Apple Grrl

People all over the AppleVerse are doing “live demos” of their new toys tools. As one company learned, you have to be careful how you approach your demonstration. A company called Mogulus wanted to show their new iPhone in action, so they posted their phone number. Live. In their chat room. This meant that thousands of people saw the number and called in to “help”, resulting in so much call volume the company wasn’t able to demo the phone, even in airplane mode. Now that’s good thinkin’!

Source

Tags: Mogulus, iPhone, Live iPhone Demo

[posted with ecto]

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

So the great buzz this weekend is the iPhone. People waited in lines for hours to get their hands on one, in some cases after saving up for months to be able to afford it. Was it worth the hype? Take a look at some of the buzz around the internet and judge for yourself:

The First Dissection. Slashdot and ThinkSecret posted links to the first iPhone dissections. Click here and here to see it.

Activation: Issue or Non-Issue? That depends on who you are. It seems if you went through AT&T it is an issue (click here and here) and if you didn’t your iPhone is working just fine, thank you (click here).

How Do You Work This Thing? Apple has the answers, here. ZeFrank has the song to fit the occasion here.

How Do You Get This Thing? You can buy your iPhone from the Apple Store or from AT&T. Judging by the customer service at Apple compared to the customer service at AT&T, I’d go with Apple, in spite of the backorder issue of 2 weeks discussed here. Here’s a link to buy yours online from Apple (click here). (And hey, if you buy yours from that link it gives me some pennies, which helps me get my own iPhone, since I’m not done saving for it yet. No pressure or anything, though.)

Touch Typing: The New Dimension. Apple’s iPhone uses the much touted touch typing, right on the screen. What happens if you are sausage fingered, or just a bad speller? Read about real world touch typing experiences here.

Hacking The iPhone. As with anything apple produces, there are always hackers waiting to see if they can break it or find bugs. I’m sure it will only be a matter of days before the first hack reports are in. Meanwhile, read this piece on hacking the iPhone here.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Apple iPhone, AT&T, Cingular, MacWorld, Apple Store

Read the longer version of this article here.

[posted with ecto]

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

The iPhone will hit shelves at 6 PM Friday, June 29th.  If you are in my timezone, that’s today, betches!

I’ll put alink to buy it here as soon as one is available. Meanwhile, fellow nerds, talk nerdy to me…

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

AT&T finally knuckles under and lists specs for the iPhone and plans here.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

This rumor gets a resounding “Hallelujah!” from me. Up until now I have happily been using a program called Xingtone to create my ring tones for my phone, but to have ring tone support right in iTunes would be wonderful.

As it is, as good as Xingtone is as a program, it only works with one phone number, and you have to jump through a few hoops with songs you buy in iTunes to get them to work. Songs bought on other sites, like eMusic, work fine, though.

I hope that iTunes Ringtone creator includes some of the features offered by Xingtone: equalizer, custom cut, fades, sequencing and other effects. You can even record a voice over the music usung Xingtone. If iTunes can do half as much, it will still be good, but if it can do it all that would be even better.

Tags: xingtone, itunes 7.3, itunes with ringtones, ringtones, custom ringtones, emusic

[posted with ecto]

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

People have begun camping out for the iPhone… read more here.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Nice pictorial essay on the history of Apple here.

Tags: History of Apple, Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Mac, Apple I, Apple II

[posted with ecto]

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

As many of you know, I’m on the fence about getting an iPhone because of their relationship with privacy invading, user spying company AT&T (see here and here). Lots of people have been on the fence about it for a different reason though – business applications. At first, it didn’t seem like the iPhone would support Microsoft Word or Excel. Now an announcement has been made that they will, in fact, support both. Potential business clients everywhere can now relax.

The built-in e-mail application can read not only JPEGs and PDF files, but also Word and Excel documents. Business users have frequently cited ambiguity over iPhone’s support for Word or Excel documents as a potentially fatal omission, so their inclusion removes just one more potential barrier to the phone’s popularity.

Watch Apple’s Guided Tour Of The iPhone (24 minutes)

Source

Tags: Apple iPhone, iPhone, Word, Excel, Thumb Type

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

In case Apple needed more hints that they chose the wrong company to partner with for the release of their iPhone after this story, AT&T adds more fuel to the fire. In addition to spying on its customers, AT&T plans to make the iPhone as expensive and unpleasant a shopping experience as possible. They are charging full price for the iPhone, with no discount for the long term contract. Not only that, they plan to slap you with a $175 dollar cancel fee if you decide that you don’t like your iPhone (or more likely don’t like AT&T).

But AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said that termination fees pay for more than phone subsidies. “There are certain fixed costs we incur in serving every customer who establishes service with us,” Siegel said. He refused to specify those costs.

I’m already still upset they bought my cell company, Cingular, and got rid of the youthful, exuberant orange man logo and name, along with the good customer service Cingular offered. I hate having to deal with my own cell phone company now, for any reason. AT&T blows chunks on customer service. I know Apple chose Cingular, not AT&T, to partner with, then AT&T bought Cingular. What I don’t understand is why Apple didn’t move the exclusive deal to a better company, like Verizon, the moment that happened! I, for one, would have happily followed them to Verizon to get away from AT&T. They have to know that craptastic AT&T will lose them major brownie points on service levels, and Apple’s customer service has always been so top notch. I just don’t get it.

Richard Burns, president of AT&T’s wireless business, acknowledged the iPhone uses a data network that isn’t as fast as those offered by rivals Verizon Wireless LLC and Sprint Nextel Corp. But he said the combination of AT&T’s network and the iPhone’s efficient design would make it a superb Internet access device.

Source

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Apple iPhone, AT&T, Cingular, Verizon

[posted with ecto]

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Someone asked me where I got the idea for the theme for this blog. The answer is, “I didn’t”. I have nearly 30 blogs total, a few personal and several blogs for hire. I used to design my own themes for them, but as time wore on and i got more and more busy with the business of writing, I stopped having time to design every theme I use from the ground up.

(more…)

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

The New York Times has a fantastic look into the persona that is Steve Jobs today in this op-ed piece.

read more | digg story

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

I’m not sure how many of these are Made For Mac, and how many are PC exclusive. Either way, who can pass up a hundred titles of legal, free, downloadable computer games? If you can’t play them on your Mac without having Windoze installed, send the link to a friend. (I know, I should know how many are for Mac. It’s been a busy Monday. I haven’t had time to go through the entire list yet.)

100 Free Computer Games You Can Download here.

the website claims that each version is the full copy of the game, and that each are in the public domain and free of copyright issues. Happy downloading!

Tags: download free games, free games, mac games, games for mac, games for apple, free apple games

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Apple sent out an email to customers requesting advance notice of iPhone sales today. The email contained tips for use, as well as the reveal that the iPhone would use Entourage or Outlook for your contact management and syncing and require iTunes for activation.

Full text of email:

iPhone arrives on June 29. iPhone features an amazing mobile phone, is the best iPod we’ve ever created, and puts the Internet in your pocket with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching, and maps. And iPhone makes it all easy to use with its revolutionary multi-touch user interface. iPhone syncs with your PC or Mac just like an iPod, so organizing your content now will help you start calling, texting, emailing, surfing, listening, and watching even faster when you get your iPhone. Here are a few suggestions to help you get ready:

Contacts
Making a call with iPhone is as simple as tapping a name. You won’t need to re-enter all your contacts because iPhone syncs with the address book you already use on your computer—Address Book or Entourage on a Mac, or Outlook or Outlook Express on a PC. If you keep your contacts on the web using Yahoo! Address Book, iPhone can sync with them, too. To get ready for iPhone, organize your contacts in one of these applications and make sure they’re up to date with the latest phone numbers and email addresses. If you don’t have contacts on your computer, don’t worry. You can still enter them directly into iPhone.

Calendar
Using its built-in calendar, iPhone lets you check your appointments with the flick of a finger. iPhone uses iTunes to sync with the calendar application you already use on your computer—iCal or Entourage on the Mac, or Outlook on a PC—just like it does with your contacts. If you don’t already use one of these applications to manage your appointments, now is a great time to start, so you’ll be ready to sync when your iPhone arrives. If you choose not to use a calendar program, that’s OK. You’ll be able to enter appointments directly into the iPhone calendar.

Email
iPhone is the first phone to come with a desktop-class email application. So now your phone can display rich HTML email with graphics and photos alongside the text. iPhone will even fetch your latest email every time you open the application and automatically retrieve your email on a set schedule, just like a computer does. iPhone works with the most popular email systems—including Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL, and .Mac Mail. If you’re not already using one of these services, now would be a great time to get an account. iTunes will make email setup on iPhone a breeze by automatically syncing the settings from email accounts stored in Mail on a Mac or Outlook on a PC. Don’t worry if you’re not on one of these email services; iPhone also works with almost any industry-standard POP3 and IMAP email system.

Photos
iPhone has a 2-megapixel camera and a gorgeous 3.5-inch display, so it’s a great way to enjoy and show off your digital photos. iPhone uses iTunes to sync your photos from iPhoto on a Mac or Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Album, or any picture folder on a PC. You can carry thousands of photos on iPhone, but you can start by creating an album or two with 50 to 100 of your favorite photos, so that when you first sync your iPhone, you’ll be ready to quickly show off some of your best shots.

Music and Video
iPhone is the best iPod ever. Its beautiful, 3.5-inch widescreen display allows you to easily enjoy the music, TV shows, and movies you have in your iTunes library. If you already use iTunes, you can start getting ready for iPhone by creating a playlist of a few hundred of your favorite songs. If you don’t have iTunes, now is a good time to it and start a music and video library. That way, when you sync your iPhone with iTunes, you’ll be able to take your favorite music, as well as a few of your TV shows and movies, with you wherever you go. download

iTunes account

To set up your iPhone, you’ll need an account with Apple’s iTunes Store. If you already have an iTunes account, make sure you know your account name and password. If you don’t have an account, you should set one up now to save time later. To set up an account, launch, select the iTunes Store, and click the Sign In button in the upper right corner of iTunes. Sign in and you’re ready to go.

You are receiving this email because you asked to receive email updates about iPhone. If you have questions about
Apple’s Privacy Policy, click here.

Some products or promotions are not available outside the U.S. Product specifications are subject to change.
Copyright © 2007 Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, MS 303-3DM, Cupertino, CA 95014.
All Rights Reserved / Keep Informed / Privacy Policy / My Info
If you prefer not to receive commercial email from Apple, or if you’ve changed your email address, please click here.

Copyright 2007 Leslie Poston, all rights Reserved

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

I in no way think Apple was behind this part of the iPhone deal, however; it bears a mention. As badly as I want an iPhone, and as badly as the rest of the Appleverse wants one, I can’t believe there isn’t more buzz in the blogosphere about the little AT&T program designed to catch music piracy, which will include the iPhones and their users.

AT&T marks the first of the big Telcos to join forces with the RIAA and MPAA to clear the internet of pirated content. AT&T makes claims that this technology they are developing will only target the most egregious offenders, however; it is a huge leap of trust that I just can’t see my way clear to make on their behalf. Why don’t I trust them? They were the company that released private user phone data to the governement not so long ago, and that agreed to allow the government to spy on users’ calls.

“The risk AT&T faces is fighting the last war by spending money and energy plugging an old hole in the wall when new ones are breaking out,” said Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Freedom Foundation. The San Francisco digital-rights organization has sued AT&T, alleging it illegally released customers’ phone data to the federal government.

Will I still buy an iPhone? Perhaps. I was more excited when the deal was first announced last year under the auspices of Cingular, the company I used for my wireless carrier and a company I trusted. Now that Cingular has become “The New AT&T”, I have less enthusiasm for the deal. I hope Apple knows what it has gotten itself into – this deal with AT&T, known for shady tactics and consumer abuses, could backfire and erase decades of good will Apple has developed with its customers.

My honey asked me how this would be a problem, and I had to explain to him that most of us keep our music on iTunes and in an iPod. The iPhone also contains iTunes and an iPod and will sync with your computer’s iTunes, just like your existing iPod. So even if you don’t use AT&T for internet, if you are a music pirate, your music could end up on your iPhone, accessible by AT&T in their piracy sweeps.

But what if you don’t put stolen music on the iPhone? It’s always possible to make a mistake and allow a stolen tune to slip through on a playlist, all it takes is one careless sync. But what if you don’t steal music (or maybe you used to, and you have a couple of files from years and years ago, but you haven’t in ages)? My worry here is that people like me, who either don’t steal music at all or who stopped snagging free music long ago, but who do support unsigned bands and little known artists by swapping files with other music lovers, will get culled in a sweep simply because the files aren’t on the RIAA radar. I’ need to see significant proof that the RIAA and AT&T can and will tell the difference between unknown music files like those, or between “Hey Joe, check out this song” swaps that lead to sale, and so far I don’t see the RIAA enforcers as capable of telling these swaps apart from actual piracy.

Proceed with caution Apple Fanz, proceed with caution.

Source, Source, Source

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Dear Apple Honchos,

I know I strive for non-biased reviews of your products, however; I have a proposition for you. I will write daily glowing reviews of the coveted iPhone, even if it sucks donkey balls, if you would just donate one to me. for evaluation purposes on a permanent basis, of course. Kisses!

Your slave,

AppleGrrl

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Good news for Mac users who want more game selection. Because of the high numbers of staff members, family and friends who have switched to Mac, EA’s head honcho has decided to expand EA Game’s Mac focus to include all of their titles. There is no mention of how many of the games currently in their portfolio will work with the older 950 GMA video card models, but it’s a start.

EA hasn’t announced when the first titles will be available yet, but from the tone of the interview it sounds like they will be aggressively pursuing this. I would suggest looking for EA Games on the Mac OS platform with the year.

Executives from game publisher heavyweights Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) Latest News about Electronic Arts (EA) and Id Software joined Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple CEO Steve Jobs onstage at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco to announce that both companies would port their popular games to the Macintosh Latest News about Macintosh computer platform.

“I have two teenage daughters. They live on MacBook. I have friends in the music business, in the movie business, in the photography business, in the graphic design business. They live on OS X. Our CTO at Electronic Arts lives on Mac, and we’re seeing EA technologists move to Mac in droves,” Bing Gordon, EA cofounder and chief creative officer, explained.

“And what do they all want … in addition to a cinema display? They want to go into an Apple store and they want to see all the latest EA games, simultaneously released with all of the other platforms. So I’m here today to announce we are going to rectify the situation. Starting in July, we are going to bring four of our biggest titles to run on OS X.”

Source

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

That’s right. This handy software can now allow you to catalog your media by holding it up in front of your iSight and letting it scan the ISBN bar code. Think of the typing that will save! If you are like me you have a huge collection of music, books and movies that you have put off cataloging because there are just too many titles to hand type. Now you can grab this software and your MacBook and get started!

The software is made by two companies, and is available for under $50. They offer hand entering and automated entering by camera and internet (the camera scans the barcode, then the computer uses your browser to grab the information on your title). They both are downloadable or available on CD.

Delicious Monster’s Delicious Library is available for $40 online.

Bruji offers individual solutions for your needs: BookPedia, DVDPedia, CDPedia, and GamePedia, individually for under $20 each or together for under $50.

Source

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

One of the longest standing arguments for choosing a Mac has been their claims to be more secure than the average PC. I’ve been a Mac user since the days of the Apple II and Apple IIe, so I can vouch for this claim personally. In the intervening decades, all of my MAcs combined have had an issue with malware exactly… three times. All three times were incredibly easy to fix. The PCs I’ve used over the years for various clients, even the ones I’ve built and used for myself, have come down with viruses on a regular basis, even with protection against them in force.

In the face of anecdotal evidence like this, PC users have scoffed. Now comes a new article from Fox News making the case for Mac security and peace of mind.

Take a look at the exploits actually seen in the wild on the Wild List. In March, the group recorded 766 different viruses, with a supplemental group bringing the total to 1,709 titles. None are on the Mac.

A search through security vendor F-Secure’s Virus Description Database for the word “Macintosh” brings up 24 total hits. Most of them are MS Word macro viruses, and five were hoax reports.

Now that’s a nice set of numbers! How many times has your Mac been hit? How many of those times were user error (you opened that enticing email file, for example, or enabled that Word macro perhaps)?

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Via: Digg

This could bode well for the Apple users who have had to leave the oh-so-pretty Safari interface to use FireFox because of extensive compatibility issues. Perhaps with Safari available to develop for on a Windows platform, more web sites and web forms will become Safari compatible as well as FireFox, Camino and IE compatible.

Safari RSS: Official Safari Site

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

If you are one of the many who are not at Apple’s famous WWDC conference right now, don’t worry. There are plenty of sources for up to the minute WWDC information you can rely on.

Gizmodo is running a WWDC live blog during the conference, which you can see at the Gizmodo website.

Engadget is running a WWDC live blog during the conference, which you can see at the Endgadget website.

See the complete list of WWDC live bloggers from Michael Yurechko.

iPhone Alley is offering a live audio stream.

Did I forget a site with a stream, blog or video feed? Let us know in the comments.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites