Super Talent Storage POD Mini SSD

The world of SSD is a strangely unexciting one, except perhaps to enthusiasts and those who love building computers from scratch, and here is another SSD option for you to consider if you are about to construct a new rig for Christmas – the ultra-portable Storage POD Mini. This portable USB 3.0 SSD will come encased in a blue anodized, all-aluminum enclosure, where that makes it not only lightweight but rugged as well – measuring a rather diminutive 110mm x 68mm x 10 mm. Capable of touching a top speed of more than 260MB/s on paper, the real world performance is what makes the Storage POD Mini SSD a real gem. It basically compresses data in real-time, as it writes and decompresses data as it reads. This basically means you are, theoretically, able to stash more stuff than normal, while enjoying a more efficient data transfer process.

To make life easier, Super Talent has thrown in a One-Touch Backup button which will launch the backup routine that plays nice with numerous machines. All you need to do is give that button a push, and it will start to back up all the designated data areas. You will be able to choose from 60GB, 120GB and 240GB capacities, although pricing details have yet to be mentioned.

Apple granted yet another patent

It seems that patents are the key to conquering any market these days, as you can see through the Apple vs HTC and Apple vs Samsung cases. Cupertino has received yet another patent recently, where this particular patent enables users to switch to an app even when they are taking a call. CBS News reports that patent number 8,082,523 is known as “Portable electronic device with graphical user interface supporting application switching”, and it might prove to be another bullet in Apple’s considerable arsenal in the current patent war concerning mobile technology.

I guess Steve Jobs’ intention of going “thermonuclear war” with Google is starting to show, what with Apple picking up a victory over HTC (who primarily makes Android powered devices) that might prove to be a death blow to the Taiwanese company when it comes to doing business in the US, although Samsung, another strong partner of Android, did pick up a victory against the sales ban of the Galaxy Tab in Australia.

Source: Ubergizmo

Facebook Android app update officially launched

The other day it was mentioned that the Facebook for Android app would be getting an update in the near future and it looks like it’s sooner than expected. If you don’t already know – the official Facebook app for Android isn’t very good – content takes a long time to load, and we’re missing features such as push notifications. And in my opinion, something is very wrong when the mobile website gives a better experience than the native app.


In the official Facebook blog, the update for the Android Facebook app has been announced. The new version is claimed to be faster especially when it comes to viewing and sharing photographs, and it features a redesigned UI that’s much closer to the iOS/mobile page version of the social network. Still no mention of push notifications, but at least we get a nifty notification bar that stays on top at all times.

The app is now available from the Android Market.

Siri fully-functional on the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch

When the iPhone 4S was released, developers worked on getting Siri ported to the iPhone 4 immediately. While they managed to get the app running on the phone, it couldn’t connect to Apple’s servers and had to resort to using alternatives such as Google or TellMe to get the job done. But now, those problems have been solved: some developers have managed to get the hacked version of Siri communicating with Apple’s servers, the way the original app was supposed to. 

In addition to get Siri fully functional, they took it one step further: by making it run on both the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch. Unfortunately there’s some bad news to go along with the good news: the developers won’t be releasing this hacked version of Siri to the public – they were only interested in making it work. The app also requires files and a validation token from the iPhone 4S which will probably get the developers in trouble if they distributed it as well. 

Well, all hope is not lost, eventually some other developers will get the job done.

Apple updates iPhoto to version 9.2.1

Do you use iPhoto a whole lot? If the answer is in the affirmative, then you might be pleased to know that Apple has just released an update to their iPhoto software, bumping up the version number to 9.2.1 in the process. This update will handle all issues concerning iPhoto’s rather erratic behavior of quitting unexpectedly, and if you want to make that update, just do it via the Software Update over your Mac. It seems that the “quitting unexpectedly” issue happens only on Macs with the 3ivxVideoCodec plug-in installed, so version 9.2.1 will put an end to this. 

Other improvements include addressing compatibility issues with iCloud and iOS 5, enabling left and right swipe gestures to navigate between photos in Magnify (1-up) view, ensuring that previously imported photos will be displayed in a separate section of the Import window, book/calendar themes and card categories can also be selected using a pop-up menu in the carousel view, an issue that causes several pages of books to print incorrectly being resolved, while your library can now be rebuilt while correctly preserving saved slideshows and books. Basically, this update comes across as highly recommended for all users of iPhoto ’11.

Google working on an MP3 store

Google might want to further expand their cloud music service that currently sports some rather limited capabilities, where the Internet search giant is negotiating with major record labels in order to expand that service, in addition to opening an MP3 store which will possibly compete with Apple and Amazon – although the success of it might have results that aren’t exactly going to increase the bottom line of Google’s revenues.

Not one, but numerous music executives have stepped forward, claiming that Google is eager to open the store very soon. This will most probably have something to do with Google’s current cloud service, Music Beta, where it allows folks to back up their songs on remote servers as well as stream them to cell phones and other devices.

Needless to say, when confronting Google, there was no comment from their part – and the same can be expected from the other music levels. Do you think that Google will be able to succeed in their efforts?

Twitter fully integrated into iOS 5

As most of you should know by now (if you’ve upgraded your iOS devices) that Twitter is fully integrated into iOS 5. Now what does this all mean? Well, if you’re a huge user of Twitter, it basically means good news, and for those of you who don’t use Twitter – it doesn’t change your life. Twitter integration with iOS makes it extremely easy and convenient to share your activities via a Tweet.

Previously when you wanted to share something, it involved copying the text or a link and then launching the Twitter program to post the Tweet. Now when you hit the Share button in an app, you can just select the Tweet option. Users can also upload pictures directly to Twitter using Twitter’s own picture hosting service. Twitter integration is available in default apps like Camera, Maps, Photos, Safari, YouTube and third party apps like Chomp, Flipboard, Instagram and more.

Get the official Twitter app for your iOS device from the Apple App Store.

Steve Jobs' Speech [video]

Steve Jobs - Former Apple CEO Speech video download.

Tribute to Steve Jobs [Infographics]

Twitter Analysis: Massive Global Mourning For Steve Jobs [Infographics]

In the hours after Steve Jobs’ passing, researchers at the New England Complex Systems Institute tried to track the spread of memorial Tweets spreading through the internet. Their computers were overwhelmed.


Rather than focusing on network dynamics, they decided to analyze the tributes by language. Jobs wasn’t just an American visionary, but truly global.


Above is a breakdown of two million tweets containing the name “Steve Jobs” and posted between 9 pm on Oct. 5 and 9 am the next morning. Each dot represents 1,000 tweets, and they’re colored according to language. A high-resolution version containing the most-retweeted messages can be downloaded here.


Though the methodology’s a little rough — Tweets didn’t mention Steve Jobs by name aren’t included, nor are languages with non-western alphabets — but it’s enough.


“I have been looking at the tributes,” said NECSI president Yaneer Bar-Yam, “and their extent is itself a tribute.”

iPhone5 - Rumors and the roadmap

Experience Mobile [video]

Apple Product Design: 35 Years of Consumer Electronics [Infographics]

When it comes to industrial design, few consumer electronics or computer makers have the legacy or influence of Apple, Inc. In the last 35 years, Apple has introduced a myriad of products and devices, some very successful, some, not so much.

Artist Mike Vasilev created this infographic for Mashable, highlighting the major Apple product releases and design changes from 1976 through 2011.

With rumors of the iPhone 5, iPhone 6 and a smaller, lower-cost iPhone all spreading through the technosphere, we feel certain that at least one more item will be added to the “redesign” list before 2011 closes out.

Most Common Places to Lose a Cell Phone

Your mobile phone is an important part of your life and losing it even for a minute can be both frustrating and very alarming.

This infographic illustrates the most common places where people are most likely to lose their precious cell phone. The locations include buses, airport seats, taxi and even the roof of your car.

What We’re Expecting from the iPhone 5

After Apple announced a media event with the slogan “Let’s talk iPhone”, it is certain that the iPhone 5 launch is coming. There is a huge buzz surrounding the new iPhone and what will be included. Here are some things you should expect with the iPhone 5:

A New Design

At first, many people thought that Apple was going to keep the design of the iPhone 5 identical or extremely close to the iPhone 4. However, numerous pictures of new iPhone cases have been released, which in no way could hold the previous versions of the iPhone. Therefore, it is safe to say the iPhone 5 has been redesigned.

Faster Performance

To keep up with competitors, Apple most likely will be upgrading the RAM on the iPhone 5. We rely on smartphones extensively so it only makes sense that Apple would have upgraded the speed and performance of the new iPhone.

Better Camera

While Apple did improve the camera with the iPhone 4, it is expected that the camera on the iPhone 5 will be upgraded further. Many experts believe the screen will be larger, the camera will be 8 megapixels instead of 5, and the iPhone 5 will allow for full 1080p recording.

4G?

It is still unknown whether or not Apple will include 4G capabilities on the iPhone 5. However, if 4G is included, expect the iPhone to be larger. 4G requires a large amount of battery power and Apple has always been careful about battery life. While many people do want 4G on the iPhone, we will have to wait until the meeting to see whether or not Apple has included it.

Addition of New Carriers

Apple has slowly been extending its’ reach to new carriers. There is some speculation that Apple will include new carriers for the iPhone 5. Some rumors have indicated T-Mobile will be included, especially with AT&T trying to buy them. Sprint will likely be offering the iPhone 5 with an unlimited data plan, which AT&T / Verizon no longer offer.

iOS 5

Apple will definitely be launching the iPhone 5 with it’s new operating system giving us over 200 new features. You can see exactly what’s included on the Official Apple iOS5 page.

Voice Recognition

Apple acquired a voiced-based personal assistant service Siri last year and has not used it much at all, at least that we know of. Apple may be integrating this service on the new iPhone to allow for voice recognition.

If anything is certain, the new iPhone 5 should be much improved and better then previous models. Apple always seems to one-up themselves with each version and hopefully the iPhone 5 is no different.

Source: http://iphone5release.org