Hello folks and welcome to another edition of AppleTalk Thursday. We have a ton of Apple news this week so let's get right into things.
iPad 2
Yesterday Steve Jobs returned to take the stage in San Francisco to announce the new and improved iPad 2! Among the new features in the iPad 2 are as follows
1GHz dual-core A5 chip
Front and Rear camera (Rear Camera: 5x digital zoom still picture, 720p HD video recording up to 30fps) (Front camera: VGA still frame photo, and VGA 30fps video)
In addition it is also 1/3 less the depth of the original iPad at 0.34” (the iPhone 4 is 0.37” by comparison)
Storage capacity is still the same at 16, 32, and 64GB as well as pricing. Also iPad models for both GSM (AT&T) and CDMA (Verizon).
The iPad 2 goes on sale here in the US next Friday and then 26 countries on March 25th.
Bottom line, it just checkmated the Motorola Xoom IMHO as a contact free 32GB Xoom will set you back $800 for a 32GB model. By contrast the 32GB WiFi model of the iPad 2 is $599 and the WiFi+3G model is $729 (no contract required). So I just have to say to Motorola...how do you like them Apples? Yes I know the Xoom has Flash, but who the hell cares about a dying technology!
MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt
Last week I mentioned that Apple would be adopting Intel’s Light Peak and rebrand it as Thunderbolt. Well little did I know that just hours later Apple would roll out new MacBook Pro’s that would sport that very port.
Also in the new MacBook Pro’s are updated Intel i5 and i7 processors (Sandy Bridge architecture). For more information about the specs on the new MacBook Pro’s you can read here.
iOS 4.3
Also announced yesterday is iOS 4.3 which will become available next Friday as well. Among the goodies in the update are as follows.
AirPlay enhancements - AirPlay enabled apps and websites can now be played on the AppleTV. I wonder if we will see an updated Hulu Plus with AirPlay now?
Faster Safari with Nitro JavaScript - Will now run JavaScript twice as fast as Safari 4.2.
iTunes Home Sharing - My favorite feature, whatever content you have in iTunes on your Mac or PC, will now be able to be streamed right to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
iPad side switch customization - Choose either mute or screen lock within the settings for the slider switch..hello screen lock!
Personal HotSpot for iPhone 4 - Yes you will finally be able to turn your iPhone 4 into an instant 3G hotspot with up to 5 devices at a time including iPad. Careful on this one if you are grandfathered in with AT&T on a unlimited data plan they may make you switch to one of their new data plans to gain this feature.
iAds surging against Android based ads
In a new study iOS-based devices are beating out Android based devices when it comes to ads, specifically iAds is eating Android’s lunch.
Amazon not sweating iTunes app Store Policies
Perhaps there may be a reason Amazon is not too concerned about Apple’s new in-app purchasing policy for subscription content. They have been working on a web-based Kindle reading application that could take the place if its Kindle app were ever thrown out of the App Store. Personally I don’t see the Kindle app ever getting thrown out of the store, but it is an interesting read though.
OS X 10.7 Lion
Apple has put its next version of its operating system into the hands of developers. AppleInsider has had some great write ups about it which can be found here, here, here, and here! Oh yeah, and also here and here from MacRumors.
DirecTV remote for the iPad
At last DirecTV has joined the party on making an iPad app that can interact with your TV services. The app is free but you have to have an eligible receiver for it to work and it needs to be wired into your WiFi network. I’m going to have to finally make that call to Comcast to get that modem and router moved by the TV I think. Considering they were late to the game, their app has some pretty awesome features.
FAA Approves iPad for Pilots’ Charts
Good news if you are an iPad owning pilot, the FAA is starting to give the thumbs up on digital maps stored on the iPad. I know several people personally that are very happy about this new policy.
Well, I think we covered quite a bit of ground. A lot of Apple news in the past week from MacBook Pro’s to new iPad’s to a soon to be released iOS update. Oh but there is one more thing...Random House is now part of the iBookstore! That’s right 17,000 new titles available for your reading consumption. Ok so we will be back next week for another edition of AppleTalk Thursday and I promise to have some app reviews as well.
Showing posts with label OS X 10.7 Lion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OS X 10.7 Lion. Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
AppleTalk Thursday #10
Hello folks and welcome to another edition of AppleTalk Thursday. Got quite a bit of Apple news so let’s dive right into things.
iPad 2 coming next Wednesday
Apple has scheduled a press event for next Wednesday in San Francisco where it will announce the iPad 2. This has been a rumored date for the past week but it is now official. So based on what has been said about it the expectations are we will see a second generation iPad with a front and rear facing camera and a more anti-reflective screen to make it easier to read for long periods of time. One thing that will not be in the second gen. is a retina display but that is rumored for the iPad 3 which Apple may announce in the Fall. I also expect the new iPad to be sold at both AT&T and Verizon locations as well as the usual Best Buy and Apple Store locations.
iPad 2 coming next Wednesday
Apple has scheduled a press event for next Wednesday in San Francisco where it will announce the iPad 2. This has been a rumored date for the past week but it is now official. So based on what has been said about it the expectations are we will see a second generation iPad with a front and rear facing camera and a more anti-reflective screen to make it easier to read for long periods of time. One thing that will not be in the second gen. is a retina display but that is rumored for the iPad 3 which Apple may announce in the Fall. I also expect the new iPad to be sold at both AT&T and Verizon locations as well as the usual Best Buy and Apple Store locations.
A MobileMe Makeover
According to a report in Cult of Mac, Apple is about to totally rebuild MobileMe into a combination of Facebook, uStream, and FourSquare. Basically allowing you to have a dynamic website that is live. If they make good on only half of what is in the article it is totally worth the $99 I just paid again for it this year. Apple stated yesterday that their new massive Data Center in North Carolina will support iTunes and MobileMe when it goes live in the Spring.
Sony backtracks on iTunes Crazy Talk
A Sony executive stated that it has no intention of pulling their music content from iTunes. Glad you bozo’s got your story straight! Any label pulling its music content from iTunes would be like a TV network pulling its shows from say DirecTV...it would only hurt their sales in the long run. Like it or not iTunes is the standard for digital music distribution, if someone can do it better then people will flock to that service in large numbers, but it hasn’t happened yet. Certainly Amazon does a good job with their music content but it is still not as simple as iTunes IMHO.
Apple Looking at Offering a Cheaper iPhone
Apple is said to be looking at developing a cheaper iPhone, one that can better compete with Android offerings. Presumably this lower cost iPhone could be free if signed with a 2 year contract with a carrier. Of course you can get the iPhone 3GS right now for $49 but only through AT&T. Another story floating around is that this cheaper iPhone would be more of a streaming device with content coming from a digital locker in the new MobileMe revamp as mentioned above.
AT&T Allowing Mobile Hotspot for 4.3 Users
Here is an interesting piece about how developers using iOS 4.3 are being allowed access to AT&T’s new Mobile Hotspot service. I hope this will be the case when iOS 4.3 goes live to the general public and that AT&T will allow an iPad for example to be a part of the hotspot. Why pay AT&T $25 for 3G access on the iPad when I can just use it as a device with a hotspot service?
According to a report in Cult of Mac, Apple is about to totally rebuild MobileMe into a combination of Facebook, uStream, and FourSquare. Basically allowing you to have a dynamic website that is live. If they make good on only half of what is in the article it is totally worth the $99 I just paid again for it this year. Apple stated yesterday that their new massive Data Center in North Carolina will support iTunes and MobileMe when it goes live in the Spring.
Sony backtracks on iTunes Crazy Talk
A Sony executive stated that it has no intention of pulling their music content from iTunes. Glad you bozo’s got your story straight! Any label pulling its music content from iTunes would be like a TV network pulling its shows from say DirecTV...it would only hurt their sales in the long run. Like it or not iTunes is the standard for digital music distribution, if someone can do it better then people will flock to that service in large numbers, but it hasn’t happened yet. Certainly Amazon does a good job with their music content but it is still not as simple as iTunes IMHO.
Apple Looking at Offering a Cheaper iPhone
Apple is said to be looking at developing a cheaper iPhone, one that can better compete with Android offerings. Presumably this lower cost iPhone could be free if signed with a 2 year contract with a carrier. Of course you can get the iPhone 3GS right now for $49 but only through AT&T. Another story floating around is that this cheaper iPhone would be more of a streaming device with content coming from a digital locker in the new MobileMe revamp as mentioned above.
AT&T Allowing Mobile Hotspot for 4.3 Users
Here is an interesting piece about how developers using iOS 4.3 are being allowed access to AT&T’s new Mobile Hotspot service. I hope this will be the case when iOS 4.3 goes live to the general public and that AT&T will allow an iPad for example to be a part of the hotspot. Why pay AT&T $25 for 3G access on the iPad when I can just use it as a device with a hotspot service?
Apple adopting Thunderbolt (Light Peak)?
Perhaps this will explain Apple’s reluctance to adopt USB 3.0. They appear to be adopting Intel’s Light Peak or High-Speed Connection Technology which offers a connection speed of 10Gbps (USB 2.0 is 480Mbps and USB 3.0 is 5Gbps). Apple would rebrand it as Thunderbolt, think for example how they renamed iLink (IEEE 1394) as FireWire.
Readability app Rejected and Resubmitted
Readability which is an application that strips away a lot of advertising junk from stuff you want to read as rejected earlier this week by Apple over the lack of in-app subscription, but the issue seems to have been resolved as it has been resubmitted. Readability is more of a Software as a Service app than say a subscription content something Steve Jobs stated in an email to a developer. Apple’s new in-app subscription policy has caught the eye of the FTC which is investigating the policy. From Apple’s standpoint I can see where they want to make it easier for the consumer to purchase content from within the app, but from a developer perspective it is more of a twisting of the arm to get to play in Apple’s App Store club and giving Apple a 30% cut of the in-app purchase on top of that. I think Apple should be more flexible on that percentage offer as Google’s new service simply takes 10%. I don’t have a lot of big beefs with Apple but this would be one of them.
24-bit Music coming to iTunes?
Apple is in discussions with music labels on offering 24-bit music in its iTunes music store. Currently it is only available in 16-bit format where 24-bit is a HiFi format.
Will OS X 10.7 Lion bring new UI?
Another bit of information here is will the upcoming Mac OS update of 10.7 Lion bring an updated user interface? Maybe something more iOS like? Will be interesting to see what Apple has up their sleeves for it.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday. See you all next week where we will have a good breakdown of the iPad 2 announcement. See you then!
Perhaps this will explain Apple’s reluctance to adopt USB 3.0. They appear to be adopting Intel’s Light Peak or High-Speed Connection Technology which offers a connection speed of 10Gbps (USB 2.0 is 480Mbps and USB 3.0 is 5Gbps). Apple would rebrand it as Thunderbolt, think for example how they renamed iLink (IEEE 1394) as FireWire.
Readability app Rejected and Resubmitted
Readability which is an application that strips away a lot of advertising junk from stuff you want to read as rejected earlier this week by Apple over the lack of in-app subscription, but the issue seems to have been resolved as it has been resubmitted. Readability is more of a Software as a Service app than say a subscription content something Steve Jobs stated in an email to a developer. Apple’s new in-app subscription policy has caught the eye of the FTC which is investigating the policy. From Apple’s standpoint I can see where they want to make it easier for the consumer to purchase content from within the app, but from a developer perspective it is more of a twisting of the arm to get to play in Apple’s App Store club and giving Apple a 30% cut of the in-app purchase on top of that. I think Apple should be more flexible on that percentage offer as Google’s new service simply takes 10%. I don’t have a lot of big beefs with Apple but this would be one of them.
24-bit Music coming to iTunes?
Apple is in discussions with music labels on offering 24-bit music in its iTunes music store. Currently it is only available in 16-bit format where 24-bit is a HiFi format.
Will OS X 10.7 Lion bring new UI?
Another bit of information here is will the upcoming Mac OS update of 10.7 Lion bring an updated user interface? Maybe something more iOS like? Will be interesting to see what Apple has up their sleeves for it.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday. See you all next week where we will have a good breakdown of the iPad 2 announcement. See you then!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday Tech Talk #66
Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. We’ve got several things going on this week so lets see what is going on.
Mac Office 2011 Today
Today Microsoft releases Mac Office 2011. AppleInsider offers an extensive review on the software. Hopefully there is also a 30 day download on the website to see if it is something I would have an interest in. I’m in a position now where I use Gmail for all my email and Pages or Google Docs for word processing, so I am probably not an Office customer, but your mileage may vary.
More sneak peak of Lion
AppleInsider also has a sneak peak at more features of OS X 10.7 Lion. Notably, a Year view in iCal and an iTunes look to Apple Mail. I’m sure the closer we get to Summer 2011, we are going to see a lot more features in Lion.
Current vs. iCal Lion Look
Current vs. Mail in Lion look
Ray Ozzie leaves Microsoft
In yet another blow to Microsoft and Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie their chief software architect is leaving the company in yet another high level departure. One thing has become certain, Steve Ballmer is an embarrassment to the company as CEO and these people see the writing on the wall. Ballmer is clearly not the “idea man” that Bill Gates or Steve Jobs are and Microsoft’s lack of innovation under Ballmer, is showing through to everyone. As a result the depth chart at Microsoft has become very thin as compared to Apple with Jobs having Phil Schiller, Jonathan Ives, and company behind him.
Windows Phone 7, No Customized Ringtones
So say for whatever reason you are interested in getting a Windows Phone 7 over an iPhone or an Android phone (why you would want to?). There is something you should no that is a key thing for me, there is no way to add your own custom ringtones! LAME! Just stupid and pointless but, do you expect anything more from Microsoft? So think before you buy a phone from a company known for its virus infected, BSOD operating systems. I’m just sayin’!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. I hope to have something exciting to share with you all next week in terms of tech goodies and a review. Have a great week!
Mac Office 2011 Today
Today Microsoft releases Mac Office 2011. AppleInsider offers an extensive review on the software. Hopefully there is also a 30 day download on the website to see if it is something I would have an interest in. I’m in a position now where I use Gmail for all my email and Pages or Google Docs for word processing, so I am probably not an Office customer, but your mileage may vary.
More sneak peak of Lion
AppleInsider also has a sneak peak at more features of OS X 10.7 Lion. Notably, a Year view in iCal and an iTunes look to Apple Mail. I’m sure the closer we get to Summer 2011, we are going to see a lot more features in Lion.
Current vs. iCal Lion Look
Current vs. Mail in Lion look
Ray Ozzie leaves Microsoft
In yet another blow to Microsoft and Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie their chief software architect is leaving the company in yet another high level departure. One thing has become certain, Steve Ballmer is an embarrassment to the company as CEO and these people see the writing on the wall. Ballmer is clearly not the “idea man” that Bill Gates or Steve Jobs are and Microsoft’s lack of innovation under Ballmer, is showing through to everyone. As a result the depth chart at Microsoft has become very thin as compared to Apple with Jobs having Phil Schiller, Jonathan Ives, and company behind him.
Windows Phone 7, No Customized Ringtones
So say for whatever reason you are interested in getting a Windows Phone 7 over an iPhone or an Android phone (why you would want to?). There is something you should no that is a key thing for me, there is no way to add your own custom ringtones! LAME! Just stupid and pointless but, do you expect anything more from Microsoft? So think before you buy a phone from a company known for its virus infected, BSOD operating systems. I’m just sayin’!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. I hope to have something exciting to share with you all next week in terms of tech goodies and a review. Have a great week!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday Tech Talk #65
Hello all, this is going to be a different variation from the regular Triple T. Today I just wanted to summarize the announcements at Apple’s Back to the Mac event today.
iLife ’11
Today Apple released iLife ’11 which has some enhanced new features for iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand.
iPhoto gives you the ability to really work in full screen mode in a whole new way than before for Events, Faces, and Places. It also allows you to now email photos from within iPhoto instead of opening up Apple Mail. Also enhancements to Facebook sharing, you can now read comments to your photos from right within iPhoto and it has a robust slideshow theme for instant photo viewing.
iMovie gives you the ability to select a certain area of audio and edit it say like low audio. It also offers one step effects and people finder so you can search for people in video on your Mac similar I guess to Faces in iPhoto. Another cool feature is you can take your home movies and create a movie trailer video out of them which is really cool and it has some news and sports themes as well.
Garageband has 2 notable features, one is Groove Matching which basically will sync up say your drums and guitars so they are in beat with each other and Flex Time which can take a certain instrument and extend it out a bit. Also has new piano and guitar lessons and a feature to track your progress on learning it called, “How did I play?”
Biggest thing for me is probably iPhoto. I do like the ability to run it in full screen while I go through my Events so that is nice to have. I also like that I no longer have to open up Mail to send photos. I use Gmail so really using Mail is a pain in the butt with iPhoto ’09 so I will probably get iLife just on iPhoto alone and for $49 for the upgrade, that is not a bad price. The other 2 I really don’t use much but I will probably dabble with iMovie with its new features.
FaceTime for Mac
Apple also announced a beta version of FaceTime for Mac where you can video chat with users of the iPhone 4 and new iPod touch and now with other Mac users also using FaceTime. I haven’t used it yet to see how it compares to say regular iChat video, which I am sure once FaceTime comes out of beta, it will be integrated with iChat.
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
Apple also demoed a few features of the next OS for the Mac that will be coming out next Summer. The biggest thing will be a MacApp store similar to the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad store. This will be an alternative method of course for distributing software to Mac users and does NOT replace the traditional method of buying boxed software or downloading directly from the software company itself. But, it will notify you of any software updates which is nice. Also they are bringing 2 new features, Mission Control and Launch Pad. Mission Control allows you to view what all is open in one easy to view screen. Launch Pad makes it easier to launch apps, very similar to how you browse and launch apps on an iPhone/iPod touch or iPad.
MacBook Air
Finally the “One More Thing” announcement was the new MacBook Air. It now comes with flash based storage instead of a traditional hard drive allowing it for “instant on” like the iPad. It comes in 2 varieties, a 11.6” screen 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash storage for $999 or $1199 for one with 128 GB. The other model is a 13.3” one with 1.86 GHz with 2 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage for $1299.
To me the MacBook Air is on the pricey side compared to what you get. I would probably opt for a MacBook model which has more of a traditional hard drive but is heavier if I were laptop shopping in the sub-$1000 market.
Well that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk and see you all next week for a regular edition of Triple T.
iLife ’11
Today Apple released iLife ’11 which has some enhanced new features for iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand.
iPhoto gives you the ability to really work in full screen mode in a whole new way than before for Events, Faces, and Places. It also allows you to now email photos from within iPhoto instead of opening up Apple Mail. Also enhancements to Facebook sharing, you can now read comments to your photos from right within iPhoto and it has a robust slideshow theme for instant photo viewing.
iMovie gives you the ability to select a certain area of audio and edit it say like low audio. It also offers one step effects and people finder so you can search for people in video on your Mac similar I guess to Faces in iPhoto. Another cool feature is you can take your home movies and create a movie trailer video out of them which is really cool and it has some news and sports themes as well.
Garageband has 2 notable features, one is Groove Matching which basically will sync up say your drums and guitars so they are in beat with each other and Flex Time which can take a certain instrument and extend it out a bit. Also has new piano and guitar lessons and a feature to track your progress on learning it called, “How did I play?”
Biggest thing for me is probably iPhoto. I do like the ability to run it in full screen while I go through my Events so that is nice to have. I also like that I no longer have to open up Mail to send photos. I use Gmail so really using Mail is a pain in the butt with iPhoto ’09 so I will probably get iLife just on iPhoto alone and for $49 for the upgrade, that is not a bad price. The other 2 I really don’t use much but I will probably dabble with iMovie with its new features.
FaceTime for Mac
Apple also announced a beta version of FaceTime for Mac where you can video chat with users of the iPhone 4 and new iPod touch and now with other Mac users also using FaceTime. I haven’t used it yet to see how it compares to say regular iChat video, which I am sure once FaceTime comes out of beta, it will be integrated with iChat.
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
Apple also demoed a few features of the next OS for the Mac that will be coming out next Summer. The biggest thing will be a MacApp store similar to the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad store. This will be an alternative method of course for distributing software to Mac users and does NOT replace the traditional method of buying boxed software or downloading directly from the software company itself. But, it will notify you of any software updates which is nice. Also they are bringing 2 new features, Mission Control and Launch Pad. Mission Control allows you to view what all is open in one easy to view screen. Launch Pad makes it easier to launch apps, very similar to how you browse and launch apps on an iPhone/iPod touch or iPad.
MacBook Air
Finally the “One More Thing” announcement was the new MacBook Air. It now comes with flash based storage instead of a traditional hard drive allowing it for “instant on” like the iPad. It comes in 2 varieties, a 11.6” screen 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash storage for $999 or $1199 for one with 128 GB. The other model is a 13.3” one with 1.86 GHz with 2 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage for $1299.
To me the MacBook Air is on the pricey side compared to what you get. I would probably opt for a MacBook model which has more of a traditional hard drive but is heavier if I were laptop shopping in the sub-$1000 market.
Well that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk and see you all next week for a regular edition of Triple T.
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