Dec 19

“I, Steve” a great stocking-stuffer

By Brian Cool Media, Reviews 1 Comment »

With Christmas just a few days away, perhaps you are looking for a last-minute gift for the Apple-lover(s) in your life. The pocket-sized book, “I, Steve” — Steve Jobs In His Own Words — edited by George Beahm, is a great stocking-stuffer and a must-have for any Apple enthusiast and fan of the late, great Steve Jobs. Chock full of quotes from Steve, it is interesting to get a look into one of great minds of our time. Here’s a sneak peak at a few memorable quotes found in the book:
“Being the richest man in the cemetary doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful — that’s what matters to me.”
And another:
“We don’t stand a chance of advertising with features and benefits and with RAMs and with charts and comparisons.  The only chance we have of communicating is with a feeling.”
Just one more quote:
“We’re gambling on our vision, and we would rather do that than make “me, too” products.  Let some other companies do that.  For us, it’s always the next dream.”
You can pick up “I, Steve” from Amazon here or from a bookstore near you.
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Oct 07

Steve Jobs planned ahead — 4 years of future products?

By Brian News No Comments »

Even when death must have looked certain and his time on this earth was quickly coming to an end, visionary Steve Jobs was hard at work planning the future of Apple. For more than a year, Steve worked on future iterations of the iPod, iPad, iPhone and MacBooks, with blueprints in place to fill a product pipeline for conceivably the next four years. Also, Jobs managed to get plans approved for a futuristic company headquarters in a park-like setting in Cupertino that will house 12,000 employees. A touching aspect to this land acquisition for the new headquarters is the fact that Steve had a part-time job for Hewlett Packard on the same site when he was 13 years old and he made sure that Apple bought the land as soon as it was available.

Few people in human history have impacted the lives of so many — dare I say the entire human family — and arguably Steve Jobs is one of these people. He was a pioneer in making personal computers accessible to everyday people and he did it with such enthusiasm, showmanship, and genuine delight that it was nigh impossible to refrain from opening one’s wallet. He envisioned two decades ago that the future of computing and media consumption would be portable, and not just by way of laptop computers — enter iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iCloud. Steve Jobs brought his amazing products into our lives, thus changing forever how we conduct business, social, and entertainment activities. Now, we can look forward to potentially 4 more years of products with his personal touch — thank you, Steve, for an amazing legacy that will continue to delight us for years to come.

[graphic: Jonathan Mak]

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Oct 05

Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011

By Brian News 1 Comment »

The world just became less magical today. Apple announced the passing of visionary Steve Jobs, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. According to a statement on Apple’s web site:
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
Apple has posted an email address — rememberingsteve@apple.com — for those who wish to express their thoughts and condolences. Best wishes and comfort to his family at this time.
Having grown up using the products that Steve Jobs envisioned and created, I’m shocked that he’s suddenly gone. Having so recently resigned as Apple’s CEO, his passing is unexpected. With the highest respect, I liken this day to losing the Willy Wonka of consumer electronics — he brought an innovative magic of the purest kind that changed the world.
Thanks, Steve. God Bless.
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Aug 25

Steve Jobs resigns, Tim Cook new CEO at Apple

By Brian Editorial, News 1 Comment »

As iconic as Steve Jobs is, you have likely heard already that he has abruptly resigned as Apple’s CEO and has taken the role as chairman of the board. Tim Cook, formerly the COO of Apple, is now the CEO moving forward. What will this mean for the future of Apple? It’s good to know that Steve Jobs is still very much a big part of Apple’s vision as the chairman, choosing to remove himself from the day-to-day responsibilities and pressures that the CEO must endure. His health should be his greatest concern right now and given what he has accomplished for Apple, no one can blame him for stepping away and tending to personal matters.
I can’t help but reflect on the Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates story, depicted several years ago in “Pirates of Silicon Valley”. Indeed, Bill Gates won the battle at the time with the licensing of Windows for the PC platform, arguably an inferior product to the computing experience that Apple has offered, particularly with products like the classic MacIntosh computers. Now, given the epic turnaround of Apple starting in the late nineties under the guiding hand of Steve Jobs, it could be fair to say that he has won the war — Apple is the most valuable technology company due to revolutionary products like iPod, iPhone, iPad, and a complete remastering of their Mac and MacBook computer products.
Just as Disneyland has survived and flourished these many years after the departure of Walt Disney long ago, I’m sure that Apple will continue to amaze us with revolutionary products long after Steve Jobs has exited, stage left. Clearly he has shared a remarkable vision with the world and those of us who have bought and used anything Apple can attest to the magic. Thanks, Steve, for bringing so many amazing products to the market that have educated us, enriched us, made us more productive, entertained us, and quite frankly have just been a lot of fun. We most certainly will miss you now that you are no longer the captain at the wheel.
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Mar 02

Apple iPad 2 ships March 11, black and white

By Brian News 4 Comments »

Apple’s Steve Jobs took the stage today to announce the new iPad 2, with a scheduled release date of March 11th. The new iPad 2 offers some hardware enhancements, including the following:

  • 33% slimmer and 0.2 lbs lighter, equating to 8.8mm thick and 1.3 lbs.
  • Faster processor with the A5 dual-core 2x CPU and 9x graphics speeds.
  • Up to 10 hours of battery life.
  • Front and rear FaceTime cameras.
  • Gyroscope on board.
  • Available in both black and white from day one.

Pricing, along with memory configurations and 3G options, remain the same as the original iPad, starting at $499. Shipping in the U.S. begins on March 11 and selected international markets will follow on March 25. The iPad 2 will be available for both AT&T and Verizon networks.

Now that the news and specs are out of the way, let me just say that I’m not particularly drooling over the new iPad 2. If there were ever an Apple product that I felt generation-skip-worthy, it would be this one. It’s right up there with the iPhone 3G vs. iPhone 3GS. Sure, the iPad 2 adds cameras and I think FaceTime would be kinda neat on an iPad, the slimmer form-factor is nice, the faster processor is a plus, and the option of having a black or white bezel is nifty. Otherwise, it’s going to take a bit more “wow” for me to bid adieu to my original iPad 3G and pony up the bucks for an iPad 2 replacement. I would be far more enticed to scrape up the cash for an iPad 2 that also offered a retina display. Oh well. Maybe the iPad 3 will catch my eye.

What do you think? Does the iPad 2 appeal to you? Is it attractive to current iPad owners that need the latest and greatest, or is it Apple’s attempt to stay ahead of the tablet competition by offering more goodies to entice the first-time tablet buyer?

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Dec 10

Follow-up video to hole-cut-in-iPad surfaces

By Brian News 1 Comment »

The strangeness continues with a second video from the same person/people who brought us the “Hi Steve! Where is the camera? I wanna say Hi to space!” video from last week. You can also check out www.sayhitospace.com, the same site the young man visits on his iPad in the video and then is unable to record his image because the iPad lacks a camera.

This new video continues the story started in the first video where the young man machine-cuts a hole in the middle of his iPad. You will watch as he sends the destroyed iPad to Steve Jobs via DHL (tracking number posted online as proof) and suggests the remaining circular piece will be auctioned on eBay — I took a quick look on eBay and didn’t see the auction listing. It’s hard to know quite what to make of the video — marketing campaign or complaint? This same question was posed in my first post about this and this second video contains no answer. What do YOU think?

[macstories]

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Dec 08

MarketWatch names Apple’s Steve Jobs as CEO of the Decade

By Brian News 1 Comment »

Without the return of Steve Jobs to Apple more than a decade ago, we would not have the iPod, the iPhone, or our beloved iPad tablets. In fact, Apple would not be the juggernaut it is today and, more than likely, would have ceased to exist years ago. However, the prodigal Apple co-founder returned and the rest is history. Given Apple’s miraculous turnaround and revolutionizing of mobile products, MarketWatch has named Steve Jobs the CEO of the Decade:

“The resurrection of Apple is just the most astounding story that’s probably happened in business in at least a decade – you might be able to go further and say it’s a half-century,” says Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies, a technology-industry think tank. “It’s on par with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell in terms of its total impact.”

And there’s more:

During the first decade of the new millennium, Jobs and Apple managed to thrive even when the rest of the country didn’t. Apple’s shares blossomed, pausing only when Jobs’s health was in doubt. While the stock trades at roughly 43 times its level of a decade ago, the S&P 500 has lost about 7%.

Sales are up twelvefold from the end of 2000, surging from $5.4 billion for fiscal 2001 to $65.2 billion for fiscal 2010, which ended in September. Cumulatively, Apple has racked up more than $229 billion in total sales during the decade.

I’ve certainly given Apple plenty of my hard-earned cash for some amazing products that have changed my life. For me, there is no argument that Steve Jobs has earned the accolades. Thanks for bringing us some incredible mobile products, Steve, and please keep ‘em coming!

[MacRumors]

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Nov 10

Upgrade iOS 4.2 for iPad rumored to exclude AirPrint, Steve Jobs rebuffs rumor

By Brian News, Rumors 2 Comments »

There are some interesting things afoot as we wait on the proverbial eve of the release of iOS 4.2, which promises goodies for the iPad like folders and AirPrint. Apple’s latest iOS 4.2 firmware update was rumored to be released either yesterday or on Friday, so since it didn’t happen yesterday, this Friday the 12th is the next “sure bet” — we shall certainly see.

Rumor has it that due to some bugs and glitches that would lessen the user experience, Apple was pulling AirPrint from the update at the last minute. This would be extremely distressing news to me since AirPrint is one of the features I’ve been anticipating since I bought my “magical” iPad many months ago. Yes, I’m anxious to have folders like I currently enjoy on my iPhone 4 because heaven knows I have a gajillion apps that need organizing, but the ability to print on a network printer from my iPad? Sweet mother of pearl!

Well, there’s nothing like another comletely reasonable rumor to dispel a previous rumor, so here’s the skinny: according to MacRumors, one of their forum members sent an email to His Holiness (Steve Jobs, of course) and this is allegedly how it went down (or up):

Q: As a release-day purchaser of an iPad, I was elated when you revealed iOS 4.2 would support AirPrint. Now comes reports AirPrint support has been pulled from 4.2. Between announcements/assurances of the white iPhone, and now the pulling of AirPrint, is Apple going to lose credibility and become known for announcing “vaporware”?

A: AirPrint has not been pulled. Don’t believe everything you read.

Good advice. Don’t believe everything you read (unless you read it here on NakediPad, of course). So, according to Steve Jobs, the iPad should still have AirPrint with the ability to print to iOS-compatible printers (with HP currently leading the way here). Also, the rumor still abounds that iOS 4.2 will arrive this Friday. I’m crossing my fingers! Are you?

[MacRumors]

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Oct 20

‘Back to Mac’ results: Apple is King

By Brian News 4 Comments »

I just watched Steve Jobs and company present the ‘Back to Mac’ Apple event and, ladies and gentlemen, I will boldly state that Apple is king. What started with the innovations of the first iPod, then iPhone, and recently the iPad, has now culminated in bringing all of these innovations over the past few years and bringing them back to Apple’s original bread and butter, the Mac. And boy oh boy, this coming home party is a doozy.

So what’s new? Here’s a quick look:

  • iLife 11 with lots and lots of new updates and features, FREE with any new Mac purchase and only $49 as an upgrade
  • FaceTime for Mac so that any Mac user with a camera can FaceTime with iPhone 4 and iPod touch users – the beta release should be available on www.apple.com sometime later today.
  • Mac OS X Lion announced and coming in Summer 2011, offering up lots of iOS innovations to the desktop
  • Mac App Store available within 90 days — THIS IS A GAMECHANGER — Microsoft who?
  • New MacBook Air in 11-inch and 13-inch varieties with solid-state memory, excellent battery life, and starting at $999!

Apple just opened the floodgates here, folks — especially with the introduction of the new MacBook Airs and, of far greater significance, they are bringing their ecosystem full-circle with iOS feature integrations into Mac OS X Lion and the Mac App Store. With the Mac App Store, thousands upon thousands of Mac developers can create software with a venue to sell it to millions of Mac users worldwide — no more need for big software houses to market and distribute. The opening of the Mac App Store will usher in a new age of Mac software development, resulting in more software programs for the Mac, at less expense to the consumer, and undoubtedly more Mac sales for Apple. Everyone wins.

Did you get a chance to watch the ‘Back to Mac’ event? What do you think?

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Sep 01

Today’s Apple Event Recap: New Apple TV, iTunes 10, iPods, iOS 4.2

By Brian Announcements, News 6 Comments »

In case you missed Apple’s Fall Event today, here’s a quick recap of what Apple is bringing to the media-hungry consumer market:

  • iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod touch coming next week (including bug fixes, HD YouTube uploads, TV rentals and Game Center), and iOS 4.2 for iPad coming in November with goodies like wireless printing (yay!) and AirPlay (replaces airtunes and adds pictures and streaming video).
  • A new multi-touch iPod nano available in different colors for $149 (8GB) and $179 (16GB).
  • Revamped iPod touch that’s thinner and sports a Retina display like the iPhone 4, HD video recording, FaceTime video calling, 3-axis gyro, and iOS 4.1 with Game Center.
  • New iTunes 10 with a better UI, new icon, and Ping social networking.
  • New Apple TV that’s a lot smaller, incorporates Netflix, $4.99 HD Hollywood movies, TV shows from ABC and FOX for 99-cents, and a $99 price tag for the whole kit and kaboodle.

What do you think about Apple’s new product announcements today? What about having to wait until November for iOS 4.2 for iPad?? And with the new iOS 4.1 coming next week, will you be tempted to lose your jailbreak if your iPhone 4 is jailbroken?

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