Technology Blog

Apple have quietly updated the Mac Mini-

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

- 2.4GHz or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 1.4″ thick Unibody enclosure
- NVIDIA GeForce 320M Graphics Card
- Built-in Power Supply
- HDMI port and Mini DisplayPort

More iPhone V4 features-

New 5mp camera

Video and iMovie for iPhone

iMovie

US$4.99

iOS4, unified inbox, finally!

iOS4 features

iBooks and PDF’s in your bookshelf.

Features

Video calling V4 to V4

Models

Ok so we start off with a new version of the iPhone-

As expected, new iPhone V4 form factor, glass and metal enclosure.

Features

New 326 ppi screen resolution called retina display

Features

Powered by the Apple A4 chip

Internals

Internals

Gyroscope, 6 axis motion

Apple have posted some examples of what can be acheived using HTML5 code.

While HTML5 is still an emerging technology, implementation has already begun by some major content providers-

http://www.apple.com/ipad/ready-for-ipad/

http://developer.apple.com/safaridemos/

Google have officially started phasing out Windows OS from its corporate environment, employees now have to choose Mac OS X or Linux.

Security concerns have been cited as the reason behind the move-

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fg%2Fa%2F2010%2F05%2F31%2Fbusinessinsider-henry-blodget-google-dumping-microsoft-windows-company-wide-blames-windows-for-china-hacking-attack-2010-5.DTL

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20006400-265.html

So Adobe have created a set of tools for building HTML5 content via Dreamweaver.

Press release here-

http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/201005/051910HTML5Pack.html

Download here-

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/html5pack.html

Apple have updated the entry level MacBook-
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB DDR3 memory
250GB hard drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
Built-in 10-hour battery (WOW)
Polycarbonate unibody enclosure

More here-

http://www.apple.com/nz/macbook/

WorkFlowMax have today released a major update to its SaaS workflow solution.-

https://my.workflowmax.com/help/Latest%20Changes%2016%20May%202010.htm

If you, like me, like your games, you may already have a PC with a number of games loaded and you might already subscribe to Steam’s game delivery system.

Well its now available for Mac, released this past week, with a number of games already available.

While still a little buggy and with numerous updates being delivered each day it opens up a new option for Mac gamers.

Portal is free to download until May 24th, puzzle game built on the Half Life engine.

Torchlight is a top down RPG, great fun to play.

More games are being released each week.

Steam has many advantages to purchasing from retail shops, automatic updates, better pricing, steam cloud save game files and more.

Go get it now.

On Simcity.

I saw this the other night and thought WOW, this guy had too much spare time, scary-

http://www.viceland.com/blogs/uk-games/2010/05/10/the-totalitarian-buddhist-who-beat-sim-city/

Recently there has been a lot of coverage regarding this debate. Apple have said never, they are currently being investigated by the FTC for this.

There are a lot of pro’s and con’s for both sides, Apple and its supporters are hedging their bets on an emerging technology to replace flash in the long run and provide a better user experience for new mobile devices.

In the past few days some heavyweights have had their say-

http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/opera-joins-in-jobs-v-flash-argument-687597

http://hothardware.com/News/Microsofts-Take-On-Flash-HTML5-Is-The-Future-But-Well-Support-Adobe/

Looks like the tide is slowly turning…

This is for all those people who said it would not take off, Apple have announced Monday one million in 28 days of iPad sales.

Apple release

That is less than half the time for the iPhone to reach that milestone.

Wired post

Apple are struggling to keep up with demand and prices on auction sites are high.

3G version was released this weekend and demand is high for that one too, good luck getting your sim to work, or do as this guy did- http://twitpic.com/photos/gupmyster

Ok so you have an iPad that you have obtained by whatever means outside the US, great stuff, but you cannot purchase or download the iWork suite or books. If you want to know how to do this drop me an email.

ROFLMAO

The daily show’s Jon Stewart’s take on the recent Apple-Gizmodo shenanigans, really funny-

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-28-2010/appholes

CS5 has officially been released to market today, yes while we have been selling free upgrades over the past few weeks since the official CS5 launch, you are still unable to get serial numbers and install media. Adobe should start contacting all eligible CS4 upgrade customers soon.

In the meantime, you can download a trial version of CS5 which are now live to download, go to -

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/

Hover over the product you wish to install, and click the try button, then you will need to register or sign in with an Adobe account (free) to download the relevant installer for Windows or Mac. The downloads range from 3GB to 8GB in size.

Run the installer and choose install 30 day demo and enjoy the new features.

ElJobso has finally stated, in an open letter to the world why Apple are restricting flash on its mobile devices, he makes a lot of valid points that I’m sure will fall on a lot of deaf ears-

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/

Conclusion from Steve-

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

UPDATE, Adobe CEO comments on above-

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/04/29/live-blogging-the-journals-interview-with-adobe-ceo/

Already.

Not even available outside the US and the mass production clone mills have begun pumping them out, running Windows of course-

http://gizmodo.com/5524788/unsurprisingly-chinese-ipad-knockoffs-are-here

http://m8cool.com/article/view-77-18861.aspx

Apple have applied for a patent that could revolutionize the design/print industry. They are looking into developing a monitor and software that displays CMYK natively. This will benefit a lot of people that rely on colour management to display CMYK gamuts on RGB devices. Story here-

http://industry.bnet.com/technology/10007133/apple-monitor-technology-could-change-all-commercial-graphics/

So if you are the lucky owner of an iPad WiFi model (3G due later?) then you may be interested to know how to get mobile internet on it.

Yes there are 3G models coming but they contain the new mini sim, who knows when these will be supported by 3G carriers in NZ. Some say you should get rid of the WiFi model and that many people are already doing this in anticipation of the 3G model, I would rather extend the technology I already have and use one 3G account.

Here is how its done, you will need-

iPad

iPhone (Jailbroken)

MyWi app

Instructions on setup here-

http://rtfm-nub.blogspot.com/2010/04/use-iphone-tethering-to-get-3g-on-your.html

So need need to ditch your brand new iPad, you can even use this for laptop 3G access or emergency internet sharing.

Apple have begun shipping the camera connection kit for the iPad, Youtube here-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuW7Exs53bc&feature=player_embedded

More-

- USB headphone/headset will work on the iPad through the connection kit. Skype phone call was tested and “the quality was just terrific” – Tidbits
- USB keyboards can be used – TUAW
- iLounge had some early notes which revealed that the iPad emails pictures out at 2048×1536 resolution rather than the iPhone’s 800×600 resolution, but if you copy/paste the images into an email, you can get full resolution images emailed out.
- Once you connect to your Mac, iPhoto brings in full resolution images with EXIF information intact. – iLounge

Looks like the USB connector will provide a wide range of functionality.