November 1st, 2008
There are a lot of great apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. One of them is the newly released Google Earth for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It literally feels like the world is in the palm of your hands.
I downloaded the Google Earth app and installed in on my iPod Touch. Amazing. That’s what I can say. Imagine having all that data in your hands. You can see the world without moving from where you are. That’s just fantastic.
This app fits the iPhone interface pretty well. You pinch and use gestures to manipulate the map. There’s an auto tilt function that allows you to change your perspective. Although I did turn this feature off since it was irritating to use while lying down. That’s one of my gripes. I wish you could reset the neutral point of the app so that even you’re lying down you can still use the auto tilt function.
Naturally the Philippines doesn’t have maps that are as detailed as the U.S. but it was good enough. I recognized the street and the building where I live. I was able to browse through the general area and find my way around.
It was also fun looking at the various Wikipedia entries as well as view the geo-tagged photos by Panoramio.
This app is a must have. There’s some room for improvement but given that, it’s still something you should have on your iPhone/iPod Touch. Best of all, it’s free.
Visit the entry from the Google Blog
Download from the App Store
Tags: Apps, Google, iPhone, iPod Touch, Software
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By Juan -- 2 comments
October 30th, 2008
Jason Snell of Mac World reviews the Netflix Instant Watching service for Intel Macs.
As pointed out by the article the service isn’t available to all Netflix users yet. They’re slowly rolling it out. Since I’m both not a Netflix customer and a U.S. resident I can’t try them out for myself. The review gives us all a glimpse though.
So with Netflix offering instant gratification will we see a contender to iTunes? Don’t think so, not until they improve their instant watching catalog. At least that’s what I got from the review.
Tags: Intel, Mac, Netflix, Streaming
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October 28th, 2008
Last July, Jeremy White, President and CEO of CodeWeavers issued a challenge to President Bush to make his remaining days in office more meaningful by accomplishing some major political and economic goals by the end of his term.
The challenge was called “The Great American Lame Duck Presidential Challenge”. The goals of the challenge are
* Return the stock market to it’s 2008 high
* Reduce the average price of a gallon of milk to $3.50
* Create at least one net job in the U.S. this calendar year
* Return the median home price to its Jan. 1, 2008 level
* Bring Osama Bin-Laden to justice
and… Help to bring down the average gasoline prices in the Twin Cities to $2.79 a gallon.
This is what happened last Oct. 14. As such CodeWeavers is giving away copies of it’s software for free. This is a one day offer available today (Oct 28, 2008) only.
For the complete details and press release, please view it here.
CodeWeavers, Crossover software allows you to run Windows applications on your Intel Macs.
Tags: Free Codeweavers Crossover Intel Mac
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October 27th, 2008
They say good things come to those who wait. Well Netflix probably seems that way to Mac users. Sure Mac users have iTunes but isn’t variety good?
PC users have been enjoying streaming content from Netflix in what seems like ages. It’s about time Mac users got a a taste of it as well.
Powered by Silverlight, Mac users are now able to stream Netflix content on their Macs. It is cross platform, cross-browser. It also is touted to offer better fast-forward and rewind functions.
View the press release here.
Tags: Intel Mac Streaming Netflix
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By Juan -- 1 comment
October 25th, 2008
Inspired by this recent post at TUAW. I’d like to share my own “switcher” story.
I purchased my first Mac on June 2004. It was a 1.5 Ghz 15″ Powerbook. I’ve been wanting to switch to a Mac since I saw the Powerbook G3 of a former office mate. At first I fell in love with the design and began reading about Macs. I later fell in love with the OS. I’ve always knew that a Unix based system was better than Windows but it wasn’t as friendly to use. I wasn’t a hardcore computer geek. I knew things but I don’t want to spend my time under the hood of a computer. I just wanted something that worked. OS X promised to give me that. A powerful Unix core under the hood with a simple, user friendly interface that Apple was known for. I was hooked.
So, I saved for a year or so. Putting extra money aside. On that faithful day in June 2004, I finally placed my order. The dealer delivered my Powerbook a day after. The, rest they say is history. Since then I’ve been an Apple convert. I loved most of the things about it. From how the computer was designed all the way to how it just makes my life easier.
I began advocating for the Mac with my family. Showing it off to my brother, mom and dad. I showed them how easy it was to do things on a Mac. They were skeptic at first but they soon realized how nice it was.
My brother was my first convert. He sold his few month old ASUS laptop and bought a 12″ PowerBook. My mom later followed when her Sony VAIO died. Instead of replacing it with another Windows laptop, my dad bought her a 12″ iBook.
To date, it’s only my dad in our immediate family that has yet to switch to a Mac laptop. Partly because he is tied to his office’s system which dictates that he has to use a Windows laptop. He is however, a very happy iPhone user. If not for being tied to his office, I think he would have been a Mac user as well.
The biggest factor I switched to the Mac is that it just allowed me to focus on the things I wanted to do. Do my design work, browse the internet, email, entertainment, etc. Instead of spending a lot of time, maintaining my computer. I don’t have to worry about virus, crashes or whatnot. It just life easier and more enjoyable.
So what’s your switcher story? Care to share it with us?
*Currently I’m using a 2.33Ghz 17″ MacBook Pro and wishing I could get a new 15″ Unibody MacBook Pro
Tags: Mac Switcher PowerBook iBook MacBook Pro
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October 23rd, 2008
According to this post on Gizmodo the Mac Mini might be heading to its final resting place. Reports that two major retailers in Europe couldn’t place orders for the Mac Mini anymore.
With this news, are you going to miss the Mac Mini?
Currently the Mac Mini is the most affordable Mac. The entry price for a Mac Mini is $599 and that will buy you a 1.83 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB RAM and an 80GB HD. Quite expensive in my opinion.
The Mac Mini while it is the cheapest Mac it’s a bit over priced for what you’re getting, yet it’s still quite appealing to some. It’s the form factor that’s winning hearts all over. It’s compact and stylish. It also gives you the option to use different peripherals.
A lot of people are using it as cheap servers or media centers.
As much as I know it’s a bit over priced for the specs you’re getting the I’d still hate to see the Mac Mini go. It serves a particular need. It gives people a cheaper way to enter the world of Mac.
Instead of laying it to rest, I’d really like Apple to just give it a spec bump or introduce a whole new Mac Mini altogether.
What say you?
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October 20th, 2008
Popular Mechanic has a tip on improving the volume on your MacBook’s speakers.
If you’re watching videos, it’s best to watch it via VLC. VLC allows you to boost the audio of the video file way above the limit that Apple has set. The software claims it can be boosted to up to 400 percent. This solution is not available for system sounds, etc.
The next best thing would be to use software like Audio Hijack Pro from Rogue Amoeba. This however costs 32 bucks.
Lets face it, the speaker quality on the MacBooks aren’t good. They’re down right mediocre. It would be really advisable to just use earphones or plug-in external speakers. That’s not practical always. So those above are the next best things.
View the article from Poplular Mechanic here.
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October 16th, 2008
It’s only been a few days since the launch of the all new MacBook and MacBook Pro but a lot has been written about it. I’ve taken the liberty of collecting some good reads about them. If you’re deciding whether or not to get one of these babies then I suggest going over these articles to see if it’s really meant for you or should you just pocket that dough and wait a little longer.
APC’s Top 10 things you didn’t know about the new MacBook
iFixit’s MacBook Pro First Look (Disassembly)
iFixit’s MacBook First Look (Disassembly)
Gizmodo’s MacBook and MacBook Pro Review
MacWorld’s first look at the MacBook and MacBook Pro
PC World’s Is it time to switch to an Apple laptop?
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October 14th, 2008
I think I just wet myself… Seriously… I can’t remember when I was really excited for some new products. The iPhone was great but I didn’t want to go and sell my kidneys right away to buy one. The MacBooks and MacBook Pros are a different story altogether. They literally made me want to go out and sell my kidneys just so I can buy one.
Well, let’s make one thing clear. I am a notebook whore. I love notebooks. MacBook Pros especially. They’re such a big part of my life that I can’t imagine my life without a notebook. I work, play and basically live a big part of my life with them. It’s the gadget that I use the most. It’s practically an extension of my body.
That being said, let’s go on to why I just wet myself…
Both the new MacBook and MacBook Pros are now built using a new process which allowed Apple to create a thinner, lighter but still strong enclosure for the new notebooks. It’s uses a unibody enclosure made from a single block of aluminum. Less parts, more rigid, in short better.
They also both use a LED backlit display which is encased in a glass screen.
Another highlight of the new notebooks is the glass trackpad which does not have a physical button. It is the button. It can also be programmed to respond to different gestures and use different areas for different buttons.
The MacBook Pro uses not one but two graphics processors. Switching between processors depending on need balancing out performance with longevity. It uses the NVDIA GeForce 9400M for everyday use then switches to the 9600M GT for those graphics intensive tasks.
It’s desktop performance in a mobile package.
For the complete tech specs check out these pages.
MacBook Pro Tech Specs
MacBook Tech Specs
The press release is here.
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October 13th, 2008
With a little over a day till Apple updates its notebook line, the question I’m asking myself is what do I really want in the next generation of Apple’s portables. Features that would really make me think about upgrading from my current 17″ MacBook Pro.
I’ve been thinking of selling my current MacBook Pro and going to an iMac/MacBook setup.
The iMac isn’t really a pro-grade computer but with the work I’m doing, I’m thinking it’s quite enough already. I don’t really need that much computing power that would necessitate buying a Mac Pro, in fact the power of my MacBook Pro is more than enough. I do however want a smaller portable to take with me on the go at the same time when I’m at home to have a nice desktop to work on.
Hence, for the next MacBook/MacBook Pros, I’m looking at a good balance between portability and power. The MacBook Air would have been nice, size wise but it’s just too under powered for my needs. I do love the aluminum finish it shares with the MacBook Pro. I haven’t really embraced moving to a MacBook due to the plastic material it uses. I’ve grown to love the aluminum finish of the MacBook Pro and I can’t think of going back to a plastic one.
Power is key as well. I don’t necessarily need a thoroughbred but I’d like something with enough power to do work while being mobile. A machine that can tackle Photoshop pretty well. Something that has everything together as well. I don’t want too much external peripherals.
An aluminum 13 inch MacBook that’s just a tad thinner and with a more powerful video card should be the sweet spot for me. I don’t mind losing the firewire port since I hardly use it. That goes for the expansion slot. I would like to keep the optical drive.
With the looming announcement of the new notebooks, what would you like to see?
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