Archive for January, 2010

Steve talks about Google, next iPhone and iMac

The latest news. Apple doesn’t like Google anymore. And for purchasing, here are things to know:

1. iPhone HD. The new version is happening, so if you can hold off purchases until mid 2010, then do it. It is rumored to support Verizon (hurray!) and have an HD Camera.

2. The new MacBooks are coming. Again, if you can wait, you should. The rumor is the new Intel chips are going to be very, very fast.

3. We won’t see Flash anytime soon on the iPhone or iPad. So better hope HTML5.0 takes off. That is sad. Nor will we see Blu-Ray either.

4. The iPad is very strategic. But we knew that!

Steve Jobs held a town hall meeting with Apple employees late last week following the iPad launch. Wired reports on what was said at the meeting by Steve Jobs. Two of the biggest topics included Google and Adobe.

On Google, Jobs confirms the much-reported competition between the two companies.

On Google: We did not enter the search business, Jobs said. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We wonÂ’t let them, he says.

As for Adobe, Jobs said they are lazy and Jobs blames Adobe for a buggy implementation of Flash on the Mac as one of the reasons they won't support it.

Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy, he says. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not itÂ’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash, he says. The world is moving to HTML5.

Those are the main points covered by Wired's article. We had received a more detailed report of the Apple meeting, but hadn't been able to corroborate it until now. Many of the details of the Wired report were identical to our anonymous submission, so we believe it to be accurate. Some additional key points that we learned:

- Apple will deliver aggressive updates to iPhone that Android/Google won't be able to keep up with
- iPad is up there with the iPhone and Mac as the most important products Jobs has been a part of
- Regarding the Lala acquisition, Apple was interested in bringing those people into the iTunes team
- Next iPhone coming is an A+ update
- New Macs for 2010 are going to take Apple to the next level
- Blu-Ray software is a mess, and Apple will wait until sales really start to take off before implementing it.

via Mac Rumors: Apple Mac Rumors and News You Care About.

Recovering music from your iphone/ipod

Well, there are many tools to do this and I haven’t kept up. Podworks is something that Ars Technica like which is just $8 for the Mac. iRip is the Windows product they like.

iPad Rocks

Omg Mactumors.com cover it, but I have to have one (probably three) of these things. With it, I’m not sure why I need a laptop anymore. Most of email readin gis reading and the virtual keyboard is a good solution. It is sooo cheap. Only $829 for a 64GB 9.5″ display plus it has both 802.11n and 3G. And it is unlocked (good bye AT&T!).

It has a great email client and it has calendaring plus it is of course a great web browser too. It is a multitouch with a virtual keyboard. Wow!. 90 days to actually get it. And it is so cheap. The Wifi only 165GB version is just $500. Wow.

At today’s highly-anticipated media event, Apple announced the iPad tablet device, featuring a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display and 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB capacities. Carrying a custom 1 GHz “Apple A4″ chip, the iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds and is .5-inch thin. The iPad will be priced at $499, $599, and $699 for the varying capacity models without 3G, and $626, $729, and $829 with 3G. Wi-Fi only models are scheduled to ship in 60 days, with 3G-capable model shipping in 90 days.

Models with 3G will be unlocked and will be able to use GSM micro SIMs. In the U.S., AT&T will offer two data plan options – $14.99 for up to 250 MB per month and $29.99 per month for unlimited data. No contract is required for either option, and free access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hot spots is included. Data packages for iPad users outside of the U.S. will by in place by June.

The early hands on reviews just rave about its speed and the screen especially by Engadget

  • It’s not light. It feels pretty weighty in your hand.
  • The screen is stunning, and it’s 1024 x 768. Feels just like a huge iPhone in your hands.
  • The speed of the CPU is something to be marveled at. It is blazingly fast from what we can tell. Webpages loaded up super fast, and scrolling was without a hiccup. Moving into and out of apps was a breeze. Everything flew.
  • There’s no multitasking at all. It’s a real disappointment. All this power and very little you can do with it at once. No multitasking means no streaming Pandora when you’re working in Pages… you can figure it out. It’s a real setback for this device.
  • The ebook implementation is about as close as you can get to reading without a stack of bound paper in your hand. The visual stuff really helps flesh out the experience. It may be just for show, but it counts here.
  • No camera. None, nada. Zip. No video conferencing here folks. Hell, it doesn’t have an SMS app!
  • It’s running iPhone OS 3.2.
  • The keyboard is good, not great. Not quite as responsive as it looked in the demos.
  • No Flash confirmed. So Hulu is out for you, folks!

Tweets on 2010-01-24

  • In unlikely event ur ever in Nelson. Try hopgood and boulards. Strikeadventures,com rocks as fishing guide. Pair of 2kg wild brown trout! #
  • The news in Christchurch. Ufos on front page. http://twitpic.com/z8msk http://twitpic.com/z8p9e #
  • How to get dizzy in 3 east steps. Ski whistler. Visit Saigon for 20 hours. Fly 18 to Nelson NZ. #
  • Live Police at 0.12 mi from intersection 43rd Ave NE and 152nd St NE, http://trapster.com/_XZIb #

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New zealand

An amazing place. Thanks to Guy for setting up. Nelson is at the top of the southern island.

Monaco Nelson is a cool hotel with cottages. Each room has a sitting room. On the water.

Strikeadventures.com is run by Zane. An incredible guide. What they call small here is truly amaZing. Next year have got to tak a helicopter and look for the 8kg wild town trout in the mountains.

Hopgoods is owned by a local. Really great. As is Boutereys.

Tweets on 2010-01-17

  • Learning cool local spots in whistler. Spliz, cafe Lucia, sushi place around the corner and crepes on fantastic day http://twitpic.com/yfp8a #
  • Swapped back to old 3g after Calvin lost his and gave him my new 3gs. Sniff! Can't wait for 4g in June! #
  • Live Police at Bellingham, WA 98229, USA http://trapster.com/_rX9 #
  • Voted Y Known Speed Trap at Interstate 5, Bellingham, WA 98229, USA http://trapster.com/_g2d #

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Tweets on 2010-01-10

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Miscellaneous Things

Post Christmas shopping means I need:

PSP Analog Stick Replacement. I’m not even sure what to call these, but these are the little tops on the original PSP. $5 from Gamestop or online.

Model rockets. Cool new passion. Fun to get a kit from Estes, but lots to learn from Hobbyspace.com where you can get model rockets with less than D rockets, but if you a grown up you can build high performance rockets that go thousands of feet into the air.

Stand by Me

Best Video I’ve Seen Today Will Make You Smile – Songs around the world – Gizmodo.

Stand By Me | Playing For Change | Song Around The World from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

This cover of Stand By Me was recorded by completely unknown artists in a streetvirtual studio all around the world. It all started with a base track—vocals and guitar—recorded on the streets of Santa Monica, California, by a street musician called Roger Ridley. The base track was then taken to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Grandpa Elliott—a blind singer from the French Quarter—added vocals and harmonica while listening to Ridley’s base track on headphones. In the same city, Washboard Chaz’s added some metal percussion to it.

And from there, it just gets rock ‘n’ rolling bananas: The producers took the resulting mix all through Europe, Africa, and South America, adding new tracks with multiple instruments and vocals that were assembled in the final version you are seeing in this video. All done with a simple laptop and some microphones.