All Blogs > Macworld Team

Macworld Team

>> Postings for April 2009

The hf2 custom•fit headphones and the (near) sound of silence

Thu, 30 Apr 2009

Hype can play havoc with your critical senses. Fuelled by a free drink or three, finger food and those lovely PR folk you can easily come away from a press jaunt thinking that the iPod dock skateboard combo you’ve just seen is what the world really needs. Of course in the cold light of the next day, what you thought all made sense is now pretty much nonsense. Good PR doesn’t always mean sound products.

Last week Macworld attended a rather wonderful press reception and party to hype, rather celebrate, the launch of a new custom fit headset service from Etymotic Research and Advanced Communication Solutions (ACS). Located downstairs from a recession debunking champagne bar in St Pauls, entertainment was supplied by The AllStars Collective, who conveniently all wear ACS customised ear monitors. Between them, the band’s band have backed some of the biggest names in the music business while raising substantial amounts for worthy causes in any free time.

Nick Spence | Read more...


MacBook Pro customer: 'I got a rock'

Thu, 30 Apr 2009

Who among hasn’t, at one point or another, referred to his or her laptop as a brick—lovingly, of course. Unless you’re referring to the original Macintosh Portable which, at 15.8 pounds, came with a free case of back sprain. But that’s still not an actual brick - or, at least, not like the one this customer got.

A fellow named Kyle reported to the Consumerist blog that he had bought a $2,000 MacBook Pro from his local Best Buy in Texas, only to take the box home, open it up, and find one real, genuine, 100 per cent authentic paving stone.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Apple iPhone 'Mediapad' Could Be a Kindle Killer

Wed, 29 Apr 2009

Is Apple's rumoured Mediapad a threat to Amazon's Kindle e-book reader? I think it is, but the only people who may care are current Kindle owners, some of whom may end up wishing they had waited on their purchase.

As I have said before: The Kindle in kindling.

David Coursey | Read more...


Town council to consider demolition of Steve Jobs's mansion

Tue, 28 Apr 2009

On Tuesday night, the Woodside Town Council will consider the issue of whether or not to allow the demolition of Apple CEO Steve Jobs's 17,000 square foot mansion.

Despite the property's size, grandeur, and historical nature, Jobs has described it as "one of the biggest abominations of a house I've ever seen."

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


Salma Hayek's MobileMe account hacked

Tue, 28 Apr 2009

So if you're a celebrity (or, well, anyone, really) and you want to make extra sure that people aren't able to easily access your personal data, it's a good idea to make your password and your password reset hint something that's really obscure. Ideally, it should be something that only you would know.

This is the important lesson drummed home by actress Salma Hayek's recently hacked MobileMe account.

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


DVD copying case: Why you should care

Mon, 27 Apr 2009

RealNetworks and the major movie studios gathered in San Francisco’s US District Court on Friday to, possibly, determine the fate of DVD copying.

RealNetworks would like to sell its $30, £20, RealDVD application- an application that allows consumers to back up commercial DVDs to their computers’ hard drive for archival purposes. (These back up copies are still protected and can’t be burned to DVD.)

Christopher Breen | Read more...


Apple tablet: The ultimate UI for electronic medical records

Fri, 24 Apr 2009

A Mac Tablet or iTablet, along with a netbook sized MacBook, has long been on the wish list of many Apple Mac fans. The demand for a Mac based tablet computer is already evident; Axiotron's Modbook is an attractive, although somewhat pricey and heavy option, that's now available to buy in the UK via Computer Warehouse

The Modbook slate-style tablet enables users to draw, sketch and write directly on the screen, cleverly combining a MacBook laptop with an industry standard Wacom graphics tablet. The current Modbook is based on a converted white polycarbonate MacBook, and you can read Macworld's thoughts on the unofficial conversion process here.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Apple: Baby Shaker app removed, but what happens next time?

Fri, 24 Apr 2009

Apple removed the controversial "Baby Shaker" application two days after it appeared on the App Store following strong protests from child advocacy groups.

But the incident raised questions about how Apple and other companies screen applications for sale and whether the government or some other group needs to provide oversight.

Matt Hamblen | Read more...


Apple doesn't get netbooks? Too bad

Thu, 23 Apr 2009

No wonder everyone is pining for Steve Jobs to return to Apple. Other executives at the company don't seem to grasp future product trends.

The company's chief operating officer on Wednesday lashed out at netbooks, calling them unusable due to their cramped keyboards, "junky" hardware and bad software.

Dan Nystedt | Read more...


iPhone apps let amateurs share Apple's buzz

Thu, 23 Apr 2009

iPhone apps such as Tweetie may or may not make their creators rich. It's safe to say most iPhone app sellers won't be able to quit their day jobs. But that hasn't stopped both geeks and non-geeks alike from pouring their enthusiasm into thinking up, designing, and building iPhone applications that they sell or give away in Apple's App Store.

"Coding newcomers are a minority and face a steep challenge in the iPhone's crowded marketplace," writes San Francisco Chronicle reporter Ryan Kim. But he notes that the challenge hasn't stopped newbies like 25-year-old Nordstrom jewelry manager Lauren Bensen from learning enough code skills to create their own applications.

Paul Boutin | Read more...


Apple to netbooks: Drop dead

Thu, 23 Apr 2009

As someone who’s fascinated by the idea of Apple doing some sort of small device - not necessarily a netbook, but something bigger than an iPod touch and smaller than a MacBook - I pay close attention to what Apple says about the whole netbook market.

(If you haven’t been paying attention, a netbook is a cheap, small laptop. PC-makers are selling a lot of them. Apple doesn’t make one.)

Jason Snell | Read more...


iPhone 3.0 may include voice recognition

Wed, 22 Apr 2009

I don't know about you, but I talk to my iPhone all the time: "Hurry up, iPhone"; "How come I can't press this button!?"; "Why, iPhone, whyyyyyyyy?" Most of the time it ends in tears--for me, anyway; I suspect the iPhone is silently laughing at me.

However, rumours suggest that the iPhone may soon be more receptive to my pleas: Ars Technica reports that uncovered software frameworks in the iPhone 3.0 beta might represent speech recognition and synthesis systems.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Which is better for your business, a Mac or a PC?

Wed, 22 Apr 2009

To start, I need to tell you that up until 2006 I was an avid PC user. Starting with my first computer when I was five, an IBM PS2 Model 30 (without a hard drive), I've been loyal. I started with DOS, then Windows 3, 3.1, 95, and then XP. Then came Vista. Before Vista, I spent a lot of time rebooting but it was more or less bearable. After Vista, which is by far the worst operating system ever made, I had to find another solution.

In the summer of 2006, I upgraded about 80 per cent of my company's computers to Macs; we're a design agency, and so most people wanted Macs anyway. I kept hearing about their strengths - how the OS never crashed, how it just worked, how you don't need to reboot every day - and dismissed them as blind lust from googly-eyed Apple enthusiasts.

Michael Schneider | Read more...


Mini revolution

Mon, 20 Apr 2009

Hackintoshing a Dell Mini 9 netbook has been a real education. I... Hmm. Yes, that opening sentence requires explanation.

“Hacktinoshing”: using special techniques, utilities, and bootloaders to make the Mac OS run on non-Apple hardware. “Dell Mini 9 netbook”: A low-powered notebook computer with very few system resources, designed to run Windows XP. It’s small enough to fit in the back pocket of those trousers I own that have big back pockets, and costs about $300. “A real education”: several hours of frustration, followed by 20 minutes of inspired guesswork, followed by success. I’ve been using this machine for three weeks now and the experience of using the same software I’ve been relying on for a decade on a machine not made by Apple has been slightly revolutionary.

Andy Ihnatko | Read more...


The Pirate Bay verdict - What next?

Mon, 20 Apr 2009

The verdict against the founders of The Pirate Bay is being hailed by many as a triumphant win against illegal file-sharing. The four men involved in the BitTorrent tracking site were found guilty on Friday of being accessories to violating copyright law.

A Swedish court sentenced each of them to a year in jail and a collective fine of 30 million kronor (£2.4m).

JR Raphael | Read more...


Microsoft ads continue to defy logic

Fri, 17 Apr 2009

There is a big difference between the price of purchasing a computer and the cost of owning one. That's a distinction that Microsoft carefully dodges in its latest round of commercials, but I don't think Microsoft is fooling many people (except maybe analyst Roger Kay, but that's another story). Apple has even seen fit to respond to the rather silly points Microsoft tries to make.

"Millions of people have switched to Mac because they love the security, stability and power that comes with world-class hardware and amazing software that just works, right out of the box," Apple spokesman Bill Evans told Macworld, breaking Apple's silence on the matter to this point.

Jim Dalrymple | Read more...


Virus alert

Fri, 17 Apr 2009

I know it sound trite. But I don't get my software via The Pirate Bay so should I care about this botnet?

Typically I've never run virus software on my Mac. This isn't because I'm some blinkered Mac fool who doesn't "get" security. I also own a PC. And believe you me it's rammed to the hilt with antivirus and anti-spyware software. I've been through four different programs in the last 12 months.

Mark Hattersley | Read more...


Spinal Tap makes comeback album with Apple Logic

Wed, 15 Apr 2009

"Why don't you just make ten louder, and make ten be the top number, and make that a little louder?"

Pause.

Jim Dalrymple | Read more...


Reality bites

Tue, 14 Apr 2009

The silly season is upon us once again, and it's time for another round of predicting what product Apple plans next. Apple's cast-iron shroud of secrecy has prevented any leaks so far, although joining up the dots between known, and almost certainly known, facts reveals quite a lot about the iPhone 4G. Some are straightforward, but others point to a future for Apple's phone that is far from ordinary.

Of course, I'm mostly talking about the next iteration of iPhone, which for the sake of convenience I'm going to dub the iPhone 4G. Whether it ends up called this, or something more appropriate, remains to be seen.

Mark Hattersley | Read more...


The return of the living Grateful Dead

Tue, 14 Apr 2009

The Grateful Dead have long enjoyed a unique relationship with their fans. Formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area, the group have actively encouraged recordings of their lengthy and legendary live outings, setting up a "taper" area located behind the soundboard at gigs. According to Wikipedia, of the approximately 2,350 shows the Grateful Dead played, almost 2,200 were taped, and most of these are accessible online and free.

The Grateful Dead Download Series meanwhile, available through both their own deadnetstore.com and iTunes, offers dozens of recordings. The Dick's Picks series, which started in 1993, now numbers 30 plus CD outings, more than half available in the HDCD enhanced sound quality format.

Nick Spence | Read more...


iPod scammer pleads guilty to fraud and money laundering

Thu, 09 Apr 2009

Nicholas Woodhams, the notorious Apple scammer who tricked our favourite company out of 9,000 iPod shuffles, fessed up and pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering in federal court on Monday.

Woodhams ran an iPod Mechanic repair shop in Kalamazoo, Mich, where he took advantage of Apple's warranty program by using bogus serial numbers to get 9,000 iPod replacements without returning the originals.

David Dahlquist | Read more...


Can a MacBook replace a 12-inch PowerBook?

Wed, 08 Apr 2009

About a month ago, I finally had to let go of an old friend. After a couple years of propping him up, it was time to retire my 12-inch PowerBook. No, you didn't read that wrong: I was still using a G4-powered Mac. Sure, there were a lot of things I couldn't do anymore, but it was still fulfilling the requirements I set before it: primarily email, Web browsing, and writing.

But it was small and it handled all those tasks. However, after replacing the screen and the hard drive, the battery decided to give out while I was at Macworld Expo. I limped by, trying to justify to the very amused Scott, Dan, and Aayush that I could still work. It was then I began to realize it was the beginning of the end. How could I sanely justify purchasing a new battery for the aging laptop, pumping over a hundred dollars into a machine that was able to do less and less of what I needed?

Derik DeLong | Read more...


Apple re-master Beatles for September reissue campaign

Wed, 08 Apr 2009

Like Apple the computer company, Apple the record label like to keep things close to their chest. After years of relative inactivity, this week Apple Corps suddenly announced the last fours years has been spent diligently digitally re-mastering The Beatles immaculate back catalogue for release later this year.

The date 9 September 2009, or 09-09-09, will coincide with the release of 'The Beatles: Rock Band,' a video game available for Xbox, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. A stripped down 'Let It Be… Naked,' from 2003, that junked much of producer Phil Spector's sugar coating, and 'Love', a 2006 Cirque du Soleil show soundtrack, have both hinted at the sonic possibilities of re-mastering the fab four.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Classic Apple II games that inspired today's greats

Tue, 07 Apr 2009

It was my birthday, 1984. I'd spent the better part of a month convincing Dad that a new computer would help me. I'd use it for homework. I'd learn how to program. Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted to play games like my neighbour, like I'd been reading about in gaming magazines.

Photo by Marco Mioli.

Darren Gladstone | Read more...


Google's rumoured Twitter buyout could raise privacy concerns

Mon, 06 Apr 2009

A purchase of Twitter by Google would allow a company that already knows too much about us to find out even more. And sell it to people who could aggressively use our words to pester us. Or worse.

Lacking any obvious way to make money, Twitter must be looking for ways to turn its search engine into a major revenue stream. How can Twitter do this in a way that users won't find obnoxious? Facebook has not been able to do it, and slides from controversy to controversy as a result.

David Coursey | Read more...


Apple Q2 2009 results due 22 April

Thu, 02 Apr 2009

You may know April 22nd as Earth Day, but this year, that particular Wednesday also plays host to another auspicious occasion. And we’re not just talking about the sixteenth anniversary of the launch of Mosaic 1.0, the first GUI Web browser although we wouldn’t be adverse to having some cake in remembrance.

That aside, Apple’s announced that it will be holding its quarterly financially conference call on the 22nd, at 2PM Pacific, 5PM Eastern. The results reported will be for the second quarter of the company’s fiscal year 2009, which covers the first three months of calendar 2009.

Dan Moren | Read more...


President Obama gives iPod to Queen

Thu, 02 Apr 2009

On April Fool’s Day,we certainly couldn’t blame you if you had chosen to disregard this story, but we have it from no less than the New York Times that Barack Obama, in his maiden overseas voyage as head of state, has given the Queen of England an iPod.

And not just any iPod, no siree. It’s an iPod loaded with pictures and video of Her Majesty’s 2007 visit to Virginia, where she went to historical sites such as Jamestown and Williamsburg, as well as the state capital of Richmond (seriously, though, would it kill her to get out of the thirteen colonies?).

Dan Moren | Read more...


Latest iWeb update unwittingly adds a major bug

Wed, 01 Apr 2009

Although the addition of new features through minor software updates is always welcome, it's annoying when those updates instead break existing functionality. To wit, the latest update to iWeb, which bumped it to version 3.0.1, has introduced a bug that has made it a tedious task for me to make any changes to my blog.

In previous versions of the software, you could quickly edit an existing blog entry and republish your website and iWeb would only re-upload those pages where you’d made changes. It was so quick and painless, in fact, that I frequently went back and fixed errors that I hadn’t detected in my entries before publishing.

Aayush Arya | Read more...