No confirmed news of it yet (of course, it’s super early), but rumor has it that iOS 4.1 is coming out today. Who’s excited?
When I first heard the news, I got a little giddy, but I wasn’t sure why. GameCenter seems neat in theory, but I’m not really sure how much I’ll be using it. I have a few die-hard iPhone buddies, but even they might balk at trying to play me online all the time. Then there’s the iTunes TV show rentals which I could care less about, and Ping is a real hit-or-miss deal currently anyways. But two things got me going: HDR Photography and HD video uploads.
I’m a professional photographer (but hey, isn’t everybody?), and I’m not a fan of HDR. It’s been practiced for years, and in some cases can create pictures that look like watercolors. It’s neat in theory, but in practice, most times it sucks. At least to me. But the images that Apple is showing seem to take only the good parts of HDR. It’s weird, and ultimately I’m just going to have to try it myself to see if I like it. But if it clears up low-light pics for me, then I’m all for it.
As for the video uploads, that’s fantastic news. My kid was over at my parent’s house the other day, sitting on the ground. The dog came up and starting playing with my son, so my dad shot a video on his iPhone 4. When he sent it to me via MMS it was so compressed that it was difficult to see. It was so badly pixelated that it looked horrible. Now, albeit only via Wi-Fi, I’ll be able to get those videos in full quality. At least that’s how I understand it.
It could all be rumors, but here’s to hoping it comes out today. If not, then only a few days left.
I’m not what people would call “active.” My wife on the other hand, she’s a little spitfire. She loves going out running, and can’t wait until we can get a new stroller for jogging with our little one. I’ve recently resolved to lose some extra weight though, and I’ve looked to my iPhone for help. IOS 4 comes standard with the Nike+ system, but I didn’t want to spend the money on the sensor if I didn’t really need it. Wasn’t there another option?
There is, and although there are other apps that do the same thing, Nike is now in on the game with the Nike+ GPS app [iTunes Link]. Just download the app for $1.99 and put your iPhone on your arm or pocket while you go for a run. That’s it, that easy. The app tracks your progress on a map using GPS, and you can use it to set a predetermined distance if you feel it’s necessary. You can also get feedback via the app to give you motivation while you run.
I’m not a big fan of running, but I’ve got to do something to get some exercise. Having this app is not only good motivation, but also pretty cool as well. And if you do enjoy running, then this app should be a gimme.
The new iPod Nano makes me wonder why anyone would buy the iPod Shuffle. Sure, the shuffle is cheap and all that, but you get tons more storage with the Nano and it’s only a little bit bigger than the Shuffle. Oh, and it’s got a display. But regardless, this small size makes some people wonder how they’re going to protect something so tiny. At least that’s what I assume Griffin is thinking when they designed this case, the Wristlet.
So … it’s a case. It’s made of silicone, and stretches around your Nano. But better yet – if you consider this better, anyways – it also has a wrist strap on it. That means you can wear your iPod Nano from a plastic rubber band dangling on your wrist, or just give your tiny device a little handle.
Is that an advantage? I’d think that the Nano now appeals to gym rats and the like, not people who need some kind of tether for their iPod. But whatever, it’s out there. And if you want to spend $19.99 on the thing, go ahead. Me, I don’t get it. But hey, I’m not everybody.
I’m a huge fan of docks, but when I saw this one, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. Why? Well I’ve seen plenty of MacBook Pro docks, and there are certainly prettier ones out there, that’s for sure. Plus they’re cheaper, but we’ll get into that in a minute. What makes this dock – the Floater T3 – so special?
First thought is the cutouts in the base. Those are designed to hold your cables, which keeps them neat in the process. Second is the minimal coverage to your MacBook, which allows it to cool off as optimally as possible. And … that’s it. Frankly, at $298, it’s a bit too pricey for me, and I can’t see any reason to buy it over anything by TwelveSouth.
On the other hand, the same company also offers the WoodServe. That’s a very similar MacBook stand, but it’s made mostly from wood and only runs $89. Still expensive, but it’s nowhere near the mammoth hit on the pocketbook.
Either way, if you’re looking for a dock for your MacBook, here’s another pair of options. I wouldn’t spend the money on one, but then again, I don’t like gold iPads either.
The concept of inductive charging is pretty interesting to me. I’m not a fan of wires, and every night I have to plug in my iPhone to get charged for the next day. Although there are lots of different options out there to fix that problem in the iPhone, they all look clunky and large to me, which ruins part of the appeal of the phone itself. But the technology is really cool, so it’s neat to see it branching out to other options, like this one.
It’s called the Magic Charger, and it’s an inductive charger for your Magic Mouse. Just replace the batteries in your Magic Mouse with the set included with the kit. Then plug in the charger base into a USB port on your desktop. The next time you want to charge your Magic Mouse, just place it on top of the charging base and let it do its magic.
I’m still not thrilled with the cord running out of the base station, but it is better than either replacing the batteries all the time. Granted, this isn’t as necessary for the Magic Mouse which is pretty good at holding a charge in what I’ve seen, but it’s still a cool concept. It’s under $50 too, so the pricing isn’t bad, either. In fact, it’s just another level of convenience for the desktop, and might clean things up a bit. Granted, I’m not a fan of the Magic Mouse, but if you are – and plenty of my friends fit into that category – go to it.
When Twitter bought Tweetie, I wasn’t sure what to think. I was a big fan of the iPhone app, and I wasn’t exactly positive how they could improve it. A few months later they made a bunch of improvements, and I now use it multiple times a day. Once I got the iPad, I realized there was a void in the Twitter world. I tried several Twitter apps for the iPad and none of them really worked well for me. Alright, they worked technically well, but I just didn’t prefer how they performed. Now Twitter has updated the app to work on the iPad, and now we’ve got a winner.
Twitter for iPad [iTunes link] breaks the mold. On the far left is your traditional Twitter options, including spaces for people with multiple accounts like myself. In the middle is your Twitter feed, which you can scroll through easily. Once you click on a tweet, it pops up on the right, along with either the bio of the person who wrote it, or whatever link they had in the post. This makes it act almost like Flipboard, which also makes it easier to see all of the cool things your friends are linking to.
Before the iPad version was introduced, the iPhone was my go-to Twitter client. Now, with such heavy improvements to the interface, I’m all about the iPad version. Just awesome.
Ping. I wasn’t sure if I cared about the announcement when I first heard about it last week. After all, I’m already deep into Facebook and Twitter, is there really any reason to add another social networking system to my list? Doesn’t anyone remember MySpace and the path they went down?
Anyways, I figured I’d still try it out so that we could talk about it here on AG. Excited? Sure you are.
Once I was finally able to download iTunes 10, I turned on Ping and setup an account. It wasn’t very difficult to do, and it has enough privacy features to make me feel a little bit better about the system. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one turning on the system, because Apple posted this press release a few days later:
CUPERTINO, California—September 3, 2010—Apple® today announced that in less than 48 hours since its launch on Wednesday, more than one million users have joined Ping, its new social network for music which lets users follow their favorite artists and friends to discover what music they’re talking about, listening to and downloading.
Not particularly shocking, but whatever. I was listening to Eminem at the time, so I figured I’d look and see if he had a Ping account. Above is what I found. What most people don’t know – and why would they, the system is just a few days old – is that any actual artist that’s verified by Apple is highlighted in light blue. None of the listings above are, but that doesn’t stop the scammers. Almost 8,000 people have followed Eminem Marshal Bruce Mathers III since the first, most likely because they thought it was the real Slim Shady.
But better yet, try a search for iPhone. The results are ridiculous.
I’m not quite sure how they’ve got it sorted out right now, but Apple has to clean up the system. Once that gets worked out, maybe Ping will be something cool. Until then, nothing too exciting about it for me.
It seems like every day that I learn a new thing about the Mac. Yesterday I was surfing the web when I found this article by Ben Brooks on The Brooks Review about how he integrated a system similar to Gmail’s priority inbox feature into his Apple Mail workflow. I instantly went to Mail and started editing and making my own rule list, and so far, it’s made me very productive.
The rules system is very flexible, and has dozens of different options to choose from. For example, any e-mail I get that’s related to Apple Gazette is now colorized green. That means if the boss man sends me an e-mail, I see it right away and it gets priority. I’ve got the same basic rules for some of my other work as well, making sorting and prioritizing simple.
Better yet, e-mails can be instantly sent to the trash if you want, and you can make your own spam filter. And the options seem almost limitless. I’d bet there’s at least a few hundred different combinations, making it great for instant organization and cleaning up that messy inbox. I love finding things like this that make my life easier.
The design of Apple products has influenced the look of other companies across the world for the better. Remember the other day I told you about a cool desk that a friend pointed out to me? Well it’s called OneLessOffice, and it’s pretty damned cool.
I think the tagline kinda says it all:
At one time, you needed a desk that could fit a mountain of paper, two-foot-deep monitor, printer, and CPU the size of a Labrador. Today, your computer is an inch thick. You have moved forward. It’s time your desk caught up.
The desk works similar to a matryoshka doll, in that it has multiple pieces that fit together in a compact space. It starts with OneLessDesk, which is the top half and keyboard tray of the bunch. Shaped like an upside-down “U,” these pieces slide apart on teflon glides. Underneath the desk is a tray and cord wraps, built to hold your router and other accessories. The keyboard desk slides out from under that, and even comes with a padded mat. After that comes the OneLessStand, which is a printer stand that will hold the average printer and still fit underneath the keyboard. Finally is OneLessFile, which fits underneath the printer stand, and also glides on the floor.
Ultimately, I don’t think this is the desk for everybody, but I do think it would be great for those people who live in small spaces and don’t have a lot of options. It’s $699 for the desk itself, and $1047 for the whole set. Pricey? Sure. But watch the video above and tell me it’s not cool.
How do you port something with complex controls like a sports title to a small, touchscreen device. That was the dilemma faced by developers at 2k Sports, but they more than succeeded with NHL 2K11 for iPhone and iPod Touch, thanks to a smart, intuitive interface and gameplay that keeps a firm hold on the fun factor.
Alan:
I have the original Apple TV.
This does not surprise me. If Apple plans to add Apps, they will need the new processor.
I've gotten my money's worth
Max:
Hi
I'm new to this discussion, so patience please.
We subscribe to Netflix, have a Mac Book Pro with Airport, our internet connect is with Dish
Kralexx:
well the above link well most likely get rejected, if you even see it, i posted a link for it but if its still up there than enjoy but most likely it'
shawna:
i have searched and searched the net but nothing so im asking does anyone know where icanbuy a google pad please let me know thanks
Ryan:
Seriously dude, care to take your bias out of this article for one second? Google is a nice alternative to Apple, that's it. The Phones are cheaper, a
Alexis:
yes it is very cool...but who can afford that these days...after buying a mac there isn't enough money for the rent...lol
but we can wish
Dean Heckler:
Thanks Kevin!
Thanks for posting the video. The folks who build them for me really appreciate it.
Minor correction:
The feet of the OneLessDesk
Get a Desk for your iMac - Apple Gazette:
[...] look of other companies across the world for the better. Remember the other day I told you about a cool desk that a friend pointed out to me? We
mac:
just pop a Broadcom Crystal HD card into your old (hacked) ATV and boom - 1080p video (but no more wifi)
Ok you need to play the files through XBMC o
Alexis:
it is very disappointing but not unexpected...the hardware is very different
The Pentium M processor that is in the current model TV may not be
