iPhone 4S: Next Version of iPhone is not iPhone 5

It is this time of the year: New version of iPhone is coming out. But there are many rumors saying the next version of iPhone won't be iPhone 5. It will be what Apple did to iPhone 3GS, next one might be called iPhone 4S. By the way, it may not be released in June like Apple always does. It may be in September.

iPad 2 is shipped with the dual core A5 processor which allows the users to have better game experience and a boost in performance. iPhone 4S will be shipped with this processor as well. You will feel what I'm talking about here if you run some 3D games. Other updates include better camera, which is 8 megapixels, separate flashlight, more phone carriers, HSPA+ supports.

Some say it will have 4G LTE supports but some say it won't. Oh well. At least we know it'll be better. One thing to note that it's going to look exactly like iPhone 4 because they use the same case.

Sony PSN: The Disaster is still going

Many Sony PlayStation fans must have known the server has been down for almost a month. Over the weekend, Sony has successfully put the server up in North America and Europe. While you feel happy with the re-working server, a PSN exploit has been used, which means PSN has been hacked again and this time it's targeting the passwords. 

This exploit allows the hacker using only the emails and the date of birth and they can reset the passwords. They got the emails and birth dates during the first attack. So right now the password resetting server is down and you can't change your password. But please be patient waiting for Sony because they will give out free games and also a month of free PSN plus.

Chrome OS: New Hand-writing API

There have been a lot of rumors saying Chrome OS will have a tablet version. But they already have Android to do the work though. At Google I/O, Google says nothing Chrome OS will be in tablet anytime soon. 

Some times ago, a new API was discovered which was the virtual keyboard. Now it's the hand writing. Is Google really preparing Chrome OS for tablet market? If so, how are they going to differentiate Chrome OS from Android?

If they are going release it, is it going to be before iPad 3?

Macbook Air: Update with Thunderbolts in June

Apple is really keen on updating their products recently. Macbook Pro, iMac, now Macbook Air. I don't mention iPod or iPhone because the time they will be updating are unknown. It will be either June or September.

Macbook Pro and iMac have been updated with the new Intel Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt. It will be no surprise if Macbook Air is going to do the same. The thunderbolt might be nothing since it's still kind of new. But the new CPU can definitely help a lot because Macbook Air is still shipped with Intel Core 2 Duo. 

If these loads of new stuffs are going to be packed into this thin and light device, ... wrong question. Are they going to be able to fit in that little box?

Google I/O 2011: Post Review

It's been 4 days after Google I/O. But the new things that Google has brought to us are still fresh and exciting to me. They talked about a lot of stuffs like HTML 5, hardware acceleration, WebGL, and etc. Most attentions are attracted by the two major products Google own: Android and Chrome.

Android 3.1: Ice Cream Sandwich

This logo just makes me hungry... Why does Google always use dessert to code Android?

Anyways, the next version of Android 3.1 is believed to be the greatest update Google ever has. From the picture above, I guess you can tell Android 3.1 is called Ice Cream Sandwich. At this version, there will be no tablet or cell phone version. This can run on both devices without any difficulties. The first wave of update has come to Motorola XOOM 3G version in US.

Angry Birds: Now Available on Web

If you are asked what the most popular game in iPhone or in Android, you might answer in no doubt that it's Angry Birds. On Wednesday (5/11 2011), Google I/O keynote day 2 revealed more info about Google Chrome, and Chrome OS. They talked about the latest updates and improvement that had on Google Chrome including more HTML 5 supports, 3D CSS, better hardware acceleration, etc. Of course, they also invited Rovio and made a version of Angry Birds that can be played on the web.

Rovio says this version of Angry Birds includes many types of new-gen technology and they say it's written mostly in Java and other Google API's.

Since Angry Birds is on the web, what happen if you want to play it offline or somewhere that doesn't have internet access? No worries. The browser will automatically cache it to your local drive. Which means, you can still play it even if you don't have available internet.

If your computer supports hardware acceleration, you can have better experience playing Angry Birds in HD version. But again, if your computer doesn't support it, they still have SD version that's in Canvas 2D.

If you are using Google Chrome, you can download the Angry Birds App through Web Store, or here's the download link. It's not like everybody uses Google Chrome. People other than these 160 million chrome users use IE 9, Firefox 4, Safari 5, or Opera 11. You can still use this website to enjoy your game.

For Google Chrome, to enable GPU acceleration, type about:flags in the address bar, and then enable GPU Accelerated Canvas 2D.

There are special levels that are designed just for Google Chrome. In order to play them, you need to get chrome bombs in the regular levels.

By the way, I'm not sure if you are interested in this, there are cheats for Angry Birds.

javascript: var i = 0; while (i<=69) { localStorage.setItem('level_star_'+i,'3'); i++; } window.location.reload();


This Javascript code allows you to unlock every level, and I mean every level in Angry Birds.


javascript: var i = 1; while (i<=69) { localStorage.setItem('level_star_'+i,'-1'); i++; } window.location.reload();


If you feel like you are cheating and it's not right, enter this code and the game will revert back to the original state.


To use these codes, simply copy and paste on the address bar and hit enter.


Let's go out and pop some pigs!!

Google Music Beta: Google Cloud Music Service Beta in America First

In today's Google I/O, Google has released many many interesting and new ideas, developments, and services. One of the services is Google Music Beta. As it says on its words, it's a music service. But what differentiate itself from others is cloud service. You can upload your music to the cloud and access it anywhere.

The idea is you don't need to plug in your Android device into your computer and try to sync your music files with the Android device. It's a pain because it's a lot of procedures involved. Using the power of cloud service, you don't need to sync your music files, those music files can be streamed and accessed right away using internet. But what happens if you don't have internet connections? The Android will cache the music files you've listened so they can be accessed in your phone as well.

There's a desktop app you can access to upload your music. As these musics files are in the cloud, you can access them through internet with your phone, and tablet. Unfortunately I can't test it since Google Music is only available in America. But you could still visit Google Music Beta's website.

Right now, Google Music Beta is, you know what, still in beta. And while it's still in beta, you can upload 20,000 songs to the cloud that associates with your Google account with no cost, which means it's free.

You can also download the Music app from the Android Market.

Google I/O 2011: Recent Updates in Google Products

Google I/O, a conference hosted by Google every year to tell the public who the new products, ideas they have been working on, is going be live in less than 24 hours. If you are interested but you can't physically be in the conference yourself, you can still watch it online, actually Youtube.

You can also download Google I/O app to your Android device here.

Google +1

• It is still an experimental feature in google search. Whenever you search on google, you can +1 the search and all your friends in Google will know you +1 it, or basically recommend it. It works like you Like a page or link in Facebook. Note the +1 button beside each search.

Chrome Book

• There are leaking information that Samsung and Sony have finished producing their own laptops that are equipped and specifically made for Chrome OS. Are they going to be on Google I/O tomorrow?
• Google might release details about how the Google Chrome Book is going to be sold. Although the plan and prices have been released.

Android Updates

• Improvement in 3D graphics
• bring C and C++ into Android
• Peak at Ice Cream Sandwich (not the food...) which is believed to be the next version of Android. I'm not sure it will be 2.4 or 3.1 though.

Google Chrome Development

• As almost every Google I/O, Google always tells how Google Chrome has improved and grown in popularity. And no doubt, I have been using Google Chrome ever since it was out in beta. It does fulfill its goals: Speed, Security, and Simplicity.
• Google Chrome: Download

Google Web Store

• I'm not sure if it's an update but Google has quietly made its web store in multi-language supports.

You can check out more details of what we can expect in Google I/O through here.


So is Google planning any moves?

iMac: Improve 25% in performance

Recently, Apple releases new iMac updates. It includes 2 Thunderbolt ports, new storage options, and new Intel Sandy Bridge CPU. According to the benchmark, iMac has improved 25% in performance since 2010 and almost 3 times more since 2009.

iMac improving so much needs to thank to the upgrade of Intel Sandy Bridge. I was thinking that iMac might have improved as twice as last year because Macbook Pro is 2 times faster than the last year’s. The improvement in performance is expected but 25% is kind of below my expectations. Hmm. Come to think about it, I think Macbook Pro’s 2-time-evolvement blows everybody’s mind and it’s beyond our expectations. So 25% seems to be reasonable now.

At least it makes people feel safe if you want to upgrade to the latest iMac, even though I don’t see the point.

What does future look like?

Have you ever thought of what the future might look like? I’m not talking about the 2012 the end of the world. I’m talking about what the city might look like in the future if the technology keeps growing in exponential growth.
Corning Incorporated is a company that puts efforts into making the glass more valuable than a transparent material. They use the knowledge of material science and other engineering to make glass have more potential values. This also includes putting in the latest technology. They make a video of a future where the glass becomes very vital in our lives. I personally really like the video and would really look forward to that day.

Or if you don’t like the idea of glasses. Do you prefer Iron Man? In the movie Iron Man 1 & 2, Tony Stark shows off many high-tech gadgets that he produces and nobody else has. If not mentioning his Iron Man suite, his garage and his phone are… WOW.

Mac OS X Lion: May release through App Store

The next generation of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion might be released in a way that’s different from others. It’s not going to be released using USB, or DVD like Windows 7. Instead. it will be released through App Store. For those people who are not familiar with App Store, App Store is a feature in Snow Leopard and you can download apps from it. It works like how you download apps for your iPhone and iPod Touch.

I think selling OS through internet is really clever. It saves a lot of trees from making boxes and covers. It saves the environment from making DVD’s. It certainly saves people time because you don’t need to go out and buy it. Everything’s on the internet. It really cooperates with the idea of cloud.
Is Windows 8 going to be like this?

iOS 4.3.3: JB available for new update that fixes location-tracking

Earlier, some users of iPod and iPhone have found out that their locations were being tracked and these sensitive information were stored in their computers through iTunes. Afterwards, Steven Jobs, the CEO of Apple, confirmed that it was just a bug instead of creating it intentionally. So now they release iOS 4.3.3 to fix this bug. I suggest you guys to update your iDevices and normally I would say don’t update if you are a jailbreaker but not today, because just like iOS 4.3.2, the bug the JB team uses is still there, which means you can still jailbreak your iPod Touch or iPhone even when it updates to iOS 4.3.3. But again, iPad 2 is still not included.

Here are the download links for redsn0w
Mac OS X: Link
Windows: Link

Here’s a tutorial for jailbreaking if you are new to this area. Although the video is JBing for iOS 4.3.1, but the process is the same.

Happy updating and jailbreaking~~

iMac: New ones coming with loads of features

iMac does update just the rumors that were going around in the past 2 weeks. The new iMacs have included:

• LED backlighting (almost every Mac product has it)
  
• More Pixels mean beautiful pictures
  21.5-inch has 1920-by-1080
  27-inch has 2560-by-1440
  both with 16:9 aspect ratio, the same HD TV
  
• Looking good with every angle
  Even if you are enjoying your picture from an angle, or side, the picture still looks the same.
  The maximum angle you can go is 178 degree. Almost no other screens can accomplish it.
  
• Intel Core i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge quad core boost up the performance from the last version
  
• AMD Radeon graphic card give you the stunning visual enjoyment of all
  
• Thunderbolt: The latest data transfer port from Intel
  
• FaceTime HD Camera allows to talk to people who have Macbook Pro, iPod, and iPhone in 720p-resolution widescreen
  
• ships with 500 GB to 2 TB hard drive
  
• Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (wish it was Lion though)
  
• Environmental friendly

If you need a desktop that has large screen, is easy to use, beautiful at the outside and inside, even easy to carry, then you are definitely looking at iMac.