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Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, iPhone

RFID coming to iPhones?

by Sang Tang (RSS feed) on Nov 6th, 2009
Photo courtesy of flickr: Thijs Jacobs
Back in April 2009, TUAW's Dave Caolo posted a video showing off the potential (and some of the potential annoyances as well) and possibilities of an RFID-enabled iPhone world via an iPhone RFID prototype by Near Field. And, according to a Near Field Communications blog posting, Apple is said to have equipped prototypes of the next-generation iPhone with RFID readers.

How awesome would it be if, instead of using my Mobil Speedpass, I could turn to my iPhone and swipe that against the gas pumping station to pay for gas? And, because there may eventually be "an app for that," I may also be able to view my current balance and fuel economy statistics. Or, instead of needing to put a FasTrak transponder atop my windshield (which is annoying), I could simply put my iPhone on the dashboard as I cross the toll road. I could then view my balance, as well as fill up my credits on the fly. These are just some examples of RFID applications in use today.

Tags: iphone, prototype, proximity, rfid, rumor

Filed under: Hardware, Odds and ends, Apple

Patent Roundup: 'Hover' touch surfaces, liquid-cooled laptops

by Robert Palmer (RSS feed) on Dec 4th, 2008

Two Apple patent filings have piqued interest this week: One for a touch surface that detects where your finger is hovered above it, and another for a liquid-cooled laptop.

The hover surface works by measuring light reflected off your finger at various wavelengths to figure out where it is over the surface. Apple uses a basic proximity sensor in the iPhone (so it knows when it's up against your ear), but this new technique would allow more precise recognition of objects hovered above a touch-sensitive surface. Unlike a graphics tablet, which requires a stylus, your finger or hand is likely the intended tool for this surface, as evidenced by the drawings.

Second, the liquid-cooled laptop, as with similarly-cooled Power Mac G5s from a few years ago, is designed to improve performance by reducing the temperature of the components of the computer. The patent describes wrapping a small heat pipe around various components in the computer that contains a liquid coolant.

Liquid-cooled G5s, though, were prone to leaks, which led to heavy damage and dismay for users of the systems. Apple entirely replaced many of the systems that leaked, rather than trying to repair them.

[Via Electronista and AppleInsider.]

Tags: hover, liquid-cooling, patent, proximity, thermal, uspto

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Apple Financial, Apple Professional

Apple acquires Proximity

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Dec 4th, 2006

According to Proximity's website, Apple has bought out all Proximity technology including their artbox workgroup and artbox enterprise products. Proximity's artbox is used to provide a single pro-level catalog content management system for both graphics and video clips. Its video asset management is used mostly in post production.

Artbox has been used by numerous broadcasters including WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, WHTR in Indianapolis, Indiana, WTHR in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the ONN 24 hour News channel. The Proximity acquisition further solidifies Apple's commitment to providing high-end post production products.


[Via ThinkSecret.]

Tags: acquisition, apple, proximity

Filed under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools

Meetro released for OS X

by Dan Lurie (RSS feed) on Jun 15th, 2006

Meetro OS XLocation based social-networking is a concept that has been bouncing around the net for a while now. The idea is to make getting together and interacting with people easier by sorting users by--or simply displaying--their geographic proximity to you. Services such as dodgeball have become hugely successful in mobile markets, and Meetro is attempting to do the same thing for desktops and laptops. With Meetro, you create a buddy list, and are alerted whenever someone on that list comes within a user specified distance of your current location. I'd get into the magic internet voodoo that Meetro uses to figure out where you are, but their FAQ page is currently down.

Although Meetro is the first location-aware instant messaging service that I know of, I can't see it taking off. My issues with it are two fold; I have to create a whole new identity to use the service, and if I want to know where my friends are, I have to get them to do the same. Although the interface of the program has come a long way from when I first saw it in its early beta stages, its still not nearly as user friendly or intuitive as I would like. Ideally, I'd like to see a plug-in for iChat or Adium which allows me to see the location of my regular AIM/MSNIM/YIM buddies when I mouse over them.

In any case, Meetro is certainly an interesting concept, and worth checking out, even if only to get a taste of what surely will be many similar services to come.

Via MacNN

Tags: dodgeball, geotagging, instant, location, mac, meetro, messaging, osx, proximity

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