Here are the steps to complete to get your free mouse pad:

1. Like the offer(via Facebook) and then publish it to your wall. Then copy the coupon code you will see. If you don’t see it, this is it: ZBL4SZ6

2. Select a mouse pad of your choice then add a photo of at least 958×800

3. Add it to your cart once you are done, then checkout

4. Enter the coupon code that is prompted at the screen you see when you publish the offer to your wall.

5. Enter your billing information

It should ship from 1-2 business days or in one week. Now be aware that this offer ends August 1st, so hurry up!

iMac Updates

Let’s start off with the iMac. They still have the 21.5 and 27 inch models, but they both got some new hardware.

The base line 21.5 inch iMac has a new 3.06GHz Core i3 processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 500GB hard drive, and has one of ATI’s Radeon 4670 with 256MB vRam. Apple also updated the the higher end 21.5 inch iMac ($1,499). They still have the Core i3 processors but instead of 3.06GHz, it’s now clocked to 3.20GHz. Apple also upgraded the hard drive to 1TB and the graphics to the ATI Radeon 5670 variety.

The $1,699 27 inch iMac has the same guts as the higher end 21.5 inch iMac, but the 27 inch model is upgradeable to a 3.6GHz Core i5, 2TB hard drive, a 256GB SSD and 16GB of DDR3 RAM. The highest end 27 inch iMac now has a 2.8GHz quad-core i5, ATI Radeon HD 5750 GPU with 1GB of vRAM, 1TB hard drive and upgradeable to a Core i7, 2TB hard drive, 256 GB SSD, and up to 16GB of RAM.

Mac Pro Updates

Possibly the most substantial update has to be the Mac Pro. Apple updated the Mac Pro to have 12 processing cores! (WOW!) It’s quite impressive to have that many cores, but it doesn’t come in a cheap price. If you want the 12 core Mac Pro, you’ll have to spend a whopping $5,000! Now, if you want a cheaper solution, you can still get a quad-core model for $2,499 or an 8 core model at $3,499. Apple updated the graphics card to the Radeon HD 5770, which is upgradeable to the HD 5870.

Apple does provide some good upgrades for the Mac Pro. Apple allows you to have 32GB of RAM, 4TB of storage, and a crazy option for four 512GB SSD drives!

New accessories

With all the updates out of the way, Apple made some cool accessories. Let’s take a look at them:

Magic TrackPad

The Apple Magic Trackpad is interesting. It’s basically the same glass multi-touch trackpad, but bigger. It still has the same gestures as all the Apple laptops. This product is mainly designed for desktop users. If you want this for your Apple computer, you can go get this for $69.

27 inch LED Cinema Display

The Apple 27 inch Cinema Display is no different from the 24 inch model. The new 27 inch Cinema display has a resolution of 2560×1440 and a new price of $999 Those are basically the main differences.

Apple Battery Charger… wait, what?!

Yes, you heard me, Apple is making re-chargable AA batteries. This could be the strangest thing that I’ve seen Apple to release to date. Now, Apple is pretty serious about this. Apple claims that it’s battery charger has the lowest vampire power draw than any charger on the market. You can get this thing for $29 and it will come with six AA batteries.

Well the blog has had some redesigns, changes, and lots of new great bloggers! So I would like to say I hope you guys have fun with and at Tech Cores! I sure enjoy writing posts and reading the posts that we, as a community, should be greatly proud of! Congrats, Here’s to another 300 posts!

Marc Billow

White models of Apple’s new iPhone® 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.”

This is disappointing to the people who want the white iPhone 4. Hopefully, they get this problem fixed ASAP.

The Mozilla team is always busy designing, scripting, and planning their next browser. A couple weeks ago they opened their public doors to the next generation of Firefox, Firefox 4 Beta 1. Firefox sports a new, “more aero enabled” theme and a similar feel to Google Chrome. On that note the tabs are now closer to the top of the window. Also they have added a “Firefox” button that gives you quick access to things the would be found in, the now disabled by default, menu bar which can be seen in the picture below.

The New Interface

The new interface is a total over haul of the interface seen in previous versions of Firefox 3 and below. So, what about speed? The theme isn’t the only thing that feels like Chrome, the browser not only loads faster but is now seeing faster browsing speeds. Now with any application you are going to bog it down if you add too many add-ons especially if used in excess. Now with two simple add-ons No Script and AdBlock Plus, I have found no slow down once so ever!

Remember it’s a BETA

They don’t put the word beta in the title for nothing! There are still some glitches and add-on compatibility issues in the browser, so unless you know what you are doing Firefox 4 isn’t for you just yet, for the everyday user its better to just stick with the current “stable” version for now, and let the team work their magic to get it ready for you!

Marc Billow

Tech Cores Administrator

I think that they will most likely about the iPhone 4′s antenna problem. Apple’s idea of having the antenna around the metal band sounded like a good idea, but in real life testing, it’s a flaw. Reception would drop from 5-0 simply by touching the bottom left corner. Currently, if you want to fix the issue, Apple suggested that you hold the phone in a different way, or buying a $29 rubber band. (Bumper) Now, I really think that the consumers should not be fixing this issue, Apple should.

Don’t believe us? Check out this exclusive video below!

As you may or may not know, Android version 3.0 (gingerbread) is coming. This version is said to be amazing and the best thing Google has ever done. If your wonder why the name is “gingerbread” or why all other android version names are after deserts. There is no real reason, android 1.5 (cupcake), 1.6 (doughnut), 2.1 (éclair), 2.2 (froyo), and now 3.0 (gingerbread). Anyways, there were some leaked minimum requirements for an android device to run the new 3.0 firmware. These are,

1 GHz Processor (stock, not over clocked to 1GHz)

512 MB RAM or higher

3.5” screen or larger

Although this update will not be out for long, android version 2.2 is not even official on any device besides the Google nexus 1.  We should hopefully see this update rolling out to devices that meet these requirements in mid 2011. As of right now, here is a list of devices that are able (if these minimum requirements are correct) to run android 3.0 “gingerbread”,

Sprint

HTC Evo 4G

Samsung Epic 4G

Verizon

Motorola Droid X

HTC Droid Incredible

Samsung Galaxy S (Fascinate)

AT&T

Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate)

Nexus 1

T-Mobile (USA)

Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant)

Nexus 1

(THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A POST, JUST AN UPDATE)

Samsung has finally done it! They will now have the Samsung Galaxy S on all four major U.S. cellular networks. There are no pictures of the Fascinate but it is going to look like the original Galaxy S with a piano black finish and chrome decals.

Fascinate’s Spec list

-1 GHz Hummingbird processor

-4” Screen, 480×800

-AMOLED Screen

-512 MB RAM

-8 or 16 GB internal Storage

-3.5 mm audio jack

-5 MP camera

-720p HD recording

-VGA Front Facing Camera (still unknown)

-WiFi

-Bluetooth

-Android (unknown version)

Bad

New design

When I first held the iPhone 4, the edges were sharp. Now, the reason why it’s so sharp is due to the fact that Apple went to a more flat design. I don’t like this because I don’t get a good grip on the phone. It just feels more fragile and it feels like it will slip off from my hand. The second thing that I don’t like about the new design is the glass back. Having glass on the back might sound a good idea because it’s less prone to scratches, but it’s more prone to cracks. Simply drop it on tile and bam, cracked.

Performance

The iPhone 4 features an Apple A4 chip and 512MB of RAM. Do I notice any speed differences? No. When I was at the Apple store, I was comparing speeds with the 3GS and surprisingly, the 3GS was quicker. All things from Games, Web browsing, loading random stuff was quicker.

FaceTime

FaceTime, one of the iPhone 4′s biggest features. Is it ready for primetime? Not really. As of right now, FaceTime is only through Wi-Fi. I think that FaceTime should have more features, such as file transfer or screen sharing. I could be asking too much, but hey, it’s my opinion.

Good

Retina Display

The iPhone 4 has what Apple calls it, the Retina Display. The Retina display is a 3.5 inch IPS LED touch screen with an amazing resolution of 960×640. One word about the display: Amazing. When I first saw the screen, I was shocked how clear fonts were and how vivid the screen was. What also impressed me was the pixel destiny. When you are in Safari and go to TechCores.com, you could read the text zoomed out all the way. That’s how dense the screen is. Also, with that resolution, you simply can not see the pixels at all.

Camera

The camera on the iPhone 4 is a HUGE upgrade from the 3GS. Instead of the 3GS’ 3 MP camera, you are getting a 5 MP camera on the 4. The camera takes awesome pictures and the built-in LED flash enhances it. The second good thing about the iPhone 4 is that it could record video in 720p. Basically, you could replace your Flip camera with this. Also, you could edit videos directly from the phone by using the  $4.99 iMovie app.

Conclusion

In my opinion, I don’t think it’s worth it for me. I just think paying another $399 on another iPhone is a waste of money. Now, these are my thoughts and opinions. Please don’t take it too seriously. You might have different opinions than me. I would love to hear other people’s thoughts on the iPhone 4. If you would like to share your thoughts on the iPhone 4, comment below.

Source: T-Mobile

The fake Steve Jobs announced on Twitter that he may be recalling the iPhone. Apple hasn’t recalled something like this in a while from what I believe. Apple isn’t the type of company to recall. They’re the type of company where they say if you have an issue with a new device, they will simply replace it for free. I know so many people on Twitter and other places where they say that this is their sixth iPhone or anything like that. For that reason, I know they would never do a global recall.

But the iPhone does deserve a bit of notice with it’s glorified reception issues. People have said simply putting a piece of “Scotch” tape over the bottom left of the iPhone would fix it. In the end of it though, that’s a ridiculous fix! Steve Jobs said himself that they’re “holding the iPhone wrong” and it has even been reported that having a bumper case will fix it! That’s ridiculous Apple! You shouldn’t need a case to fix those reception issues. But let’s get back on topic here.

So a lot of blogs (and even newspapers) have quoted this fake Steve Jobs and it’s really been starting to get to a huge triumph with everything that’s currently in the tech news right now.

The thing is, I wonder why the real Steve Jobs didn’t contact Twitter about this impostor. Even Bill Gates has an official Twitter account now…

In the end, all of the blogs who stated that the iPhone 4 will be having a recall are basically deleting all of those posts or even editing them. Just don’t trust some unverified Twitter account when it comes to popular people like Steve Jobs.

If you didn’t pick it up yet, the iPhone 4 won’t be having a recall. But I will say Apple will focus some of their attention on the iPhone 4 reception issues. A piece of tape to fix it just isn’t good enough.

Apple's first logo designed by Ron Wayne himself

You really don’t hear much about Ron Wayne anymore. Most people at least know that the ever so popular, Steve Jobs, founded Apple way before Apple was this successful of a company. At the time, Apple was really having a rough start and I honestly don’t blame Ron Wayne for leaving Apple.

There’s three main founders of Apple: the two Steves (Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs) and then Ron Wayne. Without a doubt, every one of them contributed to Apple in some way.

The original Apple logo, which is to your left, was designed by Ron Wayne himself. That logo, along with the first operators manual for Apple, was two of the major things Ron Wayne has done. But that’s really not only the two things he has done.

CNN has recently posted a great review of Ron Wayne about his time over at Apple.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/06/24/apple.forgotten.founder/index.html?eref=rss_tech&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_tech+(RSS:+Technology)

It’s amazing that Ron Wayne could of really been a very sucessful person. When he left company, like the article states, he left for only $800, which was 10% of the share at the time. If you take 10% of that same share right now, that would be $22 billion dollars!

But don’t make fun of Ron Wayne because of it. At the time, like he said in the video review by CNN, he stated that it was really either to stick around with the risks or even to just leave. Wayne stated that he didn’t know how that path would take him if he stuck with Apple. It most likely would be tough, but when creating any company, it’s tough no matter what you try to do.

Because we’re not able to embed CNN’s videos into this post, I highly encourage you to watch all the videos to see what Wayne said himself on CNN’s website.

Apple is for sure an amazing company, and without the perfect combination of the two Steves and Ron, Apple, without a doubt, wouldn’t be the same company you know them of today.

Head over to CNN’s site, watch the videos, and then tell us your comments on it! Trust me, even if you’re not an Apple fanboy, you’ll still like that video.

Apple will still have a Mac mini Server configuration, which is basically a Mac mini with two 500GB hard drives, 4GB of RAM, 2.66 GHz Intel, No Superdrive, and Mac OSX Snow Leopard Server.

The graphics in the game are easily of the 21st century; they’re unbelievable! If you ever play Crysis, which is only a Windows (PC) game, you’ll realize that the graphics are ever so stunning. People have compared some real life graphics next to the game graphics, and they look very identical (like this amazing image) to the real thing.

But wait, I’m not only a Crysis fan; I’m a fan of Steam also! And you know what’s great when you combine them together, discounts!

Yes, that’s right, Crysis is 50% off on Steam! If you don’t know, Crysis is a FPS game set in the future and it’s just truly amazing. I would highly suggest you look at some YouTube videos on it, because it’s just one of the best FPS games I’ve every played.

So hit it up on Steam right now for you major discounts; even I’m tempted to pick up a copy!

http://store.steampowered.com/sale/ea_week

On June 2nd, 2010, AT&T decided to overhaul their data plans. As of the result: disappointing, for some people (I’ll talk about it at the end). The reason why it’s so disappointing is because they removed the $30 unlimited data plan, which you were forced to pay for if you got a smartphone. I’ll share my thoughts after breaking down the major points:

DataPlus / DataPro

• The existing $30 “unlimited” smartphone data plan is gone and replaced by two new options: $15 per month for 200MB and $25 for 2GB . People currently on the $30 plan are welcome to stay on it, but they can switch at any time without extending their contract.
• On the $15 plan, you will pay $15 for each additional 200MB, but on the $25 plan, you’ll pay $10 for each additional GB.
• For the iPad, the unlimited option will go also. It will be replaced by the same $25 plan. If you are a current unlimited data user on the iPad, you can keep the current plan.

Tethering

• For tethering, it will be on top of your $25 plan for an additional $20 per month, which means that you will pay $45 per month for 2GB of data with your laptop and your smartphone. If you are a heavy data user like me, this is totally not for you.

As you can see, AT&T did make some bad decisions. I think the $25 (DataPro) is a complete rip off because if you just pay $5 more, you can get unlimited data and for the $15 (DataPlus) plan, don’t bother getting it unless you don’t use a lot of data. So, is this disappointing to me? No. The reason is because if you are a current unlimited data user (like me), you get to keep your current plan and if you switch devices, you will still keep the unlimited plan.

Fun fact: I’ve used 4.1GB of data

When we think of Japan, we think of gaming. If you would have seen the crowds lined up down streets for miles and miles, you would have thought a new gaming console was being released. This was the story throughout the country as the Apple iPad made its international debut in late May. It is now in most major countries and is taking over in their markets.

The iPad has made a rather large splash in the tech world, more so than people predicted. It has changed the way we look at tablets, and computers in general. It has forced major sites to convert from Flash to HTML5. That shows how much power Apple possesses. They made their products to not include something, and instead of people complaining, which they did a bit, the world adapts to that. The iPad also changed the way we read books, play games, and do work. In Japan, the big idea was playing games. Many of the Japanese have purchased the iPad to see how it stacks up against the various portable gaming consoles in Japan.

Apple also released the iPad in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Canada late last week. This opens the iPad glory in Europe, with most major countries getting this product.

To me, Europe seems like little coffee nooks, people walking rather than driving, and urban life. This suits the iPad perfectly. Where I live, Albuquerque, NM, USA, the iPad is used in the car more than while walking to the coffee shop. That is the case in a lot of places in the United States, because it is so spread out.

The iPad made its big European/Japan/Canadian release on Friday of last week, and it made it with a bang. It has already become a must-have gadget, though the world has known about this treasure for less than 2 months.