iPhone and iPod Touch with soon to come OS 4.0 will have more gestures according to SDK (Software Development Kit) screenshot below. New Gestures are Triple Tap and Long Press which currently are not on OS 3.0+ for iPhone or iPod Touch, so far it is unclear what those gestures can be used for exactly, but will update soon as iPhone app developers report back to community.

But don’t get confused, iPhone and iPod Touch already have Long Press feature which basically allows you to copy and paste things. Long Press in this ‘version’ is more meant for developers who can use it for building Applications non technically speaking.

I am assuming that iPhone 4G will have triple tap and long press gestures included in few Apps which release date is this summer.

Thanks to 9To5Mac for sharing this image.

Thanks to Engadget who leaked specs this morning about Dell Mini 5 which is probably going to be named Dell Mini 5 Streak. Must say that I like the name!

Anyway, as it appears by the leaked image below Streak will have:

• Android OS (Probably 2.1)
• 5-megapixel Camera with Autofocus and Flash
• Front VGA Camera! (So you can use video chat?, think Skype!)
• 30-pin Docking Connector
• WVGA (800 by 480) TouchScreen
• Kindle “Book Reader” Applications
• Amazon MP3 download (That’s comes with Android OS anyway)
• Amazon Video Streams
• Amazon Store

If that all is true as Dell leaked image below shows, I say: Bye Bye iPad! or as Heidi Klum would say in German: “Auf Wiedersehen”

FYI: Google Maps added Bicycling directions (routes) as Menu Option. I tested few cities and I must say it’s very cool at least for those that have bicycles.

Read more about the Bicycling directions from Google Blog Post this morning: Biking Directions Added to Google Maps

T-Mobile yesterday released new G1 and MyTouch OTA (Over the Air) DMD64 and new Baseband version 62.50SC.2017J_2.22..23.02 , when I got request to install the update first thing I thought that it was long waited Android OS 2.0 or 2.1 for G1 …well it’s not .

So what’s included in this update?

No special features , just enhancement and few bugs with the phone calls that’s all.

Of of the T-Mobile admins said:

We are aware some T-Mobile G1 and T-Mobile myTouch 3G customers have received an over-the-air update.   It was sent to a small, controlled pilot and is not yet available to all customers.  The update (DMD64) is intended to improve the phone’s call performance and is NOT Éclair.

We will post updates to these Forums with more information when the software upgrade is available to all T-Mobile G1 and T-Mobile myTouch 3G customers.

You can read the full tread here

Be honest, when was the last time you checked “Sent” direct messages from your Twitter account? Never? Month ago? Week Ago? Well for me it was few days ago and guess what I found out? Someone has been using my twitter account to send direct messages to @spam (Twitter Spam Control Unit) reporting various users that they have been sending me spam DM’s.

To be honest, I am not against it at all. I actually love the fact that Twitter knows who is sending spam/phishing DM’s, but the question is:

Why wasn’t I informed about it?

There is no-where stating in TOS or Privacy statement that Twitter can use/read my DM’s.

So first thing I thought that my account has been used by some other API connection which  I recently subscribed and the thing is I only had 10 connections,  from those 10 API connections most of them are very familiar services I trust such as:

Seesmic Web, Seesmic Look, TwitterCounter and similar services who do not use accounts to send DM’s.

Anyway, I just thought it would be good to let you know about those things, you might want to check your direct- sent messages, you might get shocked.

Who knows maybe you were sending spam DM’s to some of your followers? If that’s the case make sure to change your password first and then go to your profile settings, click on Connections and revoke/delete connections you do not know or need anymore.

My example:

Just reading today few tech headlines about Apple iPad versus HP Slate makes me wondering if people blog/write about important things at all?

First, I really do not want to set differences between Apple iPad vs HP Slate tablet which are coming out in next few weeks, but rather I would like to share some thoughts I have been going through in my mind while thinking about Tables over all.

I owned Tablet PC, yes it was touch screen and was very powerful but the size of it was just not right at the time (2 years ago). Now that my birthday is coming up on April 1st my wife suggested to buy me Apple iPad for my 30th birth day. That’s all fine and dandy but spending $500+  on peace of plastic that I can touch and use most of the time at my home or work isn’t something I am happy about. For god’s sake what are the laptops and Droid’s for?

So back to the topic Apple iPad vs HP Slate:

Just think about iPad for one minute: What else would you use device that can only browse internet, provide you music via head phones, and allow you to play games for? Can you play DVD’s or maybe go bit modern with Blue Ray? F*** No!. Can you write book or letter to somebody…sure if you pay for app that cost over $20 or use free ones that are called “lite” and can’t do sh** with it.

Ok now think about HP Slate: Basically scratch the “App Store” and include bit of Adobe Flash that you can play those damn Facebook games like FarmVille or YoVille or WhateverBullSh**Ville which at the end ask you to buy “Favor” points or subscribe to some Porn magazine. Seriously?

Spending $800+ or – on devices like that makes me think if I am really Tech sick? Sure it’s great to have Droid, iPhone, G1, 12.1 HP Tablet, Macbook Pro Laptop and 52” Samsung LCD HDTV ….you know what? Basically that tells me: Joe!! Stay at home and don’t go anywhere else except to work and home. Or stop by local Starbucks so you can download some Music via iTunes on “free” wifi.

Sorry for my sarcasm but that’s just my general thought of tablets for regular tech guy like my self, if you are lawyer-doctor or somebody that needs to write stuff constantly without carrying suitcase with you all the time , than I totally understand why you are going to buy Apple iPad or HP Slate!

Whats your thought on Tablets that are soon to come out? Will they change how people interact , will we see more obesity in this world?

PS: Sorry for my English, this has not been proof-edited so you might see quite some grammar mistakes but at the end be honest …you do understand what I am trying to write …right?

The HDMI Consortium recently released a new specification to support 3D TV for HD televisions. The consortium (made up of electronics companies Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips Consumer Electronics, International B.V., Silicon Image, Inc., Sony Corporation, Technicolor, S.A., and Toshiba Corporation) released the HDMI 1.4a specification to give some guidance to hardware vendors as to how displays could render 3d images.

“We published these latest enhancements to support the market need for broadcast 3D content,” said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing, LLC. “When we launched 1.4 in June of 2009, we deferred the selection of mandatory 3D format(s) for broadcast content until the market direction was more clearly defined. The market has spoken and the HDMI Consortium has listened and responded to accommodate those market needs.”

The specification includes, as you would expect, hard core information about frequencies, resolutions, bits and bytes, pixel alignments, and other minutia for engineers.

Here are a few implications for consumers.

You need an HDTV, obviously. The lowest grade “Primary Format”, as it’s referred to in the spec, for 3d is 720p all the way up to 1080p.

You need a *new* HDTV, not so obvious. Part of the upgrade for 3D is the requirement for two color pixels for every one 2D color pixel. According to the spec there are three ways HDMI allows pixels to be arranged but any way you order it, it will require twice as many dots.

The most popular format implied by the 3D specs are, a you might guess, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. Although 4k is supported by the HDMI spec no mention of it was made in the extract.

HDMI 1.4 was released with features such as an integrated data channel (internet access), integrated bi-directional audio (in and out), 4k, a micro and automotive interface, and expanded color depth. 1.4a was release specifically to address implementation details of 3D.

You can download the spec at http://www.hdmi.org
See the full press release at http://www.hdmi.org/press/press_release.aspx?prid=120

Source: interwebink.com

Mac users will love this especially those that love to Tweet. MacHeist added Tweetie to NanoBundle. App alone cost $20 bucks but with MacHeist you get will get free upgrade to Tweetie 2.0 which is soon to be released.

With the NanoBundle which cost $19.99 not only you save $322 but you also give donation to various charities.

MacHeist NanoBundle includes:

• MacJournal
• Ripit
• Clips
• CoverScout
• Flow
• Tales of Monkey Island
• RapidWaver (locked until $50K bundle purchases have been made)
• Tweetie (locked until $50K bundle purchases have been made)

Enough writing from me, go to MacHeist and see it for your self. By the time you read this , maybe Tweetie and RapidWaver are already unlocked!

AT&T just released first Android OS Cell Phone on their network called Motorola BackFlip. Motorola BackFlip is cool phone but due to AT&T application restrictions , they decided to remove feature called “Unknown Sources” which is not cool at all . When I first got my G1 (T-Mobile) 2 years ago, there wasn’t many applications in Market App Store, so I started installing “unofficial apps” just because I love to install apps that make my lifestyle easier, which apparently AT&T does not allow for their customers.

Many are still wondering why did AT&T remove “unofficial sources” from the menu? Is it because people could root their phones? Jailbreak? Tethering?

Motorola Backflip is the only phone so far reported that has “Unofficial Sources” menu option removed. Which leaves us to wonder, if AT&T is going same steps Apple does…pretty much full control of everything you do on device you bought.

To me that is like buying Salami at the market store that’s still wrapped and it says “ Eat as Is , Do not Unwrap!”

Anyway, you can still install unofficial applications on Motorola Backflip with a hack from XDA-Developers forum, but is that really necessary ?

Oh and not to forget to mention, AT&T installed bunch of apps that are not removable,…at least that’s what I heard.

Image Source:PCWorld

Valve announced today it will bring Steam, Valve’s gaming service, and Source, Valve’s gaming engine, to the Mac.

Steam and Valve’s library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April.

“As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients,” said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. “The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services.”

“Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac,” said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve. “Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.”

“We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation,” said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. “The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows.”

Portal 2 will be Valve’s first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. “Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step,” said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. “We’re always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac.”

Support for the Mac in Source and Steamworks is available to third parties immediately. Interested developers should contact Jason Holtman at jasonh@valvesoftware.com.

Source: steampowered.com