Not everyone is happy with the idea of using the Apple MobileMe Cloud to sync personal data, especially if the contacts list contains sensitive personal or family data. Also, for those who don’t need the capability of push notification between an iPhone and a Mac, a direct iPhone sync to a Mac is satisfactory. Under…
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Should Apple Employees Read the Mac Websites?
Apple’s senior executives like to believe that there is no value in reading the Mac and iPhone related Websites, and they tell their staff that. After all, Apple employees are too busy to dabble in rumors and speculation. So it’s just a time waster. Or is it? I was in an Apple retail store recently,…
iPhone OS 3.0: Was It Worth The Wait?
Back when His Steveness announced the feature ladened iPhone OS 3.0 the salivary glands of the iPhone Faithful kicked into overdrive and vendors of other smart and not-so-smartphones started wringing hands again. See, iPhone owners knew their devices were cool and all, but there were still so many things their Wunder-Phone couldn’t do that other…
Apple Netbook Makes More Sense than iTablet -- For Now
— David Ogilvy There is a known market for notebook computers, and that market had been soaring until the economy went bonkers. There is a known and growing market for netbooks, and Apple can, if it wishes, carve out a piece of that market as well. But what is the market for an iTablet? When…
How to Scan Without a Scanner - But You Do Need A Camera
I was not allowed to take the book to another area. The librarians already knew they could not tell the gentleman not to read out loud because he did not understand them. I was under a very tight deadline and could not leave. I kept thinking about how handy the library’s scanner would be. I…
Three Sky Simulators for Astronomy Tested: Two Winners
The International Year of Astronomy The year 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. From the website: “The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky,…
The Half-life of Steve Jobs' Leadership
First of all, one has to remember that the management structure, as it exists with Mr. Jobs was uniquely designed by Mr. Jobs. In simple terms, Tim Cook handles the procurement and operations side, Peter Oppenheimer manages the money, Scott Forstall handles the iPhone software, Bertrand Serlet handles Mac OS X, Bob Mansfield handles the…
EazyDraw 3: Best of Breed Drawing on Mac
If a developer were to set out to design the friendliest, most capable, backwards compatible, best documented vector drawing program on a Mac, they’d arrive at EazyDraw 3. Not only does it use modern Mac OS X technologies, but remains true to the Mac heritage of drawing apps. Many of us have been distracted over…
The Back Page - iPhone's Price Drop All About the App Store
Watching the discussion and analysis of the iPhone 3G, what’s getting the most attention — particularly from the stock market world — is not so much the new features, but rather the price drop and change in business model. Many people seem to think that Apple lowered the price merely to move more units, and…
Just a Thought - Is That An iPhone In Your Pocket...
This is a fun time of year. The Summer sun is just starting to get its groove on, beaches swarm with scantily suited bathers, theme parks hum with throngs of thrill seekers, even the forests and national parks around the country strain to capacity as vacationers seek places to unwind and commune with Nature. True…
Returning to U.S. with a Computer Poses Risks for Private Data
A recent ruling by a U.S. Court allows border patrol agents to inspect and search a notebook computer or other digital device without limitation, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Travelers cannot be forced to divulge the password for encrypted disks, but the computer can still be seized. Travelers and their employers are increasingly…
Why the Apple TV Doesn't Make Toast
“You know, our next big step is we want it to make toast.” – Steve Jobs (2004, referring to iPods) I have written a lot about the Apple TV. Iive written about updates, Iive pointed to stories and reviews, and Iive discussed the compression issues related to getting HD content into the customeris Apple TV…
Parallels Offers Rebate on Desktop 3.0 Premium
Parallels is offering a US$15 rebate on its Desktop 3.0 Premium Edition until March 31st. The full premium package includes Parallels Desktop 3.0 plus the Kaspersky Internet Security for Windows, Acronis Disk Director Suite, and Acronis Image Home. Parallels Desktop 3.0, for US$79.99, already includes the Coherence, SmartSelect, Parallels Explorer and Snapshot Manager. The Premium…
Unsanity strikes back!
Coincidence can be a funny thing. Just last week, I emailed the folks at Unsanity software, requesting an interview. In case you don’t know, Unsanity makes about a dozen popular utilities for Mac OS X. By far, my favorite is WindowShade X. It has long been (together with LaunchBar) one of the first two third-party…
The Back Page - iPhone: All That, a Bag of Chips, and a Rootbeer Float, Too!
The iPhone has arrived, and it’s everything it was cracked up (by Apple) to be. Contacts, music, calendars, photos, movies, YouTube browsing, Web-surfing, and it makes calls, too! Writing a review for this device could legitimately be anything from two words (“It’s great.”) to a 3,000 word opus on all of the nitpicky pros and…
Chuck La Tournous's (Last Minute) Macworld Predictions
When we last met on the subject of reading Appleis tea leaves, I was prognosticating about the brave new world of 2004. Back then, I was calling for iPod minis, where I was a little off on the name and really wrong about the price (although a lot of my reasoning eventually saw its way…
Analyst Offers Macworld Expo Predictions
Mr. Munster broke out his certainty ranking system to rate the likelihood of products and features. A 10 is highly likely, and a 1 indicates extremely unlikely. Apple Cell Phone Appleis cell phone entering production in the next 2 to 6 months gets a 9. A candy-bar form factor version of the phone within the…
Protecting Your Mac From its Best Friend: Electricity
Most people get over the first hurdle of electrical protection fairly easily by using a battery backup, or uninterrupted power supply, that offers some level of line conditioning and surge suppression. Iim partial to the Smart-UPS systems from APC. In addition to protecting your Mac from electrical incidents that come through wall outlets, you also…
Apple Waiting on 802.11n to Deliver iTV?
Apple CEO Steve Jobs broke tradition on Tuesday when he discussed an upcoming product, code-named iTV, months before its release, leading some to speculate why it isn’t ready now. After all, it was on display after the event at Yerba Buena Gardens, although no information was given out beyond the basic specs Mr. Jobs covered…
Hidden Dimensions -- Getting a Piece of the iPhone Action
"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three." – Alice Kahn Asking the Right Questions Every thing I say in this article about Apple is a guess; I have no inside information. As for the rest, all I know is what I’ve read on…
Just a Thought - Visualizing Apple Virtualization
You know, waaaaay back when computers ran MVS and UNIX, and computer makers had names like IBM, Honeywell, Univac, and Burroughs, virtual systems and thin clients were the normal way of doing business. Of course, we didn’t call them virtual systems and thin clients, mainframes had terminals (dumb terminals usually) and Unix systems ran X-Servers and…
Hidden Dimensions -- Apple's focus vs. Vista Vision
And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important. — Steve Jobs to…
Computing with Bifocals - Mac Help Scenarios I & II
Since Christmas last month, I have had the occasion to spend time in our local (Austin, Texas) Apple retail store. First of all I got some Apple gift cards and a Nano as Christmas gifts. Naturally, the second meant that I had to spend the first. Right? Right. So off I went, along with, apparently,…
TMO To Go Podcast - Mac Geek Gab #27: Holiday Wish List
Show notes for TMO To Go: Mac Geek Gab For November 28th, 2005 Direct Links: MP3 Version and an AAC Enhanced version courtesy of one of our fantabulous listeners, Michael, also known as ComputerNap! John and Dave talk through their wishlists for the holidays… things they wish they had, things they wish existed, and more!…