AppleTalk Thursday #2

Hello everybody and welcome to the second edition of AppleTalk Thursday. Just a quick note, I am taking a Christmas and New Years break next week so there will be no AppleTalk Thursday next week. With that said we got a lot to cover here so I’m going to dive right in!

iPad 2 Rumor Roundup

Lot of stuff out there on what might be in the upcoming iPad 2 so here is a quick rundown of rumors regarding the tablet. DigiTimes is reporting Apple has added 2 new touchscreen suppliers for the iPad. The article goes on to say that Apple is expecting to ship 6 million iPad 2’s per month. The Unofficial Apple Weblog explains that DigiTimes is hit and miss on rumors so only time will tell. Another source, a Japanese Mac blog named Mac Otakara states that it will sport a larger “wide-ranged-speaker” and a flatter backing to it similar to the new iPod touch. They have an image of the reported speaker as well. Again this is speculation and rumors, but here is the photo of what they claim is the new speaker.





Course the at this point it is a safe bet that the iPad 2 will sport both a front and back facing camera. Not sure if it will sport a Retina Display like the iPhone 4 does, but it would be nice if it did. But that is a run down of the latest iPad 2 rumors. Sounds like we could see it ship around February.

Apple TV News and Notes

Apple announced that this week it expects to sale its one millionth new AppleTV. For those that don’t have one, I can assure you it is worth the $99! We have enjoyed watching Netflix on it, renting movies from the iTunes store that are not available on Netflix yet (Inception and A-Team), and with AirPlay now out, I can stream Pandora from my iPhone and iPad to my stereo system. It also works with apps like iheartradio and TuneIn Radio as well. As long as you have an HDTV already and a broadband connection, then you are good to go with one. In addition, it has also been a boom to Roku sales as well. If you don’t have an HDTV but have RCA connections, then Roku is the way to go although it doesn’t have access to iTunes movie rentals and lacks AirPlay support, but it does have Hulu and MLB as apps among others. Another bit of AppleTV news is this story on how using Google’s public DNS address for your internet can hinder the AppleTV’s performance on iTunes movie rentals. Now this could be just a fluke, but if Google is doing this then isn’t Google breaking their own “Don’t be Evil” policy? Oh, maybe not. Then again maybe it is just sour grapes over the failure that is GoogleTV. Another interesting note is according to a DirecTV survey, they may soon offer their popular and exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket to AppleTV users. This would be huge if it were to happen!

Apple removes Unofficial WikiLeaks app from Store

This week Apple chose to remove the Unofficial WikiLeaks app. I agree with this decision, Apple is choosing to be a responsible party here in removing an application that supports a service that could cause severe harm to our troops overseas. If you still want the app I’m sure you can get it on the Android market next to the porn section which Apple also does not allow thankfully.

Verizon sees iPhone as “Essential to Future Success”

Continuing the long rumors of the iPhone to Verizon stories, comes this article on how Verizon which apparently has seen its Android unit sales decline, very much sees the iPhone as vital to sales and market share. This story kind of surprised me as I thought Android was going to take over the world according to what its proponents have been stating. Apparently the numbers just don’t add up in Verizon’s case anyway. Full disclosure, before I upgraded my 3GS to an iPhone 4 at Radio Shack, I did research the Android phones and was just not impressed in how it would relate to my Mac hardware such as syncing my iTunes music library and such. Plus their battery and network icons at the top of the screen just look tacky and not as smooth as the iPhone icons. Ok, I have said enough, I’m sure I am going to hear from the Android fanboys and girls out there now.

Sam’s Club selling iPhone 4 for $147

Well, if your reading this on Thursday or Friday and missed out on the Radio Shack deal, Sam’s Club is selling the iPhone 4 16GB model for $147 and the 8GB 3GS for $47. No word on the price of the 32GB model though. Hurry!

iWork ’11 to arrive in Early January?

Based on limited retail copies of iWork ’09 and the launching of the Mac App Store on January 6th, there appears to be growing speculation that iWork ’11 will make its debut as part of the App Store. This would certainly entice people to come check out the Mac App Store on launch day and maybe even buy some apps for their Mac. Sure makes sense to me.

Skyfire coming to the iPad

Yes, it is finally coming soon, Skyfire which allows you to view Flash content on the iPhone using its browser, will soon have a counterpart on the iPad. Should arrive any day now and sell for about $5. It will also have social network quick view for Facebook and Twitter updates.

iOS App Reviews

CNN iPad app (FREE) - CNN has launched an iPad only app. Of course it already offers an app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The view on the iPad app is very nice as you scroll down to view photos of stories with captions over them. Selecting on the photo opens the story up, it is like reading Flipboard almost in terms of how it displays.

MobileNavigator ($44.99 North America) - MobileNavigator recently updated their app to include some new goodies, among them is an iPad version, also Active Lane Assistant which gives a more accurate view of the road you are on in terms of lanes on the road. Also offers Travel and Restaurant guides via in-app purchases, and sharing favorites between iOS devices via email, and MyReport which allows you to leave feedback on a route that is no longer accurate on MobileNavigator which will allow it to be more responsive with map updates.

Flipboard (FREE) - Speaking of Flipboard, it has been updated to support Google Reader and Flickr. If you have never tried Flipboard then you really should. It is like reading your social media in a magazine form. Please note, this is an iPad only app though.

Voices 2 (99 Cents) - If you have ever tried Talking Tom Cat, then you will love this app. It gives you the ability to record your voice and then add about 26 different effects to your voice. My favorite is Max which basically makes you sound like Max Headroom.

Emoji (FREE) - This is a nice free app that allows you to add emoticons to your text messages. It was one of the first apps I added to my wife’s iPhone so she could insert the smileys she had on her old flip phone. It is very cool and for a free version, it includes a lot of icons to use.

Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday, A lot of news this week but you got 2 weeks to digest it all before another edition of AppleTalk Thursday on January 6th which will be the same date the Mac App Store launches. So now doubt we will have a bit more news then over the course of 2 weeks. See you then and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tuesday Tech Talk #68

Hello folks and apologies for the late edition of this weeks Triple T. Last week I blogged about our new AppleTV so lets return back to the normal format this week.

iWork ’11 to be released in Mac App Store?

As Apple mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the App Store for Mac will be launching early next year with a full rollout with OS X 10.7 Lion. Now there are reports that Apple’s iWork application will be sold through the store. This makes a lot of sense, for one thing unlike iLife, the file size is not as huge. In addition, it will give the options to only buy what you want for example you may just want Pages instead of the whole package, which according to Steve Jobs presentation showed each one priced at $20. I love iWork, but I don’t use Keynote as of yet, so having the option to just buy Pages and Numbers would be beneficial to me.

iOS 4.2 coming Friday possibly

According to various sources besides Apple themselves, iOS 4.2 should rollout Friday around 1pm ET/10am PT. There is much speculation as to if AirPrint will be withheld from the update due to technical issues. According to Steve Jobs though, this appears to not be the case. It would be nice to have this feature, but it is not the primary reason I’m excited about 4.2, I’m excited about AirPlay, multitasking, and folders for my iPad. I just have too many screens on my iPad right now and folders will help to organize that. I have an AppleTV now so AirPlay is going to be awesome! But more about 4.2 next week once it is out.

Most homes have HD television, fewer watch in HD

Interesting study here, although 56% of US homes have an HD television, only 20% if programming is being broadcast in true HD. There are many issues for this, if you subscribe to a satellite or cable service, you will need an HD capable box from them to watch HD programming and that is if the actual channel is in HD. Example, where I live the local channels are broadcast in HD but DirecTV is not carrying the HD feed of those channels yet even though Dish and Comcast do. Not sure why DIrecTV is dragging their feet on this but in a year, it won’t be my worry when I switch to Dish (I would say Comcast, but their internet service is spotty so not sure I trust them on the TV side.) Of course there are many channels besides locals that don’t even broadcast in HD yet which adds to that 80% figure. Have I mentioned how much I love our AppleTV?

Amazon Kindle to offer higher percentage of revenue to periodicals and newspapers

Amazon announced this week it will increase the percentage of revenue it gives to magazine and newspaper publishers to 70% from 30% or basically turning the tables on themselves. I think this will be key in getting more magazine and newspaper publishers to stick their toe into the digital pool and offer their content. I buy all my books in digital form now and so I expect the same in periodicals. Call this my effort in reducing my carbon footprint, even though I don’t believe in that environmental junk.

Conan’s Pale Whale

Finally, I was happy this week as Conan launched his new show on TBS. I truly believe NBC screwed him over and he should have had more time with the Tonight Show. But that is a rant for another day, an artist created an image of the famous (or infamous) Twitter Fail Whale for Conan but this one is known as Pale Whale and as you can see Coco is riding him. Welcome back to late night Coco!



Well, that is going to do it for this weeks Tuesday Tech Talk, I’ll have some app reviews next week. Have a great week!

Tuesday Tech Talk #64

Greetings everyone and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. Please excuse the late edition this week, I had some lower back pain that made it difficult to sit in a writing position for an extended period of time. The good news is I am much better now and Phillip Rivers I am not apparently when throwing around a football on a beach. So with that in mind, we have a lot of tech news to catch up on.

iPhone to Verizon...No, Seriously This Time

So I have tried to stay away from the whole “when is the iPhone coming to Verizon” chatter in this space because quite frankly it was a whole lot of rumor and speculation from less than credible sources. But now we have the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times saying that in fact, Apple is preparing a CDMA based iPhone for Verizon in the early part of next year. To add further credibility, Verizon brick-and-mortar stores will start selling the iPad on October 28th in conjunction with MiFi mobile hot spots.

So what does this mean for me personally? Well, my contract with AT&T expires in June which is right around the time of the 5th gen iPhone which no doubt will sport a GSM and CDMA-based models. I will let my contract run out and then decide at that time who to sign up with. Verizon no doubt has better coverage but the drawback of CDMA is you are not able to access data and voice at the same time...that is a major issue for me. If they can work out that issue, then it is a no brainer, I will sign up with Verizon whom I had when I lived in L.A. and Nashville before moving to Tupelo where at the time Verizon didn’t have coverage until they bought Alltel in 2008. Not to mention that as of right now, Verizon still offers an unlimited data plan to new customers where AT&T does not (I am grandfathered in with them on that right now). So that is my take on the Verizon iPhone talk, what do you think?

Apple “Back to the Mac” event

Next Wednesday, Apple will be hosting a Mac based event on its campus. Speculation is we will see iLife ’11 and iWork ’11 make their debut along with possible upgrades for the MacBook Air and a sneak peak at OS X 10.7 (Lion). I will either delay Triple T next week or have a special blog about the event on Wednesday.



Steve Ballmer Speaks Idiot Again

Every time Baldo Ballmer says something stupidity comes out. Yes, Steve it is true the Microsoft brand does mean something to users...CRAP! Even fertilizer can have a brand Steve, doesn’t mean I want to smell it just the same as a lot of people don’t want to use Windows but have to because of a backwards thinking business culture.

iPad All time fastest selling gadget

Speaking of fat Dr. Evil, this will not make him a happy camper. Yeah, how many Kin’s did you sell again Steve?

Facebook introduces Group Chat

Facebook has announced a new feature called Groups. It allows you to create a group of friends to share posts of common interest. For example, I can create a group called Football to basically post all my NFL and College football updates in and it would only be viewable to people that also like football. I really like this new feature and can’t wait to use it.

This Week’s iPhone/iPod touch/iPad apps

GetGlue (FREE) - This new social media app allows you to share just what your watching, reading, playing, listening to, wine your drinking, or topic you are thinking about. Also has an iPad version.

Tango (FREE) - So you don’t have an iPhone 4 or the newest iPod touch for FaceTime? Well no problem Tango is here. It even allows you to use a 3G connection too. Course if you have an iPhone 3GS or earlier it does make it hard to chat without the front facing camera, but I am willing to try it.

Angry Birds HD($4.99)- I have heard Fr. Roderick and others talk about this game for the longest time but never tried it...until now. Boy is this game both fun and a major time suck. No I mean it really is, I was playing it until 4am last night and only stopped because my iPad battery drained and had to recharge it. This is crack on an iPad. Oh yeah, there is an iPhone/iPod touch version for 99 cents too. No, I am not buying that version cause then I would really have no life.

PlainText (FREE) - This is great for making quick notes while on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. It also syncs with your DropBox account too. I use it to make notes for my blog without using my BlogPress app.

Justin.tv (FREE) - If you want to live video stream right from your iPhone, then you should check this out. I have tried uStream’s app and found it to crash or not work, but Justin.tv works like a snap and it is easy to find anyone that is streaming live on Justin.tv, on your iPhone as well. With uStream it only list the “popular” streams. In addition, my live chat room stream is now Justin.tv based.

Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you all next week for news from the Apple event.

Tuesday Tech Talk #31

Hello folks and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. We are 6 days removed from the iPad announcement so this will be like a post game wrap up type post.

More Thoughts on iPad

The more I see what this device can do, the more I want one. Quite simply it’s form factor and long battery life, makes it easier to use at a coffee shop. How many times do you walk into a coffee shop and all the available outlets are taken to plug in your laptop? With the iPad and a blogging app (I presume MacJournal will be making one for it.), you can just sit around anywhere and just type away on a very light device.

Another advantage of it is if I find something I want to show someone that is in another room, I don’t have to pick up the whole laptop and carry it with me to where they are. The 9.7“ screen makes it nice to share photos with someone among other things. If I were to get one I would go for the 16GB model. It is not something I am going to throw my entire music collection on. It’s nice that you can play music on it, but I don’t view it as an iPod or iPhone in that regard. What I would have on it is my photo library, eBooks, and documents using iWork.

iPad in the Enterprise

As I kind of speculated last week, there are some possibilities for using the iPad in the Enterprise. I look forward to seeing how creative companies get in utilizing it in business.

Docs, Books, and Music

Jobs stated that Pages will open Word docs, have book prices the same as Kindle, and have 6 days of continuous music play back. Interesting tidbit, Amazon recently gave in to Macmillan publishers on pricing. So the iPad is already showing signs of being a game changer in the eBook market. I guess this is Apple’s payback to Amazon when Amazon entered the digital music market with competitive pricing. Now if Apple can get McGraw Hill on board for text books and iPad sales in the education area would skyrocket!

Southwest Airlines adding WiFi to entire fleet

With the help of a small company known as Row 44, SWA will be adding WiFi to it’s entire fleet by 2012. Southwest btw is my favorite airline and yes, I will pay to use WiFi because I just can’t sit still for 2-4 hours and not do anything and neither can you I bet?

Jobs calls out Google and Adobe

Love how Steve Jobs took the bull by the horns here. He is right, Flash is dead and HTML5 is the future. I’m sure Scott Bilik may have something to add about this, uh oh did I just call out Scott? ☺

Well that is all for this week. I promise to have some app reviews for next week’s edition of Triple T. Bye for now!