newton

What would you like to see in Apple's new Macs?

Rumor has it that Apple is working on bringing new Mac systems to the table, and that these Macs would be radically new designs and vastly different approaches than what we see in the current Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iMac, and MacBook models.

Each design in Apple's current Mac lineup has its pros and cons. The Mac Pro is highly configurable and the most capable and expandable of all Macs; however, it also is a large and heavy machine that takes a lot of power to run. The iMac is affordable and the easiest to set up of all … Read more

The 404 642: Where Justin jumps down the emergency slide with a Shirley Temple (podcast)

Fresh off her appearance on MSNBC, Caroline McCarthy replaces Justin today to talk Net neutrality, iPhone users getting laid more than Android owners, Fallout New Vegas, and a Web-surfing contest.

There have been a lot of misconceptions and misstatements about Net neutrality. Usually on The 404, we strive never to talk about real issues, but the Net neutrality debate has really stirred up the emotions with Jeff, Wilson and Justin. Caroline helps explains some of the issue from her appearance on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC, and if it means a lot to you, be sure to check out Wilson's rant yesterday about the issue.

But ultimately, there are several competing interests involved, and we just want make sure that the next Google or Facebook that comes down the road won't have to pay to get priority access. The stakes are high here, people! Everything will be delivered over the Internet in the coming years, from books, to newspapers, magazines, blogs, social networks, video channels, radio, music, etc.

Rant over. Moving on.… Read more

Apple's aggressive new iPad ad

Somehow, Apple products often seem to be presented with a soft, friendly, laid-back voice. The voice of someone who is unflustered and may well be happily wearing the same underwear for the third day in a row. You know, someone like Justin Long.

How interesting, then, that the new iPad TV spot seems to be voiced by a man who sounds like he just smoked 20 filterless and topped them off with a bourbon or 10.

While those with long memories at MacRumors have pointed out that this ad entitled "What is iPad?" may be a homage to a spot called "What is Newton?" (shown after the jump), what is, perhaps, most noticeable is that the new iPad ad has none of the art of the Newton spot.

This, like the launch advertising, continues with a very basic product demonstration and nothing more. The iPad is seen on all sorts of thighs doing all sorts of things. There are no allegories, no allusions. Naturally, this reflects the idea that Apple wants the device to be seen as a product that even the most unsophisticated can master.

However, there's something about the slightly harrumphing assumptiveness of the spot that suggests the people behind it are feeling just a touch aggressive about their new toy.

Apple's ads are merely background for the real ad--the beautiful design of the product itself. However, some might find this spot less subtle and more boastful, making it feel a little less Apple.

There will also be those--following President Obama's suggestion in a commencement speech at Hampton University that he doesn't actually know how to use an iPad--who will be amused at this one line from "What is iPad?": "You already know how to use it." Well, that told you, didn't it?… Read more

Core of original Apple tablet lives on in iPhone, iPad

In tearing down the original Apple tablet, iFixit demonstrates that more than a decade later, a core piece of Newton technology lives on in the iPhone and iPad .

At the heart of the iPad is Apple's A4 processor, which is based on core technology from United Kingdom-based ARM. Ditto for the ARM-based iPhone. More than 15 years earlier, in 1993, the Apple MessagePad, aka Newton, also used an ARM chip. By 1997, the Newton design had evolved into the MessagePad 2000 with a StrongARM chip from Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC).

And ARM has been a stunning success, as evidenced … Read more

Manuscript recalling Newton apple story lands online

Another famous apple has been in the news this week. A 1752 manuscript revealing how Sir Isaac Newton formulated the theory of gravity is now online for people to view and read.

A conversation between Newton and scholar William Stukeley about Newton's life, notably his alleged encounter with a falling apple, prompted Stukeley to write Newton's 1752 biography "Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton's Life." Experts carefully transformed the delicate 250-year-old book into an electronic version that now is on display at Britain's Royal Society Web site.

The online interactive manuscript can be viewed in full 3D or as a Microsoft Silverlight presentation where you can turn each page, zoom in or out, and magnify any section. Some of the passages beautifully handwritten by Stukeley can be a bit difficult to read, but floating commentaries along the way do a fine job of explaining key sections. The interactive 3D effect is nicely done--you do feel as if the actual manuscript is sitting in front of you.… Read more

Should enterprise IT piggyback on consumer Web?

For all the billions enterprises spend on IT each year, they arguably get far inferior software than Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other consumer Web companies make available for free. In part, the consumer Web can deliver exceptional value for so little because it piggybacks on the expensive infrastructure built by others.

Is it time for enterprise software to "pull a Google" and build solutions on the consumer Web?

It may sound preposterous, but consider just how good the software you use at work is compared to the software you use at home. It's not even close. The … Read more

Google doodle animates Newton's apples

Google's business side is becoming ever more robust, and ever more, well, business-like. But its doodles are becoming ever more charming, whimsical even. And now, ever more animated.

This heartwarming piece comes as the world organizes parties beneath apple trees to celebrate the birth of Sir Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac, one of the developers of differential calculus and, you know, the first Apple tablet, would have been 367 years old on January 4, 2010.

So Google, at its heart an engineering concern, not only offers us the branches of an apple tree, but, if you wait, an apple gently … Read more

What if: Apple Newton vs. Apple iPhone

Back when CNET UK was a baby, it pitted an Apple Newton MessagePad against a Samsung Q1 UMPC in a brutal boxing match to the death. The Newton, despite being 10 years the Q1's senior, emerged victorious and the crowd--that's you lot--went wild.

Today, we've taken the reigning champion, the very same Newton, out of retirement to put it up against a brand-new contender. This time, the opposition is no Windows-tainted experiment doomed to failure. Oh no--this time it's the Newton's very own grandchild, the iPhone 3GS.

It would be a little unfair to … Read more

BOL 1073: Open Android Alliance to fight Google's evil empire

A Google Android mod received a cease and desist for including Google apps in the mod. Seriously? Google may not be a walled garden with a high wall but it's a walled garden nonetheless. And it's pretty sad when your open-source project gets protested for not being open. We also discuss whether the Dell Latitude Z series is for posers. Or us. Or both. Which makes us posers. Own it, people.

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Dell Latitude is like Adamo with wireless charger – fancy … Read more