“I got a new iPad. That means my husband gets my old iPad 2. Our oldest child then gets his old iPad 1. And it trickles down eventually to our goldfish who gets an original iPod shuffle.”
You can use the volume controls on your keyboard to change the volume in large steps. You may need to hold down the FN key to do this, depending on your keyboard settings. But you can also hold down the Shift and Option keys and then the volume adjustments happen in much finer steps.
Recently, Apple’s standard one year warranty has come under scrutiny as the European Union requires two years. In the U.S. you get a one year warranty which you can extend to three years with the purchase of AppleCare, which also gives other benefits in addition to extending the warranty. You can read about AppleCare at Apple’s site. On the one hand, making AppleCare a separate purchase keeps the price of Apple hardware lower for those who don’t want AppleCare. On the other hand, some feel that Apple’s warranties should be longer than one year.
What do you think? How does Apple’s standard warranty compare to warranties you get on other products you have purchased? How does their AppleCare program compare to other extended warranties?
The controversy over antenna issues that plagued the iPhone 4 drew to a close this week as Apple offers $15 to those affected by the issue. You are only eligible for the money if you are in the U.S. and did not take advantage of Apple’s offer for a free case back in 2010. Those eligible were contacted via email.
Apple released a minor iTunes update with bug fixes this week. You can get the update via Software Update on your Mac.
U.S. Congress continues to take an interest in iPhone privacy issues. They have asked for information from dozens of app developers about what information about users they gather and how the use that information. Apple itself has begun to refuse apps that use the iPhone’s universal device identifier (UDID) as a method of identifying the iPhone as a unique device across multiple apps.
Need to do a quick currency conversion? Try using the Calculator app that comes with your Mac. Run it and type in a number. Then choose Convert, Currency. Choose the From and To currencies and then hit the Update button to get today’s conversion values before hitting Convert.
“Let’s see… 400 small packages all the same size that originated in China, one each going to every house on my route. Must be a new Apple gadget today.”
Looking for an adventure game app with great graphics and immersive gameplay? Well how about using your imagination and playing Frotz instead? This app brings just about every text-based adventure game from the “old days” to your iPhone and iPad. It comes with a few freely available titles, like the original Zork. But you can search right inside the app for more, like the classic Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy game.
One of the hottest rumors of the last year has been that Apple is working on a television product. While it already has the set-top box known as Apple TV, a television would be a screen with similar functionality or an even more advanced user interface and remote control.
Do you think Apple should create such a product? And if so, what features would you like it to have?
Apple sold about 3 million new iPads last weekend. The usual lines formed outside Apple stores and shipping times for the new iPad slipped back several weeks as initial inventory sold out. In addition, the new iPhoto app reported sold a million copies in the app store.
On Monday Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a change to Apple’s finances as it will begin to offer stock dividends later this year. In addition, Apple will buy back $10 billion in stock over the next three years. This is in response to the nearly $100 billion in cash that Apple currently has on the books as a result of profits.
There was an interesting development this week in Apple’s ongoing Chinese labor controversies. One of the key counterpoints to Apple’s use of Chinese factories came from an episode of This American Life, a radio program that aired in January. That episode told the story of a man who visited the factories to find underage workers, injuries and poisonings. But it turns out that much of those details were fabricated and the producers of the show have issued a retraction.
“So what are you going to name your baby, Mr. Smith?”
“We’re inspired by how Apple names things. We are just going to call him ‘new Smith’.”
Want to quickly switch your sound input or output? Option+click on the volume control in the menubar. Then you can choose from all of your sound devices without having to launch System Preferences.
Check out this promising new space strategy game, Astra Itinera. You move your fleet through space and battle for galactic domination. The interface is simple, but the game play is deep. Reminds me of some of the great turn-based strategy games of the 80s and 90s.
Yesterday Apple announced both a stock dividend plan and a stock buyback. A dividend of $2.65 per share will start with a quarter later this year. In addition, Apple plans to buy back $10 billion of its own stock over the next three years. Currently Apple has about $100 billion in cash. Do you think this is the right move for Apple? What else do you think Apple should be doing with its excess stockpile of cash?
