The Goldtouch Apple Compatible Adjustable Keyboard is claimed to be the first fully adjustable ergonomic keyboard for Macintosh users, and I can’t think of any other ‘board in this category that has ever specifically supported the Mac (although makers of other ergonomic keyboard solutions – say the Kinesis folks – will doubtless dispute Key Ovation’s assertion that “if it isn’t adjustable, it isn’t ergonomic”). However, the Goldtouch keyboard’s signature feature is its adjustability.

The Adjustable Ergonomic Keyboard allows you to configure its two split alphanumeric sections both horizontally and vertically to suit your individual body requirements.

Placing your hands flat on the keys of a keyboard can require considerable muscular effort, which in turn can cause fatigue and discomfort. The Goldtouch keyboard’s two segments can be raised in the center to more closely match the natural alignment of the forearm and wrist.

Being fully adjustable, you can split the keyboard, and swivel the left and right parts to an angle you’re comfortable with. Yes, this includes both horizontal and vertical. The keyboard will lock in place once adjusted, so you won’t have to fiddle with positioning each time you use it. The keyboard includes standard Apple keyboard functions (such as Apple and Option keys, CD eject, and mute and volume control keys). There is no built-in numeric keypad, however–you can purchase this separately.

The keyboard and numeric keypad plug in to your Mac’s USB port. One problem you might encounter is that the keyboard and numeric pad each plug into their own USB ports–better use a USB hub if you connect plenty of USB gadgets.

The Goldtouch keyboard costs US$139 and the numeric keypad $49.95. The bundle (keyboard + keypad) costs $179.95.

Low End Mac has a full review of the Goldtouch keyboard.

For prolonged use, place your MacBook Pro on a flat, stable surface. Do not place your MacBook Pro on your lap or other body surface for extended periods of time. Prolonged body contact can cause discomfort and potentially a burn.

I would say that this should be a normal warning with just about any other notebook computer. Any electronic device should give off some heat, after all. However, the MacBook Pro is different in that it was designed to dissipate heat through the metallic body itself. IMHO, this is not a very good design idea, especially for a computer that’s supposedly assumed as frequently being used on the user’s lap.

The second generation, the Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros, are supposed to run cooler than their first generation predecessors. But still, there is a tendency to be too hot for comfort. And I would say it would be a long time before Apple marketed their notebooks as “laptops” again.

One good reference point oft used is the Mac. There are lesser options for shutting down. At the very least, the “extra” options are left for more advanced users to figure out and execute manually using Terminal. But for the rest of the Mac-using populace, it’s just Shutdown, Restart and Log Off. At least that’s for OS X. Simpler. No headaches.

However, one example that’s even better is the iPod, which doesn’t even have a power button, nor menu functions for turning off (except for the new Shuffle, which calls its “hold” button an on/off switch)! You can just pause your music and leave your iPod be until it goes into sleep mode by itself. Or, if you prefer, you can hold the play button to put your iPod to sleep immediately.

There’s not even an option to power it down, ever. Restart? The iPod only does a reboot when the system gets screwed by some corrupt music file or some other bizarre occurrence.

Of course, you can enable a shortcut for sleeping directly on the main menu. You can even lock the screen so only someone who knows the correct combination can use the iPod. However, these are turned off by default.

Less reasons to screw up

The point is that I would say Apple designed the iPod with user friendliness as its top priority. And giving people less reasons to screw up would be in line with this design principle. Trust me–I’ve tried several portable music players before, and for most of them, I’ve had to read the user manual several times over just to understand how it is exactly to power the thing up and turn it off without a hitch (and I consider myself to be a techie). Some players don’t even remember what you were last doing before shutdown, so you start from the very top of the menu hierarchy. Some don’t even have bookmarking for long audio files–this sucks when you have to cut your podcast listening short (and podcasts can last up to an hour or even more, so you would really hate to have to search through the audio to pick up from where you left off).

The beauty of the iPod’s interface is that when it goes to sleep, you get back right to where you were when you wake it up–just like waking up your Mac. So you get back to the point where you left off. With movies (in the case of the 5/5.5 G iPod) and podcasts even, the software bookmarks where you left if you exit from watching the video or listening to the podcast. The next time you play it, you return to that same point.

So should every gadget maker follow the same principle, at least for on/off options? Should gadget makers lessen ways by which users can intervene with how their devices power down?
Perhaps not all. Many gadgets are supposed to be simple enough to use that even just an on/off switch would suffice. But for gadgets that are meant to do a lot of things–like play music, videos, games, and such–it pays to give the end-user less headaches.

And yes, this includes computers.

he Bush administration wants North Korea’s attention, so like a scolding parent it’s trying to make it tougher for that country’s eccentric leader to buy iPods, plasma televisions and Segway electric scooters.

The U.S. government’s first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government.
…
[T]he list of proposed luxury sanctions, obtained by The Associated Press, aims to make Kim’s swanky life harder: No more cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles or even personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis. – Newsvine

The strongman is known to have a taste for the finer things in life–quite ironic since most of the citizens of the mostly-isolated communist country live in poverty. He is also said to give lavish gifts to his cronies as a way of keeping them loyal.

The trade sanctions are being enforced in the wake of failed multi-national negotiations for the disarmament of North Korea’s nuclear arms program.

Of course, acquisition of these goods from the black market is always a possibility. I wonder, though, if Kim has an iTunes account!

One of the videos is holiday-themed, but I think all of the ads are very apt for this holiday shopping season. How else to better help shoppers make good buying decisions (for themselves and to give as gifts) than to get a Mac?

Gift Exchange is where Mac and PC give each other gifts. Mac gives PC a photo album, which he says he easily made with a few clicks on iPhoto. PC seems quite disappointed he didn’t get a C++ GUI programming guide like he wanted, though. PC then gives Mac a (surprise!) C++ GUI programming guide.

In Sales Pitch, PC, instead of the usual intro line “… and I’m a PC,” says “and buy a PC.” PC then explains that he needs to increase his marketing efforts, since Macs are selling like hotcakes lately. “The PC–the only computer you’ll ever need!” Hilarious!

Meant for work is aimed at kids (or parents with kids), highlighting that PCs are meant for work stuff, and not much for the fun stuff that kids usually do like write blogs, organize photos, and such. Of course, we know Macs make doing fun stuff even more enjoyable!

But for those who need multiple Operating Systems on their Macs, however, dual- or multi-booting is one option, and Apple lets you do this with Windows using Boot Camp. But those not content with having to reboot each time access to alternate operating systems is needed can use virtualization instead, and Parallels will let you do just this–you can run Windows sessions and programs within OS X and it would be seamless.

The beta release of Parallels a few months back was generally proof-of-concept, but now Parallels is a full-blown product that Mac users with a need to use Windows, Linux, and other PC OSes would appreciate.

The release version is much improved; it makes installation of PC operating systems easier, offers better performance, and includes good USB support. The Parallels Tools make the various Windows versions work better and integrate them with the Mac; I wish the various integration tools were available for Linux installations as well.

Not all potential users will be happy with Parallels’ US$80 price; Microsoft’s Virtual PC for Windows is now free, as are VMWare’s Player and Server versions. None of these free products are available for the Mac, however.

The reviewer found Parallels a worthwhile buy, but wasn’t too happy with the $80 retail price.

[via LowEndMac]

Further features of the device, expected to be released under the name Nike Amp+, are unclear from the report. However, a single included marketing image suggests that gadget may hold potential to deliver one of the most frequently-requested components for the Nike+iPod system: a heart rate monitor.

Nike is also working on adding functionalities to its nikeplus.com site, including route mappers, which let users share their favorite running routes. Nike is likewise expanding its line of Nike+ enabled shoes (previously only limited to a single variant).

[via Apple Insider]

I’m not much of a digital music player user, especially since I have my laptops at home to play music on. But since my car stereo doesn’t have a CD player nor CD changer, I usually tire myself out changing FM stations until I find a song suitable to my liking. So when we got the iPod, I thought it would be cool to stream music to the car’s audio system.

The other day, we went hunting for an iPod accessory I could use with the car’s stereo. I was actually just looking for a cheap tape-deck adaptor that plugged into the iPod’s audio port. Yes, it’s old school, but I thought it should be simple enough to work with. But I was also looking into the Griffin iTrip–I know it’s the most well-known brands when it comes to FM adaptors.

We canvassed around and found a Griffin iTrip for about $70–I decided to check my other options before buying ($70 seemed such a high price for an audio accessory, even after purchasing a $250+ iPod video!). Some stores also carried those cheapo, generic $20 FM adaptors that plugged into the audio port, but had to use separate batteries. I also found one that included a cradle, charger and FM adaptor all for $40. But this one only worked when plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter adaptor, and I thought this would only accelerate the depletion of my iPod’s battery (frequent charging, after all, is bad for Li-Ion batteries).

I finally found something that hit the sweet spot: the Belkin TuneFM. It works with the iPod video, 4G, photo, mini and nano (first or second gen). The price: about $60. I had two options, white and black. Black was perfect for my black iPod, but the sticker price was $8 more than the white one! I asked the store clerk to verify, and thankfully, the white and black models were both priced $60 after all.

In the box

The Belkin TuneFM package includes the TuneFM transmitter, car charger, and plastic spacer. The charger will optionally charge your iPod–this means you don’t have to plug it in for the TuneFM to work, which is great since you can use the iPod even when away from the cigarette lighter plug. The plastic spacer is used as a placeholder if your iPod is not in a case. The TuneFM actually has some allowance for thick cases–great since you don’t have to take the iPod out of the case before plugging in.

Easy operation

Operating the TuneFM is plug-and-play. The moment you plug it in, your iPod will play the last tune it’s been playing–no fumbling here. Great when you just got in your car and you’re about to drive off. The default frequency is the lowest in the TuneFM’s range, 88.1 MHz.

Just use the up and down arrows to select a frequency that you know is clear of an actual radio station, as this might cause interference and bad reception. Actually, the manual suggests you tune in your receiver first to a free radio station before selecting a frequency on the TuneFM, but since my car stereo is auto-tuning, I find it easier to select a frequency on the TuneFM first and then tuning in with the stereo afterwards.

Disconnecting is easy too, as you don’t have to turn off anything on your iPod. Just disconnect the TuneFM, and the iPod automatically pauses whatever is currently playing. All your settings are saved on the TuneFM’s memory, too, so these are retained the next time you plug in, even when you use it with another iPod.

Plugging in

I find the charger useful when travelling. After all, the Tune FM sucks in power from your iPod’s battery, so you can expect reduced battery life. It’s great, though, that the TuneFM doesn’t have to be plugged in to work.

Audio quality

I notice that audio quality is sometimes dependent on how one holds the unit. The car’s radio sometimes gets static when hands touch the back part of the TuneFM (which I presume contains the antenna). When handled properly, though, quality is pretty great. People in the backseat can hold the iPod (with TuneFM) and you can still expect good reception. I usually just leave the iPod on the console box, untouched, so audio transmission is perfect.

Other features

The TuneFM has four memory locations, each corresponding to a numeric button on the face of the device. I find this useful when the audio quality drops because of interference in one frequency. You might also find this useful when travelling–since stations in different cities might be using different sets of radio frequencies.

The TuneFM allows for two frequency ranges: Japan and US. The Japan range is from 76.0 to 90.0 MHz, for the US, it’s 88.1 to 107.9 MHz. You can also adjust the volume of the output by five steps. This is for when there is a large discrepancy between the playback volume when using the TuneFM and when listening to regular FM. iPod Nanos notably give off softer audio than other models, so a higher setting might be necessary.

Conclusion

For me, the Belkin TuneFM is a good buy. Using headphones while driving is a no-no (you shut out audible traffic feedback, such as horns, and even your own engine’s sound). And fumbling with settings while driving is likewise dangerous. I like the fact that I can just snap the TuneFM in and it plays automatically. I have some issues with getting static when the unit is too far from the antenna (say, at the backseat if your car’s antenna is in front) and the holder is touching the TuneFM’s antenna part. If you drive and you have an iPod, this is one must-have gadget.

Corrupt .dmg files are not properly processed by the kernel driver responsible for mounting them. They’ve posted a sample .dmg that causes a panic but the author of the report claims that arbitrary code execution is possible. Based on the debug output, that’s a credible claim. There’s no word on whether Apple has responded to this bug. To avoid this bug until Apple squashes it, be very careful where you get your .dmg files. And if you use Safari, don’t let it open “safe” files after downloading.

If you follow the MOKB link above, you can even download a disk image so you can reproduce the bug on your Mac.

By lowering the voltage to the processor you can not only drastically lower the heat dissipation, but also increase the battery time significantly. There are, believe it or not, no downsides with this method, if you do it right.

However, OS X (and practically other OSes, too) don’t have built-in software to manage the CPU voltage arbitrarily, but fortunately, there are third-party software that let you do this.

CoolBook is a $10 shareware application for the MacBook and MBP that allows you to adjust the frequency (clock speed) and voltage of Intel Core Duo and Core 2 Duo CPUs.

According to the author’s published benchmarks his MacBook (1.83GHz) temperature decreased by as much as 14°C (25.2°F) just by dropping the voltage from 1.2125 V (Apple default) to 0.95 V (the minimum).

Apparently, Core 2 Duo-based ‘Books don’t need the cooling-down benefit from undervolting, but if you need the extended battery life, then this might still be worth the try.

[via ZDNet blogs]

Back in 1983, Apple released a gift catalog featuring Apple-branded merchandize such as mugs, T-shirts, and, amongst many other items, an Apple II jigsaw puzzle.

I bought it for 99 pence. Shortly after, it arrived - and, being so excited as I was, I put the jigsaw together.

Curious to find out more, I contacted the one man who knows the most about the Apple II: Steve Wozniak. He replied, in his e-mail saying:

"Wow. I know nothing of this jigsaw puzzle. It's quite a surprise to me. I must have missed or forgotten it."

I had an item so rare that not even the almighty Woz could tell me anything about it!

It's one of those rare finds that would make a hardcore Apple geek all giddy with excitement. I've had a few rare finds myself, and I know the feeling!

[via LowEndMac]

The publication cites Taiwan-based sources in the passive component industry as witnessing an aggressive increase in orders for high-capacitance multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) supposedly en-route for an AMD-based Apple notebook.

In supporting its claims, the publication cites statements by AMD chief executive Hector Ruiz, who in September said Apple would eventually become one of AMD’s customers. It also notes the recent merger between AMD and ATI Technologies as making the “speculation more convincing,” because the graphics solutions specialist has been a longtime partner of Apple’s.

I don’t think this will happen anytime soon, tough. I don’t think Apple will differentiate its product line that much, especially since it has only recently started to use Intel chips on Macs.

Still, if ever this pushes through, then we can probably expect less-expensive MacBooks and MacBook Pros, with better integration with ATI graphics chipsets, which MacBook Pros currently use.

‘Gotta love that Macworld crowd!

[Video originally posted at MacNN forums]

Some 58% of current iPod owners who are planning to buy a new digital media device in the next 12 months are “likely” to choose Microsoft’s Zune, according to a survey published by ABI Research. The research firm conducted its survey on the Web, asking 1725 adults (18+) if they were considering buying a new music player. 58% of current iPod owners, and 59% of owners of other digital media devices, all said that they were likely to choose Microsoft’s Zune player.

The survey also found that only 15% of iPod owners said they were “not very likely” or “not at all likely” to choose Zune.

“Our conclusion,” says principal analyst Steve Wilson in a statement, “is that iPod users don’t display the same passionate loyalty to iPods that Macintosh users have historically shown for their Apple products.”

As I see it, iPod users are not necessarily ditching the platform, but are just expressing the possibility that they might acquire the Zune as a compliment to their existing music player. However, I see one issue here, and that’s migrating a user’s playlist to another platform. Without DRM hacking, that would be a bit difficult (techically, and perhaps legally).

[via iPod Observer]

“Today I was wearing my iPod like the picture on Apple’s [iPod] shuffle page. When I stood up, I heard something falling on the ground. It was my shiny new iPod,” he wrote. “But no big deal I thought — until I picked it up. The clip was bent like a piece of cardboard, and is impossible to get straight again.”

The damage to the shuffle’s clip had no affect on the user’s ability to play and listing to music, but as he points out, Apple developed the player to fit precisely into its accompanying docking station, which the bent clips now prevents.

This is reminiscent of the first-gen iPod nano’s tendency to scratch easily and even have its LCD easily crack. I was thinking of getting a new shuffle for myself, thinking it would be sturdy enough for my needs. But with news like this, I’m thinking Apple had better improve on this new design first.

[via Apple Insider]

For example:

• When menus are selected, press the option key to reveal alternative functions. Eg In the File menu of Finder, the Get Info item becomes Show Inspector which is like a context sensitive info pane.
• Macs with remote controls can be put to sleep by holding down the play button on the remote.
• Press Command-Q to close applications when command-tabbing. This is possibly the fastest way you’ll find to close several applications in quick succession.
• Pressing the Tab key in Exposé cycles through open applications.

I’ve had many dealings with Apple computers in the past, though (and with their owners, of course). And each encounter was a marvel to the senses. I’ve always been fascinated by these lovely computers, from the way the hardware seems to be like functional sculptures, to the way the Mac OS seems to read my mind and just do the things I want it to do.

So to make up for lost time (that is, the time I wasn’t on a Mac) and considering I’m relatively too young to know about the Mac since its birth (I was still in preschool during the Macintosh’s launch in 1984), I have to read up on my Mac history. Among the resources I often refer to is LowEndMac, which has a series of articles that covers the highlights of each year since the Mac’s introduction.

On January 24, 1984, Apple announced the Macintosh to their Board of Directors and to the world. And the computer world has never been the same.

A year earlier, Apple had unveiled the $10,000 Lisa, the first business computer with a graphical user interface and a mouse. The Lisa never caught on, but Apple was enamored of the concept.

It was an era of conformity. Although you could still buy an Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore, or CP/M computer, MS-DOS was the de facto standard.

Apple made a bold move, thinking different long before it became an ad slogan. And the rest, as they say, is history, a history Low End Mac examines in a series of articles, each covering one year in the life of the Macintosh.

The articles highlight the innovations (or lack thereof) introduced each year. These also give some personal perspectives on the hot issues during those times, including those that pertained how developments affected Apple as a company.

Here are some notable highlights I’d like to cover in brief.

1. The Macintosh is introduced. What made it different from the rest of the (mostly IBM-compatible) personal computers that time: a 3.5″ floppy disk drive instead of 5.25″, a mouse, and most of all a GUI!
2. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak leave Apple this year. Macintosh XL is released–it was basically a rebranded Lisa 2. No innovation here!
3. Macintosh Plus is introduced. New UI features: arrow keys and a numeric keypad (which we take for granted today!). And SCSI becomes the hot new thing. The HFS file system is also introduced, and this allowed for hierarchical directory structures on the Mac’s file system.
4. Color comes to the Mac world with the Mac II, which supported 256 colors.
5. First Apple CD-ROM ships, making the company one of the first to adopt this technology. Mac IIx and Mac SE introduced; these could read DOS 3.5″ diskettes (another feature we take for granted nowadays).
6. Apple introduces the Mac Portable. It was BIG–at 16 pounds!–but it was an amazing piece of hardware in its time.
7. The “wicked fast” Mac IIfx is introduced, and it featured an accelerated graphics card, and other innovations that reduced CPU load, resulting in faster performance. Low-cost, consumer-oriented Macs also debuted, which were the Classic, the LC and the IIsi.
8. Apple begins to dominate the laptop market with the introduction of the PowerBook 100 series, which, at 7 pounds, iss less than half the weight of the Mac Portable. System 7 is also introduced, which brings in a lot of innovations software-wise.
9. Low-cost, but low-performing Performa line is introduced. Lighter PowerBook Duo (5 pounds!) series is also introduced (these were dockable, though, to retain expandability and functionality when needed).
10. Apple overwhelms the Mac community this year with several model releases in a span of a few months. Notable are the Color Classic and the audio-visual oriented Centris 660av and Quadra 840av. The PowerBook also begins to sport color screens! And the MacTV is introduced–a limited production model that combined the Mac with a TV tuner.
11. Dual-platform Quadra 610 could run DOS and Windows! This year marks the beginning of the end for the Motorola 68000 platform as Apple started shifting to the PowerPC architecture, with the PowerMac and a new line of PowerBooks (the 500 series). Apple also starts to use IDE as an alternative to SCSI.
12. First licensed Mac clone is introduced by Power Computing. Apple adopts PCI. PowerBook 5300 introduced, but initial releases were recalled due to combustible batteries (sound familiar?).
13. Apple discontinues last Motorola 68000-based Mac. Apple purchases NeXT, which brought Steve Jobs back to the company he co-founded.
14. Apple posts big losses this year. Mac OS 8 is released. Apple ends the clone licensing program. The G3 is introduced.
15. iMac ais introduced, which makes Apple known to the world as a cool company.
16. iBook is introduced in multiple colors. Blue Power Mac G3 is the first “tower” Mac. Power Mac G4 is introduced. iBook iss introduced. Later in the year, an upgraded iMac is introduced. Whoa.
17. Power Mac G4 Cube and Dual G4 Power Mac are introduced. The iMac gets an upgrade. OS X preview is released.
18. Lots of new things: Titanium PowerBooks, iTunes 1.0, white “chicklet” iBooks, the iPod! OS X also starts shipping this year.
19. Flat-panel iMacs introduced. iPhoto debuts. iPod became Windows-compatible and adopted the touch-sensitive clickwheel.
20. USB connection for the iPod became available. iTunes Music Store opened.
21. iPod mini introduced. Flat-screen iMacs with the entire processing unit behind the screen in the flat-panel housing were also introduced.
22. Mac Mini was introduced. Mac Os X Tiger was released. Mighty Mouse debuted. iPod Shuffle and Nano also introduced. The most shocking news: Apple was moving to the Intel x86 platform!

What has Apple given us this 2006? I’d say a lot. From the release of Intel-powered Macs like the MacBooks and MacBook Pros, to the MBP Core 2 Duo upgrade, and even the official support for Windows in Intel-Powered Macs, among others, I can say 2006 is a very good year for Apple.

A couple of colleagues of mine also went on their respective laptop shopping sprees almost the same time as mine, and snapped up more powerful Core Duo and Core 2 Duo machines. They wouldn’t go for anything with integrated graphics. It had to be discrete (from either ATI or NVIDIA), and it had to have at least 256 megabytes of video RAM. They chose to go with buld-to-order ODM/”whitebox” models rather than the major brands. To them, it’s a choice of specs/performance over brand/design, and they preferred to have full control of what peripherals their laptop featured.

I could understand that it’s because of our respective needs. I’m a writer, and my colleagues are developers and designers. They’re quite the avid gamers, too, hence, the need for discrete graphics. I could probably find a need for blazing fast graphics with a discrete GPU and non-choke multitasking with two processor cores sometime in the near future (meaning when Power-hungry Windows Vista comes), but I couldn’t bring myself to justify the added cost right now. Hey, I got the Presario for less than half the price my friends got their higher-end laptops. And the Mac? The cost is almost negligible–I practically just resurrected the Pismo from the dead. Now it runs Tiger pretty decently. So I can say I pretty much got a good deal.

Get a Mac

Thing is, I’d been goading people I know to go for Apple computers (especially laptops) for the longest time, particularly considering the price of the MacBook–which his even tad cheaper than the Windows-based laptops my good friends bought. Sure, comparing the specs, the MacBook would be lagging behind. But with some added RAM and perhaps a hard drive upgrade, it would already be on par performance- and price-wise, except probably for the discrete GPU (here’s where the more expensive MacBook Pro would excel).

However, the tech evangelist that I am, I have a low batting average when it comes to convincing people to get a Mac. One reason they cite for sticking to PCs is that they’re power users, and that Macs just wouldn’t satisfy their need to control just about everything that goes under the hood, in terms of hardware.

They reason that while Macs today can run Windows (which gamers would require, since most popular games today are Windows-only), one would be limited when it comes to having a choice of processors, hard drives, graphics adaptors, sound cards, and even the motherboard itself. You have a plethora of manufacturers and parts to choose from when you’re building, upgrading or modifying a PC. With a Mac, you generally have to stick with Apple-provided or approved hardware.

Defining the Mac “Power User”

So does this this mean that Macs are, indeed, not suited for the power users?

I wouldn’t exactly say so. This is because in general, Mac and PC users have different definitions of what it is to be a power user. Here’s something I found on LEM that’s been up for a few years now, but which I think still hits it right on the mark when it comes to defining the “power user” from a Mac and PC perspective.

We tend to define “power users” differently in the PC and Mac camps. In the Mac world, we consider power users to be the people who do a lot of Photoshop or video editing, and sometimes the serious gamers with tweaked out systems. We define power users by their applications more than their hardware.

In the PC world, power users run fast Pentium and Athlon processors, which are overclocked more often than not. They choose their hard drives, video cards, and other components based on performance. The goal seems to be having the best hardware, not productivity.

Using cars as an analogy, PC hardware users build tricked out hot rods while Mac users buy production cars and trucks to get the job done.

(Emphases are mine.)

It’s all about the applications, and it always has been so. It’s in how you use your computer, and not how powerful it is, that makes you a power user. You can have a top-of-the-line four-core Mac Pro, but if all you use it for is some web mail and document editing, then I doubt if you can be called a power user. In the same light, you can own a G4 Mac Mini, but if you use it to edit videos, manipulate photos, and even manage your servers using the command line, you would be considered a power user.

Dumbed-Down Computers?

Also, there’s this argument that Macs are for dummies because Apple computers through history have been comparatively easier to use than PCs (what an understatement, huh?). When PC users were running programs through a DOS command line in the 1980′s, Macheads were already using point-and-click graphical user interfaces with mice! When Windows users had to learn to tweak their registries and use DOS commands to fix their computers when they screwed up, Mac users could still count on the GUI to do all that.

However, with the introduction of OS X, this changed because of the UNIX-like nature of the operating system. Mac users thus began to enjoy the best of both worlds–the cool, intuitive graphical interface on top of a BSD core. And if ever there’s a need to tweak the innards of OS X, then there’s always the command line. Now beginners won’t have to deal with tweaking registry keys, and advanced users have that familiar command line to play and hack with.

It’s All About the Person

I would say that being a power user is also about the productivity. If you can get the most out of your computer in terms of work done, no matter the specs and the speed of the machine, then I would say you’re a power user. But if you have the fastest and most powerful machine in the world, but don’t know how to make heads nor tails out of it, then sorry–your computer is just another white elephant.

Still, command-line or not, Windows or Mac, I would say the definition of a power user should always be based on the person and not the computer. To expand on LEM’s car analogy, a power user would be like a race between Michael Schumacher driving a Volvo station wagon and an inexperienced driver on a Ferrari. Schumey has the driving prowess and skills to finish the race and get pole position at that (all while enjoying the view), while the newbie will most likely crash his speedster less than halfway through the race.

So who’s the power user? Look not under the hood, but behind the wheel!

Today we’ll take perspectives on the iPod from both its introduction in 2001 and the present day, after all history’s lessons have been learned and after the world has seen five generations of iPods. Here we will learn that the iPod has been–and always will be–designed from ground-up to be all about the music. Maybe that’s why it’s so successful that it’s still in the lead in the digital music player and music store industry (with iTunes), considering its creator’s core competency had been personal computers. (Zune? What’s that?)

Tight integration, but limited platform

Flashback to five years ago, when the iPod was just being introduced. There was much to be said about the iPod, both positive and negative. On the good side, the excellent user interface and the tight integration with iTunes made the iPod light years ahead of its competition, which still used clunky interfaces and third-party syncing software that were difficult to use, if they worked at all. As a plus, the iPod used FireWire, which offered lightning-fast syncing, when the competition was still on USB 1.1 and users had to wait overnight for syncing to finish.

A drawaback, though was that the iPod didn’t have the bells and whistles that other music players marketed as advantages, such as FM and satellite radio tuners and voice recording capabilities. Also, the too-tight integration to the desktop-side software came with a bad side. For one, the iPod could only be used on a Mac, and was even more limited by the fact that it could only connect via FireWire (while modern Macs during that time all had FireWire, older ones did not).

Apple banked on the iPod creating a halo effect, meaning people will like the iPod so much that they would go on purchasing Macs to go with it, considering the device won’t work with a non-Apple computer.

Whether or not Apple had been successful in banking on the iPod’s halo effect, much can be said about how the iPod helped jumpstart the online music business, with Apple’s embracing the MP3 format. It is actually ironic that even though the iPod was then a closed Mac-only platform, the format it advocated was not in any way like the format that Microsoft and other companies espoused–Microsoft’s music format was so closed and copyright protected that it was even more limiting than liberating.

On October 23, 2001, Microsoft officially released Windows XP. Apple unveiled the iPod, a powerful MP3 player. One of the great drawbacks of Windows XP – and there are many – is that it does not support MP3s. Microsoft wants Windows users to stop using the preferred format for music piracy (ignoring the fact that a lot of MP3s are not pirated) and force Windows users to adopt the Windows Media Player (WiMP).

Without saying it in so many words, Apple has embraced the popular MP3 format and promised continued support by releasing iTunes 2 and the iPod. Microsoft wants to take away your MP3s; Apple wants you to enjoy them.

Taking the music loving world by storm

Fast forward to five years later. Much has changed around the world and even within Apple and the iPod itself, but one thing remains. The iPod is still very much primarily all about the music. The very advantages and even the limitations that were its foundation at the start were beneficial to the success in the market the iPod has enjoyed the past five years, and still does today.

Apple had a plan, followed through on it, and didn’t deviate from it over time. It made a simple product that to this day performs the same task that it did on the day it was announced. It might do other things today, but those are secondary. The iPod was all about the music.

For one, the iPod’s interface and the excellent integration with iTunes and the iTunes music store stuck–this model was not changed over the course of five years. This let users just focus on enjoying their music. No frills meant no headaches. No extraneous functionalities meant no fumbling about. It’s all about the music.

The iPod’s tight Mac OS-only integration wasn’t meant to last, though as Apple opened up to the Windows world with iTunes a year after the iPod’s first release. The same was the case with FireWire. With the onset of faster USB 2.0 connections (which all modern Macs also had, and which was practically ubiquitous as well in PC world), FireWire was ditched in favor of USB. Still, the iPod maintained that tight integration with iTunes that still left no room for fumbling and headaches.

It’s still all about the music.

So to sum it up, in its five years of existence, the iPod is still ahead of the pack, and is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. The reason? Through five years of change and non-change, the Apple iPod has been and is still so damn good at what it does. It’s all about the music.

Sources: Low End Mac: iPod – Yawn or Wow? and Playlist Mag: Five Reasons the iPod Succeeded

At any rate, I would like very much to see an Apple phone becoming a reality soon, and here are my reasons.

1. I’m tired of using Windows.

Okay, I admit it. I use a Windows-powered Smartphone. I have been such a cellphone junkie for almost a decade now, and I’ve owned phones of practically every kind of technology and platform, from the old AMPS analog brick phones to the Symbian-powered communicators (still brick phones, IMHO) and even phones with proprietary OSes. But I’ve since gotten rid of all my other phones, and stuck with my Windows Smartphone. So much for a Mac lover, huh?

While my Windows-powered Smartphone syncs perfectly with my Windows-powered computer, I couldn’t make it talk to my Mac without those expensive add-on software (such as Missing Sync, which still misses some stuff on syncing). Having an Apple cellphone would make life so much easier.

2. The holier-than-thou attitude. Now made more portable.

I know every purchase of a Mac came with a license for a holier-than-thou attitude. Of course, Mac users find it easy exude this enormous amount of self-confidence while editing a video or writing a novel at the café over a cup of latté. But I can’t do this while riding a crowded subway train, can I. If I had an Apple cellphone, I just whip it out while riding the Metro, and I would revel in the oohs and aahs of my fellow commuters.

3. OS X on x86? Why not on a mobile?

If Apple can do a major shift to a new platform every ten years or so, perhaps they could also port the Mac OS into just about any device, too, such as a mobile phone.

4. Linux and Windows are already on mobiles!

Apple is competing with Windows for market share in the personal computing space. So is Linux. But in the PDA-slash-phone realm, Windows and Linux do have a strong presence. Isn’t it about time Apple took a bite at the mobile market, too?

5. Get a Mac … only $199 with a two-year subscription

Having an Apple cellphone would sure be the easiest–and cheapest–way to “Get a Mac.” Now Apple can target switchers not only in the desktop and computer market, but also in the mobile phone market! All this without having to breach the $1,000 price point.

6. Single clicker phone

Cellphones can get confusing with all the keys and buttons to press. Isn’t it about time for a phone with only one clicker? Of course, users can still press and hold or CMD-press for other options! Okay, Nokia did this with the Navi-key, but IMHO Nokia’s interface is quite clunky. Apple would be able to do this so much better.

7. The clickwheel

Or, Apple can experiment implementing the iPod clickwheen on its cellphone. Jog dials and joysticks as means of navigation have been explored before. Why not a clickwheel? It worked so well on the iPod!

8. The name!

Apple would most likely do away with calling their cellphone the “iPhone.” Here’s another reason to apply those, umm, un-Apple like names like “MacBook” and “MacBook Pro.” I bet Apple will call their phones “MacPhone” and “MacPhone Pro.” Sweet!

9. iTunes Integration

Yes, there were other phones that tried to tie into the iTunes Music Service. But they just plain sucked. An Apple phone would finally give us excellent iTunes and mobile phone integration.

10. Widgets, widgets, widgets

Not enough desktop real estate to put all your widgets in? An Apple phone would solve that. Now you can have all sorts of Dashboard Widgets–both useful and useless–peeking at you from your small cellphone screen.

Oh, and one other thing …

It would be cool to see Steve Jobs at one of his Keynotes saying near the end of his presentation, “Oh, and one other thing …” then take a MacPhone Pro out of his jeans pocket and answer a call.

Image from www.nitenichiryu.org

I also rarely shut down my Windows-based laptop and desktop, since I use the hibernate function, instead. While Windows also has a standby functionality, it’s not as fast as the Mac’s sleep (takes forever to go to standby mode and it’s the same when waking up), nor is it as power-efficient (at least in my perception).

However, there’s a drawback with most Macs that I’m sure you’re familiar with–there’s no Hibernate functionality. This means when you lose power or remove your notebook’s batteries, the contents of the RAM will be wiped out, except for some PowerBooks that have a capacitor to retain RAM contents for a few seconds while you switch batteries. Windows’ hibernate, meanwhile, basically saves all RAM content into the hard disk and hence your compter’s state is saved even if the machine is completely powered off. You can check out the power management portion of X vs XP if you’re not familiar with the differences between how Windows XP and OS X handle these.

Some newer PowerBooks have a safe sleep functionality, which saves RAM contents to the hard drive before going to sleep. But the notebook only completely powers off when the battery level is too low to provide power for the RAM to holds its contents. While there’s a command-line hack for putting your PowerBook into safe sleep everytime you make it sleep, it could get quite cumbersome to have to go into Terminal to do this. And you would have to change the power management settings manually each time you want a different sleep mode.

Fortunately, there’s the Deep Sleep Dashboard Widget that lets you deep sleep your Mac at the click of a mouse button (Apple download page here).

Deep Sleep is a simple Dashboard widget which allows users to put their computer into hibernation mode, also sometimes called software suspend mode. This widget only works on a limited number of Apple computer models. Please read the included documentation for more details.

What’s the advantage? You can expect longer battery life in between charges, since deep sleep consumes zero battery power (except probably for the extra time writing RAM contents onto hard disc and loading it back when the computer wakes up). The drawback? Sleep and wake up times are longer.

It works on a limited number of Macs, though, and I don’t think mine is included.

I was hoping the announcement would include something to the effect of Google’s porting its plethora of client-based tools to OS X, but I guess it’s too early for that. Sure, the Google Software Downloads for Mac page is cool, but the first thing I noticed was that it’s mostly old stuff. Google Earth? Picasa? Toolbar? These have been on the Mac for some time now.

What I’d like to see is something new, and the first thing on my wishlist is Google Gadgets for the Mac. I know Mac users probably won’t have much need for Google Desktop Search (the bigger package that Gadgets is part of), with Spotlight and even other existing third-party apps like Quicksilver that do local search so well. But here’s why I want Gadgets and even Google Desktop on my Mac.

• I like the clean, simple interface. Okay, Dashboard Widgets are snazzy looking and all, but I still prefer to have my information on hand in a simpler, easier-to-read interface. Somehow, Widgets are just too colorful and prettied-up for me, not to mention that each Widget takes up too much space on the screen. My Google Gadgets are in simple blue and black-on-white color scheme, and are slimmer and more streamlined.
• Google Gadgets thinks for me! I recently wrote on Blogging Pro about my Bloglines RSS subscriptions being too cumbersome to manage since it’s grown to more than 600 feeds. I used to rely on the Web Clips Gadget for my feeds as an alternative. What’s great about it is that Web Clips automatically updates its feed list based on my frequently accessed websites, so I don’t have to manually scan my feed list for interesting stuff. The Gadget does that for me.
• I want to be able to search across all my computers, including my Mac. Okay, this is really more about Google Desktop Search than Gadgets. In the course of a work day I usually work across several computers, and it would be handy to be able to search for documents and other files stored across all the computers I use. When I was on Windows both on my desktop and laptop, I would usually be able to find my files across computeres in a jiffy. Now that I’ve added a Mac, I’d hate to have to search twice just to make sure I’m not missing anything. Sure, Leopard would have support for Spotlight searches on network-mounted folders but Leopard is still months away, and it only works on network-mounted folders.
• Apple + Google = Teh Cool! Think different and don’t be evil! How cool can that be?

Okay, I just realized Mesa Dynamics’ Amnesty Generator can convert Google Gadgets for Websites into Dashboard Widgets. But this is limited only to the Gadgets available for the Web, which does not cover the entire Gadgets collection. Still, if that’s possible now, then I’m hoping a native Google solution isn’t too far away.

So just play. VirtualApple.org has a collection of almost every Apple II game released.

It’s quite ironic, though, that you can only run the emulator on Internet Explorer on Windows–it runs on ActiveX!

Enjoy!

That was the time when an x86 version of OS X (Project Marklar) was still very much under wraps, and all sorts of leaks–whether fabricated or true–to that effect had been making the rounds of email lists, forums and early blogs. Apparently, the author’s worry was that porting OS X into the x86 architecture would make no sense for Apple as it would only lead to the demise of the company.

While we know how things have turned out, it’s quite interesting to revisit the past, and to recall how we once thought of our favorite tech company/companies. Sometimes we get a good laugh over our past experiences. When we see how things eventually turn out, it’s either I thought so, or What was I thinking? Or perhaps it’s Why didn’t I think of that?

Fast forward to 2006. As history would have it, Apple did switch to the x86 platform, but it did not turn out the way the author originally envisioned it to be. The author had his points and I would say they were valid and very much reasonable. But history sure has a funny way of making things turn out not as expected.

Point 1: Apple will never be able to offer its OS at a price point that Microsoft can’t undercut.

My take: Apple never has to. By this time, Apple already has a cult following loyal enough (or more than loyal) to stick with the company even with comparatively higher prices. While this statement was made with the view that a switch to x86 would mean that OS X would eventually be sold separately from Apple hardware (i.e., for use with other-branded PCs like Dell, HP, IBM, etc.), I don’t think it’s reasonable to pit OS X against Windows this way. They’re simply different (this is the understatement of the century), and they cater to different people with different needs and preferences.

Point 2: No hardware vendor would risk its Microsoft Windows contract by offering a competing OS.

To the contrary, there are hardware vendors that will sell you OS-less computers or those bundled with another OS like some flavor of Linux. Dell, IBM and HP are not marketing this aggressively, though, but ask and you shall receive. The same goes for the Intel stronghold on the hardware market. Manufacturers like HP are giving consumers a choice by marketing AMD-powered laptops and desktops along with Intel-powered ones.

Point 3: Converting to x86 is tantamount to admitting that recent ad campaigns touting the power of the G4 against the Pentium were just so much hot air, which devalues all of Apple’s carefully shepherded advertising dollars.

Okay, you got me there. When Apple first released the MacBook Pro, they even go as far as saying “Up to five times faster than the PowerBook G4.” Tsk! Have we just been had?

Point 4: If an x86 machine can run OS X, then if Apple rebrands some machine that can do that with an Apple logo, it stands to reason that the same machine could run Windows.

One word: BootCamp!

(Or maybe two words? Okay, it’s a compound word!)

Steve Jobs standing in a room and seeing an Apple-branded machine running Windows natively. Yup – that’s what I thought. Jobs would rather sell Pixar to Disney than see that.

Wonder of wonders! Steve Jobs did sell Pixar to Disney. And Steve Jobs probably sees Windows running on Macs natively every day, by virtue of BootCamp.

My bold prediction

Arguing with something written in the past is probably pointless. Or at the very least, it’s quite amusing. We have yet to see whether Apple’s switch to the x86 platform proves to be a stupid business decision, indeed. But using Apple’s steady market share so far as an indicator, I would say the switch has probably even improved the company’s standing in today’s increasingly competitive industry.

Now here’s my bold prediction that I’ll probably either support or contradict four years from now.

OS X will eventually run officially on non-Apple hardware.

What say you, my fellow MacHeads?

I Think the Apple cube in New York is awesomeness!
- Unverified, anonymous Muslim on random website

I pulled the quote above from a random site I won’t cite. Based on this, and the ability to extrapolate a statement by one person to apply to an entire group, I now make a stunning statement:

Muslims profess serious love for the Apple Cube.

Ridiculous isn’t it? But the opposite happened, and has spread like wildfire. Read the (at times immature) Digg discussion here and you’ll see my point.

The website that originally “cited” the story about Muslims raging over the Apple Cube is the Middle East Media Research Institute, an oft-criticized group that supposedly translates Arabic media into english. Now MEMRI recently put out a republished/translated statement claiming that somebody in the Muslim community was offended by the Apple’s NYC Cube store, supposedly because it looks like the Ka’ba (the House of Abraham). Sites like ZDNet and TUAW soon followed suit, spreading the story–particularly in the Apple user community–that the Muslim community was offended by Apple’s NYC cube.

Apple lovers and armchair social scientists alike were quick to the draw with their criticisms of the Muslims who were allegedly offended by the Cube. The “issue” has just started an all-out flamewar.

What really makes me angry is that under the guise of news about Apple (which we all love), a blatant flat-out lie was perpetuated. The reality of the matter was that it was a random post on a random website, without a single supporting name or organization to reflect the “muslim community’s outrage.” The MEMRI article did not even link to, nor identify, the Arabic news source it was supposed to be citing or translating!

If you look again into MEMRI’s background, the organization seems to be a source not known for being unbiased.

Now I wouldn’t be one to pass judgement quickly, but given these irregularities, I would tend to think that this is plain propaganda aimed at discrediting the Muslim community.

What’s even worse is that some people have exploited our passion for Apple for political purposes. There is no place for that crap.