Why Apple Will Not Release a Cloud-Based iPhone Nano This Year

I like the idea of an iPhone nano. One with a small screen with the same resolution of an iPhone 3GS, powered by an A4 processor. I'd buy one. But a cloud-based iPhone doesn't make any sense. Not right now.

A source at Cult of Mac claims that this is exactly what is going to happen: An iPhone nano with no storage, just some "buffer memory". This new device would pull and push everything, from the videos and photos you take to the songs you listen to. Everything will upload and download to and from the cloud. "The iPhone nano will have no memory for onboard storage of media," the source says. The Wall Street Journal claims that it will have "limited storage" too—and "MobileMe [...] would serve as a locker [...] eliminating the need for devices to carry a lot of memory."

That's really nice. It's my wet dream: A phone that uploads photos and videos in real time to your personal space in the cloud? Beam me up. A phone that can access all the music and videos and books in real time? No more synchronization at last! All your information safe and protected? It's THE FUTURE! But I don't think the future can happen this year. Not until a lot of things get fixed.


The networks suck

I lose my connection at least once a day. It doesn't matter if you are on AT&T or Verizon or whatever other operator in the world. It happens. It may be a network hiccup caused by rush hour. It may be a dark spot, in the subway or in a restaurant with no reception.

For this cloud vision of the iPhone to work, network access would have to be truly ubiquitous and 100% dependable all of the time. Right now, no cell network can offer this. The network itself would cripple the product and make users angry every time a photo didn't get saved or a song didn't play.

The cost would be prohibitive

The other problem is cost. There aren't unlimited data plans anymore. AT&T has scrapped them. Even if you get Verizon's, they will cap your data transfer speed over a certain the limit. A 100% cloud-based iPhone will pass that limit easily. And most operators in the world offer the same speed-throttled plans.

So even if the networks were perfect, it would be an expensive phone to have or an unusably slow one after some real use.

Battery life

If the phone accesses the network to pull and push everything, you will be depleting the battery really fast. 3G connectivity sucks a lot of juice, and this theoretical iPhone nano would probably have a smaller battery to begin with, just because it's supposedly tiny.

MobileMe is really bad

Unless Apple has made a lot of progress in their network abilities, experience has shown us that their cloud services are more useless than drunk pandas having the sex. I find it hard to believe that a future MobileMe would be so perfect that it would not affect the user experience.

And that's the key: The User Experience. Apple is obsessed with it, which is why they will not depend on the cloud until all these things are fixed. Because—when the user finds these problems—they are going to blame their iPhone nano. Not the network.

I can imagine the iPhone nano with storage. Not a lot of it. 8GB will be enough for most people, perhaps integrated in the same silicon as the A4 processor to save costs. That would (almost)* work.

Of course, you can add cloud services today, just like Windows Phone 7 already does. Things like automatic over-the-air synchronization of everything to the cloud, a la Dropbox. Or Spotify-style streaming, please. But Apple will not depend on the network for functions that users expect to happen seamlessly and perfectly, no matter where they are. Right now, you just can't have a zero-storage phone.

* The only thing I can't see in this whole iPhone nano business is the keyboard. How much smaller can the iPhone get before you need toothpicks to type?

By Jesus Diaz

Breakfast change during years after wedding!

The Car Toilet-Seat for Jams:)

Green wheels from Japan - The Meguru

Everything old is new again for one Japanese manufacturer, which has unveiled an electronic version of a rickshaw.

The "Meguru" is a three-wheeled, three-seat compact vehicle whose single lithium-ion battery allows for a maximum speed and range of 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour, although the number of batteries could be increased for a longer ride.


"This is a true environmentally friendly car," said Nobuyuki Ogura, the chief executive officer of Yodogawa Group, which built the vehicle in cooperation with three other small companies in western Japan.


"Instead of an air-conditioner, it comes with a pinwheel, and we are also thinking of adding a wind chime because it gives a refreshing sound to cool you down without the need of electricity," he told Reuters Television. "It doesn't have a heater, but it's equipped with blankets to keep you warm in the winter."


A regular driver's license is required to take the vehicle on the road, but car registration is unnecessary. Devised as part of a project to revitalise small businesses facing economic hardship, the vehicle - which is 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in) long, 1.2 meters (3 ft 11 in) wide and 1.6 meters (5 ft 3 in) tall - also showcases traditional Japanese crafts.


The body is coated in red lacquer, the floor is filled with recycled bamboo, and the retractable "window" has been carefully crafted in the shape of a Japanese fan using Japanese "washi" paper. All were made by craftsmen in western Japan. The company says it is selling the vehicle for around one million yen ($12,180) while assessing a business plan for mass production.





Even disposing of the car after its usefulness has passed poses no problems. "We've used all-natural materials, so if you ever decide to get rid of the car, simply bury it in the ground," Ogura said.

World's Most Flexible Women

Here are some photos of extremely flexible and limber women. One wonders if they have any bones at all!
Some ways to improve flexibility are through Yoga, Pilates, Ballet, Tai Chi, Martial arts and Swimming. The people in the following pictures seem to be naturally gifted though!

















To be limber and flexible is one thing. To watch this dancer is something a few levels beyond those adjectives:

Namaste Tower

The Namaste tower! Designed by the Atkins design studio, work IS currently underway on this 300m-62 storeyed mixed use tower that will encompass a hotel, office and retail space.


The location is Ambika mills which is a couple hundred meters south of the biggest mall in South Central Mumbai - The palladium. The developer of the project is unknown. The renders and text were submitted by Atkins to the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona (3-5 Nov 2010).


Following the long tradition of great Indian Architecture it was our aim that the Namaste Tower will stand as a landmark structure, representative of the burgeoning economic and cultural significance of India. We aimed to design a building that would become representative of the city: the picture postcard of Mumbai.


Key Statistics:
• 120,000 m2 of Gross Construction Area
• 380 key luxury hotel
• Exclusive restaurants, bars, banqueting and spa facilities
• 9,000 m2 of A grade office space
• 6,000 m2 of world class retail space
• 300 m overall building height


“Namaste"
The traditional Indian greeting of ‘Namaste’, where the hands are clasped together in greeting, is the inspiration for the design of this tower. In Sanskrit “Namaste` means “I bow to you`. It has a spiritual significance of negating one’s ego in the presence of another.


The Architecture of the Namaste Hotel builds on this ancient Indian expression. The two wings of the hotel are clasped together like hands greeting the city of Mumbai. In this way the architectural design of the hotel provides the ultimate symbol of hospitality and welcome, as seen in the as seen in the cultural context of India.



Visual Relationships to and from the Site
With a proposed height of 300 m the tower will be seen from a distance of more than 40 km. Therefore the visual appearance of the project as a major landmark is of great importance to the city of Mumbai.



Views from the tower will extend to the South over the Mahalakhsmi Race course towards the Mumbai Peninsula and to the South West over the Indian Ocean. The views to the north East are towards a number of adjacent towers that are currently being constructed. The orientation and massing of the tower have been designed in order to make the very best of these visual relationships.


The Building Skin
The tower has been designed to cater for large scale Indian weddings. The occasion of a Mehndi ceremony (where the hands and feet of the bride and groom are decorated with henna) is often one of the most important pre-wedding rituals in India.


The design seeks to build on the theme of the clasped hands by referencing the intricate Mehndi patterns through the treatment of the building skin. The tower is will be clad in fritted glazing that combines to form an architectural scale graphic on the exterior of the building. This will create a sense of transparency and depth to the building while at the same time helping to maintain the thermal qualities required to meet the building’s envelope design criteria.


It is proposed that the large scale canopies over the drop-off points area support an array of solar thermal collectors. Given the available surface area and annual sunlight conditions these have the potential to provide 12% of the energy required to heat the hot water for the hotel.


General Arrangement
The tower is made up of two separate wings (or hands) which together form the architectural expression of “Namaste”. The space between the wings forms the corridor spaces. At either end of the corridor space a pair of open atria will offer hotel guests dramatic framed views out over the city.


Internal Atrium Gardens
These atria also serve to bring natural light deep into the plan. At the plant floor levels these atria are broken with internal gardens that serve to bring greenery into the corridor and atrium spaces. It was a central design aim to ensure that the circulation areas of the hotel, (including corridors) are just as impressive as the rooms themselves.



The Podium
The geometry of the podium is designed to integrate fully with the design of the tower. Thus it is a highly symmetrical form that responds to the wing like canopies above the drop off. Containing mostly retail, the facade of the podium is activated with water features and fountains that cascade down to street level.



The Summit
At the summit of the building a generous quadruple height atrium space encloses a Sky Restaurant and Bar which will provide a unique vantage point for patrons to gain panoramic views out over the city.







Namaste: Hotel and Office Tower
Category: Future Projects - Commercial
Location: Mumbai, India
Architects: WS Atkins, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Atkins, United Arab Emirates