As we’ve grown up on the Internet, we’ve become accustomed to the ISP policy of unlimited data usage. It was a good marketing approach in the early days of the Internet and, in any case, ISPs had no way to measure your usage anyway. Flash forward to 2011, and it’s a whole new ball game.…
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
Change the Colors of a Chart in Apple’s Numbers
The place to start is a button called “Chart Colors” in the Numbers Format Bar. It’s on the far right at the top, and, unfortunately, if you downsize your window, its the first thing to disappear.Chart Colors is in the Format BarBy the way, to make sure the format bar is visible, from the Numbers…
Sense and Sensibility Regarding Apple’s iPhone Tracking
It’s no exaggeration to say that, once again, Apple has gotten behind the public relations curve on a critical technical issue. This doesn’t happen because, from time to time, Apple slips up or because the media decides to kick some sand in Apple’s face. It happens because Apple is a large, aggressive company and these…
What Time is it? Your iPad 2 *Still* Doesn’t Know
Back in February, 2011, I found that a Wi-Fi only iPad 1 was not invoking an NTP daemon to check with an external time standard over that Wi-Fi connection. Apple seems to have determined that this is not necessary, even though, without constant calibration, the iPad 1 clock can drift by a second per day,…
Why Apple’s iPad Sales for Q2 Were so Poor
Previously, my own estimate was that Apple would report sales of 9+ million iPads for the last quarter. That was based on Christmas momentum and the popularity of the iPad 1. I used Apple’s own aggressive goal of selling 40 millon iPads in 2011. That’s 3.33 million per month. However, it appears that Apple customers, right…
What No One has Dared Think About Apple’s Data Center
It’s that recasting that I want to talk about with respect to Apple’s data centers. A lot has been written about Apple’s new data center in North Carolina, but no one has been able to put together a coherent picture of what it all means. Most articles wax into lofty notions of a massive data…
Apple Sues Samsung Over Galaxy Look and Feel
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple’s filing said, in part, “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.” Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said, “This kind of blatant…
Apple Quietly Shuffling Component Sources
In another report, Softpedia is reporting that Apple is investigating the use of the OmniVision 12.6 megapixel camera, which can record 1080p video, for the iPhone 5. Recent reports have cited Sony’s CEO Howard Stringer as suggesting that Sony would supply Apple with an 8 megapixel camera, but the March 11 earthquake in Japan may…
iPhone 4 Surging Towards Top of Flickr Popularity
While the Nikon D90 digital SLR remains in the number one spot, in terms of percent of members, the iPhone 4 is climbing fast according to flickr’s ongoing chart. What’s interesting to note is the Apple iPhone 4, 3GS, and 3G took the first three spots amongst popular smartphones, but when compared to the overall…
Macally SNAP2-MR iPad 2 Case: Beauty and Minimalism
This is the third in a series of reviews of iPad 2 cases that wrap around the back and sides. Some also come with a screen protector, but the Macally SNAP2-MR does not. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Differences when compared to the previously reviewed Scosche glosSEE and snapSHIELD are immediately obvious. The SNAP2-MR…
Scosche glosSEE p2 Case for iPad 2: Very Nice
This is the second in a series of reviews of iPad 2 cases that wrap around the back and sides. Some also come with a screen protector, and the Scosche glosSEE p2 is one of those. The product is very similar to its sister product, the polycarbonate snapSHIELD reviewed previously, and much of what I said…
Scosche snapSHIELD p2 Case for iPad 2: Good Marks
This is the first in a series of reviews of iPad 2 cases that wrap around the back and sides. Some also come with a screen protector, and the Scosche snapSHIELD p2 is one of those. The Scosche snapSHIELD p2 iPad 2 case is made of polycarbonate, and is fairly stiff. The case I received…
Set up Google Reader RSS Subscriptions
1. Go to the Google Accounts page. Here’s where you can also create a Google account for the first time. Otherwise, login with your Google credentials.2. After you log in, you’ll see a page like this:Google AccountsNear the bottom right, click on “Reader,” in bold. Later, you can come back and adjust your Reader “Settings.”…
XSysInfo App Cleans Memory, Displays System Info
The XSysInfo app for iOS devices displays a wealth of system info. It also provides estimates of time available for various tasks like video playback or talk time. In addition, it will clean up the device’s memory for better app performance. Apple likes to keep things as simple as possible so that people can focus…
Negative Feelings About AAPL — What’s Going On with Apple?
Amidst this, however, there are some contrary winds. The disaster in Japan and consequent parts shortages and reports of the continuing rise in market share of Android seem to have investors spooked. Over the weekend, Henry Blodget at the Business Insider suggested that the iPhone is Dead in the water. His analysis was based on…
Why Apple Might Delay the iPhone 5
The lure of Apple’s iPhone is strong. The ecosystem surrounding the iPhone, AirPlay, Home Sharing, iTunes, the App Store, and Apple’s sales an support, are robust. Apple could probably introduce an iPhone 5 with one or two major added features, and everyone would be happy. For example, a sturdier aluminum back, a better antenna system…
What Could Go Wrong with WWDC? Nothing. (Right?)
When an event that hosts 5,000 people sells out in one day, that’s good for Apple. Each year, lately, the event sells out faster and faster. Last year, WWDC 2010 sold out in just eight days. Of course, the crowds, excitement and anticipation are good for Apple. Will Steve Jobs give the keynote? Will the…
Stream Audio & Video from Mac to iOS 4.3 Device
First, this how-to doesn’t go into the differences between the classic iTunes Sharing and Home Sharing. If you’re unsure about that, see “Confused about iTunes Home Sharing?” by Ted Landau or “Activating Home Sharing in iTunes” by this author. Next, if you’re just getting started with this, it’s probably best to make sure that you…
The Unexpected Uses of the iPad 2’s Rear Camera
While the idea of a front facing camera makes a lot of sense for FaceTime, many have had a hard time visualizing how to exploit the rear facing camera of an iPad. Here are just a few of the applications I’ve run across or thought of recently, and I’m sure I haven’t thought of everything.…
iPad 2 Specs Are a Disappointment
Here’s a comparison chart of the iPads and Motorola Xoom. (My colleague, Bryan Chaffin has posted a bigger, better version.)What’s notable is that the Xoom has a million pixel display while the iPad 2 has 786K pixels. What happened to Apple locking up the majority of the capacitive screens from Samsung? I can’t complain about…
You Gotta See This!
The iPhone App “You Gotta See This!” stitches together a montage of multiple iPhone 4 or iPod touch 4G camera images right after you shoot. Just press the start button and wave the camera over the area of interest. You can use either of the two cameras. When you’re done, the app creates a beautiful,…
Some Deeper Questions About Apple and Publishers
The approach that Apple is taking with publishers has been discussed just about everywhere, at length. In a recent Hidden Dimensions column, I argued that the criticism of Apple, in many cases, is not well grounded. There is a component of the publishing industry that doesn’t want to change, blames Apple, and some news sites…
Particle Debris (wk. ending 2/25) Awakenings
In part, these are fluff pieces, but they’re important because they give us a feel for how people are reacting to tablets and the imaginative things they’re doing with them. Once you read about how hotel concierges are using them to greet guests or how school children are using them to watch, live, the revolutions…
The State of Browser Security: 2011
First, there are three security issues related to browsers to keep in mind. Intrinsic security. How well can a browser deal with malicious payloads coming back through port 80 that can either harm a system or install software that takes control? Such payloads bypass a firewall because it’s a valid return of an outgoing request…