by samrhall on September 9, 2009
in Link, Links
David Pogue published a short interview with Steve Jobs on his blog.
The leading question: Why no video camera on the iPod touch:
Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine. Because a lot of the games were free on the store. Customers started to tell us, “You don’t know what you’ve got here — it’s a great game machine, with the multitouch screen, the accelerometer, and so on.”
Jobs takes a stab at Amazon, but I didn’t think it was that pointed. If anything, it was just bluntly truthful without being disrespectful.
Jobs also talked about trying to gain 30 pounds by eating lots of ice cream.
by samrhall on September 9, 2009
in Short
There is an annoying bug in Snow Leopard that seems to have no fix. Without reason or apparent cause, the Alert Volume changes itself to 0, effectively muting all system alerts.
Several people have reported this bug in the Apple forums. Some relate it to Things. Some say it has to do with certain IMAP accounts in Mail. I have both scenarios present, but after testing neither is the culprit.
I hope the 10.6.1 update will fix this.
by samrhall on September 9, 2009
in Link, Links
TUAW writer Dave Caolo shares how he set up a “Writing Mac”:
I’ve also had a G5 iMac for a while, but nothing for it to do. Earlier this week, I gave it a fresh install of Mac OS 10.4 and thought I’d use it for blogging and other writing. No web browsing, Twitter, iPhoto or the like. Call it a “Writing Mac.” Here’s how I set it up.
There’s a few good ideas in there, but I don’t understand why this can’t be done on your main machine by turning off all distractions.
by samrhall on September 9, 2009
in Link, Links
A nice addition to the iPod nano:
The new iPod nano comes in 8GB and 16GB models, each of which incorporates a video camera and microphone on the back of the unit, as well as a built-in speaker. The nano can display video or sync it back to your computer, where you can easily upload the clip to YouTube. The microphone can also be used with the nano’s voice recording feature.
I still haven’t purchased an iPhone 3GS because I’m not yet eligible for the upgrade price. For that reason, I’m waiting until the next release of the iPhone hardware next summer.
That said, the iPod nano with video capability is tempting. Perhaps I’ll buy it for my wife and just use it a lot until I get an iPhone with video camera.
by samrhall on September 9, 2009
in Link, Links
Another nice new feature from the Apple event:
A new interface lets you list your iPhone’s home screen, rearrange the location of applications, search for apps and more.
by samrhall on September 9, 2009
in Links, News
For me, the most exciting announcement from today’s Apple event was the introduction of Home Sharing:
Home Sharing brings iTunes synchronization to a home level. Up to now, it hasn’t been easy to synchronize iTunes between multiple computers without the use of scripts or third-party applications. Now up to five authorized computers in your house can copy songs, movies, and TV shows between them. You can see each of the computers operating as part of that shared group, stream each others’ contents and drag and drop content from one library to another.
Now I can keep my laptop and MacMini synced. That allows me to tether my AppleTV to my MacMini without anything missing. Finally!
Pixelmator is my favorite non-PhotoShop image-editing app. With the release of Pixelmator 1.5 comes a number of new features, including Save for Web:
Save for Web allows you to quickly save a compressed version of a file in a Web-friendly image format and file size. In true Pixelmator form, the new Save for Web dialog is simple and features some unique polish that makes it a joy to use.
I’m glad to see Save for Web, but I’m also equally glad to see these added features:
- Slice tool
- Added information to the Info Panel
- Send to Mail and iPhoto abilities
Pixelmator is not a PhotoShop replacement for professional designers, but it is getting better and better every day. I do most of my image-editing work in it, opening PhotoShop for only heavy lifting. With this new upgrade, I’ll have to open PS even less.
Pixelmator is also a gorgeous piece of software with a truly elegant UI. And considering that Pixelmator costs only $59, it is well worth a look. They have some great tutorial videos that show off what Pixelmator can do.
For a complete rundown of the new features in Pixelmator 1.5, visit the release notes.
by samrhall on September 8, 2009
in News
I just downloaded the Flickr iPhone app (iTunes link), but I haven’t tested it. It looks great, and the feature set described is near perfect. To boot, it is free.
I’ll save passing judgement until later, but at least one early review is not glowing, that from John Gruber of Daring Fireball.
But man, is this app crashy for me. Crashed when I tried to upload an image. (Then it worked.) Crashed when I tried to snap a new photo from within the app. Tried twice again, crashed twice again. Three strikes and it’s out.
After a couple of days, we’ll see.
by samrhall on September 8, 2009
in Link
A Counternotion by Kontra on life before the iPhone and why Apple is not evil:
One of the shiniest memes around recently has been the incessant banging of the “Apple’s evil” drum. Most notably written in endless self-indulgent and self-righteous detail about how one self-important person or another gave up the iPhone…because “Apple’s evil.”
Nice reminders of what using cell phones were like pre-iPhone, especially for those of us who live on Macs and depended on third-party software to sync our BlackBerry or Palm.
by samrhall on September 3, 2009
in iPhone
AT&T has announced that MMS is coming on Sept. 25 (via MacWorld):
According to AT&T’s press release, a software update will enable MMS for iPhone 3G and 3GS customers (original iPhone owners are, unfortunately, out of luck with the MMS feature). Besides finally offering a date, AT&T is also clearly trying to quell the seething masses and complaints abou t overpriced, sub-par service that have become almost deafening. The company did not offer any further information about when it might offer tethering functionality for the iPhone, another feature that Apple announced in the iPhone 3.0 software update.
Personally, I’m more interested in tethering. I’m also interested in what another carrier could do for the iPhone. More interested in tethering, but my disdain for AT&T grows daily.
