New Plasma Online
Welcome to New Plasma Online !

Technology Home page

  • Apple's Textbook Initiative to Feature Strong K-12 Focus, Aid Publishers Large and Small

     Bits and pieces of Apple's announcement plans for its education-focused media event to be held tomorrow are continuing to flow in, and Bloomberg now weighs in

    with its sources indicating that the company's new publishing tools will have a strong focus on shaking up the kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) textbook market.

    At an event in New York tomorrow, Apple will announce a set of tools that make it easier to publish interactive textbooks and other digital educational content, said two people with knowledge of the announcement, who requested anonymity because they weren?t authorized to speak publicly.

    The plans, to be unveiled by Apple Internet software chief Eddy Cue, are aimed at broadening the educational materials available for the iPad, especially for students in kindergarten to 12th grade, the people said. By setting its sights on the $10 billion-a-year textbook industry, Apple is using the tablet to encourage students to shun costly tomes that weigh down backpacks in favor of less-expensive, interactive digital books that can be updated anywhere via the Web.
    Echoing some of what was covered in an Ars Technica report

    earlier this week, Bloomberg's sources claim that Apple's announcements will include support for a new ePub standard and tools to make it easier for both large publishers and self-publishers to bring their content to the iPad.

    Apple?s new software is designed for a broad range of authors to be able to publish the content in a digital format, similar to what Amazon.com Inc. does with its direct publishing tools, said the people. Large publishers will be able to create digital versions of textbooks, with embedded graphics and video.

    Apple also wants to empower ?self-publishers? to create new kinds of teaching tools, said the people. Teachers could use it to design materials for that week?s lesson. Scientists, historians and other authors could publish professional-looking content without a deal with a publisher.
    Apple's media event is scheduled to kick off at 10:00 AM Eastern / 7:00 AM Pacific tomorrow, with Eddy Cue and Roger Rosner

    expected to play prominent roles in the presentation.


  • How Apple's Organizational Structure and Policies Contribute to Company's Strict Secrecy

     Fortune publishes

    a lengthy excerpt from Adam Lashinsky's forthcoming book, Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired -- and Secretive -- Company Really Works, highlighting the company's famous secrecy and how its organizational structure and policies foster that security.

    Those readers interested in reading the book from cover to cover when it debuts next week may want to avoid the excerpt, but for others the piece is an interesting look into how Apple keeps its employees on a need-to-know basis with a patchwork of clearances to ensure that very few know the company's full plans for a given project.

    Secrecy takes two basic forms at Apple -- external and internal. There is the obvious kind, the secrecy that Apple uses as a way of keeping its products and practices hidden from competitors and the rest of the outside world. This cloaking device is the easier of the two types for the rank and file to understand because many companies try to keep their innovations under wraps. Internal secrecy, as evidenced by those mysterious walls and off-limits areas, is tougher to stomach. Yet the link between secrecy and productivity is one way that Apple (AAPL) challenges long-held management truths and the notion of transparency as a corporate virtue.
    The excerpt discusses Apple's command and control structure in which there is reportedly relatively little political maneuvering, with the company's "unwritten caste system" placing Jonathan Ive's industrial design team among the "untouchable" and the status of many other teams fluctuating relative to the prominence of the products they are working on.

    Inside Apple debuts on January 25 and will be available from retailers such as Amazon

    (hardcover, Kindle e-book, and CD audiobook) and Apple's iBookstore [iTunes Store

    ].


  • Apple Seeds OS X 10.7.3 Build 11D46 to Developers [Mac Blog]

     One week after the previous developer seed

    , Apple late yesterday pushed out Build 11D46 of OS X 10.7.3 to registered developers. Apple continues to report no known issues in the seed notes, and asks developers to focus their testing on iCloud Document Storage, Address Book, iCal, Mail, Spotlight and Safari.


    The file size has once again grown slightly, with the delta version of the new build for updating from OS X 10.7.2 weighing in at 996.98 MB and a combo version good for updating from any previous version of OS X Lion weighing in at 1.26 GB.

    The previous 11D42 build had appeared to be close to a final release, but Apple is clearly still making some final tweaks to the update. The release description has indicated that the main improvements in OS X 10.7.3 will be support for several new languages and fixes for issues related to smart cards, directory services authentication, and Windows file sharing.


  • iWork VP Roger Rosner Taking Charge of Apple's Digital Textbook Initiative

     According to the Wall Street Journal, Roger Rosner is the executive

    in charge of Apple's digital textbook tools. According to his LinkedIn page

    , Rosner is a Vice President for Productivity Applications at Apple, and has been with the company since 2001, prior to which he was CEO of Bluefish Labs, a software development firm that Apple purchased

    .

    Prior to working on the textbook service, Rosner was in charge of Pages, Numbers and Keynote -- Apple's iWork suite of office applications. Jessica Vascellaro writes for the WSJ

    :

    Mr. Rosner's involvement is a sign of how strongly Apple intends to emphasize textbook creation, in a move to change the type of educational content that exists on the market. It also underscores how as textbooks?and all media?goes digital, it is increasingly important for tech companies to get media companies to create digital content with their software or in formats compatible with their services and devices.

    Whether Mr. Rosner, whose LinkedIn profile pegs him at Apple for more than a decade, will take the stage on Thursday remains unclear. If so, audiences may remember him from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this past June, where he demonstrated features of iCloud, the company's online syncing and storing service.
    Rosner made his first widely-viewed public appearance when he demonstrated iCloud onstage at WWDC in June of 2011.


  • Apple Ends $100 Printer Rebate Program for New Mac Purchases

     Since at least 2004, Apple has offered a rebate program that has typically offered users a $100 rebate when they purchase a new Mac and an eligible printer directly from Apple. The program was typically offered as a three-month program that was consistently renewed upon expiration, although in recent years the company shifted toward a perpetual program while reserving the right to discontinue it at any time.


    It now appears that Apple has discontinued the program entirely, as retail sources have indicated to both MacRumors and 9to5Mac

    that Apple has ended the program as of today. From a notice to staff members:

    Printer Rebates Ending on January 17

    Effective Tuesday, January 17, the printer rebate will no longer be offered.

    Monday, January 16 will be the last day customers can get a rebate on a qualifying printer when purchased with a Mac. Customers will have 90 days from the date of purchase to submit rebate claims. An additional 30 days will be given to correct invalid claims.

    The Apple Retail Store and the Apple Online Store will continue to sell printers, albeit without a rebate offer.

    U.S. and CA only: Wednesday, May 16 is the last day the online Apple Rebate Tool will be available to submit rebates. Customers should submit their claims according to the terms of the promotion.
    Apple previously offered a number of rebate programs on various products, but with the discontinuation of the printer rebate program, it appears that the company has eliminated rebates entirely. iWork and MobileMe rebates disappeared in April 2011

    , and the company had previously offered rebates on the products such as Mac OS X and iLife combination purchases, Mac OS and Microsoft Office combination purchases, and others. Apple previous Back to School rebate program has also been replaced with an iTunes Store/Mac App Store gift card

    .


    Apple continues to offer several printers as optional add-ons when configuring a new Mac in the online store, specifically promoting AirPrint-compatible models, but the printers are being offered at regular retail prices with no promotional rebates or other discounts.


  • Robust Market for Used iPhones Benefits Users, Carriers, and Apple

     AllThingsD reports

    on new research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) analyzing the impact of the secondary market for the iPhone, the portion of used iPhones that are resold or given away when users upgrade to the latest models. The survey looked at customers purchasing new iPhones beginning with the iPhone 4S launch last October, finding that 53% of those users had returned their old phones to the secondary market.

    Of those old phones being put back onto the secondary market, the survey found that 49% were older iPhones, while 21% were BlackBerry smartphones and 15% were Android devices. Approximately two-thirds of those devices returned to the market were given away, with the remaining third having been sold.


    Breakdown of old devices reentering secondary market following new iPhone purchases

    According to the survey, 87% of those who sold or gave away their old iPhones expected the recipients to activate them for use, which CIRP estimates as representing 11% of carrier activations since last October. That number represents a boon for carriers, who do not have to pay subsidies to Apple on the used devices.
    The research firm believes that, for every used iPhone that carriers activate, they save around $400. In the fourth quarter of 2011 alone, CIRP figures that secondary-market activations saved AT&T and Verizon between $400 million and $800 million in subsidy costs.
    And while the strong market for used iPhones may seem like a detriment to Apple given that those users may be purchasing a used device offering no revenue for Apple rather than a new one, CIRP suggests that those low-priced used handsets are a common way to introduce new users to the iPhone ecosystem. That introduction then sets the users up for future purchases of new iPhones and other Apple products.
    ?It hurts Apple because it creates competition for new iPhones, which we see in the relatively modest sales of reduced-price iPhone 4 and free iPhone 3G units. But it also benefits the company because used iPhone customers aspire to own the newest and best iPhone, so they are likely future new phone customers. In fact, they are likely new entrants to the Apple ecosystem, who otherwise would not have found a way in.?
    Beyond future hardware sales, the used iPhone market also increases the user base and market for apps and other iTunes Store content, with the device's able to serve more good than if they had been discarded or forgotten in a drawer.


  • Thermochromatic iPhone Cases Have a Different Look [iOS Blog]

     Incase has introduced a new version of its popular Snap Case made with a heat-activated thermochromatic finish. The $35 pink Thermo Snap Case

    changes color when held, like heat-activated t-shirts from the 80's.


    Incase may be the most recent case-maker to release a color-changing case, but they are far from the only one. XtremeMac offers the $30 Tuffwrap Shift

    that has a similar design to the Snap Case, but is available in a wider variety of color schemes: blue/white; pink/white; purple/blue; grey/white; green/white; and orange/yellow.


    Finally, RF Laserworks offers a $12 heat sensitive iPhone 4 backing

    that's .005" thick, meaning it's designed to fit under a bumper or other case.

    Thermochromatic cases don't quite work

    like the XtremeMac press photograph above, showing off fine details and fingerprints. However, they can bring something a little different to the iPhone case world.

    All the cases mentioned are compatible with both the iPhone 4 and the 4S.


  • iPad 3 Media Event Planned for Early February?

     Apple's education-focused media event isn't until Thursday, but Japanese blog Macotakara reports

    that Apple is already making plans for an early February event to introduce the iPad 3 ahead of an early March launch. The event is said to potentially also feature iOS 5.1, which is currently in developer testing.

    According to asian supplier and a source in United States, Apple seems to prepare to hold Special Event in early February.

    Because Chinese factory will be in holiday of New Year, then new product is concidered to be released in early March.
    An approximately one-month gap between introduction and availability would be significantly longer than for the iPad 2, which was introduced

    on March 2, 2011 with availability coming just nine days later on March 11

    .

    The original iPad didn't launch until more than two months

    after its January 2010 debut

    , although Apple tends toward longer gaps between introduction and launch for new product categories in order to accommodate the regulatory approval process without risking leaks of product details.

    Macotakara has had a mixed track record in the past, but the site's most recent report

    regarding the start of iPad 3 production ahead of an early March debut was corroborated

    by Bloomberg just a few days later.


  • Display Panel Shipment Plans Suggest Apple Will Offer iPad 2 Alongside iPad 3

     The question of whether Apple will continue to offer the existing iPad 2 as a lower-cost option alongside the forthcoming iPad 3 has been the subject of a fair amount of rumor and speculation, but if new display panel shipment plans

    provided to Digitimes are correct, it appears that the iPad 2 will indeed live on.


    According to the report, production of the "Retina" resolution iPad 3 display panels at 2048x1536 pixels will surpass that of the lower-resolution 1024x768 iPad 2 panels by the second quarter of this year, but Apple's suppliers will still push out approximately 25 million iPad 2 panels in 2012. That will be down from an estimated 48 million panels in 2011, but still a substantial number. Sources suggest that Apple's suppliers will also be pushing out approximately 40 million iPad 3 panels this year for a total of 65 million iPads between the two models.

    With fewer than one million panels shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple will keep increasing the shipment volume of panels for use in the new version of iPad to 6.0-7.0 million panels in the first quarter and 10.0 million units in the third quarter of 2012, the sources pointed out.

    In the meantime, Apple has downwardly adjusted shipments of iPad 2 panels from the peak of 16.0 million panels in the third quarter to 10.0 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and further to 7.0-8.0 million units in the first quarter of 2012, the sources indicated. Thus, the shipment volume of panels for use in the new version of iPad will surpass that of iPad 2 panels in the second quarter of 2012, the sources noted.
    Digitimes has had a spotty record regarding Apple's product plans, but it does sometimes offer at least reasonably accurate information on production volumes from the company's supply chain. Consequently, it does seem likely that any volume of iPad 2 display panels approaching the rumored number would be indicative of continued iPad 2 production well beyond the introduction of the iPad 3.

    Several reports

    have indicated that the iPad 2 will carry on at a lower entry price of $399 or perhaps even lower, a move rumored to be planned in part to counter Amazon's smaller Android-based Kindle Fire priced at $199. The iPad 3 is said to be set for a March debut

    and will reportedly offer LTE connectivity, a quad-core processor, and the high-resolution Retina display.


MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:29:53 PST

Exhibition Stands - Exhibition Stands
...egenerating the city centre of Newcastle and, as part of my job I have to work on the exhibition stands in the exhibitions that we hold regularly to inform the general public about what we are doing. Although working on the exhibition stands is only a small part of the job I do as a whole, it is the most exhausting aspect of my working life. Standing on exhibition stands can be a very boring activity, particularly if not many people are visiting your stand. Sometimes you can stand there for a couple of hours without talking to a single soul. Thankfully, however, there are a lot of other aspects of my job that I find much more exciting. I am generally involved in all of the marketing for the organization and so I get the chance to design advertisements and organise and oversee functions and receptions. This is the pa...
Visit Exhibition Stands...

Cr2032 Battery - Cr2032 Battery
...ng recently? When you press the open button nothing happens and you now have to manually use the key to access the building. Chances are the cr2032 batteryhas stopped working within the unit. Batteries of this nature do have an extended lifeline but even they will stop performing after a set period of time. Fear not because you can buy a replacement cr2032 batterythrough a number of stockists. Online stores are often the cheapest around and if you enter ?cr2032` into the search engine on your computer, you`ll be greeted with a host of hits. The prices of the batteries will vary from one supplier to the next but you should be able to pick up a twin pack for less than three pounds. Once you have replaced the battery in your remote controlled key fob it should last you until you come to sell the vehicle. Although it`s not a m...
Visit Cr2032 Battery...

Restaurant Tills - Restaurant Tills
...to view the Restaurant tills. Obviously, if you are in a high street burger chain then the Restaurant tills are one of the most obvious features in the room with a plethora of people to take your money. This is because they want you to leave the place as quickly as possible so they can make money of as many people as possible throughout the day. As you move more upmarket the Restaurant tills become less and less visible. A mid class restaurant will probably have one till but it will be reasonably unobtrusive and, usually, a waitress will come to serve you, present you with a bill and then come back with your change when the money has been put through the till. In a very high class restaurant you would never see a till at all. Everything in these places is about attention to detail. From ...
Visit Restaurant Tills...

Celestron Telescope - Celestron Telescope
...for a company that sells, amongst other things, the celestron telescope . The celestron telescope is one of its biggest sellers because it is very powerful and easy to use. My husband is fond of the celestron telescope himself and brought one home to show me how it worked. I feel that it is a really positive thing that he likes his work and believes in the products he sells as I feel it would be absolutely soul destroying to have to sell something you did not like or know how to use yourself. My husband`s company really recognise his dedication and he has recently been promoted to the north west regional manager. Obviously we were delighted at this promotion, even though it means that he will have to do a lot more travelling than he does at present. My husband does not mind this. He likes driving and, above all, he loves meeting people so the position sounds abs...
Visit Celestron Telescope...

Rack Mount Pc - Rack Mount Pc
...king at ways that you can create a little extra space for your workers. You have toyed with the idea of installing rack mounted computers that could be the ideal solution to your problem. Within sturdy racking a number of computer servers could be placed that can provide you with round the clock operations. Choosing a supplier to provide you with a rack mount pc should be straightforward and a supplier based in Surrey will be more than happy to cater for your needs. They can provide a rack mount pc that will be ideal for your requirements and any number of the computers can be ordered. This specialist supplier has just developed their own rack mountable chassis into which a rack mount pc can be fitted. Industrial grade racking systems can be bought that come with Intel Core 2 DUO processors with up to 4GB RAM...
Visit Rack Mount Pc...

Air Conditioner - Air Conditioner
...l the rain we`ve had so far. June was indifferent, air conditioner July was a washout and August is proving to be a bit hit and miss....
Visit Air Conditioner...

3d Building Rendering - 3d Building Rendering
... potential developments. They no longer have to use rather dreary plans to promote their schemes; they can use a 3d Building renderingservice instead. This process uses computer imagery to create highly realistic scenes of structures that are in the planning phase. It`s a highly creative process and it can prove to be a powerful tool that is used to visualise any number of ideas. At first glance the uninitiated eye could easily be fooled into thinking that it was looking at existing structures thanks to the realism of the 3d Building rendering. It provides a fast solution for developers who want planning permission to be granted as soon as possible. Private individuals can make use of the services that are provided by the 3d Building renderingexperts when proposed extensions are planned....
Visit 3d Building Rendering...

Industrial Ethernet Switch - Industrial Ethernet Switch
...trial Ethernet Switch from Korenix is ideal in dusty or dirty scenarios. Information won`t be interrupted at all when this type of switch is in action and you can imagine that the services provided by the switch in such harsh conditions have to be 100% accurate all of the time. The Industrial Ethernet Switch can work with superior software that can provide essential information for workers in the mine. They`ll need to know when the mine can be accessed and when they can carry out their duties. If you need an Industrial Ethernet Switch that will perform well in harsh conditions then Korenix could be the company that you will need to contact in the future....
Visit Industrial Ethernet Switch...

Non Mercury Switch - Non Mercury Switch
...es. Perhaps the budget is a bit tight and you are looking for alternatives that can work just as well under pressure? There are, in fact, other options for you to choose and one of these options is a non mercury switch. This low cost option is available through a fabulous supplier who has many wonderful items in their stock levels. A non mercury switchis ideal for situations where cost won`t affect the way the switch works. If you have a humid working environment the non mercury switchmight not be suitable but any setting that if free from such constraints will be able to utilise the affordable non mercury switch. Use the non mercury switchas a tilt or tip switch and you can ensure that safety and security is paramount in your workplace. Numerous switches are available for you to look at through the supp...
Visit Non Mercury Switch...

Cnc Turning - Cnc Turning
...of routing would have been carried out by a carpenter in a workshop. These days a workshop might still be involved but a machine will carry out the process. Moreover, the machine will be receiving its instructions from another machine. A computer will send detailed instructions directly to the router and it will carry out the routing tasks. Called cnc turningit`s such a clever process that makes sure that the task is carried out perfectly every time it`s used. Computer numerical control systems have been around for some time and routing is just one application that can benefit from their terrific technology. Customers might have the most demanding types of routing that they need to be treated with care. This won`t be a concern to the firms that specialise in CNC Routing because they know how well their machines can perform. Using software that`s loaded onto the comp...
Visit Cnc Turning...


Click For More Detailed Information on:
technology world science ::time travel articles ::easy sell internet info ::easy internet live ::new plasma store ::likes computers ::breaking space ::my fire science ::computers internet online ::my wine science

Copyright © 2003-2012. All Rights Reserved.


Valid CSS!