iOutput

Unlike other smart phones, the iPhone is a very smart piece of equipment. And like operating systems in computers, the iPhone allows you to perform what is called a Print Screen in Windows terminology or Grab screen in Mac OS X.

So, how to do a print screen on iPhone? On any screen or application press and hold the power button then briefly press the home button and you will hear the camera sound, indicating the screen capture was successful. You will find the file in the Camera Roll of Photo Album. Simple!

Here's an example of the iPhone browsing the iOutput blog!

Have a great day and even a better year, my friend!

Although this might be a bit biased it's still funny and some thruth is in the middle. Windows 7 seems much more stable, logical and faster than Vista but is it as good as Mac OS X Snow Leopard? I am currently using both so will let you know anytime soon. Until then, enjoy this commercial:

Thank you for reading our blog, shortly after celebrating the first month, we reached 1000 visits and that's something to remember. Our visitors are from the UK, Portugal, US, Brazil, Spain, France, Slovakia, Germany, Belgium and Egypt. But we are ambitious and we want to reach much more people in much more places. We hope to renew your trust and interest and we would like to set the goal to have 15.000 visitors when we celebrate one year, that will be in September 2010. Help us out, continue to visit our blog and spread the word amongst your friends. We'll do our bit by writing articles as interesting and funny to read as we can. And remember, if you have a question or a doubt don't hesitate to leave a comment or write us to ioutputblog@gmail.com and we'll prepare an article with the answer to your question.

Someone with a nervous finger published information on new Macs a bit too soon. Apparently, Apple has prepared some product updates to take the attention away from Windows 7 coming up soon.

On the 7th October a new iMac will be launched which claims to be thiner, a new Macbook (the white plastic model) also claims to be thiner and lighter and the Mac Mini that drops €100 in price, now costing €499 instead of the €599, with a faster processor and 2Gb RAM standard.

News also mention a new Apple Remote and a new Mighty Mouse. To confirm this, Apple stores have received some boxes that say "Not to be opened until further notice"....

This is want was leaked: "MacBook: Thinner, lighter and faster! Free delivery. Order today. iMac: Ultra Thin 20 & 24 inch models. From only €1099. Apple Store. Mac mini: Faster and more affordable than ever. From only €499. Order immediately.
Read more: http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/10/4/dutch-google-ads-points-new-apple-imacs-macbooks-and-mac-mini/#ixzz0T6Zh5HGP"

Remember, you got this news here, on iOutput blog, bringing the latest news on technology.

This is something that's worth keeping an eye on. As Steve Job would say, this is a quantum leap on Netbooks!! Forget the Atom processor and Windows XP, this netbook is shoulder to shoulder with many notebooks. It has dual core processor, 2Gb Ram, 250Gb of disk, 1366x768 resolution, HDMI output, 1,35kg of weight and Windows Vista. Apart from an 8 hours autonomy it has everything you can wish four. It is costing £399 or €435 in the UK.

Still, I am waiting for my next stop at Heathrow to pick up a Macbook pro 13" 2,53Ghz for £999.

A Slingbox is a device that allows you to watch your tv anywhere in the world over an Internet connection. How does it work? First let's look at the requirements. Imagine you want to watch Portuguese TV anywhere in the world. You will need to have a TV subscription back in Portugal (unless you only want the free four channels broadcasted over the air), a broadband Internet connection back home, a Slingbox and of course a place to house all this. Everything is pretty obvious except the Slingbox. This is how the basic model looks like:

The prices vary between €60 for the most basic model and €188 for the Pro version with HD - Amazon prices. I have the basic model and it works beautifully. But before going into that, let's check the set-up. Assuming you have all the four requirements, the coaxial or composite cable from the the wall or TV Set Top Box connects to the Slingbox and so does the router, via RJ45 cable. You have to do a few adjustments on the router but the Slingbox interface is brilliantly designed to help you with that. By the way, an Internet connection with at least 640Kbps of upload is highly recommended. Anything less than that and you're compromising quality. A software needs to be installed on the PC's where you are going to watch the Slingbox and voilá. You start a very intuitive interface that will guide you through the process, the same way you tune up a new TV or TV Card. If you went for the composite connection, you'll be happy to know that the Slingbox comes with an Infra-red emitter that will allow changing channels on the Set Top Box. Of course that if you have other viewers back home and you are in Australia or Japan changing channels, that will affect the viewers back home. The advantage of using the coaxial cable is that you will use the Slingbox's internal tuner and do not interfere with others.

Just to give you an idea of how reliable and stable the hardware is, I've been using daily for the past 4 months an unattended Slingbox Classic that is 2000 Kms away and it has never failed or crashed. And the best thing is there are no monthly fees from Slinbox, only from maintaining the Internet and the TV Subscription. You can always host that at your parent's or at a friend's house - it only eats up upload so they will hardly notice any difference. To use the Slingbox over the computer - which can be connected to a full screen TV with very reasonable results - just start the software and it will connect automatically to your Slingbox, provided you have saved your user and password. This assures that only you can connect to your Slingbox, specially because it only allows one viewer at the time. You can even setup different profiles (administrator or viewers) for different people you want to give access to your Slingbox. If you are traveling and have access to a broadband connection, having your home TV will almost make you feel like you're home! More, you can buy slingbox software to watch your slingbox on an iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile or Nokia S60 series. This is actually the only downside, having to pay a little extra to have it on your mobile but boy is it worth it!

A shot from my Slingbox on my flatscreen TV:

 


SIC Notícias on iPhone:


Enjoy! If you have any questions or doubts just leave us a comment.

I just came back from the Apple store and it is being updated. I wonder what is coming there? Lower prices for Christmas? Products being put out of the store? I doubt there are any major news as Apple tends to announce them on big events such as the one on the beginning of the month. Let's wait and see.

It is always a pleasure to pop in a place like this. Too bad it was a bit too crowdy, I guess these Apple stores are getting very popular, because of the Apple products and also because these are very nice free internet cafes! Anyway, if you read my previous posts and are wondering, I managed to resist a Macbook Pro 13"...for now. I have my eye on the refurbished line with £150 discount! They are as good as new, guaranteed, have been properly cleaned and the only difference might be an occasional cosmetic imperfection, such as scratches, marks or discolorations. Might...it means that if you are lucky enough it will be just as good as new. Anyway, no major news at the store, only the new iPod nano and some new cases and accessories.

I have a laptop. A good one, actually. In fact I have two, one 12" small and light from work and a 15" bigger one for private use. I don't need a new laptop. I even have a big one and a small one. I have a laptop that's good for travelling and another one to use around the house.
So why is it that this doesn't get out of my mind?

I don't think I should be close to any Apple store or I might burst in and buy one! Just like an alcoholic who can't be near bars. If I only had a trip to the states I could get it for so much less. I would even get the 13" with the 2.53Ghz for the equivalent of €1000.
The fault of this minor obsession is the iPhone. It's so beautiful, it works so well, it is such a pleasure to use. Is there a PC (or Mac, sorry) that can work that well? Perhaps yes, and it's made of a single aluminium block....

Many iPhone users have reported problems when updating to the newly released firmware version 3.1. Errors include the phone being in a reboot loop, numeric errors or stuck on the recovery screen "Connect to iTunes". Despite iOutput's advice not to update, many users went ahead and now are now frustrated. If you decide to update despite this, remember to backup everything and be on stand-by as you might have to return to 3.0, taking you more than 45 minutes to restore.
More to follow.

And that's it. The presentation ended with a Norah Jones live performance.

So, what's new:

• New iPhone and iPod OS 3.1 (don't update just yet, it's the ioutput's advice);
• New iPod Nano with VGA Video Camera, FM Radio (with live pause);
• iPod touch has improved hardware with faster processor and graphics handling;
• iPod classic has now 160Gb of capacity;
• Price ajustments; 
• New iTunes.

Seems that every iPod nano is going to have a camera and Apple claims it's great. Thew new nano will be sold for $149 for the 8Gb model and $179 for the 16Gb model. The display is also bigger, at 2.2 inches. Steve Jobs also claims that this new Nano is "very green".

New games are being anounced for iPod touch, including Riddim Ribbon (racing on a track to keep up with the music) and a a first-person shooter called Nova, very much like Halo.

Now Phil Schiller is talking about iPods and the big success of iPod touch. They are claiming that having WiFi   access it's like a desktop experience. They are also comparing it with the PSP and Nintendo DS.

A new iTunes store is being announced as well with a cleaner look, bigger images, more previews and an LP function where the album comes with lyrics, high quality images, timelines and memorabilia. A bit like in the old days is vinyl.

Come on, give us the hardware!

iTunes version 9 will be out with new functionalities such as artist or genres copying to devices, multi computer management of iTunes and a function to organize iPhone and iPod touch apps on iTunes.

Steve Jobs is on stage and iPhone OS 3.1 has been announced with Genius functionality which will recommend Apps based on the one you already installed. This update will be free to both iPod and iPhone users (remeber, don't upgrade just yet if you want to keep your iPhone unlockable).

Apple has lowered the prices on the iPods and the Apple Store is not available at the moment. A strong indicator that new iPods are on the way. My bet goes to a new iPod touch with camera, mic and GPS.

We are counting down the minutes to 18:00 Lisbon/London time when the Apple event starts. Follow this blog after 18:00 to be the first to know what's on Apple sleeve, as we'll be posting live as novelties are unveiled. Stay tuned for more, or ituned if you prefer.

It’s a fact… the Internet has just turned 40. And it may be on the way for a mid-life crisis… or is it?

One thing’s certain: the Internet as we know it today has little to do with what it was 40 years ago. In fact, it all started when a group of people managed to transfer data from one computer to the other. Uau! Something my 3 year old niece probably knows how to do better than me! :-)

I guess every major technological breakthrough starts off this way. People hardly notice the impact it may or may not have on the future of humanity. And the impact it had!

One thing’s for sure… We wouldn’t be writing this blog if it weren’t for the Internet… reaching billions of people throughout the world (that’s me being modest).

Let’s actually compare the Internet with a forty year old person. As a child, it was mainly used to send information from one place to another, much like sending pre-historic e-mail. At adolescence it became global. It was the time for the World Wide Web. Curiously enough, as the WWW grew, the world started to become smaller. When it reached the thirties, Internet users started shopping for things they needed (or did they?) without leaving their homes or offices.

And finally after turning 38, the Internet took the shape we can identify today. A huge platform for social networking. Today people use web based applications to speak, play, share their lives with virtually anyone in the world.

Where will it take us from here? Will it take us a step further? Who knows? All I can say is that the world expects a great deal of the Internet. Some might say, too much.

At the end of the day it all comes down to common sense. We can’t expect the Internet to run our lives. It can’t replace the pleasure of having a quiet face-to-face conversation with a friend or reading a “real” book by the fireplace. There are other downsides of course. People are taking advantage of this great tool and using it with twisted purposes.

Will it need future government regulation? Probably, that day will come. As long as it’s done wisely and not camouflaged with censorship.

The upsides? There are so many: the power to spread useful information, the power to unite people behind good causes like world poverty, hunger, climate changes, etc. It’s a tool to exercise our civil liberties even in countries ruled by dictators… a tool to spread a message of freedom and hope to those who need it!

Today there are over 200 million web sites registered. My advice is: use them, create your own, but above all, have fun and help it grow to another 40 years of success!!!

First of all let me welcome all our readers. You are the main reason we take some time to research and write these articles. A warm welcome to our followers in Angola, it seems we have some people from there following our blog.

Now, on to the hot topic. Something new is coming up on Apple's ecosystem, as Steve Jobs likes to call it. As usual, no one knows what it is, Apple's invitation said "It's only rock n roll but we like it". On one hand it can be a new iPod line up for Christmas (is the classic coming to an end?)  on the other hand it can be a misleading statement. It will even be a surprise if Steve Jobs shows up. It is no secret that Apple wants a piece of the Netbook market but as usual they want to do it in the Apple way: that's top quality, stylish and pricey! Rumours have circulated on the web about a super sized iPod touch, possibly featuring a 9' or 10' screen with HD resolution and touch screen.

Apple has reportedly ordered his Taiwan supplier for 10’ touch screens and those are not on any Apple product, so…  We all know that virtual keyboards are nice but you can't type as fast as in a physical one. Why not make it a detachable keyboard or a tablet? Apple would certainly be able to make that with quality and style and keep the best of both worlds. If I'm on an air plane I'd want to have just the screen to watch a movie but if I want to work or take notes at a meeting, that physical keyboard would come handy. A simple USB keyboard would be a plus.

Even if the alleged Netbook or Tablet is not launched, it may well be announced and shipped only in December, just to stop some potential customers from buying a PC and have them wait for Christmas.
The other less exciting rumours refer to a new iPod touch with camera and built in microphone (the current generation has mic support for headphones only) making it a more attractive device: digital camera and VoIP mobile device. The iTunes has been mentioned as well as possible upgrade, including The Beatles songs (maybe) and social networking functionalities, such as linking iTunes with Facebook, Twitter or My Space.
Whatever you do, if you update iTunes don’t update your iPhone if you want to keep it unlockable. If you do upgrade the iPhone you may forever remove the possibility of unlocking your iPhone 3G/3GS. But that’s something for another post: How to unlock an iPhone in three easy steps.
The event is tomorrow, Wednesday, in San Francisco at 10:00 in the morning. That means we will have to wait until 18:00 London/Lisbon time in the afternoon for the event to start, let alone know what was revealed. But stay tuned, we will post the news as soon as possible to keep you informed.

Let us introduce ourselves: we’re November Golf and Mike Charlie, two longtime friends who share a common passion. In one word: Technology.

What amazing times we live in. In just over 60 years since the first “computer” was invented so many things have happened. So many technological breakthroughs, ideas, inventions put together by fantastic people, although not always for the right reasons (political and military) have changed the world completely. But the turning point was when, in the seventies, all that knowledge was made available to the general public, when scientists who were once on government payroll began working privately in order to put ideas to practice and above all, share what they had accomplished with all of us.

That was the beginning of the “Information Revolution” as we know it. And both of us are lucky enough to have been born exactly at that turning point and witnessed so much change.

Technology is everywhere. It’s part of our daily lives. Today, information can reach the farthest corners of the earth in seconds. So many things help us and amuse us. TV’s, DVD’s, LCD’s, Digital Cameras, Portable Music Players, Game Consoles, High Definition devices, GPS devices, not to mention the Internet, the list goes on and on. Every day we hear about a new breakthrough, new devices, new functionalities… we might even discuss that it’s too much… do we need ALL this stuff?

Well, certainly not all of it. People have to make choices based on their personal needs. This is where we can help you. We’ll tell you about what we think might be useful based on our personal input.

And we’ll gladly Output it to you.

So this blog is for everyone: young, old, technology geeks, nerds or just plain curious… there’s something for everybody.

We hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy writing.

Looking forward to your visit and comments!!!

See u soon!

Mike

November

PS: If you’re thinking “these guys chose some weird names” … well, some of you might be familiar with aeronautical terms… the explanation, for those of you who aren’t is that those names actually stand for the initials of our real names. It’s just a funny way of conveying one of our other passions… Airplanes, but that's another blog :-)