Apple - page 38

There’s a dirty little secret lurking within the hearts of iPhone and the iPod touch: neither of them is a particularly great music player. A lot of iPhone owners actually keep a separate iPod nano or classic with them to listen to their music libraries. I’m not one of them, but I’m thinking about it.

Don’t get me wrong. Syncing media to modern Apple handheld is the best such experience money can buy, and the actual playback and browsing experiences are in the top tier of media phones and Internet tablets. That doesn’t mean they’re great, though. For the most part, the iPod app found on the iPhone and touch is a fairly literal translation of the original iPod interface ported over to a much higher-end device, plus an overly complex Cover Flow mode — which doesn’t even work well with Playlists. And that’s kind of pathetic, given Apple’s ordinarily high standards.

This is not the usual case where Apple is so far ahead of the competition that it’s not even clear how a media player app should change as it migrates to a modern multitouch platform. The video linked above is the proposed Rachael UI for the media player app in Sony Ericsson’s Android-based phones. It’s not amazing, but it does a few things really, really well. Notably, it provides a lot of rich information on artist pages that brings back some of the feel of listening to a physical album, and it also makes it easy to find your favorites, recently added albums, and tracks, and your most recently played music — all on one screen. That alone, in my opinion, annihilates the best of the current iPhone music experience. And I think we’d all agree it’s a refreshing departure from either a long list of artists listed in alphabetical order as a home screen.

The Zune HD, though its UI is an overly stylized collection of wank, also does some interesting things with tagged favorites that show the untapped possibilities available in next-generation handheld music playback.

I’ve had my iPhone 3GS for about four months now, and I love everything about it — except that it doesn’t do a great job of helping me rediscover diamonds in the rough of my music collection. The iPod app is good enough, but it isn’t great yet. Here’s hoping that the old competitive spirit will push Apple to truly push the edges of what’s possible. Shouldn’t we be able to view iTunes LPs on the iPhone, at the very least?

Sony Ericsson’s “Rachael” Android UI: Android + Zune HD > iPhone [Gizmodo]

To use the new 27-inch iMac as an external monitor requires a very specific cable to work: a Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable, to be exact.

It does not work with a HDMI cable or a DVI cable, even when they are strung between a pair of Apple-branded Mini DisplayPort adapters.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the issue on the web and even at Apple’s retail stores.

Earlier in the week we asked readers to post pics of their workspaces on our Facebook page for the chance to win a new Magic Mouse — and the response was great. So far, more than 90 of you have taken the time to become fans of Cult of Mac on Facebook, snap a shot and upload your pictures — thank you!

While everyone is waiting with bated breath to find out who’ll win the Magic Mouse (announcement to come tomorrow, Sunday, November 1), we thought readers might like to see a cool dozen of some of the most interesting.

Let us know what you think in comments below and feel free to continue posting your own shots over at the Facebook fan page.

The sexiest all-in-one computer has long been the iMac, and last year’s 24-inch model was a beauty. But oh my Lord, the new 27-inch machine induces crazy lust. Look at the size of that screen!

I just returned from the Apple store with one. I went to buy the new Magic Mouse. They were out of stock, so I bought the new iMac instead — it comes with a Magic Mouse.

Crazy, I know. I just couldn’t help myself. We’ve already got a 24-inch model, but the 27-inch is so much… bigger.

Yeah, like 3-inches of extra screen makes a difference. But it does. The screen is simply HUGE. There’s no other word for it. If you’re sitting right in front of it, hunched over the keyboard, you have to physically MOVE YOUR HEAD to look from one corner to the other. You get motion sickness if there’s video playing, like being in the front seats of a movie theater.

Thanks to this big beautiful screen, the sexiest desktop in the world got a lot sexier. The question is though: is the screen too big?

Full review after the jump, including real-world benchmarks and tons of pics.

As anticipated, Apple has updated the Apple TV software to 3.0, which brings a new interface and home screen with quick access to favorite content. Instead of drilling down to get to a recently-rented movie, it’s now accessible right off the home screen, as are favorite TV Shows, podcasts and YouTube movies.

The update also adds support for iTunes LPs and iTunes Extras, as well as Genius Mixes and internet radio.

The update likely breaks Boxee, the unsanctioned internet media player that actually makes the Apple TV useful, but internet radio is a welcome addition.

To support the new Apple TV software, Apple has also updated iTunes to 9.0.2. As well as being compatible with the Apple TV 3.0 software, the update adds a new “dark” viewing option in Grid View. The iTunes update also once again breaks Palm Pre syncing.

Forget Balloon Boy and Billy Mays this Halloween. Dress up as your favorite demonic CEO instead.

You’ll scare the pants off work colleagues when you walk in the elevator, and the neighboorhood kids will be in a bag of hurt when you give them apple slices instead of sickly sweet candy.

Hit the jump for a full-size mask that you can print and cut out.

Thanks Dan Draper for the fantastic image of Steve Jobs and Forbes for the idea.

The world’s most influential computer expert is once again recommending consumers buy Macs over Windows PCs.

Mossberg has just published his annual fall computer buying guide, and says that while Windows 7 is almost as good as Snow Leopard, and PCs can be “priced hundreds of dollars lower than Macs,” Apple wins because of the built-in iLife software:

“The arrival of Windows 7 makes PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Dell and others much better choices than their Vista-equipped predecessors were. Microsoft has closed most of the gap with Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. Also, Windows PCs are often priced hundreds of dollars lower than Macs, and offer many more choices.

But in my view, Apple’s built-in software still has the edge. Snow Leopard is fast and reliable. And it comes with a full suite of excellent built-in programs, including email, photo and video software. Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of such programs.”

Here’s Mossberg on video discussing some of the options.

Here’s Apple’s head designer Jonny Ive geeking out over reducing lots of parts to one single, unibody part — beautiful.

From the recent ‘Objectified’ documentary about industrial design.

What says “I love you” better than a big iPhone cake?

This cake was made by Charm City Cakes (of ‘Ace of Cakes’ fame) for iPhone fanboy Jerry Brito and his lovely bride. It’s fantastically detailed — from the icons onscreen to the screws next to the speakers on bottom. We’ve never seen such a detailed iPhone cake before. Hit the jump for a couple more shots.

Cheers Jerry.

When you’re among the top achievers in your given field of endeavor it only stands to reason you probably choose the best tools available to do whatever it is you do, both professionally and personally.

Our survey of some of the best of the best across a wide range of endeavors shows lots of those at the top of their games choose Apple gear when it comes to computing and entertainment and we offer here a gallery of 10 top machers from the fields of media, sports, entertainment, politics and elsewhere who choose Apple products to enhance and enable their achievements.

There’s a reason the game is called Follow the Leader, isn’t it?

Via ObamaPacMan

While Apple doesn’t hold any actual monopolies, Harrison Keely has create a board game remix that creates an idealized world where the goal is to own every Apple product ever. It’s not an actual game yet (someone would need to write some rules, design some playing pieces, and create draw cards for that), but it’s got some fun touches. Having to pay $100 extra when you land on Reality Distortion Field is a particularly excellent idea (I find it’s usually more in the neighborhood of $200 — ask 1st-gen iPhone owners). You can see the picture full size by clicking on it.

“An Affordable Way to Own Every Mac” — Teqnolog

New pictures from CNet show that Apple’s latest store in NYC looks to be a beauty.

Located on the Upper West Side at 67th and Broadway, the massive store will have an all-glass front and a huge glass roof (watch the amazing fly-over from Gary Allen at IFOAppleStore. Allen’s also got a cool mockup). The store’s glass facade will measure 54 feet tall, 75 feet wide and 30 feet deep.

In anticipation of the store’s opening before the end of the year, Apple has removed the big black tarp which covered the construction site, replacing it with a latex wrap. The wrap looks like a red curtain that’s been opened slightly to reveal the teasing message: “Opening soon. Apple Store Upper West Side.

Apple’s stock dropped 5 points on Tuesday to close at $197.37. The stock saw a run last week after the release of a raft of new products, hitting a high of $208.71.

One analyst suggests there’s resistance to the stock going above $207 (even though 2010 price targets are between $250-$300), but perhaps investors took some profits today?

Update: The big sell-off is probably due to the Galleon Group liquidating its investments after billionaire founder Raj Rajaratnam was charged with fraud. Bloomberg said the hedge-fund firm is busy selling 90 percent of its investments, mostly in Apple, Google and eBay. Thanks Fabio.

UPDATE: Oops. Sorry for the embarrassing headline typo. Fixed.

Leaping way, way ahead of competitors, Apple has approved more than 100,000 apps for the App Store, according to App Shopper, an app tracking site.

By contrast, there’s 246 apps for Windows Mobile, which has been around for six years, and about 96 apps for the Palm Pre (see Palm’s list of WebOS applications). Google’s Android,which is probably the iPhone’s strongest competitor, has about 10,000 apps, according to recent estimates. Google has yet to release official figures.

Apple in August said there were 65,000 apps. It took just another 10 weeks to approve more than 35,000 apps. (Apple has approved more than 100K apps, but the number actually available for download is slightly lower: about 93,000)

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, I want a way to view all my iPhone apps on my iPhone, not just through iTunes. I review lots of iPhone apps and am a keen iPhone gamer. When apps vanish into the void, I forget they’re there (and so Spotlight isn’t much use), and it’s absurd that I can only delete apps in the void when using iTunes. I should be able to do this with just the device.

On Twitter earlier today, I said “iPhone now has 14 pages of apps (via cunning bug exploitation); time to do a major ‘review and delete’ session,” and people have asked me how I did this. Hat tippage must go to British games journo Stuart Campbell and web dev Dayanah, who independently discovered the exploit I now use, although the process of how to take advantage of it appears variable. In my case, it’s roughly as follows:

1. Ensure the device’s home screens are all totally full, and that Voice Memos is the last app on the final one.
2. Drag an app from one screen to the next, thereby ‘bumping’ Voice Memos into the void.
3. Download an app to fill the space left from app-dragging in step 2.

Voice Memos, irked at being bumped, should now make its way back to your first home screen, and you should have a brand-new second page. If you’re lucky, the new page will also include apps previously in the void. If not, reboot and these things will happen. Rinse and repeat the process to get more pages.

One warning: this is only a temporary solution. Open your device in iTunes and select then the Applications tab and your extra pages will probably vanish. In my experience, the same happens during a sync. However, as a means of accessing ‘hidden’ apps between syncs, it’s better than nothing, until Apple gets its finger out of its butt and finally provides a means of viewing more than an arbitrary number of apps on its mobile devices.

Are you seated comfortably? Then we’ll begin.

Once upon a time (1998), there was a company called Mitchell Corporation, and it created a game called Puzz Loop, and there was much happiness and rejoicing. The fun-filled game enabled you to shoot coloured marbles at a relentless stream of incoming ones, aiming to create chain collisions of like-coloured marbles, which subsequently vanished.

Like all good action puzzlers, lots of companies were upset because they hadn’t thought of the idea first, and so they went ahead and created their own versions. For example, in 2003, there was PopCap Games with Zuma, and then in 2005, Luxor by MumboJumbo.

For a time, all the Puzz Loops of the world lived happily in Videogameland, until the day they all decided to move to iPodWorld. There, they met Stoneloops! of Jurassica, and MumboJumbo decided to become a great big jerk and have Stoneloops! of Jurassica booted out of iPodWorld.

Stoneloops! of Jurassica might have had a a stupid name, but MumboJumbo’s real problem was that Stoneloops! of Jurassica was wearing a really similar T-short to Luxor, and therefore asked the Big Bad Apple to stamp on its rival’s head until it was dead and buried. And no-one lived happily ever after.

The end.

Clearly, rights infringement is a big concern on the App Store. However, Apple should not be placed in the position of having to nuke a product on the basis that it’s like another one, when the rival making the complaint rips off existing and older IP. If Mitchell Corporation had thrown a hissy fit, it might have had a point, but it didn’t. This incident, however, is the equivalent of TAITO getting the likes of Reflexion pulled from the App Store due to it being somewhat like Arkanoid, while Breakout owner Atari looks on, puzzled. However, TAITO hasn’t done this, because, unlike MumboJumbo, it hasn’t lost its marbles. [You’re fired—Ed.]

‘Tis the season for folks to bust out their best Home Ec skills (or their credit cards) in search of costumery to frighten and delight the young and old alike out trick or treating, or just looking for a few good laughs on Halloween.

Back in 2007, when the iPhone had been out just a few months, we saw a raft of costumes related to Apple’s newest technological wonderment. But so far in the succeeding years, we’ve not seen a whole lot of new takes on the idea and frankly, what we have seen has been pretty lame.

Look at the guy in the picture above. He had to be purposely dressing it down at a party full of Windows aficionados, right? But in the gallery that follows, we’ve had to reach back in time for things better than this. Apple fans seem to have fallen creatively short in recent years.

Is it possible nowadays to dress like a piece of technology known for its elegant design and not look like a complete (and uncomfortable) buffoon?

Let us know what you’ve found out there in comments below, or submit pics of your own awesome Apple-related costume designs and we’ll feature another gallery of the best down the road.

Wow, the launch of Windows 7 on Thursday has prompted Apple to trot out three new ads making fun of Microsoft’s new system.

The big shocker is that they are actually pretty funny. I LOLed at the last line in the “PC Wars” ad above; a line delivered by Justin Long. Yeah Justin Long.

The “Broken Promises” is also pretty good. Watch it – and the third ad, “Teeter Tottering” — after the jump.

That’s really, really hard to argue against. Well done, Chiat-Day.

Here’s a video of the opening of Microsoft’s first retail store in Scottsdale, Ariz. As the video proves, Microsoft’s business plan is to shamelessly copy Apple, right down to the whooping and high-five ritual when the store first opens. If you blur your eyes slightly, you’re inside an Apple store. From the wood floors and tables to the staffs’ brightly-colored tshirts. Shameless.

A cheap shot, I know, but this is a real picture of the crowd that turned up last night at Fry’s in Renton, Washington, to be among the first to buy Microsoft’s new operating system. Renton is a town just outside Seattle, where Microsoft is headquartered. Photo by the AP.

For comparison, hit the jump for a pic of the line for Apple’s Snow Lepoard in San Francisco earlier this year.

The demo gods shone on Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer this morning as he showed off Windows 7 to the Today Show’s Matt Lauer.  

The demo went with nary a hitch, even though he didn’t really “demo” any features — he just talked about how Windows 7 is “faster,” “cleaner” and “snappier.” The Sony touchscreen machine does look pretty cool though.  

He isn’t afraid that the iPhone will soon make PCs obsolete, he told Lauer, because people want different-sized screens for different tasks. And he’s not jealous of Apple’s cool image because nine out of 10 PCs sold in the U.S. run Windows.  

Windows 7 goes on sale today. Watch the video below.

Via Methodshop.

Apple’s stock reached it’s all time high today, leaping just over the $208 mark. The rally caused investors to dance in the aisles over the company’s astonishing rise to a Wall Street darling. This is the same company that most people doubted would even survive, back in the late 90s.

“I’ve made over $1,500 in two days… Thank you aapl”, said @jherrdog on Twitter.

The happiest investors were those AAPL veterans who bought the stock at its all-time low — around $12 in 1997. Several were also celebrating their good fortune on Twitter.

“Oh, look! Time for my quarterly brag about buying a bucket of AAPL in 1997. Translation: Suck it, Ballmer,” said @guywithabike (Tyson) on Twitter.

Investors like Tyson  have seen their AAPL shares grow to about 70-times their inital value. In the last decade, the stock has split twice and risen almost 200x in value.

That means $1,000 invested in Apple stock in 1997 is worth around $70,000 now. And $10,000 — the kind of sum that professional investors typically put into company stock — is worth a cool $700,000 — almost enough money to buy a house in posh Palo Alto where Steve Jobs lives.

And for those wondering how much Steve Jobs made, thanks to his 5.4 mil shares of AAPL and 138 mil shares of Disney (DIS), he made more than $90 million today. On paper, of course.

Anyone notice that the Apple Store in Tokyo’s Ginza district looks like the new iMac?

Here’s another view, courtesy of of Google Street View.

Thanks Nobi.