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Thoughts On Mac OS X Lion

Technology 26 Jul 2011
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Mac OS X Lion

On Wednesday, Apple released its new version of OS X, namely Lion. By now, there are plenty of websites to read what is new in Lion so I won’t be covering that here. Instead, there are a few things that I find particularly interesting about Lion.

iOS-ification

Many refer to Lion as the iOS-ification of the Mac. While this certainly is true for quite a few parts of Lion, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Setting aside the computer geek side of me, I think Lion is certainly more polished in the areas of the consumer market, with some of the features that are truly popular on the iOS devices.

Going back to being a computer geek, these changes are not necessarily bad either, they are just a bit different. However, development in operating systems have come to the point where it is a requirement to do things differently. the iOS devices have certainly managed to show quite a lot of new ideas that could successfully be implemented into a desktop OS.

Interface Tweaks All Over

Interestingly enough, I find that most of the new features in Lion deals just with the interface. Sure, there is built in versioning control and other, more developer and power user friendly features, but what Apple is touting happens to be the interface for Lion.

While the new Launchpad is nice, it isn’t the most wonderful feature (dropping the Applications folder in the dock works much faster). Mission Control is nice, but not that nice.

It is interesting to note that what Apple is releasing, based on the marketing, is the iOS-ification of the desktop, laying the foundation for years to come. However, looking at the upgrade from a neutral perspective of the computer geek, you are left wondering why the upgrade is truly necessary (apart from the bug fixes).

Should you upgrade?

Heck yes! There is no reason not to upgrade, apart from applications not being fully supported at the moment. There is no reason to be afraid of the interface tweaks that are so different to what we are used to. In my eyes, it is better to adapt early than being forced into it late. Given that the upgrade is also cheap, it should be a no-brainer to get a piece of new technology now.

First Impressions of New MacBook Pro

General, Technology 14 Apr 2011
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MacBook Pro

A couple of weeks ago now, I decided that it was time to upgrade my MacBook Pro to a newer model with much more power seeing as the Creative Suite had been running increasingly sluggish on my old one. Since my MacBook Pro is my primary work machine, it is important that it is powerful enough to do what I need it to do while being light enough for travel.

What did I get?

I ended up opting for the 15″ MacBook Pro with a 750 GB normal hard drive and 4 GB memory from Apple, which I will be bumping to 8 GB myself shortly. The machine has the 2,2 GHz i7 processor and sports a full 1GB VRAM as well, which will be great for heavy-lifting in Photoshop. To top it off, I chose the high-res screen (1680×1050) although in glossy, since I have become used to it and quite like it.

How well does it work?

So far I have pretty much just gotten set up on it, installing new apps and moving files over to it. There are a couple of things that strike me with this one, compared to my previous MacBook Pro.

1. The extra real-estate is nice!

Sure, it is normally the case when you get a new screen, but it seems that the high-res version now available is just perfect. It might be close to the small-side, but I find that it works very well, providing that extra resolution that you need when doing graphics design.

2. More Dampened Keyboard

I seem to notice that the keyboard has been slightly more dampened on the new model, compared to my old. The trackpad is the same way too, much quieter when you click physically. Nothing to complain about here. I am always for quieter keystrokes.

3. The Battery Makes Such A Difference

The new machine promises a 7h battery life in Apple’s better battery test. I cannot begin to say how much of a difference this makes. I have been suffering with, at best times, a two-hour battery life on the old model, while always on the best graphics card (switching required a login). The upgrade is almost worth it for the battery time alone, especially when traveling.

Right now, I am very happy with the performance of this machine and I am very happy that I decided to get it. Once I get settled in and upgrade the RAM, I’ll let you know how it runs with the Adobe Creative Suite.

Here is the iPad 2

General, Technology 23 Feb 2011
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Apple just announced that they are holding an event on March 2nd where, if the rumors have it correct (and they should), they will announce the new iPad 2. I know what you are thinking, you would like to see it early. My good friend Albin Thorén just send me a link to an iPad 2 Walkthrough video on YouTube which is hilarious! Honestly it is one of the best spoofs I have seen in a long while.

Apple’s Mac App Store Could Become a Blessing to Corporate IT

Software, Technology 07 Jan 2011
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I’m very excited about the brand new Mac App Store released yesterday, not only because I think that that the store makes finding new and unknown apps relatively easy and that it removes the “How to install apps?” barrier for new and non-computer-savvy users.

The other reason why I am intrigued by the launch is for companies and especially all IT departments worldwide. This thought was sparked by my friend Peter, as we were tweeting about the possibilities for Apple to offer an instant download of all your apps. Here is where the store could be a blessing.

Mac App Store Applications

One Purchase – Unlimited Computers

When seeing a few tweets this morning from Don McAllister who was wondering over if Apple imposed the same 5 device limit to application as it does in the iTunes Store, almost everyone had been agreeing to the fact that surely that would be the case.

After a little digging, Don found a text in the help files that says that you can use a purchased application on any number of computers that you have.

(more…)

FaceTime, Using it much?

Technology 20 Dec 2010
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FaceTime on the iPhone 4The ability to do FaceTime calls has been available for about half a year now and was applauded when announced together with the new iPhone 4 at WWDC back in June. As time has gone by however, I have myself only used this feature once and that as a test to see if it actually worked as promised, right after getting my phone.

This leads me to ask the question, “Why am I not using FaceTime much?”. After all, this is a good service with a stunning UI even though it has a few quirks in it. When I sit down and think about this, I come up with two answers.

  1. First it is the entire idea about video calls. Being a teenager (allbeit, with only a year and a quarter left until 20), I should be the right person to judge this. I am not though. To start with, I do not call people that much, neither do I text people a whole lot. When I do it is usually not for the sole purpose of general socializing.I have never been to keen on the video chat idea. For some situations it is lovely. When it comes to meetings or get-togethers that you are able to have over the entire globe, the technology is just amazing. When it comes to general chatter, I just don’t like it as much. Perhaps it is because I am that used to instant messaging systems (where I also do not use video chat) and sitting in whatever outfit that suits me at any given moment. Showing yourself on video needs preparation and making yourself look presentable.
  2. Secondly FaceTime is only available through WiFi networks. This is truly the only major factor that keeps FaceTime from getting big. If I could call anyone in the world from anywhere in the world, whenever, I would be much more likely to use FaceTime for many more calls. As it stands now there is a certain hassle connected with making sure you are on a good WiFi connection and then arranging the call (again, whenever you know you are going to be on WiFi).

Then of course there is the fact that you don’t look that flattering when a camera is stuck under your head pointed right up…

Anyhow, those are my ideas on why FaceTime is not gaining the traction it probably should be and why we are not hearing much about it. Now I am interesting in knowing if you use FaceTime much, a little or never and what your reasons are!

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