Tag Archives: stevejobs

General, News, software

Here’s what Steve Jobs Really thinks About Flash

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Steve Jobs has just posted a defying letter on Apple’s website, where he explicitly explains the reasons why his company has eventually decided to ditch Flash and not to support it on Cupertino devices, such as  iPad, iPhone and the iPod Touch. In general, what Steve Jobs says in here is that the use of Adobe’s most favorable Flash platform is considered in his point of view obsolete and literally belongs to the past. In his words “Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice.” and more about that from Jobs: “the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.”

But that’s just the bottom of the line of Steve Jobs thoughts. If you break them down to very small pieces, they might fall through the grid of pure rational argumentation. In a nutshell, the father of the iPhone claims that Flash technology is not open. In other words, Adobe’s Flash products, even if widely available, are still controlled by Adobe itself and not by any other entities – meaning, Flash is a closed system. As for the lack of “full web” experience allegations in Apple products, says Jobs that the new web is adjusting itself to Apple’s latest standards and for that matter big websites like Youtube, Netflix, Facebook et al already supporting the cause. As for “Reliability, security and performance” Steve thinks that Flash is the main reason for Mac crash and argues that Adobe has never been able to provide good Flash plug-in/add-on for Apple mobile phones. Steve Jobs also refers to the problem of fast battery drain and the pesky multi-tasking issues that Flash can actually cause.

And then there’s “the most important reason” why Apple has given up on Flash. Apparently, Apple doesn’t want letting “a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform”, or in our words, Apple wants to give more freedom and direct access to its unrelenting developers, and willing to do so over Adobe’s personal expenses. So there you go guys, a thorough and sincere letter, containing  Steve Jobs thoughts. Jump straight after the break, read it, and then decide which side to support.

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Computers, News

Apple’s iPad To Make Official Debut On April 3rd (Update: Now Available For Pre-Order)

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Now it’s official, the tablet everyone’s been waiting for is due out on April 3rd with Apple to start taking non-3G iPad pre-orders a week from now, on March 12th. The official announcement, which was fully added after the break, states that slate fanboys from countries like Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK will get the option to shell out their cash and buy one (3G or non-3G model) at the same exact US date of release, in the first week of the fourth month, with prices starting at $499 for a 16GB WiFi enabled iPad, and up to $829 if you’re out for the 64GB with WiFi and 3G flavors. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs says: “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before”, and we say “Bring it on baby!”

Update1: It’s here! Apple’s latest and greatest tablet, AKA iPad, is now available for pre-order. Shipping date is due to April 3, as mentioned, and customers will be limited up to 2 devices each. Happy raid!

Update2: First stock of Apple’s iPad devices is SOLD OUT! and it’s not that we’re surprised, but just in case you wanted to get one and missed the train, then April 12th, a little over a week, is your next chance to jump to your close station.

Update3: Don’t color us surprise here fellows, we weren’t falling out of our chairs when first heard the iSuppli team, who thoroughly broke down the 16GB iPad components into pieces, decisively claiming a grand total of $259.60 net worth – almost half the price charged by Apple in stores (which stands at $499). Now, it wouldn’t be fair to go and look at things this way, without including R&D plus overhead expenses, would it? In any case, we still think that people should know exactly what they’re paying for, either it’s a $95 screen, or $26.80 for the 1GHz A4 processor.

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Computers, Internet, News, Video

Apple iPad Tablet Officially Live Starting at $499

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It’s been a wild day with big news and one single product – The iPad. Yes guys, Apple’s tablet is officially out, no more rumors, no speculations, no overpriced ($999) guesses or foolish mockups, this time it’s for real, and it would cost only $499 (16GB), $599 (32GB) or $699 (64GB), courtesy of Cupertino. As is, it looks very sexy, only 0.5-inches thin and 1.5 pounds of weight. Display is almost ten inches wide, and to be more accurate, 9.7-inches. Screen resolution is basically like every usual netbook, 1024X768, but the screen itself, as you may have guessed, supports a capacitive multitouch usability, the kind you’d find in an iPhone. It has 802.11n wifi, Bluetooth, and in some models even a 3G cellular connectivity, that will run in AT&T and around the world for a monthly fee og either $14.99 (250MB data) or $29.99 (unlimited package). Steve jobs says they are all UNLOCKED and that the processor inside is powered by Apple’s custom designed A4 chipset (which is speculated to be an Arm Cortex 9 processor). Battery wise, Stevo claims a 10 hours of work and almost a month in standby mode, while UI is basically similar to the iPhone, only revamped to support browsing, emails, photos, video (including Youtube), music, games and ebooks on a larger scale.

Yes, Apple thinks that netbooks are slow and made of low quality, and that’s why they came up with a tablet, which frankly is an hybrid creation of the company’s iPhone and Mac in one single device. Naturally, it comes with a built-in accelerometer, the kind that lets you play top-notch shooting and high speed racing games, joystick free, and GPS system if you were asking, is also part of the deal, so navigation, satellite images and street view topography are now available on the go. Like any light and sophisticated machine, you can send emails, engage your contacts, surf the net and sync music with iTunes – and this is the time to mention it has a USB connector for that mission and other collaborative tasks you can think of. But the iPad, is not just for internet and multimedia consuming, it’s also for book reading, like Yahoo’s Kindle, only with colors. But that’s not all, because Apple like Apple developed an iBook app this purpose, and to make things profitable, there is an online store – just for books – starting today! So there you have it, an all-in-one media device with music, videos, almost 150k optional apps, personal office manager, ebook reader and almost endless usage possibilities. On the down side, it doesn’t have a camera inside and we haven’t seen any HDMI output to pump your vids. The bezel is too wide, there’s no flash supported and last but not least, no multitasking – NO MULTITASKING. Instead you can work on sheets, tables and charts, through iWork, that was tweaked by Apple’s teams to fit the iPad. Want it? this ain’t come free – $9.99.

Update1: There are also some optional accessories to buy, like a standalone dock or one that comes with a keyboard, a camera connection kit, or an iPad case. Checkout the Apple store for more on that.

Update2: The iPad supports wide range of codecs including H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

Update3: Here are the overall prices:

  • 16GB with WiFi: $499
  • 32GB with WiFi: $599
  • 64GB with WiFi: $699
  • 16GB with WiFi & 3G: $629
  • 32GB with WiFi & 3G: $729
  • 64GB with WiFi & 3G: $829

Update4: Apple have partnered with five major publishers, including Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, MacMillan and Hachett Book Group, to bring into your iPad color or B/W  content.

Update5: Apple PR announcement plus images plus video added after the break.

[Apple]

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Audio, Media Players, Video

iPod Nano 5th-Gen Player Announced, Video Camera, FM Radio And Bigger Screen On The Stake

Apple’s Rock n’ Roll event just went down with Steve Jobs up on stage again, this time suggesting a new colorful iPod nano lineup, available today at the online store, delivering two different storage capacities, 8GB ($149) and 16GB ( $179), to choose from. Other than that, the fifth-generation nano is now offering some neat improvements, with Cupertino unveiling a small video camera, integrated at the back of each player, allowing live video shooting in 640 x 480 video capture resolution at H.264 format, which gets up to 30fps capabilities and including 15 real-time special effects, such as Sepia, Black and White, X-Ray, 2.2Film Grain, Thermal, Security Cam, Cyborg, Bulge, Kaleido, Motion Blur and many others. Additionally, you get a bigger 2.2-inch 376 x 240 display, holding an FM tuner that has Live Pause feature underneath, sitting along with iTunes Tagging support, a pedometer element, built in speaker / microphone  and a voice over trait – all packed into a small sized 3.6 x 1.5 x 0.24-inches body frame that holds a battery which literally plays up to 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video. Stay tuned for more to come.

Update1: Turns out the new nano camera can only handle video footage without stills. Nonetheless, it still looks pretty amazing, so hit the break and checkout the video walkthrough right away.

Update2: Hey, we know you’re all excited to take a peek at those sexy inner parts of the new nano video cam player. And as we speak, the guys from iFixit were rapidly nabbing a nice blue fifth-gen nano device, tearing it apart and showing its bowels wide. Hit the jump to watch from close, or click the link to look at the entire process done.

[Apple]

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