October 5, 2011 was a very sad day for the American computer industry: Steve Jobs - the creator of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series - passed away after losing his battle with a rare pancreatic cancer. As one of the few, true innovators of our time, Jobs took his knowledge and creativity and built up a company that is now worth about $1 trillion.
Steve Jobs did many great things for the technological world, so as homage to a great man, we thought it would be interesting to talk a little about one of his first projects. You see, the first Macintosh computer Jobs designed was actually influenced by his Porsche 928.
Andy Hertzfeld, a member of the original Apple development team, recalls the discussion in March 1981 during a late night at the office. "It’s got to be different, different from everything else." said Jobs to James Ferris, Apple’s director of Creative Services. “For some reason, they were talking about cars,” Hertzfeld recalls.
"We need it to have a classic look, that won’t go out of style, like the Volkswagen Beetle", I heard Steve tell James.
"No, that’s not right.", James replied. "The lines should be voluptuous, like a Ferrari.”
"Not a Ferrari, that’s not right either", Steve responded, apparently excited by the car comparison. "It should be more like a Porsche!" referring to his Porsche 928.
“I thought it was kind of pompous to compare computers with sports cars, even metaphorically. But I was impressed with Steve’s passion for elegance in the industrial design and his powers of discrimination continually amazed me as the design took shape.” Hertzfeld said.
The design for the first Mac was released in February 1982. Jobs had worked tirelessly, attempting to produce the best Porsche-like design for the computer.
The world has lost a true inspiration. Steve Jobs will be missed.
On your marks...get set...and get ready to order! A source has revealed that Porsche dealers are almost ready to open the order books for the new and improved 911/991. Orders may be taken as soon as next month with vehicle deliveries scheduled in March - April 2012.
That’s not all, either. Want to order the Porsche 911/991? There’s an app for that! Our source has also revealed that Porsche is developing an iPad app that will allow clients to play around with the options and place their order on Apple’s latest technological wonder. Porsche and Apple; now there’s a match made in heaven.
As a reminder for those who have been living under a rock of dullness, the new Porsche 911/991 will be powered by a 3.4L direct-injected flat-six engine that delivers a total of 350 HP at 6400 rpm and a max torque of 280 lb-ft between 4400 and 6000 rpm. The Carrera S will get a 3.8-liter flat-six with direct injection engine that delivers a total of 400 HP at 7000 rpm, leaving it with a 4.5 seconds 0-60mph sprint time and a top speed of 188mph. Both models will be offered with either a seven-speed manual gearbox or the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic, both made by ZF and both featuring launch control. These models also come with an improved fuel economy of 12-15%.
Oh, the benefits of technology. We can’t live with it and we can’t live without it. In the latest example of how our items like the iPad and the iPhone are shaping the way we find entertainment these days, we got news that John Galt Films Inc, the leading international producer of high octane vintage racing films, has released ten GT Racer applications for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. GT Racer is a documentary-style film that dives into the world of racing like no other film app we’ve seen in the past. The app is based on the GT Racer HDTV series that was aired worldwide on a number of channels and is now being transferred to the world of Apple apps.
Directed and produced by Alexander Davidis, the whole scene of GT Racer transforms your world and takes you back to the Golden Era of auto racing, one where you can take a look at the most exclusive series of international racing, featuring the 1950s and 60s Aston Martins, Ferraris, Maseratis, Porsches, Mustangs, Cobras, and so many other race cars as they compete in the some of the world’s most famous race tracks, including the Nurburgring, the Spa Francorchamps, Laguna Seca, and Carrera Panamericana.
More than the cars and the tracks themselves, GT Racer gives you the opportunity to feel the incredible atmosphere of the time, a time where high-octane racing wasn’t all about technological innovation as it was pure, unadulterated racing.
The GT Racer titles are developed by Smarphone specialists, Netframes, and include the following titles: Shaken & Stirred - Spa (Belgium); On Porto’s Street Circuit (Portugal); Big Speeds at Silverstone (England); The Nürburgring Factor (Germany); Legends of Lime Rock (Connecticut, USA); Ferraris at Laguna Seca (California, USA);
The Spa Six Hours (Belgium); Nordschleife: The 500 km Marathon (Germany); Fast Curves at Magny Cours (France); La Carrera Panamericana (Mexico).
Each of the episodes are now available at Apple’s iTunes store for $22.99 each.
Brabus is apparently not satisfied with preparing tuning packages with blow your socks off speed and have moved on to the world where briefcases and hand held devices are key to survival. No, we’re not talking about a Brabus-tuned iPad - although that would be fascinating -, but the iBusiness 2.0, a vehicle that is fully equipped with the new iPad 2.
We’ve seen Brabus do something very similar to this before when they introduced the "iBusiness" SV12 R with the first generation iPad, but their latest package has been upgraded to the new and improved tablet computer. The setup for this new model is exactly like the first version as the iPad is offered with a WiFi network and a Mini Mac. The ultra-small, yet powerful Mini Mac serves as the central computer and is hidden away in the S-Class trunk under the rear shelf in an electrically deployed drawer.
The iBusiness 2.0 package can be applied to any model in the S-Class line-up, but prices on the package have yet to be announced.
Hit the jump to read about the Brabus iBusiness 2.0.
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Okay, just reading the name of this car should make everyone wonder just how much it is going to cost, and don’t worry, we’ll get to that. First let’s introduce the car. The Abarth 500C is typically no more than about $25,000 and features lots of little goodies, like that four cylinder inline engine that delivers a weak 140hp. Now add a tuning package from Fenice-Milano that consists of a little bling bling, and now this expensive ride starts to sparkle.
Just how expensive is this little car? Well, take the base Abarth 500C, add 24k gold inserts and an Apple iPad Supreme Edition made out of 24k gold and diamonds, and now you got yourself a $660,000 vehicle. That’s right, that is what a Chinese customer ordered and paid for this bedazzled 500. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Intriguing? Hell yeah!
Hit the jump to read more about the Fenice-Milano La Dolce Vita Gold and Diamonds 500C.
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