You shouldn’t feel neglected. I was distracted by Harry Potter like everyone else this weekend. I’m all done now, though, as you can see by my brief review of the last Harry Potter book. That means I can concentrate on Apple news for you again.
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.
 The much anticipated WWDC is here, and Steve Jobs made one of many cool announcements: a new animated OS for apple. The software he used to illustrate the point, a disc burning software named Disco, blows smoke while it burns. Why is that cool? Because if you blow into your Mac’s built in microphone the smoke blows across your desktop. It’s not only animated, it’s reactive animation. Very cool.
At the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Jobs will probably show off Leopard, a Mac OS X update due in October that he has promised contains “top secret” features. But perhaps the most important feature is one that has been overlooked by many Apple fans: a new set of tools for building program interfaces called Core Animation.
I can’t wait until Monday for the official unveiling of the rest of the features. Look to Apple Reporter to get the scoop.
[tags]apple, wwdc, steve jobs, animated desktop, os x leopard, disco, wwdc conference[/tags]
Macworld has live coverage on their site from the historic dual stage presentation of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. You can read the coverage on their site by clicking here. Some highlights:
“We made this bet that this paradigm shift would happen, to graphical interfaces, and that the Mac would be the one to do it,” said Gates. “The big bet wasn’t Mac versus Windows, it was character-mode versus graphics interface.”
We have now received the first entries in the Mod Your Mac contest! They look lovely! Keep them coming in people!
Original contest post here.
Questions Post here.
Reminder post here.
My MacBook mod here.
DON’T FORGET TO ENTER! DEADLINE MAY 31, 2007.
[tags]mod your mac contest, apple contest, win ipod speakers, win itunes gift card, apple mod contest, apple reporter contest, mac contest[/tags]
Who has the industry clout to bring Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together for an appearance on stage in what is an industry first? The Wall Street Journal, apparently. Their columnist, Walt Mossberg, has achieved the impossible: bringing Jobs and Gates together on stage at the Wall Street Journal’s D5: All Things Digital conference. What I would give to be in attendance there!
This is an historic moment in the technoverse. Two industry titans, normally at odds, playing nice for a day? Unheard of.
The tech titans from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. didn’t even appear together when they announced a partnership that helped Jobs save Apple at Macworld in Boston 10 years ago. (Gates teleconferenced in remotely, appearing on a screen looming over Jobs.) It could be the first time they’ve been together in such a setting since Jobs famously interviewed Gates as a possible suitor for Apple’s new computer in an onstage version of the “Macintosh Dating Game” back in 1984.
So when is the big day? Wednesday at D5 is when computer junkies everywhere will get this rare treat. And what will be the big topic for the day? That is a hotly contested secret. Chic geeks everywhere are hoping for a true dialog on operating systems, the future of computing, the possibilty of bridging the Microsoft / Apple gap, future plans for each company, and so much more. Whether or not they delve that deeply into their 20+ year rivalry and look that closely at their respective futures remains to be seen.
I’ll update this post with links to transcripts and video of the historic meeting when they start appearing online after Wednesday’s momentous occasion.
Source Slashdot | Gates and Jobs to Share A Stage
DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE MOD YOUR MAC CONTEST! CLICK HERE!
[tags]D5 All Things Digital, The D, Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jobs and Gates, Conference[/tags]
Apple has been testing the newest version of its Boot Camp dual operating system software, scheduled to be released with the next generation OS X, Leopard, later this year. Apple has even gone so far as to post on its web site that it hasn’t been able to solve the issue for users of Boot Camp 1.2 trying to boot the version of Windows Vista that released in January. Luckily for the Mac user, Apple is exceptionally good at problem solving and customer service, so we can rest assured they will have the issue fixed by the time Leopard releases in keeping with their usual high standards, but for now it’s a problem.
Apple has offered a workaround for the problem to help people use their software fully while it continues to address the issue. To use the workaround:
To get around the problem, Mac Pro users wishing to use Windows Vista on their Mac OS X-based machines first need to employ the Boot Camp Assistant software to create a dedicated Windows partition on the secondary drive and then start the Windows Vista installation process as usual.
There are other workaround for issues surrounding Vista and BootCamp. These issues include a computer freeze during Vista installation, among other things. Apple addressed the problem and listed all the possible issues and workarounds here. Other Apple products being hobbled by Vista include iTunes, Apple’s popular music download software. You can find workarounds for iTunes here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
On the feeds this week is the announcement from Volkswagon of their marketing campaign for the Volkswagon Golf. Currently being rolled out in Europe is the new campaign for the Golf, which they are now referring to a the iGolf. that’s right, they are touting their car as completely iPod intergrated, down to the name. so what does the iGolf console look like? Check it out:
One of the drawbacks, of course is the label on the car. With iGolf printed everywhere, everyone will know there is expensive equipment inside they could possibly steal. Other than that, it’s a groovy thing, baby, dig it. To read more about the campaign in Spain, go to the Spanish campaign website here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
It is possible that a release date of June 11 has been confirmed for the much anticipated iPhone. On CNET today a blog was posted that Cingular has confirmed the release date to CNET. If you contact Cingular directly, they do in fact, confirm the date of release, although they don’t have any further information. The date makes sense – it’s the opening day of Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference, so it fits.
Update: Or Not. According to suppliers of the components, the iPhone will not be ready in time for a June 11 release.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Yesterday GameTap announced the released of Myst Online: Uru Live for the Macintosh. They touted it as being for the MacBooks and iMacs running the Intel Core Duo processor. Not only am I a Mac junkie, I am a Myst junkie, so it was with great excitement I went over to their site to get started playing this new version of an old favorite. Alas, it was not to be. As pretty as it looks (as always with the Myst series), it is not compatible with the MacBook I just bought in December. For what it’s worth, if you have the newest graphics processor, you will be as impressed as ever with the beauty of the game. Feel free to play it and review it in the comments.
In a stunning blow against loyal Mac users, GameTap and Cyan decided not to support the graphics cards in the MacBooks, iMacs and Mac Minis released as late as December of 2006, when Apple was still running the GMA 950 graphics processor interface. So, unless you bought a MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini or MacBook Pro with the newest graphic interface, you’re sunk. I think that is terrible marketing on their part. Making a purchase of a Mac is a significant investment, and I think it stinks that people who committed their money to Mac before the end of 2006, or who couldn’t wuite afford the price tag on the MacBook Pro, are being ignored by the game makers.
Shame on you, GameTap and Cyan.
From the site: System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later, 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor or faster (Intel only), 512MB RAM, ATI or Nvidia graphics, 3GB hard disk space, broadband Internet connection. GameTap notes that Myst Online is not supported on Macs that use the GMA 950 graphics processor. That includes Mac minis, MacBooks and some low-end iMac configurations.
Hat tip to Pippa for contributing this link which discusses the issue from the angle of “Why did Apple even set it up this way?” and lists games that will work on your Mac running the 950 chip set.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
OWC has announced today that it will make a RAM module for the MacBook that will pump it up to 3 GB RAM – more than the maximum 2 GB Apple ships it with. Great news for gamers and designers that use memory hog applications.
That concludes our mini product announcement, now back to your regularly scheduled surfing.
Side note here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
I hope so, because they are officially shipping tomorrow! For all of you who have pre-ordered Apple TVs, you got a shipping notice today that announced a ship date of March 20. Are you excited? How many of you ordered one of the first generation Apple TVs? How many of you are, like me, waiting it out a few months in case Apple adds features? What do you plan to use yours for? Talk to me! Tell me about it in the comments.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Fortune names Apple “Best Retailer” and Forbes names Apple the 7th “Most Admired” company. Apple continues winning accolades like these for its outstanding service, quality products, unique retail experience and innovative design. It’s funky ad campaigns and unusual marketing strategies definitely serve to help keep it in the “most likely to succeed” and “most popular” spots in the technology yearbook.
For example, Apple encourages indirect marketing through spoofs like this parody from Mad TV:
Not many other companies are so comfortable with being the focus of a joke like this, but Apple is. Sure, like any company, they work diligently to protect their brand names and brand feeling, the recent skirmish over the iPhone trademark being a prime example. They also have very specific requirements for using their logo in a permanent place on your web site or blog, as they should. It’s refreshing to know that they have a sense of humor and political awareness that allows them to hang on to their cutting edge market vibe. It’s easier to have cutting edge products than it is to have a cutting edge image – Apple does both.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Get a free Mac OS X Hints – Tiger video from MacWorld! Download found here.
And don’t forget to read this morning’s post about Daylight Savings Time updates for your Mac here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
That’s right, Daylight Savings Time starts tomorrow this year (March 11, 2007). In a bid to conserve energy and possibly get people used to year round DST and longer, lighter days all the time, US officials have moved DST ahead three weeks in the Spring of 2007, and pushed the end date back to extend the time change. Computers, software, machines and gadgets that have automatic DST selected will need to be prepared for the change, as they can’t take it into account on their own.
As usual, Apple has thought of this possibility If you are running Tiger, the latest updates to 10.4.5 and up will automatically fix the issue for your computer. If you live in a zone that was too late to adopt the changes to be included, Apple has even created a special software fix for you, the 10.4.8 DST Update. Are you a Panther user? NEver fear, Apple has your back with this update specifically for Panther. If you are running 10.0 – 10.3 you can go to an outside source for your update here.
If you use Office for Mac, you need this patch (for Office 2004) or this one (for older Office for Mac versions) in addition to your operating system update. Don’t forget to check the home pages of your other software! They also could need an update, and their web site support sections are the best place to check.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Apple has already announced it will hold a “special event” at NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) on Sunday, April 15, 2007. In the past these Apple events at NAB have given us the larger MacBook Pro (17″ model) and software like Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Motion. Already rumors are flying about what this event will bring to the Apple fanatics who eagerly await the reveal. Apple’s large booth, traditionally located at the entrance to the show, has also been moved this year to accommodate its increased size and a few undisclosed special features.
The biggest rumors surrounding the NAB show are that Final Cut Pro 6 will be unveiled (finally) in addition to a high end Final Cut Extreme specialty package that combines the hardware and software for the hefty price tag of $10,000. Speculation abounds that there will be optical drive changes announced for the MacBook Pro, in addition to a possible High Definition burner upgrade. Because Apple has been involved in Blu-Ray technology, it is assumed that this will be the High Definition format base of choice for the burner include. Hopefully Apple will continue on its path to increased market share and its history of user satisfaction and greater flexibility than the PC by offering a burner for both next generation DVD technologies and not just one.
To find out more about the NAB Show, visit the official site here.
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
MusicMan for OS X has long been a preferred tool for ripping, converting, burning and playing digital music outside of the iTunes box. MusicMan 2.0 comes out today with enhanced features like a tabbed interface that automatically incorporates drag and drop capability. More importantly than the improved interface and easier to read screens is the links it includes to DRM free music stores and the ability to play a variety of files traditionally compatible with Windows only in addition to Mac formatted audio files. The DRM-free shopping experience is in keeping with recent statements made by Steve Jobs in favor of moving away from the constraints of DRM restrictions. Now if only music execs could be convinced to make the leap embracing the way the public wants their music…
Tags: MusicMan for OS X, MusicMan
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
In a bold move, Wilkes University in Pennsylvania has decided to use Macs exclusively on its campus. Apple has long been the computer of choice for education because of its comprehensive software bundle and easy to use interface, not to mention it’s virtually virus and hacker free interface. This only serves to cement its place in the scholarly market.
The university is phasing out its Windows based PCs over a three year period. It will have Macs only on its campus of 5,000 students and has announced that any student who wants to use a PC running Windows will have to bring it on campus themselves and maintain it themselves. This is a huge leap forward in the concept of Macs as mainstream.
Just how large will the impact of this switch be for such a small campus? They currently have a computer lab with 1,700 computers, all currently PCs. To switch them all over to Macs during the next three years is a monumental project expected to cost at least $1.4 million USD. The university is also bringing education techniques into the future by integrating Apple’s iPod into several of its class formats, allowing students more freedom in mobile learning.
There are other universities out there integrating Macs more fully into their curriculums, but Wilkes is so far the only one who has announced a complete switch from PC to Mac technology. iPods are also growing in educational use, although some of the more old-school teachers find using them less intuitive than their students do. Apple plans to offer some training programs to get educators up to speed on the benefits ofd the new technology.
With the iPhone’s mobile computing technology slated to be marketed this summer, that too could end up helping educators and students get more out of their classes in this modern age. From audio books to visual lesson plans on the go, the new technology is making learning accessible to everyone. By using Macs, it is also painless and nearly virus free. Do you use your iPod for learning or teaching? Let us know in the comments!
Tags: Wilkes University, Apple
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
Did you catch the iPhone commercial at the Oscars tonight? Now that Cisco and Apple have reached an agreement over the use of the name (an agreement which is greatly in Apple’s favor), Apple has been greenlighted to sell the phone in June, though no price has been disclosed.
Featuring a “Hello?” montage from movies over the past few decades where actors and cartoon characters answer their phones by saying “Hello?”, and beginning with a shot of a rotary telephone, the iPhone commercial was short, sweet, entertaining and to the point. It did the job of showcasing the product while generating interest by not answering any direct questions very well.
In a nod to the ongoing debate with Cisco that had not been resolved at the time the commercial was made, you’ll notice Apple does not name their new product by name even once during the commericals – it simply provides a contant visual of the sleek little phone. Smart advertising, Apple. Also, thanks for making it different than the iPod commercials and the Mac / PC commercials.
Tags: Apple, Hello iPhone, Hello Apple Commercial, Oscars
Author: Leslie Poston, © 2007, All Rights Reserved
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