Tag Archives: 2010

beatles on itunes

The Beatles are Now Available on iTunes

Well, this is the “big” announcement that we were waiting for. On Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Apple announced that The Beatles are now on iTunes. You can download your favorite songs from all 13 of The Beatles’ original studio albums or download the complete box set HERE.

Unfortunately, iOS 4.2 has not yet been released and most likely won’t until around the 24th of November. Of course, this does come as a disappointment to many of us but to those who love The Beatles and downloading music via iTunes, I suppose it’s a joyous day for them. Stay tuned to TechGeec.com for all of your most needed updates.

Apple Announces Back To The Mac Event!



Apple has sent out their invitations to the Special Event for yet another one of their press events. This will be held on October 20th at 10 AM PDT.

As you can see from the press invite above, Apple is going to be holding a Mac press event next Wednesday called “Back to the Mac.” From the lion coming out from behind the Apple logo, our highly guess this will be the announcement for Mac OS 10.7, which will probably be called “Lion”, staying with the cat theme that Apple came up with many years ago.

Either myself or David will be doing a live blog. We were not invited to the conference just to end the questions we will get. Were not sure if Apple is adding a live video feed or not. They haven’t announced it. We will let you know where to look on the site for our live blog. I’m thinking of some different ways we could blog.

UPDATE: Unfortunately me and David both have big plans that cannot be changed and we won’t be able to blog. But we will do a recap of the event when our plans are over a hour or so after the event is done. Sorry for any innocence. :(

Be sure to follow @TechGeec and @connerowen on Twitter!

LIVE Coverage & Updates of Apple’s September 1 Event

Tomorrow, September 1, TechGeec will be updating this post LIVE during Apple’s media event. That means that you won’t have to constantly hit the F5 key or refresh this page, it will update automatically. The event will be taking place at 10:00 AM PST (1:00 PM EST). Make sure to bookmark this page and come back tomorrow to be updated LIVE on what Apple will be releasing/announcing.

[liveblog]

New Apple Media Event on Sept. 1, 2010

Today, August 25, 2010, Apple announced that they will be holding a music-based media event on September 1, 2010, much like they do every year. Here are some of the products we expect them to announce:

  • New touch-screen iPod shuffle
  • New iPod touch with front-facing (and possibly back-facing) camera to allow for use with Face Time over WiFi (to be used with email addresses as opposed to phone numbers), Retina Display, 1Gz processor (with maybe 512MB RAM), and better battery life.
  • iOS4 for iPad
  • iTV (revamped Apple TV) with it’s own App Store and might be the size of the iPhone 4 – Price: $99 USD

Sorry, no Verizon iPhone will be announced in September. If there will be one, it will be announced in January (most likely). Again, these are all just rumors so nothing is certain for sure, but these products will be very likely to be announced.

If you’d like to receive LIVE updates on Apple’s media event, follow @TechGeec on Twitter where we’ll be tweeting all of the new Apple products that will be announced.

Apple Announces WWDC 2010

The Moscone Center Calendar lists a “Corporate Event” from June 28, 2010 through July 2, 2010 in the Moscone West hall. Previous Apple events have been reserved with the same title.

This year, WWDC 2009 ran June 8 through June 12. In previous years, the event has marked the introduction of new iPhone models. This June, Apple introduced the iPhone 3GS.

The original iPhone debuted on June 29, 2007, along with an exclusive contract with carrier AT&T. Since then, it has been rumored that the two parties are locked into a three-year deal due to expire next summer. While AT&T has reportedly attempted to extend that contract, rumors have persisted that Apple will expand to other carriers.

If WWDC could be booked to coincide with the expiration of the current contract with AT&T. Recent reports have suggested that Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., could offer a CDMA compatible iPhone next year. Some analysts see Verizon as the best choice for Apple to expand the platform, but others feel technical limitations and different corporate styles could serve as a roadblock for such a deal.

For their part, Verizon officials said last week that their network would be capable of handling the added bandwidth from the addition of the iPhone. They did not, however, imply that the handset was coming to their network.

Another option could be T-Mobile. While the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S. does not have the size or stature of AT&T or Verizon, it is a GSM-based network, meaning compatibility with T-Mobile would be simple to accomplish with the existing iPhone hardware. Given the simplicity of such a move, some have predicted it to happen in 2010.

New Verizon iPhone Picture Leaked

There has been much news lately about an upcoming Verizon Wireless iPhone. Talks of the Verizon iPhone have been circulating since last year, if not longer, but it seems that this year they’re a bit different. The recent rumors/announcements have been more in depth and what Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon CEO, said about wanting Verizon to carry the new iPhone “4G” makes them seem much, much more convincing.

The picture to the right is a newly released photo of what is being called the new “Verizon iPhone”. As you can see, the back (probably) immediately reminds you of the iPad’s aluminum back. Also, the iPhone in the image also looks to be of a slightly different size than the current iPhone (some rumors have said that the new iPhone 4G will have a larger screen). The only thing that looks a bit “sketchy” as of now, is the quality of the image. The fuzziness could easily be hiding some “evidence” of fantastic PhotoShop-ing skills. It’s up to you, the reader, to decide whether or not this image is viable.

The only reason why Apple wouldn’t make a Verizon iPhone, would probably be that either their exclusivity contract with AT&T still hasn’t expired or that AT&T will pay them off. Verizon Wireless is currently the largest wireless provider in the United States. If Apple doesn’t release the new iPhone on Verizon, it will be an incredibly ignorant notion.

Apple’s New iPhone OS 4

Here is a direct article straight from Apple‘s website with the seven main new features (out of 100) available with the iPhone OS 4. An article based upon my opinion on what was released today should be out within the next couple of days.Also, after you finish reading what has been included in the new OS, please leave a comment telling us what you enjoyed, found interesting, or still wish to have been included in the new OS.

Instead of paraphrasing what Apple has to say, why not read why they have to say directly from them:

Includes Multitasking, Folders, iBooks, Unified Inbox & More

CUPERTINO, California—April 8, 2010—Apple® today previewed its iPhone® OS 4 software and released a beta version of the software to iPhone Developer Program members. The iPhone OS 4 beta release includes an updated Software Development Kit (SDK) with over 1,500 new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and over 100 new features that will be available to iPhone and iPod touch® users this summer. New features include Multitasking for third party apps; Folders to better organize and access apps; improved Mail with a unified inbox, fast inbox switching and threaded messages; enhanced Enterprise support with even better data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution and more; Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform; and iBooks, the delightful new ebook reader and online bookstore recently debuted on the iPad™.

“iPhone OS 4 is the fourth major release of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re delivering over 100 new features, including multitasking, folders, a unified inbox, deeper Enterprise support, and an iPhone version of our iBooks reader and online iBookstore.”

iPhone OS 4’s new multitasking offers users a new way to quickly move between apps, and provides developers seven new multitasking services to easily add multitasking features to their apps. These services include background audio, so apps like Pandora can play music in the background, and VoIP, so VoIP apps can receive a VoIP call even when the iPhone is asleep or the user is running other apps. iPhone OS 4 provides multitasking to third party apps while preserving battery life and foreground app performance, which has until now proved elusive on mobile devices.

Folders help users better organize and quickly access their apps. Simply drag one app icon onto another, and a new folder is automatically created. The folder is automatically given a name based on the App Store category of that app, such as “Games,” which the user can easily rename. Using folders, users can now organize and access over 2,000 apps on their iPhone. Users can also create and manage iPhone folders on their Mac® or PC using iTunes® 9.2.

iPhone OS 4 delivers the best mail experience on a mobile phone with its new Unified Inbox, allowing users to see messages from all their email accounts displayed together in a single inbox. With just a few taps, users can quickly switch between inboxes to see messages from any single account. In addition, users can now thread their messages by conversation, making it easier to stay on top of email discussions, as well as open email attachments with compatible apps from the App Store.

iAd, Apple’s new mobile advertising platform, combines the emotion of TV ads with the interactivity of web ads. Today, when users click on mobile ads they are almost always taken out of their app to a web browser, which loads the advertiser’s webpage. Users must then navigate back to their app, and it is often difficult or impossible to return to exactly where they left. iAd solves this problem by displaying full-screen video and interactive ad content without ever leaving the app, and letting users return to their app anytime they choose. iPhone OS 4 lets developers easily embed iAd opportunities within their apps, and the ads are dynamically and wirelessly delivered to the device. Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive an industry-standard 60 percent of iAd revenue.

The iPhone OS 4 beta release includes a developer preview of Game Center, which contains a set of APIs that allows developers to create apps with the ability to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking and track achievements and compare high scores on a leader board. Apps created with GameKit APIs will work with Game Center, Apple’s new social gaming network available to iPhone and iPod touch users later this year.

New enterprise features in iPhone OS 4 include improvements in security, scalability and compatibility. The new Mobile Device Management service can be integrated with third party servers to wirelessly configure, query and even wipe or lock managed iPhones, and iPhone OS 4 enables enterprises to securely host and wirelessly distribute their own in-house developed apps to employees. The new Data Protection feature uses a user’s passcode as an encryption key to protect mail messages and attachments stored on the iPhone. iPhone OS 4 now provides the option to set a longer, more complex passcode, making iPhone and its data even more secure. iPhone OS 4 allows IT managers to set up multiple Exchange ActiveSync accounts, is compatible with Exchange Server 2010 and includes support for forthcoming SSL VPN applications from Juniper Networks and Cisco.

Today, more than four billion apps have been downloaded from the revolutionary App Store and more than 185,000 apps are available to consumers in 90 countries. Over 85 million iPhone and iPod touch users around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

Availability
The iPhone OS 4 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iPhone Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. iPhone OS 4 will be available as a software update to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer.* A version of iPhone OS 4 will be coming to iPad this Fall.

*Some features may not be available on all products. For example, Multitasking requires iPhone 3GS or third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB).

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

If you’d like to watch Apple’s keynote, click HERE to be linked directly to Apple’s QuickTime link.

Verizon CEO Covets the iPhone

On Tuesday, April 6, 2010, the chief executive officer of Verizon, Ivan Seidenberg, told Apple that Verizon would like to carry the iPhone. He also referenced a report saying that Apple is indeed working on a CDMA-capable iPhone.

For those who don’t know, Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method utilized by various radio communication technologies. This is the type of technology that both Verizon and Sprint use in their phones, while carriers such as T-Mobile and AT&T use SIM cards (the current iPhones require this technology).

Seindenberg did not say whether the iPhone will come to Verizon or not. He also quoted a report from late March that said a two new iPhones are in development, one being CDMA-capable. Hopefully this report is verifiable and Apple does agree to move the iPhone to Verizon. Talks of the iPhone moving to Verizon have been going on for a while now so nothing can be certain thus far.

It is interesting, however, that Seindenberg’s comments have come almost immediately before Apple’s preview to the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 this Thursday, April 8. The 4.0 OS will likely be released, however, not until early summer. Hopefully Verizon will finally get the iPhone and being the largest wireless provider in the United States, I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

Leave a comment below and tell us what you think about all of this and whether or not  you’re excited about there possibly being a Verizon iPhone.

Google Gag Puts Topeka on Top of Web’s April Foll’s Day Prank

TOPEKA, Kan. – For a month, Topeka was Google. For a day – April Fools’ Day – Google was Topeka.

In a nod to Kansas capital, this unofficially changed its name to Google, Kan., for a month in a bid to become a test site for the company’s planned super-fast fiber optic network, the popular search engine changed its name yesterday to Topeka.

Visitors to the company’s homepage, google.com, were greeted by the name “Topeka” in Google’s familiar multicolor typeface. Below it was a link to a lengthy blog posting by Google Inc. Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt explaining the move.

Topeka, Mr. Schmidt said, took its name from the Kansa Indians as “a good place to dig for potatoes” along the Kansas River.

“We’d like to think that our Website is one the Web’s places to dig for information,” Mr. Schmidt wrote.

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten’s office was inundated with calls.

“We’ve had a lot of fun with it. It’s brought attention to our city,” Mr. Bunten said.

Google wasn’t the only institution to have fun with April Fools’ Day.

The intuition of higher learning formerly known as Johns Hopkins University made a surprising announcement: It was finally dropping that first, awkward “s” and changing its name its name to John Hopkins University.

The alteration was quickly made to the university’s Website, and the media relations staff posted photos of the ditched letter being removed from around campus: A worker in a neon work vest filling in an engraved “s” on a marble sign. A crane pulling a metal “s” off a building.

Even the campus bookstore, in an announcement on the university Web site, was stocking up on Wite-Out to help faculty members update their cards.

“We give up,” university President Ronald Daniels said, “We’re fighting a losing battle here. And we strongly suspect the extra ‘s’ was a typo in the first place.”

  • YouTube offered the curious option of watching videos in text essentially a stream of code instead of images.
  • The comedy video site FunnyOrDie.com was revamped as Bieber or Die, its homepage riddled with the tennybopper star Justin Bieber.
  • Starbucks poked fun “at itself by unveiling new “micra” and “plenta” sizes, one absurdly small, the others as big as a bucket.”