Technology

Technology

Jan10

Arcade Style Joystick For the iPad

Posted in: Technology

Playing games on the iPad is a lot of fun, this just makes it more addictive:

ThinkGeek presents JOYSTICK-IT, an arcade style joystick that you can add to an iPad or tablet computer.

Bring your tablet-based gaming to the next level with the JOYSTICK-IT Tablet Arcade Stick. The JOYSTICK-IT gives you a real physical joystick for increased precision with touchscreen based games. Simply press down to attach the JOYSTICK-IT to your tablet based computer’s screen for improved gaming. No wires or batteries needed.

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Dec29

Evernote: Remember everything

Posted in: iPad Apps, iPhone Apps, Technology

AppStorm recently did a nice write up about the Evernote – one of my favourite applications I use across all my devices – called Evernote: Remember Everything on Your Mac. The basic Evernote account and the App itself is free and for most people it is sufficient (if you are a heavy user, a premium account is very affordable option as well):

“Do you ever wish there was a single place you could keep all your notes, web clippings, voice memos, and incredible ideas for screenplays? Somewhere that synchronised your notes across all your various devices and made them fully searchable by their content or tags?

Introducing the uninitiated to Evernote – a single place for all the things you need to remember! Is it worth the money you ask? Well it’s free so we should probably have a look…”

(Via AppStorm.)
Dec28

BendDesk: Multi-Touch Workspace

Posted in: Technology

The future of multi-touch surfaces is here… pretty amazing stuff!

BendDesk is an innovative design concept for a curved, multi-touch workspace being developed by the Media Computing Group at RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany.

BendDesk is a multi-touch desk environment that seamlessly combines a vertical and a horizontal surface with a curve into one large interactive workspace. This workspace can be used to display any digital content like documents, photos, or videos. Multi-touch technology allows the user to interact with the entire surface using direct manipulation and multi-touch gestures. We took special care for ergonomics. Users can comfortably sit at the desk and place everyday objects on it. (Via Engadget)

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Dec11

AppStorm: The Best Mac Software of 2010

Posted in: Technology

Excellent collection of The Best Mac Apps of 2010:

The software industry is moving ahead at a rapid pace at the moment – particularly on the Mac. We’ve seen some brilliant new applications released this year, and a few classics updated with an impressive new feature set.

Before we forge ahead into a new year, likely dominated by the onset of the Mac App Store and everything that entails, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the past twelve months to remind ourselves of what happened.

I’d be honoured if you’d join me in this review of Mac apps in 2010. You might just find some fantastic new software along the way!

Check out The Best Mac Software of 2010 here.

(Via AppStorm.)
Dec8

Christmas decorations: Geeky wreath

Posted in: Technology

This is neat idea, looks like a lot of work was put into it:

From Reddit: a lovely, geeky wreath for an unnamed company’s IT department.

My good friend made this wreath for her IT department. (via Neatorama)

(Via Boing Boing.)
Nov22

With Find My iPhone/iPad free should I keep paying?

Posted in: Technology

There is the chance I will stop paying for MobileMe membership…

I have had MobileMe for years since I like the simplicity of syncing everything between devices. The Find My iPhone / iPad App made the yearly purchase even more justifiable since I felt it was like buying insurance for my gadgets. I have even started using the @me.com e-mail address and upload some photos and videos to iDisk. But I am sure I will be keeping the service when it comes for re-newal next year in July when a one of the key components is free to everyone now. Let’s face it, I have already e-mail from my ISP, Gmail and my domain name, I use Dropbox and I could find alternative to keep things in sync between computers. I am going to have real hard time paying for it next year. May be Apple will drop the price to $49.99 or do something else to make me stay with MobileMe. However right now I am sure if it worth it anymore (it was hard justification to begin with as it is…)

Over the weekend, some rumors were circulating that Apple might be on the verge of making MobileMe free to some iOS users. This news (which seems to come up about once a quarter) sprung out of some code in the latest golden master build of iOS 4.2 (which was officially released today). Well, sadly, the rumor isn’t true. Well, it mostly isn’t true.

You see, with iOS 4.2, Apple is making one part of MobileMe available for free: Find My iPhone/iPad. Users will be able to sign up for a free MobileMe account for the first time in order to use the service, which works on iOS devices in the form of an app. However, those users signing up for free accounts will not be able to use the other MobileMe services without paying the regular $99-a-year price, we’ve confirmed with Apple.

Find My iPhone/iPad allows users to remotely find a missing or misplaced device by using location based services to locate it. You can send messages to it, tell it to make noises so you can find it in your home, remote lock it, or remote wipe it (if it is stolen).

Just among people I know, the service has saved many an iDevice from being left at a venue, or being buried for months in a couch cushion. One friend, who shall remain unnamed, even found their’s in a bush outside where they may or may not have been using the restroom. There are also the stories of the feature recapturing iDevices from thieves. And now that it’s free, would-be robbers better think twice before climbing in your windows, and snatching your iPads up.

(Via TechCrunch.)
Nov22

Apple’s iOS 4.2 available for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

Posted in: Technology

Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch, I am most excited at potential prospect of updating my old iPhone 3G from iOS 3.3.1 to iOS 4.2 since the previous attempt resulted in bricked iPhone after updating it to iOS 4.1 (which Apple kindly replaced with the old iOS version for me). Apparently the latest version of iOS 4.2 suppose to actually work on the iPhone 3G. Still not I am sure if I should just upgrade it or wait couple of days and see what others are saying…

“Apple today announced that iOS 4.2, the latest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, is available today for download for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. iOS 4.2 brings over 100 new features from iOS 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2 to iPad including Multitasking, Folders, Unified Inbox, Game Center, AirPlay and AirPrint.”

(Via Apple.)
Nov15

Apple will have a big iTunes announcement tomorrow

Posted in: Technology

Mark your calendars for tomorrow as Apple will have a big iTunes announcement at 10AM Eastern or 7AM Pacific time, how do I know it? Because they have replaced the entire front page of Apple.com with a teaser announcement showing that something will happen tomorrow morning. My money is on music streaming… Latest rumours point to the fact that Beatles catalogue will be sold on iTunes…
Nov11

E-Tomb: Finally we all can rest in peace…

Posted in: Technology

Ever wonder what happens to your online presence when you die? It most cases right now, it dies with you (unless you are someone famous and your estate keeps it alive). But it looks like in future you may be able to preserve it, if this concept becomes reality:

E-Tomb is a design concept for a solar powered headstone that stores the deceased’s online presence which can then accessed via Bluetooth by visitors to grave. [via Yanko Design]

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Nov9

About Canada’s new copyright bill

Posted in: Technology
At the end it looks like the government has been debating the bill C-61 what it feels like decades now, still there is nothing set in stone and the scary part is that we as consumers of digital content will be royally screw by it… very sad.

“In a fascinating interview with TVOntario’s Search Engine podcast, Michael Geist describes and predicts the likely outcome of the years and years of wrangling over Canada’s new copyright bill, C-61, which includes a sweeping DRM clause that makes it illegal to modify your own equipment, even if you’re not otherwise breaking copyright law, making it one of the most radical DRM laws in the world. Michael sees reason to hope for a more moderate C-61 in its final form — I hope he’s right.

It All Comes Down to This on Copyright?

MP3
(Via Boing Boing.)
Nov5

What your mobile phone says about you

Posted in: Technology

Cute…

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Oct30

How to do a MacBook battery health check up

Posted in: Technology

There are couple of ways to do MacBook battery health check up, the more detail one is via System Profiler, otherwise use your battery icon:

While you are using your MacBook, open the System Profiler by clicking on the Apple logo in the upper left hand corner of your screen and selecting About this Mac. From there, you will need to click on More Info. Scroll down to the Power section, where you can keep track of the battery’s health and cycle count.

In screen capture below you will see here that the health status show as normal and the cycle count shows number 78. For Macbook Pro, the cycle number where the battery starts to loose its ability to fully recharge and/or hold a full charge is around 800 cycles. So this particular battery as seen below is still well into its early days and its health is very good. Condition states Normal.

The second and much faster option is to click on the battery icon in the upper right hand corner while holding the Alt key on the keyboard. It will allow you only to see information about the battery condition which is in the example below Normal. But if you are looking for the Cycle count, you will need to use the first method to access the information.
Oct21

Sneak peek of Mac OS X Lion

Posted in: Technology

I was watching the video feed of special event yesterday from Apple and I liked what I have seen so far. I think bringing App store to the Mac is an excellent idea. Mac in itself will remain what it is already, you can still use it the same as you would normally use with different kind software, yet you will have an option to run your favourite Apps from mobile devices like an iPhone and iPad on your Mac. Right now, Apps like Evernote have a separate Mac client which syncs with your mobile devices, under the new Mac OS X Lion the need for a separate client will no longer be necessary because the App itself will be able to run on your computer as well. This brings a truly smooth integration between all Apple products into one full circle. Developers will need to ensure that their Apps run on larger screens, potentially opening another option in the future: running them on your TV-set through your devices like Apple TV. And I like it… Another nice thing will be the ability to keep everything updated to the latest version.

Apple Gives Sneak Peek of Mac OS X Lion: “Apple today gave a sneak peek of Mac OS X Lion, the eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system. Shipping next summer, Lion is inspired by many of iPad’s software innovations. Today’s sneak peek highlighted just a few of Lion’s features, including the Mac App Store℠, a new way to discover, install and automatically update desktop apps; Launchpad, a new home for all of your Mac apps; system-wide support for full screen apps; and Mission Control, which unifies Exposé, Dashboard, Spaces and full screen apps into an innovative new view of everything running on your Mac, and allows you to instantly navigate anywhere.”

(Via Apple)
Oct15

New MobileMe Calendar is available to all members

Posted in: Technology

I have used the new MobileMe Calendar during the beta testing and it worked well, the only complaint I have about the user interface is that I wish they would make pages flip of the calendar flip with the finger swipe on the mobile platforms. The bottom page navigation is a little too small when you gave big fingers, most users today are so accustomed to swiping pages…

The new MobileMe Calendar is now out of beta and available to all members. We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the beta for helping to make this the best MobileMe Calendar yet.

To start using the new calendar (see system requirements below), sign in to me.com/calendar, click ‘Upgrade now’ in the lower left corner of the Calendar web application, and follow the instructions. If you have already been using the Calendar beta, you don’t need to do anything.

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Oct3

Just noticed: New Twitter site layout…

Posted in: Technology

I have heard that Twitter has rolled out a new layout on their web site in recent weeks, but since I don’t use Twitter web site in itself rather – I access it through couple of Apps on my Mac and mobile devices – I have not seen it until this morning. I clicked on someone’s tweet and the link took me for a change onto Twitter web site…

It looks fine when you ask me, a little busy at first but I guess it good to have additional panels with access to more information if you need it. But I do not need it… Will I use the web site? Nope, I have not used it in a long time and I do not predict this would change. I look at the Twitter stream from time to time using Apps, but since I find myself less and less interested in Twitter in recent months I have to remind myself to actually look at it.

Side note: Just like other things online – Facebook, locations based services like Foursquare or Gowalla and now my Twitter – seem to be tiring after a while. Sure, I have things like my blog(s) or Flickr set-up to auto-post and cross-post among different services but it does not mean I actually use them myself all the time. At the end the novelty wears off quickly on me, I guess I started to value my time more and more in recent months. And those things can be a huge time wasters… I have a few friends who never used any of those services and they do not have any interest in them, I understand now more and more why! Time is really valuable commodity nowadays, less noise and distractions is an important key to stay focused on what really matters in life.

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Sep26

Eco-friendly sun shades

Posted in: Technology

Love this idea, I thought they could also consider using part of the energy generated from the Sun and have these umbrellas slowly spin to generate downward draft on a very hot days. It would be like having an electric fan / umbrella and power outlets for your electric gadgets at the same time…

The Solaris Sun Shading System is one of those concepts that should already be on the market. After all, it makes so much sense, and it looks fantastic too! Designed by José Vicente, the sun shading system is equipped with photovoltaic panels which allows users to charge their electronics with clean, renewable energy from the sun. It’s an absolutely brilliant addition for any beach, park, or outdoor cafe. Now you can work outside in the shade without worrying about the battery life of your gadgets while being eco-friendly, too!

(Via ReflectionOf.Me)
Sep23

Netflix bandwidth usage streaming HD movies

Posted in: Technology

A day later, after Netflix rolled out its service in Canada I am a little worried for its future. Why? Well, unlike in the US, in Canada big cable companies are capping are bandwidth at very low levels. For example a commonly used cable access through Rogers Cable (which cost around $40CAD a month) gives you ONLY 60GB a month. If you want more, they have other plans and you can get it upto 175GB by expect to pay for it through the nose (around $100CAD) – not something average consumer would consider…

Well, I signed up for a free month trial of Netflix yesterday and watched two movies in HD, as I expected my usage of the bandwidth was just over 6GB for that day. In other words, average HD streaming movie which is around an hour and half will take around 3GB of your bandwidth. So with the current bandwidth limits and high costs of going over, I can see Rogers and other providers limiting public from enjoying the Netflix service without incurring additional costs. For this reason I am seeing myself leaving Rogers as my ISP provider in the future and getting my Internet from company called Teksavvy which offers UNLIMITED BANDWIDTH for around $55CAD a month.

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Sep15

AirPrint wireless printing for iPad on schedule

Posted in: Technology

It looks like the iOS 4.2 is on schedule for release in November, being able to print directly from your iPad as well iPhone and iPod touch adds one of the most missed feature in those products. I cannot wait to see it action. Apple has confirmed today the AirPrint is indeed coming within next several weeks:

Apple today announced that it is releasing a beta version of its AirPrint wireless printing for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to members of Apple’s iOS developer program today, and that AirPrint will be included in the free iOS 4.2 software update in November. AirPrint automatically finds printers on local networks and can print text, photos and graphics to them wirelessly over Wi-Fi without the need to install drivers or download software. HP’s existing and upcoming ePrint enabled printers will be the first to support printing direct from iOS devices.” (Press release)

I hope they are planning to extend AirPrint to all printers quickly, as I do not know have HP printer and I would not be buying a new printer just for that…
Sep15

Boxee Box Wireless HD Media Player

Posted in: Technology

Yesterday I got an e-mail from BestBuy Canada letting me know that Boxee Box Wireless HD Media Player is now available for pre-order through BestBuy.ca for a whopping $199.00CAD!

I must admit that it looks very attractive when it comes technical specs, but the price range is total miss in my opinion. If they want to compete with the likes of Apple’s latest version of Apple TV they need to match the price to begin with. Frankly I am going to hold off on both, initially (being an Apple fan boy) I thought seriously about pre-ordering it when it was announced this month, but after giving it a bit of more thought I decided to hold off. At the end of the day both of the products offer nothing new to what I have already in my home-set up! I have a iMac with running MediaLink software which allows me to scream all my digital content from the iMac and Internet through my Playstation 3 to my HDTV already. The main advantage of getting Apple TV would be integration of Netflix which are due to arrive in Canada this fall as a streaming only service. But so far we got no details on it and no pricing was announced. If and when they do, I will have to do the math and see how they would stack up against my other options like Video On-Demand from my cable company and DVD rentals from my local rental store.

The new set-top boxes like Apple TV, Roku or Boxee are still in their infancy when it comes to what they offer. I am certainly not in a hurry to plunge $200 dollars for something half baked. But if you are, here are the Boxee Box Wireless HD Media Player specs…

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Sep9

Autostadt CarTowers – future of parking?

Posted in: Technology

Density of urban development in big city pushed our living into the sky, many of us already live high above the ground in multi-level buildings and even skyscrapers. Space is limited and very expensive, so it not a surprise to see that we find new solutions for many other things like parking spaces. Recently when I was in New York City I came across a standard parking lot on the corner of West 20th Street and 10th Avenue where cars were parked stacked up on top of each using a lift system. As it turns out the concept is far from new, in Germany they have built similar type of parking system but in much more elaborate way.

Autostadt CarTowers could be the future of parking in the urban areas. The Autostadt CarTowers in Wolfsburg, Germany are part of the Volkswagen factory car storage facility. Those twin towers serve as multi-level garages, where cars are lifted and placed into a 20-story matrix by an automated system. There are no people in the garage just new Volkswagen cars produced at the company’s headquarters. Autostadt is open to visitors, so you can take a ride in these towers while seated in a glass cube to see the concept of this storage facility from the inside. Autostadt CarTowers could one day become a reality of new parking spaces in dense urban environment, where are automated system would simply pick up your car at the entrance safely store it for a fee and return it to you when you come back to pick it up. Check out this automated parking concept here.
Sep6

Richard Cook on sustainable architecture

Posted in: Technology

First thing I noticed when I was back in New York last month was the new Bank of America Tower in Midtown Manhattan. It is a great addition to the city’s landscape and very interesting from a design point of view. I came across today this interview with one of the designers behind the building, he talks about stainable architecture and the use of nature in design in it:

For this month’s installment of New Yorker Currents, Paul Goldberger, The New Yorker’s architecture critic, spoke with Richard Cook, a partner in Cook+Fox Architects and the designer of the new Bank of America Tower, a Manhattan skyscraper, completed earlier this year, that is the largest building to receive a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the highest standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Read more
Sep1

The new AppleTV

Posted in: Technology

It is so small, it is so inexpensive… $119.00CAD and now I comes with Netflix movie streaming (when they launch in Canada later on this Fall). The best part I can also watch YouTube, view my Flickr photos right on TV. The MobileMe integration is an icing a cake. It is available for pre-order now from Apple.ca
Sep1

Apple streaming today’s event live

Posted in: Technology

Watching it now… Streaming video requires Safari 4 or 5 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Safari on iOS 3 or later.
Aug24

80 useful Mac tools and utilities

Posted in: Technology

Awesome list of applications every Mac user should consider adding to their machines.

Macs are awesome straight out of the box, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make them a lot better with a few quality downloads.

Today we’ve rounded up eighty of the most handy utilities to improve the basic functionality of your Mac in a number of ways. Below you’ll find almost every kind of utility you could need, from hardware controllers to maintenance software and file organization tools.

Check out the full list of 80 most useful Mac tools and utilities here.

(Via AppStorm.)
Aug23

How sewing machines work

Posted in: Technology

I have seen sewing machines at work before – my mother had one – but I have never really thought about the actual process of sewing that involves needle and thread itself. The animation below makes the explanation of it as simple as one could get… thanks to kottke.org for find it!

I could watch that all day. Many similar animations are available here, including the Wankel engine, a reciprocating steam engine, and the fascinating Maltese cross mechanism. (via jorn)

(Via kottke.org.)
Aug23

AppWall screensaver for Mac OSX

Posted in: Technology

I am always looking for a funky and new screensavers for Mac OSX computers, last night I came across and installed one called AppWall. It made by an App developer from Poland and it turns your Mac screen into a wall of Apps. It is really neat and the best part, it is free. You can get your own copy here. Check out it in action below:
Aug20

2001-2010: A Mac Odyssey

Posted in: Technology

I have jump the ship in 2007 and I have never looked back… It has changed the way I use computers today and technology in general – thank you Apple! You are the best…

Apple have come an incredibly long way over the past decade. From the release of the very first version of OS X, right through to the iPhone 4 and iPad in recent weeks, the change we’ve seen both in technology and Apple as a company has been remarkable.

We’re paying homage to this fascinating journey today with our very own infographic, highlighting the rise of Apple over the past ten years!

(Via AppStorm.)
Aug6

Apple stores block JailbreakMe.com

Posted in: Technology

I think, I read about the whole thing couple of days ago…

I had a good laugh about the idea of people going to Apple store to jailbreak all their demo iPhones and other devices using jailbreakme.com for the fun of it.

Well, it looks like the party of over… poor Apple. I am sure, there are some engineers pulling late nights now to quickly fix the exploit in the PDF so people cannot jailbreak their phones.

Soon after the launch of JailbreakMe.com, Apple Store iDevice display units were being jailbroken all across North America, with some users even filming the deed! Well, you know Apple would not stand this for long.

(via iPhone in Canada Blog).
Aug4

Pearson to offer free WiFi

Posted in: Technology

This is a good news to everyone who travel to and from Toronto’s YYZ:

Pearson International Airport is finally offering free WiFi.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority announced today it has struck a marketing deal with Rogers Communications to provide the wireless service.

‘Our guests have told us that being able to stay connected while at the airport is important to them and that they expect this service to be complimentary,’ Pamela Griffith-Jones, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer for the GTAA said. ‘We are delighted that we were able to make this possible.’

(Via blogTO.)
Aug2

WordPress Update: 3.0.1 is here

Posted in: Technology

For those users who might have somehow missed the news: WordPress version 3.0.1 is available, so take a few moments and update your website. Staying current is one of the best ways to keep things running smooth, safe and secure. The new version addresses about 50 minor issues and helps to make WordPress 3.0 even better. I have upgraded my blog today, without any issues.