A decade ago at Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs provided a rare look into the vision guiding Apple. Breaking with naysayers foretelling the demise of the PC, Jobs said that the PC was now entering a third golden age of “Digital Lifestyle,” following those of productivity and the Internet. In this era, the PC would serve as a digital hub.

The presentation was rife with references that are amusing with a decade of hindsight, one in which Apple has received more attention for its work in advancing popular digital spokes. For example, in pointing out some peripheral devices that will connect to the digital hub, Jobs showed the Rio flash-based MP3 player as well as the Palm V, both of which would succumb to Apple’ own iPod and iPhone.

Continue reading Switched On: Why the digital hub died

Switched On: Why the digital hub died originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone’s dead, long live the Windows Phone. That must be the genius proclamation that incited Microsoft to celebrate Windows Phone 7 reaching RTM status with the incomprehensible procession you see above. An elaborate parade, replete with hearses and black capes, was organized last week to denote the passing of the BlackBerry and iPhone into the land of unwanted gadgets. We’d say this is done in poor taste, but we don’t enjoy stating the obvious. We will, however, enjoy the fallout from this poorly judged stunt. See our favorite image after the break and lots more at the source.

Update: Apparently the team also engaged in a Thriller dance. Words are failing us, so just hop on past the break and mash play.

Continue reading Microsoft celebrates Windows Phone 7 RTM with funeral parade for BlackBerry and iPhone (update: Thriller video!)

Microsoft celebrates Windows Phone 7 RTM with funeral parade for BlackBerry and iPhone (update: Thriller video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There wasn’t a ton of news coming off the holiday weekend, but some things definitely went down this week — and Josh, Paul, and Nilay definitely have Thoughts about all of them. The show starts at 5:45 PM ET, but the chat below is open right now, so get comfy!

P.S. And don’t forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone clients as well, if you’re out and about and you can’t join in on the Flash-based fun below.

Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:45PM ET!

The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:45PM ET! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone’s dead, long live the Windows Phone. That must be the genius proclamation that incited Microsoft to celebrate Windows Phone 7 reaching RTM status with the incomprehensible procession you see above. An elaborate parade, replete with hearses and black capes, was organized last week to denote the passing of the BlackBerry and iPhone into the land of unwanted gadgets. We’d say this is done in poor taste, but we don’t enjoy stating the obvious. We will, however, enjoy the fallout from this poorly judged stunt. See our favorite image after the break and lots more at the source.

Continue reading Microsoft celebrates Windows Phone 7 RTM with funeral parade for BlackBerry and iPhone

Microsoft celebrates Windows Phone 7 RTM with funeral parade for BlackBerry and iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back when Apple initially said it’d offer free iPhone 4 cases to assuage reception concerns, there was a September 30th deadline given for the program. After which, according to Steve and company during the post-press conference Q&A, Apple would “evaluate” the prolonged need for such an offer. Well, looks like the decision has been made. In a statement on its website, Apple has confirmed the free case program will be discontinued for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30th, and the return policy for the smartphone will return to normal, pre-antennagate rules. Evidently, said the statement, “we now know the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought.” It had to end sometime, folks.

iPhone 4 free case program to end September 30th, get one while you still can originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back when Apple initially said it’d offer free iPhone 4 cases to assuage reception concerns, there was a September 30th deadline given for the program. After which, according to Steve and company during the post-press conference Q&A, Apple would “evaluate” the prolonged need for such an offer. Well, looks like the decision has been made. In a statement on its website, Apple has confirmed the free case program will be discontinued for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30th, and the return policy for the smartphone will return to normal, pre-antennagate rules. Evidently, said the statement, “we now know the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought.” It had to end sometime, folks.

iPhone 4 free case program to end September 30th, get one while you still can originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As you might imagine, becoming the dominant player in electronics component manufacturing in China — particularly at a time when competition has never been fiercer — takes a particular personality type, and after reading BusinessWeek‘s profile of Foxconn founder Terry Gou, you get a very real sense that the dude meets the criteria. His reaction to this year’s factory suicide controversy is a bit unusual; he basically comes out and says that he didn’t worry about the first few before realizing that he needed to make some changes somewhere around the fifth death, but given that he says he’s been living in his office for a while now and eating three meals at his desk trying to make things right, it sounds like he’s finally on top of it. The story of Foxconn’s stratospheric rise is an interesting one, starting with its early coup making components for the Atari 2600 leading through to its purchase of 1,000 Fanuc milling robots generally reserved for prototyping — valued at $20,000 apiece — that it needed to buy to secure Apple’s iPhone 4 contract. Gou envisions a fully-automated (and presumably almost employee-free) component factory inside of five years, has qualms about expanding his manufacturing presence in America (“I don’t want to spend time having people sue me every day”), and pays executive bonuses out of his own dividends to protect the company’s bottom line… so yeah, he’s quite the industrialist. Follow the link for the fascinating full profile.

BusinessWeek profiles Foxconn founder (and veritable pitbull) Terry Gou originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, you’ve fawned over razor-thin OLED TVs and vibrant AMOLED screens, but as Philips keeps reminding us, the organic diodes are good for more than displays — they also make a fancy light bulb, too. This week, the company’s took the wraps off the latest advance in that direction: an bright-white OLED module that takes alternating current. Philips says that up until now, OLED technology required low-power DC voltage, which necessitated costly switching mechanisms built into such products in turn, but now they’ve got panels that sip fresh-squeezed AC juice directly from the wall. Now, it’s just a question of when they’ll be bright and cheap enough to be remotely worth your while. PR after the break.

Continue reading Philips claims first AC-powered OLED module, points the way to cheaper, more reliable bulbs

Philips claims first AC-powered OLED module, points the way to cheaper, more reliable bulbs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you ready for a wave of HDR to crash over the consumer electronics industry, leaving nothing but oversaturated photos and full-to-the-brim Flickr groups in its wake? We’ve got a sneaky suspicion that Apple’s inclusion of HDR in the iPhone is one of those telling warning signs that you ignore at your own risk, and now we’ve got HDR video to cower from behind our fast-aging current gen devices. As you might expect, HDR video looks just like HDR stills (an underexposed and an overexposed image combined into one), except in motion. The effect has been accomplished by Soviet Montage Productions, who used two Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLRs and a beam splitter, which allows each camera to look at the exact same subject, to accomplish the effect. They’re short on details on the post-processing end, but we’re sure there will be “an app for that” before too long. Sample is after the break.

[Thanks, Mike]

Continue reading HDR video accomplished using dual 5D Mark IIs, is exactly what it sounds like

HDR video accomplished using dual 5D Mark IIs, is exactly what it sounds like originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Woah, who saw this coming? Apple has changed its super-controversial stance on third party developer tools for iOS apps, now allowing any and all comers, “as long as the resulting apps do not download any code.” We’re guessing this is mostly a nod to game developers, who use ported engines like Unreal and interpreters like Lua, but it also apparently covers apps developed in Adobe Flash CS5. In addition, the rules on mobile advertising have changed, so AdMob ads are seemingly back in, and Apple’s also publishing its App Store Review Guidelines at long last, which will give developers a better idea of how their apps are going to be scrutinized by Apple before they submit them. We’re sure we’ll be hearing plenty in the coming weeks as developers and arm chair analysts rifle through Apple’s so-far-secretive guidelines, but mostly we’re just excited to see what sort of innovation and development accessibility we’ve been missing out on while these third party tools have been off the market. The full (and brief) release can be found after the break.

Update: Google’s responded to the newly-relaxed restrictions, saying “Apple’s new terms will keep in-app advertising on the iPhone open to many different mobile ad competitors and enable advertising solutions that operate across a wide range of platforms.”

Meanwhile, it seems like it’s time for a little recap:

• Apple’s iPhone lockdown: apps must be written in one of three languages, Adobe in the hurt locker
• Adobe says iPhone / iPad adoption and ‘alternative technologies’ (cough, HTML5) could harm its business
• Steve Jobs responds directly to developer over new iPhone SDK rules, cites blog for explanation
• Steve Jobs publishes some ‘thoughts on Flash’… many, many thoughts on Flash
• Adobe’s CEO: Jobs’ Flash letter is a ‘smokescreen’ for ‘cumbersome’ restrictions (update: video)
• Adobe decries Apple’s ‘walled garden,’ yet pledges ‘best tools’ for HTML5
• Adobe targets Apple in ad campaign launched today, publishes open letter from founders
• Steve Jobs’ D8 interview: the video highlights (updated)
• Adobe’s CEO: ‘we’ve moved on’ from Apple’s argument, and Flash still rules

Continue reading Apple backpedaling on some iOS development restrictions, will allow third party tools and ad services

Apple backpedaling on some iOS development restrictions, will allow third party tools and ad services originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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