Writer, Producer, Geek
Mac OS X Lion, version 10.7 of Apple’s venerable operating system, has been released to developers. A summary glance at the features it brings indicates a fairly minor update. But what seem like mostly cosmetic changes actually indicate a significant new direction for OS X. Read more »
Over the weekend the Apple rumour mill went into overdrive with talk of a MacBook Pro refresh arriving later this week. AppleInsider reported yesterday that Apple informed resellers to expect mysterious new deliveries any day now. But will the update bring the legendary Light Peak? Read more »
This week Apple caused a storm by announcing their new iOS App Store terms and conditions for publishers. In a nutshell; long-awaited in-app subscriptions are here, and publishers are worried about their bottom lines. But maybe what they should be thinking about is content. Read more »
This past weekend didn’t just mark the installation of my standing desk, or the moment I chose to wall-mount my life-size replica lightsaber; it also marked my return to using CulturedCode’s Things on the iPhone and Mac, and reminded me that sometimes less is perfect. Read more »
Echoing rumors from late last week, the Wall Street Journal is weighing in with a report that Apple is gearing-up to produce a smaller, cheaper iPhone and introduce a revamped MobileMe this summer. Both moves seem motivated by Apple’s strong competition in the mobile market. Read more »
Antennagate is back in the news thanks to the Verizon iPhone 4. The Inquirer has an article about it, decrying Apple’s willful negligence with the sub-title “Can’t keep a faulty design down.” Let’s put this faulty notion to bed, shall we? Read more »
Chinese Environmental groups this week released a report criticizing Apple for poor health and safety standards and a lack of environmental responsibility at the factories of some of its suppliers throughout the country. But just how culpable really is the Mac maker? Read more »
The Financial Times reports today that software publishing behemoth Microsoft has filed a motion with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week, objecting to Apple being awarded the trademark “App Store.” But upon what ground does that claim really rest? Read more »
We’re not even a week in, and the Mac App Store seems to be a success. But as the excitement wears off, it’s time to take a long, hard look at what the Mac App Store means for users — not just now, but in the future. Read more »
Finally, after years of rumours and speculation, it looks like Verizon is about to start selling Apple’s iPhone. On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal boldly proclaimed “The iPhone is finally coming to Verizon Wireless.” So what does that mean for AT&T, and for you? Read more »
Apple has recently been awarded a patent for “administering and maintaining a network-booted operating system.” This could point to the development of a cloud-based Mac OS X. If it comes to pass, what would a cloud-based OS X actually look like and how will it work? Read more »
Who would have thought, in early 2000, that Apple would end the decade as the most valuable technology company on the planet? Join me for a visual history of Apple products throughout the decade, and marvel at the software and hardware design ingenuity that was. Read more »
Let’s be clear; the iPad rocks. If it never changes, I’d still be happy with it. But since we’re at that point in the year when we’re offering predictions and hopes regarding what’s to come, here’s a list of must-have features in iPad 2. Read more »
The three biggest names in global web trends – Google, Facebook and Twitter – have released their top ten lists for 2010. In lists filled with global recession worries and natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, Justin Bieber) it says a lot that Apple is still popping up everywhere. Read more »
We’ve come an awfully long way since the first iPhone was released in 2007. The last three and a half years have seen dramatic improvements in both the hardware and software of Apple’s smartphone. So what more could you ask for? A lot, it turns out. Read more »
According to a new survey, more than half of all smartphone owners are ready to jump ship to another device. iPhone owners are most loyal, with 59 percent saying they’ll stick with Apple’s device. But what do the figures really mean for the market? Read more »
If you own an iPad, you’re probably still enjoying all that iOS 4.2 gave (and lamenting what it took away), but the rest of us are already looking ahead to the future and dreaming of what the next major revision of iOS might bring. Read more »
BlackBerry manufacturer RIM’s CEO Jim Balsillie made waves this week by taking a swipe at Apple at the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco. To be fair, Apple CEO Steve Jobs struck first, but are Balsillie’s comments substantive or just a knee-jerk reaction? Read more »
In September 2009, Intel demonstrated a new technology, dubbed Light Peak, that many were hailing as USB’s successor. Thirteen months later, and CNET predicts that Light Peak will be featured in new Macs in 2011 when it finally arrives. I’m not so sure about that. Read more »
In an article on AppleInsider, Josh Ong details changes in the upcoming iOS 4.2 update. It seems to blur the line between MobileMe and a user’s Apple ID. It’s a subtle addition, but it might just be the seed of a revolution in personal computing. Read more »
On Friday, Apple released an important software update to iPhoto ’11, which addresses what Apple described as an “extremely rare” problem with iPhoto galleries not upgrading properly and as a result, becoming inaccessible. We’ve also found some solutions for those already affected. Read more »
Remember that data center Apple is building in North Carolina? You know the one; valued at $1 billion and widely expected to play a major part in Apple’s future cloud computing initiative? Yeah, that one. Well, it’s nearly finished. Read more »
This is it, we’re in the final stretch. In a mere five days the iPad arrives. Now that we’re counting down the remaining days in single digits, all manner of ‘leaked’ information is pouring out of the tech blog rumor mill. Read more »
“Read Later – ⌘4”. I live my life by it. I find an interesting article but have no time to read it – ⌘4. A crazy-long message in Gmail that’s just perfect for, um, ‘bathroom reading’ – ⌘4. Pretty much anything that demands attention but can […] Read more »
Apple has started making the iPad available on its online education store in packs of 10 with an appallingly–stingy discount of only $20 per iPad. If Apple wants to start a computing revolution with the iPad, it absolutely must get the device into schools. But in […] Read more »
I don’t use any browser on my iPhone other than Mobile Safari. And, unless you have a jailbroken iPhone, neither do you. That’s because Apple’s webkit-powered Mobile Safari provides the browser engine for all the iPhone’s various windows onto the Interweb. So, whether you’re viewing a […] Read more »
It looks like we’re getting close to the official release of 10.6.3, the latest update to Mac OS X Snow Leopard — and, from what we’re hearing on the developer grapevine, it might prove to be the most extensive Snow Leopard update yet. TUAW reported on […] Read more »
It was bound to happen, sooner or later. Steve Jobs is simply too important, too impressive, too easy a target not to base a character on him and turn it into a sitcom. And that’s what might very well be happening, if the pilot currently in […] Read more »
An Australian tech website has started running ads featuring Mac Pros and MacBook Pros whose entry-level prices are noticeably higher than those in the current Mac lineup. So what, right? The ads are probably incorrectly labeled, or something. But the word on the street (well, the […] Read more »
Swapping turtleneck for tuxedo, Steve Jobs made a rare public appearance when he took to the red carpet at the Academy Awards last night, spotted first by eagle-eyed social media maven Wayne Sutton who posted to his blog; OMG it’s Steve Jobs! I’m the only one yelling […] Read more »
Yesterday Apple held its annual shareholder’s meeting at its Cupertino headquarters. All the top brass were there to answer questions from the men and women to whom, let’s face it, they must eventually answer. Of course, that didn’t stop Steve Jobs from being his usual tactless […] Read more »
Billions and billions. It’s a theme that has accompanied me all week. In fact, I imagine I know a little how Carl Sagan must have felt. After writing about Apple’s billions just a few days ago, here I am again — but this time it’s not data […] Read more »
After the rumor-fest surrounding Apple’s mystery device was stanched the moment Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, a new trend has emerged; SDK Mining. This is the art of digging through the iPad’s operating system to uncover clues about hitherto-undisclosed functionality. Since the iPad and iPhone SDKs […] Read more »
Yesterday, the New York Times published an article examining what it refers to as the upcoming “war” between computer chip manufacturers. It’s an interesting read if you’re desperately into that sort of thing, but what’s most compelling is the assertion that Apple probably invested at least a […] Read more »
With the next iPhone revision theoretically only months away, attention is turning again to what we can expect in the form of updates. Obviously, we’re all looking forward to the fourth generation iPhone sporting an octocore A4 processor, 3D OLED HD screen and, naturally, Flux Capacitor. […] Read more »
When Phil Schiller unveiled MobileMe onstage at WWDC in 2008 and described it as “exchange for the rest of us,” I was sold. Who wouldn’t be? All my email, contacts and calendar data pushed to all my devices, all of the time? My entire digital life […] Read more »
Fanboys, be still your beating hearts; word on the street is that El Jobso himself is (finally!) working on his own completely genuine and official biography. Writing in The New York Times today, Brad Stone reports that the book we’ve all been yearning to get our […] Read more »
Of all the companies competing in the cellphone industry, it is perhaps more than just a little poetic that Microsoft should be the first to offer a truly compelling product to rival Apple’s iPhone. I never thought I’d write that sentence. Yesterday at the Mobile World […] Read more »
There’s a backlash in the tech community against Apple’s iPad. Perhaps because the geeks and tech-heads are disappointed the iPad didn’t meet their every expectation. I wonder though if it isn’t just the result of a lack of imagination. Techies moan endlessly about the iPad’s lack […] Read more »
Bill Gates, in case you thought otherwise, is a genius. He really, really is. Not only was he building a software company at a time when no one believed software had a meaningful future, but his vision of “a computer on every desk and in every […] Read more »
