Archive for August, 2011
August 17th, 2011 at 1:01 PM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
While sadly, there are those that believe that video games and computers all started at or near where they are today, it was actually quite a long strange trip to get to the iPad or the Wii or the Chrome Book. Now there is a new app, called simply Retro Computers that takes you on a visual walk down memory lane of what computers, computer components and even what a video game system here or there looked like back in the day.
The app is very simple to use and yet I have to say I was blown away just looking at the different photos of computers and game systems I actually used and had completely forgotten about. The app is filled with over 160 different computers, game systems and main frames that were all produced during the “computer golden age” of the 1970’s through the 1990’s. There are even some pictures of gaming systems and computers that weren’t even seen in my neck of the world because they were only released in whatever country produced them.
The interface is extremely simple. Open the app and at the main menu you will be asked to select from Acorn, Amstrad, Apple, Atari, Commodore, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Nintendo, Philips, Sega, Sharp, Sinclair, Tandy, Radio Shack and more. Once you select a category an album of photos of different computers that were produced by those companies will be presented and you can play with the pics a little bit to get a better look.
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August 16th, 2011 at 1:36 PM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Perhaps just in time for the ramp up to the shopping season, Google has released an app that could end up making life much easier for your mailman. The Google Catalogs app does exactly what you think it should do by providing iPad users the ability to browser through several different store catalogs in order to find the perfect gift for that special someone. The app is basically a digital version of the paper catalogs, featuring everything the hard copy would show you meaning you will no longer have to get these kinds of catalogs sent to you through snail mail.
Among the stores that included in this app are, Anthropologie, Bergdorf’s, Neiman Marcus, Williams-Sonoma, Urban Outfitters and many, many more. Of course the app wouldn’t be that cool if they only thing you could do is look through it and order products like a regular old paper catalog. Google Catalogs also allows you to pinch the screen in order to zoom in on a certain offering and while you can order the product through the app, Google Catalogs will also tell you where the closest store is located and whether that store carries the item you are looking for.
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August 16th, 2011 at 9:35 AM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
While the iPad has been a rather ground breaking device for mobile computing fans, there is one area where the device has fallen short in helping those who might find it hard to fully enjoy the iPad in all its glory. While the text to speech functions offered on the iPad help the visually impaired to some degree it still doesn’t make the iPad all that visually impaired friendly.
One new iPad case is taking the next step in making the device much more accessible to those who have problems working with the more traditional setup. Perhaps the best part of this new Omnifier iPad case is that the three folding panels make it possible to use it like a regular case when you don’t need the extra features and then easily transfer it into the special visually impaired version.
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August 15th, 2011 at 11:29 AM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Being both an avid sports fan and an iPad geek it is hard for me to figure out what has gotten me more revved up as the summer winds down. On the one hand there was the almost hourly rumors flying around about who would be moved and where in the run up of the Major League Baseball trade deadline. On the other hand is the daily whispers that continue to come about when the next iPad and iPhone will be hitting the market.
While there have been a ton of rumors about the fact that the iPad 3 is going to be coming out this fall along with what is commonly referred to as the iPhone 4S, the newest rumblings seem to not only be backing up a fall of 2011 release but also the month it will be hitting shelves. According to several reports, both the iPhone 5 or 4S and the iPad 3 will go into full production in the first week of September and will start being offered to consumers in October.
Here’s where the story gets a bit interesting though. Reports have been circulating for months now that we can expect the iPad 3 to be hitting shelves this fall, but many industry analysts are also now claiming that the iPad 3 will need the new A6 chip in order to run properly and to the height of its possibilities. The hitch here is that rumors don’t have this new A6 chip being produced until early 2012. The chip of course will lead to faster processors and has long been thought to be getting released in time for the iPhone 6 so that device will blow away other smart phones. But if this particular chip is also slated to be put into the iPad 3 then something is clearly just not adding up. The news of this particular chip is also interesting because TSMC is supposedly the company that will contracted to make the new chip, replacing long time Apple partner Samsung who has been producing the A4 and A5 chips for years now.
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August 15th, 2011 at 8:58 AM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Anyone who has been following Apple closely at all knows that the company is run extremely well and that it is mighty profitable. What might surprise even those who watch the company and the business world in general very closely is just how profitable the company actually is. The stock market isn’t always the best indicator when talking about valuable a company is from one day to the next as there is something to be said for leaving it up to the whim of investors who can be pretty fickle when they are in the mood. Still, Apple’s rise to the top of the stock market on Wednesday August 10th shows just how well the company is doing over the last few years. A lot of that success can be attributed to the iPad.
Apple’s market cap valuation ended at $337.2 billion on the day, and despite vaulting into first the company’s shares actually dropped 2.8 percent. The company that actually fell into second place was oil giant Exxon, telling you exactly where we are when we’re talking about the most valuable companies in the world. Exxon saw their stock drop 4.4 percent in order to drop behind Apple for the first time when either company was sitting at the top of the stock market charts.
Apple has seen some real improvement in their stock value over the last few years. During their climb to the top of the earnings list, they have passed all other computer makers including Dell, HP and finally in 2010 they were able to pass their biggest competitor in Microsoft. Since Apple surged past them last year, Microsoft has actually seen a bit of a dip of their own stock and Apple’s stock is now worth more than $130 billion more than Microsoft. Ironically, a decade ago, Microsoft was also worth more than Exxon, but oil and gas prices have driven companies like Exxon to the top of the stock market where they seem like they will remain for years to come.
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August 14th, 2011 at 8:50 AM EST | by Oliver VanDervoort
Ever since Apple decided to go a little old school on app developers and the ability for 3rd party apps to give access to their various stores we’ve been waiting for someone to find a great work around. It appears that one of the first players in this game is a surprising entity. Walmart appears to be the among the first companies that has found a way around Apple’s rather stringent rules.
Walmart has put out their new Vudu app and while they are making it available to iPad users, they are actually releasing the app as a “web app” instead of an app that is actually going through the Apple store. For those who don’t know what Vudu is, it’s basically the chain’s version of a streaming video service somewhat like Blockbuster’s streaming video service that allows you to rent a movie or television show and send it to any number of different devices. Because the app is a web app and not an iOS app they will not have to share whatever new revenue is generated by the newest iPad feature with Apple so we can expect Apple to start cracking down on this particular approach any day now.
While Walmart is one of the first to try this tact, it is not the first as Amazon recently released a Kindle web app as retaliation for having to drop links to their online store in their original iPad app. If Apple can’t find a way to crack down on this practice quickly, look for even more companies like this to start putting out web apps.
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