Site-4-The-Day: EngineerGuy Videos

Several days ago I saw the cool video above of how Apple actually uses rust, of all things, to make its products more rustproof via Gizmodo, and again later today on Engadget.

Well, to my surprise this video was only the beginning of a whole series of cool and interesting tech videos that help make the complex world of high tech not so complicated  for us non engineering types, and therefore it's my site-4-the-day: EngineerGuyVideos, a YouTube video channel. And, oh, and by the way, he does it all in a most entertaining way to boot.

The author of these entertaining and educational tech videos is none other than Bill Hammack, and you can also catch him and his cool tech videos either on his homepage or on his YouTube channel where he has already garnered a whopping 58,613 subscriber's and an also very impressive 4,617,982 views.  EngineerGuy states that he: "features all the engineering details of all the stuff you wanna know about."  As he has noted on his site, others have described him and his videos  this way:

"Make called Bill a "brilliant science-and-technology documentarian", whose "videos should be held up as models of how to present complex technical information visually" Wired called them "dazzling." Scientific American's blog called him a "smart, easygoing everyman with a firm understanding of the science." You can see 10 of his best videos below. He takes apart an LCD monitor, demonstrates how fiber optic cables work, rips up a hard drive, explains the wonder of a quartz wrist watch, solves the mystery of black boxes, blows up a light bulb filament, reveals how amazing a pop can tab truely is, shows why a cell phone looks like it does, and explains why you always seem to be in the slowest line.
Bill's New Book is Out! Click on the cover for details ... available paperbound, hardcover & on all major ebook platforms."

Well, there you go, another amazing and very entertaining site-4-the-day, EngineerGuy, and what a cool guy he is, so be sure to check Bill out and start learning all about the neat stuff of all of the good stuff that you love today.





And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, May 31, 2012

One Keyboard To Rule Them All: Logitech's K760

If you thought you needed three separate keyboards, one for your iPhone, another one for your iMac, and yet another one for your iPad, well think again!

Yuppers, Logitech has now come out with a new whiz-bang solar-powered wireless keyboard to rule em all, and one that easily allows you to switch between all of your favorite Apple devices on the fly.

Sweet!

Logitech not only designed its new input device, the K760 Solar Wireless Keyboard, for Apple devices, complete with Apple-specific keys, such as command and eject, but switching between various Apple devices couldn't be any easier than by just hitting one of three keys designed for each device.

Again.... sweet!

Mind you, Logitech's new beauty will set you back around eighty smackeroo's, but that's a hell-of-a-lot better than paying for three separate keyboards, or having to re-sync a singular keyboard each time you wished to use it with a separate device.

Unfortuately, as good as it looks aesthetically, this thing is made with plastic, so don't expect quite the same build quality of Apple's lovely little aluminum goodness.

However, Logitech's new keyboard beauty does boast of the this little goody: it's extremely good on battery life, and that's simple because it's completely powered by light, inside and out, and be that light from natural sources such as the sun or from artificial sources such as your desk lamp. Logitech says that: "........ any light—low light and lamp light, indoors and out. Fully charged, it works for at least three months—even in total darkness."

In conclusion, the Logitech K760 might lack a numeric keyboard, which I personally prefer, but it looks much like Apple's own keyboards which is a good thing in my humble opinion. No batteries is, of course, I very, very good thing indeed, as is the fact that it can be synced to work quickly and easily on either a Mac, iPhone or iPad. No wonder MacWorld gave it four-out-of-five mouse rating, and that, my dear two-or-three readers is more than good enough for me.





And that's my 2 cents on the K760 4 this dark and icky Wednesday, May 30, 2012

David vs Goliath: Apple vs The Blogger

Apple is a huge company, one of the biggest and most successful that the world has ever known, but that doesn't mean that its perfect.

Yes, even though Apple is the world's number one brand, the most valuable and has consistently been on top when it comes to quality and customer satisfaction, that doesn't necessarily always hold true for each and ever customer.

Take, for instance this Seattle blogger who's MacBook Pro, the model that just happened to come with that nasty old and defected 8600M NVidia graphic chip, had anything but a smooth, buttery or pleasantly satisfying experience. SettleRex's experience ended up well in the end, but it wasn't due to anything on Apple's part. He got satisfaction all right, but he got it the old hard fashion way: he fought tooth-and-nail for it in the courts, and surprisingly..... he won!

You can read of the hell that SeattleRex went through via Time, or on Rex's link, but, of course, others have had  much better experiences, just as I personally did years ago when my boy was in his terrible-two's, and as I commented on Rex's blog when I wrote:

"I’m glad to see the little guy win for a change. Truly, Apple was in the wrong here. On the other hand, years ago when my boy was two years old he decided, when I left the room, to share his kool-aid with my newly purchased iMac. It wasn’t long after that the machine’s DVD drive started to fail. I called Apple and told them exactly what had happened and the Apple Representative stated:

“Ha, ha, I’m so glad that I didn’t hear you tell me that your boy feed the machine a drink of kool, otherwise that would completely void the warranty and since I didn’t hear you say that, and your not going to repeat it, we’ll just go ahead and issue you a work order to have the machine fixed!” And so it was, but the technician kept scratching his head and saying: “Funny, the logic board was all sticky, like it had a sugar coating on it?”

In conclusion, it doesn't matter if your a large or small company, rich or poor, when it comes to customer satisfaction someone, somewhere will always have a complaint no matter what a company does, or doesn't do!  In the case of SeattleRex, well he was more than justified, but in others cases people simply are complaining for the sake of complaining.  Mind you, when it comes customer satisfaction, Apple could always do better, of course, by trying to prevent what happened to SeattleRex from ever happening in the first place.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy, windy and cloudy Tuesday, May 29, 2012

David & Goliath image via: FTG

Could This Be The Next iPhone's Display

With LG supplying screens for the iPad  already, I'm now beginning to wonder if they'll also be supplying the next iPhone screen with its new super hi-res, high pixel count screen pictured above. This little sucker comes with a display that can easily do 1080p HD with a 440ppi pixel density and at sizes up to five inches in size, and this little sucker should be ready just in time for Apple's next release of the iPhone.

In their press release, LG describes their new whiz-bang panel as:

"LG Display Develops World's First Full HD LCD Smartphone Panel

5" Full HD display, creating perfect cloud computing environment

Seoul, Korea (May 28, 2012) – LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], a leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display, introduced today a 5" Full HD LCD panel for smartphones – the highest resolution mobile panel to date. Allowing smartphone users to view Full HD content in the same quality as on TVs and monitors, LG Display and its new panel significantly advances the cloud computing experience widely considered the next major internet trend.

LG Display's 5" Full HD LCD panel is a step forward past existing mobile display technology. The LCD panel based on AH-IPS (Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching) technology features 440ppi and 1920x1080 resolution, providing for the first time Full HDTV quality on a smartphone. With 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, the panel is also 0.5 inches larger, 2.2 times denser in pixels, and 1.3 times more advanced in ppi than the preceding 4.5" panel at 329ppi and 1280x720.

"As smartphones become increasingly valued for how well they do multimedia and with the rapid growth of LTE enabling faster large file transfers, our new 5" Full HD LCD panel is certain to prove a significant asset to the mobile market," said Sang-Deok Yeo, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display. "With the world's highest resolution smartphone display, LG Display continues to remain a step ahead in developing the most innovative in display technology products."

The display solution of choice for smart devices, LG Display's AH-IPS is the technology behind the new Full HD LCD display. With the high density of AH-IPS, the naked eye is unable to distinguish between individual pixels. AH-IPS panels also express the original color of images highly precisely, and feature a wide viewing angle as well as stable display image and rapid response speed when touched. Finally, with its brighter light transmission and lower power consumption, AH-IPS is ideal for use in outdoor settings.

 The 5" Full HD LCD panel from LG Display is expected to be released during the second half of this year, and will be on exhibit for the first time at SID 2012 Display Week in Boston starting June 4."

In conclusion, this sounds like something that I would love to see in the next iPhone. Not at five inches mine you, because frankly that's just a wee bit too big for a phone if you ask me. At five inches your describing a device that is more of a miniature tablet than that of a large phone. However, at four, or even 4.3 inches, I think that this display could be a natural for the next iPhone, and especially considering that Apple already is a big fan of IPS displays as seen in its Mac line of computers.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, May 28, 2012
Image and source: Engadget

Mac Pro Petition Gains Traction

If your one of the many people who have been wondering why Apple hasn't upgraded its Mac Pro in almost two years, well, your not alone. Some people are so concerned about Apple's apparent lack of interest in its professional desktop that they have started a new FaceBook page demanding either a new Mac Pro or at least some clarification as to what is to become of it.

I must admit, that after all most two bloody years I'm becoming a bit curious and a little worried about Apple's flagship model myself, even though, I must also admit, that Apple's super expensive cheese grater style machine is completely out of my league.

The Mac Pro might be completely out of my league, but there certainly are a lot of people who not only can afford to buy one, but honestly can't afford not to buy one. These would include professional graphic designers, video producers, music producers and the like, and, for them, it's certainly isn't a laughing matter, but rather a question of being able to do business in the best way that they have become accustomed to. These people demand the latest and greatest in power and speed, and I can certainly understand their demand to know just what's going on from Apple, because, up until now Apple, as is its custom, has kept them completely in the dark, which to me anyway, isn't a very professional way to treat your professional customers.

In conclusion, if your one of the many people who absolutely depend on having the latest and the greatest Mac to run your business, or just one who appreciates the Mac Pro then the FaceBook page: We Want a New Macpro should be of great interest to you, otherwise you might be looking at the hassle of either constructing your own Hackintosh (something that's not for the faint of heart) or worse, your looking at the ugly prospect of dumping the Mac altogether and starting from scratch with a less desirable OS based machine. Personally, I'm not sure which would be worse: building a Hackintosh, or switching to another OS based machine?




And that's my 2 cents on the Mac Pro 4 this Friday, May 25, 2012

 Mac Pro Image via: Geeky-Gadgets
Source: AppleInsider

Rumor: OS X Mountain Lion To Add Siri Dictation To The Mac

With rumors of Apple adding Retina Displays to its next crop of Mac computers, there are other rumors that say Apple also may be adding Siri like voice input to Macs as well.

As you can see in the opening chart, via 9to5Mac, there does seem to be reference to it in recent betas of OS X Mountain Lion, but apart from the one listed above, no other references have been found.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Siri like voice dictation won't be coming a Mac near you soon. Apple, thanks to Steve Jobs, is rather famous for saving surprises for the end of its presentations, and the next, "... just one more thing" like moment could be as early as June 11, the next date for Apple's annual World Wide Developers Cconference.

Some people don't think that voice dictation is really all that important, and especially on desktops, but I tend to disagree. Yes, voice dictation isn't exactly a perfect science yet, not even with Siri, but there are definite benefits to be had. For one thing, I'm not even supposed to be typing this post, as I now have a wrist injury due to too much typing and boy, oh boy, could I ever use Siri like dictation right now since typing is still rather painful to say the least. Voice dictation is one way of possibly alleviating such injury, and in some cases it could make those long boring writing chores, well, shall we say, much less of a chore.

In conclusion, Siri like voice dictation on a Mac could not only be a time and a health saver, but quite frankly, it's rather cool and downright fun, at least I think so anyway. It's faster and yes, in some cases, it's even more accurate at times than plain old-regular typing which never did really feel all that natural if you ask me, so bring it on Apple and add Siri like dictation to the Mac, because the sooner, the better I say.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, May 24, 2012

According To Jonny Ive: Apple Still Working On Its Most Important Work Yet

The Verge did a very interesting post on Jonathan Ive in which he stated something along the line that what he is currently working on for Apple is his most interesting and his most important that he has done thus far.

Hmmm.... if that's the case, than Apple's stock could start looking rather interesting indeed. After all, this is the man who's iconic designs have helped, as much as anything else, to make Apple the dynamo that it is today, and it is that dynamism that has made its stock and market capitation what it is today as well..... humongous!

Seriously, what could be better than Ive's original see-through iMacs, or his sexy and still current all-in-one iMacs, or his luscious MacBook Pros, Mac Book Air, or his trendy iPhone 4S? I've's designs pretty much sets the bar these days for just about any product that he sets his hand on, so if he says that future Apple products are most likely the most most important that he has ever worked on, than I, for one, just can't wait to see what this design guru has got up his sleeve.

As the Verge mention, it's indeed easy to think that Ive is referring to Apple's so-called and much rumored about iTV, but than again it could just as easily be about something else, including Apple's next generation of iPhones, iPods, or Macs, or maybe even about something completely different and something that we know absolutely nothing about as of yet.

Next month is when Apple will be holding its next WWDC event, so maybe, just maybe we'll get to see some of what Jonny is talking about. At least I hope that we will, and personally, I'm rather betting on it, and I believe it will most likely include Apple's next 15 inch MacBook Pro which should come in looking and feeling considerably lighter and slimmer, and much more along the lines of the current and trend setting MacBook Air, but also sporting the same type of mind-blowing Retina Display as the new iPad.

As pointed out by AppleInsider, you can get more insight on some of Ive's remarks by reading  Part One and Part Two of a recent interview that The Telegraph's conducted with Mr. Ives.

In conclusion, I don't really know for sure what Jonny has been cooking up in the kitchen lately, but I do know for sure that he's probably the best dang-tooting designer in the world bar none, and based on his past designs, than I think it's safe to say that his future designs could easily be his most important work yet, and I'm taking his word the what Apple has on the old drawing board will be its best work ever, what that might be.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Mr. Ive's official Apple portrait via: Apple

Apple Retains Its Place As The World's Top Brand And Most Valuable Company

Apple has done it again, it has retained its crown of being the world's number one brand according to Millward Brown's BrandZ Top 100, which estimates that its brand value is now a whopping $182.95 billion smackeroos!

As you can see from the opening chart, Apple is in pretty good company with the likes of Microsoft, Coca Cola, Google and IBM, which is second with a brand value of $115.985 billion. Google and Microsoft, though still in the top ten bracket, actually lost some brand value over the past year, shrinking some -3% and -2% respectfully.

What I didn't expect to see, on the technology side, however, was the fact that Samsung, Intel and Cisco where much farther down the list than I would have expected. None of them, for instance, cracked the top-ten list in the tech sector, let alone the overall brand section. Samsung, for instance, came in at number 13 on the list while Intel and Cisco, on the other hand, came in at number 12 and 14 respectfully.

When it comes to calculating a brand's value, AppleInsider wrote:

"In order to calculate brand value, Millard Brown calculates the earnings of the brand in question and then multiplies it based on projected earnings to arrive at an estimated financial value of a brand. The methodology also takes into account a brand's contribution, or its ability to "stand out from the crowd, generate desire and cultivate loyalty." Brand contribution is calculated as a percentage that is then multiplied by financial value to determine brand value."

Not only is Apple still on top as far as being the world's top brand, it still remains, in spite of recent and brutal stock loses, the world's most valuable company, and by a long shot. Just as Facebook continued to fall after its second day of trading, and down by as much as 11%, Apple's stock is beginning to rise once more. At the end of the trading day yesterday it was, at one point, up over $30 per share! This sees Apple sitting not only on the top, market cap wise, but by a considerable margin. The world's second most valuable company, oil giant Exxon, for example is only worth some $382 billion vs Apple's $534 billion. In fact, of this writing Apple's stock is up by another $9 dollars in early morning trading.

In conclusion, they say that "you can't keep a good man down" and apparently that saying now also applies to companies as well just as much as we mere mortals.



And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, warm Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Chart via: AppleInsider

Apple Should Buy Leap Motion

Microsoft's Kinnect has been a huge hit for Redmond, and now other companies, including Apple, are trying to play catch up. Speaking of Apple, with its vast horde of cash, if it wants to not only catch up, but to leap way past Microsoft's Kinnect first-place advantage lead, than it should consider buying Leap Motion.

Leap Motion is a tiny company that has, more-or-less, lept past everyone else when it comes to the hand gesturing field with its tiny new device called, the Leap, which Engadget describes this way:

"It's about the size of a pack of gum, and once connected to your computer via USB, it creates a four-cubic-foot virtual workspace. Within that area, it tracks all ten of your fingers simultaneously to within 1/100 of a millimeter -- that level of accuracy allows for rudimentary gestures like pinch-to-zoom and more complex actions like manipulating 3D-rendered objects."

Amazingly, this huge improvement in gesturing will only set you back a measly $69.99!

In conclusion, and as you can see in the opening video above and on Engadget's post, this is one company that I think Apple could and should most definitely gobble up before some other cash rich company, like Microsoft or Google, decides to do it, as this cool technology has the potential to help Apple blow past anything that we've seen from Microsoft thus far, and, as well, add extra features and value to Apple's already desirable products. Besides, as small as it is now, I'm sure that the Leap could be made even smaller yet and small enough to fit inside of any upcoming iTV or Mac, iPad, or what have you?




And that's my 2 cents 4 this absolutely gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous, hot and sunny Monday, May 21, 2012

Samsung Pre-Sells 9-Million Galaxy S III's

Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone maker in the first quarter, is saying that its third-generation Galaxy S smartphone has pre-sold a whopping 9 million phones.

Wow! Impressive, impressive indeed.

The Galaxy S will first go on sale this May 29 in good, old Germany before it rolls out in other countries, but if pre-sales figures are true, well this has to be something that is going to catch the eyes of the folks in Cupertino, and I mean big time. According to the late and great Steve Jobs, Android phones, such as the Galaxy S, are nothing but "stolen product" and this, I presume, isn't going to make the legal scrabbles between Apple and Samsung any less palatable.

Of course, the 9 million pre-sold Galaxy S's is a figure that was reported to be from a unidentified   Samsung official, but no actual confirmation of the claim has been verified that I know of. and according to this Reuters report, Samsung declined to comment. The Reuters report also stated that the "the new Galaxy S smartphone would "substantially contribute" to its second-quarter earnings", which would be an understatement if this report turns out to be true.

In conclusion, Samsung has done extremely well copying Apple, but Apple thus far has only made a dent in legally stopping Samsung and Android's blatant ripping off of Apple's patents and IP. For Apple's sake, lets hope justice prevails and soon.




And that's my 2 cents on this glorious sunny Friday, May 18, 2012

Galaxy S image via: PhoneArena

Mind-Blowing Retina Displays Are Coming Macs, But A Significant Cost

Appleinsider, among others, is reporting that not only are new Retina Displays coming for the next crop of Macs, but unfortunately they'll be adding considerably to the cost of getting your hands on them.

Apparently, these screens are already available in the supply chain, but can add as much as $92 to the cost of a regular screen, and Appleinsider wrote:

"DisplaySearch Senior Analyst Richard Shim told CNet that super-high-resolution 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch screens are already available from LCD suppliers. But a Retina-quality screen for Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro would cost $160 from suppliers, as opposed to $68 for current, standard-resolution screens.

Similarly, with a 13.3-inch display, a Retina-caliber screen is $134, while the LCD panels Apple currently uses are estimated to cost $69."

Ouch!  I'd hate to even think what a Retina display would cost for a 27 inch iMac, as Appleinsider is reporting that it too may also be getting one of these mind-blowing Retina display as well, complete with its mind-blowing price to boot.

In conclusion, as far as significantly higher priced Retina displays go, as an extra ordering option I think that they might make a lot of folk considering switching to a Mac, but if they come as a much higher priced standard feature, then I think that a lot of these same folks might seriously think of just getting a much cheaper PC instead, so I'm hoping, for now anyway, that Retina displays do come, but only as a higher price option, at least until their price drops significantly, which I'm sure they'll do in time.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Thursday, May 2012

Macbook Pro Phot via: Apple

The Most Satisfying Smartphone Of Them All: It's The iPhone..... Once Again!

The only thing that I personally like about Android phones better than I do than on a iPhone, besides its cute little green robot logo, is some of its larger screens.

Fortunately, according to this report in the Wall Street Journal, my wish for a larger screen iPhone is finally about to come true, as they are now saying that production will begin as early as next month.

Even though I like the slightly larger screens of some Android phones, the maximum size for me is around four inches, and maybe, just maybe, 4.3 inches, but certainly nothing larger. With some Android screens going up to 4.8 inches they are now becoming more of a tablet than a phone, and frankly they are becoming rather freakishly too large to use according to some.

Some Android phones may have slightly bigger screens than that of the iPhone, but none of them, and I mean none of them, however, get anywhere near to being quite as satisfying to use as the iPhone itself, as can clearly be seen in this recent report that shows the iPhone way ahead of Android and all other platforms by a long shot.

Getting back to the Wall Street Journal's report on an upcoming larger iPhone screen, they quoted Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi as saying:

"The smartphone market has become diverse, but the iPhone still sets the agenda...", which the WSJ also pointed out as having a lot to do with its "... overall experience including its user interface and applications, and that the screen size wouldn't be its defining feature."

Of course, Android phones are nothing more than mere clones of the iPhone anyway as far as many are concerned, and simply adding a larger screen, or adding a few U.I. tweaks doesn't necessarily make Android a better or more satisfying experience, but even if it did, sooner or later I expect that Android will pay the price for violating Apple's IP. In fact, it's already happening as several of HTC's newest and greatest Android phones, the HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE are now both being reported to be indefinitely delayed because of the above legal problems.

In conclusion, not only is the iPhone a vastly more satisfying phone than any of the Android clones, but even if it wasn't, because of on-going patent issues, or the theft of Apple's patents, I can see Android becoming a dead-in-the-water platform in the very near future. Whether it actually will, or won't, of course, remains to be seen, but as Herr Mueller sums it up, concerning Android's biggest partner:

"Samsung's actions against Apple appear increasingly desperate. Apple has not yet dealt Samsung a knock-out blow. The drop-out rate of Apple's claims is very high, but Samsung's drop-out rate, to date, is 100%, which means that APPLE'S VICTORY IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME . The only way Samsung thinks it can have leverage over Apple (in order to force Cupertino to tolerate Android's infringement of Apple's intellectual property) is the abuse of standard-essential patents." (emphasis mine)

.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy Wednesday, May 15, 2012

iPhone photo via: BestMobileContracts.uk

Cool Software: AirPrint Activator

Via: http://fairerplatform.com

The FairerPlatform just did a recent post on a cool piece of software kit called,  AirPrint Activator. So, what's so cool about AirPrint Activator? Well, as you probably guessed by now, it has something to do with Apple's AirPrint technology, a technology that allows you to print wirelessly from your iPhone, iPad or Macintosh.

Of course, in order to use AirPrint you'll first need an officially supported AirPrint device, of which there is now a list some 200 strong! However, what if your printer isn't one of those officially supported printers? Ta... dah, dah.... you got it amigo... it's AirPrint Activator to the rescue.

The FairerPlatform itself put it this way:

"......, my Kodak AIO isn’t officially supported by AirPrint yet my family and I can print from our two Macs, two iPod touches, iPad and iPhone, and it’s all due to NetPuting’s AirPrint Activator. This free and completely trouble free OS X (Snow Leopard and Lion compatible) System Preference Pane installs in a flash and, well, it just works."

Personally, my printer, a Lexmark Pro 915, is already AirPrint compatible, but boy, oh boy, do I ever love the idea that no matter what printer I may want or need to use it can now be made, more-or-less, totally AirPrint compatible, whether it is, or is not officially supported.

In conclusion, ink jets have their place, and especially for printing photos they can't be beat, but now I'm planning on buying a multifunction laser printer, like maybe HP's new and inexpensive, HP TopShot LaserJet Pro, and now, thanks to AirPrint Activator, regardless of what printer I end up getting, at least now I know that I have one less thing to worry about, and all thanks to AirPrint Activator.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy, and I wish I were back in Deutschland, Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Opening graphic via: TheFairerPlatform

Is This Proof That New Ivy Bridge Macs Are Coming Soon?

Image via AppleRemedy.com

If you want proof that spanking new Ivy Bridge Macs are soon coming than CultofMac's latest post might interest you. As they note, Best Buy, one of the Mac's largest suppliers, is now offering discounts, and discounts that usually precede any introduction to new Macs.

With discounts ranging from  $30-$200 on the Mac Mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro, it would seem likely indeed that the newer, spiffier and faster Ivy Bridge Macs are indeed on their way.

Most likely, if you ask me, Apple will probably announce them during, or shortly before or after, its Worldwide Developer Conference next month. Ivy Bridge cpu's not only run faster and cooler than the current Sandy Bridge versions, but with less energy consumption to boot. However, so far Apple itself has been as tight-lipped as ever on any of this, so any clues, as with Best Buy's recent discounts, are appreciated and are an indication, but not necessarily absolute proof, that new Macs are indeed just around the corner.

Also, according to this so-called leaked report by the usually accurate GeekBench folks, we should be seeing overall improvements to the performance of the current Apple crop of sexy notebook and desktop models that are in line with what we are seeing on the PC hardware side.

So, are the recent Best Buy Mac discounts proof that new Ivy Bridge Macs are coming?

In conclusion, they certainly look that way, but I'll believe it more when I start to see other sellers following suit. Personally, I'm convinced that this is most likely the case, and I'm also hoping that rumors that the next Macs, at least in the MacBook area, will also be sporting some eye-popping new Retina displays to go along with all of that Ivy Bridge goodness, with USB 3 and having an ultra-thin form factor. After all, recent evidence seems to be pointing that way, so my fingers are crossed that owners of the new iPad won't be the only ones enjoying Retina displays for much longer.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, but otherwise nice Monday, May 14, 2012

Image via: AppleRemedy

The WireCutter: The Most Powerful And The Most Perfect Laptops Are.....

The Wirecutter is a site that is dedicated to presenting the best of technology, including the best TV's, the best in storage, the best cameras, the best monitors, the best mobile phones and what have you.

When it comes to the best laptops, however, I noticed that they list Apple's sexy little numbers sitting pretty sweet up on their list, pretty sweet indeed!

For example, when it comes to power laptops, well, they go on to list that the MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.4GHz Core i7)  "...... is the Power Laptop You Want," stating that:

"If you don't need a Mac, the power notebook for you is a Lenovo ThinkPad W520, which was just updated with a 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz or for a whopping $750 extra, a 2.7GHz quad-core Core i7 chip. The w520 also has a 15 inch screen with 1920×1280 resolution and can be configured with up to 16GB of RAM, multiple hard drives and like all Thinkpads, is a reliable, durable beast of a machine. According to John Poole, owner of Primate Labs, which hosts the popular GeekBench benchmarking web platform, it's the fastest mobile notebook chip around right now. “Nothing else comes close in terms of processor performance,” says Poole, in an e-mail interview. “I think people can safely purchase a laptop based on its processor if performance is their primary concern.”"

When it comes to the best cheap laptop that you can buy, well Wirecutter gives their nod to the HP G4t, and they name Alienware's M17x as the best gaming laptop, but when it comes to the honor of being the world's most perfect laptop, well, boys and girls, they state that honor clearly belongs to none other than Apple's trend-setting MacBook Air, and they write:

"The truth is, computer chips have gotten so incredibly fast over the past few years that most of us won’t need anything close to top-of-the-line for processor. Yup, you’ve probably guessed what we’re about to recommend.

The MacBook Air may very well be Apple’s most perfect product yet. With ultraportable computers, there used to be a hefty tradeoff for performance in exchange for a thin, light subnotebook, but Apple has narrowed the gap. Less than three pounds and measuring 0.68 inches thick, the Air took gadget critics by surprise with its impressive performance and outstanding battery life comparable to high-end professional notebooks.

What's funny is that usually when you think Apple, you think "overpriced." But with the Air, Apple has managed to set a new standard for notebooks in terms of looks and price points. Asian manufacturers are reporting that it's been difficult to produce notebooks so thin and light for less than Apple's $1,000 MacBook Air starting price."

In conclusion, I can't really argue with any of WireCutter's choices, as HP certainly makes some great laptops for the cheap, and, as many already know, if you want the best gaming laptops that money can buy, than you just can't beat the fine folks over at Alienware, but, as they also state above, if you absolutely want the most powerful, or the most perfect of all laptops, well than your not going to do any better than getting your grubby little hands on one of Apple's hot selling MacBook Airs or MacBook Pros.






And that's my 2 cents 4 this dreary, overcast Friday, May 11, 2012

Apple's Voice Assistant, Siri, As A Research Assistant

I just saw the above video on Gizmodo and it's cool, real cool! What we are seeing is British Telecom scientists using Siri, Apple's voice assistant, to assist in helping them research and find a cure for cancer.

As Gizmodo pointed out:

"Last month, at a conference in Boston, BT's Bas Burger used Siri to launch a mock experiment that analyzed data on the new cloud service the company build specifically for life sciences R&D.

Talking into his iPhone, Burger asked Siri to crunch some numbers on BT's cloud using a common research tool called Pipeline Pilot, and after authenticating Burger, Siri complied. Moments later, Burger asked her for a status update, and she told him the experiment was complete, offering the results on his phone"

In conclusion, you can read more of this remarkable experiment in Gizmodo's post above, but  the interesting thing here is that any success obtained from the above experiment should not only be usable for scientific research, but it should also be adaptable in helping ordinary people do ordinary research for just about anything, be it a school exam or a business project, and also help make computer assisted research more Star Trek like, or better said, more human like. Now that's something that I really like!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, rainy and dreary Thursday, May 10, 2012

Can Lower Ultrabook Pricing Take On The MacBook Air?

HP has come out with a whole range of new laptops, ultrabooks and desktops recently, including one that is taking direct aim at Apple's sexy little number known as the 13-inch MacBook Air.

HP is taking direct aim at the Air by introducing a newer and much lower pricing point of only $798. This new and lower price is believed to be in direct response to the MacBook Air's upcoming and rumored much lower price of $799.

HP's ultrabook, HP Folio 13, which you can see a video review here, is now priced, according to this post, at a measly $797.77 at Best Buy. This doesn't, however, include Intel's latest and greatest chip, "Ivy Bridge", but rather the older "Sandy Bridge"  1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor. The  Folio's screen weighs in at 13.3-inch inches, and it includes some 4GB of memory, and has a 128GB solid state drive.

I must admit, that at $798, the Folio 13-inch is not only a great looking machine, with some nice specs, it is also a rather tempting buy. I'm not sure, however, if it's still a better deal or tempting enough win me over than the older 13-inch MacBook Air.

At the Folio's low price of $799, the question now is: will HP's Folio and other lower priced  Ultrabooks be enough to trounce the little computer that launched the big move to Ultrabooks in the first place?

The answer:  maybe, but not probably not that very likely, and this goes especially if Apple actually lowers the Air's pricing.

Yes, as tempting as Ultrabooks in the $700-$800 might be, they still can't take on the Air in other areas. For one: they don't first place advantage or the Air's superior trackpad, one that puts all others to shame. Secondly: unlike the Air, Ultrabooks can't run OS X, but the Air not only runs it, but it can also run every other OS else out there to boot, be it .... Windows 7, Windows 8 or any of the zillions of different distros from Linux, including, of course, its biggest and best, Ubuntu, which I personally rather like almost as much as OS X itself, but alas.... it has very little commercial software to run on it.

So, in conclusion, Ultrabooks owners actually have a lot less software that they can choose from, and without software a computer, no matter how great its specs or, for that matter, how great its price might be, the less software it can run, the less valuable it is, therefore I give the Air the edge. After all, who wants a computer that can run only some, but not all of the software out there? Well, not me, and that's for dang-tooting sure.






And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy, and I mean really rainy, Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Opening HP Folio 13 photo via: http://go.bestdenki.com.sg/products/hp-folio-13-notebook

The First Android Device Looked Anything Like An Android Device

Via: High Caffeine Content

FossPatents reported last week on how and why a U.S. court penalized Samsung for deliberately disobeying a court order to hand over information on its alleged illegal copying of both iOS software and the iPhone's hardware. Obviously, in the eyes of the court and many others, Samsung has something that it apparently wants to hide and that it doesn't want the world to see.

In response to Samsung's apparent and deliberate disobedience, FossPatent's Herr Mueller wrote:

"Samsung's actions against Apple appear increasingly desperate. Apple has not yet dealt Samsung a knock-out blow. The drop-out rate of Apple's claims is very high, but Samsung's drop-out rate, to date, is 100%, which means that Apple's victory is only a matter of time. The only way Samsung thinks it can have leverage over Apple (in order to force Cupertino to tolerate Android's infringement of Apple's intellectual property) is the abuse of standard-essential patents. The European Commission is formally investigating Samsung's related conduct."

Ouch! I'd say that is one thing that I personally wouldn't want to hear coming from one of the world's most famous and important patent experts, and, quite frankly, it looks bad not only for Samsung but for Android overall as a platform, because it seems to back up Steve Jobs opinion that Android was in fact "stolen property."


I read somewhere that originally Android was planned to be launched sometime in 2007, the very same year that the iPhone launched. However, after one of Apple's board members, Google's CEO, at the time, Eric Schmidt, saw the iPhone, Google itself apparently decided to delay the launched one year, to 2008, while they completely redesigned Android. After one short year, however, Android ended up looking nothing like its original design, a BlackBerry clone, but rather emerged looking much more along the lines of the iPhone itself, but without Apple's patented multi-touch features. Android added those a year later, in 2009, a full two years after the iPhone first introduced multi-touch to the world.

Steven Troughton-Smith backs up the above, in a recent blog post, which shows, as you can see in the opening photo, Android's first demo phone called the, Sooner. Funny name aside, this phone was built by HTC and as Steven noted:

"When Google first showed off Android, they showed it running on a device very similar to Blackberries or Nokia E-class devices of the time. This device was the Google Sooner - an OMAP850 device built by HTC, with no touchscreen or WiFi. This was the Android reference device, the device they originally built the OS on."

In conclusion, I can't help but look back at the original Android Sooner device without thinking about Steve Jobs statement that it (Android) was indeed "a stolen product". I can't say that it was, of course, for sure a "stolen product" since I don't know all the facts, but without further proof the above photos certainly seems to me that it might be, and I think Steven Troughton-Smith wrapped it up nicely when he wrote:

"It's quite clear that Android was being designed to a completely different target before the iPhone was released. What we see here would have fitted in perfectly with the world of Symbian and BlackBerry. This early build of Android is in fact even less capable and mature than the 2004 release of Symbian Series 90 (Hildon), the OS that runs on the Nokia 7700 and 7710 - Nokia's first, and only, pre-iPhone touchscreen smartphones. It's not hard to see that iPhone really changed the thinking across the entire industry, and caused everybody to start from scratch. Android, webOS, Windows Phone 7, Windows 8, BlackBerry 10 - all of these exist because of the iPhone, and standing on its shoulders they have made some amazing and unique contributions to the ecosystem." 

And that's my 2 cents 4 this rather sunny Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Via Engadget and High Caffeine Content

Will Apple Adopt Walt Disney's Mind-Blowing Touch Input Concept?

The mind-blowing video above is a demonstration of Walt Disney's (of all people) new touch base interface that can be applied to just about anything, including, believe it or not..... water and other liquids!

Disney Research created its new sensing system called Touché, a touch system that can sense a wide variety of human hand and body interactions that can be recognized on just about anything, be it tables, desks, walls, speakers, or for that matter just about anything that you could possibly think of and its nothing less than totally amazing. As Gizmodo's Mat Honan put it:

"It's pretty amazing. Most capacitive sensing (think: your smartphone or trackpad) only operates on one frequency. Touché sweeps over a range of frequencies and uses it to suck down more data about how an object is being touched. It can even tell what kind of actions your body is taking, tacking gestures in mid-air."

Mind you, this stuff is still all in the very early conceptual stages at the moment, but, boy oh boy, the very idea of being able to use one's body itself as an input device, or your doorknob, desktop, or what have you, as a controller or input device, is pretty crazy, amazing and totally mind-blowing to say the least!  

Since we see it running via a MacBook Pro already, I sure would hope to Dickens that Apple would also see fit to look into buying this technology up before somebody else does, like one of its competitors, such as Samsung or Google, tries to snap it up.

Walt Disney and Apple are already linked together at the waist already via Pixar, and not to mention Steve Jobs wife's biggest share of Disney stock, so I would tend to think Apple already has the upper hand in getting its hands on this stuff. Imagine, you could use this type of mind-blowing technology to not only make extremely thin touch screens, but you could use it on your car's steering wheel to control your radio, iPod, iPhone on your car's steering wheel simply by sliding your fingers up-or-down on the steering wheel itself! 

So, will Apple buy up this emerging touch input technology?

In conclusion, I can only hope so, because I would tend to think that the possibilities for this type of technology would be virtually endless, and even though I never thought I would see this type of thing coming out of an entertainment company, I sure-as-hell can see it being used by a tech firm like that of Apple and I hope that they do something about it before its competitors jump all over this, because as Mat Honan wrote: "Gestures are so obviously the future of input. Bring it."  

And that's my 2 cents 4 this amazingly sunny Monday, May 07, 2012

[Gizmodo via Touché via New Scientist via Stellar Interesting]

Is Apple About To Announce Something Really Big?

Image via Inflexwetrust.com

There are so many rumors concerning Apple's upcoming iPhone 5 that there is now, and not surprisingly, an entire blog dedicated to those rumors. That blog is called: The iPhone 5 News Blog and they claim that it is "The First Blog To Cover News, Opinions and Rumors About The iPhone 5."

Interesting, I'm rather interested in another claim that they are making, and namely that a: "Source Says Documents Reveal “Something Big Is About to Happen” With Apple."  They write that according to "a staffer at a top U.S. brokerage firm that handles Intel and Apple’s ocean/air accounts has informed the iPhone 5 News Blog that “something big is about to happen.”

As far as something big getting ready to happen, well, this, of course, could mean just about anything. It could be something to do with the iPhone 5 or something completely unrelated. The source said that it wasn't at  liberty to say, but that the paperwork has definitely been beefed up, and that they were "positive" that it had nothing to do with any new MacBook Pros or iPads, and the source also added that: "Nothing has been flown out, but they are determinately getting everything in order for customs and the FCC, I can tell you that."

The iPhone 5 News blog also stated that: "Our new source’s job is to scan paperwork into the computer systems and verify them for customs and auditing. She also works in data entry, preparing documentation from big business such as Intel and Apple, whose shipments frequently come from overseas. "

If the above information is true, then the question remains: What does something big really mean?

It could mean anything, as previously stated, but I sure do hope that whatever it is, it will live up to the hype. Even though it could be something to do with the new iPhone 5 itself, it could also be about new iMacs which are expected to be announced just about any day now and all sporting spanking new Ivy Bridge processors and non-glare screens, or even as the blog itself suggested, a new iTV. New Mac Pros are also not out of the question either, and that in despite of all of the rumors that Apple is about to kill it off due to dwindling sales.

At this point the above is all just conjecture and is just another big rumor. Maybe Apple is about to announce something big at this years WWDC, or it isn't.

I personally, however, do believe that Apple will be making a big announcement and sooner rather than later, but unfortunately, I just don't know for sure what that possibly could be.

Unfortunately, in conclusion, we're just going to have to wait it out to find out.

Bummer!



And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy but mild Friday, May 04, 2012

Image via: Inflexwetrust

Do iOS Apps Really Look Better Than Their Android Equivalents?

Apparently, there is a simple reason why iOS apps usually appear to look much richer and better than do their equivalents on Android. At least according to Hipmunk UI/UX designer and iOS developer Danilo Campos who explains it quite succinctly:

"The very simple short answer is it’s easier to make a good-looking, attractive iOS app compared to making an Android app."

As Christina Bonnington, writing for Wired's Gadget Lab, noted in her recent post, "Why iOS Apps Look Better Than Android Apps," to begin with there is this little Android problem known as fragmentation, and a problem that has been haunting Android ever since  it came out and OEMs raced out to distinguish their own particular Android devices from an ever growing crowd of iPhone copy cat wannabes. As she quoted in her post:

“Android devices come in different shapes and sizes, different screen resolutions, different device speeds — and that’s actually a huge hurdle,” Karma app co-founder Lee Linden told Wired. “You need to be testing out something like 20 different phones with different resolutions and different processors, and that definitely makes development slower.”

As you can see in the photo below, from Christina's post, iOS apps really do indeed look much better than their equivalents on the Android side, or at least they do to me and many others, but not everyone I'm sure.

So, do iOS apps really look better than its Android equivalents?

In conclusion, to many people they do, but I'm sure, for what ever reason, many people out there will still prefer to think that Android equivalents do. It's a matter of individual taste, I guess, but for many, and probity the majority of people, the easier to write for apps of iOS seem to be, for the time being anyway, the better looking of the two app platforms.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny Thursday, May 03, 2012

Opening iOS vs Android image via: Hitechanology

Joakin Ulseth's Cool And Nifty Touch Screen Concept: The iMac Touch

The video concept above is of a new touch screen base iMac, and one featuring the iPhone's beloved Siri. The video itself is from the creative mind of 3D animation student, Joakin Ulseth, who calls his creation the "iMac Touch".

Large vertical touch screens, for the most part, as far as I'm concerned anyway, are not really all that practical, but this one happens to be based on actual Apple patents for a folding iMac that would allow you to use it either vertically or horizontally. This is a good thing too, because as I've personally found out, by using a HP TouchSmart, that using any large vertical touch screen for any extended period of time can not only be a painful experience, but, who knows, even a potentially debilitating one as well.

As Redmond Pie pointed out, "Ulseth has packed the power into his imaginary device and believes that the Apple iMac Touch concept with the Flex Base running Mountain Lion and iOS 5 will give users "power at their fingertips".

Ulseth also gives his conceptual iMac some other powerful additional specs, such as Intel’s new i5 and i7 Ivy Bridge processors, dual-OS, touch-capable abilities, and not only a 27-inch touch-capable screen, but one with an impressive 4096×2304 HD resolution Retina Display, featuring a pixel density of some 174 pixels-per-inch.

In conclusion, I'm really not sure if Ulseth's nifty concept is actually doable, but it's certainly desirable. Even though I agree with Steve Jobs that large touch screens, for the most part, don't seem all that "natural", there are still some advantages to using large touch-screens and especially ones that can be used horizontally as well as vertically, so I'm hoping that Joakin's cool, nifty but otherwise imaginary machine, in one form or another, becomes reality and real soon.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, dreary Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Samsung Beats Nokia, But Did It Really Beat Apple For The SmartPhone Crown?

Digitmes has noted, that after a long, long 14 years, Nokia has finally lost its crown as being the world's largest mobile vendor to Korean giant Samsung.

Others are also reporting that Samsung has also rested the smartphone crown away from Apple's iPhone, thus making it the world's largest smartphone provider as well.

The biggest problem, however, that I can see with that claim is that no one really can say for sure whether this is indeed the case, because, unlike Apple, Samsung doesn't really breakdown or report the actual number of smartphones sold, but rather just lumps all of its phones, dumb, smart, or otherwise, all together in one big heap.

Yes, even though Samsung may of soundly beat Nokia, the question of whether or not it actually beat Apple for the crown of the world's largest smartphone vendor is another thing as others are saying the complete opposite, like IHS iSuppli.  According to IHS iSuppli, Samsung is still playing second fiddle to Apple's iPhone when it comes to smartphone sales, but only by a small amount, as seen in iSuppli's chart below:

So, even though Samsung has clearly taken Nokia's crown away, the question arises: did it really do the same to Apple for the world's smartphone crown?

In conclusion, like iSuppli and others, I believe that without actual numbers from Samsung the world's smartphone crown still rightfully belongs to Apple and its iconic iPhone, because had Samsung actually beaten Apple, their arch foe, than they would be shouting it from the rooftops. Their silence and their refusal to show their actual smartphone numbers means that they probably have something to hide and something that they don't want you or me to see.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, May 01, 2012

iPhone Crown image via: iPhoneInCanada