Categories
Opinion

On the Fence About Lion


Okay, so I know OS X 10.7 Lion won’t be out for another month or so, but I’m already wondering if I’ll buy it or not.

What’s to like about Lion? Well, aside from the obvious fact that it will antiquate Leopard and make Snow Leopard look like yesterday’s news, the main attraction seems to be giving your Mac an iPad-like feel. Apps are all full screen, multi-touch gestures will be more robust, and Resume will save your work as you go. Now mind you, I haven’t played with any of the developer releases. If I got my hands on it, this article might be a different story.

At the moment, the main detractor is going to be price. If it’s more than $100 I think I’ll pass. Leopard was $129 when it came out, but it offered 300+ more features than Tiger, its predecessor. Upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard only cost $30 (the price was the same for upgrading from Tiger to Snow Leopard, but shhh). Considering that Lion is a full step up from Snow Leopard, rather than a half-step, it will most likely sell for over $129 or higher.

Then the question becomes is this update more about form or function? AirDrop is pretty cool, though DropCopy, a third-party app, can do the same thing. Some of the other features, such as the Mac App Store and FaceTime are already available in Snow Leopard. From near as I can tell, the main difference between Lion and Snow Leopard is mimicking the feel of the iPad (ie. form).

Getting a new OS mostly comes with getting a new computer. If I were to buy a Mac this summer, then yeah, I’d love Lion. Having to buy an upgrade for my current MacBook Pro? Again, price will be the main determination. I think I’d also like to see how well it tests with the first adopters. If I see whizz-bang-drooling-over-how-cool-Lion-is reports, then I might jump on sooner. On an side-note, it will be interesting to see how Lion is rolled out. Do you just download it from the Mac App Store like the developers have? Will it be a USB drive like the one for the MacBook Air?

No matter what, I’m sure Lion will prove to be the king of Mac OS X. But I guess I’ll let everyone else decide that for me before buying it.

You can read a previous in-depth article about Lion’s features here.

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Categories
News

iPhone 5 Prototype with Larger Screen

Earlier today by MIC Gadget, shared a picture of the a photo of a white iPhone with the similar body of an iPhone 4, but with a larger screen in the same frame. Though MIC Gadget is unsure of the veracity of this being the next iPhone, it sure doesn’t look like the iPhone 4.

See below for a comparison of the comparison of the front panels.

Categories
Uncategorized

Mimobots: The Stylish USB Drives

Anybody who thinks flash drives can’t be fun should think again. I was recently introduced into a whole new world of flash drives created by a company called Mimoco. This Boston based company is renowned for their collectible line of designer USB flash drives called Mimobots.

Their elite collection includes collaborations with crossover artists and major licensed brands, bringing USB drives that look great to their consumers. A few of their existing licenses include DC Comics, Star Wars and Sanrio, the maker behind Hello Kitty®. What really stands out for the Mimobot drives isn’t really the speed of the drives, but rather the true uniqueness behind each and every one of the products released.

Mimobots bring a sense of style into the electronic world– bridging the gap between technology and art. Offered at 2, 4, 8, and 16gb of storage space, pricing for Mimobots begins at $19.99 for the lowest capacity, but increases with the size. Although Mimobots are not the cheapest option on the market, their head-turning appeal more than makes up for the price difference. Mimobots are not only stylish but also useful–we all need a flash drive, so why not sport one that reflects your individuality! I would recommend Mimobots to anyone and everyone.. piper quinn nude Yasin Avc footballer born 1984

 

 

Categories
Average Joe's Tips

How to use Apple’s AirPlay Feature

Camilla Camilla nsfwWhat is AirPlay?

AirPlay is a great way to stream your music through a set of speakers or through a home stereo, and in some cases, stream a video from your iOS device, Mac or PC. Apple currently sells two products that support this feature, the Apple TV & Airport Express. Apple does license the feature so that third-party developers may support products with it and I will briefly mention it, but today we are going to cover the apple products.

AirPort Express

The AirPort Express is known as a wireless router. It is nice and compact, perfect for apartments, dorms, or just extending part of a room in your home. It works seamlessly with the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule as an extension, but you should have no problems with other routers. Depending on your setup, you would probably not want to use this as your main router in your home. Reason being it has one Ethernet port. You will only be able to put a line in from you ISP and broadcast wirelessly, but if you are running a home network and have devices that you would want to plug in with Ethernet, tough luck. However, the express is equipped with 5.0 GHz wireless N that is capable up to 300 Mbps, although this will not work with your iPhone or iPad, if you only have wireless N devices in your home, it is an ideal solution. The last limitation to this is it only allows up to 10 devices to be connected to it. The AirPort express features a USB port that is not capable of sharing a USB drive rather a USB printer. If you have a Mac, adding the printer is a breeze. For Windows users, you will have to install the Bonjour software off the Apple website, or with the included CD (download the Latest off apple’s website). But, once Bonjour is installed, it’s a piece of cake.

How does this fit with AirPlay? The AirPort express uses a 3.5 mm aux jack to output audio into a receiver, or just a simple speaker. Once your device is plugged in, connected to your network, and setup properly, you are ready to begin streaming your music to your device. With the Apple AirPort Express, you can even turn your home into a wireless audio system. See our article on how AirPlay an AirPort Express to beat Sonos.

Apple TV

The Apple TV is a set top that must be set up with a TV. It features and aux port through the red and white analog ports, although if you are planning on using this system, you will probably want to use the HDMI out port. Another feature is the ability to beam a streaming video in some applications on your iOS device, directly to the Apple TV, and watch them on the big screen. For more details on the Apple TV, check out our full article about it covering it’s high’s and low’s.

Apple Remote

Apple does a great job with integrating their products together. From the App Store, download the Apple Remote app and you will be able to control your iTunes Library to blast the music to your speakers.

Third Party Products

Briefly, Apple currently only allows AirPlay audio streaming to companies to use for their products, such as DENON. Certain network receivers from Denon can be upgraded for $50 over the Ethernet port, to allow AirPlay to be enabled. This will allow you to stream directly to your receiver, without the need for any other products.

After the integration of the AirPlay API in the iOS SDK, developers from Pandora and Rdio are able to let users use their app and play music directly to Airport devices around the house.

Bowers & Wilkins and JBL are also creating products that are built for AirPlay. Soon for a pretty penny, you can purchase devices that will already have the built in functionality of receiving music.

If you are interested to stream with AirPlay, the AirPort Express is your best deal. For it’s price and functionality, it works more than a simple AirPlay streaming device, and is a worthy companion to any home network.

 

Categories
News

How To: Find an iPad 2 Nearest You!

How do you find an iPad 2? There are many different ways. You can stand in line in front of an Apple Store and hope that they have some in stock, you can order one online at the Apple Online Store, or you can look for resellers and hope they have some available. iPad 2 delays have made it very difficult to get your hands on an iPad 2. There is also some good news. The shipping times for the Apple Online Store have dropped to “Ships: 1-2 weeks”. That is a big improvement from the “Ships: 4-5 weeks”. You can also use the iPad2 Scanner. The iPad2 Scanner can help you find an iPad 2 at a Target store. It is fairly straight forward. Just put your zip code, pick your desired model, and click Scan. It should come up with a list of Target stores nearby and will tell you if the iPad 2 you selected is available. I would still recommend ordering your iPad 2 online because it only takes 1-2 weeks to ship and the shipping is free. You also get to engrave your iPad 2 for free, so I think it is a better bargain. Good luck on your search for an iPad 2!

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