5 Features The iPhone 5 MUST Have

apple, cool stuff, Hardware, iPhone, smart phones 4 Responses »

Oct 042011

iPhone 5 Launch

Let’s get right down to it. If Apple wants to defeat the rest of the mobile phone world, the new iPhone 5 will need to step up the game! Here are 5 features that the iPhone 5 absolutely must have if Apple wants to pound the competition.

5. Larger Display
iPhone users are starting to notice those large screen Android phones out there and they want their beloved Apple to follow suit. Come on Apple, bring us the display!

4. More Efficient Battery
A phone should last all day. That is all I need to say about that!

3. HD Video Camera
The iPhone 5 would appeal to a much larger group if the video recording capabilities of the phone were increased greatly. HD…at least 720p, preferably 1080p!

2. Dual Core Processor
Android phones have blasted past iPhones as far as hardware is concerned and it’s time for Apple to catch back up. A screaming fast dual core processor would help a lot!

1. 4G
Yes. The iPhone 5 needs to have 4g capability. Any phone trying to compete for the top spot in the world of smartphones, MUST have 4g!

Can you think of any more features that the iPhone 5 should have? Let me know in the comments!

Update

Check out our iPhone 5 Rumors post!

Steve Jobs Resigns—What Does This Mean for Apple?

apple, cool stuff, iPhone, Mac, news No Responses »

Aug 242011

Jobs and Wozniak, courtesy of Gizmodo

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.” —Steve Jobs, August 24, 2011

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the big news that Steve Jobs is stepping down as Apple’s CEO, and the current COO Tim Cook will be taking his place. I can’t say that I’m surprised, Jobs has been ill for quite some time, and he needs to focus on himself and his family. So where does that leave Apple?

I’m not going to say that it’s all going to hell in a handbag, but I think Cook has some huge shoes to fill. Regardless of your IOS v. Droid/Mac vs. PC point of view, you can’t argue that Jobs is an amazing innovator and has made some very smart choices to get Apple to where it is today. Seriously, companies are going under and businesses are reporting losses, but people are still finding the money to buy the latest iPhone. People can ironically bitch about the economy while sipping a latte at the corner coffee shop while checking their stocks on an iPad2. Even in the worst economic times since the Great Depression, people thirst for Apple products. Yes, yes, there is an entire marketing team and countless others behind the company, but with Jobs at the wheel, they have consistently portrayed their products as hip, cool, and sexy—and we eat it up.

Okay, so you’re shaking your head because you could care less about Apple. Come on, you’ve got to give the man credit for being an innovator. Sure, I love Android OS on my phone, but who had the first true “smart phone”? Apple. I also dig the Droid Tablets now, but who had it first? Apple. What we know now as “Windows” originated with the Apple Macintosh. It’s one thing to take an idea that has already been created and make it better, but its quite another to give the public something completely new.

Oh, don’t give me the “he stole it from Xerox” argument. Okay, let’s say that he “stole” the GUI from Xerox—he sure as heck executed it in a way that no one else even thought of.

On the flip side, what happens when you try to be super innovative with your wacky products? You have some failures. Hey, it happens! Check out this list of Apple products that failed from www.minyanville.com. Some of those are such a flash from the past. I remember wanting a Newton so bad back in the day—it was going to change everything! And it would look oh-so-sweet next to my LC2. Even though these products didn’t make it, you can see how they led to better, more polished machines. You can’t win every time!

Another point to show how badass Jobs has made the company—you know how folks complain that iPads aren’t as good as Droid tablets because they don’t support Adobe Flash? What I find amazing is that it’s not stopping Apple. What are web developers doing? Making iPad versions of their sites that use alternatives to Flash! Hah, people bend over backwards to conform to iPad—most excellent.

Back to my original point, Cook has some huge shoes to fill. Maybe his leadership will do even greater things for the company! I know there are loads of people working behind the scenes at Apple, but none of that occurs without a great leader making the right decisions. I know, I’ve called Jobs “smug” in the past, but I think it’s okay to be smug when you can back it up. I wish luck to Cook, health to Jobs, and I look forward to seeing what Apple comes out with next. The competition between IOS, Droid, Windows, etc. is great—it just means we’ll keep getting more awesome products out of all these guys!

Google Announces Agreement to Aquire Motorola

android, apple, cool stuff, google, iPhone, smart phones, web 1 Response »

Aug 152011

These are the Droids you ar looking for, apparently...

That’s right, Google has announced its intention to purchase Motorola Mobility, otherwise known as the cell phone division, for $12.1 billion. Not chump change right?

Google is feeling the pinch from Apple and Microsoft trying to push around their Android Operating System and mobile devices, so they are cutting out the middle man and aquiring Motorola, along with Moto’s 17,000 patents. Of course the buyout will have to pass muster with the Department of Justice, but all things considered this seems like it may be a great partnership for all the Android fans out there.

Google CEO Larry page said today on the companies blog that, “Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem.” As long as Google maintains their current open culture around Android and allows continuous development via open source apps, this could be the deal that cements Android in front of iOS permanently. Can’t wait to see what Moto and Google can cook up together.

Sources:

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Google-to-Buy-Motorola-Mobility-for-125-Billion-115673

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/supercharging-android-google-to-acquire.html

Google launches Chromebook June 15

apple, cool stuff, google, Hardware, Mac, Software, web, Windows No Responses »

Jun 142011

Chromebook

June 15 marks the public launch date of the Google Chromebook in the U.S. and U.K. So will this date go down in history, like the Wright Brothers first flight or the Apollo 11 moon landing? Or is it doomed to be a failed attempt to unseat Microsoft (and maybe even Apple) as the reigning champion of the Operating System world?

The Chromebook is different because Google has designed its operating system from the ground up to work as part of the “cloud”-that oh so nebulous term used by informed and uninformed alike to describe what is essentially a terminal. Google is moving forward by looking back to the days when terminals existed for user input, and the mainframe or server did all the work and storage. Now admittedly the Chomebook and Chrome OS are slightly more complex, but at the basic level the machine is a web terminal.

Those of you familiar with the Chrome browser will feel right at home on the Chromebook. It utilizes your Google login to grant you access, and all activities are done within that same Chrome shell. Little to no data is stored locally, and once you logout, no one else can access your profile.

I had an opportunity to sit down with one of the CR48 Beta units, and I must admit it was pretty slick. With its SSD the machine was booted up and I was logged in in under 30 seconds. Of course, you could do the same thing now with Win7 or OSX and an SSD. Chromebook also comes with built in B/G/N Wifi capability, as well as onboard 3G wireless, with 100 MB monthly at no charge through Verizon Wireless. Google has also dumbed down the updating and security processes, making them all automatic on the Chromebook. Chrome also has an increasingly large selection of apps, much like those available in iOS or Android.

Overall, for someone who is already cloud-oriented, and is looking for a moderaterly priced laptop/netbook, the Chromebook would be a decent choice. For now, I’ll chose to stick with something that allows more in the way of customization and local storage until the tech becomes more mature and full-featured.

For more information, check out http://www.google.com/chromebook/

Complete List of Essential Tools For Web Developers

apple, computer humor, cool stuff, Linux, Mac, mysql, Open Source Software, php, programming, Software, Tutorials, web, web development, Windows 1 Response »

Feb 242011

PHP while loop with MySQL

I have been coming across a lot of “Essential Tools For Web Developers” lists lately and I noticed that they are all really extensive. Some of them have as many as 100 tools listed! This begs the question, “Do you understand what ‘essential’ means?”. So here is my EXTENSIVE list of essential tools for web developers. This is literally every essential tool you will need to develop web applications.

Web Server Software and Extensions

First and foremost, you’re going to need a web server. If you have a web host, disregard this tool because this is essentially the service that they provide. If you plan to run your own web server, check out WAMP for Windows and LAMP for Linux.

Text Editor

Notepad will work. However, I would recommend getting a better one than that since it doesn’t really have any features! There are a ton of free options. Some people swear by Eclipse. I prefer Notepad++ on Windows, TextWrangler on Mac, and VIM on Linux.

FTP Client

After you have created a new script or app using your awesome text editor, you will have to upload it to the web server. Again, there are several free FTP clients out there. I prefer FileZilla personally. It was originally written for Windows, but has since been ported to Mac and Linux. The Mac version can be a tad buggy from time to time but it’s super fast still and I love it!

Ummmm…yeah…that’s it. Nothing else is needed to develop web applications. There are lots of helpful tools out there and they should certainly be used, but they are NOT essential!

Life after iPad…Anyone Up for a Big Crow Dinner?

apple, cool stuff, Hardware, news, tablets 3 Responses »

Jan 192011

Picture it, early 2010 – everyone is awaiting this big announcement of some sort of tablet thing to be released by Apple. Since I like gadgets and electronics, friends at work are asking me, “So, are you going to get that new tablet to replace your Kindle?” “Are you so stoked for what Jobs is about to announce?” My reply, “Shut up, nothing will replace my Kindle any time soon, and who cares if this thing is color – it’s probably back-lit and would hurt your eyes if you read from it for a prolonged period of time.” In short, “Screw you guys, I’m going home.”

April 2010 – the iPad is released. I realize that it’s actually called, “iPad,” so my friends and I start making maxi-pad and tampon jokes to go along with it.

Fast forward to October 2010 – my husband’s birthday is coming up, and I don’t know what to get him. Suddenly, his little netbook – aka: couch-machine – goes kaput. He’s talking about replacing it – it’s going to cost about $250. Then I start to think, “Isn’t that lame-o iPad pretty much a netbook, only sexier?” Knowing that my husband would totally poop his pants with excitement, I purchased the iPad.

Watching my husband open it was so rad. I had him open the iPad cover first – he looked confused, almost as if, “Oh, is this a joke?” Once he opened the actual iPad, I don’t think I saw him for another week. He was busy charging it, downloading apps, killing zombies, etc.

At this point, I’m thinking, “Ok, it’s kind of cool.” Then I started using it. Let me just start with my first helping of crow before I continue…

My husband set up my Twitter and Facebook on it, and I haven’t looked back since. It’s not that I couldn’t live without this device or that it changed my life, but it is just so darn sexy! It’s got a lovely screen, super easy and intuitive to use, charges quickly, holds a decent charge, doesn’t go through a boot-up/shut-down rigmarole, and damn…did I mention that it’s sexy? Functionally, it doesn’t do anything that our netbook couldn’t do; the main difference is that this bad-boy does it with style.

There’s the argument that, “Isn’t it just a big iPhone that you can’t use as a phone?” Yes, pretty much. And here’s the thing…wait for it…I don’t have a smartphone. I know, right? It’s not that I have anything against the devices, it’s just that I’ve been waiting for my dang phone contract with Verizon to end for like EVER, and it finally does in four days. I’m so excited, I could barf. I’m leaning towards a Motorola Droid 2. Reasons: lower price, husband has older version and loves it, dad has it and loves it, and I think iPhones are uber smug. Mr. Tom Duffy called me on this last week and asked how I could say that when I rave about my iPad. I guess it’s still the PC side of me fighting off Apple. Did I mention that I’m writing this post from my iMac while my iPod charges next to it? Le sigh…

What are your thoughts? Help me make this decision about my first smartphone – iPhone or Droid? Pros/Cons – let’s hear it.

RIM Announces New Tablet PC

apple, featured, news, smart phones 1 Response »

Sep 282010

Well, it’s official folks. Research In Motion, a.k.a. RIM, the lovely people who have brought you many frustrating Blackberry products chocked full of trackballs, announced yesterday that they will be releasing a tablet touchscreen computer. Aimed to compete with the iPad and the new Samsung Galaxy, the RIM tablet, being called the Playbook for now, will feature a 1 GHz processor and a max resolution of 1024×600. The phone will be able to pair with Blackberry handsets via bluetooth to share data and a 3G connection. And most importantly, for the iPad haters, it will feature fully hardware accelerated Flash (YAY!). Look for it to be released sometime in Q1 2011.

Source:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/09/rim-unveils-playbook-tablet-with-dual-core-cpu-1080p-support.ars

104 Best Free Apps For Windows, Linux, and Mac

apple, featured, Linux, Mac, music, Network Security, Open Source Software, programming, Software, web design, web development, Windows 5 Responses »

Aug 092010

Free Apps

Free is an amazing word! I decided to compile a list of 100+ of the very best free apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Not all of the free apps listed work on all platforms…so make sure to look into it on your own. This list is broken down into 11 pages. Each page accounts for a software category. Feel free to leave additional free apps that you like in the comments!

Categories:

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Apple’s Apology Leaves Frustrated iPhone 4 Users Confused

apple, iPhone, news, smart phones 2 Responses »

Jul 022010

Today, Apple announced that the iPhone 4′s signal strength problem is purely software related. They said in an apology to customers that the software is actually reporting incorrect information about signal strength for AT&T’s network. Several customers beg to differ that this is merely a software problem.

The problem in question is that iPhone 4 users can experience a complete loss of 3g signal if the phone is held in the left hand. Some upset customers are begging the question, “If this is purely a problem of software, why are my calls dropping when I hold my phone in my left hand?” It would seem that if the error was purely software related, the displayed signal strength would be incorrect, but this would have no effect on the call itself.

AnandTech ran a highly detailed radio-frequency analysis and found that when held in the left hand, the design of the iPhone 4 led to more signal loss than other phones including older models of the iPhone.

While Apple will probably not notice any real negative sales figures from this problem, some say that it is a real blemish on an otherwise great reputation.

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