Apple

The Voice Of Christmas

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment


Are you getting a new phone for Christmas? You’re definitely not the only one.

Phones and tablets and even phablets (I hate that word) are some of the hottest gifts every Christmas season. I personally think I’ve seen more phone commercials this Christmas than for any other gift.

The new hot feature everyone seems to be advertising is voice control. You know, Siri, “Ok Google”, Amazon’s new Alexa feature, etc.

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This is the new feature phone companies are on fire for. But I’m really not a big user of voice control.

I know some people use the feature all the time. And you are free to make fun of me for sounding like an old fogey for this. But I pretty much only use Siri for one purpose – speaking out my texts. Continue reading →

Autocorrecting God

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

IMG_5330Ever notice something when you type out “god” on your iPhone? Go ahead and try typing it in a sentence if you haven’t recently.

While an iPhone will automatically capitalize most proper names and nouns, it won’t always autocorrect “god” to “God”.

Hey Apple – can we get a fix for this at the next WWDC?

Maybe your phone doesn’t do this. I’m sure some of you will tell me there’s something I can do in my settings so that I don’t have to go back and capitalize God every time I type it out (I may be under 30 but that doesn’t mean I know how to do 95% of the stuff on my phone).

Unfortunately just fixing my autocorrect settings won’t fix the real problem. The reality is that the failure of my phone to recognize God’s name is symbolic of a bigger issue in our culture.

As Christians we must stop assuming that the world sees God the same way that we do. Continue reading →

Why The Apple Watch Might Not Be Terrible

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

watch-dmI’ve been pretty steadily hate-reading test reviews of the Apple Watch. I don’t know why I’m so interested in reading about a product I think is so dumb.

Seriously – ever since Apple’s announcement back in the fall I’ve been shaking my head at this new digital wearable.

Maybe I’m being short-sighted. I just can’t see myself ever purchasing one. Of course I said the same thing about the iPhone when it debuted, and I finally came around to those in 2012.

There is however one feature of the Apple Watch I find intriguing. Apparently the watch has an innovative way of delivering alerts. They’re called Taptic Notifications.

The Apple Watch buzzes every few minutes, always reminding you of its presence and of your connection to your various networks. Continue reading →

There Is Such A Thing As Free

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

photo.PNG-2Who gives away the most anticipated new album of the year to the entire world for free?

Certainly not the biggest rock band in the world, right?

That would subvert the entire process we’ve become accustomed to as consumers.

That would flip the recording industry on its head.

That would be unheard of…if it didn’t just happen.

You’ve probably seen by now that after 5 years of waiting U2 finally released their latest album “Songs Of Innocence” completely free to anyone with an iTunes account.

And they didn’t just release it – it’s already sitting in everyone’s purchased music folder, waiting to be downloaded. The album is a gift to every iTunes customer, just waiting to be received.

Who could have seen something like this coming?

Actually, it sounds kind of familiar.

Sounds kind of like a God giving away His gift of salvation completely for free. Continue reading →

You Don’t Need A Filter

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

photo.PNGA picture is worth a thousand words. And when a thousand words aren’t enough, we use Instagram.

People of my generation (myself included) can’t seem to post a picture without putting a fancy filter on it. Whether it’s through Instagram, Facebook or Twitter apps, or even just on the iPhone itself, no picture feels complete without adding a little tint to it.

Why is that? Why don’t we think a normal picture is good enough anymore?

Continue reading →

The Hidden Wonders Of Waiting

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

slide.001_2_2_2The dream of my childhood is alive on Netflix.

When I was a kid I used to fantasize about watching any television show you wanted whenever you wanted. In my head I dreamed of a network called “The Channel” – an on demand wonderland where viewers weren’t subject to schedules or programmers, able to watch any episode at any time.

I wasn’t the only one dreaming back then. The technology I once only imagined is now available not only through Netflix but Hulu, Youtube, Amazon, On Demand, and countless other streaming services.

The archives of television (and film and music) history are at your command. If you want to watch that episode of “Sanford and Son” where Fred thinks B.B. King is trying to kill him, you could right this second.

Take a moment to be in awe of this. Less than a decade ago if you missed your favorite tv show the night it aired (and you forgot to set your VCR) then you simply missed it. Continue reading →

Stay Plugged In

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photo (24)Last week I unplugged for a few days with my extended family. We rented out a rustic log cabin – on Fernandina Beach in Florida.

While spending time with relatives in our untraditional abode I really tried to unplug myself from my iPhone. It was a struggle.

The first couple of days at the beach I found it impossible to not worry about email, Facebook, Twitter and the many balls in the air I had going at the church.

It really wasn’t until the day before I headed I home when I really began to swim away from my phone, only to dive right back in as soon as I shook the sand from my flip-flops.

Do you ever struggle with unplugging? Our phones, jobs, and social media profiles make it nearly impossible to truly break free from the connections which clutter our minds.

I wonder though if unplugging is all it’s cracked up to be. I think we are actually created to be plugged in. Sometimes we just get our cords attached to the wrong outlets. Continue reading →

Bill Gates and The System Reboot

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Bill-Gates-Bill-Melinda-Gates-FoundationA few weeks ago “60 Minutes” profiled Bill Gates. You know, the  founder of Microsoft, richest guy in the world, etc.

Check out the interview here if you haven’t yet. It’s worth your time.

Bill Gates may still be making all sorts of money from Microsoft, but the computer company doesn’t take much of his time now.

Currently he works with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation bringing life-saving vaccines to 3rd world countries who need them most.

It’s not that Bill Gates is using his fortunes to do charitable work that’s fascinating. What’s incredible is the level of innovation The Gates Foundation is involved in. Continue reading →

What Would Taylor Swift Do?

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swift

Billboard

Without heartbreak Taylor Swift would have no songs to write.

Without the pain from relationships gone bad, where would Taylor Swift’s inspiration come from?

Her scars tell her story. Her pain inspires her art. Her conflicts create an opportunity for a greater victory.

Without getting knocked down we have no reason to rise up.

Without conflict there is no reason for us to rise off the couch.

Without getting fired from Apple Steve Jobs would have never invested in a little company called Pixar and we would have no “Toy Story”.

Without getting saddled with the horrible name “The Ringmaster”, Steve Austin would have never gone home and brainstormed the name “Stone Cold”.

There is significance in our struggle. There is art in our unrest. With conflict comes the chance for heroism. Continue reading →

The Gospel According To Autocorrect

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

I love everything about my iPhone. Everything except Autocorrect.

You might think I would love a feature which automatically corrects my typing. I’ll admit it really is amazing how accurate autocorrect can be in fixing my myriad mistakes. Sometimes I can’t believe how intuitive my phone can be in figuring out what I’m trying to type.

What I don’t love is how much I depend on autocorrect. I’m afraid of how desperately I need it to fix my mistakes.

Without autocorrect, an average text message from me such as this one:

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Would end up looking like this one: Continue reading →