Tomorrow (July 8th at 5am PDT), the latest Apple MacBook Air will be available to purchase through Apple. It runs on the new M2 Chip and supports fast charging. It has a better camera and screen too. The price starts at $1,199 and $1,099 for education.
Buy it here: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air/with-m2-chip
This hasn’t been a good week for space. Russia has been using the International Space Station to spread propaganda. The astronauts have been promoting the Ukrainian separatists. They have changed a recent rocket and their launch equipment to promote the separatists too. NASA launched CAPSTONE a few days ago to test an orbit for Gateway (a lunar space station). The satellite was disconnected from the Deep Space network. The connections were re-established today. The satellite is only 50 pounds and is very small.
In June, Apple announced their latest operating systems, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura. iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 have their perks and their faults. Let’s look at them.
The operating systems roll out new features like customizable lock screens, new AI baised features, setting up devices for children, and more.
iOS 16 drops support for the iPhone 6s models (which I have) and the iPhone 7 models. Only the iPhone 8 and up work. The other models will slowly lose app support. iPadOS 16 drops support for several tablets (like the iPad mini 4 which I have). The other models will slowly lose app support. This is frustrating for me.
Well, the new operating systems have their ups and downs.
Apple has recently announced a new lockdown mode for iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura. It is designed to keep government-hired hackers from hacking into high-profile people’s phones. It blocks several Message features including attachments besides pictures and link previews. It disables certain web technologies in Safari unless a certain website is whitelisted. It also blocks all FaceTime calls besides senders who have been called in the past. Wired connection or accessories are blocked while the device is locked. School and work profiles are not able to be added. Apple says this feature will roll out this fall to iOS 16 users.
Do you know what VR stands for? Vehicle Renovation? It stands for virtual reality. The Oculus Quest 2 is a VR headset. We will be talking about the Quest on this Fun Friday.
Note: There is an updated version of this post here.
The Oculus Quest 2 features two controllers with special buttons and triggers that makes it feel like you are grabbing an object in the game. It does not need to be hooked up to a computer. It can run games on its own. The foam interfaces are interchangeable so you can find the perfect fit. They sell another strap called the Elite Strap for even more comfort. There are two different amounts of storage to choose from. You can pick 128 GB or 256 GB of storage. 256 GB is better for intense gamers.
It comes with a preinstalled game called Oculus First Steps. You can even browse websites with the preinstalled browser. The home menu is customizable. You can pick from several different places to be in as your home menu. Setup is very easy. You will need a mobile device to set it up though. You also have the option to hook your headset up to your computer with the Oculus Link cable or over WIFI to play other games.
The Quest can make it feel like you are in a game. You can reach for and grab in-game items. It comes with special controllers that makes you really feel like you are reaching for and grabbing something. It has a vast collection of games. The home menu is an experience of itself. The preinstalled game is an intro to VR. It is very fun and is perfect as my first VR headset. It is very easy to use. I love the free Epic Roller Coasters game. It feels like you are really in the game. The paid game Job Simulator is very fun and extremely popular. The headset feels comfortable when wearing it. This is a great headset.
Oculus Quest 2 Headset – https://www.amazon.com/Oculus-Quest-Advanced-All-One-Virtual/dp/B099VMT8VZ/
Elite Strap – https://www.amazon.com/Oculus-Quest-Elite-Enhanced-Support-Comfort/dp/B08F5TZW2J/
Oculus Link – https://www.amazon.com/Oculus-Virtual-Reality-Headset-Cable-Gaming/dp/B081SHD773/
Make sure you don’t miss our next Tech Talk!
When you think of computers, what comes to mind? Large gaming computers? Laptops? I bet you didn’t think of a computer that is the size of a credit card! That is how small a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is.
The Raspberry Pi 4 is a tiny computer with amazing speed. It runs a custom-made version of Linux Debian called Raspbian. These tiny computers are so affordable that they are perfect of being turned into clusters. What are clusters you ask? They are groups of computers that can work together to complete tasks extraordinarily fast. If you are just the average computer user, the Raspberry Pi packs plenty of power. For programmers, it is perfect for projects. It can run programs fast. One of the main features is a set of GPIO (General-Purpose Input/Output) pins that can be programmed to control circuits and LEDs.
I personally can’t resist buying the latest gadgets, so I bought this nearly immediately. I love coding. It just seemed to be the perfect match. You can choose from 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of RAM. I chose 4GB. You will need a Micro SD card to install the operating system on. It has an audio jack and Micro HDMI ports. You will need a Micro HDMI to HDMI cord. I also bought an HDMI to DVI-D adapter. It comes with WIFI and Bluetooth built-in. It includes one Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports, and two USB 3.0 ports. The computer comes with special ports so you can connect special cameras. It does run hot though, so I bought a fan. You can also buy a case for it.
For the board, 2 GB models are usually $45. 4GB are usually $55. 8GB are usually $75. I didn’t want to buy everything separately, so I bought one of CanaKit’s 4GB bundles. This makes it very cheap. Links are at the end of this article. You can buy these computers from quite a few places, but I prefer buying CanaKit through Amazon.
Well, that’s all I have for this Tuesday Tech Talk. Hope you enjoyed!
Every Tuesday I post about some of the latest and coolest electronics. Check my blog regularly: legendarycoding.com/blog
Bundles
Original CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Bundle 4GB RAM (Out of stock at time publishing): https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Starter-32GB-Official/dp/B07VDGKN51
Similar CanaKit bundle to item above (Fan included): https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Pi-Extreme-Kit/dp/B08B6G2RFG?th=1
Accessories
Raspberry Pi Mouse and Keyboard: https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Official-Keyboard-PepperTech-Digital/dp/B07RDGFRW4
Pimoromi Fan Shim for Raspberry Pi: https://www.amazon.com/Pimoroni-Fan-Shim-Raspberry-PI/dp/B07TTTCN8H
Boards
2GB Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Board Only: https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-4-2gb.html
4GB Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Board Only: https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-4-4gb.html
8GB Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Board Only: https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-4-8gb.html