Now ! 有人用Dosbox成功執行Windows 3.1，感覺噱頭成份大於實質意義，可能只是要突顯N810的效能與多工處理能力，與人家PSP跑Windows 95有異曲同工之妙的說。
7.31.2008
Nokia N810可成功運作Windows 3.1
Now ! 有人用Dosbox成功執行Windows 3.1，感覺噱頭成份大於實質意義，可能只是要突顯N810的效能與多工處理能力，與人家PSP跑Windows 95有異曲同工之妙的說。
在PSP上玩GPS的遊戲，可以喔...
PSP可以跑GPS的 "傳說" ，已經在樓梯上走了很久很久，終於看到走下樓梯的可能。來自主站的消息，一位Sony中階行銷主管暗示未來會推出GPS的PSP遊戲，不過從PSP已經有GPS模組來看，會出現搭配GPS來玩的遊戲也無可厚非的說，只是，還要多久，一切尚是未知數。
進去一點！嗯！再進去一點！
再進去都要插破耳膜啦！
JVC 的最新耳機產品 HP-FXC50，可以說是損傷聽力滿點，聽覺享受卻還不知道是不是真的很正點。這隻耳機其實就是把耳機的驅動單體做的細一點（直徑 5.8mm）、長一點，然後就可以放進耳朵深一點。 而根據 JVC 的說法，這樣的設計不但可以減少音樂的外漏，同時戴起來也會舒服一點；這款 or 系列耳機將在八月初於日本上市，售價約 4,000 日圓。
……
讓你流汗的新產品：Google氣候變遷預測動畫
Google Earth 軟體，恐怕是許多現代人的新歡，當你從眼前螢幕中就可以瞭望到世界的每個角落，Google公司創造的驚人產品，恐怕讓你讚不絕口。現在，它提出最新的產品：「全球氣候變遷」動畫，架構在基本的Google Earth軟體上，讓你看看下個世紀的地球，會是什麼模樣？
這套軟體是以一般正常氣候變遷情況為基準，然後使用英國環境署（UK Environment Ministry）與氣象辦公室（Met Office）的資料，配上美國太空總署（NASA）的衛星照片，來預測未來的氣候變化。你可以在視窗中聚焦你所關心的區域，看看氣候變遷造成的影響。這套軟體中將近年來「環境災難」事件一一置入資料庫，當你搜尋相關區域，就可以看到因洪水淹沒的家園、受久旱衝擊的失落農夫們，和無數等待救援的飢餓者。
或許你會發現，他們距離你並不遠。
如果沒有耐心一一閱讀，你可以試著加快動畫速度。當看見地球從一個冷靜涼爽的蔚藍小星球，轉變成熱烈的橘黃色。我相信，你背上流下的汗，一定不只是因為今年氣候異常造成的酷熱引起。
MacBook 大改款？玻璃表面的多重觸控板？自己玩晶片組？
月初咱們才看到那組疑似 MacBook Pro 新外殼的照片（上圖），可惜沒啥下文。而在大家紛紛幫自家筆電換內裝，改採用 Centrino 2 平台之際，蘋果端倒是一整個安靜。（已經等了好幾個禮拜二了！）
不過沒關係，一票愛湊熱鬧的媒體是不會讓湖面平靜多久的。Computerworld 的 Seth Weintraub 率先爆料，表示他所得知的消息中，除了 MacBook 外殼也將改成鋁製之外，MacBook（跟 Pro）同時將採用不一樣的、具有多重觸控功能的觸控板，他不一樣在哪裡？在他有一個跟 iPhone 類似的玻璃觸控板，不過這點實在是讓人匪夷所思，如果下面沒有要放小螢幕，弄成透明的是弄心酸的嗎？（總之就是不懂為啥要用這樣的材料，嘿！這是乳摸！）
另外根據 AppleInsider 一頭的報導，蘋果似乎對 Centrino 2 / Montevina 平台的內建顯示晶片不太滿意，也因此可能會自己弄一套晶片組安裝在 MacBook 上面，然後再裝上 Intel 的處理器，反正人家現在有 PA Semi 在撐腰（可能要多給一些加班費...），應該是不會有太大問題才是。（只是要讓消費者等多久，這就是一個大問題了！）
以上僅供參考，如果跟事實差很多請怪 C 跟 A！
影片：Fiat 500與Audi Q7對撞，你猜誰會贏
小巧，油耗低的車款目前已經逐漸成為主流，現在有許多SUV車主想做的就是從他們的吃油老虎口中解脫出來。問題是，如果你真的買了一輛Mini或者Yaris，你又不得不駕駛著他們到茫茫的車海當中，去面對神出鬼没無所不在的SUV和大型貨卡，那麼你駕駛著小車在路上將是一件非常危險的事。汽車製造商也許會告訴你他們的汽車獲得了5顆星的優良撞擊等級，他們永遠非常的安全，但是你想不想看看一輛3噸重的SUV和一輛小車相撞的結果？現在在YouTube上就有這麼一段關於大小車對撞的影片（不是Benz對Smart），在這段影片裡，體積龐大的Audi Q7將和小巧的Fiat 500對撞。你想看看Fiat 500的遭遇嗎？如果你很關心Fiat 500車內的假人，那麼你或許要傷心了。
英駭客入侵美軍方電腦 將被引渡至美國受審
42歲失業電腦從業員麥金農入侵美國軍方電腦
英國一名電腦駭客涉嫌在倫敦寓所內，非法入侵美國海、陸、空三軍和國防部的電腦系統，造成破壞。英國當局要把他引渡往美國受審，他提出上訴，但倫敦法院30日判他敗訴，預料他將於短期內被押往美國。
據星島環球網報導，42歲失業電腦從業員麥金農被控於2001年至2002年間，利用倫敦北部家中睡房的電腦，以駭客技術成功入侵美國軍方和國防部總共97部電腦。有人形容這是歷來最大規模的駭客入侵軍方電腦系統的事件，令美國當局極之尷尬。
主控官指出，侵襲行動令到負責保護首都華盛頓的軍區和新澤西州海軍軍火站陷入癱瘓。除了軍方和國防部外，美國太空總署和多個私人機構的電腦系統，也被他入侵。當局估計，這些行動造成的金錢損失達到90萬美元。
麥金農將在美國新澤西州和弗吉尼亞州面對8項電腦詐騙罪，若被裁定罪名成立，每項罪名最高會被判入獄10年及罰款25萬美元。
網名叫SOLO的麥金農在英國法庭上自辯時聲稱，他這樣做只是為了嘗試揭露這些部門的電腦保安系統的漏洞，同時要尋找有關不明飛行物體的證據。
麥金農去年在英國《衛報》的網站上留言寫道：「我是一個著了魔的男人。」他聲稱自己花了1年間，平均每天坐在電腦前面8小時，入侵美國軍方的電腦系統，天天都不梳洗，又狂飲啤酒及吸食大麻。他聲稱，他成功找到了一些照片證據，可以證明真的有外星人太空船的存在，也找到「非人類軍官」的姓名和軍階。
控方指控他蓄意利用這些行動，試圖要脅美國政府。麥金農曾經在美國軍方一部電腦內留下訊息，指責美國政府實行的外交政策，形同政府支持的恐怖主義。
他於2002年被捕，辯方律師要求在英國進行審訊，因為如果把他引渡往美國，可能會被押上軍事法庭受審，甚至可能會被關在古巴關塔那摩美軍基地。
歐洲火星探測器近距離拍下火衛一清晰照片
火星快車所拍下的照片
歐洲航天局30日宣佈，該機構的火星快車探測器於本月23日以不到100公里的距離與火衛一會面，並拍下這顆火星衛星的清晰照片。
歐航局稱，火星快車探測器於格林尼治時間23日淩晨以每秒3公里的速度從火衛一附近飛過，兩者的最近距離一度只有93公里，比預計的97公里更為接近。此前，火星快車雖然也曾從火衛一旁邊飛過，但它們之間的距離從未少於100公里。在該探測器接近火衛一的過程中，它所攜帶的高解析度立體照相機為衛星表面拍攝了清晰的彩色三維照片。
在火星快車拍攝的照片中，火衛一表面一些形態各異的小坑清晰可見，這些凹陷部分的形成過程至今仍是科學家們爭論的焦點。有人認為它們是巨物撞擊的結果，還有人認為這是衛星表面風化所致。
歐航局表示，火星快車7月份已經數次近距離飛越火衛一，拍攝了一系列高解析度照片，而且它還首次拍到了該衛星可視面邊緣的一部分圖像。由於火衛一總是以同一部分表面朝向火星，因此很難看到其可視面邊緣的廬山真面目。
另據報導，歐航局表示，人類對於火星的兩顆衛星——火衛一和火衛二的起源知之甚少。有人認為，火衛一和火衛二是被火星捕獲的小行星，也有人認為它們是巨大物體撞擊火星時留下的殘骸。此次通過近距離接觸，火星快車收集到很多詳細的資料，有望對上述問題進行解答。
Yahoo! offers up coupons and refunds to DRM server-shutdown victims
If you woke up this morning worried about what Yahoo! is planning to do for its Music Store customers who are about to be left in the lurch with its DRM server shut-down, have no fear. Yahoo! has announced that it will offer customers coupons or refunds for those songs you bought. Basically, you'll get a coupon that you can use at RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody download service. Their songs, of course, are DRM-free. For those of you who have "serious problems with this arrangement" (their words, not ours), refunds will be available. The servers go down on September 30, so start combing your collections, kids.
為什麽 Blog 展示公益廣告或不相關廣告
作者: AdSense中文小組
最近收到不少部落客的反饋，抱怨自己的 Blog 一直展示公益廣告或相關性不高的廣告。
根據我們的經驗，由於 Blog 內容大多為個人日記或零碎文字，而且大家為了增加內容的可讀性，大都喜歡使用圖片、視頻等富媒體形式，從而導致 Blog 缺乏文字內容，或文章主題過於分散，這很容易造成我們的廣告系統無法正確判讀 Blog 頁面内容，進而無法比對廣告，最終造成您的網站展示公益廣告或不相關廣告的概率增大。
另外，我們與個人隨筆、心情文字等内容相關的廣告商數目不多，所以我們不能保證在所有此類内容的頁面展示廣告。若您的網站很多頁面都是此類内容，則您的網站展示公益廣告或者非相關性廣告的概率會增大。因此，您可能有時候在某些頁面看到相關廣告，也可能有時候看到公益廣告或不相關廣告，您也可能在某些與您的網站類似的其它網站看到相關廣告，而您的網站卻展示公益廣告或不相關廣告。
這些都屬於正常情況，原因主要是由於我們無法正確對您的網頁内容進行判讀，另外，與您的網頁内容相關的廣告商數量有限，可以觸發的廣告數量也有限，我們無法保證所有此類内容的頁面都會有相關廣告展示。
當遇到這種情況時，請您盡可能增加內容主題集中、文本內容豐富的文章，隨著我們的抓取工具對這些內容的抓取，會觸發更多的廣告數量，進而會慢慢有相關性廣告出現。
2008年7月31日 星期四
最近收到不少部落客的反饋，抱怨自己的 Blog 一直展示公益廣告或相關性不高的廣告。
根據我們的經驗，由於 Blog 內容大多為個人日記或零碎文字，而且大家為了增加內容的可讀性，大都喜歡使用圖片、視頻等富媒體形式，從而導致 Blog 缺乏文字內容，或文章主題過於分散，這很容易造成我們的廣告系統無法正確判讀 Blog 頁面内容，進而無法比對廣告，最終造成您的網站展示公益廣告或不相關廣告的概率增大。
另外，我們與個人隨筆、心情文字等内容相關的廣告商數目不多，所以我們不能保證在所有此類内容的頁面展示廣告。若您的網站很多頁面都是此類内容，則您的網站展示公益廣告或者非相關性廣告的概率會增大。因此，您可能有時候在某些頁面看到相關廣告，也可能有時候看到公益廣告或不相關廣告，您也可能在某些與您的網站類似的其它網站看到相關廣告，而您的網站卻展示公益廣告或不相關廣告。
這些都屬於正常情況，原因主要是由於我們無法正確對您的網頁内容進行判讀，另外，與您的網頁内容相關的廣告商數量有限，可以觸發的廣告數量也有限，我們無法保證所有此類内容的頁面都會有相關廣告展示。
當遇到這種情況時，請您盡可能增加內容主題集中、文本內容豐富的文章，隨著我們的抓取工具對這些內容的抓取，會觸發更多的廣告數量，進而會慢慢有相關性廣告出現。
2008年7月31日 星期四
Intel、HP、Yahoo! 大合作，將成立雲端運算研究中心
雲端運算（Cloud-computing）這個名詞，相信大家應該都不會太陌生，簡單說就是將集合眾人之力，打造一飛沖天的快感 龐大的運算作業拆成千百個較小的作業， 交給遠端、多台伺服器同時運算（可以參考一下這篇文章），這東西也可以說是現代網路（如果又硬要把 Web 2.0 扯進來，小編我是沒意見啦！）的核心。
這次 HP、Intel、Yahoo! 三家橫跨硬體、主機、網路服務的大小頭聯手，主要就是為了解決雲端運算過於龐大、分散，導致一般中小型研究計畫沒有充足的資源來正確模擬實際服務狀況的困境（有些人雖然銀彈充足，也不一定弄的好啊！）。
他們將在世界各地建構六所大型的雲端運算資料研究中心，各位址分別有 1000 到 4000 個結點（node），同時他們預計將在年底邀請他們所預選的研究計畫人員來參與包括規模、安全性、管理以及新服務測試等實驗。
而這六個中心，除了會在這三位大小頭的某分部設置外，還會在美國的伊利諾利大學（University of Illinois）、新加坡的資通訊發展局（Infocomm Development Authority），以及德國的 Steinbuch 電腦中心（Steinbuch Centre for Computing）園區、校園內設立。
Lenovo聯想G系列現身......，在馬來西亞
之前曾謠傳Lenovo IdeaPad G系列（依之前所提的，這樣也能叫Netbook？那基本上現在的便宜筆電都可以叫了），已經發表了，不過，是在馬來西亞就是了。以價位取向的機種，規格看來也算漂亮，有著：1.86GHz T2390 Core 2 Duo處理器，內建X3100顯示晶片，14吋機種，具備160GB硬碟以及2GB記憶體，並且搭配2GB記憶體，還有DVD燒錄機，要價RM1999。
不過，
(Q)uery 查詢Yeager，《目前動態》研究X200中...
iTunes 7.7.1 is out... and then nothing
That's right chicks and dudes, iTunes 7.7.1 is now available for your downloading pleasure. Does it snap the App Store liberties you've been taking? Will it enhance your audio? Is it spying on you and your loved ones? Only Apple knows for sure.
iPod、MacBook、MacBook Pro 通路供貨將縮減，新機將至？
根據 AppleInsider 報導，蘋果目前已經開始向各通路夥伴發出通知，表示再過不久部份產品將會受生產數量減少而供貨縮減，建議大家趁現在供貨還算正常的時候，先多訂個四週 iPod 的份，以及三週 MacBook / MacBook Pro 的份（並未提及 MacBook Air）來補充存貨，並且表示在七天後，供貨將會變得非常的吃緊。
而這樣的現象，據經驗老道的通路商表示，很有可能是蘋果正在為新產品（可能包括 iPod nano、iPod touch、MacBook、MacBook Pro）作準備，以應付不久後將來臨的開學季。
Video: Camera-based concept turns any surface into a DJ deck
DJ MoCAP, master of time and white space, has developed a camera-based controller for the TRAKTOR Scratch DJ System. Just sketch the deck onto a piece of white paper and turn any high contrast surface into a mixing table. There seems to be a bit of latency but overall the system looks fairly responsive. Why? Why not, we say. Video demonstration after the break.
Wiii 發展中？
眼睛不用很尖的朋友都看得出來，上面多了一個 i，是的！根據最近一篇 Forbes 網站的專欄報導，該作者除了寫出一些對於遊戲市場的觀察之外，也點出了老任老早就在為 Wii 的接班人鋪路的消息。
報導中提及，過去一般一台遊戲機的壽命大概是到五到六年左右，但現在這批遊戲機的熱賣，可能會稍微加快新一代遊戲機推出的腳步；而相對微軟、索尼的低調，N 社的老總岩田聡倒是大方的表示（沒確切說是在哪個場合的訪問），他們早已在打造 Wii 的後續機種。
雖然岩田聡先生對於 Wii 後續機的細節，是一個字都不肯說，但他也承認，要期待他們一直推出具有重大革命性的遊戲產品，對玩家來說應該是期望越大、失望越大，同時他還表示這東西在 Wii 銷售降到一個極限之前，基本上不會見光的。
Sony 開始接受 PlayStation Home 擴大封測申請
那個延了再延的 PlayStation Home，總算是有新進度了。
還記得四月多的時候，Sony 曾經表示將會在今年秋天展開擴大封測，而這次總算是追上進度了；目前 Sony Japan 已經開始接受玩家申請加入封測，這次預計將開放 10,000 位十八歲以上的日本國民參與這個虛擬的世界，並且在八月底正式展開封測，正式的開放擴大測試，約會在年底上路。
這批烈士的招募時間將於今天展開（應該開始了吧？），並在八月十一號截止；至於其他國家的封測，主站雖然說是在同期開始，不過其他的新聞來源並沒有說的很清楚，各位玩家或許可以找找相關的訊息，再回來跟大家分享分享。這次的封測當中，玩家除了可以體驗 3D 畫面的虛擬世界外，還可以在 Namco 博物館玩玩 PacMan，跳轉後還有兩張圖片，大家可以參考一下。
WTO日內瓦會談宣告破裂
由於美國、中國與印度無法就中印兩國有權設置緊急關稅以保護本國農業的問題達成一致﹐世界貿易組織(WTO)日內瓦會談週二宣告破裂。
Getty Images
美國貿易代表施瓦布在談判破裂後在
WTO總部發表簡短聲明此次為期九天的會議是在日內瓦召開時間最長的貿易峰會﹐會議希望達成一個折衷方案﹕歐盟(European Union)與美國將降低農業補貼和關稅﹐以換取中國、印度、巴西以及其他新興經濟體開放其化學品、汽車等工業品市場。
貿易專家們表示﹐談判在經過此前七年的磋商後依然宣告破裂﹐表明自2001年多哈回合談判啟動以來﹐全球經濟格局已經發生了巨大變化﹐中國、印度、巴西等國已經成為重要的貿易力量。
約30個國家參與的談判上週曾接近崩潰﹐但上週五深夜美國與巴西達成一致令談判得以延續度過週末。美國同意將農業補貼上限控制在145億美元﹐而巴西則答應削減工業品關稅。
然而就在週末﹐兩個發展中國家放大了他們的反對呼聲。印度貿易和商業部長納特(Kamal Nath)與中國談判代表先後拒絕接受美國的條件。
中國和印度要求專門做出規定﹐允許他們在糖、棉花與大米等部分產品進口飆升的情況下設置特殊關稅。
納特對記者說﹐我不能拿數百萬農民的生計冒險。一位中國官員也抱怨美國漫天要價。
廣告美國官員表示﹐美國沒想到會在這種防衛性條款上遭遇如此強烈的反對﹐這可能會損害到全世界的農民。美國貿易代表蘇珊•施瓦布(Susan Schwab)拒絕做出讓步。
週二晚些時候結束最後一次會議後﹐精疲力盡的施瓦布對記者表示﹐上週五晚上我們眼看著就要達成協議了。
雖然有眾多國家出席﹐但大多數討價還價都是在一小群經濟大國之間進行的﹐包括歐盟、美國、澳大利亞、日本、中國、印度和巴西。
多哈回合談判的前景目前還不明朗。WTO官員強調﹐嚴格來說﹐談判仍可能延續。施瓦布則表示﹐美國仍然會努力推動達成協議。多哈回合談判旨在通過開放西方國家的農產品市場﹐幫助人們擺脫貧困。
其他人則更為謹慎。歐盟貿易委員曼德爾森(Peter Mandelson)週一表示﹐本週談判失敗可能導致此輪貿易回合談判徹底告吹。
貿易專家們警告稱﹐多哈回合談判多次破裂（目前已是第八次高峰會議）可能意味著大規模多邊貿易協議的終結。
著有《輝煌的交易﹕貿易如何塑造世界》(A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World)一書的威廉•伯恩斯坦(William J. Bernstein)指出﹐此前貿易回合談判已經取得了比較容易達成的協議成果﹐因此貿易協議可能已到了山窮水盡的地步。
RIM BlackBerry KickStart 8220 動手玩影片
在一堆 RIM BlackBerry KickStart 8220 的相關報導、小測過後，CranBerry 再接再厲，這回則是端出了相當詳盡的動手玩影片。
影片當中除了有外觀上詳細的介紹之外，還包括了外螢幕操作、雙手使用 SureType 鍵盤輸入（跟其他黑莓機比起來，鍵盤的腹地還真是不小）、軌跡球操作（相對其他黑莓機還是有點卡卡的，因為稍微深了一點）等，也大略玩了一下 OS 4.6 的一些功能，另外也拿了台 3G iPhone 來比一下瀏覽器。影片在跳轉後，有興趣的朋友不用害羞，口水給他一次流個痛快吧！
Dell 也打算賣口袋投影機？
上面這張投影片，據說是前幾天 Dell E 系列筆電流出的同一批，只是為啥被多暗槓個幾天，這就不是咱們感興趣的範圍了。回到投影片本身，裡頭清清楚楚的看到了這台目前沒代號，但是應該屬於是 E 系列週邊的口袋型投影機；規格當中提到了投影畫面可達 SVGA、XGA 的解析度，採用 LED 投影，重量也才 500 克，大小比那個不知道多大的馬克杯小就是。
除了口袋投影機之外，上面還有 CoolSlice 的散熱墊、Privacy Filter 防窺片；目前預計這些東東可能會在第四季跟 E 系列目前尚未出現的筆電同時上路.
iPhone 3G review
It's hard to think of any other device that's enjoyed the level of exposure and hype that Apple found in the launch of the first iPhone. Who could forget it? Everyone got to be a gadget nerd for a day; even those completely disinterested in technology seemed to come down with iPhone fever. But the original device was still far from perfect: its limited capabilities (especially in the 3G department), high price of entry, and the small number of countries in which it was available kept many potential buyers sidelined. Until now -- or so Apple hopes.
The wireless industry is a notoriously tough nut to crack, and it's become pretty clear that the first iPhone wasn't about total domination so much as priming the market and making a good first impression with some very dissatisfied cellphone users. With the iPhone 3G, though, Apple's playing for keeps. Not only is this iPhone's Exchange enterprise support aiming straight for the heart of the business market, but the long-awaited 3rd party application support and App Store means it's no longer just a device, but a viable computing platform. And its 3G network compatibility finally makes the iPhone welcome the world over, especially after Cupertino decided to ditch its non-traditional carrier partnerships in favor of dropping the handset price dramatically. $200? We're still a little stunned.
So now that Apple finally stands poised for an all out war on cellphone-makers everywhere, will the iPhone 3G stand up to the competition -- and higher expectations than ever? Read on for our full review.
Update: Updated with more tests from our battery, MobileMe, and enterprise supplemental.
Gallery: iPhone 3G review - hardware
The hardware
No one will have any trouble recognizing the new device from its face -- it's essentially identical to the original iPhone. Thankfully, the bright, high quality, high resolution 480 x 320 3.5-inch display that's just so easy to love, hasn't been changed a bit. Unfortunately, it's still every bit as much a magnet for smudges and fingerprints -- in fact, even more so now that the rear of the device has dropped its chic matte aluminum in favor of black (or white, optional on the 16GB model) plastic. Hey, at least now it's more symmetrical.
The move to plastic seemed almost inevitable now that the iPhone has so many radios, frequencies, and antenna needs (GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS), but while we do prefer the original aluminum, the plastic does feel pretty solid and not at all flimsy, which is more than we can say for a hell of a lot of handsets. There's no doubt about the fact that we'd have preferred a matte or soft-touch finish to the glossy plastic, but that's all a matter of taste.
The body of the phone is slightly thicker at its center than its predecessor, although the edges are tapered and thinner than before, which is always a good way to make a device feel smaller than it actually is. (Palm learned this a long time ago.) There are a couple downsides to the body shape, though: first, when you're tapping off-center on a hard, flat surface, the phone wobbles (but only a little, oh well).
Second, the new shape means you won't be using it in your original device's dock. This really wouldn't be all that bad if Apple included a dock with the 3G like they did with the first iPhone, but now they want you to buy that separately. Did we mention they're asking $30 for it? Way lame. That absurdly small power adapter kind of makes up for it, but only a little.
One thing Apple was keen to talk up is the vastly improved call quality of the iPhone 3G. Those in the know understand that 3G call quality is often better than regular GSM -- but it turns out Apple made a huge improvement on both sides. iPhone 3G calls made over 3G and GSM both sounded significantly better than calls made on the original iPhone. If you're upgrading your device iPhone you may not necessarily notice it, but on a side by side it was pretty obvious.
Of course, call quality most often depends on coverage, and coverage varies between 3G and GSM networks depending on where you are. 3G calling also requires more battery power. Where are we going with this? Well, despite many of the painstaking measures Apple's taken to preserve battery power, the iPhone 3G doesn't do any real time signal detection to help determine whether you currently have better 3G or GSM voice coverage. If you suspect you might get better coverage either on or off 3G, it's up to you to dig down through a few settings menus to flip the switch. Not a deal breaker by any means, but it'd make for a welcome fix.
Apple's numbers on the iPhone 3G's battery life peg it at 10 / 5 hours talk on GSM / 3G (respectively), 5 hours 3G data, 6 hours WiFi, 24 hours music and 7 hours video. Pretty much everything we've found in our testing jibes with Apple's claims, if not exceeds them. (Our early results testing video early on skewed low because we had mistakenly left on push and fetch data, which dropped the battery life by almost 25%. After re-testing, they're back up to spec.)
All our tests were conducted with 3G on, WiFi on (not connected), Bluetooth off, no data fetching enabled (unless specified otherwise). Media tested with stock headphones, medium volume, and medium screen brightness, auto-brightness disabled.
Music (continuous playback, large library, occasionally turning on screen): 31h 23m Video (continuous playback, no push/fetch data): 7h 5m Video (continuous playback, with push and 15 minute fetch data): 5h 24m Daily data use (browsing, email, and GPS / maps): ~6h 30m Those numbers definitely are not bad, but if you're anything like us and you kill time on your phone reading feeds and checking email like a fiend, by 3 or 4pm you'll likely be wondering if you'll even make it home with any power left -- especially if you leave on the 3G data. So be warned, because the kind of prolonged usage you used to get away with on the original iPhone probably isn't possible with the iPhone 3G. For some, this may be an issue. Others may never notice.
There have been a number of other fixes to better the device as well. For example, the phone now has two proximity sensors to better detect when it's held to your ear. We also found that while the camera was essentially identical, we were getting images that were ever so slightly sharper and crisper than the original iPhone on 1.1.4 (check it out below). Still, knowing that HTC's Touch Diamond -- which features a 3.2 megapixel sensor and mechanical autofocus -- could pack such a great camera in an even smaller form factor than the iPhone's left us pining for something a bit more than the same 2 megapixels from the first time around.
Gallery: iPhone 3G review - camera test
What we're probably the most excited about, though, is that two of our biggest hardware-related gripes from the original device have finally been addressed: first, the headphone jack is now flush, which means any standard (3.5mm) headphones will work in the iPhone without the need for an adapter. The new jack has a solid, confidence-inspiring feel that won't leave you worrying about damaging the device or your headphones. To this day we still have no clue why Apple pushed the jack in -- it was kind of funny hearing Steve pitch the flush jack as a feature at WWDC. It's the simple things, you know?
Second, the speaker volume has been jacked up significantly, giving your calls (or music) a much more workable volume level if you're not blessed with superhuman hearing. It's not the loudest speaker we've ever heard on a device, and unlike many Nokia Nseries phones, it's still mono. But it's definitely a step up compared to the first iPhone, which was not only quiet, but also seemed to distort at much lower volumes.
Speed and location
At the end of the day, it's the 3G data that's important enough to become part of the new iPhone's namesake. Speed testing the iPhone 3G hasn't been disappointing in the slightest. We've seen speeds between 300 - 500Kbps in the US (roughly equivalent of other HSDPA devices we've tested), and in networks abroad where the data rates are even faster, we've gotten consistent data rates of over 700-800Kbps. It's pretty clear the iPhone 3G isn't hitting hardware limits right now, so much of what you can prepare to see in terms of speed in the US will depend directly on reception with AT&T's network -- which doesn't have the most outstanding reputation, nor the broadest 3G rollout.
Interestingly, in one test, our iPhone 3G had worse reception on AT&T than a Nokia N78, yet managed speeds of over 100Kbps faster. So ultimately, where 3G coverage is decent, you should be seeing speeds that will no longer have you tearing your eyes out, as was so often the case with little mister sometimes-takes-minutes-to-load-a-small-page first-gen iPhone.
GPS acquisition has also been surprisingly fast for a cellphone. AGPS devices use traditional GPS receivers, but help speed up location acquisition and accuracy by using cellphone towers to triangulate. As far as we know, the iPhone 3G is the only device out right now that not only has AGPS, but takes advantage of Skyhook's proprietary WiFi-based location system, giving it a total of three ways to help find where you're at. We were able to acquire GPS in as little as a second or two, although depending on your location and reception, you might see that take longer. It's important to note, though, that the iPhone's was clearly intended to be a location-aware smartphone -- not a dedicated GPS device. There's a big difference.
That said, there's an enormous amount of interest by people hoping they can add one more to the pile of devices their iPhone has taken over for. It's pretty clear why people might want the iPhone 3G to replace their car's dedicated GPS nav, too. It's not just a location-aware device with a large, bright screen -- it's also connected (with service you're already paying for), thus able to get traffic updates, routing information, and so on. The Google Maps app doesn't provide turn by turn route guidance, though, so while it does provide directions, you can only use it as a stand-in -- and not as a full replacement -- for a proper GPS device. This problem might be solved later by some intrepid 3rd party developer (like, say, TomTom or Telenav), but there's been some confusion as to whether this might actually happen, and what Apple's official stance on GPS nav actually is. And even if this GPS software does eventually come out, the speaker on the iPhone 3G simply won't be loud enough to be heard over most road noise, so you'd also have to make use of a line-out. In other words, don't sell your GPS device just yet, okay?
Gallery: iPhone 3G review - software
The software
Anyone that's used the original iPhone knows what a delight the device can be to use -- except when using the old mail app -- but the hardware is only one part of that. An accurate capacitive touchscreen and well optimized mobile processors form the basis of that experience, but the iPhone continues to derives its real power in usability. The iPhone 3G and the second release of mobile OS X have given the device numerous useful new features while keeping in line with expectations that they not slow down the experience, nor overwhelm new or experienced users. So far, so good.
Easily the most significant addition to the iPhone 3G (as well as the original iPhone and iPod touch) is the App Store, which finally enables users to trick out their phone with whatever programs make it through Apple's rigorous developer screening and software testing process. We've got as many mixed feelings about that closed-but-open model as we do about many of the programs that launched with the device -- especially the AIM client, which we were most excited about, but that kind of flopped. (Disclosure: Engadget is owned by AOL / TimeWarner. Sorry gang!)
Although the App Store isn't open to any developer, it's worth noting that Apple's implementation wrests all control from its carrier partners, which typically expect 3rd party applications to be either side-loaded (i.e. more for the power user set), or simply want complete control of sales through their own walled garden. It's easy to argue that the App Store just trades one walled garden for another, but what the hell, we'll happily take Apple's over AT&T's.
The applications themselves vary in price, and are purchased after you've logged in with your iTunes account. (Yeah, you'll need one even if you're only downloading free programs.) Apps under 10MB download over the air, and are immediately deposited in your first available slot, where they can be moved (or removed) as you see fit. As new versions of the apps become available, the App Store notifies you of updates and manages the downloads. Yes, it's a new kind of walled garden, but the App Store is also a category-redefining experience. We've already heard a radically open version will be making its way to Android, and we hope it will eventually find its way to platforms like Windows Mobile and Symbian as well.
Another new addition is character recognition support for logographic-based languages, such as Traditional Chinese, as well as localized keyboards for nearly two dozen languages and markets worldwide. But the touchscreen keyboard can still be a major sticking point for some -- ourselves enthusiastically included -- and Apple hasn't given any more of its default programs (like SMS) the increased ease of typing that comes with using the keyboard in landscape mode. There's simply no question that in terms of efficiency, on an iPhone we're nowhere close to where we can get on a spacious (or even not so spacious) QWERTY keypad. To their credit, though, Apple's made a few tweaks over the last year that have made typing a little faster and easier (like letting you pre-type the next letter before your first finger has lifted). But the fact is this defining feature of the iPhone remains one of its biggest drawbacks.
After nearly a week of testing MobileMe, we still haven't really had a positive experience with it among our editorial team. One editor, who had fewer issues than anyone else, still had difficulty syncing his 1,300+ contacts. MobileMe would choke on sync and require disabling / re-enabling to keep that sync moving. Another problem we saw was that email deletes weren't synced to other devices, requiring the same message be deleted in multiple locations. In some cases, a deleted email that wasn't properly synced would actually repropagate to back out other devices. Nothing better than zombie email.
Another thing we (and a lot of people noticed) is that MobileMe on the desktop is faux-push -- it only gets updates every 15 minutes because it's actually pulling them, unlike the iPhone's proper push. (We're, like, totally sure someone's going to sue.) You can edit a certain .pref file (details here) to make it fetch every minute -- but fetching every minute isn't push, now is it? Apple has since acknowledged this issue (among others). We also noticed on the phone that if you have synced MobileMe calendars, your calendar subscriptions (like, say, shared iCal or Gcal or what have you) are disabled.
All in all, as of the time of this writing, our feeling is that MobileMe still feels like it's in beta -- when it's up -- and is generally falling way short of what was promised by Apple. We believe they're earnest when they say they're trying to get it all up and running to fulfill their commitments, but for the time being we think it's best to steer clear until they work out the kinks.
On the other hand, we found the Exchange support to be simple enough to set up and use that you may not have to bug your IT dude. Some hardcore enterprise users will miss the full Exchange suite, including synced notes and tasks, but the core functionality (email, calendar, contacts) work very well, and if you need to take your iPhone into the locked-down office, we tested and confirmed that it will play fine with your company's WPA Enterprise / 802.1x with PEAP network. But our biggest gripe with Exchange isn't small: the system is unable to let enterprise contacts and calendars coexist on the same device with personal contacts and calendars. (Personal and corp email get along just fine, though.)
When you turn on Exchange-synced contacts and calendars, you're notified that it's a one or the other kind of a situation, and your personal data will be removed from the phone. Though that data isn't purged from your host machine, of course, you do immediately lose the ability to change contact or calendar sync settings. This effectively means that your device can only serve as an enterprise device OR a personal device, but not both at once. Kind of defeats the purpose of convincing your boss to get you an iPhone in the first place, you know? Can't all our calendars and contact lists just play together on the same device? We think they can (and should).
Some other new and noteworthy features:
As mentioned, Google Maps now shows a pinging blue locator that can track your movement. As of right now there's no way to convert this to KML or anything usable for geocaching. The camera will also now ask you permission to use GPS to geotag photos with your current location. Once you grant that permission, it will add the necessary standard EXIF data to your photos. Trés useful, but you can't refer back to those geotags to bring up a location in Google Maps. Side note: there's now an option to reset location notifications, if you accidentally granted permission to an app you don't want knowing where you are. The iPhone can now read PowerPoint, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents. It's still incapable of editing or creating new documents, however, and outside of sending yourself these files via email, there's no accessible file storage. You can now save images from the web to your camera roll by tapping and holding. The calculator goes into scientific mode when the device is tilted sideways. Entering passwords is a little easier -- the last character you entered is temporarily shown at the end of the string. Keeps things safe but makes sure you know if you mistyped. One of the very first things we ever requested the iPhone see fixed is finally fixed: calendar colors are now supported, meaning you can finally visually tell your appointments apart based on calendar. You can now control email, contact, and calendar fetching from system settings, giving you granular control over push and pull data on your various accounts. You can also enable parental controls if you got the device for your kids. Or you just want to curb temptation to constantly watch Charlie the Unicorn on YouTube or buy Lil Wayne tracks on the WiFi Store, weirdo. Screen captures can be taken by holding home, then pressing sleep. They're dropped in the camera roll. Doing a hard reset now fully purges the device's memory, thereby making it much more difficult to recover the kind of data you don't want someone else recovering. (More on that here.) We'd also be remiss if we didn't namecheck a few of the things missing from the device, some likely to be inconveniences, others outright dealbreakers:
Easily-replaceable battery -- especially being that 3G is much more demanding on battery power than EDGE data. We haven't popped the back off, but even if replacing the battery were as simple as unscrewing the two screws at the bottom (and it's not), that's still not what we'd call easily replaceable.
Copy / paste. As if we even needed to mention this. MMS. Ditto. Expandable memory still isn't in the cards (har). 8 and 16GB capacities are very decent, but the ability to go further with microSDHC would be welcomed by many. As would be a 32GB model.
A2DP (stereo Bluetooth). If this was an unlikely addition before, it's all but written off now. A2DP is a notorious battery hog on devices like cellphones, and the iPhone is already pushing the limits on power conservation and efficiency. It pains us to say it, but we just don't see A2DP happening any time soon. Push Gmail. Hey, if Helio can have it on the Ocean, and Samsung on the Instinct, why is Apple stuck with only push Yahoo mail? Service-independent device to machine wireless syncing. Exchange and MobileMe are nice, but even nicer would be a way to easily sync data directly to your machine without having to pay or have some kind of service. Tethered data. Hey, you're paying $30 a month for data (likely more if you're using it outside the US), your laptop should be able to use some of it too. No way to open a link in a new tab in mobile Safari. We also wish the browser was still a bit better about caching data, too -- it'd be nice not to have to do so many reloads when switching between tabs or moving back and forward through history. And for the enterprise users in the audience, the shortlist of ActiveSync / Exchange bits that didn't make the cut:
Folder management Opening links in email to documents stored on Sharepoint Task sync Setting an out of office autoreply Creating meeting invitations Flagging messages for followup Wrap-up
If you're an avid Symbian, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile / Exchange user, chances are you might think the iPhone 3G is Apple playing catch-up -- and you're not wrong. 3G, GPS, third party apps, enterprise messaging, these are all old hat. But even the would-be iPhone killers being churned out weekly haven't yet found a way to counter the iPhone's usability and seamless integration of service and software, desktop and mobile, and media and internet.
There are always things that could be improved, features to be added, fixes that should be applied -- but from first to second gen, from year one to year two, Apple has proven itself a relentless upstart in the mobile space, and is showing no signs of slowing down. All those new features give the iPhone even more appeal than ever, but the price is what really seals the deal.
For our money, you're going to have a hard time finding a better device for two hundred bucks -- or maybe even for any price. But that doesn't mean you ought to toss your original iPhone, either. With the release of iPhone 2.0, Apple's given early adopters every possible new feature for free, meaning the iPhone 3G's biggest roadblock to adoption in the US may be its still very worthy predecessor. But as Steve says, "If anybody is going to cannibalize us, I want it to be us." As for the rest of the world? Things are about to get interesting.
More iPhone 3G
iPhone 3G questions answered
The iPhone 3G international launch lineblog!
Note: the original iPhone continued loading the page for another two minutes or so.
ASUS prepping "high-end" Eee PC S-series for September
Remember the ASUS Eee PC roadmap we peeped a few days back? Right, the one that lists the new Ultimate S-series and Pro Fashion Eee PCs amongst the 23 models. Turns out both categories are planned for a 2008 launch with specs like dual-core Atom processors, 120GBs of hard disk, and 32GB SSDs. This according to ASUS president, Jerry Shen. The first Eee PC with a 32GB SSD (wink wink Buffalo) will launch in late September and feature a 10-inch, 16:9 aspect LED backlit display and battery life of about 4-5 hours. As members of the Exquisite and Extremely slim and light S-series, these Eee(ee) PCs will cost between $700 to $900 with the "high-end market" in mind. Funny, we didn't know there was a high-end to the race to the bottom.
Microsoft's Midori -- a future without Windows
According to a report, Microsoft isn't just looking at the next version of Windows (no, not Mojave) for future OS possibilities, but is looking beyond the Windows architecture altogether with a project known as Midori. The new OS is still in the "incubation" phase (which puts it slightly closer to market than R&D projects), but Microsoft has admitted to its existence, and the Software Daily Times says at least one team in Redmond is actively working on the new architecture.
The basis for the platform centers around research related to Microsoft's Singularity project, and envisions a distributed environment where applications, documents, and connectivity are blurred in a cloud-computing phantasmagoria which can be run natively or hosted across multiple systems. The researchers are working to create a concurrent / parallel distribution of resources, as well as a method of handling applications across separate machines -- religiously-dubbed the Asynchronous Promise Architecture -- which will set the stage for a backwards-compatible operating system built from the ground up, with networks of varying size in mind. Says the SD Times, "The Midori documents foresee applications running across a multitude of topologies, ranging from client-server and multi-tier deployments to peer-to-peer at the edge, and in the cloud data center. Those topologies form a heterogeneous mesh where capabilities can exist at separate places." Like it technical? Hit the read link for an in-depth look at the possible shape of Microsoft's future.
世界毀滅之日，你在會在做什麼？
有一個說法，是昨天在加州發生的規模 5.4 地震，或許是史上最公開，影像記錄最完善的一次地震。拜攝影機、照相機、和照相手機發達所賜，再加上 Youtube、Live Leak 等影片分享網站，還有 Myspace、Facebook 等社交網站，從來沒有一次天然災害像這次的加州地震一般，能將一般個人的經歷廣為流傳。照這趨勢下去，世界毀滅之日來臨時，或許我會一面在拍影片（像 Cloverfield 那樣）、一面寫 Engadget 上的最後一篇文章，同時在 MSN 上和所有的家人朋友告別（順便把暱稱改成「隕石掉下來啦！救命啊！」）吧？世界末日來臨之時，你（假設中X電信的網路沒掛的話）會在網路上嗎？在網路上做什麼呢？
7.29.2008
指紋留來留去的Nokia 5800「Tube」隨手玩
到處都是指紋看起來真的有點髒。規則向來如此：一旦某個大家關注的新手機發表，隨手玩的相片就立刻在網路上開始流傳。
這回，來自digi QQ的miyaliu和大家分享了14張關於Nokia 5800「Tube」這台在蝙蝠俠2：黑暗騎士裡露過臉的手機照片。根據該網頁下的回應，「Tube」將於八月發表，而該組相片的最後一張顯示：該觸控式螢幕手機將貼上XpressMusic的標籤，而不是前一代的XpressMedia。
在這洋洋灑灑五頁的文章裡面提到的Tube其他規格包括一個3.2吋、一百六十萬色、640x360解析度（比例為16:9）的TFT LCD、按下功能鍵的知覺回饋、內建加速度計、3百二十萬畫素相機、雙LED的閃光燈、定位功能、內建GPS、3.5mm聲音接孔和電視輸入孔。無線網路部分則支援HSDPA、Wi-Fi和藍牙。
目前Nokia官方尚未對此推測或未發表的產品做出任何回應（想也知道）。但是不必擔心，在Nokia決定正式公開之前 ，這些照片就先當作各位3C迷的開胃菜吧。
這回，來自digi QQ的miyaliu和大家分享了14張關於Nokia 5800「Tube」這台在蝙蝠俠2：黑暗騎士裡露過臉的手機照片。根據該網頁下的回應，「Tube」將於八月發表，而該組相片的最後一張顯示：該觸控式螢幕手機將貼上XpressMusic的標籤，而不是前一代的XpressMedia。
在這洋洋灑灑五頁的文章裡面提到的Tube其他規格包括一個3.2吋、一百六十萬色、640x360解析度（比例為16:9）的TFT LCD、按下功能鍵的知覺回饋、內建加速度計、3百二十萬畫素相機、雙LED的閃光燈、定位功能、內建GPS、3.5mm聲音接孔和電視輸入孔。無線網路部分則支援HSDPA、Wi-Fi和藍牙。
目前Nokia官方尚未對此推測或未發表的產品做出任何回應（想也知道）。但是不必擔心，在Nokia決定正式公開之前 ，這些照片就先當作各位3C迷的開胃菜吧。
關於 iPhone App 兩三事...
一如過去在 iTunes Store 下載的音樂、部份影片，App Store 下載受 FairPlay DRM 機制保護的軟體應用，也已經被精明的網友們輕解羅衫，同時也可以跟其他人分享了。不過要把軟體的 DRM 給拿掉，一方面必須要先將您的 iPhone jailbreak，另一方面還得把 SSH 給打通，之後還有一些雜七雜八的事情要弄，總之省下的錢值不值得您付出的時間，這一切就很難說了！話說如果您是要安全一點的來分享 iPhone 軟體，倒是有人發現了另一個善良一點的漏洞；大家還記得凡是從 iTunes Store 下載下來的多媒體檔案，用單一帳號可以分享給五台電腦的爛機制吧！不過一直以來 iPod / iPhone 並不在此限，也就是說 iPod / iPhone 並不會認 Apple ID，因此可以無限同步到其他台 iPod / iPhone 裡頭。至於要分享的方式很簡單，只要在另一台電腦上，先以一個已經下載過特定軟體的帳號登入，然後授權該台電腦，再以原帳號重新下載該軟體（因為已經購買過了，所以再次下載並不需要收費），下載完畢後，以另一個帳號登入，將另一台 iPhone 拿過來同步，接著就可以在另一台 iPhone 上面玩。（換電腦的原因是在不同 iPhone 跟的資料庫不同，不換會被洗掉，這大家應該都明白才是）最後一則跟 DRM 有關的問題，就是目前假使有人在 App Store 上發布的軟體應用，當中含有受 GPL 授權條款保護的程式碼，作者本身恐怕會有不少麻煩。GPL 本身就是完全開放、公開程式碼的機制，但 iPhone SDK 弄出來、隨後丟上 App Store 的軟體，本身又會被 FairPlay DRM 給禁錮，兩者間的衝突，恐怕是眾多開發者必須要小心的地方。另外一點，如果今天發展者最後連一點受 GPL 保護的程式碼都沒用上，他們將來也必須注意，用 iPhone SDK 寫出來的軟體，也不能拿去申請 GPL 授權，因為這樣一來就違反了 SDK 的保密條款。不過也不是每個小孩都這麼乖，Wordpress 目前已經把將來要放在 App Store 上的軟體，先丟到 GPL 的保護傘之下，一旦上傳到 App Store，勢必會逼蘋果有所動作；唯今最好的解決方案，除了蘋果把保密條款修一下，讓部份軟體不受 FairPlay DRM 限制（你都讓人家免費的，幹麼還要限制人家怎樣發布軟體呢？）。
iPhone 2.1 軟體相關新聞整理
2.1 版的 OS 跟 SDK 約在美西時間 25 號正式讓已加入、具有發展者會員身份的發展者下載。目前透過 SDK 2.1 撰寫的小軟體還不能上傳到 App Store 供大家下載。
關於 SDK 2.1，目前引來了相當多的抱怨，其中最讓人反感的，是 SDK 當中仍舊要大家簽署保密條款（NDA）跟整個上傳應用的審查標準。前者主要是限制了各發展者間交流的機會，在對於一個 SDK 來說是相當沒道理的，假如發展者在撰寫軟體的時候遇到問題，大概也只能默默的等官方的技術支援，然而，這效率好不好，大家應該心知肚明；上傳軟體的審查機制，更是讓人詬病，據說有人因為使用者說明裡頭有文法錯誤慘遭退件，有人被退件後重新上傳，卻等了四個禮拜都還沒有消息。而新的 SDK 推出，對這些發展者無疑是雪上加霜，因為用舊 SDK 寫的東西，似乎又得再接受一次重新審查，確認是否能在新的韌體上使用。
App Store 方面也是命運多舛；據了解，App Store 雖然能夠追蹤下載軟體是否有新版可用，但整個卻沒有提供發展者安插一個向前存檔的機制，也就是說，一旦下載更新了某遊戲應用，前一版本的遊戲存檔就會被洗掉，或者說 FaceBook 中已存的登入資料會蒸發之類的狀況。不過隨後證實這問題似乎並不是每個應用都會發生。
最後一個是目前懸而未解的小問題；我們都知道，App Store 下載的應用，跟大部分 iTunes Store 下載的多媒體檔案一樣，受到 FairPlay DRM 的版權保護，過去以同一個帳號下載的多媒體檔案，最多可以授權給五台電腦/iPod/iPhone 使用，目前似乎 App Store 的軟體也是一樣的狀況。但是事情真的是這麼簡單嗎？
關於 SDK 2.1，目前引來了相當多的抱怨，其中最讓人反感的，是 SDK 當中仍舊要大家簽署保密條款（NDA）跟整個上傳應用的審查標準。前者主要是限制了各發展者間交流的機會，在對於一個 SDK 來說是相當沒道理的，假如發展者在撰寫軟體的時候遇到問題，大概也只能默默的等官方的技術支援，然而，這效率好不好，大家應該心知肚明；上傳軟體的審查機制，更是讓人詬病，據說有人因為使用者說明裡頭有文法錯誤慘遭退件，有人被退件後重新上傳，卻等了四個禮拜都還沒有消息。而新的 SDK 推出，對這些發展者無疑是雪上加霜，因為用舊 SDK 寫的東西，似乎又得再接受一次重新審查，確認是否能在新的韌體上使用。
App Store 方面也是命運多舛；據了解，App Store 雖然能夠追蹤下載軟體是否有新版可用，但整個卻沒有提供發展者安插一個向前存檔的機制，也就是說，一旦下載更新了某遊戲應用，前一版本的遊戲存檔就會被洗掉，或者說 FaceBook 中已存的登入資料會蒸發之類的狀況。不過隨後證實這問題似乎並不是每個應用都會發生。
最後一個是目前懸而未解的小問題；我們都知道，App Store 下載的應用，跟大部分 iTunes Store 下載的多媒體檔案一樣，受到 FairPlay DRM 的版權保護，過去以同一個帳號下載的多媒體檔案，最多可以授權給五台電腦/iPod/iPhone 使用，目前似乎 App Store 的軟體也是一樣的狀況。但是事情真的是這麼簡單嗎？
NVIDIA的屁股，DELL也要來擦！？
NVIDIA在8系列筆電GPU所捅的簍子，各家筆電廠所受影響必然不小，而且愈大家的愈慘XDD，現在Dell就針對NV 的問題提出了解決方案。NV GPU的問題是出在封裝材質上，導致GPU溫度變化不穩定，而Dell所想到的解決方式，就是從BIOS設定筆電散熱風扇的參數來著手，好讓散熱變得更有 "效率" ，降低GPU熱當的情況，除了更新顯卡驅動程式外，升級BIOS也記得要作喔，只希望不要愈補愈大洞。
為被節能減碳而拔掉的電線找個家
假如沒辦法開源，那麼就節流吧。比如說平常就將沒用的電器插頭拔掉，這樣也能節省一些待機所消耗的電力唷。不過拔掉的插頭總不能就這麼四處亂丟吧，這樣不僅不美觀，也很容易讓人絆到電線造成危險。因此設計師 Paulo Oh 設計了這個能夠將拔掉的插頭直接掛在插座附近的 Hang On Outlet，為每個插頭準備一個停靠的地方。如果各位和小編一樣懶得將插頭拔來拔去的話，具有開關的延長線或是插座，也是個不錯的選擇喔。
:PB 的挑戰
什麼是 PB？我說的不是 PowerBook；抱歉，各位化學愛好者們，我說的也不是鉛。這裡想說的是 PetaByte (也就是 1000 TB，或 1,000,000 GB)的紀元來臨時的挑戰。1 PB 的紀元？現在就想這個做啥？畢竟現在硬碟主流連 1TB 都還不到不是嗎？從資料儲存的角度來看，這樣說是沒錯，七月號的 Wired 雜誌上舉了幾個很生動的例子告訴我們，其實要用光 1000TB 的容量還蠻困難的：
現在出去買一台玩家級的新電腦，容量大約是 1TB（或者，NICK庫存的*嗶*片也大約這個數）。
每周上傳到社交網站 Facebook 上的照片總量是 20TB。
哈柏太空望遠鏡從發射以來產生的總資料量大約是 120TB
大型強子碰撞器每周產生的資料量大約是 330TB。
美國國家氣候中心所以收集下來的資料總量約是 460TB。
Youtube 上所有的影片的總量約是 530TB（比想像中小？）。
Ancestry.com（一個家族追根資料庫）加上內附的 1790-2000 人口普查資料大約是 600 TB。 看吧！PB 的事還是留給後代子孫去煩惱好了，看起來要一次用掉 1PB 還早呢！是啦，要變出 1PB 的資料看起來是有困難，但從資料處理的角度來說，1PB 只是 Google 伺服器每 72 分鐘處理的資料量而已。雖然從資料儲存的角度來看，我們還處在 TB 時代，但已經有很多預兆告訴我們，下一個量級單位帶來的會是完全不同的一組新挑戰。NICK在後面想了五個可能：
現在出去買一台玩家級的新電腦，容量大約是 1TB（或者，NICK庫存的*嗶*片也大約這個數）。
每周上傳到社交網站 Facebook 上的照片總量是 20TB。
哈柏太空望遠鏡從發射以來產生的總資料量大約是 120TB
大型強子碰撞器每周產生的資料量大約是 330TB。
美國國家氣候中心所以收集下來的資料總量約是 460TB。
Youtube 上所有的影片的總量約是 530TB（比想像中小？）。
Ancestry.com（一個家族追根資料庫）加上內附的 1790-2000 人口普查資料大約是 600 TB。 看吧！PB 的事還是留給後代子孫去煩惱好了，看起來要一次用掉 1PB 還早呢！是啦，要變出 1PB 的資料看起來是有困難，但從資料處理的角度來說，1PB 只是 Google 伺服器每 72 分鐘處理的資料量而已。雖然從資料儲存的角度來看，我們還處在 TB 時代，但已經有很多預兆告訴我們，下一個量級單位帶來的會是完全不同的一組新挑戰。NICK在後面想了五個可能：
Dell迷你PC：Studio Hybrid隱藏在官方訂製頁面中
之前曾提過的消息（採 用Intel晶片組的電腦，有著4GB記憶體和320GB硬碟，可以支援Wi-Fi無線網路，此外還包含了DVD+R光碟機、5個USB埠、HDMI、 S/PDIF、DVI和讀卡機 ），雖然上次的圖片有點模糊，但我們知道這款迷你電腦肯定存在，不過具體規格不知，現在有位讀者給我們發來了也個DELL網站的內部頁面， 這個頁面展示出來的圖片讓我們可以一窺其貌，Dell Studio Hybrid的內部代碼是"Nausicaa" ，我們可以看到藍牙無線鍵盤和鼠標；我們現在還不確認最終的配置（或許這款電腦允許客戶訂製），也不知道這個頁面被我們發現後會保留多久，但我們已經抓圖下來了，跳轉後可看相關圖片：
Motorola將重組家用與網路等兩個事業部
Motorola最近幾年相當慘，不過能試著力圖振作，除了即將在明年分成手機與網路兩大事業部外，接著決定將家用與網路的等兩個業務部門（home and networks），再一起拆成3個單位，分別是家用寬頻部門（broadband home solutions）、 寬頻網路處理部門（broadband access solutions）與手機網路部門（cellular networks）。從官方聲明中提到：「這樣的組織變動主要是確保家用與行動網路等兩個業務，能夠保持在市場上的敏捷性、更能專注在原本業務與得到更好的成長性。」。撇開上面的官方說法，不管Motorola要怎麼切，只要思維還是 "老狗變不了新把戲" ，停留在「V系列手機的老梗」的話，看來下次就不是「Hello,Motor！」而是「Bye bye,Motor！」囉。
華納將黑暗騎士的盜版片拖延 38 小時，大成功？
黑暗騎士毫無疑問是今年夏天 -- 或許是史上 -- 最強的電影，因此華納最擔心的就是猖獗的盜版業會將電影院收益吃個一乾二淨。為了防堵盜版，華納從六個月前就開始做一切的安全措施，確保影片在輸送的過程中不會被盜錄，同時在試映會上嚴格檢查有沒有攝影設備（甚至為了這個在電影院用夜視鏡監測！），才成功地將盜版推出的時間往後推遲了 38 個小時，也同時造就了黑暗騎士首周末票房1.58 億美元的新紀錄。不過在這裡小薑雖然恭賀華納的成功（他們算我們的老闆嗎?），但最終小薑認為現在電影院票房的成功，還是應該要回復到電影的本源 -- 劇情、演技，和大螢幕無可比擬的視聽經驗。黑暗騎士是那種電影院看一遍，IMAX 看一遍，還會想再回家用 Blu-ray 看一遍的電影。別的電影不敢說，但黑暗騎士？看 Cam 版的才真是笨蛋。p.s. 蝙蝠俠為啥盯著柱子在看啊？
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