Rumor: Next iPhone to Gain Radio-Frequency Powers
Apple is rumored to be testing a prototype of its fourth-generation iPhone with a radio-frequency identification chip, which could greatly enhance the handset’s abilities for business and scientific applications. Business news publication Near Field Communications World cites a “highly reliable source” claiming to have seen the next-generation iPhone in action with an RFID scanner. “It’s not full […]

Apple is rumored to be testing a prototype of its fourth-generation iPhone with a radio-frequency identification chip, which could greatly enhance the handset’s capabilities for business and scientific applications.

Business news publication Near Field Communications World cites a “highly reliable source” claiming to have seen the next-generation iPhone in action with an RFID scanner.

“It’s not full NFC, but it’s a begin for real service discovery, and I’m told that the reaction was very positive [and] that we can anticipate this in the next-gen iPhone,” the source told Near Field Communications.

The rumor comes in line with a patent Apple filed in July, which described an RFID antenna being placed in the iPhone’s touch sensor panel.

An RFID reader would scan RFID tags, which consist of a personal chip coupled with an antenna. Data stored on the chip transmits wirelessly through the antenna to an RFID reader operating on the same frequency as the antenna. Many retailers use RFID tags to track products in transit; libraries use RFID tags to track books. RFID tags are also used to track humans or animals for scientific and medical purposes.

Clearly, an RFID scanner in an iPhone would immediately impact the enterprise segment and the science community, but it could move beyond that, too. The video above demonstrates a altered iPhone with an RFID scanner attached. An iPhone scans objects containing RFID tags, which triggers the handset to play a specific video. Thus, an iPhone with an RFID scanner could have augmented-reality applications for general consumers as well.

See Also:

• RFID-Enabled Phones Could Let Credit Card Companies Track Users …
• 10 Ideal Uses for RFID Tags

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Skateboarding legend and artist Mark Gonzales has created a preposterous “Circle Board” for his exhibit, Round n’ Round, at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery in NYC.

Fellow skater Anthony Pappalardo is attempting to ride this unwieldy beast around Manhattan in this video with limited success. Perhaps with a stronger frame and some practice, it would be possible to do really amazing tricks on something like this. Like completing a “loop of death” without physically going upside down. [Animal NY via The Jailbreak]

Via [gizmodo]

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Let’s face it: The iPhone’s camera kind of stinks. And if you suck at photography, it really makes it obvious. Fortunately, there’s a host of iPhone apps out there to beautify your shots. The ones I like most maintain the iPhone’s principle of keeping things simple. In this episode of the Gadget Lab video podcast, I […]

Let’s face it: The iPhone’s camera kind of stinks. And if you suck at photography, it really makes it obvious. Fortunately, there’s a host of iPhone apps out there to beautify your shots. The ones I like most maintain the iPhone’s principle of keeping things simple.

In this episode of the Gadget Lab video podcast, I demonstrate two iPhone apps for simple image editing and one app to swiftly post pics on the internet. CameraBag is a $2 app that automatically applies effects filters to your photos; TiltShift creates a depth of field effect to make photos look professional; and Flick It is a free app that uploads shots straight to Flickr.

This episode of the Gadget Lab podcast was produced by Annaliza Savage, with camera work by Michael Lennon, and audio engineering and video editing by Fernando Cardoso.

Camera Bag Download Link [iTunes]

TiltShift Download Link [iTunes]

Flick It Download Link [iTunes]

See Also:

• Video: iPhone App 'Postman' Saves Trees
• Gadget Lab Video: iPhone Game TowerMadness Is Addictive, Time …

Via [wired.com]

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802.11n Wi-Fi Adapter For Tivo Lands At The FCC [TiVo]

An AN0100 802.11n wireless adapter for Tivo is up on the FCC’s site. While there’s not much information on what the add-on will bring to the DVR, the promise of increased bandwidth advocates more robust network streaming for Tivos in the future. Here’s to hoping. [Engadget]

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Chuck Anderson, creator of Windows 7’s laid-back, cerulean-cool default wallpaper and login screen, showed me the evolution of his work—including Easter eggs, avoiding Mac tropes and why flaming skulls didn’t make the final design.

Chuck is the embodiment of the dreams of thousands of DeviantArt users—he started out in screenprinting just after high school, worked for t-shirt maker Threadless by day and began creating a name for himself in the on the web art community by night. Under the pseudonym NoPattern (now the name of his design shop), he reached breathtaking success at a startlingly young age: You’ve seen his work before on projects with Pepsi, Urban Outfitters, Reebok, and many more. My personal favorite has to be the cover art for Lupe Fiasco’s fantastic debut album, Food & Liquor:

This day, at only 24, he’s achieved a new level of stardom: His designs for Windows 7 will literally be seen by hundreds of millions of people over the lifespan of the OS. Microsoft hunted him down, and it was definitely a good call; Windows 7 is the best-looking Windows OS ever, and its style is reflected in the cool screens designed by Chuck. Check out some of his previous work in the below gallery (including a great graffiti-inspired piece for Zune) to get a sense of his style.

Since he’s such an independent guy, I was curious to hear how he managed to collaborate with Microsoft, the tech corporation most prone to have the word “monolithic” as an epithet. Chuck states the actual design team he worked with was quite small and surprisingly open to his ideas. The first thing they showed him back in December 2008 were those glorious Dr.-Seuss-as-read-by-Hunter-S.-Thompson wallpapers, so it was clear right off the bat that censorship wouldn’t really be a problem.

The two pieces took about four months, begin to finish. Chuck started with a pencil and paper, and moved on to Photoshop for the Windows 7 sheen, but the two pieces retain that sketchy feel—in fact, all the individual threads on the login screen were hand-drawn with a Wacom tablet.

This first gallery shows the stages of the default login screen, the first image to be finished. Later came the default desktop wallpaper and Windows 7’s physical packaging, which both have the login screen as their aesthetic jumping-off point. This is where it begins—click on the first thumbnail to read Chuck’s own words about how his vision evolved.

The Login Screen

As it turns out, there are a few repetitions of the number seven in the login screen, but weirdly enough, that tiny Easter egg started out as an accident. Once Chuck and Microsoft noticed that there were seven white strands on the bottom left, they started repeating the number: There are also seven leaves, seven branches, and seven flower petals in the yellow quadrant of the Windows logo.

The default Windows 7 desktop is one of my favorites; usually the very first thing I do with a new computer is replace whatever wallpaper comes with it (Apple is a particular offender here—I hate that cheeseball space motif) and yet I happily left this one on my latest computer.

The Default Desktop

Microsoft sought out this young, independent, mixed media digital artist rather than going through traditional channels, and it resulted in a fresh new look that couldn’t have come from another source. It’s credit to them, as is the walkthrough itself. You’d never see Apple showing, say, the pieces that mysteriously got tossed aside in favor of that clip-art snow leopard on their latest OS X packaging, would you?

Thanks to Chuck and to Microsoft for showing us their rejects. [NoPattern, Chuck’s Twitter]

Note: Speaking of rejects, you might notice that all the screens are capped at 700 pixels in width. It’s because Microsoft isn’t dumb: They don’t want shots they took a pass on becoming the wallpaper of netbooks and Computers all over. Sorry guys, we tried.

Via [gizmodo]

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