Schogini

Will the holiday season heading towards full swing, and all the recent data about the astonishing rate of adoption of the iPad (faster than any other new technology before it) we can guess that sales up to Christmas time will only further push this tablet device towards ubiquitous status. And, in my discussions with other GeekDads and GeekMoms and ongoing exploration of the device in our own home I am comfortable now with the idea that the iPad is the closest we have yet come to a ìfamily computerî.

We only have one device in our household, and it is in high demand. I use it for different work functions, the children not only have games and educational apps, but have been using it to read their favorite comics. It is used in the kitchen when we decide to try a new recipe and the ease with which it can be handed around amongst friends at a dinner party is one use that has shocked me. I never imagined a screen-based device enhancing engagement amongst a group of people, but the iPad now comes out as soon as someone says ìhave you seen that Youtube video where {insert description here]?î.

With that in mind, and for those who are looking at treating someone in the family or even the whole family to some iPad love this Christmas. What are the apps that populate your family iPad at home? Letís leave out the standard apps that come with the device and branch out into what you have been downloading. Below the fold are some of the apps that get a lot of use on our family iPad, please feel free to add your own favorites and suggestions in the comments section.Games

For more details log on to : http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/11/top-12-apps-for-your-family-christmas-ipad/

A magazine app from Danish company Mediaprovider has been rejected from Apple’s App store because it featured exclusive content about the Android operating system, Media Watch has said.
Although Google’s platform is in competition with Apple’s, it stirs up accusations that Apple’s censorship is too far-reaching and hypocritical. There’s already an Android news app available in the App Store called Androidworld Reader, as well as various apps that have content about other operating systems. But Mediaprovider’s Brian Dixen told Media Watch that his app, Android Magasinet, was rejected primarily for its Android-focused content.
“It’s funny really because I don’t think we would sell many magazines on Android through Apple App Store, but the question is where this is going,” said Dixen, who thinks that Apple is too heavy-handed with its censorship.
Dixen has had other apps published in the App Store with no problem, he said. Both iPhone Magasinet and Gear, apps that deal with iPhone info and news about consumer electronics respectively, are both available for download.
Apple also blocks all apps that contain any kind of nudity, even those that are educational.
This isn’t the only area in which Apple has been criticized for its censorship. The iPhone ignores all language that Apple has deemed foul in text messages as well.
Apple confirmed on Monday that its App Store now has more than 300,000 apps. That means that since the store’s inception in 2008, more than seven billion apps have been downloaded.
Both Apple and Google helped boost smartphone sales this year. Worldwide mobile device sales are up 35 percent this quarter. The Android platform is the number two operating system with about a 37 percent share of the market. iOS comes in at number three with about 16 percent of the market.

Original Post from : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2373502,00.asp

Apple’s new MacBook Air, launched in the U.S. at Apple’s Back to the Mac event last month, has finally started appearing in retail stores and Apple resellers across India. This includes both the MacBook Air models: the improved 13-inch model and the all new 11-inch MacBook Air ultraportable.

The MacBook Air is a high-end, premium ultraportable laptop — competing against the likes of the Dell Adamo XPS, Sony VAIO Z, and other stylish thin laptops.

Apart from being thin and light (especially the 11-inch model), the new MacBook Air ultraportables don’t feature a spinning drive or an SSD slotted inside. Instead, both the new MacBook Air models sport on-board (soldered onto the motherboard) Flash storage: spanning from 64GB all the way up to 256GB. Both the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models sport Intel Core 2 Duo processors and Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics.

MacBook Air: Price, Availability
The 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air will be available through the Apple Authorized Resellers in India. The 1.4-GHz 11-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage starts at a price of Rs. 60,900 with a 128GB model for Rs. 72,900. The 1.86 GHz 13-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starts at a price of Rs. 79,900 with a 256GB model availabe for Rs. 98,900. Configure-to-order options and accessories include faster processors, 4GB of memory, MacBook Air SuperDrive and a USB Ethernet Adapter.

Tip: Students are eligible for certain discounts on Mac purchases. So if you think MacBooks are costly, this should (hopefully) ease the blow on your pocket.

Original Post from : http://www.pcworld.in/news/macbook-air-11-inch-13-inch-comes-india-41592010

Apparently Apple’s approval system for iPhone applications likens single-station radio programs to fart apps, now. Developer DJBApps had attempted to submit 10 apps to the App Store and had them all rejected, being cited secion 2.20 of the developer agreement: “Developers ‘spamming’ the App Store with many versions of similar apps will be removed from the iOS Developer Program.” Even an appeal directly to His Steveness received a typically-terse “Sorry, we’ve made our decision.” If they had put all of the stations into the same app, the situation would have been a little different.

To be fair, the App Store certainly has a spam problem, and you can hardly blame them for wanting to prune the tree, as it were. However, completely innocent apps have often been caught in the crossfire, like that political cartoon app, Google Voice, and Grooveshark.

I’m really not a fan of this development since I hit up WeFunk Radio on my iPod Touch pretty regularly, and as a small community-supported station, I really wouldn’t expect them to release (let alone have the resources to develop) a multi-station funk music app. DJBApps brings up a lot of valid points, like Apple won’t allow metadata to mention competing mobile platforms, but they expect radio stations to play nice and squeeze in together under one app. There’s also not much of a case for duplicate functionality, since these radio stations target vastly different audiences. In the end, if Apple sticks by this rule, it’s no real skin off my nose – it just means we’ll see an exodus of quality apps to the other more reasonable app stores offered by BlackBerry, Android, Palm, and Microsoft.

Original Post from : http://www.intomobile.com/2010/11/25/apple-rejecting-single-station-radio-iphone-apps/

The next software update for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch could be released as early as next month, according to reports.

Apple could release the next version of its iOS operating system in December, according to rumours.
The timing of the update would be unusual, given that Apple has only just released iOS 4.2, which has added features such as wireless music streaming and printing.
Speculation is rife that the iOS 4.3 update will bring a new application subscription service, and could tie in with the launch of The Daily, an iPad-only newspaper from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation

According to reports, Apple is expected to hold a press conference about the iOS update on Dec 9, with the new software made available four days later.
Murdoch is expected to join Apple’s chief executive, Steve Jobs, on stage for the announcement.
The News Corporation owner has already given some details about The Daily, the launch of which is being watched closely by other newspaper organisations as they seek to develop their digital strategies.
“The Daily will launch in beta mode sometime around Christmas,” Murdoch told Fox Business. “It will be introduced to the public on the iPad and other tablet devices in early 2011.” Subscription to the publication is expected to cost 99c (65p) per week.
The release of iOS 4.2 had been planned for early November, but a number of bugs discovered in the code needed to be fixed before the update could be made generally available.
Apple said it would not comment on the rumours surrounding the possible release date of iOS 4.3.

Original post from : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8157646/Apple-to-launch-iOS-4.3-in-December.html

Google had indicated that it will make it mandatory for developers to add content ratings for all apps in Android Market. On the official Android Developer blog, the company noted that the content ratings will provide users with additional information to help them select the best applications for them. In the past, Apple has faced troubled waters with the un-rated sleazy content in the iOS Apps. Hence, with iOS 3.0 update implementation, Apple has made it mandatory for developers to give appropriate rating to apps.

Content ratings are important and an easy way to separate the apps meant for mature audience only. With update in Android Market Developer Content Policy, we believe, Google is actually preparing for the launch of Android 2.3 Gingerbread update. In the coming weeks, Android App Developers will have to provide any of the four content rating levels – All, Pre-teen, Teen and Mature. For more details about each rating level, check out this link.

With Gingerbread 2.3 on the anvil, Google is once again indirectly preaching the “do no evil” ideology. Content ratings will relieve concerned parents about their kids staying away from objectionable and emotionally disturbing (at least for the pre-teens) content. Google believes that the developers themselves are ultimately responsible for the content rating of an app.

The original post from : http://www.techtree.com/India/News/All_Android_Market_Apps_will_get_Content_Ratings/551-113566-580.html

Sony is a bit late to the game with this, but a Sony Reader mobile app for the iPhone and Android smartphones is headed our way in December.

An exact date hasn’t been specified, and we can only assume that these apps will be free. (Buying books, naturally, will not be.)

What we do know from the landing page with limited information is that users will be able to buy bestsellers and new releases directly from the smartphone and access e-books purchased from the Sony Reader Store from multiple devices.
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Original Post from : http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/sony-reader-app-for-iphone-android-coming-in-december/20273

Skyfire has updated its Android app to bring in a variety of social-networking features, most of which focus on Facebook. The company also enhanced its iPhone app – which brings Flash to iOS devices – and rolled it out in several more countries.
Skyfire 3.0 for Android adds Facebook Connect to the browsing app. In a video demo (below), Jason Guesman, senior vice president of sales and marketing, joked that the updated version is really “Skyfire Facebook edition.”
“It truly is a browser for the social-networking generation,” he said.
What’s new? Basically, Skyfire has added Facebook components to its “Skybar” – the menu bar running along the bottom of the app. There are several new icons, including the “popular” option, which will tell you if people on Facebook are talking about content on a particular site. If you’re on the New York Times Web site, for example, click the “popular” icon, and Skyfire 3.0 will analyze the site to see if anyone on Facebook has posted links or discussed anything on NYT.com. Content posted by friends will show up at the top of the page, Guesman said.
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The next Apple iPhone won’t have a SIM card, Apple has reportedly assured untrusting European carriers that are worried such a development would damage their bottom lines.

Apple has told several European carriers that the iPhone 5, due out in mid-2011, will not include a subscriber identity module, better known as a SIM card, the Financial Times reported Nov. 22, citing “people close to the operators.”

It was first reported by GigaOm in October that Apple was working with Gemalto, a manufacturer of SIM cards, to create a SIM for the iPhone.
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Liquid Comics, an entertainment company founded by three Indians, has announced the digital iPad release of “Untouchable”, an original graphic novel exploring various themes of racial prejudice during the British Raj with a supernatural horror twist.
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