19

Hey!

Today is my birthday!

I turned 19 years old!

I got some money. hehe

I feel quite old, but next year is a nice round number; 20. Haha.

- Mr F

WWDC 2013: What to Expect

Today, Apple announced WWDC 2013.

This is an Apple focused annual event where developers can come in and see the latest innovations in Apple software.

This year’s WWDC will be held from june 10th to 14th in San Francisco.

WWDC has been known for iOS announcements, iPhone announcements (iPhone 4 and earlier) and OS X announcements.

This year hasn’t been great for Apple. It’s been pretty good in sales, but we never heard from Apple since October 2012 – which ironically, was exactly 6 months ago.

What can we expect this year?

OS X

The latest version of OS X is expected to be announced. if you didn’t know, OS X 10.9 has been seen in some report logs in the past weeks.The version will be called “10.9″ but we are unsure of the name Apple might give it. Apple usually goes for Cat names; last years being “Mountain Lion”.

What can we expect from 10.9? Here are a few of my predictions:

• Siri – We are expecting the virtual assistant to make its way to the Mac in one form or the other. Whether or not it’s full blown Siri is yet to be seen. 
• Further UI improvements – Duh. Pretty OS looks pretty
• iLife and iWork suite update – Newer versions would be great!

iOS

We will no doubt see the latest version of iOS and that is iOS 7. We are expecting it to be amazing and a fresh experience compared to what we have right now. The invite shows a colourful background, which might hint that iOS is going to get an overhaul. Maybe it will have some new life. Who knows.

This ‘fresh’ feeling could come from widgets or some liveliness in the home screen. iPhone 5 gave Apple more space to play with, so we should expect Apple to utilise this extra space and make iOS more appealing! I love my iOS devices, but I want something cool to keep me interested. Samsung seems to be ahead of the game here, even though many of their features are gimmicks and Apple just gives you what you need.

Here are some of my predictions:

• More Siri improvements – Siri can open apps and all, but why doesn’t she/he read out answers too?
• Widgets – If not widgets, then something to keep me using Notification Centre.
• Camera improvements – Let me change some more settings.. please Apple..
• “Live Wallpapers” – Thats Google’s term, but should our wallpapers stay static? Understand if this doesn’t happen because of battery drainage.. blah blah..
• Safari improvements – Why does’t the “best browser on a phone” have a unified search bar? Chrome for iOS has executed it fine, so can Safari. Apple will find a way to do it elegantly!
• Reworked weather App – The new Yahoo! Weather app is amazing. Time to take some inspiration from there me thinks.
• Do Not Disturb – When this is “on”, it lets notifications keep the LCD off, but what if I don’t want to be disturbed while using the phone? Please!

*You can expect to see full iOS 7 coverage with all beta features here on Imagine A World, just like iOS 6 last year!!*

iWatch?

The invite for this years WWDC has a reflection which looks like Roman numerals. Those numerals actually say “2013″ but when you think of Roman numerals, doesn’t a watch or clock come to mind? And a square image with colours around it is sort of what it might be like.

Is Apple hinting at a smart watch? We can’t say for sure, but we know Tim Cook has hinted at it a little. We will see!

An “iWatch” isn’t really appealing to me at this point, and its not something I would want to own right now. My phone and my watch are two different things, and I use them both for different reasons. I don’t want my watch talking to my phone and vice versa. Seems really cool, but not for me right now.

What not to expect

Don’t expect any new hardware. Apple has already done all that. New Macs, iPhones, iPods and iPads were announced and released during the fourth quarter of 2012. Expect new products as we get closer to the fall!

What are you most looking forward to? (if anything)

- Mr F

 

 

Too big for your pocket?

Hey!

Today I wanted to talk about something I’m really passionate about – and that’s technology. 

Technology on its own is too broad, so I’m just going to talk about a small part of it and thats mobile phones. More specifically, are they getting too big? 

I’m talking about this because today, Samsung introduced the “Samsung Galaxy Mega” which comes in two screen sizes: 5.8″ inches and 6.3 inches (diagonally). Thats ridiculously large – for me.

On first glance, it looks just like the Samsung Galaxy S4 which was unveiled in March. The design is really nice and keeps in line with Samsung current design language. By in large, Samsung likes to keep its design scheme the same throughout the year, and it works great for them; as it does for Apple.

But if you think about it, 4 inches used to be pretty big. Now its the average size for a smart phone.

When you get to a 5 inch phone, the colloquial term for it is “phablet”. Thats when a device is large enough to be considered a tablet, but small enough to be a phone. Of course, they are not officially advertised as “phablets”! 

Lets go back to 2007, where it all started. The Apple iPhone was the first phone to feature a “large” display. It set the standard for how a smart phone should look. 3.5 inches was a huge size and many considered it too big for a phone. It was like the 4 inches of today. When Steve Jobs announced it he said “..get rid of all these buttons and have a giant screen…a giant screen!”. He famously called that 3.5 inch display “giant”. Wowz.

5 years later, we have the iPhone 5 with its amazing 4 inch Retina display. Many people have disliked this new screen size because its simply taller and not wider. Apple argues this by saying “typing on the keyboard, for instance — you can still do with one hand”. 

But how big is too big?

My first phone had a 2 inch display and I thought it was big! I remember watching movies on this “large” screen! It was a slider phone too, which made it so compact. Few years later, I got a Samsung phone which had a 3 inch screen (I think). This made my previous phone look so small and made my wonder how I used it! Some more years later, and I used the iPhone 4S with it’s 3.5 inch Retina display – it beats my previous phones in all directions.

Samsung is taking the biggest risks right now by releasing devices with all screen sizes. With Samsung, you will surely find a screen size for you. As you get to 8 inches, only tablets are offered to you.

The funny thing is that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, with its 5.5 inch display, is one of the top selling phones for Samsung right now. More consumers are choosing Samsung over Apple or BlackBerry for the screen size and customisation options in the OS.

I have been honoured to try out the Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and the iPhone 5. I’m going to sound like an Apple fan boy for saying this – but the iPhone 5 felt the best. Transitioning from an iPhone 4S to an iPhone 5 feels good. I have average sized hands and could reach the top of the screen with a bit of shuffling. The width of the phone is the same, so there is nothing more to get used to. On the other hand, the Samsung devices that I tried, required me to use both of my hands.

Different phones will appeal to different people. Thats why it’s best to just use what you love and love what you use.

- Mr F 

Job Get!

Hey!
As promised, this is my follow up post to “Job Spot”.

So on Thursday, I went to the meeting which was held at noon. It wasn’t very long but it was definitely worth it.

The meeting started with two company representatives talking about what they do and why they do it. They held a short PowerPoint presentation about the company and what they do. They also showed what they expect from us and how they expect it to be done.

They then told us that if it all sounds good, we should stay and fill in the paperwork. If its not your cup of tea, then by all means you can leave. I stayed and filled out the papers. The papers were a series of declarations and application forms! Time consuming but important none the less.

There were about 15-20 other students and we all got a place as security employees working in our local area!
We’re just now waiting to hear back from them. I actually can’t wait!

This will be my first proper job. I feel I’m ready for it.

I will post an update as soon as I hear back.

-Mr F

Job Spot

Hey!

You might have thought my dream job would be working at an Apple retail store. You couldn’t be more right.

It’s true. I’ve applied many times for a role at my local Apple store but to no avail. It seems they don’t want know-it-alls just yet.

Finally, a job offer was posted at my college which I quickly put my name down for. It’s for a local security person during local events. It’s a “flexitime” job which means you can work at times that suit you.

I’m not entirely sure what the role is about because it was a short and snappy ad. I could do with any job at this point! Id also like to refrain from mentioning the organisations name for now.

Nevertheless, A few of my classmates and myself put our names down for this job on Wednesday and on Friday I received a letter inviting me to an initial meeting where things such as available times, what’s expected of me and what the role is about will be discussed.

I’m so excited for this role and I really hope I can get it! It will be really nice to be doing something in my spare time!
The meeting will take place at noon on the 28th of March

I hope you guys will wish me luck!
I will make a follow up post by the weekend

Mr F

Most expensive app?

Hey!

In the day of computers with “Apps” instead of “program’s”, chances are you’ll see a few costly ones.

There are a few apps I wanted to show you today.

I don’t know the name of the first one but it’s on the US Apple App Store and costs nearly $1,000!
What does the app do? It’s simply a really basic app that let’s you show people that you can afford to buy an app that does nothing. Just to show you can afford something

The next app is on the UK Apple App Store and I searched for it and actually found it. It’s called “QSFFStats”.
It’s a sports app. I don’t know exactly what it’s about but for £699.99, It’d better be good!

Just to put that price in perspective, you could buy the iPad with Retina display twice, or the iPad mini thrice.

It’s an iPhone only app and if you’re interested, you should give it a buy.

It’s interesting because I think that apps that cost £2.99 are expensive to buy. I don’t hesitate too much to buy an app that costs 69p, however.

What do you think about expensive apps?
What platform do you use and what is the most expensive app you’ve come across?

Don’t forget to rate this post! It really helps me out!

- Mr F

Pear

Message to Oilersmyth: Can you please leave your email address in the comments where I can email you or instant message you. I prefer IM. Skype text chat is fine. Thanks!

Hey!

We’re leaning how to make websites and school, and for our assignment, we had to make our own website. We don’t have to host it online or anything, but its fun none-the-less.

We could make a website about anything – but we had to use the website language called “HTML”. We were allowed to do our own research and add more languages such as PHP, JavaScript and JQuery.

There was no limit on what the website should be about.

Being the Apple fan and technology person that I am, I chose to create a website with both of these in mind.

The name of my website is “Pear”. That’s right – Pear. The complete opposite of Apple.

It has a stunning resemblance to the Apple website but everything is ”Peared” up. Take a look at this picture of my website’s homepage:

I hope you can see how amazingly close it looks to the Apple website. That picture is of the ‘PearPad’ product. I made it myself in Paint, and enhanced it in PhotoShop.

It was a fun project and my teacher loved it as much as I did. He thought it was ”clever”.

- Mr F

The Instagram Effect

Hey!

I’m a huge fan of social networks. I use Facebook, WordPress (duh), Twitter and Instagram.

Even thought I use these on a daily basis, I wouldn’t say that I’m ”addicted” to them. They are just part of my interests and I enjoy seeing what my friends are up to – usually, they are doing something better than me.

Recently, Instagram changed their terms of service which translated to the fact that Instagram is allow to sell your photos other companies. This created a HUGE problem with people deleting their accounts, deleting their photos or just stop using Instagram altogether.

But what is the point of Instagram in the first place?

Some would say that it’s like twitter, only for photos. That’s true to some extent.

You can post photos to Instagram but you can also change the image using filters. These are like layers that you add to the image to change the look.

Is there a need for these filters?
Yes. Yes there is. Filters can make your photos interesting and fun to look at. They enhance the look, if you will.

At the same time, they ruin beautiful pictures that simply have to be seen in raw to be appreciated.

If you don’t like Instagram, don’t use it.

- Mr F

Happy New Year!

This year on Imagine A World is going to best year ever, with brand new content and more! Imagine A World turns 5 this year too.

Thank you for your support during the past year. I could not have continued to blog without you.

I hope you have a wonderful new year 2013!

- Mr Fun

First Look: iOS 6.1 beta 1, beta 2, beta 3, beta 4 and beta 5 (GM) Features

Apple has released iOS 6.1 to the public. It is available for all iOS 6 devices.

The latest version of iOS 6.1 is beta 5. Please scroll down to read about the included features in this release.

Beta 5 appears to be the Gold Master (GM) release and is not available for installation over the air.

Beta 5 can be installed without a developer account or UDID registration!

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iOS 6.1 doesn’t seem to feature any huge, noticeable changes for the end-user. iOS 6.1 features some more Mapping tools for developers to add the new Maps into their apps. This means that developers will be able to make better use of the new Mapping software which was introduced in June 2012.

If you choose to use any content from this post or this site, please give credit and a link back to this blog. Thanks!

iOS 6.1 Beta 1 Features:

“REPORT A PROBLEM” (or two)

The “Report A Problem” button in Maps is now more prominent, taking up two buttons worth of space. Looks like Apple is really keen on knowing every thing they can do to fix the Maps app. The buttons are also much slimmer. Here is a comparison of the old and new style:

NEW LOCK SCREEN MUSIC CONTROLS

Apple has finally reflected the new Music app on the lock screen with these new look controls. They are essentially the same with more spacing and with that new silver look. The clock moves to the status bar. You can get to them by double-clicking the home button on the lock screen. And yes, the volume slider icon does reflect in the light when you tilt the device, just like in the Music app. A very similar interface has been added to the iPad, but it also has an option to scrub through the song – right from the lock screen.

“RESET ADVERTISING IDENTIFIER”

There is a new option in About >; Advertising, that allows you to “Reset Advertising Identifier”.

BOOK CINEMA TICKETS WITH SIRI VIA FANDANGO

Soon, you’ll be able to book movie tickets using Siri via the Fandango service. You can already book tables at restaurants, and the ability to book movies will be even better.

WI-FI NETWORKING TOGGLE

In System Services, a new toggle has been added which turns ‘WiFi networking’ on and off.

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iOS 6.1 Beta 2 Features

PASSBOOK MAKES DEFINITIONS

When Apple introduced Passbook in June 2012, they didn’t really make clear what it actually was. They described it roughly as ”an app to hold your tickets and boarding passes”. It left end users confused. Apple has now added a sample card in Passbook describing what it does and how to use it. They even describe what the ‘App Store’ button was for.

POSITION OF LENGTH OF SONGS CHANGED

The minutes and seconds of a song are now listed beneath the song title. It was moved to make space for the iCloud icon for downloading music down from the cloud.

HEARING AID MODE RELOCATED

The hearing aid mode is no longer turn on with a simple toggle in Accessibility. You now have a new menu for it called ‘Hearing Aids’.

NEW LIVE LISTEN FEATURE

A new feature has been added in that new hearing aid menu. It’s called Live Listen and lets you use your iPhone as a remote microphone.

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iOS 6.1 beta 3 features

GENERAL UPDATES WITH iOS 6.1 Beta 3:

This is not a feature per se, but iOS 6.1 beta 3 seems like a bug fix release than anything else. It also feels a lot more stable and snappy. It is unclear if there is a signature feature missing from 6.1 that will debut at launch but you can expect a GM release soon.

ICLOUD SETTINGS UPDATE

Apple has updated it’s iCloud settings and in this beta of iOS 6.1 you are asked to confirm your Apple ID password for FaceTime and iMessages when starting your device for the first time after installation. It asks you to confirm how people can reach you and tells you that you can change these settings at any time. It is not clear if the end user will also see this screen when the software is finally released.

PASSBOOK SAMPLE CARD SLIGHTLY UPDATED

The small text on the sample Passbook card has been updated – the UK version at least. The updates to the card are very minor with some American English words written in British English – such as ‘movie tickets’ replaced with ‘cinema tickets’. Below, the UPDATED card is on the RIGHT.

IMPROVEMENTS TO RESET ADVERTISING IDENTIFIER

Previously, when you clicked ‘Reset Advertising Identifier’, nothing would happen. The button would just blink because it didn’t actually do anything. Now, you are given an option to confirm your choice and it is now working.

VOICE DIAL ONLY

With the advent of Siri on more and more devices, it seems weird that Apple would update something that is as old as the iPhone 3GS, but if you still use Voice Control, there is a new section in the settings for it that allow you to set it to ‘Voice Dial Only’. You can choose a language from the list to use Voice Dial with.

NEW MOBILE/CELLULAR DATA OPTION

There is a new toggle for mobile/cellular data for iTunes. It was removed in the previous betas. It’s made a come back and by default, it is turned off.

______________________

iOS 6.1 Beta 4 Features

GENERAL UPDATES WITH IOS 6.1 BETA 4

There doesn’t seem to be any huge or noticable changes in the latest build of iOS 6.1. Seems like yet another a bug fix release, with minor changes. This could all change with the GM release expected next, preceded by an Apple Keynote. Since there isn’t many new features in this beta, you should scroll down to the ‘Other Notable New Features in 6.1″ section of this post.

On Monday 17th December, Apple released the 4th beta build of iOS 6.1. This section is currently being updated with beta 4 content. Please check back soon for the most in-depth beta coverage on the internet!

APPLE MAPS – REPORT A PROBLEM

Despite the return of the superior Google Maps on iOS, Apple still wants to know to do with their Maps app. When you report a problem in Maps, you now have more options to choose from.

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iOS 6.1 Beta 5/GM

There are no new features in beta 5. It seems to be another new bug fix release. Beta 5 can be installed without a developer account, so if you want iOS 6.1 now, look out for beta 5 leaks

Unless Apple made a mistake, Beta 5 is not available OTA (Over The Air). It must be downloaded from the developer website and its just over a gigabyte large.

Since there isn’t many new features in this beta, you should scroll down to the ‘Other Notable New Features in 6.1″ section of this post.

SPLIT KEYBOARD TOGGLE

Apple has quietly added a toggle for turning the split keyboard on or off on the iPad. It can be found in General > Keyboard > Split Keyboard. Split Keyboard is a feature which was first introduced in iOS 5.

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OTHER NOTABLE NEW FEATURES WITH iOS 6.1

• Slightly revised music app with the ‘Artists’ tab more consistent.
• Snappier experience with iPad 3rd Generation and iPhone 4S
• Improved App Store experience
• When checking for updates in the App Store, clicking the inverted triangle for an update is more accurate.
• More cities in Maps are in 3D (this is expected with every release of iOS 6)
• Maps is a bit more accurate in the sense that more countries are covered with better satellite imagery
• Album art is better centered on the lock screen.
• 4G LTE on the “EE” network in the UK has been improved
• 4G LTE software support has been added to a network in Denmark
• Improved Siri functionality over Wi-FI
• Performance on iPhone 4, 4S and iPod touch 4G is greatly improved.
• New lock screen Music controls on iPad
• Download single tracks from iTunes Match, rather than whole albums
• Improved battery life on iPhone 4S and iPhone 4.
• iOS 6.1 Beta 3 is more stable than the previous beta versions of 6.1
• New setup for users running the 3rd beta version of 6.1.
• 4G LTE enabled on the Portugese network; TMN
• Ability to delete music from device while keeping a copy of the track in the cloud for download later
• The YouTube icon in the share menu has been updated to match the downloadable YouTube app icon
• Improve noise cancellation during calls on iPhone 5
• Notification bug fixed with the release of beta 4
• Removal of background audio playing from Safari
• Safari improvements (seriously, its true!)
• Split Keyboard toggle for iPad 2, 3rd gen, 4th gen and iPad mini

KNOWN ISSUES WITH iOS 6.1 OVERALL

• The Panorama mode on iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 is broken and crashes. FIXED
• iOS 6.1 is not working too well on iPad 2. Seems laggy.FIXED
• Using Siri on 3G networks is slower (A confirmed bug, that Apple is said to be improving over the next few days) FIXED
• Exchange doesn’t seem to be fixed properly
• Bluetooth MAP doesn’t seem fixed properly
  
• Weak WiFi on some devices.
• Poor sound quality from A5 processor and later devices FIXED
• App Store says there are updates pending, when there isn’t.
• Even if you are using Wi-Fi, iPhone indicates that you are using 3G. Going to the Wi-Fi settings will temporarily fix it.
• iPhone 5 loudspeaker problems – although some users are reporting that this has been fixed
• Lag on iPhone 3GS with beta 3 – REDUCED
• Problems accepting the iTunes terms and conditions. Can be done if you try again though. FIXED
• A bug in the Mail.app causes it to freeze (hang) FIXED
• With beta 4, some updates appear in the app store again, even though the app may already have been updated.
• Music.app lags on iPad – iPad mini in particular

MISSING FEATURES?

• “Mountain Lion” style dock (That beautiful dock in OS X 10.8 hasn’t made its way to iOS yet. Click here to view example)
• Translucent Camera app bar on iPhone 3GS/4/4S for consistency with the iPad Camera App – may not happen in all trueness
• ‘Kill All’ button in the multitasking bar – iOS 7 feature perhaps?
• ‘Close All Tabs’ button in Safari for quick tab closing
• Private Browsing button within the Safari app.
• As of beta 4, there STILL NO mountain lion dock. Come on Apple! I thought it was about unifying the experience?
• Widgets – Unlikely in a 0.1 release but there isn’t even a slight hint that they are coming
• Missing a refreshed QuickTime interface to match the new controls found on the lock screen and Music.app
• A new Music.app interface to match iTunes 11

Please come back and check this post for the latest run down of iOS 6.1.

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What is the release date for iOS 6.1?

iOS 6.1 Release Date: Between January and February 2013 after an Apple Keynote

Schedule:

1. Apple Keynote to be held between January and February (I cannot disclose the nature of this event, however all I will say that it is a software orientated event)
2. Gold Master Seed with one new signature feature to be released on the same day as keynote
3. Public release within 1-2 weeks of GM Seed, possibly a few days before the ‘topic’ discussed in the keynote is released

This information was obtained from a source which believes they have some inside information about how Apple is going to handle 6.1.

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Please support this post and the reliability of its content by sharing it.

- Mr F

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What are your current thoughts on iOS 6.1?

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Supported Devices:

• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 5
• iPad 2nd/3rd/4th Gen
• iPad mini
• iPod touch 4th and 5th gen