BOXX electric bike: two wheels, four corners, all-electric transport for one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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BOXX (1), (2) | Email this | CommentsOriginal Page: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/boxx-electric-bike/
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359gsm (via My Nokia Blog) recently pitted the iOS 4.3-based iPhone 4 and the iOS 5-based iPhone 4S against a Windows Phone 7.5 Mango-based Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone in various benchmark tests. In every test, both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S significantly outperform one of the best Windows Phone options on the market. This is in contrast to reports in April, prior to Mango's release, that claimed Window Phone's IE 9 on Mango devices beat mobile Safari in similar browser benchmark tests.
You can view the results in the video above or get the full results below (via 359gsm). As you can see, the iPhone 4S significantly passes the Lumia 800 in all tests, including: Browsermark tests, Speed Reading test, Sunspider, Acid3, and HTML5. The iPhone 4 also outperforms the Lumia in most tests, although by a narrower margin.
Browsermark Test: Higher is better
iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3) – 37 503
Nokia Lumia 800 (WP7.5 aka Mango) – 30 452
iPhone 4S (iOS 5) – 86 702
Speed Reading Test:
iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3) – 2 fps (iPhone 4 with iOS 5.0 – around 37 fps)
Nokia Lumia 800 (WP7.5 aka Mango) – 40 fps
iPhone 4S (iOS 5) – 60 fps
Sunspider Test: Lower is better
iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3) – 4018.2 ms
Nokia Lumia 800 (WP7.5 aka Mango) – 7188.7 ms
iPhone 4S (iOS 5) – 2266 ms
Acid3 Test:
iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3) – 100/100
Nokia Lumia 800 (WP7.5 aka Mango) – 100/100
iPhone 4S (iOS 5) – 100/100
HTML5 Test:
iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3) – 210
Nokia Lumia 800 (WP7.5 aka Mango) – 141
iPhone 4S (iOS 5) – 296
Original Page: http://9to5mac.com/?p=127281
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Apple's next iPhone is one many probably feel we've already seen in previews, since the rumor mill prior to the release of the iPhone 4S was focused more on the so-called iPhone 5. A lot of what was said about that device should probably come to pass when we do get a new iPhone next year, which Apple could well call the iPhone 5.
A release in fall is probably in the cards, since Apple would gain little by releasing a new iPhone in the early summer so soon after unveiling the iPhone 4S, so it's hard to pin down anything definite about the device at this point; a lot can change in mobile in nearly a year, after all. But there are a few safe bets regarding Apple's next smartphone.
First, expect an A6 processor, possibly quad-core, powering the device. Also, a larger screen and a new physical case design are almost guaranteed. I don't think Apple would go the route of the Android-makers with anything gigantic, but a respectable 4-inch display seems likely. And while LTE still isn't a guarantee, it's a good bet for 2012. Near-field communication (NFC) is less certain to make the cut, since that tech still has a long way to go before (if) it goes mainstream.
Making predictions about Apple's iPod line is definitely tough. The media player got virtually no changes in 2011 compared to 2010, and its impact on Apple's overall revenue picture continues to dwindle. The iPod touch is still an important part of the lineup, but even its future might become a question sometime in the next couple of years.
In 2012, I see Apple finally putting its iPod classic to rest, and maybe the shuffle, too. The iPod touch will likely get the spec bump it missed this year, bringing it closer to the current iPhone 4S in terms of wireless radios and processing power, and possibly a physical redesign, too. The real question mark, and maybe Apple's greatest opportunity to shake up the media player market, is the iPod nano.
Users have been looking for an update that brings Bluetooth on-board with the diminutive nano, making it compatible with wireless headphones (better when worn on the wrist) and possibly enabling a live data connection between it and the iPhone. I suspect that Apple skipped a proper update for the nano this year because it's actually working on making the nano the perfect connected companion for the iPhone, thanks to Bluetooth 4.0 tech, but we'll see in 2012 whether or not that's the case.
Rumors about the iPad 3 are already swirling, since it seems on track for an early 2012 release. I think we'll see it arrive around the same time as last year's iPad 2, so between February and March, complete with the Retina Display users have been looking for since the iPhone 4′s release.
What else will the iPad 3 offer? That's a good question, and one that hasn't really been addressed all that much in early reports. Its features will be dictated largely by what the market demands, which shouldn't be much judging by the current tablet market picture. In 2011, Apple ruled the tablet market without a real competitor in sight. In 2012, it will have low-cost alternatives nipping at its heels, but it still isn't looking at any competitors who are truly shaking up the space.
As a result, I'd expect to see an iPad 3 that resembles its predecessor in most regards, with the aforementioned improved screen, as well as a slimmer design and maybe a longer lasting battery. Apple has the right recipe for success in other regards, and the iPad 3 isn't really crying out for camera improvements or additional wireless tech. Adoption of Bluetooth 4.0 is probably also on tap, as well as an upgraded A6 processor, but I wouldn't expect much else.
Instead of making dramatic changes or additions to the iPad, expect Apple to offer a low-cost option in the form of the iPad 2, likely limited to either 8 or 16 GB of onboard storage. And as much as I and Kevin admire the smaller, 7-inch form factor, I think Apple might keep that one in reserve for at least another year.
In 2012, iDevices won't be the only devices getting big upgrades. Apple's Mac division is still a big revenue driver for the company, and in the new year I expect them to focus on the products that will have the biggest role in the future of computing. The MacBook Air is the crucial device here, but iMacs, too, should be in for big changes.
The MacBook Air is Apple's most forward-looking Mac, and it has plenty of room to grow. In 2011, the 11- and 13-inch form factors got even better thanks to much-needed processor upgrades and the addition of Thunderbolt tech. In 2012, I expect Apple to expand the line as it moves to push aside the MacBook Pro in terms of its importance to Apple's notebook offerings. So a 15-inch Air is likely, as well as more substantial improvements to the 11- and 13-inch devices, aimed at shoring up their remaining weaknesses: battery life and storage. Higher resolution displays are another definite possibility.
As Apple's strongest desktop product, expect iMacs to get significant updates in 2012, both externally and on the inside, too. The current iMac case design is getting a little long in the tooth, and is overdue for an update. Intel has new processors that will likely make their way into Macs in the works, and we should see them in the second quarter of 2012, so expect new iMacs around then, too. Other changes might include high-res displays like those that could make their way to the notebook line, and solid state storage as the default option on some models.
As to the rest of the Mac line, I'd expect to see upgrades for the Mac mini, but not necessarily any big improvements for the Mac Pro. Apple is clearly focusing on consumer products, and it could let its more powerful desktops languish again as a result.
It's the last big question mark for Apple's 2012 plans, the mythical iTV. I think we'll see Apple make its move here, and introduce a television set late in the year, complete with a full App Store, Siri controls and iCloud support. Whether or not we'll see its set-top Apple TV gets a similar upgrade strikes me as less certain, but since it could act as a gateway device the way the iPod touch does for the iPhone and iPad, I think we'll see that, too.
This is the rough roadmap I see in place for Apple's 2012 product plans. Predicting Apple's plans is likely a fool's game, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. Let us know what you think is coming out of Cupertino in the comments.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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Original Page: http://gigaom.com/apple/apples-2012-what-the-year-in-idevices-and-macs-will-look-like/
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I always considered myself a pretty big Apple fan, but this event seems to bring out the most hard-core fanboys. Back in 2010 I tried to queue for a lucky bag, arriving at the store at 5am only to find that overnight campers had filled all the spots. This year the bag cost 33000 yen (about $430), and most customers are hoping that there will be a big ticket item inside like an iPad 2 or a Macbook Air.Japanese blog Macotakara posts a gallery of photos showing the contents of several lucky bags, with the biggest prize being an 11-inch MacBook Air bundled with a sleeve for the computer, a Magic Mouse, and a pair of headphones. Other lucky bags shown in the gallery offered either a 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 or an 8 GB iPod touch as the main item.
Original Page: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/01/02/japanese-apple-fans-line-up-for-annual-lucky-bag-discounts/
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Why is it that you can never find a pen when you need one? And though the iPad doesn't ship with a stylus, if you do much sketching or digital note-taking, they're handy to have around. But it's annoying having to carry around a pen and a stylus at the same time, and constantly switching between the two. The Kensington Virtuoso Metro Stylus and Pen solves this conundrum by combining both into one handy do-everything writing utensil.
The Virtuoso is solid, and comfortable to write with.
Kensington's Virtuoso looks and feels like a regular pen. On one end, it's a ballpoint pen, and on the other it's a stylus with a tip that works with capacitive touchscreens like your iOS device. On paper it writes in black ink, and on an iPad or Mac trackpad, it produces smooth lines for signatures, sketches, and whatever else you need. The Virtuoso is a bit heavier than your standard black Sharpie, but it feels just as organic between your fingers as any other writing instrument. And as an added bonus, you can replace the ink cartridge when it runs out. Unfortunately, the width of the stylus tip is too big for detailed sketching -- don't expect any fine lines. If the tip were a bit narrower, we'd undoubtedly find more reasons to use it, and have cleaner notes as a result.
The bottom line. The Virtuoso is a handy utility for the multi-tasking professional or student who needs to sign both physical and virtual documents, but budding iPad artists should steer clear and invest in something better suited to their needs.
Product:
Virtuoso Metro Stylus and Pen
Company:
Contact:
Price:
Requirements:
iOS device or MacBook with trackpad
Positives:
Replaceable ink cartridge. Comfortable to write with for prolonged periods of time.
Negatives:
Stylus tip a little too big for precise sketching.
Original Page: http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/kensington_virtuoso_metro_stylus_and_pen_review
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iOS app developer and hacker extraordinaire Steve Troughton-Smith has managed to get iPhone and iPad apps running full screen on an Apple TV. It's not pretty, but it works, and iPad apps look pretty decent when blown up onto a larger screen.
The hack is running on a jailbroken Apple TV (using the standard Season Pass jailbreak), and uses MobileX, an alternate window manager for iOS (Springboard is the name of the one Apple uses). This lets the Apple TV, which is also running iOS, launch and run any iOS apps.
Troughton Smith's current version uses a combination of SSH, VNC and the Apple remote itself to control things, which is awkward at best. He is working to make it Apple remote-only, though.
The video shows MobileX easily coping with the Maps app, along with Facebook and (after a crash) YouTube. Clearly the little Apple box is capable of big things.
This is a neat hack, to be sure, but raises a big question: How can you control a touch-screen app without a touch screen? There is no cursor in iOS, and many gestures which are natural for touch (scrolling, zooming) are sure to be excruciating using a remote control. Clearly, the Apple TV will never officially run current App Store apps any more than the iPad can run Mac apps.
Still, this hack would be worth having just to run things like the MLB iPad app, and other video-streaming apps. Let's hope Troughton Smith releases a public version soon.
Fullscreen iPad apps on AppleTV [Steve Troughton Smith/YouTube via MacDaddy News]
Original Page: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/apple-tv-hacked-to-run-ios-apps-full-screen/
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Give your feet space to live freely under your desk, with the Plug Hub
Sitting at your desk? Try wiggling your feet. At the very best, you will have snagged a toe on at least one stray power cable snaking around under there. At the very worst, you are now cursing my name because you just yanked the mains cable from your computer. Sorry.
Thankfully, there is a solution. It's called the Plug Hub, and it comes from the design-by-comittee (but in a good way) company, Quirky. The Plug Hub, invented by one Jared Joyce of Montana, is a box to tackle tangles. The case consists of a small closet-like compartment which overhangs an open base–it looks a lot like an espresso machine or soft-drink dispenser. The power strip sits on the base and the wires from the desk above dangle down through three holes on top.
Once inside the box, longer cable can be wrapped around winding posts, and when all is tidy, you just plug them into the strip below.
It's neat, simple and ingenious. My first though was that it should close down to cover the strip itself, but the enemy of cable wrangling is complexity. Plus, you can always quickly plug a guest device into a spare port on the strip while ignoring the rest of the box.
I test a lot of gadgets, so I have resigned myself to a life lived in a rats nest of plastic and wire. But for the better organized, $29 isn't much to pay for a desk under which you can wiggle your feet with freedom.
Plug Hub project page [Quirky]
Original Page: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/plug-hub-corrals-cables-declutters-cubicles/
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Original Page: http://iphone4.tw/forums/showthread.php?t=163591
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Original Page: http://iphone4.tw/forums/showthread.php?t=163599
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Original Page: http://chinese.engadget.com/2012/01/05/broadcom-first-gigabit-speed-802-11ac-wireless-chipset/
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%u7E7C%u7E8C%u95B1%u8B80%u5168%u6587 Wi-Spi 直升機與侵入者遙控車玩具：準備好開始你的偵察任務了嗎！
Original Page: http://chinese.engadget.com/2012/01/09/wi-spi-helicopter-and-intruder-rc-toys-put-the-childlike-wonder/
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Nova Development 公司推出了 Mac Superbundle 軟體包，包含了Parallels 7和其他九套，總價值471美金的軟體，現在只要特價49美金。雖然軟體包裡的軟體不見得是您所常用的，也不見得需要，但這次光Parallels 7一套軟體，就算值回票價了，如果有需要的朋友，可別錯過了，Mac Superbundle特價10天。
Original Page: http://www.macuknow.com/node/14956
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Enter the Sigma 4.5mm fisheye. This lens is built for cropped sensors, giving them a full 180° field of view withing a single frame. To achieve this field of view, the front element protrudes from the front metal of the lens, giving it the typical fisheye look. There is a focus ring and a distance scale, plus a small switch for manual or automatic focus. Because of the short focus distance and the overall size of the camera, the nearest in focus object can be as close as .75"/`19mm.
With a lens like this, a whole new world of images becomes possible. Shooting objects close is an easy subject as well as circles. Shooting converging lines takes on a new dimension as well as the night sky (which is one of the original intentions behind the development of the lens; atmospheric photography). I have some sample images later in the post to give you more ideas of how this lens can be used as well as the quality of the images.
I took this lens with me and my Canon 7D on a six week trip to Asia covering photo tours in Nepal and Bhutan as well as a personal week spent in India. I want to thank BorrowLenses.com for the lend of the lens.
While in the field, I found the lens as comfortable as any other to hold and transport. It comes with a rear lens cap as well as a hood and lens cap for the front. Because of the bulging nature of the front lens, the lens hood (felted on the inside to create a firm attachment with the lens when in use) is needed to hold a cap. Additional filters can be used with this hood attached (72mm) if a narrowed version of the spherical world is okay.
Shooting with the lens is no different than shooting with any other lens. It opens to f/2.8 and can get seriously close to subjects. This helps as shooting with a fisheye point of view can be challenging. Getting close to the subject and helping it dominate the field of view, while still giving the viewer some place to 'go' in the picture, is even more exaggerated with this lens than with a standard wide angle.
Video with the lens can be interesting. Side moving objects go from small to large in the middle to small again and it can be a bit odd for some viewers. Images shot straight forward, backward or straight up give a good full view of the action. For some additional tips on shooting with this lens, I have written a post on Photo Tuts+ (and I'm sorry most of it is a Premium article, that wasn't my choice) that describes 14 different scenarios when this lens would be useful.
You may be asking what that blue ring is around some of the images. It is flare caused by the extreme angle of the lens. It is normal and can be easily remedied which a circular crop.
Click on any sample to see a full sized view.
Shadows of Swayambanath Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tengboche Monastery and Mt. Everest, Tengboche, Nepal
Window To The World, Jaipur, India
Bath Room Floor, Amber Fort, Jaipur, India
Taj Mahal, Agra, India
The Milky Way From Phobjika Valley, Bhutan
Looking Up, Paro Dzong, Bhutan
So Much Stone, Red Fort, Delhi, India
Patterns, Amber Fort, Jaipur, India
Picture Of A Picture, Phobjika Valley, Bhutan
Kathmandu From Dharahara Tower, Nepal
Weavers In Thimphu, Bhutan
Weavers In Thimphu, Bhutan
Rice Field, Punakha, Bhutan
Prayer Wheels, Paro Dzong, Bhutan
Swayambanath Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal
Dzokyos On A Himalayan Trail, Nepal
Khumbu Glacier, Lobuche, Nepal
The Simga 4.5mm Fisheye is a treat to use and produces some stunning images. While use of standard front mounted filters limits the overall coverage, the fact that the field of view is so large negates the effectiveness of most options (NOTE: Filters can be used in the rear area of the lens but this was not tested). This produces a freeing effect as the filter needs to be used, mostly, as is, greatly simplifying image captures and focusing the photographer on creative use.
The lens does take some learning before stunning images emerge, but that curve isn't long. It's important to give yourself some latitude when starting out with this lens as experimentation is key to finding out what works for you.
Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye Lens for Sigma Digital SLR Cameras
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Original Page: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/?p=31633
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大家在使用Photoshop的時候，是否覺得一張一張相片那樣去調整太花時間呢？其實，Photoshop有一個很有用的內建功能，就是Actions。 Photoshop Actions就像是一個錄影機，能夠將您調整相片時的動作記錄下來(例如調整光暗， 色調， 甚至加入文字及濾鏡效果等…)。在處理下一張相片時，只要執行記錄了的Action，Photoshop就會自動化將之前記錄的動作套用到此相片之上了。
Magical effect 4.0 by sa-cool
Ghost Stories Photoshop Action by elestrial
HDR Tools by forfie
Retro Vintage actions by Freaky-Stock
Caffeshop Actions – 1st Set by FairyAngelPrincess
Cross-Processing ATN by mutato-nomine
Photoshop Dream Blur Action by jaj43123
CoLoR effect 4.5 by sa-cool
Infrared – PS Actions by photoshop-stock
Photoshop Action: Sunglare by Jules1983
Sunbath – PS Action by evme
Sun Kissed Photoshop Action by elestrial
300 action by alejandroeljusto
My first actions setby ~surrender---x3
NoiseLess RetroFit Actions by ~Noise-Less
Photoshop Action: Diabolic by ~davidnanchin
Photoshop Action 13 by ~IGotTheLook
Winter love action - 4 -by ~duelord
Original Page: http://www.fotobeginner.com/4156/photoshop-action-free-download/
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