Thursday, October 15, 2015
iPhone Hardware System Review 2;4
Steve Jobs and the Apple company broke the mold on June 29, 2007, when the first iPhone was released, and the company has not slowed down since. The first generation iPhone was the first completely touchscreen cell phone, with a sleek look and neat features that made it the hottest must-have accessory of its time. One of the best features of the iPhone was the camera quality, which was a huge step up from its flip-phone competitors. The iPhone has since seen nine generations, with the last release being the iPhone 6S in September 2015.
On the first 5 generations of the iPhone, the screen was 4.5 inches, and then changed to 5 inches with the release of the iPhone 5. A half inch made much more of a difference than one would think. From my personal experience as an iPhone owner, the 5 inch model was the best one. I had a 5, and loved the bigger screen, but now with the 6, I find the size a little too big at 6 inches. I often find my thumb sore after a good lock-in of Facebook, Instagram and texting. One aspect of the iPhone system that is always an improvement is the camera. The original iPhone's camera had 163 ppi (pixels per inch), as compared to latest 6S's 401 ppi. The quality of photos is exceptional, although I have to say it is not as good as that of the latest versions of Galaxy's.
In the beginning, the iPhone's biggest competitor was the BlackBerry. In my experience, iPhone's were too expensive, with the original generation costing a pretty penny at $499, and was considered a luxury item. For young people especially, the BlackBerry was the more economic choice. The feature BBM was hip and brought texting to a new level. iPhone was lacking in the area of messaging until they introduced iMessage with the release of its OS X operating system on the iPhone 5. Once this feature was added, the iPhone took the forefront of the smartphone world.
While watching the iFixit Video's teardown of the iPhone 6S, I found their critiques of the phone pretty petty. They said customers were unhappy with the camera being "bulky" and not flush with the phone, and also the two stripes at the bottom that provide the phone with better service and wifi access, as not attractive. Who cares about two tiny stripes that will probably get covered by a case anyway? And the camera also becomes flush when you put on a case, which almost every one does.
On the first 5 generations of the iPhone, the screen was 4.5 inches, and then changed to 5 inches with the release of the iPhone 5. A half inch made much more of a difference than one would think. From my personal experience as an iPhone owner, the 5 inch model was the best one. I had a 5, and loved the bigger screen, but now with the 6, I find the size a little too big at 6 inches. I often find my thumb sore after a good lock-in of Facebook, Instagram and texting. One aspect of the iPhone system that is always an improvement is the camera. The original iPhone's camera had 163 ppi (pixels per inch), as compared to latest 6S's 401 ppi. The quality of photos is exceptional, although I have to say it is not as good as that of the latest versions of Galaxy's.
In the beginning, the iPhone's biggest competitor was the BlackBerry. In my experience, iPhone's were too expensive, with the original generation costing a pretty penny at $499, and was considered a luxury item. For young people especially, the BlackBerry was the more economic choice. The feature BBM was hip and brought texting to a new level. iPhone was lacking in the area of messaging until they introduced iMessage with the release of its OS X operating system on the iPhone 5. Once this feature was added, the iPhone took the forefront of the smartphone world.
While watching the iFixit Video's teardown of the iPhone 6S, I found their critiques of the phone pretty petty. They said customers were unhappy with the camera being "bulky" and not flush with the phone, and also the two stripes at the bottom that provide the phone with better service and wifi access, as not attractive. Who cares about two tiny stripes that will probably get covered by a case anyway? And the camera also becomes flush when you put on a case, which almost every one does.
Immersive Education Linking Technology and History
9News's coverage of this news article was more appealing to me visually, than the one done by KOAA News 5. The images of the animals and people made the project more exciting, rather than News 5's building-only images. I think News 5 made a mistake by featuring lots of dreary, grey images, as opposed to 9News's colorful, action shots. 9News also mentioned more about the funding of the project, which is non-profit, funded by the Immersive Education initiative and Stanford University's Architectural Design Program. All in all, although 9News's story, although shorter, was more informative and appealing than that of News 5.
You can watch this news story for yourself at: Old Ben's Fort
This is an assignment from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Collaborative Computing. For details, visit the immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc
Old Ben's Fort Gets New Appreciation
Students at LaJunta High School and Otero Junior College, in Denver, Colorado, have found a balance of education and fun in their Immersive Education club. Every Wednesday, about 20 students meet after school and enjoy playing the ever popular game, Minecraft, well using it to practice building. Their current project is the nearby Old Ben's Fort, which was originally built in 1833 to trade with Plains Indians and trappers. The Fort also served as a spot to stock up on supplies, wagon repairs, livestock, good food, and water. In 1849, the fort was abandoned due to disasters and diseases, but was reconstructed in 1976.
Now these Immersive Education Club members will graduate to using the architectural program, AutoCat, to create a 3D online version of Old Ben's Fort. This will provide access to people all over the world to take a virtual tour of the historic building. Working on this project has given the students more appreciation for their local landmark and its history, and strengthened the link between technology and history.
This is an assignment from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Collaborative Computing. For details, visit the immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc
Monday, October 5, 2015
Magic Leap, Microsoft HoloLens, HTC Valve Vive, and Samsung Virtual Reality (VR).
Tonight we watched several videos that showed very exciting developments in the virtual reality world. Seeing these videos baffles me at how fast technology is changing almost everything about our everyday lives. My favorite video was the one highlighting the Samsung VR, which is a mobile virtual reality device developed by Samsung and is compatible with Samsung Galaxy devices. Using the Samsung VR, a father witnessed the birth of his third child through virtual reality. It was incredible to watch on the internet, I can only imagine how incredible it was for the parents to not feel as though they were separated in such an important life moment. The trouble I see with this is, once we get used to not having to physically be somewhere because we can virtually be there, will we spend less time actually together?
Another astonishing development is the Microsoft HoloLens. I was blown away by this video from IED, I felt like I was transported many years into the future just by watching the video. If this new way of communicating becomes mainstream, it will be like zooming years ahead. My favorite part was when the man was helping the woman fix the plumbing to her sink using the HoloLens. This is a practical, day to day use of the technology that could make life a lot easier.
Magic Leap is a company that is being funded billions of dollars by Google as a "head-mounted virtual retinal display which superimposes 3D computer-generated imagery over real world objects"(Wikipedia.) With Magic Leap, objects from the game appear all around you as you move and navigate through. This could be great for improving the health concerns of young people in which hours of gaming has lead to weight gain. Moving while gaming is much better for your health.
The HTC Valve Vive is very similar to the Samsung VR in that you use a goggle or visor like device that creates a virtual reality. The difference between the two is that Samsung is compatible with mobile devices and the HTC is more for computers. Also, the Valve Vive is similar to the oculus, but the major improvement is that the Vive uses your own body in the game.
Check out these cool videos and others at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/buzz
Another astonishing development is the Microsoft HoloLens. I was blown away by this video from IED, I felt like I was transported many years into the future just by watching the video. If this new way of communicating becomes mainstream, it will be like zooming years ahead. My favorite part was when the man was helping the woman fix the plumbing to her sink using the HoloLens. This is a practical, day to day use of the technology that could make life a lot easier.
Magic Leap is a company that is being funded billions of dollars by Google as a "head-mounted virtual retinal display which superimposes 3D computer-generated imagery over real world objects"(Wikipedia.) With Magic Leap, objects from the game appear all around you as you move and navigate through. This could be great for improving the health concerns of young people in which hours of gaming has lead to weight gain. Moving while gaming is much better for your health.
The HTC Valve Vive is very similar to the Samsung VR in that you use a goggle or visor like device that creates a virtual reality. The difference between the two is that Samsung is compatible with mobile devices and the HTC is more for computers. Also, the Valve Vive is similar to the oculus, but the major improvement is that the Vive uses your own body in the game.
Check out these cool videos and others at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/buzz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)