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News & Opinion
Rumor Roundup
Software
News & Opinion
Apple's Most Loyal Supporters Now Age 35 and
Over
PR: A YouGov BrandIndex finds that since mid-July 201 and the
introduction of the new MacBook Air line and OS X Lion, adults 35+ have
been bigger supporters of the Apple brand than the 18-34 demographic, a
reversal of the positions the two age groups occupied prior to
July.
The report also says BrandIndex Buzz scores track an evolution in
Apple's brand popularity over the past year, noting that when the
iPhone 4S was introduced last October, Apple's perception with adults
aged 35+ skyrocketed while perception for 18-34 year olds enjoyed a
solid but unspectacular rise, then trended downward for four months
afterward.
Before July 2011, the 18-34 demographic Buzz scores lead those of
the over 35s for the Apple brand. At the beginning of 2011, the younger
demographic led the older one with a 35 buzz score compared to 30.
However, beginning in mid-May 2011, the 35+ demographic began a
steady perception ascent that peaked shortly after the release of the
iPhone 4S, soaring from a 25 Buzz score on May 17 to a 48 score on
November 1st the highest perception score this group has held for Apple
in at least four years.
The 18-34 demo made a significant ascent in the two weeks leading up
to the mid-October iPhone 4S release, jumping six points from 30 to 36,
and then began a long backslide down to a 22 score by mid-February.
When adults 35+ hit their peak score of 48 on November 1st, the
18-34 Buzz score was 13 points lower at 35.
The 35+ demos current Buzz score is 32, compared to the 18-34 Buzz
score of 24.
Link: Apple Genius
Ads
DVDs and Blu-ray Discs Still Top Streaming for
Movie Rentals
PR: According to The NPD Group's VideoWatch VOD report, even
as more consumers adopt subscription streaming from Netflix and other
services, the majority of feature-length movies are still rented on
physical discs.
The report found that rentals of physical DVDs and Blu-ray discs
(BDs) from kiosks, brick-and-mortar retailers, and Netflix Movies by
Mail accounted for 62% of movie rental orders during the first half of
this year. Digital movie rentals - including subscription streaming,
pay TV VOD, and Internet VOD - accounted for the other 38%.
NPD's VideoWatch VOD report also revealed that overall movie
rentals through all of these sources declined 10% since last year.
Rentals of physical discs, while dominant, are becoming less so; in
fact, year-over-year disc rentals from all sources declined by 17%, as
digital movie rentals increased by 5%.
Within the physical disc market, kiosks continued to extend their
lead, with rental orders growing 5% over last year. Kiosk rentals
accounted for 45% of the physical market, as rentals from
brick-and-mortar stores continued to fade. DVD and BD subscriptions
also declined, due to Netflix' focus on digital-video streaming.
Total digital-movie rental orders increased 5% - growth largely
attributable to Netflix Watch Instantly, the flat-fee subscription
movie and TV streaming service. Although the vast majority (80%) of
Netflix rental activity was for TV shows, movie rental activity was
still sufficiently robust to make it the leader in movie rentals for
the digital segment (66%). Pay-TV VOD accounted for 28% of digital
orders, while Internet VOD (iVOD) accounted for 6%.
"Kiosk and subscription Internet streaming are generating strong
user satisfaction ratings, including future rental intent, price, and
value, which is reflected in market-share gains," says Russ Crupnick,
senior vice president of industry analysis for The NPD Group. "Netflix
is frequently the most popular video application on connected devices,
so an increase in households with Web-connected Blu-ray Disc players,
tablets, and smart TVs will lead to still more video streaming
activity."
The above information was derived from The NPD Group's VideoWatch
VOD report. The final report is based on approximately 21,752 completed
responses from US consumers. Survey data was weighted to represent US
population of individuals (age 13 and older) and tested for statistical
significance at 95% confidence level.
Publisher's note: It's a shame Apple has never supported Blu-ray on
Macs, preferring to push its HD iTunes Store content. For those
interested in watching Blu-ray discs on their Macs, see our recent
reviews of Mac
Blu-ray Player v2.4.0 and the internal Matshita UJ-267
Blu-ray drive that works in unibody MacBook Pros. You can currently
buy Mac Blu-ray Player for $39.95 (a $20 saving), and it will also
work with a wide range of external USB Blu-ray drives as well.
dk
Link:
DVD and Blu-ray Disc (Still) Dominates Home Video Movie Viewing and
Spending
Apple Offers $100 Gift Card to College Students
with Mac Purchase
PR: A new Apple coupon bestows a $100 gift card upon college
students with their purchase of a Mac computer. Featured on
CouponBuzz.com, this special offer from Apple is attracting consumer
attention as a nice perk for Mac buyers resigned to paying full price
on the rarely discounted computers. The $100 dollar gift card can be
used for apps, books, music and movies, all essential entertainment
staples of a college student.
Increasingly, a laptop has become an essential centerpiece of
back-to-school supplies. Professors email homework assignments, and
class groups meet online. Assignments are submitted to websites and
information saved on the Cloud. Library books are reserved online, and
well-built power point presentations are becoming de rigueur in
the modern classroom. The standard of quality Apple builds into their
Mac computers guarantees a hassle-free college year, and an ease of use
that allows users to pursue their passion; be it gaming, media editing,
word processing or content streaming.
"We are getting a lot of returning students and prospective freshman
clicking through on our link to this Apple coupon," says Justin Bowen,
one of the senior directors at CouponBuzz.com. "An extra $100 dollar
gift card to spend on the hot new single, the latest popular app, or a
best-selling ebook is proving to be a very attractive offer."
In order to utilize the Apple coupon offering the $100 dollar gift
card, the consumer must be a current college student, accepted at a
college, the parent of a student, or faculty and/or staff. Almost every
Apple computer qualifies for the offer, including configure-to-order
purchases. The Mac mini and refurbished Apple computers are exceptions
worth noting. To utilize the coupon and find a link to the full line of
qualifying Mac computers, online shoppers can visit the dedicated Apple
coupon section at CouponBuzz.com.
Link: Apple Coupons
Consumer Reports: Mac Desktops Among Most
Reliable
Consumer Reports' Carol Mangis says the organization's newest reader
survey data for frequency of repair and serious problems with desktop
computers is in, and once again Apple was among the most reliable
brands. The survey covered desktop computers purchased from 2009
through the middle of 2012, a 3-1/2 year period.
Link: Apple Desktops
Among Most Reliable, Consumer Reports Survey Says
Writer Regrets Buying an iMac
"The iMac is a great machine until something goes wrong. Here's why
you might think twice about buying one." says Cnet's David Carnoy.
21.5" and 27" iMacs
Carnoy notes that two years ago he dropped close to two grand on a
27" Core i5 iMac with some
extra RAM, replacing a 2003 Quicksilver Power Mac G4.* He explains that
while he's mainly a Windows guy who has built all of his Windows
machines (save for his Lenovo laptop), he was happy with his iMac
purchase - until the hard drive failed last month, around 21 months
after he bought the machine.
He further explains that he's usually pretty adept at fixing these
things, and although he had backed up most of the drive's contents to a
network drive, but he did have some family photos he hadn't backed up
and wanted to save.
A bit of Googling led to the discovery that Apple had actually
recalled some iMacs thanks to a batch of "bad" Seagate 1 TB hard
drives, but the recall was limited to some 2011 models.
Fortunately, AlSoft's
DiskWarrior was able to retrieve the unbacked-up data in a marathon
10 hour recovery session, but to make a log story shorter, Carnoy
hadn't purchased AppleCare extended warranty coverage for his iMac, and
it would cost $265 to replace the drive at the Apple Store.
After reviewing online video instructions for performing hard-drive
surgery on the iMac, which was not straightforward and required some
extra tools (including suction cups for removing the glass from the
screen) that would cost close to $40, Carnoy decided to take the
machine to a third-party repair shop, which installed a replacement
drive he'd secured directly from Seagate, at a cost of $120 for two
hours of labor, but it rankles him what a pain in the butt the iMac was
to deal with and wishes he'd just bought a MacBook Pro and a separate
monitor, summarizing: "alas, the iMac, in its current form, is truly a
triumph of design over practicality. Apple made it easy enough to add
RAM on the iMac, which is good. But the company also should have made
replacing the hard drive as simple, especially when you consider that
iMacs do run very hot, which probably doesn't help hard-drive
life."
Editor's note: Unfortunately, Apple seems to be headed in the
diametrically opposite direction as regards do-it-yourself user
serviceability. cm
* Publisher's note: No such model. The original Quicksilver was
introduced in July 2001, and the updated Quicksilver 2002 in January
2002. It was replaced by the Mirrored Drive Door Power Mac G4
in August 2002. There was no 2003 Quicksilver. dk
Link: Why I Regret
Buying an iMac
HyperCard Turns 25
TUAW's Kelly Guimont notes that 25 years ago last week, Apple
released HyperCard
at Macworld Expo Boston, and Apple's software construction kit "for the
rest of us" began shipping on every new Mac as of August 11, 1987 (you
could also buy it separately for $49).
HyperCard required 1 MB of memory and a pair of 800K floppy drives
or a floppy drive and a hard disk. It was a delightful application
where you could develop (or download, share, or buy) all manner of
"stacks" - a stack of cards being HyperCard's metaphor for a package of
information. By linking cards together in stacks, you could build
applications.
HyperCard, which Apple unceremoniously dumped in 2004, also had a
decent set of basic graphics tools.
Editor's note: I still love the look of that one-bit pre-System 7
Mac OS user interface. cm
Link: Apple's Original
Software Construction Kit: HyperCard Turns Twenty-five Years Old
Today
Rumor Roundup
Mountain Lion Clues Point to Forthcoming iMac and
Mac Pro Redesigns
AppleInsider's Daniel Eran Dilger reports that internal
configuration files in OS X
10.8 Mountain Lion appear to make references to yet-unreleased
generations of iMac (iMac13,0) and Mac Pro (MacPro6,0) and addressing
enhanced USB booting options that indicate new Mac desktop designs
could drop built-in optical drives, as Apple has done with the Mac
mini, MacBook Air, and Retina MacBook Pro.
Link: Apple Files Hint
at Re-engineered iMac and Mac Pro Models, Potentially without Optical
Drives
Config File in Mountain Lion Foretells Demise of
Built-In Optical Drives
The Register's Chris Mellor reports that the .plist file in the
latest version of OS X, Mountain Lion makes reference to future iMac
and Mac Pro machines and includes options for booting, say, Microsoft
Windows from a USB stick - presumably because a DVD drive may be absent
in future Mac desktop models.
Mellor notes that the config file is part of Boot Camp, Apple's
software technology that enables booting Intel-powered Macs with non-OS
X operating systems, and that the file lists Mac models with EFI
firmware capable of booting an operating system from USB storage, such
as current Apple laptops that already ship without optical drives. He
cites speculation by AppleInsider that a coming sixth-generation
MacBook Pro will lack an optical drive and likewise a 13th generation
iMac.
Link: Lone Config File
in Mac OS X SIGNALS DEATH OF THE DVD
Software
Pixelmator Adds Support for OS X Mountain Lion and
Retina Display, on Sale for $14.99
PR: The Pixelmator Team has released a major update of
Pixelmator, easy-to-use and feature-packed image editing software for
the Mac. Designed to take full advantage of OS X Mountain Lion and the
new MacBook Pro with
Retina display, Pixelmator 2.1 adds support for iCloud, a new
Effects Browser with new Vintage and Miniaturize effects, smart
Alignment Guides and several other enhancements.
"Pixelmator continues to be a big hit among both professional and
amateur image editors, and we're thrilled to deliver even more features
at a very affordable price," says Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator
Team. "With support for Mountain Lion, iCloud and the new Retina
display, Pixelmator 2.1 is ideal for Mac users looking to tap into
their creativity with a full-featured, easy-to-use image editing
app."
In 2011, just four short years after the company was founded, the
Pixelmator Team was honored with an AppleDesign Award, and Apple named
it Mac App Store App of the Year in December 2011.
The new Effects Browser takes the guesswork out of selecting effects
by collecting, organizing and providing an animated preview of all of
Pixelmator's Color Adjustments, Blur, Distortion, Tile and dozens of
other effects, together in one helpful palette. Users can also use the
browser to tag and access Favorites in one place.
Pixelmator 2.1 also introduces several brand new effects, including
the Vintage, Miniaturize, Black and White, Snow and Rain effects. With
the Vintage effect, users get eight new photo filters that give
pictures the look of old image processing and bring to mind photos from
other eras. Meanwhile, the Miniaturize effect makes real-world scenes
appear scaled down to size with a few clicks. It's an optical illusion
that gives ordinary objects in photos the endearing look of a toy model
only inches tall.
Building precisely aligned image compositions is now short work in
Pixelmator 2.1, with the new smart Alignment Guides. This new feature
lets users position objects with pinpoint accuracy and build
compositions quickly by using individual objects or image elements. The
Alignment Guides gracefully appear and disappear onscreen as they are
needed, while Object Spacing automatically shows when objects are
equally spaced on the canvas.
Pixelmator includes:
A powerful, pixel-accurate collection of selection tools
- Quickly and easily select any part of an image
- Edit and apply special effects to portions of your pictures
- Select and remove unwanted elements of your photos
- Cut out objects from one image to place in another
Top-notch painting tools
- Paint with Pixelmator as you would on canvas
- Use different brush sizes, shapes, hardness and blending modes
- Cover any area with beautiful gradients and color fills
New drawing tools
- Easily add, create, combine and edit shapes
- Pre-drawn shape tools allow quickly adding lines, circles,
rectangles, polygons and stars into your compositions
- Effortlessly add shadows and adjust fill and stroke settings for
shapes
- Create buttons, icons, web page elements, illustrations and much
more
Retouching tools
- Correct wrinkles and repair scratches
- Make flaws vanish from your photos, or improve compositions
- Remove unwanted objects seamlessly from their backgrounds
- Blur, sharpen, lighten or darken specific areas
- Get rid of the red eye effect with just one click
- Combine different tools and filters for an endless number of ways
to refine your images
A real filter-machine
- Over 150 breathtaking filters and special effects
- Combine different effects for unique, near-effortless artistic
creations
- See the stunning results in real-time
An elegant collection of professional-grade color correction
tools
- Adjust exposure, hue, saturation, shadows and highlights,
brightness, contrast and much more
- Replace and remix colors
- Dramatically improve less-than-perfect images with one click
- Designed for intuitive ease of use
Compatibility
- Send your images directly to iPhoto or Aperture
- Open and save images using PSD, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, PDF and many other
popular formats
- Open and save Photoshop images with layers
iCloud, sharing, and saving for the web
- Let iCloud automatically store your edited images and seamlessly
take your work to all your Macs
- Email your photos and image creations right from Pixelmator
- Publish your images to social applications like Flickr, Twitter and
Facebook
- Optimize and save images for use on your web pages, blogs, photo
albums and more
Built exclusively for OS X
- Pixelmator uses all the latest OS X technologies: Cocoa, 64-Bit,
OpenGL, Core Image, iSight, Automator, Quartz Composer and much
more
New in Version 2.1:
Pixelmator 2.1 is a major update introducing several new features
and improvements, including the following:
- Retina-Ready: Both Pixelmator's friendly user interface and its
powerful image editing engine are now optimized for the Retina
display.
- iCloud: Built right into the app and keeps your Pixelmator work up
to date across all your Macs.
- Effects Browser: The best and the most fun way to browse: instantly
preview and quickly apply special effects or add color adjustments to
images.
- New Effects: Use the new Vintage, Miniaturize, Black and White,
Rain, and Snow effects.
- Alignment Guides: Quickly position, align, and evenly distribute
objects in your Pixelmator compositions with pinpoint accuracy.
- OS X Mountain Lion Support: Pixelmator takes full advantage of all
the latest and greatest technologies.
System requirements: OS X 10.6.8 or later
Pixelmator 2.1 is available exclusively from the Mac App Store for a
limited-time price of $14.99 - a substantial savings off the usual
price of $59. It is also available as a free update for existing
users.
Link:
Pixelmator
Desktop Mac
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