By Nicole Fletcher

Here at Jacob Tyler, we think we’re pretty cool cats… but let’s be honest… we’re proud nerds and as such I thought I’d grace you with a list of 9 things to keep your nerd guy or gal happy on everyone’s favorite Hallmark holiday, Valentine’s Day. Good luck. Love on.

1. Start with a card… preferably this one.

2. Then use these.

3. Hang this.

4. Make a mixed tape.

5. Eat this.

6. Give her flowers.

7. Visually and graphically express your love.

8. Make your love last with a tat.
(don’t worry, they’re temp)

9. Drink this.
Because who doesn’t want to back up their bottle?

By Nicole Fletcher

The launch of the iPhone 4s has taken the tech world by storm – in fact, it was such a cloudy (get it?) storm that they’re back ordered for months. While the latest version of everyone’s favorite smart phone certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it does include amazingly awesome applications that are attracting a solid amount of fanfare. Most notable of which is Siri, the most intelligent digi-assistant of our time. Speech recognition is no new concept, in fact it’s been around for nearly a decade. Its many bugs, misunderstandings and speed issues though have hindered its growth …perhaps until now. Siri seems to hit the nail on the head, responding to your any and every query with unparalleled speed, precision and yes, even a dash of humor.

Apple bought Siri last year in 2010 and decided to weave it into the iPhone 4s… and only the 4s. If you had the app on any other version, I’m sorry to report that it won’t work…without some nerd-tastic hacking. Apple says it’s still in beta and understandably so, as it is not a flawless application just yet. It is though usable, functional and even fun to use, especially considering it can hold a conversation with you, no matter your desire, location or prerogative.

In this cute video, a man named Jonathan serenades Siri in a loving duet. Take a look.

Beyond that, you can ask what the weather is like in any city and then find any number of restaurants, ranked by reviews, around a given area. Hands free. Pretty handy if you ask me.

Anyway, Siri is a pretty awesome work in progress so touche Apple to taking on this challenge. It’s certainly the greatest success in artificial intelligence we’ve seen to date…imagine what then, the future will bring.

I don’t think I could have done it better myself. I’m feeling nostalgic for our Mad Men party and now I really hope they make season 6.

By Nicole Fletcher

It’s an age old topic; one that has been debated time and time again through the centuries. Wars have been fought over it, lives lost because of it, and today is absolutely no different. You got it folks, I’m talking about death and what happens after it. Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’m not about to preach my personal beliefs on the afterlife, but I am calling your attention to a cyber take on the topic: What happens to your cyber presence after you die? I’m glad you asked.

There are countless sites like Great Goodbye and Legacy Locker that allow you to financially protect yourself and your family and bid a final farewell electronically. In the unfortunate event of a premature death, this feature might be the closure family members need but this TED talks video I came across takes life after death to another level.

The speaker, Adam Ostrow, discusses a well known blogger publishing a final blog post after his death thereby transforming his blog from an active site into an archive. I think that’s a pretty cool concept and has the potential to tie up a lot of loose ends for a lot of people. He then goes on though, to an entirely different level I hadn’t even fathomed. From tweets and pics, to blog posts and Facebook updates, we create a ridiculous amount of content daily. In existence now are services that get to know us by way of the content we create. They get to know us so well in fact, that they can actually predict future posts, update etc we might create. Imagine the possibilities. Ostrow goes on to reference a moment during the 2008 presidential election where CNN beamed a live hologram of Will Iam into the studio and mentions also MIT’s robot research where scientists are forever improving a robot’s ability to act like a human. Think about this for a moment: what if technology allowed us to create a hologram of a loved one complete with a personality and voice based upon the content he or she created throughout his or lifetime. In theory, we could recreate a loved one after his or her death and essentially ‘live’ with that recreation.

The technology to support this strange, intriguing and morbid concept is indeed a ways off but I’m not gonna lie, my mind is blown by the concept. Let us know what you think on our Facebook Page.