1) Perspective View: This may be hard to explain, and I’ll add a video of what I’m describing soon if it’s not in the tablet. Essentially, it’s hard to type on a tablet and see the screen on a flattened axis. What I propose here is that when the tablet is placed flat on a surface, the onscreen keyboard stays full size, but the rest of the screen visually tilts in perspective so that looking down on the screen, you see the image as if the screen were recessed into the table before you. Therefore you have the illusion of looking directly into the screen and have it appear in the proper perspective to your seated position. (A graphic will be added soon.)

2) The return of WYSIWYG: The original Mac was breakthrough in the fact that what you saw on the screen was ACTUALLY what you saw on paper, etc. Somewhere down the line we lost this. What needs to return (and on the Mac as well) is when you review ANYTHING in 100%, onscreen rulers should appear, as 1 inch is ACTUALLY 1 inch. There is really no excuse for this not to be the case, and with Apple producing their own screens; it should be a standard, especially IF you use apple screens.

3) Wireless Operation, INCLUDING CHARGING! We’re in the 21st Century People! Why do we have to plug in everything? The tablet should be able to sync, charge, print, communicate, etc., all without one cable connected! EVEN headphones! There really is no technical excuse why this shouldn’t happen now.

4) VideoPhone/Conferencing: We have the technology, and we just need an influential company to push it in to existence. Apple changes the world; let’s have our world closer to the future we all dreamed. VideoPhones should be here now! (As for the tablet, its camera should identify the caller talking, and track them digitally even if the tablet is on a table. Again, we’re all about perspective here. When you place the tablet on a flat surface, the image should change to the perspective to be accurate for the caller. (Graphic soon.)

5) Voice, Voice, Voice, Voice! 2001: a space odyssey featured the HAL-9000, a computer that could communicate with us and us back using a voice interface. That film is ahead of its time, and took place nine years ago! The keyboard was born with the typewriter decades ago, why are we still using it as our primary text input device?

Apple created a video with the help of George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic called ‘Knowledge Navigator’. It was introduced many years ago as the computer of the future. Watch it, and see how it relates to today.

Cheers, and May today deliver one of the greatest breakthroughs in our lives!

David

This also makes me wonder if we’re going to get even lower powered lights for cameras, and focused lights for production.

Now power your entire lighting package by using a simple phone jack! (Well, not really, but perhaps soon.)

Visit our friends at Crazy Gadgets for more info.

First and foremost, I’ll stand by my blog that The Beatles are today. Yoko Ono announced that The Beatles will be available on iTunes today, while everyone else is claiming it’s not happening. Well, I might believe everyone else if the most obvious confirmation hadn’t occurred… The Yoko story was pulled from the net as quickly as possible. Simply put, they never remove a story that leaks inaccurate information. If Yoko were simply wrong, no one would care about what she said. Yoko is right, and once again Steve/Apple won’t appreciate his/their thunder stolen…

…frankly, I still see it as amazingly obvious to begin with (and I’ll have to find a nice hat to eat if I’m wrong).

Now, for big news, AT&T just announced their ‘A-List’. FINALLY, AT&T customers can have their ‘friends and family’ unlimited calling circles with any plan $59.95 or above. That means that you can unlimitedly call ANY five numbers, even those that aren’t with AT&T. That pretty much makes the biggest difference to many people when it comes to what has been holding them back from getting an iPhone. AT&T wasn’t offering enough minutes for the price. NOW with ‘The A-List” there will finally be enough for most people.

Here’s a link to the press release.

I’ll be back after the announcement to post reflections on the news, and my top changes that Apple could/should make to the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Enjoy the show!

Apple’s announcements almost ALWAYS occur on a Tuesday; There NEEDS to be a reason that they pushed this announcement to Wednesday, Sept. 9th. The reason is that 9-9-09 is being sold as a major milestone in the history of The Beatles and you can bet Apple will be right there in the middle of the celebration!

The Beatles will be made available on iTunes on Sept. 9th or I’ll eat my hat! (if I had one). (I’ll also go so far as to say that it will premiere Apple’s new digital jewel case concept, and will also include mini-documentaries on each album.)

As loyal readers know, this blog is all about seeing through the hype… well, the way the entertainment industry works, is that the marketers look for one major ‘event’, and then pile on as many ‘sub-events’ as possible so that the ‘buzz’ for one promotes the others. Well my friends, Apple ‘conveniently’ chose September 9th for their major press event about “Rock and Roll”, and the writing is clear… let me spell out what that date means in the world of The Beatles.

1) The Beatles: Rock Band– The remarkably addictive game that is inspiring future musicians everywhere, is coming out with a ‘Beatles’ specific version. To be available on the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. Click for more info on The Beatles: Rock Band

2) The Beatles Remastered- The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.

3) The Beatles Stereo Box- Set Includes: -Hard black glossy lift top with magnet clasp -All 13 Studio remasters plus Past Masters -CD’s are packaged in three panel digi-pak with digital mini documentaries. A special box set of all of the newly remastered albums and includes a DVD of all of the mini documentaries.

4) The Beatles Mono Box- Set Includes:-Hard white glossy slip box-CD’s packaged as mini LP replicas (replica artwork, sleeves and gatefolds)-Original Mono versions of 11 albums (12 discs)

Another major sign of this fact, is that Apple and The Beatles would hold back a digital announcement until there truly was something special to announce. It wouldn’t surprise me if Apple was a major player in this Remaster happening to begin with, and now Apple can present The Beatles co-PREMIEREING on iTunes in their new masters. This is no coincidence, it’s calculated genius.

The Beatles have ALWAYS been at the heart of Apple. The company was even named Apple by Steve Jobs after The Beatles own label, Apple Records. For those who remember, Apple has been in court over Apple Computers competing in the music industry, and only recently did Apple finally win (buy?) the trademark “Apple”. (A short while ago Apple announced that they had settled with Apple Records, and was finally changing the name of the company from Apple Computer Inc. to Apple Inc.; that was a mighty victory for Apple.)

The 9th of September is going to be huge for The Beatles, and Apple’s announcement will also have a huge ‘positive’ effect as well.

Now, as for the other predictions:

1. I’ve already explained the remarkable influence The Beatles has had on Apple, and Steve Jobs. There is NO WAY that there can be just a U2 iPod without a special edition The Beatles iPod. You can count on it with the complete remastered discs included. Expect custom wallpapers, etc. This will be the ULTIMATE way to get the new Beatles sets, and Apple will sell them hand over fist. Don’t underestimate the power of this announcement.

2. Steve Jobs WILL do the event. Steve loves The Beatles, Apple, and a great show. He wouldn’t miss it for the world!

3. Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney will appear, and will perform together on stage. Hey, if Microsoft can get them to appear for the Rock Band announcement, Apple/Steve will get them to appear and perform at Apple’s Event! Click this link for coverage of the Microsoft event.

4. Apple’s new “Project Cocktail” digital album format will be premiere with The Beatles and will include everything you would get with a physical release. Click for more about “Project Cocktail”.

5. iTunes 9 will be introduced with support for “Project Cocktail” and Legal DVD/BluRay ripping. It’s only illegal to rip a DVD or BluRay if you don’t have the permission from the rights owner. I believe that Apple has obtained the rights from every studio, and will RIP and compress for the iPhone, iPod, AppleTV, etc. versions of movies and television, BUT WITH DRM in place on all. (For the record, Sony has already discussed this possibility to get video content on their PSP.) Also to be announced is that the iPhones and iPod touches will be able to output HD to HD Televisions. (Like the ZuneHD can.)

6. iPhone/iPod Touch 3.1 will be released to support new models.

7. All iPods Nanos and Touches will be refreshed to include cameras, and the iPod Touch will also gain a microphone, and micro-shuffle will have buttons added to the surface of its body. Expect the Touch to have the same video abilities as the iPhone 3GS. The iPod Classic will continue but will gain the largest hard drive available (I do not expect a camera or microphone to be built into that form factor.) The iPod Touch will also drop in price to $199 for a 16GB model, $299 for a 32GB model, and $399 for a 64GB model. (The lower price of a 16GB ZuneHD ($219.99 vs. the current iPod Touch 16GB for $299) guarantees this change to remain competitive.)

8. The last iPhone 3G will disappear for a $99 iPhone 3GS to take it’s place.

9. Wireless sync to your computer, and computer independence through MobileMe computerless Syncing of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Let’s face it, the one thing that keeps ALL adopters from going iPhone is that so many people use phones but don’t have computers. With pressure from the new ZuneHD, Apple will finally offer computerless wireless sync.

10. Wireless Bluetooth stereo headphones. iPhone/iPod Touch 3.0 offered the ability to use Bluetooth headsets, and left it to 3rd parties to create them. Apple wants to have the best of everything, and I’m sure that Bluetooth stereo headphones are just around the corner.

Everything on the list it likely and I’d expect to happen.

One last point… consider Apple’s (Rolling Stones Lyric) statement in the announcement… “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it.” It wouldn’t surprise me if JUST The Beatles availability was announced. I’m positive about The Beatles, but the rest we’ll just have to wait and see… soon.

Cheers!

David

Here is the first public image from Avatar. (Thanks HitFix!)

For months we’ve been waiting for ANY clue about James Cameron’s first new film since Titanic. I thought we’d see a trailer soon that would just hint at the story and thrill us with the visuals.

I was wrong… Well, I guess it had to happen, but I didn’t expect it at E3.

Before talking about the UBISOFT videogame, James Cameron has just told an audience of hundreds… and now thousands (thanks to the net), exactly what Avatar is about, (including the ending!). I guess that’s necessary for anyone to understand the point of the game.

Video after the break!

To read more about this, visit HitFix’s original story here:

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/2009-5-29-the-morning-read-6-02-09

While there are many new features, perhaps the most important to iPhone and iPod Touch users is the ability to sync ‘Notes’ between Apple’s Mail application and their iPhone 3.0 based device. (As noted by www.spaziocellulare.com at http://www.spaziocellulare.com/ispazio/en/2009/05/12/apple-solves-iphones-and-ipod-touch-dfu-mode-problem-in-mac-os-1057-and-brings-notes-sync-with-via-usb-and-itunes-82/).

I highly recommend that every Mac owner update.

Here’s a list of the other changes/updates:

General

Includes latest security fixes.
Includes additional RAW image support for several third-party cameras.
Improves performance of video playback and cursor movements for recent Macs with NVIDIA graphics.
Resolves an issue with Dvorak keyboard layout in Mac OS X 10.5.6.
Improves the reliability and accuracy of Unit Converter, Stocks, Weather and Movies Dashboard widgets.
Addresses a situation that may cause issues when logging into Gmail.
Improves reliability when syncing contacts with Yahoo!.
Expansion Slot Utility for Mac Pro now reports the correct PCIe slot configuration.
Improves network performance when connected to certain Ethernet switches that have Flow Control enabled.
Improves stability for network home directories hosted by Mac OS X Server v10.4.
Improves Finder search results for network volumes that may not support Spotlight searching, such as Mac OS X Server v10.4, Time Capsule, and third-party AFP servers.
Includes several improvements to Directory Service and Client Management.

iCal

Improves overall reliability with CalDav.
Improves reliability when automatically syncing with MobileMe.

Mail

Addresses reliability and sync issues with Notes.
Addresses an issue that may cause the BCC field to populate incorrectly when redirecting a message from the Sent mailbox.

Parental Controls

Improves consistency with Parental Controls and application restrictions.
Addresses an issue in which time limits may not work properly with full-screen games and Fast User Switching.

Printing

Resolves an issue that may cause certain third-party printers to print to the incorrect paper tray.
Non-admin user accounts can now be allowed to add and remove printers by enabling Parental Controls and selecting “Can administer printers”.
Includes other printing reliability and stability improvements.

Kindle iPhone App

Kindle iPhone App Page View

It all makes sense now, why would Amazon, who would like to sell more Kindles, allow an app that fully functions as an actual Kindle? Yup, that’s right, you can transfer and read Kindle books on your iPhone or ipod touch, but connecting directly to the Kindle Store to instantly purchase the next best seller…think again. To download books, you need to open your browser on your iPhone or touch and go to Amazon.com like any other schlep downloading a book. Oh, and if you’re a newspaper or periodical reader, forget about it. The app doesn’t support those formats yet.

Ha! And you thought you had it made you thumb-scrolling, App-addicted FOOLISH consumers!

On the other hand, if you simply want to use your iPod/iPhone to read a book you’ve already downloaded and have been reading on your Kindle, the app will remember where you left off and resume at that point. Not bad as a Kindle auxiliary device that can show color, for those of you who read comic books on your Kindle in beautiful shades of gray. Frank Miller rejoice!

Here’s a nice Kindle App review for your ganderization: Comparing Kindle 2 With Kindle’s iPhone App

(Thank you TheHDRoom.com for the usage of your image.)

Monsters Inc. and A Bug’s Life were rendered for film at 1536×922. HD’s 1080p resolution is 1920×1080. So how can these films be released on BluRay in true, native 1080p resolution? The answer? ONLY if they re-render the films over again at the higher resolution.

A short time ago Pixar and Disney announced that both Toy Story I & II are being re-rendered in actual 3D for re-release in October 2009, as a prelude to March 2010′s release of Toy Story III also in 3D. These would have to be re-rendered in higher quality to insure a native 1080p BluRay release as well.

For the latest DVD releases of Toy Story I & II, Pixar/Disney raised the technological bar by transferring the film directly from the digital frames instead of going to film, then back into a video transfer. The results were stunning. However, standard DVD has a resolution of 720×486 (with rectangular pixels for those ‘technical’), and that resolution is clearly lower than the master files.

However… Both films were created at 1536×922, and are far below the 1900×1080 resolution of 1080p HD (however higher than the 1280×720 of 720p HD), and therefore if they were transferred to 1080p HD, they would look soft and low resolution. (Take a look at the new compilation of Pixar’s shorts recently released on BluRay disc to view some of these lower resolution files on your 1080p quality system.)

It’s my understanding that all of the earlier pixar films were rendered at 1.5k (1526×922); whereas Pixar/Disney’s Cars was their first film to be rendered at 2048×1080; commonly referred to as 2k.

When you consider that the highest resolution of hidef video is 1920×1080, you can clearly see why both Cars and Rattatouie are available in 1080p HD, and none of the previous Pixar/Disney films are as of yet.

So, in order to have nice 1080p HD releases of the previous Pixar/Disney films (in this case Monsters Inc. and A Bug’s Life), it’s going to REQUIRE a re-render of the entire film in a higher resolution to accomodate a new release.

What also excites me about the idea that Pixar/Disney is re-rendering the films, is the fact that rendering/shading technology has improved so dramatically since those films were originally made, and I hope that the original sources can be ‘plugged-into’ the new software and higher and more natural results will be rendered. I’m sure it will be amazing…

Personally, I can’t want for a my 1080p BluRay of Monsters Inc. I only hope that they aren’t just transferring the film in it’s original rendered resolution and calling it 1080p. When I find out, I’ll update the story.

“‘Malaria is spread by mosquitoes!”

Unbelievable! In a non-funny attempt to prove that we Americans (the more fortunate?) can get malaria from mosquitos too, Bill Gates chose to release his little friends on an unsuspecting group of technologists at the Technology, Entertainment, Design Conference in Monterey, California.

Read the original story here…

By JESSICA MINTZ, AP Technology Writer

SEATTLE – Apple Inc. co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs said Wednesday he is taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June — just a week after the cancer survivor tried to assure investors and employees his recent weight loss was simply caused by a treatable hormone deficiency.

Jobs, 53, said in a letter last week that he would remain at Apple’s helm despite the hormone deficiency, and said he had already begun the “relatively simple and straightforward” treatment for the problem. But in an e-mail to employees Wednesday, Jobs backtracked.

“During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought,” he wrote.

Apple’s chief operating officer, Tim Cook, will take over Jobs’ responsibilities while he is on leave.
After-hours trading on Apple shares was halted. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s stock had sank $2.38, or 2.7 percent, to close at $85.33.

Jobs announced in 2004 that he had undergone successful surgery to treat a very rare form of pancreatic cancer — an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. The cancer is easily cured if diagnosed early. Jobs did not have a deadlier and more common form of pancreatic cancer called adenocarcinoma.

EDITORIAL: One thing money can’t buy is health, and just like our sad losses recently, I hope that Steve truly does recover quickly. We live in a new world where creativity and passion for the future is not as embraced as it used to be. Steve is a great leader who has changed the world time and time again. I want to live in his future with him, and not stagnant like Windows. -David C. Fein