Categories
News

Apple Launches a New iPad: Here’s The Breakdown!

Apple recently released the update to its popular tablet device, the iPad. Instead of being called the iPad 3, this new iPad will be called exactly that, “the new iPad”. Why the change in the name? Apple claims that the move to drop the numbering system for the iPad is because the iPad is meant to serve as a replacement to standard laptop PC. The MacBook and iMac product lines are not numbered, and now the iPad isn’t, either. Despite my initial misgivings about this, I have to say that this was a good call by Apple. The older iPads are out of date, and when a standard consumer looks for a new iPad, they will buy the new one as it comes out, trusting Apple to put the best specifications in to the new model. The new iPad, in addition to the name change, also offers several new features and updated specs.

The first major difference between the iPad 2 and the new iPad is the display. The retina display, also featured on the iPhone 4, increases the number of pixels in the screen drastically to improve the viewing quality and making images look sharper. In fact, Apple claims that the iPad has a million more pixels than an HDTV! The technology of the Retina display is incredible, and if you want to see how Apple engineers managed to fit so many pixels in such a small area check out this video.

The next major upgrade of the new iPad is the new processing chip, the A5X. The A5X is a quad-core processing chip that makes gaming on the Retina display look absolutely stunning, without any lag. The new chip still manages to conserve the battery life of the iPad, know for its longevity, to 10 hours with standard usage.

Another major upgrade Apple made to the hardware of the device is the iSight camera. The new iSight camera is 5 megapixels and records 1080p HD video, but that’s not what makes it amazing. As any camera aficionado knows, more megapixels does not always mean a better picture, and Apple had this in mind when designing the new camera. The new iSight features advanced optics technology to make the best use of the lighting of an area, and uses advanced features like IR light filtering that is typically used in high-end cameras. All of this comes together to produce beautiful images that look absolutely stunning on the new iPad’s Retina display.

A major upgrade that Apple users have been waiting for is 4G internet connection. 4G speeds means incredibly fast internet and the end of looking for free Wi-Fi while on the go. The iPad also offers tethering, so the iPad can serve as a mobile hotspot for your iPhone or other devices. Apple is finally making the move to supporting 4G, and now it is only a matter of time before it makes its way to the iPhone.

Apple, in an effort to make the iPad closer to the desktop experience, launched the full iOS version of iLife. This means that iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband are now available on the App Store to download. The iLife suite allows users to effectively manage their photos, movies, and music on the go, allowing iPad owners to get rid of their computers completely and still be able to access and edit their important files. Combined with iWork, iLife allows users to work and play on the iPad in a way that was previously impossible, meshing the desktop and tablet experience.

Since the release of Siri on the iPhone 4S, questions of how the iPad will incorporate this feature have been flying around the internet. The new iPad finally answers these questions simply: it won’t. The iPad’s screen is too big to accommodate the bar on the bottom for Siri, and no one takes out an iPad just so that they can make a quick reminder to themselves. However, the iPad does not totally do away with voice control, as it adds dictation. The keyboard in the new iPad has a microphone icon identical to Siri’s which, when pressed, allows the user to speak out what they would have typed. This feature works in every application, making it easy to type out long emails or make a Facebook status without setting down your iPad to type.

An interesting feature that Apple included in the new iOS built for the new iPad is AirPlay mirroring. This feature allows the screen of an iPad to be projected on to a TV screen with an Apple TV connected to it. Apps can be opened to show presentations and games can be played on the large screen for everyone to see. This feature is incredibly helpful for using the iPad in the classroom as well, allowing teachers to work a math problem or read a book in real time through a TV screen.

The new iPad isn’t a revolutionary change from the iPad 2, but it adds some much needed hardware improvements that make it a great buy. Apple looked to combine the PC and tablet experience with the new iPad, creating an impressive and great looking product. Many of the new changes made to the iPad were carried over from the iPhone 4S, such as the Retina display, and others were expected, such as 4G and the new processing chip. However, Apple, as with all of their products, managed to incorporate new ideas and subtle changes that make the iPad great.

What are your thoughts on the new iPad? Do you feel that Apple left anything out in its design?

Categories
News

Mountain Lion: What’s New? Here’s the Breakdown!

A few days ago Apple announced a new update for its operating system to be released this summer. This update, officially called Mac OS X version 10.8, will be nicknamed Mountain Lion. While this is not a major upgrade for users running Lion, Mountain Lion introduces some exciting new features geared towards unifying the desktop experience with the feel of the iPad and iPhone. In fact, many of the updates introduced will be familiar to iOS owners.

One such update is the new Messages app, which brings iMessage to the Mac. Messages allows Mac users to send free messages to iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or to other Mac users. An interesting feature of Messages is that it combines this new feature with iChat, allowing you to have an AIM conversation alongside an iMessage conversation with an iPhone user or even Facetime.

 Apple added new features to iCloud, including adding a document saving feature to the popular service. iCloud allows you to sync mail accounts, contacts, calendar events, Safari history, and preferences, making it easier to set up your computer by allowing you to enter your email address once and having it be used universally. Use an Apple ID for a number of applications, and not only are your apps synced to your iPhone from a backup in the cloud. Now your documents created in Pages automatically sync between devices, allowing a document to be viewed on a Mac, saved, then picked up later on an iOS device to be continued or printed.

One of the coolest new features added in to Mountain Lion is the new Notification Center. This is another carry-over from the iPad, allowing every alert from applications to show up in the top righthand corner of the screen, then saved in an easy to access menubar. As soon as I had upgraded to Mountain Lion, I was greeted by an alert that I had a new software update, and when I clicked on the alert the Mac App Store opened up to download my update. This feature works with a number of native to mac applications, and I’m excited to see if developers can take advantage of this feature and incorporate it within their own apps. Those familiar to the popular notification service Growl will be familiar to the style of notifications used, but the sidebar to easily view previous notifications is unlike any notification service I have previously encountered. One gripe I have about this feature is that the only way to open the sidebar to view the notifications is to click on the icon for it in the menubar. Hopefully in the final release Apple will add a trackpad gesture to quickly open the sidebar like on the iPad.

In Lion, Reminders were synced over iCloud from an iOS device to the Calendar app, where they could be viewed in a small sidebar separate from the rest of the app. Mountain Lion gives these Reminders their own standalone app. I use Reminders frequently on my iPhone with Siri, an it’s nice to be able to easily access these reminders and to be alerted through Notification Center when they are due. It’s really useful and cool to ask my phone to remind me something, then have that reminder waiting for me when I get home.

The Notes app is a simple application for jotting down notes that you don’t want to open an entire word processor to enter in. You can add pictures and format text, and the notes automatically sync to iCloud for easy access to them on the go. It’s perfect for creating a shopping list that can be viewed on the iPhone at the grocery store without having to email it to yourself. In addition, these notes can be pinned to the desktop and act as sticky notes to help remind you to do tasks like actually go to the grocery store.

Another feature on the iPad that is brought to the Mac is GameCenter. GameCenter allows you to get achievements and to compete with friends universally on the iPhone, and now it will be used in Mac App Store apps, too. While no apps currently use it, this feature has promise and will make playing games on my Mac even more fun!

Gatekeeper is an interesting new feature that brings the Mac App Store closer to becoming a “walled garden”. This feature lets you choose if you want only applications from the Mac App Store to run, if you want only apps from the App Store and Apple recognized developers to run, or if you want every app to run. This feature moves closer to Apple’s goal of making the App Store a one stop shop for every Mac application, and makes the Mac more like the iPhone and iPad, where the only applications purchased through the App Store run. In addition to this option, Apple has gotten rid of the separate Software Update app, instead allowing users to download and install these updates from the Mac App Store, further moving every application download to the App Store.

Apple included a new universal “Share” button to its list of updates for Mountain Lion. This button, accessible from nearly all native Mac OS X applications, allows you to quickly share anything you might have been working on as an email, a Message, or a Tweet. Twitter, in fact, has been integrated system wide, and you can receive Twitter notifications through the Notification Center.

Airplay Mirroring allows you to easily stream your Mac’s desktop to your HDTV through an Apple TV. It’s great for watching iMovies and giving Keynote presentations, but it’s also just plain cool to use your TV as a screen for your laptop. Browsing the Internet or playing flash games on a huge screen is pretty addicting, and I was surprised I how much I find myself playing around with this feature.

These updates aren’t the only features added in Mountain Lion; in fact, there are hundreds of minor changes that Apple made to the Mac experience, including adding a search bar in Launchpad, combining the search bar and the address bar in Safari, and making it easier to drag files between full screen apps.

What are your thoughts on Mountain Lion?

Categories
News Opinion

Day 1 as an Apple Employee

According to Business Insider, the typical goal of a new hire orientation at most companies is to excite the employees with the new company. Employees are typically greeted with a shiny new computer and company swag. While some of this is similar to Apple, day 1 as an Apple employee requires you to setup a shiny new Mac.

That’s right, no tech support. Apple assumes that if they hired you, you must be smart enough to setup a new computer. This unique way of approaching technology helps break the ice by having employees help one another.

Apple has been notoriously know for their secrecy. The head of security tells the new employees that they will be fired if they leak information. Apple has even been heard to have place employees on “fake products” before they think they can trust them.

The unique part of Apple’s culture can be linked to the success Apple has had over the past few years. Does revolutionizing industries such as the phone and music industry require this magnitude of strictness to produce results?

What do you think about Apple’s unique culture? Can you argue with their unique ways if they produce phenomenal results?

Categories
Average Joe's Tips

How To: View Your Apple Support Profile

Apple Support Profile is a great way to view your history, warranty information, and other details of your apple products. Getting there is easy, just click this link: Apple Support Profile. After that sign into your apple ID account and all items registered under that account will apear. In your Apple Support Profile you will be able to view and do many things like: adding nicknames to your apple devices, viewing/ changing your user information, view serial numbers, unregister devices, coverage details, case activity, repair activity, support resources, and much more. This was a great tip from @MacGeekPro and OSXdaily.com.

Categories
Reviews

Review: OmniFocus

After being swamped with a multitude of tasks, the next step was to determine how to finish all of these tasks. When OmniFocus launches, it becomes apparent that the developers of OmniFocus wanted to build a great Getting Things Done (GTD) application. OmniFocus is a complex beast, but the features OmniFocus provides are invaluable. OmniFocus can be found on the Mac, iPhone and iPad.

Task Management

OmniFocus excels in task management. The key to the OmniFocus task management is that it allows the user to create a task and have the actions required to complete the action. One of the reasons why task management programs do not provide success for the user is because the task added can be very abstract. The abstract task they want to accomplish requires many different actions to complete the task. OmniFocus aids the user to breakdown the task into the actions that will bring successful completion of the task. This is one of the most powerful features of OmniFocus.

Design

OmniFocus launches to a basic user interface that allows complete customization of the application from the toolbar to view. Since OmniFocus contains complexity in the organization of actions, this requires you to open the Inspector using more screen real estate.

Syncing

Unlike other GTD applications, OmniFocus triumphs in the syncing of the application. OmniFocus allows for local network, MobileMe, WebDav, Disk or even the Omni Sync Server. The Omni Sync Server allows for Over-the-Air (OTA) syncing. This is a definite plus not only to backup the current OmniFocus database, but to also sync the database to other mobile devices.

Mobile

The Omni Group does a great job implementing the application in the mobile environment. Currently, OmniFocus is available for iPhone and iPad and can sync your OmniFocus Mac version OTA, so you will always have your tasks on the go. Additionally, the option of OTA allows for an automated and cloud stored version of the OmniFocus database as well as no hassle between syncing versions. The iOS version of OmniFocus does a great job of providing the majority of features of the Mac version to the iOS versions. The iOS versions use location for its advantage by providing helpful information for the user when creating or using a task.

Closing thoughts

OmniFocus helps ensure that projects will be completed through the breakdown of actions that are required for a project to be completed. In addition to the breakdown of actions, OmniFocus provides users with an option of OTA syncing which can allows for the backup of the database as well as no hassle syncing between devices. A major setback to the adoption of OmniFocus is the price of the application. OmniFocus for Mac costs: $79.99 and the iPhone version costs: $19.99, but the value of OmniFocus outweighs the cost. OmniFocus provides the tools to mark tasks off of your tasks list. Take OmniFocus for a spin, visit the site the OmniFocus site.