Mobile Phones & Cancer
Mobile Phones & Cancer
Mobile phones are a mainstay of personal and professional communications worldwide–but are they safe? A new study by the Swedish National Institute for Working Life and the University of Oerebro has found the first significant evidence linking mobile phone use to an increased risk of brain tumors.
Handset Hands-On: The LG Electronics Vu
How does the LG Electronics Vu stack up against the Apple iPhone? Our cell phone columnist finds out.
watching documentaries
watching documentaries
The various venues where you can find and watch documentary films include local theaters, museums and universities, annual festivals and at home on TV and DVD. What is the best choice for you?
Sony offers up the DVP-NS708H upscaling DVD player in Europe
Sony offers up the DVP-NS708H upscaling DVD player in Europe
Section: Video, DVD Players/DVRs, HDTV Sony Europe has announced the DVP-NS708H upscaling DVD player. Touting this new DVD player as a perfect complement to BRAVIA LCD TV or any other HD Ready TV, the DVP-NSH708H transforms your standard definition DVDs into a better 1080p at 19201080 maximum full HD resolution, which suits perfectly for viewing in […]
LG Electronics To Showcase Latest Trends At IFA 2006
Underscoring its growing European brand presence and reputation as technology leader, LG Electronics (LG), a global leader in consumer electronics and mobile communications, will unveil its latest hit products at IFA 2006 which runs from 1 to 6 September in Berlin. One of the main highlights is LG’s line up of new Plasma and LCD TV with built-in Digital Video Recorder (DVR), which will be launched from September. The new Plasma and LCD TVs include a built-in pause function that stops live broad..
During the last several weeks, I've been rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from start to finish. While the TV show has held up well for the most part in the 15 years since it premiered, I was struck by a peculiar thought when I recently watched a time travel episode that saw several characters transported to Earth in the year 2024. Technology that was — from the perspective of TV show writers in 1995 — futuristic ended up looking, well, primitive compared to what we take for granted today. That's how much things have changed in just over a decade.
It's not that surprising, either. Our vision of the future is constantly in flux, informed by our perception of the present. In the 1950s, the future was full of jet packs and flying cars. In the 1990s, we thought everything in 2024 would be LEDs and CRT monitors.
So I'm guessing that Forrester Research's recent report painting a picture of the Apple of 2013 will look just as archaic five years from now. The 14-page document lays out one possible future for the company, extrapolated from Apple's recent developments and current direction. I'm not saying that there isn't some accuracy in what the analysts predict, but let's put it this way: if it was so easy to figure out what Apple will do in the future, then we probably wouldn't all be so in awe of what Steve Jobs and company manage to accomplish on a regular basis.
Also, we would all be filthy stinking rich.
Of course, we at Macworld have done our own fair-share of peering into the crystal ball. Late last year I was asked for some prognostications about 2008, and I obliged . While two out of the three have already come true (and the third looks to be fulfilled in the next couple weeks), they're not exactly what you might call "bold predictions." Actually, they're about one step above guessing that Steve Jobs is going to wear a black turtleneck and jeans to the next keynote event. I know: my powers of clairvoyance often amaze even myself.
Forrester's somewhat more ambitious report describes several "pillars" of what they see as Apple's 2013 existence, most of which focus on the idea of the digital home — a wheel of networked devices with Apple at its hub. Steve has spoken of the digital hub for years now and the philosophy has informed Apple's forays into music, video, photos, and the Web.
But the report seems to largely make two kinds of predictions: those that are, to we who follow Apple closely anyway, blindingly obvious (the iTunes Store evolving to handle other sorts of contents, or the Apple TV gaining more features) and those that veer more towards the ridiculous end of the spectrum (Apple moving into the home installation market or starting to make digital picture frames and clock radios).
In terms of a future full of Apple devices, look at the moves Apple has made into the home so far. Its attempt at creating an iPod speaker system, the iPod Hi-Fi, never managed to rise above the crowd of competing devices, and even Steve Jobs conceded that the first version of the Apple TV was a failure. And I disagree with Forrester's assessment that Apple will incorporate Blu-ray or a DVR into the Apple TV because I think Steve Jobs views the future of television as video you download from the iTunes Store–no extra media or cables required.
But more generally, think of the design trends of the Mac mini, Airport Extreme, and Apple TV: small boxes that aren't covered with buttons or distracting lights and are designed to be stacked out of sight. Filling your home with a network of digital picture frames and clock radios doesn't seem to me to be the Apple way.
Forrester also suggests that providing an in-house installation team is the logical extension of Apple's Genius Bar customer support, which I find difficult to believe. Again, it's a matter of simplicity: Apple has always made a point of creating technology that is easy for everyone to set up. Think of the original iMac (take it out of the box, plug it in, turn it on) or the fact that you can activate your iPhone via iTunes. The whole point of Apple's technology is that you don't need anybody to help you, because it would be like asking someone to help you turn on your TV or open your window.
I keep coming back to this — Steve Jobs's Thoreau-esque tendency towards simplification. Where Forrester sees a proliferation of "clock radio" and digital picture frame devices, I can't help but think that Jobsian approach is more about technology not being ostentatious. This picture of Steve from 1982 sums it up for me. While I'm sure his life is hardly as uncluttered now as it was then, Steve hasn't abandoned his tenets of simplicity and elegance. Apple continues to be about creating technology that's so easy you don't even notice you're using it.
Forrester's report — like any prognostication really — is somewhere between right and wrong. Predicting the future is not an exact science — heck, it's not any kind of science. In a world where the weatherman often can't give a simple yes or no answer to a question like "Is it going to rain tomorrow?" the idea of guessing what a company — a notoriously unpredictable company, at that — will look like five years from now is an exercise in futility.
Could Apple do the things that Forrester suggests? Almost certainly: in fact, many of the things that the report predicts are well within the company's reach today. But when it comes to Apple, the interesting questions never begin with "could they …", but rather with "would they …". Apple likes to choose its battles carefully, and it likes to make things that delight and surprise people. Would anyone in 2002 have predicted that Apple would make the iPhone–much less the subtle nuances of how it works or what it would look like? I doubt it. So, don't be too surprised when the next big thing out of Apple is something that nobody predicted. After all, that's just the way we like it.
Macworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
LG Unveils Wireless Stereo 3G Music Phone
LG Unveils Wireless Stereo 3G Music Phone
LG Electronics (LG), a pioneer in innovative mobile convergence technology, is set to launch the new LG-U890, a slim and wide screen music phone equipped with stereo Bluetooth in March. LG-U890 is the latest arrival in the MUSE (Multimedia with Unique Style for Entertainment) series of LG. The model provides an advanced audio function through Bluetooth stereo audio. Compared with the average Bluetooth mono audio used in most 3G mobile phones, its Bluetooth Stereo maximize its mobile jukebox,..
Car Stereo Install
Whether you are a car stereo addict or an AM radio junkie, most of us spend most of the time in our car with the stereo on. If your car stereo bites the dust, or if you want to install a new car stereo with an iPod connection, you can install a new unit with ease.
Tip of the day: Improve your N95’s speaker performance
The N95 and N95 8GB are the loudest in the Nseries when it comes to stereo speaker performance. For this reason many of tend to forget the portable speaker and just use the N95 series of devices to fill a…
LG’s Pause & Play TVs Highest Rated by Digital Television Group
LG’s Pause & Play TVs Highest Rated by Digital Television Group
LG Electronics (LG), a major player in the global flat panel display market, announced that its Pause & Play TVs with built-in digital video recorders (DVR), received Freeview Playback certification from the UK’s Digital Television Group. “This is the first time a device other than a set-top box has won Freeview Playback certification. Our DVR is built-in to the TV, allowing people to pause and record TV serials without having to connect a clumsy external unit to their televisions,” said Mr..
LG Brings Features Back Into Focus
LG Electronics, a worldwide technology leader in mobile communications, today announced plans to launch ‘LG Viewty’ (Model: LG-KU990), its very first professional-level high feature camera phone, destined to steal the spotlight. LG Mobile, which led design innovation in the mobile handset arena last year, is once again turning the tables on mobile phone trends by expanding their product category to introduce series of high feature phones. The ‘LG Viewty’, the first handset representing..
Top 10 Cell Phone-PDAs
Top 10 Cell Phone-PDAs
These are the top cell phone-PDAs today, but ratings and rankings can change quickly due to pricing and technology changes, so check back frequently for the latest info.
Build a Home Theater PC for $1,000
Build a Home Theater PC for $1,000
watching documentaries
The various venues where you can find and watch documentary films include local theaters, museums and universities, annual festivals and at home on TV and DVD. What is the best choice for you?
Build Your Own Home Theater PC Slide Show
Panasonic Showcases Tru2way Tech at Cable Show ‘08
Panasonic Showcases Tru2way Tech at Cable Show ‘08
Panasonic’s PCH2180 HD-DVR box, expected out in July, was among the company’s highlights of the burgeoning tru2way technology.
LG Unveils Wireless Stereo 3G Music Phone
LG Unveils Wireless Stereo 3G Music Phone
LG Electronics (LG), a pioneer in innovative mobile convergence technology, is set to launch the new LG-U890, a slim and wide screen music phone equipped with stereo Bluetooth in March. LG-U890 is the latest arrival in the MUSE (Multimedia with Unique Style for Entertainment) series of LG. The model provides an advanced audio function through Bluetooth stereo audio. Compared with the average Bluetooth mono audio used in most 3G mobile phones, its Bluetooth Stereo maximize its mobile jukebox,..
LG Mobile Gets a Taste of Black Magic
LG Mobile Gets a Taste of Black Magic
LG launches a new LG Shine ‘Titanium Black’ handset. Following the phenomenal success of the first LG Shine handset within the Black Label Series, LG Electronics today unveils a striking addition to the LG Shine, the LG Shine ‘Titanium Black’. Boasting the same amazing features as the original LG Shine handset, the full metal bodied jacket has received a makeover, turning it a dark and sophisticated metallic grey. The brand-new LG Shine ‘Titanium Black’ offers mobile users a stylish phon..
LG Electronics Gearing Up for Next-Generation DVD Market
LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics and mobile communications, has launched Blu-ray compatible Full HD desktop PCs and a Blu-ray super-multi DVD writer. The company also plans to release a Blu-ray DVD player and a Blu-ray disc by the end of the year, aiming the Audio/ Video and storage market. LG will introduce consumers to these next generation DVDs at its Blu-ray Experience Zones, where it will screen Hollywood movies using Full HD LCD TVs a..
Creator of a digital lifestyle: LG Corporate Design Center titled as ‘Design Team of the Year 2006’ by reddot design award
LG Electronics (LG), a leader in consumer electronics and mobile communications, has won the ‘Design Team of the Year 2006’ of reddot design award for its focus on design management. This is only the second time that the design department of an Asian company has won reddot’s ‘Radius’ Trophy. The festive award ceremony was held in the Aalto Theatre of Essen, Germany on June 26with more than 1,200 guests representing the design industry, business, media, politics, and culture attending. At..