Macgasm

We’re currently in a great place as far as browsers go. Microsoft’s death grip is all but gone, and the Webkit browsers are nipping at the heels of Firefox. Not to be outdone, Opera has taken the initiative to innovate in the mobile field. As luck would have it, we also have a fair number of specialty browsers available like Fluid and Plainview that offer unique features that some of us really need.

I’m ecstatic over all of the competition and innovation in the browser space. We’ve never seen so many great browser all at once. tThe developers are constantly fighting with each other to make the fastest, sexiest, and most functional web browser available. This is lightyears away from the stagnation of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and I’m loving every second of it. Frankly, you should too.

Even if your browser of choice isn’t the number one in the HTML5Test, or it doesn’t have commercials on national television, you still benefit from everything that’s being done. Because of all of the hard work from Mozilla, Apple, and Google, your browser of choice is better than it would have been. Competition truly is a beautiful thing.

Okay, maybe I was a little harsh on Microsoft. Truth be told, they’re trying to make their product better. Even though the new IE9 Beta has substantially less support for modern web features than the competition, it does show a good-faith effort on Microsoft’s part to get back into the game.

What do you think about the rapid pace in which browsers are evolving today? Is it sustainable, or will it die down like operating system innovation? Tell me what you think by leaving a comment on this post.

In our on going exploration of the iPad iOS 4.2 beta, we’ve noticed a new feature that’s come to Safari. You can now get a nice listing right next to the url bar that lists off how many active websites you have open at one time. It’s a small tweak, but it’s also pretty substantial if you notice that Safari is lagging behind on you.

Apple’s also changed the + icon with the traditional share icon between the bookmark bar and the url bar. From this menu you can still add a website to bookmarks, your home screen, email a link, and as of now you can print via AirPrinting.

We’ll also be updating our iOS 4.2 feature list as we find these things.

If you know me at all, you know that I have a bizarre love for Typography based designs. I’m constantly falling in love with an design that makes Type the forefront of piece of artwork. I’ve even tossed around the idea of removing all of the graphical elements for this site, and replaced everything is a clean, typography based design, but I haven’t been able to pull it off yet.

This mockup of a new lock screen for an iPhone 4, sent in by Thomas Wong, has me seriously considering jailbreaking my phone yet again. It’s the last remaining vestige from the jailbreak community that has me seriously jealous. If there was one thing I wished Apple would bring to the iPhone, it would be a more useful lock screen.

Instructions

1. Download theme
2. Open SSH client
3. Navigate to /private/var/stash/Themes.F0AAk3
4. Click and drag the theme into that folder
5. Go to Cydia and download “Lockscreen Clock Hide”
6. Done!

Getting the 24 clock

1. Use SSH Client to navigate to the theme folder
2. Open up functions.js
3. Go to line 2: “AM_PM = true” and change it to “AM_PM = false”
4. Done!

Adding a different background

1. Go into the theme folder via SSH
2. replace LockBackground.png with whatever image you’d like.
3. Done!

Thanks goes out to Thomas Wong for sending this in.

Via @beautifulpixel

Flipboard has updated their revolutionary social media magazine, and they’ve decided to include a number of highly anticipated features. Of course, excluding RSS and Google Reader support. New in version 1.0.2 is the ability to add up to 21 new sections to your contents page, previously at nine, automatic refreshing, and offline browsing. Two of which we’re pretty excited about. The automatic update feature could be handy, but could also be a little bit daunting if you have more than fifty followers.

Even more important than the aforementioned features is the updated layout algorithm that has made the page layout engine a lot smarter, optimizing screen real-estate in a way that the last version couldn’t. As it stands Flipboard will be placing more emphasis on Tweets that contain content over those that don’t, a major gripe with the previous version. Too often in version 1 and 1.01 the wrong tweets were getting emphasis for me. While I enjoy reading about what my followers ate for breakfast, I prefer to read what others find interesting in Flipboard, thankfully they’ve addressed that.

If you haven’t tried it out just yet, go give it a download, it’s pretty neat. Flipboard polls your Facebook and Twitter streams for links, images, and other media then displays its findings in a traditional magazine-like layout—it really highlights the media in social media.

Article Via Macworld

Back in July, Apple announced that the availability of their 27-inch LED Cinema Display would be September. It is now Mid-September and Apple is ready to get the 27-inch Cinema Display in the hands of customers.

In case you missed it, Apple has discontinued the 24-inch and 30-inch Cinema Displays.

The 27-inch Cinema Display is an LED display, which allows for brighter screens and less power draw. However there is a potential maximum power draw of up to 250 Watts while charging a MacBook Pro.

The 27-inch screen uses IPS technology, which is very crisp and clear. The IPS technology is also used within the iPad, iPhone4 and iPod Touch (4th Generation) screens.

The new Cinema Display supports three different screen resolutions: 2560×1440, 1920×1080 and 1280×720. This means that it has a 16×9 aspect ratio, which is slightly different than their portable devices which all 16×10 aspect ratios. So th16x9 aspect ratio does seem like a bit of an odd choice.

The biggest plus for the display is that you can use it to charge your MacBook. Why is this a good thing? Well, it means fewer cables that need to be around. It also means that you do not have to take your MacBook’s power supply out of its travel case just to charge it up and use it.

The last feature, which I would expect from any display released these days, is the VESA mount. The VESA mount allows you to put your display on a monitor arm or any other VESA compliant stand. This can be great for clearing space off your desk to create a larger work surface.

Apple Care is, as usual, available for purchase. It costs $99 and extends your coverage for a full three years.

The 27-inch Apple Cinema Display is not inexpensive. It will run you $999. The current lead time is 1 – 2 weeks, but it is available now in the Apple Store. If it weren’t so expensive, I would probably buy one right now, but alas, maybe next year.

Photo Credit: Apple

Last week we heard that Apple was getting ready to release an iPad this calendar year, and today we hear that Apple’s sourcing parts for the iPad 2. While we would be slightly annoyed if a new iPad shipped before December, we fully expect that the iPad 2 is going to be shipping in the New Year. Why? Well, for the last couple of years now, new products have been announced in January, so an announcement regarding the iPad 2 is pretty much expected at that time. The only major difference between this version of the iPad and the rumoured new one is that it’s starting to sound like the iPad 2 could be ready for order the day it’s announced. We have no source on this, and it’s certainly speculation, but we’re hoping that it could be available on announcement day.

Don’t think for one second that Apple hasn’t learned from the availability problems they’ve faced with the launch of the iPad and the iPhone 4. Keeping in mind that Tim Cook himself said that Apple wasn’t creating artificial shortages of their devices for more news coverage, it would seem that Apple would prepare for the demand a little better this time around. They were being modest in their expectations for the original iPad, and now that they can see that there’s a clear market for the device, a lot more will be ready to ship, a lot sooner than last time. For all we know, the iPad 2 could already be in production, and stockpiles could be forming as Apple begins to prepare for an update to the successful iPad. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? Early adopters wouldn’t have to wait months, casual adopters would still be able to pick them up off the shelves a week later, and everyone would walk away happy. Again, speculation, so don’t run off thinking that you’ll have a shiny new iPad 2 in your hands in January. We could very well be waiting until March or April again.

According to 9 to 5 Mac today, component suppliers are readying and validating their components so that they can be tested by Apple before they get included in upcoming devices. If the testing is indeed under way right now, there’s no way that an iPad 2 would ship before January, which coincides with the Digitimes report that the next-gen iPad will be announced in January 2011. The first iPad was announced on January 27, 2010.

In the Apple world, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There’s been a release schedule for the last couple of years, and if analysts haven’t figured that out yet, they’re probably just trying to increase their exposure with rumours from people “close to the source.” If you’re looking for new Apple products you should be looking towards January or September, as historically, this is when we see new and refreshed products launched.

Article Via 9 to 5 Mac

We love poking fun of Android here at Macgasm. It’s not that we really care about how the operating system performs; it’s that we get a sick thrill out of ruffling the Fandroid demographic. So, we’ just wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t pass along this interesting little nugget.

1. Open the Terminal.app application
2. Type: say -v “Cellos” Droid
3. Hit Enter.

Sound familiar? At least we now know that the Droid marketing teams are Mac users.

Tip via @Chockenberry

Apple launched the WiFi version of the iPad in China on Friday, only 5 months after its initial release. Hundreds lined up outside the flagship Apple Store in Beijing and the newly opened Shanghai store (the beautiful glass structure that Steve Jobs highlighted during the September press event) for a chance to buy the iPad on release day. Customers were limited to two iPads each. Apple’s stock surged on Thursday to an all time high of $276.57 in advance of the news.

The first in line in Beijing was Han Ziwen, who said he had camped out for 60 hours in order to be first. He even wore a T-shirt that said “I BUY IPAD NO. 1″. He held the iPads above his head in jubilation, much to the delight of the cheering crowd.

The 16 GB WiFi iPad costs 3,988 yuan, roughly $593 USD. The most expensive 64GB version is priced at 5,588 yuan ($830 USD). That’s nearly $100 to $130 more than the same models are priced in the US.

Apple has not said when the 3G model will be available in China. Mobile operator China Unicom, which already offers the iPhone3GS, is definitely interested in adding the iPad to its lineup.

Article and Image via AFP