I’ve been using the Kinds In Mind web site for years to figure out whether a film is appropriate for the whole family. They break a movie down with easy-to-understand rankings which lets me make a determination instead of forcing an opinion on me. Now there is a Kids In Mind app, which will make it easier to get to their reviews quickly.
You can monitor your system using the Activity Monitor application in your Applications/Utilities folder. In that app you can go to View, Dock Icon and change the way the icon appears. It can show your CPU, memory, disk or network usage in a little graph in the icon. So then you can hide the app itself, but still keep tabs on your system.
Apple news was dominated this week by CEO Tim Cook’s appearance at the All Things Digital Conference. He was interviewed on stage and asked about Apple’s future. While he didn’t announce any new products, he gave hints to Apple’s direction.
He mentioned that new features are in store for the iPhone Siri feature. Since Siri is merely send audio to Apple’s servers and responds remotely, it is easy for Apple to change how Siri works without any hardware or even software updates.
He also danced around questions about a future television product, without dismissing the possibility. Another issue was better Facebook integration with OS X and iOS, and Cook seemed to hint that it is in the works.
Cook also responded to criticism over Apple using overseas manufacturing. He pointed out that the iPad’s A5 processor and all iOS device “gorilla glass” is made in the U.S.
Today U.S. pre-paid mobile carrier Cricket announced they will start selling the iPhone. While the phone will cost more than from other carriers, because of the lack of subsidies, monthly costs will be less. The idea of no having a long-term contract may attract many customers.
When you’ve got a lot going on and you need to get to a file on your Desktop, there is a quick way to do it. Press F11 (fn+F11 depending on your keyboard settings) and all of the windows for all of your apps will clear off to the side, giving you access to your Desktop files. You can then start a drag and drop movement, press F11 again in the middle of the drag, and your windows will all come screaming back, ready to receive the file.
Like Microsoft, Apple and Google, Yahoo! now has its own browser — and it is an iOS browser as well as on Macs and PCs. The Yahoo! Axis browser has some interesting features such as visual search results and syncing your position across devices. It is free and worth checking out as an alternative to the built-in Safari browser.
“My ancestors were charlatan fortune tellers for medieval kings.”
“What is it that you do?”
“Basically the same thing. I’m a Wall Street analyst.”
Some MacMost followers may be interested to know that CleverMedia (MacMost parent) is producing a short film. The screenplay is by MacMost’s Gary Rosenzweig, who is also the on-site producer. Directing is Jay Shaffer, who has also worked with MacMost.
From a technology standpoint, the movie will be edited on Macs, of course. In addition, numerous iPhones and iPads will be used throughout production.
You can follow the production using the film’s Facebook page. Behind-the-scenes photos and video will be uploaded during filming, which starts tomorrow.
Many rumors of new iPhones and Mac this week centered around improved screens. Some reports say that new MacBooks and iMacs this year will feature retina displays — higher density displays that are used on the iPhone and iPad. The change could be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June along with developer tools to allow Mac app makers to build resolution-independent interfaces.
Rumors also persist that a new iPhone may feature a slightly larger screen. This could mean simply that the number of pixels on the already-dense screens remains the same, but the physical size of the screen changes. Or, it could mean a taller screen that will continue to run existing apps without using the extra space, or leaving the extra space for notifications and other information. A new iPhone could be released in the fall, one year after the current model.
Here’s a twisted strategy game that provides a unique challenge. In Pandemic, you control a virus or disease out to destroy the entire population of the world. Adjust its properties as the threat spreads and race against the hospitals and researchers of the world as they try to stop you.
“I tried writing a book but couldn’t finish it. I tried blogging but couldn’t think of what to write. I tried tweeting and 140 characters was still too much.”
“What about Pinterest? All you need to do is click on photos you like.”
“Hmmm. Still seems like a lot of work.”
Did you know you can put Finder icon labels to the right of the icon instead of under it? Just select any Finder window that is using icon view — this includes the Desktop. Then choose View, Show View Options. Change the Label Position from Bottom to Right.
Recently the environmental organization Greenpeace has been staging events to pressure Apple into using more renewable energy to power their data centers. They have blocked a shipment of coal to power plants, and have projected messages on to Apple’s headquarters building.
On the one hand, encouraging Apple as opposed to another company may bring more awareness to the need for renewable energy. On the other hand, Apple does a lot in this area already, including powering 50% of its North Carolina data center with renewable energy and stating that they hope to power 100% of its future Oregon center with it.
Should Greenpeace target Apple?
