Amazon.com Widgets

Apple

, ,

Apple and McLaren

, ,

The 'Apple may buy McLaren' rumor is my favorite tech rumor this year. I think such an acquisition would be great for many reasons, but I'll outline 3 here.

First, McLaren is a technology company that happens to make cars. After changing its name to "McLaren Technology Group" in 2015, the company stated:

The McLaren companies now employ more than 3000 people, three-quarters of whom are not involved in motorsport. Technology drives everything we do – creating the world’s most advanced road cars, working with blue-chip companies to enhance their performance and their products, and/or developing the world’s most robust electronic control systems. Our new name therefore reflects our ever-increasing focus on innovation and the creation of disruptive technologies that will have a positive and far-reaching impact.
- McLaren

Having worked for a technology company, where my job involved working with OEMs, I understand how much differently car manufacturers think and operate than a technology company. Buying a car company would be an albatross around Apple's neck; the unbending 'mediocre-is-good-enough' mindset, the dealer network, the horrible buying experience, all seem to clash with Apple's sensibilities. A technology company is more malleable, and wrangling a technology company is familiar to Apple.

, ,

Nifty Mini Drive for the 15 Inch Retina MacBook Pro

, ,

The Nifty Mini Drive is mostly great. You should buy one if you need additional storage for your MacBook. I ordered a Mini Drive after cutting too much into the hard drive space on my main machine, a 2014 15-inch retina MacBook Pro with a 256Gb SSD, which is of course a proprietary part. I love my rMBP, maybe because it was a gift from my uncle, maybe because it’s an all around champ. However, 256Gb of space just isn’t enough, and left me living like an animal with external hard drives and ugly thumb drives all breaking with every move.

,

Found Flash-age

,

I remember Flash Player. A while back during one of my favorite past times (deleting useless files from my MacBook), I found the .swf file below I created, still lingering, much like the mighty indomitable cockroach. It was the beginnings (and end) of my own "site assistant" for my long defunct web development operation - all well before iOS was a glimmer in its father's eye. Naturally it reminded me of Jobs' "Thoughts on Flash" (TOF). I had no trouble understanding why it made lots of sense to use open standards when TOF was first published. However, the annihilation of Flash was lost on me. As it turns out, Flash isn't like the cockroach at all.

,

iPhone 6 Plus: The Burden of Abundance and Choice

,

It has been one week since Apple announced new iPhone models. During that time, the commentary has been most surprising (although maybe it should not be) on many popular tech sites and from video bloggers surrounding the larger model, the iPhone 6 Plus. Some people seem taken back at just 'how large' the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus appears. I use "appears" since many, like myself, have not had a chance to experience the phone in person. Even individuals claiming that the iPhone 6 (as opposed to the 6 Plus) will be their next device seldom talk about the iPhone 6. Stranger still, persons with no plans to purchase an iPhone 6 Plus, and with seemingly no good reason to do so, have heavily focused on this phone. Without ranting too much, I believe this exemplifies a common problem in our society; namely, the burden of abundance and choice.

, ,

OWC Data Doubler: Replace that rarely used MacBook optical drive

, ,

You can stop living like an animal, and forget about backing up your MacBook by installing an OWC Data Doubler Optical Drive to HDD/SSD converter. For the longest time I had forgotten that my MacBook Pro came with an optical drive. Now, I know what some of you kids with brand-spanking-new MacBooks are wondering, "what in the world is an optical drive”? First, this post isn’t for you. Second, an optical drive is something Apple ‘puters used to come with wherein the user would insert a shiny plastic disk, that held all off, at most, about 8 GBs of data.

Click the link below  to find out why you should get an OWC Data Doubler.

,

4.7” iPhone 6 front Panel: confirmed super durable, super clear - likely sapphire

,

At this rate its safe to bet eating your hat, that at least the 4.7 inch iPhone, will have a vastly superior display cover to anything that has come before it. Sonny Dickson and Marques Brownlee has confirmed the iPhone 6 display cover as being super durable and high quality, and likely made of sapphire crystal.

,

I think I want an iPhone 6, but my 'Nexonaxy' envy is stronger than ever

,

I genuinely enjoy using iPhone hardware and iOS, and Apple's phones have been my phone of choice since iPhone 3G. However, I have never been more open to purchasing an Android phone. This is due in large part to: how I use my phone today, the availability of very good Android hardware that may better fit my usage style, and how good Android OS has become. With this in mind, I've been thinking about a few non-negotiables, that if absent from the next iPhone(s), would push me toward an Android phone. 

,

iOS 7: A Brief Visual Gripe

,

Below are a few reasons why I can't love iOS 7. It's a good operating system and I want to love the OS, as discussed in 'Why I Prefer Mavericks as an upgrade to iOS 7'. However, there is this looming feeling during use that Apple went too far or didn't go far enough. After several months of using iOS 7 I finally understand what irks me the most about the OS: iOS 7 is a bit of a digital oxymoron. It manages to be polished yet unpolished, a little too gaudy yet a little too simplistic, very systematic in instances and not not at all systematic in other instances. 

What do I mean? Below is a brief visual guide of a few of my gripes.

Touch ID in the MacBook Pro: Passwords are passive “gatekeepers”, Touch ID can be an active “bouncer”

Touch ID in the MacBook Pro: Passwords are passive “gatekeepers”, Touch ID can be an active “bouncer”

Though still being vetted by the public at large, Apple's Touch ID identity sensor seems to be a success based on early impressions. Most prominent reviewers have high praise for the biometrics tech included in the new iPhone 5s, after powerful initial skepticism[i]. Naturally, with such a successful launch and presumed security benefits comes speculation as to what other Apple products will get Touch ID next.

For starters, there is a lot of talk that Touch ID will be included in the iPad 5 expected to be announcement this Tuesday. Of course, inclusion in the iPad 5 is a no brainer. So it is with the iPad mini and Apple's forthcoming non-premium phone models from here on out, if not this Tuesday. This year Touch ID is a premium feature, but there will be no good argument for not securing ultra portable devices in the near future. Further, screen size will likely be the next premium feature or model separator for the next batch of iPhones released. Thus, Touch ID will be free to spread its wings. Add the fact that Apple's margins will increase with the proliferation of Touch ID, and we can bank on its inclusion in lower tier ultra portables. We can of course expect Touch ID to work in exactly the same way on the aforementioned devices, as it does now on the iPhone 5s. Thus, Touch ID will be far more interesting on the MacBook Pro than it will be on these devices, at least in its functionality. 

The New Mac Pro: Expandability Outside The Box

The New Mac Pro: Expandability Outside The Box

Since when has the sole criterion for measuring expandability been how much crap one can shoehorn into an aluminum quadrate?  The new Mac Pro was previewed at this years WWDC. It looks amazing, carrying an all new simple stunning form factor. There's been a lot of talk that it looks like the Death Star. That's incomplete. It's much more like the Death Star and the Obelisk from '2001: A Space Odyssey' had a baby, a beautiful alien baby, come to kill us all. Additionally, the new machine sports seemingly quiet, innovative effective cooling, it's available in beastly configurations at the outset, the ports even light up on rotation, and of course it has a bunch of Thunderbolt 2 ports. 

So what's there for people not to like (the vast majority of whom will never buy a Mac Pro)? Well, in a word so called "expandability."

TheAlienPebble.com 2016, All Rights Reserved.

Cart (0)