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Benchmarks for Mid-2012 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

With the first Mid-2012 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models reaching the public, Primate Labs has collated some data from its Geekbench 2 benchmarking database to assess the raw performance of these systems compared to their predecessors.

For the MacBook Pro, Primate Labs has data on four different models: the new Retina model with 2.3 GHz and 2.6 GHz processors and the non-Retina model with 2.3 GHz and 2.7 GHz processors. The top-of-the-line 2.7 GHz system registers with a Geekbench average score of 12,303, roughly 16% higher than the top-of-the-line 2.5 GHz Sandy Bridge system from the previous generation.


Notably, the leaked MacBook Pro benchmark from mid-May does appear to have been legitimate, with details corresponding to the new non-Retina 15-inch MacBook Pro. That machine is designated MacBookPro9,1, while the 13-inch model is designated MacBookPro9,2. The Retina MacBook Pro appears as MacBookPro10,1.

On the MacBook Air side, top-of-the-line systems are seeing boosts of over 20% in Geekbench scores over their corresponding predecessors. As with the MacBook Pro, even the low-end systems of the new generation outperform the high end of the previous generation.


Geekbench testing focuses on processor and memory performance, providing comparisons of raw power between machines but only telling part of the story. But with these machines seeing significant boosts in graphics performance with the addition of Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics and/or the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, and systems with solid-state drives using faster drives than in the previous generation, real-world performance should see marked improvement.


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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page http://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/12/benchmarks-for-mid-2012-macbook-pro-and-m...

How to Use Google Calendar as a Project Management Tool [Project Management]

Google Calendar is great for managing appointments, but that's not all it can do. The sharing, searchability, timeline view, and other features make Google Calendar a simple but powerful project management tool. Andrea Vascellari, digital marketing consultant and CEO of itive.net, shares how you can use Google Calendar for your team and with your clients. More »


from Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5918676/how-to-use-google-calendar-as-a-project-managem...

iPhone-Controlled Camera Light Does Entirely New Lighting Tricks [VIDEO]




What makes a great image? While some shutterbugs believe it's particularly the camera body or the lens, a new Kickstarter project called The Kick is betting on light.

The Kick is a pocket-sized lighting studio for photos or video. It's a handheld, wireless device that emits bright light on demand. The Kick enables photographers to modify light for clearer images. Built-in effects such as rainbow lights, strobes or lighting effects can give photos or video a special touch.

The Kick-connected iPhone app is like a remote -- the effects and lights are adjusted on the iPhone. The phone's camera is ready to use after the brightness and temperature of…
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More About: camera, kickstarter, Mobile, photography, Tech, Video

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/06/16/the-kick-kickstarter/?utm_source=feedburner&ut...

TSA PreCheck is Both Amazing and Useless at the Same Time

As the TSA rolls out PreCheck to more and more airports I’m enjoying the opportunity to use it — shoes don’t have to come off, freedom baggie doesn’t have to come out (though liquid rules apply, and this isn’t a huge benefit since I’ve only been given a hard time about my liquids bag in my carryon on average about once a year for the past three years).

Mostly, though, there’s no nude-o-scope (and thus no opting out) and there aren’t that many people in the program yet. Usually there’s no line at all, just a bunch of TSA employees standing around by an unused checkpoint waiting for me to come through.

It’s a far more civilized checkpoint experience than what we’ve grown accustomed to over the past decade. It’s almost like… security used to be before 9/11 led to a federal takeover of airport checkpoint operations and science fiction plots began piling on silliness. It’s the first step in reversing the truest al Qaeda victory of all, that we both scare and inconvenience ourselves (not to mention the waste of resources and concomitant drag on the economy) every time we walk into an airport.

Sounds wonderful, and it is, except that PreCheck doesn’t actually save you time.

Sure, when you get to use it you wait in line at the checkpoint less, and wind up cooling your heels in the lounge longer. But you don’t actually get to show up later at the airport, because you never know in advance whether or not PreCheck will be available to you.

  • Will the PreCheck checkpoint even be open? I’ve departed Miami when it wasn’t, and the priority security line took about 30 minutes to get through.
  • Will you get the green light to go through? I usually do, but today at JFK I wasn’t cleared for it, I got only one green beep instead of three there. Fortunately lines were short and I was able to opt for one with no nude-o-scope (which begs the question of the usefulness of machines you can choose to go through or not depending on choice of lanes…)

Since you can’t count on using it, you can’t count on saving time as a result of it, most folks will turn up at the airport assuming a long security wait rather than risk missing a flight (or the stress from almost missing a flight, begging for help to skip the lines to make a flight that’s about to depart).

The problem with “pre-clearing” passengers is that those who are pre-cleared become the perfect terrorist mules. So you don’t want trusted travelers to have no security checks at all, or so the theory goes. And you want to “keep the terrorists guessing.”

Except that PreCheck doesn’t mean no security checks. They still x-ray your bags. You still walk through the metal detector. They still check your ID, as though that has any relation to security whatsoever. All you get is a shorter line (sure a boon to terrorists who are impatient), not to have to take out off your shoes or take out your laptop (just have the TSA folks scan peoples’ feet for exposed wires and call it good), and not to have to take liquids out in their baggie for separate screening (something they almost never enforce at the regular checkpoint anyway).

You give little advantage to a trusted traveler to bring contraband through the checkpoint with the PreCheck program. And allowing those who are approved the more civilized process (that we all ought to have…) would make it possible to save time, far less deadweight loss to the economy not to mention the restoration of the dignity of the passengers headed through the checkpoint.

For now, PreCheck is merely much more pleasant that the ‘regular’ screening process. But it could be actually useful if it were more reliable.

from View from the Wing http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/2012/06/17/tsa-precheck-is-both...

Be Careful How You Phone Home During Your Addis Ababa Stopover

Ever since Ethiopian Airlines joined the Star Alliance in December, there’s been great business class award availability to members of United and US Airways frequent flyer programs on Ethiopian’s direct service from Washington Dulles (via Rome) to Addis Ababa, with easy connections from there to the rest of Africa (it serves more destinations in Africa than any other carrier).

The government-owned airline ferries plenty more Americans to Ethiopia for stopovers at a minimum than they did before joining the alliance.

But Americans may not be aware that they’d better be careful how they call home– since the government there has banned Skype and other voice over internet services, according to al Jazeera. The penalty is up to 15 years of jail time for users.

Prime Minister Meles Zenaw says the move is meant to ensure national security, though I haven’t seen any more detail explaining this rationale. It’s generally considered flimsy at best, with the move being the latest in a string of crackdowns against services competing with the government telecomm monopoly.

from View from the Wing http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/2012/06/16/be-careful-how-you-p...

5 Lessons From Obama’s Twitter Town Hall




Twitter town halls have become a popular campaign tool during this presidential election season. That's why campaign strategist David Axelrod followed President Barack Obama’s economic speech in Ohio yesterday with a power-packed Q&A, sending 28 tweets and re-tweets through the @BarackObama account in as many minutes.

Certainly, an endless stream of presidential and congressional candidates have tried their own variations of this medium, but Axelrod’s was the most effective execution to date. Here's why.

1. Created a Controlled Venue
Most town halls fail by not taking the reader’s viewpoint into account. Where are users supposed to be watching the town hall’s tweets?…
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More About: barack obama, contributor, features, Social Media, Twitter

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/06/15/obama-twitter-townhall-2/?utm_source=feedburne...

People are Judging You Based on Your Shoes & Here’s What They Have to Say

I’ll admit it. I have judged people by the shoes they wear on their feet. Call me shallow, call me superficial, but don’t try and tell me you haven’t once or twice done the same thing. And who cares if you did? A new study reveals we can tell a lot about a person by what they slip their toes into, whether it be age, income or personality.

“We were interested in how people are able to form quick first impressions,” said Wellesley professor Dr. Angela Bahns to MSNBC.

Bahns worked alongside researchers from the University of Kansas to conduct the study, in which they asked 208 college students ranging in age from 18 to 55 to bring in a photograph of the shoes they wear most often. After filling out additional personality tests, 63 separate University of Kansas students were tasked with looking at the pictures of the shoes and rating the owner on their personality, attachment style, political preference and demographic measures, such as age, gender and family income.

There were photos of boots, flip-flops, lace-ups, loafers, sandals and sneakers — the most common type of shoe. What the researchers found is that people were best at judging a stranger’s age, sex and income, which Bahns tells MSNBC are “pretty visible.” Designer labels are the easiest way to indicate a person’s income. I can spot the red sole of a Christian Louboutin from miles away.

What Bahns said was surprising, however, is that people could accurately guess attachment anxiety based on footwear. It could be from visible signs, like color or upkeep, which they found could convey either how laid back a person or is, or how concerned they are about appearances.

Curious as to what your shoes say about you? Sonia Su and I have put together a list of what we’re unscientifically thinking — and what others might be thinking, as well — when we glance down at your feet. My warning? I’d lay off the Crocs.

from BostInno http://bostinno.com/2012/06/14/people-are-judging-you-based-on-your-shoes-her...

Google TV team focuses on third party content, second screen apps as I/O approaches

The slow-starting Google TV project has gotten a lot of attention at the last two Google I/O conferences, so what do the folks at Mountain View have up their sleeves this time around? Judging by recent updates to the Google Developers support pages, a major focus will be on helping third party devs create apps full of content, as well as control and information apps for mobiles or tablets. Recently the Anymote Android library for remote apps and related documentation was published, which the developer of the popular Able Remote app confirmed could assist devs in expanding upon Google's existing app, while subsequent additions to the FAQ library address HTML5 and more. On deck for Google I/O sessions are Bring Your App To The Big Screen, Get Your Content On Google TV and Command and Control in Your Living Room: Building Second Screen App for Google TV. Recently, apps like the one for Al Jazeera have been updated to bring more video to Google's platform, so with the rumored SDK (and HDTV) from Apple still missing in action, we'll wait and see if the third time's the charm for Google TV.

Google TV team focuses on third party content, second screen apps as I/O approaches originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 06:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/14/google-tv-second-screen-content/

USA ‘Suits Up’ to Social TV With ‘Suits Recruits’





When USA's hit show Suits returns to the airwaves on June 14, fans will already be part of the storyline, thanks to a new interactive social TV campaign that the network is rolling out.

Known as "Suits Recruits," the interactive and social media-laden experience allows fans to join the team at Pearson Hardman and help Harvey and Mike work on an on-going case.

This isn't the first time USA has dipped into the social TV/transmedia waters. Last year, the network launched of a first-of-its kind interactive experience for Psych dubbed #HashTagKiller.

The success of HashTag Killer has helped pave the way for other social TV experiments, including MTV's new Teen Wolf: The Hunt as… Continue reading...

More About: hashtag killer, suits, suits recruits, teen wolf the hunt, USA, usa network


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/06/11/suits-recruits-social-tv/?utm_source=feedburne...