Parallels Workstation RC2 released Parallels Inc. has released the second release candidate for their virtualisation software for intel Macs. We're currently testing the software and will have a review ready when the software is final. Currently, you can buy a license for only 40 USD. When the software is released, it'll cost around 80 USD. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 19:22 [article link]  0 comments

Official: FreeHand dead. Adobe apparently - and expectedly - will kill FreeHand and GoLive at some point in time, keeping the more successful Illustrator and Dreamweaver products, of course. The interesting thing, of course, will be to see whether _some_ features of the dead apps will survive in the ex-competitor's next version. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 15:25 [article link]  3 comments

I thought... ... searching in Spotlight for files that were "changed today" without giving any other criteria would show me, well, all files changed today instantly. It just searches forever without showing me anything. Is this a bug? Or just a bug on my particular machine? Or am I missing something? Please _test_ your answer before answering me, because I think I _did_ try everything... :/ (I even added a "size bigger than 1 KB" rule just for the heck of it...)
(Solved in comments..., thanks!) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 15:02 [article link]  1 comments

The next eMac... AppleInsider reports that the eMac intel-replacement will follow the iMac's design, basically. According to our own sources, Apple had originally planned to make this step in 2005, but decided to stay with the CRT-design for the education market for a little longer.
The next version of the eMac is not expected to make an appearance for non-educational buyers, because the low-end Mac spot for consumers should be the Mac mini. However, Apple, at the original eMac's introduction, also didn't let consumers buy them and changed that later on. So depending on the reception by press and the Mac community, Apple might change its heart about that. I can think of many a child's room which could use an iMac-like design around a 13 or 15 inch glossy widescreen. ;) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 14:49 [article link]  0 comments

Apple posts iWeb Update 1.1.1 Fixing problems with posting iWeb sites to .Mac, the update comes in at 95 MB through software update. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 03:44 [article link]  0 comments

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.4.7 8J2115 (intel) and 8J115 (PowerPC) According to the seed notes, there are no known issues with the new build seeded this weekend. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 03:41 [article link]  0 comments

My MacBook has arrived. I've ordered the base model, but with 2 GB RAM and the video adaptors. The reason behind this decision was that I didn't think the 0.17 GHz would make _that_ much of a difference and that I rather have it with double the RAM. Rosetta will still play some important role in my daily life, and I've heard it wants RAM, so there it goes... Besides that, I don't really have the need to burn DVDs on the go, and I have a fine DVD-burner at home, which serves me well - and when BluRay and/or HD-DVD burners become cheap, I'll simply replace the external burner, which'll be cheaper to do than anything internal on the MacBook.
Now. How glossy _is_ this screen really? Where I usually sit and work, the screen shows no special glare at all. Good lighting, one would say, and would be right. If I have sunlight from outside coming in over my shoulder, I _do_ see the glare, but once you concentrate on the screen's picture, the glare doesn't bother me at all. Besides: I don't _have_ to sit in that direction, do I...
The next thing: Keyboard. It works well. It's a little unusual to have space between the keys, and that certainly makes it a little more awkward to hit Cmd-Opt-Shift-Backspace in Finder to seriously empty the trash, but it works - and for writing, the keyboard actually works very well.
I can't say much about battery life yet, since I've only just spent three hours with the MacBook. About heat and ventilation noise: It's hotter than an iBook G4 and cooler than a PowerBook G4. It's good. Ventilation doesn't come on very often so far, even when I give the thing some things to think about, but when it does, you certainly hear the fans. But they only come on for a short time and go off again. This gives a little moo-ing sound which seems to bother some people. I happen to find it cute, but that's just me, and you'd probably better test a MacBook before buying one.
The size of this baby is ideal for me. Well: I _would_ have wanted it smaller, but actually, it's quite comfortable on the lap (yes, it's not so hot that you can't use it on your lap!), the iBook 12" and PB 12" were a bit too narrow for that, I guess.
I'll come back with more information about battery life etc. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 14:02 [article link]  1 comments

That "Maxi power in a mini box" dream ... of Jochen Wolters to be read about here lets me answer like this: The G5 tower was _only_ this big because the G5 processor was such a beast. It was a powered-down _big iron_ processor which still produced a _lot_ of heat, whereas the next-generation desktop processors by intel will rather be souped-up notebook processors, i.e. they'll run quite a bit cooler than a G5 dual processor or dual core setup.
Therefore, I think we can take it for granted that Apple will give the Mac Pro design quite a bit more power/design (design equalling miniaturisation per se). ;) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 21:57 [article link]  0 comments

Control your notebook by slapping its screen... If your PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro has a motion-sensor for the harddrive's safety, you can use tools and scripts to let it do certain actions based on motions. This video shows a user slapping the sides of the display to move between desktops (probably using virtue virtual desktop software). Looks nice, but certainly doesn't let the display live longer. ;) And yeah: Don't slap it too hard, will ya. :P - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 13:39 [article link]  0 comments

Today's Towel Day. Are you wearing yours over your shoulder? (explanation) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 11:28 [article link]  2 comments

Xcode 2.3 released Apple has released Xcode 2.3 through ADC. The download is a little over 900 MB and, according to the release notes, adds DWARF debugging (for improved debugging fidelity and efficient utilization of disk space), new Distributed Network Build scalable build architecture as well as "numerous enhancements and bug fixes". - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 19:04 [article link]  0 comments

Apple seeds first Mac OS X 10.4.7 builds... Apple has apparently started seeding developer versions of the next update to Tiger. Current builds, according to sources, are numbered 8J2111 (intel) and 8J111 (PowerPC). Those numbers indicate that both builds are now really developed in tandem.
There are a lot of areas in OS X Apple's working on this next update. The delta updaters are roughly 65 MB (PowerPC) / 128 MB (intel) in size. The areas Apple's specifically seeking feedback on in this early build are Mail.app, WebKit/Safari, Aperture, Syncing and iChat.
Since Apple's next big hardware announcement is probably quite some time off (unless they intend to bring something totally new but still Mac along) until the Mac Pro machines come out (expected at WWDC in August, currently...), our sources assume that work on 10.4.7 is mainly aimed at fixing bugs in 10.4.6 and adding one or the other feature. We'll keep you posted. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 02:27 [article link]  0 comments

MacBook! 13.3 inch widescreen, white and black, starting at 1099 USD. -> http://www.apple.com/macbook/. The resolution, as we expected, is 1280*800 and not *720, which is great, because on wide screens, it's usually the vertical resolution that always seems too small, anyway. ;) ... iSight, everything, Core Duo processor at 1.83 (white model only) and 2.0 GHz (white and black models). The black model, btw., costs a little more for the colour (150 USD to be exact). Sure, it also has a larger harddrive, but that certainly doesn't make up the difference to the faster white model. I think that's a good move on Apple's side, since people will positively rush to the sleek looking black model. For me: It's going to be the cheapest model with more RAM. I don't need a SuperDrive (I've got an external one, and I'm pretty sure I'll get an external HD-DVD or BluRay writer once they become available and cheap), and I don't think that 167 MHz warrant the price either. I always knew I was "cheap". ;) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 14:41 [article link]  0 comments

AppleStore closed. MacBooks? Everyone's expecting Apple to release the MacBook towards the end of May, so a closed Apple Online Store could mean good things for today. We'll keep you updated. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 14:33 [article link]  0 comments

5th One of the great ones who used Macs died five years ago. Bring a towel on the 25th (towel day). If you think the 25th of May is too arbitrary a day in the year, you can bring your towel every day, of course. Why not. You never know when the world explodes. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 10:14 [article link]  0 comments

MacBook at the end of May The 13" widescreen iBook replacement is now expected to be released on Apple's website near the end of May. AppleInsider also mentions changes in the iPod lineup for the same timeframe, although it doesn't want to say iPod video just yet.
With previous rumours about the appearance of the widescreen MacBook all wrong, the only thing we can confirm is that Apple definitely plans on replacing both the iBook (12 and 14 inch models) and the PowerBook 12" with an intel consumer notebook that uses a 13 or 13.3 inch widescreen display. Since there are also pros who want a smaller-than-15" notebook, it is expected that Apple sells two models of the smaller MacBook with different processors and maybe a difference in the graphics department, but not in resolution. Both will sport a 1280 pixel wide screen. Sources differ on the screen height, though. 720 or 800 pixels: We'll see. I point to the latter. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 23:21 [article link]  0 comments

intel's next processors *made* for OS X At least if you look at the names. ;) ... When Apple renamed Rhapsody to "Mac OS X", the 'X' was to symbolise both the UN*X at its core and the Mac OS version number, i.e. 10. However, when Apple released the first *client* version of OS X, it was suddenly called "Mac OS X 10.0", which translates to "Mac OS 10 10". Now intel is making _the_ processor for OS 10 10. The core 2 2. Erh... The "Core 2 Duo".
Naming fun aside, the processor(s) behind this name will be both the Conroe desktop and the Merom notebook processors. They're based on today's Yonah (Core Duo) processor and add intel's 64-bit extensions. Conroe is expected to be the processor(s) for Apple's desktop workstations, Merom is expected to find its way into the notebooks as well as the iMac and the Mac mini. Read more about it here. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 01:11 [article link]  0 comments

Remember Origami? Remember Newton? When Microsoft started marketing their Origami project, which was eventually unveiled as the UMPC (ultra mobile PC), people on Apple-centric fora (and elsewhere) started raving about how such a device could be "the next Newton" and how Apple just *had* to create something similar.
But as can be expected by something Bill Gates finds truly "useful", it's just not. 1100 USD effectively buy you a brick that can play some media for about 3 hours. You can also try to enter data. But the three hours of battery life will be used up so quickly (because data entry - as with many mobile devices without a keyboard) is probably the worst thing you've ever encountered. Not as bad as falling off a roof, but if you try to write a longer article or numbers for three hours, you may wish to jump. Take those three hours, use up one for driving to where your notebook or desktop computer is, half an hour to enter the same amount of data, another hour to drive back with the result and you have 30 minutes to spare and a smile on your face instead of wishing to kill yourself. At least that's how I see the device after having played with one (very) shortly and agreeing wholeheartedly with this PCMag.com review.
It's not the next Newton in many aspects. See: The worst thing about the Newton was that for a PDA, it was too big - and compared to a notebook, it lacked the processing power. These are the two "features" Microsoft, intel and the producing companies like Samsung copied. The Newton, however, sported very good battery life and the input options were actually good in the second revision of the operating sytem.
So... Should Apple ever create the next Newton? Should anyone do that? I think there is room for another device category. The PSP and the 5G iPod have shown that there is some interest in portable video-watching. There's also a market for better on-the-go E-Mail (I hear Blackberries are all the rage in business environments). So why doesn't anybody give the world a veeeeeeeery small notebook which is okay to type on (the Newton and eMate keyboards were a good size, at least if your fingers are not an inch in diameter...), has good battery life (8 hours plus) and runs an operating system the hardware is capable of catching up with?
Probably, because it's not possible at a reasonable price yet, some may say. But I kindly disagree. A decent OS can be put on NAND memory (4 GB should be *MORE* than enough for a decent mobile OS!) and stay updatable. Together with a 60 GB (or bigger) iPod-sized (1.8") harddrive for the media you want to enjoy or create and a decent screen, it could be done. Theoretically. We'll see. Not?
Either way: The ugly beast dubbed UMPC (probably Bill asked "What should we call this?" and someone answered "um... PC?") is going to be remembered as the... Well, probably it'll be better off not being remembered. - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 19:59 [article link]  0 comments

iTMS: The price stays at 0.99 USD. Financial Times reports that Apple achieved an agreement with the four biggies (Universal, Warner, EMI and Sony BMG) about keeping the pricing of tracks on iTMS the same. Three of them (sans Universal) previously were for a model with variable pricing (new, "hot" tracks would cost more etc.). Steve Jobs was totally against that, as he feared that people would turn to illegal music-sharing again. Of course his primary concern was that iTMS would lose momentum, but he couldn't put it that way. ;) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 14:16 [article link]  0 comments

"Get a Mac" TV ads Apple's finally got around to create TV ads for the Mac again. You can watch them here on Apple's site. I like the "Network" one. Generally, I think they're much better than the switchers-campaign. There's also the first TV ad by Apple to actually mention the virus-problems on Windows PCs.
Sadly, Apple has turned to also post one of the spots on their homepage. I don't like homepages that start to play a video with sound on their own... :/ I think they should pause the video until clicked. But that's just my opinion... I'm sure workers all over the world will be thrilled (literally), when those two guys suddenly start talking. ;) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 10:01 [article link]  0 comments

iPod nano 8GB to have video capability? AppleInsider reports that AmTech thinks Apple will not only double the 2 and 4 GB nano's NAND memory capacity - which is a clear next step in the evolution of the nano -, but also add some "basic video capability" to the players. I'm sure the folks who said the 5G iPod's screen is too small for enjoying video won't think the nano's is big enough, but even if you want to look at a stamp-sized video, the screen's resolution would mean that existing videos for the iPod would have to be downsized by the player - unless you (or iTunes) do (does) it.
The other option, of course, is that the nano would get a better screen, capable of showing the same resolution as the 5G iPod's, but I'm not sure whether that's really necessary. If the player can scale the video on-the-go without losing too much battery life while at it, I'd say that's the way to go. It's good enough for the occasional podcast, and I'm pretty sure that while some people will watch feature-length films on the nano, most of the iPod nano buyers will simply take the video-capability as a "nice-to-have" add-on. The real interest in video-to-go lies with the 5G and 6G "big" iPods instead. AI reports that Apple is working on better battery life both in software improvements and in using additional NAND memory, so that the iPod can keep larger portions of a movie-file in memory instead of constantly reading it from the harddrive. Still: If the 6G iPod has the expected 640 pixel screen width, then video files simply do take up space and at some point, these hundreds of MB have to be read from disk... NAND memory is still too expensive to make a 64 GB NAND iPod, although I'm looking forward to those. ;) - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 17:57 [article link]  0 comments