 Cult of MacRead Leander Kahney's latest commentary about Apple and Mac News in Wired.com's Cult of Mac Blog, including Mac, Mac Pro, MacBook, iMac, iBook, Mac mini, iPod video, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iTunes, iPhoto, iPhone, Apple TV, OSX, Steve Jobs, and Macworld. http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/ другие подписчики этой ленты также читают >> |
- iTunes Conspiracy: Randomizer Rigged?
The shuffle feature under both iTunes and on my iPod has long been frustrating to me. It never seems to be random, and sometimes it will really get stuck on a particular song or artist. I just don't need to...The shuffle feature under both iTunes and on my iPod has long been frustrating to me. It never seems to be random, and sometimes it will really get stuck on a particular song or artist. I just don't need to hear songs by Rachel's that often, you know?
So I read this randomizer investigation by CNET Australia with great interest. Their methodology feels a little wack (especially since I've had similar results without using any iTunes Store songs), but it does speak to a pretty clear truth: Software randomizers don't feel random to people. My sense is that this is unintentional, and the software is simply too unsophisticated to make judgment calls about songs that are similar in an abstract way. Read on for my tiny analysis.
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I mean, using the Party Shuffle feature, which only comes up with 16 songs, I had two artists show up twice each! I have 3621 songs! Of those duplicates, one artist had two songs from the same album. It also has a proclivity for choosing atmospheric songs that are a minute or shorter. I would love tools that could set up rules, such as no two songs by the same artist, or no songs under two minutes and so forth.
The system as is just doesn't work for me. What do you make of it?
iTunes: Just how random is random? - Music Software
Via Digg.
Pete Mortensen - Flash-Based and OLED Mac Rumors Don't Add Up
Since Apple announced the iPhone, I've changed my mind somewhat about how I think of Apple rumors. Sometimes the craziest buzz does come true. But I learned something else -- the hysteria that precedes a true rumor is much greater...Since Apple announced the iPhone, I've changed my mind somewhat about how I think of Apple rumors. Sometimes the craziest buzz does come true. But I learned something else -- the hysteria that precedes a true rumor is much greater than what comes before a false one.
The iPhone was hyped for a good five years, reaching an insane fever pitch in the last months of last year. That's the sort of hype that would be required for me to buy into the rumors that Apple is weeks away from announcing a subcompact notebook with a display based in OLED technology and storage rooted solely in flash memory. For my full take, click through.
And I'm not seeing it this time around. OLED is actually still kind of a pipe-dream. I think we'll see it in the next two years, but definitely not in 2007. It won't be because Apple's behind, either -- no one's going to manage it. As for flash, the capacities involved still seem way too small. Of the two rumors, I buy the flash side more, but not by a lot. At current prices, Apple could manage maybe a 60GB drive, which is inadequate for any computer meant to host a multimedia library, which is table stakes for any computer these days.
On the other hand, Apple -- and consumers -- have shown a willingness to use flash-based solutions for the iPod nano or the iPhone in exchange for battery life and sleekness. It's a gamble, but it could pay huge dividends. But again, I'll be stunned if we see it this spring. Apple isn't in the mood to be first to a risky market these days -- they like to show up late but with the right product.
AmTech analyst sees Apple expanding flash-memory usage - MarketWatch:
Pete Mortensen - Finally: Camino 1.0.4 Released
It's no secret that I'm a major booster of Camino, my pic for the best browser for Mac OS X. It has issues -- most notably a lack of native RSS support and incompatibility with some WYSIWIG blog editors, including...It's no secret that I'm a major booster of Camino, my pic for the best browser for Mac OS X. It has issues -- most notably a lack of native RSS support and incompatibility with some WYSIWIG blog editors, including typepad, but it's so fast and pretty that I forgive it instantly.
So I was quite delighted to learn tonight that the latest point release, 1.0.4, of the open-source program was finally available for download. I've been noticing some nasty quirks and crashes lately, so it's reassuring to see it hit the road. Get it while it's hot, folks. Click through for details.
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With its crazy speed, it's the spiritual heir of iCab, the kind of janky but super-fast alt-browser for Mac OS 9 that tided me over on my incredibly old Performa, and it's equally appropriate for my four-year-old Powerbook. Which makes it quite funny that a major feature of the upgrade is importing of iCab bookmarks. This is one program that knows its audience:
The following changes and improvements have been made since the Camino 1.0 release.
In Camino 1.0.4, we have made the following changes and improvements since version 1.0.3:
* Fixed several critical security and stability issues, including those fixed in version 1.8.0.10 of the Mozilla Gecko rendering engine.
* Sheets will now close as expected on Intel-based Macs.
* Upgraded the bundled Java Embedding Plugin to version 0.9.6.
* Added support for importing iCab 3 bookmarks.
* Improved the handling of Internet Explorer .url shortcut files.
* The text of certain security dialogs now contains "Camino" instead of "(null)".
* Camino will now make a backup copy of the bookmarks file when it launches if the file is not corrupt.
* Camino will automatically restore bookmarks from a backup when it launches if they are unreadable.
* Further improved ad-blocking.
Pete Mortensen - William H. Macy: Roadhog and Apple Lover
Check it out: William H. Macy as "Dudley Frank" showing some old-school Apple love in the new pretty bad-looking movie "Road Hogs." It's probably a fake tat, but what can you do? The dialogue sample is priceless, though. Check it...Check it out: William H. Macy as "Dudley Frank" showing some old-school Apple love in the new pretty bad-looking movie "Road Hogs." It's probably a fake tat, but what can you do? The dialogue sample is priceless, though. Check it after the jump.
Dudley- "I'm a biker, dude! I got a tat!"
Doug- "It's an Apple…"
Dudley- "I know. Trademarked. But what are they gonna say? It's in my skin b**ch!"It's in my skin, too, dude. My skin, too.
Pete Mortensen - iOvulate Calculator Takes "iLife" Concept Way Too Far
Oh, Mac shareware community, you are a wild lot. Sometimes you provide power tools covering a variety of functions that no commercial solutions offer. And other times you just offer cute interfaces for a single purpose. And sometimes things get...Oh, Mac shareware community, you are a wild lot. Sometimes you provide power tools covering a variety of functions that no commercial solutions offer. And other times you just offer cute interfaces for a single purpose. And sometimes things get a little weird.
Take the iOvulate Calculator. Apparently targeted to incredibly geeky women, the program uses information about recent menstruation and then it calculates the best dates to conceive. Or not. Accuracy is not guaranteed. And for this you pay $25.
Download of the Day: iOvulate Calculator [GeekSugar]
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Pete Mortensen
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