Guest post by Mike Lemaire.

Two weeks ago, Apple announced its plans to launch a new version of its iBooks app, one that would carry interactive textbooks aimed at school students. The most surprising part of the announcement may have been why it took so long for this to get launched in the first place.

On the surface, iTextbooks, which will only be available on the iPad, seem like the logical next step in the disruptive innovation of traditional education. The company has said it will be selling these books for just around $15 – a fraction of the cost of the traditional textbook to students – and iBooks will have plenty of interactive features, including streaming video, designed to make learning more fun and interesting. These changes seem like no-brainers, and they would be, if it weren’t for a few lingering questions.

Firstly, iBooks is only available to those who own an iPad, which seems to place the thousands of students who can’t afford to pay $500 for the iPad at a severe disadvantage. Also, textbooks are required to go through a rigorous state certification process before they are approved for school use, and it remains to be seen how Apple will be able to circumvent and/or cope with this process when it is releasing its books.

These questions are valid, and definitive answers probably won’t come until schools and students start buying into the viability of interactive textbooks, but the gauntlet to the textbook industry has been thrown down. Textbooks are heavy, expensive, and can be a burden to read, but they are also essential learning tools. There is plenty of coursework and learning that can be completed using information readily available via the Internet. But when a teacher is using a specific textbook to craft their tests and quizzes, there is no replacement for having the actual textbook.

This is why the question over iBooks isn’t about whether or not it will ever effectively disrupt a billion-dollar industry, but when it will effectively disrupt that industry. For now, iPads remain an expensive luxury item that is available only to the privileged few. But eventually they will become common amongst students, and students will make the easy decision to buy their cheaper textbooks through iTunes. The state certification process is rigorous, but it is in place to protect the students. And as long as Apple is serious about making this useful for students, then even the most stubborn state departments of education will recognize their value and approve the ones that are worthwhile.

Technology never stops evolving, so it seems silly not to try and apply the most recent technology to institutions – like education – where that technology can be most useful.

This was a guest post by Mike Lemaire who is a content editor and writer who runs a blog on online schooling. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, he can be reached at mike@onlineschools.com, you can follow him on Twitter as well.

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1. Important Companies Bought by Google – More than $21.4 Billion Invested

Google is, without a doubt, the master of the internet and internet services, putting at your disposal everything from search engine, mail to video service. But how did Google, a concept started by 2 students in a garage come to be the world’s number 1 search engine and much more than that? The answer is simple, Google risked it all and bought all the companies that had the potential to improve Google services, or could have become a threat to the company. Starting from February 12, 2001, when Google bought Deja News, later to be known as Google Groups and up until January 10, 2012, when Google made its 109th acquisition.

By far, the biggest investment Google has ever made is Motorola Mobility, for which Google payed a staggering $12.5 billion. A big gamble, but if we know anything about Google, it’s that it can transform almost anything into a success. Therefore, this incredible acquisition will only pave and make a polished road for Android’s future. Presenting you the entire list of acquisitions made by Google would be equally boring for us and for our readers, that’s why we’ve selected the most notable ones. If you want to see just how big Google really is, do check out this list.

Google Bought Search Engines to Make iGoogle, Bringing Personalized Searches

When researching for this article, I found it curious to see that the second purchase made by Google was Outride, also, a search engine at that time. Google used their know-how to bring us iGoogle, the personalized search, the kind of problem we’re having now, with sometimes, too personalized searches.  Two years after buying Outride, Google bought Kaltix, a web search engine made to personalize web searches by designers Taher Haveliwala Glen Jeh and Sepandar Kamva. It was said at that time that Kaltix’s personalized search could have been a real threat to Google’s system.

Apparently, the rumors had a solid basis and the company was bought for an undisclosed amount. I understand Google’s management, in those times of tech pioneers, it would have been a real threat to let survive another company that could threaten your magical product. The “hunt” for search engines didn’t stop here. Google bought Orion in 2006 and with that finally strengthened their search engine system.

Some of the most important purchases that Google made in the past contributed to what we know today as Google. They did pay a lot of money to kill competition and to ensure that only they have the best product available. These are but a few of Google’s purchases, but they represent the advancement of Google and the backbones of most of Google’s services we know today.

• April 2003 – Google buys Applied Semantics, this would be the base for AdSense and AdWords
• October 2003 – The Blogging service Genius Labs changes ownership, in favor of Google. It will later become Blogger
• July 13, 2004 – Picasa is bought by the giant and continues with the same name
• August 17, 2005 – Google purchases Android, one of the best mobile operating systems in the world
• March 9, 2006 – Upstartle is the newest addition to the growing Google family, this will later be known as Google Docs
• October 9, 2006 – Google hits the jackpot, buying YouTube, today, the world’s number 1 video sharing platform
• April 13, 2007 - The biggest investment at the time, DoubleClick, to further strenghten AdSense and AdWords
• February 17, 2010 – reMail is bought by Google and later transformed into Gmail
• August 15, 2011 – Motorola Mobility is acquired for an incredible 12.5 Billion dollars amount

2. Vital Acquisitions Made by Apple – More than $2.1 Billion so far

Google’s biggest competitor in the world of IT, mainly in the OS and smartphone market is Apple. Apple is the authority when it comes to portable media, such as music. Although, they did not start in the music player business, Apple had something that not many IT companies had: vision. They only needed an idea, they went with it and they made an instant success out of it.

Many would say that Steve Jobs was the driving force behind Apple, and maybe they are right, but even so, Apple has overcome all of its setbacks, and since it was founded in 1976, it has shown us that technology can be beautiful, functional and simple. Just like Google, Apple had to merge with other, smaller companies to keep up with the rise in technology, although, the list isn’t as long as Google’s, it still illustrates Apple’s rise and struggle to keep up with the advances in technology.

From March 2, 1988 up until February 7, 1997 Apple made some key acquisitions that would help them “make a name for themselves” (not the best choice of words, since Apple had already made a name by 1997, but still). These purchases made possible the release of the Mac OS X. Other important purchases that made Apple what we know today are:

• February 7, 1997 – Apple buys its “own company” from Steve Jobs, NeXT
• November 3, 1999 – Raycer Graphics, a Computer graphic chip design used later by Apple for its Macs, iPhones and other devices.
• April 11, 2000 – Astarte-DVD Authoring Software, technology used by Apple to develop iDVD
• March 2005 – Apple buys Schemasoft, a software company that would help Apple develop iWork
• April 2005 – FingerWorks is added to Apple’s files, this purchase is one of the most prominent Apple has ever made. This gesture recognition company paved the way to the Apple multitouch iOS.
• April 24, 2008 and April 27, 2010 – Apple bought companies that developed microprocessors (P.A. Semi and Intrinsity), the base for the A4 and A5 microprocessors.
• December 6 2009 - Apples buys Lala.com to provide the needed skeleton for iCloud and iTunes Match
• April 27, 2010 – Siri, this does not need any introduction, Apple buys the company that developed this software and integrated it beautifully
• December 20, 2011 – Apple decided to buy the flash memory company from Israel Anobit, a good move in my opinion, and a step forward for the Apple smartphones.

These are just a few of Apple’s purchases over the years. These purchases keep a record of Apple’s and we can see all the moves they made to make it on top. We can clearly see that Apple’s no match to Google when it comes to mergers and acquisitions but maybe they don’t need so many mergers to be made. What the future brings, we can only guess.

3. Notable Companies/Products Acquired by Facebook, More Than $230 Million

The new kid on the block and the main competitor for Google in the online segment is Facebook. This site is the brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg, and in no time, it has become the number 1 social network in the world. But to maintain its position as the leader of the pack when it comes to social networks, Facebook must come with new and interesting things. The battle against Google+ is a tough one. The first purchase for Facebook was, of course, its name, on August 23, 2005, when it changed from thefacebook.com to facebook.com.

Obviously, Facebook didn’t have to invest that much money as Google and Apple did, since they are operating as a single website and no matter how popular it is, there isn’t too much one can do to improve it besides hiring brilliant minds and being better than the competition. The company bought some more services and companies since then:

• July 19, 2007 – Facebook buys Parakey, the building block for Facebook Mobile
• August 10, 2009 - Facebook acquires FriendFeed and gets onboard some talented engineers
• November 15, 2010 – Facebook buys FB.com domain, for a staggering $8.5 mil
• March 20, 2011 - The most recent and important buy, Snaptu, the mobile app developer company

Facebook has made some more purchases, that allowed it to develop messenger, groups and photos. Companies such as Rel8tion, Beluga, DayTum, Mail Rank etc. All of these had a crucial role in the development of Facebook and the fight to keep Facebook on top. All of them have worked hard to make it to the top and keep their well earned positions. They purchased companies for millions to improve their services and to keep their users happy. The fight is far from over, who knows what services they will provide in the future, we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Top 7 Interesting Subjects at MWC 2012

1. Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality, or AR, is the cutting edge of mobile technology at the moment. It seems everyone wants a piece of this cake, and so, if you are interested in AR, at MWC you will have plenty of opportunities to attend seminars about AR. This technology, if developed, would change the way we see and perceive the world, literally! Imagine geo-tagging, but better, used in everyday life. You take a picture of a restaurant and you’re getting information about prices, menu or reviews. Looking through your camera and seeing information about everything around you. And the uses do not stop here. The development of AR technology will be one of the greatest advances in technology we have seen in the last years. There are no less than 5 seminars on AR Monday on the 27th February, so if you are interested in this field, at MWC is the place to get up to speed.

Related Read: 30 Stunning Augmented Reality Apps for Android

2. LTE

This technology, if perfected, will bring us staggering download and upload speeds for mobile devices. It’s said that LTE could give us up to 300 Mbps download speeds and 100 Mbps for upload. These speeds will usher in a new era in mobile technology and our view of mobile. Waiting for a website to load, or a video on YouTube will be a thing of the past. But even more, almost real time information over the internet will be available to you. This will come in handy with the AR technology we’ve talked about earlier (information in real time). If this technology will be refined, all we would have to do is make the whole world a Wi-Fi hot spot. If this is what you are after, then be sure to join the 4 seminars about LTE on Tuesday, February 28.

3. Mobile Cloud and Security

Cloud computing is said to be the future of the web. And since more and more technologies are migrating towards cloud storage, it’s not that difficult to understand the risk involved, but also the benefits. First of all, you have your personal information safely locked away on a server, where you can access anytime and from anywhere. This migration is not welcomed as well as developers expected. It’s more like the introduction of banks, when people where not convinced their money was safe. In a sense, this is exactly that.

But let’s think of the benefits: less storage space on your computer, smartphone or tablet and complete access to all your files and security beyond what you can provide at home. On the other hand, is the server goes offline or is compromised, you cannot access your files or even lose them. Only time will tell is cloud computing will pick up in the future, but my bet is yes. As for security, this refers more to mobile security, which, until now hasn’t been a problem. But with mobile phones getting smarter and smarter, new solutions must be found.

4. Future of Mobile Apps

It’s a known fact that apps have come a long way in the last few years. Back in 2007, the market for mobile apps was next to nonexistent. However, nowadays apps are at the center of the mobile boom and developers find it difficult to satisfy the consumers demand for apps on different platforms. In this seminar, developers will discuss the importance of HTML5 for native platforms, as well. Other issues that will be addressed are the discovery of apps, or apps for TVs and cars. With the rise of the Android Market and more and more Android handsets, it’s obvious the mobile apps will become a huge market. Just like the good old saying “there’s an app for that!”.

5. NFC

NFC stands for Near Field Communication. This tech know-how uses RFID (Radio Frequency Communication) chips that enable devices to communicate between them. This technological breakthrough has already been implemented in Germany, Austria or China to provide a quick way for people to pay for public transportation. If perfected and implemented, this technology has the potential to make mobile devices even more “mobile”. NFC headsets and electronic wallets are just the beginning, this technology could revolutionize bluetooth technology and eliminate the need to pair devices. Yes, we know, what could really propel the use of NFC would be a NFC-enabled iPhone.

6. Mobile Advertising

One of the most powerful weapons to emerge in the last few years in advertising is the use of mobile technology to transmit information or adverts. Developers are looking towards mobile advertising as their new medium. There are two approaches when dealing with mobile advertising: the first one sees the mobile market as a separate, independent channel for advertising, the other approach sees the mobile market as a part of the marketing, but nevertheless, a crucial and central part of marketing. In either way, mobile marketing is here to stay, and it consists a powerful tool in any company’s arsenal. And who else than Google to show how profitable mobile advertising could be, as the company is expected to cash in more than $4 billion dollars this year.

7. Mobile Innovation

This is probably the center piece of MWC. At mobile innovation you will have the pleasure of listening for 90 minutes to those who have made mobile technology what it is today, and what it could become in the next 10 years. Concepts, developments and cutting edge technology will have a big impact on how we perceive mobile technology. The future looks better than ever: a world more connected, where information flows at LTE speeds, where we interact with our devices like we have never imagined.

These are just a few examples of what is in stored for those who attend the Mobile World Congress. There will be discussions and presentations of lots of gadgets, designs and topics to discussed. So keep an eye out for news about MWC.

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Cloud backup services are designed to protect companies from data loss due to unforeseen events such as natural disasters, server or hardware failures, as well as human errors. Cloud based backups can be accessed from any location with an Internet connection and a web browser. Files may be stored online and shared securely with encryption technology. Cloud backup services are often more affordable and convenient for companies that have limited budgets, and may want to divert some of their internal IT costs associated with keeping tape based backups on-site to more prominent aspects of their operations.

Below is a rundown of some of this year’s most prominent and effective cloud backed backup options available to small and large sized business to help with their backup needs.

Box.net

Box.net is an online storage company that easily integrates with Gmail, picnick, Scribd and Zoho. Box.net is designed to work as a virtual office in addition to a document storage protocol. The files and folders may also be shared with collaborators online. This practice is easier and more secure than simply emailing documents.

Box.net offers free accounts to businesses and individuals to store and share documents or spreadsheets. A paid account provides consumers with 5 GB of storage. If the account malfunctions, 24 hour phone support is available.

DropBox

This online storage service, known as DropBox, integrates with the desktop to offer users quality service. This is one of the few programs that required a physical download onto the user’s machine. DropBox synchronizes the programs on the computer with the files in DropBox. Each revision of a file is stored for easy retrieval and sharing with colleagues.

DropBox can accommodate files up to 350 MB in size. Up to 2 GB of storage is provided for free through Amazon’s S3 service. Additional storage space of 50 GB may be purchased for $9.99 per month or for $99.99 annually. The service may be used in conjunction with Windows XP, Linux and Mac OSX.

Suggested Read: Dropbox alternatives

Live Mesh

Live Mesh is Microsoft’s contribution to the cloud based storage community. This online storage offers 5 GB of online storage that can be accessed through an online desktop. The files cannot be edited through an online desktop. Consumers enjoy the automatic synchronization of Live Mesh and the ability to collaborate with colleagues and friends. The cloud based storage solution is compatible with Windows PCs and Macs.

JungleDisk

JungleDisk is not offered to customers for free but can be obtained for $20. The service is used with Amazon’s S3 service for storage and transfer of files. An additional fee is required for this service. This service is not like the other online storage services but does have some benefits that business owners require. Users may interchange files between the online storage and the local desktop. JungleDisk is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac OSX.

Cloud Backup Solutions at Precision IT

Solutions offered by Precision IT include scheduled daily automatic backups and monthly tests of the performance of remote backup system. The backups and tests occur in minutes. Monitoring of the system is offered 24 hours per day and seven days per week by skilled engineers.

All data stored on the system offsite is encrypted with AES 256 and is also protected during transmission. The system is compliant with the latest regulations such as HIPAA, SOX and Basel II. With the web-based system, no servers or file sharing is required. Users can restore data without an IT professional up to 30 days.

Conclusion

The market for online storage is competitive. Most of the best services fully integrate with the users’ desktop and are very easy to use, enable accessibility to files from any location, and the services are stable and dependable.

This was a guest post by Leo Alvin Alexander who is an online writer currently dabbling in online marketing and search engine optimization. He is an expert in information technology and computing, including cloud backup, backup and recovery solutions, etc.

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With the advancements in technology, innovative devices are hitting the market. This will change the way we are experiencing audio and visual environments. The highly successful Smartphone trend has inspired tech companies to launch new products by incorporating smart applications, voice recognition, display systems and even printing. The products which are limited in nature for research and development are being tried for commercial applications. The result is an altogether new way of experiencing the technology. We are going to experience many changes in the coming three years.

Smartphones are going to replace desktops. Majority of tasks that you accomplish on desktops like surfing, watching movies and listening to music can be performed on your Smartphone. It is even possible to perform banking transactions through mobiles. As per the latest survey conducted by Neilsen, more than 43% of the mobile users are using smartphones. The speed at which Smartphone applications are being developed is not happening with the battery technologies. Lithium Ion batteries is a major breakthrough which happened about fifteen years ago. On the other hand, there is increasing demand for battery back-up and Smartphone applications consume the battery in various ways. Either applications should be smart enough to consume little power or batteries’ discharge cycle should be more.

Microsoft is playing around with a new technology called ‘Augmented Reality’. The technology will introduce non-conventional screens such as glasses you wear and windows glasses of a car, house, etc. For example, you will get a reminder with a visual check list when you are approaching your work space. When you are walking nearby a retail showroom, you will be alerted with the discounts available in the store. This kind of smart information will be abstracted from the web and presented in unique ways which will be more convenient for users to receive them in real-time and act on it.

Consumer electronic industry giant, Samsung is going to launch new kind of mobile phone screens which can be wrapped and stretched out whenever you need. These foldable OLED based screens are limited to research and development labs. But now they are going to hit consumer market in a big way. Innovative speech recognition software may take new turn in the year 2012. Many more applications in the lines of Apple’s Siri will hit the market in the coming years. The ability to command, control and monitor various activities through mobiles and cloud based service are on the anvil.

Living rooms and conference halls will experience new setups with screens of more than life size. You may wonder that in future, theater size screens will be deployed in residential sites which will consume less power. They can deliver crystal clear video along with three dimensional effects. A new wave of printing, 3D printing will change the way we check building plans and living rooms. These highly sophisticated 3 dimensional prints will give the best replica of original items by printing on specially designed plastic material with attractive colors.

Health care sector is going to reap major benefits from the launch of innovative applications. It is no more required to maintain medical files from your birth to the current date. Because all these details can be fed into the applications and you will be suggested with the food items that are to be consumed and you will also get reminders for physical exercises. The entire system may go to the next level with the sensors attached to your body.

As smarter applications are launched, they will automatically make you less dependent on desktops and more dependent on smartphones to be informed, entertained and engaged.

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Credit: BlinkMedia

3D printing is pretty much what it says on the tin; the means of producing a 3D object by printing it layer on top of layer. This amazing technology has actually been around for some time, but in recent years the technology has become cheap enough for it to go mainstream.

As 3D printing has become more affordable the technology has started to become extremely popular with people who need to create accurate 3D models quickly and cheaply. Product designers, for instance, can use 3D printers to quickly produce models allowing them to easily test look and feel of concept designs in real world situations. Architects can easily create precision scale models of buildings, rather than spending days building them by hand. And vehicle manufacturers can develop and tweak new car designs quicker and cheaper than ever before.

Consumer websites, such as 3D Creation Lab, already exist; allowing customers to design their own 3D models online, get them ‘printed’ and have them posted directly to you. Many even believe that, in the future, we will actually be able to design and ‘print’ out own furniture and perhaps even entire buildings.

The technology behind 3D printing is not massively different to traditional inkjet printers except, instead of ink, 3D printer heads ‘print’ layers of plastic, resin, powder, paper, metal or even food. Yes, you read that last one correctly, there has even been a 3D printer created that uses chocolate.

The process starts by creating a 3D model using special software. This can be done manually, or by using a state-of-art 3D scanner. These advanced 3D scanners work by capturing hundreds of images of an object every minute, using a geometric grid system to collect the 3D data. The data is then stitched back together by the scanner software, although human input is often required to tidy up the finished 3D image, removing noise, adding texture and color and filling in missing data.

The final image is then transmitted to the 3D printer which ‘prints’ the image in much the same way a normal inkjet prints on paper, whilst also adding an additional 3rd axis in order to make the finished item three dimensional.

Credit: Creative Tools
3D model of Dewalt saw created with a 3D printer

With such amazing technology so readily available, you would imagine then that copyright infringement will soon be rife. Criminals around the world must be rubbing their hands at the thought of being able to simply point a scanner at an object and then create an exact replica. Well, maybe one day, but not just yet. Whilst 3D printing technology does indeed make it possible to replicate almost anything, that’s pretty much what you get – a replica. For starters different 3D printers work in different ways and so inputting the same information into each machine will produce several different results. Not only that but currently 3D printers are only available with a limited number of substrates, so for instance a scan of a piece of gold jewellery will be accurately replicated, but only in a limited number of materials. The unique quality of gold itself, much like many other materials, cannot yet be accurately reproduced.

So whilst Scotland Yard can rest easy for now, who knows what the future will bring. As 3D printing technology continues to develop and more and more materials become available to print with, who knows where this technology will take us. Maybe we will indeed one day be able to print our own house or even create exact replicas of anything and everything.

This was a guest article written by print experts, PrinterInks.com – UK suppliers of HP, Dell, Kodak, Epson and Canon ink cartridges, as well as printing products from other leading brands.

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As technology advances and new concepts get matured, the companies adopt them in their business activities. Be it a startup or a huge company, if they see any chance of improvement in productivity, they wouldn’t mind experimenting. This time, the change is about how the staff collaborate.

The primary tool to collaborate for the employees is e-mail. But the problem with e-mail is that, it eats up your most of the time! Every day the inbox gets filled with chain mails & forwards. The employee get engaged in sorting and replying to the mails which really needs his presence. In simple words, E-mail has become an unproductive and complex tool, leading to confusions.

Thierry Breton, the CEO of Atos has taken this seriously. Recently, he declared that “zero email” policy would be in place within next 18 months in his company. He also said “Only 10 percent of 200 e-mails received by employees turn out to be useful”. So he wanted to introduce a social workspace solution which includes Facebook like interface and instant messaging.

At the beginning, the social networking site Facebook changed the company strategies on how they sell their products to people. Now it is changing how people work in an organization. Yes, the trend of socialization has now reached the productive tools. Because of this reason the enterprise social networking services like Yammer, Socialtext, fmyi, Teambox, Salesforce chatter, Podio etc are becoming increasingly popular.

How do these services work?

First off, all these enterprise social solutions need all the employees of the company to sign in with their company e-mail id. The one, who sign up first, is automatically made an admin. He can invite rest of the employees of his company. The important aspect of these sign up is that the domain of the email used for signing up has to match with each other.

Once all the employees are in the common platform, they can create workspaces or groups exactly like a Facebook groups. They can then post updates and comments in the group. The screenshot of Salesforce chatter demonstrates you the same.

These solutions are just not about sharing textual information. They also allow file sharing, sending links, tagging, and so on. Services like Yammer and Podoi have moved a step ahead to establish app stores. The companies can choose suitable apps which would extend the current solutions.

The missing pie

Every solution mentioned in this article needs a company email to get started. This means that the companies have to invest on two solutions for social collaboration – an email server and social solution itself. There is a need to avoid this. Currently I am developing one such solution which would reduce the cost for company. Next time, I’ll be able to provide some details regarding the same.

This was a guest post by Sachin G Kulkarni, a Bangalore based web developer and search engine optimizer. He jumps into random ideas, discover solutions and do experiments over internet. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Apple iTV, The Final Product Steve Jobs Had in Mind?

For now, Apple hasn’t officially announced the release of a new service for online TV, but there are signs of this tech and rumors that it will see the light of day in the near future, most probably in the course of 2012. What we do know for sure is that Apple’s relationship with Samsung has deteriorated, and so, the company could be looking towards Sharp to help develop the next generation of Apple products: iPad 3, iPhone 5 and the rumored iTV.

Jeffries analyst, Peter Misek, has claimed that the iTV is something to look forward to in the mid-2012 and that Sharp is working on modified amorphous TFT LCD panels to be used in these gadgets, from sizes 32” to 55”. Steve Jobs told Walter Isaacson, the writer of his recent biography that he had “cracked” the secret to controlling an Apple TV set and we assumed he was talking about Siri, but new patented technologies suggest that this may be or not the case. The future remote of this device will, most certainly be the owner, controlling it with something resembling Microsoft Kinect, an IR transmitter that will capture the movement of the owner’s hands and recreate them on the screen, thus making iTV a real hands free TV.

Voice Recognition Technology, The Next Step in Search Engines and Home Entertainment?

In a previous article, we predicted something like this, where voice recognition technology, a motion detector could be the keys in future home entertainment. If Apple decides to put Siri in their TV set, then it would really be a ground breaking improvement. It doesn’t really matter that other rivals might have this technology in place and ready to go. Apple might pull an incredible deal with a hands-free TV just like they did with the iPhone and the iPad. Even if it wasn’t the first smartphone, the iPhone was regarded as being THE smartphone. The iPad is surely not the first tablet, but it’s THE tablet. Apple could continue that legacy and build the future TV.

There are some hurdles to overcome before Apple can release this new technology. The connectivity to your home network, keeping in mind that not everyone has a wireless router at home, connectivity to other cable companies, because not all companies use the same cables, so Apple must find a way to overcome this huge setback.

Related Read: 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Wireless Network.

iTunes, iCloud to Link Consumers with iTV

Now, let’s say Apple does manage to iron out all of these kinks, where will they sell their TVs? And will it be in the price range of the consumers, to make Apple a competitor along side Sony, Samsung or Panasonic? You’ve all seen Apple’s shops, all white and tidy, not among the other products, will Apple afford to sell their TVs in such a manner? Keeping in mind TVs are bigger than the average Mac.

As for the content, I don’t think there will be a problem there, iTunes is doing just fine, and with no shortage of buyers for TV shows, movies and music, the future iTV will certainly have enough to offer to any consumer, as we saw on the current Apple TV, prices were in the range of $1.99 – $2.99.

A new feature that would appeal to many consumers is the possibility to rent a TV show or a movie directly from their TV, maybe for a slightly lesser price than the price of buying one. All of these items and apps could be stored in the Apple iCloud where you can watch Apple movies, as well, thus everyone could not only use their TVs, but also sync with their iPhones and iPads and enjoy the full hands free experience that Apple is all about. 

Some may say that iTV will not be such a success because of the price it will probably have. Keeping in the same line of its previous premium items, this tech will not come cheap. For $800 someone could buy a 54” TV, but with all of its advances in technology, will the iTV be worth another $300 – $400? Apple enthusiasts will say “YES” but for Apple to stand a chance of making some profit of this TV, it will have to appeal to more that its fateful followers.

Will Google React to Apple iTV?

The question in my mind now is: What will Google do? Maybe in 2012, after the official announcement of the iTV, Google might follow with an improved TV of their own, especially now, when Samsung and Google are still partners. A Google or Chrome powered TV is not out of reach, keeping in mind we have already seen the Chromebook and what is it capable of. The present Google TV is great, but a huge drawback is the fact that it’s available only in North-America.

Even with all of these issues Apple has to overcome, the concept of the iTV is something to look forward to and if past experience has thought us anything, its that Apple usually takes a problem head on and comes up with something that envelops both beauty and functionality. A future where we actively interact with our technology and where all our devices are wireless is something to look forward to, and needless to say, Apple is the leader of the pack, for now.

Suggested Read: Steve Jobs’ Last Tech Dream – A Complete Apple TV?

© Raju PP for Technically Personal!, 2011. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

There are lots of reasons fabricated to undermine the electric car, but most of them are completely false. First of all, electric cars are just like normal petroleum based cars when it comes to prices: there are those exceeding $100,000 and those that cost $5,000. To address the other issue about electric cars, that they are complicated and need continuous maintenance, that is not true. Just think of a normal car, with its motor, gearbox and the other parts it consists of, there are thousands of moving parts, many of them moving parts that break down fairly easily. In comparison, an electric car has only 1 moving part, and that is its motor.

The Electric Car, Eco-Friendly and Very Cheap to Feed

The electric motor is the best motor ever invented. It has an efficiency of over 90% (compared to a regular car which has about 25-30%), it doesn’t make so much sound, it hardly ever brakes due to its build (a rotor turning in an electric field generated by the stator, thus no mechanical parts).

Also, new developments in materials give the electric cars extended autonomy, up to 300 miles. Pollution is 0 with an electric motor, it only consumes electricity. And for those who say that the power plants consume more fuel and pollute more and that the electric cars will catch on, you are not right! An electric car consumes very little electricity and the vast majority of electrical cars are recharged at night, when the power consumption of the electrical grid is at a minimum, the plants powering the grid are generating more power than what is needed, so if you want to worry about that, wait 5-10 years, when it could become a problem, but by the I think we’ll find a renewable energy source.

It’s true, the majority of electrical cars are not that fast, but their battery packs can provide more power to the engine and so, give it more speed and more range. The biggest problem for electrical cars now, is the power source (batteries). The old lead-acid batteries are overrated, they weigh a lot and do not produce that much energy. The solution comes from Lithium batteries (Li Ion), which have a slightly higher price tag, polymer batteries and nano batteries, but these are patented and expensive today. Maybe in the next few years, the technology will be available at low costs for everyone.

4 Affordable Electric Cars

1. DYNASTY iT

This little car is a NEV (neighborhood electric vehicle) that can get you where you want to go in your neighborhood (where most of us use our cars and so, where the consumption of a gas engine is the highest), with prices varying from $14,000 to $25,000.

It may look like a little bug, but it will surely make you save money and will get you to the right place.

2. NEV

Produced by Global Electric Motorcar, this cute little thing could be lots of help around the house an much more, being able to carry lots of stuff in its truck-like trunk.

The GEM is available from $6,795 to $12,495, depending on the model you wish to get. It will be of great help to those in the countryside, you can be sure of that!

3. MILES ZX40

This is truly the best city car you can find, in my opinion, this is how any city car should look like. This car is available in 3 models each with more powerful motors and it has lots of cool features, such as front and rear defroster, windshield wipers, electric mirrors, and alloy wheels. An AM/FM/CD sound system is optional.

The price range is $14,900-$18,900.

4. ZENN

ZENN stands for “Zero Emissions No Noise”, and that is true. This is an excellent example of what an electric car could be: it has all the benefits from a regular car, with none of the setbacks, and it costs somewhere around $14,700-$15,575.

Maybe one of the disadvantages that this car and other electric car models have is that they only have 2 doors, which makes it a car of personal use.

3 Luxurious Electric Cars You Wish You Could Have

If you are more into powerful cars, and you can afford it, you can get an electric car that is fast and looks better than the gas guzzlers you see in magazines, you could look for something like:

1. Tesla Model S

2. Chevrolet Volt

3. Fisker Karma

All of these cars look the part and have the “muscle” to back it up, but with price tags between $50,000 and $150,000, not many people can afford these. Nevertheless, in 2012, electric cars are here to stay, and the technology to make them more powerful and cheaper is almost here. I think in 5 years we could be seeing electric cars all over the place.

© Raju PP for Technically Personal!, 2011. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |