Mac.LTL

I went to Macworld again this year. The MacBook Air is incredibly nice. It’s very portable and it’s something you have to pick up and hold to fully appreciate. I was always very happy with my 12″ iBook G4. I thought the size of that was just perfect. I was a little hesitant about a portable laptop with a 13.3″ screen, but it’s still surprisingly nice. Being so slim and light weight really makes up for the other dimensions.

I’d say there are a few good criticisms of the MacBook Air and what was announced, however. With the MacBook Air, Apple also released an external USB Super Drive. It seems that drive exclusively works with the MacBook Air. I was told by the Apple gentleman showing the laptop to me that the USB port had an additional line to provide more power, thus preventing the drive from working on other computers.

I thought the Remote Drive seemed pretty cool. I typically just use disk images on a file server that I mount, but I could see the benefit of having a mounted physical drive from any other networked computer. Asking about that, I was told that the Remote Drive software would only work for the MacBook Air. I can imagine scenarios where that software would be very convenient for me to use.

I have mixed feelings about gesture pads and I’m not certain how much success Apple will have with it. Looking at the MacBook Air, the trackpad button is much smaller and the trackpad itself is 20% larger than the MacBook. If Apple has a lot of success with gestures, I wouldn’t be surprised if they just remove that physical button altogether.

This probably only effects a small group of portable users. But many people buying these ultra-portable laptops are doing so because they’re doing a lot of moving around and field work. As a result, opportunities to plug into an outlet and charge your battery may be few. The MacBook Air does not have a user replaceable battery. So unlike many other laptops, you can’t carry around an additional battery to pop in once you’re running low on battery life. I personally have never needed to do that. Speaking anecdotally, I can think of only one person I’ve ever met that carried around a second battery. But I’m sure there’s some people out there that take long flights and need the additional battery while working on a plane, for example.

In addition to seeing the MacBook Airs, I also had a chance to browse the exhibit hall and for the first time used the ModBook. It’s a MacBook that is modded to be a tablet with the keyboard removed and touch screen added. This illustrates to me a demand for this kind of mobile Mac. I’d really like a computer that is something between my iPhone and my MacBook. I frequently walk around my workplace and could benefit from a Mac that is as easy to hold and use as a clipboard. My iPhone doesn’t have the software and my MacBook requires me to hold it in an awkward way and sometimes balance it on my knee to type.

I was told the ModBook also works with the Tablet Edition of Windows. The ModBook only comes in white, which is a shame, because the gentleman at Macworld had one specially made for him that was black and it actually looked really sleek.

Well, I am officially starting a trend, every month, I will put out a new edition of “My Top 10 ‘Hard to live without’ apps”. These will be apps for the Mac I cannot ever live without. Let’s see… 

1.) Safari (OSX 10.2+)-I could not live without this app, I do all of my web browsing in it! And, it’s easy to use, fast, and for the most part, supports many standards.

2.) Adium (OSX 10.4; older versions for 10.2-10.3)-I do all of my instant messaging through this app, and it can be configured easily and without hassles.

3.) Word 5.1 (System 6+; runs in Classic)-Yes, I do use this app for all of my word processing demands 99.999% of the time, for the .001%, I use NeoOffice for compatibility.

4.) Colloquy (OSX 10.3.9+; older versions for 10.2)-I do all of my IRC in this app, not much more to say.

5.) Apple Mail (OSX 10.4; also bundled with 10.0-10.3, albeit older versions)-I do all of my email in this app, so yeah.

6.)  iTunes (OSX 10.3.9+; older versions for 8.6/9-10.2)-Music/iPod, not much to say.

7.) QuickTime (OSX 10.3.9+; older versions for 6.0.0-10.2)-I do my TV show watching here.

8.) Perian 1.0 (OSX 10.4+; older betas for 10.3)-Without this, I’d shoot myself, literally, Perian is so useful.

9.) AppTrap (OSX xyz; I don’t know what version is needed, sorry)-Say you want to uninstall an app, with AppTrap, just drag the .app to the trash and pops up a screen asking if you want to delete the support files. Very useful app!

10.) Finder (System 1-10.4)-There’s always that one app that you take for granted, the Finder is one of them. I’d be so lost without it.

Anyway, there’s my list, stay tuned for next month’s!

Also, feel free to comment! 

The recent update to iTunes, 7.4.1, has been reported to block some third party iPhone ringtones that were hacked for use with the iPhone in previous releases, to circumvent Apple’s 2$usd pricing on ringtones. It is starting to become evident, in my opinion, that this will turn into a mini-cat and mouse game, between Apple and the ‘homebrew’ ringtones.

More information can be found here.

A few weeks ago, I posted about wanting to downgrade to Panther ‘10.3′ on my G3 Blue and White PowerMac, however, I’ve since changed my mind for the following reasons: 

1.) There are many Tiger only apps out there, mainly Bean, Adium (though previous versions support 10.2 and 10.3), etc. I also suspect that Panther will be dropped for the most part in apps shortly after Leopard’s release. 

2.) Security-Panther will likely be discontinued in terms of security updates prior to Leopard’s release. This would follow Apple previously supporting a maximum of two versions of OSX at a time (in security updates). 

3.) Tiger is likely the last release of OSX that officially supports the G3 processor, and thus, having the last release would be beneficial. 

4.) WebKit-While many use non-WebKit based browsers (i.e. Shiira, Safari, etc.), Tiger has a newer version of WebKit than Panther. 

So, those are my reasons for staying with Tiger.. 

Are you tired of the huge and clunky word processors that just take too much space, have too much features than what you use, and you just want something free, and not very processor intensive? Give Bean, which by chance, was also updated to version 0.9.7 yesterday, so yeah, try it out! Bean opens up in just two bounces on my G3 Blue and White, so you can see it should work well on slower machines. Note that Bean requires Mac OS 10.4 ‘Tiger’.

Sorry, I just had to write about this, I know this may not be the place, but, anyway..

For the last week, I’ve had this unusual urge to trash Mac OS 10.4.10 from my G3, and buy and install Mac OS 10.3.9. Why you ask? I have absolutely no clue why I want it. I just do. I know it could run faster, but that’s not really the reason, I guess. I just want 10.3.9. I do not have any idea why I do, but I know I want it. I also know 10.4.10 is better than 10.3.9, but I dunno. Help me!

From the article: “…just ask your local IT guy at work how much Apple is on his radar for future purchases. He’ll likely know a lot about Apple, and may even be a Mac user himself, but his next purchase order for 200 desktop computers will probably be from Dell.”

Cider, while old news, is still the subject of much debate. Cider: good or bad? I will reveal my opinions on the matter here, now. This is Cider: An editorial.

Cider, a product by Transgaming, who also produces Cedega, was announced over a year ago. While seemingly good for the Mac gaming community, including announcements that EA will release some of it’s top tier games to Mac OS X using Cider, with versions of X3, Heroes of Light and Magic, and Myst Online: Uru Live released already using Cider.

In my opinion, I think Cider can be a good addition to the more mainstream way (read: Aspyr, MacSoft, etc) of porting Windows games to Mac OS X, but it can also be a potentially bad addition. While we are receiving some games that were not previously considered for release to the Macintosh platform, is it really worth it? Could this method of simply wrapping the Windows version of the game become perhaps mainstream if the licensing was more inexpensive? I think so, and if it happens, this could possibly see native versions of games, previously ported by Aspyr, MacSoft, and other outlets, just go away. The result-less native games. While it technically is running natively under Mac OS X, it is just a wrapper using technology from WINE, it was not coded for Mac OS X specifically, and with a Cider game, if you open the contents of the .app file, you will find .exe’s from the Windows version.

I do not want to see Aspyr’s, MacSoft’s, and other companies’ actual ports go away, especially to be replaced with, a system, that is in my opinion, a lazy “port”, but then again, this could be the future perhaps of Mac gaming, sad as I am to admit this, and not supporting it could give developers all the more reason to drop the Macintosh platform completely, once again.

Cider, be it the savior for Macintosh gaming, or the downfall of Mac gaming, you form your opinion…

Sadly, after many attempts to find the identity of Fake Steve Jobs, the writer came forward, and revealed his identity. Fake Steve Jobs is Dan Lyons, an editor at the Forbes magazine.

You may read more about the subject from the links I included. Though I am sad that we now know who FSJ is, I do hope Mr. Lyons continues to post. He did say he is planning on publishing a book entitled ‘Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs, a Parody’, apparently, the book will be written in the style of Fake Steve Jobs, so I plan to buy that when it is released this October.

Update: As Kevin noticed, I misread the the article from The Times. He publicly revealed his identity after Brad Stone ‘outed’ him. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Technical specs aside. There are plenty of reasons why the iPhone isn’t the do-all, be-all phone. But I think we can still agree that it is a pretty good phone. It does not have any major technical flaws. I think there are six major reasons why the iPhone will succeed, despite the high price, lack of an SDK for third party apps, and AT&T exclusivity.

Branding - The iPhone is made by Apple. Apple has very strong and positive brand recognition. 1997 at the Macworld in Boston, Steve said he believed Apple was one of the top five recognizable brands along with Nike, Coca-Cola, and Disney.

Advertising - Apple’s advertisements are iconic. Most everyone is still familiar with the famous 1984 commercial that played only once during the Super Bowl. It was even remade into a pro-Obama and anti-Clinton video that was put on YouTube by an individual unaffiliated with the Obama campaign. The silhouette iPod advertising have been parodied everywhere, even by Family Guy. And the “I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” commercials have even seen parodies by Novell. The iPhone commercials make it seem like getting an iPhone is just the obvious thing to do.

Established Fan-Base - “Mac zealots” as they’re often called will support the iPhone and be early adopters. How often do you see people camping outside an AT&T Wireless store? That’s a rhetorical question, but the answer is likely: Just once. And that once was for the iPhone.

Aggressive Retail - Steve Jobs often notes the strong growth of the Apple Retail stores. Figures aside, I personally have been to Apple Stores from San Francisco to New York to Europe and they are always packed. iPhone will be at the forefront of every Apple Store and a strong highlight at every AT&T Wireless store.

Strong Partnerships - When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he noted in his keynote presentation at Macworld that in order for the company to survive, they must forge meaningful partnerships. Apple isn’t going at this alone. Other major companies have a stake in the success of iPhone. The obvious one is AT&T. If AT&T has five years of exclusivity with iPhone and if the iPhone grows at the same rate as the iPod, AT&T will be cashing in big time. Google has a very close relationship with Apple. Steve Jobs even stated recently that it seems the only two companies that seem to be innovating are Google and Apple. Google has its map service and YouTube video service on iPhone. Google has been trying to increase their presence on mobile devices. The success of the iPhone could be a great help for Google in expanding in that market.

Integration - Unlike Nokia or Motorola, Apple is in a position to leverage the other markets they inhabit and to tightly integrate the iPhone to work with those products. Macintosh, TV, ITMS, iPod, etc. If Moto wants music services available on their phones, they partner with someone. (In the case of the ROKR, they happened to partner with Apple.) If Apple wants a music service available on the iPhone, the iPhone developers just pick up their iPhone and give the ITMS developers a call.