The Apple website summed it up this way…”Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius…his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Indeed, the world has lost an amazing human being. Steve Jobs has passed away at age 56, after years of suffering through pancreatic cancer, and a liver transplant in 2009. He had just resigned as Apple’s CEO in August, and turned the company’s leadership over to Tim Cook.

Some mainstream media are comparing the contributions of Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison or Leonardo da Vinci, whose inventions and innovations created a huge impact on modern culture.

Consider Steve Job’s lifetime of achievements, which brought form and function together in elegant consumer products. He made technology cool, and more importantly, he made it work.

1976: Apple Corp. founded with Stephen Wozniak
1977: Apple II personal computer
1980: Apple III
1984: Macintosh personal computer & Mac OS graphical operating system
1985: NeXT Computer Inc.
1986: Pixar Animation Studios
1998: iMac desktop computer
2001: iPod media player & iTunes software
2003: iTunes online digital media store & Safari web browser
2005: Mac mini, iPod Nano & iPod Shuffle
2006: MacBook & MacBook Pro notebooks
2007: iPhone & iPod Touch
2008: iPhone 3G & MacBook Air ultra-thin notebook
2009: iPhone 3GS
2010: iPhone 4 & iPad media tablet
2011: iPad 2 & iPhone 4S

ABC News has assembled a short video tribute to Steve Jobs’ life and legacy.

CNN has a well produced collection of video clips and MacWorld highlights
with Steve Jobs introducing some of Apple’s coolest products…

New features of the iPhone 4S include…

A dual core A5 processor that delivers up to seven times faster graphics and is more power efficient, extending battery life.  Talk time is up to eight hours, with nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing on a full charge.

Twin Antennas; iPhone 4S is the first phone that switches between two antennas to transmit and receive, so call quality is better. It also doubles the maximum HSDPA data speeds to 14.4 Mbps.

An eight-megapixel camera provides better resolution with flash, or what Apple is calling an improved backside illumination sensor. Apple also claims that the update will allow users to print out 8 x 10 photos.

All new optics allow for 1080p HD Video recording, and you can edit video right on the iPhone.

An updated operating system, iOS 5 features a number of important updates, including the messaging center and camera, which you can access right from the screen lock.

Retina Display makes for a sharper display, so the new iPhone 4S has the highest resolution screen ever.

Siri is an personal assistant that you talk to like another person, use it to make calls, send messages or set reminders. It will even read your messages back to you!

iCloud stores all your data in the internet cloud; that includes your music, photos, contacts, calendar events, mail, documents, and even apps.  iCloud syncs your data to all your wireless devices, which is pretty handy for backups.  You can also use the FindMyiPhone app on iCloud to locate your lost phone, remotely set a passcode lock, or initiate a remote wipe to delete your data.

FaceTime will make a video and voice calls between iPhones, iPad2, iPod touch or Mac over WiFi connections.

iPhone 4S will be available in both black and white versions, with a list price of $199 for 16GB, $299 for the 32GB, and a new version with 64GB of storage for $399.  You can pre-order the iPhone 4S starting Friday October 7th, and the device will start shipping on Friday October 14th in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan.

Starting October 14th, Sprint Nextel, the number three wireless provider in the U.S., will join AT&T and Verizon Wireless as the three major wireless carriers authorized to sell the iPhone.

Official Website Apple.com

The next version of iPhone is coming out soon, in fact Best Buy is offering pre-sale orders starting June 15th.

Gizmodo and Engadget have the details (like below.)  The iPhone 4 arrives in Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores June 24th.

iPhone 4 ~ What’s New/Improved:

• 16GB & 32GB in both Black & White
• 9.3MM thick, 25% Thinner than existing iPhone
• 4X Better Screen Resolution than current iPhone (Retina Display)
• Scratch Proof Glass on front & back of phone
• Improved Processor (A4)
• Quad Band HSDPA 7.2
• 802.11n WiFi
• Dual Microphones
• 2 Cameras (one front facing) with 5MP, LED Flash & 5x Digital Zoom
• 720HD Video Recording at 30fps, Tap to Focus, Built-in Video Editing, One-Click Sharing
• Multitasking with New 4.0 Software
• Micro Sim
• 7 Hours of Talk Time
• Video Conference calling over WiFi

Today I made this observation about teenagers at the mall;
their typical posture is the slouching walk while staring at the screen of their phone or iPod. How do they avoid walking into things while texting their friends?

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was an app for the iPhone that would allow you to walk, type and text at the same time, without running into other people, or objects, cars, whatever?

And then I stumbled across it on Twitter; an iPhone app that uses the phone’s camera while texting, so you can walk and type at the same time!

It’s called Type n Walk, and here’s what their website www.type-n-walk.com has to say about it…

The Type n Walk iPhone app allows you to see in front of you via the iPhones camera while you are typing. When combined with your peripheral vision it should allow for just enough visual information to help you avoid obstacles, like people directly in front of you.

Unfortunately because the iPhone doesn’t allow background processes for non-apple apps. you have to cut ‘n’ paste what you have typed into the app. you want it in.

Thanks to my Twitter followers who stumbled upon this cool app!
www.stumbleupon.com/

Follow me on Twitter!

Apple has announced their new iPad, and I’m just now getting an iPhone. But isn’t that the way it is? How many of us can afford to buy every new device that hits the market? Just wait until the latest device comes out, then the prices drop on the older models and suddenly it’s affordable.

I got a 3G iPhone, which seems to be all I need at the moment. The capacity of this phone is almost overwhelming with all the thousands of apps available, plus the many ways the phone can be used.

I’m just getting into the apps, but so far I like the Hootsuite Twitter app, and the free Facebook app.

What impresses me the most is the multi-tasking capability of the iPhone; simply amazing the way you can make a phone call and surf the web at the same time; or do any number of other tasks.

I thought the iPod was great, but the iPhone is the most elegant and addictive electronic device I’ve ever used.

Apple has finally debuted their new tablet computer, the iPad. Weighing in at only 1.5 pounds, it has a 9.7 inch multi-touch screen and Wi-Fi, with optional 3G connectivity.

The iPad in only half an inch thick, and can run almost 140,000 of the available apps on the App Store. iPhone and iPod owners can use existing apps by syncing them to the iPad from Mac or PC, and run them in their original size or maximize them to full screen.

The iPad looks just as stunning as the iMac and MacBook Pro did when they were first introduced. Question is; what kind of impact will the iPad make in the market already saturated by Amazon’s Kindle?

But the price points of both devices still have somewhat of an ouch factor. Amazon’s Kindle DX has a 9.7 inch screen and can store 3,500 books, priced at $489.00. Apple’s iPad 16GB model is priced at $499, then $599 for 32GB and $699 for the 64GB model. And 3G will cost you extra, of course.

Just like the web, content is king. So after the media hype settles and the iPad is actually available, we’ll see what kind of books, magazines, newspapers and other online content will be available. That may be the real test.

Amazon Kindle DX

Apple iPad

2000: Napster gets sued for music file sharing violations by Metallica, Dr. Dre, Madonna and A&M Records. The site shuts down the following year after an RIAA injunction.

2001: iTunes launches as the killer music app for the iPod.

2002: Napster files Chapter 11 and is forced to liquidate it’s assets.

2003: MySpace & WordPress debut. WordPress becomes a leading open source content management system.

2004: Firefox 1.0 debuts as an alternative standalone browser to the bloated Mozilla web suite that includes Netscape.

2005: YouTube & Google Earth debut. My first blog posts appear on ThisCrazyCosmos.

2006: Twitter debut, Facebook opens registration to the public, instead of just students.

2007: DailyRover, my new blog about the web goes online.

2008: Google’s Chrome browser debuts after public beta. Napster is purchased by Best Buy.

2009: Internet Explorer 8.0 is introduced as the first real Windows browser upgrade since IE7 in 2006. Google Chrome replaces Safari as the number three web browser of choice, behind Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

2010: What will happen next? Will Twitter finally find a way to make money? More users than ever will Tweet this coming year, especially from the Olympic Games via iPhones and other mobile platforms.

It’s a given that Chrome will take market share from both leading browsers as Google continues world domination. YouTube will continue to create new sensations from home video, and Facebook just keeps getting bigger. I’m sure someone, somewhere is already making predictions for 2010.

The big day has arrived, and Black Friday has the Big Deals you’ve been shopping for!

If you’re shopping for electronics like I am, you’ll appreciate these shopping tips from Consumer Reports on the big items being sought after this holiday season.  It’s always helpful to arm yourself with a little knowledge so you can avoid any buyer’s remorse later on.  Scoping out the prices online can help narrow down the number of stores you actually have to shop at too.

If you’re looking for any of these items, chances are you can probably find a better price by comparison shopping at least two other stores. 
blackfriday.info has items indexed by category like:
Cell Phones
Digital Cameras

Game Consoles like the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 or the XBOX 360 are really hot, and most stores are offering a bundle package with 3 or 4 games.

Laptop and LCD HDTV prices have really dropped with several models priced at or below $500.

Best Buy:  Samsung 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV $499

Circuit City:  Apple 8GB iPod Touch $229

Office Depot:  HP Laptop 15.4-inch, Dual-Core, 3GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive, $349

Sam’s Club:  32-inch Vizio LCD 1080i HDTV $448

The video game version of the new hit Disney movie “Bolt” is already available for Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, Xbox 360 and Toys R Us has it as low as $29.

Sears has a Sony 32-inch Bravia 720p LCD HDTV $499

Target is advertising Guitar Hero World Tour $59

Walmart has some incredible deals advertised:
Xbox 360 Thanksgiving Day Value Bundle $288
7-inch Digital Photo Frame with 2GB SD Memory Card Bundle $39

more info at http://www.blackfriday.info/online/