The Telegraph: A year and a day after she set out to sail single-handed around the globe, Dutch teenager Laura Dekker finished her 27,000 mile voyage on Saturday night. Miss Dekker has had to cope with weeks of solitude, ocean … Continued
Yearly Archives: 2012
POTUS sings Al Green as your ringtone
Obama for America: President Obama was inspired to sing a bit of Al Green during a recent campaign stop at the Apollo Theater. And now you can have his rendition of “Let’s Stay Together” as a ringtone. Don’t you hate … Continued
Apple, America and a squeezed Middle Class
The New York Times: Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight. A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to … Continued
Microsoft comes out in support of Washington State Marriage Equality Legislation
Microsoft News Center: As other states recognize marriage equality, Washington’s employers are at a disadvantage if we cannot offer a similar, equitable and inclusive environment to our talented employees, our top recruits and their families. This legislation would put Washington … Continued
“Aww! We just got Samsunged!”
Another slightly amusing ad from Samsung poking fun at iPhone buyers. Samsung will supposedly unveil the commercial during the upcoming Super Bowl. Interesting way to blow through $3.5 million dollars – the cost of a 30 second ad during the … Continued
Google+ now boasts 90 million users
Network World: Google CEO Larry Page announced yesterday that Google+ now boasts more than 90 million users worldwide, more than double the number of users it had in the previous quarter. Page also said that engagement on the social networking … Continued
Truly unprecedented in iBooks 2
David Smith: All Apple is doing with this restriction is saying that if you directly profit from this free tool and platform that we have created, then we deserve our cut. Which seems entirely fair to me. The range of … Continued
Camera-less iPhone 4, iPhone 4S on sale in Singapore
Yahoo! News: The camera is normally a big selling point, but in Singapore Apple’s iPhone 4 and 4S are now available without the function — to cater to military personnel banned from taking image-capturing devices into army camps. Camera phones … Continued
Kno CEO Rashid to Apple: “Now we will fight on who has the better product”
TechCrunch: One of the highest profile digital textbook startups is Kno, which started out with its own oversized tablet but now focusses on delivering textbooks through its iPad app. On the surface, things don’t look so great for Kno, but … Continued
EverTune keeps your guitar in tune, and it works
For guitar players, keeping the guitar in tune during a performance was nearly impossible, until now. I stopped by the EverTune booth today at the NAMM show and really couldn’t believe what I was seeing. […]
Vinnie Jones teaches CPR
Is this the best PSA ever or what?
How to install iBooks Author on Snow Leopard
Digital Tweaker: Anyone can create a book for iBooks with Apple releasing the iBooks Author app in the Mac Store. It uses simple drag and drop features with Word files and images so that everything is done for you. Since … Continued
Too many gadget choices: product lines simplify as fatigue sets in
Joshua Topolsky at The Verge: I pressed the companies on whether or not technology manufacturers were simply producing too many gadgets, outpacing real consumer demand with iterative, insubstantial changes. “Are we creating demand where there isn’t any?” I asked. He … Continued
E.O. Wilson calls iPad textbooks ‘a miracle’
Apple’s education event in New York on Thursday revealed the company’s plans to change the way textbooks are used by students in both K-12 and college environments using iPads. But is Apple overstepping its bounds? iPads in schools are still … Continued
Apple’s new math or why a $15 eBook = a $75 book
AllThingsD: McGraw-Hill normally sells high school textbooks for $75 a pop. Now it says it will sell electronic versions of the same books, via Apple, for $15 apiece. How can the publisher make that work? “Volume,” says McGraw-Hill CEO Terry … Continued
Apple sued by Toronto lawyer over stolen MacBook Pro
The Toronto Star reports: Toronto lawyer Michael Deverett bought a MacBook Pro, an iPod Touch, cables and programs for $2,248.53 at the Apple store in the Yorkdale Mall. He didn’t notice anyone following him…to his car. He didn’t notice anyone … Continued
Sen. Reid postpones PIPA vote
Thomas Lane for Talking Points Memo, quoting from a statement from Sen. Harry Reid: “In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act. Reid says he’s “optimistic that we can reach a … Continued
SOPA Web blackout wouldn’t have happened in China
David Pierson for the Los Angeles Times: As websites including Wikipedia shut down and millions of Americans complained to lawmakers about the potential for government censorship, Chinese netizens spoke admiringly of the public rebellion. Such a display in China would … Continued
A look at the fed takedown of Megaupload
Nate Anderson for Ars Technica: “… the government asserts that Megaupload merely wanted the veneer of legitimacy, while its employees knew full well that the site’s main use was to distribute infringing content. Indeed, the government points to numerous internal … Continued
Business
Some of those falls have got to hurt. […]
Sponsorship opportunities on The Loop
We have a few sponsorship slots open for February and March. If you want to get your product in front of The Loop’s extremely good looking readers, drop me a line. Your sponsorship is exclusive for the week and will be sent out through the RSS and Twitter, as well as a link on the Web site. You can get more details on the Sponsorship page.
Apogee introduces the Symphony 64 Thunderbolt
The latest addition to the Symphony I/O module line-up, the 16×16 Analog I/O Module allows you to pack 32 channels of premium Apogee conversion into one Symphony I/O (two module spaces per chassis).
I haven’t seen this one yet, but I’m going to try to stop over this afternoon.
Apple stores sales ban boosts rival outlets
China Daily: China Unicom, the country’s second-largest telecom operator by subscriber numbers, said it has large stocks of Apple Inc’s iPhone 4S handsets available for purchase. That’s despite Apple’s Chinese stores halting supplies of the device and scalpers charging a … Continued
Universal Audio unveils Apollo Thunderbolt audio interface
Apollo is the first professional, high-resolution computer audio interface that delivers the sound and feel of analog recording. This FireWire 800 / Thunderbolt ready interface combines genuine UA analog design with class-leading sound quality and onboard Realtime UAD Plug-In Processing … Continued
A tour of the Fender Custom Shop
I spent my first full day of the NAMM music show with friends from Fender at the company’s new visitor center and custom shop in California. […]
Video from the Apple Special Event in New York City
Apple just posted the streaming video file of the video from today’s Apple Special Event in New York City. Streaming video requires Safari 4 or 5 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Lion, Safari on iOS 3 or later, … Continued
Yamaha introduces the THR compact guitar amp
THR is designed to fit where, when, and how you play when you’re not on stage. With big amp response, incredible effects, and hi-fi stereo sound in a package that’s built to meet all of your off-stage needs, you’re about to begin a new chapter in your playing.
They demoed this for me this morning and it had a great sound. I want one of these.
Apple education event – live coverage
The Loop liveblogged Apple’s education event, where Apple has introduced iBooks textbooks, iBooks Author, a creation app, and the new iTunes U app. Please read on for details.
AmpKit LiNK HD guitar interface for iPhone, iPad and Mac
AmpKit LiNK HD is based on USB digital audio technology, providing high fidelity while eliminating crosstalk and feedback. It’s perfect for AmpKit’s authentic high gain amps.
Some nice features on the LiNK HD. AmpKit is my goto amp software on the iPhone and iPad, so I’ll be interested to see how this interface does. I’m expecting good things though.
New AT&T data plans will launch on Sunday
AT&T will hike data rates by $5 on all new subscribers: As the AT&T network gets even faster with 4G LTE deployment – up to 10 times faster than 3G – and devices and applications become even more sophisticated, it’s … Continued