ipad mini

Apple Introduces iPad mini

Unveils New Fourth Generation iPad with Retina Display, Faster A6X Chip, FaceTime HD Camera & Ultrafast Wireless

SAN JOSE, California―October 23, 2012―Apple® today introduced iPad® mini, a completely new iPad design that is 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the third generation iPad. The new iPad mini features a stunning 7.9-inch Multi-Touch™ display, FaceTime® HD and iSight® cameras, ultrafast wireless performance¹ and an incredible 10 hours of battery life²―every inch an iPad, yet in a revolutionary design you can hold in one hand. Apple today also announced the fourth generation iPad featuring a gorgeous 9.7-inch Retina™ display, new Apple-designed A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera and ultrafast wireless performance. Both iPad mini and fourth generation iPad come with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features.

“iPad mini is every inch an iPad. With its gorgeous 7.9-inch display, iPad mini features the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2, so you can run more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPad mini is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, yet packs a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras and ultrafast wireless―all while delivering up to 10 hours of battery life.”

iPad mini comes in a beautiful new aluminum and glass design that is just 7.2 mm thin and weighs only 0.68 pounds. The 7.9-inch Multi-Touch display delivers the same iPad experience users have come to expect, in a design that has 35 percent more screen real estate than 7-inch tablets and up to an astonishing 67 percent more usable viewing area when browsing the web. The dual-core A5 chip delivers responsive graphics and a fast, fluid Multi-Touch experience, while still providing all-day battery life.

iPad mini features a front-facing FaceTime HD camera and a 5 megapixel iSight camera on the back with advanced optics for taking sharp still pictures and recording full 1080p HD video. The iSight camera includes video image stabilization and both cameras feature backside illumination to let users capture great pictures in low light. iPad mini also allows easy sharing of photos with friends and family using iCloud’s Shared Photo Streams.

iPad mini features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150 Mbps,³ which is twice the Wi-Fi performance compared to previous iPad models. iPad mini is available in Wi-Fi + Cellular models which are world-ready with built-in support for ultrafast wireless standards, including LTE¹ and DC-HSDPA, so you can browse, download and stream content fast from wherever you are. iPad mini data plans will be available with no contract so you can simply sign up and activate service directly from your iPad.⁴ The Personal Hotspot feature means you can share a fast cellular data connection via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB with up to five other devices such as MacBook® Pro, iPod touch® or another iPad.⁵

The new fourth generation iPad features the amazing 9.7-inch Retina display and includes a new Apple-designed A6X chip that delivers up to twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the A5X chip, all while delivering an incredible 10 hours of battery life in the same thin and light iPad design. Other new features include a FaceTime HD camera, twice the Wi-Fi performance when compared to previous iPad models and support for additional LTE carriers worldwide.⁶

 

iPad runs over 700,000 apps available on the App Store℠, including more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad, from a wide range of categories including books, games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. iPad also supports the more than 5,000 newspapers and magazines offered in Newsstand and the more than 1.5 million books available on the iBookstore℠. The iTunes Store® puts the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store at your fingertips with a catalog of over 26 million songs, over 190,000 TV episodes and over 45,000 films. The new iBooks® app for iPad lets users read ebooks in over 40 languages. iBooks also lets users experience an entirely new kind of ebook that’s dynamic, engaging and truly interactive. Ebooks created with Apple’s new iBooks Author offer gorgeous, fullscreen ebooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, custom fonts, mathematical expressions and much more.

By Abanob Abdelmalak

The Samsung Galaxy S4

"Samsung Galaxy S4", a worthwhile investment for some while an over publicized rip-off for others. However, as it releases in the next two months, none can argue that it is a strong upgrade from the Samsung Galaxy S3 which will make it a hardcore competitor for all the other smartphones in the market. The S4 has a weight of 130g which is a great drop from the S3's 133g. It also has a larger screen size by .2 inches and a thinner body by .7 mm. The Samsung S4 will come in two bold colours for now which are White Frost and Black Mist. Here is a little visual on how it will look.

Aside from its stunning appearance, it also holds innumerable features that cater to life's four main aspects: fun, relationships, daily tasks and health. As for the fun aspect, the S4 contains a dual camera that allows you to simultaneously shoot photos or footage with the front and rear cameras in dual shot/recording. You can also conduct a video call  where your friends and family could almost experience what you are doing. It has the Sound and Shot feature from which every picture taken is accompanied by a sound so one can easily remember what was said, heard and played when taking the picture and so you can practically relive each and every moment of your pics. Another feature is the Drama Shot that allows you to take a series of pictures of a moving article and then merges them together into one eye-catching photo that flawlessly illustrates a detailed action. There is also the Group Play application that allows people to wirelessly connect multiple S4 phones to play games and share documents with one another. It also serves as a powerful sound system at parties  that enhances the sound quality when multiple phones are connected. Moreover, there is also the Story Album feature whose role is to organize your pictures and form albums based on specific occasions or is customized to fit your liking. The S4 even enhances the relationship aspect of life by including the Samsung Translator which allows you to translate words, phrases or sentences into other languages by either saying or texting back the translation. Therefore, it is a handy accompanist when travelling abroad since one can then easily communicate with locals. There is also the ChatON application that lets you share whats on your screen with friends and family by allowing them to not only hear what you are doing but also visualize it using the dual camera. In addition, the phone simplifies various daily tasks by containing Smart Pause/Scroll from which the phone automatically scrolls up and down websites when it is tilted from one side to another. It also pauses the screen when it senses you looking away and resumes when you look back again which is of course very helpful while watching videos. There is the Air View/Gesture that allows you to access photos, browse the web, accept calls and change music by just hovering your hands/fingers over the screen. It even responds to touch when one is wearing gloves and so the phone is very efficient during winter time. Another feature that the S4 contains is the Samsung WatchON from which the phone connects with your home entertainment system, recommends various programs based on your preferences, surfs channels and shows programmer schedules, hence it can be used as a TV remote. Furthermore, the Samsung S4 aids and motivates you to maintain good health by tracking your weight levels, work-outs, daily intakes, etc and it gives you up-to date status on your surroundings for activities, based on the current temperature and humidity. But of course these are just some of the many different options that the S4 has to offer to make it your constant Life Companion.

But what we must consider is that each and every new revolutionary idea or invention asked for a price to be paid whether it was the invention of nuclear weapons whose price was paid for by the innocent civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and many other citizens of war-prone countries or of Canada's decision to partake in the Afghan War whose price is still being paid for by the young soldiers or our country and their families, just to mention a few. As for the evolution of Samsung cellphone models and many other current day cellphones such as Apple, HTC, Blackberry, etc., it isn't any different. Infact, the price for this evolution is being paid for by the most innocent yet vulnerable demographic-children (18 years old or younger). This is because they are the most susceptible to jumping in the bandwagon of a new highly anticipated tech device such as the Samsung S4. This leads to them spending a great deal of time engaging in a widely-recognized cellphone based activity known as texting. Although texting does have its perks  such as being able to reflect on what you're going to say before actually saying it, an awkward confrontation can be mitigated and it is an overall faster mean of communication, it has its downsides as well. To elaborate, it is subtly depriving us of our interpersonal skills as we start avoiding face to face conversations and meetings more and more. This goes especially for children since their interpersonal skills are not even fully developed yet, thus in the long run, many may create their own texting comfort zones from which they cannot cross over and engage in normal human conversations. Here is an example on how this would appear to be like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvAZI5cilBw

In addition, texting can also limit our spelling and grammar skills due to our un-deniable reliance on auto-correct and our patience since most of us don't take the time to proofread our texts and since auto-correct is not always accurate, it can lead to massive miscommunication. For instance, one day, my father's colleague sent out a text to all of his group members pertaining to a recent shift change. However, one of his colleagues texted him back and and told him to re-read the 4th word of his sent text and so he did. Unfortunately, it was to much to his horror and embarrassment upon finding that his auto-correct forgot to include the "f" in "shift". This just goes to show how the disadvantages of texting not only applies to kids whose spelling and vocabulary is not even fully developed yet, but to adults as well. Take a look at some other instances of where this sort of texting disaster happened:

Moreover, many teens abuse the concept of texting due to peer pressure and many other factors by engaging in sexting and cyber bullying which can result in severe consequences such as police involvement or even death. I for one believe that almost everything in life is good in moderation and so adults and children have to work together to balance their lifestyles to incorporate both human and technological interactions on a day-to-basis as this is the only way to achieve harmony between these two large aspects of life and have future generations of balanced, smart & healthy individuals rather than of technologically-centered zombies.

Google Glass

So you're walking down the street, but instead of just looking at the people and things in front of you, you're staring at the time, a text message you just received, the google search results you just asked to retrieve, a video you just took, a picture you wish to capture, and just about anything else you can imagine!

This is the future. This is our future.

We have long witnessed an evolution of technology, and its integration into our personal lives. From the early days of the internet, to the current addiction most of us all have with our smart phones, we have continuously found ourselves 'connected' to our devices. None may be more so, then the evolution we are about to witness with Google Glass. This little device looks like a pair of glasses, but acts like a computer monitor strapped to your face. It seamlessly connects us to our social network, phone, the internet, and a camera, so that we can view all of these things without using our hands; while still allowing us to witness the 'real world' events happening in front of us. It is a difficult concept to explain, and really the only way to truly understand is to watch!

The truth is these glasses will bring an incredible advancement in terms of the connection we have to others, and even the world around us.  You will be able to capture some of life's precious memories easily, and without missing a second. We will be able to reference information the second we think of something, and as a teacher, that is a very powerful tool to employ in the classroom. The idea of these glasses, opens up a world of possibilities on how to use them. However, as amazing as this looks, and the possibilities it presents, it's hard not to consider the hazards of such a device. I find it amazing how so many people believe they can multitask with their smart phones while walking down the street? We have seen such people, and we all know how that turns out.

So it's hard not to consider the potential catastrophes these new 'glasses' might bring to the world. Are people going to be wearing them while driving? Can you imagine what might transpire as a result of such actions? Certain regulations will need to be implemented to prevent harmful actions that may come as a result of using the glasses. I'm sure such regulations will be similar to current laws we have in place regarding using your cell phone while driving. With advancements in technology, come advancements in rules and regulations to help society use them, without harming others. That's just the way it goes, fortunately, or unfortunately.

Therefore, with technology advancing at such a rate, and in such a direction, we can't ignore the fact that our 'real' life persona, and our 'digital' persona, are becoming intertwined. This is truly OUR future - an interconnection of our two personas. Google Glass allows you to make this connection seamlessly, both with those who are 'real' and in front of you, as well as those who are 'digital'. The development of technology can be used for a lot of good in this way, and many devices, software, and websites are beginning to recognize this combination of  'real' with 'digital'; while bringing much good to the world around us - just look at Kickstarter. Applying our digital devices to our real world, truly makes our lives easier. From the ability to solve social, environmental, and political issues around the world (see the Arab Spring), to the everyday task list we keep on our smartphones or tablet devices, technology has allowed us to accomplish so much, in so much less time. So as we advance, and improve upon our technology, we will integrate these two worlds even more; and who knows, eventually we may be functioning in just one - with no distinction between the two.

Introducing...

Tech Talk 2.0! Your one stop source for everything technology. Here you will find podcasts and blog posts - identifying, explaining, demonstrating, and just about anything else - to help show you how technology impacts our lives.

The purpose of this blog is simple - provide a forum for you, tech enthusiasts, to share with the world what's going on with technology. We live in an ever-changing world, and so it is very important to keep abreast of the technology that affects the environment around you.  To encourage reading, discussion and debate of issues surrounding technology, we will post weekly “Tech Talks".

Each student is required to collect an artefact (i.e., article, video, press release) that addresses technology. You are then to discuss in your blog post how the artefact affects you and/or the environment around you. You may post this discussion as a podcast (audio), video, or written piece. So long as you explain the artefact/technology, identify how it impacts the environment around you, you may create a post any way you like!

So here's what you want to include:

• highlights or the main points of the artefacts;
• your comments or personal views pertaining to the content of the article;
• how this artefact affects you and/or the environment around you.

Have fun and inform!