HardwareGeeks
iOS 7 first look and first impressions
After a full generation of innovation and cutting-edge products, one could argue that Apple became so good at what they do that they gave themselves a Microsoft problem.
Huh? For those who remember (or for those who weren’t around yet), let’s take a trip back to the Microsoft of the mid-90’s. Their products were widely considered the best in the industry by a wide margin; even their failures, at the time, were viewed through rose-colored glasses and forgiven. (Windows Millennium Edition immediately comes to mind.)
Gradually, they faced product pressure from two fronts: on one hand, an inability to continually drop groundbreaking innovations to their bread-winning products since they became so good and were so far ahead of any competitors, and on the other, a reluctance to stray too far from what works for fear of messing with the goose that laid its golden eggs. When you can’t keep bringing the lumber to your PC product and you don’t totally refocus to mobile out of worry for your business model and relationships, you get to where Microsoft is today; the king of a shrinking kingdom and an also-ran in the race that matters most. Stannis Baratheon, if you will. (minus the fire priestess)
Applying that narrative to Apple of today could come off as lazy, but parallels exist. Apple created the modern smartphone era, has ruled the space since their entry and set the pace for the industry through their forward-looking hardware and software update cadence, winning untouchable consumer confidence in the process.
Harkening back to the “Droid Does” campaign of 2009, all Android has done to chip away at Apple’s lead is to simply be everything Apple is not: a nearly 100%-open operating system and ecosystem with thousands of hardware styles from which to choose. Somewhat shrewdly, this approach recruited the hardware vendors—Motorola, HTC, Samsung, etc.—to play a part in the innovation of Android, as one could argue Apple is competing against Google’s update cadence, openness and mass adoption as they are Samsung’s marketing muscle and feature-gasm, as well as HTC’s hail-mary of industrial design.
Apple—now potentially in second place in the industry they kinda sorta created—faces its Microsoft problem. They can’t shake up their formula too much, as they might alienate their millions of passionate users that are already very familiar with how to use their product. On the other hand, they have to do something—some kind of step forward if they don’t want to be left behind.
Is iOS 7 big enough of a step forward to keep them marching in this multi-front war? Keep in mind, we’re looking at a beta version intended for developers. The final look may vary by this fall, when Apple will introduce the consumer-ready version. However, this beta provides us an early look at what position Apple’s position could be by that time, when I imagine they’ll announce a new iPhone and iPad to potentially address the hardware competition. With that, let’s begin.
AMD drops new desktop CPUs at E3, breaking its own GHz record in the process
While Intel’s Haswell launch may well be setting the tone for PC hardware manufacturers, AMD wants to remind you that it still offers the only 8-core desktop CPUs in the industry. And after setting the GHz record last fall, they’ve bested themselves with today’s update.
Next Up In The Haswell Parade: Digital Storm’s VIRTUE Gaming Tower
Though Intel coined the phrase “tic-toc” originally to explain their own CPU launch and update cadence, you could easily apply the same label to the PC industry as a hole: Intel makes a move, and refreshes from hardware vendors won’t be far behind.
Following Intel’s introduction of their 4th generation of CPUs (codenamed Haswell) last, it’s now the PC vendors’ turn to showcase how they’re going to take advantage of this new horsepower. First up: Digital Storm.
New Update Enables Dropcam iOS Scheduling and Location-based Camera Control
Dropcam today released a new version of its iOS app for iPhone and iPad enabling users to now set a schedule for their Dropcam HD camera. The new update will also allow the camera turn itself on when you are not home and turn itself off when you are.
The new features will work on the Dropcam HD, Dropcam Echo, and Dropcam Original.
Sorry Android users, no word when these or if these features will be enabled for the Android OS.
The Need for Encryption
In today’s society, the technology for circumventing security protocols seems to be advancing faster than the protocols themselves. Every day, some new hack or gimmick comes out and puts your data at even greater risk. Professional data-thieves have never had as many resources at their disposal as they do now. As a result, more and more people are finding out about the importance of data encryption the hard way. With all of the tools available to hackers these days, it only makes sense to protect you and your data using any means at your disposal. Continue reading
File Conversion Adds Efficiency to Business communications
Efficiency is the most significant characteristic that gives a business entity its competitive edge. It will win or lose the competition with optimized supply chain management and efficient cash flow. The results of efficiency are cost effectiveness and maximized profits.
Every phase of the business should be evaluated periodically to determine how efficiently the tasks are being performed. New products and methods are constantly changing, and the wise entrepreneurs stay alert to find better products that improve efficiency. Continue reading
5 Helpful Android Tutorials
Getting started with an Android phone, if you are switching from iOS, or if you’ve never owned a smartphone before, can be challenging. The Android platform is user friendly, but it’s long list of features and settings simply take some getting used to. High-quality video tutorials for Android phones can be found on YouTube. Here are the 5 most helpful Android tutorials on the site. The tutorials should be applicable to most Android users, including those with prepaid cell phones.
Popular Post
If you have read my reviews over the past 8 years, you’d know I have used a lot of windows based computers in my day. So you can understand when I say no matter whom makes the system it’s pretty much always the same experience. Sure designs change, and specs improve but once you hit that power button it’s all the same, right? You have a start button, some icons and when you click on them, a window opens up. It’s all the same system to system to system. So I thought, until I met the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 420s.
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