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Saturday, November 5, 2011

Self Build Super Computer, China American Shock

 

Super Computer made ​​in China, named Tianhe-1A is located at the National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin.
China has successfully built the first supercomputer based microprocessor chip made in China itself. This will surprise the United States as a specialist high-performance computing. The announcement was submitted by the presence of the supercomputer industry organizations and the government of China in Jinan, China, Sunday (10/30/2011).
The new machine called the Sunway Bluelight MPP, has been installed in September 2011 on China's national supercomputing system in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong province. Sunway System can perform 1,000 trillion calculations per second, which makes this supercomputer into the top 20 fastest computers in the world. Even more important is the supercomputer consists of 8700 mikroposesor Shenwei (SW1600). Microprocessor is designed in a computer institute in China and produced in Shanghai.
"This is a bit of a surprise," said Dr. Jack Dongarra, a computer scientist at the University of Tennessee and project leader of the world's fastest computer list, the TOP500.
Last fall, China had published supercomputers based in China, namely computer Tianhe-1A and K. However, Tianhe built from processor chip made by U.S. companies, namely Intel and Nvidia, although the internal switching system designed by Chinese engineers. Similarly, the Fujitsu-made K computer, designed with the Sparc chip and the initial design started at Sun Mycrosystems in Silicon Valley.
Dr. Dongarra said, Sunway theoretical peak performance of 74 percent faster than the fastest supercomputer United States - Jaguar developed the Department of Energy National Laboratory in Oak Ridge. Supercomputer made by Cray Inc. was listed as the third fastest machine in the world.
To build a supercomputer from existing components, require large amounts of electricity, roughly the equivalent of a nuclear power plant size. However, Dr. Dongarra said the power requirements of the new Chinese supercomputer is relatively small, only about 1 Megawatt, according to a report technician. While supercomputer Tianhe mngkonsumsi approximately 4 Megawatts and Jaguar supercomputer about 7 Megawatts.
According to some experts the U.S. supercomputers, microprocessors Shenwei seems to be based on some design principles are similar to Intel microprocessors. However, engine cooling technology owned by Sunway is questionable compliance with supercomputer-class future.

Photo supercomputer Sunway then answer the question. Photo shows the water cooling system which is a significant advancement in engine design. "This tells me that this supercomputer has a serious design. This design is appropriate for exaflop scale supercomputers. China can win in this case," said Steven Wallach Convey Computer's chief scientist, who also had developed a supercomputer.

Congratulations Road John McCarthy, creator of Lisp Programming Language


John McCarthy, creator of LISP, one computer programming language, dies on Monday (10/24/2011) night. Information obtained from the daughter's death John unofficially and then published by Stanford University.
John is a scientist who won many awards, including the Turing Award from the Association of Computing Machinery (1971), Kyoto Prize (1988), the National Medal of Science (USA, 1991), and the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute (2003).
John was born in Boston, September 4, 1927. He steeped mathematics as a teenager, using the books used by the California Institute of Technology. Two years later after he was accepted as a student, he managed to get through college quickly. John continued to go to college and received his PhD in mathematics from Princeton University in 1951. He married Vera Watson, programmers and mountaineer who died in 1978.
John became a full professor at Stanford University in 1962 and retired at the end of 2000. John did research about mathematical logic and artificial intelligence. In 1958 he started working on logic programming. In 1959 he developed the LISP programming language which later became the programming language of choice for applications of Al after being published in 1960. John also motivates the manufacture of MAC at MIT, and in 1962 he founded the Stanford laboratory of Al to support the MAC project.
LISP is a programming language family of the leading computer. LISP advantage lies in its ability to manipulate symbols and relationships antarsimbol easily so the language is suitable for use in the field of Artificial Intelligence (artificial intelligence) and decision making. However, this language can also be used to solve other problems.
During its development, LISP produce many variants and is the forerunner of many other languages ​​(such as Logo and Smalltalk). On December 8, 1994 ANSI (American National Standard Institute) managed to standardize LISP, which is named ANSI Common LISP.
LISP is much different than with programming languages ​​such as Pascal and C. After many uses LISP, programmers will be able to see or analyze a problem from a perspective that had not previously been imagined.

Preparing to Go to Ubuntu Smartphone, Tablet, and Smart TV


Ubuntu is more known as a Linux-based operating system for use on a PC or laptop. But starting next year, will Ubuntu can be found in other devices, like smartphones, tablets, and smart TV.

The official announcement of future plans is actually the new Ubuntu will be conducted at the Ubuntu Developer Summit which took place from tomorrow (01/11/2011) in Orlando, USA. However, this information is actually "leak" directly from Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux disro, when interviewed by a journalist from ZDNet.

Mark said, short-term plans to design Ubuntu Ubuntu is 12:04 (which was released in April 2012) as stable as possible and equip it with the Unity desktop interface, so it can meet all the needs of users. After that, the new Canonical will expand from a desktop computer Linux to all types of computing devices (computing devices).

"This is a natural expansion that is consistent with the mission of Ubuntu as the Linux for all mankind. All people will switch from desktop computing to new media, therefore it is important for us to get closer to the communities that use this new medium. So, we will take the challenge of applying Ubuntu on smartphones, tablets, and smart television, "said Mark added.

Ubuntu plans will certainly enliven the competition inter mobile operating current is still struggling between the (Google) Android, Windows Phone, and (Apple) IOS.

Unfortunately, Ubuntu is not the plan will be done in the near future. Mark Shuttleworth says Ubuntu for mobile devices and television will be available in April 2014.

Defeat India Indonesia Contestant


IT Contestants Go Travelers from Indonesia failed to compete with contestants from India. Although Indonesia is getting the most votes online through blogs and social networks, but overall, India was established as the major prize winner and received $ 20 thousand dollars. However, competition is not over. One contestant from Indonesia still had a chance to earn money worth 5000 U.S. dollars and become "Ambassadors Taiwan Excellence".
 
"Gadget from Taiwan that complements our trip very helpful in capturing, creation and sharing our experiences through blogs and social media"

"We are very proud and impressed with the dedication of the IT Travelers from Indonesia in its participation in this competition. We are confident that through this contest, the contestants are able to experience and share the experience how Taiwan brands make their lives easier and more enjoyable," said Wayne W. . Wu, vice president of TAITRA.
At a press conference at the Decanter Wine House, Plaza Brass, Jakarta contestants share their experiences. "We're exploring the beautiful towns with historical backgrounds and different cultures. Gadget-gadget from Taiwan that complements our trip a great help in the capture, creation and sharing our experiences through blogs and social media," said Arif, one of the contestants .
Contestants IT Travelers Go from 3 countries, namely Indonesia, India, and Vietnam, has gone through two sessions of a total of 3 sessions that they have to undergo. The first session is selected in each country to determine the four representatives who represent their country. The second session is a 21-day trip by 12 contestants from the three countries to visit Indonesia, India, and Vietnam, and ended up in Taiwan. In this second session of the contestants were given supplies gadgets for 2500 U.S. dollars from Taiwan IT brands such as Acer, MSI, Trend Micro, HTC, Genius, Innergie, PQI, Transcend, Optoma, ZyXEL, Apacer, Adata, D-Link, Mio, Thermaltake, Silicon Power, and ASUS. In this second session, India managed to beat Indonesia and Vietnam and received the grand prize worth 20 thousand dollars.
But the struggle is not over. There is still a third session, ie all the contestants back to their respective countries to compete with his own friends. Examples contestants from Indonesia who today officially gone back to Indonesia and tomorrow (05.11.2011) will share their experiences to the people of Indonesia in Taiwan Excellence Experiencing Zone in Mangga Dua Mall, Jakarta. In this session, visitors to the mall to choose their favorite contestant. For visitors who choose to have the opportunity to bring home gadgets Taiwan after raffled.
Contestants from Indonesia came from Yogyakarta (Ivan Loeviano Sukarno and Arif Satrio Pambudi), Bandung (Yasmin), and Pekanbaru (Rahmat Hidayat). After sharing experiences in Jakarta, each contestant will be returned to their towns to create a blog post once again. They are required to write a blog post as many as 1000 to 2000 words which is equipped 5 photos and one video, with the topic "If I Become Ambassadors Taiwan Excellence". After doing a blog post, then online voting will start from 11 to 20 November 2011.
Only one contestant will be the "Ambassador of Taiwan Excellence" from Indonesia and won 5000 dollars cash. Assessment as much as 80 percent comes from the most votes obtained during offline event in the shopping center. The rest, 20 percent based on online voting.

Friday, November 4, 2011

"Anonymous" Threatens Shut up and Fox News



Community of hackers called "Anonymous" plans to close the social networking site Facebook and the site Fox News, Saturday (11/05/2011) future. Despite having different reasons for the closure of both the web site, they chose the same date because on that date they are planning to commemorate Guy Fawkes to blow up parliament, but failed.

Anonymous wants to close up because the site is considered to have violated the privacy of its users. All the important information the user will be embedded in the database up, even though the user has closed their account.

"Facebook is even more about you than your own family," said a spokeswoman for the community.

This last group of hackers declared, the actions they performed precisely to protect Facebook users around the world, not harm. However, one can imagine if this did occur, then the 750 million Facebook users worldwide will lose access to inter-connected with his friends.

Meanwhile, the reason this community is close to Fox News as a news site is considered to be biased in reporting a rally on Wall Street. Fox News is considered very cornered the protesters.

"Fox News will be an example to all the corporate media. As long as they do not stop protesters cornering, the site will be our turn," said the spokesman.

Anonymous is a group of hackers who stood in 2003. His first known attack began in 2006. This year, during September, nearly 20 Web sites had been destroyed by this group, including news sites. This group also has attacked PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa for freezing funds that go to Wikileaks.


Link youtube : www.youtube.com/watch

The Internet conglomerate China Shutter Yahoo

 
Jack Ma, founder and top executive officers (CEOs) of e-commerce giant China, Alibaba, openly declared highly interested in buying Yahoo. It was not only save capital Alibaba to own some shares of Yahoo, Ma wants to have Yahoo as a whole.

Not only that, as reported by Reuters news agency on Friday (30/09/2011) night when the United States or Saturday morning GMT, Ma has also been discussing the possibility of taking over Yahoo with several other potential buyers. This development was disclosed when answering a question Ma seminar participants at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. The United States.

When asked whether Alibaba interested in healing pressure experienced by the United States Internet company. Then Ma said, "Very interested in the Yahoo". Former English teacher and then insisted that he was interested in every part of Yahoo, when asked, which part of Yahoo that he liked. "China has become ours, is not it? He (China) are already in my bag," said Ma.

Shares of Yahoo's own experience price spikes up to 13.8 U.S. dollars per share. Taking Yahoo will help Ma widen its Internet empire into one of the most important players in the Internet business world. Already widely heard that Alibaba is already eyeing the American market since long and is preparing a new base at Cape San Francisco.

However, since his visit in America began 15 days earlier, Ma admitted not seeing the Yahoo. "However, we are likely to be one of the few companies that really understands Yahoo better," he said, while reminding participants of the seminar in collaboration with Yahoo since 2005.

Google Yahoo! Want to Master the Core Business




 Google has spoken with at least two private equity firms about the potential financing to buy Yahoo's core business. Google and prospective partners that has conducted the initial stages of discussion, but no formal proposals. As written the Wall Street Journal, Google is doing this to have ownership of shares owned by Microsoft.

According to observations eMarketer, Google is the number one player in a web search, but weak in display advertising. In the United States, Facebook is expected to generate more than 2 billion U.S. in net revenue from display advertising in 2011 and Yahoo following the U.S. produces 1.6 billion. Google estimated that only produce 1.1 billion U.S..

To that end, Google wants to sell advertising space on the Yahoo site. Such as graphics, interactive, and video ads. This business is estimated to potentially generate 2 billion U.S. per year. Industry experts said Yahoo's ad space is "undermonetized," which means it can make more money if Yahoo! invested more in the technology. This is what Google wants to get in behind the investment opportunities.

Yahoo actually want to do again partnering with Microsoft, AOL, and other publishers of online content to create advertising space together to create a market for challenging competitors, DoubleClik, owned by Google. In addition, Yahoo also has a working relationship with the owners of premium content such as ABC News, which provides video content.

Google saw the opportunity to embrace Yahoo's 700 million visitors to be able to use social networking Google Plus is being developed this year. Google executives have contacted Yahoo executives about the relationship of cooperation, but until now there has been no development of the results of the meeting.


(wall street journal)

Google changed its search engine algorithm

Google re-overhauling its search engine algorithm so that users get the information more accurate and relevant. Update 'algorithm fresh' This will convert most of the search results, for example when you search with keywords 'Olympic' then search results will bring up more information about the 2012 Olympics, compared to the 2008 Olympics.

Search results of this new algorithm will also feature the latest information from news stories that are "warm" and analyze trends that are going to give the most revelan on your search query.

In a posting on the company blog, Amit Singhal of Google said the update will bring nuances that are closer to results of the event is happening.

"If I find the word Olympics," he wrote. "I might want information about the upcoming Olympics next summer, not the 1900 Summer Olympics.

"Offal latest version of the Google search engine is designed to provide the most updated results for you, even when I just enter 'Olympics' only without determining the 'Olympics 2012', I still find what I was looking for," Singhal added.

This change was built thanks to the Caffeine Index Update, which allows netting faster web archive information that directly makes it easy to explore the latest information

Obama: G-20 Leaders Made ‘Important Progress’

President Barack Obama ended a two- day summit of world economic leaders with his appeals for more ambitious action to safeguard economic growth unmet by congressional leaders at home or his counterparts abroad.
World leaders at meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Cannes, France, balked at committing new funds to help bail out the euro-area, demanding the continent’s own governments first do more to fix the two-year-old debt crisis. In the U.S., Obama’s plan to revive hiring remained stalled in Congress.
Obama’s stay in Cannes was capped by a Labor Department report yesterday that job growth fell to 80,000 in October even as the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 9 percent from 9.1 percent in September.
At a closing news conference dominated by domestic concerns, Obama called the drop in the jobless rate “positive,” even as he conceded that the U.S. economy’s progress is “way too slow.” He said hopes the unemployment report prompts Congress to act on his proposals, including tax cuts and spending.
“There’s no excuse for inaction,” he said. “That’s true globally and it’s certainly true back home right now.”
The debt crisis in Europe and the struggle to come up with a rescue plan for Greece overshadowed efforts by the Group of 20 nations to promote global growth. Stocks, the euro and Italian bonds slid as a disagreement emerged at the meeting on boosting the International Monetary Fund’s resources.
Greece and Italy
The reluctance of the leaders of the world’s biggest economies to immediately channel funds to the euro area reflects frustration with Europe’s failure to end a crisis that sparked again this week, with Greece’s government lurching toward collapse and Italy facing intensifying pressure to restore fiscal order.
European leaders face ‘more hard work ahead and more difficult choices to make,” Obama said.
He also said he got “a crash course in European politics” while in Cannes.
In individual and group meetings Obama sought to keep the focus on the steps needed to stem the debt crisis and beyond the political pressures in individual countries, said an administration official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
U.S. actions in the aftermath of collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) in September 2008 repeatedly came up as examples of the tools that can be used, the official said.

Market Signals

“What we’ve seen is all the elements for dealing with the crisis put in place,” Obama said. Financial markets are looking for a “strong signal” from European governments that they are standing firmly behind the euro.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.6 percent to close at 1,253.23 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring a drop of as much as 1.8 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 1 percent as the euro weakened 0.3 percent to $1.3777. Ten-year Italian bond yields rose to a euro-era high, while rates on 10-year German debt capped the biggest weekly drop on record.
“The European political leadership, understands how much of a stake they have in making sure that this crisis is resolved, that the euro zone remains intact,” Obama said.
While in Cannes, Obama met separately with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, leaders of Europe’s two biggest economies and the drivers of attempts to win agreement on a rescue plan.

Economy and Currency

The G-20 also moved toward goals for “rebalancing” the global economy, including on China’s valuation of its currency, Obama said. In its final communique, the G-20 beefed up language on exchange rates by vowing to “move more rapidly toward market-determined.” In an appendix they highlighted China’s “determination” to increase the yuan’s flexibility.
China is showing increased willingness to let the yuan appreciate, Obama said. “This is something we’ve been calling for for some time, and it will be a critical step in boosting growth,” he said.
The yuan reached a 17-year high yesterday rising 0.19 percent to close at 6.3392 per dollar in Shanghai, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
Even with Europe’s debt crisis weighing on global growth, Obama said that the U.S. as the world’s largest economy will play a key role in driving expansion. He used a question on U.S. economic leadership to promote his jobs plan and defend his record.

Economic Growth

Obama, who faces re-election next year, offered “a simple way of thinking about” his track record.
“When I came into office, the U.S. economy had contracted by 9 percent, the largest contraction since the Great Depression,” he said. “A little over a year later, the economy was growing by 4 percent, and it’s been growing ever since.”
The economy has grown at an average pace of 1.4 percent during the first nine months of this year.
“We’re going to keep on pushing,” he said of his campaign to press Congress to act on his proposals and his vow to use executive authority wherever possible to promote hiring and growth.
“But if we’re going to do something big to jumpstart the economy at a time when it’s stabilized but unemployment is way too high, Congress is going to need to act,” he said.
Republican opposition to tax increases on the nation’s wealthiest individuals and spending more on infrastructure and aid to states has blocked passage of the $447 billion jobs plan Obama unveiled in September.

Infrastructure Bank

The administration and congressional Democrats since have tried pushing through individual components of the proposal. The Senate this week blocked a measure to provide $60 billion for work on the nation’s transportation system and create an “infrastructure bank” to leverage capital for more such projects.
Before leaving France, Obama joined with Sarkozy to honor members of both nations’ armed services who took part in the campaign that helped drive Muammar Qaddafi from power in Libya. He also participated in a joint interview with Sarkozy for French television. Sarkozy, like Obama, faces re-election next year.
“We need the United States of America to achieve growth,” Sarkozy said in the interview, “and they need a stable Europe.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Mike Dorning in Cannes, France, at mdorning@bloomberg.net; Roger Runningen in Cannes, France, at rrunningen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net

Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Death Clock.

Have you ever asked yourself 'when will I die?', our advanced life expectancy calculator will accurately* predict the date of your death for you depending on where you live, how much you smoke and your lifestyle. To predict the date of your death, simply input your date of birth, sex, smoking habits, your BMI and the country you live in. If you don't know your BMI simply click the link and our calculator will work out your BMI for you.

EMC News - Recently, millions of viewers of mainstream news programs around the world witnessed the body of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi being dragged triumphantly through the streets by the rebels who took his life.

Few would deny that Gaddafi deserved this fate, after ruling over the Libyan people for decades as a ruthless dictator. However, the ubiquitous availability of the images of the leader's violent death have sparked some debate over how much is too much for the six o'clock news.

As disturbing as these images are, we don't really see a problem with them being aired during prime time, as long as some sort of warning is issued beforehand, and they are not used gratuitously. After all, the images are easily available all over the internet anyway, and people need not look if they would prefer not to witness such violence.

However, we feel it is worth pointing out that there are some double standards involved in what is and is not deemed appropriate for TV. If the story of Gaddafi's death were fiction, for instance, it would probably be accompanied by a strong, severe-sounding warning before the program came back on after a commercial break. It would also likely need to be aired after 10 p.m.

Furthermore, profanity of any kind has certainly been deemed inappropriate for prime time news, and if any occurs on a later program it is once again preceded by a warning.

Images are powerful, even more so when they are grounded in reality. We simply ask media outlets to use discretion and moderation when broadcasting them.

Consider the following: it cannot be argued that if the media had had the opportunity, photographs of Bin Laden's lifeless corpse would have spread like wildfire. Such an occurrence would constitute an indelible image on the world's consciousness, and may even serve to further inflame and galvanize the Islamic world against the West. In this case, perhaps we are better off due to the restraint used on the part of the U.S government.

Justin Bieber baby mama drama gets spoofed by Jimmy Fallon

The pop star says he's trying to ignore the paternity rumors

Jimmy Fallon spoofs Justin Bieber's Baby Baby Baby with his version It's Not My Baby on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC.
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Jimmy Fallon poked fun of Justin Bieber's paternity lawsuit with '(It's Not My) Baby.'
Despite saying he was going to “ignore the rumors” after getting slapped with a paternity lawsuit, Justin Bieber appeared on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” to clear up the air.
Well, sort of.
Wearing the pop star’s signature baseball cap and mopped-top, host Jimmy Fallon resurrected his hilarious impersonation of the Biebs and took to the stage to perform an updated version of his hit song “Baby,” appropriately dubbed “(It’s Not My) Baby.”
“You said we did it, and I’m a dad. My lawyer’s tripping, ’cause this looks bad. You only said this to get my cash. Now Selena Gomez is going to kick my a—,” Fallon sings in Bieber’s high-pitched voice. “It’s not my baby, baby, baby. Oh-oh, it’s not my baby, baby, baby.”
“You said I didn’t use protection, I only lasted 30 seconds. But that’s not true. No that’s a lie. It was totally more like 45,” the funnyman continues to croon, before breaking out some impressive dance moves.
While the audience found the sketch hilarious, Bieber may not be a fan of the situation in general.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, the 17-year-old singer is accused of having sex with Maria Yeater, 20, backstage at his L.A. concert in October 2010. Yeater claims Bieber fathered her child, a son named Tristyn Anthony Markhouse Yeater, who was born three months ago.
Yeater claims that when she discovered she was pregnant, she tried to speak with Bieber’s representatives, but was unsuccessful. She wants the singer to take a paternity test to “scientifically confirm” he’s the dad, according to documents.
A spokesman for Bieber vehemently denies the allegation.
“While we haven’t yet seen the lawsuit, it’s sad that someone would fabricate malicious, defamatory and demonstrably false claims,” he said in a statement. “We will vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to defend and protect Justin against these allegations.”
Following the shocking claim, Bieber took to Twitter to say he’s going to ‘focus on the positives.”
“Im going to ignore the rumors ... and focus on what is real,” he wrote Wednesday. “an opportunity to help by doing what i love. Judge me on the music! Love yall!”

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

iPhone 4S battery issue reminiscent of 'antennagate'



commentary Apple's silence on a problem that appears to be affecting a number of iPhone 4S users is bringing back memories of last year's "antennagate," something that could give hope to those expecting a fix.
As noted last week, users have flocked to Apple's support site to complain about lower than advertised battery life on the new phone, which went on sale in mid-October.
On paper, the new phone beats out its predecessor by one hour of 3G talk time, yet falls 100 hours shorter when it comes to standby--the time a phone will continue to run when not being used for phone calls or other functions. But affected users say Apple's numbers are far too generous, with fully charged devices running out of juice during the course of a workday, even with minimal use.
Despite what's now a 170-page support forum thread (among several others like it 1, 2, 3), and a number of media stories on the matter, Apple has refrained from weighing in to users or to press.
Why is that? Look no further than what happened when users took aim at the iPhone 4's antenna design last year. Owners posted videos holding the phone tightly, showing that it would eventually lose some reception, something that was criticized as being a hardware flaw. Apple did not weigh in on the matter for three weeks, deciding instead to hold a press conference to address what had been dubbed "antennagate" with a sea of data to show that other phones had similar issues.
Is it too soon to classify Apple's lack of reaction this time around to what happened last year around the iPhone 4 antenna? Not necessarily.
First off, this is affecting some users with the iPhone 4 as well as those with Apple's newer iPhone 4S. In those cases it can be assumed that the culprit is iOS 5, a major software release Apple put out just ahead of the iPhone 4S hitting shelves that adds on a number of new features to the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 hardware.
So does that mean the software is half-baked? The run up to its release would suggest otherwise. Apple spent a considerable amount of time in near-public testing before delivering it to users (seven beta versions for developers, in fact), all inside a four-month span. That said, it's not without some bugs.

Apple's A5 processor, the first dual-core processor to come in an iPhone.
Apple's A5 processor, the first dual-core processor to come in an iPhone.
(Credit: Apple)
Looking at the iPhone 4S specifically, it's easy to wonder if it's the hardware that's slurping the battery life away. New to the 4S is a dual-core processor, a first for an iPhone, though not a first for an Apple device, with the iPad 2 jumping to Apple's A5 processor earlier this year. A teardown by iFixit shortly after the iPhone 4S' release showed it to be the very same processor that's in the iPad 2, though running at a lower speed to save energy.
Does that really hold up as something to point a finger at though? During Apple's iPhone 4S unveiling, Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, suggested otherwise, saying the company had not only matched the battery life of the previous model but beaten it in some cases. "You would think if you put a processor that powerful inside a super thin phone, one of the things you're going to trade off is battery life. But the hardware and software teams have worked really hard to get industry leading battery life as well," he said.
Then again, if a report in the The Guardian last week is to believed, Apple engineers have been contacting some unhappy iPhone 4S users who had weighed in on the growing support thread about the issue, all in order to collect relevant phone usage logs. In a follow-up over the weekend, the outlet then suggested that the problem had to do with turning off an automatic time zone setting that was pinging for location data non-stop. Yet users who read CNET's own coverage of that fix, and a number of users on Apple's forums said that didn't help.
What's next?
Looking back at what Apple did to handle both the iPhone 4 antenna issue in 2010, as well as the location collection log that researchers highlighted earlier this year, one thing becomes clear: if it's going to be addressed, there's going to be data crunching on Apple's end to either back it up or debunk it. As late Apple co-founder, then chief executive officer Steve Jobs said at the antenna press conference last year (emphasis mine):
"We heard about this not long after we started shipping just 22 days ago from today. It's not like Apple's had its head in the sand for 3 months on this guys, it's been 22 days. Apple is an engineering-driven company. We've got some of the finest scientists and engineers here in the world in the areas were need to create our products. And the way we work is we want to find out what the real problem is before we start to come up with solutions. So we've been working our butts off for the last 22 days to understand what the real issues are here, so that we can come up with real solutions."
That sentiment was echoed again in April this year, when all eyes turned on Apple to explain what it was doing with a collection of unencrypted location data that was being stored on iOS devices. In an interview with All Things D, Jobs said:
"We're an engineering-driven company. When people accuse us of things, the first thing we want to do is find out the truth. That took a certain amount of time to track all of these things down. And the accusations were coming day by day. By the time we had figured this all out, it took a few days. Then writing it up and trying to make it intelligible when this is a very high-tech topic took a few days. And here we are less than a week later."
In both cases Apple issued a software update to address the issue at hand shortly after acknowledging it publicly. Looking back on the release of the iPhone 4, it took Apple less than a month to release the first iOS software update for that device, which arrived as a patch of sorts to change the way the phone displayed carrier signal strength. For the location database it was two weeks for a fix that would remove the data store outright every time a user turned location services off.
So that brings us back to now. Will we get a similar software update for any battery issues? History would suggest that's the case if it affects a big enough group of users. In those two aforementioned cases it was everyone with an Apple device, which does not seem to be the case with this latest issue. Could there still be a problem though? A 170-page thread on the matter, and reports of Apple contacting users about it for more data suggests so. Just don't expect a press conference about it if there's a fix in store.

by

Apple-iPhone 3GS - Tech Specs



Size and Weight1

Height: 4.5 inches (115.5 mm)
Width: 2.4 inches (62.1 mm)
Depth: 0.48 inch (12.3mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (135 grams)

Color and Capacity2

  • Black
  • 8GB flash drive

Cellular and Wireless

  • UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
    GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
  • 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology

Location

  • Assisted GPS
  • Digital compass
  • Wi-Fi
  • Cellular

Display

  • 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
  • 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
  • Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
  • Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Camera, Photos, and Video

  • Video recording, VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio
  • 3-megapixel still camera
  • Autofocus
  • Tap to focus
  • Photo and video geotagging

External Buttons and Connectors

External Buttons and Controls
Connectors and Input/Output

Power and Battery3

  • Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
  • Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter
  • Talk time: Up to 5 hours on 3G, up to 12 hours on 2G
  • Standby time: Up to 300 hours
  • Internet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
  • Video playback: Up to 10 hours
  • Audio playback: Up to 30 hours

Audio Playback

  • Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
  • Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
  • User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and Video

  • Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cables sold separately)
  • Video formats supported: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Headphones

  • Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
  • Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
  • Impedance: 32 ohms

Mail Attachment Support

Viewable Document Types

.jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Sensors

  • Accelerometer
  • Proximity sensor
  • Ambient light sensor

System Requirements

  • Apple ID (required for some features)
  • Internet access4
  • Syncing with iTunes on a Mac or PC requires:
    • Mac: OS X v10.5.8 or later
    • PC: Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
    • iTunes 10.5 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)

Environmental Requirements

  • Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
  • Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
  • Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
  • Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Languages

Language Support

English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Keyboard Support:

English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese - Simplified (Handwriting, Pinyin, Wubihua), Chinese - Traditional (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Wubihua), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech , Danish, Dutch, Emoji, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Dictionary Support

English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

In the Box

  • iPhone 3GS
  • Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
  • Dock Connector to USB Cable
  • USB Power Adapter
  • Documentation

iPad Smart Cover - Leather - (PRODUCT) RED

So much more than a case, the Smart Cover was designed alongside iPad 2 to be its perfect match: a thin, durable cover that magnetically aligns for a perfect fit. It automatically wakes and sleeps your iPad. It’s a handy stand for reading, watching, and typing. Its microfiber lining keeps your iPad screen clean. And it’s a way to make your iPad as personal on the outside as it is on the inside. PRODUCT (RED) cover available exclusively through the Apple Store. *

Overview

Thin, minimal design.

The slim, yet sturdy Smart Cover protects your iPad screen without covering up its durable aluminum back. So your iPad still looks and feels like an iPad — just with a little extra protection.

What's in the Box

  • iPad Smart Cover

Magnetic connection.

An aluminum hinge magnetically aligns the Smart Cover with iPad for a perfect fit. While magnets inside help it stay put.

Wake on open. Sleep on close.

Open the Smart Cover, and iPad magically wakes up. Close it, and iPad automatically goes to sleep.

Keyboard stand.

The Smart Cover does double duty as a keyboard stand. Fold it back to tilt iPad into a comfortable writing position.

FaceTime and movie stand.

The Smart Cover folds in just the right places to become the perfect FaceTime and movie-watching stand.

Polyurethane design.

The Smart Cover now comes in five more vibrant polyurethane colors with a soft, color-matched microfiber lining that keeps your display clean.

Leather design.

Choose from five beautiful, aniline-dyed Italian leather covers with a soft, color-matched microfiber lining that keeps your display clean — including a PRODUCT (RED) cover available exclusively through the Apple Store. *
*The leather Smart Cover is crafted from high-quality, naturally treated material that gets its color from a rich aniline dye. Some color may rub off during use.
A portion of the proceeds from every PRODUCT (RED) purchase will go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.

iPhone 4S Photo Gallery

View a collection of unretouched photographs taken using iPhone 4S. Click an image to see it larger.

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