Apple adopts third-party API's for one of its own iOS apps. This is big news and a possible change in it's thinking.

Thu, Mar 21 2013 07:35 | IOS, Musical, Apple

third part ios api

Apple has updated GarageBand on iOS with support for Audiobus, a third-party interface that lets you use multiple music creation apps at the same time. Since Audiobus launched late last year, the developers behind several music apps have adopted it as a de facto communication standard for iOS, and it's easy to see why. The simple interface exponentially increases the iPad's value as a music creation tool by letting you do all the recording and sequencing on a single device without complex file imports, as well as enabling apps to talk to each other. For example, you could now record a synth track in Korg's iMS-20, filter it through the Amplitude amp modeler, and record the results as a track in GarageBand.

Apps can support Audiobus in up to three ways: as input, effect, or output. GarageBand only works as an output, meaning that you can't feed its own instruments into other apps; instead, the Audiobus support means you can use GarageBand to record and sequence sounds from Animoog, Figure, and a whole host of other apps that work as an input. When you launch one of those apps through Audiobus and select GarageBand as your output, you'll see a tab on the side of the screen that you can use to record your performance without actually switching apps. Once you're done recording you can use the tab to switch back to GarageBand, where your performance will appear just as if you'd played it within the app itself.
While GarageBand is just one of many apps that can be used in this way — Cubasis, Beatmaker 2, and Auria are popular choices — at $4.99 it's definitely one of the cheaper options for multitrack recording. It's also intriguing that Apple has seen fit to adopt a third-party API for one of its own iOS apps. This could signal a desire from the company to come up with a more robust way to share data between apps on iOS, or it might just show that Apple is content to let developers find their own solutions. Either way, Audiobus is likely to gain a lot more traction now that it has Cupertino's official blessing, and its creators have chopped its regular $9.99 price in half to celebrate.

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shane blyth

IntelliscreenX - Another Reason To Jailbreak Your iPhone

Wed, Feb 6 2013 03:23 | IOS, iPhone, Jailbreak, Apple

One of the best reasons to Jailbreak your iPhone is IntelliscreenX.
This is one amazing add-on.

Features:
- View Calendar, Email, Text Messages, News, Facebook, Twitter, Weather, and more from your iPhone "Slide To Unlock" screen
- Taskbar Icons for Missed Email, SMS, Phone calls, and Silent status
- QuickView/Preview Entire Email
- View/Mark Read/Unread/Delete your Emails from the Lock Screen
- Reply to SMS/iMessages with Message+ (free)
- Completely integrated into iOS6 Notification Center
- Integrated Twitter and Facebook pages
- Post/Comment/Tweet from anywhere
- Access QuickSettings like brightness, airplane mode, Bluetooth +
- Advanced RSS Reader uses iOS 6 Reader to show "just" news
- Can "pull down" and display in any app!

As always you need a jailbroken IOS device and then go search in Cydia app to find this

Someones done a great video so watch it

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shane blyth

Auxo – One Reason I Jailbroke My iPhone

Wed, Feb 6 2013 03:09 | IOS, iPhone, Jailbreak, Apple

Auxo-1024x7512

Auxo – the awesome replacement for the iOS app switcher, which we had previewed few days back is now available on Cydia.
Auxo is based on a concept by designer @Sentry_NC aims to replace the app switcher. The designer has joined hands with Jack Willis, and JamieD360 to make the concept a reality.
Auxo replaces the app icons in the app switcher with a card-like screenshot of the current state of the app. The card-like screenshot makes it easier to identify the app you want to launch from the app switcher.
You can remove apps from the app switcher by swiping down on the app rather than going through the tedious process of pressing and holding the Home button etc. You can also kill multiple apps by using multiple fingers (though it is debatable if killing apps is a good idea). We liked the feature where the jailbreak tweak prompts you if you really want to close the music app when the music is playing in the background.
The jailbreak tweak allows you to access some of the frequently used toggles such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc.
Auxo also redesigns the music controls that are available when you swipe from left to right, with album artwork etc and gives you quick access to the volume controls. Check out the video walkthrough.
Auxo is available on Cydia for $1.99. Auxo is currently compatible with iOS 6, but the developers are planning to release an update to add support iOS 5.x.x sometime next week. They also plan to release Auxo for iPad shortly.

You require a Jailbroken IOS device and then simply open the cydia app to done load it

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shane blyth

Jailbreak now avaialable for all Devices Running IOS6 and 6.1

Tue, Feb 5 2013 04:13 | IOS, iPhone, Jailbreak, Apple

http://www.jailbreaknation.com/jailbreak-6.1-untethered-with-evasi0n-for-ios-6-iphone-5-4s-4-3gs-ipod-touch-5g-4g-ipad-mini-432

Here is a video tutorial, step-by-step:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYoOxZZN32o

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shane blyth

Netbook's Are Dead and Apple's To Blame.

Fri, Jan 4 2013 02:41 | Hardware, Apple

netbooksaredead

Finally Netbooks are dead and Apples getting the blame
These small, underpowered, ultracheap laptops were considered the future of the computer industry. In 2008 and 2009, recession-strapped consumers around the world began snapping up netbooks in droves. They became the fastest-growing segment of the PC market, and some wild-eyed analysts were suggesting that netbook sales would soon eclipse those of desktops and regular laptops combined. That didn’t happen. Over the past couple years the netbook market crashed. Now, as Charles Arthur reports in the Guardian, most major PC manufacturers have stopped making these tiny machines. The last holdouts were the Taiwanese firms Acer and Asus. Both say they won’t build any netbooks in 2013.
What killed the netbook? Arthur’s smart piece offers three plausible suspects: First, PC makers began making better, cheaper laptops, which made for stronger competition against netbooks. Second, PC makers discovered that netbooks were a terrible business—after paying Microsoft a licensing fee for Windows, manufacturers weren’t making any money on very cheap computers. And finally, there was the rise of tablets; once machines like the iPad came along, people lost interest in $400 netbooks.
These are all plausible theories, but I think Arthur is a bit too reluctant to tie the whole story together and issue a blistering indictment against the netbook’s assassin. If you study the PC industry over the past five years, you find only one company that had the means, motive, and opportunity. Apple killed the netbook, more or less single-handedly, and we should all be grateful for it.

Netbooks were terrible machines, a technological blight that threatened to become the future of computing. They had awful, nearly unusable keyboards, very slow processors, and they ran versions of Windows or Linux that were a trudge to use on tiny screens. Yet despite their awfulness, they were embraced by the world’s largest tech firms—Intel, Microsoft, HP, Dell, and Lenovo were all gaga for them.
Apple alone stood against the tide of netbooks. Apple’s brilliant insight was that despite netbooks’ popularity, nobody really wanted a netbook per se. Instead, Apple realized that people who were buying netbooks were looking for one of two things—they wanted full-fledged laptops that were very portable, or they wanted cheap machines that allowed them to easily surf the Web, use email and do other light computing tasks. Rather than building a single netbook that fit both these audiences poorly, Apple built two machines that were, each in its own way, much better than any netbook ever sold.
In 2008, Apple launched the expensive but very portable MacBook Air, and then in 2010, it put out the cheap but capable iPad. Neither was a direct substitute for the netbook. But consumers immediately recognized their utility—and quickly abandoned netbooks. The iPad and the Air became the blueprints for the rest of the industry, with every other PC manufacturer now making similarly thin laptops and touchscreen tablets. Thus, thanks to Apple—and Apple alone—we were all saved from the rise of terrible tiny machines.
It’s difficult, now, to appreciate how courageous Apple’s refusal to join the netbook parade once was. In 2008, its cheapest laptop sold for more than $1,000. This was crazy expensive in the midst of a global recession, and investors and analysts were hounding the company to lower its prices. Apple’s stock price sank to less than $100.
But Apple had two reasons for holding steady against netbooks. One was noble: Shrinking a laptop to the size of netbooks—which typically had 7- or 9-inch screens and very slow Intel Atom processors—made for an inherently inferior computing experience. At that size, pointing devices and keyboards became very annoying to use, and operating systems designed for systems with more power worked like molasses. In other words, netbooks sucked, and Apple didn’t want to make computers that sucked. As Steve Jobs told investors in 2008, “We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk. Our DNA will not let us do that.”
The second reason Apple didn’t make a netbook was that it couldn’t make a netbook. The principal difference between Apple and most other tech manufacturers is that Apple prizes profits over market share. Sure, Apple, like all companies, wants to sell a lot of widgets—but given a choice between making $10 billion by capturing 10 percent of the market or $1 billion by capturing 90 percent of the market, Apple will always choose money over sales. (You’d think this was obvious; don’t all companies want to make money? Nope: Apple sells fewer PCs than most other companies, but makes much more money doing so than all of its rivals.)

That’s why Apple couldn’t make a netbook. Netbooks were a market-share play—at $300 to $400 each, PC manufacturers were making very little on each one sold, so the only way to succeed was to get a huge slice of the market. Apple had no interest in playing that game; why spend time and effort selling something you wouldn’t make any money on?
It’s worth noting that Apple wasn’t the only PC maker that was worried about netbooks’ low margins. Many other PC manufacturers recognized that netbooks would ruin them, too. In 2008, the New York Times published a piece citing computer makers’ rising anxiety about netbooks. One industry analyst told the paper, “When I talk to PC vendors, the No. 1 question I get is, how do I compete with these netbooks when what we really want to do is sell PCs that cost a lot more money?”
An executive at Fujitsu, one of the world’s largest PC companies, told the Times that the firm wouldn’t be making a netbook because it couldn’t see a way to make money from them: “We’re sitting on the sidelines not because we’re lazy. We’re sitting on the sidelines because even if this category takes off, and we get our piece of the pie, it doesn’t add up,” Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product management for Fujitsu, told the Times. “It’s a product that essentially has no margin.”
But even though there was no money in them, most PC makers joined the netbook parade. That Times article was published in July 2008; in October, Fujitsu launched its first netbook. Soon everyone else except Apple had one.
I’m sure I’ll hear from a number of readers who’ll claim to have loved their netbooks. You’ll say that while there may have been terrible netbooks on the market, your particular one was just right for you. And you’ll further argue that however terrible netbooks were, they were certainly better than the iPad and other tablets, on which you can’t do any “real work.” (I know you!)
But I don’t believe you. Most research suggests that while people were entranced with the idea of netbooks, they hated them in reality. A 2009 survey by the market research firm NPD showed that most people bought netbooks thinking they would work as a substitute to a standard laptop—and they became very disappointed when they realized that netbooks weren’t powerful enough to be used that way. In other words, netbooks were marketed as being for “real work,” but they turned out to be unsuited for most computing tasks.
The iPad, meanwhile, never had any pretensions of functioning as a replacement for a laptop. It was always sold as something different: a truly mobile gadget meant for non-office computing. Everything about it, from its processor to its battery to its operating system, was designed specifically for delivering a better mobile experience. Unlike a netbook, the iPad turns on instantly, it has a 10-hour battery life, and it can find your location on a map. Unlike a netbook, it has an App Store that overflows with software designed for its screen.
True, the iPad, unlike the netbook, doesn’t come with a keyboard or a pointing device. But you can buy a keyboard for it—and if you want a pointing device and Windows, you buy Microsoft’s Surface or one of the many “hybrid” laptop/tablet Windows 8 machines now hitting the market. Or, if you want a “real” computer, you can buy a MacBook Air (which now goes for $1,000) or any of its Windows “ultrabook” clones.
See what I’m saying? Even if you don’t use the iPad or the Air and have no interest in ever buying an Apple product, pretty much every mobile computer you can buy today was inspired by the two devices that Apple ginned up to fight netbooks. In netbooks’ demise, Apple emerged victorious—but so did the rest of the PC industry, and so did we users.

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shane blyth

iPad Mini sales double Apple's original order expecting 12 million units sold this year since launch which is huge.

Fri, Dec 14 2012 11:08 | iPad, Apple

Initial orders of the iPad mini -- pegged at around six million units for 2012 -- may be only half of what will be required, according to a report from NPD DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh, Apple is now asking its iPad mini display partners to double the initial order, expecting more than 12 million units to be sold by the end of the year. For a product who's size class was strongly resisted by Apple for years, the nearly 8-inch iPad mini is very likely to outsell its larger, recently-updated big brother, the 9.7-inch fourth-gen iPad.
Sales of the iPad mini have taken off since the device became widely available in stores -- where potential buyers can see and feel that the Mini is much slimmer and lighter (and only slightly smaller) than the full-size iPad, which at a cursory glance doesn't appear to have changed much from the previous iteration. If the 12 million figure is accurate, the iPad mini will also beat out all of its Android-based tablet competition in sales during the quarter, and perhaps for the entire year.

The Mini has won praise in particular for its seamless transition to the smaller size, exceptional quality of construction, increased portability and ability to take full advantage of Apple's much wider and larger selection of tablet-optimized apps -- a major selling point that continues to restrict Android tablets to very limited success if any. The higher price -- $329 -- compared to its closest competitors (the Kindle Fire HD and Galaxy Nexus 7) also doesn't appear to have phased consumers, again perhaps because consumers who are buying in stores can clearly see that the Mini, despite its name, is significantly bigger than the competition.

While Apple has said that it doesn't believe the iPad mini is "cannabalizing" sales of the fourth-generation iPad too much, sales of the iPad 2 -- which the iPad Mini mimics from a spec standpoint -- are likely to be poor due to the presence of the Mini. Apple kept the iPad 2 available as a lower-cost full-size option, but discontinued the third-generation iPad after only eight months, replacing it with the similar but double-speed fourth-generation Retina iPad. NPD's Hsieh says that the iPad mini could account for as much as half of all iPad shipments in 2013, making it the best-selling model.

The company also believes total iPad shipments could reach more than 100 million in the next year, which would likely force Apple to find additional display-making partners -- LG Display and AU Optronics, the current iPad mini display suppliers, may not be able to scale to that level demand that quickly. Both companies have struggled to keep up with quality and quantity demands from Apple for the displays.

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shane blyth

Google Maps app for iPhone now available for iPhone

Thu, Dec 13 2012 05:45 | IOS, Apple

The rumors are true! Google Maps for iPhone is now available in the App Store. One of the biggest things it offers that Apple Maps doesn't is public transit directions by train, bus, or subway.
The main features of Google Maps includes built-in Google local search, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation, public transit directions, and Google Street View. You can also discover places to eat, drink, shop, and play including rating and reviews. If you sign in, you can save and quickly access all your past searches and direction from your computer, right on your iPhone.
Additionally, Google Maps lets you access live traffic information in cities across the world, see inside more that 100,000 businesses worldwide, and view high resolution satellite imagery of locations around the world.
Personally, I'm having issues installing Google Maps and keep getting a "this item is no longer available" error, but others are able to download it fine. We've heard installing through iTunes on your computer might be a good work around as well.
When you get it installed, let us know what you think!

Free - Download now

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shane blyth

iTunes 11 is here and is really FAST.

Fri, Nov 30 2012 01:14 | OSX, Software, Apple

itunes 11

It's FAST
iTunes is fast now. Which is crazy. iTunes hasn't been fast in years. But iTunes 11 feels legitimately lightweight and like something you wouldn't mind running all the time. That's a huge change. Search, scrolling, anything—in any view—is all lightning quick now.
Your Library Sidebar Is Gone
One of the biggest changes is how you get around in your Library. The old left-hand bar with Music, Movies, Podcasts, etc. is gone, replaced with a drop down in the top left of the app. The change frees up loads of screen space for more information, but also makes navigating to different forms of media slightly harder, so it's a trade-off. If you decide it's not worth the trade, you can get it back by clicking on View > Show Sidebar. You can get the status bar on the bottom back

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shane blyth

Apple drops to 50.4% tablet market share BUT then it sells 3 Million iPads in 2 Days!

Tue, Nov 6 2012 06:53 | Tablets, Apple

Update: To throw a spanner in the works Apple announces 3 Million iPads in 2 days quick someone re calculate!
Apple’s iPad sits at 50.4 percent market share in the third quarter of 2012, which saw a total of 27.8 million total units (update that by 3 Million) shipped worldwide. Rounding out the top three tablet manufacturers were Samsung at 18.4 percent and Amazon at 9.0 percent, both pushing ahead with their Android tablet offerings.
It’s important to underline that we’re talking about shipments not sales here. Keeping that in mind, the latest estimates come from IDC, which summarized its findings in the following chart:
idc_q3_2012_tablets-520x191

idc_q3_2012_tablets-520x191

The tablet market grew 49.5 percent year-over-year, but only 6.7 percent when compared with the second quarter of 2012. Android shipments, led by Samsung and Amazon, surged during the quarter, at the expense of iPad’s market share.
Apple lost 9.3 percentage points between last quarter and the third quarter last year, or put another way, 15.1 percentage points when compared to its market share in the second quarter of this year (65.5 percent). Still, at 50.4 percent, the company commanded over half of the tablet shipments last quarter. It’s worth noting that Apple’s share could translate to a higher return since it’s the only company that reports actual sales, not just shipments. On the flipside, Apple’s drop translated into the remaining top five tablet vendors gaining share during last quarter.
Samsung did the best, thanks to its Galaxy Tab and Note 10.1 products. The Korean company shipped 5.1 million tablets worldwide in the third quarter of 2012, gaining 11.9 percentage points year-over-year.
Amazon, which did not have a tablet in the third quarter of last year, gained 4.2 percentage points from the second quarter of 2012. The company announced new 7-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tablets late in the quarter, and began shipping the new 7-inch HD version (in addition to a refreshed version of the original 7-inch Fire) in mid-September. It’s worth noting that Amazon only shipped its new offerings in the US last quarter, although it expanded to five additional countries this quarter.
The top five tablet manufacturers list was rounded out by Asus and Lenovo. Asus’ growth was backed by strong shipments of its Google-branded Nexus 7 device, which allowed it to gain 4.8 percentage points year-over-year. Lenovo’s gains were driven by strong shipments in China, but it only managed to grab an additional 0.3 percentage points.
Android may have dominated smartphones last quarter, but iOS is still winning in the tablet space. Google’s platform is slowly cutting into Apple’s marketshare, however, and this trend doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. Will the iPad Mini save the day? We’ll see next quarter.

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shane blyth

Tablets, Tablets Everywhere, Headless Chooks and the iPad mini reviewed.

Wed, Oct 31 2012 05:26 | iPad, Tablets, Apple

Tablets Tablets Everywhere. Whether it's one of a huge choice of Android units, a New Windows RT, a soon to be Windows Surface Pro, or the new iPad Mini there seems to be Manufacturers running about like headless chooks trying to get mind and money share in the Tablet space. Lets face it Tablets are in no way new but the old ones pre the original iPad really sucked. They just where computer OS's stuffed into a touch interface and it came out clunky in both hardware and OS design and use. Well thats obviously changed a lot and consumers have a lot more choice these days and the clunkiness of tablets has dropped drastically though that not completely gone away… yet. SO whats new?

ipadminiinhand

ipadminiinhand

The iPad mini has arrived — and so has our review. Just last week, Apple introduced the world to the newest member of its wildly successful tablet line, an adorable, diminutive slate with a 7.9-inch display. It even had an adorable ad to show along with it: an iPad mini joining in with a full-sized iPad to play "Heart and Soul" on the piano.
But to think of the iPad mini as a companion to the 3rd or 4th generation iPad — some kind of secondary player to the bigger version — would probably be a mistake. With a price tag starting at $329 and heading all the way up to $659 (with LTE and 64GB of storage), this isn't really a step down from the existing iPad (well, the iPad 2 at least) as much as it is a step to the side. At least, that's the impression I get. Want a big iPad that isn't too expensive? Get the 2nd gen one. Want one that you can throw in a bag or keep on the nightstand? Get the iPad mini. You fly business class and work in photography? Let me point you in the direction of the new 4th generation model.
But regardless of market positioning, the iPad mini has to be viewed in a world with a $199 Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD — two strong performers that are a far cry, at least in price, from the iPad mini. Even though Apple might want consumers to see these as separate product categories, consumers may only see that $129 gulf.
On the other hand, Apple has a lot to fill that gulf, including the absolute best software ecosystem for tablets on the planet right now. But is the iPad mini worth the stretch, or would you be smarter to save the cash and saddle up to another device?
Moments after I held the iPad mini at Apple's event in San Jose, I hurriedly wrote that it made other tablets in this class feel like toys. Perhaps I was a bit hard on the competition in the heat of the moment, but I will say that there isn't a single product in the 7-inch tablet market that comes close to the look, feel, or build quality of the new iPad. It is absolutely gorgeous to see, and in your hand has the reassuring solidness of a product that's built to last.
If the iPhone 5 is reminiscent of jewelry, the iPad mini is like a solidly made watch.
In fact, the iPhone 5 and the mini have a lot in common. They both share a metal housing (in silver or black) that's lean and smooth, with that reflective, chamfered edge that runs around the border of the display. The iPad mini's paint job is similar to the iPhone's, but smoother, and on the black version I tested has a glint of blue and purple to it in certain light. It looks dangerous, and it feels great.
It looks dangerous, and it feels great

The iPad mini's design stands above the competition
All of the standard iPad button and switch placement is intact here, save for the move of the speaker grille to the bottom of the device (it's been around back for iPads previous to this version), along with the new Lightning port. And that's a good-sounding set of stereo speakers, by the way. You'll find separate volume buttons on the right side beneath the mute / rotation lock toggle, and the power / sleep button on the top, just as expected. The front of the device is all glass, save for an HD camera in the center of the top bezel (as you hold it in portrait) and the home button on the bottom. There's also a 5-megapixel camera on the back.
Though the iPad mini sports a slightly larger display than other devices in this class, its profile feels extremely lean. Sometimes too lean. The device weighs just 0.68 pounds, and it's only 0.28 inches thick (noticeably thinner than the Nexus 7's 0.41 inches or Fire HD's 0.4 inches). I actually had a little trouble holding onto the device when I wasn't using the Smart Cover due to the back being as smooth as it is, and the frame being so thin. Maybe it's just my big hands, but I wanted a little more to grab onto. In that regard, I prefer the feel of the Nexus 7.
That problem was exacerbated by how wide the device feels in your hand, as well as the lack of a significant bezel around the left and right of the screen in portrait. Maybe it's just old habit, but I didn't feel completely comfortable putting my thumb over the screen itself. Apple has apparently included some new palm rejection logic in the iPad mini's version of iOS which wards off unwanted touches, and it did seem to work. It may have caused other issues, however, which I'll touch on in the software section.
Minor quibbles aside, the iPad mini stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of design, the caliber of its components, and the solidness of how it's been built. But it also has another quality, one that's nearly as important: the device has personality. I've started to think of it as a constant companion — small enough to throw in a bag or carry around the house. There's something endearing about the mini that makes you want to keep it on-hand and use it often. It's a feeling the larger iPad never elicited in me.
Specs and cameras

Inside the mini, you'll find specs essentially identical to the iPad 2, save for a few alterations. The system is built atop the two-generations-old A5 CPU, appears to sport a dangerously tiny 512MB of RAM, and ships in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB storage capacities (I tested the 64GB, Wi-Fi-only version). All the requisite radios are here too: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, and eventually you'll be able to buy a version with CDMA, GSM, and LTE cellular options. As you would expect, a light sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope are here as well. It really is a mini version of the iPad 2, except for the cameras, which are significantly improved.
As you may know, I'm not a fan of people taking photos with tablets. Just as with previous models I've tested, I find the act to be not only awkward, but embarrassing as well. The slightly more diminutive size of the iPad mini does make the experience slightly better, and its 5 megapixel backside camera is actually not terrible for general shots. In fact, its color tone and low light performance was better than what I've seen on many newer smartphones. It was sometimes difficult to get a clean image due to shakiness, but that has more to do with the odd physicality of taking a photo with a tablet than it does with the actual camera.
The front-facing FaceTime HD camera is fine for video chatting (and I think is a lot more comfortable than chatting with the full size iPad), but won't be useful for anything more than that.
Display
There's no question that the screen does look lower-r
Much has been made about the display on the iPad mini. The IPS screen measures 7.9 inches diagonally, and is 1024 x 768 in resolution. For those keeping count, it's the same resolution as the original iPad. That makes for a pixel density of 163 ppi, which as you might guess doesn't seem too terrific next to devices like the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD (each 216 ppi), Nook Color HD (243 ppi), or the big daddy 4th generation iPad (264 ppi). It's also much lower in pixel density than pretty much any smartphone on the market right now.
But how does it look? Well for starters, it's a really good looking display in general terms. Apple is using the same treatment here as it does on the iPhone 5 and iPad, and it makes for a crystal-clear screen that seems to hover just a tiny bit beneath glass. Colors are vibrant and blacks are deep, and games, photos, and video look terrific.
That's only half the story, however. There's no question that to the naked eye this screen does look lower in resolution than its nearest competition. Pixels are noticeable, especially in webpages, books, and when viewing email — and that can be distracting sometimes. Since Apple is the company that's gotten our eyes used to the hey-look-no-pixels trick of the Retina display, it's hard to take a step back and not notice. I don't think the lower resolution is a deal-breaker in this product, but it is a compromise you have to be aware of. It simply doesn't look as clear as other products on the market.

Software, battery
Software, performance, battery
Its app selection is an embarrassment of riches

The biggest change in the software on the iPad mini that you need to be aware of is... everything is smaller. 99 out of 100 times while using it, this wasn't an issue, but it did take some getting used to in places. For instance, because the screen real estate is so much larger than an iPhone but icons are now roughly iPhone size, apps with lots of navigational elements can be a little less intuitive to navigate. Furthermore, the keyboard size feels altered — most notably in portrait — and the keys don't seem tall enough for my fingers. On the other hand, the mini makes landscape typing a lot easier.
Supposedly, the software on the mini has been tweaked to reject unwanted touches on the sides of the display, and during my testing it did seem to keep my thumb from making accidental moves in apps. The flip side to that, however, is that it sometimes seems to overcompensate and reject touches you intended — meaning that sometimes apps don't respond the way you want. It wasn't a huge problem, but it could be annoying at times, so I hope that Apple makes some effort to fine-tune this in future updates.
Other than that, iOS on the iPad mini is exactly the same as the software on a regular iPad. That's it. The end. Fin.
I'm not going to go into great detail about iOS 6 since we've already seen it on other products (and in fact have a review of it right here). What I will say is that the fact that is for all intents and purposes a regular iPad makes it easily the most attractive tablet in this size range when it comes to software.
It's easy to become used to how vast and impressive the library is for the iPad, but using the mini reminded me of just how right Apple got this part of their ecosystem. Compared to the Nexus 7 or the Fire HD... well, there is no comparison. The iPad's app selection is an embarrassment of riches, and using apps like the powerful Paper or GarageBand, or playing games like the incredibly fun PunchQuest or Letterpress really makes a tremendous case for why a consumer might spend that extra $129.
Performance on the device was expectedly snappy. I didn't see any weirdness, stuttering, or lag that would cause alarm, though some heavier apps and games took noticeably longer to load up than they do on the new 4th generation (or even 3rd generation) iPad. I think for the time being, the mini can handle what developers are throwing at it just fine — but I do have my concerns about the shelf life of this product considering how much older its internals are. Given Apple's habit of rapid-fire obsolescing of products, your timeline for the mini may be shorter than you expect.
Battery life was — not surprisingly — everything Apple claimed it would be. On the tablets more than on any other product the company makes, it seems to be hitting its targets on longevity. I spent some pretty heavy days in mixed use (intermittent sessions of email, web browsing, Twitter, IRC, game playing, music, and video playback), and didn't have to worry about charging until the about the middle or evening the next day. Overall, I was more than satisfied with the iPad mini's battery performance.
I didn't have to worry about charging

GOOD STUFF
Fantastic design and build quality
Software selection second to none
Great battery life
BAD STUFF
Screen is lower resolution than the competition
Can sometimes be a little awkward to hold
Expensive
APPLE RAISES THE BAR YET AGAIN

The iPad mini is an excellent tablet — but it's not a very cheap one. Whether that's by design, or due to market forces beyond Apple's control, I can't say for sure. I can't think of another company that cares as much about how its products are designed and built — or one that knows how to maximize a supply chain as skillfully — so something tells me it's no accident that this tablet isn't selling for $200. It doesn't feel like Apple is racing to some lowest-price bottom — rather it seems to be trying to raise the floor.
And it does raise the floor here. There's no tablet in this size range that's as beautifully constructed, works as flawlessly, or has such an incredible software selection. Would I prefer a higher-res display? Certainly. Would I trade it for the app selection or hardware design? For the consistency and smoothness of its software, or reliability of its battery? Absolutely not. And as someone who's been living with (and loving) Google's Nexus 7 tablet for a few months, I don't say that lightly.
The iPad mini hasn't wrapped up the "cheapest tablet" market by any stretch of the imagination. But the "best small tablet" market? Consider it captured.

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shane blyth

Apples New iPad Mini Hands-On

Wed, Oct 24 2012 03:37 | iPad, Apple

iPad Mini

It's been a crazy busy day with Apple announce a huge selection of new releases. Some totally unexpected. One thing we all expected though was the brand new iPad Mini and it's pretty much everything we expected but how is it, like, in real life? Apple just let the tech world go hands on with the iPad Mini and most agree: it's not as miniature as you'd think! Which is a good thing.

We have aggregated a bunch of comments from some leading Tech sites and here's what they are saying.

Pocket-Lint
First impressions are that it is indeed light. At just over 308g, it's considerably lighter than a conventional iPad, mainly thanks to using much less glass in its construction and that means you are going to be able to enjoy reading books on it a lot better too. It's also extremely thin, only 7.2mm.
However, the most surprising aspect is that it isn't just a smaller iPad, the bezel is thinner so the whole device fits nicely in the palm even though it features a screen that's almost 8-inches.

Engadget
Just as the bigger iPad, this one feels delightful in the hand. If you've held an iPad, you know where we're coming from. Yes, it's lighter and more nimble, making it feel as if Apple concocted its own version of the 7-inch tablet. And indeed, that's precisely what has happened here. It's still not "small," though. While a fully outstretched adult hand can generally grasp it without help from the other, you'll still want both for typing and using apps. It's still too big for your average pocket, and it's not going to save you a heck of a lot of room in your knapsack compared to the 9.7-incher.

CNET
An A5 processor means it'll be similar to the fifth-gen Touch. The important part of this iPad is it feels as light as a Kindle, even if it's not as tiny in width and height.
Thumb access on the sides is definitely easier, too. One thumb operation is theoretically possible, and I found I could do it for basic scrolling and page turning.

The Verge
Like most Apple products, the build of the smaller tablet is excellent, easily surpassing the competition on the market. By comparison, the Nexus 7 and Fire HD feel like toys. Other manufacturers are going to have to up their game with this product in town. It's just a striking difference in materials and solidness.
The thinness and sleekness of the casing cannot be overstated. It feels as high-end as the new iPhone, but even sharper in the hand - like a slice of solid aluminum. The display looks incredibly sharp, and even though the resolution is lower than new the iPad 4th generation, it doesn't immediately seem like a 1024 x 768 display.

SlashGear
The resolution may be the "old" 1024 x 768 of the original iPad and iPad 2, but it's squeezed into a smaller screen, so individual pixels aren't so noticeable. Viewing angles are as broad as we've come to expect from an IPS panel, and iOS 6 doesn't look too cramped, either. Steve Jobs may have been scathing about "tweeners" in the past, but – perhaps unsurprisngly, given iOS is also used on the far smaller iPhone and iPod touch – it works just fine on the iPad mini.

TechCrunch
The finish of the device is matte on the back, making for a very nice feeling in the hand. The weight is really the most impressive part, though – as with the iPhone 5, but to an even greater degree, the iPad mini feels almost weightless when compared to its predecessors. It's so thin and light as to feel almost like a prop, rather than a functional device.
But functional it is. The 1024×768 display looks great, and seems larger than its 7.9 inches thanks to the narrower bezels on either side of the screen itself. And while it's slightly trickier to hold as a result of that thinner strip, the screen seems to have a certain amount of false touch detection built-in, so that you won't accidentally open apps or page through things while simply holding it.

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shane blyth

Apples New 13-Inch Retina Display MacBook Pro. A Beautiful Screen In a Lighter Laptop

Wed, Oct 24 2012 03:34 | Apple, Macbook Pro

13 Reinta Macbook Pro

The newly updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with its new Retina Display Is a thing of true loveliness, and beauty. The body is lighter, the screen is crisp—now all we need is more software to take advantage of that gorgeous display and that is coming for sure.
Again we have accumulated the core comments from leading Tech sites and heres what they have to say:
Engadget
For starters, it's wildly thin. No, not manilla envelope thin, but thin enough to slip into most briefcases and backpacks without the consumer even noticing. Outside of that, it's mostly a shrunken version of the 15-incher let loose over the summer. The unibody design is as tight as ever, with the fit and finish continuing to impress.
Compared to the 1,280 x 800 resolution of the non-Retina 13-inch MBP, the new display is particularly stunning. Text has never looked more crisp, and colors are stupendously vibrant. Of course, apps, websites and graphics that haven't been optimized for Retina still look like utter rubbish, and as more Apple machines transition to these panels, the outcry is going to get even louder.

The Verge
It's not quite as thin as the Air, but Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is still quite svelte - and the display is as gorgeous as you'd expect. The resolution settings for the display are just like the larger MacBook Pro - but the maximum allowed resolution is 1680 x 1050, unlike the 1920 x 1080 setting offered on the 15-inch model. Still, 1680 x 1050 is a tremendous option on a display of this size, though at the "best for Retina" setting the screen offers an effective 1280 x 800. If you've been using a 15-inch MacBook Pro for the screen size, the 13-inch just got a ton more attractive.

SlashGear
The screen size may be smaller – and lower resolution, too, at 2560 x 1600, though for an overall higher pixel density of 227ppi – but actually the 13-inch model is slightly thicker, at 0.75-inches. In contrast, the 15-inch Retina version is 0.71-inches thick. You don't really notice the difference, however, and the advantage in weight, with near a full pound dropped, more than makes up for it.

TechCrunch
As for how it performed, it was very much like using the 15-inch rMBP, which is my main machine currently. In the hand, however, it feels significantly lighter, at about a pound lighter than the bigger model. That's a big difference for a machine you carry around with you all day, and alone might sway some users, price considerations aside.
The reduced glare did seem to have an effect vs. previous versions of the screen, which definitely photographed better. And changing up the display resolution really gives you a ton of screen real estate at maximum settings for what is a very, very portable computer. So long as you've got good eyes, this could be a great solution for people looking for a work machine when they're away from their dual-monitor setups.

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shane blyth

Apple’s New iMacs Are Incredibly slim.

Wed, Oct 24 2012 03:32 | iMac, Apple

xlarge

Apple’s New iMacs Are Crazy Thin

Apple has defied that assumption that the desktop is on the outs and dropped refreshed super-thin iMacs at its event today.
They were expected this summer at WWDC, but the wait might have been worthwhile—this refresh is far more significant than we thought. The new models are 80 percent thinner (just 5mm) and about eight pounds lighter than their predecessors. We didn't anticipate a redesign, but they're incredibly beautiful from what we can see. Apple will offer iMacs in 21.5-inch and 27-inch versions, the latter of which has a resolution of 2560 by 1440.
The screen has 75 percent less reflection, and a few other features like an HD camera, dual microphones, and a stereo sound system that's supposed to be much better than the previous generation. Specs got a bump too—the new machines have quad-core i5 processors (configurable up to i7), up to 32GB of RAM, and as much as 768GB of flash storage. RAM is accessible in the 27-inch iMac, but not the smaller one. Both of these guys have four USB 3.0 ports and two Thunderbolt, which is very nice. On top of that, there's an SD card, gigabit ethernet, and a now, a fusion drive—that's 128GB of flash storage plus 1 or 3 TB of hard drive combined into one hard drive. Doesn't sound half bad, although customization might be a bit more difficult with such a big update.
The smaller model starts at $1300 and ships in November, and the 27-incher starts at $1800 and ships in December.

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shane blyth

Apple's New Fusion Drive.

Wed, Oct 24 2012 03:28 | Apple

Fusion Drive

While introducing the new ridiculously thin iMac, Apple also revealed its new Fusion Drive. What is it? It's a new storage system that supposedly combines the best of SSD and HDD. Basically, the speed of a SSD with the storage space of a big spinning HDD.
The Fusion Drive is made of a 128GB SSD and a 1TB or 3TB HDD that's fused into a single volume through software. How does it work? Apple says it can figure out which apps and stuff you use the most and shift those apps onto the SSD while keeping other less frequently used apps on the HDD. Basically, the OS and your core apps are zippy fast on the SSD while documents are on the HDD.
During the keynote, Apple demonstrated how Fusion Drive would work if you're a heavy Aperture user. Aperture would be moved to the SSD storage side and would perform nearly 3.5x faster (over the old spinning disk of HDD) and nearly matches traditional, SSD-only storage.
Of course, hybrid drives and smart caching and things like that aren't exactly brand new. Fusion Drive is just Apple branding something that already exists.

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shane blyth

Apples New Mac Mini

Wed, Oct 24 2012 03:25 | Mac Mini, Apple

Macmini 2012

A new tiny iPad isn't the only little-big news out of today's Apple extravaganza. Here's a the brand new set of upgraded Mac Minis that'll be delivering that Apple love at sub-$1000 prices—Now with upgraded Intel Ivy Bridge processors. They're available for purchase now.
Apple claims the new Ivy Bridge Mac Minis are two times faster than the last batch. We'll see about that, but one thing's for sure; They're just as tiny and cute as ever. The new Mac Minis are 7.7-inch squares of aluminum just 1.4 inches thick.
The baseline $600 Mac Mini comes with a 2.3GHz dual-core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. You can exand the RAM up to 8GB and the hard drive up to 750GB.
The $800 Mac Mini configuration packs a 2.5 GHz quad-core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Add on all the extras and juice your Mac Mini with a 2.7GHz i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB solid state drive for $1500 all together.
As before, you'll be able to buy the Mac Mini in a server configuration, this time with 2.3GHz quad-core i7, 4GB of RAM two 1 TB hard drives for $100.
We knew this was coming—inventories of the Mac Mini have been depleted across the country for weeks, and the diminutive Mac hadn't been refreshed since July 2011, when it was outfitted with a the then newish Thunderbolt I/O and upgraded Sandy Bridge processors. Last year's baseline $600 model had a 2.3GHZ processor with 2GB of memory and 500GB hard drive, The more expensive $800 Mac Mini came with 2.5GHz processor, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. When more important computers like the MacBook Pro line get a boost, the Mac Minis, which are aimed at budget conscious and corporate customers, generally follow suit several months later.
The cheapest Mac Minis seem like a solid, budget-friendly alternative for people who don't want to shell out for more expensive iMacs, but once you start piling on the extras, these little tigers aren't really worth it anymore—Unless for some reason you need a monitorless computer you can throw in your briefcase.

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shane blyth

Apple sneaks out significant update to Final Cut Pro X

Wed, Oct 24 2012 03:15 | Software, Apple

screen20shot202012-10-2320at205.47.4420p-100009778-gallery

Not content with the barrage of new goodies unleashed on the public at Tuesday’s media event, Apple has also released new updates to its professional suite of filmmaking applications: Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor.
Version 10.0.6 is Final Cut Pro X's most significant update yet: The program now supports the RED camera line, adding both native Redcode Raw editing and transcoding to Apple’s ProRes format. The update also adds new multichannel audio editing tools to the timeline, dual viewers (allowing editors to compare shots on the fly), support for MXF plug-ins, a unified import window for both file-based camera systems and folders, and support for chapter markers.
Additionally, the new version lets editors keep Connected Clips in place while slipping, sliding, or moving clips, add freeze-frames more easily, copy and paste attributes with a new Paste window, use new audio controls for Multicam clips, create multiple range selections for a single clip, and export projects and range selections more easily via a redesigned Share interface. FCP’s XML has also been updated to version 1.2, allowing editors to import and export metadata to third-party apps.
Compressor and Motion also get a few updates to call their own. Apple has improved the cluster setup for Compressor, along with eliminating the re-authentication process for additional encoding clusters and addressing an issue related to third-party QuickTime components. Motion receives improved anti-aliasing for text, the ability to open multiple projects simultaneously, and faster project loading times.
The updates are free for current users; new users can pick up the apps for $300 (Final Cut Pro X) and $50 each (Motion or Compressor).

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shane blyth

Paid iBookstore Content Going Live in New Zealand and 17 Latin American Countries

Tue, Oct 23 2012 04:02 | Apple

Paid books are now on sale in Apple's iBookstore in New Zealand. While the titles are not yet accessible through the main Books section of the iTunes Store, searches for various others and titles are yielding a number of book results.

Blog do iPhone is also now reporting that paid books are going live in Brazil, and we've confirmed that paid titles are now available in 16 other Latin American countries as well.

ibookstore_paid_brazil

ibookstore_paid_brazil

Paid iBookstore titles in Brazilian iTunes Store

The full list of new markets we've spotted so far includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.

Evidence of new markets for paid iBookstore content comes amid rumors of an iBooks 3.0 launch alongside the "iPad mini" at tomorrow's media event. Apple is expected to make education one of the key themes of the introduction, and with the smaller iPad more closely competing with smaller tablets focused on reading, an expansion of iBookstore content seems to be a logical step.

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shane blyth

iPhone 5′s A6 Chip Clocked At 1.3GHz By New Version of Geekbench

Thu, Sep 27 2012 07:51 | iPhone, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Original Geekbench benchmarks had revealed that Apple's new iPhone 5 is powered by a 1.02 GHz ARMv7 processor with 1GB RAM.
But it looks like iPhone 5's A6 chip is much more powerful as it has been clocked at 1.3GHz by a new version of Geekbench 2 - an iOS benchmarking app, that hit the App Store today.
Primate Labs John Poole told Engadget that the new version of Geekbench 2 app "features a dramatically improved processor frequency detection algorithm, which consistently reports the A6's frequency as 1.3GHz."
He said: "Earlier versions of Geekbench had trouble determining the A6's frequency, which lead to people claiming the A6's frequency as 1.0GHz as it was the most common value Geekbench reported."
Teardown of iPhone 5's A6 chip has revealed that it is powered by a dual-core CPU and triple-core graphics processing unit (GPU).
iphone-5-geekbench-13ghz

iphone-5-geekbench-13ghz

Performance tests carried out on Apple's dual-core A6 chip with triple-core graphics has validated Apple's claim that iPhone 5's A6 chip is twice as fast as iPhone 4S's A5 chip. The benchmarks have also determined that iPhone 5 is the world's fastest smartphone currently.
Performance benchmark results have also shown that iPhone 5's A6 chip runs at variable frequency, ranging from 800MH to 1.3GHz. Our iPhone 5 unit regularly displays 1.29GHz (it reported 1.10GHz initially), but as you can see above, a screenshot from an Engadget reader displays 1.30GHz.

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shane blyth

PC Magazine System Benchmarks Results Show iPhone 5 is world's fastest smartphone.

Sat, Sep 22 2012 06:00 | iPhone, Smartphones, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Benchmarks that rate RAM, processor speed, browser speed, JavaScript and graphics capabilities of various smartphone published by PC Magazine let the publication to declare the iPhone 5 "the fastest smartphone in the land" and able to substantially surpass rivals like Samsung's Galaxy S III and Motorola's Droid Razr M, the latter of which was just released last week (the S III came out in June). The iPhone 5 was more than twice as fast as any previous iPhone model, even when they were updated to iOS 6.
Graphics and JavaScript appear to be the strong suits of the new iPhone, with its GPU (said in recent examinations of the A6 to be a triple-core setup) in some cases doubling the score achieved by the Razr M and the S III and offering substantial improvements in every area tested. The iPhone 5 had previously broken a record for smartphones in the JavaScript-testing SunSpider benchmark. Even more impressive was the improvement in the iPhone 5 when compared to earlier models of iPhone.

In both Browsermark (browser testing) and Sunspider, Apple's claim of "twice as fast" as the iPhone 4S was seen as no exaggeration. In the Geekbench suite, scores were generally more than double, and in one instance (the streaming memory test) results showed a full tripling over the iPhone 4S. As mentioned, graphics testing showed the iPhone 5 easily doubling scores achieved by the 4S, and the gap grows further when older models such as the iPhone 3GS are tested.

Compared to an original iPhone running iOS 3.1.3, the iPhone five is more than 20 times faster in browsing almost 20 times faster in graphics, and five times faster in JavaScript. Tests with Geekbench focusing on RAM, along with GLBenchmark (which measures graphics) could only be compared as far back as the iPhone 3G running iOS 4.2.1, but still showed the iPhone 5 as generally 10-15 times faster in RAM and between five and 10 times faster in graphics.

Though the award for "world's fastest smartphone" won't last long -- rivals are already planning next year's competitors -- the fact that the iPhone 5 exceeds by a substantive margin its top rivals in almost all measures of "speed" may be a crucial selling point heading into the holiday buying season. In addition to the advantages that come to the iPhone naturally from the company's "cool" factor and the improvements in iOS 6 down to the improved build quality of the hardware, being "the fastest" on the market -- and likely to keep that crown for a little while -- is (for some) the most important factor apart from price in making a buying decision amongst a rapidly-growing field of quality smartphones. It provides at least as much of an edge as does being the only new model with access to the world's largest App Store for a certain segment of the market. [via PCMag]

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shane blyth

Big update for iPhoto for iOS 6.

Thu, Sep 20 2012 01:51 | IOS, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

iphoto-for-iphone-and-ipad-hero

iphoto-for-iphone-and-ipad-hero

iPhoto for iPhone and iPad have been updated with support for iOS 6 and also includes a slew of new features including coaching tips, new ink effects, support for 36.5 megapixel photos, and more.
• Added support for iPod touch (4th generation and later)
• Coaching tips have been added to the Help system on the iPhone and iPod touch
• Effects now include six new Apple-designed ink effects such as Chalk and Palette Knife
• Images up to 36.5 megapixels are now supported*
• Full resolution photos can now be imported via iTunes File Sharing
• Tag albums can be created by adding custom tags to photos
• "Updating Library" alert appears less frequently
• Multiple photos can now be saved to the Camera Roll at one time
• Cropping presets now use detected faces to determine composition
• Tilt-shift and gradient effects can now be rotated
• Facebook sharing now supports single sign-on in Settings
• Comments can be added more easily when posting photos to Facebook
• Videos can be uploaded to Facebook
• Locations and friend tags can now be set when posting photos to Facebook
• Comments and locations can be set on individual photos when sharing a group of photos to Facebook
• Any photo previously posted to Facebook can be more easily replaced with a more current version
• A notification is now displayed when an upload to Facebook completes in the background
• Photos can now be shared directly to Cards, iMovie, and other supporting apps
• Journals now include new layout options
• Fonts and alignment of text in journal items can be modified
• New style and color options are available for Note and Memory items in journals
• Journal Note and Memory items can now be resized
• Dividers can be added to break journal pages into sections to control the reflow of layouts
• A new Swap mode makes it easier to change the placement of items in a journal layout
• You can now place a pin on a journal map when no location data is present
• Links to journals can now be shared directly to Facebook and Twitter, and via Messages
• Links to remote journals can now be shared even if the journal was created on another device
• A new Publish Changes button provides control over when to update your journal
• An overlay displaying month and year now appears when scrolling in Photos view
• Photos can now be sorted by date and can be filtered using new criteria
• Photos view now includes a Power Scroll strip for high-speed scrolling
• Grid of thumbnails can now be expanded to multiple rows in portrait orientation

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shane blyth

Apple Brings Facebook to Mountain Lion 10.82 Very Handy for FB users

Thu, Sep 20 2012 01:41 | Facebook, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Mountain_Lion-10.82

Mountain_Lion-10.82

It’s tandem operating system updates for Apple today. After rolling out iOS 6 this morning, as promised, the company issued an update for OS X Mountain Lion, its desktop operating system.
OS X 10.8.2 is a major update to Mountain Lion, with some important new features — one in particular: Facebook integration. Also on board: Support for Passbook, Apple’s location-aware mobile wallet app, and some tweaks to iMessage and FaceTime that route messages and video chats to the Mac. Here’s the full change log:
This update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users, and includes new features and fixes:
Facebook
- Single sign on for Facebook
- Adds Facebook as an option when sharing links and photos
- See Facebook friends’ contact information and profile pictures in Contacts
- Facebook notifications now appear in Notification Center
Game Center
- Share scores to Facebook, Twitter, Mail, or Messages
- Facebook friends are included in Game Center friend recommendations
- Added Facebook “Like” button for games
- Challenge friends to beat your score or achievement
Other new features
- Adds Power Nap support for MacBook Air (Late 2010)
- iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac
- You can now add passes to Passbook (on your iPhone or iPod touch) from Safari and Mail on your Mac
- FaceTime can now receive calls sent to your phone number
- New shared Reminders lists
- New sort options allow you to sort notes by title, the date you edited them, and when you created them
- Dictation now supports additional languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Korean, Canadian English, Canadian French, and Italian
- Dictionary app now includes a French definition dictionary
- Sina Weibo profile photos can now be added to Contacts

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shane blyth

iOS 6 Will be Released on September 19th

Thu, Sep 13 2012 04:09 | IOS, iPhone, Software, iPod, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

We've seen and heard about many of the new features coming to iOS 6 already, but with the announcement of the iPhone 5, we now know exactly when it's coming: September 19.
Little has been added in the way of functionality aside from what we saw at WWDC, but it will be compatible with devices all the way back to the iPhone 3GS (along with the iPhone 4 and 4S, and the iPad 2 and New iPad). Below is a rundown of the new features, and if you're unfamiliar with what's already been announced in iOS 6 there's a quick rundown of the other notable features.
iMessage: With the latest iOS 6 beta, Apple quietly introduced the ability to send, receive and sync iMessages between multiple devices, even if its sent to your phone number. Messaging on iOS is now a near seamless experience that allows you to pick up any of your Apple devices (or even Messages on Mountain Lion), and continue a previous conversation in stride

. IOS 6

IOS 6

Wi-Fi + Cellular: A new secret little feature in iOS 6 is the ability to keep your cellular data alive if there's no internet available on a wi-fi network you might be connected to. Maybe you're on a network that's set up solely for AirPlay, or maybe you've setup an ad hoc connection with a wi-fi flash drive. Either way, it's nice not to lose mobile data entirely. Also expect this to play nice with AirPlay direct.
Siri: The search functionality of Siri has been greatly expanded to fetch sports scores, list movie times and book tables at restaurants. It's almost to the point where it serves some practical function in our lives.
Maps: Gone are Google Maps. In its place is Apple's own home-cooked Maps app, complete with data from TomTom. From what we've seen so far, it's not a finished product quite yet, but the addition of 3D maps and turn-by-turn navigation are welcome additions to be sure.
Passbook: Apple's answer to Google Wallet and Pay With Square is Passbook. It will store your credit card data, customer rewards cards, coupons and plane tickets. And either with the use of a QR code or bluetooth, merchants can collect your payment info and send you on your way.
Facebook: Like being able to Tweet from anywhere in iOS? You can do the same with Facebook now. And as an added bonus, you can update Facebook and Twitter straight from notification center. Just be careful with contact sync, as Facebook will overwrite your contacts primary info with its own.
Facetime over 3G: Like Facetiming on the go? If you do, you can now do it over 3G without needing a wi-fi connection. Just as long as you're not on AT&T.
iCloud Tabs: iCloud tabs is a nice little feature that will allow you to access open Safari tabs on other iCloud connected devices. Pages viewed on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks (running Mountain Lion) can all be accessed from any device. A bit overdue, perhaps, but a welcome feature nonetheless.
YouTube: Apple's baked-in YouTube app is no longer available in iOS. Be sure to download Google's standalone app if you don't want to view YouTube vids in Safari.

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shane blyth

What’s Changed in Apple’s New 8-Pin Lightning Dock Connector

Thu, Sep 13 2012 03:58 | iPhone, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Apple's new Lightning connector, the replacement for the old 30-pin, and the way you'll be charging and syncing all your iPads, Pods, and Phones from now on.
According to Apple, the Lightning connector is more durable, reversible (making it easier to use), and "adaptive". It's 80 percent smaller than the old 30-pin. The cable itself is $20. And sadly, it's only USB 2.0. Ugh. There is an adapter to use old 30-pin gadgets with it, but it looks like it's over an inch thick, and is $30. There's a cable version of the adapter for $40.
Before today, Apple had used a 30-pin connector with its iPhones and iPods since 2003, when the third generation iPod switched over from FireWire.
The 30-pin connector was useful because it allowed Apple to use the connector to control accessories using only the iPod or iPhone in a way traditional USB connectors couldn't. But over the years, all the old tech stuffed into it became too heavy and too spacious an anchor, so Apple tossed it all out

apple lightening

apple lightening

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shane blyth

Apple’s New A6 Chip, 2x Faster CPU and Graphics yet smaller.

Thu, Sep 13 2012 03:52 | iPhone, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Apple announced it's new A6 chip for the iPhone 5. No word on whether it's quad core or not, but it's 22 percent smaller than the old A5 and has twice the GPU and graphics power. The A5 to the A5X was a huge graphics leap itself, so we'll let you know when we know more about it.
Apple is also claiming the A6 will help the camera take pictures 40 percent faster, and power better image stabilization, and photos from video.
As reference, the A5X at the time was billed as twice as powerful graphically as the A5 as well. So that's a little confusing, but we'll figure it out once the official specs come out. Either way, that soft stat represents a boost in CPU performance from the A5X. Apple also claims that it makes all these gains in performance while actively increasingly battery efficiency.
Cocktail napkin math would suggest that the A6 went to a 1GHz or 1.5GHz quad core processor, leaving behind the dual core A5x, but there's nothing official from Apple just yet.
For now, though, expect a boost in graphics, launch time, and battery life from the A6.

apple A6

apple A6

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shane blyth

Apple’s Rolling Out New Earbuds That took 3 years to design

Thu, Sep 13 2012 03:46 | iPhone, iPod, Apple

Apple finally putting its old, terrible earbuds to rest. The new ones, dubbed "EarPods" mark a bit of a shift, but still retain their iconic, white, hey-look-at-me-I've-got-an-iPhone-in-my-pocket color. Unlike the previous 'phones, these guys are the in-ear type, and will hopefully sound and fit a little better than the good old-fashioned kind. They'll be coming bundled with iPhone 5, the iPod Touch, and the iPod nano, and are also available separately starting now, and cost $29.
It might not be the biggest iPhone 5 update, or the one you're the most excited for, but it's probably the one that was the longest time coming. Hopefully they'll justify their weird look by being better than their. New Earbuds

New Earbuds

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shane blyth

ATV Flash (black) 2.0 Released

Wed, Sep 12 2012 04:07 | ATV, Jailbreak, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

FireCore has released version 2.0 of its aTV Flash (black) program, which is specifically aimed at jailbroken second- and third-generation Apple TVs (the small black model that sells for $99). The new update is not yet working for the latest, 1080p-supporting black Apple TV, but brings a new Library View, integrated search, trakt.tv and Last.fm scrobbling, Recently Added displays and more to second-gen Apple TV units.
The software is a popular choice for owners of black (or the older "silver") Apple TV units that are either out of warranty or simply want the unit to be able to play video formats other than those stored and supported in iTunes. The program features it's own menu system that works alongside the usual Apple TV menu and features, but can show media files stored on network drives and other devices. The program supports video formats like MKV and AVI and features Internet access, Last.fm radio stations, subtitle support and other features.

The new version 2.0 features a Library View that indexes media from across devices and platforms and organizes movies, TV and music by tags and genre, release date, star rating, age rating and other optional criteria. TV show seasons are automatically recognized and sorted together. There is also now an integrated search so that users can type in partial titles, artists, filenames or other information rather than just browse.

The latest version also has trakt.tv syncing for those with multiple Apple TV units in a household, allowing a program watched on one unit to be marked as watched on another unit. Users can also mark programs as watched on the trakt.tv website and the info will be reflected on the owner's Apple TV units. The Last.fm support includes scrobbling so that users can track their listening habits in their Last.fm account.

Other improvements include better handling of WTV files and DVD audio tracks, improvements to AFP connections and subtitle handling. FireCore says that when it can get the program working for third-generation Apple TV units (visually identical to the second-generation machines except for 1080p resolution support), it will make the update available free for current customers. The program for second-gen Apple TV users is also a free update available through the Maintenance menu.

The aTV program requires second-gen Apple TV units to be running OS version 4.4 or higher. The program costs $30, and works only with jailbroken units (FireCore provides its own Seas0nPass jailbreaking tool for free).

Firecore

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shane blyth

Virgin Australia integrating Passbook boarding passes for iOS 6 already.

Sat, Sep 8 2012 05:22 | IOS, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

An Australian Business Traveler reported that a reader was recently able to load a boarding pass into Passbook while checking in to a Virgin Australia flight by simply using his iPhone running iOS 6:
AusBT reader Shaun Lorrain checked in for a Virgin Australia flight using the airline’s mobile website on his iPhone, which is running a developer preview edition of iOS 6 – and this is what he saw…. Yes, iOS 6 detected the mobile checkin and offered to save the boarding pass into Shaun’s Passbook account…Passbook also offers live updates to these e-passes, such as flight delays and changes to the airport boarding gate…United Airlines has already committed to supporting Passbook with its own mobile boarding passes, and other airlines won’t be slow to jump onto that bandwagon.
Interestingly, this popup message is not actually coming from iOS itself, but rather from the airline’s website, which has detected iOS 6 as the phone’s operating system. This means, at any time over the next few days, other airlines and businesses could start adding Passbook support to their websites too. The web is not curated like the App Store, so these updates can roll out without approval from Apple.

passport

passport

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shane blyth

Apple announces Sep. 12 special event 5

Wed, Sep 5 2012 05:59 | IOS, iPhone, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Apple has announced it will indeed hold a special media event on September 12 in San Francisco. The event will take place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern.

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Invitation are out from Apple and features the text “It’s almost here” along with a large number 12 casting the shadow of a numeral 5, which would seem to lend credence to suggestions that Apple will be announcing the iPhone 5. The company’s also likely to discuss iOS 6, which it first announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June and is due for release in the fall.
Plenty of whispers about the iPhone 5 have been circulating in the past months, and many of them have centered around a September 12 event. Among the most pervasive rumors have been a phone with a larger display, the addition of LTE networking, and a new dock-connector port. In about a week, we’ll see which of these rumors are true and which are dead.

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shane blyth

Samsung Found "Willfully" copying. Apple awarded over $1 Billion damages. Verdict in extremely fast!

Sat, Aug 25 2012 12:38 | Legal, Samsung, Apple

In a shockingly quick return of the juries verdict Samsung has been found "wilfully" copying Apple products and design.
The fact that the jury came back extremely quickly says a lot. They obviously needed very little in the way of discussion and considered this very clear cut.
93 Comments
Awarding Apple $1,051,855,000 in damages. Samsung, on the other hand, was granted a total of $0 in damages.
Here’s a quick rundown of how the jury came down on both of the companies. Remember, there are plenty of devices at play here — on Samsung’s side alone, there’s the Captivate, Continuum, Droid Charge, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S, Exhibit, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize, Nexus S 4G, Gem, Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Replenish, Vibrant, plus every carrier’s version of the Galaxy S II.
• The jury found no infringement by Apple on any of Samsung’s utility patents.
• The jury found that Samsung infringed on patents for ’381 “bounce back” scrolling functionality on all devices.
• On the ’915 patent, relating to one finger to scroll, two to pinch and zoom navigation, all but three Samsung devices (Ace, Intercept and Replenish) infringed.
• For Apple’s ’163 patent (tap to zoom) all Samsung devices except Captivate, Indulge, Intercept, Nexus S 4G, Transform and Vibrant infringed.
The jury then answered a question about inducement, regarding whether Samsung made its U.S. arms infringe: yes for the ’381 “bounce back” patent on all devices, yes for ’915 “one finger scrolling” for all devices except Replenish and yes for ’163 “tap to zoom” for all except Captivate, Continuum, Gem, Indulge, Nexus S 4G.
One of the biggest questions answered by the jury was if Samsung was willful in its infringement, which is where the major damages came into play. The largest damages came from the prepaid Galaxy Prevail (over $57 million).
The dense trial involved more than a dozen different patents, over 30 allegedly infringing devices and wide-ranging claims on design ownership; both sides argued their cases and defended themselves concurrently, all while enraging federal judge Lucy Koh.
Apple began with a full-fledged assault, hurling numerous trademark claims, design and technical patent claims and more; after judge Koh ordered Apple to pare it down, the company has focused on a few key patents, the simplicity of its design and working to prove a pattern of copying by Samsung. Apple’s total monetary demand was $2.525 billion.
Meanwhile, Samsung claimed that Apple’s iPhone and iPad were infringement and demanded $14.40 per device sold.
The verdict came in shockingly quickly, as the jury was only in deliberation for three days. The jury worked one hour late yesterday and reached a decision at 2:35 PT today. Over 700 individual decisions had to be made by members of the jury, which does not come from particularly technical backgrounds, on their complex worksheets.
It has been expected since the beginning of this trial that both companies would file appeals regardless of the verdict, so it would be shortsighted to assume that this is the end. That said, unless something happens as attorneys from both companies review the document, Apple is going to walk out of this courtroom much happier than Samsung is.

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shane blyth

September a Big Tech month! Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft, Google's Motorola, Amazon, Apple.

Sat, Aug 25 2012 12:06 | Samsung, Nokia, Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft

www.tech-sanity.com

Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft, Google's Motorola and Amazon have announced plans to launch new products and not surprisingly, just few days before Apple's rumored media event on September 12.So here's what Apple's competitors are likely to announce to try and steal some spotlight from Apple's event.
Samsung:
Samsung has scheduled an event on August 29, where it is widely expected to launch the Samsung Galaxy Note II, which may come with a slightly larger display (5.5-inch from 5.3-inch).
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Nokia and Microsoft:
Nokia and Microsoft have announced a media event on September 5 in New York. It is speculated that Nokia will unveil next generation Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8.

Google's Motorola:
Google-owned Motorola has announced a media event on September 5 in New York. Motorola is widely expected to launch to launch Driod Razr HD with is rumored to come with a bigger battery, 8-megapixel camera, and NFC functionality.

Amazon:
Yesterday, Amazon has announced that it will hold a press conference on September 6. It looks like Amazon is gearing up to launch the next generation Kindle Fire and possibly even the rumored Kindle smartphone.

Apple:
It's not official, but Apple is widely expected to unveil the hotly next generation iPhone on September 12, followed by the release on September 21. There's also a slim chance that Apple will launch iPad mini, the next generation iPod touch and iPod Nano at the event. But as John Gruber of Daring Fireball has pointed out yesterday, Apple might have separate music event in October to launch the other products.

Do you think Amazon, Nokia, Samsung and Motorola will be able to steal the hype from the 'iPhone 5' launch?

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shane blyth

Oracle releases Java SE 7 bringing first-class support to OS X and Linux on ARM.

Wed, Aug 15 2012 09:30 | Security, Linux, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Oracle announced on Tuesday that it will start offering direct downloads and auto-updates to Java on OS X beginning with the release of Java Standard Edition 7 Update 6. Users can download the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) directly from Oracle's java.com website "soon," according to Oracle, and will receive auto-updates at the same time as Windows, Linux, and Solaris platforms. The update also fully integrates the JavaFX 2.2 libraries, designed to make the development and deployment of desktop applications easier and faster, and adds OS X support for a new JavaFX user interface development tool.
Oracle is also expanding its support for Linux as well. Java SE 7 Update 6 adds support for Linux on ARM, "to address 'general purpose”' ARM systems, such as those used for the emerging micro-server ARM market, and for development platforms such as Raspberry Pi." JavaFX 2.2 also fully supports Linux on x86 and x64 platforms.
The latest release of Java SE 7 now makes OS X a fully supported platform. That includes the JRE, which end users install to run Java-based applications; the JDK, which developers use to develop Java applications; and the JavaFX "rich client platform," used to develop GUI desktop applications. Oracle is also releasing an OS X version of its new JavaFX Scene Builder, which allows developers to build user interfaces using drag-and-drop components (similar to Xcode or Visual Studio).
Apple's continuing inability to stay on top of updating Java resulted in the most widely exploited vulnerability in OS X to date: a quick-spreading trojan known as Flashback. The malware infected over half a million un-patched Macs at its pinnacle, though Apple quickly released patches and a removal tool after news of Flashback became public.
Apple has since effectively ceded responsibility for Java to Oracle, which had begun taking over support of Java on OS X with the release of Java SE 7 Update 4 in April. Apple has still distributed its own updates to Java, releasing critical security patches in concert with Oracle, though it appears end users will be getting updates from Oracle from now on.
"Oracle continues to expand our support for the Java platform, and now, for the first time, consumers and developers have access to the latest Java SE features and security updates across all major operating systems: Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X," Hasan Rizvi, senior vice president of Oracle Fusion Middleware and Java Products, said in a statement. "We're also focused on improving the client Java experience with the release of JavaFX Scene Builder and bundling JavaFX with Java SE to provide better performance and improved usability for JavaFX applications, without having to install and maintain a separate product."

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shane blyth

Apple slaughtering competition in tablet sales

Sat, Aug 11 2012 01:34 | Samsung, iPad, Tablets, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
U.S. tablet sales last quarter: Apple sold 5.2 million iPads where as Samsung, Apples main Tablet competitor, only sold 37,000 actual units.

Both Apple and Samsung filed documents in a California federal court on Thursday that specified the companies’ U.S. tablet unit sales.

“According to Samsung’s court filing, it sold a total of 37,000 tablets in the U.S. last quarter,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune. “Apple sold 5.7 million tablets in the U.S. last quarter, court documents show.”

Read more at http://macdailynews.com/2012/08/10/u-s-tablet-sales-last-quarter-apple-sold-5-2-million-samsung-sold-37000/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wordpress%2FxhfA+%28MacDailyNews%29#G80wDghKuwwu0ey8.99

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shane blyth

Samsung’s Report Says Galaxy Would Be Better If it Were More Like the iPhone

Wed, Aug 8 2012 05:48 | Legal, Samsung, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
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As part of its case against Samsung, Apple has shown snippets of an internal Samsung document comparing the original Galaxy S phone with the iPhone.
On Tuesday, Apple managed to get the whole 132-page document admitted into evidence. And it’s a doozy.
The 2010 report, translated from Korean, goes feature by feature, evaluating how Samsung’s phone stacks up against the iPhone.
Authored by Samsung’s product engineering team, the document evaluates everything from the home screen to the browser to the built in apps on both devices. In each case, it comes up with a recommendation on what Samsung should do going forward and in most cases its answer is simple: Make it work more like the iPhone.
In short, the evaluation report makes the case that the Galaxy (identified here as the “S1″) would be better if it behaved more like the iPhone and featured a similar user interface. And it appears to play directly into Apple’s charge that Samsung “slavishly copied” the iPhone.

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shane blyth

Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter now available for $29

Wed, Aug 1 2012 11:01 | Hardware, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

thunderbolt to firewire

Apple's relentless drive to shave millimetres off its laptops has come at a cost — your new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with Retina display might not have quite as many ports as you're used to. The company's own FireWire 800 port has fallen out of favour in recent years, for example, with Apple electing to push Intel's newer Thunderbolt standard in its place, but now there's a solution for those still relying on the older connector for audio devices and similar applications. Announced along with the new laptop lineup at WWDC in June, the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter is capable of providing up to 7W of power and is finally on sale now at the Apple Store for $29. It's not the most elegant solution, no, but it just might be the final excuse you need to pick up that Retina MacBook Pro.

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shane blyth

Commandline Junkies new tools in Mountain Lion.

Tue, Jul 31 2012 01:24 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

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Terminal junkies, Mountain Lion has brought some new command-line utilities. Perhaps the most notable is fdesetup, which Apple explains briefly: "fdesetup allows third-party management tools to enable FileVault, determine encryption status, capture and manage recovery keys, and add users to a FileVault-encrypted system as well as synchronize directory-based user authentication credentials with the local credentials for FileVault access."
Apple provides a 'man' page for fdsetup, but if you want more information about it, Rich Trouton at Der Flounder has a very thorough walk-through with a bunch of screenshots and excellent explanations. I'm definitely keeping this one in Pinboard for the inevitable day when I want or need to use fdsetup. I'm also glad to have a more low-level tool for working with FileVault.
I had written previously about the "hoops" which were necessary to disable certain users from being able to unlock the computer with FileVault. That process is now a lot easier.
But wait, there's more!
Patrix over at the Ask Different blog discovered several other new command-line utilities. Some of them are generic Unix utilities (pgrep and pkill) but there are also some OS X specific ones, including:
◦ caffeinate – prevent the system from sleeping on behalf of a utility
◦ serverinfo – determine server status (is this OS X Server, and, if so, are these things enabled)
◦ sharing – create share points for AFP, FTP and SMB services
◦ tccutil – manage the privacy database
See the original article for more details. Of these, caffeinate seems like the most interesting. I have used Caffeine, the free app from Lighthead Software, to keep my Mac awake at times, but being able to do it in shell scripts could definitely come in handy.
Still missing your favorite Unix utility?

If Mountain Lion still doesn't have your favorite utility, don't forget you have other options. I have used Rudix when I wanted precompiled binaries, and Homebrew when I want to make my own. Mostly these days I stick with Homebrew, which is regularly updated by a bunch of people, versus Rudix which has a smaller library and seems to be mostly the labor of love of one developer.
Others may prefer Fink or MacPorts; I have used both in the past but haven't kept up with them recently. Both of them appear to have been updated for Mountain Lion.

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shane blyth

New iPhone And Mini iPad Announcment's 12th Septemeber Shipping September 21st.

Tue, Jul 31 2012 12:59 | iPhone, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Following a report from iMore earlier today claiming that Apple will hold a media event to introduce the next-generation iPhone and the "iPad mini" on September 12 ahead of September 21 availability for the new iPhone, AllThingsD reports that it has confirmed an Apple media event will be taking place that week. While the report's sources have apparently not confirmed the topic of the event or the exact date, it certainly appears to corroborate iMore's claims.
Apple hasn’t yet officially announced the fall event at which it is expected to debut the next iteration of the iPhone, but it’s definitely planning one.

iMore was first to report that the company has scheduled a special event for Wednesday, September 12, and now we’ve confirmed it as well. Sources tell AllThingsD that Apple is currently planning an event for that week. And while we haven’t yet confirmed its focus, history suggests it will indeed be the new iPhone.
AllThingsD has been very accurate in the past regarding Apple rumors, and has on several occasions been the first to reveal dates for Apple media events, lending significant weight to this report's support of the September 12 date from iMore.

The report goes on to note that Apple's latest quarterly report has revealed a massive increase in component prepayments, signaling that the company is moving full speed ahead on preparing its supply chain for production on the next iPhone and perhaps other devices such as the iPad mini.

Update: The Verge has also "confirmed" the September 12 date with its own sources.
The rumor cycle this time around for the next iPhone has been a bit unusual — multiple leaks have all depicted the exact same components — but it looks like we'll be seeing what Apple has up its sleeves come Wednesday, September 12th. Our own sources have confirmed that date, and multiple websites have similar reports as well.
Update: The Loop's Jim Dalrymple also weighs in on the September 12 date:
Yep.

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shane blyth

Is this the next iPhone ?

Tue, Jul 31 2012 12:56 | iPhone, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

This video sure looks convincing

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shane blyth

Get A Thunderbolt Hackintosh! Z77X-UP5 TH Motherboard with Thunderbolt

Sun, Jul 29 2012 01:40 | OSX, Hackintosh, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Found this great read for all you Hackintosh people. Complete with Video

Hey jailbreaking fans!

The iOS 6.1 untethered jailbreak is here! Here is our tutorial, with download links and all:

A quick look at a new motherboard from Gigabyte that's well suited for Hackintosh builders. The Z77X-UP5 TH includes two 10 Gb/second Thunderbolt ports. This video look at Apple's Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter and the 12 TB Pegasus Thunderbolt RAID on this Ivy Bridge Hackintosh.

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shane blyth

Mountain Lion’s New File System by oliver reichenstein

Sat, Jul 28 2012 03:50 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Here is a very interesting article on the "new" file system in Mountain Lion. It's a bit of a brain bender but if you read right through it you'll get the idea.
It's not forcing you to work a new way at all as I first though but the in App structure, like IOS, is quite an interesting idea. Just read on and you'll see what Oliver has discovered. Make sure you read it right through to the end to really get it and how theres some interesting logic here.

Apple has been working on its file system and with iOS it had almost killed the concept of folders — before reintroducing them with a peculiar restriction: only one level! With Mountain Lion it brings its one folder level logic to OSX (no again this is not forced). What could be the reason for such a restrictive measure?
Classic folder systems don’t perform too well. One reason is that organizing folders is engaging in the tiring discipline of information architecture. Information architecture is hard brain work. Just like a chess problem, it seems obvious once done, but takes considerable mental energy to figure out a clear and simple information architecture. And mainly, you just don’t want to do it all the time. Tying folders (sort of) to an app and reducing them to one level could solve a lot of these problems.
Folders-in-folders don’t work
The folder system paradigm is a geeky concept. Geeks built it because geeks need it. Geeks organize files all day long. Geeks don’t know and don’t really care how much their systems suck for other people. Geeks do not realize that for most people organizing documents within an operating system next to System files and applications feels like a complicated and maybe even dangerous business. Remember that autoexec.bat file?

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shane blyth

Mountain Lion Tweaks, Niggles and a few adjustments to help

Fri, Jul 27 2012 06:15 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

I now have Mountain Lion successfully installed on 2 systems (I haven't tackled my Hackintosh yet and probably won't for a while)
Things have gone well, theres been the odd head scratch and then realisations of whats going on. Most things are great but there are a few niggles and one I haven't quite figured out yet. Ill start with it.

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shane blyth

Mountain Lion's Notification Center And How To Get It Working Your Way.

Thu, Jul 26 2012 06:27 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Notifications can be tweaked on Mountain Lion to suit most any workflow.

Getting Mountain Lion's new system-wide notifications to work best for your own needs may take a little adjusting. Notification Center gives developers an (official) standardized way to send notifications to the user, but also a way to consolidate and control those notifications. We show you how to make the most of what this first desktop incarnation of Notification Center offers.
Apple provides system-wide notification APIs to developers, but it is up to them to support it. Apple has naturally included support in its own apps, such as Mail, Messages, and Reminders; Safari also supports notifications sent from webpages using the Web Notifications API. Some Twitter clients, such as the Tweetbot alpha, support notifications, but alas, the languishing official Twitter client does not. Other applications, such as Outlook 2011, still rely on their own notification system. Plenty of others rely on Growl, a popular third-party OS X notification system that thankfully can still run on Mountain Lion.
Taking control

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shane blyth

Apple releases Power Nap-enabling firmware updates for recent MacBooks

Thu, Jul 26 2012 12:23 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

With Mountain Lion, Apple includes a Power Nap feature that allows recent SSD-equipped MacBooks to perform certain jobs while asleep, including backing up to Time Machine, checking for email messages, and performing some iCloud synchronization tasks. But owners of some MacBook Airs (2011 or newer) and retina display MacBook Pro models found Power Nap conspicuous in its absence when Mountain Lion was first released.

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Late Wednesday afternoon, Apple made a firmware update for these Macs—called MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.5 for the MacBook Air models—available via Software Update. Once you download the update, you just double-click it to run it. You’ll be prompted to restart your Mac and then the update will be applied. On a 2012 13-inch MacBook Air that process took a couple of seconds.
To make sure the update was applied correctly, launch System Preferences, select the Energy preference, and look for the Enable Power Nap option in the resulting window.

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shane blyth

Apple Releases Mountain Lion review and details.

Thu, Jul 26 2012 09:23 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

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Apple Released Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 today. It's the the Little Details that can make a big difference and here are some of them
A lot goes into a major update to an operating system. Rather than write yet another comprehensive review we want to touch on features and shortcuts that you might not easily encounter on your own — or that we think are so cool they deserve mention.

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shane blyth

Apple to ship Mountain Lion on 25th July (US)

Wed, Jul 25 2012 02:49 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

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Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would ship Mountain Lion, the latest version of its OS X operating system, starting Wednesday.
COMPLETE COVERAGE
OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
Mountain Lion features you may have missed … Read on ….

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shane blyth

Apple unveils next generation MacBook Pro with Retina display; updates other MacBook models

Tue, Jun 12 2012 04:58 | OSX, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Along with updating the existing MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, Apple has reinvented the MacBook Pro with a Retina display, as announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote on Monday.
The standout feature of the Retina-display model is the brand-new, high-density display. The new MacBook Pro's 15.4-inch (diagonal) screen has four times the number of pixels as the previous model at 2880 (horizontal) by 1800 (vertical), for a total of 5,184,000 pixels or 220 pixels per inch.
Despite its glossy screen, it has a 178-degree wide viewing angle, has 75 percent less reflection, and 29 percent higher contrast than the previous generation, Apple says. The company says it was able to achieve this reduction in glare by building the layers of the display into the laptop’s Unibody frame, eliminating the need for a separate cover of glass.

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The laptop has a 2.3GHz quad-core i7 processor with 8GB of 1600MHz RAM (upgradeable to up to 16GB), a GeForce GT 650M graphics processor with 1GB of VRAM, and 256GB of flash storage.
The new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display weighs 4.46 pounds, heavier than a MacBook Air, but similar in weight to the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Like the new Air, it has no optical drive. Closed, it’s 0.71 inch thick—about as thick as the base of the old MacBook Pro but about as thin as an Air. Unlike the current wedge-shape of the MacBook Air, this laptop has a uniform thickness.
The new MacBook Pro with Retina display offers up to seven hours of battery life and 30 days of standby. Apple noted that the battery cells take up much of the interior. Built around flash storage, users can opt (when ordering) to equip the new MacBook Pro with up to 768GB of internal flash storage. It also features the fastest graphics on a Mac laptop—Nvidia GeForce GT 650M.
The laptop also has 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0. a FaceTime HD camera, and dual microphones using beam-forming technology. There’s also the obligatory glass Multi-Touch trackpad and backlit keyboard.
It also features an SD-card slot, HDMI out, two USB3/USB2 ports (one on each side), two Thunderbolt ports, and a headphone port. Apple also announced Thunderbolt-to-FireWire 800 and Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit ethernet adapters. The new MacBook Pro also ships with a new, thinner MagSafe 2 power port.
Apple spaced the fan blades asymmetrically so that the fan noise is not a uniform sound, but more dispersed. The laptops is also environmentally friendly, with Energy Star 5.2 certification, and is arsenic-free, BFR-free, and PVC-free. It is also highly recyclable, and has mercury-free glass.
Prices for the new MacBook Pro with Retina display start at $2199. It’s available immediately.
Updates to non-Retina MacBook Pro models
In addition to introducing the MacBook Pro with Retina display, Apple has updated the standard MacBook Pro line.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is now available with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of memory and 500GB hard drive starting at $1199; and with a 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, and a 750GB hard drive starting at $1499.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000, Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics, and a 500GB hard drive starting at $1799; and with a 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000, Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics, and a 750GB hard drive starting at $2199. Build-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.7GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 1TB, and solid state storage up to 512GB.
Both 13-inch and 15-inch (non-Retina) MacBook Pro models can be upgraded to 16GB of memory, but, oddly, Apple doesn’t offer build-to-order upgrades for the non-Retina models.
There were no announcements regarding the 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple’s MacBook Pro release came as the company also updated its MacBook Air lineup with new processors and USB 3.0 integration.

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shane blyth

MacBook Air gets new processors, adds USB 3.0

Tue, Jun 12 2012 04:55 | OSX, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple introduced new Macbook Air models at Monday morning’s WWDC keynote.

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The new Airs—which come in 11-inch and 13-inch models—run on Intel’s third-generation Core processor (Ivy Bridge) family: a Core i5 chip in the standard configurations, with a Core i7 processor available as a build-to-order option. The updated laptops ship with 4GB of memory, but you can expand that to 8GB.
The updated MacBook Airs now come with USB 3 in addition to USB 2. There's still a single USB port on each side of the laptop, but each incorporate both standards so you don’t have to think about which one to plug into, according to Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller. A high-speed Thunderbolt port alongside lets you easily connect to external displays and a variety of other peripherals. The 13-inch model also has an SD card slot. Both sizes feature an updated MagSafe 2 power port, which uses the same technology as the original MagSafe port but has been slimmed down for a lower profile.

The MacBook Air’s FaceTime camera has been updated to match the MacBook Pro's FaceTime HD version, offering 720p resolution.
Schiller claimed that the new Air's 1600MHz RAM offers better performance than the memory in the previous generation Air, and the new Intel HD Graphics 4000 offers up to 60 percent faster graphics performance. The new Air also uses a faster SSD (solid-state drive) for storage; Schiller said the new SSDs can provide data-read speeds up to 500MBps, which is up to twice as fast as the SSDs in the previous models.
Configurations and options
The 11-inch MacBook Air features a 1.7GHz dual-core i5 processor and an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 processor. It comes in a 64GB-SSD configuration for $999 and a 128GB configuration for $1099—that’s $100 less than Apple charged for the previous higher-end 11-inch model. Both 13-inch MacBook Airs got a $100 price cut, too: The 128GB model costs $1199 while the 256GB version costs $1499. Those 13-inch laptops feature a 1.8GHz dual-core i5 processor and 4GB of memory. All Airs feature Bluetooth 4.0, stereo speakers, and an omnidirectional microphone.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook Air include a 2.0GHz Intel Core i7 processor, up to 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 onboard memory and up to 512GB of flash-memory (SSD) storage.
The 13-inch MacBook Air delivers up to 7 hours of wireless battery life, while the 11-inch MacBook Air provides up to 5 hours, Apple says. Their batteries use advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology to provide up to 1,000 recharges, according to the company.
Availability
The new MacBook Airs ship immediately. They ship with OS X Lion, and starting today, customers who purchase a Mac are eligible for a free copy of Mountain Lion when it becomes available.
Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available from

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Mountain Lion Info: to ship in July for $20 USD

Tue, Jun 12 2012 04:51 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
In Monday’s keynote address at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple revealed several new tidbits about Mountain Lion—including its ship-date.
Apple’s vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, took the stage to announce that Apple’s newest OS X release will be ready for consumers to download in July. He also chose eight new features to highlight during the keynote, including some—such as Dictation on the Mac and Power Nap—that weren't included in the Mountain Lion preview we saw in February.
iCloud
OS X Lion already integrates with Apple’s iCloud service, but Mountain Lion is taking that integration a step further with Documents in the Cloud. The February demo briefly touched on this feature, showing off integration in Preview; at the keynote, Federighi announced that the cloud data service will now be integrated with other Apple apps (including the iWork suite).

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Developers will be able to enable iCloud integration in their own programs (though presumably only those that have been sandboxed) by using a software development kit. Federighi also briefly demonstrated iCloud syncing for Reminders, Notes, and Messages.
Notification Center
Borrowing a card from iOS’s deck, Mountain Lion sports its own Notification Center for apps and alerts. At the keynote, Federighi showed off a new icon for the service along with a Do Not Disturb option and auto-disabling when your Mac is connected to a projector.
Dictation comes to the Mac
No, Mountain Lion users won’t get Siri just yet, but Apple is bringing forth system-wide dictation. It reputedly works anywhere on your Mac that you can type, including third-party apps—even, as Federighi joked, in "Microsoft Word!"—and websites.
Sharing
Mountain Lion’s extended sharing features have been pretty well-documented, and Federighi gave a brief rundown of those during the keynote, mentioning built-in support for Twitter and Flickr sharing anywhere that you can Quick Look a file. Developers will also be able to add a standard Share button to their apps. It also appears that Mountain Lion will finally introduce the long-rumored integration with Facebook to OS X.
Safari
We’ve previously covered Safari’s new unified search bar and faster JavaScript rendering engine in Mountain Lion. At the keynote, however, Federighi unveiled iCloud Tabs, which uses Apple’s sync service to let you quick access any tabs open on your other iCloud-enabled devices.

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Power Nap
A new Mountain Lion feature exclusive to SSD-equipped Mac laptops, Power Nap works behind the scenes to keep your Mac up to date while it’s sleeping or you aren’t using it. With Power Nap enabled, your Mac can automatically sync email, calendar appointments, notes, and reminders; update Photo Stream; download app and OS updates; and back up to a Time Machine drive.
AirPlay Mirroring
Good news, streamers: You’ll be able to mirror your Mac's screen to your Apple TV (at resolutions up to pixel-for-pixel 1080p) using the Mac’s new AirPlay menu-bar control. You'll also be able to use AirPlay to stream any audio from your Mac to AirPlay-enabled audio systems.
Game Center
In another move to unify accounts across iOS and OS X, you’ll be able to use your iOS Game Center login to keep track of your Mac games and achievements in Game Center. You can also challenge your friends to turn-based or head-to-head games, either Mac-to-Mac or iOS-to-Mac (assuming the game has App Store options for both iOS and Mac users).
Aside from those major features, Federighi also mentioned VIPs in Mail, Launchpad search, Gatekeeper, offline reading for your Safari Reader list, and new features for Chinese users.
Developers also have a lot to look forward to with SDKs for iCloud and Game Center along with more than 1700 new APIs for sharing, Notification Center, high-resolution graphics, gestures, and more.
Mountain Lion is set to ship sometime in July via the Mac App Store. Anyone who purchases one of Apple’s new laptops is eligible for a free upgrade; otherwise, you can upgrade for just $20 if you’re running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple unveils iOS 6

Tue, Jun 12 2012 04:47 | IOS, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple on Monday took the wraps off iOS 6, the next version of the operating system that powers the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Senior vice president for iOS software Scott Forstall told the developers and press in attendance that iOS 6 includes 200 new features, including Siri enhancements and Facebook updates.
The updated mobile operating system is slated to arrive this fall.
By the numbers
First, Forstall recapped some amazing numbers: He said there are more than 365 million iOS devices, and that more than 80 percent of them are running iOS 5. He said that 7 billion push notifications are sent to iOS devices each day, and more than 1.5 trillion such notifications have been pushed to date. He added that there are 140 million iMessage users who send more than 1 billion messages per day.
Maps

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Maps in iOS 6 sports a new icon, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Apple built an entire new mapping solution “from the ground up,” Forstall said, doing all the cartography itself. And the assortment of features Apple will now include for free with the Maps app may well leave the folks over at Google feeling a little envious.
Part of Maps is local search. Apple ingested more than 100 million business listings, integrated with Yelp for reviews and ratings. Maps also integrates a traffic service, so you can see where slow traffic is. On top of that, actual incident details are overlaid, so that you can get a sense of when traffic should clear up. Apple says that one of the data-sources for traffic reports is anonymous crowd-sourced data from iOS users.
Also new is turn-by-turn navigation. The app gives you your estimated time of arrival, updated in real-time with traffic data. Maps will guide you around traffic jams when possible, too. And it all works from the lock screen, and integrates with Siri, too. Ask Siri where to go, and it will start the turn-by-turn guidance. And you can ask Siri to point you towards a gas station; it will find one on your route.
Forstall said Apple is very excited about Flyover, a 3D model Apple has built by flying over major metropolitan areas with planes and helicopters. The maps are vector-based, so zooming in and out is quick and painless. Tap on a specific building to get an information card with more details from Yelp.
You can switch to a 3D map mode to see wireframes of what individual buildings look like, adjust camera angles, toggle between 2D and 3D, and more. Perhaps no element of Forstall’s presentation included more “Oohs” and “Ahhs” than his Flyover demo.
And, of course, with Maps in iOS 6, Apple is eschewing Google Maps entirely. That leaves the rarely-updated YouTube app as the last remaining vestige of the once-tight Google integration with iOS’s core offerings.
Siri enhancements

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Siri in iOS 6 is expanded to include information on sports and know more about restaurants. It can also launch apps and let you post to Facebook or Twitter as well. With iOS 6, Siri support comes to the third-generation iPad; previously, only the iPhone 4S offered Siri as a feature. iOS's voice-driven personal assistant also gains support for numerous more languages, too. For more, read our complete coverage of Siri updates.
Facebook integration

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As with Twitter in iOS 5, Facebook will be integrated systemwide on iOS 6. You’ll be able to share photos, links, locations, iTunes and App Store items, and more via Facebook. And Facebook is integrated directly into Notification Center: You can drag down to post a new Facebook update (or tweet).
You can post to Facebook via Siri, too. Your Facebook friends’ contact information and calendar events can also sync to your iOS device.
The Phone app

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Slide up on an incoming call that you’re not ready to take in iOS 6, and you can reply with a message or remind yourself to call the person back later. As with the Camera lock screen shortcut, you'll swipe up on a button when an incoming call arrives to access several built-in automatic messages you can send to tell the caller you're unavailable, or schedule the call-back reminder.
Do Not Disturb
iOS 6 also includes a Do Not Disturb option: Your iOS device still receives push notifications, calls, and text messages, but they won’t light up your screen or make a sound.
For added control, you can allow certain numbers to sound your phone as they otherwise would even when Do Not Disturb is enabled. If someone calls you back within three minutes after a muted call arrives—implying it’s urgent—your phone will ring.
FaceTime
In iOS 6, Apple’s video chatting feature will work over a cellular connection, not just Wi-Fi. Forstall also said that Apple is unifying your Apple ID and phone number, so if someone sends a FaceTime message to your number (or an iMessage), it can arrive on your iPad or Mac, too.
Safari
About two-thirds of all mobile Web traffic comes from Safari on iOS, Forstall said. With Mountain Lion, your iOS devices will be able to sync your open tabs with iCloud, so the sites you visit from one device are accessible on your others. And as with Mountain Lion, Safari in iOS 6 now supports offline reading for webpages saved in Reading List.

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Another new feature in Safari is the ability to upload photos to websites that request them.
Forstall also explained a new feature for developers called Smart App banners. When customers visit the website for a developer’s app, Safari can pop up a banner with a link to that app in the App Store. If you already have the app installed, you can launch the app directly.
Additionally, landscape Safari will now support full-screen mode.
Photo Stream
New in iOS 6 are shared Photo Streams, which let you easily share photos with friends. Choose the photos you’d like to share, choose your friends, and you’re done. Friends receive a push notification, and photos appear in an album in the Photos app. Friends can also comment on your photos.
Mail
As it will in Mountain Lion, Mail on iOS 6 will add support for VIPs. Mark someone as a VIP, and you get a notification on the lock screen when their messages arrive, just like you do with a text message. And you get a special mailbox for those messages, along with a new Flagged mailbox.
Mail also makes it easier to insert photos and videos as you compose messages.
Also new is the ability to open password-protected Office files from within Mail. And Mail also adds the now-familiar pull-to-refresh option to update your inbox.
Passbook

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Forstall calls Apple’s new app Passbook “the simplest way to get all of your passes in one place.” It can grab your boarding passes, tickets, store card apps (like Starbucks), movie tickets, and the like, and organize them. And when you get to the location where you need a pass, iOS can tell, and pops up the appropriate pass on your lock screen.
And the cards are live: If your gate changes while you’re at the airport, the saved card in Passbook gets updated automatically. Forstall told developers that iOS 6 includes a new Passbook API (Pass Kit) for creating and updating passes for the app.
Guided Access
“We set out to make the most accessible devices of anyone for all of our customers,” Forstall said. “So we’re really proud of how the accessibility community has been adopting iOS devices.” He said that Apple is particularly proud of how kids with autism have been benefiting from iOS apps.
With Guided Access, you can circle the buttons you’d like to disable in an app, and iOS disables those. And you can put the iPhone in single-app mode, which prevents the Home button from exiting the app.
But this feature, of course, goes well beyond kids with autism. Single-app mode lets a teacher lock an iPad into a test so that students can’t go look up the answers in Safari. And this would work well for museums, too, Forstall said. (Or parents with any young, iOS device-using kids.)
Other details
Forstall mentioned a slew of other features coming in iOS 6, too: Improved privacy controls (including limiting access to contacts or calendars), redesigned App Store, Game Center challenges, made-for-iPhone hearing aids, per-account signatures in Mail, Lost Mode for Find My iPhone (which sends a phone number directly to that phone), a variety of updates for China, and more.
Forstall also told developers that there’s a new Reminders API, the ability to sell music from within iOS apps (without needing to send users to the App Store), and an integrated transit apps store within the new Maps app.
Developers received the iOS 6 beta Monday; it’s due to ship this fall. It supports iPhone 3GS and later, iPad 2 and later, and the fourth-generation iPod touch. That makes iOS 6 the first iOS update since the iPad’s introduction to discontinue support for the first version of Apple’s tablet.

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shane blyth

Lots of new features in aTV Flash 1.6

Sat, Jun 2 2012 01:05 | IOS, ATV, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

atv-flash-black

Hot on the heels of the new Seas0nPass release we're happy to present to you a brand new version of aTV Flash (black). Version 1.6 adds a bunch of great new features including integrated subtitle downloads, expanded codec support, refined video playback, improved networking, additional translations and a truckload of other improvements and bug fixes.
Integrated Subtitle Downloads
By popular request we've added one-click subtitle downloads, courtesy of OpenSubtitles.org. Now instead of spending hours searching for the right subtitles they can be easily downloaded right from your Apple TV in a matter of seconds. Check out the screenshots below to see this feature in action.

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Need additional subtitles? Just click 'Get More...'.

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Choose from thousands of available subtitles.
Full Changelog
• Added integrated subtitle downloads from OpenSubtitles.org
• Added support for purchased iTunes content (matching iTunes login required)
• Added video deinterlacing option
• Added Wake-on-Lan (WOL)
• Added Portuguese (Portugal) translation
• Added support for displaying subtitles in lower 'black bar'
• Added support for .WTV files
• Added support for multiple simultaneous AFP connections
• Improved bulk fetching & added automatic artwork caching
• Improved automatic downscaling for large thumbnails
• Improved metadata reloading for images
• Improved buffering over AFP
• Resolved various audio synchronization issues
• Resolved possible overflow in 5.1 AC3 audio
• Resolved issues with zoom for 4:3 movies
• Resolved missing audio for .dvr-ms files (ASF containers)
• Resolved rare SRT file crash
• Resolved issues with slideshow animation
• Resolved file specific metadata fetching issues
• Resolved rare ISO file crashes
• Resolved issue with displaying identical thumbnails for images with the same name
• Resolved metadata loading issues for files containing non-latin characters
• Resolved rare 5ch audio file crash
• Resolved issues with incorrect metadata for files with '/S01E0.avi' pattern
• Resolved auto-start issues in Couch Surfer
• Reduced memory footprint for large software-decoded videos and slideshows
• Other minor UI improvements & bug fixes
Great! Where can I get it?
If you're already running a version of aTV Flash (black) the new 1.6 version can be installed through the Maintenance --> Manage Extras menu.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

WWDC 2012 Schedule announced.

Wed, May 30 2012 02:06 | Apple

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With less than two weeks to go until WWDC 2012 kicks off, Apple has this morning released the conference schedule as well as the official iOS app and some guides for the conference goers. Developers who were lucky enough to snag tickets to WWDC ’12 can access the schedule here. There are over 100 sessions and labs that have been categorised into six technical tracks covering:

Essentials
App Services
Developer Tools
Graphics, Media and Games
Safari and Web
Core OS

One interesting change is that the Apple Design Awards will this year be held on Monday at 3:45 PM – usually the event was held later in the event and during the evening.
The official WWDC app is also live now, featuring a detailed schedule, daily news and photos, a map of Moscone West and the ability to plan your week by favoriting sessions and detecting session conflicts. For those who might be new to the WWDC experience, Apple has also created a handy ‘Attendee Guide’ for WWDC that you can access here – it’s nothing huge but does have handy links to other resources that will likely be useful to new attendees. Lastly, there is guide to the WWDC labs including what they will cover, when and where they run and which require a reservation.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Absinthe 2.0 Jailbreak Now Available for iOS 5.1.1 Devices

Sat, May 26 2012 04:40 | IOS, Jailbreak, Apple

www.techsanity.com

absinthe_2.0_logo_200px

The hackers have been teasing us for weeks, but today have finally made good on a new jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1, coinciding with Hack in the Box conference taking place today in Amsterdam.

The Chronic-Dev Team and iPhone Dev Team (collectively known as the “Jailbreak Dream Team”) have announced the availability of Absinthe 2.0, a sequel to their earlier jailbreak effort which now promises to support almost every iOS 5.1.1 device -- including the new iPad. One notable exception is the third-generation Apple TV, which has proven more difficult to crack. (The team also notes more recent $399 iPad 2 models will be supported at a later date.)

“After copious amounts of work and many sleepless nights Absinthe 2.0 is finally here to jailbreak your device,” the team announced on the Greenpois0n website Friday morning. “This jailbreak supports firmware 5.1.1 ONLY and is again one of the most easiest jailbreaks to use (so easy your grandma could do it ;D).”

Absinthe 2.0 is a completely untethered jailbreak available for Mac OS X (Leopard 10.5 and up, including OS X Lion), Windows XP/Vista/7 as well as Linux. The Greenpois0n website will likely be hammered by eager jailbreakers trying to download the software today, so downloaders should be patient.

The latest jailbreak recommends backing up your device and then erasing all content and settings, which supposedly makes the process much faster. Then, open Absinthe, connect to your computer via USB, click “Jailbreak” and wait as the process completes. After the jailbreak is successful, restore from your iTunes backup and enjoy.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Seas0nPass Untethered for 5.0.1

Sat, May 26 2012 12:41 | IOS, ATV, Jailbreak, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Seas0nPass

Today we are happy to release a brand new version of Seas0nPass that provides an untethered jailbreak of the latest 5.0.1 (iOS 5.1.1) software for the 2nd gen Apple TV. Massive thanks goes to @pod2g and Co. for the countless hours that went into making this new release possible.
What about the new 3rd gen Apple TV?
Unfortunately Seas0nPass is not yet compatible with the new ATV3. Work is still ongoing and we'lll be sure to announce any and all news as soon as it becomes available. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ for up to the minute info.
Which plugins are currently supported on 5.0.1?

Couch Surfer (works)
Last.fm (works)
Maintenance (works)
Media Player (works)
NitoTV (works)
Plex (works)
RSS Feeds (works)
Rowmote (works)
Weather (works)
XBMC (works)
Overflow (not working)
Remote HD (not working)

Superb! Where can I get it?
As always, Seas0nPass is available as a free download from Seas0nPass.com.
Troubleshooting tips can be found here.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple releases iOS 5.1.1 with bug fixes

Tue, May 8 2012 01:46 | IOS, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

ios5.1.1 update

iOS 5.1.1 has been released by Apple It's a small update for the the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.
Mine installed flawlessly using Wifi and an OTA (over the air) update which allows you to update without requiring you to plug into the USB port of computer.
The update includes a handful of fixes. Among them: Taking HDR photos from the Lock Screen shortcut should now work more reliably. Safari bookmark and Reading list syncing is also improved.
Bugs that prevented the the third-generation iPad from successfully switching between 2G and 3G networks are also addressed. Other bugs afflicting AirPlay video playback are corrected, too.
And if you’ve ever seen an “Unable to purchase” alert after successfully purchasing something on iOS, good news: The 5.1.1 update also resolves that issue.
You can install the update directly from your iOS device, if you’re running iOS 5 or later: Launch Settings, tap General, and then tap Software Update. As a delta update, the iOS 5.1.1 upgrade is a much smaller file than iOS updates before iOS 5 generally were; on my iPhone 4S, the update weighed in at less than 60MB.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple Wins Legal Sanctions Against Samsung

Sun, May 6 2012 09:11 | Apple

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Apple has won sanctions against Samsung for its failure to produce source code in a patent-infringement case in federal court in San Jose, California, reports "Bloomberg" (http://macte.ch/S2gTS). This is the latest development in the ongoing, global battle between the two companies.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal wrote in his order that Samsung "plainly violated" a court order requiring it to turn over code to Apple. He also ruled that Samsung won’t be able to offer evidence in the case about its efforts to “design- around” three patents at issue in the case.
In its lawsuit, Apple claims that Samsung’s 4G smartphone and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer infringe its patents. In December, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose ruled against Apple’s request to block Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung from selling that phone and tablet in the U.S. That order followed an Australian court ruling lifting an injunction on the tablet there.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

FTC set to fine Google for Hacking Safari on Iphone/Ipad

Sat, May 5 2012 03:46 | Legal, Google, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
The Federal Trade Commission appears ready to fine Google millions of dollars for hacking around privacy settings on iPhones and iPads. Consumer Watchdog filed a complaint in February with the FTC after Stanford Researcher Jonathan Mayer revealed what the Internet giant was doing.
Sara Forden of "Bloomberg News" today reported the Commission is negotiating with Google about how big the fine will be. She cited an unidentified source as saying the fine could amount to more than US$10 million.
"Google hacked past a key privacy setting on iPhones and iPads and other devices using Apple's Safari browser, placed tracking cookies on them and then lied, saying the settings were still effective," says John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project director. "I am delighted the FTC appears ready to take strong action against an obvious violation of Google's promises to honor users' privacy in its 'Buzz' Consent Decree with the Commission."
Under the terms of the consent decree, the FTC can fine Google up to $16,000 per violation per day. Read Consumer Watchdog's complaint to the FTC at http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/ltrleibowitz021712.pdf .
A study released Feb. 17 by Jonathan Mayer of Stanford University's Security Lab, and the Center for Internet and Society, found that Google has been circumventing a privacy setting in Apple's Safari web browser. Like most web browsers, Safari provides the option not to receive third-party "cookies."
Cookies are small bits of code placed on the browser and can be used by ad networks to track you as you surf the web. Blocking third-party cookies is supposed to prevent such tracking. Safari is the primary browser on the iPhone and iPad. It is also the default browser on Apple's computers. Read Jonathan Mayer's study at http://webpolicy.org/2012/02/17/safari-trackers/ .

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

iPad share up to 68% while Kindle Fire's share collapses to a few %.

Fri, May 4 2012 02:16 | iPad, Android, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
IDC today released its data on worldwide tablet shipments for the first quarter of 2012, revealing that the iPad's share of the tablet market rose to 68% from last quarter's 54.7% coming at the expense of Android-based tablets, most notably Amazon's Kindle Fire which appears to have seen its shipments collapse from 4.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 to less than 750,000 units last quarter.
"Apple reasserted its dominance in the market this quarter, driving huge shipment totals at a time when all but a few Android vendors saw their numbers drop precipitously after posting big gains during the holiday buying season," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices at IDC. "Apple's move to position the iPad as an all-purpose tablet, instead of just a content consumption device, is resonating with consumers as well as educational and commercial buyers. And its decision to keep a lower-priced iPad 2 in the market after it launched the new iPad in March seems to be paying off as well."
Amazon had surged into second place in the tablet market during the fourth quarter with a 16.8% share of the market as the Kindle Fire debuted in the United States. But while IDC did not report a number for Amazon's first quarter shipments in its press release, it did note that Amazon's share dropped to to "just over 4%" in the total tablet market of 17.4 million units, yielding shipment volume of roughly 700,000-750,000 units for Amazon.

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As a result of Amazon's decline, Samsung was able to regain the second position in the tablet market, ahead of Amazon, Lenovo, and Barnes & Noble. Amazon's slide also comes as mass retailer Target yesterday announced plans to discontinue the sale of all Kindle devices and other Amazon- and Kindle-branded products.

The overall tablet market grew 120% year-over-year, but the 38% quarter-over-quarter decline was even steeper than expected coming off the strong holiday quarter. Apple obviously has a significant influence on the overall tablet market given its dominant position, and the company did ship slightly fewer than expected iPads during the quarter as consumers held off on iPad 2 purchases ahead of the new iPad's launch and Apple experienced some supply constraints when the device did launch with just three weeks left in the quarter.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple and Android in enterprise. Whos killing it?

Fri, Apr 27 2012 02:25 | Android, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Editor's Note: The following article is reprinted from Network World.
With BlackBerry on the decline, there's a battle heating up for enterprise smartphone users and so far Apple is winning in a big way.
According to the latest numbers released by mobile enterprise tech firm Good Technology, iOS devices accounted for around 80% of new activations on corporate networks in the first quarter of 2012, while Android-based devices accounted for just 20%. No other mobile platform, including Windows Mobile, registered enough activations in the quarter to crack Good's study, which tracked mobile device activations across thousands of companies that registered at least five activated mobile devices. Good also says that BlackBerry devices were not on the study since the company does not support the platform and thus "does not have insight" into BlackBerry activations.
The numbers in Apple's favor only grow starker when Good broke down activations for tablets in the enterprise: iPads accounted for a whopping 97.3% of enterprise tablet activations, while Android tablets accounted for just 2.7%. The financial services industry was by far the biggest consumer in the enterprise tablet market as it accounted for 40.8% of all iPad activations in the first quarter of 2012, followed by the business and professional services industry and the life sciences industry, which each accounted for just under 9.5% of iPad activations.
In terms of individual devices, the iPhone 4S was the most popular enterprise device on the quarter, accounting for 37% of all mobile device activations. The latest version of the iPhone was followed by the iPad 2 (17.7% of activations), the iPhone 4 (15.2% of activations) and the newest iPad (4.3% of activations). Good noted that the new iPad would likely have had a bigger impact on the enterprise market for the quarter if it had been released earlier than March, where it accounted for more than 12% of all device activations on the month.
The Motorola Droid, the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Google Nexus and the Sprint Evo 4G were the only Android devices to make the top 10 list of most-activated enterprise devices on the quarter and each of those devices accounted for less than 2% of all activations.
Apple has long been seen as the challenger to BlackBerry's claim as the top device for enterprise users. A report released late last year by iPass found that iPhones accounted for 45% of all mobile devices in the enterprise while BlackBerry devices accounted for 32.2%. That survey found that Android-based devices accounted for 21% of all devices used in the enterprise.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple announces WWDC 2012 UPDATE : Sold Out in 2 hours

Thu, Apr 26 2012 02:14 | Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple on Wednesday announced the dates for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which will run from June 11 through June 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West convention center.
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wwdc-279695

This year’s WWDC will focus on both iOS and OS X Mountain Lion, with more than 100 technical sessions led by Apple engineers, along with the annual Apple Design Awards. More than 1000 Apple engineers will be on hand, offering code-level assistance and other advice on developing for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
The company notes that it will post videos from all the technical sessions for free on the Apple Developer Website after WWDC concludes, so that developers who can’t attend can still benefit from those sessions.
Last year’s WWDC sold out in fewer than 12 hours, so developers may want to move quickly to register for this year’s event. The $1599 tickets are available at Apple’s developer website, with purchases limited to one per person and five per organization. Ticket purchasers need to be members of the iOS Developer Program, iOS Developer Enterprise Program, or Mac Developer Program.

Tickets for the event sold out about two hours after they first went on sale. That’s 10 hours faster than the $1,600 tickets sold out last year.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

aTV Flash black version 1.5, brings new features to your Apple TV

Thu, Apr 19 2012 04:01 | ATV, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
atvb-menu2

atvb-menu2

I love my Apple TV especially running ATV Black so it's good to see Firecore are continually updating and refining their product. Inside v1.5, FireCore's added new features including NFS streaming, as well as things like extra transitions, subtle timing settings, more languages etc. The biggest enhancement is an all-new player, which promises a smoother playback regardless of the file type being used -- not to mention it's optimized for iOS 5. Of course, the refresh is gratis to those who've already shelled out the cash, and you can get to it by hitting the "Manage Extras" menu on Cupertino's miniature box. Not familiar with the ATV add ons then check the link out www.firecore.com

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shane blyth

Apple looking to build 'unibody' earbuds through ultrasonic bonding

Fri, Apr 13 2012 06:12 | Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

I had to re post this article when I read it
I was pinching myself and checking the date wondering with a title like this if it wasn't April Fools day still!

Headsets and earbuds include a number of different components — such as cables, a jack, a microphone, and the headphones — all of which must be pieced together. The result, Apple believes, can be "abrupt and aesthetically displeasing."

The company could resolve this with new headsets featuring a range of components that would "seamlessly integrate" with one another, as described in a new patent application discovered by AppleInsider. The filing, entitled "Ultrasonically Welded Structures and Methods for Making the Same," describes how different components could be welded together for a seamless look.

Apple describes the new headphones as having an appearance that they were constructed as "a seamless unibody structure," even though the earbuds may include two different component pieces welded together.

Combining two different elements in this way may form a weld ring that can be cut, sanded, polished and cleaned. This allows the headphone to appear to be one piece, even though it may actually be a number of connected pieces.

By using a process known as ultrasonic bonding, Apple could create new iPhone and iPod earbuds that would have a seamless, more aesthetically pleasing "unibody" appearance.

patent2-120412-1

Apple's desire to build a better set of earbuds was also detailed in a separate application published this week, entitled "Curved Plastic Object and Systems and Methods for Deburring the Same." It describes building curved plastic objects in the shape of a cap or grill of a headphone or earbud.

The filing notes that holes are needed in earbuds to allow sound to travel, but the creation of those holes can result in remnants in or around them that degrade both the appearance of the device and the acoustic properties of the headphones.

The solution presented in that application is a tool for "deburring" a curved plastic object. The tool could be coated in an abrasive material and would conform to the shape of the curved object, then polish it by vibrating while in contact with the plastic surface.

patent2-120412-2

Both the inner and outer surfaces would be both "deburred" and polished, ensuring that no remnants remain in the holes or on any surface of the headphones.

The ultrasonic welding patent application is credited to Jeff Hayashida, Jonathan Aase, Rico Zorkendorfer, and Evans M. Hankey. Both Hayashida and Aase are also credited with the curved plastic patent application.

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shane blyth

Apple asking for ID security questions to increase security in IOS

Fri, Apr 13 2012 12:34 | IOS, Security, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
ios-security

ios-security

Apple is now prompting iOS users to create three security questions to improve account security in IOS. The additional measure is now a standard practice, and further protect your credit card information which is associated with your iTunes account We got asked for them yesterday when setting up a new account in iTunes desktop, and The Next Web has seen them pop-up on the iPhone as well.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple updates OS X Java to remove Flashback malware

Fri, Apr 13 2012 12:25 | Security, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Java

Java

Apple has issued an update to Java for OS X that removes the Flashback malware which infected some 600,000 Macs worldwide. The number of Macs infected with the Flashback malware has plummeted in the last few days, antivirus vendor Symantec said today. As of Wednesday, Symantec estimated that approximately 270,000 Macs were infected with Flashback, down from a peak of more than 600,000 systems on April 6 and with this release from Apple no doubt this will be all but dead in a few days. Apple's recommending that OS X 10.6 users turn off Java in browsers entirely if they don't need it, but it's a little smarter in Lion: the update turns off support for automatically executing Java applets in Safari by default, and is pretty aggressive about it — if you turn automatic execution back on and don't use any applets for an "extended" period of time, the system will turn the permissions back off again. The update is available now in Software Update .

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Video of iPad's being Assembled at Foxconn Factory In China

Thu, Apr 12 2012 06:41 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Rob Schmitz got to visit Foxconn's factory where Apple's manufacturing iPads in China.
He Says. "The first misconception I had about Foxconn’s Longhua facility in the city of Shenzhen was that I’ve always called it a ‘factory’ -- technically, it is. But after you enter the gates and walk around, you quickly realize that it’s also a city -- 240,000 people work here. Nearly 50,000 of them live on campus in shared dorm rooms".
There’s a main drag lined on both sides with fast-food restaurants, banks, cafes, grocery stores, a wedding photo shop, and an automated library. There are basketball courts, tennis courts, a gym, two enormous swimming pools, and a bright green astroturf soccer stadium smack-dab in the middle of campus. There’s a radio station -- Voice of Foxconn -- and a television news station. Longhua even has its own fire department, located right on main street.
This is not what comes to mind when you think “Chinese factory.”
Heres the video

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple Invents a Killer 3D Imaging Camera for iOS Devices

Fri, Mar 30 2012 07:36 | Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
6a0120a5580826970c0163036df229970d-800wi

6a0120a5580826970c0163036df229970d-800wi

Apple has invented a killer 3D imaging camera that will apply to both still photography and video. The new cameras in development will utilize new depth-detection sensors such as LIDAR, RADAR and Laser that will create stereo disparity maps in creating 3D imagery. Additionally, the cameras will use advanced chrominance and luminance Sensors for superior color accuracy. And if that wasn't enough, the new cameras will not only include facial recognition but also facial gesturing recognition. Intel discussed the coming 3D revolution back in 2010 and it appears that Apple wants to be one of the first to introduce this killer 3D camera. While others may have beaten Apple to market first, the technology described in today's invention will definitely provide iOS devices with the ability to view killer 3D images that could only be appreciated on Apple's "Resolutionary" Retina Display. Apple's resolutionary experience has only begun. With the ability to view stunning 3D imagery, photos and videos on our new iPad displays, the resolutionary experience is only going pop our brains even further.

Today's Cameras with Limited 3D Capabilities

Existing three-dimensional image capture devices, such as digital cameras and video recorders, can derive limited three-dimensional visual information for objects located within a captured area. For example, some imaging devices can extract approximate depth information relating to objects located within the captured area, but are incapable of obtaining detailed geometric information relating to the surfaces of these objects.

Such sensors may be able to approximate the distances of objects within the captured area, but cannot accurately reproduce the three-dimensional shape of the objects. Alternatively other imaging devices can obtain and reproduce surface detail information for objects within the captured area, but are incapable of extracting depth information.

Accordingly, these sensors may be incapable of differentiating between a small object positioned close to the sensor and a large object positioned far away from the sensor.

Apple's Advanced 3D Camera Solutions

Apple's invention relates to systems, apparatuses and methods for capturing a three-dimensional image using one or more dedicated cameras.

According to Apple, one embodiment may take the form of a three-dimensional camera configured to capture at least one image including one or more objects, comprising: a first sensor for capturing a polarized image, the first sensor including a camera and a polarized filter associated with the first camera; a second sensor for capturing a first non-polarized image; a third sensor for capturing a second non-polarized image; and at least one processing module for deriving depth information for the one or more objects utilizing at least the first non-polarized image and the second non-polarized image, the processing module further operative to combine the polarized image, the first non-polarized image, and the second non-polarized image to form a composite three-dimensional image.

Another embodiment may take the form of three-dimensional imaging apparatus configured to capture at least one image including one or more objects, comprising: a first sensor for capturing a polarized chrominance image and determining surface information for the one or more objects, the first sensor including a color imaging device and a polarized filter associated with the color imaging device; a second sensor for capturing a first luminance image; a third sensor for capturing a second luminance image; and at least one processing module for deriving depth information for the one or more objects utilizing at least the first luminance image and the second luminance image and combining the polarized chrominance image, the first luminance image, and the second luminance image to form a composite three-dimensional image utilizing the surface information and the depth information.

Still another embodiment may take the form of a method for capturing at least one image of an object, comprising: capturing a polarized image of the object; capturing a first non-polarized image of the object; capturing a second non-polarized image of the object; deriving depth information for the object from at least the first non-polarized image and the second non-polarized image; determining a plurality of surface normals for the object, the plurality of surface normals derived from the polarized image; and creating a three-dimensional image from the depth information and the plurality of surface normals.

Sample image sensing devices include charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors, complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor sensors, infrared sensors, light detection and ranging sensors, and the like. Further, the image sensing devices may be sensitive to a range of colors and/or luminances, and may employ various color separation mechanisms such as Bayer arrays, Foveon X3 configurations, multiple CCD devices, dichroic prisms and the like.

Devices that will use the new 3D Capturing Technology

Apple states that in some embodiments, the image sensing device may be configured to convert or facilitate converting the captured image into digital image data. The image sensing device may be hosted in various electronic devices including, but not limited to, digital cameras, personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, a standalone camera, or any other devices that can be configured to process image data.

Components Integrated into a 3D Image Capturing Camera

Apple's patent FIG. 1A below is a functional block diagram that illustrates certain components of one embodiment of a three-dimensional camera.

6a0120a5580826970c01676462bc43970b-800wi

6a0120a5580826970c01676462bc43970b-800wi

As shown in FIG. 1A above, the three-dimensional imaging apparatus/camera 100 may include a first imaging device 102, a second imaging device 104, and an image processing module 106. The first imaging device 102 may include a first imaging device and the second imaging device 104 may include a second imaging device and a polarizing filter 108 associated with the second imaging device.

Generating Stereo Disparity Maps

The fields of view of the first and second imaging devices 112 and 114 noted above may be offset so that the received images are slightly different. For example, the field of view 112 of the first imaging device 102 may be vertically, diagonally, or horizontally offset from the second imaging device 104, or may be closer or further away from a reference plane or point. Offsetting the fields of view of the first and second imaging devices 112 and 114 may provide data useful for generating stereo disparity maps, as well as extracting depth information.

Depth-Detection Technique Options: LIDAR, RADAR and Laser

Apple states that the first imaging device 102 noted in FIG. 1A above may be configured to derive an approximate relative distance of an object 110 by measuring properties of electromagnetic waves as they are reflected off or scattered by the object and captured by the first imaging device.

In one embodiment, the first imaging device may be a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor. The LIDAR sensor may emit laser pulses that are reflected off of the surfaces of objects in the image and detect the reflected signal. The LIDAR sensor may then calculate the distance of an object from the sensor by measuring the time delay between transmission of a laser pulse and the detection of the reflected signal. Other embodiments may utilize other types of depth-detection techniques, such as infrared reflection, RADAR, laser detection and ranging, and the like.

Utilizing Microlenses

Apple invention also touches on the fact that their 3D capturing camera will utilize microlenses that overly subfilters that focus on polarized light. The microlenses can be formed from any suitable material for transmitting and diffusing light through the light guide, including plastic, acrylic, silica, glass, and so on and so forth. Additionally, the light guide may include combinations of reflective material, highly transparent material, light absorbing material, opaque material, metallic material, optic material, and/or any other functional material to provide extra modification of optical performance.

In one embodiment, the microlenses may be convex and have a substantially rounded configuration. Other embodiments may have different configurations. For example, in one embodiment, the microlenses may have a conical configuration, in which the top end of each microlens is pointed.

In other embodiments, the microlenses may define truncated cones, in which the tops of the microlenses form a substantially flat surface. Additionally, in some embodiments, the microlenses may be concave surfaces, rather than convex.

As is known, the microlenses may be formed using a variety of techniques, including laser-cutting techniques, and/or micro-machining techniques, such as diamond turning. After the microlenses are formed, an electrochemical finishing technique may be used to coat and/or finish the microlenses to increase their longevity and/or enhance or add any desired optical properties.

Chrominance and Luminance Sensors

6a0120a5580826970c0163036df330970d-800wi

6a0120a5580826970c0163036df330970d-800wi

Other essentials noted in the 3D camera design include the use of a first chrominance sensor (202) and a luminance sensor (204). The luminance sensor may be configured to capture a luminance component of incoming light. Additionally, each of the chrominance sensors may be configured to capture color components of incoming light. In one embodiment, the chrominance sensors 202,206 may sense the R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) components of an image and process these components to derive chrominance information.

Other embodiments may be configured to sense other color components, such as yellow, cyan, magenta, and so on. Further, in some embodiments, two luminance sensors and a single chrominance sensor may be used. That is, certain embodiments may employ a first luminance sensor, a first chrominance sensor and a second luminance sensor, such that a stereo disparity (e.g., stereo depth) map may be generated based on the offsets of the two luminance images. Each luminance sensor captures one of the two luminance images in this embodiment.

Facial and Gesture Recognition

In another embodiment, the three-dimensional imaging apparatus may be used for recognizing facial gestures. Facial gestures may include, but are not limited to, smiling, grimacing, frowning, winking, and so on and so forth. In one embodiment, this may be accomplished by detecting the orientation of various facial muscles using surface geometry data, such as the mouth, eyes, nose, forehead, cheeks, and so on, and correlating the detected orientations with various gestures.

3D Models Created by Rotating Objects

In another embodiment, the three-dimensional imaging apparatus may be used to scan an object, for example, to create a three-dimensional model of the object. This embodiment may be accomplished by taking multiple photographs of the object or video while rotating the object. As the object is rotated, the image sensing device may capture more of the surface geometry and use the geometry to create a three-dimensional model of the object.
In another related embodiment, multiple photographs or video may be taken while the image sensing device is moved relative to the object, and used to construct a three-dimensional model of the objects within the captured image(s). For example, a user may take video of a home while walking through the home and the image sensing device could use the calculated depth and surface detail information to create a three-dimensional model of the home. The depth and surface detail information of multiple photographs or video stills may then be matched to construct a seamless composite three-dimensional model that combines the surface detail and depth from each of the photos or video.

The coming 3D Revolution was first discussed in our report titled "Intel's CES Keynote 2010, Apple and iLife 3D." The Intel rep stated that it would take 8 to 16 processors to pull off 3D in simple to use consumer applications. Fitting this into a camera would be stunning.

Patent Credits

Apple's patent application was originally filed in Q3 2011by inventors Brett Bilbrey, Michael Culbert, David Simon, Rich DeVaul, Mushtag Sarwar and David Gere and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple Updates Logic Pro and Express, May Be Fast-Tracking iPhoto Patch

Thu, Mar 29 2012 01:22 | Musical, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple’s pro audio users were blessed with a couple of software updates on Tuesday, while a “highly reliable source” claims that Cupertino is hard at work putting a new iPhoto 9.2.3 patch on the fast track to address stability issues with this month’s update.

AppleInsider is reporting on a trio of software updates for Apple’s creative applications. On Tuesday afternoon, Cupertino pushed out updates for the company’s pro audio applications Logic Pro and its stripped-down sibling, Logic Express, bringing both apps to version 9.1.7.

The 195.66MB Logic Pro 9.1.7 update “improves overall stability and addresses some minor issues” which include:

- Resolves several issues related to the download and installation of content
- Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS projects
- Fixes a problem that produced an error message when editing fades on numerous regions

Meanwhile, the prosumer-focused Logic Express 9.1.7 weighs in at 139.92MB and also offers improved stability while patching a few different issues:

- Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS projects
- Fixes a problem that produced an error message when editing fades on numerous regions
- This update is recommended for all users of Logic Express 9

Finally, AppleInsider has also received insider information from “a highly reliable source” who claims iPhoto 9.2.3 may be just around the corner. In addition to the usual “overall stability” patches, the update also promises to address “an issue that could cause iPhoto to quit unexpectedly on systems with multiple user accounts.” A pre-release version of the update is packed into a 256.9MB download, although there’s no word on when it might actually land in your Software Update window.

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shane blyth

New iPad (3) Camera connection kits does alot more

Thu, Mar 22 2012 07:15 | IOS, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Using the Camera Connection Kit (CCK) to transfer and edit photos, videos
The CCK offers two ways to transfer photos from your camera to your iPad. If your camera uses an SD card, use the SD card adapter. But, if your camera uses another storage card (like Sony's proprietary card), connect it to the USB adapter with the included USB cable.
Once your respective adapter is in the iPad, the Photos app will launch immediately. Tap to select the photos you want to transfer, or tap Import at the bottom and select Import All. The imported photos will appear in the Albums tab in a new folder.
You'll then have the option to delete the photos from the SD card, which is useful if you're traveling and need to clear up some storage space on your SD card in a pinch.
Now that your photos are on the iPad, you can edit them in the iPhoto app, share them on Facebook, or even upload them to your Dropbox or other cloud storage service.
For the record, I've tested the Camera Connection Kit with the iPhone, and it is definitely not compatible. Bummer.

The USB adapter of the Camera Connection Kit can be used with more than just your camera.
(Credit: Sharon Vaknin/CNET)
Using the CCK for more than just photography
Unlike its name implies, the CCK will also allow you to use other USB-compatible devices with your iPad. But because these devices draw power from the iPad, only some will work.
Here are some that may work (possibly with some limitations) with your iPad:

MIDI gear: Digital keyboards, drum sets, and synthesizers can be recorded using an app like GarageBand. Not all models will work, so check this list to see if yours is compatible. If the instrument can be connected to external power, be sure to plug it in.
USB microphones: Record higher-quality audio with an external mic, like the Snowball, which is compatible with the iPad via the CCK. With this setup, you can record voice directly into GarageBand or your preferred audio recording app.
Desktop keyboards: Your USB desktop keyboard is much more comfortable than those cramped iPad keyboards. Sure, it's not a portable solution, but if you find it necessary, you can plug in a regular keyboard to the CCK. Just ignore the warning message.
Card readers: If your camera writes to a CF card, and you have a small CF card reader, simply plug it into the USB adapter and the iPad will read its contents.
Ripped movies: If you have any ripped movies or personal videos, you can use the CCK to add extra storage to the iPad. You'd only import a movie when you're ready to watch it. To do this, rename your movies to match the file name structure of your digital camera. For example, "DCIM_4132." Then, drag the file into a folder labeled "DCIM" on an SD card or a thumbdrive. When you plug your SD card or thumbdrive into the iPad via the CCK, you'll be able to import the movie onto your iPad and play it from the Photos app.
Your iPhone or Android phone: This works, but with some limitations. If you need to transfer photos from your iPhone to your iPad in a pinch, plugging it in via USB will prompt the photos app, allowing you to import photos. And, as long as your Android phone stores photos in a folder titled DCIM, it will react the same way.

After some testing, it's clear you cannot read or write nonphoto files to an external hard drive or thumbdrive. This would have been a great way to expand your iPad's storage. Alas, it's not (yet) possible.

If you discover any unique ways to use the Camera Connection Kit, let me know in the comments.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

New iPad Uses Retina Graphics When Running iPhone Apps

Wed, Mar 21 2012 08:51 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
When the iPad was first introduced there weren't many iPad-specific apps yet available. As a solution, Apple allowed apps designed for the iPhone's smaller screen to run on the iPad in a form of emulation. The apps could be run as if they were on the iPhone, using only a fraction of the iPad's screen. Alternatively, those apps could also be run in a 2x mode, using a technique called pixel doubling to fill the iPad's screen. However, when in 2x mode, both artwork and text would look blocky and pixelated.

Since the original iPad's launch, both the iPhone and iPod Touch has been upgraded to high resolution Retina displays. While Apple could use the Retina graphics from apps that had been upgraded to work with the iPhone 4 and 4S's 960x640 display (nearly all iPhone apps nowadays), so far, they've chosen not to. Instead, the iPad 1 and 2 continue to just pixel double the 480x320 display from the original iPhone's screen. In fact, there is even a jailbreak app called Retinapad that enables the use of iPhone Retina graphics on the original iPad, filling this gap in functionality.

The new iPad, however, now displays the Retina graphics of apps designed for the iPhone in both 1x and 2x mode, resulting in a significantly improved visual experience, as pointed out by a user on the TouchArcade forums. The user experience issue still exists -- in 2x mode, interface elements are twice as large -- but it looks much better .
I just tested this with NBA Jam, which the iphone version looked like crap on my ipad 1, but looked great through retinapad when I had it jailbroken since it was tricked into loading the iphone 4's retina enable graphic assets. Now, on my brand spankin' new ipad third gen, it looks fantastic, without retinapad, just by enabling the 2X option at the bottom right of the screen.

thumb

Click to compare in full size to Native iPad version.

In this image above, the graphics of the iPhone version of Cut the Rope have been compared side-by-side on an iPad 2 (left) and iPad 3 (right). Note that while there is an iPad-native version of the app available, we used the iPhone version to illustrate the differences. The iPad 3 version uses the iPhone Retina graphics found in Cut the Rope for iPhone, resulting in a much sharper image.

In fact, the iPhone version now looks nearly identical to the iPad native version of the game:

ipadversion

Note that Cut the Rope HD has not yet been updated to support the iPad Retina display, so of course, native Retina iPad apps will look even better on the new iPad. In the meanwhile, iPhone apps running on the new iPad will also see a notable visual improvement, approaching previous iPad native apps.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

iPad’s display is close to studio reference quality Test Confirm

Wed, Mar 21 2012 08:46 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

The screen tech experts at DisplayMate have run their tests and confirmed that the new iPad screen basically blows everything else away.
“Apple has taken the very good display on the iPad 2 and dramatically improved two of its major weak points: sharpness and color saturation — they are now state-of-the-art,” writes DisplayMate President Dr. Raymond Soneira. “Our lab tests and visual tests agree with Apple’s claim that the new iPad has ‘the best display ever on a mobile device.’”
While most of the tech press has focused on the new iPad’s increased screen resolution, Soneira says the improved color saturation is “equally responsible for its wow factor.” Compared to the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, which display 60 to 64 percent of the standard color gamut, the new iPad hits a “virtually perfect” 99 percent of the color gamut. And because of proper calibration, the new iPad offers vibrant colors that aren’t overly saturated like some OLED displays.
Soneira notes that with some minor calibration, the new iPad’s screen could qualify as a studio reference monitor — a screen so good that you could use it for accurate representations of color. It’s the sort of feature that appeals to photographers and movie directors, who want to make sure that their images look as good as possible.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

New iPad LCD given top marks, was near-flawless, with 99 percent color accuracy

Tue, Mar 20 2012 12:32 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

ipad2012

ipad2012

Continuing some of the more in-depth examinations of the new iPad, a detailed screen comparison at DisplayMate has shown a major improvement in Apple's tablet display quality, albeit at a cost. While the 2048x1536 resolution is an obvious advantage, the display analysis team saw that the new screen saw big improvements in other areas, most of all color accuracy. While the iPad 2's display got just 61 percent of the standard color range, the new iPad's screen was near-flawless, with 99 percent accuracy on top of "perfect" contrast and gamma levels.
The 9.7-inch display was better than its predecessor in cutting back on screen reflection, and didn't lose any significant ground in brightness, black levels or a resistance to color shifting when off-angle.

Going to the much higher resolution display has delivered a major hit to power efficiency, researchers saw. It uses 2.5 times power backlighting power to keep up performance, jumping from a maximum of 2.7W on the iPad 2 to 7W on the newer tablet. It helped narrow down the power consumption issues to the backlight and not the quad-core graphics by themselves. Supporting this, battery life was comparable at a halfway setting, but shrank considerably when both were put at their maximum power.

While a direct hardware comparison wasn't available, DisplayMate was confident enough to say that the new iPad's screen "decisively beats" any other tablet previously mentioned, including the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It was likewise "much better" than most TVs and computer-sized displays, and was to the point where the study considered the iPad virtually good enough to be used for pro color proofing. "With some minor calibration tweaks the new iPad would qualify as a studio reference monitor," the group said.

Other companies like Acer and ASUS are expected to respond with higher resolution displays and will often use IPS, but they may not have the same color accuracy.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

3 Million iPads sold in 4 days

Tue, Mar 20 2012 12:21 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple has sold three million new iPads since its release last Friday. It's a staggering number in 4 days. It's truly impressive. It's only one million below iPhone 4S-level numbers. Except the iPad costs a lot more money and, theoretically, it doesn't have as much use as a phone.
Two more data points for comparison: it took the original iPad 80 days to reach the three million unit mark. Eighty days. Then it took the iPad 2 28 days to reach one million units, although the iPad 2 was only initially available in the United States. The iPad 3 has been launched simultaneously in a lot of big markets: US, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, as well as Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and the US Virgin Islands.
The multiple market availability accounts for a lot of those three million, but it's still a very impressive number.
The iPad and App Store tandem is so solid at this point that they may be able to keep the hegemony of the tablet market for years, just like the iPod did, redefining the music player in tandem with the iTunes store. Google and Microsoft are going to have an extremely hard time attacking this formidable armored machine.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Update on iOS 5.1 Jailbreak For New iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4S

Mon, Mar 19 2012 06:46 | IOS, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

On the day of the new iPad launch, the jailbreak community was on fire, first Stefan Esser and then iPhone Dev Team and chpwn + phoneixdev revealed that they had figured out a way to jailbreak the new iPad within hours of it going on sale.
Stefan Esser aka i0n1c was the only one to clarify that his 3rd generation iPad jailbreak was untethered.
He has just confirmed that his method is the only untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1, which means iPhone Dev team and chpwn + phoneixdev's methods are tethered jailbreaks.
Why am I not surprised that iPhone blogs claim there are 3-4 untethered jailbreaks for iPad 3 around.
I guess the source of this misinformation is Redmod Pie - there is only one untethered jailbreak of iOS 5.1 so far.
There are actually more than 3 kernel exploits. iPhone Dev Team and @chpwn / @phoenixdev are sitting on their own kernel exploits for 5.1.
Untethering a JB however requires more trickery and additional userland bugs.
If someone is able to untether the latest device it is highly likely that he can untether all previous devices.
Here's the video again (courtesy i0n1c) that shows an untethered jailbroken iPad 3rd generation:

i0n1c hasn't still provided any ETA on when he plans to release an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1, which based on his tweets should support all iOS 5.1 compatible devices (which means the new iPad, iPad 2, iPad 1, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G, iPod touch 3G).
Esser was credited for the untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.x and had given a presentation on iOS jailbreak techniques at Black Hat 2011 in Las Vegas last year.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

The New Apple TV Teardown Reveals Same 8 GB Flash Storage, New Chip and 512 MB RAM

Sun, Mar 18 2012 05:54 | ATV, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Following the release of the third-generation Apple TV late last week, one forum member at XBMC.org has performed a teardown of the device, revealing a number of details about its internals.

As Apple notes on the tech specs page for the new Apple TV, the device utilizes a unique single-core A5 system-on-a-chip, an upgrade from the A4 package found in the previous generation but lacking the dual-core processor found in the A5 chip used in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. The Apple TV teardown reveals a typical-looking A5 chip at first glance, carrying date codes suggesting it was manufactured during the seventh week of 2012, or mid-February.

apple_tv_3_board

apple_tv_3_board

The processor inside the new Apple TV's A5 package is identified as APL2498, indicating a variation on the APL0498 processor found in the standard dual-core A5. The part number for the RAM included in the chip suggests that it is a 512 MB chip from Hynix, a boost from the 256 MB of RAM found in the A4 package on the previous-generation Apple TV.

As for flash storage, the format of the part number stamped on the chip implies that it is an 8 GB part from Toshiba, meaning that the device carries the same storage capacity as found in the previous-generation model. Given that the Apple TV is a streaming-only device, on-board storage is only required to support the operating system and buffering of streaming content.

There had been some speculation that Apple could boost the on-board storage in order to handle larger 1080p content supported on the updated model, but it appears that Apple still views 8 GB as sufficient given limited increases in file size for 1080p content. Maintaining 8 GB of on-board storage undoubtedly also helps Apple maintain the $99 pricing on the Apple TV given other improvements such as the A5 chip.

Finally, the new Apple TV appears to contain a second antenna that was not present in the previous-generation model, although it is unclear exactly how the new antenna is being used to improve performance.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Mountain Lion 2nd release reveals Twitter notices, contacts protection

Sat, Mar 17 2012 05:22 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
The second developers release of OSX Mountain Lion has been released to developers and a few new things have shown up. More to come no doubt.

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New iCloud service may sync open tabs as well
Among the small but significant changes are automatic Twitter notification options, a new iCloud button in Safari that will let users sync tabs across devices, and more explicit permission in OS X when an app wants to access personal information stores such as the Address Book.
The latter change reflects a move already made in iOS 5.1 to better protect users' contacts after it was discovered that a number of apps were circumventing Apple guidelines and uploading personal information without explicit user permission. Mountain Lion will also feature a new "Privacy" panel in System Preferences where users can manage what apps can access in terms of personal data, MacRumors reports.

Mark Gurman notes that users of Mountain Lion DP2 can also opt to have Twitter for Mac notifications turned on, which lets replies and direct messages be shown on the desktop in the Growl-like Notification Center that is set to be another new feature in Mountain Lion. Also noted is a new optional "iCloud" button that offers to sync open tabs between devices, letting a user start web surfing on one device and continue on another. The syncing may also preserve the previous state of the tabs (a feature found in Lion already) so that all tabs can be re-opened on a new launch.

Mountain Lion is expected to be released this summer.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Significant changes to the new iPad's chip compared to other models

Sat, Mar 17 2012 04:00 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
(Credit: Apple)
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Apple has changed the design of the main chip in the new iPad with tweaks to accommodate a higher-performing chip, according to teardown analysis. That would be necessary, of course, to drive that pixel-dense screen.
There are two significant changes:

Separate DRAM: Apple's A5X chip package does not "stack" system memory (aka, SDRAM), like the A5 did in the iPad 2, as seen in an analysis by Chipworks. Instead, the DRAM resides in "discrete" devices, according to Anandtech. And note that the new iPad has 1GB of memory. The iPad 2 had half that much.
Heat spreader: The new A5X chip is capped by a metal heatspreader, as pointed out by Anandtech, which speculates that a new package would "allow for better removal of heat." That implies higher performance. A faster chip typically runs hotter.

VR-Zone ventures the guess that "we're looking at a larger chip and it's obviously running a fair bit hotter than the [previous] A5."
To be sure, Apple squeezes a whole lot of horsepower into a 9.4mm thick tablet: the A5X has a dual-core CPU (central processing unit) and a quad-core GPU (graphics processing unit). All completely necessary to drive the 2,048x1,536 Retina display.

iPad's A5X chip and main circuit board.
(Credit: iFixit)
And there really isn't any tablet out there right now that competes with the new iPad on the display and graphics chip fronts, Anandtech's Anand Shimpi told CNET.
"In terms of GPU performance...the 543MP4 should be the fastest thing out there," Shimpi said, referring to the PowerVR SGX 543MP4 GPU that Apple uses.
Of course, consumers will only notice that gorgeous display but it's nice to know that Apple has also designed some pretty stellar silicon to move around the millions of pixels packed into the Retina display.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

New iPad iOS 5.1 Jailbreak Status Update: Dev Team Has Some Good News

Sat, Mar 17 2012 03:51 | IOS, iPhone, iPad, Jailbreak, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Hot on the heels of news that iPad 2 running iOS 5.1 has been successfully jailbroken by i0n1c, iPhone Dev team has come out with more encouraging news regarding the new iPad and iOS 5.1 jailbreak.They've provided the following details on their blog:
There are a few bits of good news already.

We can confirm that the method used to jailbreak the iPad2 4 months ago (before corona) still works even in 5.1. That means we’ll at least be able to get our foot in the door to get the required kernel dumps on the iPad3. That’s an important step, but by no means is it the end of the story.
Those of you following @i0n1c may have noticed he’s already tweeted pictures of his iPad2 jailbroken at 5.1. As far as we know, he’s using a method completely unrelated to the one mentioned above. That would be great news!
We’ve also seen bits and pieces of an entirely different jailbreak method being investigated by someone close to the Cydia repo scene.

That’s three different angles, and we’re not even including the continuous work @pod2g makes towards a new jailbreak! As always, keep in mind this is very preliminary progress, and it’s impossible to predict how or when these things turn out.
While it is still early to say how long it will take for the jailbreak to be released, it is good to see that the jailbreak community has three angles to work out.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

New Apple TV Very Close to Blu-ray quality.

Thu, Mar 15 2012 06:38 | ATV, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

I never bought a Blu-ray player and now the new App;e TV is out I very much doubt I ever will the new 1080p Apple TV is here and it's that good
To be clear, because of the way it’s compressed, iTunes 1080p content is not equal to the 1080p picture you’ll get from a Blu-ray disc. It’s very close. I imagine it will get there as digital compression technology continues to improve. But even if it doesn’t, this is something that won’t mean a thing to the vast majority of consumers. Thanks to the marketing of television sets over the years, they know “1080p”. They don’t know that the quality can be inconstant. Fair or not, it won’t matter.
That’s one reason why the new Apple TV is such a huge win here. Previously, it was limited to displaying 720p content which undoubtedly gave some would-be purchasers pause. But a new chip (a single-core A5), some 1080p content in iTunes, and the same $99 price changes that.
But there are cheap Blu-ray players out there now, so why does the Apple TV trump those? And what about other boxes like the Roku, which can also do 1080p streaming content? One word: AirPlay.

Having used the previous iteration of the Apple TV almost a year now, I’m absolutely infatuated with AirPlay. The love affair is so deep that I’m sickened to think about going on the road and it not being available in most hotel rooms. It absolutely should be. And if we can just get past some open WiFi issues (imagine someone pushing content to another, unsuspecting room), and some greedy hotel chains (who love their rip-off pay-per-view content), it will be. The boxes should be as ubiquitous in hotel rooms as iPod/iPhone chargers now are.
AirPlay is one of those things that still seems like magic every time you use it. How on Earth am I streaming an HD movie wirelessly from my iPhone or iPad to my television while I continue to use that device? If it’s possible, why does anything need wires anymore?
I think people are often tricked when they first hear about the Apple TV. Certainly, Apple does everything in their power to downplay its importance to the company. And yes, that probably has something to do with other, more substantial television hardware coming down the line. Right now, people look at the Apple TV and think, “okay, cool, a tiny device to access iTunes content from my television”. At $200 to $300, it made little sense. At $99, it made some sense. But it still lacked that killer feature.

The true key to the Apple TV is AirPlay. And the latest version supports 1080p streaming as well. And soon, with the release of OS X Mountain Lion, you’ll be able to AirPlay your entire desktop to your television. Meanwhile, the potential for gaming here is just starting to be tapped.
There’s no reason why every person with an iOS device (and soon a Mac) shouldn’t get an Apple TV. And that’s a problem for the makers of Blu-ray players. Again, just slightly better quality will no longer be enough. Apple’s latest Apple TV is going to continue the trend they began with the MacBook Air — the killing off of optical discs.
As for the rest of the new Apple TV, it’s great, just like the last version was. The outside looks the exact same and it’s just as easy to set up. The included aluminum remote control is still pretty lame (try searching, or doing anything that involves typing with it), but you can get around this if you have an iOS device — get the Remote app ASAP.
Alongside the new Apple TV announcement, Apple rolled out new software for the device. It’s a significant improvement over the previous software. You’ll note right away how app-y everything looks. When you consider this along with the fact that the Apple TV technically runs a version of iOS, it’s clearly only a matter of time before more apps come to the device. Currently, Apple has a very limited set of third-party partners (Netflix, MLB.TV, etc) on the device. But they could easily open it up. (Though, again, they may not ever have to thanks to AirPlay.)

The good news is that the Apple TV software update also works on the last iteration of the Apple TV. So unless you really want access to 1080p content, there’s not a huge incentive to buy a new one. (Even with the new software, the older Apple TV is limited to 720p.)
And because Apple has moved all of their TV catalog and much of their movie catalog to iCloud (some studio deals are still being negotiated, but sound close to being done), all applicable HD content can be automatically upgraded to 1080p from 720p (SD content will remain SD).
So no, Apple didn’t give a huge incentive for current Apple TV owners to upgrade to the newer box. But they gave a huge incentive to millions of people without an Apple TV to get one. And that’s bad news for Blu-ray.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Massive Indepth iPad 3rd Gen review

Thu, Mar 15 2012 04:12 | IOS, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
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The iPad has been a remarkable success story. Apple sold 15 million of the original model in the first nine months of the product’s existence, a number that blew away even the most optimistic prognostications. With last year’s introduction of the iPad 2, things kept accelerating. In a little less than two years, Apple has sold roughly 60 million iPads, dominating the market it created.
Maintaining Apple’s lead in tablet devices is the job of the third-generation iPad, a product that doesn’t mess with success. Like the iPad 2 before it, this new iPad is not a re-thinking of the original concept. Instead, Apple has chosen to focus on a few areas of improvement while keeping the overall package the same. Though it’s an approach that can frustrate people who are disappointed by anything that’s not a quantum leap, Apple executes it to perfection and reaps the rewards.
In my review of the iPad 2, I suggested a rule of Apple product evolution I called “Jobs’s Law”—that the latest version of any Apple product is likely to be thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The third-generation iPad breaks that law. It’s actually slightly thicker and slightly heavier than the iPad 2, and in many cases users won’t perceive it to be faster.
But the changes Apple has wrought with this iPad aren’t about making it thinner or lighter or faster, but about making it better. And on nearly every front, the third-generation iPad is markedly better than its predecessor.

It’s all about the Retina

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A photo comparing the new iPad's Retina display (top) to the iPad 2 display.

In mid-2010 with the release of the iPhone 4, Apple introduced us to a new concept—the “Retina display,” so called because the screen was packed tightly with so many pixels that the dots would be imperceptible to the human eye. At 326 pixels per inch, the iPhone 4 and its successor, the 4S, provide text that looks like it was printed on paper and display photos and videos in high definition.
Far and away the most important feature of the third-generation iPad is that it, too, has a Retina display. Its 9.7-inch screen has a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels (a total of four times the pixels in the same space), or 264 pixels per inch. Although that’s a lower pixel density than the iPhone’s Retina display, you tend to hold an iPad further away from your eyes than an iPhone, so the Retina definition still works out.

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A portion of a full-size screen shot from the third-generation iPad.

The result is similar to going from an early iPhone to an iPhone 4—it’s a big leap in quality. Text, video, and photos all benefit. Whether you’re reading a webpage in Safari, a long article in Instapaper, or an even longer work in iBooks, text is razor-sharp. Of course, the display on previous iPads was no slouch. But the moment you pick up a third-generation iPad, you can tell the difference. All the slight jagginess and oddly misshappen characters we take for granted on lower-resolution displays just vanish on the Retina display, and you’re left with the same sort of typographic excellence you’d expect in a printed book.
The effect is even more dramatic with photos and video. Pictures reveal small details that simply weren’t there before. A photo that looks just fine on an iPad 2 looks almost undefinably better on the new iPad. It’s the same image, but all of a sudden, there’s much more information there—small textures and tiny details that were previously omitted.
That’s also true with high-definition video. The third-generation iPad’s screen actually contains more pixels than an HDTV. As a result, the Videos app actually has to blow up 1080p videos slightly in order to display them across the full width of the its screen. (The screen of previous iPads didn’t have enough pixels to show a complete HD picture, so it had to either scale things down or cut off the sides of the frame.)
The videos look great. Watching an HD movie or TV show on the new iPad is like having a home theater in your lap. (Well, assuming you’ve got some good headphones, of course. The iPad’s mono speaker seems to be unchanged from the previous model.)
Buyers of this third-generation iPad will love the Retina display, but the fact is that the iPad 2's screen was also excellent. It may be that there just isn't quite as dramatic a contrast between the two screens as there was between the pre- and post-Retina iPhones two years ago. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by my iPhone’s Retina display, or maybe the iPad 2’s display is really that good.
I found the color temperature on the new iPad to be warmer and more yellow than that on the iPad 2. In isolation, both screens seemed perfectly normal. Only when I placed old and new iPads together did I notice that one is slightly warmer than the other.
As with the transition to Retina displays on the iPhone, app developers will need to step up to take advantage of the higher resolution offered by the new iPad’s display. Surely many (if not most) of them knew this day would come, but it’s quite a job for developers to create new, Retina-sized versions of every graphic in their apps, and it may be some time before all iPad apps are updated. (Non-Retina apps look more or less like they did on previous iPads—but on the new iPad’s Retina display those pixels really stand out.)
Still, it’s not all bad news. Text in most apps will take advantage of the Retina display without modification, even if the graphics don’t. There are odd exceptions, however. When I tested Amazon’s Kindle app with the new iPad, I found that its text was pixelated, not Retina-crisp. Presumably Amazon will fix this in an update. I saw some weird behaviors in a few existing apps, but most of them worked just fine even without being updated. And some work better than you’d think—I tried Comixology’s Comics app and discovered that there’s more resolution to those digital comics than I had realized.
If you’re running an iPhone app on the new iPad, it will display it in high-resolution Retina detail—but in a small compatibility window in the center of the iPad screen. (You can, as always, tap a 2x button to make iPhone apps bigger but more pixelated.)
More power? Sort of.
The iPad 2 was much faster than the original iPad, thanks to its dual-core A5 processor. But the A5X processor that powers the third-generation iPad doesn’t really offer more processing power than its predecessor. In all our processor-based tests, the new iPad ran about as fast as the iPad 2. (Which is not to say it’s slow—they’re the two fastest iOS devices ever.)
With this update, Apple wasn’t as concerned about boosting the iPad’s speed even further, because it had another, bigger problem to solve: Boosting the iPad’s graphics capabilities so that it could update the 3.1 million pixels on its Retina display. (Keep in mind, previous iPad screens only had about 786,000 pixels.) Updating that many pixels requires a whole lot more graphics power just to keep things running as smoothly as before.
That power comes from the X factor in the A5X processor—a new quad-core graphics engine. And sure enough, the third-generation iPad blows away every other iOS device in terms of graphics performance. In our tests using the GLBench 3D graphics testing app, the third-generation iPad could draw a complex 3D scene at the full frame rate of its display, 60 frames per second, without breaking a sweat. And in GLBench offscreen tests, which aren’t constrained by the display’s frame rate, the third-generation iPad had a frame rate 1.6 times that of the iPad 2 (and 13 times that of the original iPad).

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So the new iPad definitely has the horsepower to render high-quality graphics on its Retina display. However, app developers will need to update their apps to work well on the new iPad. All of Apple’s built-in apps worked well with the Retina display, scrolling smoothly at all times. But several third-party apps had glitches, including unresponsive interfaces and stuttering scrolling.
What this suggests is that developers who could get away with some inefficiencies when painting the relatively small canvas of previous iPad screens will find those inefficiencies laid bare when they first run their apps on this new hardware. Apple’s apps show that the new iPad has the power to keep it all smooth; but it looks like app developers will need to run their apps on this new hardware and then spend some time optimizing their code so that it shines on this new, bigger display.
Going beyond pure graphics performance, my tests found the new iPad to be roughly the same speed as the old one. The GeekBench testing app said the iPad 2 was slightly faster. The Sunspider JavaScript benchmark gave them both the same scores. And in my webpage-loading test, the new iPad was faster.

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Dead ringers
Usually when I review a new Apple product, I start with the physical changes. People always want to know how the new thing is different from the old thing. But the third-generation iPad is almost physically identical to the iPad 2. You can’t tell them apart unless you look very closely.

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The new iPad (left) and iPad 2 (right).
The differences I’ve noticed: The inside of the dock connector is silver and not black, and the rear camera is a little bit bigger. Yeah. That’s it.
Almost imperceptible is the fact that the new iPad is a bit thicker than its predecessor. The iPad 2 was 8.8 millimeters thick, and the third-generation model is 9.4 millimeters thick. So there’s an extra six tenths of a millimeter there now, I suppose, but it was imperceptible to me. (The original iPad was 13 millimeters thick—now that’s a difference you could feel.)
The new iPad is also heavier than the iPad 2. The new model weighs either 652 grams (1.44 pounds) for the Wi-Fi-only model or 662 grams (1.46 pounds) for the 4G model. In contrast, the Wi-Fi iPad 2 weighed 601 grams (1.33 pounds) while the AT&T model of the 3G-equipped iPad 2 was 613 grams (1.35 pounds). So your standard Wi-Fi iPad has put on about 50 grams or a tenth of a pound. It’s a small weight gain, but I can’t call it imperceptible. The first time I picked up the third-generation iPad, I could tell that it was heavier.
What does this increased weight mean in practice? Probably not very much. Even the iPad 2 is not a product that you can just hold indefinitely with one hand. It’s too heavy and too bulky for that. This is a device that’s best when held in two hands or propped against your lap. The iPad 2 was easier to hold than the original iPad, and the new iPad feels pretty much the same on that score. The extra tenth of a pound may be noticeable, but I don’t think it’s meaningful.
The 2011 and 2012 iPad vintages are so alike, in fact, that they can use the same Smart Covers. And all but the most exacting iPad 2 cases will probably work on the third-generation model. I tried the new iPad with a few assorted iPad 2 cases hanging around our offices and it fit in all of them just fine.
Now, the big question is: Why this deviation from Jobs’s Law? Isn’t every new Apple product supposed to be smaller, thinner, and lighter? I do believe that’s Apple’s ultimate goal. But in this case, it’s clear that the boosted graphics processor, the support for 4G networking, and the high-resolution display and its corresponding LED backlights, all add up to a device that requires a lot more power than the iPad 2 did. And so Apple did what it had to do in order to keep that famous 10-hour iPad battery life: It made room for a bigger battery at the cost of size and weight.
According to Apple’s tech specs page, the new iPad has a 42.5 watt-hour battery. Compare that with the iPad 2’s 25 watt-hour battery. That’s a whole lot more battery just to keep the iPad running for the usual amount of time. Apple wasn’t willing to trade away battery life for thinness and lightness, so here we are: with a new iPad that’s imperceptibly thicker and immaterially heavier. It’ll do.
I wasn’t able to do extensive battery testing, but in my use over the past week I’ve found that Apple’s claims of comparable life to the iPad 2 are accurate. I can get through an entire day using my iPad and I don’t run out of juice. I suspect that this new battery will take longer to charge than previous models, though—so prepare for an overnight recharge in order to completely juice up your battery.
Picture perfect
The original iPad didn’t have cameras. The iPad 2 added a low-resolution, front-facing camera for video chat and a rear camera with just enough resolution to shoot 720p video. That rear camera was, to put it bluntly, not very good. It was the weakest feature of the iPad 2, in fact.
The good news is, with the third-generation iPad, Apple has finally righted this wrong. Apple’s dusted off an old brand name (just as it did when the old iBook laptop became the new iBooks app) and applied it as a label to that camera: iSight. iSight, apparently, means “camera good enough to shoot photos and videos with.” And it is. It’s a five-megapixel camera, not quite on a par with the one in the iPhone 4S, but still quite good.
When I compared images from the new iPad’s iSight camera against test images taken by other mobile devices, I found that the new iPad’s camera fared quite well. It offered roughly the same image quality as the iPhone 4S and the Asus Transformer Prime, and clearly outdistanced both the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 and the iPad 2. It seems safe to say that the new iPad has the best camera of any tablet device, and among the best of any mobile device. Most notably, the quality of the 1080p video I shot with the new iPad was very good, even in low light.

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Portions of full-resolution images from three different Apple devices.

The iPad’s sheer size doesn’t make it an ideal camera, but if you do need to shoot something and your iPad is at hand, the third-generation iPad’s camera is of a high enough quality that you won’t regret your choice.
Takes dictation, but not orders

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The third-generation iPad offers dictation features, but not the the Siri intelligent-agent feature introduced in the iPhone 4S. My guess is that Apple sees Siri as a feature primarily used by people who don’t have their hands on the phone itself, and therefore the iPad wouldn’t be an ideal product for Siri’s particular brand of voice control navigation.

I actually find Siri useful in many cases where speaking a brief command is more efficient than swiping to unlock, swiping to find the right app, and then tapping through an interface in order to get what I want. I use Siri to set alarms and timers all the time. I don’t see why that wouldn’t be relevant on the iPad. (Of course, those features use the iPhone’s Clock app, which Apple also omits from the iPad! And one of Siri’s other marquee features, getting a weather forecast, uses the Weather app—another iPad no-show. Sigh.)
That said, dictation is still a great feature and I’m happy to have it on the iPad. Yes, there have been apps available that allow you to dictate, but now you can dictate from the standard software keyboard just by tapping the new microphone icon, and that’s a big deal. Once you get the hang of dictation, which requires you to speak all your punctuation comma you’ll discover that it can be a great way to input text without typing period
LTE and cellular options

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Ever since the original iPad debuted, Apple has offered two different models with different networking features. The base-priced models support only Wi-Fi, but for $130 more you can get a model with support for both Wi-Fi and cellular networking. The cellular features don’t require any sort of contract; instead, you can buy access right on the device, a month at a time, and activate and deactivate whenever you want.

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That’s all still true. The new wrinkle is that the third-generation model supports LTE (Long-Term Evolution), a new generation of cellular technologies that’s often also called “4G.” It’s fast, but it’s not as widely available as 3G. Verizon says it’s got 4G LTE coverage in 196 cities. AT&T is playing catch-up, with coverage in only 28 markets right now.

With the iPhone 4S, Apple was able to bring the two dominant cellular technologies in the U.S., GSM and CDMA, together in a single piece of hardware. The 4S hardware is the same whether you buy it from Verizon or Sprint or AT&T. Unfortunately, 4G LTE circuitry is still in its infancy, and Verizon and AT&T use different LTE systems. So the third-generation iPad takes us right back where we were with the previous iPad models: there are two different versions, one that works with AT&T’s flavor of LTE, and one that works with Verizon’s.
The good news is, both models fall back to 3G networks with ease. A Verizon model will work with Verizon’s CDMA network in the U.S., and will work with GSM networks overseas. The AT&T model will work with AT&T’s GSM network in the U.S. and other GSM networks abroad. Like all previous iPads, these devices are unlocked, so if you want to buy a local SIM card when you’re traveling internationally, it should just work.
The new iPad’s cellular radios also support connecting to faster GSM networks. In the U.S. the most common example of this is AT&T’s own HSPA+ network, which AT&T confusingly calls 4G. This has a very odd effect: I began my bus commute home one evening with the iPad displaying LTE, but as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge the indicator shifted to 4G. That was the sign that we had left AT&T’s LTE network and were now on its HSPA+ network, which AT&T calls 4G even though it’s really just faster 3G. So confusing.
Overseas, LTE apparently isn’t widely used, but carriers have invested in speeding up 3G. In addition to HSPA+, some countries have networks that use the DC-HSDPA (dual-carrier HSDPA) format. The radios in the iPad support all of these speedy formats. (Apple told me that the cellular iPad model sold internationally will essentially be the AT&T model that's sold in the U.S.)
My experience with AT&T’s LTE network in San Francisco was impressive. While riding through the city, I was able to get speeds that were roughly as fast as my office Wi-Fi. When I turned off LTE (there's an "Enable LTE" option in the Cellular Data section of Settings), the iPad fell back to AT&T’s “4G” HSPA+ network, and speeds dropped precipitously. However, as with everything cellular, location is everything. When I used the iPad at my home in suburban Mill Valley, which doesn’t yet have AT&T LTE coverage, the HSPA+ download speed was more than twice what I had experienced in downtown San Francisco—but still half the speed I saw on the LTE network.

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Tests by Jason Snell using the Ookla Speedtest iOS app.

At long last, the iPhone’s Personal Hotspot feature has come to the iPad. This is great news, because it means your iPad can act as a Wi-Fi router and provide an Internet connection to any device that uses Wi-Fi by relaying data from its cellular connection. Unfortunately, it appears that only Verizon is supporting this feature at first, with AT&T lagging behind. The third-generation iPad I used was of the AT&T variety, so I wasn’t able to test this feature. But it promises to be pretty cool, since if you’ve got one of these iPads you don’t need to invest in a separate piece of Wi-Fi routing hardware.
AT&T has a track record as an unenthusiastic supporter of tethering features. It took the company a full year to activate tethering on the iPhone. As a result, I’d recommend the Verizon model if Personal Hotspot is a must-have feature. And I’m impressed with Verizon’s approach to Personal Hotspot on the iPad: It doesn’t cost any more. You pay for the amount of data you want your iPad to consume, and if you want to share that data pool with other devices, Verizon’s fine with that.
Buying options
For a company that likes to keep things simple, Apple has provided us with a whole bunch of options when it comes to buying the iPad. Just as with the iPad 2, the third-generation model comes in 18 different varieties. You can choose from:

16GB ($499), 32GB ($599), or 64GB ($699) of onboard storage
White or black bezel (no price difference)
Wi-Fi only, or Wi-Fi plus cellular on AT&T ($130 extra), or Wi-Fi plus cellular on Verizon ($130 extra)

In the past, I’ve told most people that 16GB is plenty of storage for most iPad users. But 16GB isn’t what it used to be. Apps updated to contain Retina-level graphics will balloon in size. HD video files are enormous. Those iBooks enhanced textbooks can be enormous. And shooting five-megapixel images and 1080p video will fill any remaining storage in a hurry.
I still think most buyers should start with the assumption that they’ll only need 16GB, but then they’ll need to ask themselves a few questions. Anyone who intends to load up with lots of HD movies, shoot videos, or install a whole lot of apps should seriously consider a larger capacity. But a lot of people just don’t use the iPad like that, and for them, 16GB will be fine.
Then there’s the question of whether to spend an extra $130 for cellular networking. With the addition of Personal Hotspot, the cellular iPad has become more appealing. Given that the iPad’s data plan features no contracts—so you can turn it off and on at will—it’s a more flexible option for Wi-Fi tethering than either adding tethering to a cell phone plan or buying a separate Wi-Fi hotspot device such as a MiFi.
If you can see using your iPad as a personal hotspot or envision using it often when you’re out of Wi-Fi range, the extra $130 is probably a good investment. However, lots of people almost never use their iPads out of range of Wi-Fi, so I expect the Wi-Fi version will remain the most popular option.
One last reason to consider buying a cellular-capable iPad: Only cellular models come with GPS capabilities. There’s a good reason for this—iOS devices use assisted GPS to dramatically decrease the amount of time it takes for the devices to determine their location. If you dream of using your iPad as a jumbo GPS navigation console, you’ll absolutely need to pay the extra $130.
The iPad experience

ipad3blur-275327

ipad3blur-275327

When it’s time to ponder a new Apple product, it’s easy to get caught up in the details of the specs, in what’s changed from previous versions. With a product like the iPad, that’s a dangerous game. Apple’s decision to avoid calling the new iPad an iPad 3 or iPad HD or iPad 2S speaks volumes. The iPad is bigger than any single model.
Clearly, Apple’s vision is that we’re in a period where many tasks we previously performed with computers will be transferred to new, different, less computery devices. The iPad, like its brother the iPhone, is ushering in a new world. Microsoft spent a decade trying to define the “tablet computer.” Apple dropped the computer, from both its company name and the tablet category, and has seen massive success. Even now, the “tablet market” is really the iPad market, and the onslaught of iPad competitors we all expected two years ago has largely failed to materialize.Yes, one of the reasons for the iPad’s success has been that Apple started with a huge lead on its competition. But the biggest reason the iPad is so strong was one quite rightly pointed out by Apple CEO Tim Cook when he unveiled the new iPad: Apple’s advantage in apps. More specifically, iOS developers have worked hard to create versions of their apps that are designed for the iPad’s larger screen. Google, meanwhile, seems to view the larger canvas of a tablet screen as indistinguishable from a smartphone’s screen.
After Apple’s launch event was over, I talked to several colleagues who cover Android every day, and they largely agreed with Cook’s point. There just aren’t very many good tablet apps on Android, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of urgency to create them.
When the iPad was introduced, a lot of pundits sniffed that it was just a big iPod touch. And if that had turned out to be the case, the iPad wouldn’t have been very successful. But from the first day the iPad shipped, it’s had a huge amount of software designed specifically for its 9.7-inch screen. In the meantime, the competition ships big phones and hopes they’ll take the world by storm. It’s not happening.
Instead, the iPad’s sales continues to accelerate. And that’s one reason why I’m uneasy about focusing too much on the details of the differences between the third-generation iPad and its predecessors. I’d wager, in fact, that more third-generation iPads will be sold to people who have never before owned an iPad than to existing iPad owners who are upgrading.
Those are the people for whom this new iPad is simply called “iPad.” And they’ll use it for all the things that an iPad is great for. They’ll surf the Web, check email and Twitter and Facebook, read books and magazines, play games, watch movies, listen to a baseball game, look up a recipe, check their schedule, edit a photo or a video, record a song, or even write an essay.
When I’m looking for the perspective of someone who uses technology but doesn’t get overly excited by it, I turn to my wife. Her role in our family—and I suspect, dear reader, that you may find this familiar—is to provide a counterbalance to my enthusiasm over every new gadget I want to buy.
When the first iPad came out, I bought one. My wife seemed interested in it, and I was curious what she’d make of it, so I handed it to her and told her to try it out. She never gave it back. Recently, as we discussed buying her a new iPad (we ordered the $499 16GB black Wi-Fi model), she told me that she only turns on the iMac we keep at home for managing photos, typing out long documents, and visiting the ever-decreasing number of websites that don’t play well with Safari.
That iMac, which was in heavy use two years ago, is now a device we turn on to perform specific tasks. The rest of the time we’re on our iPads or our iPhones, and it seems natural. This, I think, explains Apple’s confidence in where we’re headed in this post-PC universe.
In the old days, we used to talk about “computing,” as if it were an activity. Using a computer was computing. Computing didn’t go away. It just seeped into every aspect of our lives. Computing doesn’t happen on a desk anymore. It’s in our laps, in our pockets, perched on the kitchen counter or smack in the middle of the coffee table. The iPad didn’t make computing obsolete. It just brought it out of its shell.

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shane blyth

Samsung Will Supply Apple With Touch Screen for New IPad

Wed, Mar 14 2012 12:21 | Samsung, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Samsung will supply the touch screen for the new iPad according to an analyst with iSuppli.
Samsung, the world’s top flat-panel maker, currently is the sole vendor of the display for the 9.7-inch device, said Vinita Jakhanwal, a senior manager at iSuppli, a unit of Englewood, Colorado-based IHS Inc. The new tablet goes on sale March 16.
The supply deal deepens Apple’s partnership with Samsung, which already makes the chips that power the iPhone and iPad, even as the companies sue each other around the world regarding patents. Apple unveiled a new version of the iPad last week that features a sharper display and faster processor to fend off growing competition from products including Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.
Steve Park, a Seoul-based spokesman for Apple; Jason Kim, a spokesman for Samsung; Claire Ohm, a Seoul-based spokeswoman for LG Display; and Miyuki Nakayama, a spokeswoman for Osaka, Japan- based Sharp, declined to comment.
“The display specifications on the new iPad are very demanding in terms of the very high resolution,” Jakhanwal said in an e-mail. “Achieving this high resolution without compromising on the power consumption and brightness and maintaining Apple’s quality standards are supposedly proving to be a challenge for LG Display and Sharp.”

Apple maybe attempting to reduce its reliance on Samsung components, but its bill from the Korean firm is likely to be the largest to-date according to one exec: up from $7.8bn in 2011 to as much as $11bn by the end of 2012. “The amount of the current contract is around $9.7 billion” a Samsung executive told The Korea Times on understanding of confidentiality, but “is expected to rise to $11 billion by the end of this year as Apple is planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.85-inch screen, and to sell more of its MacBook Air PCs using Samsung’s faster solid state drive storage.”

Patent Lawsuits
Apple, and Samsung have been locked in patent disputes concerning mobile technology and design since April, when the iPhone maker accused the Suwon, South Korea-based company of copying its products.
The iPad’s new display has four times as many pixels as the previous version, making on-screen text, images and video appear crisper and more realistic. Apple may almost double spending on screens for tablets and smartphones this year, according to iSuppli.
Market research firm Gartner Inc., based in Stamford, Connecticut, estimates 103.5 million tablet devices will be sold in 2012, with Apple accounting for two-thirds of them.
LG Display is Apple’s largest vendor of liquid-crystal displays used in the iPhone and older models of the iPad. The Seoul-based company gets about 2 percent of its revenue from Apple, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
LG Display and Sharp may start shipping panels for the new iPad in April, said Jakhanwal, who’s based in Santa Clara, California.
Apple may want to diversify its sources for the displays because of the lawsuits with Samsung, said Kang Yoon Hum, a Seoul-based analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co.
“Since the relationship between Apple and Samsung isn’t great these days, Apple would want to get shipments elsewhere as well,” Kang said by phone.

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shane blyth

Nearly a 1/4 of businesses surveryed are buying tablets this year

Wed, Mar 14 2012 12:16 | IOS, iPad, Android, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Changewave-survey
ChangeWave recently surveyed 1,604 IT personnel with buying power in their company. 22% of the surveyed companies said that they were in the market to buy tablets for their employees in 2012 and of those planning on getting tablets in the next quarter, 84% are siding with the iPad. Thats up from 77% in November – clearly the new iPad is spiking interest in businesses as well as consumers. Even BlackBerry, the traditional leader in enterprise, only demanded 3% of corporate tablet demand. Samsung’s took second place, albeit far behind apple with 8% demand.
Is anyone really surprised by results like this? Although it continues to highlight Apple’s vice grip on the tablet market, there’s still plenty of room for the tablet market itself to grow. An IT folks out there on the verge of rolling out iPads to the workforce? Have any of y’all already pulled the trigger?

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Sir Jonathan Ive Interview

Tue, Mar 13 2012 12:42 | Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Jonathan-Ive

Jonathan-Ive

Sir Jonathan Ive, Jony to his friends, is arguably one of the world’s most influential Londoners. The 45-year-old was born in Chingford — and went to the same school as David Beckham. He met his wife, Heather Pegg, while in secondary school. They married in 1987, have twin sons and now live in San Francisco.
As Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, he is the driving force behind the firm’s products, from the Mac computer to the iPod, iPhone and, most recently the iPad. He spoke exclusively to the Evening Standard at the firm’s Cupertino headquarters.
Q: You recently received a Knighthood for services to design - was that a proud moment?
A: I was absolutely thrilled, and at the same time completely humbled. I am very aware that I’m the product of growing up in England, and the tradition of designing and making, of England industrialising first. The emphasis and value on ideas and original thinking is an innate part of British culture, and in many ways, that describes the traditions of design.
Q: Is London still an important city for design?
A: I left London in 1992, but I’m there 3-4 times a year, and love visiting. It’s a very important city, and makes a significant contribution to design, to creating something new where previously something didn’t exist.
Q: How does London differ from Silicon Valley?
A: The proximity of different creative industries and London is remarkable, and is in many ways unique. I think that has led to a very different feel to Silicon Valley.
Q: Why did you decide to move to California?
A: What I enjoy about being here is there is a remarkable optimism, and an attitude to try out and explore ideas without the fear of failure. There is a very simple and practical sense that a couple of people have an idea and decide to form a company to do it. I like that very practical and straightforward approach.
There’s not a sense of looking to generate money, its about having an idea and doing it - I think that characterises this area and its focus.
Q: What makes design different at Apple?
A: We struggle with the right words to describe the design process at Apple, but it is very much about designing and prototyping and making. When you separate those, I think the final result suffers. If something is going to be better, it is new, and if it’s new you are confronting problems and challenges you don’t have references for. To solve and address those requires a remarkable focus. There’s a sense of being inquisitive and optimistic, and you don’t see those in combination very often.
Q: How does a new product come about at Apple?
A: What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but then the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable.
The nature of having ideas and creativity is incredibly inspiring. There is an idea which is solitary, fragile and tentative and doesn’t have form.
What we’ve found here is that it then becomes a conversation, although remains very fragile.
When you see the most dramatic shift is when you transition from an abstract idea to a slightly more material conversation. But when you made a 3D model, however crude, you bring form to a nebulous idea, and everything changes - the entire process shifts. It galvanises and brings focus from a broad group of people. It’s a remarkable process.
Q: What makes a great designer?
A: It is so important to be light on your feet, inquisitive and interested in being wrong. You have that wonderful fascination with the what if questions, but you also need absolute focus and a keen insight into the context and what is important - that is really terribly important. Its about contradictions you have to navigate.
Q: What are your goals when setting out to build a new product?
A: Our goals are very simple - to design and make better products. If we can’t make something that is better, we won’t do it.
Q: Why has Apple’s competition struggled to do that?
A: That’s quite unusual, most of our competitors are interesting in doing something different, or want to appear new - I think those are completely the wrong goals. A product has to be genuinely better. This requires real discipline, and that’s what drives us - a sincere, genuine appetite to do something that is better. Committees just don’t work, and it’s not about price, schedule or a bizarre marketing goal to appear different - they are corporate goals with scant regard for people who use the product.
Q: When did you first become aware of the importance of designers?
A: First time I was aware of this sense of the group of people who made something was when I first used a Mac - I’d gone through college in the 80s using a computer and had a horrid experience. Then I discovered the mac, it was such a dramatic moment and I remember it so clearly - there was a real sense of the people who made it.
Q: When you are coming up with product ideas such as the iPod, do you try to solve a problem?
A: There are different approaches - sometimes things can irritate you so you become aware of a problem, which is a very pragmatic approach and the least challenging.
What is more difficult is when you are intrigued by an opportunity. That, I think, really exercises the skills of a designer. It’s not a problem you’re aware or, nobody has articulated a need. But you start asking questions, what if we do this, combine it with that, would that be useful? This creates opportunities that could replace entire categories of device, rather than tactically responding to an individual problem. That’s the real challenge, and that’s what is exciting.
Q: Has that led to new products within Apple?
A: Examples are products like the iPhone, iPod and iPad. That fanatical attention to detail and coming across a problem and being determined to solve it is critically important - that defines your minute by minute, day by day experience.
Q: How to you know consumers will want your products?
A: We don’t do focus groups - that is the job of the designer. It’s unfair to ask people who don’t have a sense of the opportunities of tomorrow from the context of today to design.
Q: Your team of designers is very small - is that the key to its success?
A: The way we work at Apple is that the complexity of these products really makes it critical to work collaboratively, with different areas of expertise. I think that’s one of the things about my job I enjoy the most. I work with silicon designers, electronic and mechanical engineers, and I think you would struggle to determine who does what when we get together. We’re located together, we share the same goal, have exactly the same preoccupation with making great products.
One of the other things that enables this is that we’ve been doing this together for many years - there is a collective confidence when you are facing a seemingly insurmoutable challenge, and there were multiple times on the iPhone or ipad where we have to think ‘will this work’ we simply didn’t have points of reference.
Q: Is it easy to get sidetracked by tiny details on a project?
A: When you’re trying to solve a problem on a new product type, you become completely focused on problems that seem a number of steps removed from the main product. That problem solving can appear a little abstract, and it is easy to lose sight of the product. I think that is where having years and years of experience gives you that confidence that if you keep pushing, you’ll get there.
Q: Can this obsession with detail get out of control?
A: It’s incredibly time consuming, you can spent months and months and months on a tiny detail - but unless you solve that tiny problem, you can’t solve this other, fundamental product.
You often feel there is no sense these can be solved, but you have faith. This is why these innovations are so hard - there are no points of reference.
Q: How do you know you’ve succeeded?
A :It’s a very strange thing for a designer to say, but one of the things that really irritates me in products is when I’m aware of designers wagging their tails in my face.
Our goal is simple objects, objects that you can’t imagine any other way. Simplicity is not the absence of clutter. Get it right, and you become closer and more focused on the object. For instance, the iPhoto app we created for the new iPad, it completely consumes you and you forget you are using an iPad.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in constantly innovating?
A: For as long as we’ve been doing this, I am still surprised how difficult it is to do this, but you know exactly when you’re there - it can be the smallest shift, and suddenly transforms the object, without any contrivance.
Some of the problem solving in the iPad is really quite remarkable, there is this danger you want to communicate this to people. I think that is a fantastic irony, how oblivious people are to the acrobatics we’ve performed to solve a problem - but that’s our job, and I think people know there is tremendous care behind the finished product.
Q: Do consumers really care about good design?
A: One of the things we’ve really learnt over the last 20 years is that while people would often struggle to articulate why they like something - as consumers we are incredibly discerning, we sense where has been great care in the design, and when there is cynicism and greed. It’s one of the thing we’ve found really encouraging.
Q: Users have become incredibly attached, almost obsessively so, to Apple’s products - why is this?
A: It sound so obvious, but I remember being shocked to use a Mac, and somehow have this sense I was having a keen awareness of the people and values of those who made it.
I think that people’s emotional connection to our products is that they sense our care, and the amount of work that has gone into creating it.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Absinthe Jailbreak in iOS 5.1 patched by Apple

Tue, Mar 13 2012 12:36 | IOS, iPhone, iPad, Jailbreak, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Greenpois0n-Absinthe

Bad news for Jailbreakers.
We have just got a confirmation that Apple has indeed fixed the vulnerability in iOS 5.1 that was used in the Absinthe jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on iOS 5.0.1 or iOS 5. Apple has given the "2012 iOS Jailbreak Dream Team" credit for discovering the vulnerability in the document that provides details about the security issues that have been fixed in iOS 5.1.
Kernel
Available for: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iPad, iPad 2
Impact: A malicious program could bypass sandbox restrictions
Description: A logic issue existed in the handling of debug system calls. This may allow a malicious program to gain code execution in other programs with the same user privileges.
CVE-ID
CVE-2012-0643 : 2012 iOS Jailbreak Dream Team
Apple has also credited pod2G for the HFS vulnerability, we're not sure if this was the one used in the Corona jailbreak for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 4g, iPod touch 3G and iPad 1.
HFS
Available for: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iPad, iPad 2
Impact: Mounting a maliciously crafted disk image may lead to a device shutdown or arbitrary code execution
Description: An integer underflow existed with the handling of HFS catalog files.
CVE-ID
CVE-2012-0642 : pod2g
pod2G had almost confirmed this earlier today when he tweeted that he was working hard to find a vulnerability in iOS 5.1 for an untethered jailbreak.
It remains to be seen how long it will take the brilliant jailbreak dream team to release an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1.
If you're still on iOS 5.0.1 or ealier then it is recommended to avoid updating to iOS 5.1 until the jailbreak tools for iOS 5.1 are released.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

iPad Pre-Orders Sold Out, Demand has gone through the strotosphere.

Mon, Mar 12 2012 02:22 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Demand for the new iPad has gone ballistic, through the roof, into the stratosphere. Fill in your own version here ….
Luckily you will still be able to line up outside an Apple store and get one, but pre-orders have been sold out. Demand is been huge.
So looks like Apple has another winner on it's hands and everyone else is left running around scrounging up the odd crumb or too off the floor.
The only "real" competition I see coming will be Tablets with Windows 8 on. But they are a way off and who knows how well received these will be. It's made it so much harder now that 16gb iPads 2's have dropped by $100 USD. As long as Apple can get it's supply chain going at full speed and supplying it's stores with the new iPad and the iPad 2 it should forge ahead and possibly even increase it's share of the tablet market over the next few months.
Time, as always, will tell. Still, maybe Google will pull one out of the bag and make (or should I say get someone else to make) a decent tablet. Google has stated that they will have their own branded Tablets soon.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

The New iPad's Biggest Advancement Might Actually Be Under The Hood

Fri, Mar 9 2012 08:29 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
2610953938_e592c7b561

2610953938_e592c7b561

Beyond processor specifications, Apple doesn’t usually have much to say about the inner goings-on of its iDevice family, and the new iPad has been no exception. From Apple’s announcement, we knew it would feature a quad-core A5X SoC, but that’s about all. However, earlier-than-expected “confirmations” indicate that the included RAM’s been doubled to an entire gigabyte, and that the battery — previously a 9644 mAh (25Wh) powerhouse — is now a gigantic 11,666 mAh (42Wh)!
On a practical level, it’s obvious Apple had to introduce a larger battery to keep the new iPad on track for 10 hours per charge. After all, that new Retina display sucks down more juice than Mr. Olympia, and LTE — when enabled — is notoriously hard on energy stores. So, it should be no surprise that Apple needed to up the battery ante.
What is surprising, however, is that Apple managed this drastic improvement while barely increasing the overall size of the iPad itself. And, since last year’s model was nearly all battery to begin with, this means Apple has made quite the industrial breakthrough. Like ZDNET tells us,
[i]t suggests that Apple has managed to increase significantly the power density of the Li-ion cells that it uses. In an industry that has seemed stagnant for some time now, this is quite an achievement and goes to show that Apple’s battery research labs and manufacturing plants have been hard at work. There’s no doubt that we’re going to be seeing the fruits of this labor in other Apple products soon.
What’s more, these advancements are likely proprietary, protected properties, meaning the Cupertino company has yet another strategic advantage over its computing competition. It’s been a long time coming, but battery life — at least for Apple products — may finally give up its crown as mobile technology’s single largest limiting factor.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple announces the A5X: a system-on-chip with quad-core graphics

Thu, Mar 8 2012 02:14 | Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
a923d6db-c66a-4257-acb5-6beff555c700_large_verge_medium_landscape

a923d6db-c66a-4257-acb5-6beff555c700_large_verge_medium_landscape

Traditionally, Apple has been content to stay a step behind the latest processor technology, and reap the power efficiency benefits, and that's just what we heard it would do again... but today, right now on stage, the Cupertino computer company unveiled a mobile chip with quad core graphics, not a quad-core CPU. This is the Apple A5X.
The A5, if you'll recall, had a integrated PowerVR SGX543MP2, a dual-core graphics solution that did quite nicely in games, but recently the PlayStation Vita used the quad-core version of the same, the SGX543MP4+. We've got a hunch that's what you'll find inside the A5X as well. It's also worth noting that Samsung builds quad-core ARM Mali graphics into some of its existing chips, like the one in the Galaxy S II. Also, core count alone isn't an indication of performance, because the Nvidia Tegra 3 has 12 graphics cores, and Apple claims the A5X has four times the performance of the Tegra 3... whatever that might mean. (The company didn't say what benchmarks it tested with.) Apple says the new graphics abilities will be responsible for pushing pixels to that new 2048 x 1536 resolution Retina Display, and also handling duties like stabilization for the new iPad's 1080p camera.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple announces iPhoto for iPhone, iPad: powerful editing, scrapbook creation, available today for $4.99

Thu, Mar 8 2012 02:12 | Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
smart_browsing_large_verge_medium_landscape

smart_browsing_large_verge_medium_landscape

At Apple's event today in San Francisco, after announcing the new iPad, the company also debuted a version of iPhoto for iOS, filling out the iLife section of the App Store a bit more. The new app is a much more powerful way to manage your photos on your iPad, and includes some serious editing functionality. It has a shelves-style look for managing your photos, and lets you quickly add effects, do some retouching, and even beam pictures from device to device. The $4.99 universal app is available today, though you'll need at least an iPad 2 or iPhone 4 to use it.
It's a multitouch-heavy app, letting you edit and manipulate images up to 19 megapixels — the app can automatically detect and correct horizon lines, and you can quickly edit shadows, exposure and the like all using multitouch. You can also compare your edited photo to the original quickly, a feature we love in the OS X version of the app. Changing white balance is as simple as dragging your finger around the screen, and any edit you make can be done specifically to one tiny section of the photo, or the entire picture. There are a bunch of effects in iPhoto for iPad, too, non-destructive tweaks to your photos. Most are just simple color tweaks — Black & White, Aura, Vintage, and a few others — but all seem to work well and smoothly.
Once you're done, you can share your photos to a variety of sites, from iCloud and Flickr to Twitter and Facebook. The Facebook sharing is particularly interesting, since that's not something we've seen much of from Apple's other iOS apps — though it is available in the desktop version of iPhoto. You can also create Journals of your photos, lay them out into photo books with some cool styling that's reminiscent of Flipboard's layout. You can add maps, sticky notes, and more — Apple's trying to create a full-fledged digital scrapbook, complete with all the extras you'd want to add. The Journals can be shared via iCloud, and are viewable in any browser.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple releases updated iWork for iOS, available today for iOS 5.1 users

Thu, Mar 8 2012 02:05 | Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
e606657f-c36c-4abf-b97c-8ca801e8ff3f_large_verge_medium_landscape

e606657f-c36c-4abf-b97c-8ca801e8ff3f_large_verge_medium_landscape

Apple's showing off lots of software that's now optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, and an updated version of iWork is among them. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iOS have all been updated, still cost $9.99 each, and are free updates for previous purchasers. Apple says these new updates are coming out today, but the old versions are still on the app store as of the moment. Phil Schiller went into minimal details on what changes besides Retina display support were made, and from the looks of Apple's iWork for iOS pages on its site, it seems like there aren't any major consumer-facing features aside from support for the higher-resolution display.
Update: Version 1.6 of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers for iOS 5.1 are now available in the App store. In addition to Retina display compatibility, each app now supports "stunning" 3D bar, line, pie, and area charts. Keynote has a number of other changes, including nine new builds and transitions, as well as animations for the previously mentioned new chart types. Pages now supports the landscape keyboard for iPhone and iPod touch, but otherwise it and Numbers don't have any more new features.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

GarageBand for iPad updated with new features, Retina Display support

Thu, Mar 8 2012 02:02 | Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
4a7b0c4f-268d-498b-afcd-04f3edb7d660_large_verge_medium_landscape

4a7b0c4f-268d-498b-afcd-04f3edb7d660_large_verge_medium_landscape

Apple has released new updates for GarageBand to along with the new iPad. Priced the same as the previous generation at $4.99, it has support for the Retina Display and some new features as well. The new features include "Smart Strings" for playing instruments, iCloud support, a note editor, and a cool feature called "Jam Session." Jam Session allows up to four iOS devices to work together over WiFi or Bluetooth to create music in real time. Apple played a brief video demonstrating the feature during its keynote as as you'd expect, it looked like it worked quite well.
True DJs and musicians might be most excited about some of the new sharing features. In addition to iCloud sync, music can be uploaded directly to YouTube or SoundCloud — the latter of which is a killer feature for indie artists.
It's available right now in the iTunes store. Here's what Apple has to say about the new features:
With the new Jam Session feature in GarageBand, you can invite up to three of your friends to get together and wirelessly connect your iOS devices to play and record as a group. Jam Session automatically synchronizes the tempo, key and chords of your Touch Instruments so everyone sounds great. After jamming, everyone’s tracks are automatically collected on your iOS device for you to edit and mix. GarageBand also introduces Smart Strings, a new Touch Instrument that allows you to play an entire string orchestra with just one finger, and the new Note Editor allows you to fine tune a Touch Instrument recording instead of replaying it from scratch. Integration with iCloud keeps your GarageBand songs up to date across your iOS devices, and you can share your finished songs directly to Facebook, YouTube and SoundCloud.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

New iPad announced: LTE, Retina Display, A5X processor with quad-core graphics, available March 16th for $499

Thu, Mar 8 2012 02:00 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
ZZ53D1C9A6_large_verge_medium_landscape

ZZ53D1C9A6_large_verge_medium_landscape

Apple just announced the new iPad, the latest in its popular line of tablets. As expected, it has a Retina Display, with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. That's good for a pixel density of 264ppi, which means you can't distinguish individual pixels when held at 10 inches -- the standard Apple uses for the Retina moniker. Existing apps will automatically take advantage of the higher resolution, but Apple's optimized all of its stock apps and is obviously encouraging developers to do the same.
In addition to the new display, the new iPad also features an A5X processor with a new quad-core graphics processor, which Apple claims is four times as fast as the Tegra 3. There's also a new iSight camera, which is the same as the camera built into the iPhone 4S: auto-exposure, auto-focus, 5 megapixel backside-illuminated sensor with 1080p stabilized video. That's a huge upgrade from the iPad 2, and a massive jump over competitive tablets, which all have terrible cameras. The front camera for FaceTime remains at VGA. There's also a new microphone icon on the keyboard for voice dictation, which works in several languages.
Apple's also added 4G LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+ mobile networking, with models for AT&T, Verizon, Rogers, Telus, and Bell. The Verizon and AT&T LTE models will be separate, but will both support 3G around the world. The iPad also now supports hotspot functionality, per your carrier's rules.
Battery life is pegged at 10 hours, which is the same as the iPad 2, with 9 hours on 4G. The only downside? At 9.4mm thick and 1.4 pounds, the new iPad is a little bit heavier and thicker than the iPad 2, which measured 8.8mm thick and 1.35 pounds.
The new iPad starts at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $629 for the 16GB 4G model, with 32GB and 64GB sizes commanding an extra $100 and $200 each. It'll be in stores on March 16th, but pre-orders start today in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan -- and it'll hit 100 more countries on March 23.

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shane blyth

Apple updates iMovie with advanced editing and planning tools

Thu, Mar 8 2012 02:00 | iPhone, iPad, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
COMMENTS
iMovie_minutes_best_shots_large_verge_medium_landscape

iMovie_minutes_best_shots_large_verge_medium_landscape

Apple has just announced a refresh to the iLife suite, including iMovie. The update adds more advanced editing and planning tools. You can now cut fancy trailers as you're recording video, and iMovie will include nine stylized genre templates, which also include custom soundtracks from famous composers like Hans Zimmer. Movies can be shared in 1080p resolution to the Apple TV using AirStream, and also shared to YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.

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shane blyth

New iPad has Retina Display, 2048 x 1536 resolution

Thu, Mar 8 2012 01:57 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
ipad-2012_large_verge_medium_landscape

ipad-2012_large_verge_medium_landscape

Apple's brand new iPad has just launched with a Retina Display! The resolution is 2048 x 1536, quadrupling that of the first and second generation iPads. The new 9.7-inch iOS tablet keeps the same screen size as its predecessors, but now comes with just over 3.1 million pixels, resulting in an impressive 264ppi density. You might not think that's quite enough to merit Apple's designation of a Retina Display — one dense enough to make individual pixels indistiguishable — however Phil Schiller explained that the iPad is expected to be held at a distance of 15 inches away from the user's eyes, qualifying it for that title.
All stock iOS apps have been updated and optimized for the new resolution and text will automatically be rendered accordingly. Apple already pulled off this sort of a resolution jump with the move between iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, so we imagine the transitional process for developers updating their apps will be no different with the new iPad.
The new display is not merely denser, however, as Apple has also revealed that it'll have 44 percent greater color saturation than the old 1024 x 768 panel. Phil Schiller's conclusion about the updated display is categorical: "The best mobile display that has ever shipped." Apple's 2012 iPad will be in stores on March 16th.

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shane blyth

New Apple TV interface now available on 2nd-generation models

Thu, Mar 8 2012 01:54 | IOS, ATV, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
apple-tv-3_large_verge_medium_landscape

apple-tv-3_large_verge_medium_landscape

We all expected most of the new interface and features on Apple announced for the new generation of the Apple TV to find their way down the previous generation, and just as with iOS 5.1 for the iPad and the iPhone, Apple isn't wasting any time. We hear that the update should be available today, bringing the new interface, movie re-downloading, and direct Netflix signup to current models. Of course, that won't mean that current models will be able to display 1080p content, but beyond that small niggle it appears that the previous generation will still be functionally identical with the new model.

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shane blyth

iOS 5.1 available OTA and on iTunes now!

Thu, Mar 8 2012 01:49 | IOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

ios-5-1-hero-620x413
iOS 5.1 for iPhone and iPad is now available over-the-air (OTA) and in iTunes!
While we haven’t tested it yet, it looks like we will need to put 5.1 on our iPads before we can see the updates to the iWork and iLife apps mentioned today.
IMG_1674-620x465
To download OTA, launch settings, tap General, then Software Update, and the update should pop up with an option to Download and install. To download via iTunes, just plug your iPhone or iPad into your computer and open iTunes — a message informing you of the available update should pop right up.
IMG_1675-620x465
Now what are you waiting for? Go grab it!

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shane blyth

iTunes 10.6 adds 1080p support

Thu, Mar 8 2012 01:46 | Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
itunes20main-269406

itunes20main-269406

On Wednesday, Apple released an updated version of iTunes to add support for 1080p video and address several issues with iTunes Match.
iTunes 10.6 adds the ability to play 1080p HD movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store, a new offering from Apple that goes along with the new Apple TV unveiled on Wednesday. iTunes could play 1080p content in the past, however, such as movies shot using an iPhone 4S.
More exciting to many iTunes Match subscribers are improvements to the music matching and storage service. Apple says iTunes 10.6 provides for improved song matching; improved album artwork handling, downloading, and display; and fixes an issue where songs may skip when playing from iCloud.
The update is currently available via Software Update, or via Apple’s iTunes download page.

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shane blyth

Apple TV third generation info

Thu, Mar 8 2012 01:43 | IOS, ATV, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

While Apple executives have continued to call the Apple TV a hobby, over the past couple years, the company has dedicated a fair amount of resources to it. The Apple TV 2 was a major upgrade, and Apple has added a good number of features to that media player through software updates.
COMPLETE COVERAGE

The third-generation Apple TV unveiled Wednesday shows Apple is taking its hobby just a little bit more seriously, thanks to improved video support and an overhauled interface. But there are still plenty of questions about the latest edition. Here’s what we know so far.
What’s new about it? Does it finally do 1080p?
The new Apple TV looks exactly like its predecessor, and is housed in the same tiny, black enclosure. The big hardware change for the new the Apple TV is inside: Instead of the Apple A4 chip found in the previous Apple TV and the iPad 2, the new model hosts a single-core A5 chip. The improved horsepower finally allows the Apple TV to support 1080p video output.

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shane blyth

Apple updates iPad App Store with faster UI ahead of iPad 3 launch

Wed, Mar 7 2012 01:57 | iPad, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Apple's revamped user interface of the iPad "Top Charts" section on its iOS App Store could possibly be in preparation of a third generation tablet expected to be announced on Wednesday.

The iPad App Store facelift saw minor tweaks in how top selling apps are displayed and a new horizontal scrolling UI, among other small updates.

The changes could be a prelude to the much rumored debut of Apple's next-generation iPad that scheduled to take place tomorrow at a special event in San Francisco.

While the majority of changes are superficial, the new top-selling paid and free app layout allows for greatly reduced load times. Instead of displaying the top 25 apps for each category, the new store only lists six apps at a time, which could explain why the "display more" option is so quick.

The move could be related to the resolution of the next-generation iPad's display, which is rumored to be twice that of Apple's current tablet lineup. If image assets within the App Store are not scaled, a doubling in pixel density would result in a perceived decrease in icon size. The change in size wouldn't be a problem with a Retina Display-equipped product like the iPhone 4S, however visibility issues could occur when using a device like an iPad that is normally held farther away from the face.

A developer recently weighed in on how scaling would affect image quality in a Retina Display iPad. "Food Run" app maker Kevin Ng noted that upscaling his game to the resolution expected from the upcoming iPad's screen would result in favorable image quality due to vector-based graphics, though icons would have to be be submitted separately.

Currently, developers are required to submit 512x512 pixel icons with their apps, and the new interface will most likely take advantage of the resolution bump if and when a Retina Display iPad is released.

12.03.06-iPadAppStore

12.03.06-iPadAppStore

In early February, Apple sent out a note to third-party developers asking for screenshot upgrades that would better support the Retina Displays in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch. The app makers were informed that any future updates of their software would not be approved unless a 960x640 pixel screenshot was submitted.

Apple's newest tablet is widely thought to include a 9.7-inch 2,048x1,536 pixel display with a perceived resolution nearing that of the company's 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel Retina Display.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple updates iPad App Store with faster UI ahead of iPad 3 launch

Wed, Mar 7 2012 01:57 | iPad, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Apple's revamped user interface of the iPad "Top Charts" section on its iOS App Store could possibly be in preparation of a third generation tablet expected to be announced on Wednesday.

The iPad App Store facelift saw minor tweaks in how top selling apps are displayed and a new horizontal scrolling UI, among other small updates.

The changes could be a prelude to the much rumored debut of Apple's next-generation iPad that scheduled to take place tomorrow at a special event in San Francisco.

While the majority of changes are superficial, the new top-selling paid and free app layout allows for greatly reduced load times. Instead of displaying the top 25 apps for each category, the new store only lists six apps at a time, which could explain why the "display more" option is so quick.

The move could be related to the resolution of the next-generation iPad's display, which is rumored to be twice that of Apple's current tablet lineup. If image assets within the App Store are not scaled, a doubling in pixel density would result in a perceived decrease in icon size. The change in size wouldn't be a problem with a Retina Display-equipped product like the iPhone 4S, however visibility issues could occur when using a device like an iPad that is normally held farther away from the face.

A developer recently weighed in on how scaling would affect image quality in a Retina Display iPad. "Food Run" app maker Kevin Ng noted that upscaling his game to the resolution expected from the upcoming iPad's screen would result in favorable image quality due to vector-based graphics, though icons would have to be be submitted separately.

Currently, developers are required to submit 512x512 pixel icons with their apps, and the new interface will most likely take advantage of the resolution bump if and when a Retina Display iPad is released.

12.03.06-ipadappstore

12.03.06-ipadappstore

In early February, Apple sent out a note to third-party developers asking for screenshot upgrades that would better support the Retina Displays in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch. The app makers were informed that any future updates of their software would not be approved unless a 960x640 pixel screenshot was submitted.

Apple's newest tablet is widely thought to include a 9.7-inch 2,048x1,536 pixel display with a perceived resolution nearing that of the company's 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel Retina Display.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

IOS Runs Html5 Games Much Faster Than On The Android OS.

Tue, Mar 6 2012 02:32 | IOS, Samsung, Smartphones, Android, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Spaceport's (http://spaceport.io/) has just completed a new study on mobile game platforms that clearly shows that Apple's iOS runs HTML5 games three times faster than the Android operating system, reports "VentureBeat" (http://macte.ch/igwYf).
Spaceport.io created a benchmark dubbed PerfMarks to test performance at running HTML5 code. The benchmark tested a device’s ability to animate image movement. The report measured the number of moving images on a screen at 30 frames per second (FPS), a frame rate which provides a near-native user experience.
Repeated tests show that iOS performed far better at running animations than Android, notes "VentureBeat.
Here are a few of the results.
Pad 2 score 327
iPhone 4S scored 252
Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone scored 147
iPhone 3GS 53
Kindle Fire scored 25.
The new Android Galaxy Nexus was the only Android smartphone that could handle images at 30 frames per second, the article adds.

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Apple Announces March 7th iPad Event Something to see and touch

Wed, Feb 29 2012 11:57 | IOS, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Apple this morning issued invitations to a special event in San Francisco at which the next iteration of the iPad will debut.
And it will indeed be held on the March 7th. The showcase will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements like this. And judging from the art on the invitation, it is indeed the next iPad that will be the topic. We will, of course, be covering it here at Tech-Sanity.
In a cheeky bit of timing, the Apple invitation went out just as Google Chairman Eric Schmidt was delivering his keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

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shane blyth

iPad 3 rumored to be shipping from factories on Feb. 26, arriving in U.S. March 9, available for pre-order sometime

Sun, Feb 26 2012 10:49 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

ipad-2-tipb-01-620x465
Adding to the mountain of iPad 3 rumors is word that shipments of Apple’s next generation tablet will be leaving Foxconn factories in China on February 26 for arrival in the U.S. on March 9.
Friends broke the news: Chengdu International Airport at major international cargo charter flights, cargo owners demanding security, from CTU takeoff by stop PVG Shanghai, and then directly to ORD Chicago, the JFK New York, LAX in Los Angeles, March 9, completed before transport. According to the privately disclosed the Chengdu F production for the U.S. A company’s latest products… Received friends inside information, Chengdu International Airport night cargo charter flights, said the owner of the security demanding, and in private that the Chengdu Fu X Kang new products. Takes note of the location of the United States (ORD Chicago, JFK New York, LAX in Los Angeles)
Looks like there may be some components, including storage chips, being shipped as well, according to photos found by Sonny Dickson. iMore previously heard that Apple was planning their iPad 3 event for March 7 and BGR has reported that iOS 5.1 was scheduled for March 9.
Apple released the last 2 iPads on Fridays, so that’s consistent, however at 2 days it’s also a far shorter period of time than last year’s 9 days (announcement on March 2, launch on March 9). A GM version of iOS 5.1 hasn’t even been released to developers yet, let alone a version that supports additional features presumed to be coming with the iPad 3. If Apple releases the GM seed of iOS 5.1 at the iPad 3 event, we’d expect at least a week between that and final release, a couple days before the product launch.
Furthermore, 9to5Mac‘s Marc Gurman has heard there may be pre-orders for the iPad 3, which would also indicate a slightly longer timeline. While the iPad 2 didn’t have pre-orders, the iPhone 4S did (announcement on October 4, pre-orders on October 7, launch on October 14).
Gurman has also heard more talk of the iPad 2 sticking around at a lower price point.
Additionally, our sources are pointing to the discontinuation of all iPad 2 WiFi + 3G models and all iPad 2 WiFi-only models (except the black and white 16GB units – at least initially) when the iPad 3 launches. This would refute rumors of Apple launching the Retina Display-packing iPad 3 as an extension of the iPad 2 line, and would seem to back up rumors of Apple keeping the 16 GB iPad 2 around at a lower price point. This iPad 2 model discontinuation information is based on Apple product supply checks.
If that proves accurate, it could take some air out of the lower end, Amazon Kindle Fire and BlackBerry Playbook market.
Source: Weiphone, Apple.pro, 9to5Mac, @SonnyDickson

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shane blyth

Apple issues firmware update for 2011 Mac models

Fri, Feb 24 2012 02:01 | OSX, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

If you bought a Mac in 2011, you’ve got some firmware to download. Apple on Thursday issued four EFI firmware updates, one for each Mac model released by the company last year.
Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.6 covers Mac mini models released last summer. MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.4 targets the laptops that came out in mid-2011. iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.9 is intended for the desktop machines that debuted last May, while MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.7 covers laptops released in both early 2011 and later that year.
All four updates promise to improve stability in the targeted systems while fixing several issues. Specifically, the release notes for each firmware update state that the download will improve the reliability of booting from the network and address an issue that can prevent HDCP authentication after a reboot. The updates also tackle an issue with boot device selection when you’ve got a hot-plugged USB storage device.
The updates are available from Mac OS X’s Software Update or on Apple’s Support website. The updates require Mac OS X 10.7.3

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shane blyth

Apple Acquires Chomp to Recreate App Store Search and Discovery

Fri, Feb 24 2012 01:57 | App, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple is acquiring three-year old startup Chomp and plans to use the company's technology and expertise to improve the App Store's search and app discovery technology, according to a report from TechCrunch.

chomplogo

chomplogo

We first covered Chomp in November 2009 to announce their seed funding. Since then, they’ve grown their scope to include not only iPhone apps, but Android apps as well. In fact, Chomp currently has a deal with Verizon to power all of their Android-based app searches. That relationship, obviously, is going to get a bit awkward with this acquisition.

My understanding is that such deals will remain intact for now but are likely to end once the Chomp team and product transitions over to Apple. The same is likely true for Chomp’s stand-alone products.
The terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, but TechCrunch reports that the deal isn't merely about talent -- Apple wants Chomp's technology as well. Chomp has raised more than $2.5 million in funding and apparently all investors are very pleased with the outcome. Chomp's 20 or so employees are reportedly all headed for Apple.

Apple generally prefers to make small to medium size acquisitions of talent and technology, rather than spending huge sums of its $100 billion cash hoard. Earlier this year, Apple paid some $390 million to acquire Israeli flash memory firm Anobit.

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shane blyth

Keyboard Patent Shows How Apple Could Make MacBooks Even Thinner

Fri, Feb 24 2012 01:39 | Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
patent_apple_keyboard-660x221

patent_apple_keyboard-660x221

Slimming down the keyboard could help Apple shave off a few precious millimeters from future MacBooks. Image: Free Patents Online

Apple is like the Vogue of the tech world. Not only are its models some of the best-looking and most fashionable — they also seem to just keep getting skinnier and skinnier.
A new patent application filing from the Cupertino company certainly doesn’t do anything to deter this trend. The patent, called “Single Support Lever Keyboard Mechanism,” describes a few different ways Apple could trim some of the fat from existing notebook keyboards, making them more slender.
The keyboard design comes from a need to create computing products that are “attractive, smaller, lighter, and thinner while maintaining user functionality,” according to the patent application.
Current notebook keyboards often utilize a scissor-switch design, with two plastic support levers that slide outwards when a key is depressed (this is shown in Figure 1 in the illustration above). Another is the dome switch, where a key presses down on a rubber dome beneath it to connect two circuit-board traces.
Apple’s method would have the keyboard’s key caps held in place by a single rigid support lever made of stainless steel or aluminum, which could be implemented in a few different ways. Instead of collapsing horizontally, a single lever could rotate downwards when a key is pressed. Or, a more flexible material could be used as this lever so when a key is pressed, the key would just bend downwards slightly. Apple posits that with this method, the top portion of the key cap could be made of materials normally thought of as unsuitable for a keyboard, like wood, glass, or — wait for it — “polished meteorite.”
Is this going to be a MacBook for the 1%?
Keyboard implementations nowadays have a travel distance, how far the key moves when pressed, of 2 mm at a minimum, and up to 3.5 or 4 mm in some cases.

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shane blyth

Proview Loses Bid to Ban iPad in Shanghai

Fri, Feb 24 2012 06:40 | Legal, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple_Shanghai-380x261

Apple_Shanghai-380x261

A major setback for Proview in its battle with Apple over the rights to the iPad trademark in China.
The Pudong District People’s Court has denied the company’s request for an injunction that would have temporarily halted iPad sales in Shanghai.
“We had requested an injunction that would force Apple to stop sales of the iPad on the grounds that they are infringing upon Proview’s trademark, but the court has rejected our request and decided that it will not hear the case,” said Proview attorney Xie Xianghui.
The decision doesn’t end Apple’s contentious battle with Proview, but it’s an important victory for the company, nonetheless. It keeps the iPad on the shelves of Apple’s three flagship stores in Shanghai, and postpones further proceedings until the Guangdong Provincial High Court hears its appeal on the broader trademark dispute. And it sets a tough precedent for Proview, which hopes to squeeze Apple for more money to turn over the China trademark.

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shane blyth

Apple, Proview trade barbs during Shanghai trial

Thu, Feb 23 2012 12:39 | Legal, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple claims iPad sales are 'national interest'
Lawyers for Apple and Proview exchanged heated words today in a Shanghai court hearing, according to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters. Proview is seeking a ban on iPad sales in the city as a part of its ongoing trademark dispute with Apple. "Apple has no right to sell iPads under that name," said a lawyer for Proview Shenzhen, Xie Xianghui. Proview once sold a product called the IPAD, or Internet Personal Access Device.
The product has been unavailable for years however. "Proview has no product, no markets, no customers and no suppliers. It has nothing," a lawyer for Apple told the court. "Apple has huge sales in China. Its fans line up to buy Apple products. The ban, if executed, would not only hurt Apple sales but it would also hurt China's national interest."

Outside of court, Xie told reporters that both Apple and Proview have a "willingness" to negotiate. "Official negotiation hasn't started yet, and both sides will submit their plans before the talks. A settlement outside the court is quite possible," he explained. Proview has previously said that it will continue legal actions against Apple while pursuing a settlement at the same time. A ruling in the Shanghai case could take weeks or months.

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shane blyth

Google hit with FTC complaint, says circumventing Safari privacy features accidental (Yeah Right!)

Sat, Feb 18 2012 05:24 | Legal, Google, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

This cookie was an accident
The Consumer Watchdog advocacy group today asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Google violated a previous privacy agreement with the FTC by tracking cookies in a way that circumvents default privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser.
Google's method of getting around Safari's default blockage of third-party cookies was detailed today in astudy by Stanford grad student Jonathan Mayer and in two articles in the Wall Street Journal. One Journalheadline calls it "Google's iPhone tracking," but the technique actually works across iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and desktop computers. After being contacted by the Journal, Google disabled the code that had allowed it to install tracking cookies on Safari, even though the browser is designed to block such cookies by default.
Google says it was unintentional, but this is also concerning—the advertising cookies spread without Google even realizing it.

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shane blyth

Confirmed: iPad 3 Has a 2048x1536 Retina Display

Sat, Feb 18 2012 05:21 | IOS, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Over the past couple of months, several photos of displays claimed to be for the iPad 3have surfaced from various sources. Such parts leaks are typical with the device's expected debut early next month. While reports have claimed that these displays are high-resolution "Retina" displays, there has been no definite confirmation of these claims so far.

ipad_3_display_mr_ruler

ipad_3_display_mr_ruler

MacRumors has now been able to obtain one of these iPad 3 displays and examine it under a microscope in an effort to determine whether it is indeed an ultra-high resolution Retina display. Physically, the purported iPad 3 display is the same size as the current iPad 1 and iPad 2 display at 9.7" in diagonal, and looks quite similar to the naked eye.

However, when comparing the iPad 3 display to one from an iPad 2 under a microscope, the difference in resolutions becomes readily apparent, with the iPad 3 display's pixels appearing to be one-quarter the size of those on the iPad 2.

ipad_2_ipad_3_pixels

ipad_2_ipad_3_pixels

Since we only had a raw iPad 3 display with no method to power it, taking high quality photos of the pixels was difficult. Still, even with the relatively poor lighting, you can easily make out the pixels on each display (made up of red, green and blue elements). We highlighted a cluster of 4 pixels (2x2) from the iPad 2 to compare it to the same area on the iPad 3. On the iPad 3, the same cluster was occupied by 16 pixels (4x4) -- exactly twice the resolution in each direction.

Extrapolating out, the iPad 3 screen should carry a full resolution of 2048x1536, exactly twice the linear resolution of the iPad 1 and iPad 2 which is 1024x768. Such a screen should be able to display much sharper images as compared to the previous generation iPads.

Apple is expected to introduce the iPad 3 with a media event on March 7, and the device is rumored to be carrying this high-resolution display, a new A6 system-on-a-chip, and LTE support for models with cellular data capabilities.

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shane blyth

Google's "Don't Be Evil" iPhone Tracking bypassing your security settings, Naughty Google.

Fri, Feb 17 2012 08:05 | Legal, Google, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Web Giant, Others Bypassed Apple Browser Settings for Guarding Privacy

Google Inc. and other advertising companies have been bypassing the privacy settings of millions of people using Apple Inc.'s Web browser on their iPhones and computers—tracking the Web-browsing habits of people who intended for that kind of monitoring to be blocked.
The companies used special computer code that tricks Apple's Safari Web-browsing software into letting them monitor many users. Safari, the most widely used browser on mobile devices, is designed to block such tracking by default.
Google disabled its code after being contacted by The Wall Street Journal.
Tracking Leaves a Trail

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shane blyth

30 features in 2 minutes! Top Mountain Lion OSX Features Video

Fri, Feb 17 2012 07:45 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Finally unified search box in Safari

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shane blyth

Software Update to Move Inside Mac App Store in OS X Mountain Lion

Fri, Feb 17 2012 01:28 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple's Software Update has long been the primary method for users updating their systems, with the tool accessible through the Apple icon in the menu bar offering automatic weekly checks for new software updates from Apple. But as shown byiClarified, Apple is doing away with the standalone Software Update tool in OS X Mountain Lion and integrating it directly into the Mac App Store.

mountain_lion_software_update_mac_app_store

mountain_lion_software_update_mac_app_store

Pocket-lint has more on Apple's decision:
Currently Apple's Software Update system in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion force users to use a dedicated update procedure that constantly checks to see if updates are available. Apple now feels, it seems, that this way of doing things might be slightly confusing to users coming from an iPhone or iPad who are used to seeing updates for apps appear in the App Store rather than buried elsewhere.

Explaining to Pocket-lint in a behind-closed-doors briefing for the new developer preview of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has told us that the new method will offer updates to the OS and Apple applications in a similar way to how it does on iOS via the App Store, but in this case via the Mac App Store.
The report notes that the move appears to require that users sign up for an Apple ID if they have not done so already in order to access the updates, and also encourages them to keep the Mac App Store within easy access in their Docks so that they will notice badges informing them of available updates.

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shane blyth

Apple Officially Drops 'Mac' Name from OS X Mountain Lio

Fri, Feb 17 2012 01:26 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
With the launch of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion in the middle of last year, Apple was clearly trending towards dropping the 'Mac' From 'Mac OS X', which has been the name of the Macintosh operating system for more than 10 years.

Though it still used the 'Mac OS X' naming scheme in press releases, Apple called the new system 'OS X Lion' on both the main product webpage and the Mac App Store product page [Direct Link].

aboutthismac

aboutthismac

As The Verge points out, Apple has completed the transition to 'OS X' across both the Mountain Lion product pages, and the press release announcing the developer preview.
We confirmed the official name change with Apple, who told us that the preferred full name is "OS X Mountain Lion".
The Macintosh (as Tim Cook prefers to call it) brand is still alive and well, though Apple seems to be focusing that term on hardware, instead of software.

Lion was the beginning of a unification of sorts between the Mac OS and iOS. It was, as Steve Jobs put it, what would happen if a MacBook Air and an iPad "hooked up". iOS is based on Mac OS X and, at a fundamental level, there are more similarities than differences between the two operating systems. Dropping 'Mac' completely from the name of the OS solidifies the subtle, but important, distinction between hardware and software.

OS X Mountain Lion is expected to be released later this year.

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shane blyth

Mountain Lion Video

Fri, Feb 17 2012 01:09 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

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shane blyth

Apple granted injunction in German patent suit, Motorola phones with slide-to-unlock at risk

Fri, Feb 17 2012 05:37 | Android, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Apple scored a huge victory today in Munich's Regional Court where Judge Dr. Peter Guntz foundMotorola's implementation of slide-to-unlock on smartphones to be in breach of Cupertino's patent holdings. The ruling has resulted in a permanent injunction that Apple could execute at will, forcing Moto to alter the UX it employs across its device portfolio in Deutschland. The case originally focused on three separate applications of this gesture tech -- two for phones, alone -- but for now, the one used on the Xoom has been deemed outside of Apple's purview. Naturally, both parties are expected to appeal this decision, with Apple gunning for a total victory on every derivation of patent EP1964022 and Motorola seeking to overturn the win. Nonetheless, this particular legal triumph could help to set a precedent for the company as it continues to rage an IP war against fellow mobile industry rivals

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shane blyth

Apple's new Messages app for OS X is available to download now

Fri, Feb 17 2012 05:06 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Messages_for_OS_X_large_verge_medium_landscape

Messages_for_OS_X_large_verge_medium_landscape

A beta version of Apple's new Messages app, which will be part of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, is available to download now from Apple's website. If you're interested in giving it a shot, you'll need to have upgraded to 10.7.3 Here is the link http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/
Of course, the big new feature (aside from the redesigned interface) is the integration of Apple's iMessage service. This previously was an iOS-only affair, but now you can send messages seamlessly between your Mac and iOS devices using your iCloud account. In a quick test, Messages on Lion seems to work much like it does when running on Mountain Lion. The install process was a little less elegant that we've come to expect from Apple and required a reboot, but was pretty straightforward in the end. Upon launching the app, you're prompted to enter your Apple ID (or create one if necessary); you can then choose whether you want to turn on read receipts and add additional email addresses you can be reached at.
Messages imports all your account settings from iChat, so if you've set up AIM, Gtalk, or other messaging accounts they'll be ready for you to use. Unfortunately iMessages don't sync between your phone, iPad, and computer out of the box by default. If your friends are sending messages to your phone number (using iMessage as a replacement for SMS), they won't also automatically sync to the Messages app on your Mac — you'll need people to start sending messages to your Apple ID email instead. To make that easier, you can set your Caller ID to your Apple ID in the Messages app preferences on iOS. Once that's done, the service works beautifully, but it might be a bit of a pain to tell your friends to stop messaging you at your phone number.
Aside from these quirks (which already existed when trying to sync messages across an iPad and iPhone), Messages appears to run quite smoothly on Lion. If Apple can resolve the phone number / Apple ID issue between now and Mountain Lion's launch, we'll really have something useful on our hands.

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shane blyth

Apple's new OS X: Mountain Lion. Lots of new features 2012 release

Fri, Feb 17 2012 04:53 | OSX, Software, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

mountainlion-thumbnail-272368

Apple updates its iOS mobile operating system once a year. But why should the iPhone and iPad have all the fun? On Thursday Apple announced that it will release a new version of OS X—Mountain Lion—this summer, just a year after the release of OS X Lion.
Like Lion, Mountain Lion offers numerous feature additions that will be familiar to iOS users. This OS X release continues Apple’s philosophy of bringing iOS features “back to the Mac,” and includes iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center, Twitter integration, Game Center, and AirPlay Mirroring.

overview-large-272393

overview-large-272393

Mountain Lion offers new features such as (left to right) Notes, Reminders, Messages, and Notification Center.

As the first OS X release post-iCloud, there’s also much more thorough integration with Apple’s data-syncing service. Mountain Lion also brings options to limit which kinds of apps users can install. And although there are no actual mountain lions in China, OS X Mountain Lion does add a raft of features to speak to users in the country that’s Apple’s biggest growth opportunity.
Mountain Lion will be a paid upgrade to OS X; like Lion, it will be available only via a Mac App Store download. Apple hasn’t yet set a price or a release date more specific than “summer.” Mac developers will be able to download a developer release of Mountain Lion on Thursday, giving them several months to update their apps to take advantage of the new features in the release.
I’ve had a few days to use an early development version of Mountain Lion. Here’s a look at what’s new so far, keeping in mind that Apple may add and change features over the next few months as we get closer to the planned release.
iOS apps come to the Mac

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The new Notes app looks quite familiar.
Mountain Lion comes with several new apps that will seem quite familiar to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. Reminders, Notes, and Game Center have all made the move to the Mac.
Reminders and Notes look very much like they do on iOS. And thanks to iCloud syncing, they’ll display the same data that shows up on your mobile devices. These are still quite simple apps—the goal seems to have been to provide parity with their iOS analogs. The Notes app does support rich text, so you can choose different fonts, insert photos and attachments, create bulleted lists, and drag in URLs to create hyperlinks.
Game Center was introduced to users with iOS 4.1 in September 2010, and expanded in iOS 5. Now it comes to the Mac, letting Mac gamers find friends and compare their gaming prowess, as well as play against each other. Mac game developers get access to a centralized system for network play, opponent matching, in-game voice chat, and more. And yes, Game Center can work across platforms, so games that run on both Mac and iOS can interoperate.
iChat becomes Messages

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messages-everywhere-272336

There’s never been a version of iChat for iOS—instead, Apple handles text messages using the Messages app. That app started life as the Text app, which was used just for SMS messaging on the iPhone, but when Apple introduced the new iMessage communication system, it renamed the app Messages.
With Mountain Lion, the same thing’s happening to Lion. All the features of iChat are still there, but the app’s been renamed Messages and it now supports iMessage (and is now integrated with FaceTime). You can use Messages to send text or images to anyone on a device capable of using iMessage—namely, devices running iOS 5, and Macs running Messages. Unlike SMS text messages, the iMessage system transfers data via the Internet, so there are no text charges.

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Like Messages on the iPhone, Messages for Mac lets you hold multi-person chats and can optionally let people know when you’ve received and read their messages and when you’re typing a reply. An integrated video-chat button allows you to kick off a video chat with capable devices, either over AIM (as iChat has always done) or by launching the FaceTime app.
For iOS 5 users who have been waiting for iChat to support iMessage, this is great news—but having to wait until Mountain Lion’s release this summer would be an exercise in frustration. There’s good news on that front: Apple says that Lion users will be able to download a beta version of Messages starting Thursday. The final version will be available in Mountain Lion.
For more in-depth information on Messages, check out our Messages beta hands-on.
Enter Notification Center

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notification-medium-272382

A Notification Center alert.

Sometimes one of your apps needs to get your attention. For years, many Mac app developers have built their own (think reminder pop-ups in iCal or Microsoft Office). The open-source project Growl has for years attempted to create a more general notification system supported by lots of apps.
With Mountain Lion, Mac OS X gains a system-level notification system accessible to every developer, with features much like those already found in iOS. Alerts appear in the top right corner of the screen in a small bubble. Notifications remain there for five seconds, and then slide off screen to the right. Alerts, on the other hand, remain on-screen until you click on the Show or Close (or in the case of some alerts, Snooze) buttons.

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The Notifications preference pane.
In iOS 5, you see all your recent notifications by pulling down from the top of the screen to reveal Notification Center. In Mountain Lion, the Notification Center list is a narrow band that lives just to off the right side of your screen. You can reveal it either by clicking on the new Notification Center icon at the far right of the menu bar, or by swiping with two fingers starting at the far right edge of the trackpad. Either way, your Mac’s entire screen will slide to the left, revealing a list of what’s been trying to get your attention recently.
There’s also a new Notifications pane in the System Preferences app, analogous to the Notifications submenu in iOS’s Settings app. From here you can choose which apps appear within Notification Center and how their alert bubbles behave.
Gatekeeper blocks apps… the first time

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gatekeeper-settings-large-272307

You'll be warned if you try to turn off Gatekeeper.

When Apple introduced the Mac App Store, the rumblings started: A lot of people wondered if the Mac was headed for an iOS-like future, one in which only Apple-approved apps could run on the Mac.
But with Lion and now Mountain Lion, those fears haven’t become reality. You can still run third-party apps to your heart’s content. However, with Mountain Lion, Apple is introducing a new feature called Gatekeeper that allows users to choose for themselves what kinds of apps can be installed on their Macs.
Right now, OS X checks an app the first time it launches, and displays a warning. It’s an attempt to prevent malware apps from launching when you never intended them to. In Mountain Lion, that feature has been extended and tied into a new setting in the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences.
By default, Mountain Lion will only let Mac App Store apps and Apps from “identified developers” launch for the first time. To become an “identified developer,” Mac developers have to register with Apple and get a personalized certificate, which they then use to cryptographically sign their apps. Apple doesn’t do any sort of background check on the developer, and it doesn’t see any of the software.
Apple says that although these apps aren’t as safe as Mac App Store apps, they’re safer for a couple of reasons. First, a signed app can’t be modified (to add in some spyware, for example) without breaking the signature. By default, Mountain Lion will refuse to launch an app modified in that way. Second, if it turns out that an app from a particular developer is actually malware, Apple has the ability to revoke that developer’s license—at which point no future Mac users will be able to install software from that developer.
The user can set Mountain Lion to be broader or narrower with the list of apps it’s willing to launch. There’s an option to allow only Mac App Store software to run, and an option to allow any app to run. The latter option is the equivalent of what’s been the case in all previous versions of OS X.
For a more in-depth look at Gatekeeper, read our Hands on with Gatekeeper story.
Sharing and Twitter

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sharesheet-safari-272408

A Share Sheet in Safari on Mountain Lion.

Mountain Lion introduces an interface element inspired by iOS—Share Sheets. They’re a pop-up menu that appears when you click on the Share icon in an app. Apple has implemented Share Sheets in several Mountain Lion apps, including Safari, Preview, and Notes, and developers can add them to their apps as well.
A Share Sheet provides a quick way to share whatever you’re working on—a photo in iPhoto, a webpage in Safari, a document in Notes—with other services. If you share a webpage from Safari, you can choose to insert it (or just its URL) in a new Mail message, or insert a link in a new message in Messages, or even compose a tweet containing the URL. From Preview, you can choose to email the document you’re viewing, send it via Messages, tweet it via Twitter, upload it to Flickr, or transfer it locally via AirDrop.

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tweetsheet-full-272427

Sharing a webpage to Twitter from within Safari.

Most of these aren’t really new functions. What’s different is that Apple has centralized them and given developers access to this element, which presumably will lead to a more consistent sharing interface in future Mac apps. If that sounds familiar, it is: This is once again an example of the Mac taking a page from iOS, in this case from the Share button that’s found commonly throughout iOS.
In most contexts, Share Sheets will include a Twitter option. That’s because Mountain Lion is joining iOS 5 in adding system-level support for the popular communication service. You can add your Twitter account information in the Mail, Contacts & Calendars system preference (which is just dying to be renamed to Accounts). Once that’s done, it becomes easy to quickly share items from just about anywhere via a Share Sheet. Select Twitter and a small floating composition window appears, allowing you to write and send a tweet quickly, without leaving the app you’re working in.
Twitter integration doesn’t stop there. You can also use Twitter to populate the avatars of friends in your Contacts list with their Twitter profile pictures. (Yes, Address Book has been re-named Contacts in Mountain Lion to match its counterpart app in iOS.) Tweet notifications can also optionally appear automatically in Notification Center.

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The new Twitter preferences in the Mail, Contacts, and Calendars preference pane.

iCloud integration
Lion and iCloud were developed in parallel. As a result, while the current version of Mac OS X supports Apple’s suite of online services, it doesn’t truly embrace it. One of Apple’s goals in Mountain Lion is to truly integrate iCloud throughout the system.
It starts at setup: In Setup Assistant, the system will ask you for your Apple ID and will sync your existing accounts, settings, and personal data. It might not be quite as thorough as restoring an iOS backup from iCloud, but the idea is that your iCloud account will unlock a whole bunch of Mac data so you don’t have to keep re-entering it on every new system you use.
Mountain Lion also brings a new Documents in the Cloud view to the traditional Open and Save dialog boxes. Any apps that support Documents in the Cloud will open to an iCloud view that displays documents available via iCloud, with most recent items first. You can organize this view by dragging one document on top of another and creating a folder, iOS-style. (There’s also an On My Mac button that will display a more standard file-picking interface, if you want to open something that’s on your hard drive.)
AirPlay mirroring

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airplay_mirror-272439

Mirroring a Mac screen to an HDTV is easy in Mountain Lion.

iOS 5 introduced the concept of AirPlay mirroring, in which an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S can display the contents of its screen on any HDTV that’s connected to a second-generation Apple TV.
The Mac joins the party with Mountain Lion, which will send a 720p video stream of what’s on your Mac’s screen to the Apple TV. When a Mac running Mountain Lion senses the presence of an Apple TV on the local network, an AirPlay icon appears in the menu bar. Click and select an Apple TV, and you’re mirroring.
In other words, an Apple TV will soon also be a wireless display adapter for the Mac, letting you display webpages, YouTube videos, iTunes rentals, Keynote presentations, or anything else you can think of onto an HDTV without any added wires. (Apple says that only Macs with second-generation Intel Core processors can use this feature.)
Safari tweaks

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safari-integratedsearch-272397

Safari's URL bar now features integrated search.

Apple isn’t making a big deal about changes to the Safari Web browser in Mountain Lion, but I noticed a few new additions. There’s a Share Sheet in the toolbar, with options to add a page to Reading List, add a Bookmark, email the page, send the page to Messages, or share it via a Tweet. The Safari Reader button has gotten large and now sits just to the right of the address bar, turning blue when a page is eligible for reader.
Gone from next to the address bar is the search box. Instead, at long last, Apple has unified the address bar and the search box. Now if you type “fourth doctor” into that box, you’ll get a bunch of links about Tom Baker instead of an error message telling you that Safari can’t find the website “http://fourth%20doctor/.” The address bar also now omits the http:// prefix on URLs, and while the main part of the site is displayed in black text, the rest of the URL displays in gray.

The new Safari toolbar emphasizes the domain name of the page you're browsing and has a more prominent Reader button.

And although I couldn’t find this feature in the version I tested, Apple says that Mountain Lion will bring the ability to sync Safari tabs to iCloud, so your open browser tabs can sync between Macs.
tacts, and Calendar syncing will be supported to Chinese service providers QQ, 126, and 163.
Just the beginning
Of course, this is only the first disclosure by Apple about what’s in Mountain Lion. There are undoubtedly dozens, if not hundreds, of minor tweaks and small new features being added. And there might even be big ones as yet undisclosed—after all, we’re four to seven months away from Mountain Lion’s arrival.
If you’re a Mac user, the best news about Mountain Lion is this: Apple doesn’t seem to be reducing OS X’s development cycle and putting it in maintenance mode. Instead, OS X releases seem to be accelerating, perhaps so that the annual release cycles of iOS and Mac OS X can feed off one another.
It’s also clear that with both Lion releases, Apple is dead serious about making Mac OS X and iOS as synced up as they possibly can be, both in terms of interface and—thanks to iCloud—data. Mac users who aren’t fans of iOS might complain, but these days Apple sells many times more iOS devices than Macs in any given quarter. Having all of Apple’s products bear a family resemblance to one another can only help.

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shane blyth

Apple says that Proview refuses to honor their agreement to transfer iPad trademark

Thu, Feb 16 2012 03:41 | Legal, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Numerous online stores in China have taken the iPad off their shelves, after Proview said that Apple was breaking their trademark on the term “iPad”. The fight continues in court, but today, Apple has released a statement to China Daily about Proview’s allegations of Apple breaking the trademark.
“We bought Proview’s worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple, and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter,” according to the statement, which also said the case is still pending on the Chinese mainland.”
Apple says that they purchased Proview’s iPad trademark over several years ago, in 10 different countries. Proview is refusing to transfer the trademark, and Hong Kong courts have already sided with Apple, according to their statement.
Many have accused the Mainland Chinese government of favoring local companies in these types of matters so it may not be as easy as it should to clear this hurdle for Apple. Chinese customs havealready said that the iPad is too powerful to be banned even though Proview tried to block iPads from coming in or going out of China earlier this week.
Proview countered the Hong Kong situation:
“Apple is worried the iPad trademark will be resold before the hearing is finished, so itasked the Hong Kong court to forbid Proview Shenzhen from doing that,” he said,adding that the court’s decision to prevent the trademark from being transferred cannot be seen as showing that it has ruled in favor of Apple. “The root cause of the dispute is Apple’ underestimation of the legal complications inChina,” the lawyer said, adding the case also serves as a warning to companies inChina to think twice about risks before “going abroad”.
If Apple can’t prove that Proview didn’t honor its agreement to transfer the name, Apple will likely settle for somewhere significantly south of the $1.5B that Proview wants for the name or simply choose another name for the iPad in China.

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shane blyth

One in four European doctors use iPads

Thu, Feb 16 2012 02:30 | IOS, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Tablets used for more than 26% of online time
More than one in four European doctors reportedly use iPads, according to data collected by Manhattan Research. Respondents to the survey noted that the iPad was used for an average of 27 percent of their online work time, though traditional notebook and desktop computers still accounted for more than half of online time.
The 'Taking the Pulse Europe' study surveyed over 1,200 physicians in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK. Ownership was found to be highest in the UK, where 31 percent of surveyed physicians own an iPad, and lowest in Spain.

Doctors reported that they used Apple's tablet to look up information, watch videos, and browse articles. The research firm told PMLive that doctors also showed "significant interest" in using the device to educate their patients and manage patient records.

Many hospitals and other medical facilities began deploying iPads soon after the device arrived on the market. A number of pharmaceutical companies and other medical industries have released apps designed specifically for healthcare workers.

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shane blyth

Clear for iPhone

Wed, Feb 15 2012 10:11 | IOS, App, iPhone, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Clear for iPhone (Coming Soon!) from Realmac Software on Vimeo.

This is such a great app. Check out the video as a picture, or video is sure worth a thousand words
Clear, the heavily-anticipated touch-based to-do list app, is launching in the iTunes App Store tonight. And by heavily anticipated, I mean this app was getting tech blog coverage based on demos, previews and teaser videos.
Why the big draw for what’s typically been a rather ho-hum app category, the lowly to-do list? Clear is pure eye candy, for starters. But it’s also representative of a major leap forward in smartphone app design, as it’s been built from the ground up for the touch interface. The app is based solely on the use of now-common gestures: swipes, pulls and pinches. There are no buttons with Clear, and yet, it’s surprisingly simple to use. In fact, that’s the point.

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shane blyth

Tim Cook covering, Product Growth, Competeing Tablets, ATV, Siri, iCloud etc.

Wed, Feb 15 2012 10:45 | IOS, ATV, iPhone, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Apple CEO Tim Cook has just completed a Q&A session with analyst Bill Shope at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. While we liveblogged the event with a rough transcript of Cook's comments, here are a few of the highlights:

- iPhone growth: Dryly noting that Apple's record-smashing sales of 37 million iPhones during the holiday quarter led to "a decent quarter", Cook noted that 90% of mobile phone purchasers and 75% of smartphone purchasers are still choosing something other than an iPhone. Consequently, Apple still has remarkable room to grow.

- iPad growth: Cook noted that no one could have predicted 55 million units at this point, by far the fastest growth ever for an Apple product. The iPad benefited significantly from an established base of users familiar with the iPhone and iPod and from the established infrastructure of the iTunes Store and App Store.

- Competing tablets: Addressing the Kindle Fire and other cheaper competitors, Cook noted that price is rarely the most important thing for consumers. Long-term, people aren't happy about getting a good deal on a terrible product. Cook noted that he loves competition (as long as other companies "invent their own stuff") and that he believes Apple's innovation will drive things forward.

- Apple TV: Cook reported that Apple still considers the Apple TV to be a "hobby", in the sense that it shouldn't be thought of as a major pillar of Apple's business. That said, Apple has always felt that if it kept "pulling the string", there would be something there. Consumer satisfaction is reportedly off the charts and sales are growing quickly.

- Siri and iCloud: Cook's belief is that iCloud is the strategy for the next decade, enabling users to access their content from anywhere. iCloud already has over 100 million users just months after launching. Siri, on the other hand, is a profound change in input methods in Cook's view, and he notes that never before had he considered a beta product to be indispensable.

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shane blyth

Google+ on iOS gets Instant Uploads

Wed, Feb 15 2012 10:27 | IOS, Google, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
Google's rolled out several updates to its social network today, both on the iOS platform and on the web. The big change in the iOS app is the inclusion of instant photo uploads, a feature that Android users have had for some time. Upon launching the updated app, Google+ will ask you if you want to turn on automatic uploads, and whether you want to upload over Wi-Fi and 3G or just Wi-Fi only. Once activated, any picture you snap in the native iOS camera app or in third party apps like Instagram is uploaded to a private folder on Google+; from there, you can choose to share photos through new posts, add to albums, or delete them entirely.

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shane blyth

Apple's new Motorola suit is message to Google and regulators

Tue, Feb 14 2012 05:11 | Legal, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
On Monday afternoon, the European Commission announced approval of Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, with a caveat. In a statement, an EC official said the approval should not be construed as approval of Motorola Mobility or Google assertions of infringement with regard to standard-essential patents.

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shane blyth

iPad 3 to have LTE on Verizon and AT&T, says WSJ

Tue, Feb 14 2012 05:03 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
ipad-2-back-verge-002_large_verge_medium_landscape

ipad-2-back-verge-002_large_verge_medium_landscape

One of the major question marks about the iPad 3 has apparently just been answered. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the iPad 3 will ship with LTE on board for both Verizon and AT&T, citing its venerable "people familiar with the matter."

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shane blyth

iPad 3 event slated for March 7th?

Tue, Feb 14 2012 04:32 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

ipad-2-back-verge-002_large_verge_medium_landscape

We've been tracking iPad 3 rumors for some time now and they've begun to come to a head. The latest comes from iMore, which cites sources pegging March 7th as the date forApple's announcement and The Loop agrees that will be the date.
While parts for the iPad 3 have been trickling out for some time now, the exact specs for the tablet are not yet entirely clear. It seems evident that the iPad 3 will have a 2048 x 1536 display and an A6 processor, which may or may not be quad-core. Regardless, the bigger question is whether or not the iPad 3 will feature an LTE radio for 4G speeds — and unfortunately the jury is still out on that.

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shane blyth

US approves Google's buyout of Motorola, Microsoft, Apple, and RIM's take over of patents by Nortel,

Tue, Feb 14 2012 04:27 | Google, Apple, Microsoft

www.tech-sanity.com

doj_large_verge_medium_portrait

The US Department of Justice has just approved Google's buyout of Motorola, shortly after the European Commission cleared the deal earlier today. Additionally, it has cleared the way for Microsoft, Apple, and RIM to take over a suite of patents left behind by Nortel, which left 6,000 patents up for grabs when it declared bankruptcy in 2009.

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shane blyth

iPad 3 to Pave Way for 1080p iTunes Content and a New Apple TV (which is currently unavaialabe)

Mon, Feb 13 2012 12:26 | ATV, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

product-product

Apple is expected to reveal the new iPad at a media event in the first week of March. The new iPad is widely believed to carry a ultra-high resolution 2048x1536 display that exceeds the resolution of 1080p content. Apple, however, presently only offers a maximum of 720p HD content on their iTunes Store. 720p also happens to be the maximum resolution that the current generation Apple TV supports.

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shane blyth

Custom signatures, notifications, and highlights for iPhone Mail with Mail Enhancer for jailbreak

Sat, Feb 11 2012 10:20 | IOS, Jailbreak, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

Mail-Enhancer-620x413

Mail Enhancer adds a great deal of extra functionality to your jailbroken iPhone, including the ability to set custom signatures for different accounts, tailored notifications, advanced mail sorting options, and account highlighting. If the stock version of iOS simply doesn’t meet your needs, and you’re looking for more and better functionality, give Mail Enhancer a try.

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shane blyth

Apple Reportedly Shortlisting Apps For iPad 3 Demo, Ads

Sat, Feb 11 2012 01:33 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

ipad_2_oblique

With less than a month to go for iPad 3 media event, The Next Web reports that Apple is currently in 'crunch mode' shortlisting apps for the iPad 3 launch event and commercials.
The Next Web reports:
Our sources tell us that this selection process is continuing at an increased rate as Apple looks to finalize the lineup for the iPad 3. There is also emphasis on graphics-oriented applications with high-definition assets, which appears to be in line with the new iPad featuring a ‘Retina’ display.
In addition, some apps that Apple is impressed with are being forwarded on to its long-time advertising partner TWBA/Chiat/Day for possible inclusion in the initial iPad 3 commercial spots. This process is entering its final phase as well, with the company on a tight deadline to deliver assets for playback during the presentation and later, television broadcast.

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shane blyth

Apple urging developers to get Retina display iPad 3 apps ready for announcement event

Sat, Feb 11 2012 01:21 | iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com

overview_performance_201103021-620x242

Now that it seems Apple will be holding their iPad event in early March, rumors have turned to Apple working with developers in a frenzied rush to get Retina display iPad apps ready to show off on stage. TheNextWeb reports:

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shane blyth

Apple Patent Shows 3-D Interface Calibrated by Eye Positioning

Fri, Feb 10 2012 11:38 | Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
apple_3d_ui_patent

apple_3d_ui_patent

Depending on the lighting of your environment, a 3-D display could render differently. Image: Free Patents Online

In a recent patent application, Apple shows how an immersive, adjustable 3-D user interface could be implemented in future mobile devices.

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shane blyth

iPad 3 thicker casing, massive graphics, no quad-core?

Thu, Feb 9 2012 09:14 | iPad, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

Apple TV jailbreak package aTV Flash (black) gets updated with automated firmware backups, playback improvements and more.

Thu, Feb 9 2012 09:11 | ATV, Jailbreak, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

Tweetbot for iPad released, iPhone app gets 2.0 update (hands-on)

Thu, Feb 9 2012 08:59 | iPhone, iPad, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

Siri Support for Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Russian Languages Coming Next Month?

Thu, Feb 9 2012 12:12 | IOS, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

Secret project worked to port Mac OS X to iPad-style ARM processors

Tue, Feb 7 2012 11:17 | iPad, Software, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

iPad’s Split Keyboard Has Six Hidden Keys

Mon, Feb 6 2012 08:19 | IOS, iPad, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

iMovie vs Avid Studio: iPad video editing app shootout.

Sun, Feb 5 2012 10:03 | IOS, App, iPad, Apple

www.tech-sanity.com
By Leanna Lofte, Saturday, Feb 4, 2012

Apple and Avid have been battling it out on the big screen for years, but now they’ve brought the video editing battle to the iPad — and the winner may not be who you think.

Avid Studio for iPad launched this week in the App Store, instantly becoming the first real competitor to Apple’s iMovie video editing app. What makes this so interesting is that Avid was king of digital video editing in Hollywood for a long time, and then Apple came out with the far more affordable Final Cut Pro/ Final Cut Studio, and enticed a few big name directors to give their new software a try.
So is Avid getting a little payback here by bringing the video editing battle back to Apple’s home turf? Most definitely, and as good as iMovie is — some of the best mobile software we’ve seen to date — Avid be even better.

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shane blyth

iBooks Author updated, Apple clarifies Content You Create belongs to you not Apple

Sat, Feb 4 2012 05:20 | IOS, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

Why are there ZFS references in the latest iOS 5.1 beta?

Sat, Feb 4 2012 05:18 | IOS, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

US wants all students using digital textbooks in five years

Fri, Feb 3 2012 08:45 | IOS, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

Convert Finalcut 7 to FCX with 7toX

Wed, Feb 1 2012 03:19 | OSX, Software, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

Click to Read More....

shane blyth

Finalcut X 10.3 Major update

Wed, Feb 1 2012 03:16 | OSX, Software, Apple

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street

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shane blyth

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Tech Sanity News Categories

	SCREEN SIZE	RESOLUTION	PPI
Apple's new iPad	9.7 inches	2048 x 1536	264
Apple iPad / iPad 2	9.7 inches	1024 x 768	132
Acer Iconia Tab 700	10.1 inches	1920 x 1200	224
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1	10.1 inches	1280 x 800	149
Apple iPhone 4S	3.5 inches	960 x 640	330
HTC Rezound / Sony Xperia S	4.3 inches	1280 x 720	342
Sony PS Vita	5 inches	960 x 544	221
Apple MacBook Air (2011)	11 inches	1366 x 768	135
Sony VAIO Z (2011)	13.1 inches	1920 x 1200	168
Apple Thunderbolt Display	27 inches	2560 x 1440	109