Tag Archives: apple

iPad 3rd Generation Retina Display

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There has been a lot of talk recently about the new iPad and how good the screen is.  As someone who has had the iPad 2 for a while and is now a new iPad owner, the difference is subtle but quite nice.  Everything is crisp and much easier to read.  Graphics have no visible pixels.  It is similar to having changed from the iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4 (or iPhone 4S).  Having said that, there are a few times so far where the higher-res screen isn’t nice.  Like looking at those wallpapers I’d downloaded previously that are now pixellated, or looking at apps that haven’t yet migrated to the new Retina display.  However, these are minor and the pros outweigh the cons.

So, how clear is the new screen?  Well it’s really not something you can actually tell via a picture of them side by side – you really have to see it in person.  However, the images below should help to give a perspective.  The images below are of the first 250 pixel x 250 pixel block of the screen.  First is the iPad 2, second is the new iPad.

As my wallpaper is a grid you can easily tell it is four times the size of the original (double in both the x and y axis equates to four times) iPad and iPad2 resolutions.

Recent Tech Updates

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This week has been pretty good for technology updates in my little world.  I’d like to highlight a few of these updates.

iPhone 3.0 Software UpdateFirst, the new iPhone 3.0 software update came out Wednesday.  The changes to the various programs are mainly fairly minor.  Such minor items include the ability to not load remote images in Mail, Mail and Messages now go widescreen for easier typing and Stocks has been enhanced with a widescreen view.  However, there are larger updates included that really make the update well worth installing.  What would these be?  How about global search (similar to QuickGold on jailbroken devices), cut-copy-paste and undo support across all apps with an intuitive interface that makes it very easy to select what you want to copy/paste across any app?  Also, the entire phone seems faster and more responsive now more than ever before.

Along with this great update is the fact that it’s able to be jailbroken already on the current iPhone 3G.  Friday I went through and jailbroke mine to have the best of everything.  Coming soon is the unlock (Ultrasn0w).
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WWDC ’09: Get ready to hide

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WWDC 2009It’s coming up again tomorrow – WWDC.  What’s WWDC?  That’s the Worldwide Developers Conference help by Apple every year.  I enjoy this conference and usually end up constantly refreshing the news sites (typically Engadget) to get information on what was new information was released from Apple since the last update.
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Apple “Legal Copy” Ad

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Legal Copy begins

Legal Copy begins

Legal copy has grown

Legal copy has grown

Legal Copy is daunting

Legal Copy is daunting

Legal Copy madness

Legal Copy madness

Today, Apple released four new Mac ads. The one that I found the most amusing was one titled “Legal Copy.”  It begins with the text at the bottom of the picture to the left.  The premise of the Ad is to show how although a PC can be easy to use, that there are some items which must be explained in greater detail, hence, the legal copy.
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Apple Store is down for updates!

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The Apple Store is down for updates.  However, this post is not about that.  This post is about the people who think such a trivial event needs to be blogged about and that people need updates every five minutes – all filled with speculation over what mildly interesting product that Apple has decided to introduce or update.  By the way, I’m thinking (hoping) that all the hoopla today is centered around Apple releasing a new Dashboard Widget for the weather.

For the past week, my many many Apple-centered rss feeds have been filled with speculation about a new iMac update and a upgraded Mac Mini.  It was then blogged about heavily yesterday that there were rumors that Apple was going to be releasing new products today.  Then as if these people have nothing better to do, the split-second that the Apple Store went down this morning about twenty sites all posted “Apple Store is down!!!!!”  OMG!

Just shut up and stop wasting people’s time with such non-news news as this.  At least wait until it comes back up to blog about something useful such as a new product or updated product line.

I love Apple, but not the idiotic fanbois.

iPhone 3G – two weeks later

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So, it’s been two weeks (ok, two and a half weeks) since I got my iPhone 3G.

So far the experience has been amazing. The device itself is extremely easy to use. Everything just makes sense on it and requires very little effort to understand what is going on. I haven’t actually purchased a single app yet from the App Store, but I’ve got a few I’m contemplating (Labyrinth – you know you are going to be mine someday!). So far I’ve been using only the free apps – of which there are many good ones (such as the great Tap Tap Revolution). However, among the free gems, are the truly stupid. I lost count how many “flashlight” apps have been created and have already cleared out many really stupid or just completely worthless apps. Next to go is Scratch.

So most of the apps are good and do add real value to the iPhone. Ok, so next would be iTunes. I have read that some people have some extremely long iTunes syncs. I can’t say that I’ve had a similar experience at all actually. Every so often when plugging into iTunes, it does backup my device, but that usually only takes a few minutes. If an application is updated wirelessly on the device itself or added wirelessly, it does pop up a message on iTunes which is annoying, but that’s really about it. If I did have one tip for people removing apps from their iPhone it’s this: remove it from both the phone and iTunes before you plug the iPhone in. For me, it just goes right back onto the device – there must not be any communication about whether it was deleted from the iPhone between the phone and iTunes.

Ok, so there’s been a pretty great overall experience. However, all is not happy happy in iPhone-land. Although not happening as often now, Safari likes to crash randomly. At one point Justin was in one game, went out and tried to get in another and the whole phone just restarted itself. Just a little while ago, I plugged in the headphones and pushed the play button. The Crystal Method’s “Name of the Game” played but when I went to go to a different track there was no audio at all. Upon trying several different songs there indeed was no sound at all even though the songs were clearly playing and the volume was up quite a bit. I then tried to go into a different app (eludes me now which one it was) and naturally, the iPhone crashed like a car falling down a cliff. Sound does work now though.

There is an application available for free from Apple, the iPhone Configuration Utility, that allows one to view much information about the device – including a pretty detailed system log. But strangely enough, it does not show enough history for the log to actually be useful in determining the cause of a crash or other anomalies.

Well, here’s hoping that the 2.1 software update comes out soon enough and fixes many of these and more issues.