Crome OS, Do We Even Care?

It has been quite sometime since the official release of Chrome OS.  Advertised as the next big step for the world of computers and inevitably flopped.  It wasn't very successful out of the gate and overpricing matched with not a lot of punched turned out to equal a great downfall for google.

Chromebooks and the new Chromebox however is interesting.  The concept is there and has the potential to be something really great especially powered by Google's web app empire.  However, the real downfall in price.  I myself like the idea and if presented with the opportunity would consider purchasing one of the Chromebooks.  But the Chromebox in my opinion is just a landslide waiting to happen.  When I think of a desktop I think of something powerful and something that get the the things I want to get done done fast and efficient.  However, the Chromebox doesn't offer most of these things. The bottom line is that the Chromebox doesn't offer enough power to separate itself from a laptop.  What's the point of having a desktop if it has the same power of the laptop without the portability.  It would be useless and that is what I believe that Chromebox is.

After reading my rant it may seem that none of this matters.  It is just as easy to pick up a Windows 7 pc of even a new shiny tablet for a fraction of the price of the Chromebook and have ten times more capability.  Nothing about the Chromebooks even matter to the average consumer. What the entire line of Chrome OS products are is the classification of a rich boy's toy.  However, when it comes to the Chromebox, it could be a possible replacement to the classic setup of having a Mac Mini work as a media player.  This would also classify under a rich boy's toy only because of the price.  Why pay $330 for something that doesn't have as many features as an Apple TV and can only support up to a 30" monitor?  The direction that Google is taking Chrome OS is definitely better than in the beginning but I just don't see any type of future for the platform.


Do like Chrome OS?  Do you own any Chrome OS devices?  Would you consider switching to Chrome OS?  Comment Below!


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How Technology Has Changed the Olympics

Unless you live under a rock you most likely watched the opening ceremonies for the 2012 olympic games last night.  As I watched the lights and music of the specticule I couldn't help but comtemplate how the olympics would be different if technology wasn't as advanced as it was.  For insctance more than half of the atheletes were walking around with smartphones taking video that they would then share to millions of people through social media.  That's an amazment in itself but if you look closer at the different parts of the opening ceremonies it becomes clear to see that without the advancements of today's technology, it wouldn't even be a thought to have the queen of England supposedly jump out of a helicopter into the stadium.  No matter how much knowledge you have of technology, it was obvious that there was a lot that went into that opening ceremony that couldn't of been done 10 years ago.  It just shows how fast technology has changed in the past 10 years.


Did you watch the olympic opening ceremonies?  What do you think?  Did you think technology played a big role in the presentation?  Comment Below.


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Wearable Technology: The Way of The Future?

Ever since the multitouch iPod Nano was released, it has been a discussion if the idea of wearing technology would catch on.  Then, some began to wear the iPod as a watch.  Even though some say it isn't practical to buy a $130 product as a watch but taking into consideration all of the extra things that an iPod does it more useful than a normal watch.  In addition, higher quality watches cost considerable more than the iPod, and without the extra features the iPod Nano watch was developed into a fashion accessory.

Even since Apple began this movement, other companies such as Sony and Motorola have developed their own "Smart Watches."  These watches both do different things.  For instance, the MOTOACTV is a fitness watch that does music. This is mainly for those who go on long runs to far away places.  This watch comes with a GPS, heart rate monitor, more fitness trackers, along with the ability to play music over Bluetooth.  This as more features for an athlete than an iPod Nano but for an everyday fashion accessory I believe that the MOTOACTV wouldn't be the best choice.  However, the Sony Smart Watch is the best pick in my mind.  This watch connects to certain phones, so you can read text messages, answer calls, and stay updated with your phone without actually taking it out of your pocket.    This should be the future purpose of these technologies.  They should keep people updated even though they don't have their phones out.

As the Smart Watches develops, Google has been hard at work on their own tech fashion accessory.  The Google Glasses were immediately noticed after a video posted by Google about what a day with these glasses would be like.  At the recent Google i/o this mystery project was finally explained. These glasses were released in a prototype testing program.  For $1500 you could own a pair of prototype Google Glasses.  This could lead to horror of the price of the actual product that will be released.  Will the price drop or will this development cost more than a Macbook Air?  If the price doesn't drop considerably for the released product this could easily turn into a rich boy's toy type of product.

What do you think of wearable technology?  Are you planning on buying a smart watch or the Google Glasses?  Comment Below.


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Mountain Lion First Impressions

As predicted, the newest release of OSX Mountain Lion was released today.  I have downloaded the $20 upgrade on my iMac and I am going to share my first impressions of the OS.

To begin, after I was able to boot into Mountain Lion I immediately was greeted by a newer and more modern finish to the entire experience.  Then I began to dive into the actual new features of the upgrade.  So far, for what I've used it for, this new Mac cat is delivering all that it was advertised to do. Notifications Center worked well with all of the applications that delivered notifications.  I immediately feel in love with messages.  I even tried to connect to other using Game Center and it worked a million times better than on iOS.

However, with every OS, comes it's downfall; for Mountain Lion this fall is a very critical one and much be fixed ASAP by Apple.  This isn't just my particular version because others have noted this issue.  This could be a vital issue for Apple to fix as a result of the reliability that Mountain Lion has on the internet.  Whats the point of using an internet driven OS without any wireless connection.  Especially for the large percentage of people who have laptops running Mountain Lion.  Apple is expected to jump on the problem very soon and the issue should be resolved.

Have you had this issue on your copy of Mountain Lion?  Comment Below.

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Mountain Lion Release!

It is reported that the new release of OSX Mountain Lion will be released Wednesday July 25th.  This release date isn't confirmed officially but it sure is a safe bet as a result of the various times around this date that Apple store employees are forbidden to take vacation and are requested to work late (to change various signs and other aspects of the store.)  These keys are very clear signs pointing to a Wednesday release.  In fact, if Mountain Lion was to be released tomorrow, it would most likely follow the same path the Lion took to get released.  It is most likely that the new OS will be brought out to the public in the beginning of Apples sales call on Wednesday morning.

Are you excited about the release of Mountain Lion?  Are you making the upgrade?  Would you switch to a Mac because of Mountain Lion? Comment below.

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Ology!!!

It may seem like I haven't posted anything in awhile.  While this may be true, I have a surprise for my wonderful viewers.  I have begun to write for a website called ology.com.  I will post Tech News Now's page at the end of the article. I will write there from now on as well as Make this Big and of course the Tech News Now page.  Even though this may not be an article about the tech world, I thought it was important for my viewers to know of a new place with some exclusive articles that I will only write for ology.

I encourage you to follow me on ology to see more news from Tech News Now: http://www.ology.com/ology/1843/tech-news-now

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Minecraft for Xbox 360 Passed 3 Million Copies Sold

It was reported from a tweet from the creator of Minecraft "Notch" that Minecraft for the Xbox 360 has been purchased over 3 million times.  I myself am one of these buyers as I am a big fan of Minecraft.  It will be interesting to see if the 360 version of the sandbox game will surpass it's c counterpart sometime in the near future.

Do you own Minecraft, do you enjoy it?  Do you think the Xbox 360 version will sell better than the version on the PC?  Comment below with your opinions.

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Nexus 7 = iPad Killer?

It recently wrote and article about the Nexus 7 not being an iPad killer but definitely being a game changer. Now as I look at the Nexus 7 itself, I have to fight the urge to sell my iPad and make the switch to the 7" tablet. I may have only seen a few reviews and played with it in a store but I just can't help but notice how much smoother and faster it was than an iPad. I also really enjoyed the 7" form factor of the Nexus 7. It was do much easier to hold in my hand and was at least 3 times lighter than my current iPad.

I am seriously considering selling my iPad to purchase a Nexus 7. I believe that this could be the tablet to at least take a portion of the iPads market share and help stop Apple's dominance in the tablet world.

Should I ditch the iPad for the Nexus 7. Is it the iPad killer. Comment below.

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AT&T Charging Users to FaceTime

It was reported that AT&T costumers with iPhones could be charged extra fees to use FaceTime over cellular.  It's as if AT&T has given up on the iPhone.  ALl this charge is doing is driving their customers away.  After Verizon and Sprint picked up the iPhone it seems like AT&T has moved on.  Their horrible service is the only reason I didn't get an iPhone before it came to Verizon.  Now with extra charges for something as simple as FaceTime is a huge sign saying get out now!  For the sake of AT&T costumers wallets, I hope they take the hint.  This whole story to me is incredibly unintelligent by AT&T.  Why would they want to drive their costumers away.  They are in a way motivating those who had an iPhone 4 and couldn't witch carrier to make the change.

Comment below with your opinion for why AT&T would make this charge?  If you had an iPhone from them are you planning a switch?

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The Future of the iPhone

It's that time of year again; the 1 year anniversary of the iPhone 4S is quickly approaching.  This time of year is very exciting for all of those who follow the world of Apple.  With the current version of the iPhone becoming old news behind the various devices that have tried to take down the empire that Apple's mobile phone has created it is time for Apple to show off to the world their newest device and the new features that make the iPhone at least up to par with the competition.  Everybody and their brother will always have their ideas and dreams of what the next iPhone will have.  I can't be considered a tech blogger until I add to this stew of predictions and rumors.  The only difference with my predictions are that I won't put in obvious things like a better camera or faster processor, those features are pretty obvious.  These are only my predictions and I do not know for sure what features the new iPhone will have.

Bigger Screen

This prediction may not be very original but is defiantly worth repeating again and again hoping that somebody from Apple will get the idea that 3.5" isn't big enough especially with more graphically intense games coming out for iOS.  In my opinion, the size of the bigger screen should be around 3.8" to 4".  Anything bigger than in this range would be to much.  If the screen ended up being 4.3" to 4.5" then the portability of the iPhone wouldn't be present and that would defiantly hurt the new iPhone's success.

4G

I am very surprised that this feature doesn't fall into the category of an obvious feature, but it seems that Apple has kept consumers on the fritz to whether the new iPhone will support 4G.  If the new iPhone wasn't to get 4G I believe that I would jump ship from Apple to another platform.  I am a die hard Apple fan but not including 4G would just be the last straw.  I was hoping that the iPhone 4 would have it, then expecting the 4S to have it even though I wasn't getting one.  Enough is enough Apple, we need 4G.  If there was any other way to express my anger at the lack of 4G other than typing very angrily at a keyboard I wish I could show it.  I am disgusted at this.

A different Cable Connector

After my rant in the section above, it will be nice to take a look at a minor but defiantly interesting rumored feature of the new iPhone.  I'm gonna make a bold prediction on this one saying that Apple will implement some type of thunderbolt compatible connector on the new iPhone.  When they first introduced thunderbolt, Apple said that they wanted to make it a mainstream port.  There's no better way to make something even as small as a port more popular by putting it on the most popular device that you sell.  Simple logic.  If the iPhone had a thunderbolt port I think it would be a cool idea to connect it to many devices that I can connect to my computer as well.  

(My Dream feature that will never come)

Physical Keyboard/Keyboard Case

This has been my one wish for the iPhone even since it was released.  I think that even if Apple made their own case that had a physical keyboard for the iPhone it would be the coolest thing.  If this case didn't add much thinkness to the device it would increase my productivity exponentially.  In fact, I believe that if their was a physical keyboard on the iPhone; I would be able to type blog post on the go with it.  The tiny virtual keyboard on the iPhone isn't in anyway bad.  It is by far the best virtual keyboard out there in my opinion and is great for its purpose of typing quick text messages and e-mails.  I am pretty satisfied with the iPhone except for this one feature.  

Comment below with your feedback on my predictions and tell me what you think will be in the next iPhone.

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Tech News Now Weekley report 7/8/12

The first week of Tech News Now is swiftly coming to an end and in the first installment of this weekly post, I will review all of the posts this week and the various topics covered on this blog.  

I will begin by saying that even though this is the first week in this site's existence it was full of twists and turns.  It began on with an article that I thought was very interesting and was also the first article on the site.  It was titled, "Today in Tech History 7/8."  I thought that even though this article doesn't fit the sites title it still was a way to look back to the future explaining that that was the day that Steve Jobs became the CEO of Apple which now seems like the biggest news in recent Tech History.  

The next few articles were news based stories along with an announcement that I will be starting to be writing for the site makethisbig.com which is an amazing opportunity and I encourage all of you to check it out (my stories specifically.)

Then, came a very awkward point in the site's short history.  My very old Macbook Pro had ironically died on me,  Fortunately however, I was bale to purchase a 27" iMac which I wrote a first impression article on.

Last but not least, toward the middle of the week I wrote more of an opinion article on the state of PC gaming.  I do game on my iMac and plan on putting a Windows partition in it sometime in the future for a more extensive library of games to choose from.  All in all, I would say that this article was written from the point of view of a "PC gamer."

Overall, I believe that for the first week of existence, Tech News Now has been very successful all thank to you guys the readers.  If you keep showing your support like you did this week, I will be very excited for the future of this site.  That pretty much goes over the articles that were posted this week on Tech News Now.  If you missed any articles check back and read whatever you may have missed.

I love your feedback so if you have any suggestions for articles that can be written on the site, comment below!

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iMac 27" First impressions

If you follow this blog or track my postings on makethisbig.com then you may have noticed that I have not been posting lately.  As there is no good excuse for slacking on the job, I do have an explanation.  Recently my old Macbook Pro finally died on me.  As you can see from the title of this post I went ahead and got a new 27" iMac.  I purchased this computer over any other because I believe that for the price this mac had the best value for a desktop.

I do have some first impressions on this machine after playing around with it for a couple of hours.  To begin, I am overwhelmed by how big the screen actually looks when it sit on a desk.  Playing with one at an Apple store is no match to actually working with one on your desk.  It may just be my eyes playing a trick on my but I swear that the screen is bigger than 27".  Additionally, the machine is very quick.  I'll put the exact specs in a comment below if you are interested but the speed difference between this and my old Macbook Pro are unspeakable.  I can actually truly multitask without worrying about lag of other issues with outdated computers.  Also, compared to my Macbook Pro the iMac is as silent as a church mouse.  Even when doing heavy tasks like gaming, graphics processing or rendering video, this machine works smooth and quiet.

These impressions are only after a few hours of playing with my new toy and I hope that the stunning performance and elegance of the machine can last the test of time.  Only time itself can tell and until then I am beyond happy with my new computer.  With this computer also offers me more flexibility to post more content also I want feedback on an idea I have for Tech News Now.  I was thinking about starting a Youtube channel making videos about the post I make and other tech news.  Would that be something interesting?  Please comment below and expect a full review of my new 27" iMac in a week or so once I have put it through it's paces.

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Nexus 7 or Not?

In my personal opinion I am not fond of android.  I have tried it out on many phones and a tablet but couldn't get around the various bugs and glitches of being an open source platform.  Whatever your opinion is it is now secret that android is back in the primetime news.  They released their new tablet made only by Google called the Nexus 7.  Now the release of this tablet may be old news but there are still many questions to the success of this device and what it means for Google and the rest of the tech industry.

Now I believe that this tablet will be the most successful of it's kind running Android however, I don't believe it is the iPad killer.  This may not be a bad thing for Google because with a $200 price point this tablet is in a whole different category of price for decent quality android tablets.  The Nexus 7 isn't a cheap tablet that you'll find in a Borders; this tablet is the real deal.

Even if this isn't an iPad killer there is no doubt that it is a game changer.  The most exciting part of this for me (an iPad user) is the low price tag.  Now this Android tablet is an arguable competitor to the iPad at a substantially lower price.  In my eyes this will cause for one of 2 things to happen in the whorl of apple.

One thing that might come with this is the long awaited release of the currently fictional iPad Mini.  It seems that this smaller version of the iPad will have a smaller screen similar to the Nexus 7 and will also hold a competitive price point to it as well.

However, the other possibility in my eyes if that Apple takes it a step further by upgrading their current iPad and somehow pricing it to be competitive with 7" tablets like the Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire.

Either way, it will be very interesting to see how the tablet market evolves after the Nexus 7 makes its mark in the tech world.  Make sure to voice your opinion by commenting below; what do you think of the Nexus 7, what will other companies EX: Apple or Microsoft do to respond to this tablet successful or not?  Make sure to come back for more of the tech new that you every so crave.

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Is PC Gaming Dead?

I hate when hackers get into my MW3 lobbies as much as the next guy, but should the PC platform be completely killed off for something that happens on other platforms too.  Even though gaming on the PC has brought so many innovations to the gaming industry?  Even a few modded lobbies aren’t enough in my opinion to scrap an industry that brought us dedicated servers and games like StarCraft and World of Warcraft.  What Minecraft fan has ever been unhappy?

The amount of players on consoles may be a step above PC.  However, the quality of players using the PC as their daily gaming driver is through the roof.  It’s as every player on PC has the experience of an MLG gamer.  I play on the PC equally as a console.  In different observations it is very clear that the players on the PC are a step above those of Xbox 360.  In addition, I would hands down have a group of PC players on Xbox 360 against a group of 360 players on PC.  Those who play PC are the cream of the crop when it comes to gaming.  The idea of destroying the platform in which these top level gamers strive it Ludacris. 

Innovation is the way of the future.  With new handheld systems like the PS Vita coming out it becomes harder and harder to see the point in having a 25 pound machine sitting at a desk.  Well to start off the graphics capability of a gaming PC makes the Vita look as simple as a monkey clapping symbols.  Also, PC’s give the user so much more capability.  The ability to use a gaming rig for everyday computing need along with craving a gaming fix make it one hundred times more convenient than Uncharted in your hand.

PC gaming shouldn’t be thrown is the trash just because of one flaw.  There are flaws with every gaming system and users have to learn to cope.  That’s the way the world works.  The incredibly benefits of PC Gaming make it arguable the best gaming platform today.  So comment below.  Do you play games on the PC; or do you use a different platform?

Apple's New Maps Headed to The Mac

Like with every new release of iOS a programmer is able to poke his little cursor into the coding and always finds at least one hint of a future product/announcement for apple.  In this case inside an iOS 6 beta someone was able to find a subtle hint that the new maps application found in iOS 6 is coded to be on a mac as well.  I myself however cannot think of a good use for this on a computer.  I even am starting to shift away from google maps.  The days of map quest are quickly ending if not already over. Most people use GPS in their car now.  Between brands like Tom Tom and most phones having a GPS in them i haven't gone on map quest or google maps to use directions for at east 2 years now.  This is just my personal opinion but I would like to hear your feedback.  Would you use a maps application on a Mac? Do you even use a web service like map quest to get directions?  I just think that our world is moving into a different age that is more portable and technological.

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Why iTunes Match isn't successful

At least in my eyes, iTunes match after being announced a little under a year ago hasn't exactly taken off.  Whether it be the fact that it is to expensive, or the fact that there is no real need for it, this competitor to spottily and similar music services from google or amazon; in my opinion, apple just hasn't hit the nail on the head yet with match.  What apple is offering doesn't play in well with the devices they offer too.  Most people today that I know buy most of their music on the web (whether it by via iTunes or a music service like spotify.  This defeats the purpose to have iTunes match unless you are an older user who already has an entire music collection on another platform such as cd's.  However logically, these people with cd collections are more likely to have a higher capacity iPod rather than a more expensive device like an iPhone.  In terms of money, why would someone buy a music service for $25 a year, then have to buy another device like an iPhone with the ability to access iCloud everywhere for another $200 when they can just get an iPod Classic for $250 and have it pay for itself in 3 years. In addition, every iPhone after 2 years becomes very slow and not up to date enough for the new iOS.  Then, for another $200 every 2 years they would get the same ability as a one time payment of $250.  It may seem like a rant, but in my mind iTunes Match just doesn't make much sense.  Comment below and let me know what you think about Match.  Do you use it? Would you like to use it? Or do you use a service like Spotify?

Make This Big

Good news, I've started writing for the website makethisbig.com. I write for the Tech section (If you didn't guess already.) and i've already posted an article about the future of BlackBerry.  Go check it out it is a great website and I highly recommend checking it out.

Today in Tech History 7/9

Every day is a wild one in the world of tech.  However, on July 3rd 1997 a new movement of technology took an unexpected turn for the better.  On this date Gilbert Amelio resigned as the CEO of Apple.  That was the fateful day when a man named Steve Jobs took his place and began his plan to change the entire world forever.  It's no questioning how much this move by Apple changed their fortune forever.  However, there where also many events on this day in history that began smaller but no less important empires.  The big example of this from this day was when AT&T became an independent company.  It just goes to show that even though one company's news story might be bigger at the time than the other; it just shows that history is as unpredictable an interim CEO or a company starting to flex it's wings.  Nobody back then could have predicted the positions of the companies today.  These stories may not be as exciting as the daily news stories today but these stories definitely shaped the tech world today.