Macbook Wireless Laptop setup

In the never ending search for the optimum working setup, this is the latest iteration.

Benefits: less heat, less weight, better feel, more productivity.

Take two pieces of foam board, 1/4 inch thick, duct tape together as shown.  This gives extra strength and adds almost no additional weight.

Standard Apple bluetooth trackpad above the keyboard to eliminate erroneous taps while typing.

The keyboard is the best.   Keytron K3, version 3.  The best feel.  I love it.

The mouse is a Logitech MX for lots of extra features that the Apple Magic Mouse lacks.

And the output is shown on the 65 inch Samsung display, via HDMI:

#CRM: How big is it?

How the $95 idea became more than $1 trillion

No research organization has tracked the CRM industry continuously under one unchanging definition from 1985 to the present. The cumulative figure therefore has to be reconstructed from published historical market estimates and interpolations between them.

The important benchmarks include approximately $1.2 billion in worldwide CRM revenue in 1997, $2.3 billion in 1998, $8.1 billion in 2007, $18.1 billion in 2012, $26.3 billion in 2015, $39.5 billion in 2017, $48.2 billion in 2018, $107.5 billion in 2023, and $128 billion in 2024. CFO Business Standard

Using those benchmarks, filling in the missing years, and extending the recent growth trajectory through October 2026 produces this approximate reconstruction:

Period	Estimated worldwide CRM software sales
1985–1995	$2 billion
1996–2005	$41 billion
2006–2015	$150 billion
2016–2020	$250 billion
2021–October 2026	$690 billion
Estimated total since 1985	About $1.1 trillion

Where do new ToBeWise™ insights come from?

This morning, I added a batch of about 150-ish insights to the online database that I had been saving over the last 6 months.  These bits of wisdom were found in my daily reading online, from wisdom accounts on facebook, instagram, and general browsing. Not all get saved, of course.  They must pass my personal filters for sensibility, importance, clarity, positivity, etc. 

My process has been simple, cut the quote from the source, and paste it into a photo in the iOS app Photos, or as a text message to myself.  That saves the moment, but still doesn't make it into the database.  I could go through the entire process for each quote, but it's a lot more efficient to do many at once.

Users can easily see the insights added, in reverse chronological order, by doing a Discover/General Lists/Recently Added. Date and time added are shown as well as the insight.

Once I review each of the insights and assign list names to each, and pull the trigger for the group, the upload to the online database is virtually instant, and these insights are automatically available to users without any work on their part at all.  They just appear. The additions are updated in the background. This works for both iOS devices as well as the new Android version.

After this big batch process, I asked AI to look for these quotes in my Photos and Messages on a daily basis. Wisdom daily! 

Another AI driven daily process is to look for ToBeWise™ oriented blog posts on this DBLM blog and repost on the ToBeWise™ specific blog at tobewise.co website. 

Android version of ToBeWise™ is now in beta

With a lot of help from GPT6, it seemed too easy to get the iOS version ported to android.  It really looks good on my new Google Mobile device (Samsung Galaxy A17 5G, from Amazon). 

It took me longer to get used to the android operating system and set up a Google Play account than it took GPT6 to convert the code, and that completely floored me.  One thing that made it a lot easier is that the iOS version was written in React Native (a good choice by Griffin a few years back).

Of course there were a good number of minor things in the new android version, but easily fixed. All the database stuff works, and notifications work.  

But it still needs a lot of deep testing and side by side comparisons with the iOS version, and lots more eyeballs (testers) on different screen sizes (iOS handles that automatically, but android not so much).

Siri with AI: not yet

 Just installed Mac OS 27, with upgraded Siri, and was looking for ways to inject new AI features into ToBeWise™ but after looking more thoroughly, it is not to be, yet (but I'm on the waitlist).  So I asked GPT.

it looks like siri with apple intelligence is not yet available, when will it be released?

You’re right, Michael. The new Siri AI is not yet generally available, even though macOS 27 is installed.

Apple has announced only that it will arrive as an English-language beta “later this year”—meaning sometime before the end of 2026. Apple has not given a specific date.

This is the version that adds:

• Personal-context searches across Mail, Messages, Photos, and Notes
• Natural back-and-forth conversations
• Awareness of what is on your screen
• Actions across apps
• A dedicated Siri app and conversation history

Apple’s macOS page describes Siri AI as “rolling out in English,” so availability may be phased rather than appearing for everyone simultaneously.

Your M5 MacBook Pro qualifies. Once released, it should arrive through a macOS 27 software update; keep System Settings → General → Software Update enabled.

My earlier description of those features made them sound as though they were already active in the public release. They are announced macOS 27 features, but the new Siri AI itself is still awaiting its public beta rollout.

To be Open or Closed, that is the question...

 

what are the pros and cons of making my app ToBeWise™ Open Source?

Michael, open sourcing ToBeWise could be valuable—but I would not open source the entire product. I would separate the software, quotation database, brand, and production infrastructure.

What “open source” would mean

True open source means other people may use, modify, redistribute, and commercially exploit the licensed code. Merely putting the code in a public GitHub repository is not enough; it needs an actual open-source license. Once code is public, existing forks and downloaded copies cannot be recalled simply by making the repository private again.

Pros and cons for ToBeWise:

Kill a bug, birth a bug, at least. One step forward, two steps back.

 

It is well known that one often introduces a new bug when attempting to fix a different bug.  Working with ToBeWise this morning was another of those occasions. I thought it would be helpful to document the lesson.  Here's the interaction:

I pasted this proof of bug into the chat window along with the comment below:

How big is it?

I got curious, so I asked how many lines of code are in the ToBeWise app as of today, not counting blank lines, comments, libraries, databases, indexes, content, etc.  Just code:

In the App Store, Apple shows that the app consumes 63MB of storage total, including content, databases, indexes, and code. 

Of course it's not really important how many lines of code there are in ToBeWise. It's what they do, how they do it, and how well the entire package serves the user.  

That's what really matters and that's what keeps us focused every day.

Software is never done, here's why

I lost track of when I updated TestFlight with the latest version of ToBeWise™and definitely lost track of the individual changes that I made since then, so I asked my AI to update the TestFlight and list the changes since the last version, which was only TWO DAYS AGO:

The latest TestFlight is 80.2.09, following 80.2.08. Please check these changes:

1. Notification Schedule

   • Changing any schedule setting should immediately start or restart the schedule.
   • The status should go directly to Active.
   • The old Not Started and Changed blocker cards should no longer appear.
   • The Frequency card should show all choices without scrolling.

2. Get the Most from ToBeWise

   • It should begin with:
     • Why ToBeWise Matters
     • Four Ways To Use This App
   • “Four Ways” should open one card containing all four methods.
   • “Startup Insights” should no longer say “/CEOs.”

3. Discover list screens

   • “Startup Founders/CEOs” should now say Startup Founders.
   • Lists should have the A–Z / # of Insights selector.
   • Counts should be right-aligned.
   • Sorting should work in both directions.
   • Classical Philosophers and Classical Ideas should have the correct screen titles.
   • Cards should end above the bottom navigation and scroll internally.
   • The elevator bar should be draggable.

4. Profile information screens

   • Software Notes should have < back in the upper-left and the bottom navigation visible.
   • Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Origin Story should wrap all lines correctly.
   • Their cards should end above the navigation and have draggable elevator bars.
   • ToBeWise blog should appear after the website link.

5. My Metrics

   • More compact line spacing.
   • Card remains completely above the bottom navigation.
   • Watch Favorites and Watch Shares counts appear.

6. Apple Watch and dashboard

   • Favorite and Share a quote from the Watch.
   • After opening the phone app, verify the counts reach My Metrics.
   • The dashboard should show Watch Favorite and Watch Share in both User Summary and Event Log.
   • Mac activity should be labeled simply Mac.

7. Home screen

• The Pause button spacing should look balanced.
• On a Mac, automatic scrolling should stop when another app has focus and resume when ToBeWise regains focus.

So, that list represents the changes in the last two days.  This app was first programmed 10 years ago. You might think that it would be perfect by now. Not. Not ever. There is always more to do. First of all because we learn more by using the software... how to make it faster, more intuitive, simpler, and also because the environment changes continually... the target audience, the platform, user feedback, etc.

It's the law:

Apple Watch improvements

The new app icon looks a lot better on the Apple watch notifications, and that got me thinking about how I always wanted to have a watch app as a companion piece to the iPhone app.

This is step one, which allows Favorite, and Share direct from the watch. Neat.

This minimal update is automatic when the user updates the iPhone app. 

So easy!

---------------------------  Update August 9, 2026

Also updated the Management Dashboard and My Metrics to show watch Favorites and Shares.

Interesting: Apple only allows circular app icon for the watch, as opposed to the round corner square for the other devices.

ToBeWise™ now aware of its own demise

A little feature I've wanted to add for some time is for the app to check if there is a newer version of itself available on the App Store, and if so, offer to download it now.

It's surprising how many users are getting by with older versions, and it kinda pains me to know they will not be able to use the neat features I'm adding.  

Starts with version 80.2.00, available soon, now waiting for review in the app store.

So this new feature is the one to rule them all.  (all future features)

:) 

ToBeWise™ now available as a Mac app

 In another miracle of modern technology, our favorite app is now available to run on the Mac.

The only caveat is that the Mac is Apple silicon, not Intel.

Search for tobewise on the App Store on your Mac and click the dropdown

Move the slider to the right, highlighting "iPhone & iPad Apps" and Bingo!

New 5 Star Review

 

Just can't ask for a better review.

Wish I knew who "Surfer dude" is so I can thank them.

App Icon colors drive app store banner colors

Apple generates the color of the product page header based on the colors in the app icon

This is the new app icon and the product page header on the App Store.

Below is the previous app icon and the product page header on the App Store.

I think the improvement in the product page header colors ae a HUGE improvement.

What do you think?

Here's what AI thinks:

My opinion

I think your new icon is substantially better, not just because of the icon itself, but because it transforms the entire App Store product page. The old page felt muted and somewhat generic. The new blue/teal header immediately communicates energy, clarity, and professionalism, and it makes the page look much more like a premium app.

Rebranding now active

Version 80.1.14 is in the app store now for a couple of days.

The new app name is ToBeWise Pro for Startups, and with a tagline of "For Your Startup, and Your Life" 

This is an experiment to see if there is any improvement to the "impressions" and "downloads" based on the new branding.

Significant modifications have been made to the app to appeal to startup founders/CEOs, and this is an ongoing process, but for now we're just interested in the pull power of the rebranding in the app store.

Isn't that app store banner ugly? What is with that gray and greenish mess?  If you ask AI, as I did, it's because of the app icon colors, which are really not that outstanding, especially with all that white.  AI suggested a punchier, more colorful app icon, and who am I to argue?  Here's what chatGPT 5.6 ULTRA came up with for a better app icon:

Compared to the mostly white background, what's not to like, right?

Here's the new app store listing title and subtitle:

Interesting to note that both title and subtitle are both maximum allowable length.

Now we wait... until Apple approves the latest version, with the new app icon, to see how the colors of the listing banner are affected. 

Hurry up and wait. Story of my life. 

Simplifying Search: Combining Vector (Semantic) Search and Keyword Search

 It was suggested by Griffin that I look into "Vector search" in which a user can simply ask a question instead of entering one or two key words. First off, I am not a fan to the word vector. It has too many different meanings depending on context. And it sounds all sciency. And Semantic Search is a lot better, but still an unnecessary distinction. 

So I let ULTRA build that out. Here's the solution it came up with:

The idea is good, makes it easier for the user, except when it doesn't.  Why should a user have to decide whether to Search or Ask? Why do they need to know the difference. Another decision to make?  That's just one more thing to make the user think this is too complicated and stop using it. 

So a little more research and... Hybrid search! A two-fer.  No thinking, no distinction, just say what's on your mind. It's a testament to how even ULTRA gets blindsided by answering the question it was given. I asked for Vector search, and it built it, as a bolt-on feature. Leaving the regular search alone. And  giving the user the decision. Another block to progress.

Once you look at the solution it came up with, and you are on a crusade to simplify, you gotta ask: Why do I need to choose?  Why can't ToBeWise™ just know what I want?  So it's back into the code again for version 6 of simplified search.  So, with a nudge to ULTRA, using the word Hybrid, we get the much more simple user interface, and the underlying code that handles Search and Ask:

----------------------------

A bit of ToBeWise™  search history:

Version 1: searched only keywords, matching only on the 200+ list names

Version 2: searched for keywords in the context of each insight. That was a huge improvement, but it was feared that it would take so long for each search to go through 2,000 insights word for word, but it was amazingly fast. 

Version 3: included author names in the search.

Version 4: included operators (+, -, "", ",", ...) to really improve the power of the keyword search.

Version 5: Semantic search as a separate feature

Version 6: Hybrid search.

Oh, the joy of thinking/doing nothing (Silent Background Database Refresh)

Re: ToBeWise™ for Startups...

This morning I added a dozen or so insights by Peter Thiel, and turned my attention to another matter briefly, then went back to the app.  Holy cow, those insights were already there, in the database for everyone, and nobody had to do anything to get them. It was completely automatic. No decisions about should I or shouldn't I refresh the database to get a few more insights. No delay in loading the app to refresh the files. It already happened, in the background. Wow! No thinking involved, no delay, no decisions.

The less users need to think, click, and type, the easier it is for them. In all cases.

Rebranding self

While I'm going about rebranding ToBeWise™ for startups, I've been giving some thought to rebranding myself. Previously my tagline was "Advisor to Entrepreneurs", but "Startup Advisor" is shorter, uses the key word, more down-to-earth, and just seems more focused.  

I got distracted by an ad on Facebook for getting a personalized signature made by a real calligrapher, only 39 bucks. That seemed like a fun thing to do because my signature is awful, and then I thought that's something chatGPT should be able to do, free, right?  Check it out. This is the signature I would like to be able to do, if I could. But my advanced age has brought on what is called an "essential tremor" and I now can't even read my own handwriting.   

Not sure I'll use it, just experimenting with rebranding graphics and taglines. 

 

Who is the target user? What is the word?

I've been doing startups for a long, long time. Gotta be 60-plus years since the first businesses I started in college. Since then, I've done 7 of my own. And for the last 25 years I've been helping founder/CEOs with their startups. I'm not perfect, but I know a thing or two about startups. So when it comes to repositioning the ToBeWise™ product, there's only one word that comes to mind: Startup. 

Paul Graham, founder of Y-combinator advised founders to begin by “building something you yourself need” and summarized the principle as “founders are target users.”

I built something that I needed/wanted, I just didn't position it at the time as a product for Startups. As I mentioned in previous posts on this subject, I've wanted to reposition ToBeWise™ for a couple of years, but the stars needed some time to align. Now we have alignment.

Of course, it's not going to be a simple job of changing the App Store listing.  It's going to take some surgery in the app itself, and that's what's going on now. And I know that startup peeps are going to be techies, and unless my product is bulletproof and simple and powerful and professional... well, they will let me know about with more than frowny face emoticons. 

For example, as I write this, Codex/GPT is banging away at the code to completely change the app to do silent background database updates, to replace the clunky old school method in use since before such magic was possible on the iPhone. Today's audience, especially techies, would be disappointed with that outdated methodology.  GPT says it will take 32 hours of engineering time to make it work, but it's worth it, especially since I don't have to do the coding, because if it were up to me... well I don't thing I would live that long. I just checked, and it finished the coding step in only 78 minutes. Insanity!  Of course now is the debugging phase; no telling how long that will take. (UPDATE: from start to finish, including testing and debugging was 6 hours, using Codex/chatGPT 5.6 Ultra.)

A side note: with all the vibe coding I've been doing, my old Macbook Pro from 2021, with the M1 chip and 16gb of ram was really slowing down progress so I upgraded to a new model with M5 chip and 48gb of ram. Wow! What a huge difference that has made.

Stay tuned for more on the rebranding adventure.

 

Is anybody out there?

Now that I can build anything, and can measure the effectiveness of product improvement as well as marketing activities, it became time to enter the dark and murky world of thinking more clearly about who is the target market, what they have to gain from the product. One of my most favorite insights on this is from good friend Roberto Monaco:

Up until recent changes, the app was positioned as a collection of quotations for people who might be interested in that sort of thing. I'm one of them, but who are the others? Tough to say, right? The audience is so broad as to not really exist. What word would you use to find them? (Crickets!). I'm reminded of the Pink Floyd hit "Is anybody out there?"

After lengthy chats with GPT, we came up with the following improvements to the app store listing, which would be the very first place to start with any repositioning. As you can see, it's still murky, even though it's the best GPT can do with its previous murky target market.

I put these notes together to memorialize the failure.

The great benefit of this exercise was to learn the ins and outs of the App Store, but it was only a trial run, a true learning experience for what was to come next.

Notes of a failed experiment in positioning in the App Store:

---------------------------------------------------------

The app has been substantially improved over the last several months, with greatly improved features and ease of use.

I feel it's finally ready for the "Go to Market" phase.

The very first step is to pay attention to how ToBeWise™ is listed in the App Store. Your feedback is most welcome.

Optimizing app store listing: 

1. Change the app's subtitle

from "The Right Words at the Right Time", which is passive. Moving to Think Clearly. Decide Wisely. which is Active and includes the user benefit.

2. For the 'what's new' section on the app store: Faster file loading - almost instantaneous on warm starts. Spectacular new features for sharing to Facebook, Instagram, X, text Messages, and email. About 150 new insights added to the database. We respond to user feedback!

This app is getting really very close to what we envisioned 10 years ago

3. In the app Description area

"The wisdom of the ages is humanity’s most valuable asset.

Now it’s yours.

Discover timeless insights from history’s greatest minds, in their own words.

Think clearly.

Decide confidently.

Act with purpose.

Discover thousands of carefully curated insights across more than 200 topics in life and business. Search by subject or author, save favorites, create private collections, schedule reminders, explore related resources, and share the insights that matter (to text messages, facebook, Instagram, X, email, etc).

ToBeWise™ — The right words at the right time." 

4. Replace the current Keywords entry with "wisdom,decision making,leadership,startup,insight,mindset,mentor,success,clarity,confidence,purpose"

What was there: "wisdom,inspiration,quotations,startup,entrepreneur,habits,famous quotes,business quotes".  (note the duplication of quotes/quotations here, but not even mentioned at all in the new one. We're not selling quotes, we're selling transformation.

5. Promotional Text

Transform yourself.
Think Clearly. Decide Wisely.
This is the system. Guaranteed.

Part Two: Measuring what matters

Only time will tell how these changes affect installs, and continued use.  

Apple provides very little in the way of metrics. And much of it is incomplete because users can opt out of having such data collected.

We get a weekly analytics email report from Apple for ToBeWise™ that shows this info: 

number of impressions, 

 app units (downloads?), 

 proceeds (sales, always zero), 

 sessions (opt-in only) and 

 crashes (opt-in only). Can you shed a little more light on each of these and how they are calculate, what is included in each category?

Metric	What Apple counts	What it means for ToBeWise™
Impressions	Each time ToBeWise™ is visible for more than one second on the App Store’s Today, Apps, Games, or Search tabs. Product-page views are also included. The same person can generate several impressions.	Exposure. It does not mean the person opened your listing or seriously considered downloading.
App Units	A first-time acquisition: someone taps Get or Buy for the first time. Updates, redownloads, and downloads to another device using the same Apple Account are not new app units. It is counted at the acquisition transaction, not when the app is opened.	For a free app, this is your closest Apple measure of new downloaders, but it is not exactly the same as completed installations or active users.
Proceeds	Your estimated net revenue from paid app sales and in-app purchases after applicable taxes and Apple’s commission.	Since ToBeWise™ is free and apparently has no paid in-app purchase, zero is expected, regardless of downloads.
Sessions — opt-in only	Each occasion when the app is used for at least two seconds. If it goes into the background and is later used again, Apple counts another session. One person can create many sessions.	Usage frequency, but only among users who allow Apple to share analytics. It is not total usage and is not a count of people.
Crashes — opt-in only	Every crash event reported from opted-in devices. Multiple crashes by one user each count separately. It is not the number of users who experienced a crash.	A stability warning signal. Zero is encouraging, but it does not prove that no crashes occurred because non-opted-in devices are absent.

Important distinctions

App Units are not the same as installations. Apple’s separate Installations metric counts completed installs and can include redownloads, additional devices on the same account, and Family Sharing—but installation data is also based on analytics opt-in users.

Sessions and crashes are samples, not complete totals. Apple does not simply multiply them to estimate all users. Low-volume usage data may also be withheld because of privacy thresholds.

For Phase 1, I would read the report this way:

Impressions = seen
App Units = acquired
Sessions = used
Crashes = failed during use
Proceeds = earned

The most useful immediate ratio is App Units ÷ Impressions, but Apple’s better formal conversion metric uses downloads divided by unique-device impressions, because total impressions can include repeated exposure to the same person. 

About "Opt-in" metrics:

The user opts in at the iPhone system level, not inside ToBeWise™.

Go to:

Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements

There are two relevant switches:

1. Share iPhone & Watch Analytics — permits diagnostic and usage information to be sent to Apple.
2. Share With App Developers — permits Apple to share relevant app-usage statistics and crash information with developers such as you. If the first switch is off, developer sharing is automatically off.

So when Apple labels Sessions or Crashes as “opt-in only,” it means those totals include only ToBeWise™ users whose devices have analytics sharing with app developers enabled.

Apple says the information provided to developers is aggregated or otherwise structured so it does not personally identify the user.

This is entirely separate from Apple’s Allow Apps to Request to Track setting and separate from any analytics you have built directly into ToBeWise™.

For the first time, as of about July 4, 2026, we now have our own built-in analytics, separate from what Apple provides. We can measure the results of any marketing activities. Now all we need to do is take action on the actual marketing priorities, which have just started with the improvements to the app store listing, as above.

Feedback much appreciated.

M