So can we use our iPhones on planes now or wha?

Ok, so the advisory committee for the Federal Aviation Administration have come through with something that looks like it could be positive at some point in the future for most travelers.

The bird is not the word- Vague is the word! ( Just kidding, The bird is still the word )

Basically, this special advisory group made up experts within the industry have recommended that the rules regarding electronic device usage of commercial aircraft be relaxed, that passengers should be allowed to use personal electronic devices in all parts of flight, including taxi, take off and landing.

So that’s pretty cool.

The FAA does not, however, need to actually do anything about these recommendations at all. Some rules may be relaxed and some might not – so you might be able to use an e-reader on take off but not an iPhone unless it’s on flight mode. You might not be able to talk on the phone but you could use it to play a game or listen to music

They could decide to just leave everything as is, because it’s easier to control. If they do make changes, it will more than likely be a while before we as passengers see any change.

So for the moment, it’s all… up in the air…

p.s.

Image courtesy of sodahead.com

iTunes Festival is over, boo. But here’s a highlight reel, yay!

Remember when we told you guys about the 2013 iTunes Festival in London? Yeah? Well, it’s almost over. Boo.

Hopefully you guys caught some of the awesome acts that shone during the 30 day festival – Kings Of Leon, The Lumineers, Queens of the stone age et al, and if you didn’t – well, here’s a highlight reel from Apple of what you missed.

Apple is also expected to have an E.P of the performances available in the Apple Store by the end of the year.

Yay Music!

We might be able to do what on planes now?

There are three types of travelers in the world-

1, Those who turn their mobile devices off before they’re told to and place them neatly in their carry on bag with a smile.

2, Those who wait until the last minute to turn their devices off or (with a sneaky, guilty look) place them on airplane mode before ever so anxiously and reluctantly sliding them into their pocket.

AND

3, Those who smile as the flight attendant walks by, then checks their email whilst waiting to see when exactly during take off their phone will stop getting service, smiling calmly at anyone who looks in abject horror in their direction.

This, boys and girls, is because for, like, forever, everyone has had to turn off their phones and other devices capable of transmitting data during take-off and landing.

This is so that your device doesn’t interfere with the plane’s communication and navigation equipment.  These rules are, by all accounts, predominantly precautionary.

With the rise of portable devices and smartphone capabilities, there has been a similar rise in complaints from really busy business dudes and general everyday people that not being allowed to have their devices on is stupid and bad. Sometimes they even put it more eloquently.

Now some of the high up important people might have paid attention!

Smile! Because we might soon become one big happy flying family, friends! Except for the people who grab the top of your head from behind when they’re getting up or walking by. Or the people who steal your Apple juice AND blanket ( totally happened). God, those people. We’ll never be family.

Anyway.

By the end of next week, the FAA ( Federal Aviation Administration) will hear back from a panel of industry folk regarding the possible relaxation of the in-flight device rules. Um… AWESOME!

According to the FAA:

“The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft, that is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions. . . . We will wait for the group to finish its work before we determine next steps.”

( Statement was made to USA Today)

Well, independent panel of dudes from the flight industry, we eagerly await your results and suggestions!!

By the way, how awesome is this photo on a scale from 1-100?

Images courtesy of designboom.com, thesavoia.com & smh.com.au

We’re feeling spoiled! New & improved iMacs coming our way!

An iMac Announcement Today!

A move a lot of people have long been waiting for, Apple has today announced the launch of updated iMacs with Intel’s Haswell processors, faster PCI express based flash storage options and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Philip Schiller, the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing was Apple’s spokesperson for the announcement, saying

“iMac continues to be the example that proves how beautiful, fast and fun a desktop computer can be,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Inside its ultra-thin aluminum enclosure, the new iMac has the latest Intel processors, faster graphics, next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage.”

New models:

21.5-inch
– $1299: 2.7 GHz quad-core i5 and Intel Iris Pro graphics
– $1499: 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 1 GB video memory

27-inch
– $1799: 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M with 1 GB video memory
– $1999: 3.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M with 2 GB video memory

All standard configurations come with 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB traditional hard drive. You can, as per usual, build up from the standard models.

The new iMacs, basically, will be super, super speedy, have faster graphics and will be able to connect to the next in line of Wi-Fi tech that provides up to three times the connectivity of the current 802.11n standard.

You can order the new iMac today online in the Apple Store, with shipping coming in at 2-4 weeks.

We just love the sneaky “Oh yeah, by the way we totally improved one of our big products and it’s way better now, thought you might like to know…”

Sneaky McSneaks.

Image courtesy of Appleinsider.

Rumors of a new apple device! What is it?!

Ok Apple so you bought us 2 new iPhones. That’s pretty cool. But that was, like, days ago. It’s getting kind of….borrrrring…

Oh, wait what’s that? Rumors of another new Apple device?  Oh, ok! You got us!

NEW DEVICE RUMORS! It’s a bit of a controversial one, actually. We know, Apple controversial? Never! Well, this one might cop some wrath form within the Apple community as well as outside of it and in those scary tech forums.

It’s a…. really big iPad.

Poor MaxiPad. It’ll kinda be like North West (Kanye’s kid), never even having a chance with the bullies.

Rumors about the larger iPad have actually been going on quietly for the past 6 months, but yesterday Chinese site United Daily News, the Wall Street Journal, and Aussie Sonny Dickson all released leaks and addressed rumors that a bigger iPad is in the works for Apple, and that Quanta Computer are the people who are manufacturing it.

The iPad would supposedly be Space Grey, and the size differs slightly between reports from 12 – 13 inches diagonally, but it would be similar in size to the MacBook Air, leaving some fans ( and critics) to ask, why not just make a touchscreen MacBook Air?

Well, just cos, is why. Also, a much better answer would be that we think that Tim Cook et al like the slimline portability of the iPad, but want to give a little bit extra working space for people, especially in industries such as graphic design, gaming, music etc.

Apple is expected to announce the 5th Gen iPad and a new iPad mini with retina display come October/November, but this bad boy is thought to be announced early next year. There are some who have stated that the larger iPad may not even come to fruition.

What do you guys think, bigger iPad, YAY or NAY?

Images courtesy of  up-ship.com, unitedcats.com, Macrumors & Sonny Dickson.

One of Apple’s employees got picked to be a super government person under Obama.

How to tell when you’re doing your job properly? Good feedback, tick, people you work with like you, tick, pay-rise, tick, getting nominated to serve in the White House… uh, wha?

That’s what has just happened to this nice lady – Catherine Novelli.

Currently Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, Ms Novelli has been nominated by The White House to serve as Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.

EEP!  She’s been with Apple since 2007 and as of yet there is no news as to whether she will continue to work with the tech giant, or move entirely to the, well, world government giant.

Kudos Catherine Novelli! I think you can give yourself a great big tick on this one.

Image courtesy of Macrumors.

What to do if you water, wine or vodka damage your iPhone!

Hey guys. So we seem to have been referencing getting your beloved shiny iPhone wet recently. Tackling the hard to talk about stuff, as per usual…

We understand that it’s not funny when someone accidentally drops their phone into a pitcher of beer, or falls into a pool, or does something to a person that gets them so mad they revenge pee on their phone ( happened to a friend of a friend of ours…)

Well, no, scratch that. That stuff is really  funny, as long as it’s not your phone, and if it is your phone, you usually get your sense of humor back if, IF you can rescue your wet wet iPhone.

Here’s what you should do to try rescue that poor wet puppy!

1, Don’t freak out. Crying will just bring more wetness. Duh. Your phone needs you to be strong, just like your Grandfather when he used to, like, walk all day in the snow to get to work and stuff.

2,  If the phone is submerged, unsubmerge it. Dry the surfaces real quick.

3, If the phone is still on, turn it off ASAP. If it’s already off, don’t try and turn the phone on RESIST THE URGE! Trust us. If your iPhone refuses to respond to your touch and refuses to turn off, well… no you can probably cry a little bit.

4, From here, it kind of depends on what stores you have at your disposal. The easiest helpful drying ingredient most people can get their hands on is Rice.  Put some rice in a ziplock bag or tupperware container – anything airtight- and completely envelop the phone within.

5, Rice is a great option, but what’s better is Silica Gel. Silica Gel is the stuff that’s inside those little packets of stuff you get in Beef Jerkey bags.

You can buy these at craft stores ( It’s intended use here is for flower drying). Again, submerge your phone in an airtight container full of the sachet’s.

6, If you have a good hardware store nearby, you could try to get DampRid.Works the same as the Silica Gel. Again with the airtight container, submerge, etc.

7, Place the container/ziplock bag in a warm dry place.

8, DON’T TOUCH YOUR PHONE FOR 24 HOURS! Even if you think it might really be ok, and you’re expecting the most important text ever, leave it in there. We would actually recommend leaving the phone for a full 48 hours, but the minimum has to be 24 hours to give it the best chance of surviving.

Poor little fella.

If all of this fails, send him on over to us, we’ll give you some CASHMONEY and make a nice new home for him out here on the farm.  You can do this HERE. 

Image courtesy of gameconsoleworld.com, robotroom.com & countrylife.co.uk

UKTKNGN4AND7

iPhone 5S Touch ID MANIA

So there’s been a bunch of stuff doing the rounds about Touch ID, the Apple iPhone 5S fingerprint sensor. We thought we’d clear a little bit of it up for you, because some of it sounds stupid and some of it sounds  a little bit scary.

Number 1. Yes, apparently you can use the fingerprint sensor with your toe, or other ( cough) appendages. We haven’t personally tried it, because we don’t really get the point. But it is apparently a thing, so that’s cool we guess. Not as cool as this picture of Bruce Willis though.

Number 2, Yes, some dudes called the Chaos computer club hacked the fingerprint sensor, which allowed them access to someone’s phone without them having to use the owners finger.

But it’s really ok, guys. We mean, we don’t know what kind of information you guys have stored in your iPhones, but unless you’re James Bond or the like, chances are people are not going to want to go through what these guys went through in order to get into your iPhone. Especially when they can just make you tell them your PIN if you have one.

The German Chaos computer club used the same method that people do to hack into other fingerprint authentication systems, except with a few minor improvements because Apple made their fingerprint sensor using a super unusually high resolution scanner.

In their own words:

“First, the fingerprint of the enrolled user is photographed with 2400 dpi resolution. The resulting image is then cleaned up, inverted and laser printed with 1200 dpi onto transparent sheet with a thick toner setting. Finally, pink latex milk or white woodglue is smeared into the pattern created by the toner onto the transparent sheet. After it cures, the thin latex sheet is lifted from the sheet, breathed on to make it a tiny bit moist and then placed onto the sensor to unlock the phone.”

Simple stuff right? Ummm… not really. We think we’ll be fine.

It is still something to know and understand, of course, because it could lead to issues down the line – these are only the first guys to have successfully done it, there are no doubt plenty more guys out there trying to prove they’re smarter than Apple.

Until then, enjoy Touch ID. Just… if you’re going to enjoy it in weird ways, with weird parts of your body, let people know before they touch your phone, yeah? Yeah. Cool.

New YouTube Mobile App feature!

Youtubers!

Good news! Very soon you will be able to download video using the mobile app on your phone or tablet AND watch said video later, when you’re offline for some weird reason.

Cool huh? Well, it’s like a 6 on coolness. Could definitely come in handy, definitely good for flights and camping and space flights.

But… some commercial partners, such as the music video service Vevo, have the option and are taking the option to not participate. Wah.

The service will still be free, still contain ads, won’t work for movies or TV episodes that it currently rents, and the downloaded video will work to watch offline for up to 48 hours.

Thanks, YouTube.

Image courtesy of YouTube.

Wait, how many new iPhones have been sold?!

Do you guys know how many polar bears there are in the world? C’mon we’re going somewhere with this, we promise.

It’s around 25 thousand. What about Penguins? You guys know much about penguins?

Well we got a few more of those cute bastards running around. Around 2 million.  Annnnd… how many pet birds in the United States?

That’s sitting at about 6 Million-ish.

Put all of that together, and now you have the number of iPhones Apple sold in the first three days of their release.

Yup, that’s NINE MILLION IPHONES.

That’s right, Kanye. NINE MILLION Sheesh.

That’s like almost half of all Australians bought an iPhone. OR like, everyone in Slovenia bought 4 and  a bit. Last year in the same 3 day period, the iPhone 5 only ( ha, ‘only’) sold 5 million units.

iOS 7 has also been updated by 200 million users- doubling the rate that iOS 7 was adopted.

Here we have Tim Cook:

“This is our best iPhone launch yet — more than 9 million new iPhones sold — a new record for first weekend sales. The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible. And while we’ve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5S’s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone.”

He later went back on Twitter to say:  “Thanks to all our amazing customers for the fantastic weekend!”

Not surprisingly, Apple stock has jumped back up around $490.

Although Apple has not broken down the sales between the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, the general consensus is that the iPhone 5S has far outsold the iPhone 5C worldwide – but that the cheaper model will start to catch up in time.

SO, Yay apple! You guys did good.

p.s. it was depressingly hard to find enough cool animals to compare to the sale of the new iPhones in 3 days. Sorry to sad out on you guys, but like, give a lion a dollar or something next time you see one.

Images courtesy of imore.com, themetapicture.com, imfunny.net, cafemom.com