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Posts Tagged ‘source’

Apple Working On Two iPhone 5 Models?

April 30th, 2011 04:22 admin View Comments

iPhone Nano

Folks at iPhoneDownloadBlog claim that according to their source Apple is working on not one but two iPhone 5 models.

According to their source who works at an Apple part supplier, Apple may release two iPhone models: a ‘standard’ and ‘pro’ model in fall this year.

IDB reports:

Due to the extensive amount of NDAs our source had to sign to work with Apple, he could not give us very many details. He does believe that Apple is going to build two iPhone models, which he referred to as a ‘normal’ and a ‘pro’ version.

Our source says that Apple is ordering components of similar function, but some of them are the very best of what you can get right now.

While the rest of the ordered components are just the standard versions, Apple is also ordering better quality components of the same function. Our source says that both types of components wouldn’t go in one device together, which makes him believe Apple is up to something with a ‘pro’ version.

IDB also claims that their source at Apple has confirmed that the fifth generation iPhone will be launched after the “Back to School†season, suggesting that Apple may launch it in September along with the next generation iPod product line.

They’ve also published the concept of the next generation iPhone but haven’t mentioned if it was created using information provided by their source.

In our opinion, it seems highly unlikely that Apple will build ‘pro’ and ‘standard’ iPhone model, which will be differentiated based on the quality of components. We’re more inclined to believe that Apple will launch a smaller and cheaper version of the iPhone, which is not as feature rich as the regular iPhone.

We’ve heard several rumors that Apple is working on a cheaper iPhone but those rumors have also claimed the cheaper iPhone will be smaller. Back in February, Wall Street Journal who has a good track record with Apple related news had also reported that Apple is working on a cheaper and smaller iPhone, which could be priced at $200 without requiring a contract. According to the person who has seen the prototype of the cheaper iPhone, it was smaller and significantly lighter than iPhone 4 and had an edge-to-edge screen.

WSJ also reported that Apple is planning to revamp its MobileMe service and considering to make the service free. The revamped MobileMe service might allow users to store photos, videos and music online, eliminating the need for the iOS device to carry a lot of memory. It would be another good reason to rebrand it as iCloud rather than MobileMe.

As always, treat these rumors and speculations with a grain of salt.

But the possibilities of a smaller and cheaper iPhone probably dubbed iPhone nano would make things very interesting in the smartphone marketplace. What do you think?

Source: Apple Working On Two iPhone 5 Models?

Help Build the World’s First Community-Funded CPU ASIC

April 30th, 2011 04:26 admin View Comments

Open Source

An anonymous reader writes “The 32-bit OpenRISC CPU has been available for many FPGAs and was turned into a commercial ASIC in 2003. Now, the OpenCores community is asking for donations to create a new ASIC with the OpenRISC CPU, ethernet, PCI, UART, USB and other peripherals. The goal is to be able to sell these ASICs at a low price to anyone who wants to build a cheap embedded system built completely on open source. The OpenRISC currently runs on Linux 2.6.37 and has ports of gcc 4.5.1 among other things.”

Source: Help Build the World’s First Community-Funded CPU ASIC

If You’re Going To Kill It, Open Source It

April 29th, 2011 04:08 admin View Comments

Hardware Hacking

ptorrone writes “MAKE Magazine is proposing big companies like Cisco and Sony consider ‘open sourcing’ their failed or discontinued products. The list includes Sony’s AIBO and QRIO robots, IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer, Ricochet Wireless, Potenco’s Pull-Cord Generator, Palm, Microsoft’s SPOT Watch, CISCO Flip Camera and more. MAKE is also encouraging everyone to post about what products they’d like to see open sourced.”

Source: If You’re Going To Kill It, Open Source It

Yahoo Sells Delicious To YouTube Founders

April 27th, 2011 04:01 admin View Comments

Roguelikes: the Misnamed Genre

April 27th, 2011 04:47 admin View Comments

Classic Games (Games)

ZorbaTHut writes “I’ve been playing a lot of Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup lately. It’s a great example of a roguelike (and open source, too). But I can’t stop thinking that perhaps ‘roguelike’ is the wrong term for the genre. ‘Roguelikes aren’t about dungeons. They’re not about text-based graphics, or random artifacts, or permadeath. … Roguelikes are about using an unpredictable toolkit with complex interactions in order to overcome unpredictable challenges.’”

Source: Roguelikes: the Misnamed Genre

Google Pumps $6 Million Into Summer of Code 2011

April 26th, 2011 04:36 admin View Comments

Google

darthcamaro writes “Google Summer of Code 2011 is now underway. Google is providing stipends for 1,116 students to mentor with 175 open source projects. In total, Google will be investing over $6 million dollars, into Summer of Code 2011. There are a few project omissions this time around though. Neither Fedora nor Ubuntu have any students this year.”

Source: Google Pumps $6 Million Into Summer of Code 2011

Dropbox Attempts To Kill Open Source Project

April 26th, 2011 04:14 admin View Comments

Open Source

Meskarune writes “Dropbox is trying to kill the Dropship project, a useful program that allows users to import files into their accounts using hashes and bypassing the need to make files public. Dropbox sent out fake DMCA requests to all parties involved, and is banning and censoring the program.”

Source: Dropbox Attempts To Kill Open Source Project

NYC Resistor: DIY Hackers Doing Awesome Things

April 26th, 2011 04:05 admin View Comments

Hardware Hacking

HansonMB writes “Founded by a handful of friends who wanted a place to tinker with electronics and meet like-minded hackers for good, NYC Resistor. has blossomed into one of the country’s most influential hackerspaces. On any given Thursday night, their cozy, cluttered loft workshop is crawling with a diverse crowd of hardcore tinkerers and curious newcomers. Throwing some caution and many user warranties to the wind, they’re there to build, refine, break and share everything from toy robots to intricate paper sculpture to open source musical instruments.”

Source: NYC Resistor: DIY Hackers Doing Awesome Things

Social Gaming Startup Kobojo Raises $7.7 Million

April 26th, 2011 04:13 admin View Comments

Another Y Combinator Win: WuFoo Exits For $35 Million, After Raising Only $118,000

April 25th, 2011 04:52 admin View Comments

Online forms are not sexy, but every Website that wants to collect information or payments from visitors needs them. Today, SurveyMonkey acquired online form maker WuFoo to its growing bevy of tools for $35 million in cash and stock. I’ve confirmed the price with a source.

What’s really great about this story is that WuFoo is another Y Combinator win. The startup launched way back in 2006 with only $118,000 in angel money (Paul Bucheit, who is now a partner at Y Combinator, was one of the investors). The company never needed to raise money again. It added payment processing options a couple years later, and now more than $100 million in transactions have been processed through its forms.

SurveyMonkey should be able to ramp that up considerably. It will add WuFoo to other recent acquisitions ClickTools and Precision Polling. SurveyMonkey is on a buying spree after raising $100 million in debt last November. Expect more acquisitions to round out its offerings.

Source: Another Y Combinator Win: WuFoo Exits For $35 Million, After Raising Only $118,000