As a quick addition to my ​“Efficiency with Siri” piece last week, here’s another case where Siri can accomplish something not otherwise possible on iOS: informing how many days have passed since a given date.

To Siri: “How many days have passed since 28 June 1992?”

A WolframAlpha card is displayed with the number of days I’ve been alive. As I described in my piece last week, obtaining this number to copy—if you wish to work with or manipulate the result without transcribing—is possible albeit fiddly:

First, install the free WolframAlpha Viewer app and the paid WolframAlpha app. Then, once Siri presents the answer to you, tap the WolframAlpha icon in the bottom corner of the displayed card. You’ll be taken to the result in WolframAlpha’s app. In order to copy the result, tap the small, double arrow next to the result you wish to copy, then tap the result itself. The result will be copied into the search field at the top of the WolframAlpha app. From there, it’s simple to just select and manipulate it.

This looks brilliant. I’m a sucker for COH.

Times must be hard.

Although I was optimistic back in November, it appears the Samsung Galaxy Camera is a disappointment due to poor image quality and high price. Point and shoot cameras costing less than half the Galaxy Camera match it in quality, according to The Verge’s Aaron Souppouris.

I had too much faith in Samsung’s product design team. Samsung took a smartphone and glued big camera to it. Perhaps the Galaxy Camera is a sound concept: the idea of taking quality pictures then being able to edit, refine and share them from the device itself appeals to me. The design process if this were the goal, though, would be to start with a great camera and work backwards towards the software. Samsung started in the wrong place, which may explain why they created such a poor product.

I feel it’s now too late for this type of “smart-camera”. The smartphone has won. The quality of iPhone cameras has increased far faster than point-and-shoot cameras have over similar periods of time. The apps available for the iPhone are almost limitless. I see a future where cameras are either built into our smartphones/mobile communicators or are dedicated, extremely high quality devices akin to DSLRs.

Gabe, proprietor of the always-wonderful Macdrifter, has a neat description of the ways he puts RSS to work. I suggest reading the entire article for some sensible tips which might just help you out.

Like all technology, it’s important to ensure it’s working for you, not the other way around. It’s easy to become a slave to RSS, reading everything presented to you like some sort of zombie. Stop it—that’s unhealthy. My favourite part of the article was this optimistic sentence:

The best amateur writing is happening right now on the web.

I think Gabe is correct in this assessment; I certainly feel the websites I read regularly are of a very high standard. Because I know so much great writing is “out there”, I sometimes give myself unrealistically large amounts of reading to wade through. The tricks in this article will help if I ever become overly saturated with words.

Apple Insider reports that some of Apple’s new iMacs are marked as having been “Assembled in USA”.

How many iMacs does this apply to? We don’t know. But what does it mean, exactly? More than you might think. The requirements for a product to sport this statement are rather strict:

Assembled in USA Claims

A product that includes foreign components may be called “Assembled in USA” without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the “assembly” claim to be valid, the product’s last “substantial transformation” also should have occurred in the U.S. That’s why a “screwdriver” assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn’t usually qualify for the “Assembled in USA” claim.

Example: A lawn mower, composed of all domestic parts except for the cable sheathing, flywheel, wheel rims and air filter (15 to 20 percent foreign content) is assembled in the U.S. An “Assembled in USA” claim is appropriate.

Example: All the major components of a computer, including the motherboard and hard drive, are imported. The computer’s components then are put together in a simple “screwdriver” operation in the U.S., are not substantially transformed under the Customs Standard, and must be marked with a foreign country of origin. An “Assembled in U.S.” claim without further qualification is deceptive.

[Emphasis mine.]

This suggests that a moderate to large amount of assembly is taking place in the US.

Tim Cook has talked in the past about his desire to have more Apple products made in America. From a transcription of Cook’s interview at the All Things Digital conference earlier this year:

Walt Mossberg: “There’s been a lot of talk recently about reviving manufacturing here in the US. […] You’re probably the most influential company in technology, and you’re an operations expert — will there be an Apple product ever made again in America?”

Tim Cook: “I want there to be! I want there to be!” [T]here’s an intense focus on the final assembly. Could that be done in the U.S.? I sure hope so. But look, how many tool-and-die makers do you know in America?”

”We will do as many of these things [in the US] as we can do, and you can bet that we’ll use the whole of our influence to do this.”

Looks like his wishes are coming true. He certainly has the influence.

NASA writes:

New observations by the MESSENGER [sic] spacecraft provide compelling support for the long-held hypothesis that Mercury harbors abundant water ice and other frozen volatile materials in its permanently shadowed polar craters.

Just as Jason SIlva says, this really is the first time in human history where we don't need time-lapse photography to witness the advancement of our species.

What's next? Sean Solomon, principal investigator of the Messenger mission explains:

"But the new observations have also raised new questions," adds Solomon. "Do the dark materials in the polar deposits consist mostly of organic compounds? What kind of chemical reactions has that material experienced? Are there any regions on or within Mercury that might have both liquid water and organic compounds? Only with the continued exploration of Mercury can we hope to make progress on these new questions."

One of my favourite music creation apps for iPhone, Figure, has been updated to support the iPhone 5’s resolution. Created by the team behind the oh-so-powerful Reason music software, Figure is more of a fun, simple app aimed for those with any amount of musical experience.

It now works on iPad, too.

I reviewed Figure back in April, and I still enjoy the app to this day.

Recommended.

Not a fan of the iTunes 11 icon? 

Louie Mantia, creator of the previous iteration (one of my personal favourites), has thrown together a few gorgeous alternatives. My vote is for the dark orange edition — it neatly matches iOS and spices up the otherwise blue sea of icons in my dock.

BGR reports:

According to data compiled by StatCounter, the total Internet usage of computers running Windows 8 over a four-week period ending on November 26th equaled a mere 1.31%, compared to the 4.93% Windows 7achieved one month after its launch in 2009.

Surprise, surprise.

Judith Burns writes for BBC News:

Failing to teach evolution by natural selection in science lessons could lead to new free schools losing their funding under government changes.

The new rules state that from 2013, all free schools in England must teach evolution as a "comprehensive and coherent scientific theory".

This is a law I can get behind. Now, when can the same rules apply to all schools?

Matt Haughey writes about why he prefers Twitter over Facebook:

Twitter is a steady stream of mostly joy and makes my life better. Facebook is filled with people I barely know, chain-emails and disaster news about the sky falling that reminds me of my own past as well as my “friends” at every turn. The Internet is here today and all about tomorrow, and I prefer my social media to reflect that, and that’s why I love Twitter.

As a writer, I'm a little frustrated that Matt wrote this article before I did. I've had similar thoughts about the way these two social networks coexist for a few months, but getting these thoughts written down was a challenge. This article does it extremely well, in a concise and personal way.

The more I use Twitter, the happier I feel.

The more I use Facebook, the more miserable I feel.

It's as simple as that.