Laptops in Lecture?

There is a nice post by Stephanie Chasteen over at The Active Class about students being distracted by laptops (and other technology) while in the classroom. Stehpanie suggests a solution of a social contract for the class. In this contract, the students can define appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.

I think this post brings up some very good discussion points.

Are Students Distracted in Class?

This shouldn’t even be a question. If you have been in a large “lecture” class, you should know that there are students in there that aren’t engaged. It isn’t hard to spot them. For me, this is even in a class that isn’t a straight “lecture” (but it is large). Instead of lecture, my large Physical Science class shows the students video experiments and then asks them multiple choice questions. The students discuss the experiments and their answers before voting with a student response system (using Learning Physical Science).

Yes, they are distracted. I don’t even understand why some of these students come to class. They surf on their phones or iPads or laptops. I am pretty sure some of them have even been watching movies or at least youtube or something. Why come to class if you aren’t going to really be there? That is my question. I even tell them that. There are no grading points for attendance or anything, so I just don’t get it.

I don’t stop students from doing stupid things in class as long as it doesn’t seem like they are bothering other students. Honestly, wouldn’t they be more comfortable watching movies on a nice soft couch instead these hard lecture desks? I have this suspicion that when I say attendance doesn’t count towards their grade, they think I am lying. They think that if they come all the time (or at least sign the attendance sheet all the time), I will at least give them a D or something. Or maybe they are afraid that if there aren’t many students on a particular day, I will hand out bonuses like that time Oprah gave everyone in the audience a car. It could happen, right? It’s not going to happen.

In regards to computers in class, it is obviously going to become more of a problem, not less. More and more students are using ebooks instead of paper-based books (and sometimes, they don’t even have a choice). There is a push to use technology (like tablets) in class because it shows progress (even if they tablets are used for silly things). Students have more and more access to their own technology – phones, google glasses…

Should I Stop Them?

This is the real question. If they are doing something destructive to their own learning, should I let them or stop them? One one hand, they are adults, right? They don’t HAVE to pass or even take this class. It is their decision to be in college and get a degree. Also, if I force them to pay attention, when will they learn how to make themselves pay attention?

On the other hand, perhaps it is my responsibility to force them to do what is right. Perhaps it is my responsibility to teach them with force (not THE FORCE). At some younger age, I guess students have to be forced to do things the right way. Also, at some point in the future, people have to be responsible for their own actions. So, where does a college level class go? I have always made the assumption that at some point before my class the students have crossed the line going from being forced to being an adult.

I like to consider my classes like a green vegetable. Green vegetables are great for your health. When kids are young, I make them eat their vegetables. If I left my kids alone to responsible for their own eating, I don’t know what they would eat (I am not sure I want to know).

Rules Without Consequences

Perhaps my best compromise is to make rules. I do this all the time. There is a rule that you have to come to class. There is also a rule that you have to do the homework (it’s says so in the syllabus). So, what happens if a student doesn’t come to class or doesn’t do the homework? Do they get a grade penalty? No, they perhaps won’t learn the material. This could lead to a low score on the exam – but the low score isn’t directly due to their lack of homework or attendance.

This is where I hear many faculty say something like “how can you expect them to come to class if you don’t show them how important it is with a grade”. I get what they are saying, but a grade should be a reflection of what they understand – not a reflection of their obedience. What if we applied the same idea to basketball? Players will do much better in a game if they practice more. What if I was a coach and gave the basketball players points towards a real game for practicing their free throw shots? This is essentially what a grade for homework or attendance does.

Next semester, I think I will try Stephanie’s advice. I am going to let the students themselves come up with the “rules”. If they feel like they have ownership over the rules, perhaps they will cary more weight.

Via: wired.com

Forrest Gump’s Investment In Apple Would Be Worth $7 Billion Today

Gump’s investment in Apple would make him a billionaire today.

In the 1994 Oscar-winning movie Forrest Gump, there’s a short scene in which Tom Hanks’s character opens a letter of thanks from Apple after his former military colleague and business partner Lieutenant Dan invested some of the profits from the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in “some kind of fruit company.”

If Gump was real and if he was still clinging on to his investment today, he could have a staggering 12 million shares in the Cupertino company, worth around $7 billion.

FancyDressCostumes.co.uk decided it would be fun to calculate what that investment in Apple would be worth today, “as a way of illustrating Apple’s extra-ordinary growth.”

How much of the shrimping profits Dan invested exactly isn’t mentioned in the movie, so a notional amount of $100,000 is used for this. Given the success of the Bubba Gump Shrimping Company, that’s certainly a plausible figure, and it would have given the pair around a 3% stake in Apple at the time (1970s).

By 1980, that stake roughly translated into 1,476,460 shares, which would have been worth $43 million at the end of the stock’s first day of trading. When the Forrest Gump novel made its debut in 1986, that figure would have reached $46 million, and would have ballooned again to $91.5 million by the time the film was released in 1994.

That sounds like an incredible sum of money, but it’s hardly anything when you consider what Gump’s shares would be worth today. According to Fancy Dress Costumes:

After accounting for two more stock splits in 2000 and 2005, Forrest & Lieutenant Dan’s holding now stands at 11,811,680 shares. As of today, 2nd July 2012, Apple is trading at $591. That means their initial investment of $100,000 back in 1978 is now worth… $6,980,702,880.

Nearly $7 billion! If only we all had a friend like Lieutenant Dan.

Article from : Cult of Mac

The Future Of Apple’s Dock Connector [Feature]

If this was good enough for the iPod shuffle, why isn’t it good enough for the iPhone 5?

In 2006, Apple released an iPod that, to this day, is unique amongst all of the iPods it sells in that it didn’t come with a standard Dock Connector: the iPod shuffle.

In order to save space in a design that was built from the ground up to be as tiny as possible, Apple jettisoned the traditional 30-Pin Dock Connector in the second-gen shuffle in favor of a clever implementation of USB that plugged in right through the 3.5mm audio jack.

For the last six years, Apple has favored this implementation of USB syncing and charging in its line of iPod shuffles, even as every other model of iPhone, iPod or iPad shipped with a much bulkier 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector.

As rumors have heated up that Apple will abandon the 30-Pin Dock Connector in the next iPhone fora slimmer 19-Pin Connector, a natural question to ask is, “why?” If Apple just wants to save space in the next iPhone, why not just adopt the time-tested iPod shuffle’s approach, which is about the most efficient and elegant implementation of USB ever designed?

The answer’s simple: while the iPod shuffle’s USB design is ingenious at syncing and charging, it’s really crappy at everything else that the 30-Pin Dock Connector is designed to do. But what does the 30-Pin Dock Connector do, why doesn’t Apple just use USB like most of its competitors, and why is 19-Pin — not 30 — the way to go?

A Matter Of Pins

If you pull a standard USB cable out of your Mac and take a look at the plug end of the connector, what you’re going to see are four little, gold pins.

Now look at the fat end of your Apple dock connector cable. They may be a lot smaller, but in Apple’s connector, there are thirty pins.

Those pins are at the heart of this matter. Why has Apple — a company that embraces simplicity of design to the point of mania; a company that is always trying to make its products as slim and light as possible — chosen to design a Dock Connector that is seven-and-a-half times bulkier and more complicated than USB? Why not just switch to micro USB like the rest of the smartphone industry?

That’s a good question, but Apple’s Dock Connector does a lot more than USB does. Here’s why.

USB vs. Apple

Let’s look again at the USB connector plug and its four main pins.

How can USB get away with just 4 pins when Apple uses 30?

You might suspect that each of these pins has a unique purpose, and you’re right.

In every USB plug — whether micro USB, mini USB or just plain fat USB — there are four pins. The first pin provides power to a connected device. The second pin is data out. The third pin is data in. And the fourth pin is ground, which is a necessary component for any electrical device.

In the iPod shuffle, the tips and rings on a 3.5mm headphone plug do double duty as the four standard USB pins.

Now here’s an interesting fact: Apple’s iPod shuffle line actually only uses these four pins to move USB data in and out of the device, as well as to charge it. The way Apple implemented this into the headphone jack is by connecting each of these pins to one of the four standard tips or rings you find on a 3.5mm TRS connector (or headphone plug).

Usually, these tips and rings are used to move audio data from an iPod into a connected set of headphones, but when you connect an iPod shuffle to your computer, they do double duty to sync and charge your device! Ingenious!

USB is undeniably elegant. When you plug a USB device into your computer, the drivers for that device are automatically loaded and your PC suddenly knows how to talk with it. Even to an average person, those USB pins make perfect sense. What else would you want a connector to do besides move data and power in and out of a device?

The problem with USB, though, is that it was designed as a protocol to standardize PC peripherals: keyboards, mice, digital cameras, printers, disk drives, that sort of thing. In other words, USB expects that you’ll be using a traditional desktop computer to load drivers to access an accessory.

The problem with USB is that it expects you’ll be using a traditional desktop computer at one end.

And that’s the problem. Your iPhone, your iPad, your iPod… sure, these are all computers, but they don’t load drivers. In conventional desktop computing terms, these are still accessories. So how do you get one accessory to talk to another accessory without drivers?

That’s where Apple’s 30-Pin Dock Connector comes in. It allows an iPhone, an iPad or an iPod to talk directly to compatible accessories, no drivers required. It’s the soul of Apple’s billion-dollar iPod, iPhone and iPad accessory empire. And it’s secretly one of the best inventions Apple’s ever made.

Why 30 Pins?

Each of these pins is like a tumbler in a lock.

When Apple first debuted the original iPod back in 2001, it didn’t use the 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector we all know and hate/love today… it used Firewire, Apple’s own answer to USB, to pump juice and data from a Mac into their portable music player. Starting in 2003, though, Apple suddenly dropped the standard Firewire connector and adopted the proprietary 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector they use today.

The reason Apple did this was simple: the iPod had become such an iconic device, such an extension of self for so many people, that accessory makers were clamoring to be able to build iPod-compatible hardware. By switching to a proprietary Dock Connector, Apple could not only allow accessory makers to easily make their devices communicate with an iPod without drivers, they could also launch a profitable “Made for iPod” licensing business.

By switching to 30 pins, Apple allowed accessories to easily communicate with iPods without drivers, launching a profitable “Made for iPod” licensing business.

The 30-Pin Dock Connector is what allowed Apple to turn the iPod, then the iPhone and iPad, into the hub of so many people’s digital lives. Thanks to the Apple Dock Connector, we have cars that can speak with our iPhones or iPads, televisions that can suck movies from our iPods and display them 50-inches high, and an endless and affordable array of iPod-compatible toys, peripherals, accessories and speaker docks.

It’s telling that the one iDevice that doesn’t ship with a 30 Pin Dock Connector — the iPod shuffle — is the one that has a negligible number of third-party accessories made for it: the iPod shuffle is the only iPod that uses straight USB instead of 30 pins.

So how does the Apple Dock Connector work, and why is it different than just USB?

How The Dock Connector Works

It might not look like much…

We’ve already seen that a USB connector only has four pins: two for data, one for power and one for ground. It’s up to a connected computer to be able to load drivers to be smart and powerful enough to translate the data coming from a USB device into a format it can actually work with.

The 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector works quite differently, though. Each pin has a specific function, and all a compatible accessory needs to do is watch what data is coming through the specific pins it needs to provide that device’s functionality.

Think of the Apple Dock Connector like a lock, and a compatible accessory like a key. In any lock, there are a number of tumblers; for a key to open that lock, it needs to be precisely cut so that its ridges trip those tumblers and then unlock, say, a door or a box.

That’s how the 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector works. While two of those thirty pins do provide USB data-in and data-out for the purposes of syncing, the rest have very specific functions. The result is that if you plug your iPhone into, say, a speaker dock, the speaker dock’s connector is configured so that it only trips the pins it needs: in this case, audio out and power in. An accessory made to display video from your iPod classic on your TV, on the other hand, will be configured to only watch the video out and audio out pins. And so on.

It’s actually extremely elegant. The original 30-Pin Dock Connector was a remarkably future-proof design, and Apple has added functionality to many of the blank pins over time; until now, there’s a pin for nearly every function an accessory could possibly want to provide. The benefits for accessory makers are huge, because they don’t have to make devices with power-hungry CPUs to try to figure out and translate all of the data coming in and out of an iDevice into a format it can actually use.

After nine years, it’s in Apple’s vested interest to make make a smaller, better Dock Connector.

But there’s a catch. While the Apple Dock Connector has lasted almost a decade without a significant design change, it’s one of the bulkiest components of an iPhone or iPad. That makes the Dock Connector a big bottleneck when it comes to slimming down future iPhones and iPads and giving them better battery life. After nine years, it’s in Apple’s vested interest to make a smaller, better Dock Connector.

Luckily, it’s not that hard to do.

How To Shrink 30 Pins

When Apple first introduced the 30-Pin Dock Connector in 2003, they made it to be future proof, with a pin available for every conceivable connection… but after a decade of tech innovation, even Cupertino’s sophisticated soothsaying has reached its limits. In 2012, many of the pins on the 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector are reserved for obsolete technology.

It’s not important for us to understand what every pin on the Apple Dock Connector does, although if you’re interested, there’s a complete list of pin-by-pin functionality here. Let’s just concern ourselves for now with the pins that Apple probably doesn’t need anymore:

Pin	Signal	Description
8,9	Video Out	Composite video output (only when the slideshow mode is active on iPod Photo)
10	S-Video Luminance output	for iPod Color, Photo only
19,20	+12V	Firewire Power 12 VDC (+)
22	TPA (-)	FireWire Data TPA (-)
24	TPA (+)	FireWire Data TPA (+)
26	TPB (-)	FireWire Data TPB (-)
28	TPB (+)	FireWire Data TPB (+)
29,30	GND	FireWire Ground (-)

Notice anything? A full eight pins on the 30 Pin Dock Connector are dedicated to maintaining Firewire compatibility. The only problem is that Apple has abandoned Firewire in favor of USB 2, Thunderbolt and now USB 3. It’s pretty much a dead technology. All of those pins can be reclaimed without impacting consumers or accessory makers (except in extremely marginal cases).

We can easily shave 11 pins off of a 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector.

That’s not all. We’ve also highlighted pins 8, 9 and 10, which seem to exist only to provide pretty marginal video-out functionality to a handful of iPods. Between both the Firewire pins and the legacy video-out pins, we can easily shave 11 pins off of a 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector, leaving just 19 pins total.

And what do you know? That’s exactly the number of pins Apple’s rumored to be moving to in its newer, smaller Dock Connector.

Why Apple Won’t Do Anything More Exotic

19 Pins is the future. Not 30, not micro USB.

As we’ve seen, there are two main reasons why Apple has kept the 30-Pin Dock Connector standard for so long: it makes it much easier for accessories to communicate directly with iPhones, iPods and iPads, and Apple has a lucrative side business selling “Made for iPod, iPhone or iPad” certifications to accessory makers.

The result is that after ten years, there are hundreds of millions of accessories in homes and store shelves that require a 30-Pin Dock connector. Any change to the connector Apple uses is going to cause a major upset amongst both consumers and Apple’s partners.

Apple’s accessory partners are “panicked like a deer in headlights” at the idea of Apple changing the dock connector.

Kyle Wiens of iFixIt says that all of Apple’s accessory partners are “panicked like a deer in headlights” at the idea of Apple changing any aspect of the dock connector.

Which leads us to the last problem. If Apple were to totally abandon its current design philosophy when it comes to the Dock Connector, the impact on the environment would be huge. Kyle Wiens of iFixIt again says that such a transition could create millions of tons of electronic waste as everyone throws out their old, obsolete accessories. That’s a bad scene for everyone.

That’s why the best option available to Apple is to just drop the pins accessory makers aren’t using from the existing Apple Dock Connector. Doing so will allow Apple to make the connector at least 37% smaller while still maintaining backwards compatibility by selling a 30-Pin-to-19-Pin adapter, which, of course, will also make Apple a tidy profit. All the while keeping relationships intact with both accessory partners and customers who might otherwise have seen thousands of dollars worth of their “Made for iPod”, “Made for iPad” or “Made for iPhone” accessories become obsolete overnight.

Conclusion

What an 19-Pin Apple Dock Connector Adapter could look like, courtesy of melablog.it.

The 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector is one of the most efficient, versatile, future-proof and forward-thinking gadgets Apple has ever made. Even today, the principle behind the Apple Dock Connector is inherently sound, and much more empowering to both accessory makers and consumers alike than micro USB. As a bonus, because it’s a proprietary standard, Apple makes a tidy sum licensing the technology to third parties.

It’s a fantastic invention… so fantastic that, even after ten years, Apple has no reason to abandon it. The only thing they need to do to keep the Dock Connector relevant is slim it down by ditching the pins no one needs anymore. And once Apple does that with the iPhone 5, expect the new, slimmer, 19-Pin Apple Dock Connector to last another ten years… until we finally ditch tethering our iDevices to other gadgets once and for all.

 

 Article from: http://www.cultofmac.com/178093/the-future-of-apples-dock-connector-feature/

Apple’s revolutionary iPhone turns five: How it changed the world

I cannot believe it has already been 5 years. Here is to you Apple!

With Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Google launches a sort of Siri-ish clone

Too late again Google!

iDisorder: IPhone Obsession Brings No Relief for Imagined Vibrations

Apple has “sold more than 217 million iPhones worldwide and sparked a commercial, cultural and — most surprising — behavioral revolution, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its June 25 issue,” Peter Burrows reports for Bloomberg.
“According to a study of medical workers at the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, 76 percent said they’ve experienced ‘phantom vibration,’ that insistent buzz from an imagined text or phone call,” Burrows reports. “Scientists speculate it’s the result of random nerves firing, biochemical noise that our brains tuned out until they were reconditioned by the iPhone.”

Burrows reports, ““The iPhone has changed everything about how we relate to technology, for both good and bad,” said Larry Rosen, a psychologist and professor who is the author of iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us [US$11.99 via Apple’s iBookstore]. According to his research, almost 30 percent of people born after 1980 feel anxious if they can’t check Facebook Inc.’s website every few minutes. Others repeatedly pat their pockets to make sure their smartphones are still there… ‘The great thing about the iPhone is that we carry it with us all day long,’ Rosen said. ‘The bad part is that we carry it with us all day long.’”

Article from: Mac Daily News

Apple’s next Mac operating system, OSX Mountain Lion, to be release July 19

Our source in the Bay Area (who took these WWDC pre-conference photos), has informed us that Apple’s release date for OS X Mountain Lion is Thursday, July 19, 2012.

During at the WWDC 2012 Apple reminded us that they have been on a one year major iOS release schedule since 2007’s first iPhone. This seems to be the plan also with OS X. No more 2-3 year wait between OS releases. Instead Apple intends to stick to an annual update cycle which continues to make Microsoft’s OS release schedules looks slow if not pointless. July 19th’s release date would be 364 days since OS X Lion’s release (July 20, 2011).

Apple choosing July for their OS X release is a great play. WWDC will be a month old, and no new Apple announcements are likely until mid-September after school starts back up again. It will be a launch with nothing around it, pushing more interest back to the Mac. Microsoft can attempt to take some headlines with their tablet launch, but Apple looks to be able to control the headlines for quite some time.

Article from: TG

Apple is really going for the kill against Google.

Before Steve Jobs died he told biographer Walter Isaacson he was, “willing to go thermonuclear war” with Google over Android, “because it’s a stolen product.”
After the book came out, we asked Isaacson how Apple was waging a “thermonuclear war” with Google. The best Isaacson could tell us was that Apple was filing patent lawsuits. Damaging? Maybe. But, hardly “thermonuclear.”
Today, we’re getting a much better answer to the question. Apple is at the start of a truly “thermonuclear war” on Google. It’s clearer than ever that Apple really is going to attempt to kill Google.
And we’re not just talking about Android. Apple is going to try to blow up all of Google.
Google, for all of its ancillary businesses, lives and dies with search. Apple is doing everything it can with iOS to de-emphasize the importance of search, and the web, in its mobile devices.
Here’s how:
Apple is getting into the business of local search with its new maps application. Apple teamed up with Yelp, a big rival of Google, to make local listings better in Apple’s new maps application. With Apple’s maps, users will get great search results for local businesses right in the application from Yelp.
This sort of local searching is very important for Google. If Apple is nuking those searches from Safari on the iPhone, it’s one less place for Google to build out its mobile advertising business. It also makes Google search less important.
Apple’s search engine is called “Siri.” Apple added new tricks to Siri like finding out sports scores and stats. Cute, but not that bad for Google. What is bad is that you can now find a restaurant and make a reservation through Siri. This is a commercial activity that used to flow through Google and the mobile web.
And, if you think Apple is done with Siri, you’re nuts. This is how Apple will build its own search engine. Siri might be wonky now, but in the long run it’s a threat.
Apple’s “passbook” has the potential to be a better version of Google Wallet. Apple and Google are in a battle to own the next generation of payments through mobile. Apple has 400 million iTunes accounts with credit cards. So, it has a good starting point to build something with payments. “Passbook” is a template for companies to build applications for users.
The “passbook” applications are like “loyalty card” programs. It sounds silly, but Starbucks is already doing it. We can load up our Starbucks app with money to spend at Starbucks. Then when we buy a coffee, we just wave our phone at a Starbucks scanner. Now, imagine if we didn’t have to load up money. Imagine when the money just pulls from our iTunes account straight to Starbucks.
Also, Apple showed that a Starbucks app could send us notifications about when we’re near a Starbucks. Yes, that stupid mobile ad idea could finally be a reality! Starbucks could be pushing us lots of new deals, too. This has the potential to be a big, disruptive opportunity. Google will get nothing from it.
Apple is trying to make the web irrelevant. No company really owns the internet, but if you had to pick one company that comes close, it’s Google. Search is the starting point to most usage of the web. Apple is trying to change this with “app banners” for mobile websites.
If you visit Yelp.com on mobile Safari, you’ll see a banner ad that says, “We have an iPhone app!” The idea is to get you to use the app, not the mobile web. The more you use the app, the less you use the mobile web. The less you use the mobile web, the less you use Google.
Finally, Apple is teaming up with Google’s biggest enemy, Facebook. This doesn’t hurt Google quite like the other moves, but it still stings Google. It always sucks when your enemies team up to beat up on you.
Step back and look at everything Apple is doing.
Apple is doing what it can to change the future and cut Google out of our lives. Every big move it makes is to chip away at how we use the internet to find information. Its secondary moves are to open new mobile commerce opportunities for big companies.
If ever there was a company that could really kill Google, it would be Apple.

Read more: Business Insider

Apple’s OSX Mountain Lion coming in July for only $19.99

Apple today announced that OS X Mountain Lion, the ninth major release of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, will be available in July as a download from the Mac App Store. Mountain Lion introduces more than 200 innovative features including the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Facebook integration*, Dictation, Power Nap, AirPlay Mirroring, Game Center and the enhanced security of Gatekeeper. With iCloud built into the foundation of OS X, Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to keep your content up to date across all your devices.
“The pace of innovation on the Mac is amazing, OS X Mountain Lion comes just a year after the incredibly successful launch of Lion,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, in the press release. “With iCloud built right in and the new Notification Center, Messages, Dictation, Facebook integration and more, this is the best OS X yet.”

Using your iCloud account, Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to set up your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes. The new Reminders and Notes apps help you remember important tasks and jot down your thoughts quickly, while iCloud automatically keeps everything up to date. Documents in the Cloud works with iCloud-enabled apps including Apple’s iWork® suite so you can always access and edit your documents on any device.

The new Messages app replaces iChat and brings iMessage to the Mac, so you can send messages to anyone with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or another Mac. You can include attachments, high quality photos and HD video, and your iMessages appear on all your devices so you can pick up a conversation right where you left off. iMessage includes group messaging, delivery and read receipts, typing indicators and secure end-to-end encryption. The Messages app also supports traditional instant messaging services, including AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk and Jabber.

Mountain Lion streamlines the presentation of notifications, and with Notification Center you can see all your notifications from OS X and third party apps in one convenient place. You can customize which apps send you notifications, the type of notification you receive, and how many items are shown in Notification Center. When you want to focus on your work or watch a movie, you can choose to temporarily suspend all notifications.

New system-wide Sharing is built into Mountain Lion, making it easier than ever to share links, photos, videos and other files. Clicking the Share button allows you to share quickly without having to switch to another app, and you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo. Facebook and Twitter are integrated with Notification Center so you can receive notifications when someone sends you a message or mentions you in a post or Tweet.

With built-in support for Facebook, you can post photos, links and comments with locations right from your apps. Once you’ve signed in, your Facebook friends automatically appear in Contacts with their profile photos. Your Facebook notifications work with Notification Center in Mountain Lion, and you can even update your Facebook status from within Notification Center.

Dictation is built into Mountain Lion and allows you to dictate text anywhere you can type, whether you’re using an app from Apple or a third party developer. Mountain Lion also introduces Power Nap, an innovative new feature that keeps your MacBook Pro with Retina™ display and MacBook Air (second and third generation) up to date while it sleeps. Power Nap automatically refreshes Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, Notes, Photo Stream, Find My Mac and Documents in the Cloud, and when plugged in, downloads software updates and backs up your Mac using Time Machine®.

The revolutionary new Gatekeeper feature makes downloading software from the Internet safer by giving you control over which apps can be installed on your Mac. You can choose to install apps from anywhere, just as you do today, or for maximum security you can set Gatekeeper to allow only apps from the Mac App Store. The default setting allows you to install apps from the Mac App Store and apps from developers that have a unique Developer ID from Apple. In addition to checking daily for security updates, Mountain Lion includes app sandboxing to keep misbehaving apps from compromising your system, and kernel ASLR for improved protection against buffer overflow attacks.

Additional new features in Mountain Lion include:

• AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what’s on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV®, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay;

• Game Center, which brings the popular social gaming network from iOS to the Mac so you can enjoy live, multiplayer games with friends whether they’re on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch;

• a faster Safari with a unified Smart Search Field, iCloud Tabs that present your open tabs across your devices, and a new Tab View to quickly swipe through them;

• new features for China, including significantly improved text input, a new Chinese Dictionary, easy setup with popular email providers, Baidu search in Safari, built-in sharing to Sina Weibo and popular video websites Youku and Tudou; and

• over 1,700 new APIs that give developers access to the latest core OS and web technologies, as well as the newest features of OS X, including Documents in the Cloud, Notifications, Sharing and Game Center.

Pricing & Availability

OS X Mountain Lion will be available in July from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). Mountain Lion requires Lion or Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6.8 or later), 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space. For a complete list of system requirements and compatible systems, please visit: apple.com/osx/specs/. OS X Server requires Mountain Lion and will be available in July from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). The OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge via the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 11, 2012.

*Facebook integration will be available in an upcoming software update to Mountain Lion.

Source: Apple Inc.

Apple shows off all new iOS 6

Apple today previewed iOS 6, introducing over 200 new features to the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, and released a beta version to iOS Developer Program members. iOS 6 will be available to iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® users this fall as a free software update. New iOS 6 features include: an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and an amazing new Flyover view; new Siri® features, including support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari® and Maps; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud®; and Passbook, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place.
“iOS 6 continues the rapid pace of innovation that is helping Apple reinvent the phone and create the iPad category, delivering the best mobile experience available on any device,” said Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iOS Software. “We can’t wait for hundreds of millions of iOS users to experience the incredible new features in iOS 6 including the new Maps app, expanded Siri support, deep Facebook integration, Shared Photo Streams and the innovative new Passbook app.”

iOS 6 includes an all new Maps app with vector-based map elements that make graphics and text smooth, and panning, tilting and zooming incredibly fluid. New turn-by-turn navigation guides you to your destination with spoken directions, and the amazing Flyover feature has photo-realistic interactive 3D views. Real-time traffic information keeps you updated on how long it will take to get to your destination and offers alternate time-saving routes if traffic conditions change significantly. Additionally, local search includes information for over 100 million businesses with info cards that offer Yelp ratings, reviews, available deals and photos.

Siri, now available for the new iPad as well as iPhone 4S, includes language support for English, French, German and Japanese, and adds support for Spanish, Italian, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese. Siri is optimized for use in 15 countries and helps you get even more done with just your voice, whether it’s finding the latest sports scores or making restaurant reservations. You also can ask Siri to update your status on Facebook, post to Twitter or launch an app. Additionally, Siri takes hands-free functionality even further with a new Eyes Free mode, enabling you to interact with your iPhone using nothing more than your voice.

Built-in Facebook integration is the best ever in a mobile device, allowing you to sign in once and post from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps, including Photos, Safari and Maps. Your Facebook friends’ information is kept up to date across all your iOS devices, automatically updating details in Contacts when they change, and scheduling events and birthdays in your Calendar. You can also “Like” content directly from the App Store™ and iTunes® and see what your friends recommend.

With more than 125 million users already enjoying iCloud, iOS 6 introduces new ways to share photos with friends and family using Shared Photo Streams. Simply select the photos you want to share, pick which friends you want to receive the album, and the Shared Photo Stream album is instantly available on their iOS devices, iPhoto® and Aperture® on their Mac®, via the web or even through Apple TV®. You and your friends can leave comments on or “Like” any photo in a shared album.

The new Passbook app is the simplest way to get all your passes in one place, such as boarding passes and baseball tickets. Passbook lets you scan your iPhone or iPod touch to use a coupon, get into a concert or check into your hotel. Passbook automatically displays your passes on your Lock Screen based on a specific time or location, so when you walk into your favorite coffee shop your loyalty card appears and you can scan it to buy a coffee or check your balance. Passbook can even alert you to last minute gate changes or flight delays at the airport.

Building on Apple’s commitment to provide innovative solutions for education and accessibility, iOS 6 introduces Guided Access. This new feature allows a parent, teacher or administrator to disable hardware buttons to lock an iOS device into a single app, especially useful for test taking or helping someone with a disability stay focused on learning. Guided Access also includes the ability to confine touch input to certain parts of the screen.

Additional new iOS 6 features include:
enhancements to Safari, the world’s most popular mobile browser, such as iCloud tabs, offline reading lists, photo uploads and full screen view;
support for FaceTime® calls over cellular networks;
the ability to set up a VIP Mailbox, making it easier to quickly view messages from important people you designate as VIPs;
the option to decline incoming calls with a quick message, set a callback reminder and enable a new Do Not Disturb option; and
a whole new set of improvements and services specifically for iOS users in China, such as improved text input and built-in support for popular Chinese services including Baidu, Sina Weibo, Youku and Tudou.

Availability
The iOS 6 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iOS Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. iOS 6 will be available as a free software update for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, the new iPad, iPad 2 and iPod touch (fourth generation) this fall. Some features may not be available on all products.

Source: Apple