The title of Apple's recent Back to the Mac event turned out to have multiple meanings. The first was heralding a shift of Apple's event focus to the product that was once synonymous with the company. But it also had a more literal connotation, that traits associated both with iPad software and hardware would now be finding their way back to the Apple's computers. But the impact of this round trip could have different implications for hardware and software.
Apple's new MacBook Air was cited as taking on traits associated with the iPad such as thinness, flash storage, longer battery life, and instant on. The new MacBook Air also dispenses with an optical drive, but so did the previous MacBook Air, and indeed so do nearly all netbooks and quite a few other "thin and light" notebook PCs. Most would agree that the new hardware choices produce desirable traits in an ultramobile notebook. There are some tradeoffs, of course, such as not being able to upgrade Apple's integrated storage the way one could upgrade an SSD. However, while Jobs pointed to the new MacBook Air as presaging the future direction of notebooks, Apple still sells a range of notebooks with more traditional designs, and these will likely account for the majority of Apple's sales for some time to come. For now, choice is intact.
But it is the changes coming in Lion that are inspired by the iPad's user interface that will have broader ramifications for the future of all Macs, even desktops. These include the Launchpad screen and its folder-creation method, (OS-level support for) full-screen apps, auto-save and auto-resume. As with the iPad-inspired hardware changes, these will bring tradeoffs. Many of these make computing more accessible to newcomers, a path that Apple has doggedly pursued since the dawn of the Mac. To Apple's benefit, they also differentiate Mac OS further from Windows and tie together Apple's products better.
For veteran users, though, the changes may not represent an ideal execution. For example, auto-save can be a lifesaver, but for productivity applications it is ideally implemented with version control that is generally not in iPad apps today and which can be a confusing concept to new users. Similarly, the Launchpad interface may be effective for a world without mice or hierarchical folders, but Apple already offers the dock and the Applications folder for easily browsing programs. And with tried and true aids such as list view and sorting, one can take advantage of larger displays to view more apps at a glance without having to wander among screens, particularly when hunting for apps that are used less often.
But the hope is that Apple will blend them into the Mac OS rather than graft them on. Just as with the new MacBook Air, the key is to recognize what is relevant and what is not.
Apple hasn't yet offered extensive details on how these iPad calques will work in Lion; there doesn't seem to be any requirement for users to use these in Lion. But the hope is that Apple will blend them into the Mac OS rather than graft them on. Just as with the new MacBook Air, the key is to recognize what is relevant and what is not. For example, while Apple has dismissed physical keyboards on its iDevices, it continues to treat them as sacrosanct on the Mac, ensuring that its smallest notebook still has a keyboard with full-sized keys with spacing.
Companies such as Microsoft and RIM have struggled in trying to bring keyboard or mouse-driven user interfaces into the world of touch. Apple will need to be mindful of these kinds of missteps as it seeks to bring touch user interface conventions back to the world of keyboards and mice. We'll know something went wrong if we have to shake an iMac to undo.
Ross Rubin is executive director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On are his own.
Nobody will be too shocked to hear NVIDIA expects its next flagship GPU to be the fastest that's ever been, but few will have guessed it'd also be one of the company's coolest and quietest. In the first public teasing of its next-gen graphics card (which is almost certain to bear the GeForce GTX 580 name tag), NVIDIA has revealed a new vapor chamber cooling system, which reminds us of Shuttle's ICE CPU cooler -- basically, water sealed within the chamber gets boiled by the hot elements (a copper plate in NVIDIA's case), which forces it to transfer heat away to the bits that are being cooled by the fan, where it chills out and recycles itself back to the boiling plate. The end result, according to NVIDIA, is about seven decibels less vroom relative to the GTX 480, along with lower operational temperatures. Besides that, the company's Tom Petersen also showed off an impressive tessellation demo and the first public display of Call of Duty: Black Ops gameplay, which was powered by this as yet unannounced GPU. Skip past the break to see it all on video.
It takes a pretty radical hack to truly grab us, but we're fairly confident that Matt Richardson is now one of our most favorite dudes ever. He has put together a comprehensive video detailing the setup required to build your own Arduino-powered remote shutter trigger, and while it's certainly one of the more complicated setups out there, properly executing it can land you self-taken photos like the one above. You'll need a laptop, a solid DSLR, an Arduino, a DIYer toolkit (you know, tiny screwdrivers and the like) and a good bit of spare time. If you've already checked all five from your list, head on past the break and mash play -- your weekend project awaits.
Onkyo's got a knack for dishing out new kit with a semblance of yesteryear in the design, and we've got to say -- we dig it. The company's latest are designed for minuscule offices, studio apartments and your everyday bedroom, with the CS-V645 DVD / CD mini system leading the way. This guy's got an iPod / iPhone docking station on the top, a USB port on the front, built-in FM radio tuner and support for MP3, WMA, JPEG, and DivX file formats. It'll also upscale content to 1080p over the HDMI output, and in case you were worried about getting up each time to alter the station, a remote is bundled in for good measure. The CD-only CS-445 is practically identical save for its incompatibility with DVD and the removal of its USB socket, but as with its older brother, it boasts a 40-watt amplifier and a pair of two-way loudspeakers. The CS-V645 is expected to crash in early December for $399, while the CS-445 reaches retailers this month for $329.
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ, 11/4/10 -- Onkyo, a brand known worldwide for quality home entertainment electronics, has introduced an audio-video mini system and stereo mini system that are each well suited for the office, bedroom, dorm room, or summer cottage. The AV mini system consists of a powerful DVD/CD receiver with a built-in dock for iPod, a USB connection, high definition HDMI video output with 1080p upscaling, and a pair of two-way loudspeakers. The step-down stereo music system has a CD receiver, built-in dock for iPod/iPhone, and slightly smaller two-way speakers.
The Onkyo CS-V645 DVD/CD Mini System plays a wide range of audio and video formats from DVDs, CDs, iPod, and USB. In addition to standard DVD and CD playback, it supports MP3, WMA, JPEG, and DivX file formats. Video programs are upscaled to 1080p resolution for output to a high definition video display over an HDMI connection. The dock for iPod is located on the top of the receiver, and the USB jack is on the front panel for easy access for flash drives and cable-connected systems.
The Onkyo CS-445 CD mini system plays CD's CD-R and CD-RW media with standard CD-audio, MP3, and WMA files, and the top-panel dock for iPod/iPhone dramatically increases the available music sources.
Both systems have powerful 40-watt stereo amplifier sections and a pair of high-performance two-way bass-reflex loudspeakers with 1-inch soft dome tweeters and the company's signature OMF (Onkyo Micro Fiber) woofer cones. The DVD receiver has a 20-preset FM tuner, the CD receiver has an AM/FM tuner with 40 presets, and both models include a full-function remote control.
The Onkyo CS-V645 will be available in early December with a suggested retail price of $399. The Onkyo CS-445 will reach dealers in early November with a suggested retail price of $329.
We're finding it hard to hold back our enthusiasm for Dell's Windows Phone 7 slider, but come launch day the 4.1-inch Venue Pro may be a tricky one to find -- you'll need to line up at one of only seven Microsoft retail stores on November 8th (a likely date) if this allegedly leaked document is right. If you're willing to wait until November 15th, however, there's also Dell itself, which will apparently double as the only place you'll be able to go to get any support for the T-Mobile device. Neither niggle will stop us from nabbing one, however. For all we know, Lightning might not strike Windows Phone 7 twice.
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.
What's a major corporation to do when it's trying to bring its stake in the smartphone world back from the dead? Why, call in the help of some vampires, naturally. Character Jeremy Gilbert from CW's Vampire Diaries looks like he'll be tapping away on an LG Quantum in the next episode, calling up Bing Maps and then getting an aerial view of some mysterious compound. Vampire hideout? Werewolf den? Factory where they make really great hair product? You'll have to tune in to find out.
The first time the words "Stage UI" passed our lips, they were in relation to the Dell Thunder leak, but now we're hearing that Dell's custom Android user interface will actually appear alongside Android 2.2 when the update finally arrives on the five-inch Streak. We've just learned that's going to happen this winter in Japan when the Streak launches on SoftBank at the very least, as both are advertised for early December there, but we expect we'll see the updated OS even sooner in the US and Europe for obviousreasons. What's more, an unofficial build of Froyo that leaked out for the Streak last month has since been found to have Stage UI on board. StreakSmart's got a video of a custom ROM running a series of Dell-specific widgets on the Streak, and sister site Good and Evo managed to trick the very same software to run on a rooted HTC EVO 4G. You can see examples of both on video after the break, but here's the basic idea behind the UI -- giant panes of contacts, apps and shortcuts that fill an entire screen each, but leave your app drawer accessible at a swipe. If you're feeling daring, you can try the ROM for yourself at our more coverage link. Just be careful flashing that new baseband, eh?
Apple is warning iPhone users that the daylight savings time glitch that plagued Europe affects US iPhones too, meaning you'll wake up an hour late if you rely on the Clock app built into the device. Though Apple representatives say there's a permanent fix in the works, it's not due until iOS 4.2, so the company suggests you set a new alarm today if you want to rise on time. Since the bug apparently only affects certain repeating alarms, you can create a new one-time alarm (i.e. with the repeat option set to "never") instead, and the iPhone clock will take care of the rest. Don't be the gal or guy blaming your tardiness on failed technology, folks, when it's this easy to be able to point the finger at traffic, family, or spontaneous bouts of dance fever instead.
HTC HD2 owners have been trying to shoehorn Windows Phone 7 onto their hapless devices practically since day one, but it looks like a port won't make it into the wild before the platform's formal US launch. That doesn't mean you should give up hope, however, because one variant seems to be at least partway done, winding its merry way from boot through the splash screen and deep into the speedy UI in a far more convincing video demo than the last one that hit our inbox. Though no apps are actually demonstrated nor so much as a basic phone call (pretty please?), multitouch pinch-to-zoom appears to work just fine, and we've little doubt any remaining quirks will be worked out in due time -- if not nearly as soon as new HTC HD7 owners migrating from the HD2 might have liked. Video after the break.
It's the weekend, kids. You know what that means? Relaxation. And what could be more relaxing than a live Engadget Podcast? Sure, we might be filled with rage against The Man and stuff like that, but it's in a, like, totally chill way. It's like "dude, step off, The Man. Chill out. Have a PBR." See what we mean? Relaxation. The podcast and chat are after the break.
P.S. And don't forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone clients as well, if you're out and about and you can't join in on the Flash-based fun below.
Update: It's over! If you missed the live show, we should have the processed and edited podcast (we had a lot of swears this week) up for you tomorrow or Monday.
Huawei might be making inroads into the US consumersmartphone market, but the Chinese telecom supplier's attempts to break into big business have been stonewalled. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint is excluding both Huawei and competitor ZTE from a multi-billion dollar contract -- where they would have been the lowest bidders -- primarily because of national security concerns. The US Secretary of Commerce reportedly called Sprint CEO Dan Hesse to voice concerns about letting firms with possible ties to the Chinese government supply local communications infrastructure, a perspective also penned by eight US senators back in August. "DoD is very concerned about China's emerging cyber capabilities and any potential vulnerability within or threat to DoD networks," the Department of Defense told the publication, without naming Huawei or ZTE directly. We're not doctors, but it sounds like someone's got a serious case of supercomputer envy.
Apple is warning iPhone users that the daylight savings time glitch that plagued Europe affects US iPhones too, meaning you'll wake up an hour late if you rely on the Clock app built into the device. Though Apple representatives say there's a permanent fix in the works, it's not due until iOS 4.2, so the company suggests you set a new alarm today if you want to rise on time. Since the bug apparently only affects certain repeating alarms, you can create a new one-time alarm (i.e. with the repeat option set to "never") instead, and the iPhone clock will take care of the rest. Don't be the gal or guy blaming your tardiness on failed technology, folks, when it's this easy to be able to point the finger at traffic, family, or spontaneous bouts of dance fever instead.
Huawei might be making inroads into the US consumer smartphone market, but the Chinese telecom supplier's attempts to break into big business have been stonewalled. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint is excluding both Huawei and competitor ZTE from a multi-billion dollar contract -- where they would have been the lowest bidders -- primarily because of national security concerns. The US Secretary of Commerce reportedly called Sprint CEO Dan Hesse to voice concerns about letting firms with possible ties to the Chinese government supply local communications infrastructure, a perspective also penned by eight US senators back in August. "DoD is very concerned about China's emerging cyber capabilities and any potential vulnerability within or threat to DoD networks," the Department of Defense told the publication, without naming Huawei or ZTE directly. We're not doctors, but it sounds like someone's got a serious case of supercomputer envy.
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