Apple’s iPhone 4S Announcement Crashes Popular Websites

If you had trouble getting updates on this morning’s Apple keynote, you weren’t alone. Almost every major tech news site suffered at least some downtime during the introduction of the new iPhone 4S.

In addition to some server hiccups here at PCWorld and at our sister publication Macworld, almost every site covering Apple’s event live--including Wired, Engadget and Ars Technica--suffered down time. Even Apple itself wasn't spared as users rushed to order a new iPhone. Sadly pre-orders don’t begin until this Friday.

We’ve seen this kind of down time at almost every Apple event for the last few years. So what, if anything, can sites do about the Apple rush?

Hosting company Rackspace has a history of keeping sites up during major rushes like today’s Apple announcement. We asked Joseph Palumbo, a managed cloud specialist for Rackspace, what his company does to prepare for Apple announcements and other heavy traffic days.

Palumbo’s main tip is to prep early. When you know a heavy traffic day is coming, resources such as additional servers, need to be devoted beforehand--fixes on the day of the event rarely hold up.

“At that point anything you’re doing is just a Band-Aid.” says Palumbo. By the time a major event rolls around, Palumbo says, it’s just a typical day for Rackspace “with an extra tab open to make sure everything’s working as expected.”

Image courtesy of MacworldPalumbo also says it helps to have experience with these kinds of issues. Obviously an easy way to do that is to team up with a company like Rackspace that’s been through days like this before, it's easier for sites like Rackspace which have a lot of extra server cycles to use but even smaller companies can learn the ins and outs of avoiding down time.

Today, most companies managed to weather the storm relatively well, once the initial rush faded. But unless sites learn to better prepare (or the hype for Apple products dies down), this isn’t the last time we’ll see Apple crashing the tech world.

View the original article here

Overview: Apple's iPhone 4S Grabs the Spotlight

Apple unveiled a new iPhone Tuesday where the most significant changes—including new voice control features—are all on the smartphone’s inside. The iPhone 4S highlighted a press event where Apple also announced release dates for iOS 5 and its iCloud online storage and sync service as well as a new card design app for iOS devices.

Apple iPhone 4SApple’s latest phone keeps the same Retina display, glass on front and back, and stainless steel band found in the iPhone 4. However, inside the iPhone 4S, an A5 processor promises graphics performance up to seven times faster than the previous model.

The iPhone 4S also features a new wireless system where the phone can switch between two antennas to transmit and receive, which should mean better call quality and faster download speeds.

Video: Apple Unveils Souped-Up iPhone 4S

What’s more, this iPhone works on both CDMA and GSM networks. Previously, Apple had to produce separate models of the iPhone for compatibility with those wireless standards. As a result, the iPhone will not only be available through previous partners AT&T and Verizon, but Sprint as well. And the iPhone 4S’s camera boasts a number of significant improvements.

It’s the iPhone 4S’s voice-controlled features that should grab the headlines, though. Based on the technology Apple got when it purchased mobile app maker Siri last year, the feature—also called Siri—can carry out searches, perform commands, and look up information all driven by the sound of your voice. Siri can also speak, reading messages and announcing notifications.

The iPhone 4S comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, priced at $199, $299, and $399 with two-year contracts, respectively. They’ll go on sale October 14 in seven countries, including the U.S. Pre-orders will be available on October 7.

Get more information on the iPhone 4S

Apple iCloud

Apple also offered more details on iCloud, the cloud-based storage and syncing service that will replace MobileMe. A new app called Find My Friends joins the other iCloud features Apple first unveiled in June. Find My Friends helps you connect with friends and family. Find My Friends uses geolocation to help you locate your companions perennially, or throughout a set duration using Temporary Event.

Users can sign up for iCloud on October 12. You’ll get 5GB of storage for free, with additional space available for a yearly fee. Current MobileMe subscribers will be able to transfer their account to iCloud, though they can also elect to stay on MobileMe until June 30, 2012, when the service will be discontinued.

Get more information on iCloud

October 12 is also the debut date for iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system. That’s about the extent of the news Apple unveiled about its iOS update on Tuesday; the rest of the presentation largely recapped iOS 5 features first announced in June.

Get more information on iOS 5

Apple’s other iOS-related announcement on Tuesday involved Cards, a new addition to the App Store. The app lets you turn your photos into greeting cards that you can send from your iOS device. You’ll be able to print the card and have it mailed to anywhere in the world; US addresses will cost $3 while international cards sell for $5. That app also debuts on October 12.

Get more information on Apple’s Cards app

While Apple’s invitation to Tuesday’s event highlighted the iPhone, the iPod lineup also underwent a modest revamp.

The iPod nano saw its price cut on both the 8GB and 16GB models. Its multitouch display also features larger icons to make it easier to navigate through the music player. The iPod touch now comes in a white model, and the price of the 8GB touch fell $30 to $199.

While many speculated that Tuesday would see the end of Apple’s iPod classic and shuffle offerings, those remain available on Apple’s online store.

Get more information on Apple’s iPod updates

For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld. Story copyright © 2011 Mac Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

Tim Cook Touts Lion, Mac Sales During Apple's iPhone Event

Mobile products like iPhone and iPad may get all the attention—and drive huge sales—but Macs and Lion operating system are also generating big momentum for the company, CEO Tim Cook said during Tuesday's iPhone-focused Apple event.

Cook said Mac OS X Lion—available only through the Mac App Store—had been downloaded 6 million times since it launched to the public on July 20. Cook noted that Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system took about 20 weeks to reach about 10 percent of its installed base; according to Cook, Lion hit that mark in two weeks—one-tenth of the time.

That might simply be an indication that Apple's customer base is highly enthusiastic, but other metrics show that the base is expanding. Cook said there are now 60 million Mac users around the world; the MacBook Pro and iMac have been the best-selling notebook and desktop computers in the United States, with the result that Mac has sextupled the PC industry's rate of growth in the last year—by 23 percent, compared to 4 percent—a trend that stretches back to every business quarter over the last five years. Macs now comprise one of every four PCs sold in-store, Cook said, and there's still room for Apple’s computer business to grow.

If the ceiling is still high for Macs, Cook said, the market has matured for MP3s. But the iPod remains an important business for Apple, Cook said, with 45 million iPods sold during the year ending in June; half of those devices went to first-time buyers. Apple continues to retain more than 70 percent of the MP3 player market with more than 300 million iPods sold since the first model was introduced a decade ago; Sony, Cook noted, took 30 years to sell 220 million Walkman units. And all that hardware is helping Apple on another sales front: iTunes has now sold 16 billion downloads of music and other entertainment media, making it the No. 1 music store in the world.

Cook’s recap of iPod sales came on day that Apple not only rolled out iPod nano and iPod touch updates, but when Microsoft stopped production on the Zune.

Apple's other mobile devices—in addition to attracting publicity and critical praise for the company—are also doing big business. Despite stories that the Android operating system has overtaken Apple for smartphone marketshare, Cook says the iPhone is still outselling all other models of smartphone—with a 125 percent rise in sales during the second quarter, compared to 74 percent for the entire industry. The iPhone 4 has comprised more than half of all phone sales in Apple history, Cook said, aided by its consistent No. 1 rating on consumer satisfaction surveys—the iPhone has topped the J.D. Power survey six consecutive times. Even with that success, Cook said, there's still plenty of growth potential; the iPhone still comprises just 5 percent of all mobile phones (including non-smartphones) around the world.

Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iOS Software, said that the operating system—which runs on both iPhone and iPad—now accounts for 61 percent of the mobile web market. The iPad has also ranked high in customer satisfaction, and is growing in institutional use: About 1,000 K-12 schools and 1,000 universities in the United States have distributed the tablet to their students; the iPad is also increasingly replacing paper manuals and logbooks in airline cockpits. More than 80 percent of hospitals are testing the device; 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies are doing the same.

All those iOS devices have driven app sales. Forstall said there are now half-a-million apps in the App Store, with more than 140,000 made specifically for the iPad. Apple's customers have downloaded more than 18 billion apps. And Apple has paid more than $3 billion to App Store developers.

For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld. Story copyright © 2011 Mac Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

Apple's iPad Good Classroom Helper, But No Textbook Sub

Apple’s iPad is increasingly being used in the classroom, but the sleek design and user friendly technology doesn’t necessarily translate into a better education. So, don’t ditch the textbooks just yet.

Those who are pushing for more advanced technology in schools say the gadgets are needed to keep students’ attention. They also believe digital devices help students learn at their own pace, teach skills needed in a modern economy, and are a better investment than textbooks that are outdated the minute they’re printed.

While it’s true a textbook can’t do many of the things an iPad can do, such as show video of a bacterium in action or let a student create a blog post on a subject, test scores and anecdotal evidence don’t show the devices teach fundamentals any better than old-fashioned rote learning.

The New York Times recently examined the issue in a lengthy article.

The newspaper used an Arizona school district to show how classrooms across the nation are spending billions of dollars replacing textbooks with technology at the same time when class sizes are increasing, teachers are spending their own money on things like construction paper and pencils and education budgets are dwindling.

The Times gives the example of a 6-year-old who played a math arcade game on his school laptop. Great idea, right?

Maybe not.

Playing the game the child is supposed to only shoot targets heralding numbers that are the sum of two numbers on the bottom of his screen. He just shoots every target in sight, over and over.

“Even if he doesn’t get it right, it’s getting him to think quicker,” said his teacher.

PCWorld’s Tony Bradley, who just finished a “30 Days With the iPad” series, recently offered this Yahoo article as evidence that iPads are being used effectively by students in classrooms.

He’s right, tech is increasingly being used in classrooms. But does this technology actually result in students getting a better education? The Times article says test scores aren’t showing it.

What are your thoughts? Does increased investment in technology make sense for today’s students?

View the original article here