November 14th, 2009

Chemical detection? There's an app for that

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:08 am

Categories: General, Hardware, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Researcher, Smart Phones, Semiconductors, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Hardware, Jason D. O'Grady

Researchers at NASA have developed a killer hardware/software combination for the iPhone and iPod touch that is capable of identifying low concentrations of airborne ammonia, chlorine gas and methane in the air.

The as-of-yet unnamed iSniffer peripheral senses chemicals in the air using a “sample jet” via a multiple-channel silicon-based sensing chip and 16 nanosensors. When paired with a specialized app the combination turns an off-the-shelf iPhone into a compact, low-cost, low-power, high-speed nanosensor-based chemical sensor.

Reminds me of the new LUCAS imaging platform which has been successfully installed in a mobile phone. LUCAS captures an image using a short wavelength blue light to illuminate a blood, saliva or other fluid sample. Using LUCAS a simple mobile phone can montior the condition of HIV and malaria patients and testing water quality in undeveloped areas or disaster sites

The NASA proof of concept device hasn’t been tuned to detect other pathogens or explosives yet, but it’s not hard to imagine it morphing into a full-fledged tricorder.

Tip: Gizmodo via Ryan Kaplan

November 11th, 2009

Motorola Droid teardown

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 7:05 pm

Categories: Droid, Hardware, Motorola, Teardown

Tags: Motorola Inc., Keyboards, Telecom & Utilities, Hardware, Peripherals, Jason D. O'Grady

That heap of parts pictured above is not the Droid you are looking for – assuming that you want one that works, that is.

iFixit user Dr. Wreck ripped apart the Droid, and posted his teardown here.

The phone was quite a handful to take apart, having a multitude of hidden screws and latches. Interestingly enough, the sliding mechanism consisted of two rails that were imbedded (sp) within the screen portion of the device, providing a simple and effective method to slide out the keyboard. Sadly, no aliens or hidden messages to Princess Leia were found inside.

iFixit promptly awarded Dr. Wreck $300 for his efforts. Sadly, the Droid didn’t make it through the procedure.

Stay tuned to phonewreck.com for a full teardown analysis.

October 21st, 2009

Apple's bumper crop of fall hardware, reviewed

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:19 am

Categories: Hardware, Mac mini, MacBook, Mouse, iMac

Tags: Apple iMac, Apple Inc., FireWire, Desktops, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Hardware, Jason D. O'Grady

Apple yesterday released a cornucopia of new consumer hardware and the reviews are starting to roll in. No firm benchmarks have been conducted but several outlets have posted preliminary reviews of Apple’s Fall 2009 hardware.

Macworld likes the LED-backlit displays in the new iMac.

Apple says that the iMac screens are LED-backlit widescreen TFT active-matrix LCDs with in-plane switching technology, and can display millions of colors at all resolutions. In the past, Apple has used 6-bit displays on its 20-inch iMacs and 8-bit displays on its larger-sized iMacs.

CNet’s Dan Ackerman reviewed the Fall 2009 polycarbonate MacBook and takes issue with Apple’s nomenclature:

Unibody, Apple’s preferred term, is a bit of a misnomer, as the bottom panel is separate, as are the multiple parts that make up the lid and display.

Ackerman also notes that Apple unceremoniously removed FireWire from the new MacBook – and didn’t add an SD card slot:

FireWire fans should note that port has finally left the building. We would have thought this would be a good opportunity to add the same SD card slot found on the Pro 13-inch, but it was not to be. While we’re not regular FireWire users, this does leave Apple open to accusations of removing functionality from the system.

Macworld notes that the new Mac mini is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing:

a quick glance at the back of the new Mac mini makes it clear this is an updated machine. Instead of the FireWire 400 and four USB ports of the 2007 mini, the new model sports five USB 2.0 ports and replaces the FireWire 400 port with a faster FireWire 800 connection…

Also gone is the previous model’s DVI video port, replaced by two video ports: a mini-DVI port and a Mini DisplayPort connector like those found on the current MacBooks.

Finally, Gizmodo calls the Magic Mouse “the best mouse Apple’s made in years”

It has both right and left clicks, like the Mighty Mouse, but differentiates itself from other mice with its touch-sensitive scrolling and two-fingered gestures.

What’s your early review of the new crop of Apple hardware?

October 20th, 2009

Apple shuffles consumer lineup; iMac, MacBook, Mac mini, mouse updated

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 3:30 pm

Categories: Announcement, Apple, Hardware, Mac mini, MacBook, Mouse, Multi-Touch, iMac

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Apple Intel Mac Mini, Mouse, Apple MacBook, Apple iMac, Apple Inc., Mice, Desktops, Hardware, Peripherals

Hot on the heels of its most profitable quarter ever, Apple today announced a completely revamped consumer hardware lineup, including:

• An all new iMac line featuring LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless aluminum enclosure. (Press release)
• The low-cost MacBook was revved with an updated polycarbonate unibody design, LED-backlit display, fixed 7-hour battery and Multi-Touch trackpad. (Press release)
• A new Mac mini got an upgraded processor, more storage and double the standard memory, starting at $599. Apple is also offering a new $999 Mac mini configuration that comes with Snow Leopard Server pre-installed. Curiously, no press release for the Mac mini.
• The Magic Mouse replaces the Mighty Mouse and is the first mouse to use Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology. Read more about it in David Morgenstern’s earlier post.

So far the Magic Mouse is probably the most interesting announcement of the lot. Apple has a tough time conforming the traditional mouse designs used by all other computer OEMs and has always bucked the trend with mice – for better or for worse.

What are your thoughts on the new announcements? What are you ordering?

September 28th, 2009

Light Peak fiber optic connector to replace Firewire, USB, monitor cables

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 7:42 am

Categories: Apple, Hardware, Intel

Tags: Monitor, Engadget, Apple Inc., Fiber-optics, USB, Light Peak, FireWire, Fiber Optics, Optical Networking, Network Technology

A new interconnect technology called Light Peak is being developed by Apple as a potential replacement for FireWire, USB and traditional monitor cables. Engadget reports that Apple brought the technology to Intel and asked them to create it.

According to documents we’ve seen and conversations we’ve had, Apple had reached out to Intel as early as 2007 with plans for an interoperable standard which could handle massive amounts of data and “replace the multitudinous connector types with a single connector (FireWire, USB, Display interface).”

Documents reviewed by Engadget indicate that Light Peak would enable users to connect a variety of devices into a single Light Peak port. Longer-term, Light Peak has the potential to replace almost all the ports that are on your current computer, including networking, display driving, and general connectivity.

Light Peak is sexy because it’s based on fiber optic technology that is capable of transferring data at 10Gbps — dramatically faster than the 400-800Mbps achieved by FireWire and 480Mbps USB. At 10Gbps you could transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds. According to Intel, Light Peak can scale to 100Gbps over the next decade and has a number of other benefits.

Optical technology also allows for smaller connectors and longer, thinner, and more flexible cables than currently possible. Light Peak also has the ability to run multiple protocols simultaneously over a single cable, enabling the technology to connect devices such as peripherals, workstations, displays, disk drives, docking stations, and more.

Light Peak is even faster than the recently ratified SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) which can transfer data at 4.8Gbps.

Engadget thinks that Light Peak could land in Apple systems as soon as Fall 2010 in a line of Macs destined for back-to-school shoppers. Following the initial launch, a low-power version of Light Peak is planned for 2011, which could find its way into tablets and mobile phones.

Update: Check out this video of the Light Peak demonstration from the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) — running on a hackintosh, no less.

July 27th, 2009

Three things the Apple tablet needs to be successful

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:53 am

Categories: Hardware, Rumor, Tablet

Tags: Apple Inc., Tablets, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Jason D. O'Grady

The Financial Times reports that an Apple tablet is all but confirmed in a report out over the weekend. FT reports that Apple is working closely with record labels on adding value to complete album downloads via booklets and liner notes — and, by the way, a tablet is in the offing for September just in time for the holiday shopping season.

How can Apple differentiate its tablet from the miserable failure that is the Windows tablet? Good question. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and there are three components to a successful Apple tablet.

1. Handwriting recognition is a must and it’s got to be good. While the multi-touch keyboard on the iPhone and iPod touch has been a resounding success, handwriting recognition is more complicated and Apple can’t afford to have another blunder like the Newton. If Apple resurrects its Inkwell technology and morphs it with its Ink Engine patent the iTablet will be the second coming.
2. Voice recognition is another key technology that we need to see in the Apple tablet - imagine the iPhone 3GS Voice Control on steroids. Instead of being able to ask it to play a certain artist on query “what’s playing?” it needs to take full dictation. Apple should acquire Dragon’s Naturally Speaking or MacSpeech Dictate or both.
3. Resolution independent apps. I don’t see Apple inventing another App Store for the large screen and (as much as I want it) I don’t think the Apple tablet will run the full, desktop-version of Mac OS X with full apps like Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office. Instead Apple will harness the white-hot App Store for the tablet so that it can boast 65,000+ apps available at launch, but in order to make all those apps work on the larger screen of a tablet developers will have to re-code them. Apple’s clearly thought about this as evidenced by its patent on resolution independent interface design.

Other features Apple needs to include are Bluetooth, which will allow the use of external keyboards, mice and speakers — and a price point less than $800.

Update: A “books” tab under the iTunes Store could potentially turn the iTablet into a Kindle killer. Just a thought…

Now that that media has blessed the Apple tablet as a reality, what features would you need to see to take the plunge?

July 21st, 2009

Chinese worker commits suicide after losing prototype iPhone 4G (updated)

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 7:53 am

Categories: 4G, Hardware, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, 4G, Apartment, Sun Microsystems Inc., Apple Inc., Suicide, Worker, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

VentureBeat reports (via News reports coming out of China) that 25 year-old Sun Danyong committed suicide on July 9 after a fourth-generation iPhone prototype he was responsible for went missing. Danyong worked for Foxconn in Shenzhen in Guangdong province near Hong Kong which manufacturers iPhones for Apple. According to VB part of Danyong’s job description was to ship iPhone prototypes to Apple.

On Thursday, July 9th, Sun got 16 prototype phones from the assembly line at a local Foxconn factory. At some point in the next few days, he discovered that one of the phones was missing. He suspected that it had been left at the factory, but couldn’t find it. On Monday, July 13, he reported the missing phone to his boss. Then, that Wednesday, three Foxconn employees searched his apartment — illegally, according to Chinese law. Accusations are flying that Sun was detained and physically abused during the investigation, although this has not been substantiated (possible evidence: there’s this somewhat garbled and potentially faked instant message exchange from Sun shortly before his death).

What is known: On Thursday — a little after 3 a.m. according to surveillance videos in the apartment building — he jumped out of a window in his apartment building to his death.

This story is a tragedy that speaks volumes about the inordinant amount of secrecy that Apple shrouds its products in. I’m not saying that Apple’s to blame for the worker’s suicide, but there’s something to be said about the side effects of borderline-insanity level of secrecy that Apple demands of its partners. The high level of pressure and stress that Apple creates for workers with access to its products — especially in other countries — could have contributed to this unfortunate death.
Update: CNET reports that Apple has released a statement regarding the incident:

“We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told CNET on Tuesday. “We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.”

Apple declined any further comment on the events or the missing prototype.

July 10th, 2009

One-third of mobile phones to use accelerometers by 2010

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 6:56 am

Categories: Hardware, iPhone, iPhone 3GS

Tags: Apple iPhone, Phone, Mobile, Cell Phone, Portrait, Smart Phones, Palm Pre, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

iSuppli reports that accelerometers are expected to appear in one-third of mobile phones shipped next year, due to their inclusion in the popular iPhone and Palm Pre handsets.

The iPhone’s accelerometer detects when you rotate iPhone from portrait to landscape and changes the display accordingly. The iPhone’s 3-axis MEMS accelerometer motion sensors are also used to control many iPhone games, power management and shake modes to control music shuffle, undo, pedometers and a host of context aware apps.

The accelerometer also works in conjunction with digital compass found in the new iPhone 3GS.

With their capability to detect and measure motion, accelerometers are the critical enablers of these features, which are an essential element of what makes these smart phones so popular. These capabilities now are spreading beyond smart phones to other types of handsets.

iSuppli’s teardown of the iPhone 3GS revealed the use of a 3-axis MEMS accelerometer from STMicroelectronics. Its teardown of Palm Pre identified a Kionix Inc. MEMS accelerometer and inclinometer.

But Apple and Palm aren’t the only players, 38 percent of new Nokia handsets have integrated motion-sensing accelerometers since January. Sony Ericsson had the highest penetration of accelerometers, with 18 out of 19 new phones models introduced this year. Samsung and LG also are offering new phones with 3-axis accelerometers.

I find the iPhone’s accelerometer particularly fun in the Dinner Spinner app and in dice games like Motion X Poker. It’s also especially effective in the iPhone version of the classic Labyrinth game. However, I find that the accelerometer gets in the way in iPhone’s Shake To Undo feature and I wish that I could turn it off.

What’s your favorite application of the iPhone’s accelerometer?

July 2nd, 2009

How-to: Reset a noisy optical drive in the Mid-2009 MacBook Pro

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 3:13 pm

Categories: Hardware, MacBook Pro, Optical Drive

Tags: Optical Drive, Apple MacBook, Disc, Apple MacBook Pro, Jason D. O'Grady

While playing with my new 3GHz “Mid 2009” MacBook Pro I noticed that it made that weird optical drive load/unload sound three times in a row, instead of the usual one, any time the drive was used.

If you don’t have a CD or DVD handy you can invoke the sound by clicking on System Profiler > Hardware > Serial-ATA.

The solution, according to an Apple knowledge base article, is to reset the optical drive as follows:

1. Insert a CD or DVD almost all the way into the drive.
2. Remove the disc.
3. Insert the disc fully into the optical disc drive.

The optical drive is now reset and the noise should no longer be present when you start up or wake the computer.

A video of the procedure is also available and it worked like a charm for me.

June 17th, 2009

Some pre-ordered iPhone 3GS' delayed

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:03 am

Categories: Hardware, iPhone, iPhone 3.0

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., E-mail, Web Site Development, Web Technology, Channel Management, Online Communications, Internet, Marketing, Jason D. O'Grady

I received an email from an irate reader who placed a pre-order for a new iPhone 3GS on launch day who’s delivery date has been pushed back from Friday to Tuesday, 23 June 2009.

delivers by the 23rd?  I was told I’d have it by Friday, and it shipped today from Shenzhen China!?

Customers who purchased the iPhone 3GS from Apple’s Web site were told that they could either pick up their iPhone at a local Apple store on Friday, 19 June 2009 or have it delivered to them (for no extra charge) on that same day — a convenient option for those that don’t live near an Apple store.

Boy, am I glad that I selected the store pickup option.

What have you heard?