There are plenty of reasons why you might want to add text to images. Since people are using their smartphones as their point-and-shoot cameras these days, it makes sense to have a way to add typography to the snapshots you take with your phone too.
Potluck’s Over app superimposes text in many colors and fonts to your photos. If you take beautiful photos, and wanted to add some beautiful text, getting the right app to do the job is important. Over will allow you to easily add extra meaning to all of those pics you take, and then quickly post them to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr or share them via Email.
Over is currently available from the iTunes App Store for just $0.99(USD) – a discount from its normal price of $1.99. I look forward to reading your witty remarks in my Instagram feed.
When Steve Jobs passed away, two movie projects were announced not long after his untimely death. One of the films is a big-budget production from Sony with Aaron Sorkin writing the screenplay. The other is a low-budget independent production with Ashton Kutcher playing the visionary founder of Apple, simply entitled jOBS.
I thought Kutcher was a bad choice the first time I heard about the film, but after seeing him in character, I’ve changed my mind. Kutcher and a young Steve Jobs are eerily similar in looks. We learned not too long ago that the movie would be debuting on the closing night of the Sundance Film Festival this week. We also learned that the official launch date for the movie would coincide with the 37th anniversary of Apple this April 19.
The movie is set in the 1970s, and some scenes were filmed in the actual garage where Apple Computer was founded. The first clip from the movie has now hit the Internet, featuring Kutcher as Jobs in a conversation with uber-geek Steve Wozniak (played by Josh Gad) about the Woz’s new project “Operating System.”
Check out the clip below to help you decide if you want to pay good money to see the film when it hits theaters this spring.
This week Apple’s Tim Cook made no effort to hide his excitement over the success Apple has had over its first fiscal quarter of 2013, letting investors know that it’s largely because of the products of 2012 that this good time for the company is driven into the future. Back when Cook promised us big things in 2012 early last year, we saw new iterations of essentially every product Apple had on the market, along with a couple new ones to boot. Cook’s affirmation here at the beginning of 2013 could very well mean big things for the company through the next 12 months as far as production goes – just as long as the supply chain Apple relies on doesn’t get in the way.
Two points were spoken of more than once in the earnings call this week, one of them the fact that this was a record-breaking quarter for Apple in the amount of mobile devices they sold (running iOS) and the overall revenue they generated. The other was the notion that they’d have sold much, much more if they had the supply chain support they needed, especially in regards to the iMac and the iPad mini. Besides dismissing supply chain rumors, Cook also spoke about how well Apple was doing, and how prolific they are right this minute (and into the future).
“Apple is in one of the most prolific periods of innovation in its history. We rely on the same spirit and drive that brought the original Mac and other revolutionary products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad into the world.” – Tim Cook
Over the past year, Apple has released two new iPads (one of them the iPad mini), refreshed iMacs, Retina MacBook Pros, and the iPhone 5, not to mention new versions of both of their operating systems (mobile and desktop) as well as their full family of in-house developed apps. Apple continues to sell an increasing number of devices each year, so we must (in a basic way, at least) assume that they’re going to continue to push the envelope using their current blueprint for success.
We may very well see revised versions of everything all over again, with upgrades to the internals of every product that sold monumentally well last year and refreshes of the products that didn’t. The iPhone will likely stay the same size, as will most of the products you see on the shelves today – this year’s boosts will more than likely be included in the casings of 2012. The technology will improve and change in 2013 for Apple, the industrial design may well stay largely the same.
Then if we keep seeing Apple succeed with devices that sell extremely well (like we have for many moons), what’s to stop them from continuing their upward climb? The manufacturers that are responsible for creating the hardware that makes up the products Apple designs and sells. If Apple continues down the path they’re on now, they very well may be set to start diving into their own manufacturing as some of their top competitors do – and it may be the best way for them to continue rocketing forward past 2013. As it stands, the cards are turning as we speak.
This week the teams behind the NVIDIA GeForce Experience have unleashed the Open Beta version of the software, available for download by not just the select few (40,000 users, to be fair), but the greater public – you can grab it now! This Open Beta allows you access to the one and only GeForce Experience, a system where the teams of professionals and undeniably powerfully-minded graphics know-it-alls of NVIDIA’s GeForce ranks have for you sets of optimizations for the games you play all the time. In short: your PC games are about to get a whole lot more awesome.
This release has a limited number of games for which you’ll be able to get next-level optimization on your own GeForce-toting gaming PC. This release pumps up the availability of optimization beyond what the closed beta offered, with both Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad CPU support now ready for action. NVIDIA also added 2560 x 1440 display resolution support this time around – that having not been part of the closed beta release either.
With the GeForce Experience Open Beta you’ll see improved game detection logic as well as a collection of 41 games ready to look and work as magnificent as they’ve ever been on your machine. Having added FarCry 3, Mechwarrior Online, and the battle action heavy Hawken for this release, GeForce Experience is now able to work with 41 total titles. The rest are as follows:
Assassin’s Creed 3, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Borderlands 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Counter-Strike:GO, CrossFire: Rival Factions, Crysis 2, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Diablo III, Dirt 3, DOTA 2, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, F1 2012, Fable III, Fallout New Vegas, Far Cry 3, FIFA 12, FIFA 13, Football Manager 2013, Hitman Absolution, League of Legends, Left 4 Dead 2, Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3, Mechwarrior Online, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Planetside 2, Portal 2, Shogun 2: Total War, Star Wars The Old Republic, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Team Fortress 2, The Secret World, The Sims 3, The Sims Medieval, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, World Of Tanks, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.
The actual app and usage therein is beyond simple. Once you’ve got it downloaded and open, you hit the scan button to see if there are any games on your machine that are part of the current list the GeForce Experience works with. The machine we’ve used here is an Alienware M17x R4 (see our full review here), and on it we’ve got none other than Batman: Arkham City (see our full review here) which the GeForce Experience software recognizes easily.
From there it’s just a button click or two more before we’ve got full NVIDIA-approved optimization of our settings, based entirely on the hardware/software combination we’ve got and ready for the best-case-scenario outcome when we kick out the gaming jams.
And that’s it! The simplicity of this app is part of the experience, the GeForce Experience being one that’s meant to be beyond simple. This environment makes certain everyone takes the time to optimize their machines with as easy a process as possible so that NVIDIA’s GeForce graphics can do their work as well as possible – and everything looks and handles hot!
This release includes upgrades in performance for client startup, game scan, billboard display, and nothing less than straight up communication with NVIDIA as well. If you’re all about getting some fantastic support for your games straight from NIVIDA, it’s time you headed over to the GeForce Experience Beta download page and had at it. This release works with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, and is just 9.16 MB in file size – make it yours!
Bonus! Have a peek at the two videos below direct from NVIDIA – the first was filmed at the CES 2013 event we attended (see the timeline below for more info) with the bossman talking about the release iteration of GeForce Experience. The other video shows the app again in simple terms with fancy graphics flying everywhere – hot stuff!
If you find yourself with a serious hankering for a tablet able to run the same software as your computer at home or work, you’re probably going to need to invest in a Windows 8 tablet. If you’re also the sort of person who dislikes buying mainstream products from manufacturers that everyone knows, you may find this new tablet interesting.
Gadget importer Dynamism has announced the availability of an interesting new Windows 8 tablet called the Kupa UltraNote X15.
Bet you never heard of them either. The Kupa tablet is built in China, but was designed in Germany. It has a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 resolution IPS screen with an active digitizer and supports 10 points of multitouch. The screen supports up to 1024 different levels of pressure making this an interesting option for digital artists.
The tablet uses an Intel Ivy Bridge i5 or i7 processor promising desktop-like performance, and ships with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. The tablet also has a sideloading battery allowing it to be easily swapped for exta runtime. Down the road, Kupa plans to release add-on modules which plug into the sides of the tablet, extending functionality with things like a card reader or projector. Certain models of the tablet are also compatible with 3G service and the device has an optional dock.
The Kupa UltraNote X15 is available now, with prices starting at $1099(USD). The 3G models range from $1299 to $1599.
ABI Research is predicting a big year for global tablet shipments in 2013. ABI Research predicts that in 2013 145 million tablets will ship. ABI isn’t the only company predicting huge tablet shipments in 2013. Previously research firm Gartner predicted that global PC shipments would decline in 2013 as tablet shipments increased.
Gartner said that most consumers are replacing aging PCs with tablets rather than purchasing new computers. The research firm says that the 145 million number will be reached thanks to a combination of new market entrants, more affordable choices for consumers, and an increased growth by businesses. ABI predicts that 19% of all tablet ship in 2013 will be purchased by businesses.
The company expects more OEM PC manufacturers to unveil tablets specifically designed for the workplace. Interestingly, ABI says that some cannibalization of the PC installed base is likely to occur from tablets, but most new tablet opportunities in the business environment will come from workers that have worked without the benefit of computing technology so far.
That means ABI is predicting businesses will purchase tablets rather than computers for workers who previously had no computer for mobile work. ABI also doesn’t believe that tablets are the entire reason why the E-reader market is declining. ABI says that the aging Baby Boomer population is a waning audience and the dedicated E-reader market will disappear if world regions don’t organize digital publishing markets no matter how quickly tablets are adopted.
2012 was a difficult year for hard drive makers after flooding in Thailand seriously impacted hard drive availability. With hard drives in short supply, prices went up which meant hard drives and SSDs were closer together in price giving a boost to SSD sales. It took several months for hard drive supplies return to pre-flooding levels, but the damage had been done to many in the hard drive industry.
The problem for the hard drive industry has been the fact that sales of computers have been on the decline. The hard drive industry is very closely tied to the fortunes of the PC industry so when the PC industry is down, typically the hard drive industry is down as well. One of the biggest hard drive makers in the industry is Western Digital and the company announced its Q2 financials this week.
Western Digital reported revenue of $3.8 billion on hard drive shipments totaling 59.2 million for the quarter. Net income for the quarter was $335 million, working out to $1.36 per share for fiscal Q2. Net income for the hard drive maker was $513 million working up to $2.09 per share. That is a significant improvement from the same quarter a year ago when the company reported revenues of $2 billion, with net income of $145 million working out to only $.61 per share. In the same quarter of last year, the company shipped only 28.5 million hard drives.
Western Digital notes that it generated $772 million in cash from operations during its December quarter and ended with total cash and cash equivalents $3.8 billion. The company also used $146 million to buy back 4.2 million shares of its common stock. It looks like things are turning around for Western Digital after a difficult 2012.
“We are pleased with our December quarter results, reflecting outstanding execution and value creation by our HGST and WD® teams,” said Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer. “In an environment marked by continued macroeconomic uncertainty, soft PC demand and inventory rebalancing by our customers, we continue to manage our business by focusing on those variables that we control, allowing us to generate better than expected revenue and profitability and strong cash generation.”
The Algiz XRW ultra rugged notebook computer has debuted and is available through Handheld Europe. The machine is designed to be incredibly rugged and is aimed at people who work outdoors in harsh environments such as the lumber or oil industries. The machine is also appropriate for anyone who works in an industry where they need notebook that can survive the harsh outdoors or drops.
The notebook has a full-size keyboard and 10.1-inch touchscreen that uses MaxView technology. Screen resolution for the machine is 1366 x 768. The processor is 1.6 GHz dual core Intel Atom in the machine has a 128 GB SSD. The computer also uses 4 GB of RAM and runs Windows 7 Ultimate. Other features of the computer include integrated GPS, Bluetooth, integrated Wi-Fi, and an optional 3G modem.
The rugged notebook uses optional Gobi 3000 technology allowing users to access 3G networks anywhere in the world. The computer uses a 57.72 Wh battery promising eight hours of use per charge. The machine has an integrated two-megapixel autofocus camera.
Connectivity options include an SD card slot, two USB ports, and one RS232 port. The machine also has a Kensington lock as an option for security in the field. The machine measures 260 mm, 178 mm x 40 mm and weighs 3.3 pounds. It meets military standards for drops, vibration, sand and dust resistant, water resistance, humidity, and altitude. The manufacturer claims the machine can survive drops from 4 feet.
There are already a couple of ways by which mobile devices can communicate with computers without using wires, like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and the newer Near Field Communication technology or NFC. But Fujitsu Laboratories has come up with a way for a mobile device to interact with a computer, using its camera to “look” at the computer’s display.
To pull off the trick, Fujitsu Labs’ technology superimposes communications data on a computer screen in the form of microscopic blobs of light. The data can include IP addresses, SSID and anything else that can be used to identify the computer within the network. Complementary software on a mobile device will then enable it to read those microscopic blobs of light using its camera.
Once the two devices are connected, the same technology can also be used to monitor what file is being displayed on the computer screen at the moment and – should the mobile device user request it – automatically send it to the mobile device. As you’ll see on Fujitsu’s demo video, the technology can also be used to easily transfer files the other way, from a mobile device to a PC.
It sounds like a very useful technology, but I can’t help but imagine just how silly future classes and business meetings will look like if they use this tech.
It’s one of those morning where you’re going straight to outer space, ladies and gentlemen, with Deep Space Industries sending FireFly prospectors to the outer reaches in 2015. There’s been new evidence discovered that suggests we had a lovely little gamma ray burst smashing through our planet just about 1200 years ago – and now we’re all mutants. And just to bring you back to Earth so we can continue with the gadgetry of our own environment, note that the Pebble smart watch is shipping today: early adopters rejoice!
Those of you working with Netflix streaming video will soon be able to use your smartphone as a remote with DIAL technology – second-screen action ahoy! Call of Duty: Black Ops II is pumping up for a whole lot of double XP action this weekend – don’t miss it! Don’t go anywhere though before you have a peek at our fabulous HTC One SV Review in full color action – 4G LTE for EE in the UK!
Wii U will be working with The Legend of Zelda: Wind Walker soon, and and HD version of the game this Autumn as well! There’s also been a Wii U roadmap of games revealed for those of you who don’t just want Zelda forever. Nintendo has also revealed that virtual console action will be headed your way this Spring – that’s sooner than soon!
The SDK for none other than Windows Phone 7.8 has been released for the developers amongst you – and the hackers, of course. The YouTube release of Gangnam Style has been revealed to have earned $8 million USD thus far – and still going! There’s been word that a Patent Firestorm was threatened by Steve Jobs (allegedly, mind you) directed at Palm if they did not sign a no-hire talent poaching agreement back in 2007 – re-read that one! Finally make sure you’re all about the “proper” PureView technology planned for a Nokia EOS Windows Phone – soon!
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
