Every once in a while we drop one of those “this is going to change everything” posts, but THIS is the mother of all of them. Google has officially announced it’s going head to head with Windows for OS dominance with the Chrome Operating System.
Google proves they clearly get what Microsoft does not- that from this point on all software applications should be web based. Granted, if you’re using Photoshop or Final Cut you’re still going to have to stick to your desktop for another decade of so. But if you’re old enough to remember how slow early versions of illustrator or quark ran in 1995, you can be pretty confident that in the future that video editing could happen in a browser.
In case you haven’t heard anyone say it before, the point of the internet is information sharing. That’s true whether you want to show your ideas to the world, or just work on them from various locations. Once your files and software are stored online, you can choose between viewing them on a mobile device (small easily portable format), computer (medium bulky format), or Television (large stationary format).
Just a side note, if you’re an artist and wondering how this affects your work, this is as big as the shift from film photography to digital. As almost any creative person can tell you, when the tools change, so does the art. We think this should open the door to some very interesting new ideas.

The apple store updated its products this morning. Product lines seeing a refresh are the Mac Pro, Mac Mini and iMac. The Mac Pro now features a Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor. The Mac Mini now sports a much more capable graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce 9400M). The iMac now delivers a third more screen for the price.

Although not highlighted, the Macbook recieved CPU upgrades in it’s mid and high level models. Check out the Apple Store for more specs and prices.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wait till you hear this. Measuring just 10.5 x 7.5 x 1.5 inches and weighing just over three pounds, this laptop is a dream come true for people on the go who’d rather not lug a giant laptop with them.

While not as powerful as its larger counterparts it has quite a bit to offer (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, and Windows XP Home to start). The battery can run for up to 7 hours on a charge. It’s got wifi, an ethernet jack, a port for an external monitor, three USB ports, oh yeah, and a webcam. For those worried about typing on small keys, the keyboard is 95 percent the size of standard notebooks.

Available in Pearl White or Fine Ebony here for $425.

A new set of aluminum MacBooks were the center of attention at today’s keynote. The laptops feature glass multi-touch trackpads, improved graphics performance and a seamless aluminum enclosure. Prices start at $1299. For those interested, the white MacBooks picked up a superdrive and had their price reduced to $999.

Read the rest of this entry »

Art. Lebedev Studio has created a rather interesting prototype for a keyboard. Each key contains an LCD capable of displaying whatever graphics you like on a key. When you hit shift, letters on the keyboard change case. When using applications such as Photoshop, the keys can display the icons of tools on the appropriate shortcut keys (illustrated below). Apparently production has been in the works for a while but the keyboard is slated for release in March. Presale orders are being taken here for $462.

In an interesting fusion of clock, music, choreography, and Japan, this screensaver was apparently made to promote Japanese store Uniqlo. Check it out here and if you like it, you can download the screensaver (33 MB) for Mac or PC.

Apple just announced a refresh to their iMac line. The refresh is thinner, more powerful (the intel chips provide a notable increase in performance), and larger. The only regret about the iMac design is the lack of environmental and economical foresight in fusing a display to a computer. People need to upgrade displays far less frequently than they do the rest of their computer. Building a display into the computer forces a user to replace what might be a perfectly good display when they upgrade. It’s a wonderful computer though. The 20 and 24-inch widescreen models starting at $199 and $1799 respectively. If you have had a chance to use the new keyboard, let us know what you think.