Nikon D700 Digital SLR Packs Powerful Punch
Hard to imagine that one camera could really entice both enthusiasts with deep pockets and a desire to step up to the big time, and professionals looking for a lighter-weight, secondary camera to complement their existing top-of-the-line Nikon D3.
And yet, that's exactly what the new Nikon D700 achieves. The D700, due out in late July, represents Nikon's second FX-format camera. The first FX model, the Nikon D3, costs $5000; by comparison, the new D700 is a bargain at $3000 for the body only. Rival Canon also has a full-frame (the equivalence to the FX-format) camera, the Canon EOS 5D; however, that model has not been updated for several years.
The D700, meanwhile, boasts an impressive array of specs--all housed in a compact body (compact, at least, as compared with the Nikon D3 and Canon 1D Mark IIIs of the world). Nikon describes this model as being slightly bigger than its midrange D300; it's also slightly heavier, too.
The D700 distinguishes itself by including so many of the high-end features of the D3--starting with the D3's 12.1 megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor. Nikon says the sensor's large pixel size promotes low signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range. The D700 will also have the same ISO range (up to ISO 6400, and beyond, to 25,600), the same scene recognition system, Active D-Lighting in-camera editing, and the same 51 point autofocus system as found on the D3.
This model adds Nikon's multi-pronged sensor cleaning system to reduce the build-up of dust on the sensor; the D3 lacked this feature. The D700 can shoot at up to 5 frames per second for full resolution JPEGs; the shutter carries a rating for 150,000 shots (the D3's rating is double that).
The new D700 also has improved on the D3 and D300's Live View functionality by adding a useful Virtual Horizon level indicator. The Virtual Horizon senses when the camera is off-axis and guides you through straightening the camera vis-?-vis the horizon.
PlayStation 3 2.4 Firmware Update Adds In-Game XBM, Trophies
Sony has been kind enough to upload a couple videos detailing what all will be included in the PlayStation 3 2.40 firmware update over on its blog. The two most noted updates is the in-game XMB access and the Trophy system.
The Sony PlayStation XMB (Cross Media Bar)is like the main PS3 user interface. This is where the user can get access to the PlayStation store, settings, etc. This update allows the user to get access to the XMB while in-game. To do so you will likely want to pause your game then push the PlayStation button on your controller. It will pop up the XMB and allow the user to do anything from change settings, see friends online, read messages and even play custom music.
Continue reading "PlayStation 3 2.4 Firmware Update Adds In-Game XBM, Trophies"
Google Gets into Web Syndication with 'Family Guy' Creator
Google is getting into the entertainment delivery business this fall with 'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane in a deal to distribute via Google AdSense, Web-only episodes of series "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy."
The series will only be available on the Internet and will be promoted by Google. However, unlike Google's traditional AdSense text and banner ads, the show Cavalcade will be promoted through relatively unknown Google service called Google Content Network. Using AdSense video clips Cavalcade promos will be embedded on thousands of Web sites frequented by Family Guy fans (read males under 30), according to a report by the New York Times.
Continue reading "Google Gets into Web Syndication with 'Family Guy' Creator"
Saying Goodbye To XP Shouldn't Be This Hard
Wave goodbye to Windows XP. The nearly seven year old operating system will finally be closing its doors now that Microsoft has announced it will stop selling the operating system.
However, before you start having an aneurysm, there are a few key exceptions to allow those who insist on buying new PCs with XP past the deadline. Versions of XP will still be on sale at smaller PC shops until the end of January and Microsoft says it will continue to produce a version of XP exclusively for low-end laptops like the Asus Eee PC. Dell and other PC manufacturers will also allow you to revert to XP when you buy high-end Vista systems.
Don't Hold onto the XP Past
Continue reading "Saying Goodbye To XP Shouldn't Be This Hard"
Meh. I'm not missing XP. It was a reliable workhorse for many years. But MS had little choice but to introduce a new OS. Bad media hype was what made Vista seem so bad.
I agree with Zeth006 about MS having no choice but to introduce a new OS. Times change, technologies change thus OS must change to keep pace.
I don't agree about Vista. It wasn't bad media hype that made Vista seem so bad; Vista and bad MS Marketing made Vista seem bad. I have MS Office 2007 and Vista on a laptop with 2GBs of RAM. Runs like crap and I switched back to XP where Office 2007 runs better.
It's sad that MS wants consumers to spend lots of money on hardware just to run an OS. And how many "versions" and price levels of Vista are there to choose from?
I bought a laptop with Vista pre-loaded. Inspite of my literal grovelling, the vendor just would not give me a laptop with XP. That's too bad. I stuck to Vista. but the one good thing I did was that I do not use MS-OFFICE at all! Instead I use OpenOffice.org - which is equally good and many many times faster to use.
Internet Access Down? Log on for Help!
Yep, that's what the recorded tech support message suggested when I called last night. Human technicians are now available by phone only during "extended business hours" (theirs, not mine), trimmed from 24/7 because the call volume didn't warrant it, I learned later. But if you're having trouble with your Internet connection, the recorded message suggested, try going online for the FAQ and to chat with a technician.
Great idea, if only my Internet connection worked.
I was one of the early customers of Clearwire, the semi-portable WiMax Internet service provider. The service launched in several locations in Washington state, and has only recently spread, partly because of its alliance with Sprint.
Basically, it's available wherever Clearwire has installed transmitters, which send the access signal to the customer's sleek modem. It's been generally reliable for nearly two years, with an occasional blip. I especially appreciate being able to unplug it and take my broadband connection with me when I visit Internet-free family members.
We may be atypical customers; as a PC World editor and a founder of a wireless company, we were able to troubleshoot the problem fairly thoroughly before reaching tech support on a Sunday morning (humans are available on weekends, if not evenings), and after a short sequence of yes, dammit, we did try unplugging, waiting, rebooting, and on and on, Clearwire has agreed that our modem is dead. They'll ship a new one in a few days.
A few days? What part of "always on" didn't I understand about your marketing? Fortunately, I could make do for my newsdesk shift this weekend, because the university town where I live has an abundance of hot spots -- although they're not as ubiquitous as my former home in Silicon Valley, where Google placed a free WiMax transmitter right outside my door (hm, miss you, Google!).
In fairness, Clearwire's telephone tech support is available from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. "local time" -- fairly generous. But now that Clearwire has installations in New York, Ohio and Florida as well as in Maui and Honolulu, shouldn't I be able to reach someone from 5 a.m. until midnight Pacific Time? Nope, the technician said; you get a human or a recording depending on business hours where you are -- and he wouldn't say, but we're guessing Clearwire determines your location based on the area code of the phone you're calling from. Better be sure your cell phone area code matches the place your Clearwire equipment resides, or your call may be ignored even during business hours. And in our case, "cell phone" is the correct term since we've abandoned a landline in favor of VoIP and when our Clearwire modem died, so did the telephone -- and the option of dial-up access. (Yes, I knew it was a risk, but it seemed a pretty safe bet -- until I heard the part about replacing the modem in a few days).
It should also be noted that the Clearwire personnel we reached have been professional and receptive, even if they didn't always have the answers we wanted.
After a little pushing, a Clearwire manager agreed to swap our modem if we returned the broken one to the store in the morning. During business hours, of course.
What, exactly, are business hours in an always-on culture? I posted a story this weekend about businesses and employees scuffling about off-hours work, and when it's reasonable to expect responses to digital messages during downtime. Journalists (and many other professions) are accustomed to crazy hours. Not ISPs? In our increasingly connected world, reliability is ever more important. And, since the restructured Clearwire (with partners Sprint, Intel and others) plan to deploy this technology nationwide, it may need to reconsider its business hour support plan-especially if it expects to service business customers, or consumers working from home.
Postscript and Happy Ending
Sunday evening: Clearwire's customer care didn't think of it, but we did: Clearwire has a kiosk at a nearby mall that defines business hours the same as the mall -- late on weekdays and open on weekends.
The tech support manager probably didn't know about the kiosk because it's not on Clearwire's website -- it's considered part of the local store, which is on the site but, as it turns out, lists the wrong hours; it's open Sundays after all.
But we learned that after a successful visit to the kiosk, where the sole sales rep at the booth swiftly appraised the situation and swapped our defunct modem for a working model. He even called the Clearwire mothership to switch the serial numbers on our account and ensure operation. We're back online.
Thanks to Curt Rutland, who'll enter his junior year studying business at Western Washington University in the fall. He demonstrated technical savvy and customer service smarts. Clearwire should hang onto him.
It seems Clearwire is heavier on PR than implementation. It is amazing how much $$ companies spend to keep stock prices...down?
For those interested in grass roots efforts, check out Celairo. Top notch management with a get it done mentality. They are quietly taking over Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston.
Their service offering is available late July.
Talk Nerdy To Me: Does 'Guitar Hero: On Tour' Jump the Shark?
It's been a big week for fake rockers. 'Guitar Hero: On Tour,' the Nintendo DS version of Activison's popular Guitar Hero series of games, hit stores last weekend. Senior Writer Darren Gladstone and Game On blogger Matt Peckham have had their hands around a Guitar Grip all week long, and they're ready to rant about the latest flavor of the game.
Darren Gladstone: Between all the 'Rock Bands' and 'Guitar Heroes,' I've got more plastic axes propped up around my house than the Fisher Price tour bus. And now, I'm seeing 'Guitar Hero' on just about everything known to man: A mobile phone? A Nintendo DS? What's next? My watch?
Matt Peckham: I know what you mean. My hands involuntarily tappity-tap my steering column like a fretboard when I'm cruising a six-laner passing vehicles like giant four-wheeled notes. At least my hands are relaxed on the wheel. Fingering the Guitar Grip in 'Guitar Hero: On Tour' for the Nintendo DS (aka G.H.O.T. aka "Goat Hero") by comparison can feel like trying to clutch a handful of keys through an arm-cast.
DG: Matt, you're trying to tell me you're not ready to suffer for your art? Carpal tunnel is a small price to pay for (faux) rock 'n' roll.
MP: Maybe if they included an aspirin holder along with the faux-pick stylus, but OK, I'll suck it up. Besides, how else am I gonna be able to rock Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy" in the middle of a cornfield?
DG: Or on the bus! Nothing screams "rawk" like picking away on a DS during the morning commute. (Nobody has thrown money into my change cup... yet.)
MP: I wish they'd padded the song list somehow. It's easier, sure, but Guitar Hero 3 had nearly twice as many songs, including that finger-bleeding Dragon Force finale. I cleared all five G.H.O.T. venues in three hours!
DG: My friend, you rock hard, then, because I can barely get the audience on its feet. I can't get around the fretboard peripheral. Forget the carpal tunnel attacks for a sec. Here, in a nutshell, is my deal: once you remove the full plastic guitar from the equation, you see what all these rock-and-rhythm games for what they really are: Simon. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it just doesn't sell the illusion like the home games do.
MP: Word up. I hear the developer was playing around with the idea of a mini-guitar that plugged into the DS somehow. I think they were calling it "Ukulele Hero." Thank your stars and garters someone put the kibosh on that. And Simon's not so bad if you're, you know, four or something.
DG: Now that would be hot. Rip out some ukulele licks! Seriously, though, Activision: much respect for trying this. If anything, I'm looking forward to hacker DJ's that'll try and turn this thing into an instrument like what DJ WiiJ did for the Nintendo Wiimote.
Too Much Fake Rock?
DG: Let's talk turkey. Do you think that a Guitar Hero game, no matter how inventive it is, jumps the shark when you put it on every platform known to man?
MP: I'd say it's definitely ramped over something when your fretboard's the size of a small book and the screen-strumming in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Knock Me Down" is liable to put your fingers in traction. But I'll admit it. I'm impressed they pulled it off at all. And with 74.5 million DS's in the wild, can you say cha-ching?
DG: Cha-ching... maybe. And yes, it's pretty impressive what's here. I'm just waiting to see how they'll miniaturize the drum kit for the Nintendo DS version of Rock Band.
MP: We should have some sort of online poll or something.
DG: Yeah, I wonder what our readers think.
So, what's your take on the Guitar Hero craze? Vote in our poll and post your two cents in the comments section below.
Chrysler Makes Vehicles Wi-Fi Hotspots
The family road trip may never be the same. Chrysler says it will turn select model Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles into roving Wi-Fi hotspot with a new "Uconnect" option available in 2009.
Using either Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity passengers can link to an on-board 30GB hard drive that can be stuffed with music, video, and pictures. Using a cell phone with a data-plan passengers can also connect to the Internet using Chrysler's Uconnect technology.
Google Releases Media Server
Google has done it again -- the search engine giant has released a new service that covers yet another niche software area with the Google Media Server.
Google Media Server works in conjunction with Google Desktop on a Windows-based PC to stream media files to Universal Plug-a-Play devices which most notably includes the PlayStation 3, all near automatically.
The initial downside is that this program is currently only available for Windows users.
In addition to being able to hunt down and share video, music, and photo files, the Google Media Server has the capabilities to interact with Google's Picasa Web Albums as well as YouTube videos.
Download Google Media Server for yourself here, or check out more information at the official Google Desktop Blog.
Motorola ROKR E8 Set For U.S. Release
Motorola has officially unveiled the ROKR E8 cellphone for T-Mobile, which will release on July 7 in the United States.
The ROKR E8 is a candybar-style cellphone, which carries significant media capabilities. But the real reason this phone is getting attention isn't for its media abilities, its for the intuitive and innovative keypad.
Motorola has deployed ModeShift technology with this cellphone. ModeShift gives this handset the ability to quickly shift from being a media player to a phone with a touch of a button. The ModeShift not only changes the interface functionality, but it also changes the keypad entirely. A single push of a button will change the keypad from the traditional cellphone-style 1 through 9 grid layout to a layout displaying media buttons and more.
Because the keys have the ability to change forms, they aren't the traditional style buttons. Motorola has included haptic technology in the ROKR E8. This ensures that when a virtual key is pushed, feedback is given to the user to affirm that a key was, in fact, pushed.
Rounding out the E8 are features like an FM tuner, 2GB of internal memory, microSD expandability, CrystalTalk technology, 2.0-inch display and more.
Microsoft Rumored to Acquire Powerset Search Engine for $100M
Microsoft has agreed to buy Silicon Valley semantic search engine Powerset, say reports. According to Venture Beat, the deal could happen as early as next month with a price tag in the $100 million range - more than double the estimated value of the company.
The Powerset search engine first debuted in May. It strives to be different than say Google and Yahoo by giving you more meaningful and smarter search results than other search engines. Using simple phrases, short questions, and of course keywords, Powerset is supposed to understand what you are looking for and help you quickly find the information you need. We reviewed the beta version of the search engine in May and we were not impressed.
Ever since Microsoft's failed bid for Yahoo, the company has been searching for another way to compete with Google. Powerset's natural language or semantic based technology would seem to fit in with Microsoft's current strategy as we reported last month.
Microsoft's Search for Search
Continue reading "Microsoft Rumored to Acquire Powerset Search Engine for $100M"
Caption Crunch Winner: Ultimate Mini-Gaming Setup
Update 6/26: This was a huge week for Caption Crunch history. A week of firsts. A week of legend. A week to remember.
First, the good news: chosendragon is the first two-time Caption Crunch winner. You may remember chosendragon's fine caption-writing work from this edition of Caption Crunch. Chalk another one in the win column, chosendragon, because you're this week's winner as well.
And now, the bad news: this week's contest also set a new low in terms of caption submissions. Of the six submitted, two were duplicates and one was off-topic. Come on, y'all, we know you can do better than that!
This week's winner
I think I need some better glasses to see my macros. -- chosendragon
Congratulations, chosendragon, and keep those championship-caliber captions coming. Thanks to everyone who participated in this week's installment, and tune in next Friday for a brand-new Caption Crunch contest.
What follows is the original text for this contest.
Hello, and welcome to another scintillating installment of Caption Crunch, the every-other-week caption-writing contest where we provide the pic and you provide the yuks and/or guffaws.
Senior Writer Darren Gladstone loves gaming and loves mini-notebooks. The twain meet nicely in this photo, in which he hooks up his mammoth X-Arcade TankStick to a tiny Fujitsu Lifebook U810. The result is big-time small-screen gaming.
Got a caption idea for this scenario? Show us your best work in the Comments section below, then check back next Friday for this week's winner. Good luck!
Previous Caption Crunch Contests
I think I need some better glasses to see my macros.
Thank god Amy's never seen this.
Does anyone have a 9.0 or 10.0 virsion of Music MatchBox for me? I lost it all & can not reloadthe sofeware I had, they won't let me. Were on XP windows. I was a life time member with Music MatchBox Jukebox. Yahoo is crap jukebox.
shellme52
More ISPs in Privacy Hot Seat Over Deals with NebuAD
The heavy fire drawn over privacy concerns from Internet service provider Charter and targeted advertising company NebuAd was just too much as the two have split their ties. Now the focus remains on what remaining service providers are still dabbling in the area of targeted advertising.
A month ago it was made public that Charter was working with NebuAd to track its users browsing habits to provide more accurate targeted advertising, a move that brings about significant privacy concerns. After pressure from Public Knowledge and Free Press, two digital rights groups, Charter suspended its pilot program with NebuAd, but that isn't the end of this tale.
Continue reading "More ISPs in Privacy Hot Seat Over Deals with NebuAD"
Even though it has been reported that charter is dropping plans on working with NebuAd, i'm still wary that ISPs are still employing these strategies unaware to consumers. The only way we can have true internet transparency is to give the consumer the power to own the last mile as suggested in this article: Improving Internet Transparency (http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=506&doc_id=154745&F_src=flftwo)
Vizio "Green TVs" Cut Power Consumption in Half
Finally a TV set Al Gore could love. At least that's the pitch from consumer electronics maker Vizio which says it will be introducing a line of environmentally friendly "ECO" LCD TVs that use half the power of competing flat-panel TVs.
Vizio says its line of "Green TVs" is aimed at delivering a quality picture without gouging your wallet or Mother Earth. The new flat-screen televisions are expected to hit shelves September or October with a price tag around $699 for a 26-inch set and $799 for a 32-inch model. Both will have a screen resolution of 1366 x 768.
Continue reading "Vizio "Green TVs" Cut Power Consumption in Half"
3G iPhone to Go On Sale at 8 A.M.?: Let the Guessing Begin
Just when we though the iPhone news, rumors and guesses had come to an end with the official announcement of the 3G model, it continues. The July 11 release date is set in stone, but the question remains of what time the iPhone 3G will actually go on sale. Rumors are circulating that it will be 8 a.m. on July 11, according to insider details leaked to The Boy Genius Report.
If you recall last year, the release of the first iPhone came at 6 p.m. local time, which was presumably done for a variety of reasons, including so Apple could make the promised June release by delaying until the last possible minute. This decision also made it possible for every local news station to do a live story on the release, as well. Great public relations move, Apple.
Continue reading "3G iPhone to Go On Sale at 8 A.M.?: Let the Guessing Begin"
Based on last year, does anyone know if the Apple Store will be able to open/transfer cell phone accounts to AT&T or will I need to go to the AT&T store to perform that transaction?
A recycled joke, but apt none the less:
Steve Jobs arrives in an Apple Store, talking on his iPhone, and carrying his Apple Laptop in an Apple Laptop bag.
One of the sales staff, a gorgeos young woman, approaches Steve and says "If I give you $1,000, can I give you a blow job?"
Steve looks at her and replies "What's in it for me?"
A recycled joke, but apt none the less:
Steve Jobs arrives in an Apple Store, talking on his iPhone, and carrying his Apple Laptop in an Apple Laptop bag.
One of the sales staff, a gorgeos young woman, approaches Steve and says "If I give you $1,000, can I give you a blow job?"
Steve looks at her and replies "What's in it for me?"
Newest Panasonic Toughbook is a UMPC: Intel Atom Inside
Panasonic's popular Toughbook line of laptops will get a new addition to the family in August with the company?s introduction of the Toughbook CF-U1 ? a rugged Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC). Though the tablet-style UMPC might be small Panasonic packs decent features into the rugged system that has a starting price of $2500.
For starters the CF-U1 completely fan-less, uses a solid state hard drive, and features the power-efficient Intel Atom CPU (can be configure with either the 1.33GHz or 533MHz). The Atom processor aids in the UMPC's ability to give the CF-U1 an impressive 9 hours of battery life. The solid state16GB drive also helps make the UMPC less susceptible to hardware malfunctions due to drops and vibrations.
Continue reading "Newest Panasonic Toughbook is a UMPC: Intel Atom Inside"
I worked for CompUSA old and new for a total of 6 years. I finally had to leave this place this month. With the rush to reopen stores, and lack of advertising, I do not see how they will stay in business much longer. The CEO Gilbert thought that he was getting a brand name in CompUSA, boy was he wrong!The former CEO, Roman Ross, sure sold that statement to Gilbert. WOW. Sorry Gilbert, you got owned on that one. In all markets where the 16 CompUSA stores reopened, Gilbert should have renamed the stores Tiger Direct Retail and I can guarantee ALL of the stores would have shown triple digit opening numbers. Now, with the CompUSA name, and alot of the same CompUSA old Staff on board, the same practices that doomed the old Compusa are still in the pipeline. All NEW managemnt staff needs to be hired, and a private consulting firm needs to assess and give feedback to how to actually run a retail computer store.Becasue of Manufacturer Greed, They have about 1 to 2 % margins on the units and at that margin, you need to run efficiently as possible. Beware of the new CompUSA return Policy also, it is terrible. They will not take back ANY computer, even if it is defective, you have to deal with the manufacturer directly. If you buy one of their expensive extended warranties, same deal, you will deal with the manufacturer for the first year, so whats the point of spending 249.99 on a 499.99 laptop so I can get an extra 1 additional year of warranty on a product that will be outdated in a year anyhow? HHMM What a sham. The pay plans for retail are 2 percent of the PROFITT on the items sold and 15% for the warranties. For the business sales team, it is 18% of the profitt and 25% of warranties. Retail is getting screwed! Now, The CEO mandated that all breakrooms in the company be closed to employees and you must now go out and leave the property to eat lunch. The company regularly works employees off the clock and does not give breaks of any kind. The CEO comes from Online and really needs to learn how to run a retail store, pay people what they are worth, and make company policies that benefit the employees, not punish them. I finally have moved on from the CompUSA corporate machine, and am sure glad I finally did. Stay away from the Machine!
Virgin Mobile To Buy Helio, Axe It
Two of the most well known mobile virtual network operators, better known as MVNOs, will be combining forces to make another push at the big name carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint. Richard Branson's Virgin Mobile has agreed in terms to acquire the U.S. branch of the South Korean mobile company, SK Telecom Co., which primarily consists of the Helio MVNO.
What's at stake here is the complete existence of the Helio name, according to the Financial Times, as reported by Reuters. Helio would be injected into Virgin Mobile USA, leaving Virgin being the lone survivor of this deal.
Dell to Lower Axe on XP June 26: Downgrade Options Are Pricey
There are only days left for two giants of the Microsoft world: Bill Gates and Windows XP.
While few seem to be protesting Gates' departure, XP's retirement set for June 30 is being met with a bit more concern. To quell the XP separation fear anxiety and seething Vista haters Microsoft has agreed to offer Windows XP updates and security patches for an extended period until April 2014. However PC retailers such as Dell say they will stop regular sales of computer systems with XP as soon as this week.
If you are looking to get a Dell with XP you only have until 5:59 AM on Thursday, June 26 to get your order in. After that Dell PCs will come with Vista unless you're a business customer and choose to pay extra to have your Vista system downgraded to XP.
Dell states on its site:
"After June 26th you have the option to purchase Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate with a downgrade service to Windows XP Professional."
I called Dell sales and spoke to salesperson who explained it like this to me.
Continue reading "Dell to Lower Axe on XP June 26: Downgrade Options Are Pricey"
3G iPhone Costs Apple $173 to Build, Teardown Report says
Apple will spend an estimated $173 on hardware to build a single 8GB 3G iPhone, according to estimates from Isuppli, a research and consulting company. Isuppli says it bases that number on a "virtual teardown" of the 3G iPhone calculating costs of the handset's semiconductors, display, battery, wireless components, 2 Megapixel Camera, and more.
"The new iPhone is significantly less expensive to produce than the first-generation product, despite major improvements in the product's functionality," said Dr. Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for Isuppli. He wrote in his report that the original 8GB iPhone carried a cost of $226. That makes the 3G iPhone 23 percent less expensive when estimating hardware costs. Rebello attributes the reduction to component price declines.
Thank AT&T for 3G iPhone's Low Price
The $173 is also not much less than the final price tag consumers will have to pay for the 3G iPhone which will be sold for a retail price of $199 (8GB). Apple will still be earning a hefty profit for every new iPhone sold thanks to AT&T which will reportedly fork over $325 to Apple for every single new iPhone sold, according to investment firm Oppenheimer & Co.
The 3G iPhone will be available July 11 at a suggested retail of $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model, with a two-year contract, through Apple and AT&T stores.
iPhone Component Breakdown
Continue reading "3G iPhone Costs Apple $173 to Build, Teardown Report says"
Virgin Mobile Joins Flat Rate Phone Club With Affordable $80 Unlimited Calling Plan
Virgin Mobile is now offering an $80 a month flat-rate calling plan for unlimited voice service called "Totally Unlimited." The service, available July 1, will be a pre-paid plan (requiring no contracts) and is one of the lowest priced flat-rate plans offered by a growing list of wireless carriers including Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.
Virgin Mobile's "Totally Unlimited" flat-rate price of $80 however won't give you unlimited access to everything you might want to do with your phone. For an additional $10 a month you can get unlimited text-messaging and e-mails.
No Service Contract Ball and Chain
Palm Unlocks Centro: Makes Google Maps App Free
Palm has unlocked its popular Centro smart phone, making it possible for anyone to buy a Centro independent of a carrier for $300. The unlocked model will have identical features to Centro models sold by AT&T including GSM capabilities. However, if you're looking for a 3G Centro the latest model still doesn't support the faster wireless standards.
Palm is also touting the Google Maps with My Location feature for the Centro is now free. The feature is like a poor man's GPS and uses cell phone towers to estimate your location. While it's not nearly as nice as an actual GPS, it's the best work around available without actually changing the hardware, and price, of the Centro.
Continue reading "Palm Unlocks Centro: Makes Google Maps App Free"
Nokia Gives Google, Apple Competition With Symbian Buy: Where is Microsoft?
Long before the iPhone became an integral part of daily chatter within the development community and Google's Android was being considered the next big thing, there was Symbian.
The recent announcement of Nokia buying out Symbian and making it open source is only going to intensify this battle for mobile supremacy that is currently taking place between giants in the industry: Apple and Google.
Is Microsoft a Sleeping Mobile OS Giant?
Continue reading "Nokia Gives Google, Apple Competition With Symbian Buy: Where is Microsoft?"
Android Loses Its Mojo, Reports of Delays Rebuffed by Google
Last November Internet Goliath Google looked poised to rock the cell phone world to its core with a promise of an affordable open source mobile operating system Android - first promised to arrive mid-2008. Six months later Google's grand cell phone coming-out party, which included 30 big-named partners, looks to be postponed.
Sprint, which was originally part of the 30-member Open Handset Alliance, now says it's considering scrapping plans for an Android phone based on its 3G offering opting to delay an Android roll-out for when it debuts its zippy 4G service, according to reports. Google is backpedaling as well telling The Wall Street Journal its mobile platform Android won't be ready until the fourth quarter. China Mobile has pushed back a 2008 release of an Android handset until 2009. AT&T, which is not part of the Open Handset Alliance, told the WSJ it's still tying to determine the feasibility of going to market with an Android phone.
T-Mobile is the exception and stands by its commitment to deliver an Android-handset by the end of 2008.
Despite reports of waning Android support Google maintains everything is on track telling news Web site ChannelWeb that it's on schedule to deliver an Android-handset by the year's end.
Android Loses its Mojo
Continue reading "Android Loses Its Mojo, Reports of Delays Rebuffed by Google"
Unfortunately your article is only partially correct. Sprint is not considering scrapping Android. Doing a little investigative research would uncover Sprint thinking about branding the software around their own services. This is exactly what Google has in mind for Android - allowing carriers to use their software to tailor the phone. You are not restricted to GMAIL, Google Maps, etc. Build the OS around their network and services.
Also, Sprint is only thinking about dropping plans for an Android phone on the 3G network and developing one that will work on the faster "4G" network it is helping to fund along with several partners, including Google, the person adds. Guess who one of those partners is... It rhymes with SCHNOOGLE. What's wrong with taking revolutionary software and applying towards a new, lightning fast network?
Please be careful not to disseminate half-truths.
Veoh.com to Distribute Popular ABC, ESPN Shows
ABC is looking to expand the content it makes available on the Web with a deal to make such popular shows as "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and content from ESPN available online at independent site Veoh Networks.
This is not the first Web syndication deal for ABC and its parent company Disney. However, media critics note, it's significant considering ABC-Disney's lock-tight grip it places on its content.
Continue reading "Veoh.com to Distribute Popular ABC, ESPN Shows"
MPAA Thinks Evidence Is Overrated
The Motion Picture Association of America has recently made the outrageous claim that it can be entitled to as much as $150,000 in damages per copyright violation without any evidence that the violation took place, as reported in a recent Threat Level blog from Wired.
The issue arose in response to the trial of Jammie Thomas, who is facing a $222,000 fine for allegedly making 24 songs available on the Kazaa network. The only evidence in the case is Thomas?s shared folder containing the songs; there is no proof that anyone actually downloaded the songs from her.
"Mandating such proof could thus have the pernicious effect of depriving copyright owners of a practical remedy against massive copyright infringement in many instances," said MPAA attorney Marie van Uitert.
It is true that it is nearly impossible to detect if a song from a shared folder has been downloaded by other users; but simply having songs in a shared folder should not constitute enough evidence to convict someone of copyright infringement. The Recording Industry Association of America, while far from perfect, at least downloads the songs themselves and keeps records of the users it downloads from as evidence.
I?ve had a problem with the MPAA?s dishonest antipiracy policies for some time now (read "MPAA Enjoys Record Box Office Year in 2007" and "MPAA Taken to School on Faulty Movie Pirating Data"), but I never expected it would go so far as to claim that evidence is not needed in a court trial.
If the MPAA wants to uphold copyright law, it still has to follow other laws--like the need for direct evidence to convict.
T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Adds Nokia and Samsung Handsets
Despite its ingenuity, T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home hasn't been the biggest headline-generating service, but T-Mobile is looking to curb that and increase popularity by adding two stylish handsets to the HotSpot @Home service.
The new cell phones include the Nokia 6301 and Samsung SGH-t339, which joins the existing HotSpot @Home phones including the Samsung T409 and BlackBerry Curve.
Continue reading "T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Adds Nokia and Samsung Handsets"
Montreal Brings on the Bikes, Along With Some RFID
Well, well. It looks like Montreal is gradually becoming more bicycle-friendly, with a little technological help.
After years of municipal inaction, I was surprised to discover two new developments this year: safety pillars along several existing bike lanes in the West Island suburbs I grew up in (cars often park in or drive through these lanes), and a new dedicated bicycle lane that extends through the heart of downtown.
The next step appears to be the Public Bike System (PBS), a community bicycle system that will allow people to rent bikes for short trips within the city. It's similar to the city's existing Communauto and other communal-vehicle systems: rent a bike at any kiosk, and drop it off at any kiosk -- whatever's most convenient for you.
There are several problems that similar systems have faced, not the least of which is theft. The city is using technological tools to hopefully solve some of these problems.
Continue reading "Montreal Brings on the Bikes, Along With Some RFID"
Ballmer Concedes Search Engine War to Google, For Now
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has admitted defeat in battle against Google for search engine supremacy. According to a story in The Financial Times (registration required) Ballmer says Google has won the search war online. "I do fault us for the speed with which we dove into search, primarily because we didn't see the business model. And I give Google credit for innovating in the business model around search. They did a nice job on that, and that's why they won."
But Ballmer says the search engine war is far from over and not to count Microsoft out. Later in the interview Ballmer outlined some of Microsoft's future search plans. "There are some things that we just have to, as we say, ante up to be in the game: relevance, cap-ex, responsiveness. There are areas in which we?re going to differentiate and make Google play catch-up."
Google to Play Catch Up to Microsoft?
Continue reading "Ballmer Concedes Search Engine War to Google, For Now"
AT&T to Subsidize iPhone as Much as $425, says Report
AT&T made Steve Jobs an offer he couldn't refuse and the result is the remarkably low price of the 3G iPhone. According to an analyst with the boutique investment firm Oppenheimer & Co., AT&T will fork over $325 to Apple for every single new iPhone sold. With a retail price of $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB) that puts the full before-subsidy price tag for the second generation iPhone at $524 (8GB) and $624 (16GB).
There are also reports that AT&T will also pay Apple an additional $100 bounty when a new iPhone customer signs up for AT&T service at an Apple retail store. So Apple has the potential to pocket $425 for every new iPhone it sells or for every new subscriber it signs up, or maybe both.
Continue reading "AT&T to Subsidize iPhone as Much as $425, says Report"
Verizon in FCC Hot Seat Over Use of Private Customer Info
The Federal Communications Commission is expected rule in favor of cable companies and against Verizon today after complaints were filed regarding Verizon's tactics of using private customer information to persuade users to not switch to a cable competitor.
According to reports, a vote today will side with Bright House Networks, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, who originally filed the complaint against Verizon.
Cable providers claim Verizon uses unfair tactics such as calling customers committed to switching telephone providers and offering them a variety of incentives to keep their Verizon service.
Choice or Chains?
Continue reading "Verizon in FCC Hot Seat Over Use of Private Customer Info"
I've noticed that unless your cable provider is providing you with an ISP service through a local fiber optics network, then they normally do not have any type of quality sound and consistency with connecting VoIP service over analog lines to POTS systems elsewhere. Very inconsistent sound quality with a lot of dropped packet losses.
Mozilla's Silly Quest for Guinness Book Fame
What do the world's loudest belcher and the Mozilla Foundation have in common? Until recently I would have said nothing. But when the evaluators of the Guinness World Records are done examining 8 million downloads for Firefox 3.0 on Tuesday loud belching, car balancing on heads, and 31 inch fingernails will all share the honor of making it into the Guinness World Records Book.
My question is: Did Mozilla really need this kind of validation to prove its browser's popularity? Don't get me wrong. I'm not Firefox or Guinness World Records Book hater. If anything I'm a fan of both. I prefer Firefox 3 and all its improvements over IE and have been happily dumbfounded by Guinness World Records Books between the ages of 7 and 14. I fondly remember gawking at pictures of the world's heaviest, tallest, and smallest men and women. But as an adult my Guinness loyalty is for the excellent beer - not the book.
Continue reading "Mozilla's Silly Quest for Guinness Book Fame"
Oh Tom, stop being such a grinch! Step outside your cubicle and enjoy the sunshine! :)
Superb marketing. Get people to be part of an effort. Groupthink. Rev them up. Get lots of publicity. All practically for free: heck, they even had to pay for the ink and paper for the certificate.
Anyone who thinks this was silly needs to go back to Business 101 and study harder.
Must have been a slow news day Tom?
One might wonder why someone would waste his time writing about something he clearly thinks is a waste of time?
Get a life buddy!
Apple Brags: Over 5 Billion Songs Served Up Via iTunes
Over 5 billion songs have been sold through iTunes music service Apple announced today. It also notes that iTunes has over 50,000 movies downloaded either as purchases or rentals every day, making it the premier online movie store.
It's hardly a surprise that iTunes is such a dominant force in the online market, after all iTunes beat out physical retailers in January and February to become the primary music retailer in the US. But still, 5 billion is a huge number. That would mean that, on average, each of the 8 million songs offered on iTunes would be downloaded 625 times.
Continue reading "Apple Brags: Over 5 Billion Songs Served Up Via iTunes"
Samsung Instinct Touchscreen Cellphone Gets Affordable $129 Price Tag
Almost a year after the release of the iPhone, another cellphone manufacturer is releasing a touchscreen phone capable of competing with Apple. The Samsung Instinct is primed to go on sale tomorrow, June 20, for $129.
The $129 price tag has the chance to reverberate across the wireless industry forcing manufacturers to provide bottom-barrel prices with relatively high-end mobile phones.
Continue reading "Samsung Instinct Touchscreen Cellphone Gets Affordable $129 Price Tag"
It's nice to see phones with this feature set in this price range now. However, a major drawback with these "new" low prices is the plans associated with them. The iPhone from AT&T and this Samsung from Sprint have a required two-year, greatly expensive plan associated with them. The plans are designed for the cell phone providers to make money in addition to covering the cost of subsidizing the phone. So, while you may, as a customer initially save money, you will more than likely see yourself paying more for the phone than if it was less subsidized with a lower-cost monthly rate plan, which holds especially true with the new iPhone. Just food for thought, I am not advocating not purchasing these phones, but just to be careful. There are plenty of 3G phones out there that do not require an expensive plan associated with them, but none as cool as these new gadgets.
If you already have a data plan on your phone its a great buy to bad i have to wait 14 months till i can upgrade
My 32 cents. I bought an Instinct for $129 at Best Buy (no rebates necessary). And Voice GPS and 3G are included at no additional cost to use them. It comes with a spare battery (w/USB battery charger and ac adapter/charger) and syncs with my PC via USB. The 2GB MicroSD card is accompanied with the adapter so I can migrate applications, pics, and video straight to the card. It has a camera/video capability and plays movies and mp3s. It also has Sprint TV. Also takes voice commands. The screens are customizable so I can choose not to display those features I do not use. It comes with a case. Just about the only thing not in the case is a screen cleaning cloth. The only thing I pay for even with the limited 450 anytime minutes is calls over 450 minutes and buying music and TV subscriptions.
Even for die-hard Apple fans who will never stray from the Apple Tree, the $129 price for such a function laden 3G/GPS device will undoubtedly make Apple look twice at their price as well.
Jack
MySpace Redesign: Thumbs Up
MySpace launched part of its expected redesign today and the new look gives a much needed overhaul to the formerly cluttered social networking site.
The appeal of MySpace has always been its media-rich environment and a large amount of creative control that users have over their environment. However, Facebook has been able to catch up to the world's largest social networking site with its clean design and far more simplified user interface. With these new rounds of changes, MySpace has taken some of the appeal of a cleaner design but retained the appeal that makes the site so popular in the first place.
So what's new? Based on reports last week, I was expecting a splash page advertisement for the upcoming movie "The Dark Knight." Thankfully, MySpace didn't do this and opted for a "Dark Knight" theme for the homepage instead that includes an embedded 30-second trailer. This was a great move; it takes users directly to the site without having to search for a "skip this ad" link, and creates a fun atmosphere when you first arrive.
The downside, though, is that the page is media-heavy so it took a little while to load. Once the site came up, I was surprised to find the video was very low grade, so the picture quality was disappointing. To make sure it wasn't my desktop Windows PC connected via DSL, I also tested the new page on a MacBook connected via Wi-Fi; each time the result was the same: longer than normal load times and a grainy video.
You can click on the video and it takes you to a fan page where you can add "The Dark Knight" to your favorites, forward to your friends, and so on in traditional social networking style.
The other major change is the use of navigation. Like Google, the new MySpace has the most popular links across the left side and a drop-down menu for the rest. This was a fantastic move. The old style with links going across the entire screen was overwhelming, confusing, and annoying. This makes life much easier. Now the page is so much easier to look at and to find where you want to go.
Tabs are such a great way to organize Web content, and the search function has incorporated this too with a Facebook-like feel. Anything you search for is organized into four tabs: People, All MySpace, Web, Music and MySpace TV. It's another great move and one that will allow users to find what they are looking for much quicker.
Other changes are in the works and should be released later this fall, including a user friendly profile editor (right now you have to know some basic HTML and CSS) and changes to the profile page. If the next round of changes are anything like the ones released today, then MySpace will have become a far more user-friendly site, while still maintaining the appeal of a more flexible design. Right now, I am an ardent Facebook user, but even these latest changes might encourage me to start spending a little more time in MySpace.
REPORTED BY PC WORLD CONTRIBUTOR IAN PAUL
Western Digital Unveils Dual-Drive Mirroring External Storage
Western Digital is releasing today the My Book Mirror Edition, a dual-drive mirroring external storage solution for the average consumer.
The schtick about this device is that it comes with dual drives configured for data mirroring automatically, right out of the box. The mirroring works with the device being set up in the RAID 1 configuration, so anything copied to the external hard drive is duplicated across two hard drives for maximum peace of mind knowing the data is safe -- really safe. The My Book Mirror is available in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities.
What's particularly compelling about this release is how WD is bringing RAID 1 and the concept of data mirroring to mainstream consumers. With Apple's big data-backup push in the Leopard operating system and the ever-growing importance of data backup, this is a good opportunity for WD to bring technology that was generally reserved for high-end server backup to the masses.
For those sticklers who don't want to sacrifice capacity for safe-of-mind, the My Book Mirror can be converted to the RAID 0 configuration, which allows the full capacity to be used for data backup without mirroring.
The 1TB My Book Mirror is available for $289 with the 2TB model going for $549.
Verizon Readies Visual Voicemail ... For A Price
After the iPhone burst onto the scene a year ago with visual voicemail, other carriers have been scrambling to try to replicate this service -- including Verizon, which recently announced that it will be adding visual voicemail later this summer, according to rumors obtained by Engadget Mobile.
The race for visual voicemail hasn't always been the cleanest fight, after Apple got into fisticuffs with Klausner Technology regarding who owns the visual voicemail idea. After all was said and done, Klausner was granted ownership and Apple forked over some likely hefty fees for licensing.
According to the rumors, Verizon will be launching its version of visual voicemail on a few different handsets, including an updated LG Chocolate, an LG Voyager refresh, and the Motorola Blaze and Utopia. The bad news is that Verizon wants to charge for the service, which will reportedly be $1.99 per month.
The tidbit of good news is that the service will be downloadable and not require going customer support to get it going. And the $1.99 per month fee could be worth it for those with long-winded peers.
Biotech Startup Wants to Clone Your Dog
Like something out of The Governator's 2000 futuristic action flick The 6th Day, a new biotech startup wants to clone your pet. Mill Valley, California-based BioArts has successfully created three clones of a Border Collie mix named Missy, who moved on to that great kennel in the sky in 2002. Now, through a program called Best Friends Again, BioArts is going to be auctioning five dog-cloning services to the public.
That's right. BioArts is currently accepting registrations for its cloning auction, with the bidding for the first cloning slot starting at $100,000. The auction will take place over the course of five days, beginning July 5, with one slot being auctioned per day through July 9. Additionally, one slot will be given away for free to a deserving applicant.
According to the Best Friends Again Web site, the successful cloning of Missy -- who was the beloved pet of BioArts CEO Lou Hawthorne -- was conducted by South Korean geneticist Dr. Woo Suk Hwang, known internationally for publishing false claims about human stem cell research he conducted in South Korea in 2005. While Hwang's reputation was severely damaged in the 2005 human stem cell scandal, his research into canine cloning (in which his team successfully created the world's first dog clone, named Snuppy, in 2006) remains credible by all accounts.
"I was hesitant at first to work with Dr. Hwang given [his] past problems," said BioArts CEO Lou Hawthorne. "But [I was] also attracted given his undisputed status as the world's foremost master of dog cloning, and so decided to take it one step at a time ... Being a pet cloning company, we are of course believers in second chances."
Elizabeth Wictum, Director of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory's Forensic Lab at the University of California, Davis, where the DNA of the clones was tested, confirmed that the three pups were indeed a genetic match for the late Missy, and were not a match for the egg donors from which they were born -- results consistent with successful cloning. "Besides," said Wictum, "they look just like her."
BioArts will offer a guarantee on its cloned puppies, which can take up to a year to produce. In addition to a guarantee of good health and resemblance to the original pet, the company promises not to harm any animals it works with in the cloning process. Whether the company will open up its dog-cloning service to the general public after the initial six animals promised in its current offer are delivered remains to be seen. Says Hawthorne: "We are not committing to produce more than the five clones for our auction participants, plus the one clone we're giving away as part of the Golden Clone Giveaway."
--Robert Strohmeyer, PC World
Although some may dispute the ethical nature of this endeavor, lets step back and look at what BioArts has done. In the very beginning it was the mission of a single family to clone their dearly loved dog. Their eventual success led to Best Friends Again, which is offering the cloning of six dogs--total.
As the article alludes to, the cloning of dogs, unlike that of livestock, entails only the highest veterinary and animal care protocols. It?s a relief to me that the dogs? wellbeing is not discounted.
Behavioral similarities are difficult to quantify. Genes influence two key components of behavior?intelligence and temperament. Of course a clone doesn't inherit the memories and experiences of its genetic donor; it's a unique individual, like an identical twin born later. But if a clone is raised in a similar way as its genetic donor, there will probably be behavioral similarities.
Bottom line, BioArts is doing it right.
i want another one of my dog!
Bottom Line - BIOARTS WANTS YOUR MONEY!
Why someone would not negotiate with the Koreans direct instead
of paying a broker (Bioarts) is beyond me. I would
call RNL Bio and see if you can get a better deal. Isn't
this why we offshore to Asia because of the cheap prices?
I remember there was an outfit in S. Calif that was nothing
more than a man and his telephone negotiating a cloning
contract and hoping to make big bucks. That company
went out of business.
Personally, I would wait. I'll bet if this company
stays in business and so far the track record for
cloning companies is dismal, the price will
plummet.
The Cost of Excerpting the AP
Ap:
The ongoing Associated Press saga continues to unfold as the AP has published a page of guidelines regarding how much money a person should fork over to directly use as little as a five-word excerpt on a blog.
Yesterday we chronicled the AP's drama with the entire blogosphere as the media giant said that it wants to establish guidelines for content use by blogs and today a web form has been stumbled across by Making Light outlining just how much the AP wants to charge for use of its content.
It's priced by the word, and using a 5- to 25-word excerpt costs $12.50 with a 251-word or longer excerpt costing a ridiculous $100.
This ordeal reminds me a lot of the fight against piracy. No matter how much the AP tries, it will never be able to curtail the entire blogosphere, just as the RIAA will never be able to completely eliminate piracy. The big question remains: Will the AP's reputation begin to resemble that of the RIAA? One certainly hopes not, but its attack on bloggers over excerpts makes that likely, if not inevitable. Until this mess is all sorted out, paraphrasing is your friend.
The AP's reputation is already in a shambles, and rightly so. I'll just paraphrase AP when exposing its fascist agenda on FascistMedia.com. It was bloggers like bradblog.com and blackboxvoting.org that exposed how democracy had been compromised and votes could be rigged on electronic voting machines, as every major university computer science department confirmed, while the fascist war-profiteering Associated Press utterly failed to do so. Now, the Associated Press is aiding and abetting war criminals with its blackout of the 35 Articles of Impeachment. The good news is that AP IS QUICKLY BECOMING OBSOLETE and good riddance. Bye bye AP. Welcome Rawstory. com.
Has Microsoft Seen the Open Source Light?'
As we reported on Sunday, Microsoft is becoming a co-sponsor of the Open Source Census (OSC), a further commitment to the company's interoperability principles launched earlier this year. The OSC is trying to figure out how widespread the use of Open Source Software is within companies and to generally promote its use.
But having Microsoft sign on has some people both excited and leery. From a practical standpoint it makes sense for the maker of Windows to participate, since most open source programs and applications run on Windows, the most widely-used operating system in the world. However, the software giant has a bad name when it comes to dealing with the rest of the computing world. The company has long been accused of monopolizing the industry, it claimed last year that open source violates 200 of Microsoft's patents, and has said on several occasions that open source software is a bigger threat to the company than Google.
So what to make of all this? Some may see it as a PR ploy to get back in the good graces of the development community, while the company itself says it recognizes the changing face of the software "ecosystem." I see it as both.
There's no way programs like Open Office, a suite of free programs that competes directly with Microsoft Office, are good for the Redmond-based company's core business. But at the same time it sees Google giving away countless online applications for free and realizes that the old way of doing things is, while not dying, at least threatened. Microsoft may just want to be out in front of the open source revolution; what the company will do when, and if, it gets there remains to be seen.
REPORTED BY PC WORLD CONTRIBUTOR IAN PAUL
I'm not sure if you've got your facts straight... First of all, I highly doubt that "most open source programs and applications run on Windows" considering that several ENTIRE DISTRIBUTIONS run on open source software; GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, OpenSolaris, ReactOS, and a many others you've never heard of. Secondly, with all of this in mind, I actually doubt that Windows is the most widely used OS in the world (maybe is the US - lol, but not the world my friend). In a world of Ubuntu, RHEL, Fedora, Debian, SUSE EL, openSUSE, Mandriva, Knoppix, Mepis, Inside Security, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenSolaris, HP UX, IOS, Linksys Linux Router OS, OS2, SCO Unix, and even more you've never heard of - Microsoft Windows may have a hold on the desktop (which it kind of doesn't), but it's unlikely that Windows is the most widely used OS when others have been places MS Windows can never go (routers, printers, cameras, DVRs, Sony Bravios, vehicles, refrigerators)...
Dancing on the head of a pin while splitting hairs.
It's Firefox 3 Download Day
The highly anticipated release of Firefox 3 is nearing, with the official launch later today. The release is scheduled to be available for download at 10 a.m. PDT, according to the Firefox Community Marketing Web site.
The time of this release is not only significant because Firefox 3 is one of the more eagerly awaited browser releases, but also because it will kick off the Download Day 2008 campaign.
The Download Day 2008 campaign is an attempt to set the official Guinness world record for most downloaded software in 24 hours. Firefox is currently accepting download pledges that may or may not contribute to the official tally monitored by Mozilla and the Guinness Book of World Records.
Still on the fence about upgrading to Firefox 3? Check out five things you'll love about it by our own Ed Albro.
It's not like there are three people that are working on the browser, promoting Firefox 3, and working on the servers at the same time. They have people who manage the servers, people who work on Firefox, and an entire community of users promoting Firefox and helping them achieve their goal of setting a record. They do their best, but remember that all of these things are happening at the same time with people who are only doing what their job is.
Caption Crunch Winner: Computex Craziness
Update 6/16: The moment you've been waiting for has finally arrived. Oh yes, we've picked a winner for the latest installment of Caption Crunch, our every-other-week caption contest where we supply the photo and you supply the laughs.
Last week, we posted this image of a confusing scenario at this year's Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, and asked you to supply your best crack at a caption.
This week's winner
Hey Yoshi, they're handing out long lasting Chicklets at Thermaltake! -- Patiohauler
Congratulations to Patiohauler, who writes great captions when not hauling patios. Nice work, Patiohauler. Unfortunately, we don't have a prize for you beyond bragging rights, a warm, fuzzy feeling, and endless kudos.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this week's Caption Crunch, and tune in this Friday for a brand-new installment.
What follows is the original text for this installment.
Welcome to the latest installment of Caption Crunch, our recurring caption contest. We supply the photo, and you supply the caption... ideally, with hilarious results.
Senior associate editor Danny Allen just returned from the Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, and he came back with a memory card full of photos. Take the picture below, for example, in which what looks like four bipedal marshmallows are wandering around the show floor.
What's going on in this picture? You make the call. Post your best caption ideas in the comments section below, and this Friday, we'll pick a winner. Good luck!
Previous Caption Crunch Contests
These students are modeling their new backpacks which double as air bags for the school bus. They can also be used as flotation devices in case of plane or boat crashes.
Thermaltake expands into the posturepedic market.
Hey Yoshi, they're handing out long lasting Chicklets at Thermaltake !
Associated Press Clamps Down on Blogs
A weekend incident involving The Drudge Retort and multiple Associated Press articles has created a lot of drama between the media giant and the exponentially growing blogosphere.
The New York Times is reporting that the AP is setting guidelines for blog usage of AP content after the AP sent takedown notices to The Drudge Retort last week. The AP's guidelines will deal with what and how much content blogs can quote and still be considered legal use under the fair use doctrine of U.S. copyright law.
The AP's decision to impose blog-use guidelines is shocking. It's one thing to go after blogs that copy the entire length of an AP story without any linking or recognition, but it's another to go after personal blogs that aren't looking to profit from using AP content, or the professional news outlet blogs that generally provide proper acknowledgment and accompanying links. This doesn't even consider social-news Web sites like Digg that commonly use excerpts from stories. Depending on how rigorous the AP guidelines are, this decision by the AP may stifle the current Web 2.0 trends of cross-linking and content-distribution, which is what makes blogs so great.
For fear of The New York Times slapping me with a lawsuit, I won't directly quote, but AP vice president, Jim Kennedy, defended his stance saying he doesn't want to sue bloggers, but maximize the value for its content.
RIAA Hopes New Judge will Nab Sharers
The ongoing saga regarding the Recording Industry Association of America and what is classified as sharing music has taken another interesting twist as the group has refiled one particular lawsuit.
It was late last year when the RIAA got stricter about file-sharing, claiming the act of making files available for sharing (via a "shared" folder) breaks copyright laws and is available for prosecution.
The pending lawsuits about this unique file-distribution models were shut down after U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake said that making copyrighted material available via a shared folder does not warrant a copyright infringement lawsuit and that the RIAA must prove that the material actually changed hands.
The recent news is that the RIAA has dropped a case that strongly pertains to the "making available" clause, and refiled the case. Rather that directing the lawsuit at the same defendants as before, the RIAA directed it at John Doe (a defendant to be identified later), therefore obtaining a new judge ... who may not be so strict about the "making available" clauses.
Nice move, RIAA.
Canada Warming Up Its Own DMCA
It used to be so easy. I'd just tell people that as a Canadian (and therefore not under the thumb of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act), I could merrily crack DVD encryption for personal use without breaking the law. Reactions would range from envy to applause, or sometimes a mixture of both.
But alas, it's looking like these good things may be coming to an end. On Thursday, the Canadian government finally released Bill C-61, legislation that would give us our very own DMCA, or at least something uncomfortably similar.
Bill C-61 is essentially a series of amendments to the Copyright Act that would ratify the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, which the DMCA did for the USA in 1996.
Talk Nerdy To Me: Finally, iPhone in 3G
With Apple's official announcement of the iPhone 3G this week, iPhone buzz seems to be all over. Here at PCWorld, we've jumped on the tech bandwagon trying get you all the juicy information we can.
Harry McCracken, our former editor in chief turned contributing editor wrote a great article called 8 Unanswered Questions About Apple's 3G iPhone. Harry does a great job of breaking down the most important and interesting questions about the 3G iPhone.
Our own Senior Editor Melissa Perenson dissected the new features and price for the iPhone 3G and the end result was a brilliant article called 5 Reason to Buy the Apple iPhone 3G. Melissa's brilliant analysis was well received resulting in more than 1300 diggs at the time this is being written.
With all this hype about the 3G version of the iPhone, let's not forget that the OG iPhone is nearly a year old--and of course, all the people waiting in line for hours to be one of the first with an iPhone. With that said, I'm curious to get some feedback of what current iPhone owners think of the device one year later. Is it still just as awesome and awe-inspiring as the day you first got it? Do you feel like a sucker paying $600 for the iPhone when the 3G version will be half? Are you going to ditch your current iPhone for the 3G? What about the Blackberry Bold that everyone seems to have forgotten about? All burning questions that we'd love to know. I know you have an opinion with all this so let loose your thoughts and post a comment below.
I've had the iphone since xmas - post the first price cut. My take is that the iphone is Good at a lot of things - but not Great at any one thing. It's not the best mobile phone I've had. It takes about 5 touches just to call home when I was used to just holding one key to speed dial. Dropped calls are more frequent as well. It's great having all my music on the phone but the ipod app is hard to navigate. It seems like it always takes 3 or 4 touches just to skip to the next song. The email app is ok but some of the light html emails show up with very small font and you can't zoom in on them. The web browsing is cool but forget filling out a web-form. Too much typing. It's a pain to log-in to sites as well. The one app that is great is Maps. It's great for getting traffic or searching for the closest BevMo. I use it like a mini-yellow pages and am constantly using maps to find businesses and restaraunts and then adding them to my contact list. I'm running out of characters.
@dwmalouf: "It's great for getting traffic or searching for the closest BevMo." Now that's about the handiest use for a phone that I could ever think of. Oh BevMo, you're my only friend.
Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader Bigger Than Expected?
It seems that the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader are doing much better than people expect, or at least the Vice President of Business Development at Oxford University Press seems to think so.
Evan Schnittman, the man behind the theory, thinks that the sales of the next-generation e-book readers will balloon to 1,000,000 units in 2008. This number comes without any communication with Sony or Amazon regarding the matter, and is based on strict (and loose) interpretation of different figures.
The 1,000,000 figure is a bit outlandish given that the Kindle has sold no more than 50,000 units since its release at the end of 2007. With the 2008 year halfway over, there would need a significant sales boost to hit the 1,000,000 mark, combined with Sony Reader sales.
Schnittman's figure comes from a variety of different avenues. He analyzes the production process and how many units the factories can crank out, especially compared to its sales, which is significant given the Kindle was sold out for a length of time. Schnittman also takes a deep look e-book sales using data obtained from a speech by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, as well as hard data provided publicly by Amazon.
Despite how many e-book readers are moved this year, the big, overlying question is whether this e-ink technology could possibly replace the book. The answer, at least for the time being, is undoubtably no.
Hate Early-Termination Phone Fees? Work For Uncle Sam
The ongoing saga of early termination fees continues to unravel as recent reports suggest government agencies are immune from penalties, at least from Sprint.
According to a Sprint internal corporate e-mail sent in January 2004 and marked confidential, the carrier acknowledged that "the government will never, never accept such penalty amounts," regarding early-termination fees enforced when canceling a cell phone contract early.
The entire circumstance could be viewed as a bit ironic because it was last month when the government issued a proposal to change the early-termination fee landscape by reducing the potential termination fee every month a customer retains service. The change would give phone companies an easy out from pending lawsuits based on the high fees.
Early termination fees generally range between $150 and $200. AT&T and Verizon have recently announced self-imposed prorated early-termination fees.
Facebook Catches MySpace In Social-Network Race
Facebook's years of hard work and dedication has finally paid off as it has finally caught up to MySpace in regards to unique monthly traffic, according to reports.
Facebook hit the mark in April 2008 by posting 115 million unique monthly visitors. Myspace has maintained similar traffic numbers for the past year, but Facebook has grown from less than 40,000 unique monthly visitors in April 2007 to the 115 million that it is today.
Before the Facebook team starts popping the champagne, there's some other figures to analyze. The reason for Facebook's ability to catch up to MySpace is mostly due to the international market. In the United States, Facebook's growth is not as substantial with 36 million unique months viewers compared to Myspace's 72 million.
One step MySpace is taking to get a firmer grasp on the social-networking market is with a complete Web site redesign. MySpace's clunky, cluttered and messy interface is always a jabbing point, so this major upgrade that will affect the homepage, navigation, profile editor, search and MySpace TV pages could help the social-networking giant grow and, more importantly, retain members.
Facebook would have more members if they did not kick off home schoolers. I was kicked of because I am home schooled, because I could not join a high school network and when I sent them a e-mail about it the e-mail I got back said we have disabled your account because we do not take home schoolers at this time, and I'm not the only one is has happened to google it and see for your self.
Starbucks, T-Mobile Play Nice, Settle Dispute
The pesky pending lawsuit between T-Mobile and Starbucks regarding T-Mobile's right to provide in-store Wi-Fi service is resolved, according to reports.
T-Mobile filed a lawsuit against Starbucks last week after accusing the company of breaching their contract. According to an original agreement reached by the internet service provider and the coffee chain, T-Mobile has the right to "sell, market and promote its services" at all Starbucks locations until every location has made the move to AT&T in-store Wi-Fi. But, the lawsuit claimed, the AT&T/Starbucks cross-promotions for Starbucks Card Rewards with Wi-Fi and other possible instances violated the pre-existing contract with T-Mobile.
There are no details about the specifics of the resolution, but one might imagine it included a lump sum and a promise to hold true to the original agreement until the complete AT&T switchover happens.
Microsoft Surface Surfaces in Las Vegas
For those who were wondering whether Microsoft's Surface tabletop touch-sensitive computers were going to be anything more than retail sales tools, here's an update: The Surface is making its debut as a bar coffee table in Las Vegas today.
Microsoft says Harrah's has installed half a dozen Surface units in the iBar at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. These are the first commercial units announced since AT&T began installing Surface units as customer service kiosks in its stores.
These are the first Surface units aside from the ones in AT&T retail stores, and Harrah's has created bar-appropriate applications for them. You'll be able to order drinks, check out promotional information about other Harrah's properties, and even flirt with customers at other tables. In the image below, for example, the women are checking out cheesy pickup lines (it's not clear whether they are sending or receiving these messages):
You can also play games with your friends on these Surface bar tables, although it doesn't appear that you can play gambling games.
Metallica Still Doesn't Get the Web
Metallica has a topsy-turvy relationship with the Internet and it's are getting worse as the mega-band has recently angered a group of United Kingdom bloggers with unwarranted takedown notices.
A handful of music journalists, including bloggers, were invited to a private listening party for Metallica's new album. No nondisclosure agreements were signed, so many of the journalists reported on the event and the music heard on a variety of blogs. Metallica quickly sent takedown notices to the blogs in question, which is unfounded due to the lack of embargo requests.
Metallica got off to a bad start with the Internet eight years ago when it successfully shut down Napster. A little over a month ago Metallica changed its tune by exploring online-distribution methods for delivering music, but now it has taken another downward turn by angering among the loudest voices on the Web, the bloggers.
The Quietus, one of the last sites to resist the takedown notices, eventually removed the blog posting to "protect the professional interests of the writer concerned," which suggests that Metallica used its powerful status to push around journalists and music bloggers.
Metallica should enroll in some current journalism classes at a university; somebody has to teach these guys about new media and the Internet, because they can't seem to figure it out.
Metallica does "get" the web. Go to their website, metallica.com, and see for yourself. Metallica.com is most likely the best website provided by any band simply to allow fans to remain in touch with the happenings of the the band. If Metallica's website does not work, go to Mission: Metallica. Mission: Metallica is quite possibly the riskiest and most creative step a band of such prowess has ever taken. In a nutshell, it serves multiple purposes, such as providing fans an intimate look into the album-making process, displaying to the world creativity and workmanship, and, of course, promoting a forthcoming album (of epic proportions).
Regarding the issue with the bloggers, go to The Quietus' website. There you will see the writings of nothing more than nihilist nobodies searching for a Utopian dream that will never come true. However, if you want real critques of the album preview, check out Metal Hammer and Kerrang; these sites are honest and constructive in their critiques.
Sounds to me like they might need to fire their managers since sounds like the managers are the ones who dont get the web. Metallica has promoted plenty of their own stuff on the web and i really do think Metallica feels sorry for having shutdown Napster years ago and are trying to make up for the wrong doings. The web rules the world now and Metallica is one of the few bands that actually can see that and are using it for their advantage. ROCK ON METALLICA !!!!
Sounds to me like they might need to fire their managers since sounds like the managers are the ones who dont get the web. Metallica has promoted plenty of their own stuff on the web and i really do think Metallica feels sorry for having shutdown Napster years ago and are trying to make up for the wrong doings. The web rules the world now and Metallica is one of the few bands that actually can see that and are using it for their advantage. ROCK ON METALLICA !!!
CitySense Helps Navigate Traffic via Cell
Want to avoid the crowds or find the most popular club in town? A new software company wants to help. Sense networks recently announced an alpha version of Citysense for mobile phones, which the company calls "a real-time social navigation and nightlife discovery application."
Basically, Citysense collects anonymous signals from cell phones and then creates a real-time map which shows you where people are congregating; as an area gets busier, the map gets redder. The new app only covers San Francisco at the moment, and is available for Blackberry users, with an iPhone version coming in July.
I haven't tested Citysense, but it seems to integrate some helpful tools. When you've found a part of town you want to visit, for example, Citysense can help you find exactly what bars, restaurants and clubs are in that area with information from Yelp and Google. The company also plans to add an alarm clock that will help you avoid a longer 'walk of shame' than necessary. If the city starts to get unexpectedly busy in the morning, the application will wake you up a little earlier than planned.
Citysense is based on Sense's Macrosense platform, which takes both cell phone and vehicle location signals and analyzes city-wide traffic patterns. The software is built to "learn," so as it collects more data it is able to predict real-time trends in consumer behavior.
Sense's Citysense application should not be confused with Boston's Citysense network, a collection of wireless sensors Harvard scientists use to track weather and pollution in real time.
CREDIT - PC World contributor Ian Paul
SanDisk Swallows MusicGremlin
Still trying to compete with the iPod and Zune big brands, SanDisk has acquired MusicGremlin, a digital audio company with a specialty in wireless content distribution.
MusicGremlin burst onto the scene in 2006 with a music distribution service with an accompanying wireless MP3 player. MusicGremlin was initially regarded as an innovative product, but soon fell off the wagon as another consumer electronics flop.
SanDisk is likely eyeing MusicGremlin's distribution methods and wireless technologies with the acquisition in an attempt to keep up with the latest trends in MP3 players, which is direct-to-device distribution. People don't want to have to sync an MP3 player with a computer, and using MusicGremlin's technology is a way for SanDisk to compete.
Hulu Cuts Deal for Truthiness
Your daily moment of Zen is now on Hulu! The upstart video streaming service announced yesterday that it is offering full-length episodes and clips of Comedy Central favorites The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. The comedy channel will also post full-length episodes of its faux-news shows on comedycentral.com after several years of providing only clips.
Through its subsidiary, MTV Networks, Viacom is the first major content provider to ink a deal with Hulu since the site launched with support from News Corp. and NBC Universal earlier this year. Later in June, Hulu will also add PBS content including the science shows Nova, Scientific American Frontiers, and Wired Science. Yesterday's announcement now gives Hulu a total of 70 content providers with more than 700 television shows and movies to choose from.
An online video partnership is an about face for Viacom, which has a reputation for being very protective of its material. It has been fiercely pursuing legal action against YouTube for copyright infringement, and has largely kept video content on its own network of Websites. This may herald a more enthusiastic approach to online distribution for Viacom, but the company has not announced any other content for Hulu.
Ironically, while Viacom may not be a fan of YouTube, its new partner has its own channel on Google's video destination. Who knows? Maybe Stewart and Colbert will eventually come full circle and end up on the site, this time with Viacom's blessing.
CREDIT - PC World contributor Ian Paul
ISPs Pressured to Fight Child Porn By Blocking It Entirely
Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable are going where no ISPs have dared to go before by completely blocking Web sites and Internet bulletin boards that include child pornography.
This move, occurring under pressure from New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo, dives into an area of the Web that is generally not touched by providers for legal reasons. As part of the agreement, the three service providers will shut down access to newsgroups that distribute child pornography. Newsgroups are Internet bulletin boards where users can talk, and more importantly, swap files. The agreement will also block access to Web sites that facilitate child pornography based upon a list from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
We can agree that the issue of child pornography on the Internet should be addressed, but the route that Cuomo and the three ISPs are taking is worth questioning. Like we've seen with Comcast in the past, this type of content and traffic regulation is never received well.
The obvious answer is to hunt down the violating Web sites and newsgroups and shut them down one by one, but this plan by Cuomo, with cooperation from a few service providers, is obviously a much easier route that accomplishes the same goal.
I don't have a problem with ISPs blocking child pornography-related material, but I definitely have a problem with this approach to combating illegal activity with content-regulation by ISPs. I'm concerned this action could snowball, with ISPs choosing to give other topics the axe, as well.
THIS IS HOW IT STARTS !!! WARNIG !!! (please note: I am a father and believe child porn is a hideous crime)
That being said, anyone who would sacrifice freedoms for safety deserves neither. (Quote from Benjamin Franklin) If we allow any service provider the right to choose for us on any issue, they will choose for us on every issue. Pandora?s box, slippery slope, choose your poison. It is the job of the police to track down and prosecute offenders, not some private corporate entity that doesn't have to answer to the voting public.
Once the door has been opened for this type of corporate censorship of the public domain, all ISP's will follow suit and we will soon LOOSE OUR FREEDOM TO FREELY SHARED INFORAMTION. This is a HUGE DEAL and yet another ploy by the private interest groups to test the waters on censorship for future profits. I.E. today the say they only want to block bad sites, tomorrow they will block competing sites, and the day after sell us acces plans like cable.
If these sites are able to be found and identified, why doesn't the FBI just arrest the people who put them up and then shut them down? At the very least they can shut them down. Why does the ISP have to do their work for them?
Child porn is terrible but we don't want ISPs to decide what content is good or bad.
In all things moderation. Just about everything has a use and a misuse/abuse. There is no reason to go off half-cocked on this. In this case, I say let judgment and reason dictate that using ISPs to block porn in entirely justified and a good idea. It doesn't mean the end of freedom of speech or privacy. It just means it's a tool to an end - the end of child porn on the internet - hopefully. Let's get behind the good things, instead of helping further the bad - which child pornography is. Of all the things in the world of which to be afraid, this idea isn't one of them.
Minute by Minute: Apple Announces New 3G iPhone and Apps
Full coverage of today's announcements at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, including Steve Jobs' keynote speech.
New Apple iPhone Quick Links:
Full Hardware and Availability Info
A 3G iPhone with GPS
MobileMe Replaces .Mac
iPhone 2.0 Software Update
New iPhone Apps Outlined
iPhone Apps Pricing
SDK Overview
3G iPhone: The Details and Worldwide Rollout
11:49 PT - DM: So, the iPhone 3G. July 11th, 22 countries. "And that's just the start." Here's a recap of WWDC 2008. And we're wrapping up, that's it. Thanks for following along with us here. Ciao!
11:48 PT - DM: "One of the most amazing products I've ever have the privileged to be associated with." Steve asks for Tony Fadell's and Scott Forstall's teams to stand up and asks for a round of applause. The crowd obliges.
11:46 PT - DM: Two guys carrying a lockbox down a corridor, swiping a card. "It's finally here. The first phone to beat the iPhone. It surfs the web and downloads data twice as fast, but for half the price. Introducing the new iPhone 3G." That got some nice cheers. A little bit of a departure for their ad campaign. And they're going to roll it again. With no sound! Whoops, there it is.
11:45 PT - DM: They're going to start with 22 of the biggest countries, rolling out the iPhone 3G in all of those countries.
July 11th is the date it drops. Start your countdown widgets. Price is a maximum of $199 (Steve loves that "thud" sound effect). And, as you might expect, there's a new ad.
11:44 PT - DM: So, in terms of iPhone goals... "We think we can check off more countries." That leaves the last bullet point, "more affordable." Started off at $599 for 8GB; now down to $399 for 8GB iPhone. The 3G iPhone is going to sell for $199 for 8GB. And the crowd goes wild. They are pretty damned excited in here. I think there might be a riot. 16GB model is just $299 annd the 16GB also comes in white. "And we think we can check off 'more affordable.'"
11:43 PT - JS: A cheer goes up as each country is revealed, pointing out that this is truly a Worldwide Developer Conference.
11:41 PT - DM: Australia got a pretty big applause, as did Japan. So that's 70 countries in total, and that gets quite an ovation from the crowd. They'll be rolling out iPhone 3G in 70 countries over next several month. "Next time you're in Malta and need iPhone 3G, it'll be right there for you." But still no deals in Russia and China yet. But rest of deals are signed, sealed, and delivered.
11:40 PT - JS: Wow. I was figuring GPS would be a 50-50 proposition, but there it is. Some questions: If we've got GPS, how about voice synthesis to give driving directions? And since Google Maps only works when you've got a connection to the Internet to download map data, how will it work if you're out in the boonies and don't have that connection? Will you be able to buy Map pacs and install them? Lots of questions to be answered now that there's GPS on the iPhone.
11:39 PT - DM: Built-in GPS and much much faster data. They're checking off 3G and built-in GPS to boot. Enterprise support? They've already gone over all the Exchange support and security standards. It's all built-in. Third party applications? The SDK, the tools, and the App Store. "We think we can check off third party application support." More countries? They distribute in 6 countries today. Set the goal of 12 countries for the iPhone 3G, and a stretch goal of getting to 25 countries in next few months. Here's how they did. They're going through, and there's no way I can type that fast.
And now he's playing "It's a Small World After All." Now the crowd is clapping along. Oh god, this song used to give me nightmares as a child.
11:38 PT - DM: And it looks like GPS is in there too. Shazam. Location services is going to be a big deal on the iphone with the 2.0 software. Right now they get data from Cell Towers and Wi-Fi, and now they get GPS (it shows up as a little blue dot). And using the GPS data they can actually do tracking. They drove down Lombard St. And they can actually track as they move using GPS. You That is pretty damn crazy. "You get the idea."
11:37 PT - DM: They're proud that they're doing this with better battery life. 300 hours of standby time, 2G talk time is up to 10 hours (from 8 hours); on 3G talk time, other phones have 3-3.5 hours. The iPhone has 5 hours of 3G talk time. "That's actually a very large amount of 3G talk time. We're very proud of this." Browsing is 5-6 hours of high-speed browsing. 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. (Small text; "All figures are 'up to').
11:36 PT - DM: Email attachment race. 3G downloads in 5 seconds and the EDGE version takes...longer. 18 seconds. (People in the back were whistling the Jeopardy theme song, I think). It only took 3 seconds on Wi-Fi, so the 3G is pretty close. Clearly, they can get faster data.
11:35 PT - DM: 3G speeds actually approach Wi-Fi. "It's amazingly zippy!" They compared two other 3G phones (Nokia N95 and Treo 750) and the iPhone is 36% faster than them. Plus, "full page on the iPhone and...something else on the other phones."
11:34 PT - JS: Yes, folks, you heard that right. No longer will you have to buy an adapter to use your third-party headphones with the iPhone. Unless, y'know, you want a remote control button and microphone.
11:33 PT - DM: How does the iPhone 3G tackle the challenges lined up before? 3G? Faster data downloads. Nowhere more than in browser and downloading email. They've compared web surfing in EDGE and 3G. So here's the side-by-side. 3G is substantially faster, for sure. The National Geopgrahic site loads much faster on 3G: 21 seconds vs. ...we're waiting, we're waiting...still going. La la la. I could go out and get a cup of coffee. Or maybe watch a movie. So, how are you guys doing? Good? Great. 59 seconds on EDGE. So, 3G is 2.8x faster than EDGE. Now they'll compare to Wi-Fi.
11:31 PT - DM: As we arrive at iPhone's first birthday, and today they're introducing iPhone 3G. Surprise! "We've learned so much with the first iPhone." And now they've created the iPhone 3G. It's even thinner at the edges than the original. Full black plastic back. Solid metal buttons, and the same screen. Camera, and?Oh my god!?a flush headphone jack.
11:31 PT - JS: Great graphic of the iPhone leaving countries it's officially in via big, fat red arrows.
11:30 PT - DM: In this first year we sold 6 million iPhones until we ran out a few weeks ago. They have figured out what their next challanges are: 3G, Enterprise support, third party applications, more countries. They've sold iPhone in six countries so far, but "believe me, they're in use in many more countries." The iPhone is apparently taking over the world, or at least winning at Risk. And, last but not least, it needs to be more affordable. 56% of people who didn't buy iPhones say because it's too expensive.
(Reminder: DM is Dan Moren of Macworld and JS is Jason Snell of Macworld)
11:38 PT - DM: And it looks like GPS is in there too. Shazam. Location services is going to be a big deal on the iphone with the 2.0 software. Right now they get data from Cell Towers and Wi-Fi, and now they get GPS (it shows up as a little blue dot).
And using the GPS data they can actually do tracking. They drove down Lombard St. And they can actually track as they move using GPS. You That is pretty damn crazy. "You get the idea."
11:37 PT - DM: They're proud that they're doing this with better battery life. 300 hours of standby time, 2G talk time is up to 10 hours (from 8 hours); on 3G talk time, other phones have 3-3.5 hours. The iPhone has 5 hours of 3G talk time. "That's actually a very large amount of 3G talk time. We're very proud of this." Browsing is 5-6 hours of high-speed browsing. 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. (Small text; "All figures are 'up to').
11:36 PT - DM: Email attachment race. 3G downloads in 5 seconds and the EDGE version takes...longer. 18 seconds. (People in the back were whistling the Jeopardy theme song, I think). It only took 3 seconds on Wi-Fi, so the 3G is pretty close. Clearly, they can get faster data.
11:35 PT - DM: 3G speeds actually approach Wi-Fi. "It's amazingly zippy!" They compared two other 3G phones (Nokia N95 and Treo 750) and the iPhone is 36% faster than them. Plus, "full page on the iPhone and...something else on the other phones."
11:33 PT - DM: How does the iPhone 3G tackle the challenges lined up before? 3G? Faster data downloads. Nowhere more than in browser and downloading email. They've compared web surfing in EDGE and 3G. So here's the side-by-side. 3G is substantially faster, for sure. The National Geopgrahic site loads much faster on 3G: 21 seconds vs. ...we're waiting, we're waiting...still going. La la la. I could go out and get a cup of coffee. Or maybe watch a movie. So, how are you guys doing? Good? Great. 59 seconds on EDGE. So, 3G is 2.8x faster than EDGE. Now they'll compare to Wi-Fi.
11:34 PT - JS: Yes, folks, you heard that right. No longer will you have to buy an adapter to use your third-party headphones with the iPhone. Unless, y'know, you want a remote control button and microphone.
11:31 PT - DM: As we arrive at iPhone's first birthday, and today they're introducing iPhone 3G. Surprise! "We've learned so much with the first iPhone." And now they've created the iPhone 3G. It's even thinner at the edges than the original. Full black plastic back. Solid metal buttons, and the same screen. Camera, and?Oh my god!?a flush headphone jack.
11:31 PT - JS: Great graphic of the iPhone leaving countries it's officially in via big, fat red arrows.
11:30 PT - DM: In this first year we sold 6 million iPhones until we ran out a few weeks ago. They have figured out what their next challanges are: 3G, Enterprise support, third party applications, more countries. They've sold iPhone in six countries so far, but "believe me, they're in use in many more countries." The iPhone is apparently taking over the world, or at least winning at Risk. And, last but not least, it needs to be more affordable. 56% of people who didn't buy iPhones say because it's too expensive.
11:28 PT - DM: In a few weeks, it's going to be iPhone's first birthday. There's a picture of the madness at the 5th ave store at launch. iPhone has had "tremendous critical acclaim." "I believe that it's widely believed that this is the phone that has changed phones forever." Users love their iPhones. 90% customer satisfaction. "What products today have 90% satisfaction?" 98% are browsing; 94% using email; 90% text messaging; 90% using 10 or more features. "You can't even *begin* to figure out how to use 10 features on a normal phone."
11:28 PT - DM: Steve: "isn't that great? We've been working on that for quite a while and we finally got it right."
11:28 PT - JS: Hey, Steve's back! We missed him. He's a bit more like Ed Sullivan now. He brings on special guests, but he always comes back to center stage...
MobileMe: Stores Information in "the Cloud" So You Can Get It From Your Mac, Your PC, or an iPhone
11:26 PT - DM: Recap: It's like having Exchange for the rest of us. It's the "perfect companion" for anyone with iPhone and iPod touch. It'll cost $99/year, has 20GB of online storage, and come with 20GB storage. 60 day free trial will be available along with iPhone 2.0 in early July. MobileMe replaces .Mac. .Mac users will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe and able to switch over whenever they want. (Well, I'm already paying for .Mac, so not much of change there.)
11:26 PT - JS: Interesting that in order to send up photos you have to e-mail them. I would have thought that it would be a bit more automatic than that.
11:24 PT - DM: Now, in the web-based calendar interface, he can create an event ("a really long lunch meeting") and when he goes back to the iPhone, he can tap on his Calendar and already see the lunch meeting. "You can clap, it's okay." Now Phil's going to move his softball game from Wednesday to today. And poof, it appears on the iPhone?like butter! "You're all my witnesses; it really works!" Now he shows off the same thing with photos. Man, Phil takes great photos with the iPhone. He'll send the photo MobileMe, and it lets him pick an album. Seems to use the email app to send the photo to MobileMe. Then it goes "up in the cloud."
11:22 PT - DM: Emails get pushed immediately to the phone. John Appleseed has invited Phil to lunch at Ace Wasabi's. Guess he's feeling better. Sadly, we are stuck in here without food. You can call the restuarant or go to their website. Phil's going to turn the restaurant into a contact on the phone; now if he logs back into MobileMe, he can see the same email (it reflects read status), and it pushed the contact info back to the web-interface too.
11:21 PT - DM: There's the web-based iDisk access too, and you can just drag your files around. The logout buttons looks like a power button (oh, how spiffy). Now we're going to take a look at MobileMe on the iPhone.
11:20 PT - DM: Calendar. You can navigate by day, month, week view (Phil's a week view man). You can turn on the color-coded interface. And you can just drag and drop events to move them around. Here's a look at the gallery; you can skim through photos just like in iPhoto. You can rotate photos, drag them around, etc. You can password protect your photos if you like.
11:20 PT - DM: Contacts. It lets you scroll through them, navigate your groups, and there's a live search: as you type, it filters your contacts. You can click on addresses and it gives you an embedded Google Map.
11:18 PT - DM: Now we're going to get a demo. He launches Safari, goes to Me.com and logs in (I always wonder whose job it is to propagate Phil's and Steve's fake mailboxes). It's got drag and drop support. He's got na invite to Wall-E. "Sometimes good friends invite me to great events." There's an inline Quick Reply feature. That's email.
11:17 PT - DM: Direct access to calendar items and mail in the cloud. Taken the gallery from Mac.com and turned it into a web gallery for MobileMe users. Photos also work over the air with iPhone. If you take a picture with your iPhone with the 2.0 software, you can send photo to MobileMe (okay, you can do that on .Mac, though). You can store your documents and files on the web too, which is pretty cool.
11:16 PT - JS: Next question is, will it work with Entourage on the Mac as well, or anything else that uses Sync Services?
11:14 PT - DM: If he's on the go, he can get his e-mail everywhere. Change a contact on your iPhone and it gets changed on your other devices. (It's like .Mac only, you know, it works better). Works with the contacts application on the iPhone, works with the Calendar app on the iPhone, etc. And it works with native apps on Mac and PC: Mail.app, iCal, Address Book on the Mac; on the PC side, it works with Outlook. But what'll really surprise people is they've built web apps using AJAX for Mail, Calendar. The URL is "Me.com". A web app that "feels like a desktop application." This kind of looks like a shinier version of Google's online application suite.
11:15 PT - JS: This is really logical, because it would be silly to limit all of those instant-sync features to Exchange. And of course, not having to connect and sync your iPhone in order to get new data on it from your computer is a natural.
11:13 PT - DM: Phil is really excited to tell us about MobileMe. What is MobileMe? It's like having "Microsoft Exchange for the rest of us." Whoops, little slip of the tongue for Phil. Boy would we like to have capabilities of Exchange servers. Everybody can have push email, contacts, and calendars. Everything is up to date wherever you are. MobileMe stores information in "the cloud" so you can get it from your Mac, your PC, or an iPhone. It will push information up and down to keep everything synchronized.
11:12 PT - DM: Now we've got something entirely new. "We're very excited about this." It's MobileMe. Here comes Phil Schiller for demo time.
11:12 PT - JS: "Ad hoc" is how developers are going to be able to beta-test their iPhone software to a smallish group of outside testers too, almost certainly. Basically you can have your own iPhones and then almost 100 more to test with.
11:11 PT - DM: But wait, there's more! A third way to distribute apps: Ad Hoc. What if you were a university professor teaching a class on writing iPhone apps? They're expanding the iPhone developer program to allow developer to certify up to 100 iPhones for using their app.
11:10 PT - DM: Apple got feedback that Enterprise would like to distribute their apps just for their phones. They're adding a way for Enterprises to distribute apps (a smattering of applause). They can authorize iPhones that are in their enterprise, and they can restrict apps to only run on those phones. Apps can be downloaded via the Intranet and sync the programs to phone via iTunes. Just for running secure Enterprise apps on their phone.
11:09 PT - DM: Developer sets price, 70 percent of revenues to developer, no credit card or hosting fees, FairPlay DRM, and no charge for free apps, as we've known. They've enlarged scope of country to 62 countries (that's roughly as many countries as they've announced availability of). If your app is 10MB or less, it can be downloaded over cell, Wi-Fi, or iTunes. If it's over 10MB, it can only be downloaded over Wi-Fi or iTunes.
11:08 PT - JS: The iPhone 2.0 software update has been pushed back to "early July," and will be $9.95 for iPod Touch owners.
11:06 PT - DM: They've now added bulk delete and move for the Mail client. "It's rather handy." And the ability to save images from emails into your Photo Library. Scientific calculator: just turn Calculator into landscape mode. We've added parental controls "Some teenagers might not like this." You can turn off Explicit content, YouTube, iTunes Store, App Store.
And they've added a tremendous amount of language support: Cyrillic and Asian languages. Two forms of entry for Japanese and Chinese each. And there's one where they draw the Chinese character with the finger (that was rumored a few weeks back). That gets a nice round of applause. You can switch between languages on the fly. "It's one of the great advantages of not having a bunch of plastic keys for your keyboard."
11:04 PT - DM: Steve's back! I almost forgot he was here too. He's going to talk about a few new features in the iPhone 2.0 software. The first one is contact search: you can enter a name and instantly find who you're looking for.
Full iWork document support lets you view Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents. "A great way to look at your iWork documents on the go." Completed support of Microsoft Office documents. PowerPoint presentations are now available too. "It's super easy to download these documents as attachments."
11:05 PT - JS: That's a big deal for certain apps, basically anything that might need to notify you at any given time. Especially IM clients.
11:04 PT - DM: Advantages: preserves battery life, maintains performance, and works over the air: both over cell and Wi-Fi networks. This'll be available in September, but they'll be pushing a seed for developers to check out next week.
11:02 PT - DM: A far better solution: a push notification service to all developers. Here's how it works: as you run an app like an IM client, it's connected to the server. When the user quits the app, the iPhone will maintain a connection to the server, which will let them push notifications.
It can push three types of notification: badges, custom alert sounds, and you can push custom textual alerts, appearing kind of like SMS messages and you can provide buttons that will automatically launch application. Great thing about this design: it scales, but only requires one persistent connection. This is sweet, sweet news for all developers and those who wants to use IM clients especially.
11:00 PT - DM: Scott asks for one more round of applause for the developers' work. That was quite a long series of developer demos. There's been one feature request that a few developers have asked for. Especially IM clients and people like eBay: notifications for background apps.
According to Scott, the *wrong* solution is background processes. Here's why it's bad: battery life (it'll continue to drain your battery in the background); performance (Background applications will suck up CPU cycles, slowing down your foreground application). One platform has come up with this solution: a task manager. A shot of Windows Mobile, which gets a hearty laugh from the crowd. Scott compares it to a challenging game. "This is nuts." That gets a round of applause and cheers from the crowd.
10:57 PT - DM: Here's our last application from Digital Legends Entertainment. Apple only learned about this dev last week. They're based in Barcelona, but have only started on the SDK two weeks ago. "But when you get a look at the graphics, you'll forget you're looking at a phone and think you're looking at a dedicated gaming console."
Xavier Carrillo Costa is here giving us a demo. A warrior is jumping around on screen, and it looks pretty cool. The game -- Krull -- is expected to be released in September.
10:56 PT - DM: Yep, it looks like Johnny's got a lung tumor, unfortunately. Poor fella. Ha, you can draw a line on an image, and then erase it with a shake: it's a medical Etch-a-Sketch! The application also has a built-in movie mode that shows an animated model of imaging. The program will be out at the launch of the App Store.
10:55 PT - JS: Let me tell you, Johnny Appleseed's looked better. I think he needs to see a surgeon immediately.
10:54 PT - DM: Here's a CT scan and PET scan of Johnny Appleseed. They fuse the two images together, and let you switching which oreientation you can look at the image from: front, back, top, etc.
10:54 PT - DM: MIMvista is a leading developer of innovative medical imaging software. Mark Cain is going to walk us through their app.
10:53 PT - DM: Within weeks of the App Store launching, Modality will have a dozen apps available, and many more by the end of the year.
10:50 PT - DM: Modality. "The medical community has been flocking to the iPhone." Two medical apps to show today, the first is from Modality. Dr. S. Mark Williams has come up to show off the application. Modality is a learning application to help medical students learn anatomical information, replacing paper flash cards. Zoom and pan across high-quality pictures, and you can tap on a pin to identify a body part. (Nice laugh at dropping a Google Map-style pin on a coronary artery.) It'll also quiz you on locating anatomical features. Seen the use firsthand: "Dr Williams, I learned five new brain terms this morning while I was waiting in line for my latte."
10:50 PT - JS: Red Sox fan Dan Moren might boo the Yankees, but Yankees fan John Gruber, sitting right next to me, let out a cheer. We may have a fight right here in the keynote rows!
(Note: PCW News Editor and Red Sox fan booing also!)
10:48 PT - DM: And here's something from MLB.com for baseball fans. They've built an iPhone-native appliaction, which we'll get a taste of from Jeremy Schoenherr. MLB.com "At Bat" offers features you're not getting anywhere else. It'll show you all the live games.
It'll give you all the scores, who's on base, who's batting, etc. It's even got real-time video highlights from games just as they're being played. We're taking a look at the Yankees game (booooo). Reference movies give you the best experience on either Wi-Fi or EDGE (huh, no mention of 3G, eh?). They'll be in the App Store at launch.
10:45 PT - DM: The next demo shows off the work of a solo developer, Mark Terry, from Cow Music. He works in the insurance industry in England, and the application is called Band. It's pretty amazing. Two-octave piano, drum kit, and a 12-bar blues setting that quite literally lets you play a 12-bar blues all on your own. Now demoing a bass guitar window and playing the bass line from "Money" by Pink Floyd. So you can mix all the different instruments together and form your own band. Band will be on the App Store in "a few weeks time", but no info on pricing.
10:45 PT - JS: Apparently you can sell your iPhone software for any price you like so long as it's free or $9.99. (Hat tip: John Gruber.)
10:43 PT - DM: They're showing off how CPU-intensive some of these levels are and how well the iPhone handles them. The second game is Cro-Mag Rally; a 3-D caveman racing game.
Porting the game's over was very easy; only took about three days to get each game playable. The iPhone's tilt controls get used as the steering wheel. "That makes this game what it is." It appears very much like the Nintendo Wii's motion-sensitive controls. Adding the accelerometer-based steering took "5 to 10 minutes." Both games are on App Store at launch for $9.99.
10:41 PT - DM: Here's Pangea Software, the Mac game developer. They've ported two of their games on the beta SDK. Brian Greenstone takes the stage to discuss their applications. The first one is Enigmo, a physics-based puzzle game. The game is completely touch-based; drag and drop, zooming, panning, and rotating your puzzle pieces.
10:42 PT - JS: There have been a lot of reports about Apple encouraging developers to charge for their iPhone software. Interesting, though, how much free stuff we've seen today on stage.
10:38 PT - DM: Next: the Associated Press. They provide news to more than half of the world's poopulation every day. Already, AP has one of the best web apps for the iPhone, but they're making a native app too. Here's Benjamin Mosse to discuss the application. The program is called the "Mobile News Network." You can add locations to get local news; it can use Core Location to get news from wherever you are. And it'll download the news as you're reading it, so you can read later from wherever you are, even when you don't have a network. Also, you can take a look at the award-winning AP photos and watch video from their news network.
Look, it's Stevie Wonder! If you have a photograph or firsthand account of a breaking news story, you can submit a report to the AP. Unsurprisingly, they love building iPhone apps. The Mobile News Network will be a free download when the App Store launches.
10:39 PT - JS: TypePad is a good example, but I suspect we will be flooded with blog-posting tools for the iPhone. Which is good, because blogging from the iPhone isn't as easy as it could be, even with iPhone-specific interface plug-ins for blogging tools.
10:36 PT - DM: TypePad is up next. Michael Sippey from TypePad is going to demo their native blogging client. Here's TypePad on the iPhone.
You can create a text post or take a photo with your iPhone and send it to your blog. Also, you can add a photo from your library into a post.
It appears to handle multiple blogs (though all TypePad, presumably). You can choose categories and edit the body text. A pending items view will tell you the progress of posts in the background. Then you can jump to view your post in Safari. The app will be available for free at the launch of the App Store. He gets a nice round of applause; there are a lot of bloggers in this audience.
10:33 PT - DM: Our next demo is from "loopt" (I haven't heard of these guys). Loopt appears to be location-based social networking. Sam Altman from loopt will come on stage.
Loopt is about "connecting with people on the go." You can basically see your friends superimposed on a map. Best version of Loopt ever made. "The best and most powerful" mobile platform out there.
You can see what people have been up to all day, and look at photos they've taken. You can call, text, or comment on your friends' status feeds. "You never have to eat lunch alone again." You can use loopt with your friends on other platforms. The app will be free on the App Store at launch (not lunch!).
10:33 PT - JS: This shows that a lot of companies with fairly sophisticated web sites are still going to develop native applications for the iPhone. As nice as the iPhone's web browser interface is, a custom app to pull data off the net can be much better.
10:32 PT - DM: It'll show you when you've been outbid, so you can easily see what you're winning and losing. Entering a bid is really easy. One more item on watch list: $12.5 million home and golf course. Scroll through the photos. eBay app will be available for free when App Store launches.
(Reminder: DM is Dan Moren of Macworld and JS is Jason Snell of Macworld)
10:30 PT - DM: Next we're going to talk about eBay. 84 million active users, the largest online marketplace in the world. Ken Sun from eBay takes the stage. Here are auctions on the iPhone. iPhone is #1 mobile device for accessing eBay. Five weeks ago, they decided to create this application. Easy access to search, summary of activities, and personal avatar. They're going to search for a new WiiFit. You can see the picture, all the information, and they've integrated WebKit to see the buyer's HTML description.
10:29 PT - JS: I always thought Curious George was one of the classic monkeys. And Mickey Dolenz.
10:28 PT - DM: Eight weeks after the SDK event, they came up with 110 stages of the game. Also "all four of the classic monkeys." Here's the last world in Super Monkey Ball to demo just how well the tilt control works. I'd say the graphics look about on par with the Nintendo DS. Applause as the developer successfully navigates the first checkpoint. The "tilt control works beautifully." Sega loves the App Store and Super Monkey Ball, and they're looking forward to more apps. Super Monkey Ball will be available at launch of App Store for $9.99 (that's a bit lower than some had been suggesting. Nice).
10:27 PT - DM: Sega is the first one to come up and chat. Apple was impressed with what Sega had done in just the first couple of weeks with the SDK. Here's what they've managed to accomplish after several months. Ethan Einhorn of Sega is coming on stage to demo Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone.
10:26 PT - DM: Scott: "We couldn't agree more. We think we have a fantastic platform here for people to build incredible applications." Apple was really amazed at the quality of the applications that developers have been creating. They're inviting up a handful of developers to talk about what they've been working on.
10:25 PT - DM: The SDK has been out for about three months, and thousands of developers are out there using it. Apple's asked them what they've thought about the SDK, and the response has been very positive. Here's a quote from a Disney engineer lauding the software development tools. Tom Yager at our sister publication InfoWorld is giving props as well. Here's a plug from the director of mobile product development at Fox. Finally, David Pogue of the NYT calls the iPhone the third major platform after Windows and Mac OS X.
10:25 PT - JS: John Gruber says that he hopes that these tools mean that we'll see a lot of apps that support both landscape and portrait modes in the iPhone, and I agree. Not enough iPhone apps support landscape orientation.
10:18 PT - DM: Scott's continuing to walk through the features of the SDK: a lot of this is a review of things we've already learned about the SDK in the iPhone event earlier this year.
10:16 PT - DM: Forstall: "We're opening up same APIs and tools that we use internally to build all of the shipping apps." Here's a rundown of the APIs and frameworks on the iPhone. The iPhone shares layers with OS X on the desktop; the same kernel is used on both.
10:15 PT - DM: The video gets a round of applause. Maybe it'll be up for an Oscar (fingers crossed). Jobs returns to stage: "That gives you an idea of what we're doing in Enterprise." Scott Forstall is going to come out next to talk about the SDK.
10:15 PT - JS: Nice iPhone 2.0 tidbit from Dan Frakes as seen in the video: as you're entering your password, you can see the last character that you typed, making it a lot easier to make sure you're typing your password correctly.
10:14 PT - JS: Great line from the military official, who points out that they're one of the few groups in the world that is very mobile, deploys globally, and has people shooting at them.
10:12 PT - DM: We're getting an assortment of executives from corporations and the military. Disney's been testing the beta release for the past few months, apparently (big surprise). We're seeing a few of the new features, like contact searching, Exchange support, push calendaring, etc. Security is also a big part of the 2.0 release and enterprise features.
10:11 PT - DM: The Enterprise markets have participated in beta program: 35 percent of the Fortune 500 has participated in beta program. Top five commerical banks, top five securites, 6 of 7 top airlines, 8 of 10 top pharmaceutical companies, and 8 of 10 top entertainment companies have participated. Phenomenal participation of higher education as well. Going to show a video of Enterprise customers.
10:11 PT - JS: This is basically a recap of Apple's previous SDK event a few months back. Good stuff, though.
10:09 PT - DM: iPhone 2.0 software has three parts to it: enterprise support, the SDK, and some new end-user features. "Let me start with the enterprise. Customers have demanded Microsoft Exchange, so they've built it in out of the box for 2.0 software: push email, push contacts, push calendar, auto-discovery of Exchange severes, global address lookup, and remote wipe security feature. All built in to iPhone 2.0 software. They've added secure VPN services from Cisco and other network service demanded by the Enterprise market. Everything that Apple was told enterprise users want, they've built in.
(Note: DM is Dan Moren of Macworld and JS is Jason Snell of Macworld)
10:08 PT - DM: Let's talk about the iPhone. We're going to talk about iPhone 2.0 first. It's "a giant step forward" from where we've been, and it's got the SDK in it. In the 95 days since the SDK was announced, over 250,000 have downloaded it. Over 25,000 people have applied to the paid developer program. Admitted 4,000 people to the program so far.
Here's an image of the shirt Apple is giving out to those attending its Worldwide Developers Conference:
10:07 PT - DM: Let's get started. There's three parts to Apple now: the first part is the Mac, the second part is the music business - the iPod and iTunes, and the third part is the iPhone (no mention of the Apple TV!). Now I'm gonna take this morning to talk about the iPhone first, so Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller will be coming out to talk about the iPhone. Then after lunch, developers are going to get a peek at OS X Snow Leopard (that's right, it's official).
10:06 PT - DM: Steve Jobs is taking the stage, to rampant applause from the audience. He's wearing a pair of denim overalls...okay, kidding. Black turtleneck and jeans all the way. "We've been working really hard on some great stuff that we can't wait to share with you." There are a record 5200 attendees here. "Wish we could have had more, but we sold out." They can't find a bigger venue than this. 147 sessions; 85 on the Mac and 62 on the iPhone, so it's "gonna be packed." 169 hands-on labs, over 1000 engineers on site, and sessions on iFund and Intel. "One of the best WWDCs ever."
10:05 PT - DM: They're dimming the lights, so we're probably about to get started. I hope none of these people stand up or it's going to be very, very irritating. And we've left off with "Great Balls of Fire. (Note: DM is Dan Moren of Macworld and JS is Jason Snell of Macworld)
10:05 PT - JS: The cheers were definitely for Al Gore, a member of Apple's board. I believe he might have held elective office at some point as well. I don't know if he brought his Oscar, though. Probably not. Those things are heavy.
10:02 PT - DM: They've now asked us to turn off our electronic devices. I love that they specifically mention that you turn off your iPhones. Because everybody here has iPhones. If you've got a Blackberry, go ahead and leave it on: because it's *rubbish*.
10:02 -- Melissa Perenson of PC World says Al Gore is in the house. Perhaps a green component to today's announcements?
10:01 PT - DM: Clearly, something important has just happened. Lots of people have stood up. I think Steve Jobs is making a running entrance, Stephen Colbert-style or something. Unfortunately, everybody's standing up, so we have no idea what's going on.
-----
We're now going to turn this blog over to our colleages at Macworld, who know the subject so well.
9:50 PT - DM: Good morning and welcome to Macworld's live coverage of the WWDC '08 Keynote event. I'm your host Associate Editor Dan Moren, alongside Editorial Director Jason Snell. We'll be here for the next two hours, typing furiously in the hopes of catching everything Steve Jobs says and does. Right now, the music's playing and people are still getting seated.
Well, what in the world are Steve Jobs and Apple up to today?
We'll know shortly after 10 a.m PDT, and we'll live blog from Jobs' keynote at the Moscone Center here in San Francisco. We're working in conjuction with our friends from Macworld--Jason Snell and Dan Moren.
T-Mobile, Starbucks Scuffle Over In-Store Wi-Fi
T-Mobile seems to be the only ones that have a problem with Starbuck's new Wi-Fi system as the German company has sued Starbucks.
The lawsuit regards Starbucks' transition method while switching from T-Mobile to AT&T for in-store Internet. The agreement reached earlier this year said that T-Mobile had the rights to "sell, market and promote its services" at all Starbucks locations until every Starbucks is converted to the AT&T wireless Internet system.
T-Mobile says that with the limited markets currently supporting the AT&T wireless Internet, Starbucks has breached the contract with the launch of the Starbucks Card Rewards and other promotions.
At this point, T-Mobile is just pulling at every string left for its floundering hotspot service. With free wireless Internet becoming a big trend, the time is ticking on T-Mobile's $10-per-24-hour Internet service. I'd say it's time for T-Mobile to reevaluate its hotspot service and give its customers what they really want: free Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi Enabled Camera Helps Nab Crooks: Start of a Trend
Investigative police may soon be obsolete when it comes to tracking down stolen high-tech consumer gear. That's because more gadgets from laptops, phones, and cameras are themselves helping to nab thieves - sans the police. Take the latest case of Alison DeLauzon whose camera "phoned home" and helped identify who had her lost Canon camera.
DeLauzon was hopeless after losing her camera on vacation in Florida, until she got home and found her holiday photos, as well as photos of complete strangers uploaded to her computer. The information was used to get her goods back. It also got two restaurant employees that made off with her camera fired.
Here What Happened
Continue reading "Wi-Fi Enabled Camera Helps Nab Crooks: Start of a Trend"
Good story.
Cool, now if I can just get this on all the government laptops being stolen and/or lost. Then I can get a photo of the idiot who lost the laptop and the bum that lifted it.
Even better since I back up my data, maybe I can send a message to have the battery melt down and maybe the crook with it.
There are some mistakes in the english ''Here What Happened'' "such as GadgetTrak sells software that can be loaded iPhones, Blackberry and"
Please read the complete article and you will know what I mean, I presume it is a typo, I do not expect this from pc world cause you are the BEST.
Disney and Google Team Up on Virtual Disney World
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has received a 3D makeover in what the company is calling "the largest corporate initiative on Google Earth," according to Disney. Orlando parks featured in Google Earth include the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.
Users of Google's popular 3D globetrotting software can now search for "Disney World" and view three dimensional buildings, rides, and other items of interest from Disney's four theme parks and 22 hotels in the Orlando area. Google's LatLong blog says Disney has modeled the nearly 5000 structures and items that include rides, the Disney castle, and also real-world objects such as a monorail, picnic tables, benches, streetlights, signs, and trees.
Here are some screenshots of the 3D-rendered buildings. You can view more yourself by downloading Google Earth and the Disney KML layer that showcases each park. To find explore Disney search for "Disney World" once the Google Earth program is up and running and then click on the Mouse Ears icon in the middle of the park. Click on the images I've provided here for a larger view.
Continue reading "Disney and Google Team Up on Virtual Disney World"
IBM to Liquid Cool Computer Chips
As computer chips get smaller and are pushed to work harder they are also getting too hot for digital gear to handle. That's why IBM researchers believe that liquid cooling microprocessors, instead of air (or fan) cooling them, will be more effective.
Researchers from IBM's Zurich Research Lab and Berlin's Fraunhofer Institute have figured out a method to send "tiny rivers of water" through layers of chip stacks. So-called 3D chip stacks are better for computer speed than the standard side-by-side CPU configurations because stacks reduce the distance between circuits and in turn speed up processing time. That translates into software applications running faster and more reliably.
Why Water?
Google Opens Up Gmail Experiments
Google's always been a company willing not only to try things, but to fail in public. You can go to Google Labs and try all sorts of new services the company's engineers have developed, but that aren't yet ready for mass consumption. Starting today, Google is applying that approach to Gmail.
Click "Settings" in Gmail, and you should see a Labs tab.(The company started rolling out the change at 6 p.m., but said it could be hours or days before every Gmail user has it.) Within the Gmail lab are 13 tweaks, from a change in the way your signature appears at the end of messages to an expanded way to mark messages to a setting called "Email Addict" that lets you block Gmail and Chat for 15 minutes so you can walk away and have a life.
I haven't had much chance to play with the new tweaks, but these look the most useful to me:
Superstars: Standard Gmail lets you add a yellow star to an important message. Enabling Superstars let's you mark messages with different colored stars and other icons like a check mark or exclamation point. You choose which icons you want to use. Should be useful for prioritizing and sorting messages.
Continue reading "Google Opens Up Gmail Experiments"
"not only to try things, but to fail in public." This sounds very funny. Why do you think it is called "Labs"? :))
I like that they are implementing new interesting ideas and already tried them.
I want to play!!!
Have been checking my Settings tabs for two hours (10:30-12:30 PDT) and all I see is the same old tired toys :-(
Aw, come on, can I, can I, can I play, too?
::::down on knees::: Pleassssse!
Hi Archie,
I didn't mean my "fail in public" line to be critical. It takes guts to try something you know may flop and I admire Google for being willing to do that.
Postcards From Computex Taipei
Photos that celebrate the lighter side of hanging out at the world's second largest computer fair (behind CeBIT), where over 1,700 exhibitors--spread over four mega halls--have been showing their wares this week.
Visit our Computex 2008 Info Center for the latest news, videos and gadget coverage.
Just getting to the show can be an experience in Taipei?
?where scooters rule the roads.
Main Entrance: Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1
Keeping things cool using liquid nitrogen at MSI's Booth?
...while promotional models do their best to heat things up again?
...and not fall.
What's a hardware maker to do during the lunchtime lull? Why, build a house of RAM chips of course! Jenga it ain't.
A real life Gigabyte M528 Internet Mobile Internet Device! Great costume?
?and the device itself is worth a look, too. The M528 has a 4.8-inch touchscreen (800 by 600 resolution), excellent Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and GPS connectivity--all powered by an 800MHz Intel Atom CPU running Ubuntu Mobile. You'll need to check Gigabyte USA's Website for pricing and availability.
Taipei has some of the best, most diverse food in the world and I've definitely sampled lots of it! But I also couldn't resist trying some local McDonald's while here. *Hide*
Gastronomical curiosities aside, the city is also home to the Taipei 101: one of the world's tallest buildings with 101 floors reaching 1,670 feet into the the sky.
PS3 to Get Dynamic In-Game Ads
Madison Avenue's inroads into the virtual world have just been extended. Sony says it will now start running ads in PlayStation 3 games.
Sony has reached an agreement with marketing firm IGA Worldwide to provide dynamic in-game ads for the PlayStation 3. Shortly after the announcement, IGA Worldwide announced a deal making IGA Worldwide the exclusive ad provider for PS3 games developed and published by industry giant EA.
Games most likely to be effected by this deal are EA Sports games as well as racing games like Need for Speed and Burnout. The move by Sony is most likely to counteract Microsoft's buy out of advertising firm Massive and then creating a similar exclusive deal providing advertising for Xbox 360 games.
Don't Like In-Game Advertising? You're Out of Luck
Verizon to Become Largest Carrier With Alltel Buyout
Verizon Wireless is close to acquiring Alltel Wireless for $27 billion making Verizon the largest wireless carrier surpassing AT&T in the standings, according to sources.
The deal doesn't come too surprising as Alltel has been swimming in $23 billion of debt that sources believe Verizon could refinance. The debt comes from a deal seven months ago when Alltel was taken private by TPG Capital and a branch of Goldman Sachs.
What the Merger Could Mean to You
Continue reading "Verizon to Become Largest Carrier With Alltel Buyout"
It took Nikon YEARS to get into the FF game and even then, it's still not their own sensor (it's even worse, it's Sony's).
Don't know what took Nikon so long or why, but I have a feeling it's all about the bottom line for them.
Feed the existing user base a little (with garbage, ie-DX cropped sensors), then keep screwing them for a few years.
Finally get into the FF game when people are switching to Canon.
Oh btw, before anyone jumps on me for this, I'm a Nikon shooter for 10 years now - unfortunately. Sadly, I'm very seriously considering switching over to Canon now, regardless of Nikon's (Sony's) late FF sensor cameras.
IMO the D700 will eat into the D300 and D3 sales. Nikon should have focused on a successor to the D80 which will entice many more to switch to Nikon than the D700. D80 users are itching for an upgrade but most don't want to spend the money to buy a D300 much less a D700... Nikon should also have focused on a wider selection and better tele-zooms and upgrades to primes... and faster primes as well... it's not good when u have a 14-24mm that's sharper than the 14mm, 20mm and 24mm primes.