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  • dishayu - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Doesn't show up in my rss feed yet. Will have to download the m4a, i guess.
  • n00by - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Whoop Whoop, thanks for the awesome podcast! :D
  • Fiercé - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    ...I'd like to suggest a roundtable on the relatively new Smartphone OS environment. With the iPhone5 gorilla getting its annual walk up the tallest skyscrapers of the press corp, I'm very interested to hear opinions and impressions on where Google, Microsoft and Apple stand with their Windows 8 Phone, Jellybean and iOS6 situations.

    Particularly with the lauded performance improvements encountered on iPhone5 hardware, I'd like to know where Android is with it's Project Butter and how Windows Phone 8 stacks up at stock. I have an HTC One X and while I agree the series doesn't get nearly as much love as it deserves (from a previous podcast), I'd much rather settle for updated timetables regarding Jellybean updates from HTC, Samsung and their ilk as well as if Project Butter will be included in those updates indicating Adreno 225 can handle it... or if we'll have to wait another eternity for another validation period.

    This is of particular interest to me now that HTC has released Windows 8 Phone devices, as that suggests a possibility of split resources for OS improvements at HTC HQ.

    Cheers!
  • Fiercé - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Geez, I absolutely butchered the Windows Phone 8 nomenclature.

    More coffee, more coffee...
  • Impulses - Saturday, September 29, 2012 - link

    I doubt you'll get any kind of accurate update timetable out of HTC or Samsung, although I believe the latter promised JB by end of year and update leaks have already been floating in the wild, so that's a good sign.

    Frankly I'm not terribly concerned with Jelly Bean, the performance improvements and updated notifications are nice but it won't drastically change how I use my phone, my EVO LTE is already pretty damn snappy and if I get a hankering for JB I can just flash CM 10.

    I'm much more curious about the future direction of the Nexus line and the rumors of an expanded manufacturer lineup.
  • tipoo - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Speaking of the Lightning cable, what do we think of that maybe-authenitcation chip found inside it? Will that block third party cables,or at least make them significantly more expensive?
  • tipoo - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    And also since the same port can be used for different outgoing connections, maybe when they shift to USB 3 the same port will be compatible, but you'd need yet another cable becauseof the new pins in USB 3. With 150MB/s smartphone memory chips coming out soon, we may want those sooner than expected.
  • scavio - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Most people seem to think that it will take a long time before we see fully compatible non authorized third party cables (if at all) due to the chip. I would think that third party cables in general would be more expensive.

    Has anyone figured out what exactly the chip does? Hopefully the knock off folks can figure out how to get cables without the chip to at least charge the phone. Maybe it'll only work if you insert it a certain side up or something. I haven't owned an iPhone for a while, but having to purchase $20 cables so that I can charge a phone would stink.
  • tipoo - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Yeah, maybe that chip detects which way it is connected and reroutes the signal, and third party cables would work without it but only in one orientation. I hope, at least.
  • repoman27 - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I was hoping the topic of the "authentication chip" would be addressed. It's right along the same lines as the iPhone 5 "NFC" chip identified by the same reliably inaccurate rumor sites.

    Lightning is clearly not a bog standard USB interface. It supports at least USB 2.0 OTG and HD digital video output just like MHL. However, since Apple has announced Lightning to HDMI and VGA cables (and not adapters that require an external power source), it's fairly obvious that Lightning is Apple's implementation of MyDP over their own custom connector.

    If you look at the ribbon cable that the connector is attached to in the iPhone 5 teardowns, there only appear to be two differential signaling pairs. I'm not sure the Lightning interface is anywhere near as "adaptive" as some people are making it out to be. While the connector is reversible and the system can use either of the signaling pairs interchangeably, auto-MDIX has been around for Ethernet cables since '98, so this isn't terribly revolutionary. I'm sure it's extensible and we may see SuperSpeed USB and increased video bandwidth in future iterations, but for now I think the design is fairly straightforward.

    Also, regarding the pricing, you get a Lightning to USB cable with every device you purchase, and additional ones are $19—the same as an Apple USB to 30-pin dock connector cable. I'm not sure how anyone can rationalize the cost of designing and engineering a new connector like Lightning with this move being a cash grab on Apple's part. At this point, they're making a lot more profit off of the $19 30-pin cables that they're still selling. It is odd that they don't have Lightning cable / power adapter bundle out yet though.
  • Kevin G - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I suspect that this authentication chip is actually just for calibration similar to how the chips found inside Thunderbolt cables. The chip could also be used for cable identification so that the iPhone 5 knows what is being plugged into it.
  • GrizzledYoungMan - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Love the podcast, fellas, and I'm impressed with the top-notch audio quality right out of the gate.

    A quick suggestion: your recording might benefit from some addition compression applied during editing. (I'm talking about dynamic range compression, not data compression.) While having a broad dynamic range is great for music and movies, voice-heavy stuff like this becomes considerably easier to 'hear' with a bit more compression and the resulting increase in perceived loudness.

    A real life example: I often listen to your podcast while doing something else (walking, cooking, being an millionaire playboy astronaut cowboy, etc). If I set the listening volume to a reasonable level, some of the quieter sections get lost easily.
  • SeannyB - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I remember suggesting the use of compressors & limiters in the comments of the first episode. This episode is the most problematic one I've heard so far. I don't know if something going wrong in their processing chain, or if people are moving their heads toward & away from the mic as they speak, but it sounds like there are regular 6dB drops all throughout the recording. I'd turn up the volume, and a few seconds later, Anand's voice is blowing up in my headphones, prompting me to turn it back down.

    This is exactly the problem that well-tuned dynamic range compression solves.
  • SeannyB - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    What it actually sounds like is some automatic "ducking", specifically input on Anand's mic automatically pushing down Brian's level in a poorly configured way.
  • Brian Klug - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    It's funny you should mention that, I've noticed as well on my side that when he's talking my audio level gets pushed down. We're still trying to work out some of the details quite honestly.

    -Brian
  • Death666Angel - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    These audio issues won't stop me from listening to the podcasts, but it would be great if you could get a handle on them. :-)
  • Sunrise089 - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Agree, the podcast is generally excellent but there is definitely room for improvement on this margin.
  • Lucian Armasu - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I'm so disappointed Haswell will only have OpenGL 4.0 support at launch. OpenGL 4.0 is 3 years old, and yet they will support DirectX11.1? Does Intel care about OpenGL at all? Also no surprise that even their new Medfield chips won't support OpenGL ES 3.0 either. So how do they want us to take them seriously in the mobile market?
  • tipoo - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    What uses OpenGL 4.1-4.3 on PCs anyways? Just curious. On Windows at least, almost every game I can think of is DX minus two or three.
  • Kevin G - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Professional level applications still use OpenGL and with fewer laptops sporting a discrete GPU, OpenGL support is important for that market.
  • tipoo - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    Makes sense, thanks. But would a HD4000 ever be used for those high end applications though?
  • tipoo - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    (or the haswell integrated equivalent, I mean)
  • SeleniumGlow - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    We used to have Vodafone Tuesdays in India (1+1 movie ticket or 1+1 pizza)... they stopped that an odd year ago.

    If I'm not wrong some other operator here is giving a similar deal...
  • AndraZ - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I really enjoy this podcasts. Anand and his crew have so much technical knowledge, I love when they go into details of architectures, manufacturing, and also all the background they experience during their work.
    I hope this episodes keep on coming for a long time!
  • sp3x0ps - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I have been visiting your website a lot lately with the new iPhone 5 coverage and I must say I love the depth and quality of your reviews, very interesting to read all of the tech details that other websites just can't match.

    This is my first time listening to your podcast and I must say I was very impressed, normally I would never of listened to an hour long podcast but you make it interesting and fun to listen to the news and your opinions. Keep up the great work!
  • repoman27 - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I anxiously await...

    I also wanted to mention that the UBM TechInsights teardown revealed a SanDisk flash module, so we've seen Hynix and SanDisk as suppliers thus far.

    Out of curiosity, did the previous iPhones not use standard e•MMC modules? I mean, heck, considering the observed performance of 20-22 MB/s, they could have used a 50 MHz, 4-bit SDIO or 26 MHz, SDR e•MMC interface. Clearly they weren't building a custom NAND controller into the SoC.

    Although it is doubtful that the iPhone 5 is using the new e•MMC 4.5 modules or ONFI 3.0 / Toggle 2.0 flash, e•MMC 4.41 modules capable of managing 45/20 MB/s have been out for a while now.

    Also, I read somewhere that the new embedded flash controllers could partition the storage space such that an area could be designated as system space and treated as SLC to speed up boot times and application loading, while the rest of the NAND could be addressed as MLC or TLC to maximize the area available for user storage. Does the iPhone leverage such tricks? And as more phones do, how is NAND performance going to be tested? At the moment, is it merely a test of sequential reads from the area designated for user storage?
  • peter123 - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Nice podcast but I'm disapointed for such small talk about the motorola razr i. ALso don't forget next podcast to talk about the Texas Instruments drop out of smartphones SoC, implications of OMAP5 etc :)
  • Kevin G - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Good job covering the iPhone 5, a bit of Haswell and Borderlands 2.

    The USB thing is kinda odd as not all systems will put the USB port 'up'. I recall seeing a laptop which placed them upside down to shave a bit of vertical space (though I can't remember which one...). Also not all USB ports are parallel with the motherboard, some are perpendicular. Not all USB cords have the proper USB icon on the upside either (those simply omit the visual cue altogether).

    Good to hear a real prediction out of the group: Apple will either go all x86 or all ARM in a few years and merge iOS and OS X. Makes sense and Apple realistically could go either way depending on where things are in the market and what is left on the roadmaps (manufacturing processes 4 years out will look rather barren afterwards as they're approaching atomic level). If Intel is the only one with a clear plan on that level, Apple may go with pure x86 on the idea that it'd be the only player with a road map. Then again, Apple could just whip out the checkbook and pay Intel for manufacturing Apple's own in-house designs. At this moment Apple and Intel are content to indirectly battle each other in the mobile market with Intel now giving active support to hardware designers to help protect the x86 laptop turf. Intel at this point doesn't have to win the majority of the mobile market as long as they can continue to demonstrate a clear manufacturing process advantage over the long term.

    Too bad the Kindle Fire stuff has been buried over the past couple of podcasts. Probably will be thoroughly forgotten with Trinity impressions cropping up on next week's podcast. :)
  • Death666Angel - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    I've personally never met a "wrong" USB port and the cables I use usually have the USB icon and in the right place. Those that don't, a quick glance at the front and I know which way to put them. The only times I've seen perpendicular USB ports was on a USB hub of mine. :-) Guess I'm just lucky. :D
  • Peanutsrevenge - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    I'm with Ian here, the Physx really is amazing.

    I can't really run it with smooth fps due to running a core 2 system, but when I have it on or play on mates Ivy/680 system it's awesome, like, OMG, if I wouldn't die before I was able to afford it, I'd probably fast for a year so I could upgrade system finally just for the Physx effects.

    Would love to see a 4 player coop with full Physx and see what mess is made with the rocks and elemental effecrts flying around.

    BTW Anand. Brian and everyone else, BL2 is the same as BL just updated with new areas and a continued story. If you liked the first, you'll like the second.

    And thanks for taking the time for another Podcast guys, keep it up (I don't mind you not playing BL2 if it means I get podcasts weekly ;) ).
  • makedots - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    Regarding iOS 6 maps..

    Apple's Split with Google Over iOS Maps Driven by Turn-by-Turn Navigation Dispute
    http://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/26/apples-split-w...
  • makedots - Thursday, September 27, 2012 - link

    "The maps app is already done. It's the data that's lacking. Maps will be improved much faster with customer feedback than they could have been in private. " - arn (macrumors)

    "Apple chose to cut the cord with Google now and go ahead with Apple’s own mapping services — which have been in development for years, with several prominent acquisitions of mapping technology companies — so that they can add turn-by-turn directions, greatly improve the aesthetics of the map graphics, use vector map tiles, add the visually impressive Flyover mode, and, most importantly, take control of their own destiny." - John Gruber
  • jameskatt - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    Like the podcast stated, if it isn't the iPhone, it isn't relevant to regular people.

    Maps is NOT that big a deal for regular people. Even on Android, most don't even use maps or even know it exists.

    Regular people also know that the iPhone will keep getting better. After all, Apple is capable of rapid multiple sequential updates to the iPhone system software to improve its capabilities. The iPhone keeps getting better over time - unlike competing phones.
  • Peanutsrevenge - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    "The iPhone keeps getting better over time - unlike competing phones."

    Unlike the competing phones that are improving faster than the iPhone you mean?

    I assume you're saying that regular people are stupid people, that they like having a dedicated sat nav that has to be taken from the car, plugged into their PC (which they might not even have anymore) to update it and have two devices floating around their dashboard, rather than just one device that auto updates, allows for a simple click on next appointment to load navigation and be on their way/

    The Apple way has its merits certainly, it's just that the merits are fading, especially if they're going to be using their customers as beta testers, which is the opposite of what Apple are best known for (solid working software out of the box).
  • Space Monkey - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    Love these pod-cast's! Great to listen to while in the office doing paperwork. Makes the day relaxing.
  • andykins - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link

    Ian more... he was under-utilised in previous podcasts. Loving the podcasts in general; really informative and also funny!
  • Rappr - Tuesday, October 2, 2012 - link

    FYI, maps are not bad everywhere on iOS 6 I live in a small town in the Midwest in the US, and the maps work flawless. Not sure what problem everyone is having. The turn by turn directions have worked perfectly, and the maps themselves look much better than google maps on iOS and android.

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