If you make heavy use of keyboard shortcuts, one of the biggest challenges is learning them on the Mac. Don't throw your Mac out the window yet! Thankfully, in many cases it’s simply shifting your pinky a couple of keys to the right.
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HP DeskJets are 20 years old today. My first non Commodore 64 printer was an HP DeskJet. That didn't feed papers properly or consistently. But I'm not bitter. And it has nothing to do with why I've used only Epson printers for the last 10 years.
Happy 10th Deathday Newton! 10 years ago today, Apple killed the Newton.
I once had a brush with Newton greatness. I attended the Newton Developer's Conference around 1994 to learn more about the platform. My employer at the time was considering it for a mobile reservations tool. We actually had a working prototype but it never got beyond that.
Anywhooo...
iTunes recently surpassed Best Buy to become the second largest music retailer in the United States. Only Wal*Mart sells more. Congrats, iTunes!
Apple quietly released Bubble Bash, a new game for iPod (the touchless versions). Combine bubbles of like colors to clear the board to earn points. I personally like this game as I've played in countless web-based versions.
Happy Tuesday! Apple rolled out long-awaited updates to the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines today.
MacBook Pro: Multi-touch trackpad, upgraded processors (Penryn), new video card w/512MB of memory.
MacBook: Upgraded processors (Penryn).
So if you were holding off, now is the time. Or wait another 260+ days for the next revision. :-)
Here's the process for downloading the new Community Games from Microsoft XBOX 360:
We just tried downloading RocketBall and the process is totally different than you'd expect. First you have to download the XNA Launcher, which is under New Arrivals in the Marketplace blade -- but you don't need a membership, so skip that, and the XNA ad that displays points you to the wrong thing, so ignore that as well. Then head over to the Games blade and select Games Library, but don't open the Launcher, cause it'll just kick you out. Instead, press Y to view the list of games and download one. So far the "YouTube of games" seems a bit convoluted -- hopefully the next Dashboard update makes this all a bit simpler.
I'm sure you were wondering why the sudden drop in price on the iPod Shuffle. Well, there's a 2GB iPod shuffle "coming soon" at the low-low price of $69. Not bad, Apple.
Get the 1GB iPod Shuffle for just $49! The price drop appears to be permanent.
I got an iPod Shuffle originally for working out (that didn't last) and now find it's great for doing yard work and such. Places you wouldn't want to take your iPhone or iPod but where you want to hear music. And at $49, I'll be slightly less upset if I break it.
Here's what your Mac is thinking when it's booting up:
Mike Kan created the video to visualize the Mac’s “boot-up sequence, initial program loader or phantom system, memory scans, hard drive signals and etc.” He used a custom designed board to create the visualization of what your Mac is thinking when booting, all in real-time.
via Macenstein
Google sees 50% more searches from iPhones than any other mobile handset. Not too surprising since the mobile web experience on any other phone sucks zebra testicles.
Yo, this Apple TV rocks! We're currently watching I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (mmmmm...Jessica Biel). Super easy, fast, and awesome picture quality.
Wait, did I start this post with "Yo"? Jeez...
Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh owns six Macs. He is having some problems with Leopard and needs your help.
While I do tend to lean more conservative, it's more middle-right. I'm not a fan of Rush. But he is a fellow Mac user and according to the code, we have to help him.
Verdict: Better than cable, not as good as Blu-Ray, but surprisingly good. This is news from iLounge who did a direct comparison.
I personally haven't tried renting a HD movie, but will soon. What's the point of a 50" plasma if you rent standard definition movies? :-)
Apple quietly released the Apple TV Take 2 update today. This update enables movie rentals without computer syncronization. The update takes about 5 minutes to download and about 20 minutes to update (for me anyway).
I've been surprisingly pleased with my Apple TV. The main reason I bought it was for movie rentals, but I've been using it to listen to my music collection, look at photos, and watch a few flicks I downloaded from iTunes.
I'll let you know how the movie rental thing comes out soon.
Finally! This one is a whopper with over 150 fixes. A few notable include increased Airport reliability, less translucent menus, option to turn off main menu transparency - oh hell, if you're really that interested, go to the information page on Apple's site.
To install, run Software Update.
The Apple intertubes are all abuzz about news that Apple has filed an extension to their trademark to handheld gaming devices, specifically:
Toys, games and playthings, namely, hand-held units for playing electronic games; hand-held units for playing video games; stand alone video game machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; toys, namely battery-powered computer games.
Dell had a 1.5TB external hard drive listed on their site for $67. Knowing that in all likeliness it was a typo, I still went ahead and ordered it. I've been looking to update one of my external drives as it is nearly full with Time Machine backups.
So it was really no surprise to me that Dell "modified" my order - by canceling it. But here's what really pissing me off. Read the response they send me:
Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your recent order.
We regret that, because of a pricing error, we have cancelled this order as it relates to a SimpleTech 1.5 TB Hi-Speed USB/eSata-300 Duo Pro External Hard Drive.
As you may have noticed, Dell specifically indicates on our web pages, catalogs, advertising and order-confirmation that Dell cannot be responsible for pricing or other errors, and reserves the right to cancel orders arising from such errors.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We truly value our relationship and reputation with our customers. Please be assured that we are working hard to avoid similar issues.
We invite you to visit www.dell.com or call 1-800-999-3355 if you wish to place an order for this product at its correct price.
Sincerely,
Dell
In addition to the new 16GB iPhone, Apple also launched a 32GB version of the iPod touch. It is priced at at $499.
Apple released a new version of the iPhone today sporting 16GB of storage. Priced at $499, the new version is identical feature-wise as the 8GB edition. This is not the 3G phone people are looking for. Perhaps later this year.
What? Apple IIc? This is awesome. A 1988 Apple IIc ceremonial unboxing - 20 years later. This guy bought a never-opened Apple IIc and took pictures of the unboxing - a popular blog post nowadays. Very cool.
In a move I thought only I would do, Mike Beauchamp left his beloved iPhone on the trunk of his car while overpaying for gas. And then drove away. With the iPhone on the trunk. By the time he realized what he did, he saw the iPhone get run over by a semi.
And the iPhone still works.
