Ultimate Apple

Long before I started studying design, I knew Apple knew good design. Or is that Jobs? Most of Apple’s best designs have come under his two reigns. And yet Steve is not a designer. If anything, he is a marketer. But a marketer with a very rare quality…

More: continued here

In an interview at Melbourne’s linux.conf.au conference, Linus Torvalds called the standard file system of Mac OS X “complete and utter crap.” Mac fans are only slightly outraged, pointing out that HFS+ isn’t really “complete and utter crap,” rather, it’s just slightly crap-ish.

More: continued here

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Apple, iPhone

Tonight, Apple released two new iPhone commercials in the standard iPhone-esqe style — Facebook and Cars. In these two commercials, Apple expounds on features that have already been introduced in older commercials. This is the first time that Apple has shown a web application on the iPhone in a commercial. Apple announces in the commercial, “If you love Facebook so much that you check it all the time on your computer, just think how great it would be to check it every time… you’re, well, nowhere near your computer.”

Oddly enough, with the two new iPhone commercials, there is no mention of the new 16GB model that was just released today.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

A rumor posted Tuesday on a Microsoft enthusiast site suggests that Redmond will support Windows running on Intel-based Macs in BootCamp.

More: continued here

Filed under: Software Update, Leopard

Today, Apple released the Braille Display Update 1.0 for VoiceOver in Leopard. VoiceOver, part of the Universal Access family of accessibility tech, allows blind or visually impaired users to hear what’s on the screen. Via the new update, when you connect a compatible Braille display, “VoiceOver automatically detects it and sends it information about what is displayed on the screen.” This update adds new support for certain Braille displays, including the HandyTech Braille Star 8, GW Micro BrailleSense, and more.

This update is available for users of Mac OS X Leopard by using Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the installer package from the Apple support downloads site. If you’re currently using a Braille screenreader under Leopard — or you were waiting for support for your screenreader via this update — drop us a comment to let us know if the update makes a difference for you.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Apple, iPhone

According to a recent Macworld UK post, the Mac’s sales are surging, and Apple has ramped up production on the Mac lines. Macworld received its information from recent Banc of America Securities research, which leads to the conclusion that along with raising Mac production, Apple has lowered production on the iPod lines (keeping in mind that this research predates the product announcements today). According to researchers, the production orders of Macs rose nearly 20%, while the production orders of the iPod fell 10-20%. The analyst speculates that Apple will be seeing an increasing demand for Macs.

On a related note, Macworld UK also posted about the Mac and iPhone online usage being slightly up. The post states that Apple’s hardware accounted for 7.57% of internet traffic for the month of January. iPhone traffic was also up, .13%, of total traffic from .12% in December. The iPod touch accounted for a whopping 0.04% of internet traffic. Contrast this with Windows Mobile traffic, which accounts for .06% — Macworld states that this figure has remained constant since June 2007, which (oddly enough) is when the iPhone was released.

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Filed under: Software Update

In the hustle and bustle of product introductions today, another couple of software updates slipped out the door. The 16 MB iPhoto 7.1.2 update promises the “overall stability” we all crave, while the ProKit update (no link on Apple’s site yet) “improves reliability for Apple’s professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and Logic Express.”

Meanwhile, in a separate security bulletin (link as in the image), Apple acknowledged an iPhoto vulnerability that would allow a maliciously-crafted photocast to hijack your machine, if you were to subscribe to it; said vulnerability is now fixed in 7.1.2. Yikes. Full details after the jump.

Your mileage, as always, may vary.

Thanks Erik!

Continue reading iPhoto and ProKit updates hitting today

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Valentines is coming up, what are you planning to get the Mac Fanatic in your life?
Considering the slew of Apple products out there, it would be simple to just pick up your loved one an Apple TV or an iPod. But for those of you pressed for money, here are a few things you can [...]

More: continued here

One of the most sought after applications since Leopard was released has finally been updated.
Shirt Pocket’s SuperDuper! backup application received a big update today, with the biggest feature being that it is now Leopard compatible.
For many, SuperDuper! has become somewhat obsolete with Leopard’s Time Machine feature, but other users who would prefer more control over [...]

More: continued here

Filed under: iPod Family, Video

If you watched last weekend’s Super Bowl (the height of American Football), you probably saw Tide’s “Talking Stain” ad. It was one of the better ones; a man trying to conduct an interview is distracted by a nagging stain on the interviewee’s shirt.

Today, Tide has launched a contest encouraging people to make their own “mocking stain” ads. Among the prizes are 34 limited edition Tide-themed iPod Classics. The size isn’t listed, but they’re described in the official rules as having a value of $300US, so we assume it’s the 80GB model.

This isn’t the first time Tide has released a special iPod. Last year, they gave away orange nanos in conjunction with the St. Bernard Project in New Orleans. This got us thinking about other limited edition iPods we’ve seen.

• In 2006, French radio station Nostalgie gave away 100 limited-edition Michael Jackson iPods
• Two years ago, the Japanese company RUN’A sold 1,000 “Snoopy” iPod nanos
• Last September, Target (a discount department store in the US) sold pink iPod Shuffles to support the Breast Cancer Foundation
• Finally, who could forget the granddaddy of special iPods, the U2 model.

Good luck making your stain ad, and let us know if you win one of these.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here