We know this is coming out of Microsoft but it is a pretty interesting demo of of non-traditional human-machine input methods. It isn’t hard to imagine using this technology for important accessibility tasks and also gaming (think Project Natal).
There’s also been talk of talk of non-traditional input methods on Apple’s tablet, though speech recognition seems to be more realistic approach.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1agrUM4KYs&w=600&h=385]
I saw your recent post on Tim Cook at Apple. I don’t know if he has been contacted yet but he is the top candidate that Spencer Stuart has identified as the next CEO of GM. I have an inside source at Spencer Stuart.
[Interim CEO Edward E. Whitacre] wants the candidate to come from a company known for operational excellence, innovation and customer satisfaction and in addition he is looking for someone that has turnaround experience. It also doesn’t hurt that [Tim] has been able to work with Jobs. Whitacre does want to stay on as Chairman. Also, Cook has been the key link to AT&T and should understand the culture that Whitacre, [a former AT&T CEO] built.
Even if Cook was chosen, would he leave Apple to run GM? Would Apple let him go without a fight? Seems very unlikely.
Gruber’s take on the Tablet is an interesting one. His real information is limited but he does offer this:
Here
Another Apple patent today looks remarkably similar to the functionality of Google Latitude which Apple relegated to WebApp status earlier this year. Obviously if Apple is working on their own version of Google Latitude (or owns the IP rights to this functionality), they’d be hesitant to put an app with the same functionality on their devices from another company. Now it all makes sense!
In Apple’s implementation, it looks like the location data can be carried in an SMS or Instant Message (interesting news in its own right), which can then be opened in the Maps application to show the other person’s location relative to the iPhone user’s.
Also, note what appears to be another instance of a front-facing camera on the iPhone image below. We’re calling it now: iPhone 4G (and tablet + maybe iPod touch) get front faing cameras. Who is with us?
Two other patents published today are directly related to Apple’s iPhone Maps + Compass capabilities as follows:
Location Sharing: Abstract – Geographic location data is sent from a first device to a second device with a modified message to signal the presence of geographic location data associated with the message. The message can include (or attach) the geographic location data or file, or the message can include a link to a network-based resource which the second device can use to obtain the geographic location data. In some implementations, when a user of the first device views a location on a map display of the first device, a graphical user interface is presented to allow the user to select an option to share the geographic location with the second device. The second device receives geographic location data or a link from the first device which can trigger a map display on the second device showing the location of the first device and, optionally, the location of the second device. For more information on patent application 20090325603, view this temporary link.
Position Fix Indicator: Abstract – In some implementations, a method includes: obtaining a first position measure at a mobile device indicating a geographic area where the mobile device is located, presenting a first graphical indicator on a user interface representing the geographic area; obtaining a second position measure at the mobile device, indicating a location associated with the mobile device, and within the geographic area; and presenting a second graphical indicator on the user interface representing the location within the geographic area. For more information on patent 20090326815, view this temporary link.
Well, maybe it is on Amazon. $4 worth of Video On Demand videos for free until Jan 3rd. They’ve got a pretty solid selection of movies for $2.99 as a place to start looking. Happy New Year!
Apple has updated an existing patent to describe a remote control to provide a more natural control experience when controlling devices such as the Apple TV – with a remote that
Apple has fought off a class action lawsuit alleging iPods damage hearing.
A federal appeals court yesterday rejected the lawsuit, which claimed iPods to be defective because they lack adequate controls against
Apple will indeed announce its much talked about but still unconfirmed tablet device next month, and this will be equipped with 3D graphics and cost under $1,000, the former president of Google China, Kai-Fu Lee, wrote in a blog post last night.
Lee informs us that
Clayton Morris at FoxNews is going on record saying that Apple is indeed holding an event in January as the Financial Times mentioned last week. He goes a step further saying that the event will focus on “Mobility”. This event would likely follow a Google January 5th event that will showcase the Google Phone or Nexus one.
I’ve spoken to a source inside Apple who confirmed a “big” event for January. While nothing official has been handed down from the notoriously tight-lipped company, my source took the Financial Times report one step further by saying this event will focus on the mobility space, meaning we’ll see something related to the iPhone/Touch product line.
Obviously this event screams tablet, but might we also see such things as iPod touches with cameras, new software or iPhone upgrades as well?
Just a reminder: Today is the last day that you can get MacSpeech software for $149 through our affiliate link.
As MacSpeech affiliates, we can offer MacSpeech applications 25% off of the list price using this link and the coupon code: “9TO5MAC” at checkout. That puts the regular application at $149 (including free headset), which is the lowest price we could find.
Why not make speech recognition a New Years resolution?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ1N5el819k&w=600&h=385]
Steve Perlman, a former Quicktime Guru at Apple, has a very interesting startup called OnLive. The idea is simple: Cloud gaming.
You play games over the Internet and your screen acts like a dummy terminal that operates hardcore Cloud gaming rigs (or virtualized rigs) like VNC operates remote desktops. These GPU data centers are located throughout the US because, as you might expect, the latency of button pushing and seeing the result of the button pushing is what has held up these type of scenarios in the past.
http://www.viddler.com/player/751c3d65/
Perlman tells his (alma mater) Columbia University audience that Onlive has solved the latency issue. The round trip is only 80 milliseconds if the data center is located within 250 miles of the gamer. According to Perlman, that is short enough time to fool the mind into thinking the action is instantaneous.
Of course this doesn’t just make sense for Macs and PCs. It scales to TVs and iPhones as you can see 20 minutes into the video. What is interesting about this technology is that it instantly levels the playing field for gaming devices. Macs, PCs, TVs and iPhones all have access to the same titles and technologies. As you can see in the video if you watch the whole 47 minutes (recommended!), there are so many other possibilities of social gaming and moving beyond gaming to live sporting events and such…as long as they can keep the latency to a minimum. (Via JoyStiq)
D-Link and Boxee plan to introduce an iPhone application to enable remote control of the features of the two firm
Nokia
Apple has seemingly bowed to Chinese government pressure, removing iPhone apps relating to the Dalai Lama and Rebiya Kadeer, the latter an exiled leader of China’s Uighur minority group, from sale through the Chinese version of the App Store.
“We continue to comply with local laws,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told IDG News Service when asked about the missing apps. “Not all apps are available in every country.”
A selection of Apps relating to both men are available in most countries
Friendly competition or a battle between two former allies? Google has proved pre-Christmas rumours as fact, and set January 5 as a special event, presumably for the
This wouldn’t be rocket science to fake but a German forum poster says he got ahold of an 8GB iPhone with a 3GS on the label. While the iPhone insed was only a refurbished 3G, it would indicate that the label was made for an 8GB iPhone 3GS. The obvious question is: Will Apple silently or otherwise replace current iPhone 3G models with faster 3GS?
Also, a German retailer seems to be advertising an 8GB iPhone 3GS.
Remember a series of reports earlier this year out of Rogers that had implied the same thing — that 8GB iPhone 3GS models were around the corner. The move by Apple wouldn’t be surprising or unexpected given that AT&T sells refurbished 16GB iPhones for $49 – which is $100 less than it did earlier this year.
As we Tweeted earlier today, Apple has slashed its price of new base model MacBooks to a record low price: only $728. That is $271 off of retail and even $200 off of Amazon’s price. To get that price, Click here and visit the ‘Education Store’ link on the left.
Interestingly, Apple mentions that this is only a $100 savings, so perhaps a drop is in store for the retail version as well.
Patently Apple details a new Apple patent which utilizes a push button antenna to “ensure high-quality wireless transmission and reception.” They note:
Although the antenna could be based on a push button design, it may also be designed to be activated via an icon on your media device UI.
That’s certainly an interesting feature. Should you enter New York City with your 4G iPhone, perhaps the OS activates the antenna to hop on a weak AT&T signal?
Patently Apple wonders if this design might hint at television signal usage as well. Many more illustrations here.
Macrumors is knee-deep in filings for secret Delaware companies made by Apple’s Senior Trademark Specialist Regina Porter. This morning, they’ve found another name that could at some point be used in a future Apple product/service.
‘iGuide’.
According to Macrumors, the trademark classification includes the following passage:
Computer hardware and computer software for accessing, browsing, searching, recording, organizing, storing, transmitting, receiving, manipulating, streaming, reproducing, playing, and reviewing audio, video, games, music, television, movies, photographs, and other multimedia content.
Even more revealing was a later passage which describes downloadable electronic content of a wide variety:
Downloadable electronic publications in the nature of books, magazines, newsletters, journals, and blogs in the fields of entertainment, sports, science, history, culture, celebrities, news, current events, politics, technology, and education;
As TechCrunch points out, the registration for this name tends toward it being a service rather than being a physical product.
From the description above, it seems that iGuide would replace much of the functionality of iTunes if it were to be released on the Mac platform as well (and Apple likes to maintain continuity among all of its platforms). As we’ve pointed out in the past, iTunes functionality has grown far beyond its original purpose of organizing music.
Could the ‘iGuide’ name replace ‘iTunes’ in the future? It also looks like it would encroach on ‘Front Row’ as well.
According to Dan Butterfield at iPhonAsia, China Unicom has passed the 300,000 mark on iPhones in China. The milestone is notable because just three weeks ago, Unicom had only sold 100,000 and that mark was reached in 40 days. Even that was a significant increase over its dismal start on the mainland.
So why the sudden increase in iPhone purchases in China? Unicom has put on a roadshow:
The 46-city tour kicked off in Beijing earlier this week and is designed to educate prospective buyers. China Unicom is renting out conference centers and they have trained up staff to deliver interactive demos of many fun and practical uses of iPhone. There will be six live presentation sessions covering different iPhone features/functions. One of the objectives of the roadshow campaign is to raise awareness of how much can be done via an iPhone and its virtually unlimited number of apps
The news that China Unicom is starting to pick up customers at a good clip is certainly refreshing for Apple, as they’ve had very high hopes for the country of 1.3 Billion. Sales should also see an increase when Apple introduces Wifi-enabled models sometime in 2010.
So, AT&T is offering the iPhone up for sale once again in New York and New Jersey, following a brief (confusing) hiatus this season – today Apple
Broadpoint AmTech analyst, Brian Marshall, has issued revised estimates for iPhone sales, pegging the highest numbers so far predicted for Apple
Automaker Ford has caught up with the iTunes story and is now introducing high def radios equipped with iTunes tagging, following its announcement earlier this month of plans to extend WiFi access to new car customers.
The move makes Ford the first car maker to offer factory-installed HD radios equipped with iTunes tagging as standard across many of its models.
“iTunes Tagging and HD Radio technology are strong new additions to the growing collection of Ford convenience features and technology we’re offering customers to make driving even more enjoyable,” said Mark Fields, president of The Americas.
The implementation means Ford customers will gain the ability to capture a song they hear on the HD Radio receiver for later purchase. With a simple push of the “TAG” button on the radio display, the song information will be stored in the radio’s memory.
Up to 100 tags on SYNC can be stored until the iPod is connected. When the iPod is then synced to iTunes, a playlist of “tagged” songs will appear. Customers then can preview and, if desired, purchase and download tagged songs from the iTunes Store.
The products are set for introduction at giant US trade show, CES, next month.
