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Unknown on Wednesday, October 24, 2012Tuesday, October 23, 2012
EVOLUTION OF THE IPADTracing the evolution of Apple's iPad, including the latest addition, the iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad.
The big reveal is here, and the result is something littler: Apple has introduced an iPad Mini. The new pencil-thin (7.2mm) iPad Mini comes a mere half-year after the third-generation iPad was introduced. Apple says it's as light as a pad of paper.
It will be priced at $329.
Is it different? The Mini has a 7.9-inch screen, measured diagonally (vs. 9.7-inches for the larger iPad, a new one of which Apple also introduced). That's wider than the 7-inch screens on the Kindle or Nexus 7, just big enough that I couldn't stash it in my inside coat pocket when I got a chance to briefly hold it at Apple's launch event. For what it's worth, I can fit the Google tablet in that same pocket.
The new screen has resolution of 1024 by 768, so all the software created for previous iPads will work. But it doesn't sport the sterling retina display that's on the latest generations of its larger sibling. Still, there's nothing you can do with the new iPad that you won't be able to do on the larger iPad, and vice versa.
The smaller screen sizes will change certain behaviors; I suspect, for example, folks might be more inclined to read books on the mini.
The iPad mini is made of aluminum, as opposed to the plastic that Google's Nexus 7 is made of.
The new iPad has a dual-core A5 chip. It has FaceTime HD and 5MP iSight cameras. On certain models, it has LTE wireless as fast as the bigger iPads. Wi-Fi is more robust, too. And it has the inevitable Lightning connector (bad news for those of you with lots of iPad accessories based on the prior dock connector).
I think this is going to be a humongous seller — and I suspect the executives at Google, Amazon and Microsoft may be quaking in their boots, especially at the $329 starting price for a Wi-Fi-only model with 16 gigabytes of storage, or $459 starting prices for 16 GB with Wi-Fi plus cellular. Apple also sells versions with 32 and 64 GB, respectively. The Wi-Fi version ships first on Nov. 2.
I obviously want to get my hands, or should I say, one hand on it for an extended period, since that's what Apple is promising you'll be able to do. But I imagine folks are already strategizing about lining up to get one.
Apple says the new smaller iPad has 10-hour battery life, and it retains what is arguably the biggest advantage that Apple claims — the 275,000 apps in the App Store.
OK, I admit it. I'm lusting after an iPad Mini — and wondering if I get one how often I'd schlep it, and how often I'd bring along the larger third-generation iPad that I own. The answer to that will come as I use the Mini, and assess its strengths and weaknesses against the larger model. But one person I talked to said he's ready to sell the bigger device and just use the Mini. He's probably not alone.
P.S.: I'm also eyeing the new iMac and maybe the new MacBook Pro. At its big event Tuesday, Apple first gave love to the Mac.
Among the results are a brand new 0.75-inch thin MacBook Pro that is one-fifth thinner than its predecessor and at just 3.57 pounds, nearly a pound lighter. The machine has a pair of Thunderbolt ports, a MagSafe 2 connector, two USB 3 ports, HDMI and an SD card reader. The retina display measures 13.3 inches. Apple says the screen has a 75% reduced reflection. It's got a FaceTime high-definition camera.
Apple marketing executive Phil Schiller bragged about the screen, the graphics, a 7-hour battery and more. It runs OS X Mountain Lion.
Among its features: Power Nap. It can update your calendar, e-mail, backups and more while the machine sleeps.
It starts at $1,699 for 128 GB of storage, so it's not cheap — and starts shipping immediately.
Schiller also announced a new version of the Mac mini computer, starting at $599. One new configuration is a $999 Mac mini server.
While mobile is the dominant form of computing today, Apple is also unveiling an 8th generation iMac. It is super-thin (5mm, 80% thinner than previous generation), has edge-to-edge glass and a beautiful screen, and is so svelte that Schiller quips, "There's an entire computer in there. " It does indeed make the previous generation look ancient. The new computer laminates the display directly to the glass.
It's worth noting that to get that thin, the DVD/CD drive has been removed. I rely on physical discs less and less these days, but some people will certainly miss the integrated drive. (You can still get an optional SuperDrive).
Apple is adding what it calls a Fusion Drive, a new spin on storage. It's 128 GB of flash storage, that you can add to a 1-terabyte or 3-TB hard drive, all fused into a single volume. This sounds great in theory. You get the large storage you may need but can take advantage of all the software that is pre-loaded on the machine in the faster flash section. And the drive can intelligently figure out the programs you move most often — and those that you don't.
The price is impressive, too, $1,299 to start for a 2.7-GHz Quad-core version. Machines start shipping next month.
Source : usatoday.com
More about → Baig: iPad Mini a lighter, different take
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Unknown on Wednesday, October 24, 2012Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The ultra expansive video game of Minecraft has announced that they will delay the release of their 1.4 "Pretty Scary," update after Mojang the developers discovered and fixed a bug involving suffocating animals.
They have however made a second pre release version of the update available now for download. The release date for the upcoming 1.4 version of MineCraft is set to be ready on Thursday, Oct. 25 instead of the day in front Wednesday.
Developer Nathan "Dinnerbone" Adams took to Twitter to air what the problem was about. He said that the bug was causing mobs to suffocate and fall through wooden floors.
The 1.4.1 MineCraft update that was released early Oct. 23 has smoothed over some cracks until the newer version comes along in a matter of days.
According to examiner.com some of the solved issues include; The fixing of mobs glitching through floors and players glitching through Beacons, the update also fixed the problem of Redstones Repeaters getting stuck in 'on' state.
Other changes made are; bats spawning less frequently, font issues resolved and tweaking enchantment points reward for smelting just to name a few.
For those new to the game Minecraft is an independent video game that was created by Mojang and is available currently on PC, Android, iOS and Xbox 360 and is playable in both single and multi-player mode.
The concept of the game is generally based on creating and trying to survive in a 3D world.
The artists of the game are Kristoffer Zetterstrand and Markus "Junkboy" Toivonen and the designers are Markus "Notch" Persson and Jens "Jeb" Bergensten.
Source : classicalite.com
More about → Minecraft Delays Game Update Until Thursday
Posted by
Unknown on Wednesday, October 24, 2012Tuesday, October 23, 2012
In a presidential debate largely lacking the combativeness of last week's town hall, President Obama and Mitt Romney both seemed achieve their goals in Monday's foreign policy faceoff.
President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney each used Monday night’s third and final presidential debate to try to close the deal with a divided American electorate.
In a presidential debate without any glaring gaffes and largely held in a more congenial tone than the combative encounter of last week, both men seemed to accomplish what they may have set out to do: Mr. Romney to come across as an acceptable commander-in-chief, Mr. Obama to portray a successful presidency while planting seeds of doubt about a challenger who recently has had the momentum.
While the debate’s theme was ostensibly foreign policy, both candidates time and again brought their answers back to the domestic economy, jobs, and who would do the better job of building an America for the 21st century.
“After a decade of war, I think we all recognize we have to do some nation-building at home,” Obama said more than once.
“I certainly don’t want to go back to the policies of the last four years,” Romney retorted. “It hasn’t worked.
Within that common goal of steering the discussion to the economy, each candidate seemed to have a particular agenda for the evening. The president seemed intent on portraying his challenger as someone “all over the map,” who lacks the kind of resolve required of the commander-in-chief. “You keep trying to airbrush history,” Obama told Romney at one point. “Your strategy [on Libya] has been all over the map,” he said at another point.
Romney, on the other hand, seemed to have stepped onto the debate stage at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., determined to debunk the image of him – drawn from his own words, in some cases, as well as portrayals from the Obama camp – as a militarist itching to strike adversaries like Iran with a big stick.
“We can’t kill ourselves out of this mess,” Romney said, in explaining to moderator Bob Schieffer what he means when he says US foreign policy in the Middle East is “unraveling.”
Using the word “peace” so many times it became clear he was making a point, Romney even spoke positively of the United Nations and the need to work in cooperation with it.
Romney also appeared to take a lesson from the Karl Rove playbook – where rule No. 1 is, attack your opponents' strengths – when he acted to preempt what he figured would be Obama’s touting of the death of Osama bin Laden.
“We’re going to have to do more than killing bad guys,” Romney said in describing what he described as the Middle East’s backward slide under Obama’s foreign policy.
In one of Obama’s best moments, he explained why it was important to take out Mr. bin Laden. Noting that at one point in the past Romney said he would “not move heaven and earth” to get the Al Qaeda chief, Obama said, “It was worth moving heaven and earth to get bin Laden” because it sent a message to the world, including terrorists who would target America, and it provided the families of 9/11 victims with closure.
He then told the story, comforter-in-chief style, of a young woman, her father having perished in the World Trade Center attack, who told him what it meant to her that the perpetrator of the crime had been served justice.
Surprisingly, the debate did not continue the who-did-what-when on the Benghazi consulate attack that figured so prominently in the last presidential debate. Indeed, on many issues – the Afghanistan war, getting tough on China and its trade policies, stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, strengthening bonds with Israel – the two candidates seemed to agree more than to disagree.
On Syria, Romney tried to make the case that he would address the “tragedy” there without “having our military involved.” But after Romney described what he would do – like work closely with allies in the region and help develop a coherent armed opposition – Obama retorted: “He doesn’t have different ideas because we’re doing what we should be doing.”
Both men spoke of the importance of American leadership, and the role that soft-power goals like empowering women play in ultimately delivering the safer and more prosperous world that is in America’s interests.
Polls show that both nationally and in key battleground states, Americans place foreign policy well down on their list of priorities for this presidential election. As a result, it is likely that many voters watched the debate more to judge each candidate on broad qualities like leadership and vision than to score them on policy specifics of Syria or Pakistan.
Source : CSMonitor.com
More about → Presidential debate? Who "are" the winner?
Posted by
Unknown on Wednesday, October 24, 2012Tuesday, October 23, 2012
In the evenings after school, Autumn Pasquale tore around the driveway of a friend’s Clayton home, jumping ramps on her white BMX bike with a tight-knit trio of friends.
On Tuesday evening, the 12-year-old’s longtime friend and Clayton Middle School classmate RJ and two other friends made their usual runs across the driveway without the familiar presence of Autumn — her bike now a piece of evidence in the ongoing investigation into her death.
“It makes me mad sometimes,” RJ said of the smacking pain of Autumn’s death. “It feels like she is still here and I could go to her house and we could bike but we can’t do that.”
Just days before turning 13, Autumn Pasquale was by all accounts a typical tween.
A seventh-grade student at Clayton Middle School the blonde-haired 12-year-old snapped portraits of herself with her cell phone, followed pop music, loved BMX biking and kept up with friends via different Facebook accounts.
She was on her white bike on Saturday when she left her High Street home to go cycling at Scotland Run Park. But this time she didn’t return home, her body instead discovered in a recycling bin on Monday night — ending some 60 hours of widespread searches that involved hundreds.
The bike was recovered Tuesday afternoon in a home close to where her body was found.
“She didn’t deserve any of it,” RJ’s mother Michelle Doughty said Tuesday.
Doughty said Autumn Pasquale came to her home nearly every day after school. Some days she would drive RJ, Doughty and two other friends to local parks to ride and on others they would set up ramps and ride routes around the driveway.
By 8:30 p.m., Doughty would ferry the kids back to their parents. According to reports, Autumn lived with her father, her two siblings, her father's girlfriend, and the girlfriend's children.
While she was fully assimilated into life with the family, Doughty said Autumn Pasquale was always conscience to keep in check with her father, calling to ask if she could stay for dinner.
Two weekends ago Autumn went camping with the Doughty’s, jumping hills on her bike with RJ.
While quiet, Doughty said Autumn was quick to fit into others and smiled easily.
On a Facebook page Autumn Pasquale wrote “I like to hang out with my friends and ummmmmm listen to music and ummmmmmmmmmmmmm i play soccer yeppp thts about it.”
On the page Autumn indicated she liked Snookie, Justin Beiber and Sponge Bob Square Pants.
But the petite girl also had a love for adventure, describing herself as a fan of BMX, kickboxing and skateboarding.
It was around 11:30 last Saturday night that Autumn’s father stopped over to say Autumn was missing, Doughty recounted.
The following morning Doughty and her children joined in the search.
“My kids have been there through everything,” she said Tuesday. “It’s rough for RJ. He just stares out.”
“I think they are more in shock right now.”
Doughty herself is wishing the finality of the tragedy could somehow be reversed.
“You just want to wake up from a dream,” she said.
On Autumn’s Facebook page on Tuesday friends and others who had learned of the tragedy left comments mourning her death.
“Rest easy, babygirl,” one girl wrote. “You'll never know the effect you had on me and the rest of our town. We will always remember you and forever keep you in our hearts.”
source : courierpostonline.com
More about → Friends remember Autumn Pasquale fondly
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Unknown on Wednesday, October 24, 2012Tuesday, October 23, 2012
After the Chicago Bears' 13-7 victory over the Detroit Lions, here are three issues that merit further examination:
1. I thought it was interesting to see defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli beef up his blitz packages against the Lions, who for the most part had been stymied this season by four-man pass rushes and maximum coverage. Marinelli blitzed regularly early in the game and finished with blitzes on 28.8 percent of quarterback Matthew Stafford's dropbacks. The Chicago Bears entered the game blitzing on about 20 percent of opposing dropbacks, and Stafford had been facing the blitz on about 12 percent of the time. In the end, the Chicago Bears did most of their damage when they sent four pass-rushers. That's how they got two of their three sacks as well as their fourth-quarter interception. But anecdotally, I thought Marinelli's early blitzing prevented Stafford from getting into a rhythm and forced him to leave the pocket far more often than he likes to. Coach Jim Schwartz agreed. "They threw our timing off," he said.
2. The Chicago Bears did as good of a job on receiver Calvin Johnson as any team in recent memory. Monday night was only the third time Johnson has been held under three receptions in his past 24 games dating back to 2010, and it wasn't for lack of trying. Stafford targeted him on 11 passes, but cornerback Charles Tillman made the connections difficult. Tillman finished with two tipped passes, in some ways proving that the best way to defend big receivers is with big cornerbacks. "It's hard for Detroit to win games without him being productive," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "That’s why you need a guy like Charles Tillman that can match up on him and it made them go and look at other ways to get the ball down the field. That's going to lead us to a win most of the time if we can get that effort out of Charles."
3. After watching the Lions struggle to get the ball to Johnson, Bears fans should have an appreciation for the way offensive coordinator Mike Tice, quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates and quarterback Jay Cutler have found ways to get the ball to Marshall consistently. He caught six of the team's 16 completions Monday, including three when the Chicago Bears got him matched up about new Lions nickel back Alphonso Smith. On the season, Marshall has caught 38.7 percent of the Bears' completions, the highest rate in the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He is also the only receiver this season who has accounted for at least 40 percent of his team's receiving yards. Opponents aren't dumb. They are gameplanning to stop Marshall as their top priority in the Bears' passing game. But with the exception of the Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Bears have been one step ahead.
And here is one issue we still don't get:
Is Marshall speaking for a silent majority in the Bears locker room, or only as fiercely loyal friend, in repeated suggestions that Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh crossed a line with his second-quarter sack of Cutler, which bruised the quarterback's ribs? We've already noted Marshall's late-night tweets on the topic. Tuesday morning, he told ESPN's First Take that the play was "dirty" and "not clean." Publicly, anyway, no one else from the Bears has backed him up. Smith and Cutler both referred to it as an acceptable, if painful, football play. If more players and coaches secretly feel the way Marshall does, we could have a pretty interesting rematch in the season finale at Ford Field.
Source : espn.go.com
More about → Chicago Bears, Free Head Exam
