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IndoorAtlas uses disturbances in the (geomagnetic) force to map interiors, plot a path to aisle 3 (video)
Interior navigation is only just coming into its own, but IndoorAtlas has developed a technology that could make it just as natural as breathing -- or at least, firing up a smartphone's mapping software. Developed by a team at Finland's University of Oulu, the method relies on identifying the unique geomagnetic field of every location on Earth to get positioning through a mobile device. It's not just accurate, to less than 6.6 feet, but can work without help from wireless signals and at depths that would scare off mere mortal technologies: IndoorAtlas has already conducted tests in a mine 4,593 feet deep. Geomagnetic location-finding is already available through an Android API, with hints of more platforms in the future. It will still need some tender loving care from app developers before we're using our smartphones to navigate through the grocery store as well as IndoorAtlas does in a video after the break.
What is it like to work at Apple?
Ever wondered what it's like to work at Apple? AOL Jobs spoke to Joe Moreno, a software engineer who worked at Apple from 1998 to 2007. Joe touched numerous products and projects, notably WebObjects and the Apple Online Store (No, he wasn't the guy who puts the yellow sticky note up when new products arrive). His accounts of Apple make it sound like working there is almost as innovative as their products. From HR to communications, there's a lot other companies could learn from. As TUAW is a blog about Apple, I found the following quite interesting: "As an Apple employee, you definitely get the feeling that blogging about the company is frowned upon. It goes to the extent that, if you have a personal blog about an unrelated topic, you don't even want to mention that you work for Apple." There are very few company blogs, even with notable exceptions such as Surfin' Safari, their WebKit blog. Still, this is in contrast to Microsoft, where there are numerous blogs by product divisions and personnel. Then again, it's been a long time since Microsoft routinely surprised and delighted their customers and fans, so perhaps Apple is on to something.
FCC shows off internal shots of iPad
Typically the iFixit guys are the first to post pictures of dismantled Apple hardware, but this time it's the FCC, and the hardware is the iPad. Engadget has the shots of the iPad's internals. Before you get too excited, note that the FCC took the time to cover up the specific chips, so we'll have to wait until iFixit breaks open their own to get those details. However, we do get a good look at the display, that slot that could hold a camera, the big 'ol battery, logic board and more. Hardware geeks will want to check this out. Now this should assuage your need to take your own iPad apart, right?
Nintendo's Wiimote gets dissected, inspected
While the console launch frenzy has given us some exciting innards to look at lately, it's good to see someone finally take a big step away from that potentially hazardous (and sued) Wiimote, pick up a screwdriver, and delve right in. Similar to the precise movements that splayed the Wii itself, these folks used utmost caution (and a fairly nice digicam, too) when dissecting their brand new Wiimote. Beneath the casing was the IR sensor, capacitors, a Broadcom BCM2042 Bluetooth chip, vibration motor, LEDs, accelerometer, EEPROM, and a myriad of other random forms of circuitry. Interestingly enough, the kids behind the scenes got a little carried away and found that the "EEPROM contained all the constants like Bluetooth ID, firmware revision, etc.," while the Wiimote "functionality was burned into the Broadcom" chip itself. So if cramming a SIXAXIS controller into a model airplane is too amateur for you, crack open that Wiimote (before it does the same to you) and get to hacking.[Thanks, Kevin]
MacBook's iSight unknowingly photographs Apple repair center
Here's one that doesn't happen very often ever. As bad as we rumor mongers pry and pry to get inside of ole Steve's brain, sneaking a peek behind closed Cupertino doors is all but impossible (even for Mr. Dell). Nevertheless, a clever Mac user got numerous undercover photographs of the inside workings at an Apple authorized repair center (Flextronics International) in Tennessee. Rather than pulling out any MacGyver-based stunts, he simply wrote a script -- dubbed Walking Study -- that instructed his MacBook to snap a photo (and upload it to his Flickr account) with the built-in iSight each time it awoke from sleep. When his dear 'Book got sent out for repair, however, the fully-functional webcam continued to perform perfectly within the secretive confines, giving everyone a glimpse of an incredibly average looking warehouse. Although the stealthy camera didn't snap any shots of (potentially) forthcoming iPhone or widescreen iPod prototypes, we've got to give credit where it's due -- Toby Mckeys got closer to the Apple's core than we've seen in quite some time.[Via TUAW]
Parallels Workstation beta 4 raises the bar, offers improvements
Parallels has released a 4th Beta of their much-hyped Workstation software for Intel-based Macs that allows OS virtualization (not just Windows) within Mac OS X. Improvements and fixes in this new beta include: Introduced full screen mode Introduced dual-monitor support Improved real CD/DVD support Improved, easier to use interface Better sound support, including a fix for Windows 2000 guest OS Networking kernel panics resolved Bridged networking issues fixed WiFi networking issues fixed Fixed some of the issues encountered when entering "Sleep" mode when a VM is running Many other minor bug fixes Don't forget: in addition to running Windows XP within Mac OS X, one of the largest appeals of Parallels Workstation is that you can run a whole slew of other OSs from Windows 3.1 - 2003, any Linux distro, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2 and MS-DOS - all running inside a full-featured, secure environment within Mac OS X.
Mac mini Core Solo: The good stuff and a peek inside
Despite my previous two posts on the topic, there are things to like about the Mac mini, and so I've decided not to return the machine. I still think it is overpriced and I also maintain that the Front Row performance over Bonjour is shoddy at best. However, if you keep all your media on the Mac mini, it works nicely as a little media server offering the local media up to my TV. My only complaint about that is that Front Row doesn't recognize my iPod and the content on it when it is mounted on the Mac mini, even though I can navigate and play all that content via iTunes itself.I also discovered that the 512MB chip that I ripped out of my iMac when I upgraded it to 2GBs of RAM fits quite nicely and works well inside my Mac mini, which is now running 768MBs of RAM after an easy bit of tinkering (Photos of said tinkering after the jump). The added RAM has doubled the frame rate at which I can run World of Warcraft on my 32-inch HDTV. It's still a bit sluggish at 16-20fps in crowded areas, but it is playable and overall a cool experience while lounging on my couch with wireless bluetooth keyboard in lap and mouse to my side. Additionally, using this wonderful little program called iRecord, I can hook up my digital cable box to the mini via a FireWire cable and record shows in HDTV. Unfortunately, playing back these HDTV shows with their large 7.35GB size footprint (for an hour of video) via VLC seems a little beyond the capabilities of the mini as the video shows up as an animated series of stills during fast-moving sections. However, I can easily bring these large files over to my iMac where I can watch them and compress them to a smaller, more mini friendly format. Also, as a dev box, I am liking the mini. I can jump into it easily enough using Chicken of the VNC on my iMac and OSXvnc on the mini. I can also ssh in via the command line. Compiling code, while not blazingly fast, isn't snail-crawl slow either. So, I'm enjoying the box for what I bought it for, I just wish it had a Core Duo, came with more RAM, Bonjour video worked better, and it hadn't cost so much.
Cracking open a new Intel iMac
Hopefully, I'll have my hands on a new iMac later today, so that I can weigh in with a little video review of the new computer, but thank the Woz that the Japanese beat me to tearing open the new iMac! Now, I can simply direct your eager eyes over to this site, so that you can peep into the new iMacs sans the distractions of English, and, as a bonus, I no longer have to tear open my own machine....unless I need to. ;-) Thanks, Robert!
iMac disassembled for your viewing pleasure
Continuing the tradition of taking things apart as soon as they're released, a site by the name of KODAWARISAN has already dissected an Intel Dual Core iMac. The images aren't incredibly hi-res, but they should be good enough to keep you from doing the same to your zippy new iMac.[via MacDailyNews]
Pics of Intel Inside G5 Casing
I seem to remember a hack that came out shortly after the G5s shipping where someone claimed to have gutted the machine and replaced all the PPC innards with the insides from his old Dell. The Mac community reacted in shocked astonishment and freaked out, flaming the post. I seem to also remember it being a hoax. I only wish there were some way for me to find that information...
