It turns out that his hobby 9to5Mac blog was always his favorite and in 2011 he went full time adding his Fortune Google followers to 9to5Google and adding the style and commerce component 9to5Toys gear and deals site. In 2013, Weintraub bought one of the Tesla’s first Model S EVs off the assembly line and so began his love affair with the Electric Vehicle and green energy which in 2014 turned into electrek.
In 2018, DroneDJ was born to cover the burgeoning world of drones and UAV’s led by China’s DJI.
From 1997-2007, Weintraub was a Global IT director and Web Developer for a number of companies with stints at multimedia and branding agencies in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Madrid and London before becoming a publisher/blogger.
Seth received a bachelors degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California with a minor in Multimedia and Creative Technology in 1997. In 2004, he received a Masters from NYU’s Tisch School of the Art’s ITP program.
Hobbies: Weintraub is a licensed single engine private pilot, certified open water scuba diver and spent over a year traveling to 60 cities in 23 countries. Whatever free time exists is now guaranteed to his lovely wife and two amazing sons.
I have a 720P projector, which I was hoping to buy a cheaper 720P Apple TV for as an Airplay device. I figured when the 1080P Apple TV released, I’d be able to pick up an older one at a significant discount. But no.
Something strange is occurring among most United States-based retailers: The older 720P Apple TV is selling at a significantly more expensive price than its A5-rockin’ 1080P-having sibling. At Amazon, for instance, a new 720P Apple TV will cost $178, but a new 1080P Apple TV is a mere $99. Buy.com has the 720P version for $168 on its marketplace.
It is the same drill on eBay…and just about anywhere else that you can find the 720P version. The 720P is demanding a higher price than the 1080P version. Buy why?
Interesting use of the predictive text here and perhaps ironic that, of all companies, RIM is putting the last nail in the physical keyboard coffin. It will be interesting to see how well this keyboard works in practice.
Also debuting is a camera feature (video below) that allows you to step back in time when you miss a shot. The technology is not terribly advanced, because the camera is just taking shots from the time the camera app is open and caching them for later browsing.
The main gripe we had in our original Jambox review was that sound is not as big as other (bigger) portable Bluetooth speakers.
While both of these products sound great at low volumes, the Logitech has much bigger speakers and simply blows past the Jambox at higher volumes. At its loudest, the Jambox hits about four to 10 levels of the Logitech—it is really no comparison.
The Jambox produces the kind of sound that can be the background music at a dinner party, run a conference call or office presentation in a small conference room, or just listen to your music in a hotel room. I would even recommend it for sitting on a porch or terrace and reading a book. However, you will want more on windy day at the beach or when using it in the kitchen while the dishwasher is running. At 30 feet away, the Bluetooth can tether and you will definitely feel lacking.
Jambox, as if it were listening, introduced the new “Big Jambox” today, which has a bigger sound, longer battery life, and more buttons. As you can see below, you can now control the play/pause and moving forward/backward tracks right from the Jambox. On the downside, it appears that charging the Big Jambox requires a dedicated power cable. The previous version charged via micro-USB, which still exists to set up the MyTalk smart apps.
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We are in line to get our hands on one of these when it launches May 15 for $299. We will hopefully have a review shortly. The gallery follows: Expand Expanding Close
Today, Apple sent an email to Mac Developers, who do not put their apps on the Mac App Store, and encouraged them to get ready for Gatekeeper:
Gatekeeper is a new feature in OS X Mountain Lion that helps protect users from downloading and installing malicious software. Signing your applications, plug-ins, and installer packages with a Developer ID certificate lets Gatekeeper verify that they are not known malware and have not been tampered with. Mac Developer Program members can sign applications with their Developer ID now to get ready for Gatekeeper.
The theory is that when Mountain Lion is released with the default setting to only install apps signed by Apple, many novice users will keep that setting and thereby only install apps from developers that Apple signed-off on.
However, as we have seen in the iOS App Store, developers can be malicious, steal data, or worse in rare occasions. In these instances, Apple would be able to shut off access to those applications from that developer.
We all know there are some new Ivy Bridge Macs coming in the near future, but is it best to jump on launch day or does holding off a few days get better prices? Dealnewsdid the research on the last three years of Mac prices and found customers could save hundreds of dollars by holding off just a few days. Waiting two days saves up to $45 on a MacBook Pro, one day saved $49 on an Air, and a week saved $94 on an iMac at various resellers besides Apple. Waiting a few months nets even more savings. Apple only cuts deals on Black Friday (and small discounts for students and companies).
Apple’s iOS devices do not lose value so quickly, so it makes much more sense to “line up” on Day One. Hit9to5Toys to find all the latest Apple related deals.
The Verge talked to Tony Fadell (also known as the father of the iPod) over the weekend about the genesis of the original iPhone before its 2007 launch. He has not been so candid about the actual process of narrowing down hardware features until this video where he claims Apple was toying with the idea of a hardware keyboard at one point.
Another baffling fun fact: Apple’s Worldwide Marketing SVP Phil Schiller was responsible for the iPod clickwheel. Full video here. Expand Expanding Close
This is big news: Until now, Barnes and Noble was at odds (lawsuits) with Microsoft over its Android-based Nook software. Today, the two companies announced a Digital Joint Venture. While the press release does not say so specifically, it would appear that Barnes and Noble might abandon Android as its future eReader OS. Moreover, this would seem to put the previous patent litigation behind the two companies.
Last night, major retailers across the United States began offering Intel Ivy Bridge processors along with Ivy Bridge-optimized Intel Z77 motherboards (Sandy Bridge H61, H67 and z68 MoBos/Chipsets are still Ivy compatible). You can even find significant discounts ($50/off at Amazon above) already.
As TonyMacx86 notes, a kernel patch is necessary to build a Hackintosh with Ivy Bridge currently. That has not stopped some savvy Hackintoshers from getting MacOS up and running (and benchmarked). However, Apple has not shipped a native OS kernel compatible with Ivy Bridge, which makes the patched kernel less desirable than a vanilla kernel that supports Ivy Bridge.
It is not certain if Mac OS 10.7.4 is Ivy compatible (commenters—correct me, if I am wrong).
With Ivy Bridge processors now on store shelves, it would seem that there are not any external barriers to Apple releasing new Ivy Bridge-powered systems.
The New York Times delves into a divisive subject in American politics right now: Tax avoidance. Apple, like most international companies, sidesteps many California, United States, European, etc., taxes by using tax havens like Nevada, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Virgin Islands.
The problem for the protagonists is that this is all very legal and practiced by just about every multi-national company in the interest of remaining competitive and maximizing stockholder share. Like most matters of this sort, the problem lies with the laws and loopholes that allow this to happen. Big companies spend a lot of money on lobbyists making sure that those loopholes do not get closed.
What may not be terribly patriotic are Apple, Google, Cisco, and other’s lobbying efforts against paying U.S. taxes on repatriating their overseas earnings. Apple currently has $74 billion overseas and a “tax holiday” on bringing that money and over $1 trillion from other companies back into the U.S. could cost the U.S. federal government $79B, according to the report. (Great Graphic at Bloomberg on why the $1 trillion holiday is likely going to happen.)
According to MacGeneration, the Mac App Store reached its 10,000th App. That is a little shy of the 600,000 apps or so that are floating around the iOS App Store or even the 200,000 specially designed for iPad. However, the number of users is smaller considering the Mac App store is newer, and most titles are still available via old fashion installation, which is not too shabby.
In Mac App Store news, Deus Ex: Human Revolution released yesterday for $49.99 by Mac gaming specialists Feral Interactive after originally launching on consoles in August 2011.The Mac App Store version also includes a number of bonuses, including The Missing Link DLC and “the Explosive Mission and Tactical Enhancement expansion packs.” Celebrate 10,000 apps in this prequel that takes place in 2027, which is 25 years before the events of the original critically acclaimed title.
For those of us still with pre-Thunderbolt Mac Pros or Xserves (or Hackintoshes), there are not a lot of inexpensive choices for getting super fast data access onto our machines. Sure, you can buy a SATA 3 hard drive like my favorite Samsung 830 series, but the built in SATA 2 on these old machines is a bottleneck that will “only” yield 250 MB/second read speeds.
By the way, the cards are a snap to install and configure. If you have ever added a PCI video card, this is the same thing. Even better, there are no drivers to install, and the drive automatically shows up as a mounted disk that can (and should!) be booted from.
How did they compare to the single MacBook Air SSDs?
Josh Gad, who currently stars in the Broadway play “Book of Mormon,” is in talks to play Steve Jobs’ sidekick Steve Wozniak for the Indie movie about the early years of Jobs’ career. Variety said Gad would star opposite Ashton Kutcher in the Joshua Michael Stern production called “Jobs.”
Written by Matt Whiteley, pic chronicles Steve Jobs from wayward hippie to co-founder of Apple, where he became one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of our time. Gad is making a deal to play Wozniak, who created the Apple I computer and co-created the Apple II computer in the mid-1970s.
The chips, also called “5G Wi-Fi” by Broadcom, do not correlate with 3G and 4G cellphone networks. The BCM4360, BCM4352, BCM43526 and BCM43516 chips improve Wi-Fi’s range and are significantly more efficient. Perhaps, the most tantalizing aspect is that the 5GHz-based technology has speeds beyond 1Gbps and is currently in the high-end range of consumer Ethernet.
Apple currently uses Broadcom Wi-Fi Chips in its Mac line and in its iOS devices, including iPad and iPods. The latest MacBook Airs have the Broadcom BCM4322 Intensi-fi® Single-Chip 802.11n Wi-Fi Transceiver. Maybe we will see something a little faster later this year…
The R6300 will be backwardly compatible with N Wi-Fi and will be as future proof as you can get when it goes on sale next month. One has to wonder exactly how long Apple fans will have to wait in order to get this tech in their Macs. Remember…Apple was one of the first to the Wi-Fi Party with its AirPort, released in the late 1990s, and it is always near the front when it comes to Wi-Fi technology.
Somebody made something awesome that will probably break when everyone hears about it, but you know how these things work and might as well hear about it from us: iOSLiveTV.com streams TV from all over the globe to your iOS device in an AirPlay-compatible MP4 format.
Prepare for it to die in 3…. 2…1.
Update: Oh… dead for some of you. We are still watching ESPN Airplayed to the Apple TV.
Apple just announced the June 11 kickoff date for its Worldwide Developer Conference at the Moscone Convention Center. Developers should buy their tickets as soon as possible here. ($1,599 each—Hope your app is doing well!) (Also, do not forget to book your hotel.)
“We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.”
Activities at Apple’s WWDC 2012 include:
more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies;
100 hands-on labs staffed by more than 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and OS X technologies in their apps;
the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS and OS X developers from around the world—last year more than 60 countries were represented;
engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with leading minds and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment; and
Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone®, iPad® and Mac® apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.
Sprint released its earnings today and while not good overall (net loss of $255 million), it did demonstrate one bright spot: the iPhone. Sprint sold 1.5 million iPhones, which is slightly down from the 1.8 million last quarter. However, it is not as significant a drop as seen on Verizon or AT&T. More importantly, 44 percent (or 660,000) of the new iPhones were new customers. Sprint reported 263,000 net additions overall, which means that Sprint theoretically would have lost 400,000 customers without the iPhone.
With the 1.5 million activations reported, Apple sold just 9 million of its 35.1 million iPhones in the United States (excluding unlocked models for the quarter, which probably negate the hand-me-down activation factor). That figure represents just over a quarter of iPhones sold overall. In other words, the iPhone has truly gone global.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook commented on the ongoing litigation in the company’s earnings call today. He said Apple does not want to be the developer to the world, but he also said: “I’ve always hated litigation. We just want people to invent their own stuff.”
Apple is currently in litigation with Google/Motorola, Samsung, HTC, etc., and there has been recent talk of settlements with some of those players.
Cook said if these companies stop taking Apple’s inventions and compensate for past trespasses, Apple would put this stuff behind them.
This directly contrasts former CEO Steve Jobs’ view of “Thermonuclear War” and using every penny of Apple’s cash to destroy Android.
Apple, the world’s most valuable company, sells just one phone, the iPhone. The Cupertino, Calif., company emphasizes design and profitability over sales. It also invests heavily in its consumer brand and its tightly controlled retail stores, and it benefits from a strong ecosystem of software and apps.
Meanwhile, Samsung, the world’s largest tech company by revenue last year, goes for scale. The South Korean company is a fast-follower that places its bets broadly, creating multiple versions of myriad products such as its Galaxy smartphones to suit partners’ needs. It maximizes profits by controlling its own manufacturing
Little Snitch alerts you to outgoing network connections.
A firewall protects your computer against unwanted guests from the Internet. But who protects your private data from being sent out? Little Snitch does!
As soon as you’re connected to the Internet, applications can potentially send whatever information they want to wherever they want.
Sometimes they do this for good reason, on your explicit request. But often they don’t. Little Snitch allows you to intercept these unwanted connection attempts, and lets you decide how to proceed.
Little Snitch informs you whenever a program attempts to establish an outgoing Internet connection. You can then choose to allow or deny this connection, or define a rule how to handle similar, future connection attempts. This reliably prevents private data from being sent out without your knowledge. Little Snitch runs inconspicuously in the background and it can also detect network related activity of viruses, trojans and other malware.
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