Rated: 80% (2 votes)
Loading ...It’s a big ass(us) iPhone
Mark
So speculation hit the news that Apple may be indulging in a little bit of Tablet creation, despite Steve Jobs, on numerous occasions past, stating that “Apple had taken a look at the tablet … and thinks it is going to fail”.
Well, that was then (2003) and this is now.
According to computer maker ASUS, Apple is in the process of designing a tablet computer. And ASUS should know, as they have apparently been hired to do the manufacturing of the unit.
Apple, as is customary, has not confirmed (or denied) the rumours but as ASUS is also reportedly the company hired to peform assembly duties on Apples current MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
So, what can we expect from such a beast? Given that the iPhone and iPod touch both run a mobile variant of Mac OS X, then I guess it would be safe to say that the tablet would probably use the same. It’s also been speculated that it would rely solely on flash memory for storage of data, though hybrid drives are also a possibility.
If you’d like some idea as to what this would actually look like, then wait no more, as someone has already done some mockup designs on what they think the tablet either should or would look like.
Rated: 60% (1 votes)
Loading ...Radiohead Digital Sales
Mark
It’s been fairly well publicised that the latest album by Radiohead, In Rainbows, was available as a download, only available from the band’s site (excluding the illegal peer-to-peer downloads that have been taking place).
Well, it now seems that the band’s old label (EMI) is jumping on the digital bandwagon that the band created.
EMI is now selling all Radiohead’s back catalogue in three different ways.
The first way is a limited edition, 7 CD Album Box-Set, with each album repackaged in digipak sleeves.
Price £39.99
The second way is a digital download box-set, with all songs available as DRM-free, 320 kbps MP3s.
Price £34.99
The third way is a limited edition 4GB USB flash drive “shaped in Radiohead’s iconic “bear” image and housed in a bespoke deluxe box.”
This edition includes ‘CD quality’ WAV files with digital artwork for each album.
Price £79.99
All these collections will ship on the 10th of December.
Rated: 80% (2 votes)
Loading ...Gigantic Space Death Ray
Mark
On to the hyperbole a little later, for now, let’s see just how this thing is intended.
The idea of a solar-powered satellite gathering power to beam back down to Earth sounds like a pretty good idea, right?
Apparently, an orbital power station placed somewhere in space which gets constant unfiltered sunlight for a year could provide enough energy to power the entire Earth several times over.
Construction would consist of many reflective mirrors, each one measuring more than a mile wide.
Now, with all the debris floating about in space, I’m guessing that these mirrors would need some sort of protective shielding, but still, it’s a pretty cool concept.
The proposed 3000-ton behemoth, ten times heavier than the International Space Station, would require 120 launches to lift all its parts into orbit. Researchers estimate that even after overcoming that hurdle, the satellite could still pay for itself in a year after construction is complete.
So yeah, what with all the US government attention (and money) in this project, who’s to say that a giant space death ray isn’t on the horizon?
Rated: 86.67% (3 votes)
Loading ...One Gigabyte Minus 20 Years
Mark
What the image above is displaying is a one gigabyte hard drive from IBM, manufactured 20 years ago. To the right of the image the hand is holding a card, smaller than a stamp, which can contain the same amount of data.The IBM drive weighs 70-pounds and is belt-driven. I guess it comes from the days when computers were the size of houses.
The march of technology progresses.
Rated: 60% (2 votes)
Loading ...Steve Jobs, greedy?
Mark
According to Sony CEO Howard Stringer Apple CEO Steve Jobs is “greedy”.
You can read the news story and associated comments for yourself.
What I’ll say on this is that it’s actually Sony that’s greedy :
Exhibit A
The ZS-S2iP - iPod Dock Boombox, black
Exhibit B
The ICF-C1iP - iPod Dock Clock Radio, black
There’s nothing quite like an electronics company which, after trying and failing to beat it’s competition, gives up and releases products for that very competitor to use with their products. How else could you explain the company climbing on-board the iPod dock band-wagon?
So I put it to you, Mr. Stringer, that it is not in fact Steve Jobs that’s the “greedy” one, it is you.
Still, I suppose if you can’t beat ‘em you just have to join ‘em, eh?