All Blogs > Macworld Team

Macworld Team

>> Postings for February 2009

We are CBS, we are the world

Sat, 28 Feb 2009

Full marks to CBS, the US television network, who this week announced plans to open up its hit shows, streamed on the Internet, to the rest of us.

For anyone living in the UK who loves US drama, comedies and chat shows, it can be a frustrating experience knowing only your postcode is stopping you from watching online.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Pumped about Corel Painter

Sat, 28 Feb 2009

Earlier this week, Corel rolled out a new version of Painter, its painting software. I’m always excited to see a new version of Corel Painter.

And even though I’m often hard-pressed to lay a straight line down on paper, I can easily see what the fuss is about. Whether you’re a professional artist, you simply like to doodle around with pastels, crayons, and colored pencils (my favourite), or you get your kicks out of applying painterly effects to photos, Painter 11 has a unique appeal.

Jackie Dove | Read more...


MacSpeech Dictate 1. 3 - Inarticulate speech of the heart

Fri, 27 Feb 2009

This week the MacSpeech Dictate team released an update of the only speech recognition software for the Mac.

The MacSpeech Dictate update 1.3 is the usual mix of new features, changes and bug fixes designed to make talking to your computer more pleasure than chore.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Add a sixth star to Apple iTunes ratings

Fri, 27 Feb 2009

If you use iTunes as often as I do, you probably use it to rate your songs. I use iTunes’ star ratings to record my favorites, and also to find and sort my tracks. But sometimes five stars just aren’t enough.

For me, five stars means “I love this song,” but there is a difference between songs that I love and songs that I consider my all-time favourites. And sometimes, I’d like a way to find these special songs without having to sort through tons of other top-rated songs.

Perceval McElhearn | Read more...


Apple shareholders' meeting makes for an interesting trip

Thu, 26 Feb 2009

Over the past decade, I’ve been to Apple’s Cupertino headquarters many times for assorted product launches (the original iPod and OS X, to name a couple) and PR briefings. But Wednesday’s trip for the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting was a new experience for me.

As I approached the media table, backpack in tow, I was informed that no laptops are allowed inside (apparently standard practice at such events - my bad). So much for taking notes on my MacBook.

Jonathan Seff | Read more...


Five takeaways from Apple’s shareholder meeting

Thu, 26 Feb 2009

Apple held its annual shareholder meeting at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters Wednesday. Apple’s all about making things user-friendly—so, in that spirit, we’ve boiled its meeting down to five main points. The highlights follow. Note-taking is optional.

1. Steve Jobs wasn’t there. But he’ll be back.

JR Raphael | Read more...


Google gives Safari a kick in the pants

Wed, 25 Feb 2009

Tuesday's release of a Safari 4 public beta is a radical departure from previous Apple interfaces, not just in Safari but in Mac OS X as a whole.

Out goes the standard Mac OS X window bar, replaced by a window bar that serves double duty as browser tabs by sectioning itself up into smaller segments.

Jason Snell | Read more...


Mac mini meets Apple Disk II drive

Wed, 25 Feb 2009

Given that I'm a child of the 1980s, my first exposure to Apple was my school's Apple IIe's and IIc's. Many an hour was spent playing Paws typing and the Picadilly matching game.

As such, probably the first Apple peripheral I encountered was the Woz-designed Apple Disk II.

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


Steve Jobs turns 54

Tue, 24 Feb 2009

While Steve Jobs may not currently be acting as CEO of Apple, he’ll always be CEO of our hearts. To that end, we here at Macworld wanted to extend our warmest birthday wishes to the man behind so many of the products that make our everyday lives a joy.

Or, at least, helps us forget about the black hole of despair that the rest of our existence embodies.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Why netbooks are killing Microsoft

Tue, 24 Feb 2009

When Microsoft laid off 5,000 people in January, analysts and pundits pointed to plenty of reasons for the first major layoffs in the company’s history. The obvious culprits included the overall economic meltdown, Apple’s continued success and Wall Street’s desire to see a leaner Microsoft.

But the real cause of the layoffs can be summed up in a single word: netbooks. These lightweight, stripped-down laptops that sell for between $200 and $400 have taken a big chunk out of Microsoft’s bottom line.

Preston Gralla | Read more...


UK Oscar no show highlights wonders of the Web

Mon, 23 Feb 2009

If you were up late Sunday night, into Monday morning, mug of cocoa in hand hoping to see the Brits triumph in the 81st annual Academy Awards you would have been disappointed.

The BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and five had no sign of live coverage.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Alleged Next-Gen Mac Mini Photo Sets Off Speculation

Mon, 23 Feb 2009

A photo supposedly of the next version of Apple's Mac Mini is starting to make the rounds on Apple-related discussion forums.

A user named Monthy submitted the photo to a thread on the Macrumors forum.

Ian Paul | Read more...


U2 album leaked; only U2 surprised

Sun, 22 Feb 2009

Now you can find what you're looking for: U2's new album, "No Line on the Horizon," has leaked onto bit torrent sites and is spreading across the Internet.

Getmusic.com.au, an Australian branch of Universal Music, accidentally posted the album for sale before catching the mistake. One quick and lucky fan nabbed it and posted it on the Web, where its CD-quality tracks are now spreading by the thousands.

Brennon Slattery | Read more...


Ngmoco teaches old dog simulator new tricks with iPhone pets

Fri, 20 Feb 2009

For its latest iPhone diversion, developer Ngmoco aims to give iPhone and iPod touch owners all the joys of having their very own pet with almost none of the housebreaking.

The newly announced Touch Pets Dogs promises to combine the connectivity of a social network with the fun of playing with puppies- creating a pet simulator game for a new generation.

Chris Holt | Read more...


So long Zavvi and thanks for all the box sets

Thu, 19 Feb 2009

This week another high-profile high-street store closed its doors for the last time as Zavvi, the CD, DVD and games retailer shut up shop.

Hit by the collapse and eventual closure of Woolworths and the economic downturn, Zavvi called in the Administrators Ernst & Young on Christmas Eve last year.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Mozilla, Skype support DMCA jailbreaking exemption

Thu, 19 Feb 2009

Following up on Apple’s objection to a proposed DMCA exemption for jailbreaking cell phones, two major software vendors, the Mozilla Corporation and Skype Communications, have filed their own papers in support of the proposal by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

In its three page statement (PDF link), Mozilla argued that users should be allowed to jailbreak their handsets in order to use legitimately acquired software.

Dan Moren | Read more...


The future of CDs

Wed, 18 Feb 2009

I’ve got lots of CDs. Thousands of them. But when I look at the wall of discs in my home-office, I see the past; I see dinosaurs and dodos. For when I buy a CD, the first thing I do is slip it into my Mac Pro and rip it in iTunes. Then I file it on my wall.

Now most of us - those of us here at Macworld, and most of you reading this article - buy music by download in addition to CDs, and it would be wrong to think that my wall of CDs represents my music collection.

Kirk McElhearn | Read more...


The Kindle: It's not an iPhone

Wed, 18 Feb 2009

Ever since Amazon announced the Kindle 2 in the US, pundits and journalists have seemingly made a cottage industry out of doing two things: 1) explaining that, since it isn’t an iPhone, it will fail and 2) listing the features it needs in order for Amazon to convert those selfsame pundits to Kindle lovin’ fools.

Let's ignore, for the moment, that those same people derided the iPhone as an expensive toy when it was first launched and focus instead on the one thing that most ‘people in the know’ are overlooking.

Scott McNulty | Read more...


Android Market now accepting paid apps, could improve Apple apps store

Wed, 18 Feb 2009

Google's Android platform has been positioned as the major competitor to the iPhone and last Friday's announcement that paid applications can now be submitted to the Android Market moves the platform one step closer to parity with the iPhone.

Prior to this, only free applications had been available on the market, meaning that many professional developers had not been creating projects for the platform.

Dan Moren | Read more...


What if Apple never updates the iMac?

Tue, 17 Feb 2009

I’m serious. What if Apple has decided that the iMac that is currently on sale is the final update to the range. That’s yer lot kids… buy them until there’s no more left.

There was a lot of chatter recently regarding an impending update to the iMac, but it still hasn’t happened. Where is it? As the chatter dies down I’m strangely reminded of the Mac mini. This hasn’t been updated since August 2007 and for a long time there were rumours of an impending update; in retrospect based upon nothing other than the fact that people believed that there was an update coming. Simply because it hadn’t happened yet.

Mark Hattersley | Read more...


Morrissey and why music still matters

Mon, 16 Feb 2009

A few weeks ago, the latest long player from Morrissey, late of The Smiths, one of the four bands that ever really mattered, leaked on the Internet.

Those expecting a rush of fan-enthused quick fire reviews for ‘Years of Refusal’, scattered across blogs and forums, may have been surprised to see ardent Morrissey fans willing to wait patiently for the official release date rather than a quick illicit listen.

Nick Spence | Read more...


MobileMe adds large file sharing

Mon, 16 Feb 2009

I find myself conflicted. For years I’ve been told that sharing is good - well, up until I started hearing that file sharing was bad. But what if I have files I want to share? Say a video that I’ve put together with iMovie (involving kittens doing hilarious things, naturally) and want to send to my friends and family.

Well, if you’re a MobileMe subscriber, you can now share large files on your iDisk quickly and easily.

Dan Moren | Read more...


10 ways Microsoft's retail stores will differ from Apple's

Sun, 15 Feb 2009

Microsoft announced plans to open retail stores, hoping to boost visibility of many of its products and its brand.

The move seems to be an effort to mimic the success that Apple has had with its retail stores.

Brennon Slattery | Read more...


There have been big computer worm outbreaks before, but nothing quite like Conficker

Sat, 14 Feb 2009

There have been big computer worm outbreaks before, but nothing quite like Conficker.

First spotted in November, the worm had soon infected more computers than any worm in recent years.

Robert McMillan | Read more...


Next-Gen Apple iPhone Photos Leaked? Judge for Yourself

Fri, 13 Feb 2009

Photos of what appears to be the back casing of an updated iPhone have surfaced. From what can deciphered from the photo this alleged new model iPhone may come in black, might be contoured and textured to give you a better grip, and it appears to have a matte finish.

The supposed first shot of this new iPhone model, you see below, features just the bottom of the back casing and comes via the Apple sleuths at iPod Observer.

Ian Paul | Read more...


iPhone developer says price point not sustainable

Fri, 13 Feb 2009

A couple of weeks ago, iPhone developer App Cubby decided to try a little experiment. It would lower the price of its three apps - Trip Cubby, Gas Cubby, and Health Cubby - (which previously sold for a few dollars each) to 99 cents for a limited time to see what effect it would have on sales.

At the same time, it would invite its users to donate more money to the company if they felt that the apps were useful.

Dan Moren | Read more...


YouTube adds video downloads

Fri, 13 Feb 2009

If you're like me, then you probably spend a lot more time than you should on YouTube. Wouldn't it be great if you could download your favorite videos and watch them offline too? Sure, there's always the popular Firefox Download Helper plug-in, but how about an official solution from YouTube?

It's here. YouTube will let you download certain Public Domain or Creative Commons-licensed videos.

Scott Nichols | Read more...


Will the iPhone Kill the Kindle? No Way

Thu, 12 Feb 2009

It’s no secret that I’ve been a convert to the Amazon Kindle for more than a year now. And now that Amazon has announced its second generation of the Kindle, I’m even more impressed with the device than I was before.

But some misguided souls, like my colleague Rick Broida, are throwing down the gauntlet on my favorite ebook reader, saying it’s no match for that little all-in-one wonder from Apple, the iPhone. Here’s why they’re wrong.

Robert Strohmeyer | Read more...


Spotify could kill iTunes

Wed, 11 Feb 2009

My, my! The music industry continues to evolve at a breakneck pace. The latest development hails from Sweden and is called Spotify. This has been in Beta for a while but is now available to any user in the UK. And it is well worth looking at.

Spotify is a new music service that serves up any song, artist or album you can think of. And Apple better take note, because it's just made iTunes look archaic, old-fashioned and almost obsolete.

Mark Hattersley | Read more...


McCartney says record label still negotiating Beatles on iTunes

Wed, 11 Feb 2009

Our contractual obligations mean that we are duty bound to inform you of any developments in the world of iTunes and the Beatles.

Trust me: we don’t like it any more than you do, but if we don’t report it, then we will be rent limb from limb by a madding horde of zombies, like the beginning of A Hard Day’s Night.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Roll up for Mac The Movie

Tue, 10 Feb 2009

It was apt that the premiere for a movie all about crazy Mac users was held at this year’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Apple has recently announced that this will be its last appearance at the huge Mac industry love-in, as well as disappointing everyone that its iconic Steve Jobs keynote is no more – while mildly stressing via a series of conflicting health bulletins that Steve Jobs is not ‘no more’ himself.

MacHEADS The Movie – come on guys, Apple would never include so many inter-caps in a product title – is an hour-long documentary on the power of the Macintosh community, featuring interviews with former Apple employees, industry commentators and a fair bunch of nutcases.

Simon Jary | Read more...


Google adds over-the-air contact, calendar sync for iPhone

Tue, 10 Feb 2009

Syncing your contacts and calendars to the iPhone—and, more importantly, keeping them in sync—is easy enough if you’re using MobileMe or have a Microsoft Exchange account, which keep your contacts and calendars up to date through the magic of wireless syncing.

Meanwhile, those iPhone users relying on online services such as Yahoo and Google have been sort of second-class citizens, forced into the inequity of having to plug their iPhones into their computers.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Nine-year-old boy writes popular iPhone app

Mon, 09 Feb 2009

When I was nine years old, I was probably rocking some Civilization action on the family Macintosh Classic II. Beyond that, I barely knew how to use Kid Pix. As for nine-year-old Lim Ding Wen? He’s too busy writing iPhone apps.

Lim’s creation is a pretty nifty little iPhone app, called Doodle Kids.

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


Next Mac OS: Learning from iPhone?

Mon, 09 Feb 2009

Some of the clever and unique functions of the iPhone—such as being location-aware and supporting multitouch technology—may make their way to Snow Leopard, the next version of Apple's OS X.

The new OS will reportedly take a page out of the iPhone SDK and support the Core Location service on Macs.

Ian Paul | Read more...


Pro is the only way to go

Mon, 09 Feb 2009

By now, we’ve had our hands on iLife ’09 for a week or so, and clearly the ’09 editions reflect some serious upgrades in features and performance. As consumer photo and video editing programs, they’re packed with protein and help to build strong bodies.

But they’re still iApps; as powerful as they are, they keep you on the Consumer side of the fence.

Andy Ihnatko | Read more...


Attention, iPhoto ’09: I am not Steve Jobs

Fri, 06 Feb 2009

There’s a lot to love about Faces, the new face-detection and -recognition feature that highlights iPhoto ’09.

Certainly, it’s the one feature in the new version of iPhoto that I was really looking forward to using. And it’s largely delivered on that promise.

Jim Dalrymple | Read more...


Apple iPhone coming to United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia

Thu, 05 Feb 2009

While the iPhone is currently available in a slew of countries ranging from Senegal to Japan, we'll soon be able to add two new Gulf countries to the list: the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

This deal marks the first new markets for the iPhone in 2009.

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


An Apple iPhone without a data plan? Does not compute

Thu, 05 Feb 2009

It’s been almost seven months since Apple came out with the iPhone 3G, which of course means that the field is wide open for speculating about the next version, even if doing so has all the diplomacy of asking the bride and groom exactly when they’re planning on having kids.

Then again, that speculation is about as likely to stop as gossip rags are to stop printing sensationalized stories about celebrity weight fluctuations.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Gmail Tasks now available in mobile flavour

Thu, 05 Feb 2009

As those smarty smartypants over at Google say, there's a lot to be said for writing stuff down on old-fashioned paper.

I mean, it usually takes less time and effort to write even down the shortest of two-word reminders on a piece of paper than it does to whip out your iPhone and fingertap it into the Notes application, or even to send it as an email to yourself.

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


iPhone app-cracking software gets pirated

Wed, 04 Feb 2009

If only there were more poetic justice in this world. Unfortunately, those of us who revel in such karmic resolutions have to take our kicks where we can get them.

Those who live by the sword all too often don’t die by the sword—but then again, sometimes they do, and rather spectacularly at that. As they say, Justice may be blind—but she's got a wicked sense of humor.

Dan Moren | Read more...


iPhone-to-iPhone tech support

Wed, 04 Feb 2009

Earlier today, my wife was having lunch with her grandmother. I got a call on my iPhone because her grandmother's TV remote control wasn't working.

They'd already replaced the batteries, so either the remote was broken or someone pushed the wrong button and it wasn't sending the right commands to the TV.

Jonathan Seff | Read more...


I'm watching the Watchmen

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

Every so often you discover something so undeniably cool that you simply have to share it with others. Even if you’ve discovered it six months after everybody else, and therefore are so far behind the times that you might as well be wittering on about this cool new thing called Google.

Even so, I recently came across the Watchmen Motion Comics on the iTunes Store and was so impressed I thought I’d share it with you.

Mark Hattersley | Read more...


From the Book of Jobs

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

And now we have moved on to rumours of a Mac netbook. This is how I mark the passing seasons these days. Others muse about how it seems like yesterday that we were carving pumpkins for Halloween. I get all nostalgic for the days when everybody was certain that Apple was about to release a tablet Mac.

I confess that I utterly love netbooks, for the same reason I love my little Flip Mino HD pocket camcorder. I also own a proper hi-def camera, and of course by comparison, shooting something with the Mino is only slightly better than verbally describing to your parents their grandchild’s first steps.

Andy Ihnatko | Read more...


Epocrates brings premium app to iPhone

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

Shortly after Apple unveiled plans for its iPhone Software Development Kit last March, I took a trip to Virginia, where one of the proprietors at the bed-and-breakfast I stayed at was also studying osteopathic medicine.

And when she found out what I did for a living, she was particularly interested in hearing about the possibilities for medical software on the iPhone in general and Epocrates, in particular.

Philip Michaels | Read more...


Apple and its products among most popular brands

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

We know Apple and its products are on the tips of many people’s tongues these days, but just how much so?

A company named Vitrue has set out to gauge the impact of certain brands in the realm of social networking: i.e., how much they’ve permeated social media like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Online syncing site Syncplicity now offers Mac client

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

Looking for a good way of having your files accessible on multiple computers? MobileMe’s an option, but if you’re not looking for all the other bells and whistles (web pages, email accounts, etc.), there’s now another player in the mix: Syncplicity.

Like competitor Dropbox, Syncplicity offers a free 2GB of storage space to sync between more than one of your computers. It’s been in private beta for Mac users until recently, but it’s now accepting sign ups for both Windows and Mac users.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Mac OS X Elbowing its Way Into Business

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

According to Net Applications research data, Mac OS X market share is inching its way to 10 per cent of all computing platforms, currently at 9.93 per cent.

The Net Applications data comes by tracking the OS through web browser activity, so it's not a direct measurements of computers.

Zack Stern | Read more...


Record labels still wary of Apple's wrath

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

Apple's relationship with the major music labels has always been a bit rough around the edges. There's a history of head-butting between Jobs and the recording industry over issues like DRM and variable pricing, but the beef seemed at long last to be put to rest after the Macworld Expo keynote announcement that the record labels would finally give up DRM, while Apple would allow them the flexible pricing they so greatly desired.

But according to a music industry executive who spoke to The New York Times, the situation is still as tense as ever, with Apple's dominating presence in the music market giving it a disproportionate amount of leverage over the labels—and the company isn't afraid to use it, either.

David Dahlquist | Read more...


Apple's Insomnia Film Festival canceled, students go back to sleep

Mon, 02 Feb 2009

Apple’s been running the Insomnia Film Festival competition for the last few years, encouraging students to create 3-minute films in just 24 hours for a chance to win fabulous prizes.

Unfortunately, it appears that the most recent event won’t be happening.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Dell may be planning Apple iPhone rival smartphone

Mon, 02 Feb 2009

According to the Wall Street Journal, Dell is researching building a smartphone, which would likely run either the Windows Mobile or Android OS.

The company may even unveil its efforts at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


Take a peek at the Google Drive

Mon, 02 Feb 2009

Google’s long-awaited online storage tool, dubbed the Google Drive, may soon be a reality.

A detailed description of the GDrive was found in a file used by Google Pack, a suite of Google desktop programs, by blogger Brian Ussery.

Ian Paul | Read more...


Win a pair of BEATS SOLO HD headphones