If you know anything about Steve Jobs, you know that he is a very private person. He doesn’t talk much about himself. There have been two unauthorized biographies written about Steve Jobs. They are “iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business” by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon, and “The Second Coming of Steve Jobs” by Alan Duetschman. I have read both books, and they are both very informative about Steve Jobs’ life. However, they were both written without Steve’s input. That’s why when I heard that Steve Jobs will be working with a writer on an authorized biography I was both surprised and excited at the same time.
The New York Times is reporting that Steve Jobs will be working with Walter Isaacson. He is the former managing editor for Time magazine. He has also authored two best-selling biographies, as stated below:
““Einstein: His Life and Universe” and “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.” He also wrote “American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane,” a collection of essays written last year delving into the roots of great leadership. All of his books have been published by Simon & Schuster.”
As I said earlier, I am both surprised and excited to hear that Steve Jobs is actually working on his biography. I was surprised because Steve is very private. He doesn’t like the media delving into his personal life and making it a spectacle. Throughout his ordeal with liver cancer he was very good at keeping the media at bay, and only letting them know what he wanted them to know, not anymore or any less. This is how he runs Apple, only letting the media know what he wants them to know. This has proved to work well for Steve personally and professionally.
Moreover, I’m excited to finally read about Steve Jobs’ life story from him. It appears that Steve’s life changing experience with his liver transplant has made him decide to open up and tell his story.
The biography is in the early stages of development with no set release date. I personally can’t wait to read it, and I know you can’t either. I would like to hear from you the reader. Let me know what you think of Steve Jobs working with Walter Isaacson on his biography in the comments section.
My girlfriend and I booked a trip to London for later in this summer. With us actually having booked the trip, I have begun thinking about what type of gadgets will be needed for the trip.
Here is the list I have thus far:
In lieu of bringing a laptop I am planning on bringing an iPad equipped with 3G. (I hope Apple has the international plans in place by our trip)
iPad accessories
iPhone
Bunch of Apps for traveling. (Need some suggestions from our readers)
Camera
Second phone (probably Google Nexus One)
On of the issues with traveling is procuring the necessary adapters. Luckily for Apple users, Apple has gone to a modular system for power adapters. This means that if you travel you can easily use your current products and just purchase the necessary power adapter to adapt to whichever type of plug is needed.
Apple does have a product: Apple World Travel Adapter Kit. This kit work with all of the iPods. Presumably, this will also work with the iPad.
This kit also adapts your MacBook power adapters to the proper power outlet. Most users may not be aware that they may be able to remove the actual power plug from their MacBook or MacBook Pro’s power adapter and replace it.
If you have any suggestions for what other gear or iPhone or Android applications that I should have, please let me know, either in the comments or via email.
All along we’ve been alluding to the fact that the success of the iPad is going to rest solely on the shoulders of the developers. The talented ones that made the iPhone such a success are going to have to bring the same types of innovation to the iPad.
It hasn’t taken as long as I suspected it would, but we’re already seeing some concepts for the “Tablet” starting to pop up on the internet. The wired team has put together a video that shows the power of multi-touch in a large screen device. It’s still a little early for the “I Told You So” speech, but after watching this video I’m getting a little closer. Wired illustrates just how ground breaking the “Tablet” can be.
This could be a clever aim at a viral advert for UK iPhone carrier Orange as it’s the only video on the YouTube page, but the phone in the video is actually on O2, so it’s not. But it’s a great use of science, and a well put together little video that’s going to show that you can power more than just little clocks using fruit like oranges.
We finally get to a point where we lose the DRM on our music, and now we’re going to be getting DRM on our digital books. Apple’s apparently offered up FairPlay DRM to book publishers, and the publishers are probably going to bite and apply it to every single e-book they publish.
The idea is to protect publishers “rights” and ensure that people won’t turn around, and place the books on pirate sites. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but it didn’t exactly work out for the music and video industry did it? Heck, Apple’s own AppStore has been circumvented, and you can get every single application for free with a jailbroken iPhone.
What really worries me isn’t that the DRM will stop users from sharing their books with friends. It’s that the DRM might make it easier to censor books. I don’t mean censoring an idea here, or a thought there, I’m talking about making books go away entirely. You know, in that Fahrenheit 451 kind of way. It’s a slippery slope, and with governments like China’s still kicking around, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until we start seeing some books being banned from an iTunes store. Until DRM is completely done away with, I’m a little bit reluctant to purchase an e-book that could suddenly disappear.
If you’re not sure what the benefits are of an aluminum design, just ask the owners of this fine looking iMac. Burnt to a crisp, and melted all over the place, the machine still managed to boot up without any major hitches. It may be a little difficult to input a password with that keyboard, but as you can see from the screen shot, the operating system booted up just fine. Talk about a well built case. Anders Norman from Sweden found himself amidst a major house fire, and probably didn’t expect to find anything still in working condition. I’ve often wondered what I’d save first: My Macbook Pro and Cinema Display or people and sentimental belongings. I guess you don’t really know until you’re in the moment, but after seeing this, the people and belongings have a slightly better chance of being rescued by yours truly.
Who needs a fire proof safe when you have an aluminum iMac?
I consider myself to be a pretty smart guy. I know a good bit about computers, and that is why I write about them. I can provide insight to others. Pretty simple, right? Well, today I feel like a complete novice. Why? Well, I am writing this post on a Dell Studio laptop running Windows 7.
I did the basics. I installed Safari, iTunes, and QuickTime on this computer. I did that thinking I could trick myself into thinking I was working on my computer. While some things feel nice and cozy (Like Top Sites and the iTunes Store), there are a lot of problems a Mac user will be tripped up by if he or she tries to use a Windows 7 machine to do work without doing metaphorical stretching.
The first thing that really got my goat was the way that the user interacts with windows in regards to scrolling. In OS X, your scroll focus follows your cursor. Anything that your cursor hovers over is what you will be scrolling. In Windows 7, you can only scroll in the front-most window. This drives me absolutely bonkers. If I am switching back and forth between windows, I have to force Windows 7 to change focus just so I can scroll down. This is incredibly unintuitive.
My other big problem with Windows 7 is the godawful Control Panel. When you’re trying to change settings on your computer, it spawns new windows left and right to go into specific areas like audio or gadgets. Your settings aren’t self contained. They are scatter shot everywhere, and Control Panel is basically just a list of links. This hodgepodge is really terrible to use.
Okay, don’t let these gripes make you think I hate Windows. It functions well enough. It really just showcases why user interface should be designed by graphic designers, and not engineers. Functionality and intuitiveness go hand in hand.
Have you been forced to use Windows 7? Maybe you use it volitionally. I’d love to hear about your experience as a Mac user. Comment on this post or hit me up on Twitter.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and you still haven’t gotten that special someone a gift. Fret not. If that special someone is a music or movie lover, then, Best Buy has a deal for you. Starting today you can get iTunes Gift Cards for 10% off. This special is valid for purchasing at your local Best Buy store, or for online ordering with in-store pickup.
Best Buy has the following iTunes Gift Card denominations:
$10.00 (3-Pack) after discount $27.00
$15.00 after discount $13.50
$25.00 after discount $22.50
$50.00 after discount $45.00
$100.00 after discount $90.00
Costco also has a great deal on a set of $60.00 iTunes Gift Cards. I believe the set sells for $54.99. You save a little money and make that special someone happy. So get out of the dog house, and back into their heart with this great last minute gift from Apple.
If you know anything about Steve Jobs, you know that he is a very private person. He doesn’t talk much about himself. There have been two unauthorized biographies written about Steve Jobs. They are “iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business” by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon, and “The Second Coming of Steve Jobs” by Alan Duetschman. I have read both books, and they are both very informative about Steve Jobs’ life. However, they were both written without Steve’s input. That’s why when I heard that Steve Jobs will be working with a writer on an authorized biography I was both surprised and excited at the same time.
February 17, 2010
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