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The Multimedia Opportunities

Window Vista                                            

Windows Vista  is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media center PCs. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename “Longhorn“. Development was completed on November 8, 2006; over the following three months it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide, and was made available for purchase and download from Microsoft’s website. The release of Windows Vista comes more than five years after the introduction of its predecessor, Windows XP, the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows.

Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and digital media between computers and devices. Windows Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for software developers to write applications than with the traditional Windows API.

Microsoft’s primary stated objective with Windows Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. One common criticism of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide “Trustworthy Computing initiative” which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. Microsoft stated that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, thus delaying its completion.

While these new features and security improvements have garnered positive reviews, Vista has also been the target of much criticism and negative press. Criticism of Windows Vista has targeted high system requirements, its more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new digital rights management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, lack of compatibility with certain pre-Vista hardware and software, and the number of authorization prompts for User Account Control. As a result of these and other issues, Vista has seen adoption and satisfaction rates lower than Windows XP

Development

Microsoft began work on Windows Vista, known at the time by its codename “Longhorn” in May 2001, five months prior to the release of Windows XP. It was originally expected to ship sometime late in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and “Blackcomb”, which was planned to be the company’s next major operating system release. Gradually, “Longhorn” assimilated many of the important new features and technologies slated for “Blackcomb”, resulting in the release date being pushed back several times. Many of Microsoft’s developers were also re-tasked with improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, both of which had been the target of a number of high-profile security lapses. Faced with ongoing delays and concerns about feature creep, Microsoft announced on August 27, 2004 that it had revised its plans. The original “Longhorn”, based on the Windows XP source code, was scrapped, and Longhorn’s development started anew, building on the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 codebase, and re-incorporating only the features that would be intended for an actual operating system release. Some previously announced features such as WinFS were dropped or postponed, and a new software development methodology called the “Security Development Lifecycle” was incorporated in an effort to address concerns with the security of the Windows codebase.

After “Longhorn” was named Windows Vista in July 2005, an unprecedented beta-test program was started, involving hundreds of thousands of volunteers and companies. In September of that year, Microsoft started releasing regular Community Technology Previews (CTP) to beta testers. The first of these was distributed at the 2005 Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, and was subsequently released to beta testers and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. The builds that followed incorporated most of the planned features for the final product, as well as a number of changes to the user interface, based largely on feedback from beta testers. Windows Vista was deemed feature-complete with the release of the “February CTP”, released on February 22, 2006, and much of the remainder of work between that build and the final release of the product focused on stability, performance, application and driver compatibility, and documentation. Beta 2, released in late May, was the first build to be made available to the general public through Microsoft’s Customer Preview Program. It was downloaded by over five million people. Two release candidates followed in September and October, both of which were made available to a large number of users.

While Microsoft had originally hoped to have the consumer versions of the operating system available worldwide in time for Christmas 2006, it was announced in March 2006 that the release date would be pushed back to January 2007, in order to give the company – and the hardware and software companies which Microsoft depends on for providing device drivers – additional time to prepare. Through much of 2006, analysts and bloggers had speculated that Windows Vista would be delayed further, owing to anti-trust concerns raised by the European Commission and South Korea, and due to a perceived lack of progress with the beta releases. However, with the November 8, 2006 announcement of the completion of Windows Vista, Microsoft’s lengthiest operating system development project came to an end.

PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 (officially marketed PLAYSTATION 3, and commonly abbreviated to PS3) is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.

One major feature that distinguishes the PlayStation 3 from its predecessors is its unified online gaming service, the PlayStation Network, which contrasts with Sony’s former policy of relying on game developers for online play. Other major features of the console include its robust multimedia capabilities, connectivity with the PlayStation Portable, and its use of the high-definition optical disc format, Blu-ray Disc, as its primary storage medium. The PS3 is also the first Blu-ray 2.0-compliant Blu-ray player on the market

The PlayStation 3 was first released on November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 23, 2007 in Europe and Oceania. Two SKUs were available at launch; a basic model with a 20 GB hard disk drive (HDD) and a premium model with a 60 GB HDD and several additional features (The 20 GB model was not released in Europe or Oceania.) Since then, several revisions have been made to the console’s available models and has faced stiff competition from the other seventh generation consoles. As of December 20, 2007, the PS3 is in third place in home console sales for its generation.

History

Silver PlayStation 3 prototype (E3 2005 specs). Note the two additional USB ports, three Gigabit Ethernet ports and two HDMI ports.

Sony officially unveiled the PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16, 2005, during the E3 2005 conference. A functional version of the system was not present there, nor at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2005,although demonstrations (such as Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots) were held at both events on devkits and comparable PC hardware.^[21][22] Video footage based on the predicted PlayStation 3 specifications was also shown (e.g. Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire).

The system was initially planned to have two HDMI ports, three Ethernet ports and six USB ports, though, as shown at E3 2006, this was later reduced to one HDMI port, one Ethernet port and four USB ports, presumably to cut costs. Two hardware configurations were also announced for the console; a 20 GB and a 60 GB, priced at $499/€499 and $599/€599 respectively. The 60 GB would be the only configuration to feature a HDMI port, Wi-Fi internet, flash card readers and a chrome trim with the logo in silver. It was announced for a simultaneous worldwide release; November 11 for Japan and November 17 for North America and Europe

On September 6, 2006, Sony announced that the PAL region (Europe and Oceania) PlayStation 3 launch would be delayed until March 2007 due to a shortage of diodes used in the Blu-ray Disc drive.

At the Tokyo Game Show on September 22, 2006, Sony announced that it would be including HDMI on the 20 GB system with a silver logo, but not the chrome trim, flash card readers or Wi-Fi. Also, the launch price of the Japanese 20 GB model was reduced by over 20%, and the 60 GB model was announced for an open pricing scheme in Japan. During the event, Sony showed 27 playable PS3 titles running on final hardware.

Launch

The PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11, 2006 at 07:00. There were reports that many of the first systems were obtained by businessmen – mainly Chinese nationals – who bought the systems in order to resell them on eBay According to Media Create, 81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan.

Soon after its release in Japan, the PS3 was released in North America on November 17, 2006. Reports of violence surrounding the release of the PS3 include a customer shot, campers robbed at gunpoint, customers shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns, and 60 campers fighting over 10 systems.

On January 24, 2007, Sony announced that the PlayStation 3 would go on sale on March 23, 2007 in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand     The system sold about 600,000 units in its first two days. On March 7, 2007, the 60 GB PlayStation 3 launched in Singapore with a price of $799. The console was launched in South Korea on June 16, 2007 in a single version equipped with an 80 GB hard drive and IPTV.

Hardware

The PlayStation 3 is convex on its left side when vertical, (the top side is convex when horizontal) and has a glossy black finish with the Playstation logo on the left side. Playstation designer Teiyu Goto stated that the Spider-Man-font-inspired logo “was one of the first elements(SCEI president Ken Kutaragi ) decided on and the logo may have been the motivating force behind the shape of PS3.”

The PlayStation 3 features a slot-loading 2x speed Blu-ray Disc drive for games, Blu-ray movies, DVDs, CDs, and other optical media. It was originally available with hard drives of 20 and 60 GB (only the 60 GB model was available in PAL regions). An 80 GB model has since been introduced in NTSC regions, and a 40 GB model has been introduced in all regions. All PS3 models have user-upgradeable 2.5″ SATA hard drives.

The PlayStation 3 uses the IBM-designed Cell microprocessor as its CPU, utilizing seven of the eight “synergistic processing elements” (often shortened to SPE). The eighth SPE is disabled to improve chip yields i.e. chips do not have to be discarded if one of the SPEs is defective. Only six of the seven SPEs are accessible to developers as one is reserved by the OS. Graphics processing is handled by the NVIDIA RSX, which can output resolutions from 480i/576i SD up to 1080p HD. The PlayStation 3 has 256 MB of XDR main memory and 256 MB of GDDR3 video memory for the RSX.

The system has Bluetooth 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 and HDMI 1.3a built in on all currently shipping models. Wi-Fi networking is also built-in on the 40, 60 and 80 GB models while a flash card reader (compatible with Memory Stick, SD/MMC, and Compact Flash / Microdrive media) is built-in on 60 and 80 GB models.

Numerous accessories for the console have been developed including the wireless Sixaxis controller, the wireless DualShock 3 controller, the BD Remote, the PlayStation Eye camera and the upcoming Play TV DVB-T tuner/digital video recorder accessory.

At its press conference at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced the DualShock 3 (trademarked DUALSHOCK 3), a PlayStation 3 controller with the same function and design as the Sixaxis, but with vibration capability included. Hands-on accounts describe the controller as being noticeably heavier than the standard Six axis controller, and capable of vibration forces comparable to the DualShock 2.  It was released in Japan on November 11, 2007, and is scheduled to release on April 15, 2008 in North America and in Spring 2008 in Europe.

The PS3’s hardware has also been used to build supercomputers for high-performance computing. Terra Soft Solutions has a version of Yellow Dog Linux for the PlayStation 3, and sells PS3s with Linux pre-installed, in single units, and 6 and 32 node clusters. In addition, Rapid Mind is pushing their stream programming package for the PS3. Also, on January 3, 2007, Dr. Frank Mueller, Associate Professor of Computer Science at NCSU, clustered 8 PS3s. Mueller commented that the 512 MB of system RAM is a limitation for this particular application, and is considering attempting to retrofit more RAM. Software includes: Fedora Core 5 Linux ppc64, MPICH2, Open MP v2.5, GNU Compiler Collection and CellSDK 1.1.^{[133][134][135]}

On March 22, 2007, SCE and Stanford University released the Folding@Home project for the PlayStation 3. This program allows PS3 owners to lend the computing power of their consoles to help study the physical process of protein folding.

Software

Operating system

Sony has added the ability for the operating system, referred to as System Software, to be updated. The updates can be downloaded from the PlayStation Network directly to the PS3 and subsequently installed or downloaded from the official PlayStation website to a computer, transferred to portable storage media, and subsequently installed on the system. Updates can also be installed from game discs that require the update to run the game.

The latest version of the software, version 2.35, was released on May 15, 2008, and improved the stability of some PS3 titles. The prior update, version 2.30, released April 15, 2008 featured a new embedded PlayStation Store and also enabled DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks on Blu-ray discs. Version 2.20 was released on March 13, 2008 and updated the PS3 to Blu-ray profile 2.0 and added several other minor improvements.

Version 2.10, released on December 18, 2007, made the PS3 compatible with Blu-ray profile 1.1, added a new music visualization, added the ability to change voice pitch in the console’s chat function, and added support for DivX, XviD, and VC-1 (WMV) codecs.

The PlayStation 3 also includes the ability to install other operating systems, such as Linux.

Graphical user interface

The PlayStation 3 version of the XrossMediaBar (pronounced Cross Media Bar, or abbreviated XMB) includes nine categories of options. These include: Users, Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, Network, PlayStation Network, and Friends (similar to the PlayStation Portable media bar). The PS3 includes the ability to store various master and secondary user profiles, manage and explore photos with or without a musical slideshow, play music and copy audio CD tracks to an attached storage device, play movies and video files from the hard disk drive, an optional USB mass storage or Flash card, or an optical disc (Blu-ray Disc or DVD-Video), compatibility for a USB keyboard and mouse, and a full web browser supporting in/compatible file download function. The Friends menu allows mail with emoticon and attached picture features and video chat which requires an optional PlayStation Eye or Eye toy webcam. The Network menu allows online shopping through the PlayStation Store.

PlayStation Network

In response to Microsoft’s success with their Xbox Live network, Sony announced a unified online service for the PlayStation 3 system at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo. Sony also confirmed that the service will always be connected, free, and include multiplayer support. In addition, the registration interface can only be accessed through the PS3 system interface.

At the Tokyo Game Show on September 21, 2006, it was revealed that users will be able to download some of the thousands of PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 titles from the PlayStation Network for about US$5–$15, starting with those with the smallest game data. Ken Kutaragi also announced functionality with other systems, similar to Nintendo’s Virtual Console, including confirmed Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx 16 functionality. However, Sega replied that Sony had been too hasty with calling it a fact, and that it was still “under examination”.

On May 8, 2007 Sony Computer Entertainment announced PlayStation Network Cards, a form of electronic money that can be used with the Store. PlayStation Network Tickets, available in units of 1,000, 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen, can be purchased at convenience stores throughout Japan. Each ticket contains a 12 alphanumeric code which can be inputted to the PlayStation Network to place credits in the virtual wallet. The tickets are available through electronic kiosks at 26,000 convenience stores, including Lawsons, Family Mart, Daily Yamazaki, Ministop and Sunkus. They are also available at 26,000 post office ATM machines, although registration is required first at a special mobile website.

A similar PlayStation Network Card system based on actual cards instead of tickets was introduced in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan in Summer 2007 and is scheduled for a Spring 2008 release in North America.

PlayStation Home

During the 2007 Game Developers Conference, Sony announced PlayStation Home, a new free-to-download community based service for the PlayStation Network, which allows users to create an avatar character for their PlayStation 3 system. This avatar will get its own apartment, which can be adorned by items players can receive in several achievements. In the future the service will also expand, allowing players to have more sorts of clothing, as well as hold pets. Home will be a Second Life-like experience and will allow gamers everywhere to interact in a virtual world. Home will also act as a meeting place of sorts for players who want to play multiplayer games on the PlayStation 3. During a video demonstration of Home, Sony said that a Home icon and options will be added to the Xross Media Bar (XMB), so it is expected to be available through a firmware update or separate download from within the PlayStation Store. A closed beta was in progress in Europe in May 2007, and an open beta was scheduled to be available in North America in early fall 2007. However, at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced that the final worldwide launch of Home, which had originally been scheduled for fall 2007, would take place in Spring 2008. SCEI President and Group CEO Kaz Hirai later explained that the launch was delayed for further testing and feedback evaluation to provide the best possible experience upon launch. On April 21, 2008, Sony announced that Home would be delayed further and the closed beta would be extended until fall 2008, effectively delaying the service’s availability to the general public by a full year.

PlayStation Portable connectivity

The PlayStation Portable can connect with the PlayStation 3 in many ways, including in-game connectivity. For example, Formula One: Championship Edition, a racing game, was shown at E3 2006 using a PSP as a real-time rear-view mirror. In addition, it is possible to download PlayStation 1 games to the PlayStation 3 from the PlayStation Store. These games were not originally playable on the PS3; however, they could be sent to a PSP, and played using the PSP’s PlayStation Emulator. Sony added support for playing downloaded PS titles on PS3 on April 18, 2007, with the update to firmware revision 1.70.

Sony has also demonstrated the PSP playing back video content, including 1080p content from the PlayStation 3 hard disk across an ad-hoc wireless network. This feature is referred to as Remote Play located under the browser icon on both the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable. Remote play has since expanded to allow remote access to the PS3 via PSP from any wireless access point in the world.

Games

The PlayStation 3 launched in North America on November 17, 2006 with a total of twelve titles and another three were released before the end of the year. After five days of sales it was confirmed that first person shooter Resistance: Fall of Man from Insomniac Games was the top-selling game, and was heavily praised by numerous video game websites, including GameSpot and IGN, both of whom awarded it with their PlayStation 3 Game of the Year award for 2006. Some titles missed the launch window and were delayed until early 2007, such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, F.E.A.R. and Sonic the Hedgehog. During the Japanese launch, Ridge Racer 7 was the top-selling launch title, while Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire also fared well in sales; both of which were offerings from Namco Bandai. The PlayStation 3 launched in Europe with twenty-four titles, including games that were not offered in the North American and Japanese launch, such as Formula One Championship Edition, MotorStorm and Virtua Fighter 5. Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm have been the most successful titles so far, and both games are to receive sequels.

At E3 2007, Sony was able to show off a number of their upcoming video games for the PlayStation 3, including Heavenly Sword, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, all of which were released in the fourth quarter of 2007. They also showed off a number of titles set for a 2008 release; most notably Killzone 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2004 first person shooter. LittleBigPlanet was also demonstrated during the event and subsequently won the award for ‘Most Original’ game of the show. A completely new title called InFamous was also presented to the media, expanding on the ever-growing sandbox genre. Several PlayStation Network titles were also on display, including SOCOM: Confrontation and Warhawk, both of which will be released as downloads via the PlayStation Store as well as on Blu-ray Disc. It was also revealed that the first-person shooter Haze will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3, and Unreal Tournament 3 would be released ahead of other console versions in time for the holiday season. Perhaps the biggest announcement, however, was that the highly-anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be released only on the PlayStation 3, amid rumors that the game would appear on other platforms. Two other important exclusive titles to be released by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3, Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, a dual installment in the Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation, were shown at TGS 2007 in order to appease the Japanese market.

iPhone (New Technology in Multimedia)

The iPhone is an Internet-enabled multimedia mobile phone designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. It has a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons. The iPhone’s functions include those of a camera phone, portable media player (iPod), in addition to text messaging and visual voicemail. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. It is a quad-band mobile phone that uses the GSM standard, and hence has international capability. It supports the EDGE data technology.

Apple announced the iPhone on January 9, 2007. The announcement was preceded by rumors and speculations that circulated for several months.  The iPhone was initially introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007 and is in the process of being introduced worldwide. It was named Time magazine’s Invention of the Year in 2007.

Features

The iPhone allows conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. For example, a playing song fades out when the user receives a call. Once the call is ended the music fades back in. Voice dialing is not supported by the iPhone.

The iPhone includes a visual voicemail feature allowing users to view a list of current voicemail messages on-screen without having to call into their voicemail. Unlike most other systems, messages can be listened to and deleted in a non-chronological order by choosing any message from an on-screen list. AT&T, O2, T-Mobile, and Orange modified their voicemail infrastructure to accommodate this new feature designed by Apple. A lawsuit has been filed against Apple and AT&T by Klaussner Technologies claiming the iPhone’s visual voicemail feature infringes two patents.

A ringtone feature was introduced in the United States on September 5, 2007, but is not yet available in all countries where the iPhone has been released. This feature allows users to create custom ringtones from their purchased iTunes music library for an additional fee equal to the price of a song. The ringtones can be from 3 to 30 seconds in length of any part of a song, can include fading in and out, can pause from half a second to five seconds when looped, and never expire. All customizing can be done in iTunes, and the synced ringtones can also be used for alarms on the iPhone. Custom ringtones can also be created using Apple’s Garage Band software 4.1.1 or later (available only on Mac OS X) and third-party tools.

Apple has released a video explaining many of iPhone’s features through a series of demonstrations.

Multimedia

The layout of the music library differs from previous iPods, with the sections divided more clearly alphabetically, and with a larger font. Similar to previous iPods, the iPhone can sort its media library by songs, artists, albums, videos, playlists, genres, composers, podcasts, audio books, and compilations. Cover Flow, like that on iTunes, shows the different album covers in a scroll-through photo library. Scrolling is achieved by swiping a finger across the screen.

The iPhone supports gapless playback.

Like the fifth generation iPods introduced in 2005, the iPhone can play video, allowing users to watch TV shows and films. Unlike other image-related content, video on the iPhone plays only in the landscape orientation, when the phone is turned sideways. Double tapping switches between wide-screen and full-screen video playback.

The iPhone allows users to purchase and download songs from the iTunes Store directly to their iPhone over Wi-Fi with the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, but not over the cellular data network.

Internet connectivity

Internet access is available when the iPhone is connected to a local area Wi-Fi or a wide area EDGE network. The iPhone is not able to use 3G or HSDPA networks. Steve Jobs has stated 3G would need to become more widespread in the United States and much more energy efficient before it’s included in the iPhone. By default, the iPhone will ask to join newly discovered Wi-Fi networks and prompt for the password when required, while also supporting manually joining closed Wi-Fi networks. When Wi-Fi is active, the iPhone will automatically switch from the EDGE network to any nearby previously approved Wi-Fi network.

The EDGE network provides greater availability than 3G, as GSM carriers based in the U.S. do not have full 3G coverage. In contrast, 99% percent of people in the Australia have access to 3G coverage.

The ubiquitous Internet connection offered by the iPhone has been widely utilized by users. According to Google, the iPhone generates 50 times more search requests than any other mobile handset. According to Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann, “The average Internet usage for an iPhone customer is more than 100 MBytes. This is 30 times the use for our average contract-based consumer customers.”

Web accessibility

The iPhone is able to access the World Wide Web via a modified version of the Safari web browser. Web pages may be viewed in portrait or landscape mode and supports automatic zooming by pinching together or spreading apart fingertips on the screen, or by double-tapping text or images. The web browser displays full web pages as opposed to simplified pages as on many mobile phones.

The iPhone does not support Flash. Although the iPhone does not include Java technology in its out-of-the-box configuration, Eric Klein, VP of Marketing for Sun Microsystems, announced on March 7, 2008 that Sun would make Java available after June 2008. Klein later admitted that it may not be possible to port Java to the iPhone due to SDK licensing issues.

Wikipedia Main Page on iPhone’s Safari in landscape mode

Apple developed an iPhone application for accessing Google’s maps service in map, satellite or hybrid form, a list of search results, or directions between two locations, while providing optional real-time traffic information. During the product’s announcement, Jobs demonstrated this feature by searching for nearby Starbucks locations and then placing a prank call to one with a single tap. Though Flash isn’t supported in Safari on the iPhone, Apple also developed a separate application to view YouTube videos on the iPhone, similar to the system used for the Apple TV.

E-mail

The iPhone also features an e-mail program that supports HTML e-mail, which enables the user to embed photos in an e-mail message. PDF, Word, and Excel attachments to mail messages can be viewed on the phone. Yahoo! and Google’s Gmail currently offer a free Push-IMAP e-mail service similar to that on a BlackBerry for the iPhone; IMAP and POP3 mail standards are also supported, including Microsoft Exchange and Kerio MailServer. This is currently accomplished by opening up IMAP on the Exchange server; however, Apple announced it has licensed Microsoft ActiveSync and will fully support the platform in June 2008 when the iPhone 2.0 firmware (currently referred to as 1.2) is released. The iPhone will sync   e-mail account settings over from Apple’s own Mail application, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Entourage, or manually configured using the device’s Settings tool. With the correct settings, the e-mail program can check almost any IMAP or POP3 account.

Others

The iPhone features a built in 2.0 megapixel camera, without optical zoom, a flash or autofocus, located on the back for still digital photos, but does not support video recording. It also includes software that allows the user to upload, view, and e-mail photos. The user zooms in and out of photos by “unpicking” and “pinching” them through the multi-touch interface. The software interacts with iPhoto on the Mac and Photoshop in Windows.

The built-in Bluetooth 2.x+EDR supports wireless earpieces, which requires the HSP profile, but notably does not support stereo audio (requires A2DP), laptop tethering (requires DUN and SPP), or the OBEX file transfer protocol (requires FTP, GOEP, and OPP).

Text messages are presented chronologically in a mailbox format similar to Mail, which places all text from recipients together with replies. Text messages are displayed in speech bubbles (similar to iChat) under each recipient’s name. The iPhone currently has built-in support for e-mail message forwarding, drafts, and direct internal camera-to-e-mail picture sending. However, it does not yet have capabilities for delivery reports, instant messaging, MMS, or copy/cut/paste. Some of these functions are accessible via free Safari-based “applications” called “Web Apps“, as well as by free “hacked” native applications, though at this time Apple only sanctions the use of Web Apps. Support for multi-recipient SMS was added in the January 2008 (v1.1.3) software update.

Interface

The display responds to three sensors: a proximity sensor that shuts off the display and touch screen when the iPhone is brought near the face to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs from the user’s face and ears, an ambient light sensor that adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power, and a 3-axis accelerometer, which senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly. Photo browsing, web browsing, and music playing support both upright and left or right widescreen orientations, while videos play in only one widescreen orientation.

A single “home” hardware button below the display brings up the main menu. Sub selections are made via the touch screen. The iPhone utilizes a full-paged display, with context-specific submenus at the top and/or bottom of each page, sometimes depending on screen orientation. Detail pages display the equivalent of a “Back” button to go up one menu.

The iPhone has three physical switches on its sides: wake/sleep, volume up/down, and ringer on/off. All other multimedia and phone operations are done via the touch screen.

The iPhone interface enables the user to move the content itself up or down by a touch-drag motion of the finger, much as one would freely slide or flick a playing card across a table with a finger. Similarly, scrolling through a long list in a menu works as if the list is pasted on the outer surface of a wheel: the wheel can be “spun” by sliding a finger over the display from bottom to top (or vice versa). In either case, the object continues to move based on the flicking motion of the finger, slowly decelerating as if affected by friction. In this way, the interface simulates the physics of 3D objects, giving it a real world feel.

The photo album and web page magnifications are examples of multi-touch sensing. It is possible to zoom in and out of web pages and photos by placing two fingers (e.g. thumb and forefinger) on the screen and spreading them farther apart or closer together, as if stretching or squeezing the image. As can be intuitively expected from multi-touch sensing, the two fingers don’t have to be from the same hand.

 Multi-Touch Screen

The 3.5 in liquid crystal display (320×480 px at 160 ppi) HVGA touch screen topped with optical-quality, scratch-resistant glass is specifically created for use with a finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing. Because the screen is a capacitive touch screen, no stylus is needed, nor can one be used. Bare skin is a requirement; users wearing gloves would have to remove them to use the touchpad, unless they are wearing electrically conductive gloves.

The user interface also features other visual effects, such as horizontally sliding sub-selections and co-selections from right and left, vertically sliding system menus from the bottom (e.g. favorites, keyboard), and menus and widgets that turn around to allow settings to be configured on their back sides.

Storage

The iPhone was initially released with two options for internal storage size; either a 4 GB or 8 GB flash drive (manufactured by Samsung) model was available. On September 5, 2007, Apple announced they were discontinuing the 4 GB models. On February 5, 2008, Apple announced the addition of a 16 GB model to the iPhone lineup.^[65] The iPhone does not contain any external memory card slots for expanded storage.

Software

iPhone OS is the operating system that runs on the iPhone and iPod touch. It is based on a variant of the same basic Mach kernel that is found in Mac OS X. iPhone OS includes the software component “Core Animation” from Mac OS X v10.5 which, together with the Power VR MBX 3D hardware, is responsible for the smooth animations used in its user interface. The operating system takes up considerably less than half a GB of the device’s total 8 GB or 16 GB storage. It will be capable of supporting bundled and future applications from Apple.

The iPhone is managed with iTunes version 7.3 or later, which is compatible with Mac OS X version 10.4.10 or later and 32-bit Windows XP or Vista. The release of iTunes 7.6 expanded this support to include 64-bit versions of Vista,  and a workaround has been discovered for previous 64-bit Windows operating systems.

The iPhone’s CPU is an ARM-based processor instead of the x86 and PowerPC processors used in Apple’s computers. This means applications can not simply be copied from Mac OS X and have to be written and compiled specifically for the iPhone. Additionally, the Safari web browser supports web applications written with AJAX, which, by design, are platform agnostic applications.

 Applications

There are several applications located on the “Home” screen: Text (SMS messaging), Calendar, Photos, Camera, YouTube, Stocks, Maps (Google Maps), Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, Settings, and iTunes. Four other applications delineate the iPhone’s main purposes: Phone, Mail, Safari, and iPod.

The YouTube application streams videos over Wi-Fi and/or EDGE after encoding them using QuickTime’s H.264 codec, to which YouTube has converted about 10,000 videos. As a result, the YouTube application on iPhone can currently view only a certain selection of videos from the site.

At WWDC 2007 on June 11, 2007 Apple announced that the iPhone will support third-party “applications” via the Safari web browser that share the look and feel of the iPhone interface. On October 17, 2007, Steve Jobs, in an open letter posted to Apple’s “Hot News” weblog, announced that a software development kit (SDK) would be made available to third-party developers in February 2008. Due to security concerns and Jobs’ praise of Nokia’s digital signature system, it is suggested that Apple will adopt a similar method. The SDK will also allow application development for the iPod touch. The iPhone SDK was officially announced on March 6, 2008, at the Apple Town Hall facility. The SDK will allow developers to develop native applications for the iPhone and iPod touch, as well as test them in an “iPhone simulator”. However, loading an application onto the devices is only possible after paying a US$99 Apple Developer Connection membership fee. Developers are free to set any price for their applications to be distributed through the App Store, of which they will receive a 70 percent share. Developers can also opt to release the application for free and will not pay any costs to release or distribute the application beyond the US$99 membership fee. The SDK is available immediately, while the launch of applications will require waiting until a firmware update in June 2008. This update will be free for iPhone users, however, there will be a charge for iPod touch owners.

Many third party Safari “applications” and un-signed native applications are also available. The ability to install native applications onto the iPhone outside of the App Store will not be supported by Apple. Such native applications could be broken by any software update, but Apple has stated it will not design software updates specifically to break native applications other than applications that perform SIM unlocking.

Multimedia Industry

Multimedia technologies, applications and content products are a “knowledge industry” that is characteristic for Southern California. most multimedia firms are based in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas. Hollywood provides the content, Silicon Valley the technology and the synergy of both is unique to California.

This industry sector has a high added value and as such cannot be ignored by Swiss companies involved in any aspect of the multimedia cluster. This information is constantly updated , which allows Swiss companies to be informed about:

·                     Technological development

·                     Content resources

·                     Collaboration opportunities

·                     Trade events

·                     Reports  on trade events

·                     Web re sources

Components of the multimedia industry cluster

Markets:

·                     Education

·                     Entertainment

·                     heal

End Products:

·                     Distance Learning, Instruction

·                     Home entertainment, Movies/TV, Virtual Reality, Animation

·                     Medical Imaging

·                     Teleradiology

·                     Video Conference, Training, Presentations

Contact Providers:

·                     Information Providers

·                     Publishers/news originations

·                     Producers: film, TV, video

Multimedia Developers

·                     Artists, writers, animation, graphics designers

·                     Original content developers

·                     Programmers, interface designers

Technology providers

·                     Manufacturers of computers and electronics

·                     suppliers of chips and components

·                     Digital carriers

·                     Software developers

Infrastructure

·                     Telephone and cable lines

·                     Trade organizations, events, publications

·                     Professional services

·                     Education and training instructions

·                     research and development laboratories

Multimedia

Multimedia is the use of several different media to convey information (text, audio, graphics, animation, video and interactivity). Multimedia also refers to computer media.

As the information is presented in various formats, multimedia enhances user experience and helps grasping information better and faster.

Presenting information in various formats is nothing new to human beings, but multimedia generally implies presenting information in narious formats. Although it is also used in visual arts to describe works created using more than one medium.

Multimedia finds its applications in various areas including, but not limited to, Education, Entertainment, Engineering, medicine, Mathematical and Scientific Research.

In educations, multimedia is used to produce Computer based Training courses (popularly called CBT’s), reference books like encyclopedias and almanacs.

A CBT lets the user go through a series of presentation, text about a particular topic and associated illustrations in various information formats.

In engineering, especially in Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, multimedia is primarily used for designing a machinery or automobile. This lets an Engineer view a product from various perspectives, zoom critical parts and do other manipulations, before actually producing it. This is known as Computer Aided design (CAD).