Apple Grrl

I finally treated myself to a new MacBook! I was holding out for battery life and a slightly lighter model, and boy did Apple deliver! I LOVE this machine.

I got a refurbished White 13″ MacBook 1,1 generation laptop shortly after they first came out. I loved it, and it was working fine, but I outgrew it eventually. When it got to the point that I was making more demands on its use than it could handle, even with the most RAM upgrades I could get in it and other fixes, it was time to move on.

I went for the 15″ Aluminum MacBook Pro that came out at the conference this summer. With 4GB RAM (upgradable to 8GB), a better graphics card, a glossy screen, glass multi touch trackpad and other improvements, it is already beating the pants off of my old MacBook. My two favorite features of the moment are the illuminated keys (I take a lot of notes at conferences and do a lot of late night typing) and the extra long battery life. I’m able to work and travel for most of a business day before I start to look for an outlet.

It’s pretty light, also, and comes with a roomy hard drive as well. My music collection is on my hard drive for the first time in years. I plan to back it up to the slim profile, ultra light 500GB external hard drive I bought to take with me in my laptop bag, but for now I’m being lazy and enjoying my music right where it belongs. Also appreciated is the row of iTunes and Dashboard and other controls on the function row of the keyboard. That’s a nice, easy touch from Apple that makes the whole experience much better.

So far the only drawback is that it is very scratch-attracting on the case, and the screen collects fingerprints and dust motes. Luckily, I already keep a microfiber cloth handy for my glasses, so I just give it a bit of a swipe once in a while. If you have eyes that are sensitive to light or enjoy working outside, you are also not going to like the glossy screen, and Apple removed the option of a matte screen for those who work on outdoor locations.

The difference in this new 15″ screen and the 13″ on my old MacBook is remarkable. It’s very roomy. I looked at the 17″ and felt I didn’t need the extra weight or the extra screen real estate – this model was more than adequate. I also appreciate the bringing back of the firewire port, and the addition of the card reader slot. A long over due touch that makes total sense.

I’m only having one issue with it so far, and that is with two third party apps, Seesmic and TweetDeck. They just wont work on this machine and I have no idea why – they worked fine on my old laptop. It’s a double bummer that they aren’t working, as they are meant to handle Twitter, and that’s kind of my job (or at least part of it). Irony? You decide. I’m loving how FAST this new MacBook Pro is though. What a pleasure over all to use.

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I don’t have much to say about this news other than WTF? It turns out that Apple very quietly started replacing the displays on a few of their 13″ MacBook’s with the same one that they use on the Air – a better quality part. Cool, right?

Wrong, judging by the online response in forums and blogs. I can’t decide if people are genuinely upset over the switch (and if so, why??) or if they are just posturing for page views. Either way, I think it is kind of cool, and a nice little boost from Apple.

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I was underwhelmed by the MacBook Air. I think it is geared to the business traveler who doesn’t need an actual optical hard drive or any serious storage space because they will only us it to write letters and such. I don’t want a laptop I have to buy a separate hard drive for to store photos, movies, files, etc on. I think they should have kept this in development until someone made a ultra slim hard drive to put in it. Because the MacBook Air with a massive slim hard drive of 160GB or more PLUS the Ram and Flash is has already would have truly been stunning. I’m guessing some gadget heads will buy the air out of a need to have the latest thing right out of the starting gate. I keep seeing comments around the net from people who don’t get that it only has a flash drive and RAM who think the 500GB is plenty of space for a computer, but trust me, it isn’t that kind of memory, folks.

As for the rest of it? The iTunes movie subscriptions and the improvements on the AppleTV and such? That was better than the MacBook Air, frankly. I still wish the AppleTV was also a true DVR, but this is a step in the right direction. Too bad Time Warner countered the innovation with an announcement of a crippling price hike based on bandwidth. Sometimes the entertainment and technology sector can’t win for shooting itself in the foot all the time.

I was also concerned with Apple’s recent Bad Apple legal tactics against bloggers and other fans, and had high hopes they would do something to rectify the situation a bit, but this reaction to a fan tells me I shouldn’t hold my breathe. I had a press pass to this even this year, and no way to go. Now I’m a bit glad I didn’t try harder to find the money for airfare. I would have enjoyed seeing my friends in California, but I would have been disappointed with the overall Keynote. I probably would have had fun wandering around after though – maybe next year.

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Apple released the Apple Gift Guide this week. I can’t believe it is almost Christmas! The link below will get you free shipping on items ordered from the Gift Guide. Enjoy!

Apple Store Gift Guide – Free Shipping on all Gift Guide items.

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Just in case you missed me waxing poetic about Leopard in this post, I have more Leopard-y goodness to share. Leopard fixed my speakers. That’s right. This MacBook has had sound quality issues since day one, and no amount of firmware updates or software upgrades fixed how quiet the speakers were. Since I installed Leopard, the sound has been perfect. Amazing. I can hear without my stupid headphones now! Wheeeeee! I’ll consider that a much needed bonus, Apple!

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I got a bit busy this week, as I mentioned over on Smoke Rings. That means I missed some excellent Apple news for you. By way of apology for tripping over my own deadlines this week, here is a quick recap of some of the highlights:

• MacWorld has opened registration for the the big MacWorld 2008 event and exhibition. Even better, for a limited time you can enter the code below at this site and get into the exhibit hall portion of the show for free. Yes, FREE. I wish I still lived in Santa Barbara – I’d so be there! (Use Priority Code: 08-E-VF01 to get the Exhibit Hall passes for free until October 5th.)
• This is a nice look at the man behind the beautiful designs of the iMac, iPod and iPhone, Jonathan Ive.
• The drummer from the Ramones, unable to resurrect his career legitimately, has decided to make some money by suing Apple and a host of others over use of his music. Git.
• This site tells you how to stream movies to your iPhone from iTunes. Awesome.
• Apple asks its workers to cancel holiday plans between Turkey Day and Xmas this year. The plan seems to be to release the new line of slim MacBooks,, and that coupled with new iPod options and other innovations may make this holiday season quite busy for Apple.
• Steve Jobs was subpoenaed by the SEC in the back dating case.

Have a great rest of your weekend! Can’t wait to see what Apple news and rumor abounds in the coming week.

You can also read my work today at Profy (NovelMaker, Mog vs LastFM), The Writer’s Well, and Smoke Rings. Enjoy!

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MacWorld has written a very fair side by side cost comparison of PCs and Macs. I highly recommend checking it out. They have remained objective in acknowledging places where Apple falls short (such as business priced models with service access in mind) and they have managed to avoid the fanboy trap of using Apple ad tag lines to defend what they like. I thought it was a balanced analysis.

1. There is plenty of software available for the Mac, both from established software houses and from individuals. Surprisingly, there are more products in some product categories than there are for Windows. For example, every time I turn around, I stumble across another project management tool for the Mac. There are more browsers for the Mac than there are for Windows.

I don’t think Windows users realize just how many Windows software product categories Microsoft has come to own, eliminating all or most of the viable competition. Though it’s true that in some categories there are only two or three Mac offerings, all in all there is a very solid, rich spread of software makers creating Mac applications. As a longtime software reviewer, I’ve been surprised by the quality of these applications.

That’s just one of many points he makes. Never fear, Windoze fans, you win out in several categories, but overall the Macs have a good showing here.

Related Articles By Me: Laptop Dilemma: Mac or PC?

Tags: Mac vs PC, MacWorld, Compare Windows and Mac, Jobs vs Gates

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Apple doesn’t chase after the business market the way Microsuck does. That’s been a fact for many years. The reason why is the big question. Fanboyz and Fangrrlz will spout “because Apple doesn’t need to” and other company jargon until the cows come home as a reason (which is why people sometimes see Apple users as a cult, not a user base), but is that the real reason?

You can rattle off a list of things that Apple does not do that makes its products and services a poor fit for corporate IT, and this list has not changed for years. To the extent that Apple products have actually infiltrated big businesses, it’s been through small groups of enthusiasts—the canonical example being the art department that somehow manages to get themselves Macs, despite a company-wide standardization on Windows. We’re seeing some of the same phenomenon today with the iPhone: employees purchasing iPhones because they’re cool, despite corporate IT’s prohibition against them.

Some see this as the seeds of an uprising. Here’s Gruber’s take:

Self-important IT experts will continue to insist that the iPhone “must” or “needs to” support “business software systems”, but in the meantime, their employees will be buying iPhones on their own. [...] Like many successful revolutions, this one might come from the bottom.

Ars Technica thinks that the main reason Apple doesn’t market to enterprise is that it would require an entirely different marketing strategy than the one it has so successfully employed for years. Marketing to business means selling to an IT department, and Apple markets products directly to end users. I agree – it really is that simple.

Because Apple markets to the people who will actually use the products they sell, and not to the IT geeks who would have to maintain them, Apple users really are happier with their purchase and overall experience. IT departments are shunning the iPhone, for example, because it doesn’t have the traditional clunky interface or support hard to use business software like Exchange. Well, no shit sherlock. and customers are buying them because of that – they don’t want a clunky interface, or to be tied down to hard to use corporate products, not because that hard to use product is better, but because the IT department is familiar with it and doesn’t want to change.

This is why Apple does not compete in the enterprise market in the traditional sense. This is why no other company created the iPhone. This is why most desktop PCs are pieces of crap. When you don’t focus on the user, the user gets shafted.

Truer words were never spoken. Read the rest of the Ars Technica / FatBits analysis, it’s worth it.

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Tags: Apple, Enterprise

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I made two recent Mac purchases, and I love them both.

The first recent purchase was Mojotones by VoodooErgonomics. I’ve been using a product called Xingtones. Xingtones has been great, I have no problem with Xingtones, but I have to say Mojotones came along and blew it away. They are both $20, so well within most budgets. They both make excellent sounding ring tones. they are both easy to use, though I have to give Mojotones the edge here for being a little more pleasant to look at and overall a slightly simpler interface.

So if they are both equally good products for creating your own ring tones? What really put Mojotones in first place? Four little words: Full Song Ring Tones. also, it is fully integrated with iTunes. Unless the song is locked by the artist, you can make any song in your iTunes folder into 30 clip on repeat or a full song. I love it! Plus, it is one click action and it works with any phone. Xingtone only works with one phone number at a time.

The other little gem I bought this week is the Griffin iMic. For under $40, I can now transfer all of my vinyl and cassettes to my MacBook. How sweet it is! It is a completely plug and play device. If you find the set up as it comes in the box is too noisy on your records and you don’t want to run them through garage band for clean up, they also sell a $20 grounding cable for your turntable that eliminates the problem. The hissing noise just sounds like an old school record to me, so I don’t need the second cable. I’m having a blast with this. It’s too bad I have to work to afford these toys, otherwise I’d be playing with the thing all weekend.

I’d write more gushing words about the iMic, but I have to go play some more old school punk records now. I’m currently on 7 Seconds. See you on the flip side!

Tags: iMic, iTunes, Xingtone, Mojotones

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More and more airlines are offering internet access in fights now that laptops, PDA and smart phones like the iPhone are becoming the norm. The latest to jump on the mile high wifi bandwagon is American Airlines.

Business and leisure passengers on American flights would be able to e-mail and surf the Web from laptops and handheld devices while in flight aboard 767-200 aircraft primarily on transcontinental routes, according to a statement from Itasca, Ill.-based AirCell.

Who else reported to be jumping on the mile high wifi phenomenon? Deutsche Lufthansa, Southwest Airlines and Qantas. Jet Blue led the mile high wifi charge a year and a half ago when it applied for and won it’s wifi license, and has been offering wifi on select flights already.

Tags: mile high wifi, airline broadband, in fight internet

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Do you think you can throw down against the big boys? Are you serious about your Mac? If you think you have what it takes, the folks at MacMod are having their annual competition to mod those Macs. Here is the press release:

Annual MacMod.com Competition kicks off August 1st with a worldwide call for modders to submit their Apple-related modifications for the 4th annual event. Thousands of dollars in prizes to be won!

MacMod, a recognized internet source for free technical news and advice on the latest techniques and products for upgrading and modifying Apple products, today announced the rules and entry requirements for “The Great Mac Mod Challenge 2007” an annual competition in which Apple technology owners are recognized in various categories for their creativity and ingenuity in the upgrades and modifications made to their systems to improve performance, appearance, and functionality. Coinciding with the contest, which begins taking entries August 1st, the month of August has been designated “Modify Your Mac Month.”

The event attracts some of the most talented and enthusiastic Mac users around the world and each year the modifications raise the bar higher. Memorable winners of challenges past include the Falcon Mac Mini, Necronomicon G4, the iTablet, a wooden iPod, and the M3 robotic Mini.

“The ingenuity of the modding community never ceases to amaze me,” says Anthony King, Director of Marketing and co-founder of MacMod.com. “Every year I think we’ve done it all, but every year the modifications get more and more elaborate.”

“Modders” may submit as many mods as they like. Modification categories include Internal Changes, External Changes, iPod & iPhone Modifications, Peripheral Modifications (Apple TV, Airport, etc.), Software Mods and Hacks, and Miscellaneous Modifications. Entries are judged on their level of difficulty, creativity, integration, and functionality.

In the spirit of fun, the panel of judges will also name “Best Dressed,” “Class Clown,” “Biggest Geek,” and “Most Likely to end up on eBay.”

This year’s competition will feature major prizes for the top 3 designs plus participation gifts for all the modders. While some prizes are still being planned, the first place mod will be showcased at MacWorld Expo 2008, receive the Mod of The Year trophy, a MacMod.com Tee, a roundtrip ticket to MacWorld Expo 2008*, and an All-Access Super Pass to MacWorld Expo 2008 including PRIORITY KEYNOTE SEATING!

Did you see that?? They are giving some excellent and mondo prizes this year, so get your bad self over to MacMod and enter. Bookmark this post to – if you enter and win I want to see your mod in the comments!

One of the previous winners:

Tags: mac mod, macmod mod your mac, contest, necromac, case mod

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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

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Today marked the much anticipated release of the updated MacBook Pro line from Apple. (Press Release)

CUPERTINO, California—June 5, 2007—Apple® today updated its MacBook® Pro line of notebooks with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, memory up to 4GB, and high-speed graphics in a stunning, lightweight, aluminum enclosure that is just one-inch thin. The new MacBook Pro is available in 15-inch models with a new mercury-free, power-efficient LED-backlit display and a 17-inch model with an optional high-resolution display. All models include a built-in iSight® video camera for video conferencing on-the-go, Apple’s MagSafe® Power Adapter that safely disconnects when under strain, and built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.*

(more…)

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in 1988, Apple released this video, simulating what they thought the computing world would be like in 2010. With 2010 fast approaching, how accurate do you think they were?

[tags]apple, future computer, future of computing, nostradamus, mac, steve jobs, commercial, apple 1988, apple 2010, knowledge navigator[/tags]

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The results of our first contest ever, the Mod Your Mac Contest, were underwhelming at best. Here is the breakdown:

257 emails about the contest. 256 asked legitimate questions about deadlines, submission methods, where to get the skins, etc. which I answered both in email and by making a post dedicated to user questions. 1 of the 257 emails told me the prizes were “stupid”. In reply to that, based on the number of entries I got, I’m glad I didn’t spend more on prizes now. So there was interest, and the contest was promoted everywhere online, by myself and many other people, link sites and forums. Lesson learned: interest is not the same as participation. (more…)

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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]

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From the folks at CNET:

In New York City, you can go to the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in midtown 24 hours a day, seven days a week and browse the Web from the Macs on display. But due to a new Apple regulation, you can no longer access MySpace.com.

ThinkSecret first broke the rumor that Apple was blocking MySpace from it’s stores, and Apple’s representatives have now confirmed it, saying:

“Nearly 2 million people visit Apple stores every week,” the statement read. “We want to provide everyone a chance to test-drive a Mac, so we are no longer offering access to MySpace in our stores.” According to an Apple representative, the News Corp.-owned MySpace is the only site that has been blocked.

The reason for the ban? With Macs in Apple stores hooked up to broadband and available for users to test drive, MySpace users were coming in and hogging all of the machine time. This was keeping other potential Mac buyers from being able to hop on a Mac and see what it could do.

An employee from one of the Apple Stores had this to say:

“MySpace is a big issue for the Apple stores because people come in, Photobooth themselves (using Macs’ built-in webcams), then stick their picture up on their MySpace account and loiter at machines for hours,” the source said in an e-mail. “It is especially troublesome at the flagships and high-volume stores, and for a while there was no official word on how to deal with it.”

The impetus for the ban were flagship stores, like the one on Fifth Avenue in New York, that are open longer hours and have a high traffic volume (New York’s Fifth Avenue Apple Store is open 24 hours, 7 days a week). The upcoming release of the iPhone is expected to increase traffic even more, and Apple wants to be prepared.

[tags]Apple, Apple Store, Genius Bar, MySpace, Safari, iPhone, iMac, MacBook, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, New York’s Fifth Avenue[/tags]

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As promised, photos of my very simple, not nearly as complex as the NecroMac and others, 13″ MacBook Mod. I used zCover, MacStyles, WeLoveMacs Trackpadz, and DecalGirl’s Custom Laptop Skin for my mods. All of the skins and covers were exceptionally easy to apply except DecalGirl’s lightening skin. That one was a pain in the behind, and if you use her skins I HIGHLY recommend having a couple of friends to help you or the skin will rip. Also, DecalGirl does not send an applicator tool. Happily, MacStyles does, and I was able to use that to get rid of air bubbles and creases. I cut the glowing Apple logo out myself with an Xacto knife (also a pain in the behind). (more…)

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Online data backup services for Macs have been scarce these last few years (ok, ever), but Mozy heard the call and came to the rescue (I realize .Mac and iDisk do this. for those of us with boucoups information for clients, an advanced internet use capability and a serious iTunes addiction, .Mac and iDisk don’t offer enough security or space). (more…)

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Apparently, it’s all in the design, and in the design process. Technology Review takes the time to walk us through the Apple design process, revealing why Macs really do “just feel right”. Most of the meat of the design reveal is in the end of the article but it is worth a read all the way through. Some highlights:  (more…)

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