MacNight

While I was away...

2011-12-15T09:28:00.001-07:00

Ok, Ok, I know I haven't posted recently, but let me correct that right now! I must announce that we gave our 2006 iMac with the core duo processors to my mother in law as a replacement for her Gateway laptop with Windows Vista. At least now I know I can help her when she runs into problems. (So far, None!!)

So, what do we have now as a replacement? A new 27 inch Core i5 iMac with magic trackpad. You know Stitch, whenever I make a move to the updated operating system (Lion) I always wonder how Apple could improve on the old OS. Well, I am happy to report that, in my humble opinion, Lion is truly awesome!! I LOVE the magic pad, I LOVE swiping to new desktops, I LOVE the huge gorgeous screen. It is a dream to work on.

My only problem? I tried installing 8 GB of new RAM modules in the empty slots and the iMac did not recognize them. I did this to save some money, and I'm hoping to have the modules tested to see if either of them are defective. I was able to properly seat the factory installed modules, and the iMac booted up fine after I did that, so I strongly suspect one of the modules may be defective. I will keep you updated.

I have already used our new iMac to make a gorgeous photo book of our vacation to Spain (presents for my parents and aunt), I am almost done with our Christmas Card, and I made background music for our family Christmas Concert.

I LOVE this computer!

Ice Water

2011-10-23T02:39:00.001-07:00

I was watching a recent interview with Steve Jobs where Mossberg was interviewing both Jobs and Bill Gates. At times they were both on stage talking. This time it was just Jobs. He told Mossberg that he has received emails from people saying that Safari was their favorite program on Windows. He laughed and then matter of factly stated: "Its like giving someone in hell a glass of ice water." I just had to bust up. It was so Jobs to say such a thing.

Woz is back?

2011-10-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

A strange story caught my eye today. It was about Steve Wozniak waiting in line at an Apple store to get an iPhone 4S. This makes no sense. Does Woz actually have to wait in line to get an Apple product? Doesn't he get one complimentary out of respect his "holiness"? Or is Apple using Woz to stir attention about the 4S? It actually would make sense. Woz is that lovable geek guy that you just can't hate. Yes he is the ultimate of nerdiness, but still respected for the amazing feats that he did way back in the early days of Apple. Without Woz there would be no Apple. Jobs may have been the visionary but Woz was the implementor.

I can imagine Woz coming back to Apple as sort of a iconic figurehead for the company. He certainly could not be the spokesman, but in a way he is like the Ringo of the Beatles. Sure McCartney and Lennon were the backbone of the Beatles, but Ringo always had this disarming charm about him. He seemed perfectly harmless. Woz is this guy. He would be able to add some pizzaz to the keynotes by just being Woz. Not in a salesman sort of way, but just someone who represents the amazing history of Apple. I think they should use Ives more in the keynotes too. His psychiatrist like soft spoken way about him brings such calm and serenity to any presentation he gives. Usually we only see Ives in a video talking about the beauty of the design of Apple products. He in my view is the best for presenting the coolness of Apple. The other guy I really like is hardware guy with the military style buzz cut. He seems like a no nonsense kind of guy. You need people on stage who are believable, even if they are not as polished. Schiller always seems to be a little off when presenting. Befuzzled might be the word. Sure he is top management but that doesn't mean he should present. Sorry, just a few random thoughts there. But I really think that getting Woz back on board would be beneficial to Apple. Of course Woz should hold back a bit on the Twinkies if he plans to be on stage. We love ya Woz, in a dorky kind of way.Woz in line for iPhone 4S

Just how we think

2011-10-10T12:19:00.002-07:00

I found this article on of all places, Fox.com. It is amazing how it echos so much of what we talk about on MacNight blog. Check it out.Article

This cuts deep

2011-10-06T23:27:00.001-07:00

I knew it would be hard to see Steve Jobs go, but I didn't think this would affect me as much as it has. It's not like I have ever met the guy before, but like you say its not just the products that he made his whole philosophy about life. Work till perfection and keep what you need and leave off what you don't. Losing Steve Jobs makes it seem like this voice has been silenced. It is almost like following a philosophy with Apple products. It was so cool when you hear how he still would pickup the latest new device and genuinely hold it fondly and say "isn't this amazing?". He still had a kid inside of him. Bringing wild dreams into reality. Don't we all wish we had his job? Able to create something amazing out of nothing. The coverage of his life is truly amazing. Even the comments of people who don't like Apple showed signs of respect. And if a lone wolf tried to go negative, he was quickly silenced. Jobs was respected by many different groups of people. For his business prowess and his love of design for beauty and function. He was known to have a temper, but usually it was for a really good reason. I took it as a sign for standing up for intelligence, and good faith and against injustice. Either in injustice in marketing through deception or injustice in deception of quality where there is none. He was true and real. Not a common attribute these days. This is what I will miss the most. A voice to standup and say when something was just messed up and he could find a better way. My favorite quote was when he was trying to negotiate with the cell phone carriers and he was getting frustrated with the roadblocks being put up everywhere by the carriers. He said something like, " I never had to go through so many orifices to get to my customers before". He has the same appeal as why Simon Cowell on American Idol was popular. He wasn't afraid of stating the obvious. Usually in very blunt terms. So in the end it hard to lose such uniqueness and purity of spirit. Jobs was an original and he has tried to bring this out in all of us. I think it wasn't just about the products that drove him, but how much joy they would give people who used them and tapped talents they never knew they had. Steve, we miss you.

Steve Jobs - The man who could see the future when others could not.

2011-10-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

I too am stunned. It reminds me of an amazing story that I read in book I have about hockey history. There was this player, Howie Morenz in the 1920's who played hockey and was an amazing player. He was a player who genuinely just loved the game. He lived for hockey and the fans loved him. He had played for several years in the NHL and had a solid career with the Montreal Canadians. But in one game he got hit with a rather hard check and suffered a broken leg. He was rushed to the hospital. His doctor told him that the injury was so severe that he would probably never be able to play hockey again. He was so distraught that he refused to eat and the doctors said he was having a nervous breakdown. Three days later he died. The doctor said the official cause was that he had a coronary embolism but a teammate stated "Howie loved to play hockey more than anyone ever loved anything, and when he realized that he would never play again, he couldn't live with it. I think Howie died of a broken heart."

I think with Steve Jobs, Apple was the love of his life. And when he was too ill to lead the company, not being at the center of Apple and creating the amazing devices he did must have left something very empty inside. I can imagine for Steve he too had a broken heart for leaving Apple. Sure he was ill, but take away a person's passion so too do you take away there will to live.

Steve Jobs was an amazing innovator and visionary. One the likes of greats like Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers. Seeing way beyond what others cannot even image. And then you wonder how you ever lived without their invention. Thanks for all the inspiration Steve.

Rest in Peace Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T17:15:00.001-07:00

Stitch, I had no idea Jobs would pass on so quickly. I have a very heavy heart right now. Thoughts?

iPhone Event October 4

2011-09-27T12:53:00.001-07:00

Stitch, it seems to me that predictions for the October 4 event are all over the map! It will be an interesting indication of how the new Cook reign will play out over time.

Have you heard about what to expect? Will there be new iPods? It seems that this event is not geared toward iPods, but will they "blow everyone away"? Just wondering what your take is.

Resignation of Steve Jobs

2011-08-24T17:20:00.002-07:00

Stitch, you've heard the news. I jhad a lengthy text exchange with my brother, and www agree that with Jobs staying on as Chairman of the Board, the vision of Jobs will not be completely lost. Additionally, the Corp group of executives is extremely talented, and we could say that togethr they also contribute to the overall Apple vision. Jobs has stated that Apple's vision is really encoded in the DNA of the company. I'm not as worried about the future success of Apple, but rather Job's health. That really says something when the man partly responsible for the birth of Apple cannot go on, when you know he desperately wants to!

I'm interested in your take on this changing of the reigns at Apple.

New Comments hard to see on this theme

2011-08-22T09:34:00.001-07:00

Just a quick comment, Stitch. I notice that, on my computer, it is difficult to see that there is a new comment to a post. You probably already know that, but I thought I would alert you to it.

Google buys Motorola?

2011-08-21T21:42:00.003-07:00

Can it be true that Google would spend 2 years of profits on buying Motorola? And do they want to emulate the Apple model of integrated software and hardware? The following article asks this question.

Link

It seems that Google tried the, "we will create the software and other companies will make the phones using our software" model. But this seemed to fail. Sure they always quote how many phones have the Android operating system running on it. But it is more like, a bunch of low end phones have Android and people accept having it. They don't seek out the phones like the iPhone with iOS. Sure there are some die hard techies that do this with the high end Android phones but this is a small hard core following similar to Linux lovers. The masses love the iPhone and will pay the entry fee for the best.

The article quoted asks if Google can create a euphoric desire for their phones like Apple does. Google is about stepping out of the picture, as in Google search. Very simplistic and unobtrusive. Why did Google succeed in search over the former leader Yahoo? Yahoo plastered an overwhelming amount of ads all over the search page and then the search engine logic did not typically bring the most likely search match that you would probably want to the top. I remember needing to dig 4 to 5 pages deep before finding the link I was truly interested in. Google decided that they would use a ranking system which would assure the most likely desired match to float to the top. This made Google and created a large tech company with loads of cash. Since then there has been very little that brings in the same level of income. Google maps may be the exception. You Tube was bought and Google has tried to make it generate cash flow. Lately they have ads that pop up at the bottom of the video, possibly overlaying the content itself. This always annoyed me with television where they would put an ad at the bottom of the screen during a show advertising some other show. So I don't see a track record with Google except they get loads of search revenue to play with on odd adventures. Android was another purchase back in 2005, with the loads of cash they have they can just buy the good stuff and not innovate new products which actually generate good cash flows and justify their existence. Apple buys companies but they are not core to their operations they are extra gravy to the amazing product developed internally. They don't just search for who is making cool stuff and buy them, they make cool stuff on their own and buy supplemental companies to augment new supporting features.

If Google believes they can buy their way into greatness, they might want to look at Microsoft. MS had/has a cash cow with Windows and the Office tools but most everything else they just buy ( Xbox is an unusual exception). Motorola is no godsend cellphone company. They have had many flops of phones with a few successes. Google will have their hands full to prove that they can actually integrate a hardware company into a software company and have them make amazing products as a whole. So far I have not seen a sign from past Google ventures which prove this ability.

Postpone Macnight!!

2011-07-14T11:49:00.003-07:00

Hey Stitch! I'll also email you - just found out that this Friday we are going to my parents' house for dinner, so this Friday won't work as a Macnight. Allow me to suggest we postpone the Macnight until perhaps your home upgrade nears completion. Sound good? I hope your work on the house is proceeding without interruption!

It Just Works!

2011-06-15T19:03:00.002-07:00

Stitch, our DSL modem just crapped out, and I had to hook stuff back up once I got a mer modem. I was a little worried about the two airport express units I use to stream music to our two stereo systems. You guessed it: when the modem hooked to the Internet, the airport express units both " just worked" !

By the way, we will soon have to replace our aging iMac. Turns out the iMac we have won't work with Lion! We have the first generation iMac Core Duo, the unit that first shipped when Apple switched to Intel chips. I can't believe how time is flying! Seems just a while ago we were stuck with the G5!

Email BLackout!

2011-06-11T07:49:00.002-07:00

Stitch, I emailed you at your gmail address - I did receive your call, but it was buried with others because we were on vacation. I don't think I have your phone number, so check your gmail address when you get a chance. Then I could call you as well as update your contact info!

Spaceship Campus!

2011-06-08T11:37:00.002-07:00

Stitch, leave it up to Apple and Steve Jobs to conceive of a spaceship like campus in Cupertino to house 12,000 employees, with green energy, underground parking, and native landscaping of the Bay Area.
Spaceship Campus
On the former grounds of an HP campus no less! Awesome! I'd see if I could work at Apple, but I wouldn't be qualified!

Demise of MobileMe

2011-06-07T07:38:00.002-07:00

Well, Stitch, as a MobileMe user, I look forward to the new iCloud and will take full advantage of the capabilities. It is true that MobileMe was far from perfect, but it was so convenient. Now I know why Apple was no longer supporting iWeb with updates. People don't use their own web sites much anymore! (And let's not even bring up iDVD!) Folks want to use web site utilities like Facebook to communicate. I'm not sure if things like the Photo Galleries are also going away, but they probably will. I liked the galleries a lot more than Flickr. I felt they were more polished and smooth.

Kind of like the floppy drive's demise, I guess it's time to move toward the future! I feel kind of like I'm saying goodbye to a great software package like Hypercard! It's hard to let go...

iCloud

2011-06-05T14:12:00.002-07:00

Stitch, as a Mobile Me subscriber, having endured the scorn of the masses for choosing a service that many say is inferior, I watch tomorrows announcements with high hopes! Word is that new Time Capsules and Airport Expresses will make appearances along with the new iCloud service. We shall see! I seriously hope there will be a cool music streaming service.

iPad2 a Dream on Vacation

2011-05-31T11:28:00.003-07:00

Stitch, just returned from a 2 week vacation to Spain and France. The iPad2 was an indispensable tool, especially for the plane flight. I took several Seinfeld episodes, two SNL shows, and 3 rented movies on the trip. It is really nice to get lost in a good movie or show while on a long plane flight. The only thing I would want to do differently is have a better way of holding the iPad2. It turned out that the easier way to watch was for me to actually hold the iPad in one hand. It's light enough where I could do that for a significant amount of time!

Anyway, it was a life saver! Oh, and I even downloaded Numbers and kept track of vacation expenses. How cool is that?

Macintoshafanatica is an iPad2 owner

2011-05-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

Stitch, I must apologize for being MIA on our Macnight blog. Things became quite messy here at work, but they have since stabilized nicely. I must relay the information that we are now proud owners of a new iPad2, 64 Gb wi-fi. A few observations having used it for about a week. (I actually posted this a couple days ago, but for some reason it was taken down!)

1. It is truly the ultimate web machine. In this respect, it is better than a desktop computer, and definitely better than my iPod Touch. I absolutely love it. In fact, I am typing this as we speak on our iPad. This brings me to...

2. I can actually type faster on the iPad 2 in landscape mode than I can on a regular keyboard. This is because I do not type correctly, however, and the slightly smaller keyboard makes it easy for me to type incorrectly. Don't laugh!

3. It is a dream to watch a movie or tv show on this device. I have already rented 2 movies, and I have ripped some tv shows that I own. Awesome.

4. It is not as good as the iPod Touch for listening to music for obvious reasons.

5. This machine makes me far more responsive on email than I have ever been because it is so damn conveninent.

6. We did not buy the smartcover, because we think we would have regretted it. Found out from a salesperson at the Apple store that the clicking of the cover on the aluminum case eventually causes small dings. Outrageous! However, cases have never been Apple's forte.

7. GarageBand for the iPad is absolutely kick butt, and I believe software like that will be the reason more people buy the iPad than other tablet computers.

Well, that's enough for now. Any questions? Oh, and I highly recommend the iPad2!!

iPad2 is HERE

2011-03-02T13:36:00.003-07:00

Stitch, the iPad2 made it's much vaunted debut. Dual core, gyroscope, 33% thinner, front and rear facing cameras. But the two things which surprised me might seem modest to you:

1. The new cover seemed very slick. With all those colors and the fact that it is a convenient stand for the iPad2, seems like a lot of droolworthy stuff for such a diminutive case.

2. GARAGEBAND!! Man, for a $5 application, that induces drool from a Garageband user like myself!

What did you think? Does Apple stay ahead of the competition?

Facetime MacNight

2011-02-25T22:31:00.003-07:00

I am just throwing this out there as a possibility. How about having a Facetime MacNight since due to distance we cannot have a MacNight at our usual venue. I have downloaded the Facetime App for OSX and have used it with my son's iPod Touch. It is pretty cool. What do you think?

Love the New Look!

2011-02-23T17:05:00.002-07:00

Stitch, I love the new look! So "deep space" - probably one of the best backdrops we've ever had. Good job!

iPad2

2011-02-23T10:09:00.002-07:00

Stitch, clearly the iPad 2 will be announced a week from today. There is no doubt in my mind Apple has been feverishly working on the next generation because, once everyone saw how to do it from Apple, no one wants to be left behind. That happened with the iPhone, and Apple knows the drill. I just hope Apple prepared enough for how crazy everyone was trying to get a piece of the pie. No doubt, Steve Jobs knew it could get like this. It will be interesting to see what Apple has up its sleeves!

Steve Jobs sightings and Apple stock

2011-02-10T15:38:00.002-07:00

Supposedly Apple stock took a dive on rumors Jobs was hospitalized:

Stock Jobs

On the other hand, the article mentions Jobs has been sighted recently at a restaurant and also on the Apple campus looking good. I am praying, Stitch, that Jobs is ok!

Classic iPod on the way out?

2011-02-08T10:28:00.002-07:00

Stitch, does this mean the venerable Classic iPod is on the way out?

Classic iPod

I can't help it - I hope the classic iPod survives. I think there are still a lot of people who want the additional capacity, and don't need all the additional functions of a Touch. What do you think? Should Apple let the classic die?

Jobs on Medical Leave

2011-01-17T08:31:00.003-07:00

Well, Stitch, I hope Jobs' medical issues can be dealt with. I'm a little concerned, because Steve Jobs wants nothing more than to be on the job with Apple. So I admit this makes me uneasy!

Verizon iPhone to expand market

2011-01-16T23:03:00.002-07:00

I think with the new Verizon iPhone, Apple's cell phone market has expanded tremendously. Some had suggested that there may just be a shift of disgruntled AT&T users to Verizon because of the poor network performance of AT&T. But I believe this will be a small percentage. Most people are locked into two year contracts already and they have already invested in an iPhone with AT&T. Verizon's iPhone is a new model which require a new agreement and investment. If this change occurred at a change in new iPhone models then people may switch networks. Plus cell phone networks are like cafeteria food, people will always complain about it. All it takes is one bad experience. But is this experience really bad enough to make you switch networks? More likely there is a large group of current Verizon customers who have been waiting for the iPhone because they did not want to switch to AT&T. The market gets bigger. Now if Apple can release some lower end phones to compete with the low priced Android phones, it would be a checkmate to Google.

My Aunt has an iPad!

2011-01-11T08:36:00.003-07:00

I am thrilled to announce that my aunt bought an iPad (under my supervision) and is now using it for internet connectivity! She is the first one in our family to have a tablet device (although my parents have kindles, I don't think it's the same thing). It really is a thing of beauty! Everything just works!

$50 Billion in cash

2011-01-11T01:17:00.002-07:00

Apple has been stock piling the money. It has over $50 billion in cash. More than MS, Goolgle, or Amazon. I saw an article making fun of the rate of return Apple has on this cash is only 0.7%. Of course Jobs defended this by saying, "we don't make having cash drive our acquisition strategies". Or something to that effect. What would Apple buy for $50 Billion? Maybe Sprint? It may not be enough for that though.

Can we bring MacNight back to life??

2011-01-11T01:16:00.000-07:00

Anybody out there..............

Airplay from iOS 4.2

2010-11-22T08:10:00.003-07:00

I'm sure you heard the news - iOS 4.2 is out, and the feature I covet the most is Airplay. Having purchased 2 Airport Express units over the last couple of years, I'm thrilled with the notion of streaming audio directly from my iPod Touch to my stereo. I'm curious if the feature affects battery life any more than simply using the "Remote" app to stream music from the Mac to the Express units. I'll let you know once I find out.

I hope the feature if iOS 4.2 push sales of the Apple TV unit. We'd love to get one, except we don't have a flat screen TV!! One day...

I think Airprint needed to be more versatile for it to be a hit.

Google Android search cash cow drying up?

2010-11-22T00:03:00.002-07:00

It looks like the Android experiment from Google may backfire. Google makes money from Android by having Google search as the default search engine. But the carriers are now finding that they don't really need Google. They can use whoever makes it worth their while. So Google may need to start paying for having Google as the default search, cutting into profits. They already pay Apple for Google search on the iPhone. So does this mean that Google's revenue may vaporize enough to the point of cutting development of the Android operating system? Could be, at least hinder it. But since Android is now open source it may not matter. It may go the way of Linux and have a hord of computer hacks developing it. This in my opinion would be the demise of the operating system. From my experience with Linux, there are moments of brilliance in a sea of mediocrity, or at least excess complexity. Without a governing driving goal the system will splinter and become a hodgepodge of programs and philosophy. But how will this effect the iOS of Apple? With Apple being the initial leader in this platform, they have an opportunity to steam ahead. With the desktop computer systems, Apple stumbled and never was able to get the message out of the wonderful integration of their OS, and Windows buried them financially. But with the iOS, the cat is out of the bag and people love the simplicity and integration. There is no going back. In the end Apple may thrive even more due to Google's open OS of Android.

No more cash cow?

Meat the Beatles

2010-11-15T22:36:00.003-07:00

Are the rumors true? Did iTunes land the Beatles finally? Tuesday is suppose to be the day of the big announcement. It is also rumored that the Beatles may be getting a special pricing arrangement too. And I would be ecstatic. It would be nice if iTunes allowed for a larger range of pricing, and let the market decide who wins or loses. Smaller groups on small labels may be willing to try to undercut the big name labels. Or artists may decide they don't really need a studio anymore and market there music directly. Anyway, it sure is nice that the Beatles have made their way to iTunes. At least so it seems.

Everyone wants to be an Apple

2010-10-23T23:09:00.002-07:00

Now that Apple is this amazingly successful company several other companies want to emulate there success. Oracle's CEO said point blank that they are looking to copy Apple's strategy of designing all in one products and selling the computer systems as packages. They recently bought Sun as part of this strategy. I guess all the naysaying that was directed at Apple was wrong. The naysaying of how they try to control all of their system. This has actually benefited Apple by being able to design the entire system so that it works perfectly together. Nobody complains about a automotive company for designing all aspects of their cars (or at least the key aspects) to make the entire car experience a joy to own. Dell's CEO has also come out and said that they will no longer be driven only by price in the design of their products. Of course this comes after a considerable slowdown in the PC market which has hurt their business even when Apple continues to grow. "I have seen the light!!" I hope more companies realize that everything is not about cost alone but in value. People will pay a little bit more if the value is there. A race to the bottom is not a magnificent goal in and of itself. I have seen too many products be designed to last too short just to make them cheaper. The illusion of quality is still an illusion and the buying public is tired of finding out later that they bought junk. Let the games begin.

Mac Event Comments

2010-10-23T22:53:00.003-07:00

I watched the Mac Event and there weren't too many Earth shattering surprises. Of course Apple is pushing ahead development of the next release of OSX, code name Lion. Incorporating many of the features learned from iPhone/iPad world. I think one of the coolest features is the new App store for OSX. This should help to push Mac apps into the limelight. And I like how the App store on the iPhone created a good competitive market to make Apps be reasonably priced. Hope this continues on the Mac App store. The iLife updates look cool especially the Garageband updates and iMovie updates. The iMovie movie trailer setup is amazing. The Mac software evolves at an amazing rate. I only wish they would open up some their iLife tools to allow for other developers to make new themes and trailer templates. Something along the lines of an Themes App store would be great. I am sure Apple is concerned about having a bunch of poorly made themes overwhelming the good ones. But with an App store type format, the best will rise to the top. Apple cannot think of everyone's choice of templates, please let other creative people have a shot at it too. The Apple templates can be more like examples. The MacBook air models with flash memory drives is the wave of the future as Jobs stated. And the prices are aggressively low for cutting edge hardware. I especially like Jobs' comment about touchscreen interfaces don't work because after a while you feel like your arm is going to fall off. The magic mouse is a good touch interface but it does have problems of getting your gesture wrong a lot. This was shown when the iMovie demo for iLife wasn't responding to the touch gestures by the presenter. All and all, a good step forward. I am sure the Umpa Loompas at Apple are hard at work making even more cool products!

Mac Event!!

2010-10-13T09:06:00.002-07:00

Heard the news, Stitch? There will be a Mac event on October 20! With all the hoopla surrounding Apple's new mobile products, it sure is nice to hear a little bit about the Mac, which is where all this first started! It is assumed the new OS will be called "Lion", and I hope it satisfies the image if "King of the Jungle!"

I hope they also release the new version of iLife. I'm hooked on that software!

Windows 7 Phone Ad - Very very odd

2010-10-12T23:52:00.003-07:00

Have you seen the new wave of ads for the new Windows 7 phone? The main message is that people are currently too preoccupied with their current smart phone ( aka iPhone ) that they miss out in the real things in life. So they show people in various situations overlooking the important things in life. And somehow the new Windows 7 phone simplifies all this so you can use it quick and get on with your life. But in reality the ads are just showing that the iPhone is so cool they don't want to put it down, and the Windows 7 phone is so basic you put it down immediately. Sort of follows along the lines of past Microsoft ads which after watching make you wonder, Huh? what is their point?. The ads have very little showing how cool the W7 phone is, which makes me wonder if the ad agency didn't have much to work with so they came up with this wild marketing strategy. Hmmm weird.

iPad in Walmart

2010-10-12T09:39:00.001-07:00

Oh how times have changed, Stitch. I still remember the days when we had to search far and wide for the Comp USA store to get the latest Apple gear. Now, the iPad is in Walmart of all places!

Walmart

What do you think of picking up an iPad with your dog food?

Ping!!

2010-09-27T09:44:00.003-07:00

Stitch, I have mixed feelings about Ping. I'm just not sure people want yet another online social networking tool. And yet, I want it to be successful. I haven't tried it for the same reason other folks might be hesitant - do I want to be checking and interacting in yet another online venue? What do you think, Stitch?

New Apple TV

2010-09-20T07:57:00.002-07:00

Stitch, I'm dying to find out what you think of the new Apple TV. The price point is outstanding at $99, and by all accounts, streaming is the wave of the future. I'm not as familiar with current pricing as compared to the new Apple TV service pricing. Does it have the makings of a hit? I am seriously considering buying this iteration.

The New Nano

2010-09-07T13:21:00.002-07:00

Well, Stitch, I will put forth a suggestion that the most unexpected modification of the iPod lineup was the nano. I still have my first generation iPod nano, and it still works, and I want this one too! Robin and I were both drooling over the new multi-touch design. Apple is really integrating multi-touch everywhere! This is really a creative way to re-invent the nano - it's super small (as Jobs always says), but awfully fun at the same time. It's functional, it's cool, it clips on! And on and on! Were you as taken as we were with this new diminutive device?

The G4 Cube

2010-08-12T10:11:00.003-07:00

Stitch, did you see the retrospective on the venerable G4 Cube?

G4 Cube

It's amazing that 10 years have passed since it was introduced, and 9 years since it was discontinued. I would have to agree that it just wasn't priced for the intended market. Sure, they sold a few, but those were the folks who loved cutting edge technology and are willing to spend bucks to get their hands on it first.

I still love the look of the Cube. I loved the entire concept. And those who own Cubes say it was a robustly operating computer. I love the engineering so that it was fanless. But if you notice, I'm not writing this email on a Cube!! Too expensive for me! And I think that's the point.

As an aside, the Cube was released when there weren't any Apple Stores, and you could still boot into OS9!! Ah, nostalgia...

A New Look to Macnight?

2010-07-23T08:24:00.002-07:00

Have you seen the new template feature? I think this is a nice theme. What do you think?

Le gets a Mac

2010-07-23T08:20:00.002-07:00

Just so you know, Le bought a new Macbook Pro last night. And he also received a new printer and an iPod touch for $100 through a special program. We celebrated last night this momentous occasion! Naturally I assured him that I am there for assistance with any issues at any time! He is now a kindred in ownership as well as spirit!

Antennagate

2010-07-23T08:16:00.002-07:00

Stitch, I watched in horror as one of the greatest products Apple has ever released faced a perfect media storm over the antenna attenuation. I genuinely thought that Apple did the right thing in explaining how all smart phones are susceptible to attenuation, and how the data simply did not support the problem it was made out to be in the media. Even for those who are unhappy, Apple is giving free cases, and a free return policy. It made sense to me.

But I'm wondering what your take on it is? I know I'm biased. Just last night we were at the Apple store, and I just cannot believe how awesome that phone is. The screen is miraculous!

Where is the Love?

2010-06-07T20:05:00.002-07:00

For the new iPhone 4 that is. It seems to be another leap forward. Apple doesn't just sit on its laurels. (Is that spelled right? What are laurels anyway?) HD video editing on an iPhone. You gotta be sheeetin me. WOW!! The video calling is super cool too. The problem in the past with companies that tried to make a video phone is that no one you knew had a video phone to call. Self killing market. But the iPhone will be self fulfilling. People aren't just buying this for the video phone capabilities, but as soon as enough people have this capability, it will be mainstream. Then Apple can sell home video phones too. The money train just doesn't stop chugging for Apple. I bet the next innovation at Apple will be something to do with TV's. They are way past due for fixing TV. Especially the internet TV. Google TV needs a competitor. And hey, Google just does something to get more Ads in front of your face. I would like to see an open market place for internet TV from Apple where the cost of programs are dynamic. Forget this everything the same price crap. Let the market decide what a show should cost. Pleeeeeese Apple. Anyway, the new iPhone is impressive. Not a minor upgrade. Once again Apple, well done.

Apple worth more than Microsoft

2010-05-28T14:16:00.002-07:00

Did you hear that Apple just recently overtook Microsoft in market capitilization? It is hard to imagine that having a very successful portable music player and cell phone can rocket you ahead of Microsoft. Sure Apple still sells computers, but supposedly it only accounts for 1/3 of Apples income. Only Exxon has a bigger market cap than Apple. Sure market cap is not the same as having more profits, but it shows that investors are tending to think of Microsoft as a has been, and Apple as the future as far as growth is concern. And for good reason. Not many company's tend to have one home run after another. But still, what can come after the iPad? The iFridge? Not quite as marketable, but it would have a touch screen door to interface with. The iCar? Hey why not? There are so many computer chips in cars these days that it is the software which makes it all work more so now than the actually hardware. Similar to computers. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Apple make everything in our lives better. They are one of the few companies which can join style and function in the same device. I love it when the Apple haters diss Apple for making their products too pretty. I don't get it. Is it possible to have too cool of a product design? Just like it is not possible to be too young or too rich. Anyway, keep going Apple. Keep making our lives a little bit cooler. I am starting to feel like we are entering the age of the Jetson's thanks to Apple.

Android overtakes iPhone?

2010-05-11T11:37:00.002-07:00

Stitch, the headlines have recently screamed that this is the first quarter that Android based phones sold more that iPhones. But consider the following article:

Android v. iPhone

The author suggests looking a little deeper into the statistics and the incredible deals the carriers have put out to spur sales. In a way, it may make the iPhone a more desirable phone. As the article also suggests, let's wait a little longer to see what happens when Apple releases the iPhone 4G.

One Million iPads!

2010-05-03T07:42:00.002-07:00

Stitch, if there is a greater measure of success, then I don't know what that would be:

1 Million iPads

It's the dollars and cents that come in from massive sales that tells the story in this case. But how that can happen is the result of attention to detail and quality. More importantly, Apple takes the older Tablet idea and takes it into uncharted territory, as they often do. Sure, it's a tablet, but in a way that no previous tablets were!

1 Million!

The End of an Era

2010-04-26T10:08:00.002-07:00

Well Stitch, Sony will cease production of the floppy disc:

Floppy Demise

I still remember inserting the good ol' floppy into the Macs of old. My G3 has the floppy drive. And I still remember what a leap it was when Zip drives came out! It just looked like a floppy on steroids.

But at this point, especially as online computing and storage takes hold, lots of portable media will be disappearing. I admit to a little nostalgia - I'll miss the era of excitement as we all realized what personal computing could do, and portable media was an essential part of that!

Would you like to share some of your thoughts and feelings?

Let the Ball roll no further!

2010-04-13T07:49:00.002-07:00

I must say that Sunday night Robin and I did indeed go to the Apple store and handle the much coveted iPad, and I must say it is every bit as magnificent as they say! Leave it to Jobs to tell it like it is - you have to HOLD one to truly understand its magnificence. For the first time, I heard Robin say that this was definitely a product we should consider buying.

Stitch, it truly is a fast machine, and there is no other experience like surfing the web on it. Now I'll reserve judgement for the iWork applications, bit my limited exposure was very positive! I'm a huge fan of the new calendar implementation - it's just like a real classic desktop calendar where you flip the pages effortlessly. Apple really thought through the software!

I admit I am consistently annoyed by the deluge of copy cats out there who just can't seem to create original products. I know I am biased, but I truly believe that Apple leads the pack with innovations, an most everyone else comes into the market with their "me too" stuff.

Stitch, should I stop being annoyed, and just accept it as a part of our world?

Where are the iPad accolades?

2010-04-12T23:01:00.002-07:00

I am amazed how MacNight has dropped the ball on the iPad hype. The release has come and went with not a peep from the following. I personally am also responsible too. I have yet to touch one in person yet, so a full review is not possible at this time. I hope we can revive the enthusiasm for MacNight, and the iPad might just do it. Even thought women don't really care for the name.

Multi Tasking on iPhone

2010-03-11T11:59:00.002-07:00

Stitch, rumor has it that multi tasking will be a feature of iPhone OS4.0. It seems like a logical next step. Given the way cut and paste evolved, it seems like a reasonable assumption. I just wonder how they got around the drain on battery life? How necessary is it really? Sometimes I wonder. What do you think?

Our Sentiments Exactly!

2010-02-03T13:01:00.002-07:00

Stitch, here is a great article on the iPad:

iPad

It mentions some of the complaints about the iPad. For example, wouldn't everyone love to have handwriting recognition! Unfortunately, nobody does it so it's really useful for most people! He says Apple didn't put it in because they want it to work extremely well, not just acceptable!

Check out the article, tell me what you think!

iPad Comments

2010-01-28T14:37:00.002-07:00

I have viewed the Keynote and the iPad design video and even without seeing the device, I think it will be a hit. The key is the personal interation. Apple tried to run this home by having Steve Jobs sit on an easy chair and use the iPad. It is amazing at all the bad reviews it has been getting. All the complaints of no camera, small storage space, no hard drive, yada yada yada. If you put everything in the device then you either have to use low quality parts or price it through the roof. The iPad is not meant to be used to take pictures, be used for heavy workload work, or do video editing. It is to use casually as a personal media viewer. Look at pictures, video, eBooks, eMail, and surf the web. Yes you can do games too, and it does have iWork too. But I think these are misplaced. Are you going to edit your presentation on an iPad, or write a paper on an iPad? It does have the capability to be developed into whatever developers can imagine. The interactive painting program is a perfect example of a good fit with the iPad. The creative process does not work well sitting at a desk. An iPad gives you freedom to move whereever inspiration can be found. Apple stock tanked after the iPad announcement but I think Apple always gets backlash whenever they try to define a new paradigm. By leaving things out of the design, Apple has allowed for the inclusion of better components and a polished device at a reasonable price. I am amazed how much tunnel vision so many of these tech writers have. Everything is compared to what currently exists. In this environment, Apple will always get the short end of the stick. Many people cannot handle devices on the cutting edge. It is too bad, but they eventually come around and later say that they knew this device was good from the start. Ha.

The iPad Revealed!

2010-01-27T13:35:00.002-07:00

Well, Stitch, I think this is the most significant announcement from Apple since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Like many people, what took me by surprise was the pricing of the device and the 3G pricing that comes with it. At these prices, it's enough to entice a tightwad like myself to buy!

I had mentioned before it's possible Apple was distinguishing itself on this product by including its proprietary chip (since it bought PA Semi) in the device. I would think this is one of the reasons they thought that this device wouldn't be as easy to copy as the iPhone. The performance and battery life appear to be outstanding on first glance, and that apparently is due to the chip!

A4 Chip

At these prices, and with the ability to run all these applications that are already written, it seems like a home run. What do you think?

The iPad!

2010-01-22T14:18:00.002-07:00

Stitch, we will finally be introduced to Apple's new creation:

iPad

The word is it will possibly use ATandT or Verizon's network, which is really something! Should have e-reader capability as well, and if rumors are to be believed, has been in development for some time. Jobs wanted this to be right! I am very optimistic. How about you!

iPod Dominance

2010-01-13T12:15:00.004-07:00

Stitch, you may have read the Macworld article by Christopher Breen about CES:

Consumer Electronics Show

He attended the CES and found that MP3 players were not much on display. A PR person said that they still sell Mp3 players, but really no one can compete with the iPod. He found almost no major competitors trying to display their MP3 players. When you think about it, and the more I read online, it seems future devices may be more geared toward accepting streams of music rather than downloaded tracks. I read another article which basically said the future will have music in the 'cloud' and all of us paying to have access to anything in the cloud. That may be true for many people, but I think I may be too old for living in a cloud!

When is the Tablet Coming?

2010-01-13T11:42:00.002-07:00

Stitch, we have been hearing reports in cyberspace regarding the impending release of the mythical tablet or iSlate from Apple. I heard it would be an iPhone on steroids! Supposedly the multitouch gestures will be expanded to a new level. I also heard the processor originates from the chip company PA Semi Apple acquired a couple of years ago. Everyone wondered what Apple would use the technology for. I'm going out on a limb to speculate that Apple has mentioned that it will release something its competitors can't copy, and the capabilities resulting from a proprietary chip might be just that! What do you think of my conjecture, Stitch? Truth, or fluff?

Google Android developers dropping like flies

2009-12-23T14:09:00.002-07:00

I read an article that said that many of the developers for the Google Android mobile phone are deciding it may not be worth the investment. It said that the market size for the Android makes it difficult to justify too much development time into making software applications for the Android system. Another concern was that there is no standard format for input since Android runs on a variety of different phones. Screen sizes can vary, input modes may vary. This adds cost to support the wide array of possible combinations. It's almost as if Apple is in the same situation with it's iPhone as Microsoft is with desktop computers. Once you dominate a market, it is hard to be displaced. But in this case Apple even makes the best product too so it is a one/two punch. I think Android will end up being a nitch market like Linux. Interesting but a little too open, so there is too much differences in the way they work. Look at all the different "flavors" of Linux. Hackers love a system like this but I don't think the general public will.

Titanium still Rocks!

2009-12-16T12:15:00.002-07:00

I thought I would mention that I still use my Titanium Powerbook for mobile computing purposes. But for the first time, I find there is beginning to be a speed lag that I notice. I am now using the latest version of Numbers on the Powerbook, and I admit it is a little sluggish. The only reason I did it is that my current Numbers files won't work on the version that was on the Powerbook. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.

These Apples never die, Stitch!

New Airport Express

2009-12-16T12:09:00.002-07:00

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I bought and integrated an Airport Express into our home network. I must say, there is something liberating about streaming music from the computer to our new stereo system. I use my iPod Touch and the free Remote app to control and browse iTunes. It has worked magnificently, and it really allows a new and far more effective way of playing my iTunes music through a stereo. Since I ripped most of my music in Lossless format, the sound quality is outstanding.

The one issue I have is that for some reason I have not successfully moved the Express to another room and hooked up to it. I am not sure if I'm doing something wrong or not. Right now I have the Express hooked up via ethernet cable to our cable modem, and I was hoping to de-tether it if I wanted to listen to music from our other stereo. I will keep you informed.

The latest in Apple land is Apple's acquisition of LaLa, prompting everyone to think Apple is going towards the "stream any music you want from the cloud" paradigm. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too old to go to that. How do you feel about it, Stitch?

Imitation the Sincerest form of flattery?

2009-11-13T13:01:00.002-07:00

Stitch, this is a Window 7 partner saying basically they copied OSX's graphical look and feel. My brother in law mentioned that Windows is now just like OSX. My God, can Microsoft do anything original? I know, I know - they have done original things. But this just annoys me. What's your take?

Copy Kat

iTunes with subscription TV?

2009-11-04T15:45:00.002-07:00

Did you hear the rumor that Apple is trying to get networks to have their content sent via iTunes for a $30/month subscription fee. I have wondered why this has taken so long to develop. I am thinking it was the networks who didn't want to jump in to this model since it might disrupt the whole TV universe of distribution. With cable and advertisers screaming foul. Hopefully this time Apple can make the deal.

Link to article

This article talks about the whole thing coming together by the beginning of next year. Another article I read even went a step further saying that they would integrate the whole thing into the rumored tablet computer. But I don't really get why this would be a breakthrough. Who wants to hold the screen to watch TV? Anyway it would obviously be linked to play on your computer, and iPod/iTouch/iPhone, and AppleTV. Depending on how much they can swing with the networks. Up to this point no one has been able to convince the networks to go this route. Trying to develop Hulu on their own. But I don't think that Hulu is that big of a success. They are rumored to be developing a paid service too. But it would still lock you to viewing from your computer. Which I think is a small market, most people want a seemless way to view on their TV. Will AppleTV need to be beefed up for this? Given how well movies flow, I don't think it would necessarily. This will help to keep the cost down too. It does sound like an exciting posibillity. Especially if you would be able to pick "a la cart" style which networks you wanted. Time will tell.

Apple is the Target

2009-10-26T12:45:00.002-07:00

With all of the recent sucess of the iPhone, once again Apple is the target of the competition namecalling. Nokia is suing Apple for copyright infringements with the iPhone. Verizon is attacking the iPhone with "we got a map for that" for the larger coverage over AT&T. And now Verizon has teamed up with Motorola and disses all of the "negative" features that the iPhone doesn't have or do with their latest Dune ads. When I first saw these ads, I didn't even know what it was for. The ending was like an ad for a horror flick.
Apple will survive all this. Just like the iPod attacks. The Nokia copyright suit I am sure is a minor one. Maybe Apple will need to pay some minor royalties to Nokia for some menu system etc. Seems a bit late for that kind of lawsuit. The iPhone has been out for quite some time. Maybe it was because of Nokia's poor earnings report.
One surprising thing is that the exlusive AT&T agreement may end mid 2010. Verizon keeps posturing to sell the iPhone, but they don't want to give up everything like AT&T did. With the Apple Apps store instead of their own, Vcast store. It's a big chess game about who makes how much profit in the big deal. Who has more to gain from each other. I am sure Apple will be able to work out a deal, unless Verizon becomes too stuborn again and wants all the chips for themselves. Personally, I would like to see Apple start their own network, or buy one. Seems like Sprint and T-mobile are the only ones left. AllTel got bought by Verizon. They probably have the cash. They could start a new paradime about cell phones are sold. I don't know if the numbers add up, but with Apple profits going like gangbusters, and Verizon's profits slipping I think Apple has the upper hand.

Mad Money loves Apple

2009-10-22T17:31:00.002-07:00

I recently watched an episode of Mad Money. Its that investing show with Jim Cramer, who acts like a crazy radio disc jockey playing all sorts of sound effects and lots of crazy sight gags. He is actually a former high end investment broker. Well on this last show he was wearing a large Apple make of cardboard, and taking bites out of apples from a large bushel basket of them. His point, was that many investors think that with Apple's latest great earnings report this past quarter that they should jump ship because Apple is as high as they can go. He says wrong, "Apple is the only company who has said what he has dying to hear, Apple cannot keep up with demand". In a recession, and consumer spending way down, Apple can't keep up with demand. And it is not just the iPhone either, according to Cramer it is there whole product line. He said "This may be the biggest technology company of all time, including Google, and Microsoft". Pretty amazing words. He points out that they only have 3% of the cell phone market and about 4% of the computer market, so there is huge growth potential. And he makes the comment, "Have you ever heard of someone who has switch to an Apple product regret it?, No, once an Apple customer always an Apple customer." I know he always throws in a bunch of showmanship but I think he believes his picks and then spins a wild presentation around it. You can see the episode on iTunes as a podcast. I think it was 10/20 and it is the first topic he covers. Go Apple the technology marvel.

Apple quits the US Chamber of Commerce

2009-10-07T11:20:00.002-07:00

Did you hear this story about Apple quitting the US Chamber of Commerce? I guess it goes back to a statement that the USCOC made pretty much denying global warming and giving a position against any measures to counter it. Apple thought that this position was denying reality and quit in protest. A few other large companies have also quit the USCOC for the same reason including Nike and a few others. I don't think this made big news. I wonder how much a company pays in dues each year.

Family Macnight?

2009-09-23T08:30:00.002-07:00

Stitch, I emailed you at your SabreJim address, and I'm not sure you received it. I proposed a family Macnight for Friday October 2. The following day we will be visiting my grandmother for her birthday, so it would be nice to get together if possible. I know it's late notice, and my apologies! Let me know when you get a chance!

Macnight cluster maps

2009-09-21T17:25:00.003-07:00

Have you noticed the Cluster Maps link at the bottom of the Macnight blog web page? It shows a map of where in the world the most hits to our blog come from. I found it odd that we seem to get a pretty good spread of people from around the world. Some from the southeast Asia, some from Europe, and North America. But one thing absent is South America. No hits? Don't they sell Macs in South America? Aren't there other Mac fanatics there? I am puzzled. Even if people randomly found our site you would expect a few hits from South America too.

iTunes 9.0 A big upgrade

2009-09-10T16:26:00.002-07:00

I would have to say that after downloading iTunes 9.0 that it is a serious upgrade. My favorite new feature is the new layout of the iTunes Store. It is much easier to navigate. And it has a more modern look to it. One area I would like to see an improvement is the rating system. I believe the rating system is overly inflated by teenagers or young college students. Almost everything has a 4 or 5 star rating. Too many times the review say that "the video is the best of all time". Everything cannot be the best of all time. One rating system I found that worked well was on the Fandango.com web site. This is the movie theatre web site for tickets, previews and showtimes. It lets you filter the ratings by different criteria of the rater. Such as by age group, if you have kids, and others. It is interesting how the reviews change with the filtering.

Maybe Apple could put a rater on hold for a while if they give too many high ratings. The other extreme is the one star of death rating where people are irritated about something with the iTunes store or Apple and they use the review as a complaint forum.

Anyways, back to iTunes9. The home sharing feature is good if you have a bunch of libraries as in teens in the same household. I wish they made backup of the system a bit better. Where everything is stored and not breaking the setup is too complex. Having an auto backup feature built into iTunes and archiving to another network hard drive would be the best. iTunes is so big now that a hard drive crash can wipe out a significant investment. Auto backup should be a key feature of iTunes. I know Time machine does this, but this is not available on Windows and older Macs. Plus I don't really want access to every version of every file I have ever created on my computer. I found a program written by a computer science student that lets you auto archive selected directories in the same tree structure as it is on your main drive. Simple, automatic, no compression, encryption, it just works. Should be part of iTunes too.

Another requested feature would be to have different user settings for the same library. It would be like multiple accounts on the same computer. The library is the same but each users settings are stored in their seperate area. Each person could do their own customization. I know Christina does not like a bunch of the songs on my library and we share libraries for easy backup. My worst iTunes experience was trying to merge two libraries which had some duplicate songs and some unique songs. I had to go by hand and find all of the duplicates. iTunes will list them. But you need to delete them one by one clicking visually. Sad.
iTunes is getting better each time but I wish Apple would allow for user input for requested features. Maybe they don't because of potential lawsuits if they use your idea.

What do you think about the new Nano?

2009-09-10T14:13:00.002-07:00

Any thoughts about the new Nano? It seems that Apple needed to do some major feature enhancement to keep the Nano a tempting option in the MP3 player market. Especially with all the new features of the iTouch. This gives people with a smaller budget a reason to buy the Nano. The demographics is probably younger teens or people who want a device to exercise with that is very small but still has a screen.

I read some reviews of the new Nano and many of them gloss over the ability to pause live radio. After owning a DVR for so long and getting used to being able to pause or rewind video, I find myself assuming I have this ability in my car radio. If you miss something that is said, you assume you can just rewind it and hear it again. Yes I am conditioned. I guess for radio it is not as big of a deal unless you are listening to a talk show or something like that. Rewinding a song to hear again may not be that great. I wonder how long the recording goes for and if it is still there next time you power up. The key marketing feature with this is the iTunes taging which allows you to tag you hear on the radio for iTunes. Then when you sync with iTunes you can download the song from the iTunes Store. HD radio advertises having this feature too. It has been driven into my skull with the HD radio ads I hear 5 times a day.

The camera/video feature could be good if the pictures are better than the crappy cameras typically on cell phones. That lens looks pretty small. My cell phone touts a Megapixel camera but the pictures are almost always grainy and blurry unless under very bright sunlight.

I still think the "shake to shuffle" feature introduced in the last update is pure genious and will greatly appeal to the younger crowd. My son opted to get a PSP (Sony handheld gaming device) instead of an iPod Nano for about the same price. To him, games are more important than music right now. And the iTouch was quite a bit more expensive.

Problems with AppleTV

2009-09-08T13:40:00.001-07:00

Stitch, this article seems like it was written by you!

Apple TV Problems

He makes an observation that the media companies are probably just not playing ball with Apple. THe result is that the AppleTV will be a crippled device for the foreseeable future.

Squash the serious AppleTV features upgrade

2009-09-08T09:32:00.002-07:00

Stitch, check out the link:

No AppleTV Upgrade

I know that you can't always rely on analysts' reports, but it seems they met with the Apple CFO for their information. Now there may be an AppleTV refresh coming soon, but I don't think it will be tomorrow. I know I've heard in the past that Apple is working on it. Hopefully it will be soon enough for them to be competitive.

AppleTV needs a serious upgrade

2009-09-04T16:09:00.002-07:00

I have noticed that there is starting to be a lot of competition developing on the AppleTV market. Netflix has Roxio which allows you to view a limited selection of their videos on demand as part of your regular subscription. The reviews have been good and the simple device starts at $50. Then there are more and more PVR's which are like Tivo. Where you can digitally record TV/cable/dish programming to a hard drive for later viewing. Tivo has sued most of the competitors out of the market so this is more the build it yourself market. If Apple can expand their movie database to be on par with Netflix and offer a PVR built in this would be a big advance. The killer app would be something like a cable/dish package which has a minimal fee and loads of ad supported TV. I think the pay per show model for TV is a bust and is only a nitch market.

Speaking of Heavy Handedness!

2009-09-02T12:18:00.003-07:00

Stitch, here is another example: Apple didn't like one developer's "bubbles" in a chat application, saying it was too much like their own. Can a company patent something like that? Maybe Apple should be happy that their iPhone has an App that is almost the same as their refined "look and feel">

Bubbles!

Special Event Sept 9

2009-09-01T17:23:00.003-07:00

Stitch, I'm sure you have already heard that there is a special event coming up. Speculation is rampant on some tablet idea, but I seriously doubt it. This is about music! That happens to be the same day the Beatles release all their albums in remastered form, and everyone thinks Apple will let customers download them from iTunes. Are you interested? Thinking about a new iPod? Word is they could have cameras!

Apple's arrogance revisited

2009-09-01T16:11:00.001-07:00

I think you may have missed my point in the previous "Apple getting to arrogant" post. I added another comment.

Snow Leopard!

2009-08-24T14:50:00.003-07:00

Well Stitch, I already ordered my copy. I know, I know - I'm an Apple nut who can't wait for anything. I admit it! I can't wait, and it's only $30 with free shipping. Not too shabby! Are you going to get the Snow Leopard? If you wait, I could give you a users perspective after I play with it!

Is Apple becoming too arrogant?

2009-08-11T21:49:00.002-07:00

Steve Jobs has always had the "my way, or the highway" attitude when it comes to Apple and Apple products. When the second coming of Jobs occurred, he started with a mellower tone. He started to work well with others, yet still demand excellence. Of course he had a few, "I know best" moves which flopped, such as the Cube. But all and all, Jobs was more flexible.

Now come the iPhone, and it looks like Apple is back at the heavy handedness. Especially by not allowing competing products on the iPhone. The Apps store is both a cure and a curse. Sure you have a store of tons of Apps in the palm of your hand. But they had to filter through Apple. Now others are revolting. I read that there is a way to get Apps for the iPhone which is not the Apps store.

I always thought that if Apple was on top they would not have the heavy hand like Microsoft. But I hate to say it but they appear to have the same affliction.

Apple Arrogance

My AppleTV review (so far)

2009-08-10T22:58:00.002-07:00

Well, I have had the AppleTV for about 2 months now. I am somewhat pleased and somewhat disappointed. First of all the downloading of movies and playing them is flawless. The price of a movie is pricey at $3.99 for DVD quality and $4.99 for HD quality. So I am sticking with Netflix for most movies. But is nice to have the "on demand" option available. It is true the selection choice is limited. I love streaming iTunes to the stereo and TV. It uses AirTunes feature and once again is seemless. I have a USB video recorder for my PC to record HD over the air TV. It plays well on the PC, but the format is unrecognized by AppleTV.
Then comes Boxee. A very good hack for the AppleTV which allows searching your own network for shared files and allowing playing of almost any format on the TV. One problem is that Boxee is not as efficient as the native AppleTV so your video is jittery. It is a work in progress and gets better with each update. My favorite feature of Boxee is Pandora.com. Boxee has applications modules which people write to access content online. The Pandora one is an online radio site which learns your tastes. You rate thumbs up or down and it learns. You can have many stations and the graphics are very professional. It also has access to Hulu.com video. But the feed is jerky and playback is unwatchable. At first I thought it was because of the slow AppleTV processor. But the downloaded movies from Apple work great with high resolution. Hulu is a joint venture of a bunch of TV networks, but they don't understand computers well enough. It is jumpy on my PC too.
Another application is Joost. It hasn't died yet. Their network is setup to get bits of the show from many different sources. This makes playback much better. But at times the resolution fades to keep smooth playback. Plus there is too much crap programming to wade through to find the good stuff. My son likes watching "Transformers" cartoons. They have almost the entire season in order. But there is no parental filters, so can be dangerous for kids.
Installing Boxee was a breeze. You create an image file by downloading a simple script file. Then transfer it to a thumb drive. Shutdown AppleTV. Plug thumbdrive in AppleTV USB port. Reboot. And now it is installed. It uses the AppleTV menu system too so it looks very clean. Updates are done from the AppleTV too.
One beef that I have is that Apple does not move the AppleTV software forward too fast. The Boxee people claim that Apple has been accepting of having Boxee on AppleTV and does not break it with updates. Just in case Boxee will block Apple updates so you have to request them yourself. The Apple updates are so rare anyway though.

Apple Music and Tablets?

2009-07-27T09:05:00.003-07:00

Stitch, check out the link:

Tablet Music

I think it is long overdue to bundle some goodies with online albums! It was a big loss when music began to go online - minimal album art, liner notes, lyrics, extras, etc. I think it's a great idea to take the album concept to the same level and beyond for online music! When I listen to music on the iPod Touch, I absolutely love to see the cool album cover, and I think additional materials you could leaf through on the Touch would be a kick butt idea! I hope they make it happen.

Speaking of awesome ideas done right, how about the much rumored Mac tablet idea? There have been a lot of patents surfacing about a possible tablet idea. I still remember that right before the iPhone was released, there were a lot of patents surfacing which hinted strongly at what was to come. I feel the same thing is happening now. Instead of a clunky, heavy half baked tablet idea from MS, how about a polished, well implemented Apple version! Think about the Macbook Air with only one side! If anyone can do it right, Apple can. Then watch the Microsofts jump on the bandwagon again!

Microsoft Stores

2009-07-27T08:11:00.001-07:00

Stitch, what do you think of the Microsoft retail stores?

MStores

It just amazes me that MS for the most part has no innovative ideas. They truly just copy what Apple does. In this case, it is 8 or so years after the fact.

MS claims Apple called to ask them to stop their TV commercials

2009-07-21T14:45:00.002-07:00

A Microsoft executive in a presentation said that he received a call from Apple attorneys asking MS to stop the MS ads which claim that MS PC's are a better value. Right. I'm sure that is what happened. On MacNN they had a pic of the executive who happens to be bald and very nerdy looking. Someone in the comments section asked, "Are all MS execs bald and stupid?". I had to laugh.

Apple still running strong

2009-07-21T14:41:00.002-07:00

The Q2 earnings are out and Apple continues to grow even during a severe recession. iPhone sales were up 600% from last year! Some of that is because of the transition last year to 3G causing a temporary slump in sales. But still, WOW. I see Apple has said they predict iPod sales to continue to drop over time. But what really is an iPod anymore. Does an iTouch count as an iPod? Does an iPhone too? Not too shabby under the current economic climate we are in.

A proud? owner of an AppleTV

2009-07-06T22:41:00.002-07:00

Yes I have kicked the satellite dish out of my home. I figured when more than half of the stations are either infomercial stations like QVC or digital music stations with really bad music. And then since we are on the west coast, many stations go off the air early and show infomercials. I'm done.
I am setting up an over the air DVR on my PC which will add the shows to iTunes to stream to the main TV with AppleTV. You got to love the interface with ATV. I like watching previews of movies by streaming them directly to ATV. But the prices are still too high, $3.99 for a non HD version. I still just use Netflix for DVD's. A better value, even if you have to wait a couple of days. For me, there is a lot of HD science content on the Podcasts. Sure beats the Science channel which actually have a show where a cowboy hunts down people in the woods. What this has to do with Science I have no idea. Its like Shark week on Discovery channel. At least that is less of a stretch.
I like the favorites for ATV. When you find a podcast you like you can add it to favorites. But these don't get backed up as far as I know. So if you reboot the ATV, then you might loose your favorites. I had a little trouble with iTunes not finding the ATV. It would work for a bit then disappear. I ended up having to wipe my ATV clean and start over. Now it seems to be working fine. Too PC like for me though, with the restart deal.
It is cool to have all your pictures streamed to ATV with Ken Burns effects and songs from you iTunes library. There are actually podcast HD shows which are 20 min long. The full program. I like the station Current. I think it is an up and coming network. They are also on cable and dish. I will update this review after I have ATV a while more.
I don't know why there isn't more advertising in Podcasts even from the big networks. I don't mind short ads if it generates revenue and better content. There are a couple that do and you can see that the quality of the broadcast is better than most. Hey they need a revenue source. I have not downloaded any TV shows yet. $1.99 an episode seems a bit much for something I would only watch once. Hey 50 cents a show, or add some short ads. Oh well. ATV has potential, the on demand stuff of the latest version is good. Blurry youtube videos are also available, but why?

iTouch as a Skype phone

2009-06-24T16:26:00.002-07:00

I couldn't believe this when I saw it but their is a Skype app for the iTouch/iPhone which would allow you to make telephone calls over the internet using Skype. Skype is the famous voice over IP telephone service which allows you to call over the internet. You can call other Skype users anywhere in the world for free, plus call landlines and cell phones for only about $3 a month. With the increase in free WiFi access points could these give cell phones a run for the money. I hope so. Cell phones are overpriced in my opinion. $40-50 a month for the priveledge, which is $500-$600/year for phone service!. You could buy a new HDTV every year at these prices. And you are charged both ways, for incoming and outgoing minutes. Certainly their is need for an alternative. I would love having a WiFi Skype phone which also has the ability to call using prepaid minutes if needed. Quote me now cause I think this is the future.
If you were wondering how can you talk on an iTouch without a microphone. On the second generation iTouch's they have the ability to accept microphone inputs. It is an extra purchase but hey the calls are cheap.

Steve Jobs gets an iLiver

2009-06-24T16:21:00.002-07:00

Well the truth finally comes out about Jobs. With his liver transplant, he was sicker than he had made it out to be. Their are even stock traders who are calling for restitution saying Apple deceived the public and the market from knowing key knowledge about a very influential CEO of a publicly traded company. Companies are required to issue statements about risks in their financial reports. And could be construed that a company is obligated to divulge health problems about a CEO who is intertwined with the company's success. Since it can have an impact on the company performanc. I say, hey this is too personal for stock statements. It will fade. Plus Steve has rebooted with a new iLiver. I wonder if it has WiFi?

Rubinstein is new Palm CEO

2009-06-10T15:14:00.001-07:00

The transformation is complete - Jon Rubinstein is now Vader!

Rubinstein

I knew he had a big part of the Palm revival, but I didn't realize he was that high up!

WWDC 2009 a Success

2009-06-10T12:06:00.002-07:00

Stitch, I would argue that WWDC was a qualified success. I believe a lot of naysayers feel that Apple didn't introduce whiz-bang products, but I would say Apple is laying an extremely solid foundation for the future. I still remember after Apple introduced the iPhone SDK and the App store, many were concerned. The App store had never been done before, and Apple keeps 30% of the revenue! Now a year later, the iPhone is arguably the hottest mobile development platform on the planet, and everyone else is scrambling to open their own app stores. What a dumb idea that everyone is copying!

With the introduction of the iPhone, Apple insisted that the virtual keyboard would be a game changer because it could be modified with software - it was not a static part of the phone. Fast forward, and here we are with gobs of multiple languages that any iphone used can jump right into, simply because the iPhone adjusts to whatever country it is in. And is anyone else jumping on board with a virtual keyboard?

With introduction of an API that allows developers to offer additional packages from within their app, the entire iphone app ecosystem is jacked up again to higher levels. Want a new game scenario? Have the gamer buy it right from within the app.

With the API allowing iPhone interaction with other hardware, developers can interface to the iPhone with their own hardware. The possibilities for that are endless.

Bottom line, it's about the software, and I believe Apple is hitting this one out of the park. The 'analysts' just don't get it, in my opinion. Just because it's not a new hardware product, they don't think there's anything worthwhile. I disagree!!

Palm Pre syncs with iTunes

2009-05-29T09:25:00.002-07:00

Stitch check out the article:

Syncs with iTunes

I don't know if any other smart phone that could do this. And it seems perfectly legal? It is interesting that no other smart phone has ever tried this until now. Or are there others?

Back Stabbed??

2009-05-27T17:37:00.002-07:00

Consider the article:

Backstabber?

Jon Rubinstein of Apple fame reportedly had a big hand in the Palm Pre design. Jon was an Apple executive early in the decade, and he oversaw the hardware division. I cannot help but be hurt, Stitch, that Jon was ok with going to Palm to compete directly against Apple. I know it happens all the time, but it hurts nonetheless. Do you feel the same way?

Palm Pre set to launch

2009-05-19T10:03:00.002-07:00

Check out the article:

Palm Pre

I don't know, Stitch. The pricing is pretty steep, and I think that's the disadvantage of being a late comer (to the tune of 2 years late). You may have a nice phone, but out of necessity you have to price the entry level product in this case at $200 after a mail in rebate. The iPhone has been in the market for 2 years with a possible refresh right around the corner.

What do you think, Stitch? Have you heard much?

p.s. Apologies for my absence lately - I had a rough semester, and I needed to finish it off!!

The Mac gets dissed

2009-04-15T23:22:00.002-07:00

I saw a computer ad on TV yesterday where this guy was searching for the perfect computer. He says he has up to $1500 to spend. He looks at some Netbook computers and dismisses them as toys. He picks up an Apple laptop and says they look cool but he needs a computer with some real computing capabilities. Then he walks out with a Windows computer and says something to the effect, "he has all the computer he needs". And leaves a happy customer.

I was shocked how they blatantly diss the Mac in the Ad. Implying it looks good but is lacking in ability. What a crock.

Saw Netbooks in person

2009-04-09T15:56:00.002-07:00

I saw a few Netbooks in person at Best Buy the other day. They look like toy computers. They are about half the size of a regular computer, just scaled down. The prices were only about $250 but I didn't get the feeling like their was a lot of value in them. It seems that every so often there is an attempt to make these mini computers but they don't sell well. It is more a novelty.

After you bring it home, you end up becoming aware of all the limitations you have with the mini computer. I think the only reason they are selling now is the low price. It is about the price of a periferal like a printer or external hard drive used to cost. I can't see it replacing the needs of a regular computer. It is probably more of an extra computer for the road. It gives you the ability to check the internet while away from home and is small enough to pack easily.

I remember back in about the year 2000, this guy I worked with bought a mini computer made by Sony. Everything was scaled down with mini keys and a mini screen. It was a novelty but back then they cost about $800. So it was an expensive novelty. I think they sold only a dozen of these.

Apple Netbook, is it a possibility?

2009-03-27T22:09:00.003-07:00

Have you heard about the latest craze in laptop computers? Its the Netbook. It all started with a small company that wanted to make a simple computer which could access the internet with minimal capabilities and sell for $100 so that people all over the world would be able to afford it. Well it cost a little more than $100, more like $250-$300 but it sold like hotcakes and not just to third world customers.
This caught the eye of the big computer manufacturers and now almost all of them have a version. It has a low power Intel chip called the Atom, no hard drive only a flash drive (about 8GB) and can connect to the internet. The market has grown to the point that about 12% of all laptops are now these Netbooks. The computer is very small with a 7in diagonal screen and a miniature keyboard.

A lot of people like them because it is an inexpensive way to connect to the internet, and with a lot of applications now running off the internet gives you an inexpensive computer. The first ones were Linux based to keep costs down, but MS has released an XP version.

Apple has yet to get into this market, but it could be said that the iPhone and iTouch are almost a Netbook only smaller. Maybe Apple will release a larger iTouch to compete in this new market. The problem is that the margins are low for this type of device. Kind of like the entry level car market.

MacFan is now a Touch owner!

2009-03-18T08:52:00.004-07:00

It was a complete surprise when I received a new iPod Touch with 32 Gb of memory. I honestly was not expecting it, and let me say I am truly in mobile computing heaven! Stitch, it's absolutely awesome. It kicks butt as an iPod, I can check and manage email easily and on the go, most web sites I like have mobile versions, and it goes on and on. I feel absolutely blessed to have this wonderful device.

And with the coming if iPhone OS 3.0, it will get even better. Stitch, life is beautiful!

Uproar over new Shuffle

2009-03-18T08:46:00.004-07:00

So, what do you think of the new Shuffle? There is an uproar over the relocated controls to the earbud cord.

I don't understand why people are so upset. Apple routinely make design changes to appeal to their customers. For the vast majority of us who use shuffles (that includes myself and the wife), the notion of using a simple three button controller makes sense. It's always oriented in the same way if it's on the cord, and I don't see it as difficult to use! One click for play and pause, two clicks to advance. It's simple! And I think we are unnecessarily looking down on the general population to think they can't easily learn how to use the voice over feature.

I do understand the complaint about having to use the earbuds. But Apple and 3rd party manufacturers have already said that there are solutions coming out.

I just don't get it. You buy the shuffle so that it will be as out of the way and simple as possible - not to hook into your stereo! What's your take?

Woz on DWT stars?!

2009-03-10T01:25:00.001-07:00

Is it true that Steve Wozniak is really going to be on Dancing with the Stars TV show?

Apple Announcements

2009-03-03T11:14:00.003-07:00

What do you think of Apple's announcements today? New versions of everything, just about. I think this was just an update, and it was not meant to reveal anything earth shattering. The new Mac mini is great, but it's still the same machine without any new ground breaking features.

I have the feeling something amazing is in the works. I just think Apple will wait until they get it right. What's your take on the announcements?

Jobs on medical leave

2009-02-10T08:35:00.003-07:00

Have you heard that Steve Jobs is now on medical leave until June 2009? Hopefully Steve will be able to nurse himself back to good health and put an end to the rumors that he is dying. Its getting to be like when the Beatles were popular and everyone thought there was a hidden message that Paul was dead. Like the Abbey Road album cover where Paul is the only one leading with his right leg. This must mean something! Ahhhh.