Craig Mod recounts his experiences surrounding the March 11, 2011 Japanese earthquake/tsunami disasters:
An entire country carrying a backpack heavy with experience, ready for one night of deep, uninterrupted sleep. It would come soon enough. And we’d wake changed. Stronger. I felt certain. Ready to pull back on whatever came next.
Josh Constine, TechCrunch, on why Google’s strong-arm tactics for Maps could mean a win for OpenStreetMap:
The search and ads giant has plenty of ways to make money. Charging for the Google Maps API seems like a wrong turn.
Anyone else find it ironic that Google now faces a long-term threat from an open source project?
Stephen Wolfram:
One day I’m sure everyone will routinely collect all sorts of data about themselves. But because I’ve been interested in data for a very long time, I started doing this long ago. I actually assumed lots of other people were doing it too, but apparently they were not. And so now I have what is probably one of the world’s largest collections of personal data.
This is worth the read. It makes me want to better collect my own personal data.
Christina Warren:
What I find most fascinating about Apple’s new payment arrangement with MLB.tv and Netflix is the potential this could have on the mythical Apple subscription television service.
When Apple announced it was offering direct billing through iTunes for both Netflix and MLB.tv, I immediately thought that it represented a hint at their future TV plans.
Imagine an Apple TV that ran apps - where apps would represent different “channels”. Want HBO? Subscribe to that. Want ESPN? Subscribe to that. How great would it be to only pay for what you actually watch? That would truly be disruptive.
Dr. Chuck Doswell nails it (as usual):
But in the case of tornadoes, a few climate scientists (e.g., Dr. Trenberth) are overstepping their domains of expertise. If I give them the respect that their work is due in an area within which I have no record of peer-reviewed publications, I would expect them to do likewise regarding the work I (and my colleagues) have done in an area wherein these climate scientists have no record of peer-reviewed publications. I don’t speculate about global climate change, so I have every reason to expect them not to engage in unfounded speculation about tornado occurrence frequency.
(via: Patrick Marsh)
Ryan Block got to play with the new iPad after yesterday’s announcement. He offers his initial thoughts.
The resolution is what brings it home though. Let me put it this way: when I pulled up a nice, high resolution photograph on the iPad 3rd-gen, I genuinely could not tell the difference between what I was seeing onscreen, and a nice, beautifully shot, well-printed, glossy photograph. It was seriously to that level.
Today is International Women’s Day. Coincidentally, the best thing to ever happen to me comes in the form of a woman.
I am so proud of my wife’s work. She is a pediatric resident with a passion for ensuring that children are healthy, safe, and happy. Her future goals include a career in pediatric emergency medicine, focusing on child abuse prevention. I don’t care if you think I am overstating things, but she is truly changing the world one child at a time. Her selflessness and drive serve as my daily inspiration.
We should strive for a world in which all women are given the same opportunities to pursue their passions. Imagine how much life would improve if women were encouraged instead of suppressed. I know firsthand the intelligence, empathy, and love that results.
Here’s to you, ladies.
Yesterday, Apple released its latest version of the iPad. One big selling point is the new 2048-by-1536-pixel screen - touted as a retina display. People have asked whether the new screen is actually retina, especially since its pixel density is 19% less than that of the iPhone 4/4S.
I will quickly show you the math that goes into the term and discuss whether or not the new iPad qualifies.
Phil Plait offers a great explanation of what resolution means in terms of the human eye. In essence, resolution is the ability to discern two objects that are close to one another.
Resolution is measured as an angle, and as a result, can be translated into a separation. Basically, at some distance, two objects appear as one because the angle between them grows very small. That distance represents the eye’s resolution limit.
Perfect eyesight is roughly 0.6 arcminutes. Of course, not many people have perfect eyesight because of imperfections in our lens. A more likely eyesight is 20/20, which has a resolution of one arc minute.
An arcminute is 1/60 of a degree, or π/10,800 radians. That means we need to use a scaling factor in order to determine our resolution limit.
10,800/π = 3,438That means the iPad must be held a distance equal to 3,438 times the size of an individual pixel in order for two pixels to become indistinguishable.
The new iPad sports a display with a 264-pixel-per-inch density. That means an individual pixel is of size:
1/264 = .0038 inches
Now, me must calculate the distance at which the eye reaches its resolution limit.
d = 3,438 * .0038 inches = 13 inches.
Thus, for the new iPad to qualify as Apple’s definition of retina, the device must be held at least 13 inches from one’s face. Beyond that distance, the eye cannot resolve individual pixels.
The new iPad screen does qualify as a retina display - with a few caveats. The user must hold the iPad 13 inches or farther from their eyes. This assumes an eyesight of 20/20. The greater one’s eyesight, the farther it must be held from the face.
In fact, Apple was somewhat conservative in its definition for the iPad. They stated the screen was retina if held at a distance of 15 inches from the eye. This corresponds to an eye resolution of 0.87 arcminutes. In either case, I can personally attest to those as being normal use-cases for the iPad.
In summary, Apple was correct in calling the new display retina based on their consistent definition. No goal posts were shifted or anyone deceived. Just keep in mind that the term is largely for marketing purposes (Apple is a for-profit corporation after all). In the end, the important thing is how awesome the screen will look rather than what it is called.
In case you somehow missed it, Apple announced a new iPad today - simply called “iPad”.1 Pre-orders begin today with availability beginning Friday, March 16. Here is an overview of the update.
(photo courtesy: The Verge)
The new iPad sports a 9.7-inch retina display with an astounding 264 pixels per inch. With a 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution, the screen now contains four times as many pixels as the iPad 2. Apple also claims 44% greater color saturation.
Now, that’s a lot of numbers. What do they mean? Let me put it this way: the new iPad contains over one million more pixels than an HDTV with 1080P resolution. The results are vivid photos, clear text, and full-resolution playback of high-definition videos.
To power the new retina display, Apple introduced a new chip - the A5X. The chip contains quad-core graphics, offering twice the performance of the iPad 2’s A5 chip and four times the performance of the NVIDIA Tegra 3. Apple didn’t explicitly state CPU specifics, but AnandTech believes it sports the same dual-core Cortex A9 processor that is in the iPad 2.
The new iPad keeps the same crappy VGA FaceTime camera on the front of the device, while the rear gains a new 5-megapixel iSight camera. The iSight camera supports autofocus, tap-to-focus, and face detection. The camera can also record 1080P high-definition videos, has built-in image stabilization, and temporally reduces noise. The new iSight camera represents a big improvement over the iPad 2’s rear camera.
Voice features are now available on the new iPad in the form of voice dictation. Missing from voice services, however, is Siri. My guess is that Apple decided to keep the assistant off of the new iPad because it is still in beta and isn’t quite ready for millions of new devices to hammer its servers. The processor is more than capable, so I would expect Siri to come in the near future.
Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.0, also known as Smart Bluetooth. The Bluetooth upgrade is substantial, supporting low-power devices and, as developer Ross Kimes points out, cool new hardware interactions.
The new iPad now (optionally) supports the latest cellular connectivity in 4G LTE. In the United States, only two carriers are supported at launch - AT&T and Verizon. The AT&T model will support GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA, and LTE. The Verizon model will support GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA, CDMA EV-DO, and LTE.
If that sounds like a lot of bands, it is. In fact, the new iPad has the most cellular bands ever shipped in a product. The important takeaway is that LTE is fast - up to around 72-Mbps down. On AT&T, the iPad will drop to HSPA+ when 4G is unavailable, while on Verizon it will drop to the slower CDMA EV-DO.
You would think that given all of the above enhancements, the iPad’s battery life would suffer. However, Apple claims that the new iPad will still achieve 10 hours of battery life (9 hours if on 4G). That is impressive.
[update] It is not, however, magical. To achieve the stated performance, Apple increased the battery from 25 to 42.5 watt-hour. That should indicate how much power the new display and other upgrades are commanding. (Thanks to Aaron Botnick for pointing out the drastic increase.)
To house the additional space needed by the battery and cellular antennas, the new iPad is slightly thicker (by 0.2 inches) and heavier (by 0.07 pounds) than the iPad 2. The device now measures 9.5 inches by 7.31 inches by 0.37 inches and weighs 1.44 pounds for Wi-Fi and 1.46 pounds for Wi-Fi+4G.
Apple once again left prices unchanged. The Wi-Fi model costs $499/$599/$699 for the 16/32/64GB models, while the Wi-Fi+4G model runs $629/$729/$829 for the same capacities.
Users now have the option to add AppleCare+ to the iPad for $99. This protection plan covers defects and accidental damage for two years. Accidental damage coverage is valid for up to two incidents and requires a $49 service fee. AppleCare+ must be purchased within 30 days of buying the new iPad.
Many will decry this update as a ho-hum evolution. However, consider that Apple was already dominating the tablet market with the iPad 2. Competitors could not match Apple’s price for equal specifications without resorting to smaller screens and carrier contracts.
While these companies were busy trying to compete with the iPad 2, Apple just released a new version that contains a retina screen, quad-core graphics, an enhanced camera, the latest in cellular connectivity, and more. Most importantly, they added all of that with the same battery life and the same price points.
If 2011 was the “Year of the iPad 2”, I don’t see why 2012 won’t be a repeat for the newest iteration.
They dropped the numbering convention in favor of a the simplified naming convention used for iPods. Finally. ↩︎
Ed Bott:
That’s a total of 23 links on that page, as it appears on a typical computer. Only one is a search result.
That’s just wrong.
Well, it’s only wrong if you think Google is a search company.