Sep 7, 2016 | Computer technology, Entertainment, General, internet
Welcome to my live blog of the 9/7/16 Apple Keynote that will include the unveiling of the iPhone 7 among other things. Feel free to comment, follow us on Facebook or Twitter as i post pictures and review some of the cooler things that Apple decides to show us! From features to dimensions and price-points, you can get it all here from Geek Choice.
Keynote will start at 1pm EST, just click refresh on this blog and new content will be coming in every 1-2 minutes!
Growth rates are over 106%, makes you wonder how many of those downloads were Pokemon Go? Apple also announces that the iPhone and iPad are the #1 Gaming devices on the planet.
AND GUESS WHO IS COMING TO THE APP STORE?!?!?!?
MARIO!!
They are announcing the new game Mario Run. A side scrolling run game that you will only need 1 hand to play! From the gameplay it looks pretty cool, but doesn’t look like you can go backwards to get items you have missed. But at least its not just another “run” game like “Minion Rush”
The Next Mario Game to be announced is Toad Rally! Which is a Battle Mode version of the game! This will allow you to battle your friends in Mario Bro’s and compete for a high score. I was honestly hoping for it to be the classic Mario Bros games, but alas, it is not…
The game will be released at a set price which they will not announce today, but it will release before the holidays.
Education
They are giving a Mac and iPad to 4500 teachers, Apple TV in every classroom and donating iPads to more than 50,000 students
“Everyone Can Code” is an extension of the Swift Playground app, teaching coding. Already since June, more than 100 schools and school districts around the world already plan to teach Swift Playgrounds this fall.
Nothing yet about any new products….
Announcing real-time collaboration, as multiple people can collaborate and edit a keynote presentation real time, which would work wonders for group projects when you cannot be in the same place at the same time with several people.
New Products
Apple Watch
There is lots of gloating about how awesome Apple Watch is. #2 watch brand in the world behind only Rolex.
Watch OS3, new deck, tap back to send replies, confetti backgrounds and writing messages with your finger, this thing seems to be awesome so far.
And now for all of you fans of the sensation known as Pokemon Go….
POKEMON GO IS COMING TO THE APPLE WATCH!!
Over 500,000,000 downloads of Pokemon go and walked over 4.6 billion KM
Pokemon Go on Apple Watch Demo
Shows how far you have walked, heart rate and help you see what is near by. You will still have to take out your phone to catch wild Pokemon, but you can hit Pokestops, hatch your eggs and find Pokemon with the watch!
Apple Watch Series 2
You can wear this watch in the pool, at the beach up to 50 meters of depth! No more having to take off your watch to go into the pool!
the speaker in the watch will be able to eject any water that gets inside
You will now be able to track a swim workout!
Apple has added a dual core processor that’s up to 50 percent faster. We’ve added an entirely new GPU that delivers 2X the graphics performance
Series 2 also features a new second generation display more than 2X brighter than before. It’s the brightest display Apple has shipped on any product. at 1,000 nits
They have also added in built in GPS! That will even sync with your iPhone
Viewranger hiking app demo
Showing GPS functions on hiking trail, and via notifications
Gives you Fun facts of landmarks..
Comes in a wide variety of styles. Cases in aluminum and stainless steel as well as a new material we’ve been working on for quite some time. Ceramic
Summary of Series 2 Apple Watch
Apple Watch Nike +
Nike and Apple have developed “your perfect running partner” There is an option for a quick run, but hitting start run, or just ask Siri to start a run.
The watch will send out custom motivation to get out and run..
$369 for Apple Watch Series 2. But Apple Watch being upgraded w dual-core processor, called Series 1, for $269
Pre-Orders are on 9/9/16, OS3 9/13/16
iPhone 7
Starting with iOS 10, which i have personally been demoing for the past month, and it is amazing!
Better quick typing
Maps app is redesigned and works great as a gps
With iOs 10 you can manage your home right from the control center and with Siri as well,
100 devices coming to market this year.
All you have to look for is this label: works with Apple HomeKit
Now for the iPhone 7!!!
?
They are going over how they make the shiny Aluminum body. Oooooooooooh Sounds…….expensive
10 major new features
First is the Finish called “Jet Black” It’s a high gloss finish so it’s a seamless surface between the glass
Second is The Home Button
Third item is that the phone is now Water and Dust resistant!
The Fourth Item is the Camera
the first thing ISP does is read the scene and checks for objects/bodies. automatically sets exposure, focus, white balance, … noise reduction. can take multiple photos and fuse into one to take the perfect images. New ISP chip, improved throughput by 2x. Improved face and body detection, exposure, white balance, wide color, local tone mapping and noise reduction. Will even fuse multiple photos into one via machine learning. 100 billion operations every time we take a picture. Does it in just 25 millseconds
Up from 5MP on the iPhone 6s!
Summary of the Camera
And one more thing! Double Cameras on the iPhone 7Plus!
This will allow us to magnify pictures without losing the quality of the picture, up to 10X zoom!!
In camera app, where normally select style, there’s a new style that says “Portrait.” Automatically jumps to using a telephoto lens. Automatically you see the depth effect. Being generated in real time as you look at your screen
Fifth item on the docket is Retina HD Display
Sixth item is Audio
Built in speakers are a huge jump forward. For the first time ever they will be STEREO SPEAKERS which will give out double the sound!
7th one is the headphones
Headphones will now be plugged in through the lightning cable!
also giving away a free adapter so you can use your old headphones!!
The reason they did this is for 3 reasons
First reason is courage
Second, this is really important, our smartphones are packed with technologies and we always want more. Brighter displays,etc. .. it’s all fighting for space within that same enclosure. Maintaining an ancient connector doesn’t make sense
Third, most important, when you have a vision of how the audio experience can be, you want to get there as fast as you can
Which brings us to #8 WIRELESS
These look legit, wireless headphones!
Sensors trigger play w proximity. Motion triggers, accelerometers. Beam-forming microphones reduce noise. 5hrs battery. Charge case offers 24 hours life. Intelligent switcher to things to Apple Watch. (AirPods) The new wireless AirPods deliver incredible sound. Sexy video with porno music in the background… I need a cigarette
Easily connect the AirPods
Can listen in stereo or if want to use one for Siri or phone call, automatically routes audio. No pairing or unpairing. Those things are of the past
Beats has their own version of wireless headphones to take advantage of the new Apple w1 chip!
New Beats Solo 3 Wireless. 40 hours of listening time
Ninth is Apple Pay
No. 10. Honestly I’m almost embarrassed we held this one til the last. It is performance
40% faster than the A9 Chip
When doing something like checking email. .. can get longer battery life. Graphics are 240X faster than in the original iPhone
CONSOLE LEVEL GAMING ON THE IPHONE 7!
Pro apps benefit as well. Adobe Lightroom. 90% of the features for raw editing as in the desktop version.
Video of the Gameplay is stunning with no lag! Nothing proves performance like 400 flying monkeys.
Final Summary
Thank you for joining me today on this live blog! Feel free to share and leave comments!!
Aug 24, 2016 | internet, News
In 2014, Facebook launched a feature called ‘safety check‘. Let’s say an emergency breaks out in someone’s hometown. The person can check in to let his/her Facebook friends know they’re okay. Facebook ‘safety check’ is activated again.
During the overnight hours, a 6.2 earthquake hit central Italy. The hardest hit regions were the Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo regions in the Apennine Mountains. This is about 80 miles northeast of Rome, but the city of Rome felt the quake. As of this writing, the earthquake caused at least 73 confirmed deaths. Over 150 are still missing. Thousands of families are left homeless. As I write this, rescue workers struggle around the clock to pull survivors out of the rubble. The hardest hit town was Amatrice. The small town of 2,600 was so devastated the town mayor said, “The town isn’t here anymore. I believe the [death] toll will rise.” One witness called the scene ‘apocalyptic’. Pope Francis calls the quake, ‘heartbreaking’. This part of Italy is also popular with tourists, especially during the height of the summer travel season. That business is gone. However, tourist revenue is the last issue on their minds right now. The US Embassy urges Americans to stay away from the earthquake zone.
Facebook safety check has helped in disasters before. They were there during the Nepal earthquake last year, the terrorist attack in Paris during November 2015, and ?after the Orlando mass shooting in June 2016. They’ll be there for this Italy earthquake. If you know someone in the hard hit area, use Facebook check to check on their well being. If you are in these hard hit areas, use Facebook check to alert your loved ones. However, the communications might be heavily affected. If they are, keep trying until you get through. Facebook’s ‘safety check’ is a good tool to use right now. Do you have this feature on your device? You never know when you might need it.
Aug 19, 2016 | internet, News, Security
Over the months, I’ve written several blogs about the tech industry’s war against terrorism and extremism. Many social media corporations are in this fight. Few fight harder than Twitter. Twitter continues war on terrorism.
Twitter suspended 235,000 accounts believed to promote terrorism and/or extremist causes. This accounts were suspended over a six month period. Twitter began their anti-terrorism campaign in summer 2015. Since then, over 360,000 Twitter accounts were suspended. A Twitter spokesperson issued this statement: “We…remain committed to eliminating the promotion of violence or terrorism on our platform.” Twitter has a strict anti-terrorism policy and it’s enforced with authority. Suspensions have gone up 80% since last year. That’s because Twitter has cracked down over such extreme speech and promotion of violence and terror. As Twitter grows it’s teams of reporting extreme tweets, reports are dealt with quicker. They also work with other social media businesses and activist groups to fight online terrorism and extremism. This is a tremendous step in fighting this good step. But some activists say more needs to be done.
Some activists worry online terrorists can get to potential victims in other ways. For instance, they could publish personal information, like emails, phone numbers, addresses, credit/debit card numbers, and anything they wish to. They could use this information to fleece people’s finances, or worse, hunt people down and do the unthinkable. Some wonder how this could interfere with free speech. I’m a huge advocate for free speech and First Amendment rights. Twitter does a good job of keeping people safe without compromising people’s freedoms. I’m a advocate for personal responsibility. If thugs use Twitter to promote murder, bombings, or destruction, then they don’t need to be on Twitter. If someone makes such threats in the real world, they can be arrested and prosecuted for those threats. Same thing on social media. I love Jimmy Kimmel’s Mean Tweet segments. I’m not about political correctness or sensitivity at all. But look at all the terrorist attacks we’ve had in July 2016 and August 2016 alone. Why give these thugs a free platform? Do you think Twitter’s anti-terrorism rules compromise free speech?
Jul 28, 2016 | internet, News
On the weekend of July 16, a coup occurred. Turkey military leaders attempted to overthrow Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan. The coup failed. Nearly 246 were killed. Since this attempt, Erdogan has been on the purge warpath. Not even media is safe as Turkey shuts down media.
Erdogan’s government shut down many media agencies. This includes 45 newspapers, 16 TV stations, three media corporations, and dozens of radio stations. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and You Tube are also affected. Not only that, over 100 Turkish media members have been arrested and detained. These shutdowns include Internet services. In one morning alone, Turkish authorities detained 50 media members. They worked for Zaman newspaper. Prosecutors insisted that media organization be shut down. Zaman is rumored to have ties to Muslim cleric?Fethullah Gulen. Gulen is one of Erdogan’s biggest rivals and toughest critics. Erdogan blames Gulen for organizing the coup attempt. Gulen lives in Pennsylvania, due to a voluntary exile. Erdogan wants the US to extradite Gulen back to Turkey. Gulen denies any involvement. Human rights groups condemn this media shutdown. An Amnesty International director called this censorship a crackdown of freedom. She said, “Rather than stifling press freedom and intimidating journalists into silence, it is vital that Turkish authorities allow the media to do their work…”.
This is part of Erdogan’s purge. In the last several days, over 50,000 people have lost their jobs. Thousands have been arrested. They’re reports of torture, rape, humiliation, even mass graves being prepared. This is why Turkey needs free media, more than ever. This is why Turkey needs free Internet, more than ever. Once we allow Erdogan and his henchmen shut off free media, then we’re in trouble. That gives Erdogan the opportunity to do whatever he wants to whomever he wants. We need freedom of the press and the Internet to keep the Erdogans of the world accountable. We need to use our voice against censorship, especially online censorship. And another thing…why is much of the world keeping silent about this?
Jul 23, 2016 | internet
Will Verizon buy Yahoo? It looks that way. Yahoo, once an Internet pioneer, is a ghost of better days. For months, bigger companies compete to buy them out. Verizon might be the winner.
Sources say Verizon could purchase Yahoo in the very near future. The price tag would be $5 billion. If you recall, Verizon bought another online pioneer, AOL, last year. That cost $4.4 billion. If this deal goes through, they can combine AOL and Yahoo. Verizon wants to be a major social media player, like Facebook, Twitter and Google/You Tube. Even rival bidders are confident a Yahoo & Verizon acquisition will happen. Nobody else would pay $5 billion for Yahoo. A source at Yahoo said this deal was easy to close. But how can Verizon fund this acquisition? Didn’t they just spend over four billion dollars getting AOL? Verizon board members insists there’s nothing to worry about. One said, “There is no worry with Verizon about financing or as many questions about integration…”. Where does Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer stand in this? Apparently, she helped put this deal together. Mayer and AOL executive leader Tim Armstrong worked together at Google long ago. In 2014, Armstrong proposed Yahoo and AOL merged. Mayer denied the proposal.
Now, it looks like Verizon will buy Yahoo. It’s not certain. No date or press conference is set. But this deal looks like it’s going to happen. Just think, two years ago Mayer virtually scoffed at a Yahoo/AOL alliance. Now, it looks like a Yahoo/AOL alliance is happening, whether she likes it or not. I still don’t like mergers. I probably never will. But with Yahoo’s recent woes, this one might be necessary. I don’t want to see two historic online giants being an afterthought. And if this potential merger helps them keep their legacies alive, then so be it. But can this forming trio compete with Google, Facebook and Twitter?
