Apple released a new version of Leopard, Mac OS 10.5.8 this week. To get the new version, simply choose Software Update from the Apple menu. It includes mostly minor security and stability fixes, as outlined in Apple’s official update note.
Apple also released version 5.1 of GarageBand, part of iLife 09. You can get that one from Software Update as well. Changes include adding GarageBand track effects and Audio Units to a guitar track, improved support for Apogee audio interfaces, Magic GarageBand switches to full screen faster and some security fixes.
Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, has resigned from the Apple, Inc. board of directors. This is a reaction to Google entering the OS business with the announcement of Google Chrome. With Apple and Google competing in a number of areas now, it was only a matter of time before Schmidt would have had to leave.
The best thing about the iPhone is that you can add third-party apps to it. Find out which apps you should add to your iPhone right away. Here are 11 free iPhone apps to get you started. You can search for product and resaurant reviews, check movie times, update your Facebook page, read books, draw pictures and even talk to your iPhone.
In the past week Apple has introduced a whole new version of the Final Cut Studio suite, including Final Cut Pro 7. New features include an easy export option, posting to MobileMe and YouTube and support for new ProRes codecs. Final Cut Pro is now Intel-only, matching Snow Leopard, and has a number of bug fixes and optimizations. The price for Final Cut Studio has dropped to only $999 and upgrades for $299.
Apple has also released a new version of the Time Capsule base station. You can get the original 1TB Time Capsule for $299 and then new 2TB for $499. 2TB will make Time Capsule useable as a Time Machine backup for those who have a 1TB drive in their Mac, as well as those who have several Macs on their network with total drive space of more then 1TB.
Rumors this week, besides more talk about a Mac tablet or netbook, centered around whether Apple would attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next year. In the past, Apple hasn’t attended because it usually conflicts with MacWorld. But as Apple is no longer involved with MacWorld, there are rumors that Apple may attend and that Steve Jobs may even replace Bill Gates as the headline speaker. But no definite word from Apple either way.
It seems that there is always a new controversy surrounding iPhone App Store submissions. This last week several Google Voice-related apps have been removed from the store by Apple. Google Voice is a telephone service run by Google that combines voice mail, a personal phone number and call forwarding, among other features. Apps have allowed iPhone owners to access various features of Google Voice. Developers are upset at their sudden rejection and can only speculate as to Apple’s reasons.
This news this week centers around Apple’s quarterly financial results. Once again, Apple seems to have wowed Wall Street with better-than-expected results.
It recorded a $1.23 billion profit for the quarter, as compared to $1.07 million for the same quarter last year.
Mac sales grew in contrast to the rest of the computer industry. They sold 2.6 million Macs, 4 percent higher than the same quarter last year.
iPhone sales were in fact seven times that of the quarter last year, with 5.24 million sold. Apple also reported 1.5 billion apps were download from the iTunes App Store, though that combines free and paid apps.
This may be cutting into iPod sales, as they only sold 10.2 million iPods, which is 7 percent less than last year.
The stock price went up on the news, as you would expect. In fact, AAPL is up about 80 percent so far this year, compared with 21 percent for the rest of the NASDAQ.
With the release of the iPhone 3GS, there was a subtle, but important change in the gadget world. It has to do with the iPhone’s camera. The new camera will not only take better pictures, but also video.
The video recording capability is what is so interesting. Many of us have been carrying around little Flip cameras or something similar for a while now. The iPhone 3GS has pretty much the same capability as these cameras, so they can now be retired. More importantly, the iPhone is always with us, whereas the Flip usually one came with in situations where it was anticipated that it would be used. So there opportunities to record video just broadened enormously.
But there are two more important aspects here to consider. The first is network connectivity. You can shoot, trim and upload video right from your iPhone. You can upload to YouTube or MobileMe. Can’t do that with a Flip. Heck, just getting the video from your Flip to your Mac requires putting up with old AVI video codecs.
The second interesting thing about using an iPhone for recording video is that you are not stuck with the built-in microphone for audio. You can actually use the mic on the earbuds that come with the phone for recording, providing an easy way to speak directly into the mic while pointing the camera elsewhere. You can also use any third-party iPhone mic. For a lot of people this is minor, but for video creators like me this is huge. Camcorder makers have ignored the external mic option for a long time.
So now we have a phone, Internet device, compact camera, compact camcorder and mp3 player all in one small gadget. Getting better all the time.
It must be the middle of summer because news has slowed to a crawl. What makes headlines these days is Steve Jobs attending a Cold Play concert and Apple doesn’t like the Microsoft ads.
The only hard news is about very minor software updates. We have iTunes 8.2.1, which, along with bug fixes has stopped Palm Pre phones from syncing with iTunes. We’ll never be sure if Apple intentionally disabled Pre syncing, or if Palm is simply taking advantage of loopholes in iTunes software that require them to keep up with new versions of iTunes. But Apple did warn Pre owners that syncing wasn’t supported on the Apple side of things.
The story that Apple doesn’t like the Microsoft “Laptop Hunter” ads seems to exaggerated. The source is Microsoft itself, making fun of Apple during a conference speech. If you read the transcript, it sounds like Apple legal had a problem with Microsoft quoting MacBook prices in the ads that were out-dated. Would Burger King have a problem if McDonalds claimed BK’s burgers were $1.39 when they were in fact $1.19? Probably. Anyway, the whole thing as created headlines like “Apple demanded Microsoft to stop its Laptop Hunters ads” which are a little sensationalist.
Microsoft is also reported as planning to open Microsoft stores near Apple Stores. It is not clear what these stores will be selling, since Microsoft doesn’t make PCs, only the Windows OS and other software.
So rumors are growing stronger that Apple will come out with a tablet product later this year or next. A lot of people seem to think it will be a large-screen iPod Touch.
In a way, this makes sense. With the iPhone/iPod Touch App Store a huge success, Apple can come out with an iPod Touch that takes advantage of all of that third-party software and the whole iPhone OS with its Web browser, Mail and other apps.
What a cool device that would be. Or would it?
For instance, I’m not sure how I would such an “iPod Tablet” myself. Would it come in handy at the office? Not with my desktop Mac, or even my MacBook Pro around. Why would I setting for an iPhone OS experience when I could have a full Mac experience.
At home, I use either the MacBook Pro for bits of work, or my iPhone for something quick. The only advantage of the iPhone is that it is on my person, which gives it an advantage when the MacBook Pro is somewhere else in the house. An iPod Tablet would suffer that same drawback since it won’t fit in my pocket.
So what about when I step out of the office? Well, the iPod Tablet probably won’t come with me. I need my iPhone, because it is a phone. I can check email, check news, tweet, etc., with it. It is small enough to be in my pocket all the time. The Tablet just won’t be there when I need it.
How about on long trips — overnight excursions to conferences or on vacation? Well, for that the Tablet probably won’t be enough. I’d need to take my MacBook Pro. And my iPhone for communication. So why do I need a Tablet?
So a Tablet won’t be for someone like me. It is more likely that it will be for someone who doesn’t use either an iPhone or MacBook. I just can’t see that being a very big market.
So how could Apple make it better? Make it a real Mac. If it runs Snow Leopard, and not the iPhone OS, then it can be a successor to the MacBook Air and a competitor to the NetBooks. Make it touch screen, sure, but also make sure Bluetooth and USB keyboards and mice work with it so you can use it for real work with real apps. For that, I would ditch my MacBook.
I hope they go that route, iPhone apps are great, but they are more for communication, organization and entertainment. To compete with NetBooks, a Mac Tablet would need to run applications, not apps.
Gary Rosenzweig talks about the software, hardware and Internet services he uses to produce and distribute the MacMost Now video podcast. See the full post at https://macmost.com for links.
