MacMost: Archives

Learn the ins-and-outs of titles in iMovie 09, which include title overlays, in-between clip titles, lower thirds, and more.

This was a slow Apple news week for both hard news and rumors. Predictably, the new 13-inch MacBook pros are selling well according to reports. The machine has a low price but includes high-end features.
There is a new version of Safari, 4.0.2, this week, which addresses security issues. At the same time, we are hearing rumors that Apple is already working on version 3.1 of the iPhone OS, with possible improvements to the copy and paste feature.

Spaces creates virtual displays that you can switch between even though you only have one physical screen. You can place different windows and applications in different Spaces to extend the amount of desktop space you have to work.

Snow Leopard will arrive in September. Here's what you need to know about the new Mac OS X.

In addition to screen capture keyboard shortcuts built into Mac OS X, you can also use the Grab utility to capture the screen. This enables you to capture windows and perform timed screen captures as well.

This week’s news seems to be dominated by little problems with the iPhone 3GS. First, it seems to be out-of-stock in a lot of places, and orders from AT&T are taking more than a week to fill. Second, when people do get their iPhones, they are still reporting long delays in activation. Third, there is an overheating problem reported by many that has the phones getting so hot that the white-colored ones are already turning yellow.
But all the news isn’t bad. AT&T seems to be seeing record sales of the new iPhone and most users reporting in to MacMost love their iPhone 3GS, even while having to pay extra for the unsubsidized price.
Back at Apple, reports are that Steve Jobs is back at work, at least for several days per week. The news broke last week that Jobs actually had a liver transplant during his absence, and the procedure went well. Not much fanfare was given to Jobs’ return, but his return has been official acknowledged by Apple.

You can change your system alert sound, even using a custom one that you create.

Learn all of the different ways you can edit clips in iMovie 09. You can select a portion of the clip, trim the ends, split a clip, use the clip trimmer and the precision editor.

iWork 09's spreadsheet program Numbers isn't like the old-fashioned spreadsheet programs you may be used to. You can create small tables and design a sheet with each table having its own numbers and formulas and also using numbers from other tables.

Following last week’s release of the iPhone OS 3.0, the new iPhone 3GS hardware became available in Apple Stores and elsewhere in the U.S. and several other counties. More then one million new iPhones were reported to have been solid in the first week.
The new iPhone is faster and has a better camera than the old one, but many customers in the U.S. won’t be eligible for a partially discounted upgrade until July and a full discount until 2010.
Some people who bough the new iPhone in the U.S. found themselves unable to use it for hours because of glitches in AT&T’s system needed to activate the new phones. Similar problems plagued the initial iPhone launch in 2007, and the launch of the 3G in 2008.
Outside of the new iPhone, the other big Apple news is that Steve Jobs, on medical leave from Apple since December, is reported to have undergone a liver transplant two months ago. These same reports indicate that it went well and that he has been seen at work. Rumor has it that he may return as CEO of Apple soon, though not with a full schedule.

You can use Smart Builds in Keynote to quickly add a slideshow of photos into your presentation. The photos all exist on one slide, so you don't need to create a separate slide for each image. You can set the transition and other options.

There are four text editors you can use from the Terminal: Pico, Nano, Vi and Emacs. Each can be used to quickly edit text files. Learn how to access them and what makes them different.

Learn how to use basic spreadsheet formulas in iWork 09's Numbers program. You can use basic mathematical functions and also use functions to get the sum or average of a list of numbers.

It’s iPhone week 2009, and the first event has passed. The third major release of the iPhone OS was released yesterday, with updates available through iTunes at about 10 a.m. Pacific time.
The new OS includes copy and paste inside and between applications, a voice recording app, and small improvements in almost every default app. In addition, third-party apps now support push notification and sales inside of apps. Some apps have already been updated to take advantage of push notification.
Tomorrow morning the second shoe will drop, with the release of the iPhone 3GS. Apple stores is many countries will open an hour or two early and start distributing pre-ordered iPhones first, and then selling them to all an hour later.
The new iPhone will feature an improved camera with higher picture resolution and video shooting capability, a compass, and voice control ability.
Lines and sales may not be as big on the first day, as those who bought an iPhone 3G on July 11, 2008, are not eligible for a partial price subsidy from AT&T until exactly one year after they bought their 3G.

Take a look at how copy and paste work in the new iPhone OS 3.0. You can use it in Notes, Mail, Safari and just about any other application. You can even copy and paste pictures. Also look at landscape mode typing and the new search functionality.

Pages 09 has some cool advanced features. You can easily switch to a full screen mode, hide and show areas in an outline, include charts with live calculations, export and mail documents as Word or PDF files, and create password-protected PDF files.

Next week will mark the third major release of iPhone hardware. And with it comes controversy. Existing iPhone users, who bought an iPhone 3G less than two years ago — that’s everybody with an iPhone 3G — will have to pay an upgrade price if they want to switch to the iPhone 3GS.
One side of the story belongs to AT&T and Apple. Both companies had an agreement in the U.S. That AT&T would subsidize the sale of new iPhones for an undisclosed amount around $200. So the base model iPhone cost $199. Apple got your $199 plus $200 from AT&T. AT&T got a committed customer for 2 years.
Now that the iPhone 3GS is coming out, the same deal applies. If you have never owned an iPhone before, or didn’t buy one with a subsidy, then you get the base model for $199. AT&T pays Apple. You get a price break.
If you did buy an iPhone 3G and took the subsidy, then you aren’t far enough into your contract to get a subsidized price again. So there is a $200 charge. You pay $199, plsu another $200, AT&T pays nothing, and Apple gets it all. However, you aren’t committed any further to AT&T.
From the AT&T and Apple side of things, this all makes perfect fiscal sense.
From the customer side of things, this is getting a lot of people mad.
Who will pay this extra $200? The same people who want to get the latest and greatest. The same people who are Apple’s biggest fans. The same people who stand in line to get iPhones.
This has touched off a bit of a war between bloggers and commenters on the Internet, with fact-focused bloggers stating that this is how it is and everyone should stop wining. We should have known this was going to happen and that it happens with other phones on other networks as well.
But isn’t there a win-win here?
What are the motives on each side?
The customer just wants a good price and fairness. Certainly it seems that loyal iPhone customers should be rewarded, not punished, for their desire of the new phone. But Apple needs to make a profit on these devices — they’ve got employees and manufacturers to pay, and shareholders to please.
It seems to me there is a solution, if all sides are willing to give in a little.
First, AT&T’s motive in giving a $200 subsidy is to get a customer for 2 years. Why can’t they do that again? Simply extend the user’s contract by 2 years. If you are 1 year into a 2-year contract, then just push that date out again.
Apple could give a little by accepting the old iPhone 3G as a trade-in. They could resell it as a refurbished model. Even if they don’t it removes one more possible jailbroken unlocked iPhone from the market. I’d imagine that a lot of iPhone 3GS will become just that.
And the customer can agree to pay a modest upgrade fee. Doubling the price is a bit much, but would we complain about a $49 fee?
So how about: A $49 upgrade free if you trade in your old iPhone 3G and accept a 1 year extension to your AT&T contract.
Sounds like a reasonable solution.
But it looks like we are stuck with the $200 fee. At least this means we keep our existing AT&T contract, which will be a welcome thing if Apple every allows other carriers to sell the iPhone. Maybe this whole thing is a nudge from Apple that this really will happen some day.

The Zoom feature allows you to zoom in and look closer at a portion of your screen. It is a handy tool for anyone that works on a Mac.

The WWDC announcements this wee didn’t disappoint, with new MacBook Pros, the new iPhone 3GS, a date for the release of the iPhone OS 3.0, and a general date for the release of Snow Leopard.
You can check out our coverage of the news in episode 250 of MacMost Now, and a commentary on what was announced in a blog post. We also did a play-by-play as new news flowed in that morning.
The new MacBook Pros are already being sold at the Apple Stores. Next week we’ll have another eventful week with the release of iPhone OS 3.0 and the new iPhone 3GS.
Then in September, we’ll have the big release of Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6. The big news is that it will only cost $29 for those of us already with Leopard, which should be the vast majority of Mac user with Intel machines, the only Macs capable of running Snow Leopard.
Part of Snow Leopard, the new Safari 4 browser, is available immediately and can run on Leopard, Tiger and even Windows. You will get it, if you haven’t already, with your next software update. You can check out some of the new features in Snow Leopard in episode 251 of MacMost Now.

Take a look at the Top Sites feature of the new Safari 4. It gives you a 3D preview of your most visited sites which you can customize to suit your needs. You also get a searchable coverflow view of your browsing history.