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Costliest of Apple TV’s $62 in components is $17 A4 processor

admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:55:00 +0000

The new, low-priced Apple TV has an estimated component cost of $61.98, and manufacturing reportedly adds about two more dollars to the total expenses.

iSuppli on Tuesday published the results of its Apple TV teardown, which found a total preliminary estimated production cost of $63.95. That price includes the cost of additional item boxes with the product, the research firm said.

The most expensive component was estimated to be the custom-built A4 processor, which sports 256MB of RAM. The Samsung-manufactured chip has an estimated cost of $16.55.

The Toshiba-supplied 8GB of internal memory is the second costliest component of the set top box, with an estimated cost of $14. And the Wi-Fi module, which includes a deactivated Bluetooth chip, is another $7.65.

“The first Apple TV was built like a net top computer. The architecture was basically a stripped down, small-form-factor desktop PC,” said Andrew Rassweiler, director, principal analyst and teardown services manager, for iSuppli. “The second generation Apple TV is more like an iPad or iPod Touch with no display. The Apple TV?s A4 processor core, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip and power management chip are the same building blocks used in the, iPad, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch.”

Though the device sells for a low $99 price point, iSuppli’s findings suggest that Apple has about a 35 percent margin on each device it sells. The company also highlighted the remote control included in the package as the “Cadillac of remotes.”

“The Apple TV’s remote control represents more incredible mechanical engineering from Apple,” Rassweiler said. “The remote appears to machined from a solid piece of aluminum. Because of this, the electronics of the device must be slid in through small holes on the side, similar to putting a ship in a bottle. It?s a clever and a detail-oriented piece of design that makes the remote very pricey and very unique to Apple.”

The remote and other items boxed with the new Apple TV are said to cost a total of $6.10, or 9.8 percent of the build of materials cost.

iSuppli also said that it believes about 6GB of the onboard storage is available for caching streaming media. The remaining 2GB is believed to be reserved for the operating system.
Costliest of Apple TV’s $62 in components is $17 A4 processor

Microsoft launches Internet Explorer 9 beta

admin — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:46:27 +0000

Microsoft traveled to the Bay Area on Wednesday to launch the beta of Internet Explorer 9.

(Credit:
Ina Fried/CNET)

SAN FRANCISCO–Microsoft launched the beta of Internet Explorer 9 on Wednesday, promising to use the whole power of the PC to set Web sites free from the constraints previously imposed on them.

“The Web is about sites,” Corporate Vice President Dean Hachamovitch said at an event here. “Browsers should be too. Today, Web sites are boxed in.”

The new browser features a minimalistic user interface, hardware acceleration, and broader support for Web standards including HTML 5 and CSS 3.

For Microsoft, the arrival of IE9 is an attempt to compete more fully with Mozilla’s
Firefox, Google’s Chrome, and other browsers. Although various flavors of Internet Explorer are still used for one in three Web site visits, Microsoft has been losing share for years as rivals have moved ahead technically.

With IE9, Microsoft is trying to change that, while also bringing more of
Windows 7‘s capabilities to the browser. The new browser allows users to pin a Web site to the Windows 7 taskbar, much as a user can do already with applications. Sites that are pinned in this fashion can then program “jumplists” that allow surfers to quickly move through various parts of the Web site.

Scenes from Microsoft’s IE9 beta launch (photos)

Other features include the ability to monitor which add-ons are slowing down the browser as it launches as well as a download manager that warns users if the code they are grabbing has a bad reputation and is potentially malicious.

Much of Wednesday’s launch is set to focus on various partners that have built sites optimized for the new browser. The first on stage was Microsoft’s own Bing search engine, which showed both its jumplists as well as a new HTML 5-powered home page that allows Bing to show either moving pictures or a video on its home page. Microsoft said it plans within a month to offer a spiffed up Bing site in preview form, using some of the HTML5 capabilities of IE9.

The IE9 beta is available starting Wednesday and works with Windows Vista or Windows 7.

Hachamovitch typically sports a new Internet Explorer-themed black shirt at each event where he speaks. For Wednesday’s launch, his shirt says “Beauty,” with the greek letter beta used instead of the B.

Microsoft launches Internet Explorer 9 beta

Apple now shipping Mac Pro desktop preorders

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:15:00 +0000

Customers who ordered Apple’s latest Mac Pro desktop with up to 12 processing cores have received notification that their order has shipped.

One U.S. customer on the east coast who contacted AppleInsider said their Mac Pro is scheduled for delivery on Aug 24.

The shipments mean Apple remains on schedule — preorders for the desktop began on Aug. 9 and were said to ship in 7 to 10 business days. Thursday was 8 days after ordering began.

New orders from Apple are now scheduled to ship in 5 to 7 business days for all models — the Quad-Core, 8-Core and 12-Core powered desktops.

The upgraded desktop is available in three standard options: a quad-core 2.8GHz Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor with 3GB of RAM for $2,499; an 8-core machine with two 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Xeon “Westmere” processors and 6GB of RAM for $3,499; or a 12-core system with two 2.66GHz 6-core Intel Xeon “Westmere” processors and 6GB of RAM for $4,999.

Apple unveiled the machines in late July, but they were not yet available for customers to purchase. At the time the company said the hardware would simply be available in August, without providing a specific date.

With the latest Intel Xeon processors and up to 12 processing cores, the latest Mac Pros are up to 50 percent faster than their predecessors. They also exclusively come with ATI powered graphics, with the Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1GB of memory standard, and an upgrade option for the even faster Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of memory.

Also announced in late July but still unavailable to purchase is the new 27-inch LED Cinema Display. The hardware, which sports a 2,560-by-1,440 pixel resolution and 60 percent more screen real estate than the previous 24-inch model, is set to ship in September for $999.
Apple now shipping Mac Pro desktop preorders

Advertisers, developers say Apple’s iAd blows away competing ads

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Users who viewed Nissan’s Leaf electric car Apple iAd spent 90 seconds with the interactive advertisement — ten times longer than customers will spend with a traditional ad.

Based on those figures, Nissan has been very happy with the initial performance of Apple’s iAd network, launched in July. The car maker spoke with the Los Angeles Times and revealed that people are five times more likely to click their interactive advertisement than they are a traditional online display ad.

“We feel pretty strongly that this is the way to capitalize on where the mobile Web is heading,” Chad Jacoby, senior manager of Nissan’s media operations, reportedly said. “What iAd promises is the most aggressive thing I’ve seen to date.”

Unilever, maker of Dove shower products, said its initial advertisement proved to be successful, with 20 percent of viewers checking the ad multiple times, and a percentage in the double digits seeking further information about the product. Unilever now plans to launch a second iAd for another product line it owns, Klondike.

Following the success of initial advertisers, more companies are set to join the fray, with Campbell Soup, DirecTV, General Electric and Sears said to be working on their own iAds. Those companies will help Apple to take up more than half of the mobile advertising market in 2010, as the company has secured more than $60 million over the next six months.

Developers, too, have found success with the new iAd platform. Dictionary.com told the Times that the amount it charges for ad space in its mobile advertisement increased 177 percent since Apple launched iAds. In addition, CBS Mobile has seen up to $25 CPM (an advertising term that means cost per thousand) in its applications for CBS Sports, CNet and GameSpot.

iAds aim to provide richly interactive ad experiences inside developers’ apps, providing them a 60 percent cut of the advertising revenue. The hope is the advertisements — noted by the iAd logo in the corner — will be more compelling to users, because they don’t have to leave their app and launch a browser to view them.

iAd advertisements act more like full-blown applications, complete with features like videos, interactive games, and the ability to find information such as local stores or product availability.

Apple plans to use iAd as a program to incentivize App Store development, and does not expect to turn a great profit from its new advertising business, made possible due to the purchase of Quattro Wireless for $275 million.
Advertisers, developers say Apple’s iAd blows away competing ads

Apple obtains exclusive rights to custom, super-durable metal alloy

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:20:00 +0000

Apple has entered into an exclusive agreement to utilize amorphous metal alloys with unique atomic structures, allowing products that are stronger, lighter, and resistant to wear and corrosion, AppleInsider has learned.

The metal alloys owned by Liquidmetal Technologies were developed by a research team at the California Institute of Technology, and their amorphous, non-crystalline structure makes them harder than alloys of titanium or aluminum. Introduced for commercial applications in 2003 through the Delaware-based Liquidmetal corporation, the product has been used to create technology for the U.S. Department of Defense, has been found in medical equipment, and is even used to create sporting goods like tennis raquets and golf clubs.

In a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week, Liquidmetal Technologies indicated that it had granted all of its intellectual property assets to Apple. According to the terms of the deal, Apple was awarded “a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercial such intellectual property in the field of electronic products in exchange for a license fee.”

Though the licensing agreement grants Apple exclusive use in consumer electronics, Liquidmetal is still allowed to license its products to other companies for any use outside of markets where Apple competes, meaning its deals with defense contractors, sports equipment manufacturers and medical suppliers are likely to remain intact.

The agreement was made on Aug. 5, and was revealed to the SEC on Monday. It was signed by Larry Buffington, president and CEO of Liquidmetal Technologies.

The company’s official website gives examples of where Liquidmetal’s products were used in portable electronics in the past. It touts that Liquidmetal alloys are 2.5 times the strength of commonly used titanium alloy and 1.5 times the hardness of stainless steel found in portable electronic devices. The technology is said to allow for thinner, smaller design while offering greater protection for internal components, and giving users a scratch and corrosion resistant exterior.

“As the demand for product ‘miniaturization’ continues in the electronic casings industry, Liquidmetal alloys enable smaller, thinner and more durable designs,” the company’s website reads. “Current casings technology is pushed to the limit in supporting these new designs and specifications, especially requirements for larger LCD screens, thinner wall sections and pure metallic surface finishes for products such as mobile phones, PDA’s and cameras.”

Past devices where Liquidmetal’s technology was utilized include the Nokia Vertu smartphone, Sandisk Sansa media player, and Sandisk U3 Smart thumb drives. The product was also used to create strong hinge components for devices like flip smartphones.

Apple’s interest in a company like Liquidmetal is no surprise, given its constant desire to create smaller and thinner devices. Apple has also employed a unibody design in its portable computers, beginning in early 2008 with the MacBook Air.

The precision unibody enclosures are milled from a single extruded block of aluminum, allowing devices like the MacBook Pro to become thinner while maintaining a rigid, sturdy frame. Previously, the frames of Apple’s notebooks were made from multiple parts. Now, raw aluminum is carved out using CNC, or “computer numerical control” machines.
Apple obtains exclusive rights to custom, super-durable metal alloy

Saudi Arabia announces it will block BlackBerry service Friday

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:20:00 +0000

Saudi Arabia announces it will block BlackBerry service Friday

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:20:00 +0000

Publishers frustrated as Apple blocks iPad subscriptions

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:10:00 +0000

Powerchute-Swing Faster, Hit Farther

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:53:34 +0000

Powerchute is a new training tool on the market that helps improve a golfer’s swing. It is one of the most effective swing trainers ever engineered to increase club head speed. For anyone who has ever used it, including some of the pros, they’ve all been able to improve their swing with it, even if its only a few mile faster. The Powerchute has been designed to attach and swivel freely on the trailing side of the shaft. This patented technology ensures that the chute will create resistance only in the appropriate locations throughout the swing. World long drive champions, tour players, and recreational players have all used Powerchute to increase their club head speed. Now, any golfer new or old, right-handed or left-handed, can use Powerchute.

It is a lightweight attachment that hooks on to the shaft of a golf club. It’s made to generate resistance at the shaft and club head to speed up your swing and drive the ball further. The chute itself is made up of durable polyurethane waterproof nylon, and the edges are stitched for extra durability. There are clips at both ends that allow the chute to swivel around the shaft 180-degrees creating resistance only in the locations needed throughout the swing. The tethers that hold on to the chute are made of steel wire for extra durability, coated in black nylon.

It improves your sequencing the more you use it, and you will also feel your body and your torso start working. Feeling your body move and work like it hasn’t before with this chute, it will help you gain consistency with your swings. How it works is that when driving, resistance promotes proper sequencing, which then develops lag. The combination of sequencing and lag is how you efficiently create club head speed through the hitting zone. The convenient thing about it is that it weighs next to nothing, so you can bring it wherever you’d like to play, and it will fit just about every golf club out there. It also keeps golfers from releasing the club too early. Most of the reason why most beginner golfers have a heard time making solid contact with the ball is when it is on a tight lie and there is a lack of distance. These golfers’ clubheads pass the hands before making contact with the ball, making the clubface loftier, and more impossible to impact the ball off of a tight surface.

It can benefit just about every player out there from recreational golfers to Tour players. For the recreational golfers, it helps improve their sequencing, movement and balance techniques, and it helps improve their clubhead speed. Increased clubhead speed can also be improved for more advanced players and more. Powerchute can increase torso rotation through the ball and follow-through. If your balance isn’t perfect, no matter what rank golf player you are, you can pinpoint your errors. The chute provides you with a maximized idea of what you’re doing wrong, giving you every opportunity to fix it.

Imagine what Powerchute can do for you.

NASCAR: Listening to the Roar of Fans

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:43:22 +0000

On Sunday, October 25, 2009, I sat in the stands at the Tums Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia with my eyes glued to the scene unfolding before me as the roar of 43 super-charged, racing machines circled the short-track 500 times, traveling at speeds of 90-plus miles per hour, much of it bumper-to-bumper, touching side-to-side.

Having grown up going to the races with my dad, I knew a day at the Speedway would be beyond loud and that excited fans would cheer their fav drivers with a fervor akin to the defense of home and country. But, at that moment, amidst the deafening thunder as the cars streaked by in front of me, I did not know that what I was seeing had anything to do with NASCAR's ability to listen.

The fact is that NASCAR took the “checkered flag” for “B2C Listening,” a category in the 2009 Forrester Groundswell Awards in the Business to Consumer Division. By working with Vision Critical to create the NASCAR Fan Council - a community of 12,000 fans - they were able to triple the amount of research done and reduce those costs by 80%. Out of this B2C, or business to consumer, research came the suggestion by the Fan Council to allow the line-up for race restarts to be double-file instead of the traditional single-file.

NASCAR accepted this suggestion and, in an unprecedented move, implemented the change mid-season. As a spectator, I was thrilled to see the cars in a double line-up as they followed the pace car waiting for the caution to be lifted. It made the mood more intense, the roar louder, and left us as anxious as the drivers for the race to resume. As a fan, not on a council, I was glad NASCAR had been listening.