• app store,  apple,  mac,  mac os x,  macbook pro

    Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Impressions

    June 7, 2011 /

    Apple is packing 250 new features into the next version of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and most prominent among them are muli-touch gestures.

    With iOS, we have been taught how to interact with a computer through touch.  With Mac OS X Lion, Apple is bringing all of the same core concepts to our MacBooks, and desktop Macs via the Magic Mouse and Magic TrackPad.

    Interestingly, Apple reporting that well over 60% of their Mac sales are MacBooks, so if you feel that all this muti-touch stuff favors the notebook family — I’d have to agree with you.  I’m not sure how how well these new features will play out, say with a Magic Mouse which looks to have about half of the surface area as the track pad on my 17-inch MacBook Pro.

    Regardless, of how you interact with your Mac, I’m less worried that Apple is trying to “dumb down” Mac OS X to work more like the iPhone.  I think today’s announcement of new Mac OS X features are impressive and that I’d most of them.

    In addition to Multi-Touch, Apple demoed nine other tent pole features, including: Full-Screen Apps, Misson Control, the new Mac App Store,  Launchpad, Resume, Auto Save, Versions, AirDrop, and a redesigned Mail application.  Mac OS X 10.7 Lion will go on sale in July for $29.99 and will be sold exclusively via the Mac App Store.  Once you purchase Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, you will be able to install it on any Mac that you own and have setup your Apple ID account on.  Additionally, for those people who need it, Mac OS X Server is now a separate applications bundle you buy from the Mac App Store.  The server bundle is expected to cost about $50 and it is no longer a separate operating system that you have to purchase.

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  • apple,  ios,  itunes,  mac os x,  mobileme

    30-second Initial Reaction to Apple’s WWDC Announcements

    June 6, 2011 /

    I was stuck in a staff meeting during the live steam of Apple’s WWDC keynote today, so I’ve gone through great lengths to avoid media coverage and my Apple loving family, friends, and co-workers so I can go in cold when I watch the video steam of today’s event.

    After spending about 30 seconds on Apple’s website, here is my initial reaction to today’s news.

    • iOS 5.0 and iCloud will go live this fall.
    • Mac OS X 10.7 Lion will go on sale in July for $30; appears to be electronic download only.
    • There is no iTunes or other Mac OS X software updates available today.
    • From the Apple.com website, it wasn’t clear if there was any changes to MobileMe starting today.
    Like I said, this is a 30 second impression from quickly skimming the Apple website and taking a look at what updates appeared in the Mac OS X Software Update control panel and what is being featured in the Mac App Store.

    You can watch today’s keynote address now as a steaming video from the Apple website.

    I’ll have more impressions and comments as soon as I can sit down and watch today’s WWDC keynote address.
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  • hp,  palm os,  web os

    HP Replaces Palm.com with HPwebOS.com

    June 3, 2011 /

    The Palm brand, my dear friends, has come to an end.

    While the Palm brand has been around for a very long time, today, HP has taken down the main palm.com website and replaced it with the HPwebOS.com website.  The new site shares the same black styling as the main HP.com website.  (I’m not a fan of HP’s website, just for the record.)

    While the main Palm site is gone, the blog.palm.com and developer.palm.com websites are still active, however, it is clearly only a matter of time before HP’s web design team swoops in and changes things around there too.

    This is kind of a sad day, really.  I’m going to miss the Palm brand.

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  • amazon,  android,  apps,  google

    PopCap Plants vs. Zombies Free in Amazon Android App Store

    June 1, 2011 /

    Amazon.com is offering PopCap’s zombie shooter, Plants vs. Zombies for Google Android devices free today only.

    Normally, $2.99, Amazon is giving away copies for Plants vs. Zombies for people who sign up for their new AppStore for Android.  To get started, you need to enter your phone’s telephone number or email address from the Amazon.com website.  You will receive a new text message or email with the link to download and install the Appstore for Android application on your device and then you can download the game.

    Plants vs. Zombies is a fun game in which you plant flowers and other forms of vegetation to prevent the zombie horde from making it inside your house.  I’m not exactly what you call a zombie or horror film fan, but don’t let the name of this app scare you away.  The plants and zombies that show up through out the game are loads of cartoon-y fun.

    A word of caution before you go hog wild downloading and installing applications on your Droid smartphone.  To install the Appstore for Android application, you must first turn on the ability to install applications for other sources than the Google Android Market.  While this step is not dangerous in and of itself, it does require that you be more vigilant about what software you install on your device because you are turning of a feature that Google perceived to be a security concern; if it the security is to address customer lock-in to the Android Market.

    For more details and to download Plants vs. Zombies, head over to Appstore for Amazon website.

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  • apple,  mac os x

    Briefly Noted: Apple Releases Defense for MacDefender Malware

    May 31, 2011 /

    Apple has released Security Update 2011-003 today with the express purpose of protecting Macs from the MacDefender malware.  If the update is installed on a Mac that is already infected, the update will remove the malware program.

    Malware removal
    Available for: Mac OS X v10.6.7, Mac OS X Server v10.6.7
    Impact: Remove the MacDefender malware if detected
    Description: The installation process for this update will search for and remove known variants of the MacDefender malware. If a known variant was detected and removed, the user will be notified via an alert after the update is installed. Additional information is available in this Knowledge Base article:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4651

    Security Update 2011-003 is available now from the Software Update control panel or from the Apple Support Downloads page.

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  • apple,  ios,  mac os x,  mobileme

    Steve Jobs to Deliver WWDC 2011 Keynote Address

    May 31, 2011 /

    Apple today confirmed that CEO Steve Jobs will be on hand, along with other top executives, for the 2011 World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC).

    Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch; and iCloud, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

    I’m really looking forward to what Apple has in store for us with regard to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iCloud.  Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is close to a golden master (GM) release with several pre-release beta builds having already gone out to developers already.  Many are speculating that Lion will go on sale in the next few weeks.  Rumors have also been circulating for a while now that the iCloud service, a potential repackaging of MobileMe, will offer more free services as well as a new option to stream your purchases from Apple’s servers.

    iOS 5.0, the next major release of Apple’s mobile operating system, which is based on the same core as Mac OS X, will likely become available in the next 90 days after it is formally introduced at next week’s developer event.

    [Via Apple.com…]

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  • att,  ios,  ipad

    Wait, what? What?! iPad 2 Can Be Used As a Wi-Fi Hotspot?

    May 29, 2011 /

    My wife booked us on a low key, no tech summer vacation.  What? No Internet access for a week?  Clearly, she is trying to kill me for the insurance money.

    Ok, that was probably was a little bit over the top, but a week without Internet access for me is like serving a prison sentence of life without parole.

    So I started looking at Mi-Fi hot spot access points.  I wanted to buy a cheap one and then slap enough data service on it to last me the week.  While I was looking at the AT&T offerings, I came across a note that suggests that the iPad 2, just like the AT&T iPhone 4, can be used as a Wi-Fi hot spot.

    “AT&T offers several convenient billing options, none of which require a long-term contract.  Customers can choose between AT&T’s prepaid billing options, which are charged to a credit card account, or recently announced postpaid plans that can be added to customers’ existing monthly wireless statements.

    Customers may choose from the following options.

    Monthly statements:  $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB.  Customers who exceed their monthly data allotment will be billed $14.99 for another 250MB on the $14.99 plan or $10 per 1 GB of overage on the 2 GB plan.

    Credit card billing:  $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB.  Customers who exceed their monthly data allotment may choose to purchase another 250 MB on the $14.99 plan or purchase an additional 2 GB for $25 on the 2 GB plan.

    Both options are month-to-month and do not require a long-term commitment.

    The Personal Hotspot feature being introduced with iOS 4.3 is also available to customers who choose the $25 plan plus a $20 tethering option that provides an extra 2 GB of data.”

    So it looks like you can use an iPad 2 as a Mi-Fi hot spot if you have the $25/month 2GB data plan and then pay an additional $20 for another 2GB data block for a total combined monthly data limit of 4GB.

    Unlike a Mi-Fi puck, I know I ‘d be using the iPad 2 all the time and I like the idea of being able to go month-to-month with the iPad 2 service plan and still be able to add the Wi-Fi hot spot connection when I need to.

    You can read the full AT&T Wireless press release on the AT&T website.

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  • app store,  games,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  mac os x,  popcap,  touch

    Plants vs. Zombies HD on Sale

    May 29, 2011 /

    PopCap’s popular game Plants vs. Zombies HD for iPad and iPad 2 is on sale right now for $1.99 (iTunes link).  PvZ, as it is often referred to, is normally $6.99.

    If you haven’t played before, the premise is that you control a variety of plants and mushrooms to stop the zombie horde that is invading your yard from the cemetery across the street.  Oh, and your neighbor, Crazy Dave shows up every now and again to sell you more seeds and other important upgrades.  The best part of the game, for me anyway, are all of the wonderful plants and things in your zombie busting arsenal.  It’s hard to look cute and slightly irritated all at the same time.

    Sounds weird, I know.  Until you play it.  My kids and I started off playing the web version, and I decided that we like the game enough to buy the Mac OS X version.  For a while there, I was super addicted to the game because I wanted to make it all the way to the end of the game and not get stuck on a tough level.

    PopCap also has a version of PvZ for the iPhone/iPod touch for $2.99 (iTunes link).  You can also purchase the Mac OS X version from the Mac App Store for $9.99 (App Store link) or, if you’re on a Windows PC, you can purchase the game directly from the PopCap website.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98v7Jq6IFrE]

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  • android,  google,  maps

    Google Updates Maps for Android

    May 26, 2011 /

     Today, Google released Maps 5.5.0 for Android powered smartphones.

    According the Android Market web page for Maps, there are only three things included in the update.  They are:

    • Check in and check out directly from Place pages.
    • Change your Latitude work and home addresses.
    • See the redesigned transit station pages.

    I find myself using the Maps application, and the Navigation feature, a lot more than I though I would when I was issued a Motorola Droid Pro for work.

    For more details, check the Android Market.

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