iPad gets the iOS 4.2 in November (iPhones get iOS 4.1 now)
As per my previous coverage of the Apple event where several new iPods and a new iTunes was announced, I'm making this post so that iPad owners can sigh with relief regarding the iOS. Yes, we will get an update, yes it will have multi-tasking and make the iPad (even more) awesome.
Read on to get all the juicy details...
CyanogenMod 6.0 Released (Still No Galaxy S Support)
Just a couple of days ago, the good folk 'Cyanogen' released version 6.0 of their much acclaimed CyanogenMod. To my (and many other people's) sadness though, it still does not support the Samsung Galaxy S nor any of its other flavours (Vibrant, Captivate, etc).
According to a previous post by the same gentleman, Vibrant support (and hopefully all the rest, by affinity) might be coming to version 6.1. Until this version is released let's just hold onto that thought and pray they are serious about it!
In the meanwhile, maybe you'd like to give one of the Froyo builds a spin?
Samsung Galaxy S Gets Android 2.2 (Froyo) [Beta]
In case you were not aware yet, there are Froyo builds available out there RIGHT NOW for the Samsung Galaxy S. You just have to be aware that these builds are in fact beta builds released by Samsung and thus might still be a bit buggy and crash-ey. Still, it shouldn't break your phone. If anything you'll just have to reflash it back with Éclair which is perfectly possible and very safe.
So you want to give these Froyo builds a try? After all there are already three betas out there so it can't be that bad, right? Well, just read on for a walk through on how to get these builds and how to get them on your phone!
Samsung Galaxy S Lag Issue (And How To Fix It) [Updated]
[Updated - Jump to the end of the post for a detailed walkthrough]
As some of my readers may know, I have recently traded in my Maemo-wielding Nokia N900 for a brand new Samsung Galaxy S. This move was led by several reasons that I am not going to go in detail in this post now but I did it and I was very happy with my new phone. In comparison with the Nokia it was super fast and best of all, it runs Android which is, in my opinion, a great mobile operating system.
Samsung Galaxy S and the iPhone 4′s amazing screen
I went into an O2 store today. I was merely looking to handle the new iPhone 4, to see how it looked like in person, to see how it felt in my hand and... obviously, to test the death grip, or, more correctly, the death touch. Yes, you don't really have to grip it like Steve J. suggests, you really just have to touch it on that joint point on the bottom left corner of the phone and the signal goes all the way down to just two, and then one bar. You can clearly see the effects of the new firmware though, it no longer goes into no signal, it will still tell you that there's some signal, while in fact it's probably impossible to make any calls at that point. But anyway, I was there, I tested it. I didn't grip the iPhone, I merely pressed my index finger against that tiny little spot and the signal instantly started dropping from the full five bars to two bars and ultimately to just one bar. Similarly, as soon as I raised my finger from that spot, it gained back the signal to full strength. This is why I'm dubbing this issue not "death grip" but "death touch".
Lufthansa offers Gray Powell flight to Germany
Everyone who follows the technology world would know the name Gray Powell. This is the name of the lad who lost his prototype iPhone 4G at a German beer bar. Well, guess what? Lufthansa is offering him a business class flight to Munich for him to "pick up where he last left off".
Image of the letter after the jump.
Imagine Cup and volcano ash
So! It's been a while and I come back with nothing but sad and unhappy stories.
As perhaps some of you knew, my team was one of the UK finalists in the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition. As fate wanted, we did not win. We came home, not empty-handed but in a way, empty-hearted. Maybe it is for the best; my team is composed of Master's students and the workload isn't comparable. I did not expect to have enough time to make it through to the finals, so maybe it is indeed for the best that someone else won.
Still, we got some loot from this competition! We won a magnificent Microsoft LifeCam HD and a superb Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000, with the new BlueTrack technology! Last but not least, we also got a diploma signed by Bill Gates himself! Quite good huh?
Unfortunately I cannot post many details from this visit to Microsoft's campus in Reading as we were all forced to sign an NDA to prevent us from leaking the latest details. All that I can say is that I've tried a Windows Phone 7 and it's amazing. It's a complete break with Windows Mobile and it is definitely a great break. From my experience I can say that the OS still feels a bit unpolished on certain aspects like image handling, but that's to be expected as it hasn't even been released yet. I also got to try a Microsoft Surface in person and whoa.... it's quite an amazing experience and I quite like the applications they have to showcase it. Perhaps the only disappointing factor is that it doesn't use either resistive or capacitive technologies, but instead it resorts to a projection and five cameras to detect touches. That is why it is such a tall device.
We also got a nice presentation by a gentleman from Lionhead Studios but unfortunately they had really strong feelings about the NDA and I am really not supposed to say anything about that!
Moving on to the next topic there's... volcano ash! Namely Eyjafjallajökull's ash. This is the name of the very nasty Icelandic volcano that has stopped me from going back to Portugal for my well deserved holidays. I had a flight booked for the 16th which got cancelled, then I rebooked it for today (the 19th) and again it got cancelled, and right now I have it booked for this Friday, hoping that things will look better in a few days.
The latest news on this is that the volcano comes from the UK Met Office (check image) and they tell us that it has actually stopped erupting and that maybe now the skies will start clearing.
Apple Tablet – the iPad is… meh
The so much awaited Apple Tablet has finally been announced by good ole Steve Jobs. My first impression? Meh. Put it this way, I was very very excited about the Apple Tablet, I was amused that the name could have gone the iSlate way (is late, get it?), but even the name is a total and uttermost failure. iPad... what's with the easy iPod pun?!
Those of us who read Gizmodo and other technology-oriented websites have been showering in mockups of how the iPad would look like and truth to be told, most of them look better than this chunky piece of an eBook reader. What's this supposed to be anyway? A phone? But it has no 3G... An eBook reader? But it costs $1000... An MP3/video player? BUT IT COSTS $1000!
Come on guys, who does not sincerely believe that Apple has just shot themselves in the foot please raise your hands and drop me a comment with sound reasoning. As for me, if I had Apple stock I'd be hitting the sell button as hard as I could right now... poor move Jobs, poor move...
Photos after the break (courtesy of Gizmodo).
UPDATE: Alright, alright, it only costs $500 after all. My point still remains: it is ugly and it only allows one app running at a time... $500 for a giant iPhone? Meh.
iMacs and the yellow tinted screen
Oh oh! No, not Santa, this is actually a juicy story. Mark Wilson at Gizmodo brings us an issue with the latest Apple's iMacs. According to said person, some of the latest iMacs randomly display a yellow tinted screen, turning the whites into... well... yellow. Manufacturing issues like this happen you say, and I would agree; that's not really the issue in this case.
The issue is the fact that Mark's iMac was exchanged but the replacement computer is also icteric. So what's the deal? Well, I'm not a fan boy for either side, I'm not fanatic so this brings me no special joy; despite that, I share Mark's opinion on the issue: multi-thousand dollar computers, computers that are known for being overpriced for their specifications, shouldn't have issues like this. Moreso, the issue should never happen again on a replacement computer. This can only mean one of two things - either the issue is happening on a large percentage of iMacs or Mark has just been extremely unlucky. Considering Apple's previous rapport with manufacturing issues and faulty parts, I would go with the former.
Right now Apple has been creepy and resorted to shady backstage data mining to flag Mark's Apple account to disallow any other exchanges; apparently his computer will now be repaired instead. Mark isn't happy and he's trying to spread the word; this is my attempt to help him and to get Apple to change this behavior. This would be acceptable from a cheap computer brand but not from Apple, THE most expensive computer brand, whose flagship is to produce computers with above-par quality. This sure as hell isn't above-par.
[via Gizmodo]
10 Google Wave Invites
Yeah, it is serious 
I have 10 Google Wave invites to distribute to the first ten visitors to leave me a comment on this post. This is NOT a contest, I will be giving the invites to the ten first lucky people who leave a comment on this post requesting an invite. Please be sure to leave the comment with a working e-mail address, or the invite won't go through and you will lose your chance.
Comment away!
[UPDATE]: 8 invites left!