One of Steve Jobs’s favorite quotes was by Wayne Gretzky, a famous hockey player: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” From the beginning, Apple has been all about looking ahead to the next greatest thing, not concerning itself with aligning with other companies.
It might be Google’s turn to take a lesson from Apple and do the same, or they may miss out on an opportunity of monumental proportion. What is the opportunity you ask? AirPlay.
The MacBook Air has never been a slouch in terms of performance, but with the 2012 model, SSD performance is scoring a whopping 217% higher than ever before.
In tests run by OSXDaily, read speeds reached a maximum of 461MB/s, and write speeds hit 364MB/s, a dramatic increase over the 2011 model, which scored just a modest 145MB/s read speed and a 152MB/s write speed.
Maybe you were exploring the nether reaches of a Venezuelan jungle yesterday and missed the news that Microsoft announced that they’re making a cool looking tablet called the Microsoft Surface for Windows RT.
Despite some huge holes in the announcement, some people like Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz have gone on to claim that Microsoft’s Surface just made the iPad and MacBook Air obsolete.
We’re actually kind of excited about the Surface and think it looks like an intriguing product, but saying that it’s better than the iPad and MacBook Air at this point is absolutely absurd.
When the iPhone was first launched in 2007, it was designed to support one screen resolution, and nothing more. Later, with the launch of the iPad and the Retina display on the iPhone 4, Apple had to optimize its concrete user interface elements for larger, higher resolution displays. Today, we have not only a Retina display on the iPad, but a rumored 4-inch iPhone as well, likely debuting in the fall.
With all of these different screen resolutions to handle, Apple has stealthily implemented a feature into iOS 6, one which will allow developers to intelligently scale their apps to fit nearly any screen resolution.
Planning, sheesh, who needs it? Maybe you’re young, fancy free, and willing to take a risk on things like hotels and fuel being available when you get there? Maybe you’re just taking a zen-like trip in your car, and planning really messes with your mojo. Either way, there are apps for that, as you’ll quickly see.
Most all DSLRs come with built-in top-side brackets you can use to attach your camera strap. But what you might not know, is that it’s far more comfortable to attach your camera strap to the bottom of your DSLR, especially while you’re walking. And wearing your camera while it’s slung down near your hip also helps prevent your lens from bumping and grinding into the nearest person, place, or thing — something you’ll appreciate in a crowded room.
But how do you connect a strap to your DSLR’s bottom? An adapter that screws into your camera’s tripod mount will do the trick. And the C-Loop ($40), from Custom SLR, is exactly that. But the C-Loop also has an inconspicuous talent that all other tripod mount adapters lack.
DVDs haven’t, contrary to popular belief, gone the way of the dinosaur or the dodo—people still want video on DVD to watch and share with others. Even if you don’t want (or need) to burn the movie to a physical disc, the format is still pretty handy.
As much as iDVD wasn’t the greatest thing about iLife it worked, but we all know that iDVD has been rather neglected by Apple of late. So, what are you going to do if you need to make a great DVD and iDVD just isn’t cutting it for you? How about today’s deal—Wondershare DVD Creator.
They’re not for everyone, but if you like ensconcing your Apple devices in sumptuous leather bound hides as if they were dusty and mysterious tomes just pulled off an ancient library shelf, no one does it better than TwelveSouth with their BookBook series.
TwelveSouth has had a BookBook case for iPad for awhile, but they just gave it an overhaul, slimming it down by 33% and featuring an all-new interior frame that allows you to position the iPad at an angle for typing or watching movies.
The new BookBook for iPad is available now in brown, black and red and costs $80. We’ve got one, and we’ll be posting a review in the coming days.
Source: TwelveSouth
Quick! If you have any need for an iOS screen-recording app, and you don’t mind wasting $2, then go download Display Recorder right now. Don’t worry – I’ll wait.
Yesterday, we reported that according to the speculation of display expert Dr. Raymond Soneira, the new Retina MacBook Pro could conceivably use Sharp IGZO display technology originally meant for the new iPad.
At the time, we were a little skeptical of the claim. Turns out we were right, as the new displays don’t use IGZO at all.
Mobile advertising as an industry has been slow to evolve since the introduction of the iPad. A study that we reported earlier this year found that many advertising companies fail to take advantage of the mobile ad capabilities offered the iPad even though iPad users are significantly more likely to interact with ad content.
A more recent study shows that companies hesitant to develop iPad and tablet-optimized ad content are passing up major opportunities to engage customers. It turns out that, in addition to being more likely to interact withs ads, iPad users are more likely to make purchasing decisions based on iPad or tablet-optimized ads.
The Motive Stylus solves one of the most annoying problems of carrying a stylus for your iPad: Where do you put it? We have seen magnetic styluses which snap onto the Smart Cover before, but none does it quite so securely and unobtrusively as the Motive, which actually folds flat.
The iPhone’s camera app is pretty good for shooting stills, and I consistently get sharper pictures with better white balance than I do in any other apps. But for shooting video, it just plain sucks: the crop factor (which lets image stabilization do its stuff) makes indoor shooting hard, and you have almost no control over anything but focus.
So do yourself a favor and go spend a buck on CinePro, a video-shooting app that gives you all the control you need.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RksyMaJiD8Y&feature=player_embedded
We’re a little late on this, but last night, Apple started airing a new iPad commercial. Called “Do It All,” it’s another app-focused commercial emphasizing the powers of the Retina display, and how it does more than just make your screen prettier: it immerses you more deeply, allowing you to learn, create and play harder. Beautifully done.
I’ve lost count of how many “iPhone 5” images we’ve seen in the last few weeks, but until Apple unveils the device itself, it’s hard to be sure any of them are genuine. But one manufacturer is taking a huge gamble on them. He’s so convinced by these images that he’s already producing and selling cases for the sixth-generation iPhone. And if he’s wrong, he’ll replace every single one for free.
Want to take your iPhone to the beach? Fancy taking it with you for a swim and snapping some sweet underwater snaps? Or are you just a friendless loser who is so repulsive that they can’t even find somebody to look after their stuff while they go for a quick dip?
If any of these apply to you, then you might like to take a look at Photojojo’s new iPhone Scuba Suit. And if the last applies to you, then go ahead and buy this waterproof case, but just stay away if you see me by the ocean, OK?
Bento originally made its iOS debut on the iPhone 3G way back in 2009, and it has been supporting iOS devices ever since. Today the latest release, Bento 4, which promises to be the “redesigned, reinvented and revolutionary new version of the leading personal database app,” is now available on the iPad.
And it has 50% off its regular price tag for a limited time.
Microsoft’s announcement of its new Surface tablets got the entire tech industry’s attention yesterday. The announcement was big on drama but not so big on details. Despite showing off the new Surface devices and using them to build hype for Windows RT and Windows 8, Microsoft left out some key points of information like pricing and a clear understanding of how the devices will fit into mobile tech market.
The announcement also left many technology pros scratching their heads in confusion about Microsoft’s decision to own the entire computing process in the way that Apple does – from hardware to OS, to the app market. Another head scratcher, particularly for CIOs and IT leaders, is how or where Surface devices will fit into businesses.
In an email sent out to iOS developers today, Apple has announced a new rule that requires all apps to be submitted for approval with high resolution 1024 x 1024 icons and artwork. That’s a higher resolution than the display built into the iPad 2 — for an icon.
Bluetooth 4 is proving to be quite a lot more than just an incremental spec bump to the wireless protocol. Thanks to its super low power needs, Bluetooth 4 is finding all sorts of clever uses.
Example: The Hone, a key fob which can talk to your iPhone whenever you lose your keys, and yet still remain functional for up to six month between charges.
Google’s VP of Product Management, Bradley Horowitz, announced that Google has partnered with Flipboard to integrate Google+ streams into the popular magazine-styled reader. Google+ will join Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and a host of other social services available on Flipboard thanks to new extended APIs. This new integration is a great step forward for users, especially those who enjoy accessing all of their social content from a single app such as Flipboard.
Apple’s new Maps app that’s coming to iOS 6 looks really incredible. Its detailed 3D maps blow the traditional satellite view right out of the water, and allow you to view high resolution images of cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas, and more. But what happens when those detailed images get into the wrong hands.
Well, U.S. Senator for New York, Charles E. Schumer, is worried the detailed images could be used to aid criminals and terrorists, and he has privacy concerns over the military-grade spy planes Apple uses to capture these images.
As I mentioned in my post about Sparrow for iPhone yesterday, it is by far my favorite mail client on both Mac and iOS. Despite a lack of push support — for now — Sparrow contains some really awesome features, which are detailed in my review. If you haven’t picked up this terrific app yet, now’s the best time, because it’s just $0.99 for the next 48 hours.
Apple mentioned during its unveiling of the MacBook Pro last week that it has made some substantial changes to the construction of the notebook’s display to help make it super thin. Unlike existing MacBooks, the new Pro does away with a cover glass and case to measure just 1.5mm thin, essentially making the entire display just an LCD panel.
Editing videos can lead to a great sense of fulfillment when you’re all done and showing off the fruits of your labors to a packed house of admirers, but you have to admit that the grunt work can be kind of a slog. Anything that makes the editing process a little faster or a little bit simpler has my vote for being a tip worth knowing about.
iMovie ’11 has a host of under-the-radar tricks that will help you take your editing workflow up a notch. One sweet trick that both saves time and impresses other video editors is using multitouch gestures right on the trackpad.