Author: Brandon

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Get ready to meet the new MacBook Pro line!

According to MacRumors, they have a reliable source that informs them that the expected release date for the new MacBook Pro line is February 24, 2011. With the MacBooks being updated with Intel Core i5 and i7 chips last year, it is about time for the MacBook to be more up-to-date with Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors. The new processors should be much faster and require less energy consumption. We are expecting Apple to release five new models. There will be two new 13-inch versions, two new 15-inch versions, and one new 17-inch version. Apple will most likely use the sleek design from the MacBook Air and bring it to the MacBook Pro. There are also many more rumors out there for us to go over.

There have been rumors about Intel having to delay the Sandy Bridge chips, which was true. Can we be sure that the delay affected the new MacBook Pro? No, because we aren’t even a hundred percent sure that the new MacBook Pro will even implement the new Sandy Bridge processors. As for rumors about the design, it sounds completely plausible for the new MacBook Pro to look very similar to the MacBook Air, as the MacBook Air is Apple’s latest model. With Apple changing their website color to a color similar to liquid metal, rumors have it that Apple may use liquid metal instead of aluminum. There are also reports that Apple will use liquid metal in battery cases. Since Apple has received the rights to LiquidMetal patents, it would make sense that Apple would use that technology on their products. Another rumor about the design is that it will be lighter if they use the stronger, lighter, and scratch resistant aluminum material. There are also claims that they will have a longer battery life, which is very likely. Battery life usually last longer then the previous model when Apple comes out with a newer model.

As for price, the prices for the new MacBook Pros are rumored to be:

$1499 — 13 inch

$1199 — 13 inch

$2499 — 17 inch

$2199 — 15 inch

$1799 — 15 inch

The rumors will be put to the test on February 24, 2011. If the MacBook Pro is released on February 24, we will be able to see all the new features of the new MacBook Pro. As a matter of fact, February 24 happens to be Steve Jobs’ birthday, what a coincidence. I am excited to see what Apple has developed this time. It’s time to save up for a new MacBook Pro.

Leave questions or comments below.

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Which iOS features should be on the Mac OS X?

Which iOS features would you want on your Mac? Touch screen definitely sounds like a fun feature for the Mac. Wouldn’t it be cool to change your Mac into a touch screen like an iPhone and change it back? There are rumors that Apple is planning to make an iMac with a screen that pivots into a horizontal touch mode. It sounds like it will be a combination of a Mac and an iPad. It sounds like they should call it a MacBook touch or something like that. Combining the features of both would be really cool because the touch screen is what attracts many users to iOS devices. There are also many other features that would be great for Mac OS X.

Virtual iPhone dashboard widgets could be a possible feature for Mac OS X. Your Mac would have a screen that looks similar to an iPhones, with wallpaper, apps, and etc. It would be easy to organize your programs and it would make use of all the free space on your desktop. When you look at your Mac desktop, it looks very empty and spacious, but your iOS devices have different pages of apps. Some may prefer to have this feature offered on their Mac. It should be an optional feature.

What else does your iOS device do that your Mac doesn’t? Your iOS device has the option to alert you automatically if you receive an email, even if your device is on sleep mode. Wouldn’t it be smart to give that feature to your Mac? The idea of having your Mac alert you that you have received a new email while the Mac is on sleep mode is fairly simple. Apple should definitely allow people to use that feature and for those that don’t want to, turn it off.

Have you ever noticed that when you play music off your iPod touch or your iPhone, it is simple and organized, but when you play music off iTunes, it can look pretty cluttered? Don’t you think it is time that Apple made an iPod app or Music app on your computer that may be simpler and more organized then your iTunes? I think so. Also, my iTunes can be really slow, so I think having an iPod app might help.

When you are outside, you take out your iPhone and can surf the internet from wherever if you have 3G, right? If you are lost, you can just check your GPS on your iPhone too and find directions. There are many people that also take their MacBook everywhere, so shouldn’t they have the same features as an iPhone? Should there be 3G for the MacBook? I think that 3G should be made available for MacBook users, especially when it is made available for the iPad.

Another feature that iOS devices have is that many iOS apps have notifications that are provided by third-party software. It notifies you if there is new information and other important news. Apple should definitely provide a feature that provides notifications for your apps on your Mac too.

When you go on an airplane, you can click Airplane Mode on your iOS device. But can your Mac do that? Not that I know of. If Apple adds that feature, that will be really helpful to those that travel a lot with their MacBooks. You should definitely add that feature on so people don’t have to manually turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth separately.

Your iOS device has iBooks and Game Center, but your Mac still doesn’t have either of them. It is about time that Apple provides iBooks as a feature. If I wanted to read a book on my Mac, rather then my small iPhone, I would really want that feature. Game Center should also be a feature for Mac OS X. People get pretty competitive with gaming on the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s time for the competition to get started on the Mac.

All and all, I figure that Mac OS X definitely needs an upgrade. Why does iOS have so many features that Mac OS X doesn’t have? It’s not because it isn’t useful on the Mac, so it’s probably about time for Apple to improve Mac OS X. Once Mac OS X gets more features such as an iPod app and touch screen, I can’t wait to use my Mac.

What do you think?

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Apple & Android Covering Smartphone Ground

You probably all noticed that when you use your apps, there might be ads somewhere on the side. There are many ad companies that are trying to take advantage of all the apps available to smart phones. Global mobile ad network InMobi is making a big step to gain smartphone ad share. Last year in June, InMobi offered a $2 million dollar promotion for Apple and Android mobile app developers. How did it work? Usually InMobi keeps 40% of the advertising revenue, while the developer takes 60%, but during the promotion, the developer takes 100% of the advertising revenue. That encouraged people to sign up. By October 2010, InMobi was serving up 5.8 billion ad impressions on smart phones. The iPhone holds the largest amount of ad impressions for any single device out their. InMobi has also stated that in December, Android surpassed iPhone OS in holding the largest amount of ad impressions.

Google also purchased AdMob last year. With mobile advertising greatly increasing, Google wants to take advantage of all the different apps that publishers and developers make. Mobile advertising plays an important role in the marketing force. Apple at first did not allow any third-party mobile advertisers on its iAds mobile advertising platform, but it changed its agreement to allow third-party ad publishers.

Another big factor in the amount of mobile ad impressions on Apple and Android smart phone devices is the amount of activation claims. There are sources that say that there is a 2.5 to 1 ratio of Apple iPhone sales to Verizon Droid sales, but than again, there are also many other Android devices on other carriers. With the iPhone 4 becoming available at Verizon on February 10, 2011, I think iPhone 4 activation claims will increase and the iPhone 4 will definitely increase in mobile ad impressions. Ad companies should definitely keep an eye on the iPhone 4.

What do you think?

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iTunes to go to the cloud with Safari?

First of all, let’s talk about Safari. What is Safari? Safari is a web browser. It is designed to remove the majority of distractions by having a browser frame that is a single pixel wide. The scroll bar appears only when needed. Safari works on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. Safari Reader removes distractions such as ads and helps you focus on the online articles you want to read. Safari also has Private Browsing, which makes it so Safari does not remember information such as your history and cookies.

Now let’s talk about iTunes. What is iTunes? iTunes is a free application that runs on Mac and PC. It organized your music and movies into a library. iTunes can play your music, movies, videos, and TV shows on your Mac or PC. iTunes also has the iTunes Stores, a marketplace that sells music, videos, movies, and TV shows for you to download for a cheap price. iTunes also makes it easy to sync your music and videos onto your iPod, iPad, and iPhone. iTunes can also wirelessly sync your iTunes library to your Apple TV.

There have been rumors that iTunes is going to the Cloud with Safari. Apple may be preparing to merge Safari and iTunes. In December 2009, Apple bought the company Lala for $80 million. Using the technology from Lala, Apple will be able to incorporate iTunes into Safari and permanently make iTunes a web-only application that is exclusive to Safari. If this happens, Safari will most likely become a more popular web browser.

If iTunes goes to the cloud, there will be advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of iTunes going to the cloud is that you will be able to access your whole entire library from anywhere where you have access to the internet. The disadvantage of iTunes going to the cloud is that you won’t have access to your library from your computer alone. All the music, videos, movies, and other stuff that you purchased from the iTunes store would not be stored onto your computer if iTunes goes to the cloud. If iTunes were to shut down, all the money you put into buying the music and videos would go to waste.

What do you think? Is this a good idea or a bad idea?

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Steve Jobs on medical leave?

You all know that Apple makes great products such as the Mac and the iPod, but there is one thing you should all know. Everyone knows that Steve Jobs is the iconic figure for Apple. Steve Jobs is the co-founder and CEO at Apple. Everyone knows that without Steve Jobs, Apple would be very different. On January 17, 2011, Steve Jobs announced he would take his third medical leave in less than six years. With Steve Jobs taking medical leave, people can’t help but speculate what will happen if Steve Jobs leaves Apple for good. Apple’s stock always drops when Steve Jobs takes a medical leave of absence. Jobs also mentioned that he will still take part in the company’s major strategic decisions. Why is Steve Jobs so important? Apple is very unique when it comes to its products. Steve Jobs has an exceptional talent for creating new products that people want and love. He is able to think of various ideas and make it happen.

If Steve Job’s leaves, someone else will have to replace him. Will that person be just as good as Steve Jobs or better? While Steve Jobs is out on medical leave, COO Tim Cook has stepped in to take his place. Cook is known to focus on the company’s supply chain. Cook is also an important figure at Apple because his role in the company’s supply chain has made it so there are enough Apple products to meet the demand, while making sure there aren’t a ton of unsold products lying around. Maybe Tim Cook will replace Steve Jobs permanently if Steve Jobs leaves Apple. Not much is known about who will succeed Jobs after he finally decides to leave Apple for good.

When Steve Jobs sent the email to all Apple employees about his leave of absence, he asked for people to respect his privacy. Do you think people will really respect his privacy? There are many out there that want to know why he is taking a medical leave of absence and what is going to happen to Jobs. There are many who believe that Jobs should not have been given a liver two years ago. People believe that Jobs was given the liver due to his advantage of being a powerful, wealthy figure and that the liver might have been able to save someone else’s life who may have been on the waiting list for the liver. People want answers, and I don’t think they will respect Steve Jobs privacy.

What do you think?

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