Apple software rumours. Apple investing in Russia. Apple legal stuff and patents. iTunes Festival: Round House, London - 1 - 30 September. New version of Graphic Converter (8.0). Motorola and Samsung patent problems. CEOs of Apple ad Samsung to meet in San Francisco, Tuesday. Meet Mrs. Facebook. Local telecomms fun and games.
The iPad is a bit of a mystery to me in terms of a full-scale tool for productivity. I tend to do most work on a MacBook Pro 15" and a lot also on the iPhone when I can within the limits of that device. I have greatly enjoyed using all my iPads: for drawing, some image manipulation, for email, reading, news and a number of other ways in which I have been able to use the features of the device. There is obviously more potential with the way I am using it, but until now I had not been able to release this.
When I reviewed the MotoGP Live Experience Full app that was put out by Dorna Sports S.L., instead of the app from Soft Pauer that I had been used to, I found a number of things I did not like. . . .
MotoGP Live Experience Full (an awkward name) has now been updated for the 4th time, so some improvements are being incorporated and progress is being made.
A couple of Apple rumours. More on Mountain Lion development. Apple and book publishers; and the DoJ. Online ordering: a failure, a glitch and a success. A Raspberry for me; over another couple of hurdles. Samsung tops phone sales (Apple number 3). Has Apple dropped Samsung as supplier: Samsung's $10 billion share price drop says, Yes. Ask not what you can do with Facebook but what Facebook can do to you. Wonderful: to fix HP, Meg Whitman is expected to cut 25,000 jobs or more. If you ask for help, return the call. Fixing a wifi problem (and subsequent problem cascade) on the Mac.
In a press release, IBM is reporting its collaboration with the Thai Red Cross in a quest to reduce the number of new HIV infections and bring the figure down to zero by 2015. IBM is donating " technology expertise and business analytics software" to the Red Cross AIDS research Center to help the center (TRCARC) in designing better intervention strategies.
Apple rumours in spades this week: MacBook Pro; iOS; iPhone. Malware on Macs and Kaspersky's imagination. Psystar motion denied: it really is not allowed to make Apple clones. Apple rumours, plagiarism and blogging: what the execs did not say. Motorola unreasonable demands with FRAND. Facebook IPO: analysts need to get over the hoodie. Former Editor charged and gets angry with everyone except herself. Smartphone spending in Thailand (76% growth in 2011) was over $1.5billion."
As part of its sponsorship deal with the Manchester United Football Club, which was recently renewed for a further three years, Epson has just released information about soccer clinics held in the region in April this year as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives: in Malaysia and Singapore.
I am looking at some of the countless hidden back streets on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River where there are older buildings, some old market garden areas and people who are interesting and friendly. This is not the Bangkok of the tourist, but its unusual attractiveness appeals to me.
I usually like to install any update to OS X immediately it arrives. I am not a lily-livered user who waits for the rest of the world to find out if anything is wrong. Apart from a couple of oddities way back with OS X, 10.2, I have found few problems and life goes on. Preparation and maintenance are the keys.
Although I am not a user of Adobe products on the Mac -- and less likely to be after the company released a security update and charged loyal uses $199 for it (Tidbits) -- one of the better apps on the iPad is Photoshop Touch which has just been updated.
Apple shares artificially low. The strong team at Cupertino: power does not need noise. Updates: iOS and OS X. Mountain Lion coming soon. Will it be free? We have established what Proview is, now it is haggling over the price. Rumours on Apple products. Dolphins, Orangutans and iPads. Google and Oracle: mistrial over Fair Use? HP denies cloning the MacBook Air: they all look like that. Analyst claims Zuckerberg is disrespectful because he wears a hoodie. Tablet computers for Thai schoolchildren: coming soon.
Several years ago I discovered the railway from Wongwian Yai to Mahachai. It is not connected to the main Railway system in Thailand and only goes to the next province, Samut Sakhon. As an added oddity, there is a second part beginning the other side of the Tha Chin River that goes all the way to Mae Klong, Samut Songkhram: one line, but in two rather different parts.
Epson corporation has announced that it is extending its sponsorship deal with the Manchester United football Team for a further three years until the end of the 2014/15 season, and as part of the deal will be the club's official office equipment supplier.
Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs. Rumours on new Macs and Ivy Bridge. Apple and Proview talking money. Apple and Samsung reducing cases. Not all apps are great. Publishers, apps and originality from internet news sources. Lenovo clones the Mac mini. Oracle wins something. Google wants a mistrial declared. RIM loses its fizz and needs to wake up.
When I first noticed several years ago that there was a railway that started just near Wongwian Yai, I was intrigued. It was not connected to the main Thai Railway system and only seemed to go to the next province, Samut Sakhon. When I looked closer, I found there was a second part to this branch line, that began the other side of the Tha Chin River and went all the way to Mae Klong, Samut Songkhram, the river that comes from Kanchanaburi: one line, but in two parts.
I first saw that there was an update to iOS from an online source, so connected the iPhone and checked. Indeed there was: version 5.1.1. I usually sync by iOS devices via wifi. I cancelled the download and backed up the iPhone as a first: highlight the device in the left column of iTunes, press the Option key and click on the mouse/trackpad. From the menu, select Backup. . . .
The West side of the Chao Phraya River, Thonburi, is where Bangkok was originally established and there are countless hidden back streets. With the streets are older buildings, some old market garden areas and a lot of interesting people. This was never the Bangkok of the tourist, but there is an unusual attractiveness about some of the area.
Many companies are aware these days of the value of their involvement in "green" programs. Apart from more economic use of products, a company may have other long-term savings and there is good publicity to be earned for those seen to be actively involved in such activities.
When Apple is wrong, headlines. When Apple is not wrong, keep quiet? Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs: this means Apple must fail according to some. Apple improves iPad 2. Apple to be sued for finding out someone's location. The iPhone that caught fire on a plane: due to unauthorised (botched) repair. That iPad beater, the Kindle sells 750,000; iPad 11.8 million. The world according to Google (interesting if it were real). Testing space ship parts on a motorcycle; and on Route 66. Map Ta Phut: situation normal
When I first came to Bangkok (a long time ago), there were not so many high rise buildings. The late-1990s saw a massive expansion in construction and it seemed that with every trip into the city from the suburbs, that the skyline had changed. I took the opportunity of wandering up to the roof of the apartment block where I live and spent a while looking out over the area I have been walking through recently.
As digital technology has taken over from analog, so some companies adapted, while others perhaps reacted too late. We recently saw Kodak file for bankruptcy and it is currently restructuring. Also synonymous with film technology, although in a different way, was Polaroid. Once a widely used camera and film technology, the change to digital almost killed it completely and it now exists in a reduced state. An app has appeared on the App Store this week carrying the Polaroid name.
With the number of apps that have appeared in the last couple of years, some people may think it is easy -- especially if you already have a desktop version of the software -- to port an app over to the iOS platform. In some cases it has been, and developers highlighted by Apple at their keynote presentations have told how the whole thing was done in a couple of weeks. Sometimes it is not quite so straightforward.
To the West of the Chao Phraya River is a hidden cache of back streets and interesting people. A different appreciation may be required: this is not the Bangkok of the tourist. The area has a beauty about it with the older buildings and those who live here.
Apple Rumours. Apple malware using 3-year old flaw in MS Office (a hint there?). Apple charged twice, so sue for $5m. Parliament agrees to spend $420,000 on iPads (the UK Parliament, silly). Movie parodies of and by Apple. More open season: Apple destroying jobs to create them. Embarrassing histories. Google and Google again.
There has been an onslaught of articles in recent times that have taken aim at Apple: with its operations in China, payment of taxes and the alleged weakness of a post-Jobs Apple. These articles have made points that apply to many companies, but only Apple is named: they get more hits that way.
Apple hunting season opens again: facts may be optional. NYTimes badly wrong on Apple again. UK and Australian authorities examining Apple practices and claims. Hon Hai (Foxconn's parent) reports lower profits. Malware says Sophos: junk says Apple. Google dishonesty again (and again and again), but this pales in comparison to Murdoch failings. Wake up, not Samsung but RIM: misdirected? Bangkok Post Thai Pad app: good content needed. S.P Somtow did not write Aida.
There was an email in the inbox on Monday evening which I think came from the Bangkok Post. There was no text, no explanation, just a sender address (that could have been a trap of course) and two URLs. Fortunately, with Quick Look on a Mac, the URL link can be viewed and it was a page for a Bangkok Post iPad app, called Thai Pad.
The Bangkok to the West of the Chao Phraya River is full of interesting places. You just have to look carefully and appreciate things in a different way. There is little that is spectacular the way a tourist might want, but the area has a beauty about it nevertheless, with its older architecture and the people who live here.
Foxconn mass suicide threat: nothing to do with Apple, but you would not have known that from Reuters. Microsoft actually, so where was the outrage? Apple organises its tax payments carefully like any corporation: NY Times is outraged. Apple issues a resposnse. News on iPad and iPad apps. Samsung denies, Wake Up campaign in Australia. Nokia shares now junk. Raspberry Pi orders being filled slowly, but surely.
Film makers have long used effects in cinema. Some notable examples are in Fritz Lang's Metropolis and F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu. The great Scottish documentary maker, John Grierson also had a propaganda win with Len Lye's "Lambeth Walk". These were all before the age of digital movie-making which has made the inclusion of such video tricks easy in comparison. While use of such effects has previously needed specialist software on powerful computers, the smartphone is allowing more people to apply special effects to their movie output.
One of the sources I follow regularly is CNET although this is mostly for general news on technology: a reasonable place to start. This week, Jason Parker, whose work I am not familiar with, had an article on Photo Apps for iOS. One of these was a free app, PhotoFunia that adds photographs to scenes. Examples are billboards or cinema screens. As I was unfamiliar with the app, I downloaded this myself and had a look.
Among the companies reporting financial results this week is Kodak who had earlier filed for bankruptcy and is in a delicate state at the moment. Its plan to focus on the most profitable parts of the business along with better cost controls has seen improvements including a better cash balance for Q1 2012.
There was a slight misunderstanding earlier today when a colleague who was picking up my new iPad let me know he was not coming to the office. As I am off work for the next two weeks (and always want my new toys in my hands as soon as possible), we arranged to meet in a hi-so mall on the western edges of Bangkok.
The iPad arrives in Thailand (at last). More comments on Apple's Q2 results and the feedback: red faces. Apple reports record profits, Greenpeace protest again abut iCloud power use. Samsung silly stunt in Australia. More patent news. SSD and RAM expected to fall in price. Amazon, Nintendo and Zynga also report finances. Nokia decline: all Elop's fault says former exec..
Apple financial report Q2: 2012. Some interesting points there. Share price manipulations and comments from the pundits. iPad news: coming here this week; Proview in China; another novel use. Apple and publishers: DoJ barking up the wrong tree says WSJ publisher. Rumours on new Macs. There is no internet economy say UK experts: not in the UK, anyway. After Instagram will Apple buy Twitter. After Instagram are movie apps the next big thing? Oracle and Google: oh dear. Microsoft: loses Xbox patent case; a lousy place to work; buys $1 billion patents from AOL then sells half to Facebook.
Xerox Corporation has announced its 2012 First Quarter earnings with revenue up slightly at $5.5 billion. The company's press release adds that revenue from the company's services business was up 10 percent, and revenue from its technology business was down 5 percent in constant currency.
I had a heads-up from a local Twitter user around lunchtime today, about TV English Premium, an iOS app that allows streaming of TV programs to our devices. I downloaded it directly onto the iPhone and had a mixed session initially, and expected a bit more when I arrived home.
News on the iPad: coming to Thailand this week; not yet in China; but Proview are holding talks with Apple (surprised?). Why others fail with their iPad clones. Bulls and bears play with Apple shares. Coincidence: the quarterly results are coming this week. More Apple doom merchants. Google, Oracle and Java: maybe, can't remember, a mistake. Censorship in Asia: none to report in Thailand (trust The Next Web).
Apple and the DoJ - will the Feds fail at a trial? Tim Cook on Time's 100 most influential list. MobileMe to iCloud: some users may upgrade free to Snow Leopard. Rumours of liquid metal for the new iPhone back. Greenpeace dishonesty. Lost interviews from Jobs' Wilderness Years. Does MG Siegler have a secondary objective? Google execs may be on another planet. Microsoft silence. Nokia mega-losses. My Raspberry Pi gets nearer. Fun in the Thai parliament.
Many people only see the Bangkok to the East of the Chao Phraya River. I live on the other side where there are many sights that are equally interesting if you look carefully. Perhaps not spectacular in the way of tourist-centric areas, but with own beauty, made more so by the people.
Apple finances and share prices. Thailand will have its iPad next week: official. New product rumours. Updates. More malware. Tech companies in the US and corporate tax. More on Amazon, publishers, Apple and the DoJ. Google's warped view of the universe. Google's warped views of truth and patents. IBM Q1 financial report. RIM asking banks for advice. Nokia's Lumia: It's a dog, say Euro-carriers. And where is my Raspberry Pi?
It has been announced at the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) Awards 2012 that Epson has been presented with two important photo and imaging technology awards to bring the number of awards from TIPA to 31 since 1997 for technologies and imaging products, including inkjet printers, inks, scanners and projectors.
You would think that with all the hundreds of apps for photography that exist for iOS devices, the market would be saturated. You might be wrong. While the early days of such apps brought some great new ideas to the App Store for users to download, every once in a while another new arrival shows that developer creativity is not done yet.
While many people only see areas of Bangkok that are to the East of the Chao Phraya River, the other side has many sights of equal interest. These are perhaps not as spectacular as the tourist-centric areas, but have their own beauty nonetheless.
Apple's reply to DoJ conspiracy allegations. Apple CEO visits Valve, who announce new wearable hardware: was Tim Cook playing games? OS X 10.7.4 coming soon. Apple releases standalone malware tool. No, Philippe Stark is not designing anything for Apple. Apple borrows from Michelangelo. Sergei Brin on Internet and freedom: forgets to remove the patch from his own eye. Microsoft Machiavellianism in China. Will Google suck out the patents and sell Motorola to Huawei? Seagate on Thailand recovery and SSDs. Thailand wins shop till you drop online as well.
The most important ingredient in any photograph, apart from the subject itself, is light. While photographers in the studio have access to artificial sources, those who work outside rely on natural light. It is quite important when setting up a shoot to know where the sun (and to a lesser extent the moon) will be. There is, of course, an app for it.
Thai water festival time and I have bolted the doors. Apple, the DoJ, Amazon and eBooks: Macmillan comes out fighting, other publishers give up. Will Amazon lose? Update news. iTunes, Apple and iCloud. Apple security tool released in Java update. Nokia dying bit by bit. iStudio reopens in Bangkok. KSC posts a message to Facebook after a tsunami warning and regrets it right away.
It was with a personal interest that I seized on the arrival of a number of apps that were aimed at helping the user with sleep problems: Sleep Calculator - Deep Sleep Cycles; Sleep Cycle Calculator; and Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock. To go with these is a more recent arrival that claims to affect the way a person sleeps by stimulating dreams - Dream:ON.
It is that time of year again, when I buy in loads of supplies and retreat to my eyrie . . . .
On my way to buy the essentials for the next few days . . . I called in at the Siam Discovery Center where I saw that the hoardings are down on the iStudio - the reopening is at 6pm this evening
The update has been completed (just after 14:00 Thai time). There are no obvious changes to the Thai store: not even an image of the latest iPad which is rumoured to be here in a couple of weeks.
A quiet start to the week with holidays in the West and in Thailand. Rumours that current the MacBook Pro is having orders cut back: a new one on the way? The NYTimes and Tim Cook's salary: wrong again. Carriers to track stolen phones (in the US). Sony to lose $6.4 billion and cut 10,000 jobs. Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore, passes away. BlackBerry message snooping to start in India soon: who is next? Caine's Arcade. . . .
The Bayeux Tapestry, now displayed in Normandy, is a depiction of events surrounding the Norman conquest of England. Like an extended cartoon, with its timeline it tells a story on cloth using a timeline. IBM have produced the story of mathematics in the form of a timeline, but in the more modern form of an app for the iPad.
More about malware: not a virus despite what some mainstream press report. Rumours of new Macs. Take a look inside Cupertino. Bill Schmitz takes a look inside Foxconn. Nick Bilton on NYTimes asks about the other companies using Foxconn and is disappointed by responses. Disappointment from Dorna and the new MotoGP app. One laptop per child is not working: they forgot to train the teachers. RIM decide that Android methods are unsuitable: Apple has the right idea after all. Trust in short supply: the West selling security equipment to dictators; Cisco and Huawei; Intel and AMD.
The way that new apps appear for iOS devices bodes well for the ways in which these and future smartphones will develop. The iPhone and iPad have gone from a basic email and browsing device with a couple of additional features. Movies have always figured. Even here there are more discoveries to be made.
There is a saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" that I am afraid Dorna Sports have failed to note in their taking over of the app for MotoGP racing. In comparison with the Soft Pauer app that this supersedes, it is considerably less for slightly more and is in urgent need of a rethink.
Earlier today I found two updates for OS X available via Software Update on my Mac. The first was a Digital Raw Compatibility Update . . .
The second was a little unusual and is probably related to the OS X/Flashback.I Trojan horse malware. Java for OS X 2012-002 version 1 is, however, the second update to the Java on the Mac this week
Apple to look at iPad wifi. Apple and publishers are not in agreement with the DOJ. A Trojan horse: how to find and fix. Intel Ultrabook (3 years after the MacBook Air). New tech rumours from Apple. The ASUS Padphone really is coming and for a bargain $980: that will sell lots. Enterprise (and Veterans Affairs) moving away from Redmond and closer to Cupertino. Motor racing fans, apps and the internet. Freedom in short supply in the UK: land of 1984. A buyer for RIM: it's a rap? Ferdinand Porsche dies.
Unfortunately, the security of Mac users with OS X is becoming less and less. With a hole in the Java -- now patched by Apple -- a Trojan Horse was installed on a large number of machines (comparatively large for Macs anyway) and was then able to modify targeted webpages displayed in the web browser. Help is at hand
An email circulation from RS Online has provided interested parties with an update on the state of play with the now slightly-delayed Raspberry Pi boards.
One of the magic things about the iPhone and the iPad is the way that apps still keep appearing. I think of this particularly with regard to photography: just when I think there surely couldn't be any more twists on the apps we already have, another appears and another spell is cast.
It seems to lack a bit of the usual full swing this mid-week edition: calm before an IT storm? Things did perk up a little Wednesday morning. Apple Q2 report coming in a couple of weeks. Consumer Reports now likes the iPad. Tim Cook, Foxconn and China. An app from iMore (with a hiccup). The Macalope's Top 10 IT Fools (Enderle only at number 5). HTC loses a smartphone. EU to look into Motorola antitrust actions on FRAND patents.
As Jeff Carlson points out quite strongly in the first Chapter of his book, the cameras on the iPad are unsuitable for any serious photography and he warns people off. This is not about taking photographs with the device (the shape alone puts me off), but using the iPad as a lightweight digital studio when modern DSLR photography in the field has up till now meant carting about a computer.
Foxconn again. Don't let facts get in the way of a good headline. Patronising comments on farm workers from Charles Cooper. Apple may be winning a significant patent battle. Apple and Australia: 4G defined for Oz; iOS OK for spies. Ashton Kuchner to play Steve Jobs in a movie. MAD Magazine on the iPad: Alfred E, Neumann for iOS? Apple, publishers and DOJ coming to some agreement. Ghosts of Orwell's 1984 walk in the UK. FCC to be hobbled in the US.
I have noticed in my classes that the students have made a major switch in their use of dictionaries. They used to buy the student editions of these mainly from publishers like Oxford, Cambridge or Longmans, but in the last year or two, the classes of second year Mechanical Engineers have been heavily weighted in favour of iPhones. These bright kids use the various dictionary apps available for the device and the paper version is being superseded by technology.
Apologies for Wednesday's non-appearance. Enderle outshines himself: he moons too apparently. Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs, but Apple is not doomed. Tim Cook in China meetings. iPad tested for heat: what heat? There is no 4G in Australia: Apple knew that and only advertises 4G in the US. iPhoto update. Lady breaks nose on glass door and demands $1m: it was an Apple glass door and it was New York. Apple to give royalty-free licence for nano-SIM. We will sue you say Nokia. RIM reports poor quarter, Balsillie resigns from board. Huawei banned from bidding in Australia because of security fears (inside info on that from the US?). Thai taxman's wide-sweeping data collection.
I see in Software Update this morning that Apple has released an update to iTunes, bringing it to version 10.6.1 (64.9MB). There are a number of improvements, Apple tells users. . . .
I thought it was going to be a quiet weekend, but rumours, iPad heat comments and misinformation about what Mike Margolis said on the AppleTv interface kept appearing: move along please, nothing to see here; these are not the droids you want. Retina display on the MacBook Pro; Apple Voice over iP on the iPhone. Warm iPads. iPads in education. More colours on the iPad means more power: who would have thought? . . . Haptic iPads. Galaxies on the Mac (the stars, not the Samsung stuff). Another True story: time does mean money, but only mine, not True's.
Bell Labs, along with other famous names like MIT and Xerox, Palo Alto, were at the core of technological discovery from the early part of the 20th century. Jon Gertner describes in a an easy to read text, that draws the reader along, about how Bell Labs was symbolic of the golden days of American technological creativity.
Mother Jones hit-whoring for the second time in a month. That 5" iPhone screen rumour again. Haptic technology: touch screen output. Heat from the iPad: depends on who is doing the testing, how they do it and what they want to say. RIM to develop apps for the iPad. Apple tried to negotiate with Samsung and were rebuffed. New Commodore Amiga computer: price drops $500 overnight. SingTel loses 500 staff who are immediately snapped up by Huawei: oh? . . . CAT and TOT rolling in clover for the next few years.
Another fairly large bunch of updates has been released. While ArtRage has a second update, two of the releases are for apps that saw updates earlier in the week to iPad versions.
Deep inside some of our digital devices are oscillators that respond to electrical signals and vibrate, giving a signal that is extremely accurate and can be used in digital circuits for radio applications, computers and other equipment that needs such output.
More information appears: the iPad; and Mike Daisey. Heat of a different kind on the iPad: within specs say Apple. Happiness for Michael Dell: Apple is giving all the (1997) money back to shareholders. 3 million iPads sold in the first weekend: 18 a minute at the 5th Avenue Store. An Apple motorbike: not exactly. Thai government choose the same tablet, only using MOU rather than government to government plan. True/CAT deal illegal say ICT Ministry (so did Senate): zero effect expected.
We see that the Apple online store for Thailand (as well as those across the globe) is down right now with the usual, "We'll be back soon" sticky-note displayed.
Since the announcement of the new iPad at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts a couple of weeks ago, there has been a steady stream of app updates, most of which have included support for the Retina display as well as other fixes and changes.
On Monday evening here I listened to the conference call on Apple's decision to issue dividends and buy back shares. I also heard the questions afterwards. There was also a press release, but that only appeared in the PR feed later.
There has been a considerable amount of news over the weekend concerning the performer, Mike Daisey, who based a dramatic monologue on what he said were first-hand experiences of a visit to China and meeting with workers. It now appears that he out and out lied about most of what is in the monologue and of what he wrote in a NYTimes Op-ed.
Mike Daisey lied. How much has this cost Apple? Daisey attacks the messenger (or at least the translator). Much solid news on the iPad. AnandTech produce an A5X floor-plan. Twitter, Path, Facebook, Apple and others to be sued for uploads of address data. Rumours on new MacBook Pro computers. A hint from OS X Daily for dealing with a stolen Mac. Has Google forgotten to write the developer checks this month? Spying: on room mates (bad) on the general population (no problem, eh?): your tax dollars at work (yours, not mine). Late news: Apple conference call - cash.
Earlier this morning, Apple put out a press release on a conference call that is being held later today: Monday 19 March, at 6am Pacific Time, 9am Eastern.
The matter on the table is an announcement of company discussions concerning its cash balance. . . .
There are movies which play with the facts when the truth is shrouded: the writer or director provide an interpretation. Examples of these may be historical dramas, particularly involving ancient history. We also accept Art that is plainly not reality, such as Monet's Impressionist paintings, the works of Picasso, or the work of those like Kandinsky or Jackson Pollock which are not based an any form or reality. Art based on fact needs more careful treatment.
There have been a lot of updates arriving in the last few days. Most have made reference to the Retina Display and are being prepared for use on the new iPad. There are some updates arriving that are being improved by the developers as part of normal progress.
One of these is Paper Camera and this has had a significant couple of additions.
iOS devices have such a phenomenal range of software available that users are able to do so many things on a hand held device that only a few years ago would have required a hefty desktop computer and expensive, specialist software. These days, for almost anything we want to do, there is an app for it.
The latest iPad is on the starting blocks and there are loads of reviews already out: love the display. Foxconn news and comments; "the fire that wasn't". Collusion and conspiracy in the telecomms markets (Korea and EU for a start) and in displays for computers. 15" Mac Book Air and/or thin 15" MacBook Pro. Apple lose market share, but sell more iPads: a sort of "so what?" there. Chris Pirillo's dad on Windows 8 and on OS X. In F1, Heikki Kovalainen sponsored by Angry Birds. I handle a Samsung 7" tablet: ugh! What is the point? Harrods opening tech department: a sort of hi-so PowerBuy.
I have rather taken to the Photo Stream feature Apple introduce a few months ago. I use it on all three of the main devices I have: the iPhone, the iPad and the Mac. The way images are handled are different on the computer. On iOS devices, photographs that are in the Camera Roll are also copied to the Photo Stream album (unless the user deletes them pretty fast) and then synchronised via the cloud to devices that have the feature turned on.
Apple has released Digital Raw Compatibility Update, version 3.10 (7.8MB) which adds RAW image compatibility forseveral cameras to Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11.
A number of countries round the world have held their own film festivals in recent years and most, on the surface are successful, bringing to the viewing public a range of movies that they might not otherwise be able to see in a cinema as well as being showcases for the output of the movie industry.
This week Bangkok will host a French film festival (18 - 27 Mar), while starting a few days after the Bangkok event, Hong Kong has its 36th International Film Festival, from 21 March until 5 April.
I had been expecting an update to Aperture as the changes to Photo Stream had seen iPhoto updated and Apple's workflow application is usually changed in parallel. This morning my check of Software Update reveals that and update to Aperture (3.2.3) is available (as well as another to Safari - 5.1.4).
Will there be a real iTunes store in Thailand? Jony Ive interviewed in London. Rob Enderle reports that Apple is doomed (again). More iPad news including delays. Apple jobs positions in Ireland, Malaysia and Thailand. Rumours and hints. Some inferences from a report on Foxconn. Patent news. News about eBooks, publishers and Apple. Colossus video (the first computer, not Rhodes). The Thai tablet program revisited. Wired confirms that most IT personnel really are ignorant. Note from Microsoft who expect "an exploit for code execution will be developed in the next 30 days." Encyclopedia Britannica stops printing.
I noticed on the iPhone that there were a couple of updates indicated as being available from the App Store. When I checked, one of these was the expected arrival of Camera + version 3. I looked at the information on the iPhone and was surprised to see how many changes were reported for this app: I scrolled through several screens full.
A look at Software Update shows that a new version of Safari (5.1.4) is available for download. This may also be downloaded from the Apple download pages.
A weekend with iPhoto for OS devices and iPhoto for iOS. Update to iOS brings improvements in battery life. The new iPad has a much more powerful battery with a couple of mms and a few grams extra. The new device which is good for looking at pretty flowers (according to 2 writers on the Register), is selling out already: a week before it is due on the shelves. Device makers should be losing sleep over the iPad. Apple hires 73 Korean-American lawyers. DOJ looking at Apple and publishers over kneecapping Amazon. Raspberry delays.
Just days before the floods came to the area of Bangkok I lived in, outside the university where I work the Tha Chin river was already making its presence felt. A small delegation from Japan, Korea and other countries in the region were attending a conference at Salaya on water management and waste disposal. I was asked to write a welcoming speech for a colleague. . . .
Since the update to iOS 5.0 some months ago, I had been revelling in the ability to synchronise my iOS devices over wifi. The USB cables began to gather dust. I was able to enjoy this feature at home, at my office, and at a friend's apartment when I moved there during the flooding late last year. When I moved to new accommodation, I arranged for an internet connection. Since its arrival, the wifi syncing has been lost to me, although it still works at the other locations. I finally phoned True for help to solve this problem which I identified as being related to ports.
Many apps will work right out of the box. The concept of a new app may be so simple and obvious, or a comparison can be made with similar software, that the moment it is running, everything falls into step. This was not true for iPhoto when I began to use it over the first 24 hours on my iPhone: the installation on the iPad was slightly easier to use. As yet there are no manuals (or even Missing Manuals). Learning however has come via experience. I also took the time to run through the video of the Apple event last Wednesday. Take particular note of the 11-minute demonstration by Randy Ubillos. It is most helpful.
Owing to time differences I did not stay up for the Apple event this week, but left feeds running from a couple of web sources and read these when I got up early Thursday morning here. Scanning through the feed from TUAW, there were positive comments from Erica Sadun and the others in the team concerning the announcement of iPhoto for the iPad. I reached over the cornflakes, opened the iTunes app store and downloaded the app immediately. This may have been a case of act in haste, repent at leisure.
The new iPad is announced: and it is an iPad. Some comments on the release and the specifications. Where do some commentators find their ideas? Shame of the NYTimes. Slow old Lion: where has the crispness gone again? A pardon for Alan Turing? Changes in Siam. Return of Lomography.
A number of people (like me) who live on this side of the world were in bed at the time the news-feeds for the Apple event were chattering away. I note that a video event of the broadcast is being downloaded into my iTunes podcasts right now. For those who wish to see what happened, the video is also available. . . .
Needless to say that with the updates to the iPad and the iOS there were several app updates too, some of which were pretty large.
On the Mac a new version of iTunes (10.6) was also ready for download as well as updates for iPhoto and GarageBand, probably to match features in the iOS app releases.
One of the changes that has been brought to the iTunes app store is the creation of a new category: Catalogues. At the moment, when I hit the section in my version of iTunes, all I have is a blank page. That may change in the next few hours or days.
When using a camera, I find that the best way to look at a subject is through a viewfinder. My Nikon DSLR camera has this, but when I take photographs with the iPhone, like many users of smaller cameras, I have to squint at the display for an idea of what the picture should look like.
The iPad 3 (or HD) cometh. Links for the announcement. Rumours about what the announcement will be, including 4G. Possible delivery. Update news. A bank wants Proview to be bankrupt: does the bank inherit the money they hope will come from Apple? More on jobs data. More on abuse of the English language. ETA of the iPad in Thailand. Tablets for the kids delayed. iPads and iPhones for the politicians.
Many users may have problems when taking photographs as an exact vertical or horizontal alignment is not always the result. This is especially so if the shot is taken quickly, from a moving vehicle or without a tripod.
In an announcement thanking its customers for helping it reach the 25billion downloads milestone, Apple has announced the name of the competition winner.
Stories surrounding the expected release announcement of the iPad 3 later this week. Dust thrown in the air by Microsoft (you would think they might learn). Other realistic rumours. 25 billion apps: some of the top downloads. App reviews and app problems. Syncing the Mac and the iOS devices: fine in the office; still not working at home. USAF will order 18,000 iPads (with a $40 discount for each). Apple's job creations: not enough transparency for some with a rant on word use from Myslewski. Blackberry success. Ivy Bridge coming sooner than was stated; and so might iOS 6.
I have a large collection of apps for photography and other image creation. I am often surprised and pleased with the range of effects that these apps allow with digital photography. When I think back to the time when all photographs were taken using film, any image manipulation required a combination of art and science that is beyond many these days.
All expectations point to the release of the next version of the iPad in the next few days when someone -- Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Scott Forestall? -- takes to the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. While there are many articles online all commenting on what some of the specifications for the new device are expected to be, all is speculation until the words are spoken and the slides are on the screen.
From time to time, I scan through the App Store that we access here in Thailand seeing what has arrived that is new or interesting. I was a little surprised this week to see an app in the New & Noteworthy section with Russian characters beneath the icon. There was also the word, Navigation, in English.
As part of its larger commitment to imaging, Epson Corporation has announced that it will be holding its Color Imaging Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (MOCA Taipei) from today, 2 March until 8 March.
Noises about the iPad 3. Will there be an 8GB iPad 2 too? Will a 7" tablet also appear later? Apple now worth more than Poland. MacBook Pro update rumours, including consideration of a 14" version for the Asian market. Safari improvements in the Mountain Lion version later this year. Raspberry Pi and Lytro cameras hit the shelves. Post hoc ergo propter hoc: Facebook causes pregnancies in Thailand. Toshiba and Western Digital swap disk making equipment: 3.5" for 2.5". Apple hiring automotive engineers in China.
Lytro, a company in the United States that makes an unusual camera that has an unusual way of capturing the light from an image so that the whole depth of field is used, has started shipping the camera to the first customers.
Apple media event for the iPad 3 next week. More on Foxconn matters. More on the Apple-Proview iPad spat. iPad rumours and apps. Some information on what is in Mountain Lion. How Jobs changed industry and is ranked with Henry Ford. Apple has a patent case decision in its favour in the cases concerning Motorola. Apple and Google sued together. Samsung is not making much from tablets at all. IBM developments on quantum computing.
One of the revelations for me about the iPad was not the device itself, although the specifications are enough to do pretty much everything I have wanted from the device, but the apps. Or more specifically in my case, the photo apps. I have downloaded scores of these, some of which have only one or two basic tools, while others have a wide range of filters or other editing tools. This made the iPhone particularly a quite useful photography extra.
Reading through one or two of the early reviews (and I am not going to say which), the enthusiasm of the writers came through. This was a positive experience. I stopped reading and made the purchase in the evening. It had not been available earlier in the day where I am.
News on the iPad with rumours of dates, new apps, older apps doing well and the possible change in the iOS dock connector. Delays to new Macs because Intel is not releasing Ivy Bridge (too many Sandy Bridge in the storeroom). More from the Apple shareholder meeting last week. Proview and Apple. Apple and Chinese counterfeits. Apple's size now makes it a sector on its own, between Industrials and Materials.
The iPad has seen the release of several apps that take advantage of the screen and touch input for drawing and writing. Examples include Brushes, Bamboo Paper and Moleskin. There are many more. SketchTime is a new light drawing App that has some useful and interesting features for its low price.
Apple hit-whoring: from Mother Jones of all sources. Proview and Apple: you win a little, you lose a little. Apple, Foxconn, FLA and ABC with the Nightline special. More fallout from Foxconn after Nightline. Path and user data: CA Attorney General changes the rules for Apple. Apple shareholders' meeting. Office for the iPad: might it be one more thing with the iPad 3? Rumours of a smaller iPad again. Samsung smaller tablet: "the most useless phone I've used". Art and iOS. HP makes a loss: too big and too slow says Whitman. Scott Ritter: from WMD to underage teens.
A few weeks ago I looked at a new concept of digital art for sale. The site called [s]edition, offers for sale a limited number of editions of art that the artists have made available for the medium. Each digital work has a certificate of authenticity which is in the registered user's vault along with the work of art (virtually speaking). A user may download the work from the vault. It is hoped by those running the site that when enough sales have been made, the works will be traded in a digital marketplace.
With many eyes on the Apple shareholders meeting to be held later today in the US, Xerox has announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend. . . .
The potential for an app that combines the basic photograph with moving content makes Cinemagram a fairly interesting prospect, but I believe it still has a way to go. It can be rather hit and miss in some hands and needs a user to be careful in selection of a subject and in setting up a shot.
Apple suing, settlements and realities. The iPhone antenna for $15 or a case. Proview wants to sit down with Apple and talk about the iPad name: and money of course. ABC in the Foxconn factory. More on Mountain Lion. New MacBook Air coming soon? New Nook available now. Protect yourself from bullets with an iPhone. Google tracks IE as well as Safari, but Google claims Redmond knew since 2002. Does this cookie thing affect Google's Chrome too. . . . Microsoft about to release Office for the iPad -- too little, much too late if true -- but Redmond denies this: maybe.
Sony Corporation have announced in a press release the results of a cooperation between Sony and the Tokyo Institute of Technology on Low-power LSIs for Wideband Milimetre-wave Wireless Communications, that was due to be presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) held in San Francisco starting February 19, 2012. The advances reported may have long-reaching effects with the low power design specifically aimed at the mobile phone industry.
The Radio Frequency Large Scale Integration (LSI) and Baseband LSI jointly developed allows data transfers at 6.3 Gb/s which is the fastest speed yet achieved.
Tim Cook begins to reveal himself. Apple begins to reveal Mountain Lion (the next version of OS X). Comments and links for 10.8 information and ideas: some useful parts of iOS borrowed. I try out Messages: useful. Foxconn news: ABC recording a Nightline Special; NYTimes at last names other companies. NYTimes not in favoured news outlet status with Apple. Countdown to 25 billion app downloads. Proview is broke, so needs to make sure Apple pays up front for iPad name. Education on tablets makes kids smarter: should politicians be allowed near them (iPads not the kids)? Microsoft is not needed to get real work done: some of us knew that anyway.
There have been a number of publications that specialise in good photography, such as Life and National Geographic Magazine which use excellent output. There are also professional magazines that focus more on the practical side of the skills that are needed for good photography such as the British Journal of Photography which was established over 150 years ago in 1854 and has had an online presence since 1997. It also has an app for the iPad.
As I went to the 4th floor bathroom of the Siam Discovery Center in central Bangkok jut after lunchtime on Saturday (18 Feb) I saw that, while the white hoardings were still round the site of the new Maccenter there, the door was open and the lights were on.
We saw in a Tweet from Zykloid that the latest update (2.5.4) to their excellent poster-making application, Posterino, has just become available. I last looked at this in December. Information from the update panel tells us about the several new features and fixes.
Despite Apple critics and criticism, Apple moves forward. Comments on factories, iPad name, Address data. Whatever next: does Tim Cook really barbecue babies? Will Apple produce its own processors for Macs? More iOS devices sold in 2011 than all the Macs in 28 years. How PR photos for Apple products are done. OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion: John Gruber comments as does Jason Snell. Apple releases Developer Preview of Mountain Lion. Some Macs not included. Sony apologises for Whitney Houston album price rises. BlackBerry Playbook outsells iPad in Canada: seriously (sort of). Acer makes a profit.
I came across a perfect example of (free) software this week that would be easy to adapt for a Thai classroom of pre-teens with a touch of English: Scribble Press. Even the name is a clue to children's enjoyment and learning. I know it is an app for the iPad, but similar apps may exist on other platforms and this should be an example to inspire: reach out and do the job.
Although it is only for the iPad, it is just the sort of thing that ought to be available for students, for example in any programs that use tablet computers in an educational environment.
HP are reporting the introduction of what they claim is the world's first 27" all-in-one workstation: the HP Z1.
The information on the press release tells us that the display of the newly designed workstation snaps open so users can easily swap out parts and make upgrades without any tools required.
The HP Z1 uses Intel Xeon processors and there are dual- and quad-core options. Graphics are by the NVIDIA Quadro card which should display "more than 1 billion colors".
Apple criticised for trying to do the right thing in China. Chinese company tries to block trade in iPads over the name that its subsidiary licensed to Apple. Sony puts prices of Whitney Houston albums up and Apple is blamed: no apologies when the Sony actions are revealed. Rumours: 8" iPad, 4G iPad, Apple TV. Tim Cook speaks at a Goldman Sachs tech conference. Some useful tips from OS X Daily; and AppleBitch tries to buy an iPhone in Hong Kong. The knives are out in the upper levels of the blogosphere: MC Siegler on hit whores; Dan Lyons on MC Siegler hit-whoring. Xerox teams with McAfee for a data protection initiative.
Despite the online documentation that Apple has provided concerning its monitoring of suppliers, a fair amount of criticism has been directed at the company in the past few weeks following a story in the New York Times that recycled information that had been aired several months before by a number of outlets.
Part of the Apple Supplier report, that is available on Apple's Social Responsibility page, is the information that Apple is the first technology company to be admitted to the Fair Labor Association.
Heavens: what a busy weekend. A variety of problems for True users in Thailand. Rumours of new notebooks: completely revised this year. No more MacBooks, but a stripped down MacBook Air for schools is now available. Apple dividend: will they or won't they? iBalls from Apple (with iPatch and iBraille): a spoof article from Scoopertino. Steve Jobs wins (posthumous) Grammy. Spray-on antennas (seriously). How to execute your deceitful daughter's notebook: was that 7 bullets or 8?
I have a friend who smokes, eats and drinks while working on the computer. As well as the dust from the atmosphere from living in Bangkok, there is a lot more detritus between the keys than I would be happy with. Even in my slightly less grubby environment, there is a buildup of dirt from sweat, dust and other causes in the environments I work in either at home, in my office or in the classroom.
After I downloaded the new Fotopedia app that focuses on the nobility of women I put it with the other apps from the same developer. It appears to me to be the most overtly political of the output from this source. Perhaps because of this -- despite the usual excellent quality of the hundreds of images -- the app seemed to lose some of the usual effects that Fotopedia output conveys to me.
The library lists the two works that are included with the free app, whether on the iPhone or the iPad, and a list of others that may be downloaded. These include Da Vinci's The Last Supper, Rockwell's Santa with Elves and Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergere.
At the top of the list are the two images included with the free version of the app. Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and Van Gogh's Starry Night. I have seen the originals of both of these: the former in Chicago, the Van Gogh at MOMA in New York and they are magnificent works of Art. The idea of playing about with these -- rearranging the artefacts -- was daunting.
Since my first iPhone, I have been running through apps that make more and better use of the camera. Now with the iPhone 4S, output is far better, although this will never replace my Nikon D7000 for still shots or for video. The iPhone does still manage to produce some interesting images that have a use, particularly on web pages. The iPhone is also considerably lighter than the DSLR. . . .
S.P. Somtow's Mahler appeal. Apple expanding (no surprise there). Update to iOS 5 coming early March which could also coincide with a new iPad. The white MacBook is dead. New languages for Siri. USAF to use iPads. Virgin sued for not giving an iPad to a pilot (before they were on sale and before the FAA authorised their use). Apple resellers in Europe not happy. Saudi investor advises "wait and see" over unnecessary criticism of Apple management. Another look at Foxconn. Apple and carriers. Apple and patents. Nokia moves to Asia: a shame about all those jobs in Europe. New SLC NAND flash from Hitachi. Kodak stops making cameras. Apple shares hit $493. . . .
In a press release, Kodak, who are going through some considerable restructuring having entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, have announced that is plans to phase out its dedicated capture devices business in the first half of 2012: digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames.
The iPad as in-flight entertainment on QANTAS. Tips on iPad split keyboard, iTunes app store information displays and an OS X key command. Siri is not coming to an iPhone 4 near you anytime soon. A course on the iPhone camera: iPhoneography. Patent news (Apple has new ones, Barnes & Noble could be in the clear with the Microsoft complaint) and Apple is being asked to pay $1.59 billion for the iPad name in China. CNN jumps on the Foxconn-Apple bandwagon. Terminator glasses (HUD) from Google. Raspberry Pi coming soon. The UK Supreme Court to use Twitter to announce decisions. DTAC reports strong results for 2011. . . .
Released a few days ago was a Thai currency exchange app. This was developed by Innova Software, who have little information about them online apart from a Facebook page put up for the purpose of support.
While I have the exchange rates easily accessible via the Calculator on my Macs which I use when I am online shopping or when Apple releases new products, I did not have an app for anything but rough calculations of currency on the iPhone: living here and being paid in Baht, I do not usually need this. Thai Baht Exchange not only provides access to the rates, but also to the different rates that are provided by eight major banks here. The app has a number of other useful functions, making this rather useful,
Difficulties with the 10.3.7 update. EULA for iBooks Author updated and eased. More on China: a more measured examination. Steve Jobs wanted users to love the iPhone: looks like he had the right idea. Tasteless Jobs copy with angel wings in Taiwan advertising. Tips on Numbers and the iPad keyboard. Patents news: Motorola wins and wants 2.25% from Apple. Facebook and Google hiring former Apple execs.. Myth Busters' Adam Savage on being strong-armed by credit card companies on RFID chips. Panasonic latest to blame Thai floods for part reason of its expected $10 billion losses. Beware the tablet.
Apple's update to OS X with Thai localisation (at last) and new digital camera support. Trump knee-jerks on Cook, Apple, Foxconn and US Jobs. Rush Limbaugh sees through the fog. Possible iPad event in March. New iPod nano with a camera. More on Apple TVs. Barnes & Noble muscle up against Amazon who are the real bad guys in the eBook market. Patents. A new CEO at Sony. A new loss of $1.2b at Sony (Thai floods caused that). Serious Sharp losses: will somebody buy the company? GOP support SOPA but ignore copyright. Slim monopoly overcharging in Mexico.
The most recent update to OS X, 10.7.3, has brought a welcome change to the language localisation for users in Thailand, and for the first time in OS X, Thai characters can be used not just as fonts, but for the full menu system. I installed the update a short while ago
Not unexpected was the news this morning that the release of version 10.7.3 of OS X 10.7, Lion was available via Software Update. There is, however, a slight boost for local users with the addition of Thai language support. Other compatibility issues with Microsoft files are addressed, as well as wifi-related problems. RAW support for more digital cameras is included.
Il tempo passa. Another month (and I must pay the web-hosting bill today). Allegedly, atrocities at Foxconn, but people are still lining up for jobs there. Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X. Is OS X becoming more and more like iOS? Apple's new stores exec comes from Dixons. Patent news. Sales of the iPhone to keep rising. Twitter and censorship and the humourless DHS.
When I checked the apps section for updates in iTunes on Sunday morning, I was pleased to see that the excellent (and free) app for the Gagosian Galleries was listed for one of its quarterly revisions. There were two reasons for my contentment: these regular updates provide some interesting new material that users like me would not otherwise be able to access easily; and I could resurrect the original review of this app which became unavailable when my other website died.
Responses to the NYTimes article on Apple and Foxconn problems. Chinese commentators rather like what Apple is doing. Siri is not burning bits and bytes, we are. Madison Wisconsin to buy 1,400 iPads with Microsoft money. Patent wins for Apple in Germany and the US. Apple may be edging closer to Android but the Googlish platform is leading in the malware stakes. Major development as new RIM chief looks at other phones. In Singapore, an exploding iPhone that cannot be found and an iPhone app for the SMRT.
There was a pack mentality about some of the commentary that followed the New York Times report into problems in Chinese factories that produce the iPad and other Apple products, that supposedly Cupertino is responsible for. Let's suppose for a moment that is true as Apple indeed accepts a vicarious responsibility: if the company does wrong by its workers or its policies, Apple can apply pressure up to cancelling its orders.
Among the updates that were waiting for me in iTunes earlier today was WaterMyPhoto. I had first looked at this interesting water-effects app in October 2011 just as the flooding reached the area in which I lived. The novelty effect of the app, soon became an unpleasant reality for me and many others. This does not reflect on the app in any way. WaterMyPhoto has now been updated, but as the original review was on AMITIAE and the site no longer exists, I am making that updated review available as part of the input for the latest version.
It seems that currently, almost the moment I download an app or write about it, the app is updated. A couple of times of late I have looked at an app, and within a day or so there have been some important changes to the features. Two of the three apps that I was notified of earlier today were recently reviewed: iSomtow and Panorama 360 Camera.
More on the successful financial results from Apple. Chicken in the barrel syndrome: Apple is up and must be dragged down. iPhone sells more than all Android . . . ah, but the iPad lost share even with a 150% increase in sales. Rumours, including Apple TV again. Zynga called out on rip off of NimbleBit game. Large Nokia losses. Meddling with DTAC. Twitter can censor tweets for specific countries (but there may be a way round).
Earlier today, I was sent a link to an article on MacNews by a reader. This reports on the findings of Idealo.co.uk who compared prices on the Apple online stores round the world. This region has the best and the worst.
I took a break from iBooks, ebooks and iTunes U to examine a couple of apps that also use the best aspects of the iPads. Neither of the apps are new, but they have just appeared in the App Store listings here, bringing them to the attention of users who might not have seen them before. The first of these is in the same Fotopedia series that has already produced some excellent photographic output.
Apple rumours. More on iBooks, eBooks, EULA and iTunes U. Virgin remembers a Steve Jobs quote: Stay hungry, stay foolish. On a plane? Apple's Q1 report today: Income was a stunning $46.33 billion. Western Digital makes a profit. Don't like Facebook Timeline: bad luck. All user will have this wonderful feature soon. All those who remain that is.
Over the weekend the Thai artist -- writer, composer, conductor -- S.P. Somtow made an appeal via his blog and Facebook pages, asking people to help the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra. After a rather successful London tour that was rather expensive, he is asking for support so that he could carry on with the promise to the late HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana that one day Thailand's musicians would be able to play all of the Mahler symphonies. . . .
It was probably not a coincidence to see on Monday morning on an App Store Twitter feed that there was an entry for an app called iSomtow.
Apple and jobs. Apple and workers. Hon Hai chairman calls workers Animals. Feedback from the Education event. Apple, publishers and Amazon. Kindle orders down 50%: 20% of Kindle Fire tablets delivered by Santa remain unused. Patent news, good, bad and excellent. Someone steals your Mac and your iPhone: so sue Apple. Frustration initially, but my wifi is up and working at the new condo. S.P. Somtow needs some help.
Apple announced new initiatives and applications last Thursday at an education-centered even in New York. One of the tools -- iBooks Author -- brought several commentators out, but the even itself caused many to examine how technology and education can sometimes be uneasy partners. Some are also uneasy with Apple's involvement seeing that what was done for music will be done to textbooks. Perhaps that is not such a bad thing after all.
Apple has released information concerning the announcement of its First Quarter 2012 Financial Results which are to be made available on Tuesday 24 January 2012, at 5PM Pacific Time (0800 Thai time).
Part of Apple's Education event in New York this week was the introduction of an application specifically created for making ebooks: iBooks Author. While there are a number of programs that will do the task of creating an ebook, most have some drawbacks. This new application will make it easier for those who are already engaged in education output should they want their work to be available to a wide audience. There are some drawbacks, but the process itself has been streamlined.
Apple bringing in the textbook writers this time: maybe they can make a better job of it. First look at iBooks Author: Wow. Sony losses. Google lower than expected (but still a 27% increase -- love those Wall Street analysts). Microsoft reports profits down a fraction from last year. Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Former security companies McAfee and Symantec (broken, hacked and stolen code).
On Thursday evening, I sat through feeds of the Apple event in New York. I concentrated mainly on the feed from The Loop but had to switch to CNET's feed halfway through.
No one really knew what to expect at this Education event at the Guggenheim Museum there, but there had been much speculation (as ever): some of it fairly close.
There are a number of ways to watermark images. With Aperture this can be done by adding image data from another file. However, I used software specifically for the purpose, called iWatermark from Script Software, now called Plum Amazing. There were several ways to set this up with several styles of watermark. Users also had access to all of the installed fonts, so a rather specific style could be created. Although styles included finishes of gold and silver, black and white, I preferred the embossed look. Depending on the content it was possible to place the watermark anywhere on the picture. This and a newer Pro version have seen several improvements and additions.
I downloaded an iPhone and iPad version of iWatermark some while back. . . .
A report that appeared overnight in the Straits Times (Reuters) informs us that Cedar Holdings, a unit of Temasek Holdings is selling 6.2% of its sometimes controversial stake in Shin Corp.
In an English language press release available today, Total Access Communication PLC (DTAC) is reporting that its Chief Customer Officer, Chaiyod Chirabowornkul, with Vice Managing Director of TG Cellular World Co. Ltd., Siri Tawornsapanan, presided over the distribution of prizes to winners in the "Buy a Phone, Win a Car" campaign.
Apart from a worldwide shortage of hard disks, one of the results of the flooding in central Thailand at the end of last year, was the stark realisation that it could happen again. While the subject had been discussed (and shelved) many times before, the possibility of a shutdown lasting several weeks is prompting the university I work at urgently to re-examine its teaching delivery methods. Rumours concerning Apple's ebooks initiative suggest this may be timely.
Anticipation about Apple's Thursday Education event, and the rumours. Long knives at Apple? Comments by Woz and others on Android. Waterproofing for phones: Liquipel being courted by Apple and Samsung. Samsung not guarding, but building a hen house for Apple. Nissan self-repairing iPhone cases. Facebook IPO for May: announcement today perhaps. I have eased into the new condo, but as yet have no internet line: coming soon. My new iPhone speaker (courtesy of Geek Sugar) giving a cereal improvement. Jerry Yang resigns from Yahoo!
We read in a Kodak press release that the 26th Annual Gallery Elite Awards had taken place on Monday evening evening at Imaging USA (I-USA), the annual conference and trade show of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) in New Orleans, where the judges were Helen Yancy, Dennis Craft and Rich Newell.
A weekend of Apple embarrassments: China crowd problems; patent decisions; New York Philharmonic. Apple and suppliers. Why Mike Elgan is wrong on Apple's intent to control the book market. Does Apple own all the patents on Siri? The White House and SOPA: comment by Tim O'Reilly. I move into a new condo and wifi cannot reach my floor: I have Plan B and Plan C.
Apple is committed to the highest standards of social responsibility across its worldwide supply chain, the corporation announces on its Social Responsibility page on the Apple website. The page focuses on Human Rights, Worker Health and Safety, and Environmental Impact. There are also items on Auditing and Education and Development plus links to downloads of specific reports.
In an English language press release dated 13 January, DTAC has announced that customers who were affected by an incident on 8 January this year will be compensated with a 48-hour waiver of service from 12 noon 7 January to 12 noon 9 January this year.
I have found a useful free app, Genius Scan - PDF Scanner, which does a surprisingly good job and it has a couple of nice surprises built in. It has now been updated
Apple's education event next week at the Guggenheim in New York. Apple back up to number 3: other PC makers are suffering from poor sales and hard disk shortages. iPhone launch in China: crowd problems again. Singapore carriers to sell iPhone without a camera. New technology coming in the iPad 3. Tim Cook's stock options. Microsoft fading. The iPhone owner who stopped the New York Philharmonic. 300 Foxconn workers in emotional blackmail attempt. And of course there are rumours. . . .
Lots of CES and cloning of Apple by others: comments by Apple columnists. Apple rumours and new product changes. Tim Cook gets about $400 million in Apple shares. Ballmer does his least memorable (and last) CES keynote: outshone by the Twitter chorus. IBM news of a new processor fabrication in New York.
I rather like the idea of panorama photography, although for this to be done well, we need good equipment and first-rate software. The best results come from professionals who have the skills, time and resources for the task. . . .
I have now found a useful panorama app that takes the alignment concept a stage further and as soon as the iPhone is in the optimum position for the next part of the image, the photograph is taken automatically.
In a press release, Xerox Corporation announced the appointment of a new Chief Information Officer, Carol Zierhoffer who has also been elected a vice president of the corporation. She replaces John McDermott as CIO who is now head of strategy and business process architecture for Xerox's technology business.
I can remember exactly where I was 5 years ago today. Along with a few thousand others, I had waited outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco in the cold and rain while the organisers were deciding to let the press attendees in. A couple of hours later, there was a mad rush as the doors to the auditorium opened and those with more experience of such events grabbed the best seats.
CES this week at Las Vegas so lots of announcements on the web. News on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 3 and the (probably untrue) rumour of the iPad 4. Other Apple rumours. An iPad survives a 30,000 metre drop (with video). Macminicolo and its server farm of 1,000 Mac minis including a 7 year veteran G4. An Apple patent for an ionic wind generator cooling system (I didn't know either). Low profits for HTC. Low profits for Motorola, but it is Apple's fault, so that's alright. Microsoft tries to copy Apple for its baggage-laden Windows 8. Is the theme at CES copy Apple at any cost?
I do not fully understand the reason for the success of some social networking sites; nor the way that some people share the most private details online with others. . . .
I usually, therefore, avoid apps that seek to add another format (or site) to the limited social networking I do now, but a look at the free app glmps which shares photographic output in an unusual way, at least piqued my interest enough for a download.
I have a large collection of photography apps for the iPhone. Although many of them work on the iPad, they are not as effective there: the medium is for a larger display and suits magazines especially; and the camera is not as good as the iPhone 4S I now run. Two recent apps that shot to the top of my favourite pile were Grid Lens and Big Lens, both of which are among those that have received updates this weekend.
A couple of months ago, I was pleased to see that one of my favourite UK magazines, Motor Sport, was being made available as an app for the iPad. I reviewed the free September issue and looked forward to the arrival of the first paid issue, which was for February. Like a lot of UK publishers, Motor Sport has a strange cover date pattern with the February issue being available at the beginning of January, but actually coming on sale in the shops (where they have it) on the last day of the previous month. As a result I was actually waiting for the February 2012 issue on the last day of 2011. . . .
We have just been informed by Zykloid software, via Twitter, that their excellent Posterino has been updated to version 2.5.3 with the a number of changes and fixes.
My first real use of a computer was in 1985: a PC with twin floppy-disk drives, running MSDOS 2.4. . . .
One of the professors in the English Department was a book a year man. To help him with the complete writing and preparation of his next work, he acquired a Macintosh.
While at his house one day, I was able to try this out . . . What I did notice was that instead of having to type a command (and remember those I needed), the Macintosh used icons to represent functions and tasks. These were the work of Susan Kare
Lunar New Year deals at Apple Store. Not a brilliant few days for Apple with patents problems, an app released that wasn't ready, a Final Cut defection and an earthy comment on app quality. Apple and the Premier League: maybe not. Apple onto iOS app piracy. Comet in UK allegedly pirates MS disks in the best interests of customers. Vinton Cerf on the Internet as a tool for Human Rights. Updates, ideas, comments and other news.
The PDF is a common form of circulating information in many circles (not just government departments). It usually cannot be altered, unlike other document formats. Digital watermarking, however, can only be effected by using expensive software. We are used to the idea of watermarking images, particularly those that go online, but the PDF watermark needs a different approach.
IBM has announced that as part of its continuing expansion into cloud technologies, it has acquired Green Hat, a company with major offices in the UK and in Delaware.
With the recent flood-related shortages of hard disks from companies with operations in Thailand, it is interesting to read the news from Hitachi who are announcing prior to the CES in Las Vegas that it is releasing two hard drives in its G-Technology, G-Drive series. In a press release, the company is clearly aiming the two drives -- the G-Technology G-DRIVE mobile and G-DRIVE mobile USB -- at Mac users.
The once great photography company, Kodak, has seen its value diminish in recent years as consumers moved from film to digital cameras and some are expecting that sooner or later the company will be broken up, especially as it holds a valuable portfolio of patents related in the main to digital imaging.
Apple Oddities with an app released in error. Special Apple Event in New York. Staff and union problems at an Apple retail store. Rumours: MacPro, MacBook Pro. No passport? Use an iPad. Samsung pulls Apple ad (with Apple girl) from YouTube and S. Korea. Some odd and some useful Tweets. And the most used operating system worldwide is. . . XP? BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB is now $299. BlackBerry PlayBook 32GB is now $299. BlackBerry PlayBook 64GB is now $299. Eh?
Several years ago I was disturbed by the comment of a senior politician of the coalition that was in power at that time, when he was asked about an extension to the suburban railway system to the western edge of Bangkok. "There's only factory workers out there" he was reported as saying; and the system expansion was delayed again. Apart from being flat wrong as there is a huge population as well as many schools and universities, why should the large population of workers that migrate from the provinces to work in the city be denied modern facilities?
That answer may explain why for many years there were no Apple retail outlets on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya river. As residents discovered in the recent flooding, many people sort of forgot about the millions under water in Thonburi.
We have just seen in the list of Apple apps in the App Store here (Thailand) a new utility with the name GameStore. The app is priced at $0.99 and in its simple iTunes App Store description tells us "This application allows you to buy different things from within the app." A single screen shot below shows a Products list (with the word Proucts [sic] shown above and the figure 37 in brackets beside it.
In the 1970s, I went to a book sale in Tavistock, in Britain's West Country where I picked up a charming little print that looked as if it might have been Chinese. To this day, I still do not know. In an attempt to find out, I began reading, but got sidetracked into Japanese Art and then woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). I eventually picked up a couple of these prints: one at a Christies' auction (most exciting); and another at a shop specialising in all manner of Japanese art -- pictures, swords, Samurai armour -- in Bloomsbury, near the British Library in London.
I have had an interest in Japanese Art going back to the mid-1970s and a few days ago I downloaded an interesting free app named Japanese Traditional Art Gallery for iPad Lite. I reviewed this then and noted that the icon for the App used the well known Great Wave off Kanagawa by the artist Hukusai. While looking through the iTunes App Store, I saw another app using an identical icon.
According to a traditional Japanese belief, the "first dream" (hatsu yume) a person has on the night of January 2 is supposed to predict that person's fortune for the coming year.
The first Cassandra column of the new year. Rumours (of course): iPad, iPhone and the A6. Copies of Apples, copies of Apple ads, and copies of Steve Jobs. Kaspersky says the malware writers are the same: or maybe they are copying. Steve gives IBM the bird. Apples, Apricots, BlackBerrys and now the Raspberry. Ron Paul objects to SOPA we think. Fading Kodak loses 3 directors in a week: where; how? NUS (Singapore) is given $30 million. Hundreds caught for using phones while driving (in Singapore).
We know about Apple (of course) but the first computer I used in the UK when I returned from study in the US, was an Apricot. We have the BlackBerry of course (at least for how); but now we are about to have the Raspberry: an interesting computing device that has been under development in the UK for a while.
More to get out of the house that anything, after the excesses of the night before (when I discovered that pomelo juice makes an acceptable if unusual substitute for Indian tonic water in gin) I had a quick after-lunch wander round the Siam area.
Siam Discovery itself was relatively quiet in the early afternoon and the iStudio store was almost deserted at times: a stark comparison with a few days before.
Like a lot of people who write online (or in the press for that matter), I wondered about writing an end of year comment or review. There was after all, a lot to look back on. I also thought about including some smart quote (it was the best of times, it was the worst of times; this was their finest hour), but nothing really works without sounding trite. One of my writing teachers back in 1986 said be simple, be direct. With the amount of waffle we have to put up with online, that remains good advice.
I enjoy using graphics programs that help me with output. On the desktop of my Mac I have had a lot of enjoyment from Camerabag, which is like the iPhone app of the same name, as well as some of the applications that apply effects like Comic Life which has long been on my Macs. This is now also on my iPad. An application that has a lot of use is Posterino. While there is no iPhone or iPad app from Zykloid, I recently found a poster-making app called Phoster that has this purpose, although output is nowhere near the quality of Posterino. In comparing the power of the two devices -- Mac and iPhone -- this is hardly surprising; and forgivable.
It is not often that testing a new app can produce a spontaneous laugh, but that was what happened when trying out Grid Lens, a new app from Bucket Labs. This is is so nicely put together -- with some unusual interfacing -- that a user might miss the wider value of such software.
April Fool, South America style. Android activations reach 3.7 million over Xmas, but Apple activations are reported as 1.6 million higher. Apple TV rumours. Apple Archives at Stamford U. The iPad in government (not in Asia of course); the iPad for Orangutans; and new iPads.
When the term, Rare Earth, began to appear in the news towards the end of 2010, I wondered what the significance of it was. I was reminded slightly of Fuller's Earth, which had been dug out of the ground not far from my home in the UK. It is a substance used in cloth finishing, but has a range of other valuable uses. So do Rare Earths.
I have looked at three previous apps for the iPad from Fotopedia: on Burma, and on North Korea (both topical right now) and on Japan. In all three reviews I have written, which I am putting online again, the app is secondary to the content: the beautiful photographs that even oppressive regimes can do nothing about. This week a third app came into my collection: Wild Friends. This free app is available for the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad.
In June and July of 2011 I reviewed two apps from Fotopedia: a collaborative photo encyclopedia and online community. Later, in November, a third app -- on Japan -- was issued. With the closing of the AMITIAE site these items are no longer available there. As I am reviewing another app from the same developer, I am making the updated texts and some images from those earlier reviews available here.
Apple production growing. Redesigned iPad 3 coming soon. Acer coming to its senses? Not just yet. Microsoft and RIM criticised. Gambling is illegal in the state of mind I'm in. Warranties in Italy: Apple fined $1.2 million. No iPhones or BlackBerry devices in Argentina: it's the economy, stupid. Apple care for the iPhone in Thailand: forget it. Thailand off the radar again: thanks a bunch, Modahaus, for nothing.
A few weeks ago I looked at the arrival of a Moog Synthesizer app for the iPad: Animoog. My updated review of that is online. The app allows a user with limited resources to create electronic music fairly easily. Of course it helps if one has a musical background, but even the process of discovery can be revealing.
Moog Music Inc, have just released their Animoog for iPhone app for an introductory $0.99. The regular price is reported as $9.99. The arrival of this app moves the creation of such electronic musical adventures to an even smaller platform.
One of the applications that I would often see on my students' PC computers was a graphics program with the catchy name of ACDSee. This was so widespread that it looked to me, from the rose-tinted world of OS X, that this must be the de facto leader in photography sorting software, much like iPhoto is on the Mac.
With their Single Fun & Double Joy campaign, Thai carrier DTAC has announced a new package for marketing smartphones with tablets that extends to 16 February 2012.
Seiko Epson Corporation has announced that it has agreed to settle a lawsuit that was filed against it by Nokia, concerning liquid crystal displays (LCD). The litigation, in courts in the United States and the United Kingdom, had alleged violations of antitrust and competition laws.
You would think it would be a bit quiet this week with the US and half of Europe shut down for the season. SOPA has livened things up slightly. Lots coming soon, we wager once January gets going. iPad and iPhone comments. SOPA and GoDaddy. News on music, downloads and purchasing: or not in this area. DTAC's mea culpa (or should that be nostra culpa)?
This being Thailand, rather than snow or sleigh bells, we were awoken by the sounds of an Esaan band at the nearby temple as they warmed up for a monk's ordination today.
HP (Hewlett Packard) have just announced that it has made available an update for its LaserJet printers that will remove a security threat that could allow unauthorised access to some of these printers.
It has been sad to watch the contractions that the world's post offices have seen in the last few years. As services have become less reliable, electronic communication has taken over, but some services use a combination of modern messaging and traditional deliveries.
Steve Jobs' Grammy Award. iCloud development. An iPhone 4S joins my armoury. Lion update coming. Microsoft didn't jump, it was pushed out of CES we hear. Caveat Emptor: RIM. RIAA sites pirating music. S$350,000 data bill for careless SingTel who visited Taiwan.
IBM is building a cloud system for healthcare providers in Hong Kong and Macau by consolidating 100 servers used by some 600 the medical centers of Quality Health Care in the two locations to 8 IBM System x3650 servers.
I split the startup section into two parts because of the complex nature of some commands here. A long text is also harder to read and users may miss something important. In this part I outline keys that may be used at startup for some deeper maintenance, including work at the Unix command line. Back up essential data before considering using them. If in doubt, don't. A pause, or asking someone who does know may be better approaches. Links to other sections are at the end of this article.
In this second part (of three) of an examination of keystrokes on a Mac, I outline some keys that may be used at startup. These are essentially all related to maintenance or trouble-shooting. Users should back up their essential data before considering using them and should apply basic safety rules, starting with, If in doubt, don't. A pause, or asking someone who does know may save you from a potential disaster. Links to other sections are at the end of this article
One of the features of the first Macs was the mouse. It was dismissed by some as a device that no one would ever use. Evidence would suggest that this opinion was wrong. Paradoxically, most experienced users of Macs will resort to the keyboard for more efficient working. Key commands are far faster once learned. The 3 parts of this extended item on key commands have been rewritten based on the texts originally used on the AMITIAE site which is now gone.
It is not often that I praise Microsoft, so it may be worth taking note on this rare occasion. I did praise Redmond once before: for the same Tag app that used a proprietary form of tagging which was an interesting alternative to the more widely used bar codes and QR codes. But there is a sting in the tail. . . .
Xmas malware for some, but there may be an iPhone 4S in my stocking. Apple patent successes and failures; sales failures and successes (it depends on who you read, where they borrowed the ideas from and how many hits they want to garner). Sale of Anobit finalised. Apple and the 7" tablet that some are convinced about (I think this is not going to happen). RIM on the edge: now valued less than Apple's App Store. Google in antitrust enquiry on search. SingTel have LTE up and running.
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) is reporting that it is launching its Broadband on Mobile Prestige 75 service: a commercial inception of its LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile broadband service for S$69.90 a month.
In a press release IBM has announced that as part of its continuing and planned expansion in India and South Aisa, it is opening a branch office in Visakhapatnam, South East India. 2011 has seen IBM open 6 new offices within the country, and the company plans to have some 40 offices in India and South Asia within the next 2 years.
Just in case you are not aware of the potential for scams, spams, phishing and other attempts to get you to part with your passwords, credit card details, logins and cash at this festive time of the year, we have two extra warnings concerning emails directed at Mac users, one of which may affect users of Mobile Me.
I have been using the app, Transfire, on my iPhone since late February this year and find it particularly useful when I need to translate content between languages (in my case English and Thai) when I am on the go. David Greenberg from Transfire has issued a press release on the app and its availability -- free for a limited time. The main contents of the press release are reproduced here. . . .
Epson has announced the Moverio BT-100: a head-mounted display (HMD) offering wearers a chance to enjoy big-screen entertainment. The further a user stares into the distance, the larger the image looks: a viewer staring at a point 20 meters away sees the equivalent of a 320-inch display. It weighs only 240 grams.
System Preferences saw several changes with the update to OS X 10.7, Lion. While certain of the panels had additions and some had major changes, some kept the same interface. There were one or two losses, such as QuickTime. Some of the preferences have been renamed, such as Accounts which is now Users & Groups. It is a bit thin to call this an A - Z as really we only have B - U.
The Mac . . . has a summarising feature although these days it is fairly well hidden. Apple actually employs someone to develop the software for this and improve the algorithms to try and make it more accurate. It used to be found in one of the menus of the under-rated Text Edit application, but when I went looking to compare output with Summly, I was unable to find it.
Apple likely to have blow-out quarter and some Wall Street analysts want their share of the cake. Sales of iPads keep rising, so everyone hates the iPad (everyone except the users). Walter Isaacson to take 2 bites of the cherry. Zynga IPO not as stimulating as their games. Samsung backs off one patent, adds four more. British Telecom sues Google over 6 patents. Microsoft and Novell may need a rematch. Seagate and WD cutting some warranties from 5 years to 1 year. You can't give them away: thieves steal 5,000 BlackBerry PlayBooks in Indiana ironically heading for Canada. A Siri clone for Thailand?
About the hardest thing about Pixlr-o-Matic is the pronunciation. The rest is not only plain-sailing but there was such a rightness about this that as I was going through my first look at the app, I whispered to myself, "Oh, wow. . . ." That does not happen much these days.
This item first appeared on my AMITIAE site on 21 October 2011. As that site is now non-operational, I am making some of the more interesting or useful articles available on eXtensions. The text has been amended and includes information on an update to Animoog.
In the late 60s and early 70s there was a rush of electronic music and the Moog synthesizer was the de facto leader at that time. It was used on so many recordings made around that period -- sometimes over-used -- that it became synonymous with the electronic music that appeared a bit later . . . .
I have been playing with a Moog synthesizer on my iPad all day: Animoog.
At the All In Print Show currently running in Shanghai, China (14 - 17 December) at the International Expo Center, Kodak are reporting some considerable success with their highlighting of their range of solutions for printing, packaging, and publishing professionals.
When I first heard that Steve Jobs was allowing Walter Isaacson apparently-unlimited access his life and those around him, it was a signal that a line was being drawn. As we now know, it was part of the preparation for his demise that spurred Jobs on to this step and in typical fashion he chose Isaacson carefully.
I try very hard to resist new photo apps for the iPhone, but once in a while, something comes along that is intriguing enough for me to have a look. I recently downloaded an app with the basic, but descriptive name, 6 x 7. When looking at the specifications of 6 x 7 on the iTunes app store, I saw that the developer, Michael Hardaker, had other apps available, including 6 x 6. Also reviewed here are Finger Focus, My Sketch and OSnap!
All of these comments were previously on the AMITIAE site. With this no longer running, I am now making them available on eXtensions
Most mornings I check to see whether any apps have been updated and are available for download. There are several this morning that I find rather interesting: Pinball HD, New Yorker, Skype, TransFire XP and the Dictionary.com Dictionary and Thesaurus.
In a comment that is sure to have some reaction from those who know better, Steve Wozniak, Apple's co-founder has said in an interview with the BBC that Apple could never have happened in Singapore -- where long hair was once banned -- with its restrictive approach to its citizenry and everything else.
Apple's investments in Israel. Cupertino is one of the top 10 places to work at (#10). Is iChat finally getting into bed with MSN? This week, there's an awful lot of Apple in Brazil. Plus the iPhone 4S in Thailand (+pic). OK to use iPads on flights for pilots but not for passengers. Apple is going to fail real soon according to the gnomes of Taiwan. Microsoft hypocrisy. Kindle Fire security problems. New HP logo mooted: 6 slash marks is all it takes. Copyright, Straits Times, facts, information and Yahoo! BlackBerry 10 delayed.
What has made the iPhone such a useful device for me is not just the camera, but the photographic apps that make use of the feature. Instead of having to waste so much time, as we might with a desktop application (at least in the past) to apply filters, jiggle with contrast and brightness, then sharpen, an app can do all of this in micro-seconds. . . .
Vintage Cam, as the name suggests, has a specific range of effects that can be applied in order that the photographs may look like those of days past. While there is a certain nostalgia, being able to provide a different way of looking at a standard scene is refreshing and many such images can be seen on sites like Facebook these days. Even in photography, the medium is the message.
A problem that afflicts many Mac owners after a few months is that the disk becomes full. The time will vary depending on the user and the type of activity that the computer is used for, but bit by bit, the space is eaten up. As OSX needs a fair amount of space to swap data, create temporary files and create caches and logs, once we get to around 80% full, some slowness may appear.
If I receive an email from users with the idea that their Macs are running slow, "What can I do?", I am tempted to offer tea and sympathy. There are so many potential causes that a little more detail is useful before I can come up with a maybe answer.
Most of the time I like to experiment with some of the software photography apps that are available for iOS users. I recently took delivery of a 3-in-one lens kit for the iPhone: the olloclip, with macro, fisheye and wide-angle lenses. As with many things concerning technology, this needs some compromise, but initial results are fairly pleasing. This article first appeared on 27 October 2011 on the former AMITIAE site and has been amended.
During the late 1960s and the 1970s one of my must-reads every month was Motor Sport, edited then by William Boddy (WB) who only recently passed away, with major contributions by Denis Jenkinson (DSJ) who was also the co-driver to Stirling Moss (and created the rolling map as a navigation tool) when he won the Mille Miglia in 1955. . . .
I wrote to the editor some months ago over something I had read and wondered in my email about an iPad edition. All things are under consideration, I was told, but. . . .
Opening Comments
That "but" must have been a wait and see. Motor Sport has joined the ranks of publications available on the app store. Like many apps from the publishing industry this is free, but the content will be by subscription. The information in the iTunes store page for the app tells us that it "will be free to all our print subscribers in the future".
Apple updates, rumours, speculation, and some problems. Apple buys Israeli company Anobit: specialist in memory solutions. Siri for the iPhone may become Siri for the Mac (and everything else). New apps unavailable here. iTunes store for Brazil and all of Latin America. FBI using carrier IQ data. Police apologise for treatment of 15-year old photographer: compensation too. Sony buying its way out of trouble. Hard disk shortages will get worse early 2012. Does the Higgs boson exist?
Over the weekend, the website I have been using for the last few months had some problems with the domain name after a miscommunication had me pay the bill late. Instead of coming back online, the site and the hosting service were unavailable owing, I am told, to a crashed hard disk. . . .
As part of a retrieval process, I thought it useful to provide some of the images of Bangkok flooding 2011 I had earlier put online. They are available (thumbnails and larger images) over two pages -- some 69 images -- with no editorial comment on the eXtensions site.
Analysts are not convinced that Sony Chairman, Howard Stringer is pursuing the right strategy in the company's fight to rival Apple: a battle it may have lost a long time ago according to a report on the Bloomberg site by Naoko Fujimura.
In a press release, HP have announced that executive vice president and general counsel Michael J, Holston is to leave HP to "pursue other opportunities."
We see in Software Update this morning that Apple has released a new version of iTunes (10.5.2). The update, we are told, includes several improvements for iTunes Match and fixes an audio distortion problem when playing or importing certain CDs.
One of the problems that many photographers face, is focus. With a digital image, there is much flexibility in the ways that we may manipulate any photograph to prepare for final output.
Apple in a patent Purgatory. Cupertino sued in illegal search for missing iPhone 4S. Comments on the iPad. Your kids will love a Kindle Fire for Xmas: no parental controls. Rumour: Ballmer out, Gates in at Microsoft. HP gives away another family jewel. Local iPhone 4S pricing. Flooding fallout: problems at AMITIAE -- a move back to eXtensions.
As a side-effect of the flooding, the domain for AMITIAE was not renewed so I am putting this on my other site (I hope temporarily). Aperture updated. Apple rumours: new products. The EU first, now the US Justice Dept looks at publishers, Apple and books. Some silliness on Siri. Notes on the iPad and some new iOS apps. Editing Wikipedia and a lobbyists scandal in the UK. S[edition]: a way to buy digital art.
View Channel
