Posts filed under "apple"
Tweetie for Mac - Another couple of hours, another twitter application for the Mac. Yeah, sorry Tweetie looks like it just took it all several steps further than everyone else. Check out the video and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Coming out on Monday.
Nambu - Native OS X twitter agent. I thought Destroytwitter would be it for me, but this is definitely the best one so far. A lot of great little features, like tweets and comments back that are threaded, being able to classify people into various groups, and the list goes on.
MacHeist 3 Charity Breakdown - For all the flack that MacHeist gets for being something that rapes the indie developers that contribute their software for such a low price, there is this little element of the whole deal, which somehow doesn’t get a lot of press. Nearly a million dollars donated to charities. When’s the last time that a Windows bundle made money for charity? Seriously. I was a windows boy for years. Not once did i buy a software bundle (does that even exist), and therefore no money ever made it to any charities from that effort.
MacHeist 09 - For those in the Mac community, you probably know about MacHeist. I bought last year’s bundle which I believe was a hell of a lot stronger offering than this year’s. Is it me, or is it not selling as quickly as the previous bundle did? I could be wrong, but it seems to be stuck under the $300,000 mark (for charities that is) for the last few days. From all the apps on offer, I only am interested in LittleSnapper and maybe iSale. Apart from that, the rest of the bundle doesn’t particularly interest me (Espresso would be nice, but I already own Coda).
Integrity - website broken link checker. Just going through it all right now but damn that’s something I should have downloaded a while ago.
Apple’s Red-Headed Stepchild - Why do I have a Mac Mini? It’s my entry into the world of the Mac. It took a year before I got a unibody macbook, but that first step was through the mini. It’s a work horse; I am only now thinking of reinstalling the operating system (nearly 1.5 years) after I actually bought the machine (which can be attributed to my meddling with things that I don’t understand). It is weird how long it’s taking Apple to actually update it; maybe there are more people like myself that start on the mini and move to other hardware in the future? Apple does know about all my purchases after all.
Safari 4 Beta - Nice to see some good little additions making it into Safari. Now if only they could get the plugin architecture sorted out, it might stand a proper chance at making inroads on Firefox.
Saulius review Pixelmator Sprinkle’s new feature - I’ve been using Pixelmator for nearly a year now and month in an month out the guys have been doing a bang up job of moving the software forward. What’s incredibly pleasing to see is just how far this little application has grown in a year between version 1.0 and the current version 1.4. A great deal of the gripes that I had have been rectified and here’s hoping that the few I have left will be addressed soon (grouping layers and better text control).
Snow Leopard screenshots show interface tweaks - Although pretty minor, what’s great is this small incremental design philosophy that I think I’ve really come to like about OSX. Don’t fix something that isn’t broken. Address things that users are looking for/complaining about (as much as is possible). I guess it’s all down to coming up with a solid foundation and not letting your ideas get the better of you.
First Screenshot of Chrome for the Mac - Easily my favourite app on Windows (after Excel). Although I’ve been using Webkit proper for a week now (much faster), the speed and the general feel of Chrome is exactly what I want in a browser (along with plugins like Firefox). It’s just a matter of time before Chrome becomes a real player.
Google Search Box - From the creator of Quicksilver, comes Google Search Box. Kinda explains why he was ok about leaving the Quicksilver development; he was working on something better.
Palm Pre - Never used anything from Palm so I wouldn’t know what to expect based this their latest attempt at. However early buzz from everyone has put this squarely up against the iphone and actually comes on top in certain areas. Although the form factor is smaller than the iphone in general, it’s also much much thicker as well (which is always an issue for me). Lets see how this effects the smartphone market (hopefully proper competition will force Apple to address simple things like cut and paste).
Scathing review of the Apple keynote speech today at MacWorld - Unfortunately I kind of agree. Although I do like the battery idea, it’s still a battery and I don’t believe a word they’re saying about 8 hours. My macbook is meant to give me 5 hours, but the truth is I can only hope to get 4.5 hours that if I turn the screen brightness right down and do some word processing (something with a white background so I can actually see what I’m doing), so really it’s closer to something between 3.5 - 4 hours of actual productivity.
Netbooks compatibility chart - If you’re in the market for a Hackintosh.
Together - Interesting little note and file compiling application. Particularly like the web as pdf feature.
Macbook Nano - I’d definitely buy one for £200. I am however starting to sway gradually into getting a Macbook though.
Eventbox from The Cosmic Machine - A Mac only app, which helps integrate a number of social media networks in one single place.
Many Tricks - I’ve only been on a mac for a year so you’ll have to excuse me while i compile my indie software developers list of useful apps.
Cruz browser - the big difference here is the fact that it’s got an API ready for plugins to be developed and installed. Interview also up on Cult of Mac with the developer.
Anand Tech reviews the new Macbooks - as always love the size of these reviews. Surprising recommendation, wait till next year’s model.
Gizmodo is claiming that Apple will no longer be making the Mac Mini anymore - this is a shame because it’s my first (and only) Mac. I have nothing but good things to say about the experience. A relatively inexpensive machine that does exactly what i have asked it to do, for a price that didn’t hurt me.
Apple Command Prints by Christopher David Ryan (via theappleblog).
Apple’s new ‘Get a Mac’ ads that directly address the resent Microsoft ‘I’m a PC’ adverts - Although these ads do feel a bit long in the tooth, the best ones are those that have subtle gestures or facial expressions by the actors.
In case you missed it, Apple released their new line of notebooks earlier this week and as you will imagine it looks like an amazing bit of artwork. As I’m currently in the market for a nice portable computer, of some description I’ve been following the online rumours surrounding this event with a lot of interest, holding my breathe, waiting for the news to come through. Sadly after I play around with one today I can’t bring myself to buy one.
Form Factor There is no denying that the new Macbooks sport some seriously sexy looking shells and have an awesome glass trackpad (which you need to play with to fully appreciate it’s greatness), however this line of Macbooks are missing something for me and the real reason I’d buy a laptop computer at this time. It’s down to what I ultimately will use the notebook for and that comes down to the form factor.
In this context I’m not looking for a first machine, I bought my mac mini last year and I’ve got say that I’m extremely happy with this machine. I’m not a believer of getting equipment that I will never use it’s fully capacity for which i have paid for. So why would i want a notebook? To actually take it around with me. Isn’t that what laptop computers were originally created for? Apart from price entry, I think the reason why netbooks have taken off as a consumer product is down to the actual weight associated with them, they’re typically a little over or under a kilogram and they deliver minimal power for work on the move, with a decent sized screen and a keyboard.
I like well engineered stuff that is beautiful to look at and beautiful to use. Arguably the new Macbooks fit into that ethos. However the thing that these notebooks don’t address is portability. at a little over 2kg for the lightest Macbook (the plastic version is actually heavier than the aluminium version), the weight factor is out the window. They’ve provided the computer at 13.3 inches which is a good size, but again, I would have preferred to have an even smaller thing that I could lug around with me and not really feel it.
The new notebooks feel more like a primary machine that you have in your house, that give you the option to move about the house, but don’t seem to have the makings of a true road warrior. Maybe if you’ve got a car and using that to move you and your notebook around, but in my city slicker mode, I don’t own a car and it’s me who will be lugging this thing around. As such weight is paramount.
Is it Apple’s fault that their latest notebook offerings don’t actually fit in to what I want? To be fair to Apple they have something that more or less fits in with my ethos, get the Macbook Air, at 1.3kg that more or less addresses my weight issue. The only problem with this is that the Air is £1300. That’s £350 more expensive than an already expensive machine (and I doubt the new Macbook Air actually has the glass trackpad which is many shades of awesome).
Sadly like Gruber says, Apple won’t release a netbook for another few years and when they do it’ll be awesome, but it will have a stripped down OS X and will fit my needs now, in 2 years. So what’s a guy to do? What are the available options?
I could either get a Macbook Air, get a Lenovo S10 when it gets here and Hackintosh it or I could get a Dell Inspiron 9 and Hackintosh that. Arguably the second option is much cheaper (by around £1000).
I’m making a collection of links for how you can install OS X on a Lenovo S10 netbook ; you know, in case I decide not to get the uber expensive Macbooks.