Applemorphic

Software update has been busy. Soon after updates to all the iLife and iWork applications for Aperture compatibility, Mac OS X 10.4.8 arrived. It appears that this update primarily improves reliability in Finder, iTunes, and Preview, and some networking, printing and third-party applications. More details are available here on the Apple website.

One of the things I love about the Mac is the tight integration of iLife and iWork applications. Adding a photo from my iPhoto Library to a Keynote presentation is a snap: simply click the media button in the toolbar, select a photo and drag it to the slide. But what about adding a photo to a Mail message (without launching iPhoto), or embedding a song from iTunes in a TextEdit file?

Thanks to this tip posted a while back over at MacOSXHints.com, you can access your iTunes and iPhoto libraries no matter what application you’re in through the scripts menu in the menu bar. The best thing about it for me is the ability to quickly drop photos into an email. It’s easy to implement, so give it a try.

I’ve written a few posts about the long-rumored and much-anticipated iPhone, including this article, in which I describe how you can make your Treo 650 work as your iPhone. Tips included using zLauncher and one of their Mac OS X skins, PocketTunes and an iTunes skin, and The Missing Sync to sync iPhoto and iTunes libraries, Office for Mac files via Documents to Go, Address Book contacts, iCal calendars and much more. I’m eagerly anticipating the iPhone because I think that Apple will do an outstanding job with the total user experience, including both hardware and software. But by implementing all of the tools described in my earlier post, I really do feel as though my Treo is an extension of my Mac. Read the rest of this entry »

I visited .mac this morning to check email, and was greeted by this preview of .mac’s webmail application. Finally! This webapp has needed a refresh for a long time, and the preview seems to conincide with the upcoming renewal of many .mac paid accounts. Now Apple needs to focus on fixing the bugs in it’s desktop Mail application, which doesn’t play well with IMAP. (I took a screenshot of the preview page in case it disappears; I haven’t been able to get it back without direct linking.)

BusinessWeek’s Aaron Ruby thinks that the iTV may be a Trojan Horse of sorts, allowing Apple to sneak a gaming device into the living room. I don’t know much about gaming, either on consoles like the PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo families, and I have little doubt that the iTV will ultimately play games on the living room TV. But I somehow doubt that the iTV represents any serious effort by Apple or challenge to the big three game console combatants. At least I hope not; that would appear on it’s surface to be a weak effort at best.

ThinkSecret reports today that Apple’s iPhone will indeed be launched in 2007, and that it will be a Cingular exclusive for it’s first six months. This has a variety of implications, foremost in my mind that, 1) I was wrong; and 2) I’ll have to switch back from Verizon after making the most last January.

In his blog for ZDnet, titled The Apple Core, longtime Apple watcher Jason O’Grady writes about what iTunes can learn from Aperture 1.5. I couldn’t agree more, but I think Jason buried the lead a bit. Apple needs to get serious about syncing.
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The Unofficial Apple Weblog is providing live coverage of today’s Apple event at Photokina. So far, Apple has released Aperature 1.5. Keep up with the proceedings here.

There is mounting evidence that the iTV will support 802.11n. Heck, it appears that some Macs already do. Macrumors.com notes that one of their readers has identified the wireless card in the newest Mac Minis as a Broadcom 802.11n card. I’ve written about the iTV before, here, here, and here. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll start with hyperbole. Quicksilver is perhaps the most useful software you will ever install on your Mac. Exagerrated? Maybe. To be taken literally? You bet.

Here’s why Quicksilver gets such rave reviews, from this author and many others. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier I wrote about the rumored Apple iPhone, suggesting that Apple will brand it, Airport, and other technologies under a new Apple Wireless sub-brand. So on a whim, I checked out AppleWireless.com, which is a blog about “Apple Computer’s [sic] efforts in the mobile phone industry.” Interestingly, the last post on this blog was published on April 13, after some decent activity in March and April. Read the rest of this entry »

As I was writing my previous post about Apple’s iPhone strategy, I realized that in many respects, I already have an iPhone. How is this possible? Let me explain.

I’ve got a Treo 650 from Verizon Wireless. I know, I know. It’s not an Apple device, and it doesn’t have the design quality and features that Apple is likely to include in an iPhone. But here’s how you can make your Treo as close to an iPhone as possible. Read the rest of this entry »

“Sources report to Thinksecret.com that Apple’s iPhone is on track to be released in January, this after the company faced numerous difficult technological and engineering hurdles. The phone is said to feature a 3 megapixel camera, 2.2 inch display and complete iTunes integration.” read more | digg story

I hope this is true. Like I was with the original iPod, I’ll be one of the first to buy an iPhone. But Apple has some serious strategic, technical and design issues to address before successfully launching the long-rumored and much-anticipated Apple mobile phone. In many respects, launching a phone is significantly more complex than launching an MP3 player. Here are a few of the hurdles Apple must get past. Read the rest of this entry »

The iPod Observer has some notes from Bob Iger’s statements yesterday related to Apple, iTunes and the iTV. It appears that Disney has sold quite a few copies of the 75 movies they launched on the iTunes Store last week, and Iger lets it slip that the iTV has a hard drive. Why are these important bits for Apple? Read the rest of this entry »

At one point, iPhoto set the standard for consumer photo management software. It may still, but others offer many of the same features and ease-of-use for which iPhoto has become known for. With the birth of my daughter, I started using a couple of iPhoto features more regularly. Here’s how I’m starting to get a lot more out of iPhoto: Read the rest of this entry »