The Preferred Toronto Apple Reseller of MacMedics:
The Preferred iPod and iPhone repair shop in Toronto of MacMedics:
A Safe Way To Dispose Of Your eWaste – And Get A Tax Receipt Too!
My Preferred Canadian-Based ISP
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Jun
28
This independent video combines two great inventions that go together well. Apple loved the concept so much they even posted it on their website. Enjoy!
Jun
25
At Apple’s Core
Filed Under Fun, Views, iPhone | Leave a Comment
So what is going on? In 1997 Apple was on the verge of collapse, it’s loyal followers were bemoaning it’s end. A deal had been made with the Microsoft devil to prop it up – the end was indeed nigh. Here we are, June 2010 and Apple is now the largest tech company in the US ahead of Microsoft itself. It releases hit after hit – the iPhone, iTunes, the App Store, beautifully designed laptops and desktops, the iPad, the iPhone (again!). People line up for their product releases days in advance, camping out, similar to how we line up for rock concerts.
They sell millions of devices in a matter of days. The release of the iPhone 4 yesterday is their biggest launch yet – with between 1 to 1.5 million of these things sold on the FIRST DAY!. Now there have been bumps and blunders along the way. I don’t like everything Apple does or the way they do it. The news surrounding yellowish screens, reverse button placement and an antennae design flaw on the new iPhone 4 are breaking out all over the web (Toyota anyone?) causing some consternation among customers and glee from its competitors. The government is investigating them for issues ranging from Privacy complaints to anti-competitive behaviour. Somehow Apple will weather these storms.
But how has this success come to be? I came across a interesting article today from Fast Company that tries to delve into just what makes Apple tick. It’s a long piece, but worth the time. The top ten ingredients explored are summarized below:
{1} Go Into Your Cave
{2} It’s Okay to Be King
{3} Transcend Orthodoxy
{4} Just Say No
{5} Serve Your Customer. No, Really
{6} Everything Is Marketing
{7} Kill the Past
{8} Turn Feedback Into Inspiration
{9} Don’t Invent, Reinvent
{10} Play by Your Own Clock
To get the details behind each of these check out Farhead Manjoo’s article on the Fast Company Website.
Jun
21
iOS 4 Had Landed
Filed Under Apple News, Apple Updates, iPhone | Leave a Comment
If you haven’t heard or noticed or attached your iPhone or iPod Touch to your Mac or PC today Apple’s latest and greatest mobile operating system is in the wild. Once you do you’ll be greeted with an opportunity from iTunes to upgrade your iPhone to version 4.0. Important Note:
OS 4.0 isn’t compatible with the original iPhone or the iPod touch. iPhone 3G and second-gen iPhone touch devices will get the update, but key features will be missing.
The 2009 iPhone 3GS and current generation iPod touch will gain all the new features, including multitasking, folders, wallpapers, unified inbox, multiple Exchange accounts and more
The iPad will get its turn in the fall. I’ve gone over some of what’s new in a previous post and there is lots of info all over the net and on Apple’s website. It is very important that you upgrade to iTunes 9.2 – either through Apple’s Software Update under the Apple Menu or through this link as it is required for organizing the new folders structure in the new OS. Below is an excellent 10 minute summary of all that’s in store after the update is complete:
Jun
18
First Base
Filed Under Apple Updates, MobileMe, Views | 1 Comment
Apple’s online service MobileMe just got a major facelift. Offline for a few hours last night it has returned with a new interface for Mail (borrowing heavily from it implementation of this service on the iPad), new navigation features, a new Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch application and more. Details can be found here – MOBILE ME – WHAT’S NEW.
I really like the new Mail interface and hope they eventually bring this approach to the Mac OS desktop version. It responds and respects typical keyboard shortcuts like select-all, delete etc…I have to say that it’s not quite clear what to do when you hit the new page. Logging in takes you to Mail. Gone are the navigation tools/buttons to access each service. Instead, there is a cloud icon in the top left of the page. Clicking on this brings up a process-like pop-up window which offers up the different components – calendar, contacts etc…I’ve been using the beta of Mail for a while so I had figured this out quickly, but I suspect some users won’t know what to do right away. Also, one has to click on this cloud icon every time you want to switch between the different parts. This seems silly as it’s now added an extra mouse click to navigate. The service seems to remember the last component you were using and upon logging in after logging out takes you back to that area – potentially useful, potentially annoying. I’ve also noticed that my contact/calendar sync is totally out of wack on my various machines. The recent changes may be the culprit as the sync service had been very stable since the last major overhaul they made – which caused a major headache back then as well. Each component has gotten a slight make-over – Check out this post from 9to5mac.com for more screenshots. Not everything Apple does is perfect and I’m not sure this is a home run – more just a single at the moment.
Jun
15
(Sim) Free At Last!
Filed Under Apple News, Apple Updates, iPhone | Leave a Comment
Another big day of announcements…
I don’t know about you dear readers, but I’m pretty excited about the just released news that the new iPhone 4 (and perhaps 3GS it seems) will be sold by Apple UNLOCKED!
The Apple iPhone is Sim Free - iPhone 4 FAQ
Canadian iPhone 4 News on Unlocked devices
Apple calls this the commitment-free iPhone. If you travel this is HUGE. You’ll be able to purchase a micro sim card in a country you’re travelling to and utilize a local phone/data (your phone number will change with each card so just keep that in mind – but you can always forward it…). This is another boon for people who don’t want to sign a contract with a carrier. It means you can buy a new phone and sign up and change a carrier without penalty because there won’t be a contract! The customer will finally have leverage – the fear of paying some exorbitant penalty for terminating an account over poor service, weak plans etc… is gone. I really dislike contracts. I’ve spoken with service reps from my current carrier many times to be told I can leave if I want to if I’m unhappy – but I’ll have to pay $500 or more to do so – no more!
With freedom comes a higher price tag. Commitment-free phones will cost a lot more because the carriers (Telus, Bell, Rogers, Fido) won’t be subsidizing it. However, for many people this may be worth the price of admission to a contract-free cellular experience. It also means that unlike last year, the carriers won’t/can’t turn down those users whose contracts don’t allow them to purchase the new iPhone (can you believe they even do that?). We can just buy them from the Apple Store. The iPhone is available for pre-order today (June 15th) in the US – Black models only (seems there’s a short supply of the White models). In Canada the pre-order date will be late June/early July. At the moment there is just a ‘Notify Me’ button on it’s Canada store page.
One More Thing…
Oh yeah, Apple also released a NEW MAC MINI. It just keeps coming. The new Mac Mini has been redesigned – it’s slimmer, sports an internal power supply that sips energy (10 watts in sleep mode), 4 USB ports, a Firewire 800 port and two new ports: an SD card slot for picture cards and even better – an HDMI port. This one is important as it will allow owners to attach the MacMini directly to their HD TV’s (if you have one). The processor speeds have come up as well the hard drive capacities. The price has gone up as well which won’t please a lot of people. Granted it has more features than it’s predecessors – the higher cost flies in the face of the trend for more affordable computers. Perhaps its price will fall in the next few months. For a full run down check out the links below.
First Impressions (care of 9to5mac.com)
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POST SCRIPT (5pm): My oh my – It looks like Mac OS 10.6.4 was released. This is a free incremental update for 10.6 users. As with any system update BACK UP YOUR DATA first! Also, remember, you don’t have to update.
Jun
14
I just couldn’t resist:
Jun
9
Instant Keynote
Filed Under iPhone | Leave a Comment
If you don’t have time to sit through the almost 2 hour keynote speech given by Steve Jobs yesterday at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco below is a 5 minute synopsis. Now, you won’t get to see the FaceTime demo go a bit awry due to poor WiFi network issues…For those who want to view the full keynote head to Apple’s link here:
Tech specs as well as other information on the new iPhone are on Apple’s site.
Jun
8
Back To The Future
Filed Under Apple News, Very Very Cool, iPhone | Leave a Comment
Apple just keeps on keeping on. The new iPhone 4 was announced today at the Apple World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC). It’s design was leaked weeks ago by Gizmodo (whose legal woes following this breach are in progress). For many, Star Trek’s Tricorder has arrived. What can’t this device do? Multi-task, video chat, shoot HD video and edit it (goodbye Flip?), manage multiple Exchange accounts with a unified InBox (hello more business users!), an A4 processor – the same snappy one found in the iPad so you know this device is going to perform well. The marketing machine has started – check out this ad for the new FaceTime which pulls at all heart strings:
The full on video of the iPhone’s new features can be found here starring all the usual suspects:
Also announced was Safari 5, Apple’s next iteration of their web browser with better performance features, a new Reader tool for sites that support it, the inclusion of Microsoft’s Bing search engine in addition to Google and Yahoo! and more. Quite a day all in all. This is an iPhone worth waiting for. Rogers has announced it’s support, but no plan information as of yet – just a notification page that users can sign up with. Apple has their own Notify Me page as well. Official release of the new iPhone and the new iOS 4 is slated for mid-June so it looks like yet another summer of new iPhones. As usual, some of the features are not new to mobile devices, but their implementation is elegant as only Apple’s engineers and User Interface designers can deliver. I can’t wait!
Jun
3
State Of The Digital Union
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Steve Jobs – D8 All Things Digital
Steve Jobs spoke two days ago at the All Things Digital summit hosted by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal. There are some excellent moments and it’s always interesting (and rare) to hear what Mr. Jobs has to say. He comments on all the recent events that have been occurring in the Apple universe from the stolen iPhone 4G to the Flash wars, Google, TV, the Foxconn worker situation and more. Plus there are plenty of other interesting speakers to check out as well and footage from Steve’s earlier appearances.