I am sure you are familiar with terms like “wireless”, “hotspot” and “Wi-Fi”. If you know a bit technical details, you might know “802.11a”, “802.11b/g” and “channels”. Yes, you are right! 802.11n is just another amendment to the 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (LANs) for better throughput and range.
Intel has begun shipping 802.11n compatible wireless networking module, a key component of next generation Centrino due in April with a code name Santa Rosa. Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN will consume less power according to Channel Register UK, yielding an extra hour of battery life to notebook users. The module has a data throughput of 270Mbps, half of the maximum data rate.
Surprisingly, the module is based on the draft specifications of 802.11n. The latest draft approved on 19 January this year is version 1.10. The official time line for 802.11n shows final IEEE publish date of October 2008. The final working group approval is scheduled on July 2008.
I wrote an article back in December last year claiming iPhone from Apple was just hype. It turned out I was wrong. Apple actually has a product with the name iPhone, which is not approved by FCC and still in dispute with Linksys over the product name.
So what’s good about iPhone? It’s a mobile phone and not a VoIP phone that was announced by Linksys last month. It’s a phone that you hardly see a button. In fact, there is only one “home” button. You control the phone by sliding a finger across its 3.5-inch touch screen.
iPhone combines three products - a mobile phone, an iPod, and an Internet communications device into one small and lightweight handheld device. It has the same power of a state of the art Symbian or Windows Mobile powered device. Despite its innovative new user interface (UI), I have to say it is only equally powerful.
Apple has added a new tab on Apple.com promoting iPhone. The QuickTime based web site is very intuitive to use, showing all the main features of iPhone in an incredibly presentable way. That is what I like about Apple - they work hard, they sell hard. You do not need to read any other publications to know exactly about iPhone.
The Month of Apple Bugs (MOAB) started off smoothly with the release of three bugs so far on day 3. They are all related to media player.
- Apple QuickTime
rtsp://URL Handler Stack-based Buffer Overflow - A vulnerability in the handling of thertsp://URL handler allows remote arbitrary code execution. - VLC Media Player
udp://Format String Vulnerability - A vulnerability in the handling of theudp://URL handler allows remote arbitrary code execution. - Apple QuickTime HREFTrack Cross-Zone Scripting vulnerability - A vulnerability in the handling of the HREFTrack field allows to perform cross-zone scripting, leading to potential remote arbitrary code execution.
What is interesting is not OS X has enough bugs for a whole month but the voluntary efforts by Mac guru, Landon Fuller. He has provided patches or fixes for all three bugs disclosed so far. He also offers to patch all other vulnerabilities, one a day, until the month is out.
I have been a Mac fan lately due to the disappointing Windows Vista. As we are approaching Macworld Expo 2007 due next Tuesday, speculations start to emerge as to what Apple will announce. Here is a list of possible products from Jason D. O’Grady’s blog order by most to least likely.
- iLife & iWork ‘07 - Apple usually updates these software at Mac Expo.
- iTV - A promise to bring TV to Mac. Just let me watch TiVo-like TV on my Mac ok?
- Mac mini - The Mac to host iTV or just boring regular updates.
- Mac OS 10.5 - It’s the perfect time to show the world that Apple does not “copy” ideas from Microsoft. More new features should be unveiled.
- Mac Pro - Upgrade to the top of the line horsepower, quad-core Intel Xeon Processor for desktop Mac.
- Displays - More displays with built-in iSight and HDCP/HDMI support but make sure you support PS3 HDMI 1.3!
- iPod - iPod with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi should be enough to kill Zune.
- Apple Phone - Not much room for Apple to innovate here. Turning iPod into a phone is the same as a Nokia phone with music player.
- Thin 12″ MBP - 12″ MBP is awesome! If Apple is going to reintroduce the model after dropping it during the transition to Intel in early 2006, it will sure catch lots of instant buy.
- Mac Tablet - Not another ultra portables!
Jim Allchin’s email to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer showed that Windows Vista development was in a bad shape three years ago. “I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that does not translate into great products.”
The fact is that, not much has changed until today, Jim. You should still consider buying a Mac today. Windows Vista today does not have a character.
The UI changes bring nothing revolutionary except potentially more training to all level of users. Microsoft have missed the whole point. You should start getting a usage survey of what are the frequently clicked areas rather than burying more and more useful functionalities deep inside.
Reorganizing the way of using Windows is NOT an innovation. The user wants a better experience - do things quicker, smarter, more elegant etc - and not experiencing unnecessary change to what they are already used to.