Live Blog

It’s officially here – the iPhone 5.

12 September 2012 6:37 PM

Apple finally took the wraps of its latest iPhone, and it’s called the iPhone 5.

From Mashable.com:
“The iPhone 5 has a larger screen than previous versions, at 4 inches, with a resolution of 1,136 x 640 or 326 pixels per inch — which is still a “retina” display, as Apple defines it. The larger screen has a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and has lengthened the phone overall, but it also allows for a total of six rows of apps on the screen — five rows on the “pages” along with the permanent single row along the bottom.

Apps designed for previous iPhones won’t scale to the new screen — they’ll appear with black bars on the two ends of the screen.

The phone, which is said to be made entirely of glass and aluminum, is also thinner overall. It’s just 7.6 mm thin, 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S. It also weighs 112 grams, 20% lighter than the 4S.”

Camera & Sound;
Front facing camera is now full HD, FaceTime over cellular, a panoramic shot with the iPhone 5 will be 28-megapixels, one mic on the front, one on the bottom, one on the back, earpiece has more noise cancellation.


Apple has also shrunk the dock connector of the iPhone, replacing the aging 30-pin connector with a much smaller jack, which it dubs the “Lightning” connector. – you will also be able to buy an adapter to convert it to a 30-pin to charge older devices. (not included when you buy the iPhone 5)

iOS 6 will be released on 19th September however expect slow speeds and high levels of downloads as many will be using the iTunes service to be first to update to iOS6 which will work on all phones and tablets back to the 3GS iPhone.

Cost – 16GB @ $199, 32GB @ $299 or 64GB at $399
When – Pre order on Friday (14th). Ship one week later, Sept 21.
Where? US, UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, all on the 21st.

“Today we’re announcing some exciting changes with iPod and iTunes.” Eddie Cue is up to demonstrate a brand new version of iTunes – dramatically simpler, with the cloud build in for PC & Mac The new iTunes looks nearly identical to the music player on the iPad and will be available in late October.

iPod Touch;

the Retina display is now in the iPod Touch and the headphone jack on the bottom same height as the new iPhone 5 iPod Touch gets the cool Panorama feature too. And the shared photo streams with 40 hours of music playback, 8 hours of video on the new iPod Touch battery iSight camera is going to be built into the Touch for the first time. It’s 5 megapixel, with autofocus, flash and Sapphire lens 1080p and even able to do videoing editing.

iPod Nano;

the new Nano is $149, the old Touch is $199 for 16GB, 32GB for 32GB ships with the new EarPods colors? black, white, blue, yellow, red.


EarPods; “we’ve spent 3 years designing an entirely new headphone … EarPods.”
EarPods headphones with little speakers on the side, basically. “We scanned hundreds of ears, looking for a commonality …” – says Jony Ive they are designed to intentionally direct sound, right into the ear “and of course, we want to make them available as soon as possible … today.” get your EarPods at the Apple Store now and of course, they’ll ship with the new Touch and the iPhone 5.

That’s it from us on the iPhone 5 Live, for a full recap of the iPhone 5 announcement including the full new line-up check out Mashable or watch the re-cap by TysiPhoneHelp / TysiHelp (Ty Moss) or SoldierKnowsBest (SKB) Apple will likely post the event on Apple Events page shortly.

Links:
Apple Shows Off More of iOS 6 at iPhone 5 Event – Mashable
Apple Adds Facebook Integration Into iTunes, Effectively Kills Ping – Mashable
Apple Announces Thinner iPod Nano – Mashable
Lightning: Apple’s New iPhone Dock Connector is 80% Smaller – Mashable
Apple Unveils New iTunes, Coming in October – Mashable
Meet EarPods, Your New Apple Earphones – Mashable
Apple Kills iPhone 3GS, Makes iPhone 4 Free – Mashable
iPhone 5 Compared With Competitors – Mashable
Apple iPhone 5 Event Coverage (Recorded) – YouTube, SoldierKnowsBest
iPhone 5, iPod touch 5G & New 2012 iPod nano 7G! – YouTube, duncan33303
Recap: Apple iPhone 5 Event – YouTube, SoldierKnowsBest
New iPhone 5, iPod touch 5G and iPod Nano 7G! – YouTube, tysiphonehelp
iPhone 5: Should you upgrade? – YouTube, tysiphonehelp
iOS 6 Panorama Mode – YouTube, SoldierKnowsBest

I’m A Celebrity 2011: Dougie Poynter is King Of The Jungle‎

3 December 2011 10:45 PM

I’m A Celebrity 2011: McFly bassist Dougie Poynter crowned King Of The Jungle after beating Mark Wright

All hail King Dougie: McFly bassist Dougie Poynter has been crowned King Of The Jungle.

Dougie Poynter has been crowned King Of The Jungle after winning this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

McFly bassist, 24, was stunned after beating former bookies favourite Mark Wright: ‘I’m lost for words. My mouth is so dry. It’s been the best couple of week in my life.’

The Essex-native was presented with his crown by hosts of the ITV2 spin-off show, Laura Whitmore and Joe Swash.

After strutting down the walkway, he was greeted by his jubilant McFly bandmate Tom Fletcher.

Despite being runner-up, The Only Way Is Essex star and club promoter Mark, 24, was a gracious loser.

He said: There couldn’t be a bit winner. He’s the nicest, kindest person in the whole wide world. He serverss every minute of it.’

During their joint interview before finding out the winner, Dougie admitted he was surprised to have ended up in the final.

Bromance: The pair spoke about their surprisingly close friendship on the show.

He said: ‘I didn’t do anything, I felt like I just chilled in my hammock the whole time.’

Mark enthused: ‘It’s the most amazing experience of my whole life.’

Dougie admitted they had been sick repeated times following their Bushtucker Trial the previous night.

Before finding out he hadn’t won, Mark insisted ‘I’ve won being here… I can’t be a loser today. It’s not a competition. It’s an experience of a lifetime and I’ve loved every minute.’

find out more & source: dailymail.co.uk.

London Riot Cleanup Begins as Police Look to BBM, Camera Footage

9 August 2011 4:22 PM

Riots that consumed London spread to other cities in England last night, and not surprisingly, affected residents took to sites like Facebook and Twitter to discuss the damage. Efforts to organize attacks via services like BlackBerry Messenger, meanwhile, gave way to online cleanup efforts.

Riotcleanup.com is currently tracking recovery efforts throughout London. People are scheduled to gather at the Brixton tube station tonight at 6:30pm local time, for example, while others will meet up outside Bruce Grove Station at 8:30am tomorrow. Additional details are also available on the group’s Twitter account and Facebook Page.

In some cases, onlookers have reported that local officials are already handling things. A man who stopped by Hackney Town Hall, for example, said that in the 40 minutes he was there, “a good 30 people arrived, saw there was nothing left to do and dispersed, most to go to Clapham . In short, it was pretty much sorted. The main point is that people turned up and shifted the focus back onto localism/community.”

How did this happen?
The riots were sparked last week by the police shooting of 29-year-old taxi passenger Mark Duggan; violence started the following day when bottles were thrown at two patrol cars near a police station, setting them ablaze, according to a BBC timeline of events. Attacks escalated in recent days, spreading last night to cities like Birmingham, Bristol, and Liverpool.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tweeted that the riots claimed his Birmingham restaurant. “Sadly my restaurant in Birmingham got smashed up windows all gone whole area closed, cant open, staff and customers all safe!!thankfully jox,” he wrote.

Another building that didn’t survive was a Sony DADC warehouse in Enfield, which was set ablaze (video below). Those hoping to loot PlayStations, however, were likely disappointed; the warehouse produces CDs and DVDs. Last night’s fire is potentially devastating to several independent record labels that housed their stock at the warehouse, The Guardian reported.

One piece of technology that reportedly aided rioters was BlackBerry Messenger, which allowed gangs of teenagers to communicate in a secret and untraceable manner. According to a recent study from the U.K.’s Office of Communication (Ofcom), approximately 37 percent of U.K. teens have BlackBerrys, a preference that is driven primarily because of access to BBM, which allows free texting between BlackBerry owners.

In a Monday statement, Research in Motion said it was cooperating with authorities on the matter.
“As in all markets around the world where BlackBerry is available, we cooperate with local telecommunications operators, law enforcement and regulatory officials,” RIM said. “Similar to other technology providers in the U.K. we comply with The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and co-operate fully with the Home Office and U.K. police forces.”

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, or RIPA, is a law enacted in 2000 that allows for government interception of communications, particularly as it relates to the Internet and encrypted electronic communications.

Scotland Yard, meanwhile, issued a warning to rioters, promising to “identify you and bring you to justice.”

The agency today started releasing photos of alleged looting suspects, captured by surveillance cameras, which will be housed on the Metropolitan Police’s Flickr page. If anyone recognizes those pictured, they can call the Major Investigation Team at 020 8345 4142 or report someone anonymously via the Crimestoppers line at 0800 555 111.

Temporary police commissioner Tim Godwin said today that “there are no plans for the army to get involved.” In the next 24 hours, Scotland Yard has pledged to put 16,000 officers on the street. As of last night, police had arrested 334 people and charged 69.

According to The Guardian, last night’s violence claimed its first life; a man died after being shot in his car in Croydon, south London.

Water cannon will be used on rioters?

9 August 2011 12:12 AM

Cold shower ... Premier Iemma's $600,000 APEC toy / Brad Newman.

The New South Wales Government has unveiled the latest weapon in its battle to stop protesters disrupting next month’s APEC summit – a $600,000 armoured truck, fitted with a high-powered water cannon.

The US-built truck, which has an airtight cabin to protect its users from tear gas, is the first of its type in Australia. Wire mesh covers its shatter-proof windows, a heavy bar at the front allows it to ram obstructions out of the way and has a bigger fuel tank.

The truck can hold 12,000 litres of water to service its cannon, which is capable of knocking people off their feet and drenching a crowd within seconds.

“I hope that we’ll never have to use a piece of equipment like this.” Premier Morris Iemma said after a demonstration of the truck’s ability to shoot water at targets up to 50m away.

“But if the situation arises, if there are people who take the law into their own hands with riotous behaviour on our streets, then this is a good weapon to have to restore order and control.”

The truck, brought to Australia in March when officers started their training for APEC, was officially welcomed into the armoury of the NSW Police’s riot squad today. Mr Iemma said it could be used to protect police if dangerous situations arose during the course of the summit.
“It’s the men and women of the police force who are sent in to the front line to deal with these dangerous situations, their protection is just as important as the protection of the public.” Mr Iemma said.

But the Greens today accused the Government of taking a heavy-handed approach to the September 2-9 conference, which will take place behind a fenced-off area of Sydney’s harbour foreshore.
NSW Greens MP John Kaye said police were yet to sit down for talks with organisers of a major protest that was expected to draw tens of thousands who want to voice their opposition to war in Iraq and call for action of climate change.

“They are not there for violence.” Dr Kaye said today.

“This water cannon will not be effective if there is a small number of protesters who muck up … water cannons don’t work in those type of environments. Innocent people can get mowed down, knocked over and injured by a water cannon.”

The NSW opposition said today it supported the water canon’s acquisition.

But Liberal leader Barry O’Farrell said more advertising was needed to alert Sydney residents to the APEC public holiday on Friday, September 7.

“While I don’t normally support government advertising, particularly because of its regular abuse by this Labor Government, there is still considerable confusion about the APEC public holiday.” Mr O’Farrell said.

Alex Bainbridge, spokesman for protest group Stop Bush Coalition, said the water cannon would not deter activists from protesting against the war in Iraq, global warming and the Federal Government’s workplace reform at Sydney’s Town Hall on September 8.

The group also is planning a smaller visual stunt to mark US President George W Bush’s arrival in Sydney on September 4.

“It’s not a comforting thought to think that they might be going to prepare to use a water cannon against us.” – Mr Bainbridge said.
“But it’s even more worrying to think about the innocent people being killed in the war in Iraq, and the fate of humanity if global warming isn’t held in check.”

BREAKING NEWS: Amy Winehouse, 27, found dead at her London flat

23 July 2011 5:49 PM

Amy Winehouse aged, 27

Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home in London, it has been reported. The Back To Black singer was apparently found at 4pm and her death is believed to be unexplained.
Winehouse had been seen with her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield earlier this week as the teenager took to the stage at the iTunes festival.

While she didn’t perform any tracks, Winehouse apparently begged the crowds to buy Dionne’s album. A source said: “Amy staggered onstage and grabbed the mic to beg the crowd to buy her protege’s new album.” Winehouse’s appearance at the concert came after she cancelled her European tour following a disastrous performance in June when she stumbled onto the stage in Belgrade and gave an incoherent performance appearing very disorientated and removed from reality.

Following the concert which saw fans enraged and the subsequent video that circulated to millions she cancelled the remaining dates of her European tour. A statement released by the troubled singer’s spokesperson said that the 27-year-old would be given ‘as long as it takes’ to recover. The statement read “Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances. Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen.“