Thursday, September 22, 2011

Guide to Palm Desert and Palm Springs Fun



Restaurants
Zin – An American Bistro - 198 S. Palm Canyon Dr. (at Arenas Rd.) Palm Springs, CA 92262 760-322-6300 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              760-322-6300      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Zin offers adventurous and robust dishes robust American entries like buttermilk-fried chicken, a Zin burger, a “very adult” macaroni and cheese and apple pie with great atmosphere and attentive staff.



Spenser’s on the Mountain – Romantic dinner. 701 West Baristo Road . Palm Springs . CA . 9226 (760) 327-3446. Location is near edge of mountains downtown:

Shame on the Moon Restaurant – Delicious and affordable, Where the locals go. Reservations a must: 760 324-5515, Hostess: Ginger
69950 Frank Sinatra Drive Rancho Mirage 92270-2831 SUMMER HOURS OPEN TUESDAY - SUNDAY at 5:30pm

Daily Grill - 73-601 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA 92260 760 779-9911 at 73-061 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA Phone: 760/779-9911
Serves good salads, a fine gazpacho, zesty pasta dishes, and various blue-plate specials. The sidewalk terrace invites people-watching, and the weekend brunches are very festive. A bit overpriced.

City Wok - Chinese, across from Marriott in Palm Desert, Country Club.74-970 Country Club Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 760-341-1511 Hours: Mon–Thurs11:30 AM to 9:30 PM; Fri & Sat 11:30 AM to 10:00 PM; Sun11:30 AM to 9:00 PM.

Thai Smile - inexpensive Thai food in shopping center off Bob Hope and 111.
Pomme Frite - in Palm Springs - great mussels with wonderful fries served in paper cone with3 dipping sauces. Also get Veal Poulard if available (special for Wedesdays).

Wally’s Desert Turtle
- very expensive but really good.

La Bella Cucina
- In Desert Crossings Shopping Center on 111 (near Fred Waring) - Family run Italian place with absolutely no atmosphere but delicious Italian food and really cheap!! Usually crowded.
Las Casuelas – The Original
(760) 325-3213
368 N Palm Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262
The original Las Casuelas may not have the party ambience of the larger, more touristy Terazza down the street . . . or the spectacular Nuevas in Rancho Mirage, but easier to get in, food is the same, excellent quality and the service is attentive and fast.
Las Casuelas Nueva
70050 Highway 111,
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Tel: (760) 328-8844
Always busy, well-run restaurant and bar, complete with dance floor, provides great Mexican food, friendly service and fun. Strolling mariachis start playing in the morning. Try the Carnitas (seasoned, twice-cooked pork with salsa and condiments). We’ve tried all three and found the food to be a bit better at this location.
Las Casuelas Terraza


222 S. Palm Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262 (760) 325-2794
The restaurant is large. When you enter a costume clad hostess will seat you. I suggest the patio, as it is like sitting in a pretty garden in Mexico. They also have mariachis playing music here.
“C. C. Inn” a.k.a. The Cedar Creek Inn – Nice more formal lunch or dinner. Great salads. "Old world" Palm Springs. Cedar Creek Inn 1555 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92264 Reservations: 760/325-7300. Note: also restaurant in Palm Desert - Cedar Creek Inn on El Paseo - 73445 El Paseo, Palm Desert, 92260
P. F. Changs - The River, 71800 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 Phone: (760) 776-4912. They will take a reservation. Try the Lettuce Wraps (appetizer) and Dan Dan noodles or Lemon Chicken for entrées.
Mario’s Italian Café – closest to Marriott is Mario's Italian Café, Mario's Italian Cafe
42-104 Washington St., Bermuda Dunes, CA. (760) 772-6100. From Marriott, take Cook heading south and turn left at Hovley Lane East which becomes 42nd Ave. Continue across Washington Street then quick right into shopping center on right. You’ll see Mario’s. Large portions and excellent value. Really delicious.
Keedy's Fountain & Grill - 73-633 Highway 111; 760-346-6492), a 1950’s soda fountain. Great breakfasts and lunches. The pankcakes are fantastic. And for lunch, the burgers are THE BEST.
The Elephant Bar - 73833 Hwy 111, Palm Desert, CA 92260-4005 Tel: (760) 340-0456. Good alternative for a casual lunch. Not pricy, well located. Nice fast service. Big menu, happy hours, spacious. Quality of food is very good.
C.J.’s Diner - 74894 Lennon Pl Ste H1, Palm Desert, CA 92260 Tel: (760) 837-9650. Haven’t tried it but review looks interesting.
Pacifica Seafood - 73505 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA 92260
Tel: 760 674 8666. Haven’t tried but rated #1 of 200 desert area restaurants.
Sherman’s Deli - 73161 Country Club Dr, Palm Desert, CA 92260-2350
Tel: (760) 568-1350. Huge portions. Great food. People say New Yorkers won’t be disappointed.
Papa Dan’s – 73-131 Country Club at Monterey 568-3267
Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant - 78164 Ave 52, La Quinta, CA 92253-8909
Tel: (760) 771-4653
Worth going to once, if only to enjoy the clubby atmosphere and the “legend”. We enjoyed having a light fare dinner out on patio but be prepared, the place can be crowded and noisy. Food is good, but about 20% overpriced.
Peabody's Café - 134 S Palm Canyon Dr (@ Tahquitz Canyon Way) Palm Springs, CA 92262. Kind of a ritual, we always go to Peabody’s at least once for coffee and breakfast. Great people watching.
Benny's Bagels - Bagels/Bakery. Made fresh daily & cooked after boiling in the old, traditional way. No fat, cholesterol, or preservatives. 72-785 Hwy 111 (760) 568-4990 Tasty fresh and hot.
Tyler’s Burgers - 149 S Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262-6603 Tel: (760) 325-2990. Haven’t tried it but looks interesting.
In n Out Burger - 72265 Varner Rd., Thousand Palms, CA 92276
Sunday through Thursday 10:30 a.m.-1:00 a.m.
Friday and Saturday 10:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Directions from Palm Desert area:
1. Take 111 to Monterey Ave
2. Follow Monterey "up" heading north past Country Club, Frank Sumatra, Gerald Ford, and Dinah Shore.
3. Go under I-10 overpass and take left onto Varner Road (access road that parallels I-10) heading to Ramon Road, which is next intersection.
4. At Ramon Road, turn right and it's in front of you.
2nd location in Indio: kinda sleezy neighborhood: 82043 Hwy. 111, Indio, CA 92201
Vicky’s of Santa Fe
45-100 Club Drive,
Indian Wells, CA 92210
(760) 345-977
Specials:
Grilled Vegetable Stack, eggplant, Portabello mushrooms, yellow squash, bell peppers, and herbed goat cheese; Seasoned Eight-Bone New Zealand Rack of Lamb; Homemade Apple Pie; Wedge of Iceberg Lettuce with diced tomatoes, applewoodsmoked bacon, and bleu cheese dressing; and Scallops served on sautéed spinach with mango salsa, drizzled with a little butter.
“Vicky’s is known for generous portions of good quality food served at reasonable prices.”
Dairy Queen
·       Cook at 111 PALM DESERT CA 92260-3801
·       41-800 WASHINGTON ST (North of Fred Waring) BERMUDA DUNES CA 92201-8154
·       E. Vista Chino at N Sunrise Way PALM SPRINGS CA 92262-3569
Ruby’s in downtown Palm Springs
155 S. Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 406-7829
Aqua Paza - in the River Shopping Center in Rancho Mirage has lots of great appetizers priced at 50% until 6:30 or 7:00PM and then again after 8:30--small pizzas, calamari, etc--lively atmosphere and a real bargain. Another great bargain in RM is Halawaia Joe's, on 111, closer to the Cathedral City border--teriffic appetizer menu 50% off until 6:30PM. Great ribs, ahi tuna, potstickers, etc. in a beautiful building built into the side of a mountain. Enjoy. Make reservation inside or outside.
Castelli’s Restaurant
73-098 Highway 111,
Palm Desert, California 92260
Great Italian place, family owned well established restaurant that locals frequent more than tourists. It can be difficult to find so use map as it is just off hwy 111 on a service road. Just look for the busiest spot! Food excellent.
Sammy's Woodfire Pizza - Palm Desert
73-595 El Paseo Rd.
Palm Desert, CA 92260
760-836-0500

http://www.sammyspizza.com/menu/
Goody’s Café
Some of the recent reviews are disappointing.
40101 Monterey Ave
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Take Country Club to Rancho Mirage, Monterey and CC., in the center, across from Albertsons.
La Tablita Restaurant - Mexican
Address: 68369 E Palm Canyon Dr, Cathedral City, CA 92234
Phone: (760) 321-5935
Delicious Mexican food, family owned.
Sidewinder Grill
Address: 66121 Pierson Blvd,
Desert Hot Springs, CA


Goody's Cafe 
40205 Washington St 
Palm Desert, CA 92211 (760) 345-8941 

Palm Desert – Top Restaurant List
Palm Desert – Top Restaurant List
Alphabetical Guide to Restaurants

Things To Do
Special Events Calendar
1. Palm Springs Street Fair – Thursday nights. They close main street for vendors, food, music. Palm Springs VillageFest. 401 S. Pavillion Palm Springs, CA 92262 Phone: 760--320-3781 An exciting attraction downtown Palm Springs every Thursday evening. Come for the music, food and fun
2. Massage - "All About Massage", 74-121 Hwy 111, Palm Desert just east of Portola. Phone 346-7949. Request desert stone massage from one of their more experienced masseusses. They place warm, not hot, stones on your back. Very calming and therapeutic. Ask for $10 coupon for first time visitor.
3. High country desert jeep tour - Take camera – Desert Adventures
4. Street Fair at College of the Desert - Saturdays and Sundays – Free – All year round. Open from 7 AM. Phone: 760-776-0152. 43-500 Monterey Avenue, Palm Desert, CA 92260. Open every Saturday and Sunday.
October through May, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
June through September, 7 a.m to Noon
Free Parking, Free Admission
5. Walking tour into Indian Canyons
Near downtown Palm Springs - Take camera.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
(July - September) 8:00AM - 5:00PM
  
Adults.......................................... $9.00
Seniors (62+)................................$7.00

Tours are in season only and approximately 1.5 hours and are 1 mile in length.  Register at Palm Canyon Trading Post.

Adults...............................................$3.00
Children (16-12)................................$2.00
For Information or Reservations Call (760) 323-6018
Directions from Marriott Desert Springs
1. Country Club to 111 North
2. North on 111 past Gene Autry Trail.
3. This becomes E. Palm Canyon Drive and you're heading west on it.
4. Watch for Smoke Trail Lane on L as landmark.
5. Go about 500 feet more and take L at Sunrise Way heading south.
6. S. Sunrise becomes S. La Verne Way as you veer right.
7. Left @ S. Toledo Ave. that becones E. Murray Canyon Drive.
8. Follow as E. Murray Canyon turns West, then R at S. Palm Canyon Drive.
9. The hiking gate is at 38520 S Palm Canyon Drive on the left.
10. This is 0.4 miles past Old Rincon Villiage Rd
11. If you reach Andreas Canyon Rd you've gone about 0.2 miles too far.
Location:
Info:

6. Walking tour into Indian Canyons at Taquitz Canyon with guide
“Hiking to a waterfall in the desert”, this is a deep gorge 2 mile loop trail to 60 foot water fall.
Location is at end of 500 West Mesquite, Palm Springs, 3 signal south of Ramon, at base of mountain.
8 AM is when guided hike starts.  Get there 7:30 to 7:45 AM.

Another great place to go hiking near Palm Springs (Indian Canyons is their sister location that also offers great hiking). The trail is a loop through the canyon that takes you to a waterfall at the end of the canyon. This is a mildly strenuous hike, you need to be able to climb up rock stops that are 12-15 inches high. We went with people age 6-60 and everybody was able to do the full loop out to the waterfall and back.

Bring your camera for photos of the scenery, there are also hummingbirds in the canyon that you may be able to get photos of. Were closed toed shoes, either tennis shoes or hiking boots. The hike will take a couple of hours
Location:
1.    Take 111 into Palm Springs which becomes E. Palm Canyon Drive.
2.    Pass S. Farrell and Sunrise Way which run N/S.
3.    Continue on 111/Palm Canyon business as it turns north.
4.    After Octillo, turn left at Mesquite and at end.

Drive, walk or bike tour of the homes of the Stars
Pick up rental bikes in old Palm Springs historic area, then follow self guided maps past home where all the stars screwed and drank their brains out, Elvis, JFK, Marilyn, the Gabor sisters, Liberace, etc.
Pick up free map of the stars' homes at 
Palm Springs Visitor Center
2901 North Palm Canyon Drive
Corner of North Palm Canyon Drive and Tramway
Palm Springs CA 92262
Open 9 - 5 PM Daily
760-778-8418
7. Casino Gambling - not in the center of Palm Springs. Instead, head south on interstate to casinos in the Indio area. Better casinos and odds. But sleazy oldsters.
8. Jeweler - M. Schwartz Estate Jewelers.  Downtown Palm Springs @ 112 North Palm Canyon Drive (just North of Tahquiz Canyon intersection.  north of Ramon Road Palm Springs, CA 92262, (760) 327-7524. Say hi to Betty, Carol and Mel (owner) & Mr. Isaac Outland, the negotiator and great guy.
9. Drive Up to Idyllwild – a quaint mountain village. 
Located a mile high above neighboring desert communities, Idyllwild offers a respite from the summer heat, and a cool, snowy wonderland in winter.  The highways to Idyllwild are State Scenic By-ways, which provide stunning views, diverse terrain from the deserts below up to our towering pines, all on well maintained, easy mountain roads.



From Palm Desert, take Hwy 74, start at Hwy 111 just west of Cook.  Takes about an hour to drive there. 
Chamber of Commerce info:
Shopping
Fry’s - about 7 miles from downtown Huntington Beach.
10800 Kalama River Ave
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Phone: (714) 378-4400
M- F 8 to 9. Sat 9 – 9. Sun 9 – 6

Fry’s Wedsite


Fry’s Ad Specials
1. Depart 512 13th St, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
2. Turn LEFT (North) onto Main St which changes to Ellis Ave.
3. Go thru Beach Intersection and continue heading away from H.B.
4. Turn LEFT (North) onto Brookhurst St - Mimi’s Café on Brookhurst @ Ellis)
5. Turn RIGHT (East) onto Talbert Ave with Shell and Chevron gas on corner than over F’way.
6. Turn RIGHT (South) onto Mt Shay St
7. Then right again onto Kalama River Ave, Fountain Valley and Fry’s is in rear.
To exit, you must bear right and get back on F’way then off at Brookhurst exit.
Fry’s @ City of Industry
8 – 9 Mon - Fri
9 – 9 Sat
9 – 7 Sun

13401 Crossroads Parkway North
City Of Industry, CA
(562) 463-2400
FAX (562) 463-2418









(END)


Thousand Palms Oasis Hiking Trails

29200 1000 Palms Canyon Rd, Thousand Palms, CA, 92276

http://maps.yahoo.com/map?q1=92276&mag=5&ard=1#mvt=m&lat=33.806653&lon=-116.341479&mag=5&zoom=13&q1=Marriott%20Desert%20Springs%20Hotel%20Palm%20Desert%20CA&q2=29200%201000%20Palms%20Canyon%20Rd%2C%20Thousand%20Palms%2C%20CA%2C%2092276

http://coachellavalleypreserve.org/

The Coachella Valley Preserve is located 10 miles east of Palm Springs near 1000 Palms. It is a 17,000 acre site that is home to the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, which is found nowhere else in the world. It is also home of the spectacular Thousand Palm Oasis which is fed by water seeping out of the San Andreas Fault. There are also several other Palm Oases, including the Willis, Hidden Horseshoe, and Indian Palms. Located in the center is the Paul Wilhelm Grove that is also the location of the Preserve's visitor's center. The preserve has several hiking trails including the McCallum, Hidden Palms, Moon Country, Pushawalla Palms, and Willis Palms trails.

http://www.hiking-in-ps.com/cvpreserve.php

Trails in the Coachella Valley Preserve


http://coachellavalleypreserve.org/
http://maps.yahoo.com/map?q1=92276&mag=5&ard=1#mvt=m&lat=33.806653&lon=-116.341479&mag=5&zoom=13&q1=Marriott%20Desert%20Springs%20Hotel%20Palm%20Desert%20CA&q2=29200%201000%20Palms%20Canyon%20Rd%2C%20Thousand%20Palms%2C%20CA%2C%2092276

Everything Is Its Own Reward

Paul Madonna‘s new book, Everything Is Its Own Reward, is out now. The book covers 4 years of work and features 6 countries and 13 cities. And there’s a removable poster. 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Did Steve Jobs Help or Hurt Music?

Perhaps the question should be, "Did Steve Jobs help or hurt the sound of music?" He did not invent digital music or MP3 players, but that didn't stop him from redefining the way people buy and listen to music.
Then again, Napster was around before iPods and iTunes, and it allowed people to amass gigantic music collections at zero cost, which I don't see as something to be proud of. Having 10,000+ songs on an iPod is one thing, but do people ever really listen to all of that music? Record labels could not compete with free music, but to his credit Jobs helped them make money from selling downloads.

Has the iPod helped or hurt music?
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)
That's great, but iTunes' "lossy" sound is far below CD quality. Cynics might conclude that Jobs purposely sold mediocre sound so he could resell the music again as CD-quality files in the future. That's yet to happen, but I won't be surprised when Apple starts selling high-resolution "Thriller" or "Kid A" files on iTunes. It's only a matter of time.
But iTunes' sound quality will probably get worse before it gets better. Apple's iCloud, due this fall, will allow consumers to stream music from mobile devices. Will streamed music sound as good as iTunes songs do now? I doubt it. High-resolution, or even CD-quality iTunes tracks are not going to happen any time soon. Thanks, Mr. Jobs!
CD sales peaked a few years before the iPod arrived, but I'd still credit the little player for the decline of home hi-fi. I suppose that was inevitable, because except for audiophiles, almost no one listens, really listens to music at home anymore. If you're not focused on the music, declining sound quality isn't a concern.
Apple proudly announced it had sold 10 billion songs in February, 2010 (since the very beginning of iTunes in 2001). But CD sales for just one year, 2010, were 326.2 million units. Remember, that figure is the total number of albums, and each album has a bunch of (7 to 15) tunes. That adds up to more than three billion songs a year! Apple and other download sites haven't killed off the better-sounding alternatives--CDs and LPs--yet. So while Jobs may have "saved" the music business, he hasn't had a positive net effect on the sound of music. The race to the bottom is still gaining speed.
What do you think, did Steve Jobs help or hurt music? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.

The 'Groovy' Highway Hi-fis of the 1950s


I know a little about under-dash record players from the late 1960s, but I was totally clueless about 1950s car turntables, until I heard writer Paul Collins talking about them on WNYC's "Soundcheck" radio show a few weeks ago. I chatted with Collins to learn more about these groovy hi-fis.
Columbia Records developed the proprietary Highway Hi-Fi format: a thick 7-inch, 16 2/3rpm record that had up to one hour playing time per side. Chrysler executives jumped on the idea, and offered the turntable as an option in their 1956 models, and were hoping one out of 10 cars would sport turntables in a few years. The 7-inch, long-play format quickly flopped, but Chrysler sold 18,000 turntables for around $75 each.

Car tunes in the 1950s looked like this
(Credit: UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center)
The stylus tracking force was around 2 grams, which isn't that much higher than what we use today. Of course, 1950s technology had severe limitations, so the Highway Hi-Fi records skipped and jammed. Only 36 titles were available when the turntables first arrived, and an additional 6 were added in early 1956, which raised the total to 42 titles. These 7-inch, 16 2/3rpm records didn't have the large hole of a 45rpm single, and the grooves ran almost up to the small center hole to maximize playing time. The records probably sounded awful; they should have called the format "Highway Lo-Fi."
The slim selection of titles didn't help sell the format, and they weren't the blockbusters of the era, though I'd like to hear "How Hi The Fi," a Buck Clayton jam session. Elvis Presley or Chuck Berry tunes were never offered for the Columbia Highway Hi-Fis. The technology had its faults, but the proprietary format was doomed from the start.
RCA flirted with car turntables from 1960 to 1961 and made models that played standard 45rpm 7-inch records, but those turntables also failed to gain any traction in the market. Philips dabbled in aftermarket installed car turntables, but once the 4-track tape cartridge system arrived in the early 1960s, car turntables were on the road to extinction. Other tape formats, like 8-track and cassette, had long and successful runs until the CD arrived in the early 1980s.

The Worst-Sounding Audio Product

High-end audio sounds great, lasts decades


The Audio Research VSi 60 amplifier
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)
At the end of the 1960s it looked like transistors had completely replaced vacuum tubes for hi-fis, musicians' amplifiers, recording gear, etc., but then a handful of American high-end companies began designing new tube components. Audio Research was in the vanguard of the movement, and is still crafting electronics coveted by audiophiles across the globe. During my recent visit to the Audio Research factory in Plymouth, Minn., I spent some quality time listening to its least expensive integrated amplifier, the VSi60.
As high-end amplifiers go, the VSi60 isn't very big--it measures 14 inches by 8 inches by 16 inches--and it has an anodized aluminum top plate with an inset Audio Research logo. The supplied remote controls all functions including power, muting, stereo/mono, input select, and volume up/down. The rear of the chassis has five pairs of RCA inputs for CD, tuner, video, etc.; a mono subwoofer output; and custom-made, speaker-wire binding posts. It's a 50-watt-per-channel stereo amplifier.
The VSi60 proudly displays its 6H30 driver tubes and KT120 output tubes on the top plate, and uses audiophile-grade parts throughout the design. Each VSi60 is hand-crafted and completely hand-soldered, assembled, and not only bench tested and measured; every amp's sound quality is carefully scrutinized over a pair of very high-end speakers. If the sound is not up to snuff, it's sent back to production to be corrected.
Since I was unfamiliar with the sound of Audio Research's reference system, I compared the VSi60 with the company's very best gear, namely its Reference Anniversary Preamplifier ($24,995), the Reference 250 power amps ($25,990), with a pair of Wilson Audio MAXX 3 speakers ($69,500). Before we go any further I have to admit something: I don't think Audio Research tube gear sounds "tubey." That is to say, overly rich, warm, or mellow. It doesn't sound like solid-state, either; Audio Research designs just provide a clear "window" to the sound of music.
First up, "The Way," from Neil Young's "Chrome Dreams II" CD, which features a large vocal choir backing up Young. The clarity of the sound, the voices, piano, and percussion were a thrill to behold. This 2007 recording's quality really helps, of course, but when you play a great recording, the Audio Research/Wilson Audio system can conjure a remarkably faithful recreation of the original event.
I also played some early 1960s Duke Ellington CDs recorded in the famed 30th Street Columbia Records studios. These recordings put you in the acoustic space of the studio, and when they're played over a world-class system you feel like you're in the studio with the band. Tube electronics reveal that virtual reality aspect of recordings better than solid-state gear; the presentation is more three-dimensional, so the instruments have an almost physical presence between the speakers. Those impressions were based on the sound of the more expensive Audio Research system.
Switching over to the VSi60 amplifier, the system couldn't play as loud; the bass weight and oomph were scaled back a bit, but the essential effortless quality of the sound was much the same. The Audio Research "sound" is hard to describe, because it's essentially neutral, and that's just as true for its most affordable as it is for its flagship designs.
The VSi60 amplifier sells for $4,495, so sure, it's expensive, but it's designed to sound spectacular for many decades. That's no hype; Audio Research already offers reasonably priced repair services for nearly every product it has made over the last four decades. Sony, Apple, Chevy, or BMW don't service every product that bears their name. A good number of Audio Research customers are still enjoying components they bought when Jimmy Carter was president. Other than the sound I can think of one other small reason why Audio Research customers are so loyal: when you call the company during business hours, a live human being answers the phone!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Funny Motivation Posters

many here:



http://www.google.com/search?q=funny+motivation+posters&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=CvI&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8y93TonpAsy4tgf26KCrDA&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1540&bih=745#hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Xad&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=9S93TryTKMuitge5v5W9Ag&ved=0CDwQBSgA&q=funny+motivational+posters&spell=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.&fp=2ec07d655092757d&biw=1540&bih=745

iPhone with Artificial Intelligence Is Next

from: 
http://www.cultofmac.com/114276/how-this-guy-is-making-your-iphone-virtually-human/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cultofmac%2FbFow+%28Cult+of+Mac%29

Today, your iPhone is a gadget, a mere consumer appliance. But your future iPhone will become increasingly human. You’ll have conversations with it. The phone will make decisions, prioritize the information it presents to you, and take action on your behalf — rescheduling meetings, buying movie tickets, making reservations and much more.

In short, your iPhone is evolving into a personal assistant that thinks, learns and acts. And it’s all happening sooner than you think.


The history of interface design can be oversimplified as the application of increasing compute power to make computers work harder for human compatibility.

In the beginning, humans did all the work because computers weren’t smart enough to handle human language. Code had to be punched in. Output had to be translated.

When computers became more powerful, they could interact with users with something similar to human language via a command line interface. Later, PCs and workstations were re-imagined to handle icons, windows, trash cans and dragging and dropping and all the rest.

As Moore’s law continues to deliver ever more powerful processors at lower cost, that available power can be applied to the creation of even more human-compatible interfaces that include touch, “physics,” gestures and more.

Ultimately, however, human beings are hard-wired to communicate with other people, not computers. And that’s why the direction of interface design is always heading for the creation of artificial humans.

There are four elements to a machine that can function like a person: 1) speech; 2) decision-making algorithms; 3) data; and 4) “agency,” the ability to act in the world on your behalf.

Apple already has rudimentary technology and partnerships to achieve all this. The initial launch of the iPhone 5 will likely offer a small sampling of this technology, and subsequent releases of iOS will dribble out more. 

Eventually, your iPhone will function as a virtual human that you can talk to, that suggests things to you, that you can send running on errands.

When you get your shiny new iPhone 5, you’ll notice a new feature called the Assistant. This feature won’t be an app, but a broad capability of the phone that combines speech, decision-making, data and agency to simulate a virtual human that lives in your pocket.

For speech, Apple has maintained a long-standing partnership with the leading company. A version of iOS 5 with Nuance Dictation has reportedly been sent out to carriers for testing.

For decision-making algorithms, Apple can rely on the amazing technology it purchased in April, 2010, when it bought Siri, a company that created a personal-assistant application that you talk to, and it figures out what you want.

Many iPhone users don’t know this, but Siri is still available free in the app store. You should be using this every day. You talk to Siri in your own words, and Siri’s algorithms figure out what you mean. It sorts through a large number of possible responses, and chooses the best one with uncanny accuracy.

For data, Apple can use your own behavior with the phone, which can inform the system  where you are, where you’ve been, what your preferences are, what your schedule is, who you know, and much more. Solid rumors suggest deep integration of the Assistant with Calendar, Contacts, E-mail and more.

And for agency, Apple can rely on the technology and partnerships developed under the Siri project. The existing Siri app leverages partnerships with OpenTable, CitySearch, Yelp, YahooLocal, ReserveTravel, Localeze, Eventful, StubHub, LiveKick, MovieTickets, RottenTomatoes, True Knowledge, Bing Answers and Wolfram Alpha.

These services both provide judgement (you can say, “find me a GOOD Mexican restaurant”) and agency (you can say, “make me a reservation.”) Siri is designed to actually book you a hotel reservation, buy movie or concert tickets and much more.

There is absolutely no question that Apple is getting into the virtual human racket, starting with the iPhone 5 and iOS 5. But Apple is a consumer electronics company. What the hell does Apple know about artificial intelligence?

The answer may shock you.

The iOS ‘Assistant’ is US Military Technology

The most expensive, ambitious and far-reaching attempt to create a virtual human assistant was initiated in 2003 by the Pentagon’s research arm, DARPA (the organization that brought us the Internet, GPS and other deadly weapons).
The project was called CALO, for “Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes,” and involved some 300 of the world’s top researchers.

CALO’S mission, according to the Wikipedia, was to build “a new generation of cognitive assistants that can reason, learn from experience, be told what to do, explain what they are doing, reflect on their experience, and respond robustly to surprise.”
All this research was orchestrated by a Silicon Valley company called the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). The man in charge of the whole project was a brilliant polymath who worked as senior scientist and co-director of the Computer Human Interaction Center at SRI, Adam Cheyer (pictured above).

Cheyer is not only one of the world’s most renowned artificial intelligence scientists, he’s also one of the leading experts in distributed computing, intelligent agents and advanced user interfaces.

Cheyer now works as a director of engineering for Apple’s iPhone group. He also manages the awesome team he assembled for Siri. Together, these brilliant minds are inventing the future of cell phone interaction.

The iPhone 6 Virtual Human

Here’s how your iPhone 6 will probably work. When you want to make a call, search the web or send an e-mail, you’ll just hold the phone to your ear and say a command.

The phone will recognize your voice, which both authenticates your identity and enables the phone to cater specifically to your needs, your data and your vocabulary.
When you want to do the town, you’ll say things like “make me a reservation at a good Italian restaurant.” and “buy me tickets for a good movie for after dinner.” The phone will do your bidding.

Before meetings, your phone with alert you. You’ll listen, and the phone will give you a briefing about the people you’re meeting, with history and personal information so you’re prepared. If you want to reschedule the meeting, the phone software will interact via e-mail with the people you’re meeting with, finding a new time when all are available, and adding the new meeting time to your calendar.

Your iPhone will make suggestions about gifts, books, music and upcoming concerts. It will learn from your actions, getting better over time.

In short, your phone will evolve from a gadget to a virtual human, one you can talk to and that talks back. It will anticipate your needs, make decisions, and act on your behalf.

That’s the iPhone 6. Exactly how much of this virtual assistant technology will show up in the iPhone 5 is still essentially unknown. But what we do know is that Apple is definitely headed in this direction.

Are you ready to carry a virtual human in your pocket?

~ Thanks Walter !

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Recommended Repair Shops and Services - Fort Myers


Car Repair

Winkler Automotive - Mike and James don't sell you more than you need.   Always my 1st choice.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=3120+Winkler+Ave.+Fort+Myers,+FL++33916&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x88db6a894d175b59:0x4ac293aedfaff1ee,3120+Winkler+Ave,+Fort+Myers,+FL+33916&gl=us&ei=PNdwTvmhKMjpgQfawYyNBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ8gEwAA

http://www.winklerautomotiveinc.com/

Pam's Motor City - a bit more expensive but hey, they have the "name" and location.

http://pamsmotorcity.net/

Located at the corner of NE Metro and Daniels.

13395 Metro Parkway
Fort Myers, FL 33966 


Garage Door 


"A & Rick's Garage Door Service" is a better value than better value than Action Automatic Door and Gate.  Beside, with that name, they must be good.

Current pricing is flat $65 flat fee while Action Door charges by the first 30/60 minutes.

(239) 458-2254  
They repair doors and openers, all makes and models.








Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Why Software Is Eating The World

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460.html

In an interview with WSJ's Kevin Delaney, Groupon and LinkedIn investor Marc Andreessen insists that the recent popularity of tech companies does not constitute a bubble. He also stressed that both Apple and Google are undervalued and that "the market doesn't like tech."
In short, software is eating the world.
This week, Hewlett-Packard (where I am on the board) announced that it is exploring jettisoning its struggling PC business in favor of investing more heavily in software, where it sees better potential for growth. Meanwhile, Google plans to buy up the cellphone handset maker Motorola Mobility. Both moves surprised the tech world. But both moves are also in line with a trend I've observed, one that makes me optimistic about the future growth of the American and world economies, despite the recent turmoil in the stock market.
More than 10 years after the peak of the 1990s dot-com bubble, a dozen or so new Internet companies like Facebook and Twitter are sparking controversy in Silicon Valley, due to their rapidly growing private market valuations, and even the occasional successful IPO. With scars from the heyday of Webvan and Pets.com still fresh in the investor psyche, people are asking, "Isn't this just a dangerous new bubble?"
I, along with others, have been arguing the other side of the case. (I am co-founder and general partner of venture capital firm Andreessen-Horowitz, which has invested in Facebook, Groupon, Skype, Twitter, Zynga, and Foursquare, among others. I am also personally an investor in LinkedIn.) We believe that many of the prominent new Internet companies are building real, high-growth, high-margin, highly defensible businesses.
[SOFTWARE1] 
Today's stock market actually hates technology, as shown by all-time low price/earnings ratios for major public technology companies. Apple, for example, has a P/E ratio of around 15.2—about the same as the broader stock market, despite Apple's immense profitability and dominant market position (Apple in the last couple weeks became the biggest company in America, judged by market capitalization, surpassing Exxon Mobil). And, perhaps most telling, you can't have a bubble when people are constantly screaming "Bubble!"
But too much of the debate is still around financial valuation, as opposed to the underlying intrinsic value of the best of Silicon Valley's new companies. My own theory is that we are in the middle of a dramatic and broad technological and economic shift in which software companies are poised to take over large swathes of the economy.
More and more major businesses and industries are being run on software and delivered as online services—from movies to agriculture to national defense. Many of the winners are Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial technology companies that are invading and overturning established industry structures. Over the next 10 years, I expect many more industries to be disrupted by software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption in more cases than not.
[SOFTWARE2] 
Why is this happening now?
Six decades into the computer revolution, four decades since the invention of the microprocessor, and two decades into the rise of the modern Internet, all of the technology required to transform industries through software finally works and can be widely delivered at global scale.
Over two billion people now use the broadband Internet, up from perhaps 50 million a decade ago, when I was at Netscape, the company I co-founded. In the next 10 years, I expect at least five billion people worldwide to own smartphones, giving every individual with such a phone instant access to the full power of the Internet, every moment of every day.
On the back end, software programming tools and Internet-based services make it easy to launch new global software-powered start-ups in many industries—without the need to invest in new infrastructure and train new employees. In 2000, when my partner Ben Horowitz was CEO of the first cloud computing company, Loudcloud, the cost of a customer running a basic Internet application was approximately $150,000 a month. Running that same application today in Amazon's cloud costs about $1,500 a month.
[SOFTWARE4] 
With lower start-up costs and a vastly expanded market for online services, the result is a global economy that for the first time will be fully digitally wired—the dream of every cyber-visionary of the early 1990s, finally delivered, a full generation later.
Perhaps the single most dramatic example of this phenomenon of software eating a traditional business is the suicide of Borders and corresponding rise of Amazon. In 2001, Borders agreed to hand over its online business to Amazon under the theory that online book sales were non-strategic and unimportant.
Oops.
Today, the world's largest bookseller, Amazon, is a software company—its core capability is its amazing software engine for selling virtually everything online, no retail stores necessary. On top of that, while Borders was thrashing in the throes of impending bankruptcy, Amazon rearranged its web site to promote its Kindle digital books over physical books for the first time. Now even the books themselves are software.
Today's largest video service by number of subscribers is a software company: Netflix. How Netflix eviscerated Blockbuster is an old story, but now other traditional entertainment providers are facing the same threat. Comcast, Time Warner and others are responding by transforming themselves into software companies with efforts such as TV Everywhere, which liberates content from the physical cable and connects it to smartphones and tablets.
Today's dominant music companies are software companies, too: Apple's iTunes, Spotify and Pandora. Traditional record labels increasingly exist only to provide those software companies with content. Industry revenue from digital channels totaled $4.6 billion in 2010, growing to 29% of total revenue from 2% in 2004.
Today's fastest growing entertainment companies are videogame makers—again, software—with the industry growing to $60 billion from $30 billion five years ago. And the fastest growing major videogame company is Zynga (maker of games including FarmVille), which delivers its games entirely online. Zynga's first-quarter revenues grew to $235 million this year, more than double revenues from a year earlier. Rovio, maker of Angry Birds, is expected to clear $100 million in revenue this year (the company was nearly bankrupt when it debuted the popular game on the iPhone in late 2009). Meanwhile, traditional videogame powerhouses like Electronic Arts and Nintendo have seen revenues stagnate and fall.
The best new movie production company in many decades, Pixar, was a software company. Disney—Disney!—had to buy Pixar, a software company, to remain relevant in animated movies.
Photography, of course, was eaten by software long ago. It's virtually impossible to buy a mobile phone that doesn't include a software-powered camera, and photos are uploaded automatically to the Internet for permanent archiving and global sharing. Companies like Shutterfly, Snapfish and Flickr have stepped into Kodak's place.
Today's largest direct marketing platform is a software company—Google. Now it's been joined by Groupon, Living Social, Foursquare and others, which are using software to eat the retail marketing industry. Groupon generated over $700 million in revenue in 2010, after being in business for only two years.
Today's fastest growing telecom company is Skype, a software company that was just bought by Microsoft for $8.5 billion. CenturyLink, the third largest telecom company in the U.S., with a $20 billion market cap, had 15 million access lines at the end of June 30—declining at an annual rate of about 7%. Excluding the revenue from its Qwest acquisition, CenturyLink's revenue from these legacy services declined by more than 11%. Meanwhile, the two biggest telecom companies, AT&T and Verizon, have survived by transforming themselves into software companies, partnering with Apple and other smartphone makers.
[SOFTWARE5] 
LinkedIn is today's fastest growing recruiting company. For the first time ever, on LinkedIn, employees can maintain their own resumes for recruiters to search in real time—giving LinkedIn the opportunity to eat the lucrative $400 billion recruiting industry.
Software is also eating much of the value chain of industries that are widely viewed as primarily existing in the physical world. In today's cars, software runs the engines, controls safety features, entertains passengers, guides drivers to destinations and connects each car to mobile, satellite and GPS networks. The days when a car aficionado could repair his or her own car are long past, due primarily to the high software content. The trend toward hybrid and electric vehicles will only accelerate the software shift—electric cars are completely computer controlled. And the creation of software-powered driverless cars is already under way at Google and the major car companies.
Today's leading real-world retailer, Wal-Mart, uses software to power its logistics and distribution capabilities, which it has used to crush its competition. Likewise for FedEx, which is best thought of as a software network that happens to have trucks, planes and distribution hubs attached. And the success or failure of airlines today and in the future hinges on their ability to price tickets and optimize routes and yields correctly—with software.
Oil and gas companies were early innovators in supercomputing and data visualization and analysis, which are crucial to today's oil and gas exploration efforts. Agriculture is increasingly powered by software as well, including satellite analysis of soils linked to per-acre seed selection software algorithms.
The financial services industry has been visibly transformed by software over the last 30 years. Practically every financial transaction, from someone buying a cup of coffee to someone trading a trillion dollars of credit default derivatives, is done in software. And many of the leading innovators in financial services are software companies, such as Square, which allows anyone to accept credit card payments with a mobile phone, and PayPal, which generated more than $1 billion in revenue in the second quarter of this year, up 31% over the previous year.
Health care and education, in my view, are next up for fundamental software-based transformation. My venture capital firm is backing aggressive start-ups in both of these gigantic and critical industries. We believe both of these industries, which historically have been highly resistant to entrepreneurial change, are primed for tipping by great new software-centric entrepreneurs.
Even national defense is increasingly software-based. The modern combat soldier is embedded in a web of software that provides intelligence, communications, logistics and weapons guidance. Software-powered drones launch airstrikes without putting human pilots at risk. Intelligence agencies do large-scale data mining with software to uncover and track potential terrorist plots.
Companies in every industry need to assume that a software revolution is coming. This includes even industries that are software-based today. Great incumbent software companies like Oracle and Microsoft are increasingly threatened with irrelevance by new software offerings like Salesforce.com and Android (especially in a world where Google owns a major handset maker).
In some industries, particularly those with a heavy real-world component such as oil and gas, the software revolution is primarily an opportunity for incumbents. But in many industries, new software ideas will result in the rise of new Silicon Valley-style start-ups that invade existing industries with impunity. Over the next 10 years, the battles between incumbents and software-powered insurgents will be epic. Joseph Schumpeter, the economist who coined the term "creative destruction," would be proud.
[SOFTWARE6] 
And while people watching the values of their 401(k)s bounce up and down the last few weeks might doubt it, this is a profoundly positive story for the American economy, in particular. It's not an accident that many of the biggest recent technology companies—including Google, Amazon, eBay and more—are American companies. Our combination of great research universities, a pro-risk business culture, deep pools of innovation-seeking equity capital and reliable business and contract law is unprecedented and unparalleled in the world.
Still, we face several challenges.
First of all, every new company today is being built in the face of massive economic headwinds, making the challenge far greater than it was in the relatively benign '90s. The good news about building a company during times like this is that the companies that do succeed are going to be extremely strong and resilient. And when the economy finally stabilizes, look out—the best of the new companies will grow even faster.
Secondly, many people in the U.S. and around the world lack the education and skills required to participate in the great new companies coming out of the software revolution. This is a tragedy since every company I work with is absolutely starved for talent. Qualified software engineers, managers, marketers and salespeople in Silicon Valley can rack up dozens of high-paying, high-upside job offers any time they want, while national unemployment and underemployment is sky high. This problem is even worse than it looks because many workers in existing industries will be stranded on the wrong side of software-based disruption and may never be able to work in their fields again. There's no way through this problem other than education, and we have a long way to go.
Finally, the new companies need to prove their worth. They need to build strong cultures, delight their customers, establish their own competitive advantages and, yes, justify their rising valuations. No one should expect building a new high-growth, software-powered company in an established industry to be easy. It's brutally difficult.
I'm privileged to work with some of the best of the new breed of software companies, and I can tell you they're really good at what they do. If they perform to my and others' expectations, they are going to be highly valuable cornerstone companies in the global economy, eating markets far larger than the technology industry has historically been able to pursue.
Instead of constantly questioning their valuations, let's seek to understand how the new generation of technology companies are doing what they do, what the broader consequences are for businesses and the economy and what we can collectively do to expand the number of innovative new software companies created in the U.S. and around the world.
That's the big opportunity. I know where I'm putting my money.
—Mr. Andreessen is co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen-Horowitz. He also co-founded Netscape, one of the first browser companies.

Thanks Ryan !