Connected Data Updates 4-Bay Drobo Storage System

4 Bay Storage Devices with Enhanced Support

Connected Data, recently announced that Drobo Gen3, the next generation 4 bay storage devices, a new feature concurrent with its release of the new array, is much faster and cheaper than the previous Drobo models. Its enhanced support also features Apple’s Time Machine backups and Mac owners can now avail the improved Time Machine support in the Drobo Gen3 wherein instead of using an entire drive for Time Machine, they can now maximize their data storage space by way of allocating a fixed amount of capacity for their Time Machine derived backups. If the Drobo array is connected to the favorite Mac and used for Time Machine backup, the backups would take up the entire capacity of the array. It is now possible to set aside part of the total capacity of the Drobo array and work with Time Machine making provision for additional capacity for daily storage.

Drobo’s BeyondRAID Protect Data From Hard Disk

The Drobo 4-bay sports a pair of USB 3.0 ports, priced at US$349 for bare box which can begin filling with any 3.5” SATA II/III drives that one may have. Drobo’s BeyondRAID technology enables the user to mix and match drives in order to start off with smaller drives and change them with higher capacity drives according to their choice. The Drobo is the latest generation storing device and holds true to its design and simplicity making it the most favored desktop storage and protection data solution. Drobe’s BeyondRAID storage technology protects data from hard disk crash which is simple for any user to operate and no expertise is needed to ensure that the data is safe and protected. As long as there is more than a single disk in Drobo, all data on Drobo can be safe even if any of the hard disk tends to fail. Drobo is the easiest array anyone can manage wherein if a drive fails, all that needs to be done is to slid it out and plug in a new one without any tools. Drobo utilizes simple form of thin provisioning enabling the OS in believing it has more capacity than it does and when a larger drive is added the need to reformat and reload your data is not needed.

Dual Failure Protection

Besides this, the new Drobo also features a redesigned architecture with improved speed which is about three times faster than the prevailing ones and array rebuild times which is four times faster than before. Moreover the company has also provided battery backup, giving the new entry more protection from power problems by temporarily storing in progress transactions till the power gets restored. Consumers can opt for dual failure protection, which can reduce the total capacity though it would mean two drives which may tend to fail but with the data safe, this feature could be helpful. Current Drobo owners interesting in migrating to the new device can avail the company’s offer of $50 discount while purchasing the new Drobo through the company’s online store. This deal would be available through June 9, 2014 on sales made through their stores as well as some authorized resellers and the devices will be shipped in late April.

Apple’s GT Advanced Sapphire Plant

Apple is progressing in building its manufacturing presence in the US, its new plant in Mesa, Arizona and the GT Advanced Sapphire plant, a large nondescript building seems to reach completion with AppleInsider receiving a batch of photos showing the recent progress. It was stated that the construction personnel have been working round the clock and mostly at weekends in order to get the job completed by June this year. The documents filed with the US International Trade Administration in January has revealed Apple’s `go live', focused date was somewhere in February and the plant would probably be partially active as the construction reaches completion. It is said that the Apple GT Advanced factory under the code name Project Cascade is responsible in the production of a new sapphire part which is bound for consumer Apple device while some speculate that the component will be either a replacement part for the current hardware like the iPhone screen or could be something new.

Powered by Renewable Energy

It is rumored that around the local electrical industry in Arizona, Apple could be going in for a project expansion into a building on the site which was previously owned by photovoltaic panel maker First Solar and the purpose of the support structure is yet unknown. The project will make provision to bring around 2,000 local jobs and the building will be completely powered by renewable energy. Apple uses sapphire which is an incredible and a durable material which has been used in small parts of the iPhone, the protective glass over the camera sensor and the Touch ID sensor in the iPhone 5s is made of sapphire as well. This sapphire glass will be made at the Mesa plant together with GT Advanced Technologies.

Manufacturing Equipments by GT

It is reported that the Arizona Governor, Janice Brewer stated that `Apple is indisputably one of the world’s most innovative companies and that he is thrilled to welcome them to Arizona. He further states that Apple will have an incredibly positive economic impact for Arizona and its decision to locate here speaks volumes about the friendly, pro-business climate that has been created for the past four years. Their investment in renewable energy will also be greening their power grid and create significant new solar and geothermal power sources for the state’. GT Technologies will also be providing all the manufacturing equipment per a multi-year agreement to Apple and when the facility is up and running it would be providing around seven hundred jobs.

Sapphire Glass – Key Component for Future Devices

Apple’s interest in sapphire glass indicates that it could be more of a key component for the future devices. Touch ID would eventually make its way to iPad and then there could be the possibility of Apple switching to sapphire display. Sapphire being a highly durable glass could also be a best for choice for wearable. According to a statement made by spokeswoman, Kristin Huguet to AllThingsD, she states that they are proud to expand their domestic manufacturing initiative with a new facility in Arizona, creating more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction and that this new plant will make components for Apple products which will run on 100% renewable energy from the very first day.

New Apple TV

Apple’s New Device with Quick Processor

It is reported by Bloomberg, that Apple had held negotiation meeting with Time Warner Cable somewhere in the middle of last year along with other potential partners for video content and an agreement with Time Warner Cable could probably mark the first deal with a satellite or cable company. The new device will be a successor to the current Apple TV which is in the process of testing and is likely to be announced towards April for sale by Christmas, it was reported. It would be a set top box instead of the full fledged TV set and that the product would include revamped operating system in line with iOS. It is also said that the new device which plugs into a television set would have a quick processor unlike the earlier version with an upgraded interface enabling people to navigate between TV shows, movies, together with other online content. The Time Warner deal would enable Apple TV customers with a wider choice of live TV channels while at the moment customers can access only a limited number of individual channel apps some of which worth mention are ESPN, HBO, ABC, PBS, Bloomberg TV, Disney, etc.

Time Warner Deal to be Finalized Soon

According to Apple Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook, he states that the year would be full of new production introduction. It is also reported that Time Warner who had been in talks with Apple for over a year now would be willing to hand over the reins of the customer facing user interface to Apple and that the deal would be finalized very soon. Apple who is aiming to make the device available for sale by the time Christmas approaches is a bit uncertain on the release date since the company is still in the process of securing new agreements with programming together with distribution partners, which was anonymously stated.

New Apple TV with Added Support for Apps

With reference to a new Apple TV hardware which was discovered earlier this week, in a recent release of iOS 7, rumors indicated that a new Apple TV would now see added support for apps as well as Bluetooth game controllers in the forthcoming months. Towards the end of January, Apple TV had received new prominence on the Apple Online Store with suggestions that the platform could be developed into more than just a hobby. The long delay between introduction of the new entry and its launch is something which Apple is capable of handling as it is a known fact that Apple prefers to announce and release products in a short period of time. As Apple has been developing the new strategy for Apple TV, these past few years, there are issues as well as legalities relating in establishing partnerships with the movies and television distribution companies which it seems may make this venture of Apple TV content experience not much of a difference from the current and past Apple TV models. Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, showed big ambition for the television issue while speaking to Walter Isaacson. We need to wait and watch of what lies in store with the launch of Apple’s new entry. Do visit Macmyth for updated information on Apple News.

Apple Intending to Update its Library of Emojis

Apple, Google and Microsoft together with other tech firms design their own versions of their 800 basic emoji characters and how they ought to appear. Apple it was reported has vowed that it will now update its library of emoticons and smileys called emojis to fill the diversity gap after the complaints of celebrities about the cartoon emoticons lacking diversity which was conveyed through email by MTV Act blogger Joey Parker to Apple CEO Tim Cook and received a reply from Katie Cotton, Apple’s Vice President of worldwide corporate communication, stating that their emoji characters were based on the Unicode standard which was necessary for them to be displayed properly across many platforms with a need of more diversity in the emoji character set and that they have been working closely with the Unicode Consortium in an effort to update their standard’. Cotton though did not make a mention on when Apple intends to update its emojis.

More Ethnic Diversity in Range of Emoji

Apple it was said wants more ethnic diversity in the basic range of emoji that are available to text messaging apps, adding that it was operating the body responsible in deciding the range of standard graphic symbols which could be added to text messages. Presently the characters have dozens of faces of people which appear white though only two of the symbols are said to be Asian and none are black. A list had been developed and maintained since 2010 by the Unicode Consortium, a Silicon Valley based nonprofit organization consisting of major computer firms, software producers, user groups and several others to ensure that different devices and mobile carriers can altogether share a basic set. Emojis which are based on a Unicode character set allow them to be displayed across platforms where the changes or any type of addition to these characters need to go through the Unicode Consortium.

Emojis – Text with Expressive Power

Apple’s emojis depict a variety of objects, moods together with people including art for LGNT couples some of which was included in its last update. Several users have observed lack of diversity with regards to emojis especially African-Americans. The fact that emoji had become popular first in Japan; the current list of Unicode has only two Asian people; a man with a turban and a man with Gua Pi Mao which is a type of a Chinese hat. Broadcaster had approached the company after the petition had been posted informing Apple to increase the ethnic diversity which was found within its emojis keyboard. It was stated that the keyboard has already offered a graphic which shows a same sex couple and informed the company to present people with skin tone on a wider range. An Oxford University research, Bernie Hogan has been studying the use of emoji as a part of his research on how the users represent themselves on the internet. According to him it seemed to be a trivial problem since many device owners were now more reliant on the tool stating the emoji existed first and foremost as a purpose to augment text with expressive power and if they restrict the sort of people who are used in the images it may restrict the expressive power of the user and would not feel that emoji speak for them.

Best Tips for Beginning Digital SLR Photographers

Many beginning photographers adore DSLR cameras. DSLR cameras for beginning photographers give them the opportunity to learn the nuances of manual photography without having to go through an extensive learning process upfront. Photographers can use auto features on digital SLR cameras almost literally right out of the box. Digital SLR cameras offer the best of both worlds for beginners.
New photographers can use smart features to get clear images right away and start working on composition as well as other fundamentals of photography that do not have a lot to do with the camera used. As new photographers gain more interest and advanced skills, digital SLR cameras provide a little extra help. For example, the autofocus feature is almost always good to use, no matter what the skill level of the photographer is.
Below is a list of some of the best tips for DSLR photography beginners.
1.Understand ISO Setting Principles
Using a DSLR camera on automatic settings will not work in all instances. Understand the basic principles behind ISO. A few decades ago, ISO was a method used to understand film speed. The same basic ideas still apply to digital photography, especially when taking action shots or shooting in low-light settings. In short, the shutter speed combined with the aperture settings results in how much light reaches the image in what amount of time.
A high shutter speed can allow photographers to snap pictures without much of a chance that they will be blurry. The aperture can be set to allow more or less light in by changing sizes. Focusing on aperture settings can allow photographers to alter the focus in pictures. DSLR cameras allow beginners to play with settings that are not purely manual for optimal results. After all, incorrect manual settings can result in images that are overexposed or underexposed to the point where the image is not discernable.
2.Change Perspectives and Paradigms
One of the best parts of photography is the ability to capture images in a different way than people normally see them. One of the best tips for beginners is to get close. Find out how interesting pedestrian items can be when photographed up close. A bell pepper or a highway might be more interesting than first thought. Expand artistic ability by focusing on everyday items instead of impressive monuments. Find out how to make a wooden patio or a coffee cup interesting. Look up, or take a picture of the sidewalk. Find out what photography is all about by taking away focal points that are naturally interesting.
3.Take Many Photos, Then Take Some More
Have fun taking photos. Take photos of the same scene using different camera settings, and see what happens. One of the best parts of digital photography is the ability to experiment with new techniques and ideas. There are conflicting views on whether or not photographers should stay true to legal rights when taking pictures of a building on the street. Some argue that rights are rights, and others argue that respecting others is the way to go.
Form an Individual Style and Philosophy
Create a unique style and philosophy as to what photography should be all about. Learn the basic principles behind ISO photography, and go from there. See what new creative avenues a DLSR camera can open, and see what unique images a DLSR camera can take.