All Blogs > Macworld Team

Macworld Team

>> Postings for December 2010

Simon Jary - Not all Es are good, Apple

Tue, 21 Dec 2010

E is for education  Apple used to be the major player in the educational IT market. Even at its lowest point in 1997, 60 per cent of all US school computer sales went to Apple. Half of Apple’s US sales in the 1980s were through education. In the early 1990s a third of the company’s revenue was from education.

But some claim it was Apple’s focus and reliance on education that was its downfall. In 1996 Wired wrote that “education progressively stifled Apple’s core business competency by entrenching an unholy alliance of customers, vendors, and staffers, who promoted and rewarded technological sloth and cultist delusion”. 

Simon Jary | Read more...


Press Release - CES 2011: Why Apple will steal the show

Fri, 17 Dec 2010

As per usual, Apple [AAPL] seems set to dominate CES once again next year, even though it won't actually attend the show. And that's despite a keynote speech from Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. Here's why Apple's taking over.

Do you really consider it preposterous to think Apple will steal the CES thunder? Look: Apple already has two hot appointments for official CES opening day, January 6.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Blood on the trackpads

Thu, 16 Dec 2010

Apple's [AAPL] move toward making Macs more touch-friendly has been confirmed by the company, when touch makes sense. We also know not to expect touchscreen iMacs soon -- Magic Trackpad is the touch interface for desktops, but how long will it be until we see the Mac keyboard replaced by a touch-sensitive, intelligent device?

Think about it.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Andy Ihnatko - In search of feature comforts

Thu, 16 Dec 2010

A few days ago, iTunes helpfully informed me that Apple had released an update to the iPad edition of Keynote. I read the list of new features: additional stability; a fix for a bug I’d never encountered; it no longer invisibly sends your bio slide to the Jumbotron in Times Square so thousands can laugh at your CV; then… “Enhanced presenter display shows the current slide, next slide, or notes when connected to an external display”. Yippee, I’ve wanted this feature for ages! I felt like I’d just won Wonka’s golden ticket. 

I have a love-hate relationship with most pieces of technology. But with the iPad over the past nine months I’ve been, at worst, love-slightly irked. If I’m travelling for just a couple of days to give a talk, I don’t even really think about taking my MacBook now. I just pack up the iPad and a display adapter and I’m good to go.

Andy Ihnatko | Read more...


Jonny Evans - 12 great iOS apps for drivers

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Today we're learning internal politics have hindered Google in its cloud music plans while Apple isn't yet ready to make us all go 'lala'. Meanwhile, as the season turns to taking long drives to visit family and friends: here's six good apps for drivers.

DriveMeCrazy for iPhone (free)

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Apple tools up for battle of the cloud

Tue, 14 Dec 2010

Even as Google talks up cloud computing with the pre-release-almost-release of its CR-48 Chrome OS netbook, Apple may be refining its own attempt at cloud-inspired computing, with January's Mac App Store launch set to mark the beginnings of the plan.

We already know Apple is developing ways to implement iOS-style commands and interfaces within the next-generation of OS X, but I don't think the company's intentions stop there.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - iPad 2.0 cameras confirmed, who are the iPad users?

Tue, 14 Dec 2010

Published last night, fresh research from the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) offers us a few insights into the behavior of iPad users, suggesting the device may well diminish newspaper print sales in future. Overnight reports also confirm we've been on track with our predictions for the iPad 2.0, which, it appears, will indeed host cameras front and rear.

iPad 2.0 suppliers named

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Why Apple's enemies will feel more pain

Tue, 14 Dec 2010

In a few years time Apple [AAPL] will face a handful of competitors in the smartphone space as fierce competition within the industry drives an inevitable wave of consolidation between handset manufacturers, platform developers, carriers and app store providers.

The industry is expanding at a rapid clip. Apple leads the technological charge, with good-enough-Google snapping at its heels.  Over seven billion apps have already been downloaded from the App Store, making it the leading app store for any mobile platform worldwide.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - How Apple can save MobileMe

Wed, 08 Dec 2010

Apple [AAPL] CEO Steve Jobs made the news today with a promise his company will make its online hosted MobileMe service much better next year. Other than improved stability, reliability and consistent performance, just what exactly do we want Apple to give us? Here's a few suggestions.

The context: Frequently-voiced MobileMe user complaints include patchy performance, unexplained outages, sync problems, slow image loads, difficulties uploading iWeb sites and more.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - iPad 2.0: Apple plans Valentine's Day massacre?

Tue, 07 Dec 2010

With huge Christmas sales predicted, Apple's plotting course for the release of iPad 2.0, perhaps even in time for Valentine's Day, (February) today's hot rumor claims, but there's some signs Apple plans a massacre as it prepares the ground for 2011's expected battle with tablets powered by Android's more tablet-friendly "Honeycomb" software.

[This story is from Computerworld's Apple Holic blog. Follow on Twitter or subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Become a Mac OS X power user the easy way

Thu, 02 Dec 2010

Mac OS X contains many shortcuts, special keyboard combinations you can exercise to make things happen, but unless you make the effort to learn them there's no guarantee you'll recall the one you need at the time you most need it. Fear no more: there's ways to make finding shortcuts easier. Bring out your inner power user!

Dashboard
Dashboard is Apple's host application for small mini-apps, or widgets. It is a semi-transparent layer that's invisible unless activated.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Win a pair of BEATS SOLO HD headphones