Apple unveils iPhone 4 — from Technology news – CNNMoney.com
Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone Monday at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Also see:
Apple iPhone 4 — from fubiz.com
On 06/07/2010,
in Apple, mobile technologies, technologies for your home, telecommunications,
by Daniel Christian
The best PDF reader apps for your iPad — from digital inspiration
Last May, the talk of the search world was Wolfram Alpha, the online engine that provides graphically presented answers to computationally oriented questions tapping myriad math, science, and other data sets. But by April 2010, Wolfram Alpha’s traffic hovered below the numbers achieved in the launch month of May 2009. Though this does not capture use by third-party applications–including Microsoft’s Bing search engine–Wolfram Alpha hasn’t emerged as a notable search destination.
But the emergence of e-books provides Alpha with a new outlet–as a ready-made supplier of interactive graphics, plots, charts, and real-time data. These features can be incorporated within publications developed for Apple’s iPad and other devices. “Deeper information becomes available by way of tapping,” (emphasis DSC) says Theodore Gray, cofounder of Wolfram Research.
The first example is now out: a Wolfram/Alpha app for The Elements, a book Gray wrote on the periodic table. The paper version of the book is dominated by glossy photos of elements and products made from them (Pepto-Bismol, for example, uses bismuth). The version developed for the iPad, however, is chock-full of on-screen buttons that lead to Wolfram’s online computational engine and data sets.
Clearly, the concept will make sense for some kinds of books more than others, says Jared Spool, CEO of User Interface Engineering, a North Andover, MA-based consulting firm. “It makes a lot of sense for a lot of college textbooks to go in this direction, (emphasis DSC) but I’m not sure that a detective novel has a lot to offer there,” he says. Delivering such interactivity is a likely new direction for Wikipedia and search engines and many other sources beyond Wolfram Alpha, he points out.
On 06/01/2010,
in Apple, geography / geology,
by Daniel Christian
MapProjector – Maps from your iPad to your TV or Projector — from the NMC
On 06/01/2010,
in Apple, higher education,
by Daniel Christian
IIT to give all freshmen Apple iPads — from Educational Technology and WLS-TV Chicago
Beginning this fall, first year students at the Illinois Institute of Technology will receive an Apple iPad. IIT envisions that students will take the portable computer tablet to class to take notes, read books and surf the Internet. The school explains faculty who teach engineering and computer science can also build applications specific to their courses. The freebee will cost the school about $250,000 dollars.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7448921
Seton Hill to Offer iPads to Full-Time Students — from The Chronicle by Jill Laster
Seton Hill University, a liberal-arts institution in Pennsylvania with more than 2,100 students, announced a program on Tuesday that offers an iPad to every full-time student. Distribution will begin in the fall. Incoming freshmen will also receive a 13-inch MacBook laptop, which Seton Hill will replaced after two years; current sophomores, juniors, and seniors can opt into that program.
Should colleges start giving Apple’s iPad to students? — from USAToday.com by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed
The iPad has landed. But should campuses be throwing it a welcome party? At least two are. Seton Hill University, a Roman Catholic institution in Pennsylvania, announced this week that it would be giving Apple’s new computing tablet to each of its 2,000-odd full-time students when they arrive on campus in the fall. George Fox University, a Christian institution in Oregon, will expand its annual laptop giveaway to first-year students to offer students a choice between a Macbook and an iPad. The year after that, there will be no more choice: Everybody will get iPads.
Adobe rolls out iPad-focused magazine publishing tools — from arstechnica.com by Jacqui Cheng
Also see:
Advancing the future of digital publishing
Adobe is building on the foundation of Adobe® Creative Suite® 5 and Omniture® technologies to deliver an open, comprehensive Digital Publishing Platform. This innovative platform consists of applications, technologies, and services that allow publishers to cost effectively author, produce, and distribute groundbreaking content to the broadest possible audience on a wide variety of digital devices. With this platform, Adobe is helping publishers and advertisers revolutionize how they create and deliver digital content, and how their audiences consume it.
NOTE:
Content plus experience for multiple screens
Publishers around the world are striving to embrace the digital age — to build distinctive brands, develop sustainable business strategies, and achieve greater profitability. They’re looking for innovative, cost-effective ways to design and deliver content to fragmented audiences on an ever-expanding array of smartphones, tablets, e-readers, and other devices.
Audiences today want to engage with content wherever they are, using their preferred devices. And they seek immersion in compelling, media-rich experiences that are optimally designed and delivered. Content plus experience is now king (emphasis DSC).
From DSC:
Read that last paragraph again — this is our future (perhaps even current?) student.
On 06/01/2010,
in Apple, geography / geology,
by Daniel Christian
Free App Fridays: Astronomy – from Mac Life
iPad
Astronomy Picture of the Day
When you’re bored on your commute home and you need some visual stimulation, the Astronomy PIcture of the Day application not only houses some of the most epic photos of the sky we’ve ever seen, but it could also inspire you to spend a little time on the roof top this evening admiring the atmosphere up above. You can easily cycle through images from days before, and there’s an info button that lets you know from where the photo was taken and what you’re looking at.
Mac
Stellarium
You probably never thought about having such a gorgeous application installed on your MacBook, but Stellarium has some pretty neat features. For starters, it’s used in Planetarium projectors around the globe. The program pulls information from GPS satellites to show you exactly where the stars and planets are aligned at any given moment, regardless of time of day, though you’ll have to select what city you’re currently in. This is definitely one of those free apps that you should have installed on your computer because not only is it pretty to look at, but it’s also very educational. Fire up the app before nightfall and then head outside to see if you can match the constellations on the application with the ones up above.
Free App Fridays: Maps — by Florence Ion
One example:
iPad:
History: Maps of the World
This is one of those apps that’s best before bedtime. Not only are the high resolution maps something to gawk at, but they’re educational as well. You can pinch to zoom in and check out the surroundings of your favorite countries and continents during varying years. The app contains maps dating all the way back to the 4th century.
On 06/01/2010,
in Apple, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, technologies for your home,
by Daniel Christian
Today’s vision of tomorrow: Apple TV, revamped, rocketed into the cloud — from Fast Company by Kit Eaton
The Apple TV may be about to graduate from a “hobby” project into a world-beater, if leaked info that’s reached Engagdet proves true. It’s set to rival Google’s TV offering, and will see Apple embrace cloud-based content streaming for the first time.
On 06/01/2010,
in Apple, digital video, mobile learning, mobile technologies, telecommunications, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Skype 2.0 for iPhone is here with some 3G love — from BestAppSite by Terry White
On 05/28/2010,
in Apple,
by Daniel Christian
Web development for the iPhone and iPad: Getting started — from SmashingMagazine.com
Last night, I had to work on an assignment for my online class. I was tired of typing and I didn’t want to be inside anymore (it was 7:30pm or so).
As I had my iPhone with me, I decided to try Dragon’s Dictation program (see here and here). I have to say…it was very easy-to-use, very convenient and a huge time-saver!
I simply tapped the screen to start recording my voice, and then tapped the screen again when I was done speaking. The application returned to me the text of what I had just said. I was then able to email that text to myself and put it into my web page (later on) for my assignment for class.
Very helpful…very interesting.
Here are some example screenshots from Apple:
Related to this is the ability to put audio feedback directly into a Word document — my thanks to Professor Julie Yonker at Calvin College for this insight and huge time-saver!
From DSC:
Years ago people thought I was crazy by purchasing one of the only Mac’s in the entire University. But it was the right call then, and it’s the right call still. Don’t get me wrong. I use a PC w/ Windows XP constantly. I use Microsoft Office and it’s an excellent suite of applications. However, it’s not great for multimedia creation and Microsoft had/has some serious self-imposed strikes against it:
- Because of their ruthless way of doing business, Microsoft made it’s bed and now it’s lying in it
- They never lead in the world of the Internet — they didn’t before and they still don’t
- They didn’t believe they needed to play by others’ standards — they made whatever standards they had/wanted the defacto standards
- They didn’t innovate nor do they have the culture for innovation. In many ways, their culture is the wrong one for what’s needed today. The culture of an organization — and how one treats its customers — are extremely important. I always underrated the cultural piece; but in the last decade, I have seen how true that statement really is.
Back from March 12th:
On 05/20/2010,
in Apple,
by Daniel Christian
