Cranking out news for the geeks, music buffs and gossip junkies, my way. -Greg

I made a New Years resolution not to hate on Taylor Swift, Ford, Apple and pretty much anything in general that I’ve grown to dislike. I think I’ve done well to stick to it and feel good about that. So I’m not about to break that resolution here. That doesn’t mean I can’t review something right? Today Apple announced the iPad 2 and by nature I’m a geek so I sat in the front row (on engadget) and watched Steve Jobs and a few others tell us all about it. I have to say I was impressed for several reasons. Light, thinner, faster, cameras, and the battery life and price stayed the same. Good show Apple, good show! However I can’t simply applaud them without pointing out a few things against them. First up the obvious still no Flash support. Steve, you may think the future is html 5 and Flash is dying, but you’d still be the only one. Again no USB, I think Steve is just being stubborn. How about no 4G? If you’re trying to be a leader then why wouldn’t you use the latest in mobile network technologies? No, you won’t find support for LTE or HSPA+ on the iPad 2; however it will be sold on AT&T and Verizon’s 3G networks.

Now, let’s take another look at the price, yes it’s true that it stayed the same, however if you want HDMI, then you’ll have to fork out another $40. If you want their nifty cover that seems to be actually part of the design then you’re looking at another $40 for the poly and $80 for the leather. Adding these seemingly necessities could cost you $40-$120 more just for HDMI and the case, I’m sorry “cover”. Well that puts you up a few notches in price. Since there is no 4G support, USB, and Flash then you’re loosing a more than a few “how much is it really worth” dollars in my mind. So yeah the iPad 2’s out the door price is a little cheaper than the other major tab players, but your getting a lower end tab. -Greg

Here is a nice comparison chart provided by phandroid.com:

“The snap of a few sparks, a quick whiff of ozone, and the lamp blazed forth in unparalleled glory.” Ok so maybe that’s not exactly how it went, but that unforgettable line from A Christmas Story is exactly how I felt flashing and booting Froyo (Android 2.2) for the first time on my Captivate. XDA forums user designgears has become mine and many others hero with his post where he shared the freshly leaked official Froyo build for the Samsung Captivate. I spent a fair amount of time trolling through the already popular thread reading everyones comments looking for complaints or proof that it was not the official build. It seemed that it was true the official (leaked) Froyo build was upon us. I pained through over 20 minutes downloading the Froyo Odin build, while biting my nails and sitting on the edge of my seat. I will be adding the Stock and Froyo Odin Roms to a torrent later tonight and posting it here, so check back. I backed up my paid apps using Titanium, then pulled my external SD and copied it completely to my PC. I also downloaded the stock Odin build for the Captivate just to be safe. I’ve added my own version of an easy to follow guide to share with anyone who needs it. 

Keep in mind a few things. My phone is running JH7 and is rooted. I’m not saying you need either of these, I just want you to know where I’m starting from.

* Make sure you already have your Windows drivers, which you can grab from here, installed for the phone before you begin.
* Make sure to run Odin with Windows admin privileges.
* Make sure to back-up anything and everything you might have stored on your phones internal storage. (phone book, pictures, music, documents)
* Also note that your phone will be wiped of all history, call logs, text messages, root access, the bloatware will return (which is easily hidden with Launcher Pro and if you need it back for warranty purposes its easily returned), it will be a stock phone running Froyo.

• Power off phone
• Remove SD Card (if you have one)
• Start program on computer
• Plug USB cable into computer
• Hold both volume up and volume down buttons (it can be done, you will feel them both go down)
• Plug USB cable into phone
• Odin will detect the phone in whatever com port its attached.
• Release Vol up and Vol down
• Press the START button in the program
• This will give some info in the program, wait
• It will have a progress bar on Odin and on the Phone.
• The phone will reboot itself and install Froyo
• The phone will reboot itself again and BAM you have FROYO!!

That’s it for now, I’m going to be posting later today about some of the great things I’ve found using Froyo, such as the new task manager, added hotspot, updated cut and paste, and the almost fixed GPS. What you think I haven’t played with it yet? Yeah right, those are what I think are the biggest things and I can’t wait to talk about them!! -Greg

A special big thanks goes out to designgears and XDA!

So, my Samsung Captivate just keeps getting better. Samsung will soon be introducing a Micro USB to HDMI cable. Allowing the ability of connecting my Captivate directly to any HDMI TV (or any HDMI device), via its Micro USB port, and playback video, pictures, and sound. It’s the ability to continue to grow even after production of the Galaxy S line that really just keeps pushing them closer to complete iPhone annihilation. Ok, so maybe that is a little far out, but its sure sounds good. Let’s see, Galaxy S keeps adding new features and abilties after production and the iPhone 4 keeps showing new faults, issues, and defects since production. Seems like its a pretty easy choice between the 2, but thats just me. -Greg

Available soon from Samsung

The newest Android 2,2 release will come with Wi-Fi Hotspot creation. Its also going to have USB tethering. Android / Google I love you guys, you make it so very easy for me to poke fun at iPhone users. -Greg

Light Peak sounds to me like the next logical step.  Predictions of going to IEEE and becoming a 10-terabit link is insane, not that it can’t be done, but imagine that, it’s very exciting. We could very well be about to travel at light-speed, with our media anyway. -Greg 

September 28, 2009 4:00 AM PDT

by Stephen Shankland

SAN FRANCISCO–You’ve probably heard about fiber optics for years–some kind of exotic technology used to carry gargantuan quantities of data across continents. But in the not-too-distant future, you might be plugging these tiny glass strands straight into your computer.

That’s if Intel gets its way. At its Intel Developer Forum last week, the chipmaker demonstrated fiber-optic technology called Light Peak for connecting many devices to PCs with fiber optic lines. Intel secured major Light Peak endorsement from Sony and now it’s has begun trying to make it into an industry standard.

But bringing optical technology to the masses will require more than Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner taking the stage to connect a thin white Light Peak cable into the back of a prototype PC. According to sources familiar with the situation, the most likely mechanism to carry Light Peak out of the R&D lab to the edge of your laptop will be the venerable Universal Serial Bus, and Intel has begun pounding the pavement to try to make that happen.

“Now all the pieces are in place,” Rattner said. “We need to get a standard established to turn on the entire ecosystem to Light Peak.”

Even technophobes are familiar with USB. The plug-and-play technology started its journey in PCs and has spread to handsets, consumer electronics devices, digital cameras, and more. And new developments from the group behind the standard, the USB Implementers Forum, could expand adoption more, with a new faster, more power-efficient version and with technology to make it better for charging devices plugged into a computer or power outlet.

 

Read full story at CNET