•
Users trying to take advantage of the iLife ‘09 Up-to-Date program are reporting trouble ordering their almost-free copy of iLife on-line. If you bought a Mac after January 6 you can acquire iLife ‘09 by ordering on the web or sending in a form via fax or snail mail. You’ll also have to pay a charge to cover shipping and handling: $9.95 in the US.
Threads at Apple Discussions and MacRumors indicate the system isn’t accepting some serial numbers. People calling into Apple for support report they’ve been directed to just fax the form in.
Murphy spoke with a manger at the Apple Retail Store in Charlotte, NC. He said he was aware of the issue and sometimes the database takes a few days to update with new serials after you’ve purchased your Mac.
Anyone having this problem?
Order iLife 09
|
Permalink
•
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal covered touch-screen computers and the increased focus on the technology in Windows 7. And if you watch tv you’ve probably seen commercials for the HP touch screen desktop promoted heavily during the holidays. By many accounts the TouchSmart 
is selling well, currently at number 9 on the Amazon bestseller
list for desktops. Behind various Macs. I believe it was much higher on the list a few weeks ago, but I haven’t researched that. There’s a laptop too, but apparently its touch technology isn’t stellar.
But why does anyone want a touch-screen desktop? As a cash-register or kiosk, fine. But that’s a specialty market and the consumer oriented TouchSmart is unlikely to fill that role. Murphy can only see one place he’d use such a machine: In the kitchen. And even then - only if olive oil wouldn’t trash the display.
A touch-screen iMac would make a great kitchen machine. It’s there for watching movies or televsion while cooking. Throw in an Elgato EyeTV device and you’re in the catbird seat. Recipes, calendars, yada yada…
In my office? No. A touch screen desktop is an ergonomic nightmare. And a laptop wouldn’t be much better. It’s bad enough reaching for a mouse. Just thinking about extending my muscle-bound arms to the screen makes my back hurt. And for what gain? Dragging something on a touch screen could involve over a foot of travel. Using a trackpad or mouse you can get the same movement with a 10mm finger twitch.
Sure, touch screen interfaces are highly intuitive. iPhone speaks for itself. But just because a technology becomes available doesn’t mean it’s time to use it. I’ll wait for the tablet.
Anyone interested in touch screens for traditional laptops and desktop computers?
|
Permalink
•
In Tiger I used to select multiple images in Finder and then invoke the Slideshow function. One of my favorite features was hitting the i key to quickly invoke the grid mode. I love grid mode.
In Leopard I expected the same thing to happen in Quick View, but my i key was rendered useless. Then I read somewhere that Command+Enter invokes the grid in Leopard Quick View. Nice. I’d give credit to whoever posted the comment, but I forget who it was.
So - select some images in Finder. Tap the space bar. Then hit Command+Enter. Done.
iPod touch $214 - Amazon
|
Permalink
•
I never noticed that images I rotated in Preview weren’t really rotated. Then I happened to notice a rotated jpg in my Gmail sent items. It wasn’t rotated.
If you rotate a jpg in Preview and you want it to appear rotated for people you might send it to, clear the checkbox labeled Use Exif Orientation Tag. The box will appear when you’ve rotated a jpg in Preview.
What’s this all about? Leaving the box checked adds information to the Exif data for the image. That information can be read by some software products that will then display the photo rotated the way you’ve set it. And your image won’t be altered in the rotation. If a user opens the image with software that doesn’t read the tag the photo won’t appear rotated correctly.
For example, I saved a rotated jpg with the box checked. Lightroom displays the image rotated. Opening the image directly with Firefox does not rotate it.
The downside of not checking the box is lossy rotation. Pixels are rearranged to create your rotated image, and data is lost in the process. For certain photos you might not be concerned with this, but it’s always good to know how certain software rotates your jpg files. Especially if you don’t have a backup.
More on lossy rotation at Apple Support.
iPod touch $214 - Amazon
|
Permalink
•
A laptop on the road is becoming the equivalent of a 1954 salesman sample case. John Candy hauled a suitcase full of shower-curtain-ring samples in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (Not the best movie). When I see someone pull out a giant Dell surfboard in an airport terminal or hotel lobby I think, “Wow, I can’t believe they have to haul that thing around.” When I see people with GIANT laptop bags slung across their shoulders and walking to the parking deck I think, “Wow, there has to be a better way.”
There’s something about opening a laptop lid that’s just too much. Opening it, the added thickness, the weight. The laptop in its current form-factor is the best catalyst for tablet development. And don’t even get me started on the tablets that are really laptops with the lid spun around. My doctor carries one around all day. I’d cry.
Dozens of blogs have published their Mac Tablet (Mac Touch) wish list. Here’s the quick and dirty on what Murphy wants: Not much thicker than an iPod touch. Six by eight - no bigger! Cellular built-in and modular. Bluetooth, wifi. An Apple-branded wireless travel keyboard accessory. Mini-USB.
Why do I want this? I can leave my laptop behind now that I have an iPod touch. But everyone keeps saying the touch and the iPhone are computers. They’re so close. But I need easy USB connectivity to copy files onto the device. And the ability to connect a card reader. Does anyone else want that? I don’t know, but the lack of USB connectivity is what stops me from calling the touch and the iPhone computers.
Will it run Snow Leopard, or an OS more like the touch and the iPhone? Interesting question. With all the apps in the app store it seems like the lighter OS is a possibility. Wouldn’t bother me too much, as long as there’s Flash support! What if it could run in either of two modes: Full OS X or the Mobile flavor?
Think about how easy the device would be to slip in and out of a bag on an airplane. Instant on. Light. Simple. Connected.
Back to the touch for a second: I heard Paul Thurrott saying he uses his iPhone to triage his email. And that’s about all I use my iPod for with regard to email. I can’t stand to write more than a few sentences on the iPod. I use it to read and delete emails that don’t require action. The interface is great for scanning, deleting and filing emails. But I don’t write big replies.
The tablet touch keyboard won’t be much better, unless Apple comes up with something none of us have thought of yet. A wireless keyboard is nice, but it’s not a perfect solution. And here’s the biggest problem. How do you prop the tablet up when you don’t want to hold it? It wouldn’t look very Apple-like with a pop-out stand. Without an easy way to really type I won’t be better off on the road than I am with my iPod touch.
Ireland - a frequent commenter on AppleInsider, would like a low angle stand. Then you’d type on the keyboard while the device is resting on the table. Hadn’t thought of that. It’s an interesting idea, but sounds like an ergonomic mega-lawsuit in the making.
Unfortunately, I think the chances of a tablet at Macworld are nil. It would have been a perfect last keynote for Steve. But the rumor mill has been far too quiet. There was more noise about a $99 iPhone at Wal-Mart than there’s been about new products for January 5. The last few product announcements have been well-leaked, so I’m not expecting anything that will make your jaw drop. As my friend Ireland says, it’s too soon - they’re working on it but it’s not ready yet.
What Else?
New iMacs. A new Mac Mini. Maybe some more Cinema Displays. I’m still hoping my FM tuner will work with my iPod touch but I suppose it’s time to let go of that entirely reasonable expectation.
What do you expect on Monday? What do you think of the following?
A 12″ Macbook Pro. (It’s why they pulled FW from the new Macbook)
Apple television
Apple hardware accesories for iPhone and touch. Like card-readers.
What about a touch screen iMac? (I don’t see the point, but HP is selling a few of them…)
More services for Apple TV
We don’t have long to wait…
Some interesting Mac Tablet mock ups:
Stand
Kindle-Like
iPad
Popular Mechanics Not Even Close
I like this one
|
Permalink
