Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Welcome back Mr. Jobs


Well now it's official. Steve Jobs is back at Apple after a 6 month leave of absence, due to medical issues. He will be part of "Key aspects." Working just a few days a week, Jobs is just glad to be feeling good after his transplant earlier this year. What can we expect to see in Apple? Well we're not sure on specifics. But Steve from DiTechite we hope you feel well!

Acer is set to become second (in top computer sales), going to unseat Dell


Acer is soon going to be second place in global sales, behind HP and moving Dell a spot down. This event can be attributed to Acer's attempt at selling stylish and low-cost computers, including the Acer Aspire netbook , which is currently the best selling netbook. While this strategy is working for Acer, Dell's attempt at a similar plan seemed to be more of a bag of hurt. Plus, it seems that Dell is slacking lately in their products, in terms of quality, performance, and price (bang for your buck). This news comes as a big deal, since it is a Chinese company, and US companies have been in the top 3 spots for a number of years.

[Via Engadget via NYTimes (subscription link)]

Apple's head honcho is back!


And he's back, folks. Six months after Steve Jobs took a medical leave from Apple due to health reasons, the company has announced that he's back on the job, working a "few days a week" on the Apple campus and from home the remainder. Of course, we'd been hearing of Steve's continual involvement in "key aspects" of Apple's business for a while now, so this seems like more of a rubber stamp on the status quo than a major change, but now that it's official we're sure the questions from shareholders and other interested parties regarding Steve's health will only grow louder and more insistent -- especially given the news of his liver transplant earlier this year. We'll see how Apple decides to handle the situation when the time comes -- until then, we're just thankful that he's returned and is doing well.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Nikkei says Sony is building a "Playstation Phone"


Apparently Nikkei, a strong and trusted source is claiming that Sony is making a cellphone/console to compete with the likes of the iPod Touch and iPhone. It is about time because the Walkman, which was made almost thirty years ago, is falling far behind the iPod. Plus, game developers like Square Enix and Capcom are taking advantage of the iPhone/iPod Touch hardware and its growing popularity, which is a threat to Sony's own PSP and Ericsson, and even its competitor the DS. Nikkei also reports that "Sony plans to set up a project team as early as July to develop a new product that combines functions of its portable game player and Sony Ericsson's mobile phones"., probably to catch up for lost time...

We've heard this story dozens of times. While this story is the same as the rest, there is one little [big] difference that makes it credible, the fact that Nikkei said it. Nikkei, again, is a very trusted source and does not usually release statements that are false. While their statement is credible and trusted, I still have doubts about that plan. But then again, Sony went UMD-less...

[Via Reuters]

What happens when you drop an iPhone 3GS in the pool?

While this guy did not do it on purpose, he managed to drop his iPhone in the pool. The amazing thing is that the phone still worked, it even recorded everything. From the fall, to picking it up from the pool surface. There are three things we don't know about this video:

1. The lifespan of this phone. We do know it had to last long enough to upload the video to Youtube
2. Is it fake? We still don't have proof that its a 3GS
3. Did he have a waterproof case

Fake or not, its kinda obvious that you should never try this to your electronics.

PS3 is officially blocked by Hulu


This article is a response to Engadget's recent article on PS3 browser, and how Hulu is unavailable on it.

The PlayStation 3 has kept access to Hulu even without PlayOn or other workaround while others were blocked -- with the exception of its own remote friendly desktop software -- thanks to its browser's Flash support, but this morning multiple users have reported the above message indicating "Unfortunately, this video is not available on your platform. We apologize for any inconvenience." Some odd glitch related to the recent 2.80 firmware update or other temporary problem, or is this the latest platform to get the Boxee treatment when trying to bring streaming video to TV screens? We've reached out to Hulu for an explanation but so far, haven't heard a response. Interestingly, the Hulu TOS was just updated as of June 26, and although we haven't found any PS3-specific passages, changing a browser's user-string to match the console reveals it is definitely being specifically blocked.


Ever since the 2.76 update, Hulu hasn't been working anyway. What's even weirder? Wikipedia has listed the improvements for the PS3 2.80 update, and interestingly enough, one of the improvements are "An issue that prevents playback of Hulu content has been addressed. Instead of having Hulu unavailable or not found, it was finally blocked overall.

We have stressed the fact that the console that gets Hulu first will be the best media console. So far, [in my mind] PS3 and 360 are tied because they both have video stores, and Netflix and Blu-Ray even out the 2 consoles as well. We don't really care about who gets Hulu first, we just want Hulu to start streaming natively to new systems and devices.

Friday, June 26, 2009

White iPhone 3GS overheats - becomes an unofficial brown


Heres a good one... Apparently some owners of the white iPhone 3GS are reporting overheating, which causes the white plastic backing to turn brown. While the cause is uncertain, some users claim the overheating is caused during a period of using the GPS and 3G of the phone. O well, thats what you guys get for trying to be different. JK

[Via Engadget]

[Read]

Zune HD rumors spur up


It's obviously a bit hard to put too much faith in Zune HD rumors when even Steve Ballmer himself can't keep things straight, but someone claiming to be a Software Engineer at Microsoft (who has also dropped Zune HD tips in the past) has now spoken at some length with Neowin.net, and provided plenty of speculation fodder in the process. The biggest of those purported details is word that the Zune HD will run between $249 and $280 for the base 16GB model, and that Microsoft is also apparently considering a 64GB model for further on in the model year in addition to the planned 32GB model. Other tidbits include word that the Zune HD will boast full support for 720p movies though its HDMI out and that, as we had heard before, it's supposedly on track for a launch in early September.

Youtube up's the upload size to 2GB per video

While I didn't think it was necessary, it happened. Youtube up'd the upload size limit of videos to 2GB for regular users. I really appreciate that Youtube did it because you can now see better quality videos on the site. The only thing that Youtube has to do is extend the time limit of videos to over the current 10 minutes for regular users. This is because users, like us (DiTechite as well do other people) need the time, and end up cramping our videos in such a small time limit, and in doing so diminishing the inner quality of the video. More video below...

Thursday, June 25, 2009

ScreenFlow Review



Screenflow is a screen capure software for Mac by Telestream that allows you to simultaneously record your desktop, a second camera, and microphone. While this may seem like its competitors (like Screenium), it holds one key feature that drew me to it. It is the simple, but great video editor that makes this app a must have. The only question is: "Does it work?" Lets take this step by step...

Pre-Running info

This app was only about 7 MB, and it runs straight forward. It does not mount as a disk or install so you can run it from anywhere in your hard drive.

Start Up, Pre Recording, and Recording



As soon as you start up Screenflow, you are greeted to a "see thru" window with a few options that you can change around to meet your specific needs. Like its competitor, Screenium, you have the ability to set which screen you want to record (if you have multiple monitors/desktops), capture video from a secondary video source (like an iSight/camera), capture of audio input (mics), and capture of system audio. When you are done, you start recording by either pressing the record button. Doing all of this was a breeze and very easy. No expertise needed!

Recording is seamless in Screenflow. All you have do do is press the record, and the recording settings window (shown above) will disappear and a 5 countdown will start. After the five seconds, Screenflow will start recording activity your computer screen. To stop recording, you can click on the Screenflow icon in the menubar > Stop Recording

The Video Editor

Before, when I used Screenium, I had to record my screen, then export it (took a little less than 1 hour, depending on quality). Then to add intros, I would take the exported file and put it into Final Cut Pro, add the intro, music, etc. then export the whole video for one last time. Not only was this time wasting and a hassle, it also diminished the quality of the main screencast.

Screenflow, on the other hand, has its own simple video editor that open up right after you stop your recording. (BTW: The editor is built in to the software, its not separate) It works on a "layer/timeline" system, just like Final Cut Pro and iMovie. There is also a live preview screen on top of the timeline. The editor also provides options to change the media's rotation (X,Y, and Z), opacity, scale, shadow, reflection, [for sound] volume, and sound filter. There is also the ability to add text and other media (pictures, video, audio, etc), and on top of all of that, it has the ability to keyframe. This means you can go crazy with your custom cool effects to make your videos spectacular. Its worth noting that Screenflow records both the camera footage and the desktop footage separately, rather than recording them in a combined raw video, and because of this you can manipulate the video editor to make your videos look cool like this:



Seen above, I manipulated the editor to rotate and move the iSight camera footage and add shadows and reflections to it. In other videos, I used the editor's features to scale in and out some recorded footage. I even used Screenflow's video editor to edit the Youtube Screenflow Review, going as far as to using the raw footage from my camcorder and editing it into the review. Screenflow's editor worked so great, I may use it for all my sub-professional video editing needs, even those needs that don't require screencasting.

Finally, you can export your videos with numerous combinations of resolutions, file formats, audio bitrates, etc to meet many requirements or standards.

"It all sounds good, but how much does it cost?"

Well, for a really great, but simple piece of software, Screenflow goes for an okay $99 USD. Its main competitor, Screenium, which costs $29 USD, though lacking the video editor is still a really good choice if you need a reliable screencapture software. It is definitely worth the $99, unless you are the person who really likes to save.

Brief Video Review




Screenflow Editing Test Video (Youtube News: 2GB Upload limit video)


Verizon adds a few channels to FiOS's HD lineup (New York)


Verizon FiOS customers in the general New York got a little surprise a few hours ago. Some may not know this, but Verizon quietly added a few HD channels to their lineup. Among them are Nickelodeon HD, MTV HD, Comedy Central HD, and VH1 HD. While some of these channels may not appeal to you, it at least adds to your already large lineup.

FiOS customers in New York, your HD channel count is: 81 excluding premium channels

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

HTC Hero


We're going to need some real time with the device to make a final opinion, but we're cautiously optimistic that HTC has a winner with its new Hero. Here's what we've got from our first looks at the phone in London and NY:
  • The beveled edges along the back makes the handset sit comfortably in the hand, and while the teflon coat doesn't necessarily feelrevolutionary, it's going to make a world of difference after a couple of months riding in our grubby pockets. It's certainly solid, but much more so than other "brick" phones.
  • The Sense UI (or as HTC terms it, "user experience") riding a capacitive touchscreen offers a people-centric approach to managing your information that is absolutely dreamy at first blush -- though it shares a lot of TouchFLO heritage. In fact, HTC promises to have a very similar Sense-branded experience for Windows Mobile.
  • The on-screen keyboard also seems quite useable with a nice simulated haptic forced-feedback bounce when you strike each key in either landscape or portrait mode (which can naturally be deactivated). HTC has built its own touch keyboard from the ground up, and in our brief couple of tests we'd say it's probably the best touchscreen typing experience we've ever felt. It never lags behind, and has great colorful visual cues for its auto-corrected words -- green means it's suggesting a correctly spelled word, red means we've gone off the beaten path, and the T9-style multiple suggestions are heavenly.
  • This intuitive one-hander isn't shy with the specs either as we've already seen in the official press release. Our only concern is possible sluggishness from the Qualcomm processor that cause the graphic transitions to stutter a bit and results in screen rotations that feel dangerously uncomfortable.
  • We were told that the device we saw was running pre-production firmware so there's still time to tweak -- though not much with a July European launch.
  • The Hero is not a "Google Experience" device. As such, you won't find the Google logo anywhere (no big deal) but you also won't be downloading any firmware updates over the air -- sideloading only kids. Not a deal breaker but an annoying and seemingly arbitrary limitation nonetheless. There's still a small lack of clarity of how updates will work with HTC's "mods" living on top of basic Android -- even if they're able to port in new Android versions seamlessly, we imagine there will be some breakage.
  • For a device without a physical keyboard, the Hero seems a little thick up against its HTC Magic, Nokia N97, and iPhone 3G counterparts, but not overly so.
  • HTC has confirmed that whichever (unspecified) carrier gets the phone in the US will have a modified version, both in software (carrier-specific services) and in hardware chassis tweaks. Just don't take our teflon away, ok HTC?
  • Battery is the same larger slab that's in the myTouch, and HTC also claims to have done some vague, unspecified things OS-side to improve battery life as well. "Heavy users will be able to get through a day."
  • The camera is responsive and seems to do a fine job at autofocus, but wasn't astonishingly great at first glance.
  • The phone will be available for free on T-Mobile UK -- if only we could be so subsidy lucky in the US.
Read the entire Engadget coverage here.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Whole news story filmed on iPhone 3GS/SHown on air


A Miami television station aired a story completely shot on an iPhone, as they covered the launch of the iPhone 3GS. The video looks pretty good, and once it was shot it was uploaded to Final Cut Pro for editing. Although you can trim the beginning and end of clips on the iPhone itself, you really can't edit.

The story aired on WFOR's 5PM News. The reporter, Gio Benitez, also used the iPhone Voice Memo app to record his narration, so the piece really was a true iPhone production.

Here's the video

[Via TUAW]

HTC Event Tomorrow in London



HTC will be having a PR tomorrow in London at around 6:30 AM EST (11:30 AM local time). They are expected to release an new Android. Seeing that there is a Rose in the picture, it may have to do with HTC's Rosie UI, which was leaked awhile back.

Since we're not going to be there, we will try to report the news as its released. We will most likely have a round up sometime tomorrow.

How to jailbreak an iPod Touch (1g/2g) with 3.0


Jailbreaking was a way for iPhone/iPod touch users to do things on their device that could not happen on a regular iPhone/iPod touch. If you jailbreak, you can add user wallpapers on the home screen, enable true file sharing between the devices and a computer, add widgets to the lockscreen, etc.

Before we get started, its worth noting that:
1) These instructions are intended for the iPod Touch with iPhone OS 3.0 already installed. For iPhone instructions, look elsewhere because we don't own iPhones and we don't want to steer you in the wrong direction.
2) We are not responsible/liable if you break your iPod, nor are the people responsible for releasing the jailbreaking tools
3) Things will go smoothly if you FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY


Lets get started...

1. First off, you'll need to download two things that are necessary for the jailbreaking. The first is an iPod Touch firmware (iPhone 3.0), and a piece of software called redsn0w, the software that will patch and port the firmware to your iPod. All the download links are below. Pick the links that correspond to you hardware. Once these downloads are finished, we can go on...

redsn0w: Mac/PC

iPhone OS 3.0 for iPod Touch: 1G/2G


2. Open redsn0w. A window like the one in the below picture should appear.



3. Click browse in the bottom-left hand side of the window and select the iPhone OS 3.0 firmware that you downloaded (the MegaUpload file). Make sure it is a .ipsw file before you select it. If all goes well, the next button should appear clickable. Click it to go to the next step. If the next button does not appear clickable after one minute, make sure you browsed for the right file.

4. Next, redsn0w will ask you which options you would like to have. Check Install Cydia. Now your window should look like the picture below... If it is, hit next to continue to the next step.



5. You should get to a screen like the one below. Do as it says: Make sure that the iPod is OFF and PLUGGED into your computer. If its not, plug the iPod to your computer FIRST, then turn it off by holding the POWER BUTTON. You'll know its off after you slide the slider when "Slide to Power Off" appears. Once it is off and plugged in, you may proceed.



Get ready! Have one finger ready on the Power button and one finger ready on the home button. This is because you will have to follow the redsn0w onscreen instructions. They will help you get the iPod into DFU mode, the mode that will allow the patched firmware to be ported to your iPod.

Timing is crucial to get into DFU mode, which is why I told you to get you fingers ready. If your timing/steps are wrong/off, you will put your iPod into recovery mode (when it wont turn on anymore), which will require it to be hooked up to iTunes. iTunes will then have to recover it, reinstall firmware/updates, etc... Its not a big deal if it happens, its just a problem to deal with. In a nutshell, get it right, or deal with the hassles.

Just so your ready, behind the next button, you will be told to:

1. Hold the Power Button for 3 seconds
2. Without releasing the Power Button, hold the Home button for 10 seconds
Without releasing the Home button, release the Power button. Keep holding the Home button for 30 seconds

6. If you are ready to do the above, click next. As soon as you click next, the first instruction (from above) will begin. Each instruction will have timers to you know when to go to each step (seen below). If it goes smoothly, click next. The install process will begin. (2nd pic below)





7. Once installation is finished click Finish. Now, you are done! Its all automatic from there.

If you want, you can import all media, contacts, apps, etc. from iTunes on to your iPod, as the jailbreak wont hinder the iPod + iTunes experience.

If you followed all our instructions, you should have an App called Cydia. Cydia is the "Black Market" version of Apple's App Store. In Cydia, you will be able do download apps, themes (yes UI mods), and have access to settings that would not be there without a jailbreak.

If you want to go beyond installing wallpapers and go a little more toward the "expert" jailbreak user, go to modmyi.com There you will find guides, news (jailbreak and official Apple news), forums for your jailbreak questions, pics, and Cydia Apps.

Oh...one more thing before you go. Welcome to the dark side!

Media Molecule posts a job listing involving an AAA, "Groundbreaking" PS3 game


Media Molecule, the developers of LittleBigPlanet, is looking to expand. Seeing that they are a small company, and that they made a really creative and generally great game, this news does not come as a surprise. What's interesting is the job listing. They want to hire a gameplay programmer with at least 2 years experience and has contributed to at least one console game with online multiplayer. Here's a quote from the listing, stating that MM is:

"working on a ground-breaking, AAA, PS3 title for Sony Computer Entertainment"


Could this possibly mean an LBP2? We're not so sure, seeing that MM is working on DLC's for LBP, and that Sony is seeing LBP as a groundbreaking game, the job listing may be describing LBP as a platform. But who knows? The listing could be referring to a new game. We may never know, that is unless it is confirmed.

[Via Joystiq]
[Read]

Attempted Gamestop robbery brings back memories of Splinter Cell...sorta


A burglar attempted to break-in to a Pittsburgh Gamestop through the air ducts in the ceiling overnight. Apparently, it was when he realized that the front and back doors were lock that he decided to climb back up the vent to escape. The employees that found the mess must have been shocked...wow!

[Via Joystiq]
[Read]

Monday, June 22, 2009

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars coming to PSP this Fall


We did not see this one coming. Rockstar just announced that they are releasing Chinatown Wars on the PSP. For its release, it will be available on UMD and as a digital download. How is this better than the DS version?Well there will be better lighting, enhanced widescreen graphics, and additional story missions.

[Via Joystiq]
[See]

MyTouch 3G for T-Mobile US in July/August


T-Mobile USA officially announced the MyTouch 3G (A.K.A. HTC Magic for those of you across the pond). It featured a 3.2 inch 480x320 screen, AWS 3G for T-Mo's high speed internet, quadband EDGE for international roaming, WiFi, a 3.2 MP camera, and Android 1.5 cupcake. All of this will be available to current T-Mobile customers as a preorder on July 8, 2009 for $199.99. Everyone else can expect to get this phone in August. It will be available in black, white, or "merlot" (red).

I may be getting this phone around my Birthday in September, so you may see a DiTechite Review on this phone somewhere around that month.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Giant Cowboys Stadium LED wall caught playing Xbox 360 during downtime


The 72 x 160-foot LED wall at the center of the new Cowboys Stadium is definately a thing of beauty and epic-ness. Jonas Brothers video director Steve Fatone somehow pulled himself away from concert preparations to do just that earlier this week, and apparently became the first person to ever play Xbox 360 on the display in the process. As you can see above and in the gallery below, the two certainly seem to be made for each other, although it looks like the controller can get a tad touchy if you stray too far while trying to play it. This now bears the question: Does playing a 360 on a masssssive screen make up for listening to the Jonas Brothers all day?

[Pic and story Via Engadget]

Pixar Grants Girl's Last Wish to See Up


I saw this story on Gizmodo and I had to but it up.

Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old girl suffering from terminal vascular cancer, told her mom that she wanted to live to see Pixar's Up. But before she could visit the theater, her condition became too unstable for her to be moved.

Colby's family called Pixar, guessed a name of an employee to break through the automated operator and explained the situation to the first person they reached. A Pixar employee flew out immediately with a DVD, toys and posters in hand. From the OC Register:

Colby couldn't see the screen because the pain kept her eyes closed so her mother gave her a play-by-play of the film.
"Do you think you can hang on?" Colby's mother said.

"I'm ready (to die), but I'm going to wait for the movie," the girl replied.

At the end of the film, the mother asked if her daughter enjoyed the movie and Colby nodded yes, Lisa Curtin said.

Colby died later that evening, hopefully fulfilled in at least some small way.

It was very nice of Pixar to go this for this girl.

Palm Pre showing signs of pwnage with about 700,000 apps downloaded


While there may be only 30 apps in the Pre's app store, the store is nearing 700,000 downloads. Were not sure if its going to outpace Apple's App Store, but we do know that when the SDK does come out, there may spike in the amount of downloads in Palm's App Store. As you can see in the above chart, it generally seems that a little less than 100,000 apps are downloaded each day. Not bad Palm, not bad...

[Via Engadget]

Friday, June 19, 2009

Activition threatens to drop Sony if they don't see some price drops


Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says that if Sony does not drop the price of the PS3 and the PSP, Activision will drop Sony. Apparently, he had came to the conclusion that the number of games being sold will drop without a cut in prices. He also said that it was a lot cheaper to make games for Microsoft and Nintendo, and that Activision payed $500 million in royalties to Sony. With 23 million PS3's, its really hard to see Activision ignore Sony's consoles completely. Now only if Activision could realize how much they charge people for gaming peripherals that are a necessity for their games. (i.e. Guitar/DJ hero, Tony Hawk Ride)

[Via Engadget]

Read

iPhone 3GS Releases to US Public


Engadget writes: As the international date line swung around to the States and rain finally stopped in NY, a few hundred people lined up outside the Fifth Avenue Apple Store today for Apple's new iPhone, with the those The iLife guys up front descending into the store at 7AM to the sound of applause from the cheery horde of Apple Store employees. It was a far sight from the mayhem of previous launches -- the whole line was able to be contained in the elevated portion to the right of the store, no sidewalk necessary -- but it was still a fairly impressive turnout for a spec-bumped phone and a rainy night. Stand by for video from the launch, and be sure to send in your own launch impressions.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

iPhone 3GS lines start in NYC


"Gotta love these umbrella and fine bloggers under them."

Well, iPhone fanatics and "The iLife" blog are waiting 24Hrs for the 7AM release of 3GS. Sounds crazy right? Well "The iLife", we from DiTechite congratulate you for being one of the first people to get the iPhone 3GS. As you wait in the rain in front of an Apple store in NYC, some will have to wait inpatiently for their Pre-orders. But you stand for all we want in an awesome Apple fan. Plus where is the fun in staying inside waiting for a package? Hope I was there with you. Good luck and once again congrats on being one of the first!

Why PS3 vs. 360 doesn't matter



First off, I just want to say that the title can be a little deceiving because, it does matter, but just not as much as everyone thinks. It worth noting that we don’t see the Wii as a “gamer” console. While it has some games that appeal to gamers, its general appeal goes to the kid, adult, and elderly demographics which pretty much excludes the regular “gamer”.

The ancient and everlasting debate between the Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 is food for ignorant fanboys. Why does there have be hate when two company’s are selling generally the same item. A competition between two companies will always happen and is needed but for some reason, a 360 fanboy wants Sony to be crushed and quit. Vise versa for a Sony Fanboy.

Everyone who thinks/wants this is an idiot. If there is a competition, companies compete by giving you (the consumer) great things to bribe us against the other company. For 360, they have a reliable online experience and for PS3, online is free and it works. If one company fails, so do all the things that can potentially make the console better. Since there is competition, the company doesn’t have to waste money to make us happy; because where would we go? We’re gamers and fanboys, and they know that we will never stop gaming and future kids wont stop gaming, and the only way to game is to buy their console. If there a monopoly then the price will increase, online service fees will increase, and games and technology won’t be at its best because there isn’t going to be any competition to base an improvement on. Don’t believe your favorite company will do this to you? Your wrong! Microsoft is just not a console company but also a software company and possibly may focus all their attention to Windows if Sony fails with the PS3. If Microsoft fails, PS fans are out of luck. This is because Sony may potentially turn their attention to making TVs, DVD players, Blu-Rays, Cell phones, laptops, etc. because they would not have to worry about their console. If there is no competition then in turn, we lose. Not to mention the loss of thousands of jobs. Still don’t believe me then read a history book. A big example would be NASA vs. Russia in the “race to space”. In 10 years we launched a man to the moon and made great advancements in technology. We haven’t done anything near as great except destroying multiple rockets and kill brave men and women after Russia became a joke. We stop trying once we have no one to compete with.

Why does it even matter if one console is better than the other? Do we need to argue in countless and pointless articles? It’s not even comparable because the fact of the matter is it’s truly based on the individual preference. The PS3 is a multi-media connector that plays true Hi-Def movies and TV shows. The 360 is a way to connect with people all around in an easy online fashion. Both with great games and incredible features. Like comparing Apples and Oranges, it can’t be done. I’m not crying out for people to stop fighting and all I want is peace. I just want people to realize that arguing about another console is annoying. Everytime I go on a gaming site, I see “Microsoft to fail?” and “Sony’s last Hope?” I mean come-on really? Literally there are thousands of articles made by amateur writers (Like us) writing about their own opinions on how a multi-million and multi-billion dollar company works, since we own one right?

For young fanboys and fangirls, what do you accomplish by bashing each other. How many minds have you changed, really? Unfortunately, some of us, wiser ones should know why we should stop bashing, but if not keep reading. We will always show favoritism towards our favorite gaming machine and try to change other peoples mind towards our own views. Great minds and companies are “Thinking different.” – Apple.

And we need to change ourselves as well. Companies are suffering through a depression just like us (civilians); and bashing them is not going to help even if it makes you feel good. Because all your doing is proving what you are, in life we all need to bite our tongue, because if we keep bashing companies we will lose by them quitting. “Ignorance is shown by irrational arguments and statements.” –DiTechite

So in a nutshell, fanboyism is “okay” to an extent. Its good to cheer on favorite console, but don’t bash the competition with pointless articles and statements. This is because its annoying, and honestly not many people care. Plus, there will always be competition, and we should not try to shoot it down. Without competition, the gaming communities and probably the gaming market would not be as “golden” as it is now.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

iPhone OS 3.0 Round Up

There was lots of anticipation of Apple's new mobile OS, iPhone OS 3.0. Lots of new features that were wanted "pre-3.0" were released. Copy/Cut/Paste, more landscape typing, Push notifications etc. Other things we did not expect: Spotlight, bluetooth, etc. also made it on to the update. In this article, we will give you the basic new features in the iPhone OS 3.0 and we will also say how/if they worked.

Spotlight

if you liked Spotlight on the Mac, you will like the one on iPhone OS 3.0. It works uber-fast, often searching as you type. With spotlight, you can find virtually anything: apps, music, videos, emails, notes, etc. Not only can you search, you can also tap the item you are looking for, and it will open the app, or the appropriate app for which the item belongs to (i.e. song-music).

There are some shortcuts and settings that go along with Spotlight. If you want quick and easy access to the Spotlight feature, you can have it automatically launch by double clicking the home button (you can change this setting in Settings > General > Home). Just as you have the ability to order search results in Spotlight on your Mac, Spotlight on your iPhone allows you to do the same type of order. Just navigate to Settings > General > Home > Search Results. From this screen, you can enable/disable certain search results and control the order in which the search results are shown. Video below...



Push Notifications

Unfortunately, I did not get to see proper notifications yet, even after hours of use. I have received tons of e-mails, and not one notification on my iPod. Plus, I did not get any Pushes on Aim or Tap Tap Revenge 2 (probably b/c I havent been playing much, though I did get asked if I wanted the notifications). I guess its just the fact that most of my apps are not able to do it yet. Its ok though, I dont really need it, but I'm sure some of you guys would really want it for some reasons.

Landscape

So far, Notes, Mail, Safari, Music, Contacts, and Stocks are the only standard apps with landscape functionality. Calendar, Clock Photo (browsing), Video, and Maps are the ones without "real;" landscape functionality.

Maps

Maps was mildly improved. A noticeable feature is when you set your start and end destinations, not only do you get regular directions, you also get directions for public transportation (departure/arrival times), walking (and walking distance/time), and driving (distance/time), or a combo of all three.

Bluetooth

On the iPhone, you already had bluetooth, but the update enables "Stereo Bluetooth", allowing you to wirelessly hook it up to select car kits, stereos, etc. The same goes for iPod touches. Unfortunately, iPod Touches (2 gen) will not be able to be paired with BT mics (as far as I know, me trying 3 BT mics). I was able to pair my iPod with my Mac and my Phone, but there was no notable functionality.

Hopefully we can get BT tethering (Cell Phones -> iPod) so we can get out iPods on the internet anywhere.

Internet Tethering

For iPhone users only, tethering will be enabled. Functionality will be based on your phone's carrier, and unfortunately for AT&T customers, you will not get to officially tether for quite a bit. I would check with your carrier before tethering because some fees may apply.

MMS

Finally, iPhone users have the ability to send MMS to others. Now, you can practically send pics, vids, etc. to others, in addition to sending regular texts. Again, AT&T users will have to wait...till summer.

Photos

Pictures on the iPhone have long been a hassle to share with friends and family via email. When you navigate to the new Photos application and attempt to share some of your favorite pictures, you will see several new sharing options. You can now select up to 5 pictures to send via email, MMS, or MobileMe; you can also copy even more pictures than that and paste them into your favorite application. You can delete multiple pictures just by selecting them.

Youtube App

It went over a major overhaul. Individual video pages include comments, description, rating (and the ability to rate), the ability to comment, and flag.

Find My iPhone/ Remote Wipe

If you lose your iPhone or it gets stolen, you can track it, or have the phone's data wiped out.

Shake to Shuffle

It works one you get used to it. Typically, you have to quickly shake and stop. I guess this is to avoid random shuffles. Plus, it only works when the phone is unlocked (unlocked meaning after "Slide to Unlock").

iTunes/App Store

The iTunes application now gives you even more purchasing options. You can now purchase and download videos, including whole television shows and movies. You also have full access to downloading sections from iTunes U and Audio books. The AppStore now allows you a better view of application screenshots, a section that lets you find out which applications need updating, and a place to redeem those ever-so-popular app promo codes.

Cut, Copy, and Paste

No matter how excited you were about the iPhone supporting push notifications, I bet nothing can top your excitement for the new cut, copy, and paste integration. Any application that has text boxes or text areas will now allow you to cut, copy, and paste text to and from those boxes. Even if the application wasn't specifically built for the iPhone 3.0 in mind, I found that most applications could take advantage of the new feature.

To select text for cutting or copying, just double tap in the text area. The blinking cursor will turn to two blue insertion point markers that you can drag to select the text you want to copy or paste. Optionally, you can hold down your finger on the text area and then let go -- a balloon will pop up asking if you want to select, select all, or paste. Tapping select will bring up the two blue insertion points and let you highlight the appropriate text; the select all option will highlight all of the text in the box, and the paste will paste any text from the clipboard into the text area.

When you are ready to paste your text into an application or text area, just single tap and hold for a few seconds, then let go. A balloon will display the paste option. Selecting this option will place the clipboard contents inside of the text area. To undo/redo your paste just shake the iPhone left and right -- a dialog will ask if you wish to undo or cancel.

Other Features:

-Better Parental Controls
-Automatic WiFi logins
-Voice Memos (iPods require mics)
-Encrypt your iPhone and iPod Touch backups in iTunes

Check out the video above for an iPod Touch demo, since I don't have my hands on an iPhone.

iPhone OS 3.0 is now live!

It is available on iTunes as an update. iPhone users can get the update for free while iPod Touch users will have to shell $10 for it. Video and details in a little bit

Typical Conversation between the DiTechite Writers



We actually did this before the podcast. Dark made an idiotic statement and I stood there to correct him.
-Bol

This is what we spend countless hours doing. It was a joke at first, I was trying to get Bol to say the speaker said the wrong words. 4:20
- Dark

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Reminder: iPhone OS 3.0 is going to be released tomorrow


Tomorrow will be the day when iPhone and iPod Touch get to put iPhone OS 3.0 on their device. The update will be available on iTunes and on Apple's Web Site. iPhone users will get to update for free while iPod Touch users will have to pay $9.99 for the update.

Wanna see the new sets of features in OS 3.0? If so, go here for iPhone's new feature set. Click here for iPod Touch's new feature set.

Special DiTechite Podcast (EP6): Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7 (Pre Retail Impressions)



From what we already knew about Snow Leopard and Win7, and what we found out at the WWDC, we made a podcast dedicated to a comparison between Snow Leopard and Windows 7. We go through many points like price, UI, speed, etc... To see who won, go listen to the episode to find out.



Intro: Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Greenday
Outro: Teardrops (House M.D. Intro) - Massive Attack

Monday, June 15, 2009

Samsung officially announces Omnia II and other additions to the Omnia Family



The phone seen above, the Omnia II was officially announced by Samsung, and it is heading to Verizon for its US debut. It features a 3.7 inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen with WVGA (480 x 800) resolution, HSDPA / HSUPA 3G, 5 megapixel camera, 720 x 480 video capture at 30fps, 2GB-16GB internal storage with microSD expansion, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, AGPS, and TouchWiz 2.0 UI running Windows Mobile 6.1.

Other additions to the Omnia family are:

OmniaPRO B7610 - A hybrid touch/QWERTY form factor. It features an AMOLED touch screen, Windows Mobile, push email, Microsoft Office, 5 Megapixel camera, WiFi, Opera 9.5 browser, GPS, HSDPA 3G. Probably just an Omnia II with a physical keyboard.

OmniaPRO B7320 - A cross between a Blackberry Curve and the HTC Snap. It seems as if Samsung is marketing this as a messaging phone. Has push email, Facebook, Myspace, IM, Google Talk, Yahoo Chat, 2 Megapixel camera, FM radio, and WiFi.

OmniaLITE - A cross between a multimedia and a business phone. Features an "easy" interface with a dull support of multimedia internet and business features, WIndows Mobile 6.1 TouchWiz 2.0 UI (with downloadable widgets), #D multimedia player, multi-push email, Microsoft Office, Opera Browser, HSDPA & WiFi, 3 megapixel camera, and AGPS.

Samsung Jet - While this is not part of the Omnia family, its worth noting this phone. It does not sport Windows Mobile like the Omnia's, but it does have an 800MHZ processor, 5 megapixel camera, 3.1 inch AMOLED screen, WebKit-based Dolfin browser, and a bunch of media features, including DVIX support. Its also running TouchWiz 2.0. It looks as if it could be in the Omnia family, but its not...

Official PRs here:

Omnia PR
Jet PR

Sunday, June 14, 2009

CrunchPad Tablet seen hands-on on video-not shown running but looks good



While were more likely to see some real CrunchPad computing action in July, we could not help to show some video of what seems to be a pre (but near release) build of the tablet.

The video below (taped in an undisclosed location) shows an unboxing of the CrunchPad. According to the source in the video, the packaging thats is seen is almost the exact retail packaging. From the looks of the CrunchPad, it seems as thin as a DVD movie case, and it does not seem to have the aluminum body it was rumored to have. Unfortunately, the person who showed the device would not turn on the CrunchPad for some reason. it is slated to have a custom Linux/WebKit OS in it so we'll have to wait for some more footage for this product later.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Wii hacker Johnny Chung Lee Joins Project Natal Team


In this time of economic hardship, it warms the heart just to hear that someone's found any job. But when our main man Johnny Chung Lee lands a position on Microsoft's Project Natal team, it's high fives and handshakes all around. And really, it's a perfect fit -- among the many hacks of his illustrious career, he's put together a VR head tracker (and utilized it in a first-person shooter) for the Wii game console. Apparently, Lee's part of the group that is taking the tech we saw at E3 and getting it ready for prime time. As you'd expect, the man is pretty stoked to have landed his dream job. "The 3D sensor itself is a pretty incredible piece of equipment, he says, "similar to very expensive laser range finding systems but at a tiny fraction of the cost."

Personally, I really think this guy deserves the job. He is also notorious for the cheap whiteboard using the Wiimote which I was able to do very easily. The guy is really smart and hopefully his contributions will add some really neat stuff to Project Natal.

Good job man... good job!

DiTechite Podcast 5


So today we made our 5th Podcast that can be viewed below, we went over the Palm Pre, E3, WWDC, Archos 9, Safari and Windows 7...

Intro is Far From Home by Tiga and the exiting song is Anthem Part 2 by Blink-182

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Ready for the DTV Transition?


Well you better be... The DTV transition will kickoff at midnight, and if you are not prepared for it, you may lose your TV signal. Make sure that you ask your TV service provider if you receive digital signals. This will depend on the type of set top box you may have. For those people who use antennas, make sure that your TV can read the digital TV signal (ATSC). If it does not, you may need to buy a converter box so your TV can read the digital signal. These converter boxes are available in any big electronics retail stores for upwards of $50, and uses the antenna you already have. Depending on the kind of TV you have, you may need to buy a converter box that fits your needs. If you have an HDTV thats not capable of receiving digital signals, you may want a box that includes HD outputs like HDMI, DVI, etc. If you have an SD TV, a regular converter box with with Audio/Video outputs that fit the inputs that your TV has.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Safari 4 Hands On


Well, Safari 4 is definitely a huge improvement over the Beta build. Its not only faster than its competition and the Beta, its the fastest browser I've seen. Web videos load better and faster on Safari 4. One major improvement on Safari is the Tabs Bar. Before, Safari 4 Beta had the Tabs Bar locked on to the Titlebar. This was both annoying and unnecessary. Now that The Tabs Bar is in its new position, you can freely move Tabs without the worry of interfering with the window's position on your screen As for aesthetics, it still maintains the same look of Safari 4 Beta, despite Apple moving the tabs below the address bar. As for using it, the experience is great. Before, Safari 4 Beta kept freezing constantly. It almost made me look for an alternative browser. With the most recent build of Safari, that does not happen anymore. In fact its almost flawless. Expect less hangs, better media streaming, and overall better browsing.

Honestly, I think its the greatest browser I've ever tried. Also:
Acid 3 Compliance
Safari is the first — and only — web browser to pass Acid 3. Acid 3 tests a browser’s ability to fully render pages using the web standards used to build dynamic, next-generation websites, including CSS, JavaScript, XML, and SVG.

I encourage you to look at the 100 features of Safari to see some of Safari's new and standing features that make it an outstanding piece of software to use.

There were still some bugs with certain sophisticated sites that did not bother me much. For example, sometimes when I go on to some torrent sites, I usually browse multiple webpages. At some point, I want to go back to the previous page I was on. I click the back button, and it doesn't work. I have to click numerous times to get to my previous page, often clicking too much and going back too far. I had this bug back in the Beta, but it had not been resolved. Hopefully, they will fix this. Im sure there are many bugs in this piece of software, but you have to give it credit for being near flawless on its release.

Safari 4 is available for download for Windows and Mac. Download link below.

[Read] - Safari's Features
[Download Link]

Score: 9/10

Apple shipping Snow Leopard in September, $29 Upgrade


Aside from bumping up the specs on the Macbook line, Apple was also kind enough to tell us about Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard will be released September for $129 (for larger refreshes), and $29 for Leopard users, a very good and reasonable price considering its not a major upgrade. Apple's still giving users and developers some fun new tech to play with -- particularly the GPU-exploiting OpenCL, and the Grand Central Dispatch tech for developers to ease application optimization for multi-core processors. Pretty nerdy stuff, but if it makes our Dashboard Sudoku Widgets run faster, we can hardly complain. Other updates to the OS Apple is trotting out at WWDC:

  • Apple rewrote the Finder, while keeping it mostly the same on the surface, for a bunch of "little benefits." Tweaks include faster Quick Look previews and Spotlight searches.
  • There's built-in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support in the OS, including Mail, Calendar and Address Book syncing.
  • QuickTime X has a new "modern foundation," HTTP streaming and a whole new look. Users can record and trim video, and upload to sharing sites like MobileMe and YouTube.
  • Snow Leopard has half the footprint of Leopard, amounting to 6GB in savings and 45% faster installs.
  • New trackpads can handle handwriting recognition now, and there's new text selection "AI." There's also support for wireless Braille accessories (pictured).
  • Safari 4 is available for Windows, Leopard and Tiger, but Snow Leopard adds "Crash Resistance," which keeps browser and tabs intact even if a plugin crashes -- user just refreshes the page. 64-bit version does JavaScript 50% faster.
  • All core apps are 64-bit, and performance improvements abound. Mail boasts 85% faster message loads and 90% faster loads, while Time Machine has a 50% faster initial backup time.



The one thing I was disappointed about, was the fact that they did not put the "Marble" UI on Snow Leopard. Looks like we'll have to wait till OS X 10.7 for the refresh.

[Portions from Engadget]

Apple partners with TomTom to bring "real" navigation to iPhone


This one sure took awhile to go from rumor to real, but at long last, authentic TomTom navigation has arrived on the iPhone. 'Course, we would've personally preferred the Garmin touch, but at this point, we can't really find it in our hearts to kvetch. The app shown at WWDC today was surprisingly slick, and while the robot voice didn't exactly get our juices flowing, the currently unpriced TomTom car kit is definitely a boon for those looking to avoid standalone PNDs. Apple has informed us that the application will surface "this summer," though it didn't mention a price; in other words, we can't imagine this being cheap. You think TomTom wants a $19 app undercutting its $300 navigation systems? Doubtful.

iPhone 3GS Announced


The new iPhone 3GS was just announced. It has:
-Battery life of up to 9 hours of surf time on Wi-Fi
-30 hours of audio time
-5Hrs of talk time
-The greenest and most powerful iPhone yet. 23% smaller packing.
-The price will be $199 for 16GB of storage and for 32GB it will be $299. The iPhone 3G will be bumped down to $99 starting today
-The iPhone 3GS will be available in a week and a half, on June 19
-Two days before the official release date of the 3GS, the iPhone 3.0 OS will be out.
-The new iPhone will have a 3 MegaPixel camera with auto-focus and doubling as a camcorder in VGA resolution, recording at 30 FPS. Videos will also be able to be edited within the iPhone and uploaded to Youtube or sent through MMS (via 29 carriers at launch, AT&T sometime this summer)
-The iPhone 3GS will be more than 2X faster then the iPhone 3G.
-7.2 Mbps HSDPA
-Other features like inverted screen, safari, spotlight search and voice control, make this new iPhone epic. A must have.

Apple's new MacBook family


The updated Macbook Family

With recent news, stating that the Macbook white did better than it's unibody counterparts, Apple updated their Macbook lines. Apple changed the name of the 13" Unibody Macbooks to "Macbook Pro" and bumping up some specs. Heres the updated list of Macbook Models:

Macbook White - 1 Tier
Macbook Air - 2 Tiers
Macbook Pro - 3 Models (13", 15", 17")

-15" Unibody Macbook Pro

$1,699: 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 250GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard
$1,999: 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT graphics, 320GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard
$2,299: 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT graphics, 500GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard

-17" Unibody Macbook Pro

17-inch unibody MacBook Pro remains the same specs-wise (it's the only Apple laptop left with an ExpressCard slot), but it's getting a price cut to $2,499.

-13" Unibody Macbook Pro

$1,199: 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 160GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard
$1,499: 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 250GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard

-Macbook Air

$1,499: 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 120GB HDD
$1,799: 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 128GB SSD

This leaves the 13" Macbook White the last "Macbook" standing.

-13" Macbook White

$999: 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, 160GB HDD

WWDC Live Blog



Welcome to the 2009 WWDC. I Will be live blogging as this happens... 5500 Attending with Phil Schller, Betrand Serlet and Scott Forstall will be on stage.

WWDC starts with PC guy commercial about the 1 billionth app.
Phil Schiller is out, and crowd is in applause...

10:03 "Thank you, thank you very much. Welcome to WWDC. We have an amazing week planned for all of you, and I mean all of you. Can't you feel the love in this room? This is the best level of excitement for our dev conference yet. I'd like to show you one reason for that." Phil

10:04 OS X users up to 75 Million, tripled in past 10 Years

10:06 New 15' mac book Pro announced Battery life of 7hrs (5 Years)

10:09 A SD card Slot in added to the mac book pro

10:10 Starting Price at $1699, with 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo, <8GB RAM, 500GB or 256GB SDD

Three standard configs, $1699 (2.53GHZ, 4GB RAM), $1999 (2.66GHz, 4GB RAM 320GB HD), $2299 (2.8GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HD)

10:11 17' Price now $2499 "$300 less" and ships today

10:12 13' Macbook is now a mac book pro with a SD slot, 2.53GHz up to 8GB RAM and 500GB storage, unibody and 7hr battery life. NOW $1199

10:14 Configs. are shown on the stage

10:16 New and improved Mac Book Air, now at $1499 $700 Price cut

10:17-10:20 Is a funny bashing on Microsoft, mainly Windows Vista being the same as Windows 7

10:20 Yes Snow leopard is introduced and it's pretty epic I tell you. It was re-written with many benefits and The Finder is re-designed and Apple loves the way it looks.

10:22 Install times on SL (Snow Leopard) are 45% faster and leave a 6GB less disk space than the previous Recovery Disk. The Dock was also re-designed to "Expose" You click and hold on an app and it automatically zooms out your active windows.

10:23 "Preview, we've changed the way text selection works -- we use AI to find the right text in the right place."

Hand writted recogination for the trackpad, very nice. Safari 4 will now be shipped with Tiger and leopard with windows.

10:24 Safari is the best browser in the Acid 3 Test Safari gotm 100/100 and IE8 got 21/100. More charts are shown and Safari is at the top of them all.

10:25 "Here's some things you get in SL. Crash Resistance -- the number one browser crash cause is plugins -- so now, the plugin crashes, but your windows are intact. Just reload the page."

10:27 "It's super efficient. We're using a new technology called HTTP streaming, it works with any server. Since we had such a change on the backend, we decided to change the look of the player as well." No on-screen controls, pop overs, not quite that marble look, but blackish.

A Demo is watched.

10:28 Stacks in SL are handled more efficient.

10:29 Quicktime Movies and PDF files now can be previewed in The Finder window. Looks clean and fast.

10:30 "Let's say I want to drop an image in this email message, mail springs into Expose and I can drop it right in." Very good and crown is in applause.

10:31 Expose is faster and has many new tricks.
Safari 4 is shown again how fast its java script is on Google Maps, Its fast...very fast. Also coverflow history is added.

10:33 "QuickTime is designed to put your video center stage. As soon as I start playing, the controls and titlebar fade away. When I want to go back, they fade back in. Another great feature is the ability to trim and share my video... I get a visual timeline."

Editing in quicktime?

10:34 Mac us silicon technology, never could of been done 3years ago.

10:36 64-Bit SL is very powerful and basically has unlimited memory, 16 Billion GBs of memory. All apps, run in 64-Bit on Snow Leopard.

10:38 Threads are much more efficient in SL then leopard, They all go away when idle and use more when busy.

10:40 Announced the graphics are openCL, YES, Graphic Manufactures can make cards for Macs.

10:41-10:44 Exchange support with iCal, Addresses and Mail. Also can be discovered with Spotlight search. Drag and Drop Feature for Address Book to iCal.

10:46 "So Exchange support requires Exchange 2007 servers. We offer it at no extra charge, it's built-in to Snow Leopard. So that's Exchange and this is a little tour of some of the new features of the OS. It will be available for all Intel Macs, past and present. So how should we price Snow Leopard? We want all Leopard users to upgrade to this, so we are pricing at $29."

10:47AM "$29 for Leopard users, and a family pack is $49. It will be available this September, and today we're making a dev preview available."

10:48 Scott comes to talk about the iPhone.
More stats are said, 50,000 Apps in the app store, 400 million Apps sold, 1Billion apps, downloaded in 9 Months, 40 Million iPhone/Itouchs sold already.

10:50 A Video is shown about developers and their stories. (No Steve Jobs Yet...)

10:55 IPhone OS 3.0 Demoed, copy/paste feature shown, Shake to undo, API for Devs, Cocoa Touch for Text, MMS in main apps.

10:58 MMS is available

10:59 At&T won't be able to support MMS until the end of Summer (Bad Thing)
Spotlight Search for iPhone. Rent and buy movies from iPhone.

11:00 Parentel controls are added..

11:01 11:01AM Tethering! "This allows you to share you connection with your computer."

11:02 11:02AM "This works with Macs and PCs, wired over USB, or wireless with Bluetooth. It is a seamless experience. There's no need to run any software once it's turned on. This requires carrier support. We have 22 partners in 44 countries..."

AT&T not mentioned, Audience is mad.

11:03 "Next up, Safari. SunSpider benchmark. In iPhone OS 3.0, we run JavaScript almost 3 times faster. Next, support for HTTP streaming audio and video." Auto Fill is also added to safari and cookies for passwords and user names.

Great for iPhone users.

11:04 "We have been driving and tracking the HTML 5 standard, and now we're adding support for new standards like audio and video tags."

11:05 30 More languages are supported for iPhone 3.0.

11:06 Find my iPhone video from 30 Rock, service for Moblie Me.

If you lose your iPhone, Go to MobileMe on and Browser and it will tell you where your iPhone is. This is epic, I need this for my iTouch because I lost it a week ago and can't find it. But very cool. It will play a sound until u find it, if its stolen then you can remotely erase all the data on it.

11:10 iPhone 3.0 is talked about, nothing we didn't already know though.
Direct 3rd party connection for Devs.

Push and Google maps are talked about, Maps can be embedded into apps and Push has 3 Notifications, Sound, Numbers and Texts.

11:13 A demo is shown, Apps, with iPhone 3.0. You can now select music from inside an App.

11:15 Faster Games and now Medical tech for doctors monitoring their patients. Looks good but like I said not too different from what we already knew.

11:19 Medical info can be viewed in real-time with push. An Example would be Heart Rate.

11:21 Another Demos is shown. Books, 1 Million Books and 50 Major Magazine companies now on the iPhone. Called Iceberg, the book bought was $9.99

11:22 Showing C/P and how a student might use it.

11:23 Tom Tom app is now shown.
CTO and Co-founder of TomTom, Peter-Frans Pauwels comes out, he shows a GPS App. Looks great and useful, but late on it.

11:26 Accessories are shown, charging while on dock, its very fast and can switch to landscape view. The voice navigation is also very slick, not a robot voice but more clear. Looks expensive, available this summer, no price tag.

11:27 ngmoco Neil Young comes out, He demos Star Defense for the iPhone. This launches today for $5.99.

11:31 Science Apps are now being made and Scott comes back out in a lab coat, to preform an experiment?

11:33 Demo didn't work right, it's okay Scott played it off well and those things happen.

11:34 Luke Schneider from Zipcar. "We're excited to introduce our app today. Jonathan doesn't own a car. The application immediately locates him, and it shows him where the nearby Zipcar locations are." Nearby Rent-a-car

11:36 You can now apparently unlock a car from within an App.

11:37 "Next up is our final demo. Line 6 and Planet Waves. You can control your guitar and your amp from your iPhone."

11:39 Trouble in the audio demo.

11:43 iPhone 3.0 will be free for iPhone users and $9.95 for iTouch users. Available June 17 YAY.

11:44 Scott finishes and Phil comes back on stage.

11:46 A new iPhone is announced (iPhine 3GS) Make it offical. Yeah!!!! The new iPhone is 2xs Faster in messages and faster in everything else. This is compared to the iPhone 3G. More than 2xs faster across the board, 3.6x faster in excel attachments. 7.2Mbps HSDPA a new 3.2MegaPixel camera with auto-focus. Not only a camera but a video camera as well. Captures better light in a low light area and there is an API for devs.

11:52 The video is 30FPS and they can be edited on you new iPhone 3GS, then they can be uploaded to youtube or sent in MMS. (Video mail) Looks great demoed.

11:53 "There's another great feature -- we call it voice control. You can hold down the home button, and a brand new UI pops up -- the voice control interface."

11:54 Voice command can work with iTunes and in making phone calls, an example is "Whats playing now" Then your iPhone will play back the artist and title of the song playing right then.

11:56 Nike+ was built in and voice command extended even more. The iPhone 3GS can read text, zoom in on screen and invert black and white. Photo uploading is very slow though.

11:58 Battery life: Up to 9 hours of surf time. 30 hours of audio time. 5Hrs of talk time. The greenest and most powerful iPhone yet. 23% smaller packing. The price will be $199 for 16GB of storage and for 32GB it will be $299. The iPhone 3G will now be $99. Starting today. The iPhone 3GS will be available in a week and a half June 19.

12:05 Phil has wrapped up the keynote and thanks everyone for their hard work.