The Street - Apple has a hard road to 10 million iPhones
Financial journalists/analysts are never ones to let facts get in the way of a good headline. At least, that’s the only logical explanation for this article.
Priya Ganapati, Apple will not have to avg 2.5 million phones a quarter to reach their goals. Their goal wasn’t 10 million phones sold in 2008 - it was 10 million phones sold by the end 2008. They have already sold 4 million. That leaves 6 millionlion more to reach the goal, with a year. That is 1.5 million per quarter, not 2.5 million.
Additionally, Apple makes such good money on the contract, that they can afford to (if needed) drop the price $50 or $100 on the phone to increase sales. I’m sure they will probably do that anyway once the 3G version intros later this year.
Jeesh. These people deal with numbers all day. You think they could get something as simple as this right. (more…)
Posted: January 30, 2008 / Category: News
New Google Reader Improvements
I’ve noticed that Google has made two quiet improvements to the Google Reader application. First, if you have a large amount (I believe 50 or more) items in your reading list, and you check “Mark all as read”, you will now get a confirmation box asking you if you are sure you would like to do that. Nice touch.
Second, on the mobile version (when viewed in Mobile Safari), clicking on the “See Original” link now opens the link in a new page/tab.
If you use RSS to keep track of all your websites, you owe it to yourself to give Google Reader a try. Being able to keep all your feeds in sync whether you are at home, the office, or on the go is extremely useful.
Posted: January 26, 2008 / Category: News
Macintouch - Microsoft Office 2008 Review
Macintouch has a great in-depth review of Microsoft Office 2008 by Robert Mohns. Previously, I used Microsoft Office v.X and 2004 on a regular basis. However, since iWork ‘08, I’ve not used Office at all.
I hate to take this position, but with top notch virtualization options now on the Mac, and a quality, low cost native solution (iWork), I’m afraid there’s just little need for Office 2008. From what I’ve seen, the Mac Business Unit did an exceptional job with Office 2008. But that doesn’t change the fact that the landscape has changed since 2004.
(more…)
Posted: January 24, 2008 / Category: Reviews
Today @ PC World MacBook Air Amiss: Time to License Mac OS X?
Are you kidding me? I don’t know who this Mike Barton guy is, but he clearly must be trolling for hits on his blog.
Hey Mike - first of all, your comparison of the Macbook Air to a ThinkPad notebook you just bought is disingenuous because the ThinkPad you link to at $599 is USED, not NEW as you list it. Besides, refurb Macbooks can be found on the Apple Store for well under $1000 (some as low as $799). And we all know, refurb is much better than used, as you get a full warranty with an Apple refurb.
You’re right about Apple needing a budget laptop though. I mean, the sales of the Macbooks are just abysmal. Apple’s market share is just tanking. What will they ever do?
For the record, the above is sarcasm. Apple’s Macbooks at their $1099 - $1499 price outsell the competition, are extremely profitable, and Apple is kicking ass on the market share front.
In short, you don’t know what the hell you are talking about.
(Via Daring Fireball.)
Posted: January 20, 2008 / Category: Opinion
How to clean the Apple Mighty Mouse
I love my Mighty Mouse. It feels great in my hand, the scroll ball is absolutely a joy to use, and it tracks extremely well in OS X. The downside is that the scroll ball has a tendency to get dirty over time, and it can impair its ability to scroll. My Might Mouse started to suffer these problems, and after a couple of days, lost the ability to scroll down altogether.
A quick search of the web yielded a few different options on how to clean it. One of them takes it to the extreme and shows you how to dismantle the mouse and clean the internal parts individually. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary for my mouse.
Apple has a knowledge base article on the topic, along with a Quicktime video demonstrating how to clean the mouse. Luckily, this was all I needed.
In short, I tried rolling the ball while wiping it with a slightly damp cloth. It didn’t help much at all. On Apple’s suggestion, I turned the mouse upside and performed the same action. Bingo. That did the trick.
So, the next time your Mighty Mouse stops scrolling, turn it upside down and give the scroll ball a few pushes. And if that doesn’t work, you can always disassemble it.
Posted: January 14, 2008 / Category: News
Coda theme for TextMate
Love Coda? Love TextMate? Wish that you could get Coda’s syntax coloring for HTML in TextMate? Well, here’s my first quick stab at replicating Coda’s syntax coloring in TextMate. Download the CodaHTML.tmTheme file, unzip, double click, and enjoy.
Posted: January 10, 2008 / Category: Software, Web Development
NetNewsWire now free!
NetNewsWire, which is arguably the best desktop news reading client available, just changed the game by reducing the cost of the application to zero. You heard me - NetNewsWire is free. Brett Simmons, the developer, has a full run down of what prompted the decision to release NNW as freeware.
The change of status accompanies version 3.1, which includes numerous enhancements and bug fixes. For those who aren’t aware, NetNewsWire can sync your feeds with NewsGator’s online service, allowing you to keep up with your feeds on your mobile device (say, an iPhone).
I’ve long loved NNW, but always felt the price was too high. Especially considering that I had multiple licenses of NewsFire. However, since I’ve had an iPhone, I’ve been loving Google Reader. Being able to have all my feeds in Google Reader and keep up with them through the day on my desktop, and then in the evening on my iPhone during my bus ride home has been wonderful. Sure, Google Reader isn’t as slick as NetNewsWire, but I think this is definitely an instance where the cloud app’s convenience factor outweigh’s the slickness of the desktop client.
(Via Inessential.)
MacHeist 2
The MacHeist Bundle is back! This year, the bundle promo runs for 15 days, and features the following applications:
- 1password
- CoverSutra
- Cha-Ching
- iStopMotion
- Awaken
- AppZapper
- TaskPaper
and when sales reach 5000 units, the following three apps will be unlocked:
- CSSEdit
- Snapz Pro X
- PixelMator
Like last year, 25% of sales go to charity.
Let the nay sayers complaints begin! Personally, I find this post by Scott Stevenson to sum it up best.
Posted: / Category: Software
VectorDesiger 1.0
New vector based drawing application from TweakerSoft. Initial impressions are very positive. It looks to give LineForm some good competition. Among the features unique to VectorDesigner are integration with Flickr (allowing for quick search and retrieval of Flickr images inside VectorDesigner), and a conversion between raster and vector formats. VectorDesigner 1.0 is $49.95 until after Macworld, at which point it will be bumped up to the normal price of $69.95
Posted: January 8, 2008 / Category: Software
New MacPro, Xserve debut
One week before Macworld San Francisco 2008, Apple has decided to release updated versions of the Mac Pro and Xserve.
The new Mac Pro, features the following stock configuration at a price of $2,799:
- two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses;
- 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory;
- 320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
- 16x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots;
- Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and
- ships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.
The new Xserve, at $2,999, features:
- a single 64-bit 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Xeon processor with 12MB of L2 cache and a 1600 Mhz front side bus;
- 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM RAM, expandable up to 32GB;
- a single 80GB SATA Apple Drive Module;
- dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board;
- internal graphics;
- two FireWire® 800 and three USB 2.0 ports; and
- an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard.
Both machines can be customized, of course.
One has to wonder - with Macworld a week away, why release new Macs now? The only logical conclusion is that Apple has enough new products (outside today’s launches) to occupy an entire keynote. Let the speculation begin!
Posted: / Category: Apple