#BookLoversDay

Books are awesome stuff and nowadays they come in electronic forms, too!

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar - Bright Future

You've pretty much read about the new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar and Touch ID on every corner of the web so lets not get there. I've had no intention to write anything about it but this Cult of Mac post sure peaked my interest! A modified version of watchOS is actually powering the Touch Bar and Touch ID independently under the hood. I suppose this makes sense why the price of the new laptop got to be more expensive than it already was.

What's even more interesting was that this revelation prompted me to revisit the post "Here’s why Apple will never give MacBook a touchscreen" that I've read moments before the one mentioned above. Sir Jony Ive:

“In our view this is a big, big step forward. It is a new system architecture, and it allows us to then create many things to come, things that we can’t envision yet.”

It's integration of macOS and watchOS (and to a certain extent, iOS) but not in the way that boring companies would do. Dual boot is so yesterday! I'm excited all over again about the future of the Mac (and for that matter, iOS devices) indeed!

Updated Doomsday Prediction?

I guess the doomsday visualised in the Terminator series need an update. The evil AI could very well be borne out of smartphones.

WhatsApp - Abused and Misused

Seriously, there's really nothing wrong with WhatsApp (or any messenger apps) but it's how society abuse it. Had I complained about this before? I can't remember. If I had this shows how much I really hate how some people use it.

A little background: WhatsApp had become THE messenger app of the century because of its popularity in the mobile world. I had tried others such as Line, Viber and WeChat and deleted all of them except WhatsApp because I can't stand all the notifications coming from everywhere.

Since smartphones conquered the world, people had resorted to WhatsApp instead of SMS because mobile data, though most of the time finite, is still perceived to be cheaper than charges per message (I guess to the point where telcos had started to offer unlimited calls and SMS in their packages). Wifi is generously available everywhere, too.

I can't begin to complain about how e-mails were abused but that was the past. The present invasion of mobile messengers is a much more pressing issue!!! Since my nature of work deals with a lot of projects simultaneously, co-workers and bosses have this love to create group chats for each project, sometimes even duplicates because they forgot they created one in the first place! Imagine my battery life wears out by noon just because of these chats!

As if calls way after work hours and weekends were not enough, messages about work just keep popping up in the notification center. Argh! And this prompted me to create the following parody of a real scenario. Poor victim of society tried to quit one of those above mentioned group chats but keep getting invited. Well, at least I had fun doing that.

ps. I never knew Apple's "Do Not Disturb" mode could come in so darn handy these days! At last, peace on earth once again, even if only for just a few hours. I am sane again.

Advances in Space Travels

Embed from Getty Images

Space, the final frontier, they say. For all we know (barring all those governmental conspiracies) there had not been anyway for humans to go that far but there had always been theories. Some of these theories are starting to materialise and look promising:

1. Photonic Propulsion

With a large, reflective sail, it would be "possible to generate enough momentum to accelerate a spacecraft" via lasers pulsing light from the surface of the Earth.

Just 3 days to Mars and another 3 days back. Wow.

2. Antimatter Rockets

Another cool theory would be using antimatter rockets with energy created when positrons and electrons come into contact to power spacecrafts. Speed can go up to 72 million miles per hour.

via WIRED.co.uk

Cyborg Plants

If you think the Terminator days are still far away or even just pure fiction, think again. It's all happening, just that not the way depicted in the movies...

first, the the researchers introduce a synthetic polymer called PEDOT-S into the rose through its stem. The plant sucks up the polymer using the same vascular system (xylem) that transports water. Once inside xylem channels, the polymer self-assembles into an “wire” that conducts electrical signals, while still allowing water and nutrients to move around. By connecting these wires with naturally-occurring electrolytes in the plant’s tissue, the researchers are able to create an electrochemical transistor, as well as a digital logic gate, a basic component of computer systems.

Every story has a beginning...

via Gizmodo.

A Glimpse of the Future

From awesome free and unlimited cloud storage to the presence of the internet of things in everything, to printing everything with 3D printers and the imminent rise of blockchain tech, to the return of the shrinking mobile phone as implants and more that I couldn't begin to comprehend, the future can be exciting... and scary.

Based on what I've seen on CSI: Cyber, it will also be easier for dark forces to rule the future.

via The Business Insider.

My 2 Minutes with the iPhones 6S and 6S Plus

View image | gettyimages.com

What can one do when one craves for a iPhone 6S but holding back because of the high price courtesy of weakening Ringgit and introduction of GST? Well, one would visit a reseller and at least hold the phones for a few moments!

Besides holding and admiring the rose gold 6S and silver 6S Plus, the other thing I did was to test out 3D Touch. The expected Haptic feedback was really solid. A little of peek and pop here and there. The next thing I tried was to switch between apps using 3D Touch by pressing deeper on the left of the screen. First time didn't work but the second time it happened. Not 100% intuitive, then, but good enough to spawn rumours that the home button is on its way out.

I had to hit myself when I realised that I've forgotten to test out how deep pressing would turn the software keyboard into a trackpad (similar to touching the keyboard on the iPad with two fingers). Unfortunately, I was already miles away from the store. Another time, then.

Concluding: While I was all excited over how Apple introduced 3D Touch during the keynote, I left the store feeling both Apple and developers have yet to squeeze out the technology’s full potential. There are still some ways from "cool to have" to a "must have". But don’t get me wrong. If I have got the money, I’d get one and being masculine and all, I’d get the rose gold one. :P

A Villa in Days

Here's how to build a double storey villa. Prefabricate modular pieces off-site using 3D printing and then assemble at site in less than 3 hours. All done in 10 days vs. half a year while being able to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. Fireproof. Environmental friendly. That's technology. That's a progressive China.

via Inhabitat.

Polaroid Cube/Cube+

View image | gettyimages.com

I got all excited when I first heard of the Polaroid Cube and subsequently, the follow-up Cube+. It's small, it's US$100 (US$150 for the Cube+), it takes videos and photos, it's small, lightweight, shockproof and weatherproof. The Cube+ even makes up for the original's shortfall, that is it comes with Wifi and accompanying app for iOS and Android that allows the smartphones to be the viewfinder (the Cube/Cube+ do not have any means of a display). Sounds like it's got everything that a guy that's interested in photography and some video should get one to play with.

Unfortunately, after reading the reviews here and here, and after my mind started to cool off, I can't find any reasons for me to consider one. Video quality not too good, no stabiliser, and photo quality can be better. Sadly and most importantly, no spare cash. No doubt that if I have loads of cash, I would surely acquire one to just go around snapping photos at random. Would be interesting to see what the results could be at the end of the day when I plug it in.

Well, this toy is just not for me... yet.

The Cons of In-App Purchase... in Self-Driving Cars

I hate the in-app purchase concept and Volvo took it too far. While the car can self-park and all, the feature that detects pedestrians is a separate purchase. Glad to know there were no serious injuries in the incident featured below.

via Inhabitat.

It won't be "Apple forever", just like how IBM never was.

View image | gettyimages.com

Interesting read from The New York Times - a reminder that no company thrives infinitely and, in the business world, enemies don't stay as enemies forever - putting the world's largest company in the spotlight and comparing it with its once behemoth of a nemesis, IBM.

With hindsight, it’s clear that IBM’s Olympian status was part of its problem. In the 1980s, at the height of its powers, it continued to come up with scientific breakthroughs and ultrafast computers, but its focus on its own product lines and customer service flagged. IBM “naïvely” handed over crucial parts of the computer business to companies like Microsoft and Intel, while its own profit margins began to erode, D. Quinn Mills, a professor at the Harvard Business School, has written.  

... 

For decades now, IBM has engaged in a sometimes painful transition, and as it revealed in its quarterly earnings report last week, it is still hurting: Its revenues have declined and it has endured wrenching business shifts. My colleague Steve Lohr wrote last week that IBM has been getting out of slow-growing old businesses, like personal computers, disk drives, low-end server computers and chip manufacturing — but its new initiatives in fields like data analytics, cloud computing and mobile apps for corporate customers haven’t entirely succeeded yet. 

In a turnabout, IBM’s mobile app strategy relies on a partnership with the current giant, its old nemesis Apple. IBM is leveraging its prowess with supercomputers and artificial intelligence with a new initiative, Watson Health, that includes Apple. That alliance could help both companies grow — in Apple’s case, by ensuring that its products work more seamlessly in corporate environments where IBM is deeply entrenched. 

Rapid growth, after all, isn’t a sure thing, especially when you’re already the biggest company in the world. IBM has proved that. Sooner or later, Apple investors will have to take that lesson to heart.

The Piano Watch

The competition to make the hottest and most sought after smartwatch has started... even more so after Apple announced the Apple Watch. Here's one that matters. You can play music on it*. The battery lasts forever**. Did I mention that it tells you the time, too?

The fine print:

* if you imagine hard enough.

** relative to typical smartwatch battery life in 2014.

Pixel Density Race

It had always been THE digital camera sensor megapixel race (mostly with megapixels so high that's not necessary but instead compromised low light photography) but recently it's pixel density. Sharp has got a 4.1" screen with 736ppi. And for the future...

Sharp is working to scale the size of the screen up and keep the high pixel density right now. The goal is to produce a 6-inch screen with 4K resolution and 736ppi in the future.

via Android Community.

Why the iPod classic had to go - straight from the lion's mouth

Engadget nailed it:

"We couldn't get the parts any more," explained Tim Cook. "They don't make them any more." While the iPod Classic isn't exactly a creaky transistor radio just yet, that's how it went down. "We would have to make a whole new product.... the engineering work to do that would be massive." The difficult truth that some of you probably don't want to hear: "The number of people who wanted it is very small."

So the story is no more parts and it's not worth it to redesign it because not "many" people want it.

Hybrid Play

Once upon a time, we were all worried that kids will no longer visit playgrounds. Instead, they would stare at their parents' (or even their own, GASP!!!) PCs, smartphones or tablets (or phablets) all day. Rest assured, Hybrid Play has something that will take care of this, sort of. Merging the smartphone or other smart devices with their own "clip", children will need to physically do something to the outdoor playground play things for another thing to happen on the screen. Check out the video below and you might just breathe a sigh of relief:

The next generation is once again safe from the Wall-E phenomenon! 

via Engadget.

LCD The Great

I'm glad that someone, or rather, some professional regards the LCD screen as superior. In this post, I'm not siding this particular tech but actually stating my own opinion that I prefer screens that reproduce more natural and accurate colours.

At first sight, AMOLED (or its iterations) screens produce really nice and saturated colours but I find it dissatisfying to look at my photos on such screens in colours that differ when viewed on more accurate displays. But that's just me. B)

Thoughts triggered by Cult of Mac.

Transparent Solar Panels

Solar tech is getting more popular than ever and there are rumours that battery hungry smartphones will have solar cells built-in. This looks possible with transparent solar panels that are as clear as glass. Researchers from MSU's College of Engineering found organic materials that could be tuned:

"We can tune these materials to pick up just the ultraviolet and the near infrared wavelengths that then ‘glow’ at another wavelength in the infrared. Because the materials do not absorb or emit light in the invisible spectrum, they look exceptionally transparent to the human eye." 

Once absorbed, the light waves get trapped and guided to the edges of the plastic solar concentrator where photovoltaic cells turn them into electricity.

However, with anything new, it would take time for improvement. This particular type of solar panel currently only has 1% efficiency compared to the conventional 25%.

via Inhabitat.

Wireless Charging at its Best?

Wireless charging - not a stranger. Wireless charging through ambient sound? Sounds like an ingenious idea. If this news were to appear on 1 April I'd definitely pass it as an April Fools joke.

The prototype device was built by a team of scientists at the Queen Mary University of London, and it’s about the size of a Nokia Lumia 925, Phys.org reports. It can generate five volts of electricity using ambient sound, which is enough to keep your device topped up throughout the day and could possibly even eliminate the charger altogether.

via Cult of Android.

Modern tech masquerades as vintage typewriter keyboard

Mobile keyboard for tablets and PCs that looks, feels and sounds like a vintage typewriter! This reminds me of getting all the keys stuck when I was playing with my mom's typewriter and the amusement of typing into the platen... Nostalgic indeed!

via Android Community.