Tech Talk

To be effective, technology does not always have to deliver the brightest, sharpest, clearest images to consumers.  Sometimes grainy, slightly out-of-focus images are best.  Take Rain, a Beatles tribute band, for example.

I had the pleasure of attending their concert this weekend at the Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Conn.  Being a life-long Beatles fan who was unfortunately born after the murder of John Lennon, I knew that I would never have the opportunity of experiencing a Beatles concert.

However, Rain brought me about as close as I will likely ever come.

The band performed songs spanning the Fab 4’s career in era-appropriate garb.  But that was not all.

When they performed songs that the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, for example, clunky “APPLAUSE” signs hung over the performers who had successfully captured the mannerisms of John, Paul, George and Ringo – and the large screens hanging on both sides of the stage showed Rain performing in grainy, out-of-focus video.  It was almost like I was watching from the midtown Manhattan theater!

While Rain performed part of the setlist played at Shea Stadium, the screens flashed washed out color video of both the Queens crowd as well as our fellow concert-goers.  Mock newsreels and posters were also displayed. It was well-done, and for two hours or so, it was almost as if we were there.

Apple has unveiled the much-hyped and highly anticipated tablet device – known as the iPad.

“It’s a giant iPod Touch-looking device, just like we thought. Same home button, same bezel,” Erica Ogg wrote in a live-blog from within the tablet’s unveiling for CNET News.

The device, which can be oriented in either landscape or portrait mode like its iPhone cousin, could be utilized to surf the Web using the familiar touch screen navigation, Ogg wrote.

Like on the iPhone, there is a calendar an address book and access to Google Maps and, of course, the iTunes Store.

Videos could be watched, Ogg wrote, through YouTube and other sites.

It appears that it is very similar in operation to the iPhone — in terms of zooming, scrolling and syncing with computers, based on Ogg’s description. It also has a built-in iPod.

The iPad is WiFi enabled, Ogg wrote. Models will also have 3G, Ogg reported.

There will be two plans, according to CNET: 250MB of data every month for $15 or unlimited data for $30 per month. AT&T will continue to serve as the carrier. Both plans are pre-paid and require no contracts, Ogg wrote.

There are also groovy accessories — including a keyboard, Ogg reports, for folks who need to do a lot of typing.

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO and founder, said the iPad is much more intimiate than a laptop, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Journal reports that the thin device looks like a larger iPhone:

More on the looks: Thick black border on all sides. The background of the home screen is a photo that you can set for yourself. Jobs has finished the demo and is now talking about the hardware. It’s a half-inch in thickness and features a 9.7-inch IPS display, with multi-touch sensors.

The device, which comes with as much as 64 GB of flash storage, has WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities standard, the Journal reports. It also has 10 hours of battery life and more than a month of standby life, Jobs said.

The New York Times created an app for the iPad that, according to the Journal, “looks more like a newspaper than the iPhone app — you can resize fonts, and it flows along columns. Videos accompany the stories and can be watched along side.” No mention of price, though.

iBookstore was also unveiled by Jobs, according to the Journal.  Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon Schuster, Macmillan and Hachette books will be available. CNET reports that text books will also be available.

New York Times’ Brad Stone was really impressed with iBook:

The iBooks store looks neat — plenty of colors, vivid book covers. Mr. Jobs is showing “True Compass” by Edward Kennedy, a book that was not available in the Kindle store for weeks after its release.

Among the cooler items on the device is iWork, which according to CNET, allows users to create presentations “with touch input only.” Spreadsheets could also be crafted.

16GB iPads will cost $499, Ogg reports. 32GB models will cost $599, 64GB models will cost $699; devices with 3G with cost an additional $130.

Shipments will begin in 60 days, she said. 3G models will begin shipping in 90 days.

Stone notes some of the more significant short-comings of the iPad:

• No ability to play Adobe Flash animations
• No camera
• No non-Internet phone function
• No removable battery for a device that can suck a lot of power
• No removable storage

Bottom line: The iPad looks cool and has a few neat new features, but will it be worth the price — particularly if you already own an iPhone 3GS and have a small laptop?

The hour tech enthusiasts have been dreaming about for months is almost here.

Speculation that a revolutionary must-have product will be unveiled at a keynote address slated for 1 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday has been swirling for months.

The product, that some have predicted will be called the Apple Tablet, has faced some of the highest expectations of any technology release in recent memory.

The Wall Street Journal describes the Tablet:

Apple’s new multimedia tablet device, with a 10-inch touch screen that is expected to deliver video, text, navigation and social-networking applications, is trying to change the way much of traditional media is delivered.

Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple, has been quoted as saying the new device will “will be the most important thing I’ve ever done.”

Given the unparalleled opportunities and life-saving information the iPhone put at folks’ fingertips,  it is a pretty dynamic statement.

According to the Journal: “The Apple tablet aims to reshape many corners of the media industry, just as Apple’s iPod revolutionized the music business when it made its debut in 2001.”

Learn more about the Tablet here.

And get the latest news on the anticipated news by following @bxchen and @gadgetlab.

The New York Times announced Wednesday that it would charge frequent visitors to its Web site to view content.

Visitors to the most popular newspaper site in the country will only be permitted to view a still to be determined number of articles at no cost beginning in January 2011, according to the Times. Readers wishing to view additional articles will have to pay a yet to be announced flat fee for unlimited access.

Print subscribers to the Times need not reach for their checkbooks.  They will continue to enjoy full access to the site at no additional charge, the newspaper reported.

The Times will be among but a few major newspapers in America to put a considerable amount of content behind a pay wall.  The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Newsday are among the few other large papers in the country that currently charge for content.

However, like the Journal, readers who find an article on a search engine will not face reader fees, according to the Times.

Tech Talk applauds the Times’ decision to charge. While some analysts and readers may criticize the decision, Tech Talk recognizes that newspapers need to find additional revenue to continue to consistently provide comprehensive coverage.  We hope additional newspapers follow suit.

Google users have come to expect the search engine giant to ring in various dates of interest by decking out its homepage icon with appropriate garb.

However, this year, in addition to launching a festive icon, Google has created an Easter egg.

To admire Google’s fireworks, simply hit the “I’m feeling lucky” button on Google.com without typing anything into the search box.

And have fun.  But hurry, it won’t be around for much longer.

And if you enjoyed this one, check out this previous Tech Talk postabout cracking Facebook, well kinda.

And happy 2010!

Facebook will “memorialize” the profiles of dead users when their loved ones request it, the Associated Press reported.

However, the social network will remove any contact information and prevent people from logging in, the wire service reported.

Deceased users’ profiles will also be prevented from appearing in the “suggestions” section of the site, the AP reported.

I applaud the social network for helping its estimated 300 million users to grieve and remember those close to them.

As the social network becomes an increasingly large part of users’ lives, this move is a smart and sensitive one — one that will undoubtedly further cement Facebook’s place in society.

Here’s yet another example of how Twitter is taking a foothold in today’s society — how tweeters are benefiting the world at the same time.

A street in a Palestinian refugee camp has been named after a Twitter account, Wired.com reports.  This could be the first known instance of a street being named after a component of the growing social network giant.

@arjanelfassed tweetstreet has been named after the @arjanelfassed Twitter account.

Arjan El Fassed paid $146 for the street name in the Askar camp, the tech magazine and Web site reported.

In addition to getting the word out to more people about the social networking site, the money is used, Wired reports, to fund educational activities for the children in the camp.