Random.

Yeah. At first, I wanted to start a post series on completely random ideas that pop out from my head. Then it occurred to me, "Why don't I do a separate blog about that?". Sure it's a hassle to post left and right between the Random blog and this blog but it's alright. I wanna do it. First post of Random coming up soon. The post you see there is my introductory post. Hehe. I'll post one every Friday. Hope you enjoy that as much as this one! :)


UPDATE: I completely forgot! If you wanna read the blog, click "Random" right up in the menu bar for convenience. :) Sorry guys!

Thoughts on Apple's WWDC 2012

(This is the first post where you comment and get a chance to win an iPod shuffle or an 8GB USB flash drive! Comment here! :D)


(All pictures here: Copyright © 2012 Apple Inc.)


Let me start by saying this: I used to hate Apple. I would rant that an iPad is just a "giant iPhone" and even said that the iPhone was a gimmick and only a few people would actually buy this due to its price. As usual, I would bash the Macs for being the most expensive computers ever made. Well, that was the old me. The me that used to hate Apple has now turned into an Apple user. What can I say? I fell in love with the mobile devices.


It all started with an iPod touch. Introduced in 2007 months after the release of the original iPhone, it would be a device that has the best of what the iPhone can do except of the phone capabilities. I owned a first-gen iPod touch and I was still contented with the content I had with it. Since then, I followed Apple's announcements, news, and even posted opinions here in my blog about what Apple and its competitors are doing.


In this post though, I will focus on Apple's WWDC 2012 keynote presentation last Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) and put out my unbiased opinion on what Apple has in store for us over the course of the next few months.


By the way, I'm sorry if this was overdue, but I had to finish my "Final Days of Summer" and OJT Series in order for me to do this complete reaction to this event and all the new stuff they released.


Here are the three things that highlighted this year's keynote:


MacBook Pro with Retina Display

I gotta say, I was surprised that they actually did this. Rumors spread around that there would be Retina displays throughout the whole MacBook line but never I expected that at least one of them would really get that significant upgrade. So, here it is, the new king of the MacBooks. This beast has a lot going for it, so here are the base and the maximum specs:

• 15.4" Retina Display with a 2880x1800 resolution
• 2.3GHz 3rd generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6MB shared L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) (processor up to 2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz)
• 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory (up to 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory)
• 256GB flash storage (up to 768GB)
• Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• 720p Facetime HD camera
• Connection ports: Magsafe 2 port, 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports, 2 Thunderbolt ports, HDMI port, 3.5mm headphone jack, SDXC card slot
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networking
• Backlit keyboard
• 7 hours battery life

Honestly, I can't believe they shoved all this into a laptop that's 0.71" thin and weighs 4.46 pounds! The design is simply well-thought and Apple clearly applied what they've learned over the years. Although the lack of an ethernet port is a worry since this is mostly aimed at professionals, there's a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter so I hope this wouldn't be much of an issue. Overall, this notebook gives more compelling reasons for people to buy this, although a big turn-off would be its price: it starts at $2199. :( Still, I would recommend this to anyone who can shelve off a LOT of money. Moving on...




OS X Mountain Lion




Yes, yes. After a year with the Lion, we get another update which is Mountain Lion. This update focuses more on how the Mac can connect with your Apple mobile devices even better. This update includes Notification Center, which was carried over from iOS and implements it in the same way, Game Center, also from iOS which supports cross-platform gaming over Macs and iOS devices (which I think is cool), and AirPlay Mirroring, where with the help of an Apple TV, you can stream whatever's on the screen of your Mac to your TV.


To me, this feels like Lion with a few good updates and improvements that people will enjoy and I'm sure that $19.99 price would convince all the current Mac users to upgrade. Moreso, the new buyers of Macs will get this for FREE. It's coming this July.



iOS 6

This may be considered the highlight for users of Apple's famous iPhone and iPad, and the iPod touch. iOS 6 brings more to the table as they bring another package of features which help boost their usability and benefits the user. Here are some of the highlight features of the new major software update:


Maps - The most-rumored new feature of iOS 6, the Maps application has now been revamped and gone are any references of Google Maps. Everything in the new Maps is now made by Apple (since they bought a lot of mapping technology companies) and has now new features. The iPhone can now do turn-by-turn navigation, a feature that has long been in the Android ecosystem for a long time. Another feature is Flyover, where it displays 3D satellite images of major cities, which looks amazing. Other features include Traffic, which notifies users of realtime traffic.


Siri - Siri is now smarter in iOS 6. It can now show you sports scores and info, movie times, restaurant reservations, powers the turn-by-turn navigation in Maps, can accept Tweet requests and Facebook posts, and launch apps. It's becoming a more useful personal assistant.


Facebook - Speaking of Facebook posts, Facebook is now integrated into iOS. You can now post Photos, web pages, and more to Facebook using the same functionality done with Twitter. You can now also "Like" apps and more.


Passbook - Passbook is where you can store your virtual gift cards, membership cards, airline and movie tickets, and even sports games tickets in one single place. It even notifies you if you're nearby the certain place where that pass is needed.

Other features include Phone improvements with Remind Me Later or Reply With Message, Safari enhancements with Offline Reading List and Full Screen Landscape mode, Shared Photo Streams where you can share certain photos with friends including comments and likes, FaceTime over Cellular, Pull to Refresh and VIP Inbox in Mail, and Guided Access for easy use of the iPhone and iPad with Single App mode.


Software enhancements are great but I wish there was even more. A UI redesign would be nice, but I think they're either holding it off for the next iPhone or not doing it at all, which is sad. I still like the enhancements they bring to the 4th generation iPod touch, iPhone 3GS and later, and iPad 2 & iPad 3rd Gen. Sad to see the original iPad go as well. Times have changed though.




Overall, Apple's WWDC 2012 stayed in the tradition of new things. The new hardware was a surprise, but the software improvements fell a little bit flat for me. I hope that we will see a shocking Fall as Apple strikes back against the Android army. Best wishes, Apple.

FIVE-TRIPLE-ZERO Vote Results and Mechanics!

Thank you guys for voting on which prize I should give you for this contest. Here was the process of how I counted the votes:

"Votes counted before June 16 was only between the iPod shuffle, Krispy Kreme, and the 4GB USB Flash Drive, unless the person changed their votes on or after that date."

That's basically it, and based on those votes, you have chosen:

The iPod shuffle. I honestly wanted to change it and give the iPod touch but my funds are severely thin right now. Maybe when I can get a way to get these things easier then I can give such. Until then, you guys get a chance to win a Shuffle, which is still cool.

Here are the mechanics for this contest:

1) I will be posting on thoughts of the big tech happenings last month, which are: Apple's WWDC, Microsoft's Surface event & Windows Phone Summit, and Google's I/O Conference. You will post a comment on each of these posts. Make sure you use your Facebook name in order for me to recognize who you are.

2) Deadline of the posts will be 15 days after I post all three posts. It may vary due to my hectic schedule but I'll be doing it as soon as I'm free.

3) This only applies to people living in Cebu, Philippines.

That's it! So join now and you may just win an iPod shuffle OR an 8GB flash drive! Yes, there will be 2 happy people from this contest. Join NOW! :)

On The Verge of Reading: My Fave Tech Site

TheVerge.com: More than just tech. 

(Sorry for not posting about WWDC and the Windows Phone Summit. Don't worry though, I will come back with those thoughts plus Google I/O for comparisons.)

I love technology. It inspired me to where I am right now, studying for a degree in Computer Science. It also gave way to another side of me: the geeky side. The side of me that always pays attention to all the new gadgets that are coming out, even though they're not available in our part of the world. I also owe it to technology, which brought innovations like the Internet that actually enables me to get this information on technology ever so quickly.


Despite the vast number of sites out there dedicated to technology, whether vague or specific, I like how The Verge covers it. The site may seem to look like a normal tech news site, but it's actually more than that. There are certain stories made here that goes out of the normal news-centric theme and goes to the point where it tells you how that certain technology (or lack of it) can change our lives.


Of course it wouldn't be a meaningful tech site without podcasts. The Verge has two. First is The Vergecast where they discuss the week with pretty much anything that The Verge stands for. Even the humor and quirkiness of the podcast makes this a unique experience to listen and to watch. It is usually hosted by their Editor-in-Chief, Joshua Topolsky, and two other hosts, usually would be Nilay Patel and Paul Miller but it could be anyone else from their team.


Then they have The Verge Mobile Show which was formerly known as The Verge Mobile Podcast, since they made the leap to video. This one's hosted by Dieter Bohn, Vlad Savov and Chris Ziegler. They usually talk about the week in mobile technology, since the drive in consumer technology is dependent on how the players in the mobile space. I've been following this faithfully since mobile is what I'm deeply interested in and I hope that competition will continue to thrive.


They also do a monthly web show, called On The Verge where they have guests from the big players in technology, tech culture, and everything else that affects it. An episode's usually an hour long, and usually contains interviews and featurettes that are usually funny and informative.


What I can say is, the people behind this amazing site are amazing and I hope they continue on the promise of a good insight of technology and how it can influence our lives. :)


Will catch up with the month of tech that is June.