Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
formspring.me
You can ask me anything but please keep it clean and I decide if I want to answer it or not. http://formspring.me/TraciM
Saturday, April 24, 2010
see the ipad in action
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid42806360001?bctid=76497436001
Friday, April 9, 2010
Five products designed to fail early
Five products designed to fail early
461diggsdigg
(Photo: Getty Images)
Some of these infuriating problems were caused on purpose, by product designers practicing "planned obsolescence." Planned obsolescence occurs when something is intended to wear out or stop being useful after a predetermined period of time -- and that time is often as short as a few years.
Critics have long complained that planned obsolescence wastes consumers' money, uses up valuable resources, and chokes our landfills.
The good news is that consumers are not entirely at the mercy of corporations. Armed with some information and foresight you can extend the life of some products or avoid buying them entirely. Here are strategies for dealing with some of the most irritating sources of planned obsolescence.
MP3 Players
Planned obsolescence is a fact of life when it comes to consumer electronices. MP3 players are a glaring example. These units are rarely upgradable with more memory and their lithium-ion batteries often wear out before the product does.
In the worst case, such as with Apple iPods, the battery can't be removed easily by consumers, forcing an expensive service request when it runs out. These advanced batteries are often expensive ($75 or more in the case of laptops, but still pricey for smaller devices), so extending the life is no trifling matter.
Luckily, there are a number of good quality "generic" batteries on the market for many devices. You can easily find them on eBay and elsewhere. These typically are not recommended by manufacturers, but problems are rare. It also isn't that difficult to replace the battery in your iPod, and directions and how-to videos are online.
Finally, you can often prolong the life of your device by taking good care of it. Keep it out of temperature extremes, keep it clean and follow the charging/use patterns recommended by your manufacturer. In many cases, lithium-ion batteries do better if they are not run all the way down.
Ink Cartridges
A set of new inkjet cartridges can cost more than the printer itself...yet you may be prevented from using every expensive drop of pigment. Many ink cartridges come with proprietary smart chips on them that disable printing when one of the colors falls to a certain level, even if there's really enough ink to do the job. Plus, the smart chips can discourage refilling or use of third-party ink.
Buy cartridges that let you refill the ink. This cuts down on plastic use, and saves you serious money. You can also probably get away with printing less. Use draft and grayscale settings to save ink, and optimize content from the web or email before you send to the printer, so you don't waste ink on headers, footers and ads you don't want. You can also skip printing by using online backup services, Google docs and emailing things to yourself.
Software
In software, as with some video game hardware, many titles are incompatible with previous files or programs. This definitely gives consumers incentive to upgrade across the board. Many users are also forced to upgrade to new editions after publishers stop providing support to older versions.
Instead of proprietary software, use open source titles, which are usually free for typical users, including upgrades. You also may be able to save money by using general titles instead of specialized ones that only do one thing, since you are less likely to get trapped into expensive service or upgrades later. For example, use Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets instead of custom accounting software. Some users may also find that they don't really need to get the latest and greatest upgrades, unless there are security reasons to do so.
Textbooks
Planned obsolescence isn't limited to newer kinds of technology. Even though not much changes from year to year for most core subjects, textbook publishers issue frequent updates. Trouble is, each new edition is usually printed with the information shifted to different page numbers, making it difficult to follow along in class with a previous volume.
Given that textbooks are quite expensive, some students are fighting back by buying recently used texts at a fraction of the cost from places like Craigslist. Or perhaps even cheaper and more convenient, you may be able to rent the textbooks you need. Chegg.com, for example, is a mail service not unlike Netflix, in which shipping on return books is free. Chegg plants a tree for every book users rent, sell or buy, and rental costs range from about 10% of list price to about 30%.
Finally, some savvy students have discovered that they need not even buy every text on the class list; rarely used ones can be referenced at the library or shared among friends.
Fast Fashion
One year fishnets are out, the next year they're in. Unless you have your own warehouse like Demi Moore, chances are good that you don't hang on to every piece of clothing you own to wait until acid wash comes back into vogue. Whether it's because of cuts, hemlines or colors, a lot of what is advertised and sold is designed to go out of style in a short time.
Instead of buying the latest and greatest apparel, consider timeless classics. Vintage clothes are a great green choice, and offer nearly endless style possibilities. Avoid so-called "fast fashion," which is churned out quickly based on ephemeral trends and isn't designed to last. Rent the items you'll only wear once or twice, like tuxedos, prom dresses or possibly even hand bags. Finally, learn to mend the clothes you already have -- that's the greenest option yet!
By becoming more educated consumers, we can enjoy higher value and have less environmental impact.
More from The Daily Green
Interesting article about laptops
Save your battery: Unplug your laptop
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A recent article from Lawrence Berkely Laboratory suggests that readers should 'Pull the plug. Your battery will thank you.' Researcher Venkat Srinivasan writes about batteries and battery chemistry rather specifically, but without becoming overwhelmingly technical.
He explains how batteries begin to fail and suggests keeping your computer unplugged as a way of extending the life of your battery. I pulled the plug on mine as soon as I read the article, and I'm now writing this on battery power.
On the other hand, if you charge the battery and then pull the plug (so to speak), the battery discharges some, the voltage drops, and these reactions become less of a problem and your battery life goes up. So the best things you can do is to charge the laptop (or cell phone, camera, etc.) and once its charged, pull the plug. Your battery will thank you for it.This also has relevance for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle owners, whose batteries have the same characteristics. A car sitting in a garage for hours, full charged, is going to be slowly deteriorating the battery. Manufacturers may already be incorporating measures into battery packs to address this problem, but this highlights just one of the many potential issues battery makers need to address in order to keep portable electrical devices functioning.
This week in batteries may not be on everyone's RSS feed right away. But engineers for computer companies, electric vehicle manufacturers, cell phone, and other portable device makers should be following him. While the articles run to the technical, the information is accessible for all kinds of battery geeks.
Apple: Multitasking coming to the iPhone this summer, iPad in the fall
Apple: Multitasking coming to the iPhone this summer, iPad in the fall
Play Video
CNBC
– Next-Gen Apple iPhone
AFP/Getty Images – Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks during an Apple special event in Cupertino, California. Jobs announced the …
So,
what do you think: Happy with the new features? Has Apple fixed the
iPhone's/iPad's multitasking problem at last, or think there's still
work to be done?
— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.
Friday, March 26, 2010
ipad news
I found this article today and it fits perfectly with this blog considering its about the new Ipad from apple. I follow the author Ben Patterson on twitter and it seems he knows his stuff.
The iPad cometh — in just a matter of days, actually. Still not sure what all the hubbub's about? Got some questions you need answered before you click the "buy" button? Help is here.
What's so special about the iPad — or tablets in general, for that matter?
The iPad will be Apple's first tablet device since the early 1990s, when the original (and now-extinct) Newton landed with a thud. Back then, though, laptops still weighed 10 pounds, PDAs didn't really exist yet (the Newton was arguably the first), and the only people with cell phones were the likes of Gordon Gekko. Now, of course, touchscreen smartphones and ultralight laptops are everywhere, but tablet PCs — which are, as Steve Jobs himself admitted during the big iPad unveiling, stuck somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop — have yet to truly take off. Will the iPad be the device that finally turns the tablet PC into a mainstream gadget? Looks like we're about to find out.
How big is the iPad?
Boasting a 9.7-inch display, the iPad itself measures 9.6 long, 7.5 inches wide — a little bigger than a magazine — and about half an inch thick. It's not super-heavy at 1.5 pounds, but those who've hefted the iPad report that it feels a tad heavier than they expected, considering its size.
How does one use the iPad, exactly?
A lot like you would the iPhone. The main "home" screen displays your various iPad apps, with a row of four core apps (Web browsing, e-mail, photos, and iPod) along the bottom. Tap to launch an app, swipe through photos and e-mail, "pinch" to zoom in or out of a Web page — you know the drill. Nice, but those hoping for some kind of groundbreaking tablet UI on the iPad will be disappointed.
When will the iPad arrive, and how much will it cost?
The initial, Wi-Fi-only wave of iPads will go on sale Saturday, April 3, and they're available now for pre-order. The 16GB iPad sells for $499 (much cheaper than many had been expecting), while a 32GB model will retail for $599 and a 64GB version will go for $699. Later in April, Apple will start selling iPads with embedded 3G wireless capabilities for surfing on the go; the 3G iPads will also come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB flavors, although each will be $130 more than their Wi-Fi-only counterparts.
What about those 3G iPads — will I need to sign a contract? Which carriers are supported?
The good news: No need to sign another two-year agreement for a 3G iPad data plan. Instead, you can get a month-to-month prepaid plan: $14 a month for 250MB of data (which should be fine for checking e-mail and light Web surfing, but not so great for streaming large quantities of video), or $29 a month for unlimited data. The bad news: AT&T is the only U.S. carrier offering an iPad data plan, for now anyway.
Will I be able to (wirelessly or otherwise) "tether" my 3G iPhone to a Wi-Fi-only iPad for shared, on-the-go data?
The answer, straight from Steve Jobs: No.
What about battery life?
Expect 10 hours of active use on a single charge, or a month of stand-by time, according to Apple. As with the iPhone, though, the iPad's battery is sealed in the shell, meaning you won't be able to swap in a spare battery if you're running out of juice. Apple says it can replace a dead for you, but the service will set you back a cool $99.
I can't wait to hear about the camera. How many megapixels? Will it have a flash?
Uhhh, sorry, folks: No camera on the iPad. Yes, I know. You're not the only one who's disappointed, believe me. (Can you imagine what video conferencing on, say, Skype for the iPad would have been like?)
What are the physical buttons and ports on the iPad? Is there a slot for a memory card?
Besides the Home button that sits below the display (which, as on the iPhone, takes you back to the home screen), the iPad has a "sleep/wake" button on the top, a screen rotation lock and a volume up/down rocker along the right edge, and a standard Apple dock connector on the bottom edge. So, where's the memory card slot, you ask? There isn't one. Instead, you'll have to get Apple's $29 iPad Camera Connection Kit, which includes an SD card adapter.
Will I be able to check my e-mail, surf the Web, manage events and contacts, and play music and video, just like I can on the iPhone?
Yes indeed, except the iPad versions of the calendar, contacts, Safari, and the iPad media player all promise to look and feel more like their desktop counterparts than like the pared-down versions on the iPhone and iPod Touch. For example, the calendar on the iPad looks strikingly similar to iCal for Mac, and the iPad's iPod player is a kissing cousin to the desktop version of iTunes. Surfing the Web and watching videos should especially benefit from the iPad's jumbo 9.7-inch display; personally, I can't wait to watch movies on the iPad while cooling my heels at 30,000 feet.
Nice! So I take it that Safari on the iPad will support Flash, right?
Ah, no. Steve Jobs has made it perfectly clear that he's not that keen on Flash (he called it slow and "buggy" during a recent town hall at Apple HQ); instead, Safari for iPad (and the iPhone, for that matter) supports HTML5, a new Web standard that can handle streaming video. Still, expect to see lots of little blue "there-should-be-Flash-here" icons scattered around the Web during your iPad surfing.
How do you type on the iPad? Is there an actual keypad, or do you type on the screen?
Like the iPhone, the iPad comes with a virtual, on-screen QWERTY keypad — except on the iPad, the virtual keypad is almost the same size as a standard keyboard, which means you won't have to peck on the iPhone's tiny little on-screen keys. If you're more comfortable with an actual keyboard, though, Apple will be selling an iPad keyboard dock for $69 in "late" April.
OK, what about apps? Will iPhone apps on the App Store work on the iPad?
Yes, in one of two ways: either a "windowed" mode, in which the app in question runs at its normal iPhone size surrounded by a big black window, or in full-screen mode thanks to the magic of pixel doubling. Not the most elegant solution, to be sure, but workable.
What about multitasking? Will the iPad be able to run multiple apps at once?
Not any more than the iPhone can, unfortunately. Apple's core iPad apps (think e-mail, the iPod app, etc.) will run in the background, but not third-party apps, although they will support push notifications for incoming events (like instant messages or breaking news).
Will there be apps written specifically for the iPad's larger screen?
You bet, and several companies have already announced their initial iPad offerings, ranging from Gameloft (which has already showed off a revamped version of its first-person sci-fi shooter, "N.O.V.A.") to Amazon (which is teeing up a full-screen Kindle reader for the iPad). Meanwhile, Apple has promised iPad versions of its iWork productivity suite (including Pages for word processing, Keynote for presentations, and Numbers for spreadsheets). Not only will iPad-specific apps benefit from greater resolution, they'll also have more screen real estate to deal with, meaning better and more precise touch interfaces and controls. Indeed, much of the excitement surrounding the iPad centers more on its potential for future iPad-specific apps and games than on the iPad hardware itself.
Speaking of the Kindle, isn't the iPad supposed to be some kind of Kindle killer?
Well, that's what Apple's hoping, away. One of the first iPad apps out of the gates will be iBooks, which will offer access to a new Apple e-book store complete with thousands of titles from Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette. (Notably absent from the list, for now, anyway: publishing giant Random House.) E-book prices on iBooks are said to rival (if not equal) those on Amazon's Kindle store, and we can expect such niceties as animated page turning, customizable background and font colors, and high-resolution text. As I just mentioned, though, Amazon will have its own Kindle tablet app ready for the iPad, and Barnes & Noble says it'll be getting in on the iPad action, as well.
So that covers books; what about magazines and newspapers?
Magazine and newspaper publishers have been eyeing the iPad as a possible savior for their industries — imagine, they say, "Sports Illustrated" on a 9.7-inch touchscreen, complete with jumbo pictures and video, interactive polls and quizzes, live scores and updates, you name it! That all sounds quite promising, but so far we've only seen a few, somewhat tepid examples of what a newspaper on the iPad might look like. The New York Times showed off a reasonably slick app during the iPad unveiling that features pages and articles that look like the print version; and publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and Time to Wired and Esquire say they've got their own iPad apps at the ready. But whether the first iPad versions of the Times, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and others will truly wow us — and, more important, whether users will pay for iPad newspaper and magazine subscriptions — remains to be seen.
Say I buy an iPad and don't like it. What's Apple's return policy?
You've got 14 days from the day you receive your iPad to return it for a refund, according to the Apple store's terms and conditions. If the iPad box is unopened, you'll get a full refund; if you crack open the box, though, Apple will charge you a 10 percent restocking fee.
Are you, Ben, buying an iPad?
Yes — in fact, I've already pre-ordered the 64GB iPad, and I expect it to arrive on my doorstep bright and early April 3 (although believe me, I won't be tossing the receipt until I've decided for sure that I'm happy). Keep your eyes peeled that very day for my first hands-on impressions.
— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.
The iPad cometh — in just a matter of days, actually. Still not sure what all the hubbub's about? Got some questions you need answered before you click the "buy" button? Help is here.
What's so special about the iPad — or tablets in general, for that matter?
The iPad will be Apple's first tablet device since the early 1990s, when the original (and now-extinct) Newton landed with a thud. Back then, though, laptops still weighed 10 pounds, PDAs didn't really exist yet (the Newton was arguably the first), and the only people with cell phones were the likes of Gordon Gekko. Now, of course, touchscreen smartphones and ultralight laptops are everywhere, but tablet PCs — which are, as Steve Jobs himself admitted during the big iPad unveiling, stuck somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop — have yet to truly take off. Will the iPad be the device that finally turns the tablet PC into a mainstream gadget? Looks like we're about to find out.
How big is the iPad?
Boasting a 9.7-inch display, the iPad itself measures 9.6 long, 7.5 inches wide — a little bigger than a magazine — and about half an inch thick. It's not super-heavy at 1.5 pounds, but those who've hefted the iPad report that it feels a tad heavier than they expected, considering its size.
How does one use the iPad, exactly?
A lot like you would the iPhone. The main "home" screen displays your various iPad apps, with a row of four core apps (Web browsing, e-mail, photos, and iPod) along the bottom. Tap to launch an app, swipe through photos and e-mail, "pinch" to zoom in or out of a Web page — you know the drill. Nice, but those hoping for some kind of groundbreaking tablet UI on the iPad will be disappointed.
When will the iPad arrive, and how much will it cost?
The initial, Wi-Fi-only wave of iPads will go on sale Saturday, April 3, and they're available now for pre-order. The 16GB iPad sells for $499 (much cheaper than many had been expecting), while a 32GB model will retail for $599 and a 64GB version will go for $699. Later in April, Apple will start selling iPads with embedded 3G wireless capabilities for surfing on the go; the 3G iPads will also come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB flavors, although each will be $130 more than their Wi-Fi-only counterparts.
What about those 3G iPads — will I need to sign a contract? Which carriers are supported?
The good news: No need to sign another two-year agreement for a 3G iPad data plan. Instead, you can get a month-to-month prepaid plan: $14 a month for 250MB of data (which should be fine for checking e-mail and light Web surfing, but not so great for streaming large quantities of video), or $29 a month for unlimited data. The bad news: AT&T is the only U.S. carrier offering an iPad data plan, for now anyway.
Will I be able to (wirelessly or otherwise) "tether" my 3G iPhone to a Wi-Fi-only iPad for shared, on-the-go data?
The answer, straight from Steve Jobs: No.
What about battery life?
Expect 10 hours of active use on a single charge, or a month of stand-by time, according to Apple. As with the iPhone, though, the iPad's battery is sealed in the shell, meaning you won't be able to swap in a spare battery if you're running out of juice. Apple says it can replace a dead for you, but the service will set you back a cool $99.
I can't wait to hear about the camera. How many megapixels? Will it have a flash?
Uhhh, sorry, folks: No camera on the iPad. Yes, I know. You're not the only one who's disappointed, believe me. (Can you imagine what video conferencing on, say, Skype for the iPad would have been like?)
What are the physical buttons and ports on the iPad? Is there a slot for a memory card?
Besides the Home button that sits below the display (which, as on the iPhone, takes you back to the home screen), the iPad has a "sleep/wake" button on the top, a screen rotation lock and a volume up/down rocker along the right edge, and a standard Apple dock connector on the bottom edge. So, where's the memory card slot, you ask? There isn't one. Instead, you'll have to get Apple's $29 iPad Camera Connection Kit, which includes an SD card adapter.
Will I be able to check my e-mail, surf the Web, manage events and contacts, and play music and video, just like I can on the iPhone?
Yes indeed, except the iPad versions of the calendar, contacts, Safari, and the iPad media player all promise to look and feel more like their desktop counterparts than like the pared-down versions on the iPhone and iPod Touch. For example, the calendar on the iPad looks strikingly similar to iCal for Mac, and the iPad's iPod player is a kissing cousin to the desktop version of iTunes. Surfing the Web and watching videos should especially benefit from the iPad's jumbo 9.7-inch display; personally, I can't wait to watch movies on the iPad while cooling my heels at 30,000 feet.
Nice! So I take it that Safari on the iPad will support Flash, right?
Ah, no. Steve Jobs has made it perfectly clear that he's not that keen on Flash (he called it slow and "buggy" during a recent town hall at Apple HQ); instead, Safari for iPad (and the iPhone, for that matter) supports HTML5, a new Web standard that can handle streaming video. Still, expect to see lots of little blue "there-should-be-Flash-here" icons scattered around the Web during your iPad surfing.
How do you type on the iPad? Is there an actual keypad, or do you type on the screen?
Like the iPhone, the iPad comes with a virtual, on-screen QWERTY keypad — except on the iPad, the virtual keypad is almost the same size as a standard keyboard, which means you won't have to peck on the iPhone's tiny little on-screen keys. If you're more comfortable with an actual keyboard, though, Apple will be selling an iPad keyboard dock for $69 in "late" April.
OK, what about apps? Will iPhone apps on the App Store work on the iPad?
Yes, in one of two ways: either a "windowed" mode, in which the app in question runs at its normal iPhone size surrounded by a big black window, or in full-screen mode thanks to the magic of pixel doubling. Not the most elegant solution, to be sure, but workable.
What about multitasking? Will the iPad be able to run multiple apps at once?
Not any more than the iPhone can, unfortunately. Apple's core iPad apps (think e-mail, the iPod app, etc.) will run in the background, but not third-party apps, although they will support push notifications for incoming events (like instant messages or breaking news).
Will there be apps written specifically for the iPad's larger screen?
You bet, and several companies have already announced their initial iPad offerings, ranging from Gameloft (which has already showed off a revamped version of its first-person sci-fi shooter, "N.O.V.A.") to Amazon (which is teeing up a full-screen Kindle reader for the iPad). Meanwhile, Apple has promised iPad versions of its iWork productivity suite (including Pages for word processing, Keynote for presentations, and Numbers for spreadsheets). Not only will iPad-specific apps benefit from greater resolution, they'll also have more screen real estate to deal with, meaning better and more precise touch interfaces and controls. Indeed, much of the excitement surrounding the iPad centers more on its potential for future iPad-specific apps and games than on the iPad hardware itself.
Speaking of the Kindle, isn't the iPad supposed to be some kind of Kindle killer?
Well, that's what Apple's hoping, away. One of the first iPad apps out of the gates will be iBooks, which will offer access to a new Apple e-book store complete with thousands of titles from Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette. (Notably absent from the list, for now, anyway: publishing giant Random House.) E-book prices on iBooks are said to rival (if not equal) those on Amazon's Kindle store, and we can expect such niceties as animated page turning, customizable background and font colors, and high-resolution text. As I just mentioned, though, Amazon will have its own Kindle tablet app ready for the iPad, and Barnes & Noble says it'll be getting in on the iPad action, as well.
So that covers books; what about magazines and newspapers?
Magazine and newspaper publishers have been eyeing the iPad as a possible savior for their industries — imagine, they say, "Sports Illustrated" on a 9.7-inch touchscreen, complete with jumbo pictures and video, interactive polls and quizzes, live scores and updates, you name it! That all sounds quite promising, but so far we've only seen a few, somewhat tepid examples of what a newspaper on the iPad might look like. The New York Times showed off a reasonably slick app during the iPad unveiling that features pages and articles that look like the print version; and publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and Time to Wired and Esquire say they've got their own iPad apps at the ready. But whether the first iPad versions of the Times, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and others will truly wow us — and, more important, whether users will pay for iPad newspaper and magazine subscriptions — remains to be seen.
Say I buy an iPad and don't like it. What's Apple's return policy?
You've got 14 days from the day you receive your iPad to return it for a refund, according to the Apple store's terms and conditions. If the iPad box is unopened, you'll get a full refund; if you crack open the box, though, Apple will charge you a 10 percent restocking fee.
Are you, Ben, buying an iPad?
Yes — in fact, I've already pre-ordered the 64GB iPad, and I expect it to arrive on my doorstep bright and early April 3 (although believe me, I won't be tossing the receipt until I've decided for sure that I'm happy). Keep your eyes peeled that very day for my first hands-on impressions.
— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.
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