MacMost: Archives

Take a look at the iPad 2's cameras. While they are fine for video chatting and posting online, they are not good enough quality for even casual photography. See a side-by-side comparison with the iPhone 4's camera.

While lines at U.S. Apple Stores last Friday started out small in the morning, they grew by leaps and bounds as the 5 p.m. launch drew nearer. At the end of the day many stores did not have enough inventory to meet demand. Online sales were similar, with longer and longer shipping times as the day wore on.
Some analysts say that Apple may have sold as many as 1 million iPad 2s over the weekend. It was hard if not impossible to find one for sale anywhere by Saturday afternoon.

“I’d like to use FaceTime, but now that it is HD I can’t afford all the makeup and lighting.”

One of the tiniest additions to the iPad 2 may point to the future of Apple and all of telecommunications. And it gives us a clue to the secret of Apple’s success.
If you go to the Settings on the iPad 2, and then General, and then Sounds, you’ll see something different than what you get on the iPad 1. In addition to switches for mail, calendar, lock screen and keyboard sounds, you get to choose a Ringtone.

Take a look at the new GarageBand app for iPad. It provides a similar, but simpler interface for editing music as compared to GarageBand for Mac. But it also has screens that allow you to play keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. You can play each note, or use smart instruments to quickly compose with chords, rhythms and beats.

Take a look at the new iPad 2. It has two cameras and three new apps to support them. You can also get a new smart cover and an HDMI cable.

With the iPad 2 launch set for tomorrow at 5 p.m., Apple put several supporting pieces into place this week. iTunes was updated to 10.2.1 and the iOS 4.3 update for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch was released on Wednesday.
The iOS 4.3 update added AirPlay streaming support for third-party apps and speeds up the Safari browser. The iPhone 4 also gets the personal hotspot feature for AT&T users.
In addition, Apple released updates to Safari for Mac and Apple TV 2 this week. Apple TV 2 shows that it is certainly capable of gaining additional “apps” when the update added MLB.TV and NBA League Pass. Though these offerings are of limited use due to blackouts of local games.

“I’m not sure now is the best time to buy an iPad. I heard a rumor that a new one is coming soon.”

Google's Chrome browser is an interesting alternative to the pre-installed Safari browser. The address field and tabs behave differently and you can extend the browser using Google's web store. Take a look at Chrome and then check it out for yourself.

Your browser temporarily stores images and data in a cache on your hard drive to speed up reloading web pages. But sometimes you may wish to clear your cache to load fresh content. Learn about the cache and how to clear it on the Mac in Safari, Firefox, Chrome and on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Learn how to create documents that can only be opened with a password. Documents in Pages and Microsoft Word can have passwords that restrict opening and use. Preview can be used to make copies of PDF files that require a password to open.

Apple did not disappoint with its special announcement yesterday. First, we got to hear the news from Steve Jobs, which is a bit of a surprise since he has stepped back from day-to-day operations at Apple for medical reasons. Second, the news itself, the iPad 2, showed a number of exciting improvements over the original.
The most functional of these improvements are the two cameras: an HD camera on one side and a VGA camera on the other, similar to the iPod Touch. Along with these will come two new standard apps: Photo Booth and FaceTime. In addition, a version of iMovie for the iPad was demonstrated that will improve upon the current iPhone 4 app with more features. There will also be a version of the music creation software GarageBand for the iPad.
In addition to the cameras, the iPad 2 sports a faster dual-core A5 processor, a thinner and lighter design and an internal gyroscope for gaming and other apps. A new HDMI accessory will allow for screen mirroring on a second display or television. A special magnetic cover accessory will act as a screen protector, screen cleaner and stand. The new iPad will use iOS 4.3 which will bring improvements to Safari, Home Sharing and AirPlay.

“I assure you, sir, that this is the new Thunderbolt port. It is not a sign that your Mac survived an attack by Voldemort.”

Apple announced the iPad 2 today with a faster processor, thinner design and two video cameras. On shelves on March 11, there will also be a new version of iOS that day and major new apps for the iPad 2: Photo Booth, FaceTime, iMovie and GarageBand.

Learn how to select text by character, word, line or paragraph. You can use the Option or Command keys as modifiers in conjunction with the arrow keys. You can also use the mouse to select by character, word, or paragraph with the right number of clicks.

Take a look at Apple's new connection port, Thunderbolt. Now on all MacBook Pros, we'll soon find it on all Macs. You'll be able to use Thunderbolt to connect displays, hard drives, video equipment and other devices.

Apple unveiled a major update to its MacBook Pro line today, updating all models with new processors and a brand new data port. The 13-, 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros now all feature Intel i5 and i7 processors. The lower-end 13-inch model with a 2.3GHz i5, and the upper end 17-inch model can come with a 2.2 or 2.3GHz i7.
All MacBook Pros come with the new Thunderbolt connector, which combines the existing Mini DisplayPort connector with the ability to attach data devices such as hard drives and video hardware. Several devices can be connected to a single port. This is the first use of Intel’s “Light Peak” technology, renamed Thunderbolt for Apple. For now it can be used as a Mini DisplayPort connector with existing displays and converter cables to VGA, DVI and HDMI displays. But in the future it will connect many other types of devices at speeds much greater than USB2, Firewire or even USB3.
The new models also inlcude a new built-in camera. It is called the “FaceTime HD Camera” rather than an “iSight” and has 720p resolution. The FaceTime for Mac app is now available in the Mac App Store for $0.99, but comes with the new MacBook Pros.
The new MacBook Pros all come with the Intel HD Graphics 3000 built-in chipset. The 15- and 17-inch models will also have a AMD Radeon HD 6490M or 6750M for use when not using the battery. Built-to-order options include solid-state drives. The 17-inch model has the option for an antiglare display.
Next week will be another big week for Apple as they have announced a special event for March 2. All signs point to the announcement of a new iPad.

“I used my iTunes gift card to buy an app that helps me find deals on gift cards so I can buy more apps.”

Learn how to use Snow Leopard's Preview application to cut out backgrounds or objects in images and photos. Preview has a standard Lasso Selection tool, a Smart Lasso tool and an Instant Alpha tool that can be used for this purpose. You can use these semi-transparent images on top of other images, in documents or in iMovie.

Learn how to insert hyperlinks in Pages documents. Links can take readers to web pages, create new email messages or jump to other sections of the Pages document. The links will work in PDF and ePub files exported from Pages.