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Touching is Good! (Posted by Sam)

1/21/2010

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As I'm sure you have discerned from my previous posts, I'm buzzing about the new Apple Tablet. Whether it is called an iSlate, iBook, or some other i name, it's going to be the only thing you hear me talk about next week (you may want to block my twitter if you don't want to be beat in the face with everything coming out of Cupertino from me).
Along these lines, I've decided to do a "crossover post" for today. In what is sure to be an historic event, one of us tech gentlemen is posting about *gasp* gaming! However, this is more along the lines of gaming hardware, so it's really a hybrid of sorts when I can talk about gaming on a new platform.
Kotaku posted an interesting story earlier about gaming on the Apple Tablet. As is the current thinking, the Tablet will be essentially an oversized iPhone with new features and an OS that will either stun, or be a rehash of the iPhone OS. All will be revealed (hopefully) next Wednesday.
the subject of serious gaming has risen more than once with Apple, and most times they have shut down any rumors that they would be entering the fray with a purpose-built gaming device. In any case, they have somewhat lived up to that statement, but one fact still remains; the iPhone and iPod Touch have some pretty solid games!
That's right, Apple's current "touch" devices have steadily become great, innovative gaming platforms. With highlights like "Crush the Castle", "Field Runners" and "Cro-Mag Rally", the handhelds have become more than just music and media devices, but full featured game systems.
With the announcement that Final Fantasy I and II would be making their way to the App Store later this year, I can only see gaming becoming more prevalent on Apple's touch platforms.
So, where does this leave the tablet? Already, a handful of developers have been asked to create higher resolution versions of their apps and games, so they can take full advantage of the Tablet's larger display.
However, don't think it will stop there. I can foresee some games being made strictly for the Tablet simply because, call it a hunch, it will have more capabilities than the iPhone. Not just in software but in hardware as well.
I can recall my friend receiving a laptop/tablet combo for his birthday one year. He immediately picked up Sim city 4, as his old PC simply couldn't handle a game like that but the shiny new Gateway could take it in stride. After installing the game and playing for a bit in normal, keyboard mode, he had the novel idea to pivot the screen.
WOW! What a game it turned into then. Commands were instantly easier and the whole experience was made deeper throuh being able to have that tactile feedback that we crave.
So I wonder what games we will see once the Tablet is opened to developers of more than just the typical iPhone/iPod Touch apps. Remember that the Sim City 4 example was on one of the lack-luster Windows tablets of a few years ago, so if Apple revolutionizes the tablet, we could see big things for gaming. Once the Apple Tablet launches, and if it is the game changer (no pun intended) that everyone hopes for, I'll be very excited to see where it goes as a gaming platform. Stay tuned and stay stuck to your computer next Wednesday, it's gonna be a brave, new, touchy-feely world

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USB 3.0-M-G!

1/15/2010

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I had an older Compaq laptop circa 2004 that had USB 1.0 and I remember trying to add over 100 songs to my iPod through iTunes. It would takeforever. I would rather wait to get home from wherever I was to transfer songs because my PC at home had USB 2.0 and the difference in speed was incredible. Now I'm sometimes transferring 10+ gigs of information from a hard drive to an external hard drive, external to a flash drive, etc. Even though USB 2.0 is fast, I still have to wait several minutes for the transfer to complete. I know, several minutes... We are so spoiled. USB 3.0 is said to be 10 times faster than 2.0 while using a third of the power and it's backward compatible. A new major feature is the SuperSpeed bus, which provides a fourth transfer mode at 4.8 Gbit/s. The raw throughput is 4 Gbit/s, and the specification considers it reasonable to achieve 3.2 Gbit/s (0.4 GByte/s or 400 MByte/s) or more after protocol overhead [1]. If you were lucky enough to go to this year's CES you probably heard about hard drives, motherboards, adapter cards, laptops and devices that are now using 3.0 technology. Expect to see a lot more about on USB 3.0 as more and more devices that support it hit the market this year.

[1] Wikipedia

(posted by Carlos Arellano)

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Rumors: New iPhone begs to be touched where the sun doesn't shine (Posted by: Sam)

1/14/2010

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 I love my iPhone. It keeps me organized; yet completely distracted at any moment of the day. So, when all the rumors lately have been tablet oriented in regards to what the hell is going on in Cupertino, I was a bit surprised to see some iPhone rumors surface this week. As any good Apple user will know, the iPhone’s launch calendar generally focuses new releases in the month of June. With this knowledge, we should see even more rumors in the coming months.

First of all, rumors this early, or any rumors for that matter, should be taken lightly. With that said, don’t fire up your torches and come after the messengers if this proves to be wrong.

Gizmodo reported earlier this week on a rumor that had me scratching my head at first. According to this piece of scuttle, the next iPhone will have a touch sensitive casing. If this has you confused, think of it as similar to what MacBook track pads are capable of, multi-touch commands and the like, and the new Magic Mouse.

What this could mean is a brand new way of interacting with the phone.

Obvious uses include multi-touch commands where the phone recognizes how many fingers you are swiping across its smooth shell. I would be most excited for this if it meant I could scroll through documents and web pages one-handed; as doing so now often leads to a cramp in my thumb.

Another prospect to consider is what this would mean for interacting with other applications. Obviously, the fewer fingers you have on the touch screen, the better the view of whatever you’re viewing.

Consider this though, and let me know what you think. It has already been tipped that Apple has been working on a 3-D version of iWork. So, imagine what an interface would be like where you can input commands on more than one surface! Applications could display a whole new depth.

So, give some thought to this. Even if it doesn’t come true, it is still very exciting to consider where touch interfaces are headed.


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Adding another dimension to HDTVs (Posted by: Jose)

1/12/2010

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With CES 2010 going on last week the future of HDTV was unveiled, 3D technology. It was one of the topics most discussed in HDTVs at this year's CES. Every top brand has announced a new 3D HDTV including LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba. Also, the first 3D blu-ray title was announced, Monsters vs. Aliens by DreamWorks Animation with more coming in the near future. I am especially looking forward to seeing James Cameron’s Avatar in 3D outside the theater. Not only movies are going 3D, DIRECTV is also following this trend by broadcasting 3D channels in June 2010. The first network going 3D will be ESPN, bringing the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 3D and Discovery has also announced they will be broadcasting a 3D network. This technology will require us to buy a new 3D HDTV ($1000+), a new 3D blu-ray player ($300+), new 1.4 HDMI cables ($5-$10/ft) as opposed to the 1.3 HDMI cables most households currently use (which are incompatible with 3D), and also those stylish glasses ($200+) that we will all have to wear. This technology will soon (try) invade all of our entertainment. I personally like going to watch 3D movies and would love to watch and be immersed in ESPN and Discovery in 3D, but to spend at least another $2000 in equipment is a bit out of my range and what would I do with all the equipment I already have?

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Apps Apps everywhere and not a smartphone in sight! (Posted by: Kyle)

1/11/2010

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At CES this week, the largest microchip manufacturer in the world, Intel, announced that they have decided to get in on the app frenzy. They've opened a new app store geared towards netbook computers called Atom. That's right. You know those little pieces of software called applications? Well they're no longer just for your cell phone. Can you imagine the possibilities of running applications on a computer?... Oh wait... that's what you're doing right now...



Anyway, what's really exciting is the amount of companies in other parts of the electronics industry that are also interested in apps. Samsung announced this week that they would be opening their own app store for HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, as well as cell phones. Surprisingly enough, Ford Motor Company even announced some apps that would be available in its vehicles late this year.

I think this is fantastic news and a great step forward for technology in general. As modern tech grows exponentially, the microchips that are used in even the simplest of computers are performing way under their potential. Think about the possibilities of television applications for example. They could interact with certain commercials, tv shows and movies. They could learn what kinds of content you like and tailor a playlist for you.  Or the ability to upgrade firmware to increase the performance of your current hardware. The opportunities are endless for clever companies. Look at all the applications on the iPhone that make you say, "hmm, I never would have thought to use it for that."

The future is bright for technology! I can't wait to see where this leads.

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The next (Google) wave of collaboration (Posted by: Carlos)

1/11/2010

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If you are on Twitter you probably remember seeing Google Wave as a trending topic last year. In fact, it was the top technology related trending topic of 2009. This was mainly because people were asking for invitation codes to try it out.  That's how I got my invite. I fell in love with Wave long before I had the chance to try it for myself. I heard about Google's next big thing on Twitter, and started doing some research. Google has a video about Wave that is over an hour and twenty minutes long. It demonstrates Wave to developers at their 2009 I/O event. I've been using it since November 2009, and it has made my life so much easier. I've used it as a collaboration tool to have 3 or more users work on a project, or to have a chat room environment for fun. I can see my office using it as a sort of basecamp for our web development projects. The beauty of Wave is that it could be used for so much more than just work. Drag and drop pictures in a Wave to share them with loved ones. Watch the video for examples and several other advantages that Wave has. Google Wave should be going live before the end of this year.

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Will the iSlate bring 3g to the masses? Excelsior! (Posted by: Sam)

1/11/2010

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I’m writing this, my first post in my new little corner of the Internet, from a location without reliable wireless. Particularly, I’m writing from Jefferson College in Hillsboro, MO, a junior college that is a far cry from the giant lectures and endless hikes across campus I’m used to. All things considered, you would think wireless would be a bare necessity in this day-and-age, especially for a college, regardless of size. This simply isn’t the case and I’m stuck waiting to get home before I can post this.

Naturally, I can still go online and stay connected via my iPhone. Why? It has 3G of course, a service that is quickly becoming the norm for more and more people, even if it is limited to cell phones and those who can afford the mobile wireless hot spots.


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