This company maybe the one supplying the mapping information for iOS 6. Really great write up done by 9to5Mac gives a feature by feature breakdown of what C3 is bringing to Cupertino.
Archive for Apple
BlackBerry 10 Camera
I never thought I would be impressed by Blackberry for something innovative. Well I was by this tiny snippet of the 2012 Keynote. Slight problem, this was the only thing that impressed. 3… 2… 1… An Android/iOS dev somewhere has started the app development. Soon there will be an App for that. Sheez.
1-Bit Camera app
The apps keep bringing retro sexy back. First it was Instagram with its Lomo-esque filters or polaroid film borders. Now we have 1-Bit Camera that takes photography back to when we had digital photography but it was still in its infancy. Harking back to my Apple Quicktake camera that let me take digital photos but with so much noise they were basically useless (compared to the slick ISO of my Canon DSLR). Not long before we see cassette tape shaped iPhone cases. Oh wait.
Not My Parents
This is a funny video but thankfully my family doesn’t operate this way. In fact my mom was the one who gave me my first iPad.
App-solutely Necessary
There are so many apps available now digging through all of them to find the gems can be a tedious process. I love to do this sort of App mining so I end up with literally hundreds of apps I go through or even have at any one time. My iPad for example has well over 200 apps right now and I am constantly cycling through new ones and deleting old ones. While many are just gaming apps that let me waste even more time in my day some are actually productive and help me get through my day. Some actually are very hard for me to live without! Apps especially that are ubiquitous across Android and iOS definitely garner more attention as I usually carry (no kidding) a Samsung Galaxy S2 (primary phone), Dell Streak 7 running custom Honeycomb OS, iPad1 (64gb cause any less would be useless to me), iPod Touch (64gb again), and a Kindle. That list does not include laptop(s) including 11″ Macbook Air, Dell workhorse, Dell 2100 Netbook with Linux, Dell Mini 9 Netbook with Snow Leopard, but usually there are only going to be two of those with me.
Either way this post isn’t about my atrocious addiction to carrying gear, but instead the apps that I use across all those devices I couldn’t live without. I am not going to talk about Mail, Calendar, or other basic apps that are built into the core of the devices but those apps obviously get ludicrous screen time.
First up are the ubiquitous ones which as stated before inherently get most of my attention for their cross platform nature.
Evernote: If you don’t have this then I assume you are a conceited forgetful and useless individual. Like a waiter who refuses to write down complicated orders there is some hubris to someone who thinks they can remember all the details of life and/or work. Ok I’m not really trying to be that harsh but Evernote is my second brain. Any random notes, images, recordings, journals, and even blog posts can immediately be jotted down. This app is wonderful on Android, iOS, even Google Chrome as a web clipper.
Dropbox: What I did before Dropbox came into my life makes me feel like it was a primeval time using USB flash drives or even worse… CDs! *Gasp* When there is such widespread access to the internet, actually moving files with any sort of physical medium does seem aged. Dropbox’s capability to automatically sync files across my devices makes it so much easier than a cable or being harnessed into my machines.
Kinotopic – iPhone app to create Kinos and Cinemagraphs
Kinotopic – iPhone app to create Kinos and Cinemagraphs. is available today for free on the iTunes app store.
Lion
The Lion OSX 10.7 on my Macbook Air is just awesome. Yes some apps are buggy and I am sure that they will get fixed over time, but overall it has been really good to me. I know some people think it is garbage. I know some of the folder management was weird (but can be changed back to more traditional file structure). I know I had to learn a whole Tai Chi like way of using the trackpad but it has been rewarding. Being a huge Keyboard shortcut user, having some slick functionality added to that trackpad has me coming back to it more now. The easy of navigating windows has me less and less using Command – Tab and more swipey uppy downy movements instead. More experimenting is on going right now but I just had to post because I needed to.
Breathing New Air
I apologize for the horrible pun, but I am pretty excited about this Macbook Air. Thanks to a lucky draw I was able exchange an iPad2 and get this little machine. I have always liked the Air but underwhelmed with its processor and SSD size. This new Air with an i5 processor and 4gb of RAM is just about perfect. Now I am shopping for a possible harddrive upgrade and looking at the 320gb from OWC. I know I know… I will break in this laptop a little more before I start hacking on it. The iPad has dropped off my “goto” device list now thanks to this MBA.
Project Delta: iResign – Steve Jobs
Today some news came out of Apple that surprised and shocked the consumer electronics world. Steven P. Jobs was leaving Apple (sort of). Before I knew it the news was everywhere and I couldn’t escape it. My Flipboard was suddenly filled with varying images of Mr. Jobs in his classic black top with jeans as the tech world reeled with predictions of death and destruction. Some tweets obviously went a little crazy with predictions of the end of the world, after all the East coast suffered an earthquake, a hurricane is barreling in, and then Steve Jobs released his latest product: iResign (sorry couldn’t help it on that last one). Of course the other concern that people should have rather than just what will this mean for Apple shares tomorrow morning is the actual health of Mr. Jobs. He did after all say himself that he would step down when he couldn’t carry out his day to day duties. That therefore means that something dramatic must have changed. He has definitely changed the expectation of consumers with his innovation and marketing. I mean just look at something as simple as the iPod. He didn’t invent harddrive based MP3 players, he just made it better. He didn’t invent the trackpad, he just made it magical. All in all his influence can definitely been seen by the sheer fact his Wikipedia page has already gone thru no less than 45 revisions since the news broke. Last time Steve left Apple it floundered and was nearly dead. Steve brought it back. Now I think that Apple will continue its rise as we hear rumors of the iPhone 5. I honestly am not a HUGE Apple fan boy but I do appreciate their quality. Right now though, I just hope that Steve will recover well. I am sure in his back pocket he might have “One more thing…” All the best Steve
The Apple Store is down… G-bye White Macbook
::UPDATE:: We all should have a moment of silence for the white Macbook. It won’t have any descendants.
I wonder what this means… New products or just regular maintenance? Hmmm. I guess in a few hours or so we will know more about what this means. I think it would be interesting if Apple pulls a surprise hat trick and launches products outside of their usual schedule.
I know there are some friends of mine that would be hot if they found out their few month old iPad2 wasn’t the hotness. Just on that stance alone I am dubious as to this heralding a new iPad release, but maybe some glimpse at iPhone5 foolery. Maybe. Even that is suspicious as the iPhones’ usually get attention from Mr. Jobs.
