Had a great conversation with Craig Crossman on his show Computer America. Tune in by clicking on Craig’s pic and logo. Thanks, Craig!
Archive for the 'Mac' Category
Downloading: That Other Way to Get a Video Game
By Joe Hutsko
Game downloading services have been around for years and are only just beginning to make a dent in sales of packaged game software.
On MSNBC: Hi “wow” factor: Apple’s Leopard upgrade is feature-rich
By Joe Hutsko
Also: Five coolest Leopard features
iRegret: Apple’s smartphone isn’t so smart
No measurable improvements to this remarkably inventive device
By Joe Hutsko
Also: Five cool iPhone apps you can’t use
From the sewing machine-sized luggable Compaq of yore, to the diminutive original Mac and those that followed, all-in-one computers aim to minimize clutter by bringing everything (computer, DVD drive and monitor) together in one neat package.
Apple’s newest iMac models, ranging in price from $1200 to $2,300, are less about breakthrough and more about refinement, and once again set a new standard with an all-in-one design that’s aesthetically pleasant enough to display in the family room rather than relegate to a spare room or home office.
The loaner iMac Apple sent me to test was the 20″ model (1680 by 1050 pixels), with a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 320GB hard disk, 2GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, bundled applications for Web browsing, e-mail, contact and calendar management and a host of media-centric programs.
Such fine design and bundled goodies cost two or three times the price of inexpensive Windows-based PCs or even Apple’s own Mac mini, the tiny white slab of a computer.
There is nothing junky about the new iMac, which trades its former white plastic casing and plastic screen for sleek aluminum and hardened, glossy glass.
It’s that latter element, the screen, which has already prompted a love it/hate reaction to the new iMac. I prefer glossy screens to matte and the new iMac is no exception. Turned off, the black screen reflects my visage with the clarity of a windowpane or dark mirror. Turned on, and my reflection vanishes, helped in part because I’ve stationed the iMac against the same wall as a window. Turned around, the iMac’s screen does pick up the window reflection, most noticeably around the wide black rectangle framing the screen.
The second dramatic change to the line, the keyboard, also runs the risk of turning off some potential buyers while turning on others. Candy bar-thin, the keyboard’s Chicklet-style keys respond to the same ultra-light touch as my MacBook’s keyboard. That part I like.
What I don’t like is how wide the new keyboard is on account of the right side cursor and page keys and 22-key numeric keypad. All of those extra keys mean positioning the wired scrolling Mighty Mouse half a foot away — a reach that causes a distinct stress in my right arm and shoulder.
Lefties won’t mind at all, but other right-handers like me may. To be fair, most any keyboard with a numeric keypad forces the same far-reaching mouse placement. Much nicer is Apple’s newly announced Wireless Keyboard (shipping in a few weeks), which eliminates the extra keys and cable, thereby closing the aching gap between hand and mouse.
Love or hate the keyboard and mouse, either or both can be swapped out for third-party alternatives such as those offered by Logitech, Belkin or Microsoft. Continue reading ‘Review: Apple’s new iMac’
A month after the iPhone began life as the most desired/derided tech gadget ever, the first update is available for download via iTunes. The update patches Safari security flaws which, left unfixed, make the iPhone vulnerable to hacks. Unfortunately the update includes none of the fixes or new features I and others are anxious to see, as described in my iPhone wish list (companion piece to my iPhone feature story for MSNBC.com).
In other update news, while pouring my own morning java fix my MacBook’s Software Update alerted me to two updates for my system: Safari 3 Beta Update 3.0.3, and Security Update 2007-007 (Intel) version 1.0. Information about the updates can be found on Apple’s web site.
Can the iPhone do double duty as a laptop?
Slick new phone proves it can go the distance as an all-in-one device
By Joe Hutsko
Also: iWish: iPhone updates we’d like to see
Love affair with iPhone cools when handset breaks
After four days with phone, trouble in paradise
By Joe Hutsko
Falling in lust with an expensive device like the iPhone sets owners up for a hard fall if it stops working. I know, because mine died after only four days into our relationship. Read the full story on MSNBC.com.
For some reason iTunes (on a Windows Vista PC, in this case) is having a problem syncing certain photos with my iPhone. I’ve created a separate iPhone folder for photos that I want to keep on the device, and filled it with 44 pictures for my test. But only 15 of the photos got transferred from the folder to the iPhone. What’s more, some of the photos that transferred are messed up, with weird errors, as shown with this one (bad resolution because I had to take it with a Nokia phone up close; I don’t have a digital camera).
Anyone else experiencing the same problem? Solutions? Comments welcome.
I wrote earlier today about my iPhone crapping out and replacing it, and at one point I was so worried that it was unusually hot I nearly challenged the heat by forming a little aluminum foil bed on which I’d rest a cracked open egg, to see if it would turn opaque. Well, this replacement phone is much cooler, I have to say, but I’m wondering if others have hot-handed iPhones that feel way too hot, and would like to hear if they stay safe or fail and wind up needing a fix. All comments welcome.
All the Films You Want to See, but When?
By Joe Hutsko
Downloading movies over a high-speed Internet connection offers the promise of convenience, but promise is the operative word for this new method.
Read the story on the New York Times.
Related: PODCAST
Tech Talk, June 20, 2007
Tom talks to writer Joe Hutsko about what it’s really like to download and watch movies from the various services vying to deliver video right to your PC or TV.
Five Safari for Windows tips
by Joe Hutsko
Apple this week jumped into the Windows Web browser world with Safari 3.0, available to download in beta form from apple.com/safari. Beloved by Mac users for its speed (but begrudged for incompatibilities with certain websites and features, including the inability to use those handy pop-up section navigations buttons on this site itself, for instance), Safari for Windows test-drivers will find some things old, some things new. Here are five tips to help you get started.
On MSNBC.com: Nike + iPod: Be all that iCan be? by Joe Hutsko
Also: Turn your iPod into a personal trainer & Five spring sports gadgets
In the story I mention how the lozenge-size sensor tucks into the Nike + running shoe, however you can also make clever use of Velcro to attach the sensor to your existing, non-Nike + runners. Better yet, I found a couple of inexpensive products that accomplish the same feet. Er, feat. See below.
It’s been more than a decade since I’ve written for MacWorld, and I’m happy to be back in the magazine with this story in the April, 2007 issue: Living a Second Life: Maximize your experience in the virtual world. Here’s a PDF version of the story as well.
This is a test, to see if I can post a blog entry directly from SOHO Notes for the Mac - particularly if it supports formatting, like italics, and bold. If so, cool. I may be using SOHO Notes more for my day to day work - non-fiction and creative/fiction - than I have in the past. It seems like a more functional way to bring lots of disparate information together, under one roof. It has a Palm sync option, so I’m covered on that front, and there’s also a Journal folder, and another for keeping track of Passwords - securely, I expect. A side feature is called Services, which lets you search for info in SOHO Notes much the way you search for system-wide information using Spotlight. A little panel in the lower right corner bearing the SOHO Notes tab pops open for quick access to SOHO Notes folders, and there’s also a clipboard feature for going back several steps to information copied to the clipboard, to paste as needed. That could come in handy. I also see a little key icon in the middle of the tabbed SOHO Notes pop-up window, and I’m guessing that is for access to the aforementioned passwords I’ve saved. Possibly more to come on this subject, as I continue to work with the program.
Update: I was not able to post to my blog as directly as I expected; I need to figure out an Atom API connection between SOHO Notes and my blog.
The Samsung BlackJack is beautiful to look at and the slightly rubberized finish feels nice in the hand. Using the main keyboard is pretty comfortable, however the center OK button and surrounding directional buttons often lead to mis-taps on either side.
The BlackJack’s screen is bright and ultra-sharp. Out of the box the phone syncs perfectly with Outlook. That means contacts, calendar and to-do items, emails - and thanks to an add-in extra, sticky notes, too. (For some reason Microsoft doesn’t offer Outlook sticky notes sync with Windows Mobile 5 as standard equipment, hence the helpful add-in that comes with the BlackJack.)
It’s worth mentioning that the BlackJack comes with two batteries, which suggests the battery life isn’t the greatest. Such was the case in my test of the phone, which meant I always had the extra one charging with the charger, and when at my desk I kept the phone plugged in to the USB cable to keep it charging at the same time. USB charging is always a nice touch, and one I appreciate on my Palm Treo 680 as well.
The BlackJack’s applications - Internet Explorer, Email, Media Player - run smoothly, but as with all Windows Mobile devices you may want to keep tabs on what’s running in memory, then manually cancel loaded but unused programs in order to maintain an overall snappier responsiveness when opening menus and operating programs. I’ve always found Windows Mobile devices a bit tricky to get used to, mostly because settings are scattered all over the place and require lots of hunting to get to exactly what you’re looking for, and the BlackJack was no exception.
Continue reading ‘Samsung BlackJack i607 review: Smart, sleek, but bound by data fees’
My gadgets, gear and game machine picks for TV Guide’s Holiday Gift Guide for 2006. Happy Holidays!
I’m writing this entry on a Nokia 6682 smartphone at my West Village neighborhood bar, WXOU Radio. This is one of the best phones I’ve ever used. The number of bars I get on Cingular are double what I ever got on a Treo, and the sound through both the earpiece or speakerphone is loud and clear. Standout features include a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash and 6x zoom that’s activated by sliding down a protective lens cover. Bluetooth lets me swap pictures and videos with my Mac PowerBook (or a PC with Bluetooth). It also lets me sync the 6682 with my Mac’s Address book, and iCal calendar items and tasks. Happily, iSync syncs all of my Address book fields, including two addresses, multiple phone numbers and email addresses, birthdays, and even photos for those contacts that have them, whereas some phones sync only some but not all of these fields.
Continue reading ‘Nokia’s 6682 Smartphone: Your Office in Your Pocket’
…was quite a stunner in person when I spent time with it and some nice Apple folks at the Le Parker Meridian Hotel here in Manhattan today. The MacBook is especially attractive to a guy like me who believes (small) size matters when it comes to easily working out of the house in a cafe or when traveling, vs. a bigger screen and the bigger stress it puts on the shoulder (and wallet).
Enter Apple’s new MacBook with its spectacularly bright 13-inch widescreen that’s got the shiny finish I prefer over the anti-glare screen of the workhorse PowerBook G4 12″ (1.5 GHz) I’ve been using for more than a year now.
Continue reading ‘Apple’s Not Too Hot (to handle) MacBook…’
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