Jun

28

You Tube, Creativity and Commerce

Filed Under Fun, Views, iPhone | 1 Comment

Quite a heady title. The internet. How to come to terms with it, commercially? Newspapers are crumbling before it (and their collective decision, for some reason, to give most of their content away for free). Blogging? Unless you’re one of the heavy hitters like the Huffington Post it’s difficult to make much dough. Porn? Well, yes, there are a lot of people making money in that way – but it’s not for everyone. So what can you do?

Well – it all depends. Are you creative? Do you have an idea you’ve been wanting to share visually? Do you have a lot of friends who can tell other friends about your site? Then it may be possible to break through. Take Julian Smith: I came across this You Tube video by him on the iPhone through this NY Times article:

Just an awesome talent and an interesting insight into the world of creative and commercial You Tube. Basically this guy makes money through sponsorships and endorsements. He has 17000 subscribers! That’s a powerful incentive for advertisers and I think this is the way things are going:

Hi, I’m Julian. I don’t have a real job. I make movies and music all day long and release new videos on YouTube every Friday. Visit JulianSmith.tv!

Don’t let his description fool you – doing what he does takes a lot of time and commitment – and talent. I just love the internet – the possibilities for creativity are endless – and you can also make some money if that’s what you want too. Quality stands out – it generally does – just as a good iPhone App can still rise above, albeit for a moment, the other 50000+ apps out there. I may just try one myself…

Jun

22

And Now For Something Completely Different

Filed Under Fun, Very Very Cool | Leave a Comment

For your astonishing pleasure (thank you Gizmodo):

Jun

21

My Weekend With the iPhone 3G S

Filed Under iPhone | 2 Comments

So, I did what I thought I would never do: I got up at 7am on Friday to get in line at an Apple store to line up to get hold of the new iPhone. There were two lines – one for those of us nuts who got up to get the new uber device and those who made ‘shopping appointments’ through the Apple Store online to do the same. The line with those with appointments got into the store first.

This was, surprisingly, not a large lineup as they saw in places like New York:

For some reason, however, ours barely moved. Apple store staff came by with coffee and muffins and demos of the new phones – nice touch – but no ETA on our entrance into the store. 30 minutes. 60 minutes. No movement. I had to go see clients. What a waste! Then, out of the blue, a Rogers associate shows up and tells us that he can help us out in about 10 minutes at his Rogers boutique. I dash out of line with said associate and true to his word I’m in possession of the new iPhone within 10 minutes! I was able to get the upgrade price as advertised and activation was smooth.

So, I’ve had a chance be with the iPhone 3GS for two days and I have to say – this is the device I always wanted it to be. As a colleague put it: we all put up with the sluggishness and imperfections of the original iPhones because they were just so cool and their interface so welcome. After a while those imperfections became tedious and one longed for the abilities of the most basic of smartphone. It’s amazing what some speed and basic features will do. The new 3.0 software is incredible for sure. It enhances the original 2G and 3G iPhones with it’s new features and speed increases. The new iPhone 3GS is in a different category altogether. There have been tests posted on the internet, but using the new device for oneself makes it plain – this is indeed a new iPhone.

It is FAST. Switching between applications, launching them, searching for items – everything – is just ridiculously fast and responsive. Surfing is quick, searching is quick – it just responds the way it should. The video recording is simple and is decent quality. The audio recording sounds great. For anyone able to upgrade this is a worthwhile pursuit. I’ve loved the iPhone since it came out, but I always felt a bit disappointed with it’s performance. No longer. I can wholeheartedly say, without reservation – this is the best smartphone I’ve ever used. The hype is justified. I can only imagine what the future will bring.

Jun

18

iPhone 3.0 Software and 3G S News

Filed Under Apple News, iPhone | 1 Comment

Apple released the 3.0 version of the iPhone and iPod Touch operating system yesterday. I’ve had a chance to play with it on my 3G iPhone and the verdict is delicious! What I love:

•Encrypt iPhone backups (within itunes 8.2) – security is the word
•Locate my iPhone/send messages/remote wipe – very nice, secure feature
•Shows which phone type the caller called from – work, home, mobile etc…handy
•Spotlight search – swipe to the left of the main screen and search every aspect of your phone – finally!
•Search within particular apps – finally, again!
•Cut/copy/paste – we knew this – a basic feature – but welcome
•Faster – apps and the phone in general feel zippier – I’m so curious to experience the faster 3G S

What I don’t like:

Not much – no compass app for 3G (boo). No change in Map orientation depending on which direction you’re facing (iPhone 3G S only) – but all in all – an excellent upgrade – and free for iPhone owners of 2G and 3G.

There are of course many hidden features and little tweaks (100′s actually) to found while exploring the new OS – I encourage play. The new 3.0 software requires iTunes 8.2 (and maybe 10.5.7) so please, please, back up any important data before upgrading other parts of your systems. Also allow the iPhone upgrade to complete in it’s own time – don’t do other things on your computer during the upgrade process. Also be prepared to upgrade some of your applications as a few may not work with the new OS and some will need to be updated.

On another note: Rogers has announced a fairly generous upgrade path for current heavy users who purchased their phones prior to September 30th:

Rogers’ and Fido’s price reductions depend heavily on when customers bought their phones and how much they spend per month on service. The most privileged are those who bought an iPhone 3G before September 30th and who spend at least $100 CAD a month on their total service plan; these get a full subsidy and pay the same $199 CAD for a 16GB iPhone 3G S, or $299 CAD for a 32GB version, as customers new to the service or who qualify for a full upgrade.

Not too shabby. The rest of us will have to pay a hefty price:

Those who spend less than $100 per month but who still bought their iPhones before the end of 2008 get a partial discount. Here, the 16GB iPhone 3G S costs $449 CAD while the 32GB version costs $549.

Fido users can use Fido dollars towards the purchase of the phone – very nice. Will I be lining up early? After reading David Pogue’s review – if I can get up – maybe!

Jun

14

Revolution Under The Hood

Filed Under Apple News, Tech News, Very Very Cool | Leave a Comment

What seems to be coming out as a major and important aspect of Apple’s recent announcements is the introduction of their new battery technology across the board on the MacBook Pro line (13″ and 15″):

The big surprise coming out of Apple’s 2009 Worldwide Developers Conference appears to be the new batteries in the MacBook Pros. Early testers are seeing that the new MBP’s have a huge amount better power consumption than their predecessors did. Not just a few percentage points, either.  In some cases, people are seeing double the battery life.

This is a huge leap in performance from previous models makes these new laptops some of the best value Apple has ever produced – especially the 13″ model now that Firewire has returned (you may have to invest in a Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 6PIN cable).

Some testers are experiencing up to 8 hours of battery life (Apple claims 7!)! This is huge:

There’s a lot to love about the MBP 13”, but the best thing is the new built-in battery. This battery lasts forever.

In an afternoon spent working – Word, Firefox, Photoshop and WordPress, all while listening to iTunes, I’ve gotten 6 hours and 20 minutes from a single charge (about 70 percent brightness, WiFi on, 20 tabs in Firefox. It was working so hard, the MacBook got hot and the fans kicked in).

This is not just impressive, it’s awesome! I can spend all morning at the Ritual coffee shop, which has covered up all the electrical outlets, and spend only $2 on coffee!

This kind of battery life is reserved for iPods and mobile phones, not laptops. The 2008 MacBook got under 2 hours in such conditions. Apple and others have gotten 8 hours plus in light usage.

Bravo!

Jun

11

iPhone 3G S in Canada

Filed Under iPhone | 3 Comments

I’ve been asked by many people about the status of the new iPhone 3G S in Canada – availability, pricing etc…Here is what I’ve found (thank you iPhoneworld.ca):

Some Details -

- No contract (pay-as-you-go) iPhone 3GS: unlocked or locked?
According to Rogers PR the no-contract iPhone will still be locked to the carrier that you purchased it from (Rogers / Fido).

- Will I get MMS on my iPhone 3G automatically when iPhone OS3.0 is available (June 17, 2009)?

The MMS feature will be available on the 17th, but you need to upgrade your Rogers contract accordingly. So call your Rogers customer service representative and upgrade your plan to include MMS support if you want this feature to work.

iphone canada- Will the no-contract iPhone 3GS be available on June 19,2009? How much will it cost?
Yes it will. However, according to Rogers, pricing will be available closer to the launch date, and as such we don’t know how much it will cost.

- Will I be able to get an iPhone 3GS on my corporate plan?
Good question. Actually, a really good one. A Rogers PR rep is checking into this one. We’ll keep you posted.

- I have an iPhone 3G I got from Rogers. Can I upgrade to an iPhone 3GS?
Yes, you can. But only at the full (non-subsidized/no-contract) price of the device. We don’t know how much it will cost yet, but we expect you’d shell out $600-700. Why would you need to pay the full price? Read directly below.

- Okay, so if I am a Rogers customer, can I upgrade to an iPhone 3GS?
Yes, you can. Says Rogers:
 - “Rogers offers Hardware Upgrade subsides to help our customers upgrade to new devices.”
- “When customers are eligible, they can upgrade for 3-year contract price plus $135 or less.”
- “For most smartphone users subsidies begin at 2 years. For those not eligible there will be a no-contract price.”

- Relating to the earlier question, and what if I am not a smartphone contract user but do have more than 2 years of contract with Rogers/Fido that I went through on a standard run-of-the-mill $50 phone?
Good question. A Rogers PR rep is checking into it and we’ll keep you posted.

- I am trying to get the 6GB/$30 month iPhone dataplan. Rogers customer support tells me it’s not available. So is it really?
Yes, it is. The problem, it seems, is that Rogers didn’t have enough time to train all CSRs and inform them that it’s back. If it happens to you try calling back a bit later – hopefully you’ll talk to a better informed employee this time around. (note: it will only be around for a limited time).

It also looks like tethering (using your iPhone as a modem for internet access from your laptop) will be supported by Rogers:

…some of the new iPhone features announced when the 3G S was unveiled by Apple on Monday will be available to 3G users who upgrade their iPhone operating system after version 3.0 becomes available on June 17. For example, those customers will be able use MMS (multimedia messaging service) and internet tethering. MMS allows users to send photos, video and rich text messages to other cellphone users via a service similar to text message and internet tethering allows computers to connect to the internet via a wireless cellphone network.

…tethering will be free to all customers with data plans over 1GB until the end of the year, but MMS will require a plan that specifically includes MMS (the ability to send audio, video and picture messaging just as you do text).

That’s the skinny for now.

Links:

CBC Article

Rogers iPhone 3G S Website

iPhoneworld.ca

Jun

9

WWDC ’09 Reflections

Filed Under Apple News | Leave a Comment

WWDC Badge
So, the dust begins to settle and some clarity appears through all the rumours and speculation. In the end we have a few surprises and a few let downs. You can check the major sites for in-depth roundups (see links at the end of this piece).

Surprises

The laptop line has been unified as the MacBook Pro. Firewire (800) was brought back to the 13″ – Apple was listening to all the upset MacBook users missing that important interface. Also a surprise addition was the new SD card port to the whole line. This will allow picture cards to be inserted directly into the new laptops. Gone is the traditional card slot – this could upset those users with investments in cards that used this port.

A welcome surprise is the addition of Apple’s new battery technology across the line – 7-8 hours worth. The batteries are no longer removable which will disappoint some, but no one will ever be fully satisfied whatever Apple does. I personally am happy about these important changes. The whole MacBook Pro series is faster and has a premium quality to it. I’m looking forward to replacing my aging black MacBook.

iPhone

The new iPhone 3G S (‘S’ stands for Speed I’m told) features and tech specs look great and in my opinion reflect a product that should have been from the start. However, better late than never. This is a great time to get in on an iPhone. The experience will be much more rewarding than the current offerings. Although I love this device it has always been a bit sluggish. The lack of some basic features such as Search and copy/paste have been sorely lacking. Now it seems to have it all: Phone-wide search, full copy/paste support across applications, voice recording, voice dialing, turn-by-turn GPS, the ability to share data via bluetooth, tethering (the ability to use the phone as a modem), a 3 Megapixel auto-focusing camera, video capture and editing, better battery life, much faster processor, larger capacities (up to 32GB) etc…It’s just going be awesome. The fact that a good portion of the feature set is also in the new 3.0 OS offering for older iPhones is great.

One big surprise is the phones will be available June 19th – some rumours pegged an actual release for July.

MobileMe

MobileMe was updated as well to accommodate the new feature of remote location and optional wiping of an iPhone – great for security in the event of loss or theft. Usually an Enterprise level feature now the rest of us can feel more secure about our important data. Apple will also be releasing an iPhone app for MobileMe to allow browsing and shareing of data on the iDisk.

Snow Leopard

The new Mac OS 10.6 operating system will be available in September and promises a leaner, faster user experience. As expected it will only support Intel-based processors (probably one of the reasons for its smaller footprint). To read more about this check out the provided link. I’m excited for Snow Leopard and the refining of the Leopard OS and how it will interact with Leopard Server.

Snow Leopard Server

For business users Snow Leopard Server will offer some great new features, some of which will require Snow Leopard Client (just as some of Leopard Server’s features require 10.5 client – e.g Time Machine, iCal Server). It seems Apple is really embracing web and push-based services and iPhone access to it’s server features. A few of the new elements that excited me and that I think my business clients will appreciate: iCal 2 Server and it’s web access feature, a new Address Book Server (finally!) which will integrate with Apple’s Address Book, the MobileAccess Server element – an alternative to VPN with easier remote access to files and services, full Exchange 2007 compatibilty to name a few.

Safari 4

Oh yeah, and Safari 4 came out of Beta – requires 10.5.7 – which reports to be very fast. What can I say – it’s a browser. Read all about it, use it a let us all know what you think.

Disappointments

I was really hoping for a built-in 3G cellular modem in the MacBook line. At the moment if a user wants access to the internet outside of a WiFi accessible network a external modem is necessary. They’re expensive and they require more data plans. The new iPhone will support tethering, but only if the cellular provider supports it (Rogers may not). Perhaps Apple is waiting for faster cellular networks to be completed before comitting.

Summary

I think all-in-all it was a good day. Some excellent new hardware and software offerings that are going to make the Mac user – both consumer and business – much easier. I wouldn’t be surprised if more announcements get made this week – Apple may not be done yet. There’s never been a better time to get a Mac. I think they’ve got the whole package – great software, fast hardware, rock solid client and server operating systems, a much better mobile platform – I’m excited.

Links

The Keynote

David Pogue’s Take

9to5 Mac

Macrumors

Gizmodo on WWDC

Jun

7

WWDC 2009 And The Future Of The Mac

Filed Under Apple News, Tech News | Comments Off

WWDC

The World-Wide Devlopers Conference 2009 begins tomorrow in San Francisco at 1pm Eastern with a keynote being given by Phil Schiller (snore). What is WWDC, why am I writing about it and why is it important?

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the most important annual event for anyone innovating with Apple technologies. Thousands of developers from around the world come to California each year to receive in-depth information and instruction from Apple’s technical architects and engineers.

Ok – that’s the dry version. WWDC is important this year as it’s introducing some important offerings that will affect Mac users in a profound way. The one in the spotlight (although not necessarily deserving of all the attention) is the next generation iPhone. Predictions are rampant concerning it’s hardware upgrades and Apple has previewed some of the new iPhone 3.0 software specs on their site. Some of the more interesting speculations:

[The] iPhone may only see a magnetometer (compass), better camera (3.2 megapixel with auto-focus) and some minor aesthetic changes (black matte back and black rim). Some are speculating that there might be a forward facing camera for video chatting but this is far from a given. There is other speculation that the iPhone will range in size from 4 to 32GB and start out at $99-149 with plan (US plans). It may even be called the “iPhone Video” but have FM broadcast/receive capabilities. iPhone 3 software has some interesting new features including a video recorder application, support for Bluetooth 2.0, Safari GPS and many more APIs for developers to work with. We’ll likely see great uses of these API that haven’t been seen before.

The other story – and one that every Mac user will eventually experience first-hand is Snow Leopard – Apple’s next version of their Operating System aka 10.6. With Microsoft set to release it’s Windows 7 some time in the future Apple is set to release more information on the next evolution of it’s OS. Snow Leopard is going to affect the average user in ways they may not like. I’m thinking of those users of older pre-intel hardware (PPC eg. G4 or G5 machines). At the moment 10.5 or Leopard’s minimum requirements are a G4/867MHZ processor or greater – already shutting out earlier G4 and all G3 computers. Snow Leopard looks to shut out the entire PowerPC line.

The Mac turned to the Intel processor 4 years ago and maintaining compatibility just gets too difficult after a while. Leopard will be be supported for the foreseeable future – we’ll probably see further updates to 10.5 just as we saw with 10.4. It seems 10.6 will be more of a solidification of Leopard in general with an emphasis towards the business user:

Snow Leopard includes out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 built into Mail, Address Book, and iCal. Mac OS X uses the Exchange Web Services protocol to provide access to Exchange Server 2007. Because Exchange is supported on your Mac and iPhone, you’ll be able to use them anywhere with full access to your email, contacts, and calendar.

Other features may include:

Snow Leopard’s OpenCL support will allow it to harness the power of the Mac’s GPU to make heavy duty tasks like rendering video much quicker. There has been word that the next version of Final Cut Pro, Apple’s video editing software suite, will be one of the first applications to support OpenCL. If so, it will likely be announced at WWDC.

Quicktime X is supposed to run much more efficiently on Snow Leopard (possibly with the help of OpenCL). There is also upload to MobileMe and Youtube functionality expected. Apple will likely demo this funtionality.

Hardware

Hardware is where it gets most interesting. We’ve heard that MacBooks might get a 3G WWAN option. Recent Apple job postings listed QA analysts to check integrated 3G hardware on the MacOS. MacBooks could even get GPS or WiMAX options, though that is very unlikely.

MacBook Airs, while great, still aren’t the computer everyone would like them to be. They still lack 4GB of RAM and the aforementioned 3G that would get power users to adopt. They could also get more storage and cost less to compete with netbooks. they’ve been a rumored update as well.

AppleTV is sitting fairly idle while competitors like Windows XBox and Sony Playstation are getting amazing upgrades. Important differentiators like full HD, Netflix add to their amazing gaming capabilities. Apple has been hiring gaming experts left and right so perhaps this will be the time to push AppleTV into the gaming world.

Cinema displays. Apple updated the 24-inch cinema display to work with the new Mini DisplayPort interface in the new Macs. They subsequently killed the 20 inch Apple display, while leaving the 30-inch with the old look and DVI interface. This situation will likely change with new 30-inch Mini DisplayPort screens, if not at WWDC, soon.

iPods will wait until August to get their cameras but the new 3.0 iPhone software will also work on older iPod touches. Along with all of the new features mentioned above. iPod touch v2s will now get Bluetooth 2.0 capabilities.

And then there’s Steve Jobs. Will he appear at WWDC? It would be great that’s for sure, but he may not be ready yet to face the public:

While Mr. Jobs has been on sick leave, some Apple directors have gotten weekly updates about his medical condition from the CEO’s physician, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Jobs’s recovery “is coming along” and he is on schedule to return to work later this month, said this person, who has seen Mr. Jobs in recent weeks.

“He was one real sick guy,” added this person. “Fundamentally he was starving to death over a nine-month period. He couldn’t digest protein. [But] he took corrective action.”

His official return is scheduled for the end of the month and some feel other major announcements may coincide with his re-appearance. I will follow up with an overview of the day’s events so stay tuned.

Jun

1

One To One – Apple Store Members Only

Filed Under Apple News | 13 Comments

onetoone
It looks like Apple must be overwhelmed by the One-To-One service they have been offering. For those of you who don’t know about this offering – for $99/year a person can book an appointment with an Apple Genius and receive one on one tutorials on anything Mac (OS X, iLife, iWork, Mail, whatever) in their retail stores. You are allowed to book once a week if you like. It also includes a tune-up of your Mac, but you have to bring it in. Up to this point anyone could purchase a One-To-One subscription whether you had purchased a Mac at an official Apple Store or not (or even if you didn’t have a Mac). It’s been a great deal and I wondered how long the parameters of this program could remain this way. Well, as of June 2nd the rules are changing:

Changes To One to One Membership Program

As you may have read, we are making changes to our One to One membership program. As of June 2, the One to One membership will only be offered to customers who purchase Macs through Apple’s direct channels – our retail stores and the Apple online store. The price for the program will remain $99. Existing customers will be able to renew for one additional year for the same price as well…

This actually makes more sense for Apple as it will involve people who actually use and have bought Macs through them. It’s unfair to those who have purchased machines through smaller resellers (they do get a 1 year grace-renewal period) and to the resellers themselves as they can’t compete with this kind of offering. For more details you can check out the One-To-One site directly.