6 Features Apple MacBooks Should Steal From the iPhone - PC Magazine

The iPhone 4 and iPad are no doubt the darlings of Apple's revered product line, dominating media coverage in the past year. As such, both offered unique features that helped them stand out in crowded markets, and in certain cases, redefine their category. Now, as Apple's Back to the Mac event approaches, we've made a list of some of these features that we hope Apple will apply to its latest Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops.

1. Retina Display. The iPhone 4's "Retina Display" is touted as having 4 times as many pixels as its predecessor, and the higher contrast ratio makes anything multimedia pop. Basically, the iPhone 4 ships with a higher resolution on the same screen. Since Apple was able to do it with the iPhone, why not offer a "Retina Display," or a higher screen resolution, with the Apple Macbook and Macbook Pro.

2. Embedded 3G. There are two versions of the Apple iPad: one with Wi-Fi only, the other with a built-in 3G modem. Doing this for a device that's practically a PC should set the precedent for Apple's upcoming laptops, no? Apple should offer embedded 3G in all of its laptops

3. HD Camera Sensor. The iPhone 4 and the latest iPod Touch both come with camera sensors that can shoot video in 720p HD. It's almost laughable that users are watching their glorious high-definition clips on a 3.5-inch screen. If Apple can put these HD sensors in over a billion handhelds, it seems like a MacBook Webcam should be given the same capability to shoot video. HD content, furthermore, can be appreciated on a bigger a screen, or streamed over to an HDTV, via the DisplayPort.

4. Touch Screen. The touch screen is an integral part of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Though unlikely, Apple could offer a multitouch feature for its laptop displays. It has become increasingly common in Windows-based laptops: The Dell Studio 17 (Multitouch), HP Mini 5103, and numerous convertible tablets offer multitouch displays.

5. FaceTime. The iPhone 4 and iPod Touch offer a software feature called FaceTime, which allows users to video chat using a W-iFi connection. Thing is, both parties must have compatible iPhones or iPod touch devices in order to take advantage of this feature. The rumor is already out that FaceTime is coming to Mac OS 10 or the next version of iLife. This is a no-brainer: It's a simple software installation that will allow users who don't own an iPhone 4, but own a Mac laptop, to communicate with others in the Mac community, through video. This move would also make an application like Skype less relevant on the Mac platform.

6. Mac OS App Store. The App store, finally, is the key that unlocks the success of the iPhone 4 and iPad. It's the reason why Apple's competitors have had little success in the slate tablet market. It seems improbable, almost pointless, to have an App store for the Mac when software for this environment is readily available on a disc and online. But there are several reasons why it would make sense to have a Mac OS App store: People are just familiar with the concept of downloading apps, because there's more variety; it's easier than driving to an Apple store to buy software; and it's less expensive in many cases.

It's the same reason why Intel is developing its own app store for devices that run on a full-blown version of Windows 7. The question isn't why; it's why not? Sure, developers will have to develop apps for yet another platform, tweaked so that they can run and look great on screens as large as 30 inches. It's a chance for Apple to gain market share in areas such as gaming, since gaming software is already scarce on the Mac side. The iPhone 4 and the iPad, contrarily, are touted as the ultimate mobile gaming platforms, so why not give developers an environment where they have an incentive to create.

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Fla. pastor wins car for not burning Quran - msnbc.com

CARL QUINTANILLA, co-host: Terry Jones , the pastor of a small church in Gainesville , Florida , planned to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 by burning copies of the Quran . On Thursday, after worldwide condemnation and appeals to stand down, Pastor Jones called it off. Pastor Terry Jones and his assistant pastor , Wayne Sapp , are here this morning. Gentlemen, it's good to see you. Good morning.

Pastor TERRY JONES (Dove World Outreach Center): Thank you.

QUINTANILLA: Lot of people wondering what you're doing in New York today.

Pastor JONES: Yeah, we have come here with the hopes of speaking with the imam. We feel that we have somewhat of a common denominator in the fact that most people do not want the mosque near ground zero . And, of course, I assume all Muslims do not want us to burn the Quran .

QUINTANILLA: So is there a meeting between you two?

Pastor JONES: There is not. We have been trying to set up one.

QUINTANILLA: Trying to set up meeting. There are voice mails exchanged. Is there -- what's the possibility...

Pastor JONES: Yeah, we have -- we have a couple of people who are working on it who are mediating the situation.

QUINTANILLA: But you came to New York in the hopes that a meeting would happen...

Pastor JONES: Right, right.

QUINTANILLA: ...not because a meeting's happen....

Pastor JONES: No, there is no meeting. We just have that hope that one will take place.

QUINTANILLA: The burning was scheduled to happen tonight...

Pastor JONES: Right.

QUINTANILLA: ...right around 6:00.

Pastor JONES: Right.

QUINTANILLA: Is it going to happen?

Pastor JONES: We have decided to cancel the burning.

QUINTANILLA: Why?

Pastor JONES: Yeah, we feel -- we feel that whenever we started this out, one of our reasons was to show, to expose that there is an element of Islam that is very dangerous and very radical. I believe that we have definitely accomplished that mission. Even though we have not burned one Quran , we have gotten over 100 death threats , we see what is going around in the whole world even if we do it. We feel a little bit -- if you're familiar with the story of Abraham , we feel a little bit like -- Abraham was also called to do something very crazy. I mean, God told him to go to the mountain and sacrifice his son. Of course, Abraham was much wiser than us. He told no one.

Pastor JONES: Yeah. So he got to the mountain. He started to do it, and God told him to stop. So we feel -- we feel we have accomplished our goal. We were obedient. We feel that God is telling us to stop. And we also hope that with us making this first gesture, not burning the Quran ...

QUINTANILLA: Yes.

Pastor JONES: ...to say, 'No, we're not going to do it'...

QUINTANILLA: Not today, not ever.

Pastor JONES: Not today, not ever. We're not going to go back an do it. It is totally canceled. We hope that through that maybe that will open up a door

to be able to talk to the imanabout -- yeah, about the ground zero mosque.

QUINTANILLA: So there are -- you can guarantee us today that there will never be a burning of the Quran at your church.

Pastor JONES: I can absolutely guarantee you that, yes.

QUINTANILLA: Wayne , is this -- Pastor Jones talks about an element of Islam being radical. Are you now saying that the religion itself is not radical in and of itself?

Associate Pastor WAYNE SAPP (Associate Pastor, Dove World Outreach Center): I believe there are some teachings that are carried on throughout the entire religion. They are as -- as there are in denominations in Christianity -- there are facets in Islam as well that push one element more than others. But that element is still alive and well throughout the entire religion.

QUINTANILLA: We've been criticized in the media, perhaps fairly, that we gave you a microphone and made you basically an international name, well-known in this country certainly, and that that was publicity for your church, that you've been toying with us with these on-again, off-again pronouncements; 'Is he going to burn? Is he not going to burn?' Was it for publicity?

Pastor JONES: Absolutely not. We were 100 convinced -- 100 percent convinced that this was a -- this was a type of a -- of a mission. We believe very much that there is Shariah law , that there is an element that is -- that is very, very radical. I am of the opinion it is much larger than our politicians and our news media would like for to us believe. And I believe that we have -- we have -- we have well, well proved that point by the reaction worldwide.

QUINTANILLA: You arrived at La Guardia last night amid lots of security. The security around here this morning has gotten very intense. You've gotten 100 death threats , you've said. You're a reviled man and you're a wanted man in some places.

Pastor JONES: Right.

QUINTANILLA: How much of that is part of this decision? Did -- were you scared into it?

Pastor JONES: No. No, no, we already -- we definitely did not realize that all of this would take place. Of course not. But we knew that if we went in this direction that our life could be threatened or would be threatened, we could possibly even get killed. I think the fact that we changed this decision -- we felt as though God was telling us to do this. I don't believe that has changed the death threats against us.

QUINTANILLA: Right.

Pastor JONES: I believe that we have already went too far to change that.

QUINTANILLA: If this mosque is still built, which you clearly oppose, you still will not reverse your decision, you still will not burn the Quran ?

Pastor JONES: We will definitely not burn the Quran , no.

QUINTANILLA: Bottom line for the church, Wayne , is this going to create more members for your church or result in fewer members?

Assoc. Pastor SAPP: Well, one of the things I'm hoping that this creates is that there are strong passions in religion, and people really need to get back to the text of the Bible, the text of the Quran . What do they -- what do they actually believe? What is in there? Or are they following an element that probably really God did not want us to follow?

QUINTANILLA: Well, you made some news this morning, gentlemen. We appreciate your time coming in.

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Google Fights Facebook, Microsoft in Social Search - eWeek

Microsoft and Facebook have temporarily one-upped Google in social search with their new integration but, Google isn't going quietly.

Facebook Oct. 13 agreed to open its data feeds to let Microsoft's Bing search engine index and serve profile information and Liked Results in relevant situations.

The integration goes well beyond what Google has done with its own Social Search functionality, which lacks a large, cohesive network of user data.

The Facebook-Bing deal, then, is a big stepping stone to boosting social advertising, IDC analyst Hadley Reynolds told eWEEK.

"[Bing] can leverage the social info it lacked to keep people on their sites longer, with more exposure to ad inventory and the business it generates."

Google recognizes this as much as any other company. On Google's third-quarter earnings call Oct. 14, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was asked about how Google will capture signals in social search without accessing to data feeds similar to the deal Bing has struck with Facebook.

Schmidt paused a few seconds and noted that Google is careful about how its signals are assembled, but said there "are ways in which we could do that."

"We also have in development other ways in which people can give us that sort of information that can make it even more personal," Schmidt said.

Schmidt was clearly referring to Google's supposed Google Me project to socialize its search and Web service properties in many layers.

If that sounds like a veiled challenge to Bing and Facebook, it is. Schmidt has made no secret about Google's disdain for one-to-one arrangements where one company cedes data to another but not to the Web at large. He's also intimated he would like access to Facebook's data.

"There is always a concern that large, private collections of the data are not accessible to Web search engines," Schmidt said.

"We've take the position in a religious and business perspective that the world is better off if you take the info you're assemlbing and make it searchable, it provides a larger audience and drives more traffic to your site."

Unfortunately for Google, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is hardly in a rush to release Facebook data to any more search engines at this point.

That puts Google on the outside looking in, Altimer Group analyst Charlene Li told eWEEK.

"This is not a knock-out punch to Google, but it is significant that they are not the leaders in social search - Bing + Facebook are," Li said.

"Although [Bing] don't have the mass and scale to have an impact on Google, the fact that they have already gained ground over the past year is indicative that Google has vulnerabilities."

Another scary prospect for Google about the Facebook-Bing thing: Both Bing officials and Zuckerberg himself noted this new social search functionality is just a first step toward making search more useful, personalized and relevant using searcher's social graphs.  

"As more people collect, post, share and add more "likes" and social content, the value of social search will improve," Forrester Research analyst Augie Ray told eWEEK.

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