-type work and I’m sure that bleeds over into school adoption.

Overall, I dont find this report super-concerning for Apple. Most of this is based on budget and Apple has never really played that game. Apple used to make an education priced Mac, the eMac, which made a lot of sense. If Apple wants to get more penetration into schools, coming up with a more rugged, less fancy (and less epensive) iPad (let’s call it “ePad”) would help out. Looking at all these kids growing up using Chrome OS raises another question … what’s going to happen to Microsoft Office?

Jonathan Zdziarski at Apple

Jonathan Zdziarski is a well respected security and privacy expert. Now he works for Apple. Jonathan’s explanation of why he took the gig pushes all my buttons.

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“This decision marks the conclusion of what I feel has been a matter of conscience for me over time. Privacy is sacred; our digital lives can reveal so much about us – our interests, our deepest thoughts, and even who we love. I am thrilled to be working with such an exceptional group of people who share a passion to protect that.”
— Jonathan Zdziarski

I think Apple is serious when they talk about protecting user privacy and hiring people like Jonathan. I don’t know if this priority gives Apple much market advantage in the world today where most consumers are pretty cavalier about their privacy but it sure makes me happy to be using Apple products.

Latest Apple Park Video

I remember the first time I visited Infinite Loop, where I expected to see something like the Wonka Chocolate Factory but instead got a series of business offices, not so unlike my own. “This is it?” I thought. 

Well that was a long time ago and now it looks as if The Apple Chocolate Factory is getting ready to open for business after all. (And it will be just secretive as its fictional equivalent.)

Sponsor: MailButler for Business




This week MacSparky is sponsored by MailButler. MailButler has just added a new Business subscription plan that includes several features to ensure complete control over email flow for your team. This includes several new features including:

Advanced Tracking

MailButler adds links to your emails so you can seen all the details about your email recipients opening your email messages. Learn when, where, how often, with what kind of device, and in which email client your messages have been viewed. Now you’ll know if your customer has actually opened the email with their invoice or if your colleague received the email with the new spreadsheet.

CRM Support

Customer relationship managers are an essential tool for business but wrangling your email into them has never been easy. MailButler now lets you connect with your CRM tool you automatically get  copies of your outgoing emails in the system through a blind carbon copy.

Correspondent Insight

MailButler Business Plan users also get additional insight on their email correspondents with detailed information, such as social media profiles and company information. 

Custom Signature Templates

MailButler Business Plan members don’t only get the cool MailButler template designer to create their own custom email signature, they can also make a unique corporate signature design and share it with their team members. Give your team a unified, professional looking email signature.

Team Features

Best of all, these team member features are easy to manage using the MailButler Business Plan Dashboard where managers can assign roles and tasks to the team members, watch their activity and usage statistics, as well as share custom signature or message templates.

MailButler’s new Business Plan is a great idea. Take control of email for your team with MailButler for Business.

iPhone 8 Speculation

Later this year we’re going to get the next iPhone. There’s been a lot of rumors about this new one with talk of an edge-to-edge (possibly OLED) screen, embedded touch IT, and even maybe wireless charging. Chance Miller at 9to5 Mac did a nice job pulling together the current rumors. Personally, I’d be surprised if the next iPhone has all of the rumored features. The iPhone is nearly the whole story when it comes to Apple revenue and for every new iPhone they have to build millions of the things reliably and quickly. Too many big changes in one generation increases the possibility of delays for specific parts or, worse yet, defects in the phone. If I had to pick just one feature I’d like in a new iPhone, it would be that edge-to-edge screen. It looks pretty great in 9to5 Mac’s mock up photos in the above linked article.

Home Screens – Bill Wilkins


I love meeting new and interesting geeks. One such person is my friend Bill Willkins. Bill Started out a “farm boy” in from Durham North Carolina but eventually found his way to England and now Switzerland. Bill’s now 75 but still works as a European Outdoor Industry Consultant. I can only hope I’m as much a geek at 75 as Bill is.

So Bill, show us your home screen.


What are some of your favorite apps?

I still find Apple’s native contacts app as the most useful. No other contacts app comes close. I have Fantastical on every device and MacBook. Excellent.

While I’m using 1Password, I’m also testing out other password managers. Apple Notes & Reminders are run as a team on the home screen of my iPhone & iPad.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

My iPhone is my app resource. I have at least 200 apps archived on my iPhone. I review them monthly. I have to start deleting some. I emphasize I don’t use them all but review them monthly.

What app makes you most productive? 

OmniFocus without doubt.

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

Most likely, OmniFocus.

What is the app you are still missing?

I am not missing anything. The problem is the reverse. Too many.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

It is the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night.

My iPhone is my most used Apple device. I can see the day coming when I move to a large iPad. This is mainly due to the ease of updates.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

I can use them everywhere. I also like the ease of updates and the relative economy and/or price of apps. (The other side is I buy too many.)

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I would not take the job even if it were offered.

There was a famous saying. You can please some of the people part of the people some of the time and a few of the people all of the time but you cannot please all of the people all of the time. 

What’s your wallpaper and why?

My wall paper is a plain black background. I do not want any distractions.

Thanks Bill!