Technology, Gadgets, IT, Games

Market Capitalisation is a measure of the total worth of a company – simply the cost of a share, multiplied by the number of shares. Apple today finally overtook Microsoft as the world’s largest technology company, and the second-largest company in the US.

This is no mean feat, and it is to Apple’s credit that is has dominated the smartphone market and maintained its ‘cool’ image with a wide range of customers.

For some reason, there are still many Apple fans who see Microsoft as a big evil corporation, taking away their freedoms and stealing money. Apple is actually the bigger corporation, taking away a lot more freedom, and charging hugely extortionate prices… Read more

There have always been groups of people who rebel against the norm, who reject the status quo and choose to stand out. Bohemians, Hippies, Mods, punks… and now linux and mac users.

There is a growing number of people who have deserted Microsoft Windows in favour of macs and the likes of Fedora, Ubuntu and Debian. Some regard this group as an elite – true technical power users whose use these ‘better’ operating systems. Some regard them as connoisseurs, whose specific needs and tastes surpass the meagre capabilities of Windows. Some identify themselves as frustrated former Windows users, who have given up trying to make the mainstream work for them. And others treat them as snobs, who just want to be different.

I’m a Windows user, I always have been (since 3.11) and I use Windows all day every day, at home and everywhere I’ve worked. I currently use Windows XP SP2 as my OS of choice on all my desktop and laptop machines. Sure, I’ve tried Fedora, Ubuntu and a few other operating systems, but none of them have really cut it for me.

However, even though I wouldn’t dream of using anything other than Windows as a desktop operating system, there is a big difference in the world of servers. As a server admin, I use Linux on every web server I run, and I wouldn’t dream of using Windows.

With all these disadvantages, why do I still use Windows for my Desktop? One simple answer could be that I’m used to it. I’ve been using it since 3.11, through 95, 98 and 2000, to XP and (reluctantly) Vista… Read more

With the launch of Apples 2nd generation iPod nano late last year, many third party manufacturers have released new accessories in matching colours and Logic3 are no different.

Logic3 will add to their growing offering with another i-Pod add-on, with the forth-coming launch of its i-Station Traveller. The system will provide a total output of 4 watts whilst not likely get you an ASBO for noise pollution these ultra compact speakers are definitely small enough to slip unnoticed into your travel bag and will let you listen to your iPod or MP3 player whilst on holiday.

The battery operatied i-Station Traveller will be available in a ranger of colours including red, blue, pink, green, silver and black and will retail for £19.99 at stores including HMV and Comet.

www.logic3.com Read more

What’s that on the right? An iPod shuffle? No, it’s the Super Tangent, previously known as the Super Shuffle, from Luxpro. Apple have been fighting the resemblance blatent design theft for the past couple of years, but Luxpro have just won an Apple-filed lawsuit in California, where Shihlin District court decided that the two devices were sufficiently different to not be worth a ban.

It still comes in 512MB or 1GB flavours and has a built-in FM tuner, a digital voice recorder function, and a shuffle mode. The controls are less of a copy than the previous version, for obvious reasons. The player also now comes in both black and red, in additon to the original white.

With one win in the bag, Luxpro plans to countersue Apple to the tune of $100M for the sales it lost due to the injunction. This won’t be the last you hear… Read more

There is no denying that the iPod is the most successful consumer entertainment gadget of all time. Providing an insurmountable benchmark in terms of design and technological achievement, it is always amazing to see Apple continue to improve and upgrade their range.

Today, Apple have shown off their new full suite of iPods, including the Shuffle, Nano, Classic and new ‘Touch’ which will be available this weekend; and have decreased some prices to coincide with this

The iPod Shuffle has been refreshed with new colours, including pastel blue, green, lavender and 1GB (PRODUCT) RED edition which raises money for charity, as with the nano last year. Price stays at $79 though.

The all-new iPod nano is the same as the ‘fatty’ spied by Engadget over the past few weeks. With a bigger, brighter 2-inch 320×240 (QVGA) screen at 204ppi, video capability, an ‘enhanced’ UI, its own take on Cover Flow and three games, its battery has 24 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video. The silver 4gb model is going for $149, and the more colourful 8gb for $199.

The real/main/original series of iPods has been given a real name as the iPod Classic. This new sixth-generaton version is mostly an upgrade on the previous 5.5th generation units, with a new all-metal shell and (FMJ) and improved interface, coming in two higher-capacity versions. The 80gb iPod Classic has 30 hours of audio, 6 hours of video and will retail at $249. The new 160gb version has 40 hours audio, 7 hours video for $349.

The long-awaited iPod Touch is the phone-less iPhone. Coming in at 8mm deep, this is significantly thinner than the iPhone. The Touch packs a 3.5-inch widescreen display, 22 hours audio, 5 hours video and the same multi-touch inferface with Cover Flow as the iPhone. It also has web capability through WiFi, through which you can even buy music on iTunes. Available in a few weeks, the 8gb will go for $299 and the 16gb for $399.

Apple also announced a partnership and ‘feature’ to be able to purchase a song playing or recently played in a Starbucks through WiFi on the Touch, and free WiFi access to the iTunes Music Store (to buy the song currently playing). Doesn’t hurt I suppose.

The still-new iPhone is having a massive $200 price drop to coincide with these releases, down to $299 for the 4gb and $399 for the 8gb.

Click on for images of the new range… Read more

The adequately-long-awaited Apple iPhone has had its US release date confirmed at 29th June by a TV advert shown last night. The $600 multi-touch gesture-based PDA still requires a two-year contract from Cingular. The advert featured a map search for ‘seafood’, resulting in ringing the Pacific Catch restaurant. Their number shows up in the advert, and many nerds viewers bombarded the restaurant with calls after the commercial aired.
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So you love the Mac but for easy and simplicity you work on the more widely adopted windows powered PC? It’s a dilemma many of us have faced but have caved to the dominance of windows.

So today’s announcement that Parallels has updated its Desktop for Mac software might peak your interest. Parallels enables users running Intel-powered Apple Macs to run Windows, Linux or any other operating system, at the same time as Mac OS X, without re-booting.

Anchored by a new feature coined Coherence, Parallels is able to run Windows applications on a Mac as if it was a native to the system. When you switch to Coherence mode, the Windows desktop disappears, leaving Windows applications, such as Outlook and Internet Explorer, running directly on the Mac desktop and from the Mac application dock. Read more