I often get asked: “What would you do if you ran Apple?” Well, actually, no one asks me that. But if they did, there are a lot of things that I would do that I think would make the company’s product line stronger. Apple isn’t going to do many of these. But I wish they would.
1. iBooks reader for Mac
I saw a recent study that said that many people still read ebooks on computers. But you can’t do that with books purchased in the iBookstore. You can only read them in iBooks on an iOS device.
For this reason I prefer to buy books from Amazon for the Kindle, even though I don’t use a Kindle. Kindle books can be read on the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and the Mac. Why would I buy a book from Apple when the same book from Amazon can be read in more places?
Some people might be getting a new Mac this holiday season, so we’re offering 20% off our Video Guide To Mountain Lion. We put together 20+ videos with more than 2 hours of instruction, and made it super-easy to get by putting it in the Mac App Store.
This is a great way for beginners to get to know Mac OS X Mountain Lion, and for casual users to dig deeper into the features. The videos are unique, not something that can be found anywhere else. The app lets you jump easily from video to video and you can resize the window for better viewing, even going full screen.
Even if you are proficient in using OS X, you may want to consider recommending this to friends as a good way to jump in and learn more.
Tech news sources are running an article today over a guy suing Apple because when you ask Siri which is the best iPhone, it answers “The one you’re holding” and other such similar things. (Source)
I find this article and whole the idea of suing Apple over this interesting because I think it is all about a misunderstanding. If you ask Siri which is the best phone, you get the answer “The one you’re holding.” Obviously the person in this article take that to mean “the iPhone.” But that’s not what I think Siri means.
Ever ask a pro photographer which camera is best? They will answer “the one you have.” In other words, the best camera is the one you have on you when you need it to capture the shot. It is a very deep answer that speaks to getting a camera that is convenient, but also about not worrying so much about the best camera and instead concentrate on the shot itself.
I assume Siri means the same thing here. The best phone is the one in your hand because it is better to think about where you are and what you are doing. Otherwise, why doesn’t Siri say “the iPhone?”
It is a joke. It is a joke with a message, which makes it funnier and gives us something to think about.
The idea that this is “sponsored advertising” is ridiculous. What about the Apple logo on the back of the iPhone? Is that advertising too? The logos on cars and the Windows logo when you boot up a PC?
Of course the other danger here is what effect this will have on Apple and the rest of the industry. Someone at Apple was trying to be funny. They were trying to make a harmless joke. But now that person is in trouble. Now Apple will start to have to put all of their “funny” answers through the legal dept. They will most likely stop trying to make little jokes like this. Other companies will too.
This guy just made our world a little less fun.
iOS 6 should be launching this month for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users. We know for sure that it will include a new Maps app with turn-by-turn spoken directions, Facebook posting directly from the Camera app and others, shared Photo Streams, Passbook, Facetime over cellular networks, Mail VIPs, and Do Not Disturb mode. Which new feature are you most looking forward to?
We thought that instead of writing a book on Mountain Lion, why not do what we do best and create videos! So we’ve created The Video Guide To Mountain Lion. We put together 20+ videos with more than 2 hours of instruction, and made it super-easy to get by putting it in the Mac App Store.
This is a great way for beginners to get to know Mac OS X Mountain Lion, and for casual users to dig deeper into the features. The videos are unique, not something that can be found anywhere else. The app lets you jump easily from video to video and you can resize the window for better viewing, even going full screen.
Even if you are proficient in using OS X, you may want to consider recommending this to friends as a good way to jump in and learn more.
There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts for Mac users. There are Mission Control shortcuts, Finder shortcuts, system shortcuts, application shortcuts and more. Many you can find by just looking through the menu bar for that application. You can find system ones by looking in the System Preferences under Keyboard.
But some keyboard shortcuts are more useful than others. And some are harder to remember than others.
So MacMost has compiled a list of our top “power user” keyboard shortcuts for Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion). Here they all are on a single PDF page, downloadable and printable: The MacMost Mountain Lion Power User Keyboard Shortcuts. Download it and pass it along!
Evidence seems to strongly suggest a new Mac Pro will arrive next week at the WWDC. Are you a Mac Pro user? Have you been looking forward to a new machine? Or, do you think Apple should ditch the expensive tower and focus on consumer models only?
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.
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?
Rumors this week have Apple working on a $800 MacBook model. Right now the cheapest MacBook is the $999 MacBook Air ($950 educational pricing). Does Apple need to have a cheaper MacBook model? Is $200 really enough to make a difference?
With the recent increased threat from the Flashback trojan malware, a new spotlight is shining on Mac anti-malware security. Flashback usually appears in as a downloadable trojan, requiring the user to download, run and give permission to install. But for a few days there was a Java exploit that installed it on some Macs without requiring permission. Apple then issued a patch to prevent that.
Some believe that you should use 3rd-party security software as protection. But that software needs updates to remain effective as well. MacMost has always taught that keeping updated, informed and watching what you download is all that is required for protection.
What do you think? Do you use third-part software for protection? Has the recent issue changed your mind one way or the other?
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?
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?
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?
In Tim Cook’s address last week he announced the new iPad and a new Apple TV. Plus, he ended the event by telling us there is more to come in 2012. Besides the obvious, like updates for each Mac line and a new iPhone model, what else do you think Apple has in store for us in 2012?
Today Apple announced the new iPad. This 3rd generation device includes a high resolution retina display, a faster A5X quad-core processor, 5MP/1080p rear-facing camera, and voice dictation capability. As well as a wifi-only version, there will be 4G LTE-capable versions. It comes out on March 16, and the iPad 2 will remain on sale for a reduced price. There are also new versions of Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie and GarageBand, as well as a new iPhoto app. The new iPad will simply be called “The new iPad” not the iPad 3.
What do you think of the new iPad?
Mountain Lion, Mac OS X 10.8 coming later this year, will include a new feature called Gatekeeper. It divides all third-party software into three categories: from the Mac App Store, not from the Mac App Store but digitally signed by an official Apple developer ID, and anything else. By default the user will be able to only install software in the first two categories. But the setting can be adjusted to allow all three, or only the first one. The second category allows developers to create anything not allowed in the Mac App Store, like system tools, but still take responsibility for their work and allow Apple to take action if something malicious comes to light.
What do you think of this new feature of Mac OS X?
There are many rumors surfacing about an announcement and release of a new iPad next month. What new features would you like to see in the iPad 3? Post your wishes and ideas here below.
Twitter was buzzing last week when a Singapore-based iOS developer, Arun Thampi, posted a note about Address Book and privacy. It seems the issue did not travel far up the media pipeline to most of us, but a number of industry insiders commented on it, most notably ZDnet. Gizmodo republished the post and thousands of users showed concern. That’s thousands of users, while Apple reports that they sold 37.04 million iPhones in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012. This is an issue that concerns all of us that use iOS devices and we should be acutely aware of who takes our personal data and how they use it. Further, what safeguards does a company use to protect our data against potential misuse.
It all started with the reposting of Thampi’s notes by ZDNet Jason O’Grady and others that the popular Path social media app copied your Address Book data to its servers. Path claimed it needed your data to help you connect with friends across multiple social media sites. Once this news became public, Path addressed the issue, first by offering to remove your data if you emailed them, but later the company replied that they had removed everyone’s Address Book data from their servers. Path was updated on 2/13 and now prompts you to opt in or out of sharing your Address Book with their servers. While this one company responded to user complaints and reacted favorably, it is still unclear how many other apps may be storing your personal contacts on their servers.
As a new iPad 2 owner I was rooting around the Web to see what help resources are available. I looked at cases, software reviews, and hardware accessories. What I found are a lot of photos of people with their heads bent down in an odd position while using their iPads. I thought that doesn’t look comfortable!
As I mused on ways to hold the iPad in a more comfortable position, I wondered if anyone had noticed the odd way people hold their necks while using the iPad. Lo and behold, I found a Harvard study quoted on the LA Times web site. The study, “Touch-screen tablet user configurations and case-supported tilt affect head and neck flexion angles” found that positions that users engage in while using any tablet contributes to excessive head bending which results in large muscle strains. These large muscles involve the neck and upper back and affect posture while sitting or standing.
The small study notes that the position in which you hold your iPad does affect how you feel:
Higher display locations lead to decreased head and neck flexion that approach more neutral postures; while lower gazes lead to increasingly flexed postures which are associated with an increase in neck extensor activity.
