I recently read a post on Ars Technica explaining the technical side of Near Field Communications, or NFC for short. Like most folks, I have heard that it can be used for payment processing. A couple of credit cards have the technology built in to allow the carrier to simply pass their card over the payment terminal in order to initiate payment. More common, at least in the US, is SpeedPass at the gas pump. Just swipe your key fob over the logo at the gas pump and you can fill-up with the transaction auto billed to your credit card. But deep in the guts of the Ars Technica post, I was really impressed with other possible uses of the technology.
Near Field Communication, as the name implies, allows 2 devices to communicate when they are in close proximity. The range can be configured via the devices and ranges from a fraction of an inch to nearly a foot. Please check out the Ars Technica story for the technical specifics and great detail on the history of the technology as well as its various iterative forms.
This is one of those iPhone apps that fills a need most people didn’t know they had. Its implementation is as close to perfect as I could imagine, and it brings functionality that all smart phones should ship with out of the box. What it does, its does simply, it does cleanly, and it does very well. And best of all— it does it for free.
The question to start an app review with is normally simple: What does the app do? In this case, I think it’s easier to give an example of where and when Glympse can be used. This makes the app a lot easier to explain.
So consider this situation… You are running late for a meeting and you want to give the other meeting attendees a heads up about where you are and how long it will take for you to get to the meeting. It’s a fair amount on information to convey especially if you are already on the run and already running late. You could call and explain to the party on the other end. But that could be awkward and end up being a longer conversation than you can deal with. You could text, but that’s hard to do in a moving vehicle (whether you are driving or not (don’t text while driving!)). And one text message could easily turn into a back and fourth volley that you don’t have time for.
Insomnia is a collection of great short stories from the author of Pulse and Instinct, Jeremy Robinson. As the title implies, there are 8 shorts in total. Each story is followed by an editorial by the author explaining why he wrote the piece and detailing what he recalls from the experience.
Each story is interesting in its own right. Robinson explores genera’s that he normally does not write in and explores writing in the first person. For those who are already fans of his work, this is extremely interesting since it offers a glimpse behind Robinson’s other published works. Its like getting a brief look into the creative process as a successful writer toys with new ideas and considers new ways to expand and perfect his writing style.
Every once in a while I come across an iPhone app that is just plain essential. This was the case when I first installed MyPhoneDesktop. This app brings functionality to the iPhone that Apple should have included in the operating system.
Many iPhone users sit in front of a computer working for hours each day. While they sit at their Mac working, their iPhone is dutifully at hand waiting to be used. Need to text a friend? Grab the iPhone and fire off a message and then its back to the Mac and the work at hand. But with MyPhoneDesktop, the process becomes infinitely easier. The app on the phone works with an application on the computer. If I want to send a text via my cell phone, I can open up the computer-based application, select the message recipient from a list, quickly enter the message to send (via a standard easy to use conventional keyboard), and then tap send. The desktop app hands the message off to the iPhone. The iPhone enters the text into your text app and selects the recipient instantly. All the user must do is tap send on the phone. The application running my computer makes it much more efficient to compose the message, then hands it off to the phone for sending...
Google released the official Google Voice iPhone app this week. Saying that this is a long awaited release is an understatement. The app comes roughly 18 months after Apple pulled Google’s initial release from the App Store igniting great controversy. And while it was never clear if it was Apple or AT&T company policy behind the removal of the Google Voice App, it looks like iPhone users can finally put the kerfuffle behind them.
For the purpose of this post, lets assume you understand how Google Voice works. What I am really interested in at this time, is how the officially supported Google Voice App compares to other 3rd party apps such as GV Connect and GV Mobile +.
I recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2. It’s a drive enclosure that supports up to 4 SATA drives in a variety of RAID configurations. It is Mac and Windows compatible and offers a wide range of connectivity options including USB 2.0, FireWire 800, and eSATA. Powerful functionality packed into a sexy brushed aluminum drive chassis.
The first thing I noticed about the OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 was the excess of care taken in packing the device for shipping. The drive chassis was packed in a large heavy-duty cardboard box encased in layers of packing foam. The foam layers protect the drive bay, but they also encased the 4 2TB SATA hard drives that were included in the version I tested. The drives were shipped with insulating foam separating each mechanism from the other contents of the box. All of this added up to a very large shipping container, but one that should easily stand up to the depraved hands at FedEx or UPS. Clearly no expense was spared when it came to shipping material. This is a bonus for the customer since the drive case and mechanisms are very well secured.
All of the packing material might lend one to think that the drive case is fragile. That is certainly not the case. The enclosure is made of beautifully finished brushed aluminum. Heavy gauge, quality material and matches the aluminum used on the case of the currently shipping Mac Pro line. Esthetically, this drive case makes a perfect compliment to the industrial design of Apple’s existing hardware. Add to that a physical keyed lock to protect the drives from unauthorized access, and a series of easy to understand LED status lights and you have a drive case that excels in both form and function.
I recently had the chance to evaluate a couple of iSCSI solutions for a pair of clients looking for a massive network based storage solution. Rather than attach large external hard drives to several workstations on the network, we wanted to consider a SAN solution. In this case, a single drive chassis with at least 4 RAIDed hard drives. I had previously evaluated the Drobo Elite from Data Robotics Inc. This time I took a look at the TS-509 Pro Turbo NAS from QNAP.
The TS-509 is a NAS/SAN solution that offers dual gigabit network ports that can be used for iSCSI connectivity. The device is completely self-contained. Simply supply it with power and attach it to the network and, once configured, it functions autonomously. The chassis supports up to 5 SATA 3.5” hard drives. For my testing, I installed 3 Hitachi Deskstar 2TB SATA drives stripped together in a level 5 RAID. The drives were 7200RPM with 32MB buffers...
The TS-509 Pro Turbo NAS is a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device from QNAP. It also functions as a SAN (Storage Area Network). The appliance is a hard drive chassis that has bays that will support up to 5 hot-swappable SATA drives, has 5 USB 2.0 ports for expansion and printer sharing, and 2 gigabit network ports than can be load balance or offer failover support. The TS-509 can function as a NAS offering conventional file sharing, or it can function as a SAN acting as an iSCSI target.
I recently had the chance to review the Drobo Elite, a solution from Data Robotics Inc., which functioned exclusively as an iSCSI SAN. While a solid iSCSI solution, it also has a hefty price tag. I took the opportunity to compare the Drobo Elite to the QNAP TS-509 Pro. In a follow-up post I will evaluate the performance of the device. But for now I want to take a closer look at the TS-509’s feature set...
Project Motorsport started out as a fun way to spend an afternoon. We set out to shoot some motorcycle video and have a good time. Once when we brought the video back and began to edit, we realized we had the making of a music video.
Check out the video and see for yourself. And, if your interested in further information on the project, we give you that too!
The Freedom to Switch:
In 2003 Apple Computer released a marketing campaign with the intention of showing Wintel users how easy it would be to "switch" platforms.
One of the Mac's main selling points, ironically enough, was Digital Video Editing. Apple wanted the world to see how easy it was to edit video on the Mac platform. And, in overwhelming response, Mac users set out to show the world just how easy it really was.
The campaign was effective for Apple, but also spawned a unexpected parody campaign in the Mac underworld. Users from all of the world whipped out their camcorders and set to work making spoofs in the same cinematic style as the acclaimed commercial line.
With this, Maclive.net rose to the challenge and shot our own spoof. We think it proves that a Mac can be a powerful tool in the wrong hands. It also shows how far a couple of Mac fans will go for a laugh. We hope you enjoy our contribution, aptly named The Freedom to Switch.
I recently read a post on Ars Technica explaining the technical side of Near Field Communications, or NFC for short. Like most folks, I have heard that it can be used for payment processing. A couple of credit cards have the technology built in to allow the carrier to simply pass their card over the payment terminal in order to initiate payment. More common, at least in the US, is SpeedPass at the gas pump. Just swipe your key fob over the logo at the gas pump and you can fill-up with the transaction auto billed to your credit card. But deep in the guts of the Ars Technica post, I was really impressed with other possible uses of the technology.
This is one of those iPhone apps that fills a need most people didn’t know they had. Its implementation is as close to perfect as I could imagine, and it brings functionality that all smart phones should ship with out of the box. What it does, its does simply, it does cleanly, and it does very well. And best of all— it does it for free.
Insomnia is a collection of great short stories from the author of Pulse and Instinct, Jeremy Robinson. As the title implies, there are 8 shorts in total. Each story is followed by an editorial by the author explaining why he wrote the piece and detailing what he recalls from the experience.
Google released the official Google Voice iPhone app this week. Saying that this is a long awaited release is an understatement. The app comes roughly 18 months after Apple pulled Google’s initial release from the App Store igniting great controversy. And while it was never clear if it was Apple or AT&T company policy behind the removal of the Google Voice App, it looks like iPhone users can finally put the kerfuffle behind them.
I recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2. It’s a drive enclosure that supports up to 4 SATA drives in a variety of RAID configurations. It is Mac and Windows compatible and offers a wide range of connectivity options including USB 2.0, FireWire 800, and eSATA. Powerful functionality packed into a sexy brushed aluminum drive chassis.
I recently had the chance to evaluate a couple of iSCSI solutions for a pair of clients looking for a massive network based storage solution. Rather than attach large external hard drives to several workstations on the network, we wanted to consider a SAN solution. In this case, a single drive chassis with at least 4 RAIDed hard drives. I had previously evaluated the Drobo Elite from Data Robotics Inc. This time I took a look at the TS-509 Pro Turbo NAS from QNAP.
