eSchool News | Steve Jobs page 1

How to lecture like Steve Jobs (or Ashton Kutcher)

Jobs, the new film documenting the life of Steve Jobs and Apple, will likely be one of the most talked about summer movies.

Perhaps best known for making personal computers popular with the Macintosh, “Jobs technology” has also enhanced animated films with Pixar, simplified music sharing with the iPod and iTunes, revolutionized communication with the iPhone, and modernized how we access information on the iPad.

Though Steve Jobs wasn’t at Apple’s helm during the 12 years the company established itself as the leader in educational technology in the 1980s and 90s, it was his vision that brought computing into the education mainstream, ed-tech leaders say.…Read More

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Apple again turns to Cook in CEO Jobs’ absence

If the past is any indication, Tim Cook’s mastery of inventory management and his high expectations of employees should leave Apple Inc. in good hands while its charismatic leader, Steve Jobs, takes a medical leave of absence, the Associated Press reports. Apple said Monday that Cook, the chief operating officer, will take charge of the iPhone and iPad maker as Jobs focuses on his health. Unlike Jobs’ half-year medical leave in 2009, during which he specified he’d return to work at the end of June and stuck to it, Apple did not say when, if ever, Jobs would return as CEO. That means Cook, 50, considered a logical eventual successor to Jobs, 55, could be in charge for a long time, perhaps permanently…

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Rumors point to dual-core processors, improved graphics for new iPad, iPhone

Even as the tech world came to grips with the troubling news Monday that Steve Jobs will take his second leave of absence in just two years, the iOS rumor mill continues to grind, with new, dual-core versions of the iPhone and iPad still expected to arrive in the coming months, Yahoo News reports. The latest word has it that new versions of the iPhone and the iPad are in line for a souped-up, dual-core version of Apple’s A4 system-on-a-chip, with AppleInsider reporting that the new chipset will boast far more processing and graphics power than the original — perfect, it would seem, for powering a new 2048-by-1536 iPad display (as per MacRumors), not to mention 1080p video and HDMI support for the iPad and iPhone, and perhaps even for a third-generation Apple TV…

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Apple: Free cases to alleviate iPhone 4 problems

Apple Inc. will give free protective cases to buyers of its latest iPhone to alleviate the so-called “death grip” problem in which holding the phone with a bare hand can muffle the wireless signal, reports the Associated Press. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the giveaway July 16 during a news conference at the company’s headquarters, even as the company denied that the iPhone 4 has an antenna problem that needs fixing. The more than 3 million people who have already bought the iPhone 4 and new buyers through Sept. 30 will all be eligible. People who already purchased the $29 “Bumper” cases will be refunded. Jobs began the event by saying, “We’re not perfect,” but was quick to point out that no cell phone is perfect. He played a video showing competing smart phones, including a BlackBerry from Research in Motion Ltd., losing signal strength when held in certain ways. Phones usually have an antenna inside the body. In designing the iPhone 4, Apple took a gamble on a new design, using parts of the phone’s outer casing as the antenna. That saved space inside the tightly packed body of the phone, but means that covering a spot on the lower left edge of the case blocks wireless signal. Consumer Reports magazine said covering the spot with a case or even a piece of duct tape alleviates the problem. It refused to give the iPhone 4 its “recommended” stamp of approval for this reason, and it had called on Apple to compensate buyers…

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Next iPhone has clearer screen, video chat capability

The next iPhone comes out June 24 and will have a higher-resolution screen, longer battery life, and thinner design, as well as a camera on the front that can be used for video conferencing, reports the Associated Press. CEO Steve Jobs opened Apple Inc.’s annual conference for software developers June 7 by revealing the iPhone 4, which will cost $199 or $299 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T contract, depending on the capacity. The iPhone 3GS, which debuted last year, will still be available, for $99. The iPhone 4 is about three-eighths of an inch thick; the previous iPhone was nearly half an inch. It is getting a camera on the front that could be used for video conferencing, in addition to a five-megapixel camera and a flash on the back. It can shoot high-definition video, catching up to some other smart phones. The display on the new iPhone remains 3.5 inches diagonally, but Jobs said it can show four times as many pixels—the individual colored dots that make up an image—as the previous screen…

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Steve Jobs muses on all things Apple

In a wide-ranging interview with the hosts of the D8 technology conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs defused rumors that Apple will do away with Google’s search products on its technology platforms or that it will soon revamp its ailing Apple TV product, reports the New York Times. Jobs didn’t make any news or announce any new products or partners, but he delivered some interesting tidbits. Perhaps most significantly, he said Apple has no plans to get rid of Google’s search and maps services on the iPhone or iPad. “We have some Google properties on our phone,” Jobs said. “Just because we are competing with somebody doesn’t mean you have to be rude.” Jobs also appeared to pour cold water on reports that Apple was about to unveil a new version of Apple TV, saying that the digital television business was plagued with a series of problems, including challenges in distributing new products. He was far more circumspect when asked whether there might soon be an iPhone running on a network other than AT&T’s in the United States; he bit his lip as he considered how to answer, then said: “There might be.” He also said he didn’t set out to have a war with Adobe over the Flash, the web technology that Apple has refused to include on the iPhone and on the iPad—but he said the success of Apple’s products suggests that consumers are doing fine without it. Jobs also predicted that the ongoing shift in technology away from the PC and toward mobile devices will continue. But rather than disappear, the PC will become a niche product, he said…

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Steve Jobs attacks Adobe Flash as unfit for iPhone

For iPhone users who’ve been wondering whether their devices will support Flash technology for web video and games anytime soon, the answer is finally here, straight from Steve Jobs, reports the Associated Press: No. In a detailed offensive against the technology owned by Adobe Systems Inc., Apple’s CEO wrote April 29 that Flash has too many bugs, drains batteries too quickly, and is too oriented to personal computers to work on the iPhone and iPad. This is not the first time Jobs has publicly criticized Flash, but the statement was his clearest, most definitive—and longest—on the subject. In his 1,685-word “Thoughts on Flash,” Jobs laid out his reasons for excluding Flash—the most widely used vehicle for videos and games on the internet—from Apple’s blockbuster handheld devices. He cited “reliability, security, and performance,” and the fact that Flash was designed “for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers” as some of the reasons Apple will continue to keep the program off its devices. But he said the most important reason is Flash puts a third party between Apple and software developers. In other words, developers can take advantage of improvements from Apple only if Adobe upgrades its own software, Jobs wrote. Adobe representatives did not have an immediate comment. But in a March 23 conference call, President and CEO Shantanu Narayen said his company is “committed to bringing Flash to any platform on which there is a screen.”

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Developers seek to link iPad with education

Some educational iPad applications are available at no cost in the Apple store.

Technology experts say Apple’s latest gizmo, the iPad, won’t replace students’ laptops, but a menu of applications could help teach the periodic table, a range of languages, and a host of other K-12 and higher-education subjects.…Read More

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Educators intrigued by Apple’s iPad

The web-enabled Apple iPad starts at $499.

Apple’s new tablet computer, the iPad, could push other companies to bring more color-capable eReaders to the market in a move that could make digital books more commonplace on school campuses, educators said after the long-awaited release of the technology giant’s latest product.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad Jan. 27, calling it a new third category of mobile device that is neither smart phone nor laptop, but something in between.

The iPad, which is Wi-Fi enabled, has 10 hours of battery life, features a 9.7-inch screen, weighs 1.5 lbs, and will use the iPhone operating system, meaning education companies that have made iPhone apps can make their technology available for iPad users.…Read More

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Can Apple’s tablet spark a textbook revolution?

Educators expect the Apple tablet screen to be much larger than the iPhone display.

Can the release of Apple’s eReader tablet do for textbooks what the iPod did for music: combine an online store for purchasing books with sleek hardware that holds every text a student needs?

That’s the question many educators are asking as anticipation of Apple’s new tablet mounts.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is widely expected to unveil his company’s eReader Jan. 27 in San Francisco, and industry insiders expect the product to have a large touch screen that is smaller than a laptop screen but larger than an iPhone.…Read More

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