Life in Pixels

haud ignota loquor

  • Retina MBP and the Future

    Back in 1998 Apple introduced the iMac – and it was a big step forward in computer history. For starters, it was the first computer that did away with the old floppy drive technology, and truly pushed what was the hot tech at the time: the CD drive.

    And now, they’ve done it again. Watching the WWDC ’12 keynote, I noted a striking connection to the boldness of the original iMac: when CEO Tim Cook paused before revealing the inside of the new Retina MacBook Pro, commenting that the underside of Apple’s computers look better than most company’s actual design, it was as if Apple was lifting a caption from the marketing of that original iMac ( “the back of our computer looks better than the front of anyone else’s”).

    But more importantly, it’s their constant push of that removal from the past, of forging a new way forward, that is the most striking factor of this new product. It’s superficial to be looking at the new Retina MacBook Pro and commenting that it’s purely the Retina screen that’s the single most important factor, and that 1 Infinite Loop has lost their technical guidance. Because it’s not about the exterior, but rather the engineering prowess embedded in the interior, that can truly signify the direction a technology company is headed in. Simply slapping a Retina onto a new computer is not the full approach Apple has here; rather, it’s a new way of thinking. And with the Retina MBP, Apple’s started over, and I think that’s the best approach, having been involved in software projects myself that required a refreshed way of thinking to solve new challenges (more on that in a later post).

    Design and engineering require a level of precision unique to their trade; it’s a level of thinking about things and seeing things that is fundamentally different to other professions. This is clearly the case in the new MacBook Pro. From the tiniest of details – the asymmetrical fan blades that produce a variable frequency, thus making the fans appear to sound quieter than they actually are, and that draws cool air in from air-intakes on one side of the machine, allowing intelligent thermodynamic design to cool the innards of this beast, and then expelling it at the other side; the use of only Solid-State Drives, and, most significantly, the move away from including a superdrive (disc drive). These are factors that signify a push in the direction of the future, a push that once before in history ended the era of the floppy drive and ushered in the CD and DVD epoch.

    The new MBP is the icon marking a new wave of computing, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

  • On the Publication of the Vymanika-Shastra…

    The 20th century may be said to be made historic by two achievements: the bringing of Moon-rock from outer space, and the publication of “Vymanika Sastra” from the unknown past.

    – G. R. JOSYER
    Academy of Sanskrit Research

  • 3D: It’s Not About Excessivness

    After recently watching Men in Black : 3, I finally came to my personal conclusion about the 3D cinematic phenomenon. In fact, I kind of realised it when watching Alice in Wonderland. The 3D of today is not the same as the red-and-cyan-split 3D of the past, where it was all about the excessive spectacle of exaggerating perspective out of the screen-box.

    Rather, today’s 3D is more about adding a sense of depth – both into the screen and spanning outwards from it, all in the hope of creating a more immersive cinematic experience. It’s almost like a modern version of the medieval puppet-boxes, except with CGI special effects.

    However, I’m still very partial to 3D. I think that Hollywood is simply using it as a gimmick to sell more seats, and the technology still has a long way to go until it really becomes a good tool to augment the art of cinema.

  • 2012: Another Great Year in Film

    We’re almost halfway through the year already, and we’ve had some great films to enjoy – specifically,  The Hunger Games and The Avengers. But 2012 in film is just beginning – the majority of this year’s films “to look out for” lie in the second and third quarters. Here’s a selection of films that I’m personally looking forward to:

    The Amazing Spiderman

    A “re-boot” of Marvel’s webbed hero, this time with Andrew Garfield (the talented British actor who plated Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network) at the helm.

    The Dark Knight Rises

    Perhaps the greatest film of 2012? Directed by one of my favourite filmmakers, Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises is the closing of the Dark Knight saga that began with Batman Begins. A considerably darker superhero thriller, this film represents not only a cinematic triumph in creating such a haunting portrayal of the caped crusader, but a deep introspection at the nature of our society.

    Men in Black 3

    The third in the Men in Black sci-fi-(comedy?) franchise. A “franchise” film, so don’t go expecting some exceptional filmmaking talent, but a fun movie nonetheless.

    Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

    The famous American president. As a vampire hunter. ’nuff said. Directed by Tim Burton – after all, who else could pull something like this off?

    Brave

    Pixar Animation Studios returns with another classic tale that’s sure to bag an Academy Award for Best Animated Picture. Of note: this will be the first Pixar film to cast a female character in the lead (what took them so long?). It’s set in the Scottish highlands, considerably new territory (and new challenges) for this talented team of CGI innovators.

    Skyfall

    The final James Bond film in the three-part “reboot” of the franchise with Daniel Craig as 007, Skyfall sees Bond question his loyalty to M as secrets of her past surface, and it’s up to the quintessential British spy to save MI6 from an attack seeking to destroy the spy organization – regardless of the cost to himself.

    Les Misérables

    Starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russel Crowe, it’s the latest adaptation of this classic Victor Hugo novel.

    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

    We return to Middle-Earth in this first of a two-part film adaptation of the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit. Directed by award-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, the trailer sure looks enticing of this much-anticipated prequel series.

    Django Unchained

    Leonardo di Caprio, Jamie Fox and Christoph Waltz: directed by the epic mind of Quentin Tarentino in the western-themed film Tarentino always wanted to produce but never managed to previously. Along with Gatsby and Dark Knight Rises, a must-see.

    The Great Gatsby

     Apart from The Dark Knight Rises, there’s just one other film that I cannot wait for: Baz Luhrmann’s cinematic adaptation of the legendary F. Scott Fitzgerald novel that has come to define an entire epoch. The tragedy is told in classic Luhrmann style, and after watching the trailer, I know we can expect another great cinematic experience.
    Of the films listed above, my personal three films that I absolutely cannot wait to see have to be The Great Gatsby, The Dark Knight Rises and Django Unchained. Each directed by a legendary director and starring some brilliant actors, they’re sure to become the cornerstone of 2012 in cinematic excellence.

  • BlackBerry 10: A Schrödinger’s Cat

    At the recent BlackBerry World in Orlando, Research in Motion took the wraps off their new platform and, effectively, their redemption attempt. In a world ruled by the iPhone and Android, this once king of the mobile world faltered in its scrambled attempts to take on the might of Apple. Much rests on the outcome of this latest attempt from the struggling Canadian-based phone maker.

    They call it BlackBerry 10, and it’s a new operating system that takes on a rather refreshing approach to the smartphone interface. From what I’ve seen in the introductory video below, which uses a device called the BlackBerry Dev Alpha Device to show-off some of the key features of the software (a mock, testing phone that may not actually be the final product to use the BlackBerry 10 OS), I’m impressed. If Research in Motion (developers behind the BlackBerry brand) can pull this off without the glitches that the BlackBerry has become notorious for, then I think we have ourselves a contender for the mighty smartphone throne currently occupied by the guys over a 1 Infinite Loop.

    The new OS makes distinct use of swiping gestures, and the “swiping” approach is taken from answering phone calls to operating the actual device. A bold move for BlackBerry comes in the final move away from physical keyboards – something that has become a trademark of the brand. With BlackBerry 10, RIM have designed a rather intuitive “soft” keyboard that has strong predictive text capabilities. It will learn to understand what you’re typing and how you type, and suggest words for you. This was introduced in previous devices, but with the new platform, they’ve obviously strengthened the overall capabilities of the tool and even integrated the swiping gestures here – you simple swipe upwards to select the suggested words to add to your text.

    The new camera is an interesting feature: from the moment you open the app, it begins taking a series of shots. You can then go “back in time” to select the correct photo. This eliminates those often annoying photos where someone’s closed their eyes etc.

    Here’s another video, from The Verge, detailing a few more features of the new platform:

    Below is a gallery of shots from the promotional video so you can see the new interface they’ve designed:

    Blackberry 10, for me, is a Schrödinger’s Cat. We don’t really know how effective and successful it’ll be until it is released later this year. In other words, until they release actual devices and people get to use the platform, as far as we’re concerned right now, it’s both “bad and good.” For starters, what’s displayed above is a very early look at the platform, and it’ll be interesting to see what the actual device to run OS 10 will look and function like. What’s good about this platform from the onset, though, is that RIM have been bold enough to deviate from the current “look and feel” of the iPhone-inspired smartphone experience: rounded-corner icons, app-filled home screens, “traditional” gestures… Let’s just hope that they can extend that idea to the rest of the platform, and to the future devices that’ll be running this system.