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iOS 4.2 on iPhone 3G: Much Better [Video]

The guys over at TiPB thought it was about time to take a second look at the 2008 iPhone 3G and see how it would perform on the upcoming new version of iOS, the iOS 4.2 Apple is rumored to be releasing sometime this week. They installed the GM build on the iPhone 3G, and as you can see in the video Apple’s engineers really did everything they could to optimize the OS for the slower device (it’s got a Samsung ARM 412 MHz processor and 128MB of RAM).

Scrolling seems smooth and fast, typing is ok, there are a couple of slowdowns when trying to pinch and zoom on webpages but no big deal. When iOS 4.0 came out in June iPhone 3G users were left out in the cold with a terribly slow OS that didn’t run exactly “well” on their devices. I saw one and trust me, it was slow as hell

iOS 4.1 made things slightly better, but it looks like 4.2 it’s going to be the ultimate optimized operating system for 3G. And it wouldn’t be surprised if it was the last one, too.

“There’s Always Ubuntu”→

“There’s Always Ubuntu”

Love them or hate them, this is something that Apple—more than any other company—fundamentally gets. They want a computing experience more like the appliance experience. If this vision “wins” that doesn’t mean there’s no place for geeks; there’s still a need for programmers and web developers and sysadmins and UI designers. But the computers that most of the public increasingly interfaces with will be computers that are not designed to be directly programmable.

And I’m pretty sure this vision will win. For the vast majority of users the model of the app console—think game console, but not just for games—is simply better. The iPad is an app console, and the Macs of next year will be, too. And the PCs of the year after that.

And just like with game consoles, geeks will always be able to tinker.

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Xserve Is Dead…Now What?→

Xserve Is Dead…Now What?

The Mac Pro is a great box, but it is not designed to be a server. That matters. The Mac Pro, in trying to equal the Xserve takes up 12 times the space, uses more power, and ends up costing you twice as much if you don’t want a single component able to turn your server setup into a brick. If you’re collocating your servers, the cost to colo a Mac Pro or two is going to be a lot higher than for an Xserve, because you’re going to pay more for power and a lot more for the rack space.

IT folks clearly aren’t happy about Apple’s decision. As far as the iOS environment is concerned, Apple needs to do a lot more there, too.

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The iMac G4 Lamp

Unfortunately, the following item has already been sold on Etsy– at the price of $125. And it’s no surprise, considering that it’s a desk lamp made out of recycled parts of an old iMac G4, the iMac that made history.

Perhaps Steve and Jony bought it. I wanted one, but I think I’m just going to wait for the Mac Pro closet. [via Giz]

Angry Birds. Stop Motion. Massive Hit. [Video]

First came the iPhone game. Then the iPad version. Worldwide success. Then more levels. A Halloween edition. Even more success. Repeat.

Some people made costumes.

Then they announced the plush toys.

Now, there’s a video of Angry Birds in stop motion. Hours of work put into recreating a 30 seconds battle with paper and a camera. Realized by photographer and filmmaker @gregorycortez, this guy took the effort to snap a photo of every single frame you see on the video so that everything looks like it’s moving. You can say he’s a nerd and should find something better to do in his life, I think this is totally awesome. Three stars for the video in 5, 4, 3, 2… [iSpazio via TechCrunch] Read more

You Too Can Have An iPad Origami

You know I’m not a case guy. I’m not a fan of sleeves either. Then I find most stands cheap and bulky. I like my iPad naked, all glass and aluminum black. It’s hard to come up with an accessory elegant enough to match Ive’s design skills. Some accessory makers, though, can get things quite right. Incase surely does.

Their latest product looks like a rather anonymous sleeve, until you put the iPad out and start folding the sleeve. Just like the old paper-folding art this thing’s name is inspired to, you can turn the Incase Origami Sleeve into a completely different thing with a few folds. You can turn it into a stand.

At $35 it ain’t exactly cheap – but it’s cool, right? You too can be an origami Apple geek now. [CrunchGear via Incase]

ADC: Safari Extension To Search On Apple Developer Website

If you’re an iOS or Mac developer, you must have noticed that searching for framework keywords, reference documentations and guides on Google isn’t exactly the best experience you can get. Wouldn’t it be great to have everything always under control a few keystrokes away?

This extension, ADC for Safari (and Firefox), puts an additional “developer bar” in your browser with shortcuts iOS and Mac OS reference libraries, a search bar and a link back to the ADC home.

It’s unobtrusive and will save you lot of time going back to the developer’s website and / or searching for stuff. Go download it.

Hacker Enables FaceTime on iPhone 3GS [Video]

iPhone development group iPhoneislam (the same guys behind FaceTime Hacktivator) managed to get FaceTime up and running on an iPhone 3GS – without video transmission. As you can see in the video below, the developer installs a tweak called FaceIt-3GS on the device, which can receive calls. They haven’t figured out a way to use the 3GS camera yet, but I guess the hack will be complete and available in Cydia soon.

Without a front-facing camera, FaceTime doesn’t make much sense. Still, it’ll be useful for those die-hard 3GS users that want FaceTime, with a trade-off.

[Thanks, khlaed] Read more

HTLM5 Audio Safari Extension→

HTLM5 Audio Safari Extension

Connor McKay’s YouTube5 Safari extension addresses most videos I encounter and Open in Google Chrome works for the rest but while video demands attention audio is ambient. It doesn’t makes sense to keep a second browser open just for background noise but I couldn’t find a similar extension for audio. So I made one.

Works great.

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