GeekSugar

WWDC Highlights: No (Wo)Man's Land

GeekSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:34:29 PDT

Although I feel right at home surrounded by gadgets and technology, attending the WWDC made me realize that I was walking into a man's world. Making my way to the West Hall of the Moscone Center, I could see that the line outside was 99 percent XY chromosome, and only a spattering of ladies braved the gaggle of geeks alone.

Even though I was outnumbered, I could still find joy in the little things that happen when you get this many geeks together in one place. For example, one of my favorite moments of the day took place after all the big announcements in the keynote had come and gone, and I made my way to the restrooms. Yes, just like at MacWorld, there was a big line for the men's room, and crickets coming from the women's restroom. These are the times we cherish, am I right ladies?

But among all the fun, there were some blatantly obvious signs that this event was more male-focused than not. To find out what they were, just

As I made my way to registration before the keynote, I saw these girls. Not exactly "Booth Babes," not quite swimsuit models, but they did serve a purpose. They were pimping a new app called iPorn. I guess you could call them iPorn Girls?

After the keynote, as I was trying to find a place to plug in my Macbook Pro, I heard an extremely loud belch coming from a group of classy males to my right. After attempting to give the 'ole stinkeye, not one of the dudes posting it up along the wall would make eye contact. That's right guys, not in public.

Apple Uses 30 Rock to Show Off Find My iPhone

GeekSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:05:51 PDT

Yesterday's WWDC event was an exciting place to be, especially since it was my first time at the annual conference. For those not as into tech, though, I admit that a developer's conference doesn't exactly sound scintillating, but Apple always does what it can to make their keynotes entertaining, like with musical guests. This year, my favorite pop culture reference was when they used a 30 Rock clip to demonstrate the need for the new Find My iPhone feature, with Liz Lemon being on the compromising end of a stolen iPhone and "adult photo." We knew 30 Rock loved Apple and now we have conformation that the feeling is mutual.

So without further ado, here's the clip Apple showed yesterday at WWDC!

To see another clip from the same episode,

A Recap of Apple's WWDC Keynote

GeekSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:55:16 PDT

There were so many juicy announcements made during Apple's keynote at the WWDC that I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything! Just in case you missed anything, or want to brush up on your Apple news, here's a roundup of our coverage from yesterday's fun. And if you're feeling really ambitious, you can watch the entire keynote online.

15- and 13-Inch MBPs	New MacBook Airs!	OS: Snow Leopard
Details About Snow Leopard	iPhone OS 3.0	TomTom On the iPhone
Zipcar On the iPhone	The New iPhone's APIs	The iPhone 3G S!

7 Things Apple Didn't Include in the iPhone 3G S

GeekSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:45:02 PDT

Who doesn't love a new iPhone?! Although the iPhone 3G S is nearly identical to the iPhone 3G on the outside, it certainly has a few more (desperately needed) bells and whistles on the inside. But after all the excitement from the WWDC liveblogging action, I got a second to catch my breath, and tally all of the things the new iPhone 3G S is missing. Yes, there are a few things missing, and the first one is kinda obvious:

More Carrier Options: I think if Apple allowed more carriers to offer the iPhone, it would totally take over the market. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to that want the iPhone, but won't take the plunge because they either dislike AT&T, or just don't want to change providers.

To see the remaining six things Apple could add to the iPhone to make it just that much better, just

Lower Upgrade Prices: And I quote directly from Apple's product page: "For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB)." Now that's highway robbery.
Camera Flash: It's great that Apple is giving us a great new 3 megapixel camera with auto focus, auto macro, and auto white balance, but what about a flash for those super low light situations? I was hoping . . .
Push Email: The iPhone would be my all-in-one business and pleasure phone if I didn't have to obsessively have to check my inbox. Nuff said.
Ability to Run More Than One App at Once: It's a pain in my rear when I am knee deep in a sweet Tetris game and receive a text message. I then have to exit Tetris, and enter the messaging app. Is there a way to pause one app while you open another? Well, is there!?
Colors: Remember when the first iPod was just plain white, and then all of the sudden a rainbow of iPod Mini's, iPod Nano's and iPod Shuffles washed over us? Yeah, that would be awesome now too.
Flash support: With the majority of websites using flash embedded videos, and some of the funnest games out there being flash, it would make sense to have this added feature. I mean, if you want us to surf the web on this little gadget, not to mention that some websites are all Flash, let us do what you made this phone to do - play games, surf the web, and you know, make some calls here or there.

Is there anything you wish the iPhone 3G S had on board?

Introducing the iPhone 3G S!

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:02:35 PDT

And the news we've all been waiting for, ladies and gents! The brand-spankin' new, third-generation iPhone: the iPhone 3GS.

The iPhone 3G S looks externally exactly like the iPhone 3G - same dimensions, same availability on black and white - but inside, it's a whole different story.

The first thing you want to know: yes, the iPhone 3GS can take video. The camera supports still and video capture - you just have a record button now. You can also scrub through and edit video directly from the camera!

The still camera itself is beefed up too - it's now working with 3 megapixels, autofocus, auto white balance, and auto macro. They've added low-light sensitivity, and a biggie: tap-to-focus, which lets you tap on a subject in your lens that you want to focus on, and it'll blur the background.

Besides the awesome new camera features, the new iPhone is also coming with better battery life, Nike+ support, and Voice Control. Voice control is amazing - it not only lets you say the name of your contacts to call them, but it also works with your iTunes so you can listen to specific songs, start your favorite playlists, and even tell it to "hear more songs like this" when combined with the iTunes Genius Playlist.

Want one of your own? Find out the release date, pricing and more specs when you

The new iPhone 3GS will come in white or black, in 16GB and 32GB flavors, and will cost you $199 and $299, respectively. But for all you late adopters, Apple is making it easier for you to enter their world by offering the current 8GB iPhone 3G model for only $99. When is all this happening? The $99 pricing for the 3G begins today, and the iPhone 3GS comes out June 19.

WWDC's Fresh New iPhone: The New APIs

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:43:43 PDT

We just got a refresher on OS 3.0 for the iPhone at WWDC, and now it's time to hear about some great new APIs for the developers - which means great new apps for us users.

In App Purchase: In App Purchase lets you buy things within an app, so you can "go shopping" with the business that sold you the app with the same terms as any point of purchase. And P.S.: "free apps remain free" - so if you ever get a free app, it's free for you forever.
Support For Peer to Peer Connectivity: New P2P support automatically finds the other iPhone you're trying to connect with, like if you want to play a game against a friend with your two phones - no pairing necessary!
Accessories: Hardware accessories can be paired with apps, like Johnson's LifeScan insulin app for diabetics - either wirelessy over bluetooth or over the wire.
Maps: My fave API so far - developers can embed Google Maps service in their apps; for instance, if you find a business on the Yelp app, you can get to a Google Map to find your location and get directions there. Oh, and say hello to turn-by-turn directions!
Push Notification: Apps can push things like alerts, IMs, and numerical badges (like the numbers on the email app).

Apple Teams Up With Zipcar to Get You Going

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:35:04 PDT

Need a car, like, right now? With the Zipcar App and a Zipcar membership, you can find a ride wherever you are. With just a few taps, you can find the closest available Zipcar lot according to your current location and see which ones have available cars. Not only that, but with the new app and technology, you can see how much the car will cost, reserve it, and even save as your favorite right from your iPhone.

If that's not enough, once you get to the Zipcar lot, it's easy to find your reserved ride. Right from your iPhone, you can enable a locator,which will honk the horn and even unlock the car. I've always said I never needed a car in the city, and now I'm totally convinced!

TomTom Finding Its Way to the iPhone

PopSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:43:04 PDT

Since TomTom is probably the most recognized navigational system on the market, it's only natural that it would find its way to the smartest phone on the market. With turn by turn directions, exact drive times, and road conditions, as well as maps to show you where the nearest gas station is, you'll never get lost again with TomTom riding along on your iPhone.

Plus, TomTom is making it easy to use in the car with a kit that includes a dash holder, loudspeaker, and charger. TomTom for the iPhone will be available this Summer.

iPhone OS 3.0 Details

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:34:46 PDT

To say that the iPhone is the most popular smartphone on the market is kind of an understatement - after just two generations, Apple has sold more than 40 million iPhones, and users have downloaded one billion-plus apps from the App Store. And the newest iteration is going to be even better, with more than 100 new features, including the expected cut/copy/paste and MMS support, tethering (which connects your iPhone to your computer via wireless and Bluetooth), and even more that you may not have expected.

Like the one called Find My iPhone. Available for Mobile Me customers, this feature helps you (duh) find your phone on a map by logging into Mobile Me. You can also activate a locator signal (even if your phone is in silent mode) so someone in that area can find it and return it. Plus, if your phone really is lost or stolen, you can wipe the data clean so no one gets your personal data.

There's plenty of other features coming with iPhone 3.0. To check them out, just

Landscape for all standard applications like text messaging
Spotlight
Download movies, TV, and audio books in iTunes
Parental controls that let you limit your kid's activity in iTunes, App Store, and Safari
A "shake to undo" feature
30 languages now available
Form autofill in Safari
Peer-to-peer support for games and music
Push notifications

WWDC: Apple Announces New Technologies For Snow Leopard

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:18:19 PDT

Here we are at WWDC, in the midst of hot Apple news, and now we're onto the nitty gritty: the technology itself.

Bertrand Serlet has the honor of introducing Snow Leopard's new technologies, which revolve around taking advantage of the power of your processor. They include:

64-bit Mode: Using 64-bit mode takes advantage of the mass of memory, hitting a limit only at 16 billion gigs rather than four; this means the processor can move much faster in 64-bit mode, and all of the major applications will run in 64-bit mode. Thus, twice as fast!
Grand Central Dispatch: GCD will control the threads of multicore processors. Basically, when you're running an application, the threads that are produced stay up when the same app is idle; GCD redirects those threads so that they're not being used up when an application is idle. Hence, another way to make Snow Leopard faster!
OpenCL: OpenCL (the "C" stands for computing) utilizes the raw power of graphics cards beyond just graphics; the best part of OpenCL is that it will actually have an open standard and many top tech companies are already participating.

Up next? iPhone news!