Josh Visser, CTVNews.ca Staff . via ctv.ca

Steve Jobs, Apple’s visionary co-founder and chairman, has died. He was 56.

Jobs had stepped down as CEO in August due to health problems. He had been previously stricken with pancreatic cancer and had struggled with health issues since 2004.

“Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family,” his relatives said in a brief statement.

“In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve.”

Apple announced his death without naming a specific cause.

The company’s new CEO, Tim Cook, broke the news to staff in an email Wednesday.

“I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today,” he wrote.

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

“We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon.”

Apple, the United States’ most valuable company and arguably the world’s most-loved technology brand, asked those who wanted to share their thoughts and condolences to email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted what was on the mind of many people Wednesday night.

“There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented,” Obama wrote.

In a formal statement, Obama said that Jobs was bold enough to believe he could change the world, and with his talent, he did.

Jobs had been suffering from health problems since being diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in August 2004. In 2009, Jobs underwent a liver transplant during a six-month medical leave of absence.

He was back at the helm of Apple, sporting his iconic black turtlenecks and toting his company’s revolutionary products, for a year and a half before he was forced to step down for a final time.

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come,” Jobs told his employees at the time.

After dropping out of college, Jobs, along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, founded Apple in 1976, virtually inventing the concept of personal computing.

He would then go one to radically transform several other industries in the coming decades, forever changing the way we listen to music with the invention of the iPod, and the way we communicate with the introduction of the iPhone.

And with the release of the iPad in 2010, the brilliant touch-screen tablet computer that we never knew we wanted, Jobs secured his position as one of the most visionary and successful entrepreneurs in American history.

Even in his time outside of Apple after being asked to resign in 1985, Jobs managed to have a Midas touch. He co-founded the visual effects company, Pixar, which became the animation studio behind classic films such as “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E.”

He returned to Apple in 1997 as its CEO, and sold his Pixar majority share in 2006 to The Walt Disney Company, where he was named to that company’s board of directors.

Apple lost $2 billion in the two years prior to bringing Jobs back. He quickly went about streamlining the company and focusing on the design and consumer markets.

A year later, the iconic iMac was launched and Apple had a hit product on its hands. In 2001, the iPod was released, flipping the music industry on its head.

In 2006, author Steven Levy wrote “The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness.”

“The iPod was really the pivotal device for this century which showed that technology could not transform our lives but also be an object of lust, in and among itself,” he told CTVnews.ca Wednesday, only hours before it was learned that Jobs died.

The news of Jobs’ death comes one day after Apple unveiled its latest version of the iPhone. Before the news of Jobs’ death, a group of Apple fans had declared Oct. 14, the day the new iPhone 4S is to be released, to be “Steve Jobs Day.”

For many of Apple’s fans, of which there are millions in the die-hard variety, Jobs was more than a businessman — he was the Apple brand. Considering he was a billionaire many, many times over, to be that loved is a remarkable achievement.

Jobs leaves behind his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, and four children.

In 2005, Jobs gave the commencement address at Stanford University, a speech called “How to live before you die.”

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” he told graduates. “Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Follow Josh Visser on Twitter

Josh.Visser@bellmedia.ca

Orginal Article at Computer World

If you instead point your mouse — without clicking — to the leftmost bottom corner of the Desktop, a menu pops up with several options: one for search, one for changing settings, one named Share (whose only purpose appears to be to share a screenshot using a Windows 8 social networking app called Socialite), and a Devices button apparently designed for printing, playing games and sending content to others, but that doesn’t work in this version of Windows 8.

The search panel slides into place on the right side of the screen.

When you click any of these options, a panel slides into place on the right side of the screen that lets you make any choices you need to in order to perform the selected task. Click on Search, for example, and the right-hand panel shows a search box, along with a variety of locations where you can search.

Some of the more familiar Windows applications have been updated. Windows Explorer now sports a ribbon interface, which is a great improvement over its previous version. Many features, which previously might have been hidden or hard to navigate to, are now easily accessible via five main tabs: File, Home, Share, View, and Manage. Internet Explorer is up to version 10, which on first glance looks and works much like Internet Explorer 9. Run it and you’ll be on familiar ground, with the usual menu-less, tabbed interface. It supports CSS 3, HTML 5 and Flash.

Windows Explorer 10 sports a ribbon interface, which is a great improvement over its previous version.

Is it two interfaces or one?

The Metro interface and the traditional Windows desktop are so separate from one another that the overall feel of Windows 8 is of two uneasily co-existing interfaces, rather than a well-blended whole. For example, Metro apps run full screen only — like tablet and smartphone apps — and lack menus, while traditional applications on the desktop include menus, let you minimize and shrink them, and work just like those for Windows 7, Windows Vista and other earlier versions of Windows.

 

More confusing still is that Metro apps don’t show up on the Windows desktop, and although desktop apps appear in Metro, they’re not easy to find — you need to scroll all the way over to the right to see them. (Internet Explorer is an exception, and shows up prominently in both places.) That only reinforces the feeling that these are two separate interfaces, not one.

Because most of the changes in Windows 8 have to do with Metro and Metro apps, which are consumer-oriented rather than business-focused, it’s not clear what’s in Windows 8 for enterprises. Businesses will almost certainly want to use the traditional desktop rather than Metro, and nothing in the desktop at this point seems to offer them much of note. Upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows Vista to Windows 8, at least based on this first look, could become a significant undertaking for businesses because of the Metro interface, with as yet no clear benefits.

According to Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division, this version of the operating system is a “bold re-imagination” of Windows. It is certainly different. Of course, at this point, Windows 8 isn’t even beta; it’s still only a developer preview — future versions may well blend Metro and the desktop more seamlessly.

These are only my first impressions; Computerworld will publish a more in-depth review of Windows 8 within the next few days. So stay tuned.

Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld.com and the author of more than 35 books, including How the Internet Works (Que, 2006).

Orignal Article at iPhone in Canada

 

 

Wow. If you managed to catch the live blogs of WWDC 2011 today, you were in for a real treat. I caught about 3/4 of the show via a live-stream on UStream (a mash up between audio and video) and the audience was electric. Apple made some massive announcements today, and we’re going to summarize the important iOS 5 details. Here’s what you need to know.

iOS by the Numbers
– 44% of the mobile operating system market (Comscore numbers)
– 200 million iOS devices sold (25m iPads in 14 months)
– 15 billion songs sold in iTunes, #1 retailer of music
– 130 million downloads from iBookstore
– 14 billion plus apps downloaded from the App Store
– $2.5 billion plus paid out to developers
– 225 million plus iTunes accounts with credit cards

Scott Forstall took the stage for iOS 5, and walked through 10 new features. iOS 5 will have over 1500 new APIs, and 200 new features.

1. Notification Center – an aggregation of notifications are now accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen, just like Android OS. Notification show up just like MobileNotifier.

On the lockscreen, you’ll see notifications. Slide across to access apps. Clear notifications by tapping tiny X icons to the right. Brilliant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Newsstand – essentially iBooks but for magazines and newspapers. Vanity Fair, GQ, Esquire, etc. Once downloaded, they are on your homescreen in a folder. New issues updated automatically, available offline.

 

 

3. Twitter – there are 1 billion tweets per week, and now twitter is integrated within iOS, just like rumours stated. Built into Camera, Photos, Safari, Maps, Contacts. Twitter can automatically update your contacts with twitter IDs.

 

 

4. Safari – 2/3 of mobile browsing down on Safari. New features…
Safari Reader: makes web pages easy to read without ads
Reading List: this is like Instapaper to save links for reading later.
Tabbed Browsing: ‘lightning fast’ to switch between windows

 

 

5. Reminders – a built in list making app that uses a geofence, and will send you reminders. Once you leave or enter a particular location, you’ll get an alert. Like, if you’re driving near the grocery store you’ll see your reminder to buy milk. Okay, there goes my upcoming review of Georeme.

 

 

6. Camera – iPhone 4 soon to become most popular camera on Flickr, eclipsing Nikon D90.

Lock screen shortcut: We’ve been waiting for this. Shortcut to camera app, even when passcode lock is on. Nothing else can be accessed. Take a picture with the Volume Up button (a page from Camera+ I see?). Gridlines, pinch-to-zoom, single tap focus/exposure locks. You can now edit photos: crop, rotate, reduce red-eye and even one click enhance.

 

 

7. Mail – much anticipated features: rich-text formatting, indentation control, you can now drag addresses, flag messages, and search entire messages. Dictionary is now built into all apps, and S/MIME is being added for security.

 

 

 

 

8. PC Free – This was a huge surprise, but was anticipated by rumours from John Gruber. You can now setup iOS devices out of the box without connecting to iTunes! What’s even better, are software updates will be over-the-air (OTA)! These will be Delta updates, meaning only what’s NEW will update, instead of redownloading an entire iOS. Brilliant!

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Game Center – 100,000 game and entertainment title in App Store. 50 million users in Game Center in just 9 months, compared to 30 million users for XBOX Live in 8 years. Ouch.

New features: achievement points, friend discovery, friends of friends, game discovery, and turn-based games right within the OS!

 

 

10. iMessage – This is THE killer app. A new messaging service for all iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch). This is the BBM killer. You’ll get delivery receipts, read receipts, typing indication, and Push. You can send pictures too.

A cross platform messaging service so if you started a chat on your iPhone, you can continue it from your iPad. Works over 3G/WiFi. Man, watch out WhatsApp!

 

 

 

 

So these were the 10 new features covered by Scott, but here are some features not discussed in detail:

 

 

- WiFi Sync to iTunes: when charging at night, iPhone will find iTunes, back up, and sync.
– Multi-tasking gestures to switch between apps
– AirPlay Mirroring – mirror iPad 2 to television wirelessly
– iPad split keyboard
– Emoji emoticons
– Personal dictionary
– Typing shortcuts
– Alternate routes in Maps
– Wirelessly sync Exchange tasks
– Time mid-call invitation alerts
– Improved FaceTime video quality
– Hourly weather forecasts
– iTunes Tone Store (YES)
– Swipe to delete songs and playlists
– Smart Playlist sync from iTunes
– Set tones for voicemail, mail and calendar alerts
– New iPad Music App
– Option to speak text selection
– Voiceover item chooser
– Mail improved offline support

iOS 5 developer seed arriving TODAY. iOS 5 shipping this Fall.
Will support iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2, and 3rd/4th generation iPod touch (sorry iPhone 3G users).

Some new SDK APIs:
– Location support in iOS simulator
– Customize UI
– Improved PDF support
– Core Image
– vForce and vImage libraries
– Page View Controller
– Fast forward and rewind streaming content
– Data protection for Core Data
– New developer tools
– Backlight level setting
– Dictionary popover
– Newsstand Kit
– Full page curl transition
– OpenGL ES debugger
– GL Kit
– OpenGL ES game extensions
– Access to LED flash
– Storyboarding
– Forward and reverse geocoding

Steve Comes on Stage for iCloud

Steve talks about how a decade ago he saw the computer as a hub for our lives. Now Apple is going to move us to the Cloud. “iCloud stores your content and wirelessly pushes it to all of your devices.” Essentially it is what MobileMe should’ve been. Contacts, Calendars, and Mail all synced on all devices–for FREE.

 

 

The App Store will allow for downloaded apps to be pushed (US ONLY) to any of your iOS devices, without paying again. Same with iBooks.

Everyday, content will be backed up. Once you get a new iOS device, just login to your Apple ID and your content will be right there. We’re talking music, apps, books, photos, videos, device settings, app data. Bam.

 

 

Documents in the Cloud

For Page, Numbers, and Keynote–your documents will be automatically saved to iCloud, including changes, and will work on Mac and PCs too. Apple wants to eliminate the file system. iOS is making computing easy again.

Photo Stream

All photos are pushed to iCloud, built right in (including iPhoto on Macs). Photos will go to Apple TV as well. Photos are kept for 30 days in the cloud, and will store the last 1000 photos. Will work over WiFi.

iTunes in the Cloud

All your purchases from iTunes will be pushed to all devices–for no additional charge. Multiple downloads to all devices for free! Not only that, high quality 256 kbps AAC, and pushed to up to 10 devices. This service, again, is free.

 

 

Users will get 5GB of free storage for Mail, Documents, and Backup (purchased music, apps, and books don’t count). iCloud will ship with iOS 5 this Fall. Today, iOS 4.3 beta will be out, and will include the ability to sync devices over WiFi or cable.

Steve’s One More Thing…

I thought an iPhone announcement was coming…but of course that wasn’t going to happen. The big story is iTunes Match for $24.99/year. Instead of uploading your entire iTunes library to the cloud, this service will scan your library for existing songs. Once found, you won’t have to upload them. The service ‘takes minutes’.

 

 

 

 

Any matches are automatically upgraded to 256 Kbps AAC, WITHOUT DRM. Boom. Apple just bursted Google and Amazon’s music storage bubble.

Apple Shows Off Their New Data Centre

Steve Jobs goes on to say they are serious about iCloud, this is their third data centre completed. The circled area below represents two people–that’s how large the data centre is.

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on the Announcement of iOS 5 and iCloud

What was interesting about this keynote is how Steve Jobs was not front and centre, aside from the intro and introducing iCloud. The rest of the keynote was executed perfectly by the rest of the Apple senior team.

My most anticipated features: iMessage (the BBM killer), iCloud, Reminders, and Twitter. I can’t wait to get my hands on the iOS beta build.

Last night, I made a few predictions on my WWDC Eve Wishlist that came to fruition today:

- Notifications: this was a given though
– Text tones: coming in the iTunes Tone Store
– iChat: I’ve been preaching for this for the longest time (just ask @justinluey) and iMessage came to life.
– Lockscreen: now being utilized for notifications
– Camera: volume button trigger (I guessed launching of the app)

All in all, iOS 5 is a massive update, and will be arriving this Fall. I predict it will coincide with a new iPhone hardware update. It would be perfect for a September announcement.

Apple has also updated their homepage to reflect iCloud. Watch the video of the keynote here.

What did you enjoy the most from today’s big day?

Thanks to Engadget, This is my Next, and MacRumors Live for the incredible live coverage as always.

Orginal Article at iPhone in Canada

 

Too many iPhone 5 rumours taking over your life? Haven’t had a chance to catch up with what’s been happening so far? Check out this helpful iPhone 5 rumours and roadmap infographic below:

 

Gee, that clarified all the rumours, right?