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Apple introduces free app of the week and editor’s choice

Joe — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:05:43 +0000

Apple has made a big change to the app store for the Mac App Store and iTunes, they have added an editor’s choice and free app of the week selection. Right now some of the editor’s choice selections are Facebook Camera which I wrote about a few days ago, Extreme Skater, Sketchbook Ink, and Air Mail. As of right now the free app of the week is Cut the Rope: Experiments for a limited time. This new set up is mainly to battle Amazon which is already giving out apps and also some at a heavy discount if not free. Now you will see promotional pricing and major discounts on the iOS and Mac apps and these will be left to the publisher’s discretion. The question for this really comes down to if some developer decides to do this plan, will there be a change on the split between the developer and Apple or will it be the same split?

80 inches of pure Windows 8 Tablet

Joe — Mon, 28 May 2012 10:50:12 +0000

It was reported that CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer has an 80 inch tablet in his office. It is a touch enabled screen and it hangs on his wall. This is what was reported by Microsoft VP Frank Shaw.

“It’s his whiteboard, his email machine,” Shaw said, “and it’s a device we’re going to sell.”

Now there was an 80 inch Microsoft Sharp Aquos Board touch screen that was unveiled at the CES in Las Vegas but this isn’t what he has on his wall. The one on Ballmers wall is made by a different company but begs the question why isn’t he using the Aquos one? Shaw also added that this sizable tablet is not made for consumers but is made for businesses but feels down the road it will be affordable for the private user.

Windows 8 will see a consumer release preview in June, with an expected public launch later this year. No date or launch window has been set for the 80-inch tablet, or indeed confirmation that an 80-inch tablet is in fact still a tablet at all.

Facebook camera is here

Joe — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:53:59 +0000

Facebook is introducing a new mobile app called Facebook camera. This will allow you to see all of your friends pictures in one place. You will also be able to put multiple pictures in a post at one time for easier uploads.

This nice new picture app is available right now for the iPhone is should be coming to the Android soon. This is an interesting new app which will make uploading pictures easier. I can’t play with this app yet since I have an android phone but I have a few friends with an iPhone so I am sure I will play around with it soon.

HP to lay off 8 percent of workforce

Joe — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:07:06 +0000

With massive problems under its belt HP has said they have cut 27,000 jobs which is about 8% of its workforce. However the cuts will not be put into place until October 2014 so there will be ample time to find new jobs. This is work is a multiyear restructuring process that will make the company more efficient and innovative.

“We are making progress in our multi-year effort to make HP simpler, more efficient and better for customers, employees, and shareholders,” said Meg Whitman, HP chief executive. “This quarter we exceeded our previously provided outlook and are executing against our strategy, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

The problems with HP have been growing for years now. This is just another big step in restructuring the corporate look of the company. This includes the removal of the CEO. Now HP just has to figure out where it is headed. They failed horribly at the tablet game and decided to keep the mobile PC division, they are still doing well at printers from the looks of it but that won’t keep them afloat forever. My take is HP needs to not just reinvent themselves but change their name in the PC game and keep the HP brand to just printers. Kind of what Dell did when they bought Alienware, they made that brand their gaming platform. Maybe HP needs to do this.

Microsoft launches so.cl

Joe — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:52:59 +0000

In all of the craziness that was the Facebook IPO, Microsoft quietly launched their own social networking site called so.cl and no that is not a typo. It is pronounced social however. This site is not suppose to be a direct competitor some have speculated. This network is a combo of social and searching. This has been called more of a social experiment and when a person logs in they are given a bunch of news topics and suggestions. One of the big features is bookmarklet let which gives you the ability to share things with others just like in Facebook where you like something or pinterest where you pin something to your wall. Probably the most interesting feature is the video share which looks a lot like Google + party though you can share videos you found with people. This sounds like it is a nice little mix of things taken from other social networks but don’t you think social networking is getting a bit to crowded?

Larger iPhone screens!

Joe — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:58:19 +0000

Apple’s new iPhone which people are calling the iPhone 5 will have at least a 4 inch screen. Many iphone users have been clamoring for a bigger screen in iPhones since the 4 and now it looks as if they will be getting their wish. Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has ordered at least a 4 inch screen from Asia suppliers and those are reported to go into production in June. LG, Sharp, and Japan Display to manufacture these new displays. iMore’s Rene Richie was also hearing that Apple will cap the iPhone at 4 inches so for those who thought maybe we would have a 4.5 inch screen your most likely out of luck. So are you excited for a bigger iPhone? Are you worried that other changes may be made to the iPhone outside of the screen change. There is still speculation that the iphone might actually have a different docking connection which will mean all of your Apple products will not be able to connect to the same type of charger for those of you who have an iPad and decide to get the iPhone 5.

Apple working on Retina displays for iMac and Macbook Airs

Joe — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:14:49 +0000

9to5 Mac reported on Monday that the new 15 inch Macbook Pro would come with a retina display. Well they have come back today to state that their sources are saying that Apple is working on getting their retina display technology into the iMac and Macbook Airs.
Apple’s new MacBook Air will not see big changes across the entire computer like the next-generation MacBook Pro, but the update will be all about the Retina Display. The \ MacBook Air form-factor to date is less than 2 years old. Just like the new iPad added components such as an A5X processor and 5MP camera to support the headlining 2048 x 1536 Retina Display, the new MacBook Air’s other advanced components will be built-around the presentation of its beautiful new screen.
Apple is working on a new 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models. These new Airs lack major design changes, but feature fast and power-efficient Ivy Bridge processors and improved graphics engines to support the Retina Display, according to supply chain sources. The new Airs will also use enhanced Apple internal battery technology in order to support the battery life required by high-pixel-density screens such as the Retina Display, according to sources familiar with prototype versions of the super-thin notebook’s internal components.
Added to the higher-resolution MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs, sources say that higher-resolution iMac display panels have been spotted in the supply chain, but a release timeline was not provided. Joanna Stern from ABC News has also heard that Apple is working on higher-resolution iMacs. We wouldn’t expect these Retina Display MacBook Airs and iMacs at WWDC like the MacBook Pros. Apple typically rolls out new general Mac features (such as these higher-resolution displays) over time.

Apple to upgrade iCloud

Joe — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:51:06 +0000

With anticipation for the new iPhone and the speculation of new Mac books floating around the technology blogs, Apple is planning on doing some upgrades to their software. There is a big upgrade in the works for the iCloud. One of the biggest things to hit the upgrade is going to be a photo sharing feature. The official announcement on what will come in the upgrade is going to happen on June 11, that is the date of Apple’s worldwide developer conference. The photo sharing will allow iCloud users to actually share sets of photos with other iCloud users and will actually give the users the ability to comment on the photos as well. Looks like a bit of social is coming to the iCloud. As of right now the iCloud has a feature called Photo Stream in which a user can store one set of photos which is only designed to sync photos to Apple devices and not to be shared. This new upgrade is coming because most think with the market on photo sharing starting to pick up Apple does not want to be left in the dust. As we saw by Facebook acquiring Instagram for about $1 billion. Now this feature is only speculated but sources from the Wall Street Journal technology section feel very strongly that this will be announced feature in the iCloud upgrade in June.

Windows 8 tablets to make their debut sometime in November

Joe — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:15:03 +0000

The Windows 8 tablets are coming in November, from a source on Cnet’s website reported. These new Windows tablets are speculated to have the Clover Trail Atom chip which will be the first dual-core Atom design based on the 32-nanometer process technology. There is also some speculation out there that hybrid Windows 8 designs based on higher performing Ivy Bridge processors are expected. There has been a lot of speculation behind the Windows 8 tablets, between the type of processors to the manufactures that are on board with bringing a tablet to the market with the Windows 8 operating system. I have seen a few models from the Lenovo to the Dell and they look good but I still am not sure if they will satisfy the tablet market to the point of competing with the iPad.

7 inch iPad with retina display for $200-250.

Joe — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:54:26 +0000

Macrumors is reporting that the people at Apple could be making an affordable iPad. The report states this is planned for an October launch. The iPad will be 7 inches and will have the retina display at a modest price of between $200-250.

The report’s source from Macrumors claims that the 7-inch iPad will be “identical in every way” to the current iPad with the exception being the display size, and this will include a Retina display. That would give the smaller iPad a pixel density roughly identical to that of the iPhone 4S.

It remains unclear how Apple would be able to meet a $200-$250 price point for the smaller iPad given the apparent specs, although the device will reportedly come with only 8 GB of storage. Still Apple’s current iPod touch starts at $199 and this smaller iPad will undoubtedly carry significantly higher component costs.

My thoughts on this is Apple is evolving with competition as any good business should. Anyone who buys a Kindle Fire most likely will not own an iPad. So why not try to get this market and crush the competition with the weight iPad has in the brand name alone if I told you that you could own a 7 inch iPad with the features of the bigger one or own a Kindle Fire what would you say? Me personally as much as this pains me to say, I would take the smaller iPad. As far as the cost associated with making the smaller iPad at what most would say could be a significant loss, I am sure they will make it up on the app end as Amazon has and who knows Apple has always been known for allegedly using cheap labor to make this things could they find some even cheaper? Allegedly of course.