• Can iPad Recreate The Magic of Microsoft Courier Using Taposé?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Gadgets, iPad, Microsoft, Rants & Raves No Responses

    We all remember Microsoft Courier, the highly anticipated but ultimately cancelled dual-screen tablet. Here is what GIZMODO had to say about the device:

    Courier is a real device, and we’ve heard that it’s in the “late prototype” stage of development. It’s not a tablet, it’s a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They’re connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.

    Despite the fact that the Courier video about was little more than a tech demo, it turned heads like few other announcements in tech history. Part journal, part “digital scrapbook”, the Courier concept was everything Microsoft is least known for: enigmatic, magical, startlingly intuitive, strikingly beautiful.

    Part of what made Courier so exciting was how open-ended and freeform it was: it envisioned a future in which information is gathered, scattered, circled, captioned and written by hand, then tossed between the margins with (I imagine) a sort of da-Vinci-meets-Evernote bliss. It’s no surprise that, to many of us, Courier’s “death”—its entire existence a vaporware dream—was one of the sadder days in this industry.

    But now, some measure of the “little notebook that could” is coming back. A Kickstarter project called Taposé aims to bring Courier-like functionality (including split views, drag-and-drop mapping and organizing, and the infamous “Middle Bar”) to the iPad. It’s too soon to tell exactly what features will be included, and of course, the Courier was designed for use with a pen, but the Taposé project has already received nearly $15,000 in funding, with another 19 days to go. That means the project is legitimate, it’s got capital, and it’s really happening!

    Head on over to Taposé to see more about what went into the elaborate re-imagining of what’s considered by many to be Microsoft’s best idea to date. Could our iPads recreate some of that magic?

    [via appadvice]

  • Apple Introduces New Quad-Core iMacs

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, News, Tech. 2 Responses

    The online Apple Store has just came back, new iMacs rolled out. As speculated, the latest refresh to Apple’s all-in-one desktop computer brings second generation quad-core Intel Sandy Bridge series of Core i processors, and the new Thunderbolt I/O port, along with a number of other enhancements.

    Here are the detailed specs for each base configuration:

    • 21.5-inch, 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB 7200 RPM HD, AMD Radeon HD 6750M
    • 21.5-inch, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB 7200 RPM HD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M
    • 27-inch, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB 7200 RPM HD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M
    • 27-inch, 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB 7200 RPM HD, AMD Radeon HD 6970M
    The new iMacs also all incorporate Thunderbolt ports, including two on all 27-inch models, and an SDXC card slot, in addition to one FireWire 800 port, four USB ports, a slot-loading dual-layer SuperDrive, audio in/out ports and an Ethernet connector. New iMacs are currently available in Apple’s online store.

  • Apple Store Is Down… New iMacs?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Rants & Raves, Rumors, Tech. No Responses

    Yesterday we posted that Apple will today introduce an iMac refresh. Apple is now busy updating the App Store and probably to unveil the new iMacs. Its believed the new devices will have Thunderbolt and SandyBridge processors which are extremely likely with other enhancements to the camera and maybe the possibility of an SSD drive. lets wait and see Apple.

  • New Sandy Bridge iMacs Coming Tomorrow?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Rants & Raves, Rumors, Tech. 2 Responses

    Citing sources “familiar with the matter,” a new report suggests Apple will launch its new lineup of iMacs tomorrow, May 3rd, featuring Intel’s newest family of Sandy Bridge processors, and the company’s high-speed Thunderbolt port in place of the current Mini DisplayPort.

    According to cultofmac, Apple has recently been taking steps to ensure a smooth roll-out of the new iMacs, according to the same sources, who apparently continue to provide accurate information when it comes to Apple’s plans, says the AppleInsider report. One confirmed that a “visual night” is scheduled for the early morning hours of May 3rd, “so it is highly likely that whatever new product that is going to be refreshed or introduced will be done on [that day].”

    A “visual night” is when several Apple retail employees are called in to work throughout the evening and into the early hours of the morning to make changes to store layouts, often removing old products to make room for new ones.

    Previous reports have already speculated that Apple was getting ready for the imminent launch of updated iMacs, and stock of the current generation all-in-one is slowly diminishing. The last time the iMac family was updated was some 9 months ago.