When people in the Valley say “everyone in the U.S. is on WhatsApp,” I always go back to the numbers. The truth is more interesting than the hype, and it actually makes WhatsApp look stronger in the segments that matter. Start with Pew. In 2021, about 23% of U.S. adults said they used WhatsApp, according … Read more
Back in the 80s and early 90s, word processing was where empires were built. WordStar (from MicroPro), MultiMate, WordPerfect, and FullWrite weren’t just names—they were the cornerstone of productivity before the rise of the internet. Today, that same foundational role is being played by platforms like Cursor, Replit, and Loveable. The players are new, but … Read more
You can take the “kid” out of Philly, but you can’t take Philly out of the kid. Today I joined Lou Scheinfeld in being quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer about “The Flyers’ Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck” in Matt Breen’s great historical piece about the very exclusive society of an elite group of Philadelphia … Read more
If you’ve been watching the conversational AI space since it started, you’ve likely noticed something fascinating that’s been happening beneath the surface. While most tech headlines focus on the latest chatbot demo or which Big Tech giant is launching yet another assistant, there’s a more profound shift taking place. It’s another move that reminds me … Read more
Going back to my VoIPWatch roots, I decided to dive into the news surrounding Telkomsel partnership with OpenAI to accelerate AI adoption in Indonesia In Indonesia, AI isn’t arriving as a shiny app; it’s riding in on the back of a national carrier. Telkomsel’s partnership with OpenAI is less about another enterprise deployment and more … Read more
OpenAI’s latest “innovation” by sliding ChatGPT into our group chats feels suspiciously like déjà vu for anyone who remembers the internet before it went glossy. The pitch is shiny: up to 20 humans and one omnipresent AI coexisting in a single conversation, coordinating trips, debating ideas, maybe planning who brings what to Tahoe. But underneath … Read more
OpenAI quietly shipped a very human fix to a very nerdy problem: ChatGPT’s obsession with the em dash. What looked like a punctuation quirk became a cultural tell that something was “written by AI.” TechCrunch reports that, as of now, if you tell ChatGPT not to use em dashes in your custom instructions, it actually … Read more
I’ve gone through lots of chargers to keep my devices powered up over the years. My devices are Apple MacBooks, iPads, iPhones, Airpods, Watch, A Pixel 9 Fold and a series of Anker Chargers of all sizes. While traveling I spotted that Anker had released a new charger that was both small and powerful. It … Read more
Apple just rolled out a feature that lets US iPhone and Apple Watch owners add their passport to Apple Wallet as a “Digital ID” for domestic TSA checkpoints. This marks a significant step toward Apple’s not-so-subtle goal of making physical wallets obsolete. The reactions to this announcement seem to fall into a few distinct camps: … Read more
When most travelers think about train travel in France, the iconic TGV immediately comes to mind. These sleek, high-speed trains have become synonymous with French rail travel, whisking passengers between major cities like Paris, Lyon, and Marseille at speeds up to 320 km/h. But here’s what many visitors don’t realize: France has an entire parallel … Read more
