eawmp1
Apr 10, 09:07 AM
It's obvious. The answer is ALWAYS 42.
As for the math, the equation is ambiguous. Another set of parentheses would help.
As for the math, the equation is ambiguous. Another set of parentheses would help.
Bleubird2
Apr 25, 09:21 AM
Call me naive (or perhaps paranoid) but I've been assuming my location is being tracked since I bought my first smart phone years ago.
Yeah, I just assume if you're using a device that is connected to the internet in some way, you're being tracked in one way or another. We are constantly faced with privacy and technology issues. As someone else has already said, if you don't want to worry about privacy issues disconnect from the internet entirely http://www.theonion.com/video/google-opt-out-feature-lets-users-protect-privacy,14358/ (lol). If you want your location private, get away from smartphones entirely.
Yeah, I just assume if you're using a device that is connected to the internet in some way, you're being tracked in one way or another. We are constantly faced with privacy and technology issues. As someone else has already said, if you don't want to worry about privacy issues disconnect from the internet entirely http://www.theonion.com/video/google-opt-out-feature-lets-users-protect-privacy,14358/ (lol). If you want your location private, get away from smartphones entirely.
toddybody
Apr 25, 07:57 AM
Is that why you bought the iPad? One would think if you have an iPad, you'd already see the error in judgement that you made there. Just because Apple stuff looks cool doesn't mean it's sacrificing function - to the contrary.
If you've used an iPhone, or iPad, for any period of time you'd know that.
Other computer makers put wavy lines, green blinking lights and all sorts of other kitsch on their machines - by kitsch I mean design features that have no function, that are there only to look "good".
When has Apple made a device that didn't work very well??? You'd have to go all the way to the Newton for that. And that happened while Steve Jobs was away, not a co-incidence. Ever since the iPod, it's been hit after hit.
Well, I think the previous commenter's point has some validity. A great example of this "form over function" is the iMac. Mobile graphics (and poor ones at that), horrendous thermal management, limited stand orientation...but one damn fine looking computer:D Dont get me wrong, Apple does amazing things with their products. (Im obviously a fan :D) But I do think design is paramount to their efforts (not that function ever takes backseat, it just can be slightly lessoned on some releases). Now, IMO...they knocked both form and function out of the park with the iPad 2, iPhone 4, and 2010 MBA. Bravo
If you've used an iPhone, or iPad, for any period of time you'd know that.
Other computer makers put wavy lines, green blinking lights and all sorts of other kitsch on their machines - by kitsch I mean design features that have no function, that are there only to look "good".
When has Apple made a device that didn't work very well??? You'd have to go all the way to the Newton for that. And that happened while Steve Jobs was away, not a co-incidence. Ever since the iPod, it's been hit after hit.
Well, I think the previous commenter's point has some validity. A great example of this "form over function" is the iMac. Mobile graphics (and poor ones at that), horrendous thermal management, limited stand orientation...but one damn fine looking computer:D Dont get me wrong, Apple does amazing things with their products. (Im obviously a fan :D) But I do think design is paramount to their efforts (not that function ever takes backseat, it just can be slightly lessoned on some releases). Now, IMO...they knocked both form and function out of the park with the iPad 2, iPhone 4, and 2010 MBA. Bravo
damienvfx
Sep 15, 07:56 PM
I sure hope so in the form of a 1GB stick wiht the other slot empty. :cool:
I just went to configure one (makes me happy while I'm waiting) and 1 GIG ram stick was what came with the laptop as the standard option.
I just went to configure one (makes me happy while I'm waiting) and 1 GIG ram stick was what came with the laptop as the standard option.
yellowballoon
Mar 29, 12:29 PM
Windows Live Skydrive is 25 GB for free.
Right and Window's Phone automatic uploads to Sky Drive, free of charge. What does iOS have?
Right and Window's Phone automatic uploads to Sky Drive, free of charge. What does iOS have?
Flowbee
Sep 11, 12:04 AM
I would love a video streaming device. I use my airport express almost every day for streaming iTunes to my stereo, I'd love to be able to do the same with movies.
I have to believe that video quality for iMovie Store movies will be much improved over the current video offerings. Hopefully TV shows will get the same treatment.
Lastly, let me just throw my favorite (long-shot) rumor into the mix... Mac Pro Cube!!
I have to believe that video quality for iMovie Store movies will be much improved over the current video offerings. Hopefully TV shows will get the same treatment.
Lastly, let me just throw my favorite (long-shot) rumor into the mix... Mac Pro Cube!!
islanders
Jul 22, 10:34 AM
I could see Apple waiting a while (at least through the back to school season) while the prices on the Yonah processors plummet, and Apple's laptop profit margin skyrockets to even higher levels. I'm guessing Merom's in the MBP and iMac in September (along with the new nano), just in time for the holiday shopping season.
The other side of August does sound reasonable enough to me. Although they may have one MBP with the new chip before then.
The other side of August does sound reasonable enough to me. Although they may have one MBP with the new chip before then.
mduser63
Nov 26, 10:32 AM
If I could just have a Mac tablet that I could type and write notes on for class, I'd be in heaven :)
Yeah, I think a tablet would be useful for taking notes in class, and would consider buying one if Apple released one. I've seen other students taking notes on Tablet PCs in class and it seems like it works well. However, I'm not sure that there's a huge market outside of students and some other narrow markets. Of course Apple has entered markets where others have been less than extremely successful and done well before, so who knows.
Yeah, I think a tablet would be useful for taking notes in class, and would consider buying one if Apple released one. I've seen other students taking notes on Tablet PCs in class and it seems like it works well. However, I'm not sure that there's a huge market outside of students and some other narrow markets. Of course Apple has entered markets where others have been less than extremely successful and done well before, so who knows.
cgmpowers
Aug 2, 11:23 AM
Its been my experience that after the Expo there's always something released about a month or so AFTER the expo.
In addition to that, isn't there a Paris thing in September or something in September?? I remember seeing September on a calendar somewhere that related to Apple...
Christopher Powers
In addition to that, isn't there a Paris thing in September or something in September?? I remember seeing September on a calendar somewhere that related to Apple...
Christopher Powers
Furrybeagle
Apr 24, 06:34 PM
I�m interested in what Apple will do with the 15� MBP. If Apple doubled the resolution of the 1440x900 display, then going from a 1680x1050 MBP to this new 2880x1800 MBP means an increase in DPI but a decrease in viewable information.
CalBoy
May 5, 02:27 PM
Sorry it took so long to respond to this; I assure you it took only a second to Google (this is just the first result I found):
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/pays-off.html
All of that is about the private sector switching to save money on their bottom line, something which I already mentioned should happen (and will without intervention).
The question is if the government mandated the metric system for EVERYTHING, from speed limits on the roads to the measurements on a box of Betty Crocker brownies. Many of these things won't actually lead to any increased economic efficiency because certain products can only be produced locally (say weather reports) and consumed locally. The cost of these industries switching would be quite expensive with no real economic gain because the products and services can't be exported or imported.
Is that wink a small admission of how silly your system really is? :) Sure, the math was simple, but how meaningful are all these crazy fractions? If I actually had to try and picture what these fractions represent, I'd want to convert the denominator into a multiple of 10 first in order to try and picture it. I might note that twice 48 is roughly 100, so I know we're dealing with a bit over 26%. Other fractions could prove more difficult. With the metric system, you never have to do this. You're always dealing with base-10, which is something we all understand and can picture, without having to memorise particular fractions and what they represent.
No the wink was just to say that 1) I would use a calculator, and 2) even if I couldn't, multiplying fractions is not hard at all.
Well, we could certainly argue that international communication would be a LOT simpler if there was only one language � and it would be! However, the reality is, we have a world with not only a diversity of language, but a diversity of culture, and the two are intricately linked. That makes the world a very interesting place, and being able to speak multiple languages would be a wonderful skill to have when travelling and engaging in other cultures. People are generally proud of their heritage, culture and language, and there aren't too many people suggesting the world should lose all of that richness in the interest of conformity. (Well, there are such people, but I think we can agree they're generally pretty scary.)
This is off topic, but language is but one part of culture. Customs, celebrations, and even measures, are all marks of a culture. In the process of colonization and free trade, we've actively destroyed many languages, customs, celebrations, and measures. I think we typically don't consider the loss of a measurement system to be too catastrophic because of the many conveniences that can be had from uniformity. But the same is true for language as well. I think the real reason we tend to gloss over measures is because they are typically easier to learn than a new language. Anthropologically speaking, however, they are very valuable in exploring a culture.
What is different about the US that it can't do likewise? I honestly find it perplexing. Be honest now� Is it because the French invented it?
Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that the US is one of the few countries that had a great deal of popular sovereignty determine the outcome of whether or not we should switch to the metric system. Most other countries enacted policy through a quiet parliamentary action that was later carried out by agencies or at a time when most people weren't active in politics. Still others had theirs done at the point of a gun.
In the US there are a lot of veto points in the legislative process, making any significant change hard to do. Americans also tend not to have a great deal of respect for the sciences (scientific literacy is appallingly low) so it makes it a tougher pitch to the everyday person. Then there's also the issue that to most it's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist; why should they care about a measurement system when the one they are using right now is working for them?
You're not stepping out onto the moon this time. Just about every other country on the planet (and there are quite a few of them!) have gone before you, and it worked out just fine. Sure, it takes some time, but not as long as you might like to imagine. Let me come back to my own experience� I was born in the 70s, around the time Australia was just starting to transition to the metric system. The older folk may well have had a difficult time with it, but if so I was blissfully unaware of it. I came to learn what an inch was, since most rulers had inches on one side and mm/cm on the other, and people still, to this day, casually talk about their height in feet and the weight of newborn babies in pounds. (Yes, some old habits die hard.) But these sort of things are the exceptions. The transition to metric was so efficient, I, as a first generation growing up with it, didn't even notice there was a transition happening.
Seriously, you should be looking to Australia and other countries with successful transitions and learning from them, instead of just perpetuating all these fanciful stories of how terrible it's going to be to change.
The issue goes beyond just the prescribed time period to shift, however. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of infrastructure concerns. Not to mention that Australia in the 1970s was 13 million people, or about 24 times smaller than the current US population. The only other countries that were on this scale were India and China when they transitioned, and both had much less infrastructure and an already illiterate population that could be trained from the ground up.
Any realistic transition for the US would take decades.
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/pays-off.html
All of that is about the private sector switching to save money on their bottom line, something which I already mentioned should happen (and will without intervention).
The question is if the government mandated the metric system for EVERYTHING, from speed limits on the roads to the measurements on a box of Betty Crocker brownies. Many of these things won't actually lead to any increased economic efficiency because certain products can only be produced locally (say weather reports) and consumed locally. The cost of these industries switching would be quite expensive with no real economic gain because the products and services can't be exported or imported.
Is that wink a small admission of how silly your system really is? :) Sure, the math was simple, but how meaningful are all these crazy fractions? If I actually had to try and picture what these fractions represent, I'd want to convert the denominator into a multiple of 10 first in order to try and picture it. I might note that twice 48 is roughly 100, so I know we're dealing with a bit over 26%. Other fractions could prove more difficult. With the metric system, you never have to do this. You're always dealing with base-10, which is something we all understand and can picture, without having to memorise particular fractions and what they represent.
No the wink was just to say that 1) I would use a calculator, and 2) even if I couldn't, multiplying fractions is not hard at all.
Well, we could certainly argue that international communication would be a LOT simpler if there was only one language � and it would be! However, the reality is, we have a world with not only a diversity of language, but a diversity of culture, and the two are intricately linked. That makes the world a very interesting place, and being able to speak multiple languages would be a wonderful skill to have when travelling and engaging in other cultures. People are generally proud of their heritage, culture and language, and there aren't too many people suggesting the world should lose all of that richness in the interest of conformity. (Well, there are such people, but I think we can agree they're generally pretty scary.)
This is off topic, but language is but one part of culture. Customs, celebrations, and even measures, are all marks of a culture. In the process of colonization and free trade, we've actively destroyed many languages, customs, celebrations, and measures. I think we typically don't consider the loss of a measurement system to be too catastrophic because of the many conveniences that can be had from uniformity. But the same is true for language as well. I think the real reason we tend to gloss over measures is because they are typically easier to learn than a new language. Anthropologically speaking, however, they are very valuable in exploring a culture.
What is different about the US that it can't do likewise? I honestly find it perplexing. Be honest now� Is it because the French invented it?
Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that the US is one of the few countries that had a great deal of popular sovereignty determine the outcome of whether or not we should switch to the metric system. Most other countries enacted policy through a quiet parliamentary action that was later carried out by agencies or at a time when most people weren't active in politics. Still others had theirs done at the point of a gun.
In the US there are a lot of veto points in the legislative process, making any significant change hard to do. Americans also tend not to have a great deal of respect for the sciences (scientific literacy is appallingly low) so it makes it a tougher pitch to the everyday person. Then there's also the issue that to most it's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist; why should they care about a measurement system when the one they are using right now is working for them?
You're not stepping out onto the moon this time. Just about every other country on the planet (and there are quite a few of them!) have gone before you, and it worked out just fine. Sure, it takes some time, but not as long as you might like to imagine. Let me come back to my own experience� I was born in the 70s, around the time Australia was just starting to transition to the metric system. The older folk may well have had a difficult time with it, but if so I was blissfully unaware of it. I came to learn what an inch was, since most rulers had inches on one side and mm/cm on the other, and people still, to this day, casually talk about their height in feet and the weight of newborn babies in pounds. (Yes, some old habits die hard.) But these sort of things are the exceptions. The transition to metric was so efficient, I, as a first generation growing up with it, didn't even notice there was a transition happening.
Seriously, you should be looking to Australia and other countries with successful transitions and learning from them, instead of just perpetuating all these fanciful stories of how terrible it's going to be to change.
The issue goes beyond just the prescribed time period to shift, however. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of infrastructure concerns. Not to mention that Australia in the 1970s was 13 million people, or about 24 times smaller than the current US population. The only other countries that were on this scale were India and China when they transitioned, and both had much less infrastructure and an already illiterate population that could be trained from the ground up.
Any realistic transition for the US would take decades.
LordTyroxx
Apr 5, 03:38 PM
I mean a car from 20 years ago runs fine if you haven't driven any other car. The internet from 10 years ago would be fine if you had never experienced todays broadband. Hell life as a virgin would be cool if you didn't know what sex was.
When you say your phone is far from unusable, its like a virgin saying life without sex is awesome.
Well Cydia is like being a virgin then having sex with a whore then getting STDs that constantly slow down your OS. It might be good in the short term, but you'll have to work hard to keep the swelling down with various lotions and creams. But unlike STDs, you can revert to a clean version of the OS anytime you want. :P
When you say your phone is far from unusable, its like a virgin saying life without sex is awesome.
Well Cydia is like being a virgin then having sex with a whore then getting STDs that constantly slow down your OS. It might be good in the short term, but you'll have to work hard to keep the swelling down with various lotions and creams. But unlike STDs, you can revert to a clean version of the OS anytime you want. :P
AppleAmerican
Mar 29, 04:38 PM
Most people here are missing the big picture. I'm pretty old and have witnessed the changes in the tech sector. Back in '01 a lot of laptops were made or at least assembled in the USA, and they were quality products, but with cheap foreign labor most global companies could not resist the couple of percent they could add to their profit margins by moving overseas. The company I worked for made laptops for a major name, but they closed the plant here to save between 3.00 and 6.00 dollars per unit, a very small percentage of the overall value. A company like Apple could easily, make and assemble products here, the profit margin on an iPhone is around 60%, but if they did that then there profit margin would only be 50%, corporate and political greed. There are companies here, that still compete, an example, American Apparel (http://americanapparel.net/), they manufacture clothing here competitively in a huge operation in California with good paying jobs and great quality. There are many others, it is all about balancing automation with traditional production, but it's impossible for anyone to compete with slave wages from companies like Foxconn.
rickdollar
Mar 26, 11:22 PM
With the increased competition of Android I doubt Apple will be dragging their feet when it comes to moving forward with iOS. The new Web OS will be out this summer, too.
Guess we'll see soon enough.
Guess we'll see soon enough.
ghostlyorb
Mar 27, 09:10 AM
I just forked over 750 dollars for an ipad 2 and ipad 3 is coming out? Ouch!!! I already want it.
Thats kinda sad, man.
Thats kinda sad, man.
GregA
Jul 30, 07:45 AM
Unfortunately, I'm pulled back into thinking, "What could Apple do with phones that hasn't already been done." Small, light, photos, video, internet, music, games, personal organization? Most of this is pretty well covered with the current offerings. So what is going to be the selling point here? Is it going to be expensive or affordable? Is it going to be full-featured or bare bones?
Very good questions.
- Apple could release a stylish simple phone with a simple interface, and the capability of an iPod shuffle built in. There would really be nothing special about such a phone - at most they might give it 3G data connections so someone with a MacBook could use it to get on the net.
- They could certainly be the first provider to make a phone that can ONLY be used handsfree (via the headphones).
- They could leverage their airport base stations to release a VoIP phone that works at home, work, and wireless hotspots.
- The obvious untapped area is integration of VoIP, 3G, & video - but all the big companies are looking at that. The other thing that most mobile companies are having trouble with is the killer app - so many phones have data connectivity, and people just don't know what to do with it. If Apple can make a compelling product there the phone companies will want to sell it.
ps. Apple might choose to make a phone with no music capability... just to delineate the product. That gives people something to understand... and then they can release the combo products.
Very good questions.
- Apple could release a stylish simple phone with a simple interface, and the capability of an iPod shuffle built in. There would really be nothing special about such a phone - at most they might give it 3G data connections so someone with a MacBook could use it to get on the net.
- They could certainly be the first provider to make a phone that can ONLY be used handsfree (via the headphones).
- They could leverage their airport base stations to release a VoIP phone that works at home, work, and wireless hotspots.
- The obvious untapped area is integration of VoIP, 3G, & video - but all the big companies are looking at that. The other thing that most mobile companies are having trouble with is the killer app - so many phones have data connectivity, and people just don't know what to do with it. If Apple can make a compelling product there the phone companies will want to sell it.
ps. Apple might choose to make a phone with no music capability... just to delineate the product. That gives people something to understand... and then they can release the combo products.
Vulpinemac
Apr 25, 11:31 AM
"Allegations"?
People claim the iPhone saves cell location data on the phone, and also saves this file during iTunes backups. This is TRUE, and can be verified by reading your OWN iPhone database, which shows where YOUR phone has been. That would be impossible if it didn't save that data.
SOME people (not most!) also claim that the data is sent to Apple, rather than just kept on the device. THIS, however, is unproven and may well be false.
As it stands, though, I don't see how "The info circulating around is false." is not a lie. It's very easy to verify that "the info" that this data is indeed saved is true.
While the data is being saved may be true, the info that Apple is tracking its users is false, and this is what is being spread so widely in the news. As such, the statement that "The info circulating around is false" is subsequently true.
People claim the iPhone saves cell location data on the phone, and also saves this file during iTunes backups. This is TRUE, and can be verified by reading your OWN iPhone database, which shows where YOUR phone has been. That would be impossible if it didn't save that data.
SOME people (not most!) also claim that the data is sent to Apple, rather than just kept on the device. THIS, however, is unproven and may well be false.
As it stands, though, I don't see how "The info circulating around is false." is not a lie. It's very easy to verify that "the info" that this data is indeed saved is true.
While the data is being saved may be true, the info that Apple is tracking its users is false, and this is what is being spread so widely in the news. As such, the statement that "The info circulating around is false" is subsequently true.
JAT
Mar 29, 04:13 PM
Secondly, the term "3rd world" and "1st world" is offensive. The proper term is developing and developed world.
Yawn. In 5 years, those terms will be "offensive". Then we'll have to call them "mature" and "growing". Then, 20 years later that will be offensive, and we'll have to call them "service oriented" and "industry oriented". Then, 20 years later that will be offensive, and we'll have to call them "1st world" and "3rd world" again. Get off your PC high horse and deal with life straight on instead of hiding behind semantics.
*note: PC does not always refer to computers.
Yawn. In 5 years, those terms will be "offensive". Then we'll have to call them "mature" and "growing". Then, 20 years later that will be offensive, and we'll have to call them "service oriented" and "industry oriented". Then, 20 years later that will be offensive, and we'll have to call them "1st world" and "3rd world" again. Get off your PC high horse and deal with life straight on instead of hiding behind semantics.
*note: PC does not always refer to computers.
spicyapple
Aug 7, 03:30 PM
� Weak graphics card standard (GeForce 7300, ugh)
Is the GeForce 7300 better than the GeForce 6800 that was the high-end option with the PowerMac when Steve introduced the 30" Cinema Display?
If so, I'm really behind on the times. :o
Is the GeForce 7300 better than the GeForce 6800 that was the high-end option with the PowerMac when Steve introduced the 30" Cinema Display?
If so, I'm really behind on the times. :o
marvel2
Nov 12, 10:01 PM
After hearing that they will delay shipping of the TomTom kit until December 2nd, I decided to give my local MacStore a call (not Apple Store). It was only $99.95 with no sales tax in Oregon. $10 more than Bottom Line Technologies, but I have the TomTom kit in my hands right now :)
toddybody
Apr 5, 01:00 PM
Only thing more shaky than a JB iPhone is a POS Scion. They deserve each other.
toddybody
Apr 21, 06:37 PM
Totally awesome...now enable windows based (6970) graphics cards and were in business!
bedifferent
May 7, 12:05 PM
The best option is to cover both ends.
Free
Syncing
Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks
Small iDisk
Find my iDevice
Web Gallery
Web Page
Paid
iTunes Cloud (Lala music streaming)
More Sync options
Larger iDisk Pro (Dropbox like speed)
Larger Web space and Gallery
Online Backup
iWork.com Pro (Collaboration and editing)
I'm ready to go Google Free. I just need to know Mobileme is worth investing in more.
Exactly my thoughts, aside from the free web page/site. Over the years I've grown to appreciate the MobileMe/.Mac service as it offers a lot for $99/year, much more than most realize or utilize. Offering a "lite/free" version would attract more iPhone/iPad owners and would entice more to purchase the full version.
Free
Syncing
Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks
Small iDisk
Find my iDevice
Web Gallery
Web Page
Paid
iTunes Cloud (Lala music streaming)
More Sync options
Larger iDisk Pro (Dropbox like speed)
Larger Web space and Gallery
Online Backup
iWork.com Pro (Collaboration and editing)
I'm ready to go Google Free. I just need to know Mobileme is worth investing in more.
Exactly my thoughts, aside from the free web page/site. Over the years I've grown to appreciate the MobileMe/.Mac service as it offers a lot for $99/year, much more than most realize or utilize. Offering a "lite/free" version would attract more iPhone/iPad owners and would entice more to purchase the full version.
Elijahg
Apr 23, 06:45 PM
Instead of pixel based images that are just bigger, why not simply ship vector based icons/wallpapers ?
KDE supported SVG as a format for wallpapers and icons something like 10 years ago... That way, it doesn't matter what the display resolution is, the icon always looks sharp and non-pixelated.
I'd rather Apple work on making SVG the standard graphics format for graphics ressources than just bumping up the pixel count (and the file size!).
Heck, if they don't like SVG (which is just a bunch of XML), they could go with one of the other vector based image formats or come up with one of their own.
Translating a photo to a vector based format would be completely pointless and would end up massive. Take for example the Snow Leopard Prowl JPEG. It's 1.2MB, and converting to BMP or TIFF (both describe each pixel individually, i.e. lossless) makes it 12mb, 10 times the size. Converting it to the much less efficient SVG, makes it insanely massive; 225mb or 187.5 times bigger to be exact.
Computer generated imagery can be converted to a vector format more efficiently, as long as the source is available. The computer knows that for example, there is a gradient starting at X,Y and ending at X,Y with colour RGB at the start, and colour RGB at the end. Thus eliminating the need to keep detail about each pixel individually. This is great for things such as icons and certain web images, but for images with lots of detail, it quickly becomes much less efficient than even the highest quality JPEG. For real photos, it's pointless to vectorize. You'd just end up pixellating the image when scaled over it's original size anyway. So in other words, it's unlikely we'll see vector graphics for most icons and most certainly not for desktop backgrounds.
I agree with others about Apple needing to beef up the GPUs if they want retina displays in their Macs. They always seem to put last-generation cards into them... I'm sure it wouldn't keep them away from iOS development for [i]too[/] long to add the latest, even as BTO. Valve has really helped gaming on the Mac, bringing great new releases like Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2 at the same time as Windows. At least it seems Apple have had a kick up their ass from Valve pointing out the inefficiencies in OpenGL. Maybe that's what's made them hire a few gaming-type developers...? C'mon Apple!
KDE supported SVG as a format for wallpapers and icons something like 10 years ago... That way, it doesn't matter what the display resolution is, the icon always looks sharp and non-pixelated.
I'd rather Apple work on making SVG the standard graphics format for graphics ressources than just bumping up the pixel count (and the file size!).
Heck, if they don't like SVG (which is just a bunch of XML), they could go with one of the other vector based image formats or come up with one of their own.
Translating a photo to a vector based format would be completely pointless and would end up massive. Take for example the Snow Leopard Prowl JPEG. It's 1.2MB, and converting to BMP or TIFF (both describe each pixel individually, i.e. lossless) makes it 12mb, 10 times the size. Converting it to the much less efficient SVG, makes it insanely massive; 225mb or 187.5 times bigger to be exact.
Computer generated imagery can be converted to a vector format more efficiently, as long as the source is available. The computer knows that for example, there is a gradient starting at X,Y and ending at X,Y with colour RGB at the start, and colour RGB at the end. Thus eliminating the need to keep detail about each pixel individually. This is great for things such as icons and certain web images, but for images with lots of detail, it quickly becomes much less efficient than even the highest quality JPEG. For real photos, it's pointless to vectorize. You'd just end up pixellating the image when scaled over it's original size anyway. So in other words, it's unlikely we'll see vector graphics for most icons and most certainly not for desktop backgrounds.
I agree with others about Apple needing to beef up the GPUs if they want retina displays in their Macs. They always seem to put last-generation cards into them... I'm sure it wouldn't keep them away from iOS development for [i]too[/] long to add the latest, even as BTO. Valve has really helped gaming on the Mac, bringing great new releases like Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2 at the same time as Windows. At least it seems Apple have had a kick up their ass from Valve pointing out the inefficiencies in OpenGL. Maybe that's what's made them hire a few gaming-type developers...? C'mon Apple!
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