John Sisler

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The ultimate weapon for that jumping-the-shark moment, when you just can’t control The Rage. [SadandUseless via Geekologie]

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Sometime after 1997 when Jobs returned to Apple, he gave this motivational speech defining Apple and their “core beliefs”. While wearing shorts. While we can’t promise he’ll be sporting bare legs this Wednesday, this minute-long clip is powerful stuff.

My favorite quote from the video shows the lack of modesty that Jobs manages to deliver so well:

“What we’re about isn’t making boxes for people to get their jobs done, although we do that well.”

But if you’re wanting to create a motivational desktop wallpaper featuring his photo and a choice quote, you can’t go wrong with this little gem:

“Apple at the core, its core value, is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better.”

[Talkable Likeable]

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Ortery’s Photosimile 5000 3D photocopier has taken two years to go on sale since it first surfaced in 2008, providing digital 3D replicas of whatever object you place inside it. Think of the possibilities!

Once the object is placed on the Ortery turntable inside the box, a Canon DSLR takes 360 degree photos, with the four daylight bulbs giving 6500K of illumination—the perfect lighting conditions for the 72 photos taken.

Connected to a PC by USB, the images are saved as GIF or Flash files, and then transferred to the Photosimile software. If all of this is getting you hot under the collar at the thought of such a machine, better schedule a meeting in with your bank manager—it’s $17,000 and has just started shipping. [Ortery via Gizmag via TechRadar]

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Hey kids! Want to know what we really, really need? Another music download service! From HP, of all people! They’re pre-loading Omnifone’s MusicStation service on laptops sold in Europe from today, with a month’s access to the music catalog costing 10 Euros (around $14). Don’t you just wish you could smack the person at HP around the chops who suggested they could take on iTunes with this hair-brained idea? [Reuters]

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Up to 50 different “Apple Tablet” type devices were “detected” by Flurry Analytics testing various types of apps that may make its way to the upcoming machine. Flurry was able to geographically locate the devices to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino.

In short, there were about 200 different apps being tested on the devices, most of which were games, media or some type of entertainment-type program. It more or less mirrors the type of applications we’ve been seeing in the app store for the iPhone.

In addition, the devices were running OS 3.2, which means either that the Tablet is running an iPhone-like OS, or that this is a bigger iPhone/iPod Touch type deal, and not exactly like the tablet we’ve been picturing. In any case, if earlier rumors were true, developers are already building apps for it.

Flurry didn’t give any other details about resolution, memory or anything else they determined from their analytics tracking.

Apple Tablet – The Second Stage Media Booster Rocket
Using Flurry Analytics, the company identified approximately 50 devices that match the characteristics of Apple’s rumored tablet device. Because Flurry could reliably “place” these devices geographically on Apple’s Cupertino campus, we have a fair level of confidence that we are observing a group of pre-release tablets in testing. Testing of this device increased dramatically in January, with observed signs of life as early as October of last year. Apple appears to be going through its cycle of testing and polish, which is expected from any hardware or software company as it nears launch.

Apple is expected to announce the yet-to-be named hardware on Wednesday, January 27 in San Francisco. There has been broad speculation about the functionality of the tablet, and what kinds of content and media partners the new device will feature. Additionally, there has been speculation about the most likely use cases for this kind of device, as well as which operating system the device will support. The choice of operating systems is particularly important for application developers because if the tablet runs on the same or upgraded operating system as the iPhone, then current applications running on the iPhone will also run on the tablet.

On these devices, Flurry observed approximately 200 different applications in use by testers. Studying category trends provides insight into the kind of user Apple is targeting and how it expects the device to be used. Below is a chart that shows the number of applications in use by category across test devices.

For Play not Work

Historically, tablet devices have been considered substitutes for anything where workers use clipboards, note pads or day runners. In more industrial settings, they could be used for inventory management, taking purchase orders or data entry. However, there was a surprising dearth of applications that support these use cases. Instead, the largest category was games. With a larger screen, more memory, multi-touch and multi-tasking expected, games will play better than ever on Apple handheld devices.
A Media Machine

The tablet device clearly targets consumers. The mix of applications observed comprises mainly of media and entertainment consumption as opposed to enterprise, productivity and computing. Specifically, popular tested apps include news, games, entertainment and lifestyle. In particular, there was a strong trend toward news, books and other kinds of daily media consumption, including streaming music and radio. In fact, the most widely downloaded of any single specific application was a new app. In its October Pulse report, Flurry studied iPhone as an e-reader and the threat this poses to Amazon Kindle. With rumors of large newspaper and book publisher deals, combined with its reading-friendly form factor, we speculate that the new Apple tablet will focus heavily on daily media consumption. Finally, across all applications detected, there was a strong theme of sharing and/or social interaction including social games, social networking, photo sharing and utilities like file transfer applications.

Not the Battle for Your Living Room

The device is positioned to appeal to the users who are out-and-about rather than compete directly against the TV, stereo and game console in the living room. With supply chain reports from Asia that light-weight 10.1″ LCD and OLED screen components are in short supply due to large purchases presumably by Apple, we can surmise that the device will be thin and light, designed for portability. Further supporting this notion is the pattern of apps we detect for restaurant, movie show times and other apps that help users find points of interest around them, including travel guide applications.

A Rocket Booster for Developers

A noteworthy observation is that the Apple hardware we detected was running on OS 3.2, which has not yet been released. Currently the iPhone and iPod Touch are running on OS 3.1.2. Historically, Apple releases OS upgrades just before releasing new hardware. With significant expected changes (e.g., multi-touch, multi-tasking) for the tablet device operating system, there was concern among application developers that the tablet would not support existing iPhone applications. However, from the testing we observed, it appears that Apple wants to leverage the 130,000+ applications already available in the App Store on day one for the new device. For the developer, this is good news. Senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, is forecasting 2010 sales of iPhone and iPod Touch devices at 36 million, an increase over his estimate of 25.7 million for 2009. With tablet shipments for 2010 perhaps reaching 10M, according to AVI Securities, we see this as a major boost to application developers.

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By way of our own Joel Johnson we get to see a very gritty, very geeky collection of photographs this fine evening. Above, the cab of a Panther Command vehicle. Below, the svelte cockpit of a Virgin Pendolino train:

Both images are the work of photographer Anthony Dickenson. Click ‘em for full size.

I also encourage you to sample the rest of the portfolio, as they run an interesting gamut of urban landscapes, machinery and even a vintage pic of something our parents once called a “newspaper printing press.”

Oh, I’m sorry, I’ve just been told that last one is still around. [Stem Agency]

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The WSj is reporting this evening that the Obama Administration, in an attempt to get NASA doing more space and environmental stuff, will float the idea of using private companies to ferry astronauts into space, among other things.

The policy change, described as controversial by those in the know, will be included in the Administration’s next budget proposal.

Ultimately, the plan would establish “a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying U.S. astronauts into orbit-and eventually deeper into the solar system,” reports the WSJ.

Safety concerns are at the top of the list of objections to the plan, as are concerns over shifting NASA funds for existing programs to a private initiative. Other additions to the NASA budget include stepped up climate-monitoring programs, and better cooperation internationally for manned and unmanned space programs.

Unsurprisingly, private contractors like Lockheed Martin are lobbying for such a shift, as they could experience substantial gains should a new private NASA wing open in the near future.

Those opposed to the change, like Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, argue that because NASA’s budget will remain the same under the new program, at about $18.7 billion, the private programs will only serve to spread the agency more thinly (hence the shifting funds worry stated above). During a hearing last month, Giffords said the private funds could weaken NASA and put human space flight “on hold for the foreseeable future.”

Case in point, only $200 million are earmarked for privatization this year, but that number is expected to increase to about $3.5 billion over the next five years. [WSJ - Thanks, Pablo]

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Nope. No way. No conceivable way whatsoever this massage video game controller, called the Massage Me, could be hacked or used in a way that makes it sexual or awkward to use if your parents walked in the room:

You see, while you play your games normally, the Massage Me harness translates those button presses into different massage techniques, which are then used on a partner (or yourself) via the harness.

The system works with a hacked PlayStation controller for now, but the design is such that any button mashing controller will work just as well.

“The best massages come from playing games that require the player to press a lot of buttons and combinations,” says designers Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson.

Indeed, you coy bastards, indeed. [Ecouterre]

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From sad, anger-inducing news about bomb-sniffing charlatans we segue, thankfully, into some bomb detection news that may actually save lives. Made of quartz rods, this sniffer looks to be the real deal. Let’s get it to where it’s needed.

Mainly Iraq, Afghanistan and dozens of other war torn countries around the world, or any place that’s been taken advantage of by war criminal Jim McCormick and his wave of fraudulent dowsing rod RFID devices.

The quartz device is simple, cheap, and in tests remarkably effective. It sniffs out a substance called TATP, which made its infamous debut on the world stage during the 2004 Madrid bombing and later in July 2005, when terrorists attacked the London tubes. Why TATP? It’s easily made, cheap and similar to TNT, making it an obvious choice for terrorist cells across the globe. It’s also used a lot as a detonator, but the quartz rod device can detect either usage easily:

At its heart are three quartz rods, each 3 millimetres long and 40 micrometres wide, which are made to vibrate by applying an alternating voltage. Any TATP in the air bonds to chemicals coating the rods, causing their resonant frequency to change. Each rod is coated with a different chemical – a phenylene dendrimer, a cyclodextrin and sodium cholate – and each changes its rod’s resonant frequency in a different way. It is the combination of three changes that reveals TATP’s presence.

In the tests, the device was accurate, sensing TATP at levels of 1ppm. Researchers say 0.1 ppm will be possible in the future. Detectors that implement the technology will cost about $100, meaning they could easily be put in bus doorways, checkpoints and airports. Oh, and they actually work.

Photo note: Damage done by a TATP bomb. [New Scientist]

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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal’s latest webcomic tackles technology’s effect on art and literature. With the coming Tablet Wars of 2010 and beyond looming before us, it’s funny because it’s true! [SMBC]