Macgasm

Boy Genius Report has an article stating that Ron Spears, the “AT&T business solutions CEO,” has announced that forty percent of the iPhones sold go to businesses.

Here is what he says:

“When the iPhone came out, what most people heard in the first year from ‘07 to ‘08 was ‘oh my God, it’s not BlackBerry secure.’ This is not going to work on the enterprise space. At the end of the day, it’s just software. That’s all it is. And by the time the 3G came out in ‘08 they had solved about 80% of the security issues. By the time the 3GS came out last summer, most CIOs will tell you today they have very few issues around the security that they need provided as they have come to know that RIM can do it because of the way RIM provides their solution. So enterprises today view the iPhone as a mobile computer. It happens to have a voice application on it. But what’s important is what you can do with it, and the way you can mobilize workforces, and specific parts of your workforce, not the entire workforce. [...] If they’ve got a field service force that needs one or two applications on a daily basis; do they need to go out and spend $1,000 or $1,200 for a laptop and then worry about sort of the lifecycle costs of keeping up with the laptop?”

Interestingly, he focuses on the idea that the iPhone is a mobile computer instead of just a phone. I think that is a good way of describing the iPhone success on the whole, and not just the enterprise success. People think of it as having a computer in their pocket instead of a phone that does e-mail (I’m looking at you, RIM).

What are your thoughts on the subject? Does your company use iPhones?

Photo Credit: William Hook
Article Via: Boy Genius Report

Recently, I went on a cruise with my family, and being the gadget geek that I am, I had to take my gear with me. I brought everything from my Nikon DSLR to my iPad. The other thing I brought with me  wasn’t so much a gadget, but something to keep my gadgets from falling off the desk in our room when the ship was rocking and swaying, it was the Tree Frog Pad.

Enter the Tree Frog Pad.

When I first unwrapped the Tree Frog Pad, I thought that the Pad was going to leave a sticky residue on my gadgets. Fortunately, it did not, all it left was my devices right where I left them, which is what the Pad was made for.  I was happily surprised to see my devices right where I left them especially when the ship was moving really hard side to side.

We had one full day at sea, and it was pretty rough.  It felt like we had mini earthquakes all day on the ship.  Being a native Southern Californian you would think that I’m used to a little shaking; however, when your rocking back and forth all day it gets old real quick.  That day I had my iPad on the Tree Frog Pad, and it never moved once.  I also placed both my Nikon DSLR and my Canon Vixia HF100 on there, and I didn’t worry once that it was going to fall on the floor.

That’s what is so great about this Pad, it is so versatile, it can be used with anything not just an iPad.  What is also great about the Tree Frog Pad is that you can cut it down to fit your individual devices.  For example, if you have a few iPods and iPhones, you can cut it down to the size of your iDevices and have a personalized Pad just for them.  But remember, I said it’s great for all your electronics.

How to clean your Tree Frog Pad?

After normal use the Tree Frog Pad will accumulate dust and dirt.  No problem, simply wash the Pad in lukewarm water with soap.  TreeFrogPad.com recommends that you use dish soap, and avoid soaps with skin conditioners.  Once you have rinsed your Pad clean, simply dry it off with a towel.  Now your ready to use the Pad again.  It’s that simple.

How can I get one of these?

The Tree Frog Pad is available through their website.  It retails for $12.95 with free shipping for a limited time.  This is a great price for such a versatile Pad.

I would highly recommend the Tree Frog Pad to anyone who is on the go, and needs to have their devices stay put.  Again this is not like other pads that will leave a gooey residue on your devices or the surface that it’s placed on.  The Pad is sticky, so you and your devices don’t have to be.

Tree Frog Pad Photos

Photo Credit: Better together & treefrogpad.com

After Google announced that they were planning on partnering with some television manufacturers to bring Android enabled televisions to the masses, we speculated that the heat would be turned up on Apple Inc. We were under the assumption that they had some stuff in progress, based on previous Jobs comments, but we didn’t expect that we’d be getting news of AppleTV changes this soon.

According to Engadget, the AppleTV could soon start shipping for $99 and run iPhone OS. It’s being referred to internally as an iPhone without the screen, and it should be capable of a full 1080p resolution. But here’s the really exciting thing, you know that data centre that they have set up in North Carolina? It could be used to take the AppleTV to the cloud, making the AppleTV all about streaming. There was no mention about whether the device would be able to run apps from the AppStore, but it would seem like a logical inclusion at this point. Why wouldn’t Apple want to give consumers another medium to access the AppStore.

Would you be willing to pay $99 for a cloud based AppleTV solution?

Article Via Engadget

I cringed at first, the thought of defiling my iPad with some velcro was a little bit too much to bare, but after seeing it being used in both a car and in a kitchen, I really thought the video creator was on to something. This video, created by Jesse Rosten, really illustrates the power that the iPad could have in our daily lives. It’s a little bit tongue in cheek, but, it really embodies the spirit of the device. If Apple could get the price down on the iPad, I could easily see having one of these devices in almost every room in the house.

I’m still not sure that I’d  put velcro directly on my iPad, but I’d certainly velcro up a case of some kind.

iPad + Velcro from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

As I was walking home this evening, it didnt even cross my mind that there would already probably be a group of people outside London’s flagship store on Regent Street. At 7pm, when I was walking past, there was already about 10 people with chairs and other goodies to get them through the night. I posted a picture on Gowalla, and a couple of minutes later I had a reply over Twitter from Joe Woodcock saying “we’re number one :D haha“.
Joe’s been there since 12 midday he told me. After reading his Twitter stream, it seems he and his friends have already been interviewed by a couple of the UK TV network. Also, he has been given some gifts by the iwantoneofthose.com website, and some stuff from Griffin. Lucky fellas. Unlucky for them is the fact it looks like rain out tonight, and they dont have a tent. Anyone care to go along and help them out?

I’ve asked which model of iPad Joe and his friend are queueing up for, and it seem’s he’s not actually getting one! He’s just there with his friend Jake who’s going for the 32 GB wifi model.

You can follow his updates on Twitter here, and show him some support if you’re feeling nice.

Though I’m not tempted to sit out in the cold for the evening, I am getting more tempted to get myself an iPad in the morning. That is, if there are any left by the time I get there. It all depends on how early I manage to wake up tomorrow.

Few more pictures of the queue so far here:

If there’s one thing I’d like to see Apple address, it’s their involvement with Foxconn. Sure, Foxconn works on most major technology devices, but Apple’s claim of thinking different sets them apart from the rest of the industry. I’m not naive, and I certainly don’t have blinders on, and I know where my favourite consumer technology comes from, but something needs to be done.

Yesterday, a 12th Foxconn Employee jumped out a window in an attempt to commit suicide, and the young women became the 10th to succeed. CEO Guo Tai-ming can flap his silver tongue about the suicide rate at Foxconn being under the national Chinese average, but someone needs to start to do something. Until companies start threatening to leave Foxconn behind, the company won’t change. Apple needs to start looking somewhere else, or at the very least, start demanding better working conditions for the people building their devices.

Apple has a long history of philanthropic work in the US (Prop 8 is a recent example), so it’s only logical that they start spreading their ideologies internationally. If they really believe in equality for mankind, it’s time to show the world that those principle extend beyond the US borders.

An average Foxconn employee makes approximately $1,560.00 per year. How much does a family get if an employee dies on the job? $16,000. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on here. Foxconn can say they aren’t a sweatshop, and they can show off their olympic sized swimming pools all they want, but no one’s going to buy it.

We’d like to throw a challenge to Mr. Gou Tai-ming: How about you spend a year working in your own factory, at the same wage as your employees?

Who are we kidding? He wouldn’t last too long.

This is turning out to be a great year for new technology and innovations. Apple brought us the future with the iPad. With its innovative Operating System and touch interface we have a device that is unparalleled in today’s market. However, Sony too is bringing us the future.  Not in a cool Pad like device, or innovative Operating System. What they are delivering is something right out of Science Fiction – a rollable OLED display. That’s right a display that is thin and flexible.

Thomas Ricker of engadget gives us the scoop on this fascinating new technology by Sony:

“The 4.1-inch display integrates Sony organic thin-film transistors and OLED technology onto a flexible 20?m substrate lacking any rigid driver IC chips…  Display specs include a 432 x 240 pixel resolution (121ppi) supporting 16M colors while exceeding 100nits brightness and a 1,000:1 contrast.  It’s still research, but it’s clearly advancing towards product… someday.”

Those are some impressive specs, even though it is not yet available to the public, the technological applications for such a display are limitless. I could definitely see Apple incorporating this technology into their hardware. This would open up new roads of innovation for devices like the iPad or iPhone.

I remember Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talking about the technology when Walt Mossberg interviewed them at the All Things D conference. That was about two years ago. Just think what other new technologies are currently in research and development. What other technological wonders are being worked on as I write this. Many people throughout time have said, “This is a great time to be alive.”. I would have to say that right now is a great time to be alive, what with all of these new innovations.

Photo Credit: engadget.com

Article Via engadget.com

Hooray! At long last, Telltale Games has begun releasing their back catalog of games onto the Mac. Tales of Monkey Island and season three of Sam & Max have been available for Mac users for a while, but this is good news for fans of the classic point-and-click methodology.

For those of you not in the know: Sam is a six-foot tall canine with a huge gun, and Max is an insane rabbity-thing that takes care of the pummeling of perps. This duo come together to form the Freelance Police. From the mind of Steve Purcell, this pair has been star of comics, television, and classic video games. In 2006, Telltale started making a new series of episodic games based on our beloved mammals.

Through five episodes, we see Sam & Max leave their office for exotic locals. Not only do we see places like Stuttgart and the North Pole, but we also travel through space, to hell, and through time. Exciting, no?

This is the last of the pure point-and-click games from Telltale. From now on, all of their games are “Direct control.” If you’ve played Tales of Monkey Island or season three of Sam & Max already, you’ll be unfamiliar with this control scheme. If you want to move your character in this season, you click the location you want Sam to mosey.

If you’re in the market for a hilarious game series, you’ll be pleased with the wry wit of Sam & Max. Season 2 is only $29.95, but you can buy all three seasons of Sam & Max for only $49.95

I recommend this series highly. If you want more Mac games in the future, we need to support the developers who support our community.