Monday, August 6, 2007

The Apple Blog (10 сообщений)

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  RSS  The Apple Blog
The Apple Blog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products.
http://theappleblog.com
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  • 12 Mac Apps to Waste Your Time

    So lets face it. Sometimes we all just need to kill a little time. It’s relaxing.

    Whether you’re on your lunch break at work (or not) or if you are just bored one night and can’t sleep…this list should help you cure your boredom.

    I’ve compiled 18 apps that do a fantastic job of killing time in just about every way you’d want to. This list includes everything from games to design modifications to monotonous tasks to widgets and more. So get reading and have fun! (more…)

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  • Design Your Next Microsoft Office

    This last week, headlines were made about how Microsoft had delayed the release of Office for Mac 2008 until January of 2008, thanks to issues with product quality. But, given the pervasiveness of the Office platform, both on Mac and PC, I wonder just what features could possibly be added to make me yearn for a new upgrade - beyond the feeling that I need to keep up with the Jones’s.

    As I understand it, the major developments in Office for Mac 2008 will be that it’s designed for Intel-based Macs, and, hopefully, better compatibility with the latest documents created by Office 2007 toting Windows users. There’s also a new time management application, alongside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage.

    Big deal.

    Love it or hate it, the current version of the Microsoft Office suite you have on your Mac is probably working for you. Word, Excel, PowerPoint… they all make sense. While the applications may crash on occasion, and there’s no doubt they could be simplified, or tweaks could be made, I’m just not expecting a massive overhaul of the Office family that would make me fork out the cash for the next generation of the software. In fact, I somewhat resent the fact that one of the main drivers to upgrade would be simply to make it “not break” when sent incompatible documents from Windows Office 2007. We would basically be rewarding Microsoft for making buggy software.

    Are you planning to make an upgrade to Office for Mac 2008 once it debuts? And if not, can you think of what features you would want in your next Microsoft Office? Today, you’re the product manager. What features are you going to ask engineering to code?

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  • Is Classic Really, Seriously, Dead?

    bootupIt doesn’t seem all that long ago that my boss prohibited me from bringing the Mac OS X beta to work due to its lack of DVD support, or the years that followed when Mac users everywhere decried Quark’s slow progress away from Mac OS 9. Six years after Mac OS X’s debut, the Classic Environment has gone the way of operating systems past, a digital graveyard of bits and bytes. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was forced into the Classic Environment, by way of some antiquated software.

    In six years’ time, as our Windows brethren have moved from Windows 98 to ME to XP and now Vista, we’ve seen Mac OS X grow and develop through each of its cat-themed releases. Yet the foundation of Mac OS 9 (Classic) remains an option. Should I need to, I can boot the Classic Environment and open ancient apps. I can open the Control Panels and amuse myself with Platinum Sounds effects, launch Key Caps, or tinker with the Chooser.

    But rather than being useful, it’s like walking through a museum. Take a look, for instance, at the bundled Search engines in Sherlock. You won’t find Google or Yahoo! here. Instead, you have second-tier sites like Alta Vista, Excite and Lycos, along with others you probably haven’t heard of in a while: GoTo.com, HotBot, and DirectHit.

    sherlock_searches
    Sherlock’s Search Engine Offerings

    By now, in the second half of 2007, every technology laggard has either finally released an OS X capable application, abandoned the Mac, or given way to a new, faster-moving competitor. Is there any reason for Classic any more? What’s the likelihood of finding a need to boot into OS 9 for more than misguided nostalgia? Or was Steve Jobs right when he told developers in 2002 it was time to bury the OS, once and for all? (CNET | YouTube Video)

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  • TAB will no longer support full-text feeds in certain feed readers

    When The Apple Blog first launched 3 years ago we did not offer full-text RSS feeds. That decision wasn’t really based so much on wanting people to visit the site more, but rather we just didn’t realize people wanted full-text so badly. Within the first year the reader-feedback was strong enough that we began offering the full-text feed to everyone.
    (more…)

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  • Original Mac Rumors Site Goes Dark

    Though the site in later years turned into a mockery of itself, at one time MacOSRumors, authored by Ryan Meader, was the go-to site for Apple gossip and innuendo. (Wikipedia) In the late 1990s, Meader’s site led the way in leaks around Oracle’s Larry Ellison’s potentially leading a shareholder coup against Gil Amelio, updates on the rise and fall of Mac clones like PowerComputing, the battle for the next generation Macs, between BeOS and NeXT, updates to Mac OS 8 and the G4 line, and speculation around what would eventually become the iBook.
    (more…)

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  • Apple Pro Keyboard Repair

    I had a broken Apple Pro keyboard to deal with at work today, and so, in accordance with one of my favorite mottoes - when in doubt, take something apart - I took it apart. This turned out to be a bit harder than I expected, so I took pictures and thought I would post a how-to guide here.

    A quick introduction: This is the keyboard that shipped with the G5 Mac Pros, and in terms of everything but color, is identical to the keyboard from G4-era Macs as well. I was doing this repair because the keyboard was full of food and gunge, relic of a past user, and there was no way that I could issue this to anyone else in the condition it was in. Unfortunately, it was also the only keyboard that I had with the handy little shortcut-reminder stickers that used to come in boxes of Final Cut Pro, and the user wanted those. It was clean it out or nothing. So, without further ado…
    (more…)

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  • Of iPhones and Hearing aids…

    Yes, I realize I brought up this topic before, but I wanted to revisit it, now that the beloved iPhone has landed. My hope is that some people can answer a couple of questions I have:

    1. M3/M4 Hearing-aid compatibility?

    - This is a quick one: how well does iPhone play with hearing aids? In the past, GSM phones have been known for their terrible interference with hearing aids when in a “telephone/telecoil” mode. My Verizon-based Treo is okay with my ‘aids, but my dad’s Cingular-backed Blackberry (fairly recent model) is terrible. If I remember correctly, the U.S. has some sort of law now in effect that most cell phones be compatible with hearing aids, so this might not be a problem.
    (more…)

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  • Traveling with a GPS and an iPod

    I have recently found myself traveling to new locations that I have never been to before. For these treks, I usually take my Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS which I hook up using my tape adapter. However, this knocks out my normal use of my iPod for music and podcasts on my trip. Perhaps you are like me and would like to still use your iPod while you are driving.

    There are several ways around this. Anyone could simply print out directions and refer to them while driving. While this is the easiest solution, it also makes me uneasy in the car when the directions get local or off-highway. If you can easily read directions while you are driving in a town, this might be the way to go.
    (more…)

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  • Podcast Producer: The Little-Known Leopard Application

    Podcast ProducerI went into Apple’s Leopard Server site and noticed a feature that seems out of place — something that should belong in the non-server version of Leopard. Apple calls it “Podcast Producer.” So far, I have not seen the program in action.  Apple’s site presents an image that shows a very simple “Podcast Capture” window with four large buttons. You have a choice of podcast type: Video, Audio, Screen, or File.

    The functions of the first three of these options are obvious, but what is a file podcast? Apple only mentions that you can open the application and “select the type of podcast you'd like to record — audio only, video with audio, screen capture with audio — then click Start.” There is no mention of what the “File” podcast type is. Apple does not provide a definition or indication for a file podcast. If I had to guess, perhaps it is similar to “Photocasts” — where you can create an RSS feed for your iPhoto pictures, but with any type of file.
    (more…)

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  • Video encoding apps go head-to-head

    Macs having the reputation they do for creative endeavors, there are as many (or more) video and audio encoding tools for OS X as their are file formats in which to encode your media. Some of the tools available are free and open-source, but many of it are shareware, donationware, or fully commercial products. How is a Mac user, especially one switching from another platform, to know which of them, if any, to use for encoding video from one format to another? Keep reading for a comparison of the key players.
    (more…)

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