Buster Hein - page 246

You know all about the new iPad’s retina display and how ridiculously gorgeous pictures and retina graphics look on the shiny new screen, but what about video? The 1080p resolution of HD videos is great and all that, but the new iPad has a 2048p resolution, which means even if you’re watching a high-def video there are still a lot of pixels that aren’t utilized to their full potential. We wanted to know what video will look like on our new tablet once ultra-hd videos become more popular, and even though 2048p clips are scare, we found five videos that showcase just how awesome online videos are going to look on the new iPad really soon.

For years businesses across the world have attempted to dissect Steve Jobs’ career to figure out what made him so incredibly brilliant and successful. Not only did he change the way we use technology, but he changed movies, music, retail shopping and more. His entrepreneur skills were some of the best the world has seen, which is why Fortune magazine declared Steve Jobs “The Greatest Entrepreneur of Our Time” in their ranking of the top 12 entrepreneurs of recent memory.

Complementing the launch of the new Apple TV, an iOS software update made some significant changes to the Apple TV user interface after the new iPad keynote. Over the last couple weeks the new UI has received a heavy dose of criticism from fans who feel like the new interface is a step backwards, and it turns out that those criticisms may be true. Literally.

According to one ex-Apple TV Engineer, the new Apple TV UI has been on the table for about five years, but Steve Jobs himself allegedly didn’t like it and rejected its implementation. Now that Jobs isn’t around “to say no to bad design,” the UI was resurrected.

Picture this: You’re at the park, playing with your dog, and an overwhelming hunger cripples you. God you need some tacos, but the nearest joint is 3 miles away, and they don’t like dogs. Don’t worry bro, TacoCopter is here to rescue you from your perils. Well it might be. I have no idea if this thing is real or not, but everything inside of me wants it to be because it combines three of my favorite things: robots, iPhone apps, and tacos. TacoCopter is a website that claims to a be a startup in San Francisco that will use magical flying robots to deliver tacos to your location.

It’s no secret that Apple’s stock has been flying higher than an eagle hopped up on Charlie Sheen’s cocaine stash. I’m no stock expert, but it doesn’t look like AAPL’s upward trend is going to stop any month soon, and it’s going to make investors a boat load of more money. Yesterday, I found out my friend had bought 94 shares of Apple stock back in 2004 for $21 a share. He’s held onto the shares this entire time too. Despite being jealous as hell at his good fortune, I’m also cheering on the stock to hit $1000 so he can cash in a big pay day and treat me to a fine dinner.

The latest Joy of Tech comic gets my jealous angst perfectly. Here’s the rest of it:

Apple’s main supplier pal Foxconn is massive. With multiple mega-factories that can include up to 400,000 workers living on a cramped “campus,” it’s no surprise that Foxconn has quickly become one of the biggest companies in the world. They employ more people than Apple. Not only that, but they’re actually the 10th largest employer in the world, which is freaking enormous when you consider that the US Department of Defense is the world’s largest employer with 3.2 million employees. Foxconn, on the other hand, is just a few notches below them with 1.2million employees. Amazing!

I used a rotary phone once at my grandma’s house back when I was like 6 years old. It’s the only childhood telephone memory I can recall, but most kids my age have never had the pleasure of seeing the dial slowly rotate back into position with each successive twirling of a number. The iRetroPhone is the closest thing to a rotary phone you’ll find today that also utilizes the best mobile phone in the world. Most people will either cringe or laugh when they see it, but we’re pretty sure hipsters across the globe are gonna love this thing.

Rhombi, triangles, and rectangles probably don’t elicit a sexual response from you most times, but Apple thinks those beautiful shapes can be a little bit too orgasmic when combined in different configurations. Artist Luciano Foglia’s app of geometric shapes was recently rejected by Apple because they claimed it contained “excessively objectionable or crude content.” But it’s just a bunch of geometric shapes, so why did Apple label it as pornographic? Take a look and judge for yourself:

iOS is the best mobile OS in the world but it certainly isn’t without its flaws. There are a few areas that need improvement. Is the iPhone Lockscreen one of them? We’ve seen conceptual designs that change the information displayed on the lockscreen and this new idea proposes to change the way the camera is accessed on the lockscreen, but does it make any sense?

Dealing with customer service representatives can be one of the world’s most torturous experiences. Apple isn’t perfect, but they usually give customers the best experience possible, no matter. Proving that point, earlier today a story surfaced of Tim Cook stepping in and forcing AT&T to make a special exception to a request the deny to most customers.

Do you know anyone that owns an Android tablet? I sure as heck don’t, but they have to exist out there in the wild just like the rare and fabled Sumatran white rhinoceros, which native legend has supposedly living deep in the Indian rain forests. Which is rarer? But I digress. My point is that right now, Apple’s iPad is pretty much the only tablet you’ll see other people using because Apple is beating the pulp out of Android tablets with their massive sales numbers, and Apple maintains the momentum from the launch of the new iPad nothing will stop them.

This brass knuckles iPhone case isn’t straight out of Compton, it IS Compton. Meet the iKnucks – the iPhone case that doubles as a set of vicious brass knuckles. What better way to protect yourself from muggers than slipping this mean puppy around your fingers and throwing some haymakers?

Alright, maybe to you this amazing “Digital Circlism” portrait is pretty freaking awesome, but it gives me the willies. There’s something weird about having Steve Jobs blast me with his death stare in a mosaic-esque picture. Like he’s God or something. Maybe he is. Regardless of whether it’s creepy or straight up bomb diggity, we think think this portrait of Steve Jobs is actually pretty rad.

Its creator, Ben Heine, has created a series of portraits like this one using a technique he calls Digital Circlism. It’s a synthesis of Pop Art and Pointillism that uses digital tools and flat circles to recreate celebrity portraits.

The most common question I heard after the new iPad launch wasn’t about the retina display, or how I liked the camera. People didn’t ask which games were the best, or how fast it was. The number one thing people wanted to know was whether they should upgrade their iPad 2 to the new iPad. The answer is simple: No, you don’t need the new iPad if you have an iPad 2. But that doesn’t mean the new iPad is a disappointment.

For the last two years, pre-ordering an iPad has been the surest bet to get an iPad in your hands on launch day. You don’t have to worry about the crazy long lines at the Apple store, or the possibility of Apple running out of stock by the time your number is called. This year things have been completely backwards. Everyone rushed to pre-order their iPad thinking they’ll get it without the hassle of waiting in line. But the lines at stores have been short all day, and the flood of pre-orders have caused delivery delays as some customers are reporting delivery exceptions that have pushed their estimated delivery time from 3p.m. back to 8p.m. and in some cases the next day.

Earlier today it was revealed that some elements of Mike Daisey’s show, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, appear to have been fabricated. As a result, This American Life has retracted the episode that used Daisey’s work as the basis for their show, leaving many to wonder if Daisey’s remaining theater performances will be cancelled.

We received statements from both the New York Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company that explain their support for Mike Daisey as well as the planned continuation of his show on Steve Jobs.

Since 3 a.m. this morning I’ve been subjected to the most vile of tortures. All my co-workers on Cult of Mac were hanging out in our chat-room, gushing about their new iPads, while I sat helpless, waiting for my tablet to be delivered later in the afternoon by FedEx. We’ve heard a lot of reports on Twitter that Apple Store lines have diminished quickly and there’s plenty of stock left. Around 8:45 a.m. I couldn’t take hearing John and Alex talk about their retina displays, so I decided to drive down the road to my local Apple Store to see what the line was line. Shockingly, there wasn’t a line, and it appears that across the country, Apple has plenty of new iPads instock, which means you’ll probably be able to buy an iPad today.

Did you just get a new iPad today? Is your excitement erupting like a nuclear bomb? We want to see it. Send us a picture of YOU and your iPad. Get creative. Be funny. Do something random. Whatever. We’ll be collecting pictures throughout the day to create a mega gallery of all our readers with their new iPad, so if you want to be included, send us your funny pictures of you and your iPad.

You can email your pictures to cultofmac (at) yahoo.com, or tweet them to @CultofMac. Hell, you can even post it on Instagram and tag it with #CultofMac and we’ll find it.

Can’t wait to see your smiling faces. Now get to snappin’.

Have you heard horror stories about Sally May Blankenship who lives in Randomtown, U.S. State and got sued by the RIAA for like $17 million because she downloaded a Spice Girls album off of Shazamm? Better yet, remember SOPA, PIPA and the absurd laws being championed by Congress because they claimed piracy was costing us “$58 Billion” in lost annual income? It gets stupider: the RIAA actually claims an iPod contains $8 Billion dollars worth of intellectual property.

Just how ridiculous is that number? Rob Reid – founder of Rapsody – just gave this hilariously insightful TED Talk that reveals just how preposterous the RIAA’s claim are about piracy hurting the U.S. economy. Prepare to giggle your pants off at the RIAA and MPAA.

Last night the web was assaulted with a slew of new iPad reviews. Sure, some of the reviewers remarked on a few silly things that they didn’t like, but the early reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Did Apple’s handpicked early reviewers really really like the new iPad? Or were they holding back criticism because they wanted to stay in Apple’s good graces? Maybe it was both. One thing’s for certain, this latest video review from Funny or Die is hilariously honest in its assessment of Apple’s newest tablet

The guys at iFixit have been hard at work tearing down the iPad all morning. First posts of the teardown revealed that the iPhone’s retina display is being produced by Samsung. Well the teardown has finally been completed and posted online, exposing the full glory of the new iPad’s guts. It’s a beautiful sight, and we’ve got some of the best pictures below, but first, here are the entire specs of the new iPad.

While some people say that waiting in line for hours just to buy a new tablet is stupid, other humans have this weird determination to be the first to everything. Every year we see people selling their spots at the front of launch lines, but it looks like selling your position in queue has become a bit more sophisticated. Apple fans are now selling their spots in line on EBay in an effort to maximize visibility and hopefully the selling price.

Apple always gives a few select media outlets a sneak preview of their newest products so they can post their reviews before the rest of us peons get to own their magical device. The embargo on reviews for the new iPad just lifted this evening, and so far everyone’s impressed with the retina display and 4G speeds, but is there anything they’re disappointed with in the new iPad?

Here’s what the first reviewers are saying:

The arrival of the new iPad will be upon us in less than two days. Selling your old iPad to supplement the cost of the new iPad can be a quick and easy way to save money. Last week we published a guide on how to get the most money for your iPad, but it looks like another option has just emerged. Apple has updated their Reuse and Recycling program to include trade in values for the iPad 2 which will give consumers up to a $320 gift card to trade in their used iPads.

Not satisfied with your iPhone’s screen size? Want Apple to come out with an iPhone to rival the Galaxy Nexus’ screen? Maybe even the Samsung Galaxy Note?

Cartoonist Leslie Wood gives us a humorous take on what the future of smartphones holds for mankind: