Watching kids trying to figure out how to use an old Apple II is totally hilarious.

In Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, there is a scene in which a tribe of early hominids, having encountered an extraterrestrial Monolith for the first time, are suddenly evolved to the next stage of human consciousness, and are capable of using tools for the first time.

This video of children from the ages of 6 to 13 trying to figure out how to work a vintage Apple II is like the opposite of that. And it shows just how inexplicable computing was to pretty much everyone before Steve Jobs released the original Mac in 1984.

 

YouTubers the Fine Brothers have an entire series of videos in which they sit children down in front of vintage devices like Walkmen and CD players and make them use them blind. They’re usually pretty amusing, but this one, in which the kids take an old Apple II for a spin, is particularly enjoyable.

I think it’s easy to forget, even for those of us who were there at the time, just how inexplicable early computers are. For example, while the kids in this video are as mystified as you’d expect by the lack of Internet, mouse or even apps on an early Apple II, they’re completely mystified by the fact that they can’t even figure out how to get it to compute simple math problems without entering the “PRINT” command first. Or the fact that upon turning on a vintage Apple II, nothing happens until you hit the ‘Reset’ button.

Some of the kids try to look on the bright side of things, saying that the Apple II is impressive because it’s “kind of the first technology,” but you can tell their hearts aren’t really in the compliment. Although only around 35 years old, the Apple II might as well have been a thousand years old, as far as these kids are concerned.

What’s interesting to me about the video is that I’m guessing if you put these kids in front of a classic Macintosh from just four years later, they’d immediately grok it, and at least be able to figure out how to use it without being guided by the nose through every step. That’s what is so amazing about what Apple did for computing: in just four years, Apple essentially invented the personal computer twice. Once for science nerds, and then for everyone. And they haven’t stopped since.

Source: Cult of Mac.

Hacked Carrier Update Now Available To iOS Devices On Sprint.

A hacked carrier update that has the potential to deliver improved data speeds is now available to iPhone 5 users on Sprint. The modified update, which has previously been made available to devices on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, does not require a jailbroken device — just a Mac or PC with iTunes.

Like the other updates, this one comes from Joe Brown and Sky Zangas over at iTweakiOS, who have explained how it works:

This hack enables 1x Advanced and EVDO Rev. B on the iPhone 5 enhancing EVDO 3G data speeds. Though Sprint is limited to EVDO Rev. A, the device itself becomes more open to an increased amount of bandwidth thus allowing for better throughput of data and data connection. Already intact coding within the carrier files also showed signs that Sprint has 1x Advanced support on their network. So, how knows? This may actually enable something new. Throttling code was put in place to limit users to a certain amount of bandwidth on 3G only as well and has now been removed.

This update is a little different to those for other U.S. carriers, because it doesn’t improve LTE speed. However, Brown explains that this is because it was never throttled on Sprint like it was on the other carriers anyway. You should see improved speeds on 3G, however.

There’s no guarantee the update will make a significant difference, and if you already have good 3G speeds, the changes could be very slight. But as no jailbreak is required, it’s certainly worth a try. The update is compatible with the iPhone 5 only at this point, but Brown one for the iPad soon.

For a step-by-step how-to on installation, click the source link below.

 

Mac profits greater than entire PC industry.

The latest figures show that Apple’s Mac line is generating more profit than the entire PC industry put together.

The figures, from Horace Dediu, show that Apple Mac generated almost $1.2 billion in Q4 of last year. In comparison, the 5 top PC vendors only managed to generate shy of $900 million, phenomenal figures. It was always thought that Apple would kill the PC with the iPad, however it looks like they’re doing it with their own line of computers.

The huge figures are down to the operation margin of Apple’s Mac, which is around 19%, in comparison, its closest Windows competitor Dell, only has an operating margin of around 4%. Apple’s epic computers, along with their epic price tags are certainly generating Apple a whole lot of money. So much so, that it would actually be viable for Apple to cut prices of its Macs by up to 15%, allowing them to gain an even greater competitive edge over its Windows rivals.

Source: TodaysiPhone.

Mac Users Just Can’t Stop Themselves From Updating To The Latest Version Of OS X.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about Apple is how they approach upgrades. While companies like Microsoft sell their operating systems at an exorbitant licensing cost, Apple has favored an approach in which they release their operating system upgrades either for free (as with iOS) or at a low cost that anyone can afford.

The benefits are big. Updated versions of operating systems tend to be more secure, which helps guarantee OS X’s lead over Windows when it comes to malware. Naturally, then, Mac users tend to adopt new versions of OS X faster than Windows users upgrade, but the statistical disparity might surprise you.

According to a new study by Net Applications measuring operating system and browser adoption rates amongst visitors of about 40,000 web sites, Lion and Mountain Lion were both installed on 29% of all Macs within five months of release. Snow Leopard fared slightly better and was installed on 32 percent of all Macs within five months.

How does Windows compare? Not well. The best-selling version of Windows to date is Windows 7, which was installed on only 11% of all PICs after five months. Vista fared even worse, having showed up on only 5% of all PCs after five months.

What about Windows 8? Well, it’s too early to say, but it looks like it’s more a Vista than a 7. No surprise, really, given what a huge paradigm shift it is from the standard Windows experience.

Source:Cult of Mac.