macnews.net.tc

Gottverfluchte erste Erfahrungen mit einer PS3

2011-12-27T20:12:00.003+01:00

Dies ist eher eine Ausnahme, aber dieser "Rant" muss sein. Ich habe mich gestern entschieden, mir endlich eine Spielkonsole mit HD-Auflösung anzutun, weil die Wii auf einem 55" Fernseher einfach nicht ganz der Zeit entspricht. Also heute zum Händler, eine PS3 Slim 160 GB mit Fifa 12 und GT5 geholt. Dazu noch eine Blu-Ray, schliesslich kann das Ding das ja.

Zunächst die Zusammenfassung: Es sind genau zehn Stunden vergangen, seitdem ich Besitzer der PS3 bin, und ich bin noch nicht in der Lage, GT5 zu spielen.

Stellt sich die Frage, warum. Und ja, sie stellt sich mir. Klar: Es gibt ca. 2.5 GB an Updates für das Spiel. Bei einer 20 Mbit-Leitung sollte das im Normalfall, bei 2.5 MB/s, die ich auf meinem Mac regelmässig erreichen kann, ca. 1000 Sekunden dauern. So über den Daumen gepeilt. das wären dann ohne es auszurechnen etwa 20 Minuten, weil eine Stunde ja 3600 Sekunden hat. Warum also statt 20 Minuten mehr als 10 Stunden? Es ist unerklärlich. Vor allem aber ist es so ziemlich das Gegenteil jeder Erfahrung, die ich jemals mit einem Produkt aus dem Hause Apple gemacht habe.

Denn seien wir ehrlich, selbst wenn der Download "nur" 20 Minuten dauern würde, wäre nicht auch das noch so ziemlich unerträglich? Ich kaufe ein Spiel, lege es ein und muss dann eine längere Kaffeepause machen, bis ich es spielen kann? Das erinnert an C64-Zeiten, als der Spielcode noch von der Datasette auf den Computer überspult wurde. Dass allerdings GT5 auch *NACH* dem Downloaden all der Updates noch einmal ca. 8 GB herunterladen wollen würde, entnehme ich den Google-Resultaten, wenn ich nach "PS3 slow download" suche. Heisst das jetzt, dass ich die PS3 die nächsten 7 Tage heisslaufen lassen werde, bevor ich tatsächlich sinnvollerweise das Spiel beginnen kann?

Als ich mir mein iPhone 4S in Hamburg kaufte, packte ich es aus und stellte es übers Apple Store WiFi Netzwerk aus dem iCloud Backup wieder her. Auch das waren ungefähr 2.5 GB an Daten, und knapp eine Stunde später konnte ich mein neues iPhone mit all seinen Einstellungen benutzen, ohne dass ich die 1000 Kilometer nach Hause an meinen Computer reisen musste. Welch Gegenteil von einer Erfahrung. Wie gut bin ich Apple gesinnt nach einer solchen Erfahrung, und wie dürfte ich wohl Sony gesinnt sein nach dem heutigen Tag?

Ich wünsche einen schönen Abend. Mir wurde ein freier Tag vollständig zur Sau gemacht von einem nicht durchdachten Konzept und seiner Umsetzung. (Wieso, beispielsweise, kann ich nicht während der Download vonstatten geht, bereits mal eine Strecke befahren und mich im Rekord aufstellen üben? Das wäre doch, wenn die Downloadzeiten unumgänglich sind, zumindest eine Art Wiedergutmachung?)

Tagi: Es geht weiter...

2011-11-24T13:32:00.006+01:00

Dass Tagi Online die Texte einkaufen könnte, war eigentlich schon irgendwie klar. Aber dass dabei sogar vergessen wird, Von "Deutschland" auf "Schweiz" zu wechseln, darf durchaus kritisiert werden, wobei vermutlich klar wird, dass die Artikel nicht bis zu Ende durchgelesen werden, denn erst im zweitletzten Abschnitt erscheint dieser Fehler:

In den USA werden die Konsumenten also vor eine nicht ganz leichte Wahl gestellt, in Deutschland stellt sich die Frage so nicht, denn ob und wann das Kindle Fire hier auf den Markt kommt, steht noch nicht fest.

Auf zwei Zeilen heisst es darunter dann, dass das Gerät in der Schweiz nicht von Amazon vertrieben wird, sondern z.B. über digitec bestellbar sei. (Wobei auch nicht erwähnt wird, dass es sich dort derzeit lediglich im Katalog aufgenommen findet, aber keinerlei Lieferdatum bekannt ist, weil auch digitec es nicht in die Schweiz importiert derzeit.)
Immerhin war der eingekaufte Artikel so ehrlich, das Gerät mit fast all seinen Fehlern zu beschreiben. Fehlte eigentlich nur, dass der Webbrowser sehr langsam funktioniert und dass man den Ein-/Ausschaltknopf beim Lesen ständig aus Versehen betätigt.

iPhone 5 soll grösser werden

2011-11-23T20:19:00.002+01:00

Blick.ch übertitelt den Artikel mit "Gegen Steve Jobs' Wille". Davon abgesehen, dass der Akkusativ von "Wille" am Ende durchaus ein "n" vertragen würde, und auch davon abgesehen, dass Steve Jobs' Wille (kein "n" weil hier Nominativ) bereits erloschen sein dürfte, zumindest im unübertragenen Sinn, handelt es sich auch bei diesem "Artikel" hauptsächlich um eine Repetition von auf Gerüchteseiten Gelesenem.

Genannt wird im Blick.ch "Artikel" iLounge als "Quelle". Dass das an und für sich schon falsch ist, weil iLounge sich selber auf "eine verlässliche Quelle" bezieht gemäss dem Blick.ch "Artikel", findet sich auf iLounge kein solcher Artikel. Zumindest verlinkt Blick.ch nicht auf einen solchen. "iPhone bigger" als Suchbegriff findet auf iLounge nichts, "iPhone larger" findet als neuesten Artikel, der irgendetwas mit einem grösseren Bildschirm zu tun hat, eine Gerüchtediskussion aus dem April. Keine Ahnung also, was genau der Autor des "Artikels" meint, wenn er auf iLounge verweist.

Natürlich gibt es tatsächlich Gerüchte, welche besagen, dass Apple gleichzeitig zur Arbeit am iPhone 4S (also dem iPhone 5) auch an einem anderen Prototypen mit grösserem Bildschirm gearbeitet hatte. Ich möchte hier gar nicht in Zweifel ziehen, ob es diese Gerüchte gab oder gibt, oder ob an den Gerüchten irgendetwas dran war oder ist. Nur: Jetzt über Gerüchte eines iPhone 5 zu reden, ist aus mehreren Gründen falsch. Erstens: Das iPhone 5 ist bereits auf dem Markt und heisst "iPhone 4S". Das nächste iPhone wird die sechste Generation iPhone darstellen, und dürfte deswegen kaum iPhone 5 heissen. Es könnte zum Beispiel iPhone 6 heissen (als sechste Generation) oder auch iPhone 4G, sofern es denn LTE oder eine andere Funktechnik der 4. Generation zum Einsatz bringen wird. Viel wichtiger aber: Ob das nächste iPhone nun im Sommer 2012, im Herbst 2012 oder im Frühjahr 2013 erscheint - auf alle Fälle sind wir jetzt noch viel zu weit von einem Release entfernt, um ernsthaft sinnvolle Gerüchte mit besserer Basis als "ein Freund von mir hat einen Onkel, der als Anwalt für Apple in der Schweiz arbeitet, und der wird's wohl wissen..." zu erhalten. Dass sich Apple-Gerüchte-Websites um solche Dinge kümmern, darf erlaubt sein. Es erwartet ja auch niemand einen überprüften Artikel von so einer Website. Aber warum muss Blick.ch sich darum kümmern? Und warum sollte Blick.ch iLounge als Quelle nennen, wenn iLounge laut Blick.ch einen "Cupertino-Insider" (heisst das, dass der in Cupertino wohnt oder dort mal einen Kaffee getrunken hat?) als Quelle nennt? Und warum wird als Bild ein iPhone mit Steve Jobs' Todesanzeige darauf verwendet? Und warum steht darunter: "Das iPhone 5 wird nicht so, wie Steve Jobs sich das vorgestellt hat. (Reuters)?"

Ich könnte ja verstehen, wenn jemand behauptete, Steve Jobs sei in Wahrheit nicht tot, er spiele draussen im Garten mit Elvis und Michael Jackson Verstecken. Aber wieso die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters mit in einen völlig sinnlosen "Artikel" involvieren?

Klar: Es sieht dann so aus, als hätte sich irgendjemand Gedanken darüber gemacht, ob die ganze Chose irgendeine Relevanz besitzt. Oder viel wichtiger: "gsc" hatte den Auftrag, einen Artikel für Blick.ch's "Digital"-Abteilung zu schreiben, und er war halt grad auf irgendwelchen Gerüchteseiten, wusste nicht mehr, wo er was gelesen hatte, wählte "iLounge" als Verlinkungspartner und schrieb noch "Reuters" unters Bild (das übrigens ein iPhone 4, kein iPhone 4S zeigt).

Lieber "gsc": Das Geld, das Du für den "Artikel" bekommen hast, es war zuviel.

Jetzt hört aber mal auf...

2011-11-20T11:22:00.003+01:00

In einem neueren Artikel verbratet der Tagi einmal mehr sehr unkritisch die Gerüchteküche. Dass die Tatsache, dass die 5. Generation des iPhones nun "4S" heisst, und deshalb das nächste iPhone wohl eher iPhone 6 heissen dürfte, überlegt sich der Autor (oder eher "Gerüchte-Übersetzer") schon gar nicht erst. Natürlich bin ich nicht grundsätzlich dagegen, dass die Online-Redaktion sich auch ein wenig um die Gerüchteküche kümmern darf, sollte aber bemüht sein, eigene Recherchen und zumindest Gedankengänge zu formulieren. Das würde nämlich auch zeigen, dass man nicht nur Drohnen beschäftigt, welche Quellen unkritisiert übernehmen und übersetzen, sondern dass der Begriff "Redaktion" auch im Zusammenhang mit "Online" einen gewissen Sinn machen würde.

iPhone Knappheit beabsichtigt? (fragt Tagi Online)

2011-11-11T12:30:00.006+01:00

Es gibt eine Theorie, die besagt, dass alle Schlagzeilen, welche mit einem Fragezeichen enden, guten Gewissens mit "Nein." beantwortet werden können. Natürlich ist es auch in diesem Fall so. Der Artikel sagt dies auch am Ende, wie wir hier sehen:

Wie ist die Situation heute? «Eine künstliche Verknappung können wir nicht bestätigen. Aus unserer Sicht haben sich die Lieferungen durch Apple gegenüber der Einführung des iPhone 4 deutlich verbessert», so Swisscom-Sprecher Olaf Schulze.

Wenn ich heute zu einem Apple Premium Reseller Store gehe, kann ich mein Orange, Sunrise oder Swisscom Abo verlängern und ein Gerät direkt beziehen, zumindest bei den meisten Modellen. Die Frage, die sich mir nun stellt, ist diese: War dieser Artikel überhaupt notwendig? Oder dürfen wir ihn zu all jenen zählen, zu welchen es in diesem Blog wohl am meisten gehen wird, nämlich zu denen, welche hauptsächlich Klicks generieren sollen, weil sowohl die Apple-Fans (weil sie nicht glauben wollen, dass Apple falsch liegt) und Apple-Hasser (weil sie wollen, dass es so ist) einfach gerne auf solches Flamebait aufspringen?

Flamebait oder nicht? Ja. Die meisten Artikel, deren Schlagzeilen mit Fragezeichen enden, sind wohl genau das. Das Hauptproblem für mich ist, dass sich die Mehrheit der Leser nicht merken werden, dass selbst der Artikel aussagt, dass es sich um kein Problem handelt, sondern dass der Tagi online darüber geschrieben hat, und es sich so um ein Problem handeln muss. Vielleicht sollten wir einfach vermehrt Artikel schreiben, welche dieselbe Schlagzeilenmanier verfolgt, aber den Tagi betrifft:

Schreibt der Tagi ohne gross zu recherchieren Flamebait-Artikel?

Wir können dann im Artikel selbst ja schreiben, dass der Tagi auch viele gute Sachen publiziert. Hauptsache, die Schlagzeile wirft die Frage auf, egal ob sie sich stellt.

A New Start, But auf Deutsch...

2011-11-10T18:20:00.001+01:00

The next post will be the first in German. There's a need for calling out the Swiss (and German) press on all things Apple.

Thank you and Dankeschön!

Let the dinosaurs be wed..?

2011-02-07T15:57:00.002+01:00

Speculation is high about Nokia adopting Windows Phone 7 soon. I can't help but chuckle a bit about that. On one side, we have Microsoft, which has tried to succeed (and failed) in the smartphone market for a long, long time. On the other side, we have the second dinosaur, which once was the leader, but doesn't seem to grasp what has happened in this very market.
They're still the leading vendor of dumbphones, and their smartphones are still quite good form a hardware perspective (at least some of them are), but where they once led the curve, they're now playing a game of "me, too" they won't be able to win either way. Adopting Windows Phone 7 would even do them more harm than good, I believe, because it would relegate them to a hardware company. Maybe it's time for that, but I guess android would quite certainly be a better horse to bet on, because that still leaves some room open for innovation, whereas Microsoft has quite a bit of control over what an OEM can do with Windows Phone 7 and what they can't do. There's a reason why the specs of all Windows Phone 7 phones are practically the same.

While I truly wish Nokia the best in their endeavours, I don't see a dinosaur (Microsoft) and a dinosaur (Nokia, which has been highly criticised for its overhead and time to market) creating the poster(love)child of the next generation of smartphones.

MacBook Air 11" (late 2010) Review

2010-10-30T12:39:00.003+02:00

(For the purpose of this review, I've used my personal base model with 64 GB SSD and 2 GB of RAM.)

I've been waiting for a subnotebook by Apple for decades, it seems to me, and finally Apple has found a way to wrap its head around the idea of a really small notebook since the days of the PowerBook DUO, the last of which was released in 1997 (the PowerBook 2400, and it was not called DUO, although for all intents and purposes, it belonged to the same line). Some people would say that the PowerBook 12" model followed it, but it simply wasn't a subnotebook, not in its time and not afterwards. (Not small enough, not light enough, it basically was an iBook clad in aluminum.)

The MacBook Air 13" wasn't enough for people who really wanted a subnotebook, because we really _do_ want a small screen and a small footprint, so you can put it in a _small_ bag, not a usual 13" notebook bag. The 11" model released now finally addresses these things, and although it doesn't go 10" or below, it's finally small enough, and the good thing about its screen size is that you still get a full keyboard (almost). And let's start there…

The keyboard is almost the same as the one you get with every other MacBook model. Three differences compared to the MacBook Pro's:

1.) The top row (function keys) is vertically limited, so those keys are a little harder to hit and push down, because they're also close to the frame. This row includes the power button, which pushes eject and sound buttons a little to the left.

2.) The bottom row, including command keys and the spacebar. I don't quite understand why nobody seems to mention that difference, because it's the one you're going to notice more in real life, as it also means the arrow keys are a tad smaller. They still work fine, but the bigger ones on the MacBook Pro etc. work better.

3.) No backlight, no automatic screen brightness controls. I miss that feature, although I get around the keyboard blind quite well.

The trackapd, by the way, puts every solution of any other subnotebook or netbook to shame: It's the same glass trackpad used in any other MacBook, only limited a little vertically. I find the other MacBooks' trackpads to be too large, rather, this one is almost perfect. You get precision control (ever used a netbook's trackpad?). Period.

The display is basically a standard, LED lit 11.6" display with 720p resolution (same as all of those 720p "HD" TVs), i.e. 1366*768 pixels. It isn't lit evenly, most noticeable at the top and the bottom of the screen. Otherwise, the screen's beautiful to work with, its resolution being almost the same as the 13" MacBook and MacBook Pro screens, but in 16:9 format, which works well for watching movies, lets the MBA 11" have a full-size keyboard and has about the pixel-per-inch ratio of the 15" models' high resolution option or the 17" model (or the iPad's). I like this display, although I'd love to have it change brightness automatically.

The processor is about the slowest you can get if you don't want to go netbook-style atom. Let's be honest here: This processor simply isn't fast, and you won't want to use the 11" model as your main computer, unless you really do just basic things. It's fine for wordprocessing, webbrowsing, your e-mail and every other task in the productivity department, and it also handles entertainment very well - but not because of the processor. That's the good graphics' fault, which is the same as you get in the 13" MacBook Pro. Perfect for playing high-res video and quite good for most games as well, although the form factor clearly isn't aimed at the "professional" gamer.

The SSD instead of a harddrive is where the speed is at, though. Using flash memory instead of a harddrive enables this form factor, enables Apple to give the thing enough battery life (five hours of wireless work is not only achievable, but the norm) and is really, really what you want in all notebooks from here on out. With the earliest MacBook Air 13", I've always had problems with the battery. It worked fine if you used it for a whole day, but it couldn't keep the juice overnight. In sleep mode, it just seemed to use 10% per hour. Shutting the thing down completely solved the problem, but getting it back up was a long process (too long for mobile purposes), even when using the hibernation mode. With the new MacBook Air's power saving modes, it works very well, and although I've only had the thing for a couple of days now, I believe Apple about the 30 days of standby. The SSD is fast enough to come back from hibernation without needing an interface telling you that it's doing that. It looks just like coming out of sleep, although there's about a second or two delay before you get full control back. (That's only going to happen if your MBA slept for more than an hour, though.)
The SSD is, of course, completely silent and very quick for starting applications, rebooting the computer if needed (after the 10.6.5 update that's coming in the next week or the one after it) and generally reading data. Writing is perfectly fast as well, although slower than reading.

So what's the verdict, fryke?
The verdict is that Apple has come around to creating a subnotebook that works. It's small enough, sexy enough, powerful enough and inexpensive enough. Although some sites complain about the price (as they always do about Apple products, forgetting not to compare crapware to actually useful computers), this _is_ the best subnotebook I've seen so far, and we've come a long way from 2000$+ subnotebooks of back when we wanted Apple to do one so badly. It costs the same as Apple's entry-level MacBook, but gives you more style, more portability and even more performance overall. (Don't forget, the white MacBook's max RAM is also 4 GB.) There's really only one downside to this otherwise perfect little machine, and it's understandable: You can't upgrade it much. The RAM is soldered to the motherboard, so if you think you need 4 GB, special order yours instead of getting the one they have at your reseller. For my purposes, 2 GB work well. (TextEdit doesn't _really_ require that much RAM.) The SSD, according to all I've read on the internets, will actually be upgradeable, although it will probably be a costly decision for some time, so I'd also advise you to get it in the configuration you want from the beginning. If 128 GB don't cut it for you, get the 64 GB model instead and use USB sticks for everything else. You can have a 32 GB USB stick for Parallels, for example, one for your iPhoto library etc. If you have to decide what to keep on the internal drive, anyway, a modular approach might be best. That way, your internal system stays lean and fast. And that's how I like my brandnew MacBook Air 11" best.

The iPad preorder madness

2010-03-13T22:42:00.002+01:00

We've heard it. A couple of times. It's a magical and revolutionary device. Of course we *know* it's not magical because there _is_ no such thing as magic. But anything that is technologically advanced enough *must* seem to ordinary users as magic. And revolutionary: Well... Not so much. It *is* a large iPod touch (with 3G if you choose that version of the iPad). I don't mean that in a bad way, though: The iPod touch (and the iPhone) _have been_ revolutionary products that work very well, and the iPad will take that on a next level. Which means it's an _evolutionary_ product. So: No Steve, it's not a magical and revolutionary product. It's a technologically advanced and evolutionary product. Of course that doesn't make that good a slogan, but at least it's more truthful.
So: Please stop the mumbojumbo blabla. It's a good product. We've seen it online and we'll soon enough see it in stores. And then we'll decide whether we'll buy one. It's too early to order it. That's just not good practice. iPad haters: Wait until it actually gets here. Get your hands on one and see for yourself whether it would make some sense in your life. If it doesn't: Don't buy it. If it does: Reconsider. iPad lovers: Get your pink glasses off and go about your life. Then reconsider buying an iPad once you've got one in your own hands.

Back when Steve introduced the iPhone, he called it "the best iPod ever", and that message was truthful. I liked that, and I still like it. I hope Apple comes back to truthful advertising. Calling the iPad a magical device that is revolutionary sounds like Apple itself hasn't really found out what the iPad is all about just yet. Maybe we're seeing Apple starting to deteriorate. Maybe it was just a goofy marketing guru and Steve had a bad day when he approved of that message. I hope it's the latter. Apple needs to continue controlling itself. They need to create only the products they can actually do well.

All that said: I'm going to buy a 16 GB 3G iPad, although I'm still considering going 64 GB. But I guess my iPad will only be with me for a year: Because then, I'll want the second generation iPad. (And yes I'm going to try an iPad before actually buying one.) ;)

So it's called the "iPad".

2010-01-31T14:47:00.005+01:00

Ever since Steve Jobs killed the Newton in 1997-1998, I've been thinking about how the Knowledge Navigator concept that led to the Newton would come to fruition at a later time, and the previous post shows that my thoughts aren't so far off the mark, usually. We're there now, and it's certainly quite a bit different from what the Newton was, but hey: What _hasn't_ changed in those 12 years in computing and mobility?

I personally did quite a bit of rumour-mongering in the years after the Newton was killed, but some of my thoughts that are visible in macosx.com forum posts - see: this link - are spot on references to what actually became the iPod touch, the iPhone and now the iPad. Apparently, I wasn't so far off to call QuickTime a very central element of the "navi". You could say I was wildly guessing about, but hey: It could also be that Steven P. Jobs read my thread back then and thought: Hey, that guy has the right idea, let's do that. ;)

The web-sphere is full of iPad-bashing and iPad-praising, and quite certainly, the iPad _will_ divide the world between those who simply don't need one and those who'll love one (and will keep hanging on, until it gets better and better...). If you think back to the introduction of the original iPhone, you'll certainly see that in the time since then, it hasn't changed much lookwise, but it's gotten a *lot* more interesting with 3rd party applications plus GPS etc. If I think about what 3rd party app developers will be able to do with the iPad, I see it succeeding without much doubt. OmniGroup has already committed to developing its apps for the iPad. (Its Mac apps, that is!) Add to that a little Bento or even FileMaker. Heck: Even Adobe could provide some form of Photoshop Elements to the thing. But more important than what Microsoft or Adobe might do on the iPad, is what new and upcoming developers will do on it. The iPhone showed that innovative application developers can not only thrive on such a "limited" platform, but that they can actually improve the world (wow, don't go over that cliff, fryke...) with things like a 4-track recorder or a finger-drawing/-painting app etc.

My father never much liked computers, although he had to use them in his line of work (an accountant). Since his retirement, he's found his way from the Windows world to the Mac, and while he never got his head around a mobile phone, he's in love with his iPhone (and my mum wants her own). I bet they both would love the iPad.

The iPad might not be the answer to all of everyone's worries, but it truly *is* a computer for the rest of us. It'll do so many things so well.

Two important things at the end of this post: 1.) Flash has to die. It uses far too many processor cycles for what it actually enables you to do. For video, HTML5 will take care of that in a much nicer way. The other stuff: Go CSS3 or standalone apps. Move over, Flash. 2.) That missing front-facing camera: You're going to buy the iPad that comes after this iPad, I guess. It's not _that_ much of a problem, really, although I, too would have expected the iPad to sport one.

The tablet is an iPod is a MacBook is a Newton...

2009-08-03T23:15:00.002+02:00

What many a blogger and PC magazine writer out there doesn't seem to get is that Apple's choice isn't simply to either go "big iPod touch" or "MacBook gone tablet". If you thought the iPod would be "just another MP3 player" before it came along in 2001 or if you thought Apple would create something similar to a SonyEricsson T610i with the iPhone, yes then there are only these options.

But Apple wouldn't be Apple if they weren't all about the whole user experience. The current interface of Mac OS X (as well as the changes coming with Snow Leopard in September) aren't enough for a tablet-style computer to work well. You'll at least need a nice keyboard overlay of some kind, but even so, the standard OS X menubar doesn't make much sense in a touch device, one of the reasons why we don't see such a feature-filled menubar on the iPhone (merely a statusbar). On the other hand, just scaling the iPhone/iPod touch interface to a bigger tablet isn't enough either. If you simply fill a huuuuuge 10" home screen with dozens of apps, it's not a very clever interface anymore. Four or five rows of three or four apps are the most you can view at a glance, I'd say. (But Apple has that covered with Spotlight, anyway.)

Then there's talk about media. That's the easy part, really. Quicktime X looks as if it were made for such a device. How you handle video and music on the iPhone works _very_ well on a 10" tablet. The bigger screen would simply make it more enjoyable. Similarly, iPod touch style gaming would surely be very enjoyable on a larger touch-screen.

But what about productivity apps? There certainly _are_ things such a tablet could accomplish. It's big enough for touchtyping much faster than on an iPhone, although I believe I'll still be at least twice as fast on a real notebook keyboard, just because I can handle it blindfolded, whereas a virtual keyboard is much more dependent on eyesight. Just think about how Mobile Safari or Safari would work on a tablet: It would be wonderful.

Video chat could also be a big feature for such a device. It's not been talked about much, but it would certainly beat a similar experience on an iPhone with iChat AV.

If, right now, you simply think a 600-900 dollar tablet would not find a market, think again. Because people thought similar things about the iPod as well as the iPhone. I've been hearing over the past several months that a "larger iPhone OS device" would enter the market in September, along with new versions of the iPod line. And I believe Apple will enter the holiday season with a bang.

The future is already here

2009-08-01T16:22:00.001+02:00

One important difference between the evolution of earlier smartphone platforms like Nokia's Communicators and Series 60 (Symbian) and the iPhone platform, to me, is that the development of the iPhone is actually _ongoing_.

I remember very well having the Nokia 9110 at some point. It was a great communicator, and for a while, it looked like future upgrades and additional software from 3rd party developers would make it an even greater communicator. Sure, a lack of GPRS or even HSCSD was a hardware-based problem that couldn't be solved in software, but the users expected to see more and better software features in the future. But Nokia didn't look at it like this. Nokia, after a while, simply abandoned the 9110 (after releasing the 9110i) and focused on the development of the 9210 (9290 for US citizens) - hardware- and software-wise. This meant that all that was left were a couple of hobbyists developing for the 9110 and 9110i, which basically meant that the platform was going nowhere. As with *every* communicator release, the 9210 was a move forward (colour screen, HSCSD) as well as a huge step back (slower GUI). And when it was released, it was already outdated without GRPS/EDGE support. When the 9500/9300 arrived, the 9210 platform was abandoned for the new Series 80 series communicators. But those again were left in the dust when the Nokia Communicator e90 arrived, which brought it to the Series 60 platform, which again was a step forward as well as a step back. Nokia wasn't and isn't offering software upgrades for the communicators to newer versions. Bugfix releases, yes, but software upgrades to really newer versions: No.

The 1st generation iPhone, however, runs 3.0 beautifully. Sure, the iPhone 3G brought along new hardware features like 3G connectivity and GPS, the 3GS brought a compass and a much speedier processor, but software-wise, the original iPhone can still keep up with (most) newer functions. Sure, they screw with their users as well (no MMS for original iPhones, what's up with that?), but not in a general way like it happens with the other platforms.
I'm sure some version (4.0, 5.0?) will leave the original iPhone in the dust, but by then most users will have moved on, anyway, and the others will either have bought their iPhone second-hand inexpensively (and probably won't expect every future update to work with their handset) or will be content with what they have, because after all, they've been using the great handset for _years_.

I've bought my first iPhone in late 2007. Some Swiss company imported AT&T iPhones on quite a big scale, and we jailbreaked and unlocked them using one or the other software that was around, so we could use it on Swisscom, sunrise or Orange Switzerland's networks. I then moved to the iPhone 3G when it became available with Orange Switzerland, my network of choice. Luckily, Orange offers one-year contracts for a bit more money than the usual 2-year iPhone offerings, which allowed me to move to the 3GS when it became available, and this _will_ allow me to move to the next iPhone next year, which is going to be great, I'm sure.

We'll probably see similar things happen to Android handsets. It doesn't seem like the users will be forbidden, somehow, to upgrade to newer versions of the operating system. And that's a good thing for smartphone users all around the world (or at least where the iPhone and Android handsets become available).

You can cry "lock in strategies" all you want, I never felt really "free" with the Nokia platforms or SonyEricsson platforms. Usually, those meant that you bought a device with a particular OS, and you were locked into _that_ until you bought a new handset.

With the iPhone I'm as free as I want to be. The jailbreaking community gives us options where Apple's a bit restrictive, but I must say I haven't been using jailbreaks on my 3G and 3GS, because the apps I needed and the functionality was available. (Other than push-notification, which only came about in recent weeks.)

I still wish the iPhone would go true multitasking (and I'm sure still missing one or the other additional feature), but I guess that'll happen with newer hardware and OS 4.0, or maybe with even newer hardware and OS 5.0 in 2011.

Now what: iPhone G3? 4G? 3.0?

2009-04-06T23:01:00.003+02:00

With calling last year's model the iPhone 3G, Apple brought a bit of trouble into the naming schemes. With iPods, we just called the generations 1G, 2G, 3G etc., the iPod classic is the iPod 6G, although it's rarely called that. The current nano is the iPod nano 4G. The current iPhone (the "iPhone 3G") is actually the iPhone 2G, the second generation iPhone. They can't well call the next iPhone the "4G", since the 3G's moniker stems from the 3G networks it's using, and there simply aren't 4G networks around just yet.

An iPhone Pro was mentioned in several rumours, which might mean that the 3G would stay on the market, at a lower price. It would be an interesting option, although it doesn't seem very "Apple". I personally hope they'll just call it the iPhone again. We'll call it 3rd generation or 3.0 or just "2009", but the standard iPhone model should just be called iPhone in my opinion, like the iPod was before the arrival of the "classic" (which basically meant that it was a dying breed, you don't call anything "classic" if it's not about to die).

But what about the other models? If there really is going to be a larger format tablet and an iPhone mini or nano, we'll certainly have to forget about the generation naming scheme again.

The iPhone platform

2009-03-17T00:09:00.003+01:00

Its OS is simply called "OS X", removing the "Mac" moniker. It's going to be the platform for the iPod touch, the iPhone, the iPad maybe, Apple TV... But as long as we're talking iPhone, mainly, what feature upgrades does the iPhone really need? The following are the most heard criticisms and feature-wishes for the iPhone, but I don't think Apple actually will bring them to the platform, at least not all of them at once...

1.) MMS
People who were using MMS extensively before going iPhone _are_ missing the feature. But it really _is_ just an expensive (at least in some places) replacement for real E-Mail. The iPhone does E-Mail really well. Adding MMS would basically mean to invest development hours into a vanishing technology. So I'm saying: No need, really. iPhone apps allow you to use Facebook and other platforms to share your pix online. If your contacts only have older phones that _don't_ do Facebook and/or E-Mail well, they should get a better phone. May I suggest an iPhone?

2.) Copy & Paste
Many people call it "cut" and paste, but actually cutting isn't required, it's copying that's required. (You don't "cut" a number from an SMS, you copy it.) Apple's been trying to get on without such a feature on the iPhone. I think they've done well in some places, but bad in others. So I hope the rumour comes true, finally, with the news about OS 3.0 tomorrow.

3.) Flash
Seriously? Well, I guess some websites depend on it, so the addition of Flash would certainly help make a point of the iPhone OS giving you the "full" web experience Apple always talks about. I don't see it as survival-necessary, and if Apple adds it (with Adobe's help), I sure hope it's a _full_ version of Flash and a mature one at the same time. We don't need more Safari-hangs or crashes on the iPhone, and I suspect any 3rd party plugin has the ability to really fuck things up.

4.) Search
Actually, I haven't heard this call too much. But really, with Apple always talking about how great Spotlight is on the Desktop, it *is* curious how the iPhone does _not_ have a search function at all. We got one in Contacts, but the iPhone really needs Spotlight. I want to enter a person's name, for example, and see his contact information, messages, appointments etc. all on one page, so I can select and open from there without having to open the correct application first. With a lot of E-Mail messages, for example, it's really difficult today to find a text blurb you remember having read in a mail message earlier. Search, I find (heh!), has to make it into 3.0.

5.) Background apps/background push notification
When Apple first talked about how many smartphones weren't all that smart, really, I had to state that the iPhone really just didn't cut it as a smartphone. It was a smart phone, but not a smartphone. One reason, of course, was that smartphones had exactly that differentiation from dumbphones. On Series 60 and Series 80 phones like Nokia's Communicator series, I could have my messages app open, my IM app open and some other stuff, and notifications were a breeze. Going to the iPhone meant that leaving the IM app meant logging out automatically and not being informed about new incoming messages. Not so smart indeed.
The worst thing about this is that Apple *really* got my hopes up when they were talking about the OS 2.0 software and its implementation of push notification. It seemed like a really smart idea. They wouldn't have to actually keep the apps running in the background, but notifications would still work, which was the main one of my gripes with the OS. But OS 2 came and push notification just didn't happen. A broken promise. One that, imho, has hurt Apple's image a bit. I mean: Whatever they promise us on Tuesday - will they actually deliver? Or will we buy into the "this'll come later on in OS 3" and end up wishing for OS 4? It needs to be solved. One way or the other.

6.) Bluetooth
The iPhone has a bluetooth chip. It doesn't, however, have Bluetooth features. It supports some headsets, and that's it. They have to be mono, too.
But I want to push contacts, photos and other files via BT. I want to use my iPhone as a BT modem for my MacBook Air. I want to use my Apple Wireless Keyboard for entering text on my iPhone. I could leave my MacBook Air or lenovo S10e hackbook at home then. It's not about acknowleding that the onscreen keyboard is bad. It's quite good actually. I'm quicker on it nowadays than on my Nokia Communicator keyboards, which is quite a feat. But I'm not comfortable writing three or four pages of text on that keyboard, something which I *would* be able to if I could use the wireless keyboard. It runs OS X, I'm sure it can be done quite easily in fact.

I'm quite nervous about the news in a couple of hours (well, about 15-20 hours, I'm guessing...). I want OS 3 to wow me in a good way. But I don't want to just hear about 2 great new features that try to wow me but forgetting about the stuff that users are actually asking for. Giving us things we didn't even _know_ we wanted is great. It's always nice when Apple's able to do that. But giving us required stuff is important as well. (I'm still very thankful I'm finally able to turn off auto-correction without having to do a jailbreak.)

Safari 4 will continue the "we don't adhere" mantra...

2009-02-25T13:34:00.002+01:00

Apparently, Apple simply doesn't care about their own UI guidelines when it comes to iLife apps and Safari. The newest offender is of course Safari 4's "tab bar inside the window titlebar". It's very inconsistent, and sadly, you can only grab tabs from the top right corner of each tab. Grabbing the title, as before, will result in moving the whole window. Many people tend to arrange their windows. Me personally, for example, I like my windows to be hooked top-left. A couple of pixels below the menubar and to the right of the left display edge. Grabbing the tabs at the wrong place results in me constantly having to put the window back where it belongs.
Of course, you can solve the problem by typing "defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4TabBarIsOnTop -bool NO" without the quotes into a Terminal window and hitting return after that. Restarting Safari will then show you tabs the old way. (Do the same with "YES" to restore the new default-functionality.) But I don't want to have to hack my systems whenever I set them up. Nowadays, I have to restore a 2D dock via such a command, and now I have to restore a decent tabbing behaviour to Safari. Of course I also have to install LaunchBar and other utilities, but that's something I've come to terms with since, I guess, around Mac OS X 10.1. But to me, a couple of tabs in the window titlebar of Safari just looks kinda messy. I find the old way more logical.
Of course the new way reduces the vertical footprint of Safari windows, which could mean good things for a netbook. (Hint?)

AppleTV Take 3?

2009-01-25T10:39:00.002+01:00

Christian Zibreg notes 5 "main" features of AppleTV Take 3 on tgdaily.com (link goes to second page, where the list of 5 points is). But I have to say no to at least a couple of those five...

5.) Full HD and DVR capabilities.
This just shows a badly written article. Why do you combine those _two_ features as one feature request? One has nothing to do with the other, and quite clearly, Apple has _no_ interest whatsoever to bring actual OTA/OTC TV to AppleTV. The whole point of AppleTV is to bring us content _directly_ over the net. When we want it, without ads, at a price.
I of course agree that 1080i/1080p is a logical next step for the device or the software. Currently, AppleTV can put out 1080i, but it really just extrapolates 720p and lower quality to 1080i.

4.) Built-in digital TV (ATSC) tuner.
No. It simply isn't Apple's goal. Apple wants you to get your media from the iTunes Store (whether it be free podcasts, paid movies/shows or rentals). A TV tuner and DVR would maybe expand ATV's appeal to customers, but Apple has a clear goal here. So: No. Very simple.

3.) Built-in Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme.
Would be possible, feasible and certainly on my wishlist. Since it doesn't distract from Apple's main goal with AppleTV, I'd say this one's okay.

2.) Premium TV channels via iTS.
The way Christian describes this, it sounds like he's talking "live TV" again. That's simply not what AppleTV is about. Whether they add higher-priced premium content to the iTunes Store: Who knows. It would make sense.

1.) The App Store.
Games on the AppleTV would've been a better title. Of course it's an option. But the hardware is only up for "casual gaming" so far, i.e. it wouldn't really be a competitor for Wii, XBox 360 and PS3. Since you couldn't very well play iPhone games on the AppleTV without an actual iPhone as a controller, it would mean completely incompatible, separate development. And since AppleTV isn't the hit the iPhone is, so far, I don't just see it. It could be interesting, but it'd also distract from AppleTV's main goal.

And that's the main thing that bothers me about the article. It ignores Apple's main goal. Just keep in mind that Apple wants to

1.) have you as a returning iTunes Store customer.
2.) sell you content on top of what you're getting for free (podcasts and the likes).
3.) be the _next_ thing.

With these three points in mind, it becomes very clear that any OTA/OTC TV tuner stuff and DVR capabilities are _not_ part of the AppleTV plans. See: iTunes doesn't let you buy an FM tuner and record it to AAC/MP3. It gives you free streaming radio instead. So _if_ there'll ever be "live TV" on iTunes/AppleTV, it'll be some sort of streaming stuff. But even that just isn't a goal for Apple. With streaming radio, Apple could simply "add support" for an already established service. There's no such thing for TV on the 'net. (Except video podcasts, of course.)

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 007

2009-01-06T19:28:00.003+01:00

(continuing the previous post...) Next up: iTunes Music Store. There's new pricing. Older songs (6+ years) are now 0.69 USD, new ones (0-6 years) are 0.99 USD, starting April 1, 2009. Some songs, however, will be priced at 1.29 USD. All songs will be DRM-free. (No, this is *not* an early April Fool's joke.)
Additionally, you can now get the iTunes store over 3G on the iPhone. Same experience, just a tad slower. You get the same music, of course (not lower-quality) and can synch back to your iTunes library. It's simply an addition of 3G to the mobile version of iTunes Store.
Tony Bennett on stage for the retro-outro. This is it, folks. No new iMacs, no new Mac mini, no new Cinema Displays, no iPhone nano. And still: It wasn't the most uninteresting MWSF keynote ever. What do I take from it? I want an eight to ten-hour battery in a MacBook Air. But I guess that has to wait 'til later in the year or next year. Until then, my 1st gen MacBook Air will have to do...

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 006

2009-01-06T19:15:00.003+01:00

Moving on to hardware: The 17" MacBook Pro. Features the same 1920x1200 pixel display at 700:1 contrast and 60% greater colour gamut. It has a 50 USD anti-glare option!!! Like rumours mentioned, the battery is not user-replaceable. But it lasts 8 hours (!!!) and should be rechargeable a thousand times. The notebook has a 2.66 GHz processor (plus CTO options), up to 8 GB of memory (4 GB standard), same graphics as the MBP 15", 320 GB HD standard, 256 GB SSD option, 3 USB ports, FireWire 800 (1 port), ExpressCard 34 slot, Ethernet, Mini DisplayPort, basically what we're used to. Same glass trackpad as MB/MBP.
The battery is talked about rather longishly in a tech demo video. Apparently, it's Lithium Polymer, takes on strange forms and has on-battery chips that adjusts currents, so the battery life (over its lifetime) can be as healthy as it can. (Instead of failing just as the warranty runs out.) I guess we're seeing the future of MacBook/MacBook Pro batteries here, so expect the next iteration of 15" and 13" models to also not have user-replaceable batteries. The RDF is in place, I'd say. Looking at it as they're putting it, it makes sense. It'll get slammed on forums and in the press, though, I guess, if the RDF ain't good enough... Shipments start at the end of January '09.

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 005

2009-01-06T18:59:00.002+01:00

(continuing the previous post...) Pages '09. There's a full screen view that lets you focus on your writing. (Very important, I'm a writer after all.) There's the obvious new templates frenzy, but more importantly, Pages '09 includes MathType and EndNote. Scientists, engineers and students will appreciate these. "And that's Pages '09."
Numbers '09. More powerful formulas. Over 250 functions, all colour-coded. Very nicely done. (I'm sure there's new templates, too, but I won't mention it, even if it's specifically mentioned. I'm no fan of ever-more templates.)
iWork '09, btw., is shipping today! Apple will offer a 169 USD package (Mac Box Set) with Mac OS X 10.5, iWork '09 and iLife '09 for those who haven't upgraded to Leopard yet. (I guess Snow Leopard won't be mentioned, then, until it's suddenly released in Spring or Summer, now there's a ploy to milk the Leopard...)
One more thing with iWork: iWork.com. This service lets you publish your iWork documents and share them with contacts from AddressBook.app easily. Automatically shares documents in various formats (iWork/Office/PDF). Sign up for a free beta today, but later on, it'll cost a fee, so it's separate from iWork and separate from MobileMe, which is a pity, since that would have made a great MobileMe extension, I find. (So let's move on to the actual "Mac" stuff, as in hardware, please?) ;)

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 004

2009-01-06T18:47:00.002+01:00

(continuing the previous post...) still on GarageBand '09. Apart from the beginners' instructional videos done by "Instructor Tim", you can also learn "real" artist lessons: John Fogerty, Colbie Caillat, Patrick Stump, Sting, Sarah McLachlan, Ryan Tedder, Norah Jones and others (more will be added) teach you their songs. Very impressive.
iLife '09 will be released in late January. Same pricing as before, and of course new Macs will come with it preinstalled once it's available.

Now, on to iWork '09. First up: Keynote '09. One new feature is "Magic Move". You set up your slides, and the feature does the animation of the various objects on one click. This is Apple's Core Animation implemented, of course. They've shown us similar stuff when Leopard was new.
More importantly: There's Keynote Remote, i.e. you can use your iPod touch or iPhone to remote control your presentations like you can do with a dual monitor setup, basically. This is nifty. Jokingly, Phil Schiller says: "You can see we've already given it five star reviews."

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 003

2009-01-06T18:30:00.002+01:00

(continuing the previous post...) next: iMovie '09. The new version offers a precision editor, advanced drag & drop, dynamic themes and animated travel maps. Plus automatic video stabilisation. These features are demoed by Randy Ubillos, chief architect for video applications. There's not much sense in repeating the demo in words, though. Since my input is basically words (and I've never even used iMovie, really), I wouldn't do it justice. Let's just say Apple has to some extent apologised for iMovie '08 (to iMovie 6 fans) and is hoping that iMovie '09 will be a much better product. Although in some ways it seems to me that they just added new features and didn't "bring iMovie 6 back into it", so to speak.
GarageBand '09: It can teach you how to play an instrument. This clearly shows that GarageBand is the introduction-application for everything music-creation on the Mac. With its roots still in Logic, of course, it'll try to take you in from the very start and take you to the logical (pardon) next level: Logic Express or Logic Studio. The instruction videos are in HD quality, of course, and show you, for example, how to play blues chords on a guitar. I guess I'll have to pickup a six-string now very soon. No more excuses, no more Guitar Hero on the Wii... Instead I'll do my own guitar samples instead of faking them on a software instrument.

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 002

2009-01-06T18:15:00.002+01:00

(continuing the previous post...) Setting an event's location is based on Google Maps. There's also support for Facebook and Flickr in iPhoto '09, meaning that you can tag people on Facebook photos and that information is transmitted back to iPhoto. (Of course other Facebook users can tag your photos as well.)
There are new themes for slideshows in iPhoto '09. These use face detection to automatically zoom/center photos. Slideshows can be saved to iTunes and synched to iPhone and iPod touch. This, of course, makes a lot of sense. With the iPod family probably moving to an all-touch family (except the shuffle) in 2009, this'll mean something. You can also insert maps with pins into projects (books) to show where pictures were taken. Such a map can also be printed on the hardcover of the new books. Phil Schiller then gives a demo of iPhoto's new face detection feature and how quickly you can tag a person - and then places.

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 001

2009-01-06T18:02:00.002+01:00

The show starts, and as usual (although not delivered by Steve Jobs, obviously) the audience is told first about how well Apple is doing, albeit with a touch of financial crisis, as in: Apple's not hurt as much as other companies, because Apple's got a lot of money. Phil informs the audience about some of the new international stores (Beijing, Munich, Sydney).
The ongoing retail effort is called very important because it offers people a chance to try out the actual products. "Today, we are focusing on the Mac."
Three new things, promises Schiller. iLife '09 is first. Of course we're led through each of iLife's already existing applications. The most controversial from last year's version is of course iMovie, since version 8 was a completely new version, leaving most of iMovie 6's features behind - so much so that Apple had to let iLife '08 users download version 6 of the app as well. We're certainly interested to see whether iMovie '09 can get things together again...
iPhoto '09 offers a new organisational system: Faces. Based on face detection (to assist in tagging), you can quickly identify people in your photos. iPhoto will then show you photos of similar faces it believes is the same person. "... isn't perfect, but this is incredibly good." A third way to organise (after events and faces) is "places", i.e. geotagging. With more and more cameras offering GPS for automatically geotagging photos, this makes a lot of sense. iPhoto can show you a map with pins for your photos' locations. Additionally, you can add event locations for photo events that aren't geotagged.

MWSF, The Keynote by Phil Schiller, Part 000

2009-01-06T17:55:00.002+01:00

I'm not doing this live, since I can't be at MWSF this time around - and I don't have a direct contact over phone/chat. So what you're reading here is comment on the news that are dropping in from other sites. You'll still get the important stuff here, too, of course. I'll post these things every quarter hour, so we should end up with at least 5 such articles, the newest on top, but each to be read down, like, normal. The keynote should begin in a couple of minutes.

MWSF Keynote Expectations...

2009-01-03T12:04:00.002+01:00

Despite Steve Jobs' absence, rumours about what Phil Schiller (or any other spokesperson) will unveil next week are flying quite high. If all rumours come true, we'll see Apple's netbook, the iPhone nano, a new mouse, the new Mac mini, the new iMac as well as flying pigs and a car with zero emission and unlimited reach.
Putting the wishful-thinking aside, we're left with probably a new Mac mini, which has been hinted at in recent OS updates and it really _does_ need an upgrade, probably a new iMac - both of which will get the Mini DisplayPort and nVidia graphics from the MacBook/MacBook Pro lines as well as the iPhone nano, which will probably be the most discussed product after the whole show is over. Whether a new mouse is included with the iMac is certainly of lesser importance, although I hate its trackpaddiness and seven-finger gestures even before I've heard about them.
What I'm really looking forward to is the Mac mini. Of course it will be inexpensive - and of course it will remain seriously flawed in game performance and upgradability. It will not be the "headless iMac" proposed for so many years, because that would eat too much into the iMac's market - and Apple simply _wants_ to reign supreme with an AIO desktop.

So what about the netbook or tablet route? Netbooks _are_ selling like hotcakes and Steve Jobs has personally said that Apple's looking at that market closely. Yet, Apple wants to seriously push the iPhone base, so my guess is that Apple's _not_ releasing a netbook now and instead is working feverishly on a larger tablet based device that _won't_ be a full Mac, but rather an expanded iPod touch-style device. This probably won't be ready for MWSF, though. And once it'll arrive, it _will_ seem too expensive to compete with netbooks, but it'll also be incredibly thin, so people won't mind the price tag (although a lot will be said about its price nonetheless).
Either way: I'm looking forward to next week's show. Let's see if somebody else _can_ create enough Reality Distortion Field (RDF).

Is Jobs wrong about the netbook?

2008-12-24T08:11:00.003+01:00

We get it: Apple's not in this world to create cheap computers for everyone. Instead, Apple places itself somewhere in the middle and offers the user (far!) more. But Apple might be fast asleep and losing out to the netbook crowd. Steve Jobs said something along the lines of the iPhone being something like a netbook. Well: It is, and it isn't.

The argument for it being a netbook goes: You want a cheaper-than-notebook device that you can use to quickly get on the 'net. And that the iPhone certainly does. It lets you check mail, update your facebook status and get the latest news anywhere on the planet as long as you get a decent 3G signal.

The argument against it, though, is quite important right now. That's *not* what all these netbooks are sold for, Stevo! These netbooks sell so bloody well because they're actually small notebooks that are inexpensive. Parents buy them for kids, youngsters buy them for themselves and adults buy them as their secondary or third computer. They're dirt-cheap and still manage to run a full office suite. Their keyboards may not be ideal (don't tell me the iPhone's keyboard's ideal compared to them, though), but I can write up a first draft for anything on such a machine.

An even worse argument however goes like this: Apple could *rock* the netbook world. Most of the netbooks have all the same mistakes the entire notebook world has had for years. You *don't* need VGA out on those. You don't need two or more USB ports. Give it the measly one USB port of the MacBook Air *without* the MiniDisplayPort. That's all it needs. A decent keyboard? Apple can certainly do that. (Most companies can't, it seems.) And make it slim with good battery life. Apple can do that, others can't. (Just look at how HP's 2133 becomes inCREDIBLY fat with the battery it needs to be considered anything, really.)

So please, Apple: Reconsider.

iPhone nano - yes or no?

2008-12-23T09:15:00.003+01:00

I'm positive you've seen some mockups and concept shots by now. -> See the photos... Of course I'd want one. But, and that's a *big* "but": If the current iPhone has anything to say about battery life, then the nano would need to be about 4 times the thickness of the 3G in order to work fine. If it ditches 3G-networks, it'd still need to be twice as thick as the iPhone 3G in order to have decent battery life. Really: You wouldn't _want_ an iPhone that only works 3-4 hours, would you?

Replacing a Hackintosh with a real Mac...

2008-12-20T20:30:00.002+01:00

I've just replaced my Hackintosh with a brandnew (sellout) iMac 24". It's more or less capable of the same things, although I've got 4 GB of RAM in this one, whereas I had 2 in the Hackintosh. It was a nice project keeping Leopard running and up-to-date on a "vanilla" PC that was close to a real Mac, but it was also a bit of a headache to use the machine from day to day. Any system updates could hose the system, so it was always about reading first, installing later (after patching some stuff beforehand). With 10.5.5, the machine ran great, actually. I had an *almost* vanilla install, meaning there was EFI emulation running on the PC – and Mac OS X 10.5.4 Retail thought it was actually a Mac. I only had to inject a special sound driver and something about a TimeMachine incompatibility. The rest was "clean", so to speak.
The 10.5.6 update would have broken it, if I had simply installed it. It's been replaced by the iMac now, and I was up and running with the same basic setup with three external harddrives in about two hours. The main difficulty was getting rid of one or two kernel extensions that I had installed at some point, instead of letting the EFI emulation inject it on-the-go.

The whole year or so I've dealt with all that was pain & pleasure, but it mostly showed me that Apple is going about this in a very artificial way. The OSX86 crowd is quite quick with updates, and most problems can be solved easily, if you know your way around the Mac OS X system and a bit about the Terminal. If Apple *wanted* to, they could release a Mac OS X version for the "vanilla PC" anytime, basically. They could release a hardware compatibility list that would be a tad small compared to Windows Vista, but it would allow many PC users to switch to the Mac without replacing their whole setup - as long as that setup includes a motherboard, chipset, graphics card etc. close to a real Mac's. But Apple won't do that anytime soon, it seems, and I think that's not the worst state of the Mac world. Apple is thriving, the OSX86 crowd is thriving - and as long as Psystar and EFI-X USA don't mess things up too badly for everyone, most people are quite happy.

All that said and done, I'm glad I'm back on a real Mac setup again. The machine is much quieter, it'll update to 10.5.7 and 10.6 just fine thankyouverymuch and I can go back to synching my huge iTunes library to the AppleTV and iPhone in my household. Maybe I'll bring the Hackintosh back to try Mac OS X 10.6 on it, if the wonderful people in the OSX86 world find a neat, clean way to have it as vanilla as possible, but I doubt it right now. I guess I'll sell that PC after cleaning it and reinstalling some linux distro on it.

Where's the push-notification?

2008-12-04T10:59:00.000+01:00

When Apple started talking about the iPhone 2.0 software, one main thing was that applications *wouldn't* have the capability of running in the background. But in the same sentence, basically, Apple has said that push-notification would solve this problem in September 2008. Of course the 2.1 and 2.2 updates have come without such support and with an excuse of "we want to get it right the first time". I, too, want them to get it right the first time, but really: The lack of support for this makes the iPhone a single-task phone mostly. Sure: We *do* get E-Mails in the background. We also get SMS and phone calls even if we're running some application in the foreground. We take those for granted, of course.
But what about online chat applications like AIM? Why can't I get facebook-updates pushed at least to the icon on the desktop? It seriously damages the iPhone as a smartphone. It just ain't that smart. I don't mind the lack of copy-n-paste (why does everybody call it cut & paste nowadays, btw.? I don't need to cut, I need to copy!) that much, since most apps that would need it, find a way around it. But everytime I think "Hey, now I *am* going to download AIM for the iPhone!", I'm reminded that it just wouldn't work the way it should. *All* smartphone platforms out there support background notification. I've enjoyed this on various Series 80 and Series 60 mobile phones. The iPhone beats all of them hands-down in most areas, not the least of which is interface speed. But as long as the iPhone can't let apps get notified in the background, it simply *isn't* a real multitasking device.

haligon.blogspot.com

2008-12-04T09:47:00.001+01:00

Okay. It's been more than a year that I've posted on macnews.net.tc. Obviously the company providing the domain macnews.net.tc now doesn't let me do that without ads. If you want to enjoy macnews.net.tc (I'm going to post more from now on...), just save http://haligon.blogspot.com as your bookmark. There are interesting things coming up: MWSF 2009, of course, and Mac OS X 10.6 in Spring 2009. We'll have details about those available, and lots of opinionated thoughts about them for you to read and comment. Stay tuned... :)

(Edit: Obviously, I was wrong. My turning off the ads just took a little longer, so you can still use the domain http://macnews.net.tc just fine.)

Leopard's coming. Getting ready is easy.

2007-10-20T00:57:00.000+02:00

While MacCentral wants to make it rather hard, it's actually rather easy to get ready to install Leopard. There are three steps:

1.) Create a COMPLETE backup of your system volume.
2.) Upgrade to Leopard using the Leopard DVD and update 3rd party software where needed.
3.) If that doesn't seem to yield a very good result, create a clean installation of Leopard, erasing the system volume, and only bring back from the backup what you really need.

In fact: Forget about the second step: Backup, clean install and bring back what you need. Call it "Spring Cleaning" if you like, although it's Autumn here in the northern hemisphere.

In case you forgot...

2007-10-17T16:59:00.000+02:00

The "Hackintosh" lives. When Apple first announced their move to the intel platform, voices were loud that this would mean hacked versions of OS X running on anyone's PC. And while this actually _happened_ (the developer transition kit machine's version of 10.4.1 was the first version hacked to run on plain vanilla PCs), the whole movement became stealth - in that it's too complicated for most users, too insecure for the average Joe etc., a little how most Windows users feel about linux: Interesting, but too much hassle to move away from Windows.
For me as an avid Mac user who has done his share of installing operating systems since 1987 and doesn't shy away from a couple of problems, it was an interesting proposition. I wanted a backup machine to fall onto, should my MacBook ever go on strike.
This is, of course, exactly what happened last week, so I was forced to give it a shot while my MacBook was being repaired. I bought a 300 dollar PC with stuff in it I knew should work rather well (i.e. hardware similar to, say, a Mac mini or iMac), installed the only OS I had lying around, downloaded Kalyways "version" of 10.4.10, burned it to a DVD and gave it a shot.

Well: Here I am, running Mac OS X 10.4.10 on a plain vanilla PC (actually it's alu/black with a corny white Apple-sticker on its front). It's got a Core2Duo processor running at 2.4 GHz (a 2.0 GHz E2180 overclocked), 2 GB of RAM, a 160 GB harddrive and onboard-graphics, GMA 950, just like a MacBook or Mac mini. It took some patches to get everything running (one for the on-board sound was the only one not included in the basic installation DVD!), but right now it's simply a Mac that starts from an ugly BIOS. All the software I need to run while the MacBook's being repaired runs on it. Maybe the time for an open Mac OS X (open as in: buy it and run it on any PC) will come one day.

Microsoft delays Office 2008

2007-09-25T12:07:00.000+02:00

Microsoft's MBU seems to have been infected by the company's delay-virus lately. They first wanted to have an intel-compatible version of Office ready for 2007 and promised file-compatibility with the Windows-version of the software package for Office 2004. They then postponed the Office update to the second half of 2007 and the file-compatibility has only seen beta-versions so far.
Now, Microsoft has released information that Office:mac 2008 will only be released in mid-Januar 2008. (Should it be called 2009, then, because it seems strange that the 'version number' actually relates to the year of release?) They've also scrapped the public beta version of Office 2008, saying they'd rather test internally and with a circle of selected beta-testers. (Read: You really don't want to use the package in production systems just yet.) Furthermore, a "Special Media Edition" (499 compared to the standard 399 USD version) will include some sort of "iPhoto light", it seems. And the 149 USD students and teachers version won't have that and will also have to skip Exchange-compatibility.
Basically, today Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit has released uninteresting news (the iPhoto light part) within a bunch of bad news. I'm not impressed.

Do all those new iPods make sense at all?

2007-09-19T11:20:00.000+02:00

On macosx.com, I've written a piece about it. I think it's worth a read (and comment). ;)

Hello again. And a rant.

2007-09-10T21:11:00.000+02:00

Seems like I've been neglecting macnews.net.tc for a while. Hope it won't happen again like this. Sometimes real life has to take front seat, however. Either way: All the iPod stuff has happened recently. And soon enough, Europe should see some 3G iPhone love according to rumours. I actually hope they'll release both models, the 2G and the 3G model, because an entry-level model at a lower price might make quite some sense for stronger market penetration. Seems to be their plan, anyway.
But the iPod touch... Seriously: Apple seems to _hate_ the thought of a PDA so much that they just won't allow a phone-less pad to have any real PIM features. No Mail.app, no notes, no calendar entry feature... The iPod touch is more than crippled. Even the little (and less important) widgets had to go? Apple should, in my opinion, be glad that they're doing great and actually give customers the great features they're developing. If you had an iPod touch that let you have your mailbox and notes with you and synched with Leopard (coming in October), wouldn't that be the greatest thing to show your friends, family and colleagues? Well, maybe they plan on updating the "touch" when Leo's released, but if so, it'd seem even more strange to cripple it now, because only Leopard will unleash the full PIM functionality for the devices with its integration of Todos and Notes into Mail.app.
I hope Apple comes to its senses and fixes this even before the touch actually hits the stores. Apple: We *know* the iPod touch's core is the same as the iPhone's. You can't seriously argue that "people who buy a media player don't care about notes and E-Mail".

After the iPhone...

2007-07-04T12:24:00.000+02:00

The iPhone obviously is not only Apple's biggest hit since the iPod (well, it _contains_ an iPod of course), but also one of the biggest consumer electronics releases this entire year. The frenzy dwarfs even the PS3 or Microsoft's Vista.

But the _other_ iPod products are a bit long in the tooth right now. The shuffle might see an update sooner or later, but I guess this entry-level product doesn't really _have_ to evolve. However: The iPod 5(.5)G has to – and so does the iPod nano.
While rumours of an iPod video (before the release of the iPod 5G) were often dismissed because of one statement of Steve Jobs saying video is for big screens only, this quite obviously has changed in recent years. The current iPod does video quite well, Apple is selling videos (at least in the USA) on iTunes, there's Apple TV and now the iPhone tops the iPod in playing videos, albeit with a meager 8 GB of memory.

The "big", i.e. "normal" iPod has to go video now. It basically needs to be an iPhone without the phone part. Maybe they'll also strip WiFi, Bluetooth, Safari and everything else besides the iPod part. But it needs the multitouch-screen, the screen's size and the improvements in user-interaction that go with that. Plus a 120 GB harddrive would suit it well – and will be availbable for the holiday season.

The iPod nano as well? While the iPod nano's current form factor is great for music, they theoretically could make a similarly small device with a 320*240 pixel screen that fills the face of the device, giving it the same multitouch-abilities as the iPod video and the iPhone. Price of such components could be an issue, though. My guess: The iPod nano will stay the one iPod retaining the iconic scroll-wheel. With 16 GB of space, of course. But I'll be glad to be wrong on that.

What about the iPhone? The iPhone itself is kind of in a strange spot. It does video well, but its meager memory confinements hold it back. However: A revision of the iPhone might just give it 32 and 48 GB of flash memory, putting it in the middle of nano and video iPod. (I don't see the full video iPod going flash memory just yet. The harddrives work and are far cheaper per GB.
Of course the iPhone revision might also bring a 3G data connection and a secondary frontside camera for iChat AV.
My fear, however, is that Apple will take its time for such a second generation iPhone. They don't want to kill the buzz for the first generation iPhone too quickly. If my worst nightmares come true, the 1st gen iPhone will also make it unaltered, basically, to Europe and Asia, where it quite possibly would be less of a success because of a lack of UMTS.
Apple, in my opinion, _has_ to take into account that Europe and Asia are quite different cellphone markets. We _do_ have 3G up and running successfully. Coverage is good, even in a very "mountainy" country like Switzerland – and even better in cities and flatter countries. Let's hope the 2nd generation iPhone will be the first to make it to market over here. They could, at the same time, bring a US version to the States as a holiday gift.

macosx.com taken over by Apple after seven years?

2007-07-03T11:10:00.000+02:00

My favourite Mac-centric online forum, macosx.com, seems to have been taken over by Apple. Well not the forum, but the domain name. You can still access the forum through its sister site nowonder.com. While I always wondered how it came that Apple didn't want the macosx.com domain, I didn't really expect them to make a move after such a long time.

Either way: If you're a macosx.com user and suddenly don't get to your forum, just use the nowonder.com domain for now and login with your macosx.com username and password. It's the same in green. ;)

Update: Well, it was some kind of joke played on the owner, apparently. It's been corrected by now. macosx.com is still macosx.com. :)

Was the Motorola+iTunes phone(s) a secret attack on Motorola?

2007-06-25T12:20:00.000+02:00

With all the craze going on about the iPhone, we tend to forget Apple's first foray into the mobile phone world. Back when Apple fans were merely talking about a possible iPhone – and it was anything from a simple mobile phone similar to the SonyEricsson T68i to a new version of the Newton – Apple "surprised" us with a collaboration with Motorola, which ended with "iTunes on a mobile phone by Motorola". It wasn't an iPhone, of course, and Apple didn't seem to be really behind it. They didn't push it as the greatest phone on Earth, mostly because it actually wasn't, of course.

The question is: What was Apple's plan back then...
It was 2004, and the iPod was roaring. Apple clearly was on a high with iTunes and the iPod. Where Microsoft dwarfed Apple in the computer and operating system market, Apple dwarfed them all with the iPod. Sony tried several times to change the game, so did Microsoft, Creative and others. None of them could: Apple was too powerful, the iPod too "simply good" and the price could not be easily beaten either. I'm pretty sure Apple did start to plan the iPhone back then.
The result of the SUKR, erh, ROKR E1 was that Motorola lost their face. While actually, Apple's "iTunes mobile" software just didn't work so well on Motorola's phones, it still was them who suffered.

Let's not forget: Motorola was and is the biggest player in the mobile phone market in the USA. But its fate is doomed. And I think Apple was, quite mischievously so, planning on it. Apple now comes to the mobile phone market this Friday when the field is more open. Nokia is attacking Motorola. SonyEricsson is attacking Motorola. Palm and Blackberry have their own game, in a way, and Apple finds a market that doesn't have a clear winner. And it's entering it from the top, as one should.
Sure, there are negative points about the iPhone. It's not a real smartphone platform, i.e. you won't get any real applications for the iPhone. Not even widgets. Just web-apps. Sure it seems strange that you can't even choose an iTunes track as a ringtone, something which should've clearly been one of the most easy things to implement, and a thing where Apple would've felt right at home. (I guess at&t wants to sell ringtones to iPhone owners at the usual ridiculous prices, where a ding-dong costs as much as a real song or more...) Then there's the thing about 3G lacking, which isn't so bad if you're using WiFi most of the time. Plus the camera is not at the very highend either.

So... I think Apple has a real chance of rocking the cellphone-industry in the USA. And I'm pretty sure they know that worldwide success will be a tad harder to achieve, seeing how Europe's and Asia's cellphone users are already used to newer technologies, where a US iPhone might actually look like a step back. So I guess the end-of-2007 Europe approach might come as a UMTS phone. It's not too hard to add that, and it'll quite simply quiet a lot of negative voices.

Parallels 3.0!

2007-06-08T01:24:00.000+02:00

Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac OS X has been released. We'll review it soon enough. Looking forward to the 3D support and other enhancements. What I'll really have to try soon: A cheap DVB-T USB-stick that only works in Windows. That'd be nice to be able to use such hardware. I'm aware that there might be a lot of issues with _recording_ video, but I'd mainly want to _watch_ some. ;)

Finally: A Mac Port of OpenOffice.org!

2007-06-05T20:27:00.000+02:00

It's an early alpha version. Nothing polished. Really. It doesn't print, according to the "known issues" list. PDF export's not working correctly. Starting it from a shared folder doesn't work. Copy and paste doesn't fully work. It'll crash after quitting (which sounds wrong even for an early alpha... *after* quitting, really?). Text drawing is weird in most places and doesn't work in Impress. And Impress won't recognise multiple monitors. Plus in some places it's called version 2.3 and 2.2 in others (obviously it's a snapshot of inbetween-work). BUT: It's there for you to download! Finally! No more X11 or Java stuff. (Although it still _looks_ that way very much...) - I guess now's the time to celebrate. Then the hard weeks and months of working on it will follow, until finally, we'll have a decent OOo on the Mac. I, for one, welcome our new opensource office suite overlords.

What's that like, Steve...? ;)

2007-06-01T02:23:00.000+02:00

It's been really great to watch Steve Jobs and Bill Gates discuss - quite openly and friendly, making sure to say good things about each other - a little bit of history as well as today's stuff and tomorrow's (of course Steve quite often said that he couldn't talk about unannounced products...), but the best quote of today's interviews _has_ to be the one at the very end of this separate interview embedded on macrumors.com (that's where I found it). Asked how it feels to be a successful Windows application developer as well with iTunes (over 300 mio copies given away), Steve Jobs said that they got quite a few feedback messages that basically said iTunes was the best Windows app ever. And that giving iTunes to Windows users was "like giving a glass of iced water to someone in hell".

Ultra ultra ULTRA-slim notebooks... :)

2007-05-24T20:57:00.000+02:00

intel is proposing such a thing, and it makes sense. Not the "for women mainly" part, though. I'd certainly want an ultraslim notebook myself. And think about it: A PDA has enough power for the main tasks most people use computers for: E-Mail, web, word processing etc. And surely, they could also drive a display with 1024*600 or even 1280*800 pixels.
You know: I still want a Mac sub-sub-subnotebook...

Apple starts working on 10.4.10

2007-05-17T18:20:00.000+02:00

After years of forum wars about whether an update after 10.x.9 would jump to a 10.x.10 (which is the right thing, of course), finally Apple will put an end to the debate. Reports about initial builds of 10.4.10 are making the rounds, and the update is expected to fix a couple of things in 10.4, among them a couple of audio issues. The update is expected sometime in the next three months.

AppleMatters thinks iPhoto for Windows

2007-04-19T13:57:00.000+02:00

The matter of Apple's software on Windows comes up a couple of times a year. Sometimes it's Safari for Windows, sometimes iPhoto or iWork (after all, Apple _did_ sell ClarisWorks/AppleWorks for Windows...). But Apple hasn't got much reason to embrace Windows even more. Apple's money is not in selling cheap software for Windows. It's not even in selling cheap software (like iWork and iLife) on the Mac. It's mainly in the hardware. The reason Apple does Quicktime and iTunes for Windows is clear: Those are required for where _more_ money lies: The iTunes Store. (The AppleMatters article mentions that as well.)
The article is based on the thought that Apple wants to _control_ the experience of Apple TV. Why let photos be handled by 3rd party software like Adobe Album or Adobe Photoshop Elements, they're asking. Well: Because they work just fine for this task. When Apple used 3rd party software for controlling the iPod on Windows, that software simply was a sub-par experience for the user. And: Photos are not _the_ integral part of Apple TV, anyway. It's a nice addition. Even more importantly, however: Such a thought would not have come up only with Apple TV, but with the iPod before that. The iPod has had photo capabilities for years now. 4th generation iPod photo, anyone? But Apple's focus clearly is on iTunes here. The halo-effect of iPhoto would certainly not be as big as the iPod's or iTunes' for one. Rather, iPhoto is one of the tools that you get for free with a Mac, and that's one good reason _not_ to make iPhoto for Windows.
Basically, I merely want to state that the linked article is, quite probably, on the wrong track.
"With Apple TV, now it makes sense." - Nope. The Apple TV may sell a few devices, but the iPod has had a big market for years, without Apple creating iPhoto for Windows. No, no, no.

The Unthinkable Happens...

2007-04-12T23:09:00.000+02:00

Apple today announced that Leopard would not ship in June, as expected, but rather in October. The reason given: Finishing the software for the iPhone has taken more energy than anticipated. Apple had to take some engineers out of the Leopard crew and put them onto iPhone's development.
Apple today also seeded a new developer build of Leoaprd, Mac OS X 10.5 9A410. The build has quite a list of outstanding bugs. Apple will give developers at WWDC in June an almost-finished build of Leopard, Apple said today. But for people who have put off buying a new Mac because of Apple's previous stance of delivering this "in Spring 2007" (so people have been expecting March, April and later May and June as the release date), this certainly is frustrating.
Update: At least the new build of Leopard, 9A410, shows some promise in the UI department. Gone is brushed metal, the apps adopt the unified look already present in Mail.app etc. in Tiger. I, for one, applaud that.

It's a _linux_ virus, st00pid.

2007-04-06T16:26:00.000+02:00

Wow. I was afraid this would happen this fast. Someone apparently wrote a demo-virus for linux on the iPod. And voilà: Now you can read about the "first iPod virus", probably in a few hours all over the 'net.
Just to make this as clear as possible: Your iPod is not in danger. Even if you're running linux on it, the virus is not in the wild. But as long as you're running your iPod as intended, this virus does *NOT* apply. At all.
Wow. It's incredible how people don't think when writing headlines. As if most people would remember what the article actually says. :/ So please, if you're blogging somewhere, repeat after me: It's a _linux_ virus, st00pid.

EMI - New product: Higher priced, but DRM-free products?

2007-04-02T14:24:00.000+02:00

EMI announces DRM free, vastly improved sound quality songs. More to follow. The format is high-quality MP3, not AAC. The first partner to support this format: Apple's iTunes. Starting in May, EMIs complete digital catalogue will be available as premium MP3, DRM-free. iTunes, however, sells 256 kbps AAC, DRM-free. Price per premium track: 1.29$. Upgrade from standard DRM'd .99 track: 0.30 USD.
Apple continues to sell DRM's AAC 128 kbps, so people have the choice. They estimate that over 50% of all tracks sold at the end of 2007 will also be available in the new format.
1st question: When are the Beatles' tracks going to be available digitally. EMI: "We're working on it." Steve Jobs: "I wanna know that, too!" ;) - Asked whether inplementing a dual system is rather complicated than, Apple's normal way, simple, Steve said: He thinks the way to go will be DRM-free and a tad more expensive, but for the time being, they want to offer the choice, not take away anything. Follow-up question, whether opening would mean lower iPod sales, Steve answers: We're offering the best music store, offering the best music player. Plus: "We're not offering anything today they couldn't get before on CD: Good quality, DRM free music." Good to hear, Apple's not ignoring that. Strange, though, that people outside want to sue Apple about it.
Asked about whether the other big labels will follow: He can't say today, but he thinks they'll follow. Saying that EMI's pioneering here today. This is about a good thing for consumers. And you can't really stop good things.

BootCamp Beta 1.2 released, supports Vista

2007-03-28T23:52:00.000+02:00

What a great way to tell those fake-rumourspreaders in the Far East that quite certainly, Leopard is not delayed because of Windows Vista support in BootCamp. Because BootCamp now has Windows Vista support. ;) ... Get your new drivers (with BootCamp 1.2) here at apple.com.
I've had Windows Vista Ultimate installed previously (worked just fine apart from some missing drivers), and I must say, this version of BootCamp suits me really well. The trackpad is finally supported better (two-finger right-click and scrolling works, although scrolling's a bit quirky). One mishap: The Startup Volume control panel has the icons for Windows and OS X reversed: So just choose the right partition by name right now, even if your Mac OS X volume has a Windows icon. ;)

NeoOffice 2.1 available to everyone

2007-03-27T10:57:00.000+02:00

The NeoOffice project, bringing an Aqua-version of OpenOffice.org to the Mac OS X using masses, has now publicly released the newest version. You can get it here for PPC and intel Macs. The new version does something even MS Office 2004 for Mac doesn't: It opens (although with some "adjustments") the newest Word and Excel formats available to the users of Office for Windows, something Microsoft has only promised to Mac users so far.

Apple TV? No, thanks.

2007-03-22T22:04:00.001+01:00

I'm not entirely sure about how to put this... The Apple TV only connects to HDTVs (and something called EDTVs that I've never heard of here in Europe) - and gets its content in "good" old standard-def only from the iTunes Store. If you live in the US, that is. Outside the US, there is no content.

I have a question...

2007-03-21T02:27:00.000+01:00

Maybe _someone_ out there can answer this. Will VLC _ever_ be able to open more than one video, you know, in separate windows? Too often I find myself pausing a video I'm watching, doing something else and open another file - only to notice how my previous session disappears into nothingness. If I'm lucky, I catch a glimpse of where I was before. Please, videolan.org, make VLC be able to open more than one file on Mac OS X.

ZDnet: Unnecessary hostility towards Apple?

2007-03-20T23:06:00.000+01:00

Does anyone else get the feeling that Apple has rougher times ahead, partly because the Mac vs. PC ads are seen as being quite smug about security? ZDnet titles: "Apple megapatch plugs 45 security holes" ... And I wonder, what a "megapatch" is. Never heard of Apple release a "megapatch". So I read the article and find a link, where "The Apple patch can be downloaded and installed via the Software Update feature in Mac OS X, or from Apple Downloads." ... And when I follow the link given, to Apple's Support Downloads page, there sure as hell is _no_ "megapatch" mentioning "45 security holes". Instead, there's Mac OS X 10.4.9 available for download. Same when I go via Software Update. (Not actually, since I've previously installed 10.4.9 combo, but you see where I'm going...)
Generally, I get the feeling that Apple, in the past two years, has p***d off a couple of people on the PC-bandwaggon. Gladly, we can still silently ignore security threads and hyped-up headlines like the one ZDnet posted as long as we let Apple keep our computers up-to-date with their security updates and "megapatches", which *I* personally rather still call simply "system updates", since that's what they are. If 10.4.1-10.4.9 - the system updates bringing along stability and security as well as feature updates - were all "megapatches", I wonder what ZDnet would call something like Windows XP Service Pack 2: Überpatch? I _guess_ they'd simply call it the "Windows XP Service Pack 2", though. So come on, ZDnet: Get off that high horse, please, and stay real. FUD don't become you.

Market share blues (Microsoft), installed base hymn (Apple)

2007-03-18T16:03:00.000+01:00

If you've ever felt you had to defend the Mac platform against some PC/Windows fanboy, this interesting column gives you a lot of important information. Tidbits like if Apple sells one Mac, two Windows PCs aren't bought, because the Mac stays in use much longer. As long as Apple doesn't increase its market share, this is no problem for Microsoft. But quite clearly, Apple is increasing its market share ever since their switch to intel processors (plus the iPod's success). You'll have to scroll down a bit in the article for the Mac vs. Windows argument, but the other stuff is interesting to read as well.

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.9

2007-03-13T21:51:00.001+01:00

Apple has finally released the next update to Tiger. :)

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.4.9 8P2132/8P132

2007-02-27T23:57:00.000+01:00

Apple has seeded yet another build of 10.4.9. There are (again) no known issues. Insiders expect 10.4.9 to be released at the end of this week or early next week. Whether or not 10.4.9 will be the last update to Tiger remains to be seen. Historically, Apple has not continued creating such updates after the initial release of the next big cat. Only security updates for the last main version are continued.

Now that Cisco and Apple made peace...

2007-02-22T09:53:00.000+01:00

Both companies are now allowed to use the iPhone name worldwide. And they're looking into "interoperability and compatibility". (That's the thing Cisco wanted.) I guess Cisco knew from the beginning that they would let Apple use the name as well. They just wanted to somehow profit from Apple's halo, and now they probably can. Somehow. We'll have to see how that plays out. The good thing for Apple: They don't have to somehow divert all the huge buzz they've generated in January with the announcement of their iPhone towards 'some other name' like "iPod phone".

Even more iPhone thoughts...

2007-02-13T17:29:00.000+01:00

Certainly, the iPhone (Apple's, of course) has long been anticipated, and like _any_ person interested in everything Apple, I'm glad Apple's finally come out with the news of it. There's some criticism, as I've said before, about the iPhone not being a platform, i.e. there won't be 3rd party apps. (Which really _is_ a pity if you think about the really great freeware and shareware we're enjoying on the Mac.) Also: It's a simple GSM phone - no UMTS (although there's still hope that the European version will have support for UMTS networks, because the iPhone would seem even older technology over here than it does in the US) at all.
I'm pretty sure that Apple has done a _lot_ for the interface, and I'm a big critic of many phones' UI myself. I'm looking forward to using the iPhone, actually. But there _are_ phones coming out that interest me even more...

One of them is the next Nokia Communicator, the first to use the S60 platform instead of the Series 80 platform. Nokia has only just unveiled it, but there's already a great review out about the Nokia Communicator E90 here at my-symbian.com. This _is_ a smartphone and it _does_ come as a platform. It can use any S60v3 applications out there (there are many) and it comes with a full version of QuickOffice already installed (among a lot of other things). It also _does_ have UMTS support (an American version with US 3G support will probably follow) on top of GSM with EDGE support. Not to forget: GPS is on-board as well. Plus a 3.2 MP autofocus digital camera. And one on the inside for videoconferencing. Apropos the inside of the phone: It has a 240*320px screen. Oh wait, no, that's only the outer support display. The inside is a widescreen (_really_ wide) 800*352px beast. More screen real estate than the original Macintosh, that is. Its browser, of course, is "Safari" as well. It uses the Nokia-Apple coproduction WebKit browser. There's no multitouch-screen, in fact no touchscreen at all, but then again you're not using a highly resolution-challenged display like the iPhone's for browsing the web: 800 pixel width is very good for mobile browsing _without_ any zooming tricks - but of course the software _does_ have its tricks up its sleeve for that as well. WiFi's on-board, of course, as well. And yeah, it's pricey. But then again, it's a pretty darn smart phone. The iPhone, in comparison, looks old. Give the iPhone a higher-res screen, UMTS technology, video-conferencing (after all, Apple _did_ push iChat quite a bit in the past) and we might talk again. For now, the Nokia E90 is the device that tops them all, and the iPhone's just a competitor among many. One which still needs to learn that while "look&feel" _is_ a handicap for most mobile phones out there, technology and buzzwords _do_ count in this market.

Steve Jobs: Let's sell DRM-free music!

2007-02-06T21:43:00.000+01:00

In an open letter, today Steve Jobs published his thoughts on DRM at apple.com. While also talking about other options (and putting them down), he seems to favour the thought that online music stores would be allowed to sell music DRM-free. Whether that's really what Apple would want (losing market share, quite probably), I don't know. But don't we know that the "big four" seem to favour DRM, currently...

iPod shuffle colours...

2007-01-31T01:02:00.000+01:00

Apple today has revealed a little update for the iPod shuffle. Technology stays the same, but you can now get it in pink, orange, green and blue as well. Price stays at USD 79.

Really stupid idea. Apple?

2007-01-25T18:44:00.000+01:00

I first thought it was already April 1st and I had somehow missed Winter, but it seems this really _is_ part of a patent application: Apple wants to put the optical drive at the _bottom_ of the next, smaller, MacBook revision. This has to be one of the most stupid ideas ever to come out of Cupertino. Really: If the optical drive is _so_ unnecessary, I say just get rid of it altogether. But I happen to need it sometimes. You know: Rip an audio CD, burn a data CD - some users even use their Macs with iLife to create movies and music and the likes. They might need access to the drive as well...
(Edit: The link above seems to be down at the moment. Other info about the patent can be found here on AppleInsider, also with more pictures.)

The iPhone minus the reality distortion field: lukewarm?

2007-01-16T17:47:00.000+01:00

A few days have passed, and clearly, there was a *lot* of "babble" in Steve's presentation of the phone. Right now, there are a lot of unanswered questions that are surely important to us. For example: *If* the iPhone runs on a Samsung CPU, then the low-level OS part of the iPhone is not Mac OS X. Otherwise, Apple would have to release the source code according to the rules for BSD. Then, Apple (well, Steve Jobs) said that "you don't want your phone to be a 'platform', you just want it to work". He's quite wrong there. At least if you talk to the actual smartphone users of today. In fact one of the great things about smartphones is that they're not as restricted as "normal" mobile phones. An example: Palm could get away with a lackluster calendar application, because 3rd party calendar applications were so good - and available.
If you look at the iPhone from such a point of view, it's actually quite a bit less smart. The "smart" part about a smartphone is not only that it can do things like use webservices or handle E-Mail. Those features have been on dumb phones for years.
The info spreading now is that the OS takes about 500 MB on an iPhone's flash memory (which of course reduces the space for content), which quite clearly is not a *full* installation of Mac OS X. Clearly, some things are missing. Which ones? We don't know. Clearly, only the drivers have to be present for the hardware that is in it - unlike the full version, where you'll have drivers available for almost anything you can think of. The important thing is: The iPhone is going to be very restricted. It's not a "full computer in the palm of your hand" or anything. It's what Apple plus the carrier want you to have in the palm of your hand. That might be enough for you and me - we'll have to consider the pros and cons, I guess - but it's not a platform that appeals to the smartphone users particularly.
On the bright side: Apple can and will extend the iPhone's functionality. If only so we keep in mind that they can. ;) So an update following the release of the iPhone might add something really nice. Like an iChat application. One or the other useful widget etc. - Just don't expect the iPhone to be anything like "open".

Keynote stream(s) online...

2007-01-10T02:10:00.000+01:00

You can watch the streams here. One is the complete keynote, the other starts only with the iPhone's introduction (easily the most interesting part, anyway).

Microsoft announces Office 2008 for Mac OS X

2007-01-10T02:07:00.000+01:00

You can read the press release here about it. It's coming in the second half of 2007 and will be the first Universal Binary version of Office for the Mac. They've also announced that Microsoft's new XML-file format will find its way to Office 2004 in beta form this Spring.

MWSF 2007 Keynote Live Coverage

2007-01-09T16:32:00.000+01:00

You can re-read our live-coverage here on our reduced live-page. So, the iPhone has become true after all. 480*320 pixel, 4/8 GB PDA/phone running a reduced version of Mac OS X. It seems snappy on their demos, so that's good. Of course it only comes out in June in the US, at the end of 2007 in Europe and in 2008 in Asia, so we can't put it through tests just yet. But it _does_ look like the winning smartphone - even *if* its price is very high *with* a two-year contract. 499 USD for 4 GB, 599 USD for 8 GB version with 2 year contract. The important price will be _without_ contract, internationally. We simply don't know yet.
Then there's the Apple TV, formerly known as iTV. With a 40 GB harddrive, it sounds quite good as well.
I guess the only _real_ downer is that that's it. No Mac news. No software. No "One more thing...".

There's a new AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g/n base station though that looks like the Mac mini or Apple TV.
Steve Jobs also mentioned that Apple Computer, Inc. now was Apple, Inc. - a step already touted some year or two ago. And: Most of apple.com's footers still read Apple Computer, Inc. as far as I can see. It was a pathetic moment, cheesy, but utterly unnecessary, I'd say. Well: It should show us that the "Mac" is not the main focus of Apple anymore, what with "MacWorld" not being venue for any Mac news and everything. (And apple.com losing the "Hardware" tab in favour of the "iPhone" tab, which - to me - more clearly belogs to "iPod + iTunes" than the iTV does...)

Month Of Apple Bugs - And Fixes.

2007-01-04T21:37:00.000+01:00

So you've probably heard about the MOAB already. Maybe about the fixes, too. Anyway. The buzz among Mac users currently is that it's just not as hot as the two guys have tried to cook it up beforehand. What I'm interested in is how Apple's going to react. I sure hope they'll act promptly.

Adobe posts Photoshop CS3 Beta

2006-12-15T17:05:00.000+01:00

Adobe has released the beta version of Photoshop CS3 (684 MB DMG containing the English Universal Binary version). Initial reports point at some problems with serial numbers, though. You can use the beta for two days even without having a serial number, though. (The official way is to give your CS2 serial number and get a beta CS3 serial number. According to some sources, this doesn't actually work, however, but we're sure Adobe will solve this in the coming days.)

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" 9A321

2006-12-12T23:33:00.000+01:00

A new build is available to ADC Select and Premier members. Apparently, there are a couple of known issues with this build (keyboard navigation problems in Dock, Spaces, Exposé; Asian input methods not working; Finder crashes with AFP volume mounting; Active Directory not working correctly etc.) - and there's still speculation as to what the "secret" features Steve Jobs talked about when first talking about Leopard would be. A new look as rumoured last week (about an internal-only build with a newer build number than the one now seeded)?
We know that internally, Apple is probably ten or more builds ahead, but this doesn't change the timeframe. Leopard is not expected to be released to the public before the previously rumoured March/April 2007 timeframe. However: The public will definitely see more of Leopard at MWSF '07.

Parallels Desktop Mac 2.5 Beta

2006-12-04T18:55:00.000+01:00

Parallels is actively developing Windows support into intel Mac users' hearts and minds. ;) ... The beta version of Parallels Desktop 2.5 has a new mode called "coherence mode", which allows Windows' windows to float among your Mac OS X windows, i.e. you can run the Windows version of IE7 next to Safari to compare how things look. Or run Microsoft Access in Parallels and still see your Macintosh MS Office apps behind the Windows version of Access. You can download the beta here: Parallels' Beta Test Page. Nicely done already, this update will certainly make a splash. It's basically what we wished Connectix would do for Virtual PC for years...

So I go away for a couple of days...

2006-11-16T10:51:00.000+01:00

... and sure enough, Apple releases the anticipated new MacBooks just on the first day I'm cut off the 'net. ;) Well: We pretty much knew what was coming, anyway (even though some rumour voices still said they didn't expect Core 2 Duo MacBooks before the end of the year).
But more interesting to me: Rumour has it that the iPhone will not only finally come true early next year, but that it'll try to do for mobile phones what the iPod did for MP3-players back then. Remember: When the iPod was unveiled, there already were some players around. Some used flash memory and held about an album in their 64 MB memory. The others were big, bulky harddrive players - and they all were awkward to handle. Which mattered less when you only had about 10 songs to play, but certainly was no good when trying to load 6 GB of music onto a player with a USB 1.1 connection (takes long, long hours...) - and navigating the songs was a hassle to say the least. Then came iPod and iTunes, and suddenly digital-music-files-on-the-go made sense.
The situation with mobile phones is similar today in some aspects. There already are mobile phones that can do nice tricks. They play music from their SD-cards or MemorySticks, they have nice digital cameras (often, a 2 or 3 MP camera is enough for a short trip to a nice place), but they somehow don't integrate well, and handling the music and files on the camera is a hassle.
Apple has been said to have ordered 12 million iPhones for next year. And that they'll sell them without contract, i.e. they'll be just another part of the iPod line. It'll be the iPod you truly want, I'd say, since it also replaces your mobile phone. If it also surpasses some aspects of the frankensteinian PDA/Smartphones, Apple could have a good chance here. While they probably won't take the mobile phone market in storm, they just might have the right angle to actually make a good splash there. I'll certainly be interested to test one and decide whether it's time to sell my mobile phone(s) and 80 GB iPod.

SMC Firmware Update for MacBooks

2006-10-27T00:46:00.000+02:00

Apple has released a firmware update for the MacBook (non pro) that fixes the shutdown issues. Find it in Software Update...

New MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo models released!

2006-10-24T14:14:00.000+02:00

As expected, Apple's MacBook Pro page and online store now shows the new 15 and 17 inch models to use the Core 2 Duo processor at 2.16 and 2.33 GHz. FW 800 on both models. Pricing: 1999 USD for the lowend 15" model, 2799 USD for the 17" model and 2499 USD for the faster 15" model. You can fit them with a harddrive of up to 200 GB now, and they all have DL burners. We expect the MacBooks to be updated in the coming two weeks as well.

Happy Birthday!

2006-10-23T19:01:00.000+02:00

It's five years today that Apple introduced the iPod. I guess we can safely say it's been a success. I've personally had three until now: A 2nd generation iPod 10 GB, a 4th generation iPod 40 GB and my current iPod 80 GB. And I don't see me having ever regretted buying them. Here's to the next five years!

Red iPod nano now online

2006-10-13T12:24:00.000+02:00

The long-rumoured red initiative iPod has finally appeared on Apple's homepage. Bono and Oprah will announce it today as well, apparently. It's a "normal" 4 GB iPod nano for 199 USD, but 10 USD of that price go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. If you've thought about getting a 4 GB nano, this one will not only look good (I think the red really works...) but also help.

New Leopard seed

2006-10-13T12:10:00.001+02:00

Apple has seeded build 9A283 of the forthcoming OS upgrade "Leopard", Mac OS X 10.5. The new build can only be installed cleanly - updating from the WWDC build is not supported. There are also some issues regarding installation on lower-end PPC Macs that will be solved in future builds. Several changes include iCal, Spotlight, Time Machine and iChat - although we expect to see various smaller fixes and changes when looking at the build for the coming days and weeks. Apple has previously only seeded one (the WWDC) build with a small update through Software Update to test that facility - they always do that once at some point early in development - but expectations are that seed-cycles will shorten towards the end of the year. Leopard is expected to be released in March 2007, when most of Vista's market blow will be over already. (And customers have headaches and feel hung over.) ;)

New MacBooks around the corner...

2006-10-10T16:01:00.002+02:00

After delaying the release for several weeks because of some last-minute tweaking, Apple is said to be ready to unleash both the new MacBook Pro and MacBook models in the coming two weeks. Releases will, according to one source, be timed one week apart in order to give each product line its spotlight. The news should arrive, we're told, next Tuesday and the one after that.
Both lines will get the Core 2 Duo treatment. The Pro models will get the higher end part with larger Level 2 Cache, although even the lower-end model to be used in the black and white MacBook models should give the notebooks either a performance or battery boost - depending on what Apple wants to focus on. But don't expect a 2 GHz Core 2 Duo model to blow a 2 GHz Core Duo (old) model out of the water. For the Pro models, though, we expect a 25% performance increase across the board - plus, of course, the return of FW 800 to the 15" model.

Apple vs. Podcasting?

2006-10-02T13:13:00.000+02:00

Maybe I'm just stupid, but I think Apple tries to hurt itself... They've started suing companies that use the term "podcast" or similar stuff ("mypodding" etc.). I get that they want to save "iPod" and their rights to it. It certainly was there before the term "podcast" came along. I'm *not* so sure, however, that podcast really has to mean "broadcasting to iPods". I mean: Most people listen to podcasts not on iPods, but on their computers, their _other_ digital music players or even burn stuff on CDs. A "pod" is just that. A pod. Apple took that word and slapped an "i" in front of it. That doesn't mean people can't still use the English word "pod", right? (Look it up if you're not sure what a "pod" is...)
In my opinion, "podcasting" puts MP3s and other data into a "pod" and "casts" that to the world. You certainly can put that "pod" into your "iPod", but you don't have to, need to and maybe don't even want to. Mainly if you haven't got an iPod - but even if you _do_, you might want to listen to them on a different medium. So "podcast" is certainly not directly depending on an iPod.

But worse: If Apple starts alienating the podcasting users out there by saying "That's *OUR* thing!", those users might start to take their podcasts out of iTunes' catalogue. You'll have to find the links yourself in a browser instead of using iTunes' very user friendly search&subscribe engine. In my opinion, Apple should not fight the ones supporting their platform(s). And that's what they're doing now. It might lead to podcasters leaving Apple's boat. But that's what's happening already. Apple: iPod and iTunes are great. But nothing without its creative users.

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.8 8L(2)127

2006-09-30T02:33:00.000+02:00

Apple has released the newest update to Mac OS X for both intel and PowerPC Macs a little earlier than expected (still a seed after 8L2125 for intel and 8L125 for PPC), after testing of the latest seed went well. The most important aspect of this update for most intel users will be the long-expected Rosetta-update. At 149/294 MB, the recommended combo updater (PowerPC page | intel page) is quite a biggie for both operating systems. (Combo updaters are always recommended over delta, i.e. software update, updaters by macnews.net.tc, because they're considered safer. Trust us on this one, please.)

Secondary display through network? -> ScreenRecycler

2006-09-28T14:44:00.000+02:00

Using ScreenRecycler, you can use an older PC or Mac (say, an iMac) as a secondary screen for your newer Mac. The idea's quite ingenious. ScreenRecycler has two parts. One is a VNC server, the other's a driver (kernel extension). This way, if you start the VNC server, the Displays preference pane shows you a second monitor. From your second machine (whether it's running OS X, Windows or linux), you connect to your first Mac via a good VNC client. Make sure to turn off video mirroring in the Display preference pane and choose the second computer's native display resolution from the first Mac's Display preference pane. Nice. :) It sure doesn't match a real display connection speed-wise, but for many tasks it's fast enough if your network's up to speed. Just give it a try, the current beta version is free - the final version will probably be shareware (but if you've got a use for it, certainly worth a couple of bucks).
As for VNC-Clients: VNCThing is good on PowerPC Macs, VNC Navigator on Windows and there are several options on linux as well. Some Mac VNC Clients are slow, so you might want to try another one before telling ScreenRecycler off.

iTunes and Mac OS X 10.4.8 news...

2006-09-27T19:55:00.000+02:00

iTunes has been updated to 7.0.1 to solve a couple of performance and stability issues. You'll find the update in Software Update and on Apple's site, of course. In other news, Mac OS X 10.4.8 is nearing release, although sources expect at least another build after the recently seeded 8L(2)125. The combo updater for 10.4.8 will be over 300 MB for the intel version, the PowerPC version is significantly smaller, mostly due to performance increases in Rosetta - specific to the intel release.

Parallels Desktop Mac 2.2 released!

2006-09-20T10:22:00.000+02:00

Parallels Inc. has released the newest build of the software on their Release Candidate update page. The main page will probably be updated to reflect the final status of the release later on. The build fixes various issues, kernel panics among them (although I haven't met any with previous builds) and improves performance. It also lets Vista RC1 live as a guest OS (previously only Beta 2 worked).
Parallels also announced that a new RC build would follow in about two weeks to solve the problem for 64bit Macs with more than 2 GB of RAM. In the current version, users have to restrict RAM to 2 GB through an included tool.

Next stop: No testing at all?

2006-09-18T16:37:00.000+02:00

By now, consumers all around the world are probably aware of the fact that they're actually betatesting hard- and firmware of their consumer products they've bought. You know: You buy that new mobile phone, but you expect to find bugs in its firmware, take it to the dealer a few weeks later for an upgrade - only to find it to have fixed some bugs, while getting new features and bugs with it. It's normal, nowadays. Part of the way how companies can reduce pricing on these "goods".
Apparently, Nokia ("disconnecting people") has released an update for their business phone E70 that can render the phone a brick. They've by now pulled the update (which is still available through some forums), of course, since this beta-test obviously was successful, since one of the major bugs has successfully been found. *Cough...* Are we headed to a time where consumer electronics companies deliver products with no user-testing before release-time at all? A time where a firmware upgrade introduces "new features" only to remove them later on, if enough users complain about them? Is this the end of user interface tests completely? Let's hope not.
On a side note: You'll probably find ads for Nokia business phones etc. on webpages covering this. But explaining the serendipity of that would make a whole other article. ;)

ArsTechnica stress-tests the iPod nano 2G

2006-09-18T14:53:00.000+02:00

Remember last year, when ArsTechnica dropped the first iPod nano from various heights until its screen died? While their test of the 2G iPod nano doesn't show the new iPod to do well in that particular area (screen gives out after the first real drop, although it could have fallen in a particularly bad position, it still played music afterwards - and even survived being washed with clothes.
Now if only it'd play video podcasts out of the box (no, I don't want to go linux with my iPods, thank you...), I guess a black 8 GB iPod nano could lure me away from a "real" iPod...

Apple's pre-Photokina special event

2006-09-14T15:20:00.000+02:00

Taking place on 2006-09-24, the presentation is expected to show off Aperture 2, which was in development since 1.0 was released last year in October. Throughout the year, there was a little ruffling of feathers. Apple dropped part of the team working on 1.0, while the rest of it worked on fixing issues with the initial release. It seems like Apple used a different team for the second version, although key members probably remained for it.
A word of caution to all readers, though: We don't expect anything else that day, i.e. no really new products. The time, though, would be right for the introduction of the new MacBooks. Normal models will make use of the new lower-end Core 2 Duo (Merom) processor, while Pro models use the highend version. The difference between the chips is mainly the size of the cache on the chip. Apple is expected to release the new models silently on their website towards the end of this month.
Another important thing believed to come true at the Photokina: Adobe will show off betas of Adobe CS 3 products. I'm sure Apple has quite a bit of interest in Adobe pushing that.

iTV: Erhm, yeah. Hm. So... What?

2006-09-13T16:29:00.000+02:00

For only 299 USD, you'll be able to stream media from your Mac to your, erh, TV set. Really, let's look at this again. iTV, it seems, does *nothing* but that. And only *selected* material, too. The material that's compatible with iTunes. Either bought from the iTunes store or ripped into a format iTunes supports. So what would *I* suggest? Buy a used Mac mini. I'm sure you'll get one for the 300 bucks the iTV costs. It even looks similar. But gives you so much more. You'll be able to do *exactly* the same thing, since they also come with FrontRow and Apple remotes, so you *can* stream stuff from other Macs, but you can also just pop in DVDs, VCDs, DivX CDs etc. and watch them from the mini. You can even buy a TV tuner for the Mac mini, if you want to record stuff from time to time. Remember: iTV will instead make you want to *buy* the free TV shows. So is there *really* an argument pro the iTV - or whatever clever name it will be called once it arrives? Maybe the iPod TV or the "iTunes Xtender Express"? The *least* they should do, in my opinion, is add the AirPort functionality the AirPort Express has. I.e. it should double as a Wireless Access Point. It has the connectors for it, doesn't it. Maybe they do that and just haven't talked about it, because they wanted to emphasize the iTunes movies...

New iPod: 5G.

2006-09-13T02:43:00.000+02:00

Some sites on the 'net have started calling the new iPod the iPod 6G. But if you look at the changes (most of which also come with an update to 5G iPods) and compare those to what was changed between the original 4G iPod and the 4G iPod photo, it becomes clear that the iPod introduced today is simply a better iPod 5G, and certainly not a "new generation" of iPods.
Of course this is totally different for the other iPod lines. The nano is now at 2G - and so is the shuffle.
The 6G iPod is still forthcoming - and is actually expected to be released in January at MWSF. You know: The one with the screen which'll fill the entire face of the iPod.

Software Update: iTunes, QuickTime, FrontRow

2006-09-13T01:47:00.000+02:00

Of course, all three updates are connected. FrontRow 1.3 gets better integration with iTunes 7, and QuickTime 7.1.3 is needed to play new content bought on the iTunes Store. (So it's not the iTunes Media Store, but now simply the iTS.)

Steve Jobs on stage...

2006-09-12T19:12:00.000+02:00

He's on stage, talking about iPods today. Carkits, iPod + Nike etc. Of course, this is all not _really_ interesting for us... ->
Updating the iPod... New features: Instand searching and new games. Screens are much brighter now (60%!). The games feature also comes to the old 5G iPod. (The new one seems to be an updated version, so still 5G.) Games can be bought on iTMS for 4.99 USD. It's no PSP or Gameboy, but the games are fun - and cheap. 30 and 80 GB versions. 249 and 349 USD. Battery life has much improved. At least the 80 GB version has 6.5h video playback (640*480 videos at 1.5 Mbps). The 30 GB version has 3.5h of video playback. New iPod nano now in metal and in colours (silver, green, blue, pink and black). 52% less volume (size) for package, iPod nano is the size of the Apple remote. 2 GB version for 149 USD (silver only), 4 GB version for 199 USD (all colours except black), 8 GB version (black only) for 249 USD. New iPod shuffle (size of radio remote), 1 GB, 79 USD. (One model only.)
iTunes 7 released today. Each category now has its own library. Much faster. Gives you album art for self-ripped albums for free. If you have an iTunes Music Store account, that is. (Bleh...)
Videos are now encoded in H.264 at 640*480 pixels. (That's more like it.)
And: Movies. Apple starts with Disney. (Including Miramax, Pixar etc.) - Movies have the same DRM as TV shows. Apple hopes to take this international in 2007. (Well, "hope" is probably a very optimistic view. We're still waiting here in Switzerland for any TV shows other than those who took matters in their own hands by giving us video podcasts for free...) Pricing is 9.99 USD for older movies, 12.99 for preorders and first week buys, 14.99 USD for new movies after the 12.99 period. Starts with Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (preorder now). Overall, this is certainly good news for US citizens. For everyone else, the most important stuff is the new, updated iPods.
Q1/2007, though, will bring the long-awaited Apple SetTop Box! Codename: "iTV". Half the size of a Mac mini, wireless, works with the Apple Remote. Has HDMI and classic output options. No harddrive. So this is actually just streaming from your Mac, of course. Will cost 299 USD (a bit much for a "streamer" without harddrive, I'll use my MacBook directly, thank you...). I'm personally not so sure, whether this will be enough for entering the consumer electronics market largely. You still need to use a computer, and your computer will still have to *run* in order to stream the videos (and music etc.) to the TV set. Maybe Apple is too focused on keeping the Mac the digital hub? On the other hand, it's not like Media Center PCs made it big so far.

Will Apple stream live this time?

2006-09-12T18:13:00.000+02:00

At least the streamlink (MPEG 4) is active already, although it goes to pause. Either way: Load it and try from time to time. The event should start in 53 minutes.

Apple's Online Store down as well...

2006-09-12T17:51:00.000+02:00

... which definitely means new hardware, too. Right? :) ... Let's hope for a good, entertaining evening (or morning, if you're where Steve Jobs is...).

iTMS update coming. Definitely.

2006-09-12T14:52:00.000+02:00

If you go to the iTunes Music Store (US) now, you'll see an "It's Showtime" badge instead of anything else. Clear, confirmed details of the iPod - should one be revealed - are still missing, but it seems very clear by now that we'll see movies for 9.99 USD a pop, 14.99 USD for newer ones. And only Disney and maybe some smaller ones will be initially on board. Also still unclear: The resolution and file size of the movies. Interesting times. We'll keep you updated throughout the day.

Apple seeds 10.4.8 8L112/8L2112

2006-09-09T11:26:00.000+02:00

As Apple continues development on the next update to Tiger, they have seeded another build for PPC and intel. For owners of intel Macs, the changes to Rosetta-emulation of PowerPC applications are probably the most important. We hear that performance of PowerPC based applications has increased noticeably.

Apple taking iPod to the next level?

2006-09-08T01:45:00.000+02:00

If you read about this new Apple patent application, you might think several things. One of which could be this: Apple always said they didn't really believe in convergence. They believe in iPods doing music, Macs doing media creation and TV sets playing movies. But could it be that Apple holds the answer to the age-old question for a device which is handheld, can do telephony, internet, videochat, media playing and GPS all in one? And let's be honest here: *IF* Apple were to do such a thing, its interface certainly wouldn't suck.

Parallels Update

2006-09-07T23:17:00.000+02:00

Parallels Desktop for Mac has been updated. It's a release candidate version, but it should be "safe" enough for users out there. This update brings support for Mac Pro machines - and also Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) support and preliminary Windows Vista support.

BBEdit 8.5 released.

2006-09-07T16:45:00.000+02:00

Considered a "big" version, upgrades from 8.x come in at 30 USD - and then there's the usual "older upgrade" and "crossgrade" dance Barebones usually does for BBEdit. The main new features can be found here. I'm personally an avid BBEdit 8.2.x user, and I guess I'll want to update. "Code Folding" just sounds too cool. :)

OmniWeb 5.5 released!

2006-09-07T00:01:00.000+02:00

OmniGroup has released OmniWeb 5.5 for download. The most important novelty from earlier 5.x versions is that OW 5.5 is using WebKit directly, i.e. it uses Safari's up-to-date version instead of being built against an older version. More details here in the release notes.

New Macs!

2006-09-06T19:00:00.000+02:00

Apple has released new iMacs (Core 2 Duo, "Merom", 1.83-2.33 GHz, 17/20/24 inch display) and updated Mac minis (all Core Duo now). The highest-end iMac configuration is only available at the online store. "Normal" highend config only goes up to 2.16 GHz.

Media Event on 2006-09-12: "Showtime"

2006-09-05T19:13:00.000+02:00

Apple has confirmed the media event on 12th September 10 AM PST. Invitations show searchlights on a white on black/blue Apple logo, implying "movies". Of course by now this is not much of a surprise anymore.
Consensus among sources is that Apple will introduce movies to the iTMS at 9.99 USD a flick, 14.99 for a newish one. What's interesting, though, and has not yet been revealed, is the reesolution of the movies. 640*x pixel resolution would fit the forthcoming video iPod well (and would also be good enough for viewing on a television set as well as your computer monitor). Sources are unclear as to whether the video iPod will be released this month, however. But downscaling to an (updated) iPod 5G would work quite well, though.
Also expected for this month - but not necessarily connected to the media event on Tuesday - are updated iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook models (all going "Merom", the mobile variant of the Core 2 Duo processor line). The Mac mini is also ripe for an update, but Apple plans on releasing it later on, possibly early October.

Why we like Macs...

2006-09-05T16:23:00.000+02:00

After reading this post about why Charles loves Mac OS X, I had to slap my forehead. How could I forget? The general consensus (I don't agree on every point he makes) between us is that what I personally love about OS X is not what Steve's been talking about in the past few years. I don't mind Steve Jobs talking about iLife, Spotlight, Dashboard, bashing Windows, templates in Keynote, templates in Pages, templates in iPhoto, templates in iWeb (and now templates in Mail.app!!!) etc.: That's all good and lures consumers into using Macs. But those "features" (bulk) are not what make me use Macs instead of linux or Windows. It's how OS X goes out of my way and lets me work productively, efficiently. And while I could care less about nifty effects on a new integrated backup machine (Time Machine in the forthcoming Mac OS X 10.5) - mostly, because I already *do* keep good backups - I'm interested in little new additions, bugfixes etc., that make the OS move even more into the background for me. Sadly, that's not something one can easily describe in a keynote. Those little things never make a bullet-point in a presentation. The best example for me is that in Panther, you could select one item in the Finder, copy it, and paste it into a Mail.app message window. In Tiger, the long-standing bug was fixed, and you could also select two or more items and copy/paste them into mail messages. I guess many users will never ever even find out about this. They drag and drop or use the attachment-dialogue. But for me, copy/paste of two or more items from Finder to Mail.app was worth 129 USD (laugh at me, if you have to...), because I had to go back to the Finder window (which I would've closed by then) in Panther once or twice a day, which can amount to stress, leading to cancer or heart attacks or at least a mild anger I don't need in my daily life. ;)
I wonder, though, if Apple will find a similarly stupid little thing to fix for Leopard. I'll tell you when I find out. I hope the little things are not thrown out in order to find more things to make templates for. What's next? Templates for ... aaargh! :)

Merom in Apple's notebooks, some thoughts...

2006-08-30T10:47:00.000+02:00

Merom (Core 2 Duo) processors are coming to Apple's notebook lineup this Autumn, but they've already appeared in test system PC notebooks. And there's a general agreement among testers, which we have to look at. Merom brings about 20-25% more performance, but battery performance is lower when using Merom. Not much lower, but a bit. At its idle speed of 1.0 GHz, both Yonah (Core Duo) and Merom (Core 2 Duo) use about 36 Watts, but even there, the newer chip uses a tiny bit more. Under heavy load, the difference gets bigger. This means that the new chips won't mean cooler MacBooks and MacBook Pros, because Apple won't clock them below their predecessors.
What the new chips do bring to the table are mainly two things, then: 64bit support and faster performance, mainly because of a larger cache. Comparing 2.16 GHz MacBook Pros, one using Yonah, one Merom, you'd get a performance increase of anything between 10 and 25% (depending on application, of course), but you'd also lose about 5-10% of battery life. Apple could theoretically change the battery in the notebooks, of course. And newer graphics cards might make the difference in performance (but also battery life) bigger. We're certainly looking forward ot Apple's Autumn line-up of notebooks, but it's not going to be the biggest step just yet.

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.4.8 8L108/8L2108

2006-08-29T11:08:00.000+02:00

While development on Leopard obviously continues behind closed doors (newer builds for developers are expected in September), Apple has also started working on the next update to Tiger and has seeded build 8L108/8L2108 to developers.
There are a couple of known issues with the build, but more importantly, Apple is working on several key areas in this build. Among the usual "improved stability and performance" fixes, Apple has specifically mentioned USB, AFP, DVD Player, graphics, iCal, iPhoto, Mail, modem/networking, printing, Rosetta (specifically scientific apps), Safari and Microsoft Word & OpenType fonts. Apple will still take some time before releasing 10.4.8. The OS update is believed to contain support for new hardware such as the MacBook and MacBook Pro updates expected in September.
This update seems to be one of the bigger ones, btw. - the Combo updater for intel is 305.5 MB in size. (The PPC builds are usually smaller - and of course so are the Delta updaters, which only have the required files for updating 10.4.7-10.4.8.)