Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Saturday, June 26, 2010

1-888-FACETIME Might Be The Future of AppleCare [Facetime]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573063/1+888+facetime-might-be-the-future-of-applecare

The line Apple set up for users to test out FaceTime is a great idea, but it might be leading to something bigger. The rep I spoke with mentioned that this is a trial for video calls with AppleCare.

If feedback is positive, I was told, you might soon have the option to call tech support using Facetime. Apparently they've been toying with the idea for some time. I don't always feel like getting dressed every time I pick up the phone, but this could be incredibly useful, especially when Apple finally gets around to integrating Facetime with iChat. Imagine being able to show someone exactly what you mean by "my iMac's screen is STILL yellow."

1-888-FACETIME has been live since yesterday, and demand has gone from one call every couple of hours to phones ringing non-stop. Everyone I spoke to expected demand to grow tremendously as more and more people receive their iPhones. The staff are using a mix of iPhone 4s and pre-production units to make the calls. When asked if they had encountered any Chatroullete-like indecency, one rep replied, "I haven't had anything yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. I knew the job was dangerous when I signed up."

There are also some privacy issues to consider. Calling into 1-888-FACETIME already includes a warning not to record the conversation. Tech support calls are often recorded, but this probably needs to change for video calling. The relevant privacy laws all vary by state, so Apple definitely has some legal hurdles to clear before you can start video chatting with tech support regularly.

This Picture Was Taken 24 Miles In the Air With A Crappy Camera Attached To A Balloon [Photography]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573131/this-picture-was-taken-24-miles-in-the-air-with-a-crappy-camera-attached-to-a-balloon

What do you get when you combine a styrofoam box, duct tape, orange paint, a weather balloon, and 2 old Canon cameras? Apparently, images that look like they're from NASA.

The Pacific Star II Project was conceived by Colin Rich. He set up 2 cameras, insulated them in a styrofoam box and attached the box to a weather balloon. The cameras were programmed to take 3 pictures every 3 minutes and then shoot a minute of video and this video is what came out of it.

Some people say the best camera is the one that's with you, I guess we should also include the camera that's 125,000 feet up in the air, as well.

Video by Colin Rich

The iPhone 4 Voice Command Cheat Sheet [IPhone]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573166/the-iphone-4-voice-command-cheat-sheet

You probably know you can make your iPhone do stuff using your voice. "Play music!" Old hat, but there's a few new commands for iOS 4, like "What time is it?" [ATMac]

HTML5 speed test finds IE9, Firefox 3.7 lead the pack in Windows, Chrome a distant last

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/html5-speed-test-finds-ie9-firefox-3-7-lead-the-pack-in-windows/

Curious to see how the latest preview release of Internet Explorer 9 stacks up against the competition when it comes to HTML5 performance in Windows? So was Download Squad, and it's now revealed its findings in some vivid, if not entirely scientific tests. The end result is that Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 3.7 were well ahead of the pack in the 1,000-fish stress test (with Firefox about 5 or 10 percent ahead of IE), while Opera was stuck somewhere in the middle, and Chrome placed a distant last (and maxed out the CPU) -- all with hardware acceleration enabled, of course, although that had to be done via command line switches in the case of Chrome. Head on past the break to check out the four-way showdown for yourself, as well as an earlier test with just IE9 and Chrome.

Continue reading HTML5 speed test finds IE9, Firefox 3.7 lead the pack in Windows, Chrome a distant last

HTML5 speed test finds IE9, Firefox 3.7 lead the pack in Windows, Chrome a distant last originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google flexes biceps, flicks Android remote kill switch for the first time

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/google-flexes-biceps-flicks-android-remote-kill-switch-for-the/

We knew Google had the power to remotely remove Android apps -- Microsoft and Apple have backdoors into their mobile operating systems, too -- but it's always a little disconcerting to see a kill switch used. Such is the case today, as we've just heard Google unleashed the hounds this week, siccing bits and bytes of remote deletion power on a pair of "practically useless" but still Terms of Service-infringing apps. Curiously enough, Google admits that most who'd downloaded these programs had deleted them already, and that this "exercise" of the remote application removal feature was merely a cleanup operation. Google says users will get a notification beamed to their phone if an app is removed, however -- so as Big Brother as that all sounds, at least the company's being nice and transparent about the whole matter, eh?

Update: To be clear, the developers of the offending apps had already removed them from the Android Market, so this was technically a cleanup. The only question is why Google would go out of its way to mop up an app that absolutely no one would miss.

[Thanks, Matt]

Google flexes biceps, flicks Android remote kill switch for the first time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola's Droid X up for pre-order today at Best Buy: $200, no pesky mail-in rebates

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/motorolas-droid-x-up-for-pre-order-today-at-best-buy/

Sweatin' those iPhone 4 reception issues? Got a thing for beastlier phones? Still perturbed that your white iPhone 4 pre-order didn't exactly "work out" as expected? If you've found yourself nodding that noggin' up and down upon reading any of the above questions, you should know that Best Buy's offering pre-sales of Motorola's forthcoming Droid X starting today. The benefit, naturally, is that you can avoid Verizon's pesky $100 mail-in rebate, paying just $199.99 (plus all applicable taxes and bribes) to BB while grabbing a coveting spot in line for the next giant Android phone. Not like you needed an excuse to take a half-day today, but hey -- at least you've now got a legitimate one.

Continue reading Motorola's Droid X up for pre-order today at Best Buy: $200, no pesky mail-in rebates

Motorola's Droid X up for pre-order today at Best Buy: $200, no pesky mail-in rebates originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No one to test FaceTime with? Call Apple.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/no-one-to-test-facetime-with-call-apple/

Be it because you have no friends, or simply no friends with an iPhone 4, Apple's got your back if you're looking for a chum to test that curiously intriguing FaceTime feature. Just dial up 1-888-FACETIME (after cleaning yourself up a bit, of course) and hang tight, as a dapper Apple employee will be there in a moment to "show you the basics and a few advanced tips." And don't even try any of those late night shenanigans -- the help line's only open from 8AM to 8PM CDT.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

No one to test FaceTime with? Call Apple. originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Texas Instruments' Blaze tablet coming to developers this August

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/texas-instruments-blaze-tablet-coming-your-way-this-august/

Back in February when Texas Instruments announced its ARM-based OMAP 4 system-on-chip 'Blaze' dev platform, we sort of figured it might be tablet-bound. And, here it is -- Blaze is going to be a tablet! Not a shocker, but we're glad to hear it, of course, since the tablet wars are hotter than ever and we love a good fight. So, what do we know about TI's entry in the game? Hardware wise it's going to be a 10.4-inch XVGA touchscreen LCD with two USB ports. Internally, we hear it'll boast a 1GHz OMAP4430 cpu, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS, and FM, plus external camera and pico projector modules. The tablet is not set for retail release, but for developers, but we're still pretty excited to see this one come out to play.

Texas Instruments' Blaze tablet coming to developers this August originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 4 or EVO 4G: which one should you get?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/iphone-4-or-evo-4g-which-one-should-you-get/

Hoo boy. This is a tough one, isn't it? In our years at Engadget, we've rarely seen such deafening debate and adulation for a pair of devices. In one corner we have the iPhone 4, coming off a few relatively easy rounds atop the smartphone mind share heap. However, the Droid and its ilk have weakened Apple's spot, and here comes the HTC EVO 4G in for the kill, sporting a larger screen, 4G data, and all manner of HTC sexy. If the devices themselves weren't enough, the debate has turned into something larger and metaphorical, with Apple representing tight restrictions and a singular top down vision, while Google's Android stands for something perhaps a bit more haphazard but democratizing. The gloves come off after the break.

Continue reading iPhone 4 or EVO 4G: which one should you get?

iPhone 4 or EVO 4G: which one should you get? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia N9 (or something) in the wild: 8 megapixel camera, American 3G?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/nokia-n9-or-something-in-the-wild-8-megapixel-camera-america/

We told you, didn't we? Whether you want to call this the N98, the N900's successor, or the N8 plus QWERTY, what you're looking at above is potentially the visage of Nokia's next smartphone. It's being dubbed the N9 by the folks at Negri Electronics, who also inform us it has an 8 megapixel imager on the back, 850 / 1900 3G bands (good for AT&T, Rogers, Telus, and Bell), and "ridiculous screen clarity." This sort of throws us for a loop, since we're looking at some straight Symbian action up there, whereas Nokia has told us directly that there'll be no more Symbian on the N Series after the N8. A clue to what might be going on is provided by the "C0" label at the upper left corner of this device, suggesting that it could be a future C Series member. All we know is that the thing seems pretty real and it's headed to a full video review in the next few days. Yay!

[Thanks, Jason]

Nokia N9 (or something) in the wild: 8 megapixel camera, American 3G? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android port for HTC HD2 overcomes big hurdle, finally getting close

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/android-port-for-htc-hd2-overcomes-big-hurdle-finally-getting-c/

The great thing about the HD2 is that it remains one of the most gorgeous pieces of smartphone hardware ever released -- but as long as it's saddled with the dead OS walking known as Windows Mobile 6.5, its stature in the power user community is perpetually stuck in first gear, no matter how pretty HTC has managed to make it. To that end, some of those very same power users have been working tirelessly to salvage the beast and shoehorn Android on there, but they've been tripped up by some errors involving the phone's Snapdragon core and the so-called HaRET tool used to boot Linux from Windows CE-based devices that have made a proper port seem all but impossible. Those hurdles have been overcome in the past couple days, though, which means a marginally consumer-friendly Android build might finally be within reach -- and considering that there's no proper EVO 4G equivalent from HTC in Europe yet, this project could have an awful lot of value.

[Thanks, Aaron H.]

Android port for HTC HD2 overcomes big hurdle, finally getting close originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

RT @ClickZ - think of the ecosystem around your product, not just the product itself #IntegratedMarketing - http://bit.ly/cSPdvX

iPhone 4 and the Top Android Phones: Compared on Cost-to-Own and Features [Infographic]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5570803/iphone-4-and-the-top-android-phones-compared-on-cost-and-features

iPhone 4 and the Top Android Phones: Compared on Cost-to-Own and Features Cost analysis geeks BillShrink have given the iPhone 4 and all of its top Android the side-by-side treatment, putting their features and performance up against their long-term costs. You might be surprised at the cheapest and most expensive offerings.

BillShrink's offered up this kind of smartphone comparison before, and the product is equally impressive. Each category of performance (battery life, screen resolution) and cost is granted a winner, but you'll probably skip down to the two-year cost of a data plan. With an "unlimited" (read: almost-all-you-can-eat) data plan, the Nexus One on T-Mobile is the cheapest option, but the iPhone 4 on a 200 MB plan is the cheapest option, all told.

Here's the full breakdown, which you can click for a larger view (at BillShrink's own post):

Smartphones: The Latest Generation [BillShrink]

Who knew? You CAN launch without large ad budgets (it's actually better that way) - http://bit.ly/cSPdvX

Swype is Developing an App for iPhone, But Will Apple Allow It? [Cellphones]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5571609/swype-is-developing-an-app-for-iphone-but-will-apple-allow-it

Swype is Developing an App for iPhone, But Will Apple Allow It? It's not just Android that Swype, the company which pioneered an ultra-fast texting method, has its eyes on—they're apparently developing an iPhone version, which they're hoping Apple will have no objections to.

Considering it's in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest way to text message, Apple shouldn't have any problems with OK-ing it for the App Store. Unless they see it as being competitive to their own virtual keyboard.

Swype's CEO Mike McSherry said to Reuters that it "remains to be seen" as to whether they'll be able to launch the app or not. I don't think I've heard a single bad word said about Swype, so maybe Apple should consider buying the company—and then license the software out to HTC, Motorola, Samsung et al. [Reuters]

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