Apr 05

Wozniak: Tablets for Regular People, Not Geeks

Posted in: Apple, ipad, tablet, Today's Chili
steve-jobs-Steve-wozniak.jpg

Steve Wozniak has a theory about tablets: they’re PCs for normal people. You know, non-geeks. The Apple co-founder discussed the matter during a keynote at Storage Network World in Santa Clara. He told the crowd, “The tablet is not necessarily for the people in this room. It’s for the normal people in the world.”

The Woz added that the iPad is really the culmination of a dream that his co-founder Steve Jobs had when launching Apple back in the late-70s. “I think Steve Jobs had that intention from the day we started Apple, but it was just hard to get there, because we had to go through a lot of steps where you connected to things, and (eventually) computers grew up to where they could do … normal consumer appliance things.”
As for Android tablets? Woz apparently isn’t a fan. “On the subject of tablets, I read today that Android tablets are expected to surpass iPads, and I hope that never happens,” he told the crowd. 
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Apr 04

Here’s the First iPad 2 Commercial

Posted in: ipad 2, Today's Chili

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Are you ready to believe? Then take a look at the very first iPad 2 commercial to grace the TV airwaves.

Okay, so you never get to see what the device looks like when a normal person holds it in normal lighting conditions, and the apps you get to see are pretty standard, and the same Apple voice-over guy who is starting to sound kind of annoying by now is here as expected.

And…yeah, that’s about it. Check out the video for yourself below:

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

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Apr 04

iPad 2 Fakes Sell Out Among Dead Chinese

Posted in: Apple, ipad 2, Today's Chili, Weird News

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Paper iPad 2s are flying off of shelves as Chinese residents in Malaysia flock to honor their dead ancestors as part of the annual Qingming festival. The event, based on the teachings of Confucius, is commemorated with the burning of fake luxury items and money.

The wish list for the event usually includes things like designer hand bags and luxury cars. This year, however, everyone is gunning for an iPad 2. In fact, the paper replica of Apple’s popular tablet is in such demand that it’s actually selling out–a familiar sight for anyone who has attempted to get their hands on the real thing.

Reuters spoke to Jeffrey Te, an owner of one of the Malaysian prayer shops that sells the items. At Te’s store an 888GB iPad 2 will run you $1–a pretty good deal, save for the whole paper thing. Te’s store is totally sold out of its shipment of 300 iPad 2s–though there are plenty of fake iPhones, Samsung Galaxy Tabs, and first generation iPads to choose from.

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Apr 01

ThinkGeek April Fool’s Products Include PlayMobil Apple Store and Angry Birds Pork Rinds

Posted in: Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games, Weird News

ThinkGeek - Playmobil Apple Store

Every year on April 1st, the folks at ThinkGeek go out of their way to come up with hilarious products that don’t exist. Often, those April Fool’s products are so well loved that the community demands they become real, like the My First Bacon talking plush. 
This year, ThinkGeek’s April Fool’s Day arsenal includes goodies like a Playmobil Apple Store Playset, complete with a little Steve Jobs giving a keynote speech in the theater and a Steve Wozniak on a Segway outside. The show floor is covered in iPads and iMacs, and the “optional line kit” gives you enough people to make your own little line outside the store full of people who have waited for days for the next shiny iThing. 
Also among the spoof roster this year are Angry Birds Pork Rinds, which, as you might imagine, are crispy and green. We know where those came from. There are also Star Wars Lightsaber Popsicles, a Minecraft Nether Portal USB desk toy, Gummi iPhone Cases, and more. Sadly none of them actually exist, but if you like them enough you can tell ThinkGeek that you want a real one when you click to add the fictional product to your cart.
You can check out the videos for the Angry Birds Pork Rinds and the Playmobil Apple Store behind the jump.
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Apr 01

Dell CIO Complains About Apple

Posted in: Apple, Today's Chili

 

apple logo.jpgDell’s global head of marketing, Andy Lark, claims that Apple lives in its own little world.The company, he believes, doesn’t make products for enterprise.

Lark made it clear that he believes companies cannot afford to buy devices that cost close to $1,000. per unit. He also pointed out that Apple is a very closed off device. However, Lark did not name any alternative options.

This has caused a backlash for Dell, but Apple has yet to issue formal comment.

Via CIO Australia

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Apr 01

Apple Patent Hints at 3D Camera for iPhone

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, Today's Chili
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It’s always important to note, right off the bat, that the simple act of filing a patent doesn’t mean that the thing will ever come to fruition. Apple, for one, has been particularly aggressive in its paten filings over the years, from the plausible to the downright bizarre.

The company’s newly filed “Systems and Methods for an Imaging System Using Multiple Image Sensors” certainly falls into the former category. After all, the iPhone certainly wouldn’t be the first cell phone to implement 3D picture taking–heck, even the new Nintendo 3DS offers the feature.
It does, however, seem like the sort of thing Apple would wait to perfect before releasing on a handset. After all, 3D on phones is still firmly in the novelty realm. If such a feature ever does make it onto an Apple product, the company will likely wait until the perfect moment and spin the device as the first 3D capable phone.
In the patent, the company uses some similarly grandiose language, stating that it marks a “paradigm shift from the known software-based approaches.” The technology, according to the company, promises to take the guess work out of creating stereo images, thus improving overall image quality. 
More on the patent over at Apple Insider. 
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Mar 30

Obama Has an iPad

Posted in: ipad, Today's Chili

obama.jpg

If Steve Jobs isn’t cool enough for you to think owning an iPad is an awesome thing to do, then what about our commander in chief?

President Barack Obama revealed in a recent event that he has Apple’s tablet and uses it regularly. During a question-and-answer segment, newscaster Jorge Ramos asked Obama if he owned an iPad, to which the pres replied, “I mean, Jorge, I’m the president of the United States. You think I’ve got to go borrow somebody’s computer?”

But he isn’t a total MacHead. Obama’s phone of choice is a Blackberry.

Via Market Watch

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Mar 29

Nokia Sues Apple Again

Posted in: Apple, nokia, Today's Chili

 

nokiahands.jpgNokia is suing Apple again, over all types of patents across the entire Apple product catalog. Nokia has filed suits against Apple before, but the current one appears to be the biggest. Here is the statement that Nokia released.

(Nokia patents)that are now being used by Apple to create key features in its products in the areas of multi-tasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories.

Apple has yet to respond to Nokia’s accusations.

Via ZDNet

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Mar 29

Apple WWDC Sells Out in Hours

Posted in: Today's Chili

wwdc sold out.jpg

At some point Apple events became the, oh, I don’t, let’s just say the U2 concerts of the tech world. Even at $1,599, events like the annual World Wide Developer Conference are becoming the sort of occasion for which you have to sit and your computer and hit refresh a thousand times, in hopes of scoring a good view of Steve Jobs’s New Balances. 
WWDC sold out in a manner of hours this year, Apple stamping a big red “Sold Out” over the Buy Now button. Now tickets are going for nearly double their face value on sites like eBay.
The event is set for June 6th to 10th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Apple SVP Philip Schiller has promised to “unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS” at the developer event. Past years have seen the launch of hardware like the iPhone, though the tech press seems pretty spectacle on the matter this time out.
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Mar 29

Amazon Beats Apple, Google Launches Music Locker

Posted in: MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili
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A day after we reported rumors about Apple’s plans to incorporate cloud-based music storage into its rumored revamp of MobileMe–and the week after rumors swirled around a Google music streaming service–Amazon swoops in and launches its own music locker, in the form of Cloud Drive.

Users can stream music downloaded from Amazon via the service via the Cloud Player and can upload their existing terrestrial music collection to Cloud Drive. The program is currently compatible with computers and Android handsets. 
It’s US-only at present, and is free to every with an Amazon account up to 5GB. If you buy an Amazon MP3 album, you’ll get upgraded to 20GB (albums purchased through Amazon won’t work against your storage cap). For $20 a year, you can upgrade to a larger plan.
Says Amazon VP Bill Carr, “Our customers have told us they don’t want to download music to their work computers or phones because they find it hard to move music around to different devices. Now, whether at work, home, or on the go, customers can buy music from Amazon MP3, store it in the cloud and play it anywhere.”
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