This iOS app is based on the 1965 TV animated special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Of course, it’s aimed at children, but even adults who grew up with Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts cartoon series will enjoy it — it’s just so darn appealing. Filled with touchy-feely and sound effects charm, it recreates the TV special…
John Martellaro
John Martellaro was born at an early age and began writing about computers soon after that. With degrees in astrophysics (B.S.) and physics (M.S.), he has worked for NASA, White Sands Missile Range, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Apple. At Apple he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager, a Federal Account Executive and a High Performance Computing manager. His interests include chess, science fiction and astronomy. John is the host of the TMO podcast Background Mode.
Articles by John Martellaro
iPhone 4S: Summary of Case Reviews [UPDATED]
1. OtterBox Commuter Case’s Dual Layers Rock, 2 Nov 2011, rated 4.5/5 (Great!), US$34.95. A dual layer case with an inner silicone cushion and an outer hard shell. It’s good looking and almost perfect. 2. OtterBox Impact Case is Minimalist, 3 Nov 2011, rated 3/5 (Solid), US$19.95. A single layer of silicone. Tends to pick…
The Last Particle Debris
What will be different is that it’ll be a named column. And what that will do is give me the freedom to create better, longer titles. After all, what other column has the name and date embedded in the title itself? So you’ll have to watch for the column by it’s badge in the red…
iPhone 4S: Incase Pro Slider: Gorgeous and Strong
This is another excellent iPhone 4S case from Incase. Because it is so strong and rigid, it comes in two pieces that slide together. Soft pads on the inside provide just the right friction to keep the pieces secure. On this model, the black face and dark blue edges look gorgeous. Like the Incase Metallic…
iPhone 4S: Incase Metallic Snap Case: Minimal & Stylish
The Incase Metallic Snap Case is just like the Snap Case that Apple offered to iPhone 4 customers in 2010 to help with user grip and antenna problems. That one was clear. This case, however, is opaque and metallic, and it’s so minimal that it can probably still be used with your current belt holster.…
Developer: “Changing Apple Policies Get on the Nerves”
Dave Hamilton: So, you started Apparent Software yourself, didn’t you?Jacob Gorban: Yes. About five years ago, but it was a side project more or less. I was working full time as an electrical engineer at a large company, and ImageFramer became an evening and weekend project. [Jacob references early partner Kosta Rozen] And then, I…
iPhone 4S: Incipio DRX Case is Barely Ordinary
Incipio has a wide range of cases for the iPhone. This DRX model is designed to be minimalist and have a stiffer frame than soft silicone cases. It’s a very basic case, but also remarkably expensive and, hence, disappointing. This case lies in the middle ground between soft silicone cases and the more elaborate two…
iPhone 4S: Speck PixelSkin Case is Solid
The Speck PixelSkin case for the iPhone 4/4S falls in that range between the very soft silicone cases and the dual-layer cases with a hard plastic shell. The material is a little stiffer, doesn’t pick up much debris, yet the pixelated surface provides an excellent grip. Like the OtterBox Impact case reviewed earlier, this case…
iPhone 4S: OtterBox Impact Case is Minimalist
The OtterBox Impact case for the iPhone 4/4S is a simple, black, elastic silicone case that stretches over the iPhone. It provides basic protection with a soft, comfortable grippy feel. It comes with a screen protector as well. Unlike the Otterbox Commuter and the Incipio Delta reviewed previously, this case is a single layer of…
iPhone 4S: Incipio Delta Case Disappoints
Incipio has been making cases for the iPhones for some time, and the company offers a wealth of different models. The Delta model is a “dual protection” approach of soft and harder materials, but doesn’t measure up in some design details. On the plus side, a self-adhesive screen protector is included. This case is vaguely…
Push Your Hot Buttons with Lion Tweaks
Apple, in its OS design, is constantly balancing ease of use and simplicity against disclosure and control. For example, in OS X Lion, Apple has hidden the user’s Library folder. Lion Tweaks allows the user to quickly bring it back to visibility along with a many other useful changes to Lion’s default preferences. Lion Tweaks,…
Steve Jobs is Gone. Will Our Dreams be Next?
How it Started There was a time, right after World War II, when technology was cobbled together with vacuum tubes, copper wire, solenoids, electric motors and a soldering iron. For a long time, the best we could do was to build rather large, brute force devices: vacuum tube computers, aircraft carriers, radars, rockets. Even so,…
What Time is it? Your iPad & iOS 5 Finally Knows
Back in February 2011, I noticed that the internal clock in my iPad 1 with iOS 4.2.1 was drifting quite a bit, off by many minutes from when I bought it, and I reported on the problem . It appeared that, to save battery power, iOS was not firing up a radio subsystem and periodically…
Android to iPhone: Mine is Bigger
I think it’s amusing, indeed hilarious, that the competitors to the iPhone, with their recent behemoth Android phones, are repeating the same mistakes that Apple made in the PC wars of the previous two decades.Lessons of History You must have lived through that era to remember the approach Apple was taking. Apple was first out…
iPad 3 in Pre-production: 2048x1536 Display
That’s likely a precursor to continued ramping up in the first quarter of 2012 to prepare for Apple’s now traditional launch of new iPads in late March or early April. Prior to the release of the iPad 2, rumors suggested that it would have a high resolution 2048 x 1536 pixel display, but that idea…
iSuppli Publishes iPhone 4S Cost of Parts
One item found was a new wireless module from Avago Technologies Ltd that allows the 4S to be used in global wireless 2G and 3G systems. Also seen was the first use of a Hynix Semiconductor Inc. NAND flash memory, a notable departure from Samsung as Apple’s traditional NAND flash memory supplier.“While the iPhone 4S…
Siri: Please Dispose of my Mouse and Keyboard
I think it was 2004 when I was on the Apple campus for a meeting. Dr. Kim Silverman and I had bumped into each other in the lobby of 1 Infinite Loop, and he wanted to show me the latest in voice recognition technology at Apple. I had some time, so I accompanied him to…
The Cost of Betrayal: Apple’s Destruction of Android
Large, wealthy companies have the ability to explore legal scenarios in detail that would exhaust the efforts of lesser companies. That is to say, a comprehensive understanding of one’s patent position and the intricacies of the implications require a hard working and well funded staff. That’s one reason why big companies get bigger. For a…
Life After Steve Jobs: Apple University for Execs
When Steve Jobs was alive, people in Mr. Jobs’s confidence didn’t speak out. That was basic decency, courtesy, friendship and respect. However, now that he’s no longer with us, the floodgates will start to open. Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs is due to be published on October 24. Pre-publication excerpts from that book hav…
Watt to Know About iPhone & iPad Power Adapters [UPDATED]
1. Apple started out with the classic iPods, that used FireWire 400, using a power adapter called the “Apple iPod Power Adapter.” It’s model number A1003, and the output is 12 watts (12 volts x 1 amp). It’s about 6 cm. on a side, and should be used with older iPods that use FireWire 400.…
A Mac User’s First Reaction to Windows 8
Apple customers have been in a bit of a tizzy lately talking about how Apple has introduced what it thinks are some of the best ideas from iOS into OS X Lion. I think it’s interesting that the questions of what “the best” means as well as the agenda of Apple doesn’t come into sharp…
Our Superhero CEOs: Richly Rewarded for Failure
We live in a superhero culture. Authority is rolled upwards in corporations and the government until there’s only one person at the top who can make definitive decisions. And then, in a fit of irrational idealism, we reward them for total failure. Except, of course, Apple. One of the best run companies in America is…
Al Gore Spills the Beans: New iPhones in October
Al Gore, who is on the Apple Board of Directors, is quoted by the editor of Stuff Magazine, Toby Shapshak, as follows. “Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.” Why would Mr. Gore say such a thing when we know that ordinary Apple employees can get fired for…
OS X Lion: Tweak AirDrop to Work on Ethernet
AirDrop, as an alternative, uses something called Wi-Fi Direct. It’s a fairly new protocol that allows to modern Macs, both with Wi-Fi, to see each other more visibly, connect more easily, and transfer files (or an entire folder) with just a drag-and-drop. They don’t even have to be formally connected to a Wi-Fi network —…