Tasteful Technology

Bookstores

2012-06-13T08:04:00.001+01:00

At the current time, bookstores are being outsold by smaller dmore portable tablets, in a very similar way to newspapers. Physical books are heavy, hard to carry, hard on the eyes. They are also expensive due to physical manufacturing and publisher costs. On an online bookstore, both of these costs are reduced, as you can self publish easily and the books are not in a physical form.

evernote

2012-05-16T09:00:00.003+01:00

Evernote is a note system that you can access from any device that you log into to. You can record voice notes and take videos to remind you of things you need to do. I use evernote on my iPad and Windows computer and occasionally my school computer, but I use dropbox more.

evernote

2012-05-16T09:00:00.001+01:00

2012-04-17T17:54:00.001+01:00

I think that I will make an online poster on Glogster or Storify. I will use this as it allows me to utilise a large range of social media as a platform for my project.

What is a "mash-up"?

2012-03-14T07:59:00.000+00:00

A mash-up is commonly used to describe a web page, song or other piece of media that uses previous pieces of media and combines them into one song. Song versions are very popular on YouTube as they are funny, such as 'Set Fire To Yourself', a mash-up of Eminem's song Lose Yourself and Adele's song Set Fire To The Rain. With songs, they are often protected by the 'Fair Use' section of the Copyright laws. This means that they are changing the content, not simply posting it as their own without changing it.

2012-01-17T21:26:00.000+00:00

Codeyear is an online website that lets you learn code (Javascript in this case), quickly and simply. I have never been an expert on Javascript, but after doing this course for a little while, I found that I knew much more. The website itself is very well designed and it is very easy for tech immigrants as well as tech natives to learn how to do. I found it useful and interesting.

A very cool blog

2011-11-22T20:02:00.000+00:00

http://seungsviews.blogspot.com/

A very cool blog by my friend Seung. Generally talks about everything I don't here and it's very cool !

An Awesome Blog!

2011-10-29T20:32:00.002+01:00

Similar to my blog is my friend Yian's blog, which you can find here.

Hope you enjoy!

iTalian Sample App

2011-10-21T13:35:00.000+01:00

iTalian Sample App: Can I please have people's feedback on this? Thanks!

Duckhouse Productions

2011-10-19T12:39:00.001+01:00

I have decided to co-run this blog as a division of Duckhouse Productions, Duckhouse Apps, with my good friend Alex Forey. This will make iPhone and iPad apps for the iTunes app store, and our first will be released within a couple of weeks. However, Alex and I are currently in discussion over whether Tasteful Technology should be taken over by Duckhouse Productions, or whether it should be kept separate. Alternatively, it could be merged with Alex's film-making blog, Film and Stuff at www.filmandstuff.co.uk (The link doesn't yet work- Alex only bought the domain two days ago).

In-Ear Headphones!

2011-10-16T16:37:00.003+01:00

In-ear headphones are really useful for me- I'm too lazy to lug around
Beats on my neck, and they certainly don't fit in my pocket!
These are my favourite in-ear headphones!

1) Sennheiser CX 400 II

Noise isolating ear-canal phones with integrated volume control
Optimised for iPhones, CD players and portable gaming systems.
Better fit in the ear canals giving good attenuation of sound.
Extended ear adapter set included
Accessories including: cable clip, cable winder and carrying pouch.
Frequency response (headphones): 17-22,000 Hz
Impedance 16 ohms
Sound pressure level (SPL) 114 dB (1 kHz/1 Vrms)
Quality of sound 8/10
Price (£40-£42.99) 9/10
Design 6/10-They look too business like for me

http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser-cx400-titanium-earbuds.html

2) iBeats by Dr Dre

Small, light, high quality In-Ear headphones
Incorporated volume control
HD audio compatible with iPad, iPhone and iPod
Stylish and built to last
"ControlTalk"-built in voice control
Quality of Sound 9/10
Price (£79.99) 8/10 but there definitely worth it
Comes in 4 colours!
Design 10/10- Incredibly nice headphone.

http://beatsbydre.com/products/Products.aspx?pid=B5933&cat=2

3) Skullcandy Ink'd headphones

Direct to ear acoustics
Big Headphone sound without the hassle
External noise isolation
Frequency Response: 20-20k Hz
Impedance: 16 ohms
Max Input Power: 100mW
Quality of Sound 6/10
Price (£9.49-£15.99) 10/10
Design 9/10

http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/skullcandy-ink-d-sc-black-red.html

http://uk.skullcandy.com/shop/earphones-earbuds/inkd.html

Blackberry crisis as millions of users experience a new crash

2011-10-12T10:27:00.003+01:00

After the crash a few days ago which saw services in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and now Latin America go down, Blackberry users have complained of experiencing a new crash. RIM had just announced that the services were "operating normally" when a few hours later around 11:00 BST on 10 October, users saw the services disrupted once again not being able to access email, web, or the immensely popular Blackberry Messaging service (BBM). Now users can only text or make calls. The problem believes to have come from a server problem in the core of the RIM Slough data centre. This failure in RIM's system is bad news for Blackberry as it might deter people from buying Blackberries, which are well known for there internet based BBM service.

The Browser Wars- how they started and where they are going

2011-10-12T10:15:00.000+01:00

Which browser do you use? Chrome? Internet Explorer? Safari? Well, I bet none of you use the first ever net browser, and I don't blame you. The first net browser was Tim Berners-Lee, who created the WorldWideWeb (this is what causes the www. before domain names). Tim Berners-Lee turned down billions of dollars and made the World Wide Web open source- he gave it away for free. He ran the whole thing on a NeXT computer for a server. In comparison, Google now uses around 1,000,000 servers, which is maybe the equivalent to 900 million NeXT computers!

Mosaic was the most comercially successful browser- but it wasn't considered that different. Rigt now Chrome is dominating, along with Safari. But where's is it going? Another post is coming!

Facebook iPad App

2011-10-10T21:11:00.004+01:00

Finally! It's what we have all been waiting for, The iPad app for Facebook! Only released a few minutes ago there are limited resources on it but so far it has taken format of the iPads photo albums and mail. It will be available for free on the App Store, can't wait to try it out!

Steve Jobs- A nation mourns

2011-10-09T18:51:00.000+01:00

Today, there will be no witty titles, no puns, no jokes. Today is a day where the world mourns the loss of a great man, Steve Jobs. His life was full of incredible success and talent and the world will change forever without him. All of you who own Apple products owe him and even if you don't I guarantee that your life will be altered after his tragic death.

At 1:15 this morning, Apple released a statement saying this: "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being." Tributes have begun pouring in from all over the world, with Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg paying their respects. At 2:02, Tim Cook sent out this e-mail to his colleagues:

"Team,

I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.
No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much."

-Tim Cooks, Apple CEO

There have already been many tributes, The Telegraph, Apple and Business Insider being my favourites.

Steve, the world respects you and you will be dearly missed

Google hit their 1 billionth download!

2011-10-05T19:41:00.000+01:00

This was put up on Facebook as their post. It's a neat way of explaining how big a billion is and I really like it.

Google

Today, Google Earth celebrates their one billionth download. How large is one billion? One billion minutes ago, the Roman Empire flourished.

Thats a Rap...

2011-10-04T19:39:00.003+01:00

Phew! 100 minutes of simultaneous blogging got us and we have:

A new iPhone 4S
A (sort of) new iPod Nano
New iPod Touch- plus it's much cheaper!
iCloud- old news
Cards- neat, but nothing really groundbreaking
Siri- Really cool!
And a new CEO's first apple presentation! Well done!

From all of us here at Tasteful Technology, Thank You and Good Night!

Prices

2011-10-04T19:35:00.009+01:00

iPhone 4S

6GB for $199, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399 (same as the iPod Touch!). However, no sign of a 128GB model, which I would have liked to have seen.

iPhone 4

just $99 (Also on an AT&T contract, still very cheap!). Prices been slashed. I would jump at this contract, as there's not a huge difference between the 4 and the 4S.

iPhone 3GS

8GB for FREE on an At&T contract (unfortunately for us Brits, only in the States). This is also an amazing deal!

Pre-orders on the October 7th, and then launching on the 14th! Go! Go! Go!

Voice recognition- personal assistant!

2011-10-04T19:16:00.005+01:00

You now have your own personal assistant! She's called Siri, and she does things responding to the sound of your voice! I hope this works! She also gives forecasts! Siri finds restaurants (Greek ones in Palo Alto, and she ranks them in order), she also reads your messages aloud hands-free! You can also schedule appointments, just with your voice. However, I'm passing judgement on Siri until I see her in action. As we know, some voice recognition services are awful!

More on the camera!

2011-10-04T19:12:00.001+01:00

Apple's iPhone camera is 2-3x faster than other phones. “What do Droid Bionic customers have to do between taking pictures? Get coffee?” Also, 1080p Video. Amazing! Real-time video image stabilastion also. We can alos remove red-eye and edit pictures on the device! Demo time!

New iPods!

2011-10-04T19:10:00.000+01:00

The updated nano has new clocks, so that you can wear it like a watch. Apple has cut the price of the iPod touch, with the 8GB version at $199. However, no mention of a 128gb model, or of the classic or the shuffle being discontinued.

iPhone specifications!

2011-10-04T19:07:00.001+01:00

iPhone 4S-

“Dual-core CPU, 2x as fast at CPU tasks. Also dual-core graphics. Up to 7x faster in the previous iPhone.”

A5 Chip inside, and a retina display

Demo with Epic Games! Infinity Blade update looks impressive, but not amazing. The demo's still going on. Talk time increased to 8 hours, despite the large CPU. Data download is now twice as fast, which is great news! And wow, look at that battery time! Also a great new camera. 8 megapixel sensor, face detection and auto-white balance.

New iPod specifications!

2011-10-04T18:48:00.003+01:00

New iPod Updates!

iPod Nano

Easier to use but not many drastic changes on look.
10 new clock faces to personalise your iPod
It comes in 7 colors, now the iPod nano is 8GB for $129, and 16GB for $149

iPod Touch

Most popular portable game player in the world!
Now available in White and Black
Price range 8GB $199, 32GB $299 and 64GB $399

iOS 5! Coming to you on October 12th!

2011-10-04T18:44:00.002+01:00

Reminders- redesigned!
Twitter integration- Twitter to be deeply integrated.
Newsstand- easier to read publications.
Camera- new home screen icon
PC-free ability!
Safari- now includes reader.
Notification centre- has been redesigned
iMessages- new messaging system!

Family, Friends and Foursquare!

2011-10-04T18:42:00.003+01:00

"What if you could find your family and friends? Today we’re launching a new app called Family and Friends.” Apprarently meant to be a competitor to Foursquare. Very interesting, I'm sure we'll be doing a post on it sometime!