Some people have speculated that this storage is a sign that Apple wants to open an Apple TV App Store in the future. Why else would it be there?

I think these people are forgetting something: that space is needed to store rented content (movies and TV shows) until you watch them. Yes, the new Apple TV is focused solely on streaming; you can’t purchase any content on it – you can only rent. But when you rent a movie or a TV show you don’t have to watch it immediately – you have 30 days to begin watching. Until you finish, rented content is stored on the 8GB flash chip.

I don’t think 8GB is enough to hold both unwatched content and apps. One 2 hour long movie (in 720p HD) is about 3.5GB. One 45 minute long TV show (again in 720p HD) is about 600MB.

As you can probably tell, it wouldn’t take long to fill 8GB. One movie and a few TV shows is about all you would be able to manage before you ran out of space. Most people do watch their content immediately, so this shouldn’t be too much of an issue: however, Apple can’t count on that – not everyone does.

So that’s one reason why I don’t think an Apple TV App Store is likely (at least not in the foreseeable future). There just isn’t enough space to store apps as well as rented content without running into storage issues (something Apple wants to avoid with this model).

That leads to another question. If there were an Apple TV App Store, what apps do you think would be the most popular?

Two kinds:

• Content apps (apps that play video and audio)
• Games

Most other apps don’t make sense on a TV. If a big widescreen TV enhances the experience of using an app, then it makes sense. And if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t make sense. Remember: a bigger screen doesn’t always make a better experience – convenience and ease of use also play a big part.

So: two kinds of apps. Content apps and games. With AirPlay, Apple is halfway there. AirPlay, as you probably know, can stream content from any iOS device (iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad) direct to your Apple TV with just the tap of one button. And it’s not just Apple’s apps that can take advantage of this feature – you can stream content from almost any app, and the developer doesn’t have to do any work to get it to do so (there are a few exceptions). Want to show your family some video you shot on your iPhone while on holiday? Tap the AirPlay button while the video is playing and you can enjoy it on your TV. It’s that simple.

I can see this functionality being extended to games. Your iOS device would be the controller, and it would also host the game. AirPlay would wirelessly send game video and audio to your TV.

There’s certainly a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the implementation of Apple TV AirPlay gaming though, implementing it is not as simple as it may seem. I think we can all agree, however, that it is definitely possible, and would definitely enhance the gameplay of many current App Store games – as well as making the Apple TV a much more worthwhile purchase.

It looks to me that Apple is pitching the Apple TV as an extension of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad (or at least, that’s the way it seems to work best).

Summary:

• The new Apple TV has 8GB of flash storage.
• This space is used to store rented content until it is watched.
• There’s not enough space to store both rented content and apps without running into storage issues (something Apple wants to avoid with this model).
• There are two main kinds of apps that would work well on a TV: content apps and games. Most other apps don’t make sense.
• AirPlay effectively removes the need for content apps: content can be wirelessly and almost effortlessly streamed.
• Games could work in a similarly over AirPlay, however would be a bit more difficult to implement due to a number of other factors (it’s not just as simple as streaming content, I’ll cover this more in a future post).
• Because of all this, I don’t think the Apple TV will ever have a dedicated App Store and I don’t think it will ever run 3rd party apps. At least not in the foreseeable future.

In a few hours Apple’s annual September event will begin: read on for my last-minute predictions.

iPod touch/iPod classic:

A new iPod touch will be released.

Apple has released a new iPod touch at their annual September event every year for the past three years. I don’t see this changing anytime soon.

It will have a Retina display, front-facing camera for FaceTime calls, A4 chip, and gyroscope.

All of these are features new to the latest iPhone, the iPhone 4, announced back in June. Apple often carries features from the latest iPhone over to the iPod touch, which is always refreshed later in the year.

It won’t have a 5MP rear camera, it will either have one of lesser quality (think 3MP) or no rear camera at all.

The current iPod touch is too thin for a 5MP camera. The iPhone 4′s 5MP camera is 6.5mm thick, while the iPod touch width (at the edge, where it would most likely be placed) is only 6mm.

Some people speculate that Apple will “square off” the edges to make them thicker (they’re tapered in the current design), but even then, it may still not be thick enough. That 6mm measurement does not take into consideration the added bulk of the metal casing and the display. So in order to fit in a 5MP camera, Apple would probably also have to make it thicker.

I’m betting they won’t do this (I don’t think Apple has ever increased the thickness of an iPod, they usually make them thinner). So in order to fit in a rear facing camera, they’re going to have to pick one that’s not as thick (read: one of lesser quality). 3MP seems about right.

A new design is likely.

The iPod touch design hasn’t changed in two years. Apple likes to update the look of their products reasonably frequently: I would imagine it helps move sales. Also, its current design doesn’t really match with the design of all their other products: it has a shiny metal back, as opposed to brushed metal found on the current iPad, iPhone, iMac, MacBook Pro, etc.

If it’s going to have a rear camera, expect the edges to be more squared off – even a 3MP camera needs more space.

It will come in two storage sizes: 32GB and 64GB (same as the current iPod touch). And the iPod classic will stay for at least another year.

If Apple increases its storage capacity to 128GB, as some people believe they will, I think they would drop the iPod classic from the lineup. 160GB isn’t that much more than 128GB – not many people would go for the former option when the latter offers iOS and all the benefits that go with it.

However, I don’t think they’ll do this. I think the iPod classic will stay, at least for one more year, and the next generation iPod touch will have the same storage options as the current one (32GB & 64GB). It would actually make me jealous if there was an 128GB option – I have an iPhone 4 32GB and I find that that’s not actually enough for me.

iPod nano/iPod shuffle:

Apple will give the iPod shuffle a major overhaul, and introduce and entirely new model with a tiny 1.18″ by 1.18″ touchscreen.

Not many people like the current iPod shuffle: the player itself has no controls, and the only way to control it is by using headphones equipped with a remote. I like the fact that you can control it without actually having to unclip it from your belt (or wherever it is) but I think that there should be another way.

Enter the tiny Apple-stamped touchscreen that surfaced in Taiwan recently. It would not only fix the control problem, it would also give the user a way to actually see what song they were playing – no iPod shuffle has ever had a screen.

The iPod nano will stay, despite the fact that a lot of people think the tiny touchscreen iPod will replace it.

The current iPod nano has a 2.2″ diagonal widescreen display: which is a decent size and shape for watching videos. On the other hand, a postage-stamp sized 1.18″ square display isn’t. It’s too tiny (2.2″ is small enough) and is is the wrong aspect ratio.

I believe it will also offer more storage space – possibly 16GB and 32GB – as opposed to 4GB and 8GB (the two storage sizes I believe the touchscreen iPod shuffle will come in).

The new iPod won’t have the ability to play videos at all, and will be focused only on music, audio podcasts and audiobooks (as the current one is).

As mentioned before, a 1.18″ square display is too small to properly watch videos. In my opinion, it’s probably too small for doing anything other than playing music, audio podcasts and audiobooks: so that means no apps or games either.

iLife ’11/iWork ’11:

A new version of iLife will be introduced, called iLife ’11.

It’s been awhile since iLife has been updated: about 18 months, in fact. iLife ’09 was released at Macworld on January 27, last year. I think it’s about time Apple updated it.

iDVD will be included as part of iMovie, or offered as a separate download.

iDVD hasn’t had any new features added for over 3 years: and I doubt it ever will. It’s the forgotten iLife application. I don’t think Apple cares much for DVDs, and sees the future as an world without discs (which, in my opinion, is almost definitely what it will look like). I think Apple will still offer it as a separate download or incorporate its features into iMovie. An app for iTunes LP style content creation may be added to the suite.

iWork won’t be updated.

Apple’s September event primarily focuses on music – iWork is a productivity suite, and has absolutely nothing to do with music.

iTunes X/Cloud-Streaming iTunes:

A new version of iTunes will be introduced, called iTunes X.

They have updated iTunes at their September event for as long as I can remember, and I see no reason why they wouldn’t this time.

It won’t have cloud-streaming features, at least not just yet.

From what I hear, Apple hasn’t secured deals with their music label partners to be able to that – yet. I have no doubt it’ll be coming sometime in the (reasonably) near future. They may announce plans of cloud-streaming, but won’t release it until they have approval from the labels.

iTunes will have more advanced “social features”.

So that people will have more ways to share what music they listen to, what TV shows they watch, what movies they like, etc. I mean, why wouldn’t Apple want people doing that? It all helps drive iTunes Store sales.

iTV/Apple TV:

I’m not going to delve too much into this one, as, like most people, I’m not really sure what it will be like. I’ll just quickly go over a few points.

• How will it be controlled? I think Apple will ship it with a remote, and also offer an app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that will do the same job. They won’t require everyone that purchases it to own an iOS device to be be able to use it.
• The remote they will ship it with is a mystery: will it be similar to a Magic Trackpad? The Wii remote? Or something even more mysterious? Maybe they’ll go against everyone’s expectations and just ship it with the basic 7 button Apple remote. I won’t even attempt to answer that question.
• Will 3rd party developers be able to make apps for it? I’m betting they will. Everyone loves apps – they would help drive sales. I don’t really know how Apple would pull it off though, whether existing iOS apps would be able to run on the big screen, or whether developers would have to completely rework their apps. Different TV screen sizes and resolutions also pose a bit of a problem.
• I think the most popular and common type of apps made for it would be games.
• Apple will probably offer 99c TV show purchases for it, which would also help drive sales. They’ve been talking a lot lately with media companies discussing this.

And, the big question, will it even be announced at all? If not, I think they’ll release it early next year. There is a reasonably likely chance that they won’t – look above, they’ve already got enough to talk about in two hours.

Let me know bellow what you think. Am I completely wrong? Spot on? Do you have some thoughts of your own? I’d love to hear from you – and I promise I’ll reply if you leave a comment.

The iPad was finally released here in New Zealand yesterday, more than three months after its U.S. release on April 2. I guess it’s better late than never though – the original iPhone never arrived at all.

I personally haven’t yet shelled out the $800+ required to purchase one, and it’s doubtful I will. But that’s not because I don’t want one – I definitely do – it’s because my budget simply wouldn’t allow it. I’m getting an iPhone 4 next week, and don’t have enough money to buy that and an iPad.

However, I still wanted to try it out. Before yesterday, I had never even laid eyes on an iPad in real life. So I went to a couple of stores selling it and used their display models for awhile.

My first impressions? In one word: amazing. It really is just a big iPod touch, but that’s not a bad thing – the iPod touch is a really just a small computer.

But I digress: I’m not meant to be giving you my review of it. I need to use it for a bit longer – I can’t give a proper review yet.

I’ve talked to quite a few people about it and have noticed that most people seem to be firmly on one side of the fence or the other in regards to what they think. They either love it, or they hate it. There doesn’t seem to be many people sitting in the middle.

So, what do people from these two schools of thought say?

Haters:

• “It doesn’t do anything a laptop doesn’t do”
• “It’s only for media consumption, not creation, therefore it’s not very useful”
• “It doesn’t have a camera”
• “It doesn’t support Flash”
• “It doesn’t have an SD card slot, any USB ports, or a keyboard”
• “It doesn’t run Mac OS X”
• And, most commonly: “It’s just a big iPod touch”

Lovers (or fanboys, depending on who you speak to):

• “It’s portable and light compared to a laptop, so it’ll be great for carrying around”
• “It’s really easy to use”
• “It’s really enjoyable and fun to use”
• “There are heaps of apps for it from the App Store, and more are being added every day”
• “Some of the models have built-in 3G, so you can access the internet outside Wi-Fi networks”
• “It doesn’t require any effort to maintain”
• And, most importantly: “It’s the future of computing”

For the remainder of this article I’m going to run over these 14 common statements and argue my point for or against them. There are people out there that are still unsure whether or not to “take the plunge” and buy an iPad. Often, they get confused between different messages people are giving them. They don’t know what to believe. Sometimes, they hear something and don’t know what to make of it – they might think, is that good or bad? Or they might be misinformed – with explanation, sometimes things that are thought to be good or bad can be shown to actually be the complete opposite.

Whatever the case, hopefully my arguments can help people make up their mind on whether or not the iPad is for them.

I’ll start with the “haters” points:

“It doesn’t do anything a laptop doesn’t do”. True, it doesn’t. But that isn’t really an issue: a laptop doesn’t do anything a desktop doesn’t do, yet no one is arguing that the laptop is a defunct device – because it’s not. And neither is the iPad. The iPad is a computer, just like a laptop or a desktop. It’s just a computer in a different form factor – a tablet form factor. And, just like any form factor, it’s a form factor with both positives and negatives: it’s light, portable, and sports a touchscreen, yet has no physical keyboard (which can be a pain to some people).

Also, because it runs iOS, it actually can’t do some things that a computer running OS X or Windows can do. But again, that’s not an issue. If you want to be able to do intensive video or photo editing work, don’t buy an iPad. The iPad can do almost everything a normal computer user would want to do on a day-to-day basis. Most people only ever use their computers for things such as surfing the web, emailing, consuming media (movies, TV shows, music, etc), playing games, and word processing. The iPad can do all those things – and it usually can make doing them easier and more enjoyable.

“It’s only for media consumption, not creation, therefore it’s not very useful”. Not entirely true. While it is definitely primarily focused on consumption, it is also very capable of creation (to a certain extent). Apple has made three apps for it: Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, that allow you to create documents, presentations, and spreadsheets right on your iPad. Other third-party app developers have also made apps that allow you to edit pictures, edit video, create music, etc. While these apps are generally less capable and powerful than their desktop counterparts, they are usually perfectly suited to the average consumer. Also remember that the amount of apps in the App Store is forever increasing – in the future, content creation apps are only going to become more and more common and more and more capable and powerful. As I’ve said though, if you’re primarily a content creator, your best bet is still an OS X or Windows machine – while the software has the potential to catch up, the hardware (memory, processor, etc) is still smartphone-quality. In the future, we’ll see more powerful iPads, but for now, it’s still mainly a device for viewing content.

“It doesn’t have a camera”. No, it doesn’t. Good observational skills. While I am a bit disappointed it does not include a webcam (for Skype, taking funny pictures of yourself using PhotoBooth, etc) I have no doubt that generation 2 will. So, if a webcam means that much to you, then you might want to hold off a bit.

When people say “it doesn’t have a camera” I always hope they don’t mean rear camera (for taking scene photos, portraits, etc) because that would just be plain absurd. Can you imagine how stupid you would look holding up a 10″ slab of glass to take a picture of your family? No, I don’t think the iPad should have a rear camera, and I don’t think it ever will.

“It doesn’t support Flash”. According to Steve Jobs, Flash is “not very reliable, not very secure, and doesn’t perform well (especially on mobile devices)”. I buy that – I’ve had enough issues with it on computers 10x as powerful. I don’t want Flash unless it’s a seamless experience. I’ve seen Flash on some Android devices – and it doesn’t look very “seamless”. It’s laggy, crashes often, and doesn’t do what you want it to do half the time.

Also, because the iPad is a touch screen device, many Flash games and applications do not work very well as they were designed for mice and keyboards. A finger does not exactly replicate a mouse pointer in terms of how it inputs – you can’t “rollover” with a finger.

There’s also battery life – Flash drains the battery like nothing else.

Steve wrote a big article about Flash on Apple.com. If you want to read it go here.

“It doesn’t have an SD card slot, any USB ports, or a keyboard”. No keyboard? What? Well, it actually does have a keyboard – an onscreen one. It turns out that by having no physical keyboard the iPad is made smaller and lighter. If it had a physical keyboard, it would turn into… a laptop. Go and buy one of those if you can’t handle an onscreen keyboard. In case you don’t know whether or not you can, the general rule is: onscreen keyboard = more than adequate for light typing, physical keyboard = a lot better for those times when you need to type a lot (like this article). So don’t buy the iPad if you’re planning to type up the next Harry Potter. If you feel inclined to, you could always pair a bluetooth keyboard or use the dedicated iPad keyboard accessory those times you need a physical keyboard.

Oh, and it doesn’t have an SD card slot or any USB ports for much the same reason – adding those would add size and bulk, two things people buy the iPad to avoid. Also, keep in mind that we’re living in a wireless world today: there are apps that allow you to transfer files over the air, without the need for a physical object.

And if you do need access to an SD card slot or USB port you can always use the iPad camera connection kit to take care of some of your worries. I hear the 32-pin connector to USB adapter can handle input from a number of different USB accessories – keyboards, headsets, microphones, etc.

“It doesn’t run Mac OS X”. And I’m pleased it doesn’t. The operating system it does run, iOS, is much better suited for touch. OS X is designed for a mouse and keyboard, not a finger, and navigating it with a finger would be awkward and cumbersome. Part of the reason tablet computers have never taken off before is because they have always ran a desktop OS (Windows). The cursor only takes up a very small amount of screen space compared to a finger, and as a result can easier manipulate smaller interface elements – buttons, sliders, menus, etc.

That’s not to say a touch interface doesn’t have its advantages, because it certainly does. Navigating with your finger is more natural, as you interact directly with elements onscreen rather than using another device (mouse) to move your way around. Also, actions such as scrolling and swiping are easier performed with a finger, and other actions such as “pinching” (to zoom) are impossible using a cursor. A cursor only provides one point of contact with the screen, your hands provide ten.

“It’s just a big iPod touch”. It really is. It runs the same operating system (iOS) and has a very similar design. Though as I mentioned earlier, that’s not a bad thing. The iPod touch is a great device. iOS is an amazing operating system. Combining it with a larger touchscreen device just makes it even better.

Next, what iPad lovers say:

“It’s portable and light compared to a laptop, so it’ll be great for carrying around”. A lot of people I’ve spoken to love the fact that the iPad is so portable. It’s way more portable that a MacBook or MacBook Pro, or even a MacBook Air. And yet it offers so much. As I mentioned before, most people will find that everything they do on a computer, they can do on an iPad. And, one other factor to consider: the iPad only costs half as much as a good laptop.

“It’s really easy to use”. It is. If you’ve ever used an iPhone or an iPod touch, you know how to use it. And even if you haven’t, it’s not hard to figure out. The iPad lets you focus on what you want to do. You don’t need to spend ages trying to figure it out. For tech geeks, that may not be much of a big deal. We know how to do everything the iPad does on any computer, and if there’s something we don’t know, it usually doesn’t take that long to figure it out. And those things we actually have to figure out are things the iPad can’t even do.

But for people that aren’t that great with technology, the iPad is a dream come true. Ever wonder why so many older people are interested in it? It offers a break in what’s known to be the ‘norm’ – do-it-all computers that give more focus to features than user experience. Most people don’t need all the bells and whistles. They just want a device that does what it’s supposed to, without the hassle. The iPad is that device.

Don’t get me wrong, the iPad is not just a device for old people and technophobes. The iPad is for people that care about what they want to do, not how to do it.

“It’s really enjoyable and fun to use”. Again, it is. It’s a lot more fun to use than a machine running a full-fledged OS. There’s a reason why it’s so popular. Apple recognizes that computing can be an enjoyable experience, even for the masses.

“There are heaps of apps for it from the App Store, and more are being added every day”. What more do I need to say? This is another reason iOS was a better choice than OS X – the App Store is a runaway success and developers are more than keen to provide high-quality apps at a fraction of the price of their desktop counterparts (usually). We’re talking $5 versus $30. That’s a big difference.

And users love apps. That’s been proven with the iPhone and the iPod touch. It’s so easy just to tap the App Store icon and find an app that you like. It’s a lot harder on a Mac – usually, it involves a combination of Google+Bodega+Apple’s “Downloads” page+various 3rd party websites. That’s a lot of hassle just for an app. The App Store is a runaway success because it’s so easy to find and buy an app.

“Some of the models have built-in 3G, so you can access the internet outside Wi-Fi networks”. Yes, you can buy a USB dongle which gives you the same functionality – I know that, you know that, but not everyone does. It’s much more simple to have it built-in (I am well aware that some laptops/netbooks do have 3G built-in too). Again, it’s all about simplicity and ease of use. We’re not all tech geniuses.

Oh, and it’s just nicer having it built-in, isn’t it?

“It doesn’t require any effort to maintain”. Or, at least, minimal effort. You don’t have to defrag the hard drive. You don’t have to scan for viruses. You don’t have to do a complete re-install of the OS because it’s not working properly. It takes care of itself, and lets you get on with using it.

“It’s the future of computing”. This is perhaps the most important point. In my opinion, it’s true (to a certain extent). I believe in the future we’re going to see more and more computers focused more on usability than ever before. The iPad has shown there’s a market for that sort of thing – people want a computer, but they don’t want to spend ages figuring out how to use it. Apple will take iOS further and further, and OS X will be pushed to the back burner, kept alive for the small amount of people that actually need an OS that can run Photoshop or Final Cut (amongst others). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think OS X is going to be killed off anytime soon – if Apple did that they would just be plain stupid. But as iOS grows, it’ll become more and more like OS X and will become the OS of choice for more and more people. It’s already starting to look that way now.

The bottom line is: most people want an computer that doesn’t require any hassle to use or maintain. The iPad gives that to them.

And that’s that. I hope you enjoyed my… incredibly lengthy article. I have a problem – I always write way more than is probably necessary.

Anyway, I hope my arguments have given you some insight, and I hope now you know whether or not the iPad is for you. It’s not for everyone – iOS is great, but it’s still a long way off matching OS X in terms of features and capability. But for a lot of people, it seems the iPad is the perfect computer.

I buy Apple’s argument. It is magical. It is revolutionary. It may even be the best thing since sliced bread.

And I would be buying an iPad, if I had the money.

Anyone want to shout me one??

A couple of days ago I wrote a post, “WWDC 2010 Predictions“, summarizing all the rumors that had been surrounding the WWDC keynote. I’ll be referring back to it quite a lot, so if you haven’t already read it it might pay to do so.

To the surprise of no one, the centerpiece and main highlight of the event was (of course) the iPhone 4 (not the iPhone HD, as I and many others thought it might be called). It looked exactly the same as the iPhone that was leaked by Gizmodo – in fact, when Steve was showing off the new phone, he said “stop me if you’ve seen this before” – ensuing audience laughter. In my personal opinion, I think it looks absolutely amazing – and I’m not just saying that because I’m an Apple fanboy. If HTC (or any other mobile phone maker) had released it, I would be saying the exact same thing. I love it. Don’t ask me why, I just do. In fact, to be perfectly honest with you, I don’t really like the iPhone 3G & 3GS design. As soon as I saw the Gizmodo leak I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist buying one. In fact, it’s now on my list of “to-do” items: buy iPhone 4, 32GB, black – ASAP.

But other than the new design, how else is it different from its younger brother (the 3GS)? In many ways! First shown by Gizmodo, and now confirmed by Steve Jobs – the iPhone 4 has two cameras (one on the back, one on the front). The back one is 5MP, and can record HD video. The front is… no idea, but its purpose is to enable video chat – or FaceTime. Currently it is iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 only, and not over 3G (just Wi-Fi). Steve did say though that they are “working with carriers to get it ready over 3G later this year”.

Moving on…

The iPhone 4 is the first phone with a built-in gyroscope. What is a gyroscope? Not really sure, but basically, in a nutshell – when paired with the accelerometer, it can detect exactly how you are holding the phone – up, down, sideways, tilted forward, tilted backward, and so on. For gamers this equals one thing: better games.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the iPhone 4 is its magnificent display. The 960 x 640 LCD display boasts a pixel density of 326 dpi – which makes it the highest-resolution mobile phone screen currently on the market. They call it the “retina display”. The pixels are so tiny a human eye can’t even distinguish between them.

Other features include dual mics for noise cancelation, longer battery life, LED flash, and improved antenna placement.

And, as expected, it is powered by Apple’s A4 processor – which, as those with iPads will know, is super-fast.

The only disappointment that I have with the iPhone 4 is that there is no 64GB option. 32GBs, while more than adequate for most, is not quite enough for me. Ideally, I need 35GB+. But I’ll manage. However, I’m expecting a 64GB iPhone next year, Steve!

During the keynote Steve also talked quite a bit about what was formerly known as iPhone OS 4.0 – it has been renamed and is now simply called “iOS 4″. This is probably because two non-iPhone devices currently run “iOS” – the iPod touch and the iPad (and more may come, e.g. Apple TV). It’s certainly not limited to the iPhone anymore.

We didn’t hear anything at all about the Mac – no Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook Air, or iMac updates, sorry. Same goes for the rumored 27″ LED cinema display, and OS X 10.7.

We also didn’t hear anything about MobileMe or Lala – I think that Apple may wait until their September event and then unveil the new cloud-based iTunes that everyone has been hoping (and waiting) for. And the free (improved) MobileMe, that I so desperately want. And the iPod touch with camera.

I didn’t think the Apple TV was going to be updated, and I was right – it wasn’t. I’m guessing that this could happen at Apple’s September event as well. As I mentioned above, rumors suggest that the next iteration of the Apple TV will run iOS – which would be… for lack of a better word, awesome.

Also, a new version of Safari, Safari 5.0, is available on Apple’s website now for you to download now (if you haven’t already). This was also rumored, though it wasn’t talked about during the keynote. This being released was really the only non-iPhone, non-iOS thing that occurred from Apple all day.

It has some minor improvements, such as the new “Safari Reader” – but nothing too major – go to http://www.apple.com/safari/whats-new.html for the full list.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment bellow with your thoughts – what do you think of the iPhone 4?

Tomorrow, Monday, June 7 at 10 a.m. (PT)*, Apple will kick off WWDC 2010 with a keynote address by CEO Steve Jobs. What is he going to talk about? The next generation iPhone, of course. The iPhone 3G was announced at WWDC 2008, the 3GS at WWDC 2009, and there are no signs that this year is going to be any different. We’ve seen the leaks. Gizmodo was the first, and others soon followed. Over the past several weeks we’ve seen more next-generation iPhone leaks that we have for any other Apple product in history. It seems that we already know almost everything there is to know about it. Hopefully Steve’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, though, as it’s always nice to have surprises.

However, most people believe that there will be a bit more to the keynote than just the iPhone 4 (or iPhone HD, or whatever they’re going to call it). In this post, I’m going to cover all the rumors, what I think will happen, and what I’m hoping for.

I’m going to start off by giving a bit more detail on what we can expect from the next generation iPhone.

• Longer battery life
• Faster processor (Apple’s A4 processor)
• More RAM (512MB, up from 256MB)
• Front facing camera
• Improved rear camera (5MP, though 8MP has been rumored)
• Rear camera flash
• Ability to shoot HD video
• Improved screen resolution (960 x 640, quadruple the current iPhone’s 480 x 320 resolution)
• More storage (two models, 32Gb and 64GB)
• Support for micro-sim
• Secondary mic for noise cancellation
• New industrial design

Keep in mind that none of this information has been confirmed by Apple, so the specs might not match up exactly.

I believe that they’ll call it the iPhone HD, not the iPhone 4G, as people could confuse “4G” with “4G network”. I definitely don’t think the next generation iPhone will be a 4G phone.

I think it’ll go on sale late June/early July (as with previous models), and will be available in both black and white. The iPhone 3GS 16GB will probably drop in price and replace the iPhone 3G 8GB iPhone as “the cheap option”.

And no, I don’t think it’ll be available on Verizon… just AT&T (for now). In New Zealand, of course, we’ll have the choice – Vodafone, Telecom, or 2º.

What else?

iPhone OS 4.0: It’s already been announced, but Apple probably left a few iPhone 4 specific features out especially for WWDC – such as iChat.

Also, we didn’t hear much about Game Center at the 4.0 event, so this might be covered in a bit more detail.

OS 4.0 for the iPad will probably appear on the Apple Developer Center sometime next week, so that devs can start testing it and giving feedback.

Apple TV update: Probably not yet, but there have been rumors. Most of them say that the next generation Apple TV will be based on iPhone OS, which is good, because it will finally give users the chance to download 3rd-party apps and games (without “hacking” it).

MobileMe: In order for Apple to compete with similar services offered by competitors such as Google, Apple needs to make MobileMe free (or at least significantly cheaper). Hopefully we’ll hear something about this at WWDC this year, but if not, probably sometime in the near future (maybe they’ll integrate it with Lala, and make iTunes streaming from the cloud a reality).

Mac Pro update: It’s been over a year since it was last updated, so it’s due soon. Intel has already introduced the 6-core Xeon chip which many people believe will be used in the next Mac Pro.

Mac mini update: The Mac Mini is currently in short supply, so there’s a possibility that it’ll be updated at WWDC. Rumors suggest that an HDMI port will be added to the machine (along with other minor improvements).

MacBook Air update: It’s been ages since the MacBook Air was last updated. However, we’ll probably just see spec improvements, if it does get updated – don’t expect anything too major (like a new industrial design).

iMac update: Some rumors are suggesting that the iMac will be given a refresh so that the whole lineup sports the i5 and i7 processors found in the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pros. While that would be nice, don’t hold your breath.

27″ LED Cinema Display: Rumors suggest that Apple is planning to add a 27″ Cinema Display to complement the 24″. I don’t know if we’ll see this happen at WWDC, but it sure would be welcome.

Mac OS X 10.7: Not very likely, but there have been rumors. However, some say that it won’t be 10.7 that will be announced at WWDC, rather 10.6.4 – I guess we’ll see soon.

Safari 5.0: Safari hasn’t been doing amazingly well lately – Chrome is eating up its market share and has, in fact, recently passed it. Apple may announce 5.0 at WWDC in order to try and fight back. Recently, they have been touting HTML5 as the future of the internet, so to support their argument 5.0 should offer improved support for HTML5 features 4.0 is currently lacking, such as full-screen video & geolocation.

Some people have also speculated that Safari 5 might support extensions, similar to Chrome and Firefox.

iLife & iWork 2010: iLife & iWork ’09 are still the latest versions, and as as you can probably tell, we’re already well into 2010. There is a possibility that we’ll see iLife and iWork 2010 (or X) at WWDC. However, given that 2009′s updates were quite significant (with the exception of iDVD and iWeb), there is also the possibility that Apple will skip 2010 entirely and instead wait until 2011.

Cloud-based iTunes: This ties in with Apple’s purchase of Lala… personally, I don’t think we’ll see anything yet – I reckon Apple will wait until their September music event later this year.

iPod touch with camera: There have been rumors about this for months, and pictures have been circulating the web since August last year – but like iTunes, I don’t think we’ll see anything about this until September.

So, there you have it. I think I’ve covered all the major WWDC 2010 predictions that I’ve heard over the last several months. If I’ve missed anything out, be sure to let me know by leaving a comment below. Also, leave a comment if you’ve got a prediction of your own that you want to share.

What would I really like to see? The next generation iPhone, of course, but also something regarding MobileMe… if they made it free that would make my day.

I’m not attending WWDC, but even so, I’ll still be tweeting all the latest developments as they occur on the day – so if you feel like tuning in, please do (for those who don’t know, I’m @dankando on Twitter). In the meantime, if you’ve got any questions, queries, or comments, leave them below, or send me a tweet.

*Tuesday, June 8 at 5 a.m. New Zealand time

Apple is steadily gaining ground in its fight against Adobe’s notorious video and animation technology, Flash. It seems that almost every other day we hear another story of a major website that has decided to add support for HTML 5, the next major revision of HTML that is currently under development. Programmers and web designers are increasingly receiving requests from clients who want their websites to be compatible with the Flash-free iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and now, 26% of Web video is ready for these devices (up from 10% a year ago).

This is obviously very good news for Apple. The faster HTML 5 is adopted, the less criticisms and complaints they are going to receive against their iDevices for not supporting Adobe’s technology. It’s also good news for the rest of us. Flash is very unreliable, it is the number one reason Macs crash. It also had one of the worst security records in 2009 (highlighted recently by Symantec). Also, have you ever watched your CPU usage while viewing a Flash video? It hogs your CPU like nothing else.

All the major web browsers are jumping on board too – Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome are leading the race with support already in place for most HTML 5 and CSS 3 features. Mozilla’s Firefox is catching up and surprisingly so is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, the next major version (9) will add significant HTML 5 and CSS 3 support.

However, despite all this, Flash isn’t going to go anywhere any day soon. It’s still used on a large number of websites, and most Internet video is still encoded using Flash. And because all current versions of IE don’t support HTML 5, it’ll be awhile before enough people are using supported browsers for it to really take off. Old browsers die hard, as shown by IE 6 and 7. IE 7 was released in 2006, and yet still commanders 14% of the total browser market share, and IE 6, a whopping 21%. IE 6 was released almost a decade ago, in 2001.

Obviously, Flash is still going to be with us for many years to come. Today, I’m going to teach you about a (very important) little-known capability of the Flash plug-in used to store information about you as you surf the Web. This information is stored in the depths of your computer, in files known as Local Shared Objects, or Flash cookies. These ‘Flash cookies’ are very similar to normal browser cookies – they are used by websites to remember who you are if you ever visit again.

Websites can store up to 100KB of information in each cookie, much higher than the 4KB limit imposed upon standard browser cookies. This information can range anywhere from remembering the volume level of a video (YouTube) to preloading portions of songs for smooth playback (Pandora), and everything in between.

But that’s not really too serious, is it? Not really. You can just delete them if you don’t want them, right? Right.

However, deleting them is a tad more tricky than just clicking “clear cookies” from your browser’s menu. Doing that won’t remove your Flash cookies.

That’s why website owners love them so much. Compared to browser cookies: they’re harder to delete (most users don’t even know they exist), and they can hold 25 times more information.

Luckily, there is a relatively quick way to see what Flash cookies are stored on your machine and how much information they each are holding, and easily delete them. On Adobe’s website you can access the Flash Player Settings Manager, and manage Flash cookies from there. Go there, and select “Website Storage Settings Panel” from the table of contents on the left-hand side.

A page will load, with the Settings Manager at the top. You should see a list of all the websites that have stored information on your machine through the Flash plugin, that is, all Flash cookies. You can then individually delete them or delete the whole lot at once.

Remember: the Settings Manager is accessing information on your hard drive, not the Web, so the only way to see the Flash cookies on a certain computer is to access the Manager through said computer. However, because you don’t need a password to access it, anyone with knowledge of Flash cookies can easily have a look at the Flash cookie list (and consequently, view a selection of your Internet browsing history).

I’m not going to delve into exactly what sites use Flash cookies, but I will say that it’s not only sites with an obvious Flash component (e.g. YouTube and Pandora) – often Web developers add code for a Flash cookie into an otherwise Flash-free website.

So, there may be some sites on the list that you don’t want other people to know you’ve visited. It may pay to have a look. Because if a nosey computer geek uses your computer…

Final tip: for those using a Mac, there’s a handy app, Flush, that will remove all Flash cookies off your machine without having to open your browser and navigate to the Settings Manager. Download it for free (Windows users, I don’t know of any equivalent app, but I’m sure there is one – try searching if you are interested).

Well, that’s all for this week! I hope you’ve learnt something – if you have any questions, or suggestions, please leave a comment.

And please bookmark or subscribe to this blog if you found this post interesting. There’ll be more to come! Oh, and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, if you’re not already.

Thanks for reading!

Over the past two years, I have started five blogs (not including this one) – four on Blogger and one on WordPress – and all of them have failed.

So, why did they all fail?

Firstly, my lack of motivation and procrastination usually meant that I stopped posting after only a couple of weeks, and the blog died a natural death. Sometimes I didn’t even get the first post written.

Secondly, I didn’t really know how to structure my blog. I wanted to have some sort of theme, such as technology, around which all my posts would be related. I though that if I focused my blog I would have a more clear idea of where I wanted to go, and, as a result, would find it easier to write.

However, this ended up creating more problems than it solved. I couldn’t write about anything outside my ‘theme’. If it wasn’t related, I just had to forget about it.

I found it extremely difficult to do this – I always seemed to have perfect ideas that weren’t related to my blog theme. I think that’s one of the reasons I started so many blogs, to accommodate for all these ideas.

Only one blog managed to get over five posts. Not surprisingly, this one was also the only one to get a decent amount of readers. This was my most recent blog, made using WordPress (I’m never going back to Blogger), and it was technology-related. I actually managed to get about 15+ posts written, and 500+ daily visitors (most of them probably didn’t read a single sentence, though there definitely were some that did because I actually got comments on a number of my posts).

So why did this one die? One; it was centred around a core topic (technology), and as mentioned before this causes problems; and two; I lost interest eventually because I felt I was simply regurgitating news posted originally by someone else, without much thought put into it. That was partially true. I sometimes used to add my take, but not often. There are plenty of websites and blogs out there that talk about tech-related news and rumors. My blog was just one among millions.

Well, as you may have figured, I’m back again, to have another shot. But this time, I’m not going to repeat the same mistakes of the past.

How? I’m not going to focus my blog around a particular topic, or theme. Rather, I’m just going to write about whatever I feel would be interesting to read. I probably will still write about technology mostly, though, because that’s what I’m passionate about. However, instead of just retelling news I find on other sites, I’m going to write with my own thoughts and opinions closely intertwined. Basically, if I feel like writing about something, I will.

Doing this should solve my other major problem – lack of motivation. If I only write about something because I want to write about it, motivation should come naturally. Beforehand, I would write about something because it tied in with my blog theme. Sometimes I wouldn’t even be interested in it.

This is definitely not the way I think a personal blog should work. In my opinion, it should all be about what the person is interested in, and if that happens to span multiple fields, so be it. Readers aren’t obligated to read a post simply because it is there. They can choose. If you subscribe to a blog, you can pick and choose what you want to read, and what you don’t. Usually, you’ll subscribe because you’re interested in most of the articles. For example, if you subscribe to my blog it’ll probably be because you’re interested in technology, social media, and the web, because that’s probably what I’ll write most about.

Money quote: a blogger should build their audience around their interests, and not the other way round.

So, welcome to my seventh blogging attempt (five previous blogs + you may have noticed that I previously tried regularly blogging on this blog at the end of last year and failed – ignore the last post, because it was requested to explain why I was unfollowing everyone on Twitter, and you’ll see that I haven’t posted anything on here for several months). I hope you didn’t get bored to death reading this, I know it’s not the most interesting, but it is necessary.

I will try to post here once a week (hopefully). If you’re interested in what I have to say then I would love it if you would bookmark this site and/or subscribe. I don’t think many people will be, at this point (I’ve only just started, really), but maybe you will later down the track.

Anyway, I think it’s about time to bring this post to an end. 800 words is a lot to read. Let me know your thoughts (if you want to) by leaving a comment below.

See you (hopefully) in a week!

Enjoy!