• apple,  appletv,  macbook pro,  windows

    Studio Execs: Are You Sure Apple Doesn’t Have It Right? I Think They Do.

    September 24, 2010 /

    Earlier this month, Apple introduced the second generation Apple TV.  At about a quarter of the size of the first generation model, the new Apple TV emphasizes steaming content over having to sync and manage content from iTunes running on your Mac or Windows PC.

    Along side the introduction of the new Apple TV, Steve Jobs introduced a new 99 cent TV show rental model.  The idea that you would rent your favorite TV shows and movies rather than watching them on TV (does any one actually watch TV shows when they “air” anymore?), your DVR (I honestly don’t have a DVR), or a DVD from your local BlockBuster, library, etc.

    Over the last few days, we’ve started hearing studio execs talking about the “value” of their content and that it is worth more than 99 cents.  For example, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman was quoted as saying “The 99-cent rental is not a good price point,” and that “[I]t doesn’t work for us.” (AppleInsider.com…)

    We’re all entitled to our opinions.  When I look around at some of the shows that are on TV today, I’m hard pressed to see the “value” in a lot of whats on.  I absolutely refuse to watch a so called reality TV show; regardless of whether it’s American Idol, Survivor, Kate Plus 8, Jersey Shore…the list goes on, and on, regrettably.  I do like watching scripted dramas, but I tend to watch more and more TV on my MacBook.  But I degrees.

    I think that the 99 cent price point does makes sense.  Depending on what show, and whether it’s standard def or high def, to purchase a show, it will cost you $1.99 – $2.99 an episode.  If the rental price is low enough, I’m more inclined to “impulse rent.”  If I have to think about whether or not to rent the show, I’ll start thinking about the various options: the studio’s own website, Hulu, Netflix, a local library, or an app on my iPad or mobile phone.  I can also go rent a DVD for about $5.00 which will include four episodes.

    The definition of “value” aside, I still think that the studios stand to make some money from Apple’s 99 cent plan.  There are free TV options out there, but I’m willing to pay a fee to watch TV on my Mac or Apple TV if I’m getting entertainment value, as well as an ease of use or convenience value out of it.  Sure, 99 cents sounds reasonable for a 22-45 minute TV show.

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  • apple,  appletv,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  mac os x,  touch,  windows

    Apple Launches iTunes 10, Unveils New iPods, AppleTV, iOS 4.1 Update

    September 2, 2010 /

    It has been a busy day for Apple fanatics customers today.

    New iPods, Apple TV

    At today’s annual September media event, Apple took the wraps off a new iPod nano and iPod touch.  The iPod shuffle got it’s click-wheel back.  Apple TV received an extreme makeover, and we were told that iOS 4.1 will arrive next week (9/8/10) to fix the proximity sensor and Bluetooth issues on iPhone 4 and performance issues on the iPhone 3GS.  Owners of current iPod touch models will also be getting the iOS 4.1 treatment next week.  iPad owners, like me, will have to wait until November for the iOS 4.2 update to be released.  Ugh!

    The good news for those of us not eager to shell out a few hundred more dollars for the latest shinny Apple gizmo is that we can get our hands on iTunes 10 today.

    Once you get past the hoopla over the redesigned logo, Apple dumped the CD to focus on the music note, you’ll see the new features that have been added to the popular jukebox software.  Click the read link for the new iTunes 10 features and more photos of Apple’s latest gear.

    What’s new in iTunes 10

    •Introducing Ping. Use Ping to follow your favorite artists and friends or connect with the world’s most passionate music fans. Discover the music everyone is talking about, listening to, and downloading.

    • Rent HD TV episodes for just 99¢ each. Watch them on your Mac or PC, on-the-go with iPhone or iPod touch, or in your living room with the all new Apple TV.

    • Play your favorites on the all new iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and Apple TV.

    • Play music wirelessly with AirPlay on AirPlay-enabled speakers, home theater receivers, and iPod accessories.

    • Explore many look-and-feel improvements throughout iTunes.

    • Enjoy performance improvements which make iTunes faster and more responsive.

    • Additional voice support with VoiceOver Kit for iPod.

    For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

    [Editor’s Note: At the time we posted this article, iTunes 10 was only available as a download from the Apple website.  It was not appearing in the Software Update control panel on our Mac OS X and Windows 7 boxes.]

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  iwork,  mac os x,  pages,  touch

    Apple Updates iWork Pages, Adds Support for ePub Books

    August 28, 2010 /

    Earlier this week, Apple updated iWork ’09 Pages and added support for creating documents comptible with iBooks on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

    After updating Pages ’09 on your Mac to version 9.0.4, you will be able to export your Pages documents in the ePub format.  Then, drag and drop the ePub document into iTunes’ Books section and sync your iDevice.  Simple.

    iWork ’09 owners, grab your update by clicking the Software Update icon in the System Preferences application.

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  • apple,  appletv,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  touch

    Apple Invites Media to a Special September 1 Event

    August 26, 2010 /

    September is almost upon us and that means it’s time for Apple to send out invitations to the media-only fall event.
    According to the Tech Trader Daily blog, Eric Savitz writes:

    “There’s zero information in the invitation on the nature of the event, and the only hint is the photo of the guitar with the Apple-logo shaped cut out that I’ve included with this post.” 

     My invitation seems to have gotten lost in the mail.

    Apple’s fall events have been the showcase for the new iPod touch and music related products for the holiday season. This year is expected to be no different with rumors flying around of an iPod touch refresh that will feature iOS 4.1, dual cameras and support for FaceTime, and a the same high resolution Retina display that has been used on the iPhone 4.

    There are also near daily rumors that Apple will release a new version of the Apple TV, possible called “iTV”, that runs iOS and replaces the hard drive with a smaller flash drive.  Content would be streamed to the device rather than store it locally on a hard drive as the current Apple TV model does.  The new Apple TV is also rumored to go on sale with pricing as low as $99 and TV show rentals for $0.99.

    [Via Tech Trader Daily blog…]

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  • apple,  iphone,  sprint,  t-mobile,  verizon

    Is The Door Still Open for An iPhone on Sprint or T-Mobile?

    August 24, 2010 /

    There was an interesting article posted out on the Digital Daily blog.  Kaufman Bros. technology analyst Shaw Wu reports that a Verizon Wireless iPhone still isn’t a done deal.

    “From our understanding, the Verizon negotiations are not finalized with important details still being ironed out, including technology and economics,” Wu said in a note to clients this morning. “We think it is premature to rule out T-Mobile or Sprint.”

    “Or both of them, together. As Wu notes, adding T-Mobile and Sprint as additional carriers would almost be like adding Verizon (VZ). Together, Sprint (S) and T-Mobile have about 82 million subscribers. Verizon has 93 million subscribers.”

    You can read the full blog post on the Digital Daily website.

    So who’s up for a Sprint edition Apple iPhone?

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  • android,  apple,  blackberry,  facebook,  google,  hp,  iphone,  rim,  web os

    More on the New Facebook Places Feature

    August 23, 2010 /

    Last week, Facebook introduced a new feature called “Places” that allows you or your friends geo-tag your location using the GPS in your mobile phone or location aware browser.  Naturally, people either hailed this as a super cool or flipped out and had kittens because “Big Brother” had found a new way to keep tabs on where you go and what you are doing.

    The New York Times, has a good article on the new Places feature in Facebook, which is also available in the latest version of the mobile application for Apple’s iPhone.

    Moments after Facebook introduced a new feature called Facebook Places on Wednesday that allows its users to share their location and find their friends, advocates raised flags over online privacy.

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California cited concerns over the new product, saying Facebook neglected to include several crucial privacy features.

    “Places allows your friends to tag you when they check in somewhere, and Facebook makes it very easy to say ‘yes’ to allowing your friends to check in for you,” read the statement, released late Wednesday night. “But when it comes to opting out of that feature, you are only given a ‘not now’ option. ‘No’ isn’t one of the easy options.”

    The A.C.L.U. also expressed concern over the integration of Facebook’s Places feature with third-party Web sites and applications.

    The Facebook Places privacy settings can be configured via custom settings in your privacy controls.  Android Central has a quick set of directions posted which I linked to last week.  iPhone users who want to keep their locations on the down low can tap the Don’t Allow button that pops up any time an iOS app tries to access the GPS on your iPhone.  (You know, I’m really glad that Steve Jobs insisted on that pop up!)  As of this posting, the Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, and HP Palm webOS clients haven’t been updated to use of the Places feature; but it is only a matter of time before they are updated too.

    You can read the full article on The New York Times website.

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  • apple,  ipad

    Magazine Subscriptons Coming to Apple’s iPad

    August 21, 2010 /

    It’s about time, seriously!  I have subscriptions to MacWorld, Time, and Entertainment Weekly and I’m looking forward to reading all of them in print and electronically on my iPad.  I have no idea if/when MacWorld and EW are coming to iPad.  So far, only People and Time are confirmed.  More electronic magazine subscriptions are likely to start showing up soon on the iPad if a report in Fortune is correct.

    AppleInsider.com writes:

    According to Philip Elmer-DeWitt of Fortune, Time Inc. broke the impasse  that has existed for months between publishers and Apple. He said that Time’s other publications are expected to follow the same path as People in the next 30 days, including Fortune, Time, and Sports Illustrated.

    “It’s not clear what took so long,” Elmer-DeWitt wrote. “Publishers who were encouraged to build iPad apps by Steve Jobs himself say they were ready from the start to make them free to subscribers. Until now, however, Apple would neither give them the tools they needed, nor explain what was holding them up.”

    He added: “The publishers still can’t sell subscriptions through the App Store, which is how they would prefer to do it.”

    If you have a subscription to People magazine, you can get the digital subscription goodness right now. [App Store link]

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  • apple,  iphone

    Quickly Identifying an iPhone 3G vs iPhone 3GS

    August 20, 2010 /

    This just goes to show that you really can learn something new everyday!  Today I learned how to tell an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 3GS apart without having to look at software, hardware rev numbers or any thing else.

    All you have to do is to take a look at the back of the iPhone.  If the lettering of the word “iPhone” is in chrome like the Apple logo above it, then you are looking at an iPhone 3GS.

    Thanks to the good folks at DirectFix.com for point this out.  You can read their blog post on the subject here.

    By the way, I’m still looking to buy someones iPhone 3G or 3GS as long as it is still in good working condition.

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  • apple,  blackberry,  blackberry os,  bold,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod,  rim,  torch,  touch

    Facebook Updated for iOS, BlackBerry OS

    August 19, 2010 /

    Along side the Facebook website upgrade, the iPhone and BlackBerry mobile Facebook applications have also been upgraded to versions 3.2 and 1.8.0.49, respectively.

    Use the App Store and BlackBerry App World to install or upgrade your software now.

    If you don’t want to use Facebook Places, or you want to keep your friends from checking you into Places, be sure to update your Facebook privacy settings.

    UPDATE:

    The iOS edition of Facebook has been updated again.  This time to version 3.2.1.  This latest updates includes “bug fixes” and limited the Places feature to iDevices here in the United States for the time being.

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