Category: General Tech

CNET has posted a nice collection of sketches and screenshots documenting the developement of the Windows 7 user interface:

Much of the early work in coming up with the Windows 7 desktop was done not at a computer, but in freehand drawings. Some was on whiteboards, others on notepads or scraps of paper. “We would sketch on anything available, (Microsoft designer Stephan) Hoefnagels recalled.

The best thoughts that have come to mankind over the years were drawn on scraps of papers and on napkins.

Continue reading ⇢

Apple Insider:

Published for the first time this week, a patent filing for the process reveals that Apple wants to provide a more secure method for preventing unauthorized access to a whole device – or private information on that device – than current techniques like passcodes; however, it also wants to avoid taking up the owner’s time with a separate scan or consuming extra space with a distinct reader.

The solution, the company suggests, would be to automatically use a sensor either hidden within the device or else repurposed from its usual role. Devices could recognize a fingerprint* or finger vein pattern simply by waiting for the user to touch the display, which would hide the sensors on or behind the screen. A forward-facing camera could alternately look for retinal patterns or even recognize the facial features of owners when they’re in the right position for use.

Continue reading ⇢

Headlights as pixels. It’s great.

Continue reading ⇢

My favorite part:

All of your iTunes… the complete works of Kenny G

Don’t worry baby… we can download that shit for free

Continue reading ⇢

Apple Insider:

…speculation pointed to the adoption of the smoother iTunes-style scrollbars and a move towards a darker chrome motif for application windows alongside an inverted menubar with light text on a dark background.

I think this is right on the money. iLife tends to give little glimpses into of the next version of OS X. A darker, more subdued, and more minimal user interface seems to fit not only with the newer versions of Apple’s other software, but with the iPhone OS as well.

Continue reading ⇢

CNET took the new hybrid for a spin:

Toyota added driving mode buttons, so you can set the car for Eco or Power driving. The Eco setting maps down the acceleration curve at midthrottle, while Power increases it, resulting in noticeably better hill climb and fast start capability. The effect of these modes are negated when you mash the pedal, which tells the Prius to give it everything it’s got no matter what mode it’s in. Toyota also added an EV button, which tells the car to drive under electric power until either the driver calls for more acceleration than the electric motor can produce, the battery gets too low, or the car goes above 25 mph.

Continue reading ⇢

Computerworld:

The iPod Touch doesn’t have a cellular connection, but users can access the Internet via Wi-Fi. It generated 6.7% of mobile traffic for AdMob in February. That’s less than the 11.2% traffic generated from the iPhone, but more than any other mobile phone. Motorola’s Razr came in third place, with 2.9% of AdMob’s traffic.

Continue reading ⇢

iPhone OS 3.0 is set to include the ability to tether an iPhone to a computer to share the phone’s 3G connection - basically giving laptop users Internet anywhere via AT&T’s network. There have been successful attempts at tethering iPhones running the 3.0 beta already, but without any information from AT&T about pricing for the additional traffic. Here’s Ars Technica on the subject:>

We asked AT&T how Ars readers might update their iPhone 3G accounts to include tethering. AT&T responded by… not giving us any information. (The carrier said we must contact Apple instead.) After a brief back and forth, it became clear that any discussion regarding modification of iPhone accounts could only be handled by Apple. Our e-mail to Apple, which included AT&T’s redirect, was not answered by publication time.

Continue reading ⇢

Macworld:

Along with the introduction of the iPhone in January 2007, Apple also announced the iPhone Bluetooth Headset, a small, sleek-looking wireless earpiece that cost $129 and featured automatic paring with the iPhone. It originally shipped with a travel cable and dual dock, both of which allowed it to be simultaneously charged along with your iPhone.

In July last year, Apple stopped bundling the dual dock with the headset and dropped the price to $99, perhaps in an attempt to bolster disappointing sales. It didn’t seem to have helped, though, since the product has now been discontinued.

Continue reading ⇢

From Newton Poetry:

There are still Newton-like features missing on the touch screen platforms: a wide-open application base, handwriting recognition, innovative file system, and kick-ass battery life. Newton users never have to worry about Apple rejecting a great app, or of losing service thanks to AT&T’s sub-par network.

But still. Eventually, Newton users will have fewer and fewer excuses not to make an upgrade of some kind. If the very thing Newton die-hards are looking for - a bigger iPod Touch with full PIM capabilities - comes out in the next few months, will a lack of handwriting recognition be enough to hold off on making the purchase? What will be left lacking?

Continue reading ⇢

Despite the typo in their name, the “Virtual Apple 2” is a very slick project. Here’s the info straight from the horse’s mouth:

Virtual Apple ][ is a site which will take you back to the 1980’s through its collection of more than 1250 game disks online. Play and enjoy old Apple ][ (Apple2) and Apple IIgs games and other disks through your Internet web browser. You will find games like Oregon Trail and Number Munchers which many of you played as kids, as well as games like Tetris, Battle Chess, Leisure Suit Larry, Choplifter, Archon II and Kings Quest.

Continue reading ⇢

CNET:

IE 8 does have more problems than mere JavaScript engine speeds. It scores a 20/100 on the Acid3 test, the lowest of the major browsers, and the installation process still requires a reboot. There’s no default “smart” location bar that many other browsers have, although you can search your history and most visited pages from it.

Sure, there is a lot more that goes into a browser that makes it a great browser, but doing well on the  Acid3 Test is one for me.

Continue reading ⇢