Lights That Blink

I’m with Chris Pirillo on this 100%…

The power of the PC is that it can support a billion different configurations, but some of us are at the point in our lives where we only need one config to work. I’ve come to this realization, and I don’t find it sad at all - I find it uplifting.

…

To switch or not to switch… is becoming less of a question. Yesterday’s arguments simply DO NOT APPLY.

(emphasis mine)

tags: apple, macmini, os-x, windows

Posted by Doug | 1 Comment »

Then I’m happily felonious.

tags: apple, iphone

Posted by Doug | 2 Comments »

It’s done.

Finally, you can unlock your iPhone from AT&T’s network using easily available online tools, without having to do any work on the hardware, for free (free as in no money, nada, zip).

I expect to see iPhones popping up all over the world for sale now, since they can be used on any GSM network.

tags: apple, iphone

Posted by Doug | No Comments »

Hello, LTB reader(s)! I think it’s to put myself back on the top of this fine blog, and so I’ve decided to say my piece on the announcements of Steve Jobs’ keynote speech at WWDC. Since there’s already a myriad of opinions finding their way onto the web today, I think I’ll keep my remarks short. So, without further ado:

The redesign of Apple.com: Killer.

The presence of noted game dev god John Carmack showing off his next gen engine: 1337.

The presence of an EA exec to announce simultaneous release of new Mac games: Profiteering.

The transparent menu bar in Leopard’s new look: Eyestrain!

The lack of familiar rounded corners in the menu bar of said new look:

The integration of Cover Flow, Stacks, and Quick Look into the new Finder: Slick.

Boot Camp’s unheralded ability to switch hibernation states between Mac OS X and Windows: Awesome. Bogus.

Phil Schiller’s Clutch Cargo comedy involving Steve Ballmer’s face: Hilarious.

Core Animation: Tantalizing.

Safari on Windows: Peculiar.

The idea that all of those “top secret” features needed to stay under wraps until Vista shipped: Silly.

and, last but most certainly not least–

The “use Web 2.0 to develop hosted iPhone apps instead of native ones” copout: Bullcrap.

Isn’t it nice when the news is so easy to digest?

tags: apple, iphone, os-x, safari, windows

Posted by Jamie | 3 Comments »

Steve Jobs just announced that there will be a version of Safari for Windows. Cool.

The browser wars are heating up even more!

Update: Like so many others, I am deeply disappointed with Safari. It is slower than FEMA getting to New Orleans and even more of a memory hog than Firefox. As Jamie put it, peculiar.

tags: apple, safari, windows

Posted by Doug | No Comments »

I don’t believe it! How could my favorite fruit company do this to me?! Don’t they know that I have been pining for the new release of OS X as the cherry on the silicon sundae of a new Mac? How I long for the sublime refreshment of its new features and the unspecified (but surely surprising) zippy tang of its secret ones?

Well, yes, of course they do. I’m also quite certain that they know of my hatred for buggy and unfinished operating systems, and I’m glad that they’ve chosen not to release one as soon as possible. However, I’m no different than any other Mac fan, and it’s not hard to notice that Apple’s primary focus of late is on the new baby in the crib. Heck, this year an entire Macworld keynote was devoted to its charms! I’m just a little peeved that the Mac platform seems to be getting short shrift these days. While it’s true that iPhone is the coolest electronic device in the entire galaxy, it won’t be something for me until the price goes down, features go up, and AT&T cellular service (or a blessed equivalent) comes to my part of the cosmos as part of version 2.0.

All is not lost, though. We should be seeing new consumer Macs rolling out with Intel’s new “Santa Rosa” notebook platform very soon, and since all of Apple’s hardware (save the Mac Pro) is currently built with mobile innards in mind, that means some nice upgrades will make their way across the lineup. Nevertheless, I call upon the Cupertino faithful to make a small sacrifice (perhaps that of an Apple II High-Speed SCSI card) to ensure that WWDC will spill all the yummy secrets of Leopard and Macworld 2008 will really be about the Macintosh.

tags: apple, iphone, os-x

Posted by Jamie | No Comments »

Today’s big news is a goodie: Apple has announced that the entire catalog of EMI, one of the “big four” record companies, is to be offered completely free of digital rights management on the iTunes store in May! This is a major coup for Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who wrote a very candid treatise on the subject in February. Higher quality 256K tracks are $1.29 compared to their 99-cent crippled brethren, but if you’ve already bought music from EMI artists, you’ll be able to upgrade your purchases by paying the difference. Music videos will be totally unencumbered for $1.99, and there’s no extra charge for DRM-free albums, which are usually $9.99.

What does this mean? Well, I believe this is a major step forward in the media revolution of the 21st century. As more and more people store their entire movie and music collections on PCs, they’ve rightfully become disenfranchised with the desire of the resident media cartels to make them pay for entertainment every single time it’s consumed. Jobs has recognized the foolishness of this notion, and I applaud him for his efforts (which I hope will extend to motion pictures someday). According to the press release, other record companies intend to follow suit, and despite the increase in price, I bet they’ll be surprised with the results. (However, no one should be surprised when these tracks inevitably show up on the freeloader’s paradise of peer-to-peer services.)

So, for those of you who are like me and have only indulged in the weekly free offerings of iTunes, I’d encourage you to drop a few dollars there come May. Without DRM, tracks will play on any device that uses the AAC audio codec, and you’ll be able to enjoy digital music the way it’s supposed to be!
Read more…

tags: apple, drm, music

Posted by Jamie | No Comments »