• iSteve: ‘The Book of Jobs’ First Authorized Biography of Steve Jobs Coming Early 2012

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Books, News, Rants & Raves, Steve Jobs No Responses

    The first authorized biography of Steve Jobs which dubbed iSteve: The Book of Jobs by Walter Isaacson will be published in early 2012 by Simon and Shuster as announced sunday by ABCNews. Here is what Fortune had to say about the man who won Jobs’ trust:

    The Jobs book will be his fourth major biography. In addition to Kissinger: A Biography (1992) he has written Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003) and Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007). His most recent book is American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane (2009).

    How did Walter manage to win the trust of Steve Jobs, a man whose penchant for secrecy, and his contempt for journalists, are legendary? Says Simon & Schuster editor-in-chief Priscilla Painton, Isaacson’s editor and a Time alumna: “It was Walter’s idea. And you know Walter — he just worked at it.” Fortune has a great profile on Isaacson who has a long history of convincing notable people to tell them their story.

    The Jobs book was announced in February of last year but with no title and release date.

  • UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception New Details Emerged

    // Gradly // blog, Consoles, Games, News, PS3 No Responses

    New information regarding Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has surfaced via OPM. Issue 57 of the mag reveals some new details on the plot, locales and game mechanics of Nate’s next adventure. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception follows Drake, as he searches for a lost city in the Arabian Peninsula.

    Spoilers Ahead:

    • Drake will be spending most of his time in the Arabian desert, exploring the dunes of Rub’ al Khali.
    • You’ll still be globe trotting, visiting places like London and a jungle temple.
    • You can expect “all the things you’d expect in a desert” – that includes sandstorms and mirages.
    • This creates a dynamic environment to explore, with altering geography, “We’ve done a ton of research…The way sand blows over and curls over the tops of dunes, the way it displaces and flows – it’s almost a liquid,” said creative director Amy Hennig.
    • Plot is based around Lawrence of Arabia and Iram of the Pillars – The Atlantis of the Sands.
    • Drake and Sully are seen in the Empty Quarter, looking for Iram of the Pillars.
    • Apparently, there are bike sections, “We have a strong tradition of vehicular gameplay, and we try not to repeat ourselves,” says ND.
    • Story isn’t set in stone yet, but villain Katherine Marlowe is part of a secret order that dates back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I.
    • This is not Drake’s last adventure, ND stresses that “the Uncharted franchise was never conceived as a trilogy.”
    • Previous characters will be returning, does that include both Elena and Chloe?
    • New melee combat system lets Drake fight multiple enemies at once, but also shows him picking up a bottle from a table and introducing it to an enemy’s face. New stealth moves and mechanics have been added as well.
    • Naughty Dog said, “We’ll be sure to alert everyone if a public beta is in the works this time around.”

    Uncharted 3 is scheduled for a November 1, 2011 release, exclusively on the PS3.

  • Apple Blows us Away with Smart Illuminated Bezel Details!

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Gadgets, iPad, iPhone, News, Patents, Tech. No Responses

    Smart bezel patents from Apple are old news, but Patently Apple has discovered some blow-away details. Put simply, Apple is proposing a bezel that doubles as a secondary display built around a printed segmented electroluminescence technology:

    Apple intends to use the secondary display to introduce a set of new illuminated indicators that are able morph into various controls for work and play. Illuminated gaming and productivity controls could be built into the face-side of the bezel and/or selected back-side areas of iOS devices like the iPad.

    This opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities…

    The bezel running around iOS gadgets could be made touch sensitive, allowing users to tap the illuminated control to access common features such as media playback and game controls.

    The new smart bezel may not have a traditional home button. Well, below is an example of how that could look like using Apple’s display. Apple could create a very simple yet very cool illuminated home button that only appears when your hand approaches the home button area as shown below in a generic example that shows off this technology.

    If this patent ends up used in future iOS gadgets, expect easier, more convenient handling of everyday tasks. It’s sexy, there’s a substantial wow factor involved and it enhances the user experience in a Star Trek manner.

  • THE HOBBIT Shooting At 48 Frames Per Second!

    // Gradly // blog, LOTR, Movies, News, Rants & Raves, Tech. 2 Responses

    James Cameron recently talked about how the future of filmmaking will be shooting films at a higher frame rate, which will up the visual presentation of the film. This is something he plans on doing with Avatar 2 and 3. He talked about how Peter Jackson was thinking of doing it for The Hobbit and now it looks like he’s actually going to move forward with it. It was recently discovered that the director is currently shooting The Hobbit at a higher frame rate of 48 frames per second. The industry standard has always been 24 frames per second, but it looks like that is all going to change.

    All of this come from The Hobbit‘s cinematographer Andrew Lesnie:

    – Being shot on 30 RED EPIC cameras
    – Using Zeiss Ultra Primes, Master Primes and Optimo zoom lenses (would expect no less)
    – Shooting at 47.96 frames per second
    – Using 3ality Digital rigs.

    So why 48 fps and not 60? Cameron had said that one of the reasons why Jackson didn’t choose the higher frame rate was because he didn’t want to select the wrong frame rate if the industry went to the alternative. So it looks like the industry is going to move forward with 48 fps, which mean Cameron will most likely be shooting Avatar 2 and 3 in 48 fps as well. The fact of the matter is “60 fps would be significantly more expensive to implement for the modest visual gains.”