New Mac Book Pro Lineup

Apple is updating its MacBook Pro line of notebook computers with faster processors and new Nvidia graphics.

The biggest news amid the new MacBook Pro changes is that the 15-inch and 17-inch models now use Intel's Core i5 and i7 processors. The 13-inch model will continue to use Intel's Core 2 Duo processor.

The 15-inch and 17-inch models will also use Apple's graphics switching technology, which allows the computer to automatically toggle between the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M and Intel's HD Graphics processors.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with 4GB memory and Nvidia's GeForce 320M graphics processor. There are two configurations, one with a 2.4GHz processor and 250GB hard drive for $1,199, and the other with a 2.66GHz processor and a 320GB hard drive for $1,499.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in three models: a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 with the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M and 320GB hard drive for $1,799; a 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 with the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive for $1,999; and one with a 2.66GHz Intel Core i7, Nvidia GeForce GT 330M, and 500GB hard drive at $2,199.

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, Nvidia GeForce GT 330M, and 500GB hard drive for $2,299.

The multitouch trackpad on the new MacBook Pro's multitouch trackpad also support inertial scrolling, a feature that Apple says is better for scrolling through large photo libraries, lengthy documents and long web sites.

Compared to older models
Apple's previous-generation MacBook Pros also came in three models: 13-, 15-, and 17-inch.

The earlier 13-inch MacBook Pro came in two models. The low-end configuration had a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB memory, a 160GB had drive, an SD card slot, and Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics. The high-end 13-inch model had 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB memory, a 250GB hard drive, and the same graphics and SD slot as the low-end model.

The earlier 15-inch MacBook Pro was available in three models. The low-end model was powered by an 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB memory, a 250GB hard drive, an SD slot, and the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics. The midrange notebook had a faster 2.66GHz processor with 4GB memory, 320GB hard drive, an SD slot, and Nvidia's GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 256MB memory. The high-end model was the same as the midrange 15-inch MacBook Pro, except it came with 2.8GHz processor and a 500GB hard drive.

The largest of Apple's notebook offerings was the 17-inch model. Before Tuesday's update, it had a 2.8GHz processor, 4GB memory, a 500GB hard drive, an ExpressCard/34 slot and Nvidia's GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20002327-37.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Meinhardt Raabe, Munchkin Coroner From The Wizard of Oz, Dead at 94

By KATE STANHOPE
TV GUIDE

Meinhardt Raabe, who played the Munchkin coroner who proclaimed the Wicked Witch of the East dead in The Wizard of Oz, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 94.

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Raabe, one of the few surviving Munchkins from the film, died Friday morning at Orange Park Medical Center in Florida, his caregiver, Cindy Bosnyak, told the AP. Bosnyak said he complained of a sore throat at his retirement community before collapsing and going into cardiac arrest. He later died at the hospital.

Raabe was one of 124 Munchkins in the film and one of only nine with speaking roles. He famously pronounced the witch dead after Dorothy's farmhouse landed on her: "As coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, and she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead."

Watch videos from The Wizard of Oz

Born in Watertown, Wis. in 1915, Raabe performed at world fairs such as the Chicago World's Fair and the San Diego Exposition before The Wizard of Oz began shooting in 1938. He was 22 at the time of shooting and earned money for college by performing.

Raabe was 3 1/2 feet tall in Oz and grew to about 4 1/2 feet. He toured the country in the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile for 30 years as "Little Oscar, the World's Smallest Chef."

Raabe regularly attended the annual OzFest in Chittenango, N.Y., and co-authored a book in 2005, Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road. He was one of seven surviving Munchkins present when the Munchkins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

"There is nothing in the picture that dates it," he told the AP in 1988 of The Wizard of Oz's success. "It's a fantasy picture that will be fantasy for generations to come."

Raabe's wife of more than 50 years, Marie Hartline, died in a car crash in 1997

http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/418256_tvgif10.html

Happy 60th Birthday Twinkie !

Twinkies were invented on April 6, 1930 by a bakery manager named James Dewar in Schiller Park, Ill., just outside Chicago.

His employer, the Continental Baking Company, was looking for a cheap snack to serve to Depression-hit consumers, and Dewar noticed that stacks of shortcake pans never got used outside the six-week summer strawberry season. So he experimented, and came up with a uniquely American creation. They were sold two for a nickel.

Twinkies do, in fact, have a shelf life — 25 days, to be precise, according to Hostess Foods. It only seems like the yellow sponge cake injected with vanilla cream filling lasts forever. Maybe because it’s been around as long as anyone can remember.

About 500 million Twinkies are now sold each year, and they’re as beloved by children and snackaholics as they are loathed by nutritionists. A package of them was placed in the Millennium Time Capsule by President Clinton in 1999 (well, of course he would), and they’ve been (erroneously) blamed for causing murderous tendencies, thanks to the ”Twinkie” criminal defense.

Are they good for you? Well, they’re not terrible: One single cake has about 150 calories, 4.5 grams of fat and 19 grams of sugar. You could do worse.

But Hostess lays on the “it’s not that bad for you” frosting a little thick. The company quotes “Mr. Twinkie” himself, Dewar, who purportedly ate three Twinkies a day for 50 years until his death in 1985 at age 88. “I fed them to my four kids and they feed them to my four grandchildren. Twinkies never hurt them.”

Must have been fun growing up Dewar. “Apple? Whatya want one of those for? Twinkies built this house, and by God you’re eating them.”

Here are a few more tidbits about Twinkies:

• Dewar named the snack after a billboard he saw advertising Twinkle Toe Shoes, but never got paid royalties for his creation.
• The Twinkie originally had banana filling, but bananas were rationed during WWII, so vanilla was substituted. Customers liked it so much it stayed in there.
• The deep-fried Twinkie was invented at the Texas State Fair. Here’s a recipe.
• In a nod to the supposed indestructibility of the snacks, the T.W.I.N.K.I.E. Project lists several silly experiments that can be performed on them, such as the “gravitational response test” (i.e. dropping one from a 6th-floor window).

More about the “Twinkie defense.” It was coined by a journalist during the trial of Dan White, who shot and killed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milksymptomatic of the depression that led him to snap and kill the men, not a cause of it. The word “Twinkie” was never actually used in court. in 1978. A psychiatrist for the defense testified that White’s sudden all-junk-food diet was

In other words, eating a Twinkie alone won’t make you want to kill. So it’s safe to have one, now and then.

http://healthyliving.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/06/happy-80th-birthday-to-the-twinkie/18485/

http://www.publicradio.org/columns/marketplace/business-news-briefs/2010/04/happy_80th_birthday_twinkie.html

Evolution of Philly Soul Music

Best known for recording the hit theme to Soul Train "TSOP", MFSB were the pre-eminent instrumental outfit of Philadelphia soul, backing numerous Kenny Gamble/Leon Huff productions while recording regularly on their own throughout the '70s.

The group's name stood for Mother Father Sister Brother, and prior to their formation in 1971 as the house band at Gamble and Huff's Sigma Sound studios, some of the core personnel had been working together as early as 1968.

Guitarists Norman Harris and Bobby Eli, bassist Ronnie Baker, and drummer Earl Young had an uncredited dance hit with "The Horse," the instrumental flip side of singer Cliff Nobles' "Love Is All Right." As the Horse dance craze swept Philadelphia, the group also backed singers the Fantastic Johnny C and (as the James Boys) Jesse James, while also issuing singles as the Music Makers and Family.

With the rise of the lush, orchestrated Philly soul sound at the dawn of the '70s, business was booming at Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International, and there was plenty of session work to be had. Harris, Eli, Baker, and Young formed an important part of the label's regular studio group; other prominent musicians included guitarists Roland Chambers and James Herb Smith, bassist Larry Moore, drummers/percussionists Karl Chambers, Miguel Fuentes, Quinton Joseph, and Larry Washington, saxophonist Zach Zachary, organist/keyboardist Lenny Pakula, and vibraphonist Vince Montana, plus a rotating cast of strings, horns, and other personnel that depended on availability and were often directed by Don Renaldo.

MFSB provided backing on a bevy of Philadelphia International hits, most prominently for the O'Jays and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, as well as other Philly soulsters like the Stylistics and the Spinners. They began cutting their own sessions in 1973, releasing a self-titled debut full of extended, sometimes jazzy soul grooves.

Later in 1973, TV host Don Cornelius approached Gamble about writing an original theme for his newly nationally syndicated dance show Soul Train. Gamble convened MFSB in the studio with arranger Bobby Martin and supporting vocal group the Three Degrees, and the theme song that grew out of the session proved hugely popular when it debuted on the show. Gamble pushed Cornelius to release it as a single, and when it finally appeared in early 1974 under the title "T.S.O.P." ("The Sound of Philadelphia"), it rocketed to the top of both the pop and R&B charts; it also won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental.

The accompanying MFSB album, Love Is the Message, was a gold-selling Top Ten hit (and a number one R&B album); moreover, the title track became an underground hit on the New York disco scene several years later.

The group's next album, 1975's Universal Love, produced another R&B hit in "T.L.C. (Tender Lovin' Care)," and moved MFSB further into the emerging disco movement with tracks like "Sexy" and "Let's Go Disco."

MFSB recorded five more albums for Philadelphia International over the remainder of the '70s, becoming a full-fledged disco group when they began working heavily with arranger/producer Dexter Wansel in 1978. The previous year, they contributed a cover of the Nite-Liters' "K-Jee" to the mammoth-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, but the late '70s brought mostly diminished commercial returns.

The title track of MFSB's final album, 1980's Mysteries of the World, was a hit in the U.K., but with the heyday of both Philly soul and disco slipping away, the group disbanded in 1981.

http://www.amazon.com/MFSB/e/B000AQ1AB2/ref=ac_dpt_sa_bio

http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/MFSB.html

Does iPad Have It Backwards?

Does iPad have it backwards - proprietary apps on a proprietary device? The freedom of cloud and mobile web should eventually replace it. Why do we need to have content and apps on board, when the work can be done by fast servers? The more we move to the cloud makes it easier to access and share.

If Apple started letting us stream our personal music, photo and video collections to an iPod, iPhone or an iPad, why would we ever buy a 64-gig device?

Why do I need a big hard drive when I’d rather store my photos on the cloud, in a place where I can access them from any place, anytime, anywhere?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=32752&tag=leftCol;post-4017

Why 2010 may be like 1984 with iPad limiting choices

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=8356&tag=wrapper;col1

Many great iPad articles here:

http://news.zdnet.com/2463-9595_22-385509.html?tag=col1;post-12620

Cracking Open the Apple iPad

A teardown on the iPad is here:

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad-Teardown/2183/1

A video of the teardown is here:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/itdojo/?p=1648&tag=nl.e099.dl100407&tag=nl.e099

and more pix are here...

http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-13636_11-410988-1.html?tag=content;leftCol

Q&A

Can you print from an iPad?

Apple didn't build in a printing function, so you can't just tap a menu button to print an email, photo or Web page. But a few third-party apps allow printing of some items from an iPad to a networked printer. One is Print Online, it costs $5. But these apps are complicated and limited workarounds—inadequate substitutes for built-in printing.

The iPad lacks a USB port, so how do you get files into it?

Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad has the familiar Apple connector port and comes with a cable that links this port to a USB port on a PC or Mac. Then, using iTunes on the PC or Mac, you can sync over to the device your songs, photos, videos, contacts, apps and more.

Can you transfer to the iPad files like Microsoft Office documents?

This feature only works if you've installed on your iPad certain programs that can edit these documents, such as Apple's optional $10 word-processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs. Documents can be moved in the other direction, too.

You also can get some types of documents into the iPad wirelessly, if you receive them as email attachments or as downloads from the Web. For example, if you receive a Word-document attachment, and you have Apple's Pages word processor installed, you can send it to Pages, where it can be stored and edited. Pages can then send back the edited version.

Can you type on the iPad without laying it flat and using the virtual keyboard?

Apple sells a $39 case that bends to angle the device in a more convenient typing position and allows for hands-free video watching) A $69 accessory physical keyboard features a dock at the rear to hold the iPad upright. Or, you can type on the iPad using Apple's $69 wireless keyboard for the Mac, which can be held on your lap.

Can you run Windows or Mac programs on the iPad?

Not unless their makers produce iPad versions of these programs. The iPad doesn't run the Macintosh or Windows operating systems, so it can't run programs designed for them. It runs the iPhone operating system, which is only compatible with iPhone and iPad apps, of which there are more than 150,000. There are some iPad and iPhone apps that let you remotely control Windows and Mac computers, so you could indirectly run Windows and Mac programs via the screen of an iPad, but that isn't like running the programs locally.

What about multitasking?

Actually, the iPad (and iPhone) can technically perform limited multitasking, or running more than one program at once. But Apple has chosen to limit this ability to some of its own built-in apps, and deny it to third-party apps. For instance, the built-in email program will continue to receive messages while you are watching a movie on the built-in video player.

This limitation is major. For example, you can't listen to streaming music from the Pandora music app while checking email. And you can't view fresh Twitter posts while on other apps. You have to close the app you're in, then re-launch a Twitter app and wait for it to fetch the new posts. And, you can't, say, check email or surf the Web while waiting for a complex game to load in the background, because the game stops once you change to another app.

Since the iPad's battery is sealed in, how is it replaced?

The battery isn't designed to be replaceable by the user. Apple will replace your iPad with one containing a fresh battery for $107, including shipping. The process takes up to a week. Most important, you will lose all your personal data unless you back it up regularly to your computer and restore it on the replacement iPad.

Details are at: apple.com/support/ipad/service/battery/.

From wsj.com

Specs:

Color display: 9.7 inches (25 cm) LED backlit in-plane switching LCD, made by Innolux, a subsidiary of Foxconn

Processor: 1 GHz Apple A4 system-on-a-chip

Graphics: 1024×768 pixel (XGA resolution), 20cm × 15cm, 132ppi

RAM: Unspecified at launch time

Storage: 16, 32 or 64 GB flash memory

Wireless: Integrated 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

3G Internet: 7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA

Battery: Built-in lithium-polymer 25 W·h (10 h usage, 1 month standby)

Weight: 1.5 pounds (680 g), 1.6 pounds (730 g) (3G Model)

Dimensions: 9.56 inches (24.3 cm) x 7.47 inches (19.0 cm) x 0.5 inches (1.3 cm)

Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 Features & Reviews

How many of these rumored features will be released in iPhone's OS 4.0?

(click on image to expand)

Multitasking

Will multi-tasking finally come to the iPhone? Currently, only stock apps like iPod, Mail, Messages, Phone and Safari have supported the feature. Some believe the new OS will have an Exposé-like feature making it easier for users to switch between apps on the fly.

Global Inbox

From the beginning, the iPhone OS requires users to individually check each inbox. Will Apple add a global mailbox to let users email from all active accounts in one step?

Homescreen Contacts

Will Apple add "contacts" to the home screen, allowing users users to more quickly reach contacts by phone, text, email, IM and so on?

Reworked UI

Apple might improve on graphics based on iPad design elements.

Direct Printing

Will OS 4.0 support direct printing over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth? ...thanks to H1

iPad Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah02m_2xBCg&feature=related

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/04/07/iphone-os-4-0-rumor-roundup/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBoyGeniusReport+%28Boy+Genius+Report%29

The Apple iPad is an unprecedented device. It doesn't shoot rainbows or make puppies, but this roughly 8x10-inch tablet computer melds your laptop, smartphone, gaming console, and iPod into a single, affordable, unfortunately named thing.

Of course, we come to you with a standard list of complaints. The absence of an integrated video camera puts the kibosh on any hope of using the iPad for video chats, and without Flash video support, many Web pages look like Swiss cheese. But the biggest problem with the device is coming up with bullet-proof reasons to buy one.

Because the iPad is an entirely new class of device, you'll probably need to lie to yourself a little to justify the purchase. But at this point, any CNET readers worth their salt have mastered the art of making excuses to buy new gadgets.

For the uninitiated, Apple has posted a cheat sheet of demo videos that provide a smorgasbord of reasonable answers to the question: "Why do I need an iPad?" To hear Apple tell it, the iPad is a Web browser for your living room, an e-book reader for the den, a movie player for the kids, a photo album, a jukebox, a gamer's best friend, a word processor, an e-mail machine, and a YouTube junkie's dream come true. No excuse good enough for you? Wait a few minutes and a developer will inevitably make an app for it.

Whatever you need to tell yourself to buy an iPad, we can safely say the device is a worthwhile addition to any wired home. We don't give much weight to the pundits who say that the iPad is the future of the personal computer, but we think it's the most entertaining gadget we'll see all year.

What is it, exactly?

If you're coming to this review already versed on the nitty gritty of what the iPad is and its roots in the iPhone and iPod Touch, feel free to skip ahead. Otherwise, here's the scoop:

The iPad is a touch-screen tablet computer, roughly the size of a magazine, with three models that connect to the Internet strictly over Wi-Fi (16GB for $499, 32GB for $599, 64GB for $699) and three that use a combination of Wi-Fi and AT&T's 3G wireless (16GB for $629, 32GB for $729, and 64GB for $829--pay-as-you go for the data subscription).

The iPad runs the same software found on Apple's popular iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple calls this software the iPhone OS, and it's generally regarded as one of the most successful operating systems designed for use with touch-screen devices. Unlike conventional computer OS software, designed around the mouse and the keyboard, the iPhone OS responds only to touch input and is generally capable of running only one application at a time.

If you've ever used an iPhone or iPod Touch, the iPad will feel immediately familiar. Out of the box, you get many of the iPhone's capabilities, including Apple-designed applications (apps) for Web browsing, e-mail, maps, photos, music, video, YouTube, and more. More apps can be installed using the built-in App Store software or by connecting the iPad to iTunes via your computer using the included cable. If you already own apps purchased for an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can transfer these apps to the iPad, as well.

Design

Apple rarely skimps on design and the iPad is no exception. The screen is made of the same oleophobic-coated glass as the iPhone 3GS', making it relatively easy to wipe away the fingerprints and smudges it inevitably collects. Behind the glass is an LED-backlit, 9.7-inch capacitive touch screen that uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology for above-average viewing angles.

Below the screen sits a Home button that looks and behaves exactly like the one on the iPhone and iPod Touch, bouncing you out of any open app and placing you back in the main menu. Matte aluminum wraps around the backs and sides of the iPad, tapering a bit around the edges. If you've ever held one of Apple's unibody MacBooks, you know exactly the kind of feel and finish of the iPad's aluminum. Unlike the polished chrome of the iPod or glossy plastic of the iPhone, the back of the iPad seems less likely to show wear. Of course--as with any Apple product--there are already hundreds of cases for the iPad, should you feel the need to give it extra protection.

The iPad measures 7.47 inches wide by 9.56 inches tall by 0.5 inch thick, and weighs 1.5 pounds (or 1.6 pounds for the 3G model). Held in your hands, the dimensions and heft have a natural, magazine-like feel. Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad sports a finger-friendly OS with an onscreen QWERTY keyboard, and an accelerometer that can detect whether the device is in portrait or landscape mode. The buttons, switches, and ports around the edges of the iPad also mimic those of the iPhone. A 30-pin dock connector sits on the bottom, along with a small integrated speaker. On the right edge you have a volume rocker and a switch that works to disable the iPad's automatic screen rotation in case you need to look at something sideways without the iPad assuming you want it rotated.

The iPad's refined feel and high-quality materials won't surprise Apple devotees, but in the larger landscape of tablets, Netbook computers, and e-readers, the design feels distinctly upscale--especially given its price. Next to the Asus Eee PC, Amazon Kindle, or Fusion Garage JooJoo, the iPad looks like it was made on a different planet (where plastic doesn't exist). We don't make the point to be snobby, but looks matter considering that all these devices are marketed as living-room accessories.

Size also matters. As one of the first tablet computers to go mainstream, you'll need to assess the iPad's size on a case-by-case basis. For the advertised purposes of Web browsing, reading books, and checking your e-mail, we found the magazine-size screen perfectly adequate. After years of watching videos on devices like the iPod Touch, or even dedicated video players like the Archos 5, video playback on the iPad's 9.7-inch screen feels downright luxurious.

For all its charms, however, the iPad is not as portable as we'd like. Part of the problem is psychological. Logically, you know the iPad's dimensions are no less portable than a book. But when a book costs between $500 and $800 and is made of glass, you treat it differently. Without being tucked away in a messenger bag or protective case, walking outside with an iPad in your hand feels like slapping the laws of gravity in the face.

We'd also be lying if we didn't say we wish the iPad could be a little thinner and lighter. At 1.5 pounds and half an inch thick, it makes most Netbooks look bloated, but he iPad is slightly heavier and thicker than most dedicated e-book readers, including the relatively large Kindle DX. If your dream is to relax in a hammock with an e-book in one hand and a tropical drink in the other, plan to avoid the iPad's glass screen hurtling toward your face when you doze off.

iPhone OS

Unlike many of the tablet-style devices we've encountered, the iPad doesn't run a conventional OS (operating system) such as Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X. Instead, Apple decided to use the mobile version of OS X from what is arguably its most successful and fastest-growing product: the iPhone .

In our view, Apple's use of the iPhone OS distinguishes the iPad from the competition. As dozens of iPad alternatives come out of the woodwork, touting all sorts of advantages and added features, the iPad will remain the only tablet computer on the market with access to Apple's App Store.

For the most part, the iPhone OS feels like a natural fit for a device like this. You don't need to worry about traditional computer headaches, such as scattered files on your desktop, installing drivers for third-party hardware, or trying to figure out where you put a downloaded image. Instead, all your apps are clearly laid out, organized in a grid of nickel-size icons that respond to a single touch. If you download an image from a Web page or e-mail, it appears in your photo library, without fail. If you need to search for anything--a song, an e-mail, a photo, or a Web page--double-clicking the Home button brings up a Spotlight search feature that covers just about everything on the device. On the iPad, the organizational metaphor of the folder does not exist, and the effect feels liberating.

We think that most users will appreciate this simplicity and reliability compared with a traditional, budget-priced personal computer. Some of you, however, will probably feel suffocated by Apple's totalitarian control over the iPad's OS. If you get a kick out of running your computer using command lines and viewing device contents as a hierarchical file tree, the iPad will probably give you an aneurysm.

Purchasing software and media on the device makes Apple's "walled-garden" approach to the iPhone OS frustrating to a wider audience. The only way for users to purchase and download movies and music on the iPad is to use Apple's integrated iTunes store. If you want to buy new software for the device, you'll need to go through Apple's integrated App Store, which displays only applications deemed acceptable by Apple. Compared with the more laissez-faire approach of a Windows Netbook, for example, the iPad user is giving away freedom of choice in exchange for convenience. (One upside: In theory, Apple's top-down control over the iPhone OS and the commerce within it also serves to minimize the iPad's vulnerability to computer viruses.)

Everything old is new again

You can't place calls with the iPad (at least, not without a VoIP app) or easily text message your friends, but the other built-in capabilities are essentially the same as those on the iPhone 3GS.

That said, the iPad can be pushed much further than any non-laptop mobile device we've tested, including the iPhone. Because of the iPad's extra screen size, default apps such as the Safari Web browser, e-mail, iPod, video, maps, photos, and YouTube all look and behave much more like full-blown applications. The iPad's e-mail app, for example, is a doppelganger for the Mail application in Apple OS X, offering an overview of your in-box alongside the text of any currently selected message. The photos app could easily be mistaken for Apple's iPhoto, with its opening view of photos arranged in event-specific stacks. The iPod app looks and behaves like an abbreviated version of iTunes, for better or worse. And the YouTube app plays out like a prettier version of the actual Web site. Paradoxically, the two apps that have changed the least, Maps and the Safari browser, give the most radically different experience thanks to the iPad's big screen.

Size is meaningless without grace. Luckily, the iPad has both qualities in equal measure, helped by a new 1GHz Apple A4 processor, capacitive multitouch display technology, and an integrated Wi-Fi antenna compatible with the latest 802.1n wireless spec. Apps launch within seconds; waking from sleep mode is nearly instantaneous; and even a cold boot-up takes just 18 seconds. Even if your local Wi-Fi network isn't up to 802.11n speeds, the Web-browsing experience often feels faster than on an iPhone or iPod Touch on the same network, simply because you're doing a lot less scrolling and zooming to get to the information you need.

Other hardware features include Bluetooth 2.1, a stereo audio output (headphone jack), a built-in speaker, an integrated lithium ion rechargeable battery, NAND flash memory, an integrated accelerometer (tilt sensor), and an ambient light sensor. Apple's third-generation iPod Touch can claim many of the same features, but lacks the iPad's integrated digital compass, built-in microphone, and mute switch. It's also worth noting that the iPad's speaker is noticeably louder than the speaker included on the iPhone and iPod Touch, with a slightly beefier sound (though still ugly to listen to). Apple doesn't include earbuds with the iPad, so do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a nice pair.

A 3G wireless-compatible version of the iPad is also available, which includes a SIM card tray, as well as assisted GPS capabilities.

Bluetooth

Just like the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch, the iPad includes wireless Bluetooth audio capabilities. We tested the iPad with an Altec Lansing BackBeat stereo Bluetooth headset, and the audio quality was on par with results from the third-generation iPod Touch. The pairing process was easy and incident-free. In the music player, a small Bluetooth icon appears next to the player controls and toggles audio back and forth between the speaker and the headset. The iPad's Bluetooth capabilities also allow peer-to-peer networking for gaming and wireless keyboard support for compatible writing applications.

iTunes Store and App Store

In the same way the iPad's apps all look and behave much more like Apple's full-blown OS X applications, the iPad's integrated iTunes Store could easily be mistaken for the desktop iTunes Store. Size aside, all the same capabilities are here, including movie rentals and purchases, TV show downloads, audiobooks, and access to iTunes U. You can pay for purchases by setting up an iTunes account with a credit card, or by redeeming iTunes gift cards.

The same can be said for the iPad version of the App Store; it looks and acts more like the store experience within Apple's iTunes software. Because the App Store is running on the iPad, however, the default display will bring up apps that are optimized specifically for the iPad.

Apple is encouraging developers to create new apps specifically for the iPad, which are not necessarily backward-compatible with the iPhone or iPod Touch. Because this is potentially an expensive proposition for users, we would like it to be easier to distinguish between an app designed for the iPhone and the same app designed for the iPad. There are dual-compatibility apps on offer that include both iPad versions and iPhone versions embedded within the same file, which Apple specially designates with a "+" symbol within the iPad App Store. We wish more apps were bundled this way to ensure broad compatibility, but we understand there's more money to be made in selling apps separately.

Fortunately, in the world of apps, the iPad is at the top of the food chain. Most apps designed for the iPhone or Touch can run on the iPad, either scaled-up to fit the screen, or presented at their original resolution framed at the center of the screen in black. This capability is good news for anyone bringing their existing apps over from an iPhone or iPod Touch, although users will likely want to purchase separate iPad-optimized versions of the apps they use regularly, which could get pricey.

Accessories

Beyond the deluge of third-party accessories already hitting store shelves, Apple is offering a handful of its own accessories for the iPad, including a physical keyboard with an integrated dock ($69), a charging dock without the keyboard ($29) that engages the iPad's photo frame mode, a camera connection kit ($30) that includes both a USB and an SD card adapter for importing images from a digital camera, and a wrap-around leather case ($40) that doubles as a kickstand.

If you're interested in using the iPad for presentations, Apple offers a $30 VGA adapter that can connect to a projector or computer monitor. Video output is only compatible with specific apps, such as Apple's Keynote. The maximum output resolution is only 1,024x768 pixels, so keep your HD expectations in check.

We'll be working on writing up individual reviews for several of these accessories, which we will link to as they become available. Off hand, though, we believe a protective case of some kind is a good investment. Also, given the alternative of charging the iPad using a basic wall adapter, $29 seems a fair price for a charging dock that transforms an otherwise techy device into an attractive digital photo frame.

Requirements

Though the iPad can be used without a computer most of the time, you will need to connect to a computer running Apple's iTunes 9.1 or later to set up the device and sync any existing media, contacts, e-mail, photos, or browser bookmarks. Computer specification requirements for iTunes 9.1 can be found on Apple's Web site.

If you plan to use the iPad at home for surfing the Web and you don't have a 3G-capable model, you will need to make sure your home is set up for wireless Internet.

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/apple-ipad-16gb/4505-3126_7-33958447.html?tag=nl.e428

$499 iPad Costs Apple About $229 In Direct Manufacturing Costs

In materials and manufacturing charges, the $499 iPad costs Apple about $229.35 to make, according to ISuppli, a market-research firm.

A look inside Apple Inc.'s new iPad points points to some familiar component suppliers. say they also found some new clues about the performance and durability of the long-awaited tablet-style computer.

iFixit Inc. and UBM TechInsights - firms that specialize in disassembling and analyzing electronic hardware - began taking iPads apart shortly after the product went on sale Saturday morning. Their research was aided by the unexpected disclosure on Friday of photographs of the iPad and its components from the Web site of the Federal Communications Commission, which reviews high-tech devices for potential electromagnetic interference with other products.

Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., built on technologies it used in the popular iPhone and iPod Touch in designing the iPad. One of the most prominent is Samsung Electronics Co., a major maker of semiconductors as well as consumer-electronics products. Apple has used the Korean company and Toshiba Corp. of Japan as its main suppliers of flash memory, chips frequently used to store data in portable devices. IFixit and UBM TechInsights said Samsung supplied the flash chips found in the iPad, one of the most costly parts of the system. Apple had used Samsung microprocessors—based on a design popularized by ARM Holdings PLC—to provide the primary calculating engines in the iPhone and iPod Touch.

For the iPad, Apple for the first time designed its own ARM-based chip, dubbed the A4. The A4 chip comes stacked with another variety of memory chips from Samsung—known as DRAM, for dynamic random-access memory—according to iFixit, which said it used X-ray photography of the chips' plastic packaging. The proximity of the chips suggests that Samsung also manufactured the A4 for Apple.

The DRAMs used in the iPad read and write data in 64-bit chunks, one potential reason why reviewers have called the iPad surprisingly fast. That helps it move a lot of data a lot faster. You are getting two to three times as many bits vs. other products.

Like Apple's MacBook Pro, much of the iPad is machined from a solid block of aluminum, which increases weight slightly but makes the device more rigid than many laptops Apple also used more epoxy to glue chips to circuit boards than in most other devices, adding to the iPad's durability. The iPad's battery is another reason for its 1.5- pound weight, which is less than conventional laptops but more than some e-readers like Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle.

Some reviewers have praised the iPad battery for lasting longer on a charge than the 10 hours Apple claims. The device actually uses two batteries wired in parallel, giving the device 5.5 times the capacity of the battery in the iPhone. The battery supplier is Amperex Technology Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company that is a unit of Japan's TDK Corp.

In addition, Broadcom Corp. supplies chips that help manage the machine's touch screen as well as allowing it to communicate using Wi-Fi and BlueTooth technology. Texas Instruments Inc. supplies another chip associated with the touch screen. Cirrus Logic Inc. supplies a chip for managing audio in the device.

wsj, 4/5/10

Prostate Cancer Gene Found

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the UK, but the disease has baffled scientists, who know less about it than any of the other major cancers. Now, Liverpool University scientists working in partnership with the Institute of Cancer Research have made a vital discovery. This will enable doctors to predict how aggressive the cancer is likely to be – and tailor treatments accordingly.

By the age of 65 many men will have some cancer cells in the prostate, but most will live out their natural span without the disease having any ill effects. Nonetheless, the disease kills 10,000 men a year in the UK. Prostate cancer can be treated – but the treatments carry a real risk of serious and permanent side effects, including incontinence and impotence. Since there has been no marker to distinguish harmless from aggressive cancer cells, many men prefer to cross their fingers and hope for the best; conversely, many thousands suffer invasive treatments which they may not require.

“A test to distinguish between aggressive tumours, the tigers, and those that are pussycats, has been the holy grail of prostate cancer research”, says Professor Colin Cooper of the Institute of Cancer Research, whose research team has been collaborating with a Liverpool team led by Professor Chris Foster. Together, they discovered that the E2F3 gene is a marker of how aggressive the prostate tumour will be.

“This should enable the development of a test to distinguish between aggressive and non-aggressive prostate cancer cells”, says Colin Cooper, “and we hope to achieve this within the next five years.

Professor Peter Rigby, Chief Executive at The Institute of Cancer Research, comments: “We now find ourselves in the unique and exciting position of being able to test new early markers of prostate cancer progression, which previously had not been possible. A rapid and immediate expansion of our research in this area is required so that our scientific advances can be translated into patient benefit without delay.” The new discovery may also provide scientists with an exciting new drug target.

This research is an excellent example of the main cancer research funders working together to tackle a major disease. It was co-funded by the Department of Health, Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council as part of a NCRI Prostate Cancer Collaborative.

FURTHER INFO: Contact Chris Foster at Christopher.Foster@liverpool.ac.uk.

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins - What Cancer Cells Feed On

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors..

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs...

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications..

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment.. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day.. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc..) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the bo dy into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave..

Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.

Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.

We should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat.

He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

Instead, use glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin.

Items such as frozen pizza, TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper.

It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.

Fast food restaurants have moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Another Problem Caused by Deforestation

Please click on the picture to enlarge!

...with thanks to Rabea for this funny.

Apple Sells 300,000 iPads in First Day

Apple CEO Steve Jobs added: “It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world—it’s going to be a game changer.”

By comparison, Apple sold 270,000 original iPhones in the first 30 hours or so of its availability. That’s right, the iPad outsold the iPhone on day one—and that’s for a “third” device in an unproven category. You could argue that the ability to pre-order increased the window for people to buy, but I think that washes out with the fact that almost everybody who pre-ordered had never so much as touched the device.

Comparisons to later iPhone models aren’t too shabby either. Apple sold one million of both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS in each of their first weekends—that’s an average of about 333,333 per day. It took the original iPhone 74 days to reach its millionth sale, so all eyes will be on Apple to see when the iPad hits that milestone.

And make no mistake: both apps and e-books are going to be a big part of the iPad’s success. In addition to the iPad sales number, Apple said that iPad users downloaded more than a million apps from the App Store and more than 250,000 e-books from the iBookstore in the first day alone. Said Jobs: “iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad.”

Meet the iPad

First, the screen: It’s big and bright, with vibrant colors that can really take your breath away. When we launched the third-party Epicurious app, the bright red splash screen was shocking; the colors on the in-beta Marvel Comics app were similarly impressive. The iPad’s screen doesn’t feel like a laptop screen ripped away from its keyboard; it definitely feels more like a big iPhone screen. In a good way.

People who say the iPad is dumb because it’s just a big iPhone are missing the point—that expanded real estate changes everything. Instead of having to go the iPhone route and cram everything into a series of back-and-forth, drill-down-then-pull-back-up screen stacks, iPad apps have room to breathe. Many of them display a split-view in landscape mode, with content on the right and an index of items in a column on the left. The new “popover” interface convention and added items on toolbars increase functionality in a way that wouldn’t have made sense—and wouldn’t have fit—on an iPhone or iPod touch.

The device itself feels really fast. There are no delays when panning and zooming, even though you’re moving around lots more pixels than on the iPhone or iPod touch. Running Safari is a real joy, because you can pan and zoom with ease.

Getting the iPad in the right position for watching a movie or typing is key, and it might mean that having a case for your iPad will be far more critical than having an iPhone case. For example, a case can give your iPad a slight incline in your lap so that it’s a bit easier for you to see and to type on. On a table, too, a little bit of an incline—or a dock!—helps a lot.

Attaching the iPad to Apple’s Keyboard Dock proved that you can type at full speed and the Notes app won’t bat an eye. The Keyboard Dock is surprisingly heavy—presumably because it needs to counterbalance the iPad so it doesn’t fall over!

Apple’s Keyboard Dock is heavier than it looks. But you can use it to type at full speed on the tablet.

Pairing the iPad to a Bluetooth keyboard was also easy. We tried the Apple Wireless Keyboard. as well as a MacAlly Bluetooth keyboard; both paired immediately and were just as responsive as the Keyboard Dock (although they’re missing the iPad-specific special-function keys of the Keyboard Dock; we’ll get into that more in an upcoming article on iPad accessories). Once again, though, you need to make sure your iPad’s on an incline somewhere or you won’t be able to see what you’re typing. iPad cases, mounts, and the like are going to be a

We did notice some strangeness when we tried to plug the iPad into existing iPod or iPhone accessories. Some dock-based external speaker systems didn’t work. Some Macs and AC adapters we tried were able to charge the iPad; others caused the iPad to declare it was “Not Charging” despite it being connected and syncable. It turns out that the iPad has some very specific charging requirements. With the included 10-watt USB power adapter, it charges awake or asleep. On high-powered USB ports such as most recent Macs and the iPhone power adapter, it charges as well, though more slowly, according to Apple. On Macs and PCs without high-powered USB ports, the iPad will charge when it's sleeping, but when it's awake it will display that "Not Charging" message in the status bar at the top of the screen.

Bluetooth headphones played just fine, though on-headphone controls didn’t control the iPad (as is the case with the iPhone). The controls on wired headphones, however, did work as expected. Although there’s no Voice Memos app on the iPad, the iPad can record, using compatible third-party apps, through both the internal microphone (found next to the Headphone jack at the top of the iPad) as well as the microphone on iPhone headsets.

http://www.macworld.com/article/150417/2010/04/ipad_sales.html

http://www.macworld.com/article/150267/2010/04/ipad_dayone.html

iPad Ready - News and Magazine Sites

A partial list of iPad ready newspaper, magazine, and online sites is below:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/ready-for-ipad/