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News & Opinion
Software
News & Opinion
Macs Taking a Bigger Slice of the PC Market
The Globe and Mail's Grant Buckler observes that after years as a
bit player in the business computer market, Apple's success with
consumer products - especially its iPhone and iPad products - is
helping push more Macintosh computers into enterprise workplaces.
Buckler cites research firm International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd.
data revealing that Apple climbed from a 4.2% of overall Canadian PC
sales and 5% of commercial PC sales in 2005 to 9.7% of overall Canadian
PC sales and 8.2% of commercial sales in 2010.
Link: Macs Steal Bigger
Bites of the Business PC Market
WiFi 30% Slower Than Wired Connection
MacNews' Dennis Sellers riffs on a Reuters report revealing that if you want
the fastest possible home network, you'll want to go wired, not
wireless, noting that download speeds for consumers using WiFi
connections are on average 30% slower than they are for users of fixed
connections.
Link: Home Wi-Fi 30%
Slower Than Wired Connection
Spots on iMac Screens Investigated
Hardmac's Lionel says that for some time, and lately more and more
often, he's been hearing reports of spots appearing on iMac screens,
initially affecting the iMac Aluminum 20" and 24", and but recently
having propagate" to the iMac 21.5" and even the 27", noting that they
typically begin to appear visually after approximately 12 to 18 months
of use.
You can view the illustrated results of Hardmac's investigation of
this issue and the discovery that these spots are made up of a kind of
very fine dust that manages to settle between the various layers of the
iMac display. Lionel encourages users affected by this problem to speak
out in hope that Apple offers an extended guarantee.
Link: Investigation of the Marks on
the iMac Screen
Hard Drive Prices to Increase
DigiTimes' Erica Yen and Steve Shen report that due to a shortage of
controller chips for motors used in hard drives, due to the manifold
disasters in Japan - specifically damage to the three Texas Instruments
wafer plants - prices of hard drives in the OEM market are likely to
increase by 5-10% in the second quarter. Prices in the channel rose
10-15% recently.
The authors note that TI will not be able to resume shipments from
Japan until September, according to industry sources.
Link: HDD Prices for OEM
Market to Increase 5-10% in 2Q '11, subscription required
DDR4 Starts Showing Up
Hardmac's Lionel notes that while currently, most new computers come
with 1067, 1333, or even 1600 MHz DDR3 memory, the transition to DDR4
should begin in 2012 and is expected to really hit its market stride by
2015. DDR4 will offer the advantages of lower power consumption, thanks
to a maximum voltage of 1.2 V compared with 1.5 V for DDR3, and a data
transfer rate clocked at 2400 MHz - 80% higher than DDR 1333.
Link: DDR4
Starts Showing Up
Limited Edition Icon Prints by Original Mac OS
Iconographer Susan Kare
PR: Susan Kare, the noted interface designer who
drew the icons used in the original Mac OS GUI and was once referred to
by The New York Times as "the Betsy Ross of the personal
computer," is now offering prints of some of her most engaging icons at
Kare Prints. Some of the prints offered feature her original Macintosh
icons. The limited editions come in a range of colors and sizes and are
numbered and signed.
San Francisco based Kare has designed thousands of icons for
the world's leading companies that have become familiar to anyone who
uses a computer. Her icons are more like road signs than illustrations
- clear, concise, and instantly recognizable - where the meaning is
unambiguous.
New York's Museum of Modern Art describes her work:
"Constructed with mosaic-like precision, her icons communicate their
function immediately and memorably, and with style."
All of the giclee prints (fine art prints created on an inkjet
printer) are made using archival pigment inks and 100% cotton rag
paper. The prints range in size from 8.5" x 11" to 30" x 40", and
custom sizes (and custom editions) are available upon request. There is
a limited run of each print size, and each is inspected, signed, and
numbered personally by Susan Kare. Icons offered cover a wide range of
her work from the classic computer user interface elements and familiar
digital Solitaire cards to a variety of iconic images such as a love
letter, disco ball, and a coffee cup titled "Caffeine."
Link: Kare
Prints
Acer Wants to Emulate Apple's High-Value Market
Focus
Hardmac's Lionel reports that Acer fired its CEO last week after the
company posting a loss for the second quarter in a row and announced
its intent to be "more like Apple" - focusing on quality products with
a higher value, rather than continuing in a race to the bottom with
mass production of lower-priced, lower-quality products.
Acer's transition to its new business plan will require massive
R&D investments and an intensified focus on nabbing a fair share of
the tablet market.
Lionel observes that Apple's successful approach stems partly from
its giving its design teams the same power as engineers, and sometimes
more, in new product development of new products.
Publisher's note: Acer has been around as long as Apple - since 1976
- and produced unauthorized Apple II clones before jumping on the PC
bandwagon in the 1983. In addition to its own brand, Acer has acquired
and continues to sell computers under the eMachines, Gateway, and
Packard Bell brands.
Link: Acer Wants to Look
Like Apple
Software
Free Scroll Reverser Lets You Practice for Lion's
UI
PR: Pilotmoon Software's Nicholas Moore says:
"You might
have learned that a certain upcoming version of Mac OS X may have
scrolling that is 'bass-ackwards'.
"That is, when you push up on your trackpad or mouse scroller, the
page content moves up too, just like on iOS devices.
"I made a very minimal little app that lets you reverse your
scrolling on 10.5 and above too. It's a pure usermode app, no drivers
or kexts to install.
"Once downloaded, it'll sit in the menubar waiting for you to choose
whether you want reversed scrolling or the normal one. A click on the
dropdown menu allows you to make the change in seconds, and revert back
again. The app can start at login, and has no additional
preferences.
"Uninstallation is a simple drag-to-trash."
Scroll Reverser is Intel only.
Link: Scroll Reverser -
Get in Practice for Lion
Compositions 1.010 Dropbox-Enabled Text App for iOS
and Mac
PR: Compositions is a multiplatform
Dropbox enabled writer's app designed for Mac OS and iOS, with a focus
on content creation. A minimalist text editor which allows you to focus
on the content, it features a clean white background, and a full screen
mode that gets rid of almost all of the interface chrome, leaving just
the text on the screen.
The Mac OS version is designed to be used with the iOS version, and
offered for free so that you can easily view, edit, and save changes to
your Compositions documents. The two distinct apps work in concert with
one another, so that you can stay mobile with all your docs. The iOS
Version sells for $0.99, and lets you edit your documents on the go
from your iPad or iPhone.
Features:
- Snapshots: Version your document with ease. You can use the
snapshot feature to freeze versions of your document, so that you can
easily revert to them if you ever have the need. Snapshots are saved
along with the file, and carried from device to device. This lets you
work with several drafts all in a single file, without having to
constantly "save as", etc.
- Syncing: To keep files in sync from your Mac to your iOS device,
make sure to save your files in the folder your app uses. By default
this is in your root Dropbox folder, named /CompositionsApp
- Minimal design: Focus just on your content
- Use Dropbox in combination with the iOS app to keep your files in
sync across all your devices
- Export to text (.txt) at any time
- iOS Inspired Shortcuts: Double tap space bar to enter a period. Use
autocorrect to fix common misspellings.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later
Link: Compositions (Mac
App Store link,
App Store link for iOS version)
Free Evernote Cloud-based Notetaking App
PR: Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small
from your notable life using your computer, phone, and the web.
Chances are, if you can see it or think of it, Evernote can help you
remember it. Type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a
screenshot. Evernote will keep it all safe.
Organize it. (Or let Evernote do it.)
Everything you capture is automatically processed, indexed, and made
searchable. If you like, you can add tags or organize notes into
different notebooks.
Find anything fast.
Search for notes by keywords, titles, and tags. Evernote magically
makes printed and handwritten text inside your images searchable,
too.
Infinitely useful.
Put your thoughts, ideas, inspiration, and things to remember all in
one place. Use Evernote for work, for play, and for everything that's
noteworthy. Here are a few suggestions:
- Snap a photo of a business card with your phone, and have an easy
way to store and access contacts.
- Capture plane tickets and confirmation numbers, hotel invoices, and
receipts for your expense reports.
- Get inspired. Keep a file of anything cool you want to buy for
yourself or as a gift, whether it's online or out in the real
world.
- Keep notes from your meetings all in one place. Take a picture of a
whiteboard and you'll be able to find it later.
- Plan your next trip. Clip web pages, maps, and itineraries. Capture
sights, sounds, tastes, and anything else.
- Research web sites and clip pages directly from your browser.
- Keep a record of your favorite wines by snapping a photo of the
label when you find one you like.
- Remember the things you were supposed to remember. Create to-do
lists, jot down random thoughts, leave a voice memo, and more.
- Create notes right from Twitter and save tweets that you like by
following @myEN on Twitter.
Freeware
Evernote is available for the following platforms: Mac OS X,
Windows, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, webOS, and as a "web
clipper" for many browsers. The Mac version requires Mac OS X
10.5.8 or newer.
Link: Evernote
(Mac
App Store link,
App Store link for iOS version)
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