I’m noticing a not-so-subtle change in the force. I spent the better part of the week listening to Barack Obama, and I’m a moderate-to-conservative guy. Policies aside, he’s a persuasive man. Anyhow — I’m also a Windows guy for the most part, but have been known to ride (and occasionally cross over) that fence, as well. Recently, a new business/work venture has me experiencing the need to be ultra-portable from time to time, meeting and working potentially from who-knows-where. So, given the current tax situation and the “workability” needs, I broke down and dropped by the Apple Store last night and — after having visited the store four times and carefully considering the available options — I bought a MacBook Air. My friend Matt patiently watched while I substantially delayed our arrival at the movie theater. Good sport, that Matt.

In case anyone’s keeping track, the current game score in the Hughes household Windows vs. Apple system showdown is: Windows 2 (technically 3 if you count the roomie’s machine), Apple 2 (or 3 if you count the iPhone). I’m not a Switcher, but I am an Adder.

VMWare Fusion, a very cool app that will let me run Windows apps on the Mac, is coming soon. I will write up my experiences at some point with that process, with a focus on how it works from the perspective of an IT guy. There are — plain and simple — certain apps that are only available on Windows that I need to use, so it will provide me with both worlds, at the same time. You can learn about Fusion here.

Everyone and their brother have already posted reviews and articles about the MacBook Air, so no point in me rehashing the obvious. Here are my initial highlights:

• Keyboard — Backlit, brightness auto-adjusts, nice keys, quiet typing.
• Screen — Excellent backlight, also auto-adjusts, bright and contrasty.
• Thin — Well, duh. And light, too. That was what got me to look in the first place.
• Battery — Not going to get the advertised 5 hours, but I have pounded it pretty hard for about 2.5 and its still advertising an hour left on the battery (first charge)
• Close-lid-sleep-wake-up drill — Nice and quick. I like that.

Also, I picked up the “incase” brand neoprene sleeve case they had at the Apple store, which is really very nice. I am already liking it. Great protection and hey, it’s all black. :)

I got home, opened it up despite being very tired, ran through the setup (nice, easy, and cool), eventually climbed into bed and watched this past week’s episode of Lost in HD on the ‘net. The Air is a great computer for that, too. I like.

One of the most important things to me in terms of purchasing a new cell phone is how well it could be used on the Internet. Long before the iPhone, I wanted a device that gave me full e-mail and Web support so that I could always be connected wherever I was, but whenever I took a look at some of the available devices on the market, I was never completely impressed. A few of them came close to delivering the results I wanted, but in the end, they just didn’t do the job. Of course, all of this changed when the iPhone came along.

I have to admit, I was slightly skeptical about the abilities of the iPhone when it was first announced, but after it was released and I was able to try and buy one, I realized that it was the best thing to ever happen to mobile Web browsing. I honestly can’t imagine using any other mobile device to surf the Web now that I’ve seen what the iPhone has to offer in this area.

Because of this functionality, it only makes sense that people are using their iPhones to do a lot more than simply call their friends and family. For the first time ever, people are actually enjoying the ability to use the Internet on a mobile device, and even though it’s not as quick and convenient as a regular desktop or notebook computer, they’re spending more time accessing the Internet on the iPhone. The iPhone is still a relatively new product, but how many people are using it to surf the Internet in comparison to other mobile platforms? Once again, Net Applications has some answers for us, and the numbers shocked me.

First of all, the most active operating systems on the Internet are going to be the major operating systems for desktops and notebooks like Windows, OS X, and Linux, but their mobile counterparts are making a name for themselves as well. According to Net Applications, the percentage of users browsing the Internet on the iPhone and its embedded OS X operating system is .09% while the percentage of users browsing the Internet on all Windows Mobile devices combined is .06%. Therefore, the iPhone wins under these circumstances.

I’ve used Windows Mobile before, and I can tell you from personal experience that using the Internet on that platform is not exactly pleasant. It’s better than what some of the other platforms offer, but it still doesn’t compare to the iPhone in any way, and the numbers show that. As we continue to make the move to a more mobile and connected world, Internet access is going to be tied into almost everything that we do on our cell phones and other mobile devices, and Windows Mobile is going to have to provide a better online experience if Microsoft hopes to get more of their users to actually use Windows Mobile to access the Internet, because right now, the platform just doesn’t do the trick.

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at OSWeekly.com. For more computer news, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to OSWeekly.com’s RSS Feed!

Related Articles @ OSWeekly.com

• Are Random Shell Scripts A Threat?
• What to Use in Linux: Open or Closed Software?
• Fedora 8: Live CD Reviewed
• Leopard On G4: The Test
• Why Microsoft’s Facebook Bet Won’t Work

Stories at CNN, Ars Technica, and CNET are covering the fact that Apple is working on a plan that would allow unlimited “free” access to the iTunes music library — if users paid more up-front for their iPod devices.

This sounds interesting, but it seems like an up-front charge (when you buy the device, as a one-time fee) might have some legal (not to mention business viability) challenges associated with it. Now, if they were to go with a Zune-like monthly subscription model, that would be a whole different story. It would actually make a lot of sense.

Group-think/conventional wisdom seems to be that since the average iPod/Phone user spends about $20 total on music through the iTunes store, it would make sense to charge everyone that much up front. Others say something more like $80 is more reasonable. I think they’re all wrong: Charge me $20 up front, and I will do everything I can to maximize — in a big way — that mandatory investment. People only spend an average of $20 because they have to keep paying. Charge that up front and grant them unlimited access, and they’ll download more music than you can possibly imagine.

That’s where the Zune Pass idea is a better one. Recurring monthly revenue of a predictable, fixed amount (which is great from a business standpoint) and a happy customer base. I just don’t see a one-time fixed fee model holding water for very long. But then again, if your intent (hypothetically) is to launch a firestorm campaign to (further) monopolize the market and then dump it as unviable… well, you might actually succeed at one goal by failing at another. Just a thought. :)

Do you remember when the first generation of iPod shuffles were called small? When Apple’s designers were dreaming up the iPod shuffle 1GB MP3 Player 2nd Generation, they had one thing on their minds: how can we make this small and compact 1GB player even smaller? The next step in the shuffle generation is 1/3 the length of its predecessor! Having your 1GB iPod shuffle is like carrying an entire 80-pack CD-case clipped to your belt.

Featuring iTunes autofill which will automatically fill your iPod shuffle with your own or new downloaded music, you don’t even have to pick and choose if you don’t want to. Easy-to-use buttons and a slider switch make the iPod shuffle a player that’s a joy to handle as well as jam to.

Deal price: $49 + free shipping

Any Gnomies have a take on this product? Good or bad, we’d love to hear about it! Comments are absolutely welcome.

If you’ve been following the whole third-party iPhone applications debacle (and I’m sure that you have), then you know that the whole situation up until this point had just become completely ridiculous. Apple may not have been officially supporting the applications, but the hacks were plentiful, and oh so easy to take advantage of.

As I’ve said before, whether Apple initially planned to eventually offer an SDK (software development kit) or not, the success of unofficial applications probably spurred them on to get serious about an SDK sooner rather than later. To show his commitment to official third-party iPhone application support, Steve Jobs recently wrote a letter that revealed that an SDK is scheduled to be released in February.

This is great news for iPhone users and software developers, but I can’t help but wonder how exciting this will be once it actually sees the light of day. I mean, what is Apple’s concept of an open iPhone? As I write this, there are countless people that are doing amazing things through hacks on the iPhone, but I have a hard time believing that anything Apple produces will be as open and freeing as previous efforts by the community of unofficial iPhone hackers.

Will developers truly be able to develop applications like we’ve already seen, or will they be more limited? If Apple restricts freedom more than is necessary and releases this SDK in a half-baked way, then it will almost be worse than if they had never offered one at all. That may be a bold opinion, but I think a lot of people will support it.

In his letter, Jobs makes reference to some advancement that Nokia is making in terms of digital signatures, and it’s clear that Apple will take an approach that allows them to still protect the iPhone on their terms. It can be hard to let go, but Apple needs to do just that with the iPhone and truly make the consumer feel like it’s their phone.

Perhaps by default the device could only accept verified and approved applications, but with just a couple of small and official tweaks, it could be opened to run all applications by people that know what they’re doing and accept the fact that something could potentially go wrong if they get too adventurous. As long as these people didn’t go crying to Apple when disaster struck, and they could still restore the iPhone to its original settings and functionality, then we would be set.

Even though complete openness would be nice, I didn’t buy my iPhone only because I was counting on third-party applications. Instead, I liked the features that the phone had right out of the box, and I knew going into the purchase that Apple had initially taken a convoluted stance on application development. This didn’t stop me, and I still love the device just as it is. While I will appreciate native supported applications, I’ve already come to terms with the fact that this forthcoming SDK won’t exactly completely open up the iPhone and its OS.

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at CoolTechZone. For more news about the gadgets that make the world go ’round, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to CoolTechZone’s RSS Feed!

This is a relatively old topic, but it had me thinking the other day. Now that Apple’s Boot Camp is a success and works well with Windows, the company is amazingly well positioned to take down Microsoft, at least in the consumer space. The non-Mac addicts were always worried about leaving their trusty old Windows, but there’s nothing to worry about now. You, as Windows users, can experience a brand new platform (and its joys) and use Windows at the same time.

However, for that to happen, Apple needs to get out of its comfort zone and be a little more experimental from a pricing standpoint. Keep the hardware closed, but drop those stinky prices. It was all well and good to develop a product for the select few in the old days, but if Apple wants to take down Microsoft, the company needs to be able to compete against Dell and HP, though I don’t recommend selling $500 PCs.

Once the prices are on a more acceptable level, then start marketing them like Windows PCs. Apple is good at marketing and coming up with interesting marketing campaigns, I’m sure it can figure out a way to sell Windows with OS X at the same time. Use those PC guy, Mac guy commercials if you have to, albeit with a slight twist. I understand it’s going to be difficult to promote Microsoft, but hey, think about the long tail impact at Microsoft’s expense.

I was even going to recommend Apple to support Windows, but I think that may be pushing it a bit too much. So, for now, the aforementioned solutions should be a great way for Apple to inch its way onto Microsoft’s turf. Microsoft is in a vulnerable spot right now with continued losses from all sides (Internet and Zune, to name the top two), and the best thing to do would be to exploit them just at the right time.

In essence, I’m essentially asking for Apple to become a glorified OEM PC maker, and I say that with utmost respect to the company. Not only will that put a dent in Microsoft’s bottom line, but it will also have quite an impact on Dell, HP, and an abundance of other PC makers.

[Gundeep Hora]

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at CoolTechZone. For more news about the gadgets that make the world go ’round, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to CoolTechZone’s RSS Feed!

Related Articles @ CoolTechZone:

• Surprise, Surprise: iPhone Not Coming Down in Price EVER
• Note to Professionals: Go Away, iPhone is Not For You
• Can Apple Last Without Steve Jobs?
• Why Apple Should Acquire AMD
• Pay More to Get Rid of Crapware from PCs

Tags: apple, mac, boot camp, cross platform, windows on mac

Apple today introduced iPhone, combining three products - a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, Web browsing, searching and maps - into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting users control iPhone with just their fingers. iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

“iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We are all born with the ultimate pointing device - our fingers - and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse.”

iPhone is a Revolutionary Mobile Phone
iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows users to make calls by simply pointing at a name or number. iPhone syncs all of your contacts from your PC, Mac or Internet service such as Yahoo!, so that you always have your full list of up-to-date contacts with you. In addition, you can easily construct a favorites list for your most frequently made calls, and easily merge calls together to create conference calls.

iPhone’s pioneering Visual Voicemail, an industry first, lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages. Just like email, iPhone’s Visual Voicemail enables users to immediately randomly access those messages that interest them most.

iPhone includes an SMS application with a full QWERTY soft keyboard to easily send and receive SMS messages in multiple sessions. When users need to type, iPhone presents them with an elegant touch keyboard which is predictive to prevent and correct mistakes, making it much easier and more efficient to use than the small plastic keyboards on many smartphones. iPhone also includes a calendar application that allows calendars to be automatically synced with your PC or Mac.

iPhone features a 2 megapixel camera and a photo management application that is far beyond anything on a phone today. Users can browse their photo library, which can be easily synced from their PC or Mac, with just a flick of a finger and easily choose a photo for their wallpaper or to include in an email.

iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone which also features EDGE and Wi-Fi wireless technologies for data networking. Apple has chosen Cingular, the best and most popular carrier in the US with over 58 million subscribers, to be Apple’s exclusive carrier partner for iPhone in the US.

iPhone is a Widescreen iPod
iPhone is a widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets music lovers “touch” their music by easily scrolling through entire lists of songs, artists, albums and playlists with just a flick of a finger. Album artwork is stunningly presented on iPhone’s large and vibrant display.

iPhone also features Cover Flow, Apple’s amazing way to browse your music library by album cover artwork, for the first time on an iPod. When navigating your music library on iPhone, you are automatically switched into Cover Flow by simply rotating iPhone into its landscape position.

iPhone’s stunning 3.5-inch widescreen display offers the ultimate way to watch TV shows and movies on a pocketable device, with touch controls for play-pause, chapter forward-backward and volume. iPhone plays the same videos purchased from the online iTunes Store that users enjoy watching on their computers and iPods, and will soon enjoy watching on their widescreen televisions using the new Apple TV. The iTunes Store now offers over 350 television shows, over 250 feature films and over 5,000 music videos.

iPhone lets users enjoy all their iPod content, including music, audiobooks, audio podcasts, video podcasts, music videos, television shows and movies. iPhone syncs content from a user’s iTunes library on their PC or Mac, and can play any music or video content they have purchased from the online iTunes store.

iPhone is a Breakthrough Internet Communications Device
iPhone features a rich HTML email client which fetches your email in the background from most POP3 or IMAP mail services and displays photos and graphics right along with the text. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can be reading a Web page while downloading your email in the background.

Yahoo! Mail, the world’s largest email service with over 250 million users, is offering a new free “push” IMAP email service to all iPhone users that automatically pushes new email to a user’s iPhone, and can be set up by simply entering your Yahoo! name and password. iPhone will also work with most industry standard IMAP and POP based email services, such as Microsoft Exchange, Apple .Mac Mail, AOL Mail, Google Gmail and most ISP mail services.

iPhone also features the most advanced and fun-to-use Web browser on a portable device with a version of its award-winning Safari Web browser for iPhone. Users can see any Web page the way it was designed to be seen, and then easily zoom in to expand any section by simply tapping on iPhone’s multi-touch display with their finger. Users can surf the Web from just about anywhere over Wi-Fi or EDGE, and can automatically sync their bookmarks from their PC or Mac. iPhone’s Safari Web browser also includes built-in Google Search and Yahoo! Search so users can instantly search for information on their iPhone just like they do on their computer.

iPhone also includes Google Maps, featuring Google’s groundbreaking maps service and iPhone’s amazing maps application, offering the best maps experience by far on any pocket device. Users can view maps, satellite images, traffic information and get directions, all from iPhone’s remarkable and easy-to-use touch interface.

iPhone’s Advanced Sensors
iPhone employs advanced built-in sensors - an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor - that automatically enhance the user experience and extend battery life. iPhone’s built-in accelerometer detects when the user has rotated the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display accordingly, with users immediately seeing the entire width of a Web page, or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio.

iPhone’s built-in proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away. iPhone’s built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone will be available in the US in June 2007, Europe in late 2007, and Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US), and will work with either a PC or Mac. iPhone will be sold in the US through Apple’s retail and online stores, and through Cingular’s retail and online stores. Several iPhone accessories will also be available in June, including Apple’s new remarkably compact Bluetooth headset.

iPhone includes support for quad-band GSM, EDGE, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR wireless technologies.

iPhone requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later and iTunes 7; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2). Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended. Apple and Cingular will announce service plans for iPhone before it begins shipping in June.

Learn More About iPhone
To learn more about iPhone, please visit Apple.com or watch the video of the iPhone introduction.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online store.

Tags: iphone, apple, itunes, ipod, bluetooth, communication, mobile, sms, cingular

Bummed out because you feel like the last person on Earth who can’t justify the high cost of an iPod? Maybe this’ll cheer you up! Reuters (via Yahoo! News) reports:

Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) expects the average selling price of its iPod digital music players to decline in the current quarter from the prior period, the company’s CFO said on Wednesday.

“We expect them to be down a little bit in the June quarter,” Apple’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said.

He also told Reuters that the gross margins on iPods in the just-completed March quarter were “above 20 percent,” consistent with his past comments about iPod gross margins.

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:

Boot Camp, as Jimmy wrote about earlier, is a great idea. But it is beta software, and as with all beta software, you’re taking a chance using it.

Under the topic Boot Camp hosed my OS X partition, about a dozen users on an Apple discussion board shared experiences and possible solutions. Worst case scenario involved reformatting the Mac hard drive.

In installing Boot Camp, the hard drive is partitioned for OS X and XP. Installing the latter went without a hitch, but the machine would no longer boot back to the Mac operating system, according to users. Source: TechWeb

(more…)

David Johnston of RealTechNews writes:

Today I received a very interesting advertisement in the mail. It came from J&R, a retailer which I’ve purchased several things from in the past… enough to get me on the mailing list anyway. I normally like to pore over these kinds of tech advertisements just for fun and to make sure I’m not missing out on any cool gadget that I somehow hadn’t noticed before. Anyway, today as I was flipping through this latest advertisement, I started to notice something strange: the entire 32-page ad was exclusively for iPod accessories.

Even though I don’t own an iPod, I was intrigued as to how J&R’s was able to fill a 32-page advertisement with such homogenous products. There were, of course, six full pages dedicated to all the various kinds of iPod docks and external speakers you can get and an ample section for headphones and earbuds. The ad also included seven pages dedicated to the various sleeves, cases, and protective coatings that you could use with your iPod. However, along with the usual fare, I found some quite interesting accessories that brought mixed feelings of amusement, interest, and pity for the poor souls who are so iPod-crazy they would actually buy them.
(more…)

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes

There has been a lot of attention paid to hearing loss and MP3 players, especially ones that use earbud headsets, and particularly (of course), the iPod. In fact, if you recall from my earlier story, Apple had been sued over iPod-caused hearing loss.

The free update, available for video iPods and all iPod Nano models, also includes a parental lock option. After setting the volume limit, parents can lock the setting with a combination code to prevent children from raising the maximum volume without their knowledge.

(more…)

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:

As we reported in late January, Colin Nederkoorn started a contest, purportedly because he told his boss that the Intel Mac would replace his IBM desktop and he could boot Windows XP on it. Well, hackers dubbed “narf2006″ and “blanka” have managed to do solve his problem.

The solution was sent to Nederkoorn and his testers, who verified it on Wednesday. It’s a complicated endeavor, however, including formatting a Mac system and creating a custom Windows XP SP2 installation disc, which could potentially violate Microsoft’s copyright.

(more…)

Not a surprise at all. A lot of tech enthusiasts love to monkey around with new toys and see if they can fit square pegs into round holes, and Mac tech enthusiasts, especially, love to see how far they can go with their beloved Apple thingamabobs. May Wong of the Associated Press (via The Seattle Post-Intelligencer) writes:

As expected, hackers have found a way to run Microsoft Corp.’s Windows XP operating system on new Macintosh computers, winning an ad hoc contest and a $13,854 cash prize to boot.

Or, make that dual-boot - the way to make a computer switch between two operating systems.

Some users of Apple Computer Inc.’s Macs have clamored for such a solution since Apple said it would be switching its computers to Intel Corp.’s chips, putting the feat within reach.

Their reasons vary, but a common denominator is that they would like to run Windows-based programs on their Macs…

Nyko Technologies, a peripherals manufacturer dedicated to enhancing the digital lifestyle, ships the Speaker Dock 2 for the Apple iPod. The innovative charging cradle allows iPod enthusiasts to listen to their favorite tunes in stereo sound, while recharging the iPod at the same time. The Speaker Dock 2 is compatible with the entire iPod line including the newest additions of iPod Nano and iPod Video via interchangeable adapters.
(more…)

OK, so the Apple Mac Mini is looking cool, still. But instead of the price coming down, they are trying to march into the living room? What happened to being a transition to the world of Apple? Focus Jobs, Focus!
(more…)

After reading this, I cannot help but feel like I need to be using iTunes a lot more often. Seriously, check out the virtual bankroll of cool stuff this guys gets for buying the billionth song from iTunes! It’s insane!
(more…)

Early adopters are reporting that the MacBook Pro units that they ordered right after Steve Jobs announced their availability in his latest keynote are finally shipping. A few lucky buyers put up screenshots of their shipping confirmation for all to see, showing the ship date, along with the change in processor speed (Apple recently bumped up the processor speed across the board for the MacBook Pros).
(more…)