While I was away...

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

   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?

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

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

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.

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

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

iPhone Event October 4

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

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

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?

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!!

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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?