Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

Were you disappointed when Apple removed full screen mode from Screen Sharing? You don’t have to use Apple’s application for this, however. An alternative is JollyFastVNC which gives you full screen mode and a variety of other features like automatic copy and paste. You’ve got a plethora of preferences to use to customize your VNC experience as well.

When you’ve got 67 windows open on your desktop, like I often do, it can be hard to find one even with Expose. But you can use the Dock to find a window by name. Just Ctrl+click or right+click on an icon in the Dock, like the Finder or Safari, and you will get a list of opened windows by name. Select a window to bring it to the front.

While MacMost is good for tech help with Apple products, the world is much bigger than Apple. When you need more help, Dave Taylor’s site is the one of the very best. And now you can access his huge database of questions and answers with the Ask Dave Taylor iPhone app.

Online stores where you can buy new, refurbished and used Apple products:

Amazon.com (New)

Apple’s Refurb Page

Expercom (New, Deals)

Small Dog Electronics (New, Refurbs)

Mac-Of-All-Trades (Used)

PowerMax (New, Used, Deals)

J&R (New)

B&H Photo (New)

MacZone.com (New)

MacMall (New)

CDW (New)

Buy.com (New)

Frys (New)

Online stores where you can buy Apple memory:

The Chip Merchant (Memory)

Crucial (Memory)

MemoryStore.com (Memory)

Learn more about Use Tax:

Wikipedia

Please post other ideas and store locations if in the comments below!

Ever search for a file on your Mac, then find it, but realize you want to see everything in the folder, not just that one file. You can do this by right clicking or Ctrl+clicking the file in the search results, and then choosing “Open Enclosing Folder.” You can also select the file and press Command+R, which is “Reveal in Finder” and produces the same result. If you are searching using the Spotlight menu, then you can Command+click the file to open its folder instead.

Time to self-promote again. Gold Strike isn’t only one of the best games for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but it is my latest. I originally made this for the Web, but it has appeared as a downloadable and a mobile phone game before as well. This is the deluxe version with four game variations. It will only be $0.99 for a short while more before I raise the price, so get it now!

Apple announced a whole new class of device yesterday with the introduction of the iPad. It is essentially a large iPod Touch, but with some interesting features. Here is a summary iPad hardware details:
– 9.5 inches tall, 7.5 inches wide and .5 inches deep.
– Screen resolution is 1024×768.
– Uses a new Apple A4 processor.
– Multitouch screen with more than 1000 sensors.
– Accelerometer, compass, light sensor, WiFi and Bluetooth.
– Optional 3G as well, unlocked. Takes a GSM micro sim card.
– 10-hour battery life.
– Uses iPhone/iPod dock connector.
– Includes built-in speaker and a microphone.
– Headphone jack.
– On/Off/Sleep, Home, mute and volume buttons.
The software for the iPad is version 3.2 of the iPhone/iPod Touch OS. This is not a Mac. To get additional software you will need to purchase it from the App Store. All existing iPhone apps should work on the device, with the ability to pixel-double the size to better fit the screen.
In addition, there will be some iPad-specific apps, such as Apple’s own iWork applications: Pages, Number and Keynote. There will also be a iBooks app for reading eBooks, and Apple will be launching the “iBookstore” for purchashing eBooks.
AT&T will be offering 3G data plans for the iPad in the U.S., including a $30/month unlimited plan. You can prepay for plans, apparantly without a contract.
There are some accessories planned, including a dock stand with a full-sized keyboard and a SD card adapter.
The price for the iPad will be $499 for the base WiFi-only 16GB model, then $599 and $699 for 32GB and 64GB models. Add $130 to each of those for the optional 3G.
The WiFi-only models will be available in late March, while the 3G models will come out a month after that.
In other news, Apple reported quarterly results on Monday which included new records for Macs and iPhones. It was Apple’s best performing quarter ever with record profits.

Here is a list of the major points announced at this special event.
10:00 — Steve Jobs takes the stage and talks about Apple as a mobile hardware company.
10:10 — Announcement: the iPad!
10:11 — Steve is demonstrating the device. Looks like a giant iPhone or iPod Touch. One-screen keyboard. Basic apps with a similar iPhone interface.
10: 12 — Steve shows off browsing the Web, viewing pictures and video.
10:16 — Includes a large screen email app, closer to the iPhone’s email than Mail on the Mac.
10:24 — Showing off a version of iCal.
10:26 — Show off Google maps, with street view.
10:30 — 1/2 inch thin, 1 1/2 pounds, 9.7-inch display, multi-touch.
10:31 — Apple is using their own processor chip, a 1Ghz Apple A4 chip.
10:32 — Memory options will range from 16GB to 64GB.
10:33 — Has Wifi (802.11n) and Bluetooth. Accelerometer, compass. Speaker, mic, dock connector.
10:34 — Claiming 10-hour battery life, even with video playing.
10:35 — Can run all iPhone apps as-is. Will double pixels and run them full screen.
10:37 — Developers can modify their apps to take full advantage of the larger display.
10:38 — New version of the iPhone SDK today for developers to update their apps.
10:40 — Showing off 3D shooter game running in full screen.
10:43 — New York Times showing off their app.
10:44 — Showing off “Brushes” app that lets you paint.
10:48 — EA showing off Need For Speed on the iPad, a 3D racing game.
10:50 — MLB.com shows off their baseball app, with video.
10:55 — iBooks is an eBook reader app. Can download books direction to the iPad.
10:58 — The iPad uses the standard ePub format, so we might be able to get books from elsewhere or make our own without Apple.
10:59 — A version of iWork will be available for the iPad. Showing off Keynote, Pages and Numbers. Numbers uses a lot of special keyboards for entering specific data types.
11:14 — iWork will cost $9.99 per application.
11:15 — You can also get the iPad with 3G wireless networking.
11:16 — AT&T will offer a 250MB/month plan for $14.99. $29.99 gets you unlimited data from AT&T. Also includes free use of AT&T WiFi hotspot locations.
11:17 — 3G data plans are prepaid. Sign up right on the iPad itself.
11:18 — Plans are for the U.S. only, but they hope to have international plans by June.
11:19 — The iPad is “unlocked” so you can use any GSM micro SIM from any carrier.
11:20 — Prices start at $500.
11:21 — $499 for the 16GB WiFi-only model. $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB. With 3G it will be $629, $729 and $829.
11:22 — Shipping in 60 days. First the WiFi-only ones. Then 30 more days for the first 3G ones.
11:23 — Apple will also sell a dock stand, and a dock/keyboard stand with a full-sized keyboard.
12:33 — Looks like the books will be sold through the “iBookstore.” So there will be iTunes for music and video, the App Store for apps, and the iBookstore for books.
You should be able to watch the whole thing yourself at Apple.com soon.
Will have a video up on MacMost shortly…

In 24 hours we’ll find out what the Apple Tablet looks like, what it can do, and what Apple wants us to use the Tablet for. But in the mean time we can speculate and empose our wishes on to this potential device. Plus, it is fun to take the pulse of the community to see what their expections are just before the device is real.
So, by far, the number one task users want from the Tablet is to be able to browse the Web. Nearly 50% of all respondants mentioned this as one of three things they would like to do. And it is pretty certain that no matter what form the Tablet takes that we should have a version of Safari on the device. The iPhone and iPod Touch do, so it would be a no-brainer that the Tablet will as well.
Second, with about 36% was “reading books.” Clearly there is the idea that the Tablet will compete with the Kindle here. In fact, if the sales match up with the hype then it should soon outpace the Kindle as the number one eBook reader.
Email came in third, with 30% of people wanting to read and send email on the Tablet. It’s a sure bet that the Tablet will support this as well, whether it is a Mac or a iPod Touch-like device.
The only surprise at the bottom of the 16-item list is that games ended up 11th, with only 12% interested in playing games. Some analysts have even speculated that games will be the primary function of the Tablet. If there is an app store for the Tablet, it is certain to be dominated by games like the iPhone/iPod Touch App Store.
Here is the original poll with results:

---

Before we find out what the tablet looks like, what it does, and what it can be used for, tell MacMost what you think. Based on your guess about what the tablet will be, what would you be most likely to use an Apple Tablet device for? Select 3 answers. If you have a top-3 idea that isn’t listed, answer in the comments section below.

The popular online game Gold Strike has come to the iPhone. Gold Strike has previously appeared as a Web-based game, downloadable game and smartphone game for the pre-iPhone generation of phones. It has been played by millions since its release in 2003.
Gold Strike is an action puzzle game where you play a miner trying to strike gold in a collapsing mine. You must throw your pick at groups of matching blocks as tremors push the blocks closer to you. The object of the game is to dig as deep as you can, scoring points for hitting gold blocks.
The game was developed by CleverMedia, Inc., a game development company in Denver, Colorado. Since 2003 it has been the top game at CleverMedia’s primary portal GameScene.com. CleverMedia, Inc. also runs MacMost.com.
“We loved this genre of collapsing block games,” said the game’s creator, Gary Rosenzweig. “We wanted to create the ultimate game in that genre, but at the same time make ours unique.”
Gold Strike differs from other block games in that the blocks move in from the left side, rather than dropping down from the top. As the blocks push each other to the right the player must work to clear columns of blocks or risk being pushed off the screen.
The iPhone app includes the original game, plus four alternate game modes: Bottomless Pit, Strategy, Dynamite and Archeology. Each presents a different challenge using the same basic gameplay.
The click-only interface of the original game lent itself well to the touch-only interface of the iPhone and iPod Touch.
“We knew that this game would work well on the iPhone because all you need to do is to touch blocks,” said Rosenzweig. “We didn’t have to mess around with simulating arrow keys or mouse movements like in a lot of other games.”
The game also keeps track of your best scores for each game variation. It is available in the iTunes app store for an introductory price of 99 cents in the United States. It can be purchased through iTunes, or direct on the iPhone through the App Store. The starting price is only 99 cents, though this is just an introductory price.

We might finally be at the end of the rumors and into reality. Apple has sent out a colorful postcard invitation to selected press to hear about their “latest creation” on January 27. It would be shocking to most following the story if this wasn’t the new tablet being announced.
Rumors this week are mostly centered around the name of the device. iSlate and iTablet has been past favorites, but iPad is popular now, with Apple apparently trying to get trademark rights worldwide to the name. A Las Vegas bookmaker has put iSlate as the most likely, followed by iPad, iTablet, iPage, iPaper and iRead.
Most rumors point to only an announcement of the tablet on the 27th, with a release either in March or even as late as June. Predictions for price and capabilities vary greatly. We’ll find out, soon enough.
The event may also bring other announcements. Rumors of iLife 10, iPhone OS 4.0 and a Verizon version of the iPhone are circulating.
There was some real news this week as well. Apple finally released an update to Boot Camp that supports Windows 7, the latest version of Windows. Previously Windows 7 worked in virtualization software, but Boot Camp dual-booting wasn’t supported as Windows 7 drivers for Mac hardware were not included as part of Boot Camp.
AT&T switched up its pricing plans for iPhone users with a $30 price drop for an unlimited voice and data plan. This matches a similar price drop from Verizon earlier. Now only if both companies would stop charging $1,310/MB for text messages.
Apple also released a new iPhone app that provides direct access to MobileMe photo galleries. The free app can be downloaded from the app store.

Ever find something in your Downloads folder and forget what it is and where you got it? Select the file and press Command+I to bring up the information window. For downloaded files, you’ll find lots of things listed under More Info, including the “Where from” URL of the download. At least, it is usually there. The information provided depends a bit on the server it was downloaded from. But as an added bonus, if you go to Safari’s Downloads window and press the magnifying glass next to each item, it will find the downloaded file even if you have moved it out of the Downloads folder or saved it elsewhere.

I hate to recommend inkjet printers. I hate inkjet printers. But every once in a while you need to print something out in color. Not often enough to get a color laser printer, so an inkjet in the house is just something you need. The Canon PIXMA MP560 Wireless Inkjet All-In-One Photo Printer is a pretty good bargain at $100. What I like most about it is it connects via wireless networking. Connecting a printer via a USB cable is so 1990s, considering that so many households have more than one computer nowadays. Plus, you can get a free iPhone app from Canon that lets you print directly from your iPhone. For $100, that’s a pretty good value.

Tired of little 99 cent games and looking for something bigger for your iPhone? Try Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies. This long-titled game is also long on gameplay and graphics. It is pretty intense, though, so not for the kiddies.