A continuing story over the last few years has been Apple’s battle with Greenpeace. The environmental organization initially rated Apple very poorly among technology companies, claiming it shipped products with too much packaging and manufactured using too many harmful chemicals. This seemed to have really irked Apple, so has been striving to appease environmentalists ever since.
According to a new report from Greenpeace, Apple is doing much better, earning a 4-star rating and a 5.1 on their 0-10 scale. That puts them only fifth behind electronics and mobile phone makers, and well ahead of most computer manufacturers. In the past, some have criticized Greanpeace’s rating system, saying it doesn’t taking into account the long lifespan of Apple’s computers.
The rumors about Apple’s mythical tablet continue to point to an announcement at the end of January. New musings indicate an iPod Touch-like operating system with no cameras, a 10.1-inch screen and 3G wireless capability.
Bummed that you have an iPhone 3G or older and can’t record video like your friends with the iPhone 3GS? Well, now you can. The iVideoCamera app allows these older phones to record video. The catch is that it is only 320×426, not the full 640×480 of the iPhone 3GS. And it is a pretty low-quality frame rate. But for 99 cents, you can at least record little videos and share them on YouTube, FaceBook, etc.
If you are sick of having a document open with the wrong application, hopefully you already know that you can Ctrl+click or right click on a document and select “Open With.” In the pop-up that appears you can select “Other” and then choose an application, checking off “Always Open With.” Then the next time you double-click on the document, it will open in the proper application. But did you also know that you can Ctrl+click or right click on a document, go to the Open With submenu, and hold down the Option key before making a selection? Holding down Option will mark that application as the “Always Open With” application for that document.
I’ve stopped using CDs and DVDs to back up and archive files. Instead, I use 1 and 2 TB drives. You can get 1TB drives for less than $90 nowadays. But the one thing that bothers me is that they have no protection. Some of the circuits are right out there ready to be damaged. I stored them in small boxes with padding, but I wanted something better. I discovered these little hard drive boxes, which are perfect for the task.
While rumors are strong that we will finally see the Apple tablet device before the end of the month, other major companies aren’t waiting. Several tablet-like devices are being announced, demoed and even launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
Microsoft showed off the HP Slate tablet during a keynote event. The slate looks like what a lot of us have been expecting from Apple: a large iPod touch without a keyboard. It supports multi-touch. What’s interesting about it is that it runs Windows 7, which means it runs Windows applications. Can an Apple Slate that only runs iPhone OS compete with that?
Dell is also getting in on the act, with the expected launch today of a tablet called the “Streak.” But this one runs the Google Android operating system, much more similar to an iPhone or an iPod Touch.
Two other companies, Archos and Pegatron are also coming out with tablets. The first also using Android OS, but the second appears that it may run Windows.
Where Apple beat all the major companies to the market with the touch-screen iPhone, it appears it will lag behind them when it comes to the new tablet devices. Of course announcements and promises are different than actually having them in the stores. And Apple’s marketing lead may overshadow another device even if it ships first.
But it appears that even before we have these devices in our hands, 2010 will be the year of the tablet.
I always liked playing Skee-Ball at the boardwalk arcades while growing up. It was a skill game, as opposed to a game of chance like most of the rest. Well, now I can re-live the experience on my iPhone with the Skee-Ball app. It works just like you think it would, using a finger flick to simulate rolling the ball. But you don’t have to worry about the machine breaking down on you while spitting out little tickets.
I hate the earbuds that come with the iPod and iPhone. They are just so uncomfortable. And they don’t work well with airplane noise. So i usually use a set of noise cancelling over-the-ear headphones when I can. But sometimes these are too bulky to carry in a small airline carry-on. So I tried the Panasonic RP-HC55 Noise Canceling Earbuds. I thought they would be the same level of discomfort as the Apple earbuds, but at least the noise cancellation would be a benefit. I was surprised to find that they were also very comfortable. I may have finally found a set of earbuds that I like.
iTunes is smart enough that when you sort your library by artist, it knows to put The Beatles under B. But sometimes exceptions can be more complex than just a ‘the.’ You can set an artist, album or song name to sort with in iTunes by selecting a song or songs, pressing Command+I to bring up the info window, and selecting the Sorting tab. Then you can set a name to sort by that will be different than the name selected.
Rumors now all point to January 26 as the day Apple will finally reveal its tablet to the world. But this is far from certain. In the past we’ve seems rumors of iPhone and Mac announcements turn into announcements for simple update or new services. No one is betting against a tablet announcement at the end of January, but no one can be 100% certain either.
The latest rumors mention a front-facing camera in the tablet, which would enable video conferencing. That would be an interesting feature and certainly make the tablet more than a competitor for ebook readers.
The only new rumors on the iPhone front are of a 8GB iPhone 3GS to replace the 8GB iPhone 3G at the same low price point. This makes sense as the 3GS chipset must be as easy to manufacture as the old 3G chipset now.
While we are on the subject of password security this week, it is worth mentioning that 1Password has an iPhone version. In fact, it has two: a standard 1Password and a 1Password Pro with a few more features. And, you guessed it, you can sync your 1Password on the iPhone with your 1Password on the Mac, giving you secure access to your passwords while away from your computer. Unfortunately you can’t easily log on to Web sites in mobile Safari, but you can copy and paste your passwords across.
Not too long ago I recommended the Western Digital 1.0TB Drive, which is now an even better bargain at $85. But I decided to go with an even larger Time Machine backup drive when I saw you can get the Western Digital 2.0TB Drive for only $190. Even with my video editing and large photo and music collections, that should give me quite a deep Time Machine backup. I stuck mine inside my Mac Pro in the 4th bay, but you can use a cheap hard drive dock if you don’t already have one. Being able to get large drives like these for so little really takes away any excuse for not using Time Machine to back up your precious files.
Do you travel with your MacBook often? You can set your Mac to automatically change its time zone according to your location. Select this option in System Preferences, Date & Time, Time Zone. This new feature of Snow Leopard will look at nearby WiFi hotspots and figure out which time zone you are in.
