Thinner MacBook Pro using a Haswell processor expected at WWDC

On June 10 Apple kicks off its 4-day Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, better known as WWDC. Last year’s conference saw a new MacBook Pro unveiled complete with a Retina Display and a resolution of 2560 x 1600. And this year the focus is yet again expected to be on the MacBook Pro and Apple’s thinner and lighter laptop the MacBook Air.
Of course, Apple isn’t saying anything until WWDC begins, but that doesn’t stop analysts taking educated guesses as to what we can expect to see. This year, Intel’s Haswell processors are expected to allow Apple to make a few changes to their laptop line up. More specifically, it’s expected the Pro models will get even thinner.
Currently, both the MacBook Pro and Air use Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors. Haswell improves upon Ivy Bridge in a number of ways, but most significantly for Apple, reduces power consumption and adds an advanced power saving system. That means less heat production and the same battery life from a smaller battery.
If Apple embraces Haswell early, which it is expected to do, we could see a new MacBook Pro unveiled that’s even thinner than the current 0.95-inch 2012 version. Alternatively, we could see the thickness stay the same, but the battery life extended beyond the existing 7 hours Apple quotes.
KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will opt for a thinner MacBook Pro. The FaceTime HD camera is also expected to improve from the existing 720p part to a 1080p-capable solution. As for the MacBook Air, alongside a similar move to Haswell processors, it’s also expected that dual built-in microphones will be added for improved voice quality.
Such improvements are just speculation, but I’m sure many would argue the MacBook Pro is already thin enough and improved battery life is more desirable. Apple shipping a new Pro that looks the same as the existing model, but achieves 10 hours of battery life surely wouldn’t lose it any fans. A similar battery life improvement for the MacBook Air would also no doubt be welcomed.
Now read: Double retina: iPhone 5S reported to pack twice the pixels

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Twitter creates incredible maps using billions of geotagged tweets

AppId is over the quota

Every tweet that hits Twitter has the option of including location data with it. These coordinates, which are of varying accuracy given the device and circumstances under which they were sent, can be used to add flavor to a tweet, or give its readers important context about the information contained in those 140 characters. If you are an engineer at Twitter though, you can round up all that location data and create something awesome with it.

Using the longitude and latitude information attached to billions of tweets the Visual Insights team at Twitter was able to create maps of where tweets were sent. And due to the sheer number of data points — again, billions of them — the result was a series of awesomely accurate maps of the population centers and thoroughfares of the tweeting world.

As seen in the gallery above, enough geotagged tweets are sent that we can get a really good idea of where people tweet from in certain countries, including all of Europe and the United States, and then the in major cities of Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Turkey, and Russia.

Where people tweet from seems to be roughly representative of where they live, work, and play (especially once you drop in a few million dots and zoom way out). That in turns gives us a good idea of tweet density and the popularity of Twitter usage. This means when looking at large map we see the Twitter centers, such as Paris, as well as the spiderweb of arteries (suburbs, highways, and railways) emerging from those places. The method of creation might seem roundabout, about the end result couldn’t be more simple.

Interestingly, there are a large number of seemingly randomly placed data points in the middle of the world’s bodies of waters. These don’t form the patterns you’d expect, but the points do give us some idea of people’s travel from one land mass to the next. This can best be seen in the map of New York City; lower Manhattan has no bridges going to its south west side, but it does have tunnels and boats. By looking closely at the full-size image you can clearly see downtown’s tunnels, piers, and boat lanes.

The full city list, as well as original images, is available on Flickr.

Now read: GoogleFaces: An algorithm that scans Maps for the Earth’s face-like structures

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NetApp promises bring-your-own-device security without using the cloud

NetApp Inc. is putting technology from its February ionGrid acquisition to use in an application that lets users securely access data stored on NetApp storage systems through endpoint devices. The vendor bills its NetApp Connect application as a way to provide bring-your-own-device security without the use of cloud file-sharing products.

NetApp Connect lets users download, edit and share files on mobile devices. The software is integrated with NetApp's Data Ontap operating system, but runs on a mobile device to authenticate users and grant access to file shares.

Connect allows employees to access corporate data without using a VPN, cellular connection or Wi-Fi, said Nick Triantos, NetApp's senior director of mobile software and former CEO of ionGrid. Unlike online storage and file synchronization software from such vendors as Dropbox and Box, NetApp Connect doesn't store data in the cloud. The software is based on Stratos ionGrid's flagship application developed for bring-your-own-device security.

Employees can share and collaborate through Microsoft SharePoint or intranet applications. IT administrators maintain control via Active Directory.

"It's for companies that don't want to throw out their existing infrastructure," Triantos said. "The challenge when companies move to iCloud or Dropbox is that there are tradeoffs to security. Also, if data is moved out to the cloud, all the workflows have to change."

NetApp is offering Connect as a license option. It's available as a download from the Apple App Store and supports iOS devices, but NetApp plans to make it available for other mobile devices.

Jorge Pazos, chief information officer for the city of Melrose, Mass., said his team has done a proof of concept of NetApp Connect for the city's school district, which has 3,700 students and hundreds of staffers. The city, which uses two NetApp FAS2240 filers, will install the product for school staff, then gradually expand it for students, he said.

"We have a lot of teachers using Dropbox and Google Drive," Pazos said. "We have no idea what they are doing. They can be putting a student picture and their name on a paper or blog, which is against our policy without approval. There is a lot of file sharing going on, and we have no idea if it's meeting compliance [regulations]. This product is a good front-end snap-on that can access files, and we don't have to add another management layer."

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