Posts Tagged: Apple
17
Sep 09
Podcast Live
First DesignCast from the creator of RossHetherington.com discussing the new 3.0 blog and the love of Apple products with a highlight on what was discussed on the 09/09/09 Keynote by Steve Jobs.
10
Sep 09
iPod intergration
Due to the new iPod 3.1.1 update I can now bring you unparalleled updates to my blog. I have wordpress beta on my iPod and there is a version of my blog tailored to he needs of mobile users. More on this and feedback from apples 09/09/09 keynote later on.
3
Jul 09
On the Road to Architecture Part 4
I do believe it is about time for me to update you lovely people about my journey to university and my chosen subject to read of Architecture. At the last contact I had been made an offer by both BIAD and Oxford Brookes for architecture courses and I was thinking about the technology that I needed to acquire to do this course.
On the offer front I have made BIAD my first choice for architecture on my UCAS form, this is mainly because I feel as a university it has a much better feel that at Oxford. Even though Oxford is a nicer area for my studies I believe it has to be Birmingham all the way. Some people may be confused by this decision over a ‘higher’ placed university, but that university did not fit me and it also did not fit my ethos of an environment that should make you happy the second you walk in, much as what Birmingham provided me.
In terms of technology, I do believe I will be purchasing a Macbook Pro sometime soon as at the moment they are running a free iPod Touch offer and printer rebate. That all sounds lovely and inviting for me. I may in the future by an iPhone but it depends on my financial situation.
Talking about finanaces I have a good solid chunk of money coming my way, courtesy of the student finance people. As I am not staying in Birmingham this should tide me over nicely.
My next update should be after my A level results.
17
May 09
Tecnology Decisions
Although I should be thinking about exams, I am more interested in the various pieces of technology that I wish to acquire before I go off to university for architecture, providing I meet the grades.
The decision of a main laptop is a hard one, I want an Apple Macbook but I cannot justify the £1000 price tag plus all the extra stuff you need to ensure it is secure for the first 3 years. So the decision mainly comes crumbling down to a Dell but I have been so frustrated by their machines I may just have to splash the cash on such a device.
Now because going to Birmingham and back with a Apple is going to be some slog even though they are not heavy, I think a netbook may be in order. It can do all the writing capabilities of the Mac but will weigh so much less. This will be good for days where pure theory lectures are happening and when I don’t need to be creative. There is that option or I could purchase an iPhone although I would loose the word processing functionality it would still allow me to be in contact where ever I am and on the move.
The decisions of these products are going to be expensive but hopefully I can work it out after my exams. My iPhone decision may become answered when the 3rd gen of it is announced next month.
7
Jan 09
Boring Macworld
The event that promises us so much, I actually got excited when they said they were going to talk ‘all about mac.’ But I simply forgot that means software to, so although there are now new versions of iLife and iWork they didn’t really need to show them off in such a big way, surely conveying through their website would be better. As for the Macbook Pro 17″ it’s a nice addition, but it needed to have a little bit more for its price such as a better graphics card or a quad core processor, it seems like a lack luster update.
Where was the Mac Mini the little thing is far behind in industrial design and technology now it needed updating more than anything else. Surely they could of come up with something to say about it, because atm it is simply an expensive slow box.
Boring boring Apple.
6
Jan 09
Raft of New Products (Macworld 2009)
Macworld this year was a good one, Steve Jobs may of been absent but Phil Shiller took to the stage with a great opening line.
“Good morning. I’m so excited to deliver the Macworld 09 keynote. I’m so glad you all showed up.”
iLife 09
They were talking all about Mac this Macword, their first new product to offer for iLife 09 which was to be expected. It has some new ‘events’ one such as faces which uses face detection to discover people in different photos which is kind of cool. As well as this a feature that allows you to tag by places, called ‘Places’ will be added to iPhoto – this uses geotagging in the latest raft of digital equipment of mobile phones to record the long/lat of where somewhere is. If you don’t have GPS, iPhoto has a selection of thousands of places to tag against – it has a built in map system like Google Maps. iPhoto now connects directly to both Facebook and Flickr which is a brilliant idea and it updates when people update the tags on these websites.
When you run a slideshow, it uses the face detection technology to cut out people an place them into different events. Such as Phil making pictures flap in and out of an iPod advert.
iMovie 09 sets to right the wrongs of the last version, Apple actually admitting they did something wrong for one reminds me of the grovel they did when AppleTV was un-successful.
Phil showed off some of the new features of iMovie09, such as dynamic themes and animated travel maps but also a nifty image stabilisation system with no loss of quality. An engineer Randy Ubillos showed off some of the advanced features such as a great drag and drop tool which immediately splices the video to fit it in, the same with sound on the video. The technology used for this is complex but it is what everyone wants, simple drag and drop slicing and choosing the best clip.
One feature of Garageband 09 was shown called ‘Learn to Play’ it allows you to learn how to play an instrument of choice – such as a guitar, keyboard etc etc. They use videos some are even done by people from the real music industry such as Sting for example which is a neat idea – however these have to be purchased from their online store which means it is probably likely to fail or sell slowly.
It will be shipping soon for the usual price, with all new macs blah blah.
iWork 09 (joy)
This is just going to be a summary because it is like explaining Office, it works well and you have to buy it because all of your friends will use Keynotes. Some good stuff such as the Keynote remote, which uses the iPhone/touch to control the pages as they go through.
iWork.com
Like Google Docs only by Apple, it is only in Beta mode for feedback reasons but it pretty much is the same thing. Apple do seem to be trying to eat into their business partners share of the online space that is only a bad thing with Google.
17″ Macbook Pro
Great news a new laptop is out the 17″, massive screen with Matte display now. Unibody like the rest of them, this i’m sure will be a hit with the designers out there who can afford one of these beasts. Has up to 8gb of ram onboard with the latest graphics systems – it’s looking good.
It has apparently the longest battery life ever, with over 8 hours usage this is pretty good considering the size of the screen and what it will be used for. It ofcourse like the rumours said it would be non-removable, it is pretty impressive tech and I am sure the video they showed will be appearing alongside the new product online. Along with their eco message saying that it will not hurt the earth in one little bit, because the battery lasts longer blah blah. I am sure the battery company working for apple is very pleased with this new component for the laptop it is pretty revolutionary.
iTunes
iTunes is going DRM free atlast 
5
Jan 09
Letter from Steve Jobs
The rumours as to why Steve is unable to do Macworld have appeared to be true, as the Apple CEO has posted a short statement on his health on their website. It reads as follows.
Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.
I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.
I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.
So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve
1
Jan 09
Prediction for Macworld
As we know Steve (Jobs) is not going to be doing the keynote at the last Macworld to be participated by Apple Inc. This could be down to healthreasons or it could be a fantastical snub to a conference/expo that has treated them well, I would probably go with the former. So this year Phil Shiller will be taking the reins like he does more and more now so I would expect less fantastical products to be coming out of the computer company from California.
My predictions of products at Macwordwell the two most likely candidates would be the Cinema displays and the Mac Mini, both are in desperate need of a redesign. First the cinema displays, their design should have the same design cues as the Macbooks and the iMac with the black banding around the screen and no doubt some environmental credentialsto go along with their new LED backlightdisplay. The second one for re-design would be the Mac Mini which will probably become a uni-body product or a product like the Time Capsule, witha HDMI or HD output witha greater focus on plugging a TV into it. It will no doubt like all new machines come with a decent Intel processor and the new nvidia graphics chip. A preview of Snow Leopard may be shown or kept for a later date, but probably retained as it will most likely be released in the summer of this year.
As for other potential updates, one could be the iMac which should see some specification changes but I do not think there will be many design changes to it. There may be room for an iPod development although I think this would be reserved for the summer and October keynotes from Steve – such as the rumoured iPhone Nano or the larger iPod Touch.
There has been some rumours of a coloured iPhone with some pictures appearing of a pink iteration.
We will see when Macworld starts on the 6th January.