Cult of Mac

If iPhoto leaves you cold, or perhaps doesn’t run so well on your older Mac, there aren’t many options for a similar application that combines photo editing and photo library management. Not many, except for Picasa.

Google’s free photo app is a great alternative to iPhoto, generously packed with features and a good choice for people who want to quickly upload photos to the web.

In most respects, it compares very well to iPhoto, including features like face recognition and geolocation data. It comes with a selection of quick edit presets, and easy (but basic) slider controls for detailed editing.

What’s particularly nice about Picasa, though, is its speed. It roars through photo libraries that leave rival photo managers struggling to catch up. On first run, it will zip through your iPhoto library – not copying any files (so don’t worry about disk space) – but indexing all your data there and building up its own copy of the iPhoto library.

Picasa is one of those things it makes sense to have around. It’s free, it’s packed with useful stuff, and even if you don’t put it to immediate use, there might yet come a day when you’ll be glad you have it to hand.

(You’re reading the 28th post in our series, 50 Essential Mac Applications: a list of the great Mac apps the team at Cult of Mac value most. Read more, or grab the RSS feed.)

Port police in Los Angeles busted a counterfeit iDevice operation with a warehouse full of fakes with an estimated market value of $10 million.
“This was a well-funded operation, and the counterfeits looked very authentic,” said Ron Boyd, chief of the approximately 200-member L.A. Port Police force, adding that a buyer might not have noticed anything awry until he or she got home and tried to hook up with iTunes.

Police believe the fakes were shipped in from China as replacement parts then reassembled them. The two brothers arrested and charged with felony counts for the sale of counterfeit goods in charge of the operation may have thought they could fly under the radar with older-model fakes, still in demand by some consumers. (Personal aside: I still have both of those iPod Nano models and am clinging to them because of the storage, battery life and light weight.)

It’s not often Wall Street analysts use farming analogies to explain technology stocks. However, Needham & Co.’s Charlie Wolf Monday points to the growth rate of hybrid corn to explain the rocketing popularity of Apple’s iPad tablet. Indeed, the analyst expects 35 million of all sorts of tablets will sell in 2011 – 90 percent carrying the Apple logo.

Like the growth of hybrid corn in the 1920s, outlined in Everett Rodgers’ The Diffusion of Innovations, Wolf sees the iPad as only the latest technology following the “S-Curve” of slow early growth, followed by faster expansion, then slowdown. Computers followed this growth pattern in the 1980s, as well as the iPod.

Mark your calendars: the next iPhone will be revealed sometime between June 5th and June 9th, 2011, as Apple has already booked those dates at the Moscone Center in San Francisco for this year’s WWDC.

Although the Moscone Center’s website officially lists the early June event name as a “Corporate Meeting,” this anonymous description is usually deployed by Moscone Center management to refer to Apple events.

Apple’s next iPhone is traditionally announced at each year’s WWDC event held at the Moscone Center sometime in June.

Note: Jonathan Zschau is a Boston-based attorney and a specialist in consumer rights.

UPDATE: SquareTrade has objected to some of the statements and characterizations in this article. The company has some good points, which are published in full here.

As well as a good case or bumper, should you buy an extended service plan to protect your iPhone?

These service contracts are commonly referred to as “extended warranty plans,” “protection plans,” or “insurance plans” and promise to insure your iPhone from defect, accidental damage, and sometimes loss or theft.

The problem with extended service contracts is that they don’t offer you much more than you are already entitled to through your iPhone’s warranty, AppleCare, or existing consumer protection laws.

Although these service contracts do offer additional protection from accidental damage, theft, or loss they are also fraught hidden conditions, exclusions, and deductibles, which ultimately detract from their utility. Except for a very small minority of unusually accident-prone iPhone owners, these extended service contracts are a waste of money.

Apple events tend to be grand affairs, but as the presumed launch of the iPad 2 approaches, it’s unclear exactly how Cupertino will choose to herald in their second-gen tablet with the company’s charismatic CEO on an indefinite medical leave of absence.

An Apple product launch just isn’t the same without Steve, and it appears that Apple knows it: according to a brief new report, the launch of the iPad 2 will be a smaller affair than customary.

The report comes by way of macotakara.jp, a blog with a decent record when it comes to accurate predictions. They say that the event that Apple will host a “small event to introduce [the] next generation of iPad.”

When the iPad was first unveiled, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson explained his company’s decision to offer a month-by-month, committment-free data plan for the tablet by saying that he saw the iPad as a “Wi-Fi driven product.” That prediction seems to be accurate: while Apple sold seven million iPads last quarter, AT&T only activated 442,000 3G accounts for it.

Never the less, the latest rumor suggests that Apple is planning on making a big push for 3G in the iPad 2, with a good sixty percent of the first production run devoted to manufacturing 3G models.

During last night’s Super Bowl Sunday, I was surrounded by a multitude of passionates for that noble game, fans who felt every impact of muscle and cartilage as gods collided upon the field. While friends around me pumped their firsts and said, with great authority, things like: “”Expect the Packers to try to tie a bow on this baby by running out the clock in the second half,” I nodded sagely and pretended to understand the game.

My secret, of course, is that I don’t. In fact, my understanding of professional football’s rules are almost entirely gleaned from this 1944 theatrical Goofy short that I watched on my iPhone on the car ride to my friend’s house for “the Big Game.”

One thing I do know, however, is the sanctity of the playbook: that secret tome of symbolic crosses and circles ascribed strategic meaning by arrows and squiggles. It’s always seemed to me that the average playbook would make a good app.

Ignorant as I may be of the way professional football is conducted, it looks like I’m not alone, as Dallas Cowboys technology director Pete Walsh has begun to push his team to start using iPads as their playbooks.

More evidence that the mobile world is smarter. Sales of smartphones, such as the iPhone and Android-based handsets, reached 100.9 million units during the fourth quarter – an 87 percent increase over the same period in 2009. Global smartphone shipments reached more than 302 million in all of 2010, a 74.4 percent rise over 2009. According to IDC, Google’s mobile operating system played a large role.

“Android continues to gain by leaps and bounds, helping to drive the smartphone market,” said Ramon Llamos, senior research analyst for IDC’s Mobile Phone and Trends unit. Android is now the “cornerstone” of many vendors’ smartphone strategies and is threatening cell phone giant Nokia.

Motorola’s Super Bowl ad for its Xoom tablet — one of the first serious iPad contenders — is replete with Apple references: 1984, Lemmings, white earbuds. But where Apple’s TV ads for the iPad are practical and concrete, Motorola’s is cryptic and confused.

Reminds me of Palm’s weird, ethereal ads for the Pre, which bombed. It’s not good sign.

Plus, the device will reportedly cost $800 with a $20 per month data plan. There’s no WiFi-only model. From our hands-on at CES, the hardware looks OK, but we couldn’t test the software: Moto was showing an unfinished unit..

Apple’s upcoming iOS 4.3 update will have wireless syncing, Photobooth, and a Sports Training program.

It may also get QuickLook from OS X — the ability to quickly peek at a file or email attachment without launching any programs.

The new capabilities were discovered by programmer Chris Galzerano, who has been digging around in the iOS 4.3 SDK and firmware beta.

Here are the details:

UPDATE: Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac is skeptical about this information. PhotoBooth is right, he says, but has been known for weeks. QuickLook is for opening attachments in email; the Sports Trainer frameworks have been in iOS forever, and likely refer to Nike+; and the Wireless Syncing frameworks are likely part of regular MobileMe syncing.

It is a popularly held belief that one day Mac OS X and iOS are destined to merge into one OS to rule them all. When Apple announced last October that Lion, the next major update of Mac OS X would feature some of the best ideas from iOS, it only added to the convergence speculation.

But are Apple’s two operating systems really destined to converge? After all, they both seem to be doing very well by themselves. The Mac may benefit from some iOS features, but it’s hardly struggling on its own. Mac sales are stronger than ever. So what exactly would the advantages be?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqr7a0ekmS8&feature=player_embedded

FaceTime is now available on most of Apple’s iOS devices, and through its OS X operating system for Mac, however, there is one device that’s still sat out in the cold. The incredibly popular iPad is still patiently awaiting FaceTime compatibility, but now, thanks to a hack, it’s possible to enjoy the feature on Apple’s first-generation tablet.

Courtesy of “Intell,” the hack uses a version of the FaceTime application created for the iPod touch, which has been optimized for the larger device and boasts a full-screen user interface.

Of course, you won’t currently get the full FaceTime experience on your iPad because of its lack of front-facing camera, but it’s certainly a start and a nice little taste of things to come. You will be able to see your FaceTime partner on your iPad, and they will be able to hear you.

You’ll need to be connected to Wi-Fi to enjoy FaceTime on your iPad, just like you currently do for other iOS devices.

If you’d like to try the hack yourself, check out the lengthy step-by-step guide copied, from Intell’s post on the iFans forum, after the break. Be warned, however, this process is noted to be risky.

If you try the hack out for yourself, let us know how it went.

Apple advertising has intersected with the NFL over the years. As we endure the countdown to Super Bowl XLV on a (thankfully snow-free) Sunday morning here in the States, a look back at some Apple ads either related to football or which ran during the Big Game itself.

The very popular I’m-A-Mac campaign gave the glory to the Referee in one spot, that unsung hero and arbiter of the game. The battle then was Leopard vs. Vista, and the ref got the call right!

Have you ever wanted to put DVDs on your iPhone or Apple TV but just didn’t know how? Here’s how. This video goes through the process of converting video using the free Mac ripping software, Handbrake, step by step.

Chronic Dev has released its Mac version of greenpois0n, a 1-click jailbreak solution (see why you should jailbreak here). However, it will NOT unlock the device, enabling it to be used with different GSM carriers worldwide.

It is pretty easy to use and worked perfectly with my iPhone 4. Besides the tool, there’s a ‘Loader’ application that gets automatically installed on the iPhone after jailbreak, which gives you option to install Cydia.

Here’s how it works.

One of our favorite applications to make it in to the App Store this week is Google’s latest iPhone app, Google Shopper. By recognizing products by barcode, voice and text search, and even cover art, Google Shopper helps you find the information you need on millions of products, including online prices, reviews, specifications, and more.

Also to feature in this week’s list of must-haves is The Daily, the first digital news publication created exclusively for the iPad. The long-awaited publication boasts original content every single day, covering breaking news, sports, pop culture, entertainment, apps, games, technology, and lots more.

PaperHelper for the iPad also makes our pick of the best apps this week thanks to its innovative design and excellent user interface, which makes writing essays and papers on your device a great deal easier. Its unique split-screen feature enables you to write your document on one half of your iPad’s display while you browse the web for information and reference on the other half.

Find out more about the applications above and check out the rest of this week’s must-haves, including IntoNow and Thermo, after the break!

First on our list of must-have iOS games this week is EA’s latest hit, Bop It!, which brings all of the crazy fun from the incredibly popular Hasbro handheld game to your iPhone and iPod touch. Listen to the whacky commands and get ready to test your reflexes in this frantic mega hit.

Also on our list of favorites this week is Gameloft’s latest App Store release, Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden. Plunge in to the most ambitious action RPG ever made for iOS in this amazing adventure that features countless hours of fascinating gameplay set in a glorious 3D world.

Battleheart is a unique fantasy combat game from the creators of Zombieville USA and OMG Pirates, which distills some of the greatest elements of roleplaying and real-time strategy games and incorporates them in to this remarkable battler that also earns a place in our pick of this week’s top games.

Find out more about the games above and check out the rest of this week’s must-haves, including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2011 and New Bust-A-Move, after the break!

If you’re like me, you probably can’t watch TV without a computer in your lap. And if you’re be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, there’s a pretty cool iPad app that will enhance the game — and the commercials.

The free Vualla Social TV Companion is a one-stop shop for all the online goodies surrounding the game.

Wanna talk smack on Twitter? It includes a Twitter client, as well as FaceBook and chat. There are news feeds from ESPN and other sources, Twitter updates from the locker room, Flickr photos from fans at the game, and instant replays (both plays and commercials) – plus a bunch more.

The idea is to have an easy way to do all the things we now do while watching TV (Twittering, checking the news). The company plans to roll out more apps for upcoming sports events as well as popular shows like American Idol and Glee. I think it looks pretty cool. Here’s a quick video tour I just got from Kevin Brown of Stage Two:

The inhabitants of Tokyo’s cramped apartments have found the iPad to be invaluable in helping them to create more space.

For decades as they built up their network, Verizon repeatedly asked us “can you hear me now?” For the past few years, iPhone users on AT&T have often asked the same question. Now with the iPhone 4 on Verizon and early reviews commenting on solid connections and good call quality, Verizon decided to bring back their über- technician and ask us a new question in their latest commercial:

“Does your network work?”
“Yes” brags SuperGeek, “I can hear you now!”

Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun…

Last October, Steve Jobs gave us a sneak peek at the next major update to Mac OS X, codenamed “Lion.” The theme for this update is bringing the best iPhone and iPad features “back to the Mac.” Features such as the Mac App Store, a home screen for apps, and a new full screen mode. But this sneak peak only scratched the surface of the possibilities for Lion. Here’s my top 10 wish list. If you’ve got any better ideas, let’s hear them in the comments at the bottom of the page.

iLounge says it’s heard some juicy rumors about the iPad 2:

1. The iPad 2 is getting NFC (Near Field Communications), which will allow all kinds of cool wireless features. We’ve reported on a number of possible applications, including eWallets. iLounge’s source says Apple is working on several NFC-enabled accessories.

2. The iPad 2 may get a carbon fiber case instead of an aluminum. Or not. iLounge says carbon prototypes have been spotted but not be final production models.

3. Apple hasn’t yet abandoned the 7-inch iPad, even though Steve Jobs has said the form factor is “dead on arrival and swore Apple would never produce one.” According to iLounge, Apple has ordered components for a 7-inch device, but it could be for just prototypes.

Backpack batteries continue to get smaller and less expensive;  iKit’s new offering, the NuCharge battery case, is $65 and comes with a handy flip-down kickstand for propping up your iPhone. That they’ve managed to stuff 1400 mAh (which iKit says will double the battery life of the iPhone 4) into the case’s svelte-looking body is pretty impressive.

The case ships in March, but it’s available for pre-order.

PhotoCopy looks pretty amazing. It’s a plugin (for all the major editing software — see below) that takes any still image or video clip and applies a special filter that mimics a particular style. For still images, the filters can mimic the styles (included as presets) of 40 photographs taken by well-known photographers, 72 individual paintings from classic artists or 30 unique photographic processes (some of which are pretty unusual — I’ve never even heard of “salt print”). Video can be transformed into styles sampled from famous movies, like Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner or Gone With the Wind. There’s much more — check out PhotoCopy’s details at developer Digital Film Tool’s website.

The photo version of the app is available as a plugin for Photoshop (including Elements), Lightroom and Aperture for $95; the video version is $195 and works with After Effects, Final Cut Pro or Avid.