MacUser have just announced that Skype for iPhone is confirmed for a release tomorrow. Skype gives members free calls through VoIP (voice over internet protocol - computer to computer calls) So as long as your friends also have Skype installed on their computer or iPhone, you can call them for free. This is bad news for O2. Especially now as sales of mobiles are plummeting.
This ad is currently running in the States. They took a (tele)visually pleasing member of the public, Lauren, who was in the market for a laptop with "speed, a comfortable keyboard and a 17-inch screen". Microsoft said, "You find it and you can keep it". How generous of them. We then follow her as she shops for her dream laptop. Her first port of call is an Apple Store (isn't it everyone's?) the ad brutally cuts straight to her walking out crestfallen. "They only have one computer available and that has a 13" screen...I would have to double my budget, which isn't feasible...". Then, in her car, she depressingly announces that she's "...just not cool enough to be a Mac person". This is the sad truth for most people; they can't afford a Mac. Anyone in Lauren's position has a choice of thousands of notebooks and netbooks that look as cool as a Mac but are hundreds of pounds cheaper. My old 12" PowerBook G4 that my wife uses is now so unbearable to us, she wants a new one. For a start, Apple have no modern alternative to it and the cheapest MacBook is £720 but that's made of plastic - one drop and it's done for. There are some 1st generation MacBook Airs going for £900 at Micro Anvika but that seems a little excessive. Why should I pay more for a stronger laptop when I can spend £329 on a Dell Mini 10? OK, I'd be spending a good fortnight of evenings getting the damn thing to stop asking if I'm sure I want to run or install an application; I'll have a few dozen apps to un-install too; I'll have to fork out for McAfee Virus Barrier; I'll also have to peel off all of the Vista and Intel stickers; but on the plus side, it'll be much quicker to surf the wifi; it has a webcam, so I'll be able to video chat when we're apart; and I wont be too bothered if she drops it - I can buy three of them for the price of an alu MacBook. Yes I know my Mother-in-Law had endless trouble with her Dell Desktop but it runs fine now I've stuffed in a few more gigs of RAM. I can even buy one that runs on the Linux-based Ubuntu without the bloatware. The truth is, in Lauren's words, we're "not cool enough" to own a new MacBook. Back to the ad...Lauren chooses an HP Pavilion and Microsoft paid the $699.99 (but that was instead of her acting fees. She wouldn't know about that, she's not an actor). Lauren isn't cool enough to be a Mac person, but she looks like she's just walked out of a GAP ad - she wears dark nail varnish, has cool hair (for a 'ginger'), has definitely been to Specsavers, drives a Volkwagen and now owns a cool Windows PC. Honestly, who's going to think less of her if it's not an Apple?
If the iPhone nano looks anything like this, I'll be first in the line. The thought control goes a bit too far. Where do people find the time to do this sort of thing?
Learn all about the imminent cut/copy/pasting on your iPhone/iPod touch and how many 3rd party accessories will soon be able interact with the touch screen interface (to name but a few features) here.
As a creative person in advertising, attempting to do anything remotely 'creative' on a Dell Optiplex was counterproductive to say the least. WIthout Quark, I would spend hours designing layouts in Word; and without Photoshop I would waste even more time using a five year old version of Photoshop Elements. I spent four years pestering the DDB IT department for a Mac, so imagine my surprise when they finally agreed to equip me with the latest 15" MacBook Pro (I would have preferred the 13" MacBook for it's portability but, after that long, who was I too argue?) Well, exactly a week after I'd been given it, I was made redundant. Four years I'd waited! Four years!! I used the notebook during my notice period as I rushed to get get my book (advertising lingo for portfolio) together and update the website. Yes I did consider not giving it back, or at least nicking the hard drive or a strip of RAM, but as I was hoping to get some freelance work from my soon-to-be past employer, I wasn't going to risk it. From my two weeks of using the MacBook Pro, I conclude that it's far too heavy to lug around in your bag all day - a precision aluminium unibody enclosure isn't so light when you're also carrying the adaptor, a phone charger, a couple of magazines, a jumper, a wooly hat, a wallet and an 'old-school' Black and Red notebook... the back ache was a killer; it also had an annoying habit of not connecting online to the internet - probably due to the over-cautious firewall settings. On my last day I returned it to the IT Department (even they said 'but you've only just received it!') along with the Tucano sleeve and lock and key. It was a short and bittersweet affair but I've come to realise the purpose of the slightly underpowered, port and drive deficient but 2.5Ib lighter, MacBook Air.
At the push of a button, Apple's new 4GB iPod shuffle can tell you all sorts of things; the title of the song that's playing, who the artist is, the name of your playlist, etc. But, I hear you ask, how can you do all of that with just one button? Well, you use the controls that are integrated into the headphone chord. Now this could take a lot of getting used to (see Appleinsider's explanation here) as there's only three buttons. For example, to switch playlists you "click the Centre button until you hear a tone and then release to switch the playlist menu. You'll hear the current playlist, all songs, and then remaining playlists in alphabetical order followed by audiobooks and podcasts. you can click + or - to move quickly through the playlist menu. When you hear the name of the playlist you want, click to select it." OK, that doesn't sound quite as intuitive as your usual iPod controls, so I'm sure most people will just use the new shuffle the same as the old one. Look at the pros: It's half the size of the previous generation, with twice the storage (1000 four minute long, 128kbps tracks); It's very minimalist; You can use playlists; and it talks - 14 languages too, albeit in a Stephen Hawking voice. The cons: (As mentioned) the advanced controls will take getting used to. It's more lose-able than the last shuffle - best keep you headphones attached. Completely useless if you wish to use your own headphones. It comes in silver and black and costs £59 but the 1GB 2nd-generation shuffles are still available - 2GB shuffles are so yesterday.
Apparently a Taiwan-based company called Wintek are all set to supply Apple with touch panels for a new netbook. Digitimes have reported that shipments of the new portable will start in the third quater of this year. Wintek's official position is that they working with Apple to develop some new products but they don't know what applications the new products are for. Sounds promising, doesn't it? The design above is by Isamu Sanada.
Apple have beat the rest of the PC industry to use the new Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor, which boosts performance to twice the power. The new Mac Pro has also been rearranged under the hood. A completely new interior makes it even easier to add up to 32GB of memory, four PCI Express expansion cards and up to 4TB of hard drive storage. Powerful AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards provide the fastest-ever Mac graphics, while a new Mini DisplayPort gives you more display options. Quad-core starts at £1899 and 8-core from £2499.
This doesn't look like a hoax (from Gizmodo). If it is real, we can see that the new mini has an Alu case, n Ethernet port, Firewire, Mini DisplayPort and the old style mini DVI Mac display port. Looks like it's been updated to run the new Apple LED Cinema Displays.
Also the new Time Capsule is rumoured to have the ability to support 802.11b/g devices while also broadcasting 802.11n wide signals at the same time.
Mac mini - 5x USB - 1x FireWire 800 - 1x mini DVI - 1x Display port - Nvidia chipset (like the newest MacBook) - starting at Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz - 1 of 2 GB DDR3 memory (max 4 GB) - 120 GB hard disk (max 320 GB)
iMac - one 20" model, three 24" models - Intel Core 2 Duo (not a quad core): 2.66 Ghz, 2.93 Ghz and 3.06 Ghz - 1x Display port - 20" 2 GB DDR3 memory, 24" 4 GB DDR3 memory (max 8 GB)
Rumour also has it that these new Macs will be here sometime today.
