Oh my goodness! I know this is very off topic but I just found the most shocking announcement from my mobile provider
The Retina display on iPhone 4 is the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution phone screen ever, with four times the pixel count of previous iPhone models. In fact, the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels.
This device is currently out of stock. The estimated delivery time is about 10 weeks
It's not quite as good as Unobtanium, which James Cameron already holds the patents on. I think Apples new acquisition is a rebranding of another alloy called, reallyhardtogetdashitium.
Oh my goodness! I know this is very off topic but I just found the most shocking announcement from my mobile provider
The Retina display on iPhone 4 is the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution phone screen ever, with four times the pixel count of previous iPhone models. In fact, the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels.
This device is currently out of stock. The estimated delivery time is about 10 weeks
Tell me about it. I ordered one online about an hour after it became available in Canada, and it's still going to be a month before they even ship the thing.
Worse is I've heard a lot of stories about poorly put together iPhones, the odds of getting one that actually works seem kind of small at this point.
Tell me about it. I ordered one online about an hour after it became available in Canada, and it's still going to be a month before they even ship the thing.
Worse is I've heard a lot of stories about poorly put together iPhones, the odds of getting one that actually works seem kind of small at this point.
Don't let the Internet win! The Internet is an echo chamber of negativity.
There will be bad units ships, but the likelihood of you getting one seems no higher to me than any other CE on the market. I would even bet other manufacturers have a higher percentage of issues but no one cares enough about most of their products to expect perfection or make a fuss.
I did have two friends with iPhone 4s that had HW issues but they were replaced right away with functional units, so at the very least you know that Apple will at least stand by and honor their product if you are unlucky enough to grab defective unit
So how is this likely to play out in Apple's product lines?
Will this quickly or slowly replace all the aluminum or steel components? Can they mill this stuff like aluminum for unibody cases? What is the material cost in comparison to aluminum?
This posting reads way to much like a press release and too little like journalism.
This material is so different from other engineering materials that it is difficult to predict with precision what Apple will do.
The whole field of material science is huge. For demanding applications you need to consider many factors when using a material. Think of the aluminum can. To make that the right alloy is chosen, the material is thinned and even the crystal structure is altered. Too many parallel grains and the metal will crack when stretched into the shape of a can.
Think of the steps often involved to make something like a frame or case. The metal is cast, probably heat treated to adjust the crystal structure, it is milled or extruded or bent to the right shape. Holes are drilled and tapped. Excess material is cut away. Rough edges are sanded or otherwise smoothed. Sometimes there are limitations on making things because the alloy of choice can't be bent or stretched as desired and still keep it's strength.
The claim for this material is that you can do all of this in one step and do it with great precision and the resulting material has all sorts of great properties. That is amazing.
Bouncy? Made transparent like glass? I would be curious what sort of metals or metal alloys have achieved this. At least, I have not encountered any so far. Will be very informative.
.
CGC
Don't you remember how Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott invented transparent aluminum in San Francisco in 1986 using the original Macintosh as chronicled in Star Trek documentary series.
Bouncy? Made transparent like glass? I would be curious what sort of metals or metal alloys have achieved this. At least, I have not encountered any so far. Will be very informative.
.
CGC
He got it wrong, transparency to light is not a property of amorphous metals. I think he saw the word 'glass' in the Wiki article and thought it implied transparency. Being prone to cracking and shattering like glass is a property.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brucep
nice post
by the by
all metals are liquid
No they are not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cgc0202
Tungsten and tungsten carbide may be too heavy, and costly?
CGC
Same for Amorphous Metals - heavy and costly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ch2co
But does it make a good antenna?
Yes.
I found this and thought it quite interesting:
Quote:
As applied to mobile phones it means that it is possible to create unique phone bodies - light and durable at the same time. Of course the price of such phone will exceed the price of the standard handset made from aluminum alloy in 20 or 30 times.
As applied to mobile phones it means that it is possible to create unique phone bodies - light and durable at the same time. Of course the price of such phone will exceed the price of the standard handset made from aluminum alloy in 20 or 30 times.
Interesting. One of the benefits Apple reserves of cash and excessive units sales per model compared to any other premium smartphone vendor is their ability to potentially make this viable. Case in point, the increasing number of milled aluminum components. Now in the Mac Mini and iPhone, both of which I still find shocking.
PS: AnandTech released a review of the new MacMini yesterday. While I don't agree with many of his points about including extras just because or that Mac OS X makes for a great HTPC, he certainly has some great technical data about how committed to being "green" Apple is with a focus on power efficiency. Good review overall, especially Page 8 which how's that even with 2GB RAM it bests a 5yo Mac Pro G5. Craziness!
Don't you remember how Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott invented transparent aluminum in San Francisco in 1986 using the original Macintosh as chronicled in Star Trek documentary series.
I am not sure if you are jesting about the first link. Wikipedia is not always acccurate; but, if you read the second link more thoroughly -- focus on the thickness of the material as well as the use of the term "transparency". It is a more technical use of the term of "transparency" with respect to certain forms of radiations only, in the wikipedia article, this would be specific soft X-ray -- not transparency to the entire "light" radiation sprectrum to render objects like glass, plexiglass or certain crystals "light transparent", in a layman's term. Also, the transparency to X-ray, described in the article, was transient (temporary state).
Most important the material itself is very thin (50nm)***; that is nanometer. Casing materials are around the millimeter (mm) give or take a few micrometers (um) in thickness.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cnocbui
He got it wrong, transparency to light is not a property of amorphous metals. I think he saw the word 'glass' in the Wiki article and thought it implied transparency. Being prone to cracking and shattering like glass is a property.
Indeed, I was wondering if there were new "commericially" available transparent metal alloys that I was not aware of, especially as casing materials. So far, if they indeed exist, I have not seen them yet in my "window shoppings".
CGC
***The entire earth, however thick it is, for example is "transparent" to certain subparticles released by stars, like the sun.
Yes, Apple will be releasing Skynet 1.0 in January. It works only with Verizon.
OMG! When the Verizon iPhone is announced, Skynet will make all iPhones SELF-AWARE, and they will network with each other (similar to the "Colossus, the Forbin Project"), and both Verizon and ATT will wipe out humanity, first by iPodding them whilst they sleep, Mac Attacking them at work, and iPadding their brains with digital overload. Switch to Android if you value your life, pretend you are Droids, and you will be spared.
Forget about LiquidMetal, Mithril, Adamantium or Unobtanium. Everyone nows Laconia makes the strongest ones until you can equip you and your team with the full set of NeiMac, NeiPhone, NeiPod and NeiPad.
Android will always lose when it comes to hardware. HTC & others are only interesting in offering things they can sell as features, even if they don't work properly for as little cost as possible. They're not interested in making the best product possible..
Interesting. One of the benefits Apple reserves of cash and excessive units sales per model compared to any other premium smartphone vendor is their ability to potentially make this viable. Case in point, the increasing number of milled aluminum components. Now in the Mac Mini and iPhone, both of which I still find shocking.
I don't think Apple have in mind to use amorphous metals for large scale components like casings, they are way too addicted to their hefty profit margins. They are not in the habit of trading profit for technological leadership.
I think it more likely they have in mind, very highly stressed, small sub components that can be formed by injection molding instead of machining. Apple always seems to strive to reduce costs, not increase them. If you just want scratch resistance and a durable finish, ceramics are probably a much cheaper and lighter alternative. The Rado watch springs to mind.
Hmm, it all begins to make sense. The moment that Steve uploads his conciousness into Apple Skynet, he will make his move and will take over the world. In the meantime Apple is subplanting all world leaders with Terminators. I already thought that the governor of California couldn't be the real Arnie
I love the context-specific ads on this website. The one I am seeing now is for metallurgical testing. Not exactly what you would expect on an Apple discussion board.
Comments
The Retina display on iPhone 4 is the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution phone screen ever, with four times the pixel count of previous iPhone models. In fact, the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels.
This device is currently out of stock. The estimated delivery time is about 10 weeks
LOL re: Hurd.
As to why Apple couldn't buy them: I'm guessing they weren't for sale... not every company behaves Oracle or Microsoft.
I am sorry to be cynical about this, but there is a price at which just about anything will sell in the US (corporate sector).
No, its Unobtanium.
It's not quite as good as Unobtanium, which James Cameron already holds the patents on. I think Apples new acquisition is a rebranding of another alloy called, reallyhardtogetdashitium.
Oh my goodness! I know this is very off topic but I just found the most shocking announcement from my mobile provider
The Retina display on iPhone 4 is the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution phone screen ever, with four times the pixel count of previous iPhone models. In fact, the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels.
This device is currently out of stock. The estimated delivery time is about 10 weeks
Tell me about it. I ordered one online about an hour after it became available in Canada, and it's still going to be a month before they even ship the thing.
Worse is I've heard a lot of stories about poorly put together iPhones, the odds of getting one that actually works seem kind of small at this point.
Tell me about it. I ordered one online about an hour after it became available in Canada, and it's still going to be a month before they even ship the thing.
Worse is I've heard a lot of stories about poorly put together iPhones, the odds of getting one that actually works seem kind of small at this point.
Don't let the Internet win! The Internet is an echo chamber of negativity.
There will be bad units ships, but the likelihood of you getting one seems no higher to me than any other CE on the market. I would even bet other manufacturers have a higher percentage of issues but no one cares enough about most of their products to expect perfection or make a fuss.
I did have two friends with iPhone 4s that had HW issues but they were replaced right away with functional units, so at the very least you know that Apple will at least stand by and honor their product if you are unlucky enough to grab defective unit
So how is this likely to play out in Apple's product lines?
Will this quickly or slowly replace all the aluminum or steel components? Can they mill this stuff like aluminum for unibody cases? What is the material cost in comparison to aluminum?
This posting reads way to much like a press release and too little like journalism.
This material is so different from other engineering materials that it is difficult to predict with precision what Apple will do.
The whole field of material science is huge. For demanding applications you need to consider many factors when using a material. Think of the aluminum can. To make that the right alloy is chosen, the material is thinned and even the crystal structure is altered. Too many parallel grains and the metal will crack when stretched into the shape of a can.
Think of the steps often involved to make something like a frame or case. The metal is cast, probably heat treated to adjust the crystal structure, it is milled or extruded or bent to the right shape. Holes are drilled and tapped. Excess material is cut away. Rough edges are sanded or otherwise smoothed. Sometimes there are limitations on making things because the alloy of choice can't be bent or stretched as desired and still keep it's strength.
The claim for this material is that you can do all of this in one step and do it with great precision and the resulting material has all sorts of great properties. That is amazing.
Is this the same substance used to make the T-1000 Terminator?
Yes, Apple will be releasing Skynet 1.0 in January. It works only with Verizon.
Bouncy? Made transparent like glass? I would be curious what sort of metals or metal alloys have achieved this. At least, I have not encountered any so far. Will be very informative.
.
CGC
Don't you remember how Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott invented transparent aluminum in San Francisco in 1986 using the original Macintosh as chronicled in Star Trek documentary series.
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Transparent_aluminum
Interesting ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_aluminium
Bouncy? Made transparent like glass? I would be curious what sort of metals or metal alloys have achieved this. At least, I have not encountered any so far. Will be very informative.
.
CGC
He got it wrong, transparency to light is not a property of amorphous metals. I think he saw the word 'glass' in the Wiki article and thought it implied transparency. Being prone to cracking and shattering like glass is a property.
nice post
by the by
all metals are liquid
No they are not.
Tungsten and tungsten carbide may be too heavy, and costly?
CGC
Same for Amorphous Metals - heavy and costly.
But does it make a good antenna?
Yes.
I found this and thought it quite interesting:
As applied to mobile phones it means that it is possible to create unique phone bodies - light and durable at the same time. Of course the price of such phone will exceed the price of the standard handset made from aluminum alloy in 20 or 30 times.
http://www.mobile-review.com/article...luxury-e.shtml
I found this and thought it quite interesting:
As applied to mobile phones it means that it is possible to create unique phone bodies - light and durable at the same time. Of course the price of such phone will exceed the price of the standard handset made from aluminum alloy in 20 or 30 times.
http://www.mobile-review.com/article...luxury-e.shtml
Interesting. One of the benefits Apple reserves of cash and excessive units sales per model compared to any other premium smartphone vendor is their ability to potentially make this viable. Case in point, the increasing number of milled aluminum components. Now in the Mac Mini and iPhone, both of which I still find shocking.
PS: AnandTech released a review of the new MacMini yesterday. While I don't agree with many of his points about including extras just because or that Mac OS X makes for a great HTPC, he certainly has some great technical data about how committed to being "green" Apple is with a focus on power efficiency. Good review overall, especially Page 8 which how's that even with 2GB RAM it bests a 5yo Mac Pro G5. Craziness!
Don't you remember how Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott invented transparent aluminum in San Francisco in 1986 using the original Macintosh as chronicled in Star Trek documentary series.
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Transparent_aluminum
Interesting ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_aluminium
I am not sure if you are jesting about the first link. Wikipedia is not always acccurate; but, if you read the second link more thoroughly -- focus on the thickness of the material as well as the use of the term "transparency". It is a more technical use of the term of "transparency" with respect to certain forms of radiations only, in the wikipedia article, this would be specific soft X-ray -- not transparency to the entire "light" radiation sprectrum to render objects like glass, plexiglass or certain crystals "light transparent", in a layman's term. Also, the transparency to X-ray, described in the article, was transient (temporary state).
Most important the material itself is very thin (50nm)***; that is nanometer. Casing materials are around the millimeter (mm) give or take a few micrometers (um) in thickness.
He got it wrong, transparency to light is not a property of amorphous metals. I think he saw the word 'glass' in the Wiki article and thought it implied transparency. Being prone to cracking and shattering like glass is a property.
Indeed, I was wondering if there were new "commericially" available transparent metal alloys that I was not aware of, especially as casing materials. So far, if they indeed exist, I have not seen them yet in my "window shoppings".
CGC
***The entire earth, however thick it is, for example is "transparent" to certain subparticles released by stars, like the sun.
Yes, Apple will be releasing Skynet 1.0 in January. It works only with Verizon.
OMG! When the Verizon iPhone is announced, Skynet will make all iPhones SELF-AWARE, and they will network with each other (similar to the "Colossus, the Forbin Project"), and both Verizon and ATT will wipe out humanity, first by iPodding them whilst they sleep, Mac Attacking them at work, and iPadding their brains with digital overload. Switch to Android if you value your life, pretend you are Droids, and you will be spared.
Skynet will make all iPhones SELF-AWARE, and they will network with each other
Sorry to disillusion you, but the only 'awareness' iPhones possess, is the current location of your wallet and how best to siphon off the contents.
Android will always lose when it comes to hardware. HTC & others are only interesting in offering things they can sell as features, even if they don't work properly for as little cost as possible. They're not interested in making the best product possible..
Except: http://www.liquidmetal.com/SamsungEgo.pdf
Remember the "Never say never!"?
Regs, Jarkko
Interesting. One of the benefits Apple reserves of cash and excessive units sales per model compared to any other premium smartphone vendor is their ability to potentially make this viable. Case in point, the increasing number of milled aluminum components. Now in the Mac Mini and iPhone, both of which I still find shocking.
I don't think Apple have in mind to use amorphous metals for large scale components like casings, they are way too addicted to their hefty profit margins. They are not in the habit of trading profit for technological leadership.
I think it more likely they have in mind, very highly stressed, small sub components that can be formed by injection molding instead of machining. Apple always seems to strive to reduce costs, not increase them. If you just want scratch resistance and a durable finish, ceramics are probably a much cheaper and lighter alternative. The Rado watch springs to mind.
If you combine Zr-alloy with Corning Gorilla Glass do you get ?Transparent aluminum?? (Anyone still remember Star Trek?)
"Star Trek: Save the Whales", sure...