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- iOS 101: Manage Your Family's iTunes Store Spending
Even if your kids understand the value of a dollar, do they appreciate how quickly they add up when using an iOS device? Unprotected iDevices can lead to big accidental iTunes charges. Here’s how to stop that from happening to you and your family.
Create an iTunes Account Without a Credit Card
Free apps can be pretty entertaining, and you don’t need a credit card to get them. Here’s how to create an iTunes store account without one:
- Make sure you are not already logged into an iTunes Account.
- From within Apple’s App Store, select and ‘purchase’ a Free app. This will not work with free music, movies, or other media, only free apps.
- You will be prompted to either log in or create a new account. Create a new account as you normally would.
- When selecting a payment option, make sure you select “none.” By selecting “none”, you won’t be asked to enter payment information, and the account creation process will complete successfully.
Pretty simple, and incredibly handy. You can give associate your kids’ iOS devices with this account, or use it yourself to make sure you limit your spending. You can also have a paid account associated with a credit card attached to a different email address for when you absolutely need to make a purchase.
Set Up an iTunes Allowance
Establishing an allowance is more like setting up an automatic iTunes Gift Card plan. Each month your iTunes account will be charged for the amount you create the allowance for. You will be charged even if the recipient of the “allowance,” I mean Gift Card, doesn’t use it. Funds will accumulate in the recipients account until they choose to use them. Might still be useful as a reward for good behavior or chore completion though:
- Open the iTunes Store.
- Click “Buy iTunes Gifts.” This should appear under “Quick Links” on the right.
- Scroll till you find the “Allowances section” and click “Set up an allowance now.”
- Fill out the information as requested.
Parental Controls Within iTunesSetting up Parental Controls in the iTunes Application itself is only a half-solution (see below), but it does have its uses. You can even remove the iTunes Store from iTunes entirely.
- Go to iTunes>Preferences in the menu bar while the application is active.
- Click on the Parental icon.
- Check the box next to “iTunes Store” beside Disable.
Without any way to get to the iTunes Store, there is no way to make purchases. It’s key that you lock the parental controls. This will then require an administrator account and password in order to turn the iTunes Store back on. You can also use this to institute a tiny bit of self-control by removing the obvious temptation.Enable Restrictions on the iOS Device
If you’d rather have more granular control of exactly when purchases are made, instead of disabling purchases altogether, enabling restrictions directly on the iOS device works best.
- In your device’s Settings app, go to General>Restrictions.
- Tap “Enable Restrictions” and enter a passcode. Write it down somewhere so you won’t forget.
- Disable the options you’re concerned about and adjust the content settings to your needs.
In particular, I’ve found turning off iTunes, Installing Apps, and In-App Purchases to be most effective in controlling spending. These restrictions even apply when syncing to iTunes on the desktop. If you’ve turned off installing apps, you won’t be able to add new apps to the device, or even update existing ones without first turning that particular restriction back on.The iPhone 3G that I gave to my six-year-old daughter has well over 100 games installed. While she didn’t purchase or install a single one of them, I doubt she feels restricted. The four techniques outlined above should provide help with reining in spending when handing over your iOS device to one of the click-happy minis in your life.
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Переслать - Apple Developing iAds for Video
Apple will be adding a video angle to its advertising offerings in the coming months, with a new product that will deliver in-stream ads to videos shown on the iPhone, iPad and (potentially) the Apple TV, according to multiple sources. The new product would not just expand Apple’s advertising capabilities and boost revenue, but could help convince more content owners to make their videos available on its iOS devices.Many publishers have been slow to bring their videos to the iPhone and iPad, due in part to the lack of mature tools available for monetizing content on those devices. Because iOS devices don’t support Adobe Flash, publishers need to do additional work to make their current ad-serving systems work with the HTML5 video delivery required for the iPhone and iPad. That’s caused many publishers to think twice before delivering video to those devices. (For Adobe’s view on the HTML5-Flash battle, come see Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch at NewTeeVee Live on November 10, 2010 in San Francisco.)
But Apple’s new ad product could solve that problem by giving publishers an easier way to monetize their videos. According to a source, the new in-stream ad product would work with both Quicktime video and HTML5-delivered video. As a result, publishers would be able to serve the same type of pre-roll, post-roll and mid-roll video ads as in their online Flash players, but they would be able to do so natively in apps and through mobile web pages that appear on iOS devices.
The ad product would not only enable video publishers to serve their own ads against videos on the iPhone or iPad, but it would give Apple the ability to act as a video ad network for those that don’t wish to sell their own inventory. The in-stream ad system is also expected to have some targeting capabilities built-in, with mobile location data and anonymous user behavior data to help deliver targeted ads to consumers.
One source says the new ad product will most likely be introduced in the first or second quarter of next year, meaning it might be announced as early as Apple’s annual January event. Apple announced its first iOS ad product, iAd, at an event held in April this year.
Initially, Apple’s in-stream ad product would support video delivered to the iPhone and iPad, but the bigger opportunity for Apple could be in bringing the offering to its Apple TV set-top box. Apple has been working hard to try to develop a linear, subscription-based video service to compete against the big cable companies, but one thing holding it back is the ability to provide in-stream video ads on the device.
While many content companies, including the big broadcasters like ABC and Fox, are just fine selling or renting TV episodes on Apple devices, they still make most of their money from advertising. Offering up a subscription video service without a mature ad offering to go with it would be a non-starter, and could be one of the main reasons that Apple has had a tough time getting major content companies on board. But the new video product could alleviate some of those concerns by giving TV programmers the same type of dual revenue stream they get from cable providers. That could open up a whole new business for Apple and for its publishing partners.
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Переслать - How-To: Fight the Dangers of Distraction On Your Mac
Distractions are rotting your brain. Recently, research has revealed a lot about the long-term effects of distractions and digital multitasking. An inability to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, poor performance and stress: this is your brain on the Internet. Your Mac can help, though.
The Problem
As a species, we’re wired for distractions, a holdover from tens of thousands of years of evolutionary progress. For our ancestors, the ability to react to the sound of a twig snapping off in the bushes somewhere meant the difference between ending up as a snack for some large predator, and being able to feed your children for another day.
Fast forward to today and our distractions aren’t nearly as important, but our brains still reward us chemically for paying attention to them. Whether it’s email, RSS, Twitter, Facebook, or the dozens of other channels of information vying for our attention, we’re all overwhelmed with opportunities to engage in this cycle throughout the day. It feels good; it’s addictive; and it’s changing our brains.
What We Can Do
Does this mean we should all cancel our Twitter accounts, stop checking email and throw our iPhones in the trash? No, we just need to exercise some moderation. Consistently spend some time concentrating on doing one thing and ignore distractions. Not only will our brains thank you in the long run, but in the short term, you’ll see performance improve, too. Of course, doing it is easier said than done. Luckily, technology can give us all a little SelfControl.
SelfControl is a handy little OS X application from Steve Lambert that blocks all access to blacklisted domain names for a time specified by the user. Block websites, mail and instant messaging servers, or any other service that might prove to be too much to resist. Just add all the domain names to the list and set the timer. Any attempt to contact those servers, either through a browser or some desktop application, will not work not mater how badly you want to see the latest LOLcat video.
There's no cheating allowed, so be prepared to not have access to any of those services for as long as the timer lasts. Quitting the application or restarting the computer won't help you. Of course, there are a few command line tricks you can play to restore access (it’s just an application, after all), but I'm not going to tell you how that's done, as it would defeat the purpose.
Now that we have all those external services blocked, lets see what we can do to minimize other distractions. Being able to hide everything that's not immediately relevant is a good start:
- Hide all desktop icons: This is easy enough. Just open up the Terminal and use the “
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false” command to hide the icons. You’ll have to follow that with a “killall Finder” command to restart the Finder before you see the change. The files are still there, and you can access them through the Finder itself, but now they're not staring you in the face. You can always use the “defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true” command to bring back the default configuration. - Hide the menu bar: There are a few applications like MenuEclipse that can shade the menu bar, fading it into the background until you hover over it with your mouse, but I prefer to hide it only for a couple of heavily used applications. To do this, just edit the Info.plist file of your application, and add this new key value pair: “
LSUIPresentationMode” “4″. Now, whenever your application is in focus, the menu bar and the dock just slide off the screen. If you're not comfortable mucking about in .plist files there's a great set of AppleScripts called MagicMenu that can take care of all the technical bits for you. Hiding the menu bar this way is a bit of a hack, and can have some unwanted side effects depending on the application, so proceed with caution. Always back up the .plist file so you can revert back to the default setup.
- Hide unused applications: If I’m busy writing in Textmate, I don’t need to see some animated Flash ad playing in Safari, or a bunch of random Finder windows open in the background. LiteSwitch is a replacement for the default application switcher in OS X that, among other things, will automatically hide windows from any applications not in focus. Just set the “Window Layering” option to “Single Application Mode”. Now, whenever you tab over to a new application in the switcher, windows from any other apps are automatically hidden. If you want more control over what gets hidden when, you can leave window layering set to normal and just hit the “A” key when in the switcher to activate single application mode.
Now, we've at least got a fighting chance to fend off the years of evolution screaming at us to pay attention to something other than what we're doing. If you know of any other handy little tools that can help keep us focused, please share in the comments. One final word of caution though: Lets not spend so much time tweaking an approach to maximize focus that we end up distracting ourselves in a whole new way.
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Переслать - Hide all desktop icons: This is easy enough. Just open up the Terminal and use the “
- Why No Love for Mac, Skype?
Missing the boat.
A new version of Skype for Windows arrived yesterday, bringing tighter Facebook integration along with other new goodies like group video calling. But while Windows users celebrated the new arrival, Mac users watched from the sidelines as the parade marched past. What’s up with that?
Let’s be fair. Last time Skype issued a major update for the Mac version of its software, we actually got some features ahead of Windows folks. We got screen sharing and cheap Boingo Wi-Fi access before anyone else with Skype 2.8 in January 2010. Windows wouldn’t get those features until May. Thanks Skype.
But where’s the Mac love now? Yesterday’s update left us behind, at a time when ignoring Apple users is a very bad idea indeed. Let’s look at the numbers. Apple’s share of the home computer market went up to around 10 percent in the U.S. in recent months. That grows even larger if you count the iPad as a personal computer, which many research firms don’t. In fact, if you do include the iPad, Apple is the biggest U.S. PC manufacturer.
Let’s leave aside, for the moment, the fact that there’s no Skype app for the iPad. Actually, on second thought, let’s not. Seriously, how can you justify not having presence on that device at this point in the game, when you’re a firm the size of Skype? (Yes, Facebook is even more worthy of finger-pointing, but still.) Arguably, you could use the Skype iPhone app, but in general, running non-native apps isn’t a pleasant experience, even if the functionality remains the same.
Speaking of Skype for the iPhone, where’s video calling? The iPhone 4 arrived in June, and brought with it a front-facing camera ripe for Skype. Yahoo Messenger beat them to it. Considering it’s at the core of what Skype does, that should come as a slap in the face. FaceTime is strong competition for Skype, but if the VOIP company had managed to get a mobile-to-desktop video calling client to market in early days, it would’ve had a good chance of eclipsing Apple’s own service.
As it stands, Skype still hasn’t introduced those features, and Apple seems poised to bring FaceTime to the Mac next week when it reveals OS X 10.7 Lion. When it does, even if the next version of Skype also brings mobile-to-desktop video calling and group video chat, it’ll be an uphill battle for the company.
All new Macs with built-in displays have integrated web cams. All new iPhones have integrated webcams, be they front or back-facing. Apple is doing better in the mobile and PC markets than it ever has. The future of your business, Skype, is in cross-platform video calling. What isn’t clear about this picture?
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Переслать - Make Video Calls on the iPhone 3GS With iSeeU
Mirror, mirror on the wall, can you help me make a video call? There has been no shortage of apps that allow users to make Facetime-like video calls on the iPhone 3GS or even on Android phones. However, those calls can be kind of awkward when you don’t have a front-facing camera. That’s where iSeeU comes in, a new cell phone accessory from a Korean company called Playmass.
The idea behind iSeeU is pretty simple: Mount a mirror on your cell phone, and you’ll be able to film yourself during a call with a rear-facing camera. Check out the rather charming video below for a quick demo.
The neatest thing about iSeeU seems to be that you can easily swivel it around, making it possible to share all kinds of stuff without having to move the phone (or switch camera inputs on the 4G, for that matter). The company also has a number of additional videos up on YouTube, but there’s really not that much more to explain. It’s a cell phone accessory, after all, albeit a clever one.
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Переслать - New York Times Finally Brings Full Content to the iPad
When the iPad launched, many expected the New York Times to follow-up its awesome iPhone app with an equally impressive version for Apple’s tablet. Instead, we got “Editor’s Choice.” Now the newspaper is trying to make amends with a brand new app that provides access to all of its content.Even Steve Jobs was apparently quite displeased with the Editor’s Choice app. In fact, as Valleywag pointed out back in May, “NYT Editors’ Choice was not even listed in the “News” section of the iPad app store for weeks after the device launched, we’re told, although it has since been filed there. Talk about life as an orphan.”
Well, the message got through, loud and clear, and late yesterday saw the release of a new NYT app: one that doesn’t hold anything back. At least, not if you sign up for an account, and not for the time being. You can sign up for an NYT website account right from within the app, however, and there’s no cost to do so. All content will remain free for the remainder of 2010, at least, but the newspaper clearly wants to see if it can’t recoup some revenue directly from readers in the new year.
The app not only contains all sections and articles from the newspaper; it also provides access to a selection of blog content, and all videos from the website. The interface hasn’t changed, and it didn’t really need to, since it already functioned quite well.I’m very happy to see the NYT finally get with the program and deliver a full-featured product for the iPad, and I’m sure Steve is too. I’m wary of the “early 2011″ timeline for ending free access, but newspapers obviously need to find a new revenue model that works, and I don’t begrudge them that.
This might be an indicator that Apple is indeed moving ahead with its plans for iTunes-based subscriptions to newspaper content, as we’ve reported, and that those plans are meant to bear fruit early next year.
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Переслать - White iPhone 4 Spotted, Reason for Delay Explained
If you’re waiting for a white iPhone 4, you’ve been waiting a long time now. It might infuriate you to know that Apple apparently has hoards of them piled up at Apple HQ. Are they preparing for a launch? No, not according to a man who owns one.Blog Pocket-lint spotted the as-yet unreleased white iPhone 4 at a press event yesterday in New York City, being used by a person who wished to remain nameless. Probably a wise move after everything that happened with the Gizmodo iPhone fiasco. Pocket-lint managed to snap some photos of the device being used, and even approached the man to find out how he got his hands on one.
Turns out the guy had contacts inside One Infinite Loop, and that friend was able to get him a white iPhone 4 because they’re literally stacked in boxes around the place. Initial shipments of the device came through prior to the intended launch, but there was a problem: The white of the home button doesn’t quite match the white of the front face plate.
Those who’ve experienced antenna problems with their iPhone 4 or heard this story about Steve Jobs’ preference for form over function that came to light as a result of that debacle won’t be surprised that a shade of color difference would prevent an Apple product going to market.
Apple’s suppliers can’t remedy the problem, at least not to Jobs’ satisfaction, so the white iPhone 4 stays off of store shelves. It’s already been delayed many times, with the latest reports putting a release date sometime around Christmas. Apple hasn’t made mention of it at all in a long time, though.
We’ve got a major Apple event coming up next week. What better time to announce a white Christmas for customers? Even though it’s a Mac-focused event, if the phone is ready for mass consumption, we’ll see it unveiled there. If it isn’t, chances grow slimmer still that we’ll see a white iPhone 4 at all.
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Переслать - Apple Event Predictions: The Next Macs
So the cat’s out of the bag, as they say. Apple’s having a press event next week on Wednesday, Oct. 20, and there will definitely be a new version of OS X unveiled at that time. But that’s probably not all we’ll see. You can expect new Macs, too, just in time for the holidays.
But what can we expect from those new computers? Let’s take a look at what updates we’re most likely to see at the “Back to the Mac” event.
MacBook AirAh, the MacBook Air. Does anyone remember how amazing it was when Steve Jobs first took this thing out of one of those yellow envelopes with the string fastener? I wanted one very badly. Luckily, reason won out and I didn’t get one, opting instead for a MacBook Pro later. I say luckily, because the Air is very expensive for what it offers, and because it seems to have been plagued by problems.
A new Air should, at the very minimum, get updated to current components, including an Intel i-series chip, like an i3 or i5. It’ll probably get a case redesign, too, if for no other reason than to make room for a bigger battery and the new-style push-button glass trackpads that are found in all other models of MacBook and MacBook Pro.
Rumors suggest there’ll also be a brand new 11.6-inch display to go along with beefier internals and other cosmetic changes. Since the MacBook Air, in a lot of ways, is as much of a hobby for Apple as the Apple TV, I do foresee them playing around with the form factor. It’s a risk they can afford to take, since it can’t really hurt sales of the ultra-portable. Even if they’re concerned about that, they could keep both a 13-inch and 11.6-inch model on offer.
MacBookThis time last year, the entry-level MacBook got a unibody design. But it wasn’t an aluminum one, like its Pro cousins. Instead it got a polycarbonate unibody shell, in classic Mac white. In May of 2010, it got a spec bump that included Mini DisplayPort A/V output.
My money’s on a new look for the MacBook. This is the last machine among all of Apple’s offerings that still boasts the white plastic look (Apple TV recently did get a black plastic makeover, though). I think by now, Apple’s process has been around long enough and it’s done enough volume with suppliers that we’ll see it finally get an aluminum shell. Don’t expect the same lines as the Pro, though. There still has to be some way for consumers to tell the machines apart at a glance.
We’ll also see internals get a boost, with maybe a chip upgrade to the Core i3 from Intel. An SD card reader slot is also a good bet for Apple’s standby notebook.
MacBook ProA cosmetic update every two years is apparently just about the norm for the MacBook Pro. The unibody aluminum and glass look borrowed at least in part from its iMac predecessor has been around for just about that long now. Case updates aren’t that far-fetched an expectation, and a new look across the line would definitely go a long way toward saying “We haven’t forgotten about Mac.”
We’ll probably also see the i3 make its way into the 13-inch MacBook Pro. That’ll help capitalize on the integrated batteries, boosting life further still. We could see the introduction of HDMI, since Apple’s finally relented and put that into its Mac mini desktop, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that one. Better graphics are probable, too.
In short, Apple wants this event to remind people that despite the success of iOS, it hasn’t forgotten about the other side of its business. I’m willing to bet that Jobs is going to go out of his way to make a splash with new hardware next week, and show us a difference we can see. That, combined with a new version of OS X, is bound to convince the doubters.
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Переслать - Mac OS X 10.7: A Speculative Anatomy of the 'Lion'
The invite from Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event clearly shows an image of a lion, which strongly suggests that the next iteration of OS X is going to be announced. But what new features will ‘Lion’ bring? Here’s a list of some things to expect (and some you shouldn’t).
Most Likely
A UI redesign. The release of iTunes 10 brought some graphical changes, namely the rearrangement of the “traffic light” window controls, and the lack of color in the sidebar. It’s likely we’ll see changes similar to this across the board in 10.7, as this has happened before; first the UI of iTunes gets a makeover, then OS X follows suit a while later. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing this, as the colorless sidebar has sort of grown on me.
An update to iChat. When FaceTime was announced, we were told it wasn't just going to be for the iPhone 4. The latest iPod touch can now do FaceTime, so the next obvious move would be to include it in iChat, the built-in IM client of OS X. Since iChat already handles video calling, adding FaceTime should be easy. Having FaceTime on Macs would really extend the reach of the service.
Probable
Front Row refresh. Front Row has been neglected for the past few years; it hasn't seen an update since OS X 10.5, back in 2007. iTunes U and other newly introduced iTunes content doesn't work in Front Row. Even if the interface doesn't get changed (it needs a new look, but Apple kept things pretty much the same with the new Apple TV), support for iTunes LP and iTunes U should at least be introduced so you can enjoy all your content from across the room.
Changes to the Finder. While it would be nice to see some new features such as tabbed Finder windows, I think it’s more likely that we’ll just minor changes to the Finder. For example, maybe a Dock-like auto-hide for the sidebar. Speaking of the Dock, I’d like to see features like those in HyperDock made native, especially the Windows 7-esque window previews. Won’t hold my breath on Apple taking a cue from Microsoft, though.
Unlikely
Virtual machines. I know that 10.5 introduced Boot Camp, where you can dual-boot into another OS besides OS X, but even though it’s something users would appreciate, somehow I can’t see an implementation of something like Parallels or VMWare (where you can run two operating systems at once) being added to 10.7. I think Apple would see it as a memory hog, and appealing to only a relatively small audience.
Absolutely no chance
Running iOS on a Mac. For a while now, the rumor’s been making the rounds that Apple will soon announce iOS compatibility with Mac computers. Heck, I’ve even heard that OS X is going to be replaced by an upscaled version of iOS. While it may sound good in theory, in reality, there’s just no way it could work.
On the iPad, we’ve already seen that iPhone apps run at twice the size in compatibility mode can look horrendous. Now imagine if you were running one at triple or even quadruple size to run it on a Mac. It would be unusable. And another thing — what about multi-touch? How would you go about emulating a two- three- or four-finger gesture using a computer mouse? Yes, the Magic Mouse and the new trackpads can recognize gestures, but only in general. They can’t work out the position of where you wanted the gesture to be on screen. Unless Apple reveals a whole range of touchscreen computers on Wednesday, iOS on a Mac will remain a pipe dream.
Our Personal Wish Lists
- High on my priority list would be a UI refresh, new Finder features (tabbed windows especially), and fixes for the bugs that have sprung up since Snow Leopard.
- Geoffrey Goetz would like to see Apple tie up the loose ends that have shown up in its products.
- Bryan Schuetz wants an update to Spaces, the virtual desktop feature of OS X.
- Charles Jade has been thinking about Front Row, and whether it’s turned into abandonware since Apple TV 2 was released.
- Darrell Etherington just wants FaceTime to come to the Mac so that he can actually use it on his iPhone 4 somewhere outside of the Apple Store.
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Переслать - Mac Market Share Surges in U.S.
Preliminary estimates by Gartner and IDC put U.S. Mac market share for third quarter 2010 at 9.3 percent and 10.6 percent respectively. Both firms report double-digit growth for the Mac in the U.S. year over year, 13.7 percent from Gartner and 24.1 percent from IDC, compared to a range of two to four percent on average for the industry.
It appears that blistering sales of the iPad, estimated at approximately two million units per month, have not resulted in Mac cannibalization. According to IDC VP Bob O’Donnell, the iPad has negatively impacted the netbook market, but “the halo effect of the device also helped propel Mac sales.” IDC has Acer’s growth as flat for the quarter in the U.S., but Gartner reports a whopping decline of 24 percent for the netbook maker’s U.S. market share. Both research firms have Dell down between four and five percent.
Although now the number three PC maker in the U.S., Apple has yet to appear in the top five worldwide. The fifth position is currently held by Toshiba, which sold approximately 4.7 million PCs for the third quarter, compared to 3.47 million Macs. Apple could overtake Toshiba next year if estimates are correct.
Looking at Mac market share in the U.S. over the last five years shows just how much has changed for Apple. In the third quarter of 2005, Apple sold 1.182 million Macs worldwide; 595,000 in the Americas. Gartner estimates 1.831 million Macs were sold in the U.S. for third quarter 2010. That’s a change in market share from 4.6 to 10.4 percent in five years.
While that’s impressive growth, over the last five years the percentage of Macs sold in the U.S. has actually declined relative to international growth, from 50 percent of sales for third quarter 2005 to 40 percent for third quarter 2010. What that means is that as fast as Mac sales are growing in the U.S, they are growing even faster internationally.
It’s been nearly 20 years since the Mac last had a double-digit share of the U.S. PC market, but the next 10 years could see the Mac attain a share of worldwide sales that no one ever imagined.
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Переслать - Moving to Mac: 6 Months In
It's been about six months since I took the plunge and moved from PC to Mac. I thought it would be interesting to check in and see where I am now, how I am faring and what software I'm using.
Переслать - iPad Coming to AT&T, Verizon Stores Oct. 28
An official press release from Apple reveals that a new partnership between it and Verizon Wireless will see the iPad make its way to the wireless provider’s store shelves on Oct. 28. In a separate press release, Apple also said the iPad will be available at AT&T stores on the same day.The big news here is obviously Verizon. The iPad hasn’t been available on any network other than AT&T’s in the U.S. up till now. And a deal with Verizon means that Apple has indeed been working to get its products on the company’s network. It’s almost like Apple is winking at us conspiratorially with the timing of this announcement, considering all the recent rumors about a possible Verizon iPhone 4.
Even if this isn’t an indicator of the imminent end of the iPhone’s exclusivity, having the iPad available on the Verizon network is great news for Apple. It expands the reach of the incredibly successful device further still, and helps explain some of the company’s more ambitious estimates about iPad sales in the coming year.
Verizon will offer three special bundles along with the basic Wi-Fi models, since the 3G-capable iPad uses GSM, not CDMA. The bundles will retail for the same prices as the Wi-Fi + 3G iPads ($629, $729, and $829 for the 16, 32 and 64GB models respectively) but will also include a Verizon MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot. You can also get each model on its own if you prefer, but you obviously won’t be able to use Verizon’s data. Only one data plan option is mentioned, and that’s 1GB of data for $20 a month.
AT&T is selling the three Wi-Fi + 3G models for their suggested retail prices, and any iPad using the AT&T network gets free, unlimited access to the provider’s 23,000+ U.S. Wi-Fi hotspots. AT&T’s plans for iPad data are $14.99 a month for 250MB, and $25 a month for 2GB.
Apple hasn’t lifted its restrictions about contracts, so neither provider will be able to offer bundles that could defray the cost if users sign up for a longer commitment. Still, it’s nice to see that in addition to network choice, we also get some different pricing options with the addition of Verizon as a provider.
CORRECTION: The article originally stated that Verizon would be offering Wi-Fi + 3G models, not Wi-Fi-only iPads.
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Переслать - Opera 10.63: An Old Workhorse Gets an Update
Opera Software released version 10.63 of their flagship browser on Tuesday, with another round of tweaks, enhancements and bug fixes. Being a consummate Opera fan, I wasted no time checking it out in both OS 10.6 Snow Leopard and on my old G4 Pismo PowerBook running OS 10.4 Tiger.I’m happy to report that it seems livelier and more stable than the version 10.62 release, which was already very good. Since the upgrade conveniently runs in the background and allows you to keep doing other things, even surfing, it makes the process easy and painless.
What Opera Offers That Others Don’t
Opera Turbo
Opera offers some unique features, such as Opera Turbo, which uses Opera’s servers and proprietary compression technology to compress webpages, boosting your browsing speed on crowded Wi-Fi hotspots, tethered mobile phones or even dial-up, letting you browse up to 2x faster than its competitors when connected at slower speeds.
Encrypted traffic remains that way around the compression servers, so when you’re on a secure Web site, such as your bank’s, you’re still secure and communicating directly. Turbo can be instantly toggled on and off using a button on the interface window margin, or you can set up Opera Turbo to be enabled automatically when a slow network connection is detected.
Mouse Gestures
Another unique feature of Opera — mouse gestures — lets you perform common browsing actions with small, quick mouse movements. Gestures can be stacked to perform more complex actions. You can enable or disable mouse gestures in the Opera preferences. There’s even a tutorial to get you started.
Opera Unite
Opera Unite turns your computer into a web server. With Unite, you can share content directly with friends without having to upload anything, stream music, show photo galleries, share files and folders, or even host your own website directly from the browser. It’s a great feature that other browsers don’t really come close to offering, at least not in an all-in-one package.
The Little Things
Opera has a raft of small touches that keep me coming back to it as my most-used browser, such as a very convenient Zoom menu on the interface window that lets you infinitely magnify page content using a slider control to read websites with small text easily, or get an bird’s-eye view of an entire site. Unlike some other browsers, Opera’s zoom resizes all elements of the page, not just the text. You can also toggle images on and off from this menu to improve readability and speed up page loads.
With Opera, you can also search in the address field. Opera uses several keywords to provide quick access to several popular and useful search engines. You can also add any search engine.
Opera’s Closed Tabs button, also on the user interface window, provides a pull-down list of recently closed tabs, so you can easily return to where you left off. Finally, in case you’re concerned about speed, Opera is also very fast, in the same league as the latest versions of Safari, Firefox, and Google’s Chrome browser.
Good for Those Who Appreciate a Fine Vintage
Opera is evidently an acquired taste, with about four percent of global browser market share outside North America, and around 2.4 percent overall, which puts it in fifth place behind Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. But it’s also one of the dwindling crop of current browsers that still support older Power PC Macs and OS 10.4, although the Opera folks tell me that version 10.6x will be the last with Tiger support, alas. All the more reason to enjoy it while it lasts.
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Переслать - Tango: Good Video Call Alternative for Android, iPhone
Android phones like the EVO and Galaxy S have front-facing cameras to enable making video calls. The iPhone 4 has a camera too, and while FaceTime is Apple’s app for making calls on that platform, newcomer Tango makes such calls possible on both iOS and Android. The folks behind Tango have seen over a million downloads of the app since its launch just over a week ago, so it’s clear users are looking for easy ways to make video calls.I downloaded Tango for Android on my EVO 4G and was surprised to see how easy it is to get going with the app. I’ve used Qik and Fring on the EVO, but both were difficult to get set up and the quality of the video in calls wasn’t the best. As soon as I fired up Tango, it scanned my contacts on the phone and determined that two of them had already installed Tango on their phones.
I clicked on the entry for my buddy Hubert Nguyen of Ubergizmo, and even though jet-lagged from his Japan trip, Hubert was sporting enough to do a test call. In no time, we were catching up since the last time we met in Orlando, and the quality of the video was very good. The utility I use to take screen captures requires a good shake of my EVO to snap the image, so the minor distortion you see in the image above is due to shaking the phone to capture the screen. The video quality in the call was excellent, and it was just like being there with Hubert. We were both impressed with how well it worked, and based on the test, Tango is a good video calling solution on both Android and the iPhone 4.
Tango calls can be made over 4G, 3G and Wi-Fi. I was using the HTC EVO 4G on Wi-Fi for this call and Hubert was on an iPhone 4, also on Wi-Fi.
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Переслать - Bluefire Reader: An iOS E-reader With Adobe DRM Support
I've really been enjoying reading books using e-book readers. But while many e-readers are good at what they do, they are either tied to a specific vendor, or don't support Adobe's widely-used DRM. For reading such books, the free Bluefire Reader for iOS is now available.
Переслать - Quick Look: Official Posterous App for iPhone
I’m a fan of Posterous, but I don’t actually use it all that much. For a while, I was using the PicPosterous app for iPhone to share photographic memories of special events, but the app was limited and it didn’t take. Now, Posterous has released an official application. But is it enough to change my usage habits?First, I want to point out that I don’t actually need all that much in a Posterous iPhone app. The point of the service is to provide a dead simple blogging tool that just about anyone can pick up and use. Any iPhone app that interacts with the service should reflect that.
The official app accomplishes this, and does so without feeling limited: a thin line to walk. PicPosterous, by contrast, doesn’t manage to stay on the fair side of that divide. It allows you to post pictures, and only pictures, to your Posterous account.
Posterous for iPhone allows you the same access you’ll find on the web-based post editor, including text-only and combined text/photo/video posts. The post creator also allows you to add tags and optionally geotag your post with your current location.
You can set the preferred size of images and video that you upload, too, in case you’re experiencing long load times or you’re working from your 3G connection and want to avoid data charges. Three size options for both are included.
It also allows you to view and share your site within the app, and delete any posts you aren’t happy with. You can’t edit posts, but I don’t think that’s a major flaw. For me, Posterous is about posting quick thoughts and photos relatively unfiltered. If I don’t like something, I’m not going to spend significant time reworking it, so deleting is probably a better option.
You can access any Posterous blog associated with your email from the app, and navigation is simple, so switching between sites takes no time at all. Maybe best of all, you can even add brand new blogs right from your phone. Of course, if you’re like me, this might prove more of a distraction than anything else, since starting a new personal blog seems so much more tempting than building an existing one.
The Posterous app is free, and it’s available now in the App Store. If you’re a Posterous user, or if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to share thoughts, photos and videos while on the go, this is definitely a must-download.
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Переслать - Apple "Back to the Mac" Event Oct. 20: OS X 10.7 On The Agenda?
Apple will do what they often do this time of year, and that’s hold a press event unveiling Mac updates. The event is called “Back to the Mac,” which is an acknowledgement that Apple’s focus has seemed to be elsewhere of late (iOS, in case you hadn’t noticed). But the teaser image reveals we could see more than just new hardware.
The official invite sports what’s clearly the image of a lion peeking out from behind an Apple logo-shaped cutout. Does that mean we’ll be seeing a new iteration of OS X, major point upgrades of which are codenamed after big cats? In short, yes. Apple will probably announce OS X 10.7, possibly codenamed “Lion” at this event. It’s hard to interpret that photo in any other way.
Mac OS X Leopard was officially announced on Oct. 16 2007, and released for sale only 10 days later. Snow Leopard was announced well before its actual release, but that was a unique case since it was basically an upgrade pack for Leopard. So, if 10.7 is on the way, we could see it hitting shelves on or shortly after Oct. 20, in time for holiday shoppers.
Also likely on the agenda at the event are new MacBooks, including the MacBook Air, which is long due for an upgrade. Rumors surrounding that piece of hardware include a new, smaller 11.6-inch screen and redesigned case to accomodate a newer style click-button trackpad.
More software updates will also probably be announced, including iLife ’11, and possibly an update to Apple’s desktop productivity software, iWork, as well. This might be a good place for Apple to reveal iWork for iPhone, too.
What are your predictions? Are you likely to upgrade if Apple announces a new OS, or are you happy with Snow Leopard for the time being?
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Переслать - Intel Pushing Tablets, iPad Pushing Battery Life
Tablets are the hot ticket in the computing space, if comments by Intel CEO Paul Otellini are any indication. Otellini admitted the iPad has impacted Intel's business, and the company is looking to the tablet space to rebound. Intel better be thinking battery life to compete.
Переслать - Apple Stock Climbs Above $300
Apple’s stock price reached a lofty milestone in pre-market trading early this morning, crossing the $300 mark for the first time in company history. It reached as high as $301.50, and remains above $300 (as of this post time) after opening bell today.During the course of the past year, Apple’s stock price has experienced 40 percent growth, based mostly on the strength of the iPad’s success in bolstering its already strong sales of iOS devices. Compared to the overall NASDAQ average growth of only 1.2 percent, Apple’s success is meteoric.
Andy Perkins, a Societe Generale analyst based in London, told CNNMoney.com that part of the reason behind Apple’s ballooning stock price is its ability to beat expectations consistently. “The anticipation was as they shipped more the price would lower,” said Perkins, talking about the iPad .”But the margins have kept much higher than people had anticipated.”
Apple does not pay dividends on its stock, despite some analysts urging them to do so, arguing that a payout could encourage growth. Cupertino stopped dividend payouts in 1995, when it decided to focus all of its revenue back into growth at a time when it was locked in heated competition with Microsoft.
Some argue it no longer needs to do that, and could spend some of its roughly $50 billion cash on-hand in dividends for investors, or in repurchasing shares. Others aren’t so sure, arguing instead that Apple should continue to hold on to its cash so it has plenty of room to innovate. A smaller cash pile would mean it could absorb less risk, meaning more ambitious projects might fall by the wayside.
So can Apple continue this level of success? Analysts, predicting strong fourth-quarter results, say yes. Bank of America (BofA), Merrill Lynch and Oppenheimer have all raised their price targets for Apple recently. BofA is now setting $400 as its target price, up from $360, while Oppenheimer’s has gone up to $345 from $330. One of the primary reasons for the new targets was that Apple itself has projected fourth-quarter revenue exceeding analyst expectations, despite being a company that normally embraces much more cautious estimates.
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Переслать - Apple Censorship: Coming Soon to Your Text Messages?
A new patent the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just approved was filed in 2008 by Apple and prevents users from sending and receiving “objectionable” text messages. The patent (via Gizmodo), officially called “Text-based communication control for personal communication device,” essentially prevents what’s known as “sexting.”Steve Jobs is known for his stance regarding sexual content in the App Store. Essentially, he wants to keep it clean, so that most content is family-friendly. There are notable exceptions, like the official Playboy app, but generally speaking, nudity and sexuality are a no-no for iOS apps. If that’s not enough, worried parents can lock their kids devices down, restricting access to certain types of content, or to the App Store or Safari altogether.
Apple’s ideas of what is and isn’t acceptable in the App Store have led to some controversial decisions regarding which apps get banned or disallowed in the past. For some, it seems inappropriate that a company can decide what you should and shouldn’t do with your device once you own it.
The new patent takes that a step further. If this tech ever makes it way to your smartphone, it could theoretically alert a user, admin, or other designated individual whenever objectionable content appears in a text message. In practice, that could mean a parent gets a text when their teenage son writes something racy, or that your boss gets a notice whenever you swear in an outbound communication.
According to the patent, the iPhone could also offer suggestions with which to replace the offending text, or just delete it outright as soon as you’re done typing so that it never gets sent in the first place. In effect, that means it could actually change what you’re going to say.
Now I’m not against parents protecting their kids from potentially dangerous situations. That makes sense. But putting this degree of control over something as basic as what you can say with a direct communication device frightens me. Sure, this would probably end up residing in the Restrictions section of the iOS Setting menu, but even just the fact that it would be there would invite things like use by employers to monitor employee texting even more closely than I’m sure many already do, something I definitely don’t approve of.
What do you think? Is this a feature you’d welcome, or an example of Apple going too far?
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