This is an iPod shuffle available for just $18. The name of this shuffle is Ozaki iCommand that is the third generation to work with common third party headphones. Moreover, it can feature you an integrated volume controls on one side and a multifunction ability for Play, Pause and Track. The glossy black adapter can extend the shuffle by on inch to cover its power switch while extending its 3.5mm headphone port.

Click to know about Talking Shuffle iPod

[ More ]

Apple has launched its new mini iPod shuffle for music entertainment; it is a third generation iPod shuffle. You can have this iPod shuffle for just $79. This device has no buttons in its body. The storage capacity of this device is 4GB that can be used to store up to 1000 songs. It is just 2 inch long and comes in rectangular.

Want to know about iPod Tube Speaker ?

Moreover, it has come out with some unique features called VoiceOver that can speak the song and artist name by just the click of a button. It can easily recognize 14 different languages. You can have this device in various colors like silver and black aluminum body with a shiny stainless steel clip. [ More ]

War man früher als Kenner von Apple Mitglied einer Art elitären Gemeinschaft, so hat sich das durch die iPods, aber spätestens durch die Einführung des iPhones gründlich geändert. Apple ist zur Consumer-Electronic-Company geworden. Da wollte Apple-Guru Steve Jobs ja wohl auch hin, als er auf der Macworld Expo 2007 aus Apple Computer Inc. ein Apple Inc machte und das Wort „Computer“ aus dem Namen strich. Die Folge davon war, dass Apple nicht mehr den Fokus auf Computer-Hardware im klassischen Sinne legt, sondern auch auf Devices und Services wie den iTunes-Store.

Dass man jetzt bei breiten Consumer-Schichten angekommen ist, zeigen einige Beispiele. So ist ein Kollege dieser Tage auf dem Bahnhof angesprochen worden, als er sein iPhone zum Musikhören auspackte. Ein Typ, Marke übler Hinterhof, fragte ihn, wie er Musik auf das iPhone bekommt. Gibt es da eine spezielle Software? Er habe sich das weiße iPhone gekauft und nun wolle er es gleich ausprobieren. Der Kollege hatte von iTunes wohl noch nie was gehört. Wie schaltet er eigentlich sein iPhone frei? Die Beratung durch den Fachhandel hatte er wohl nicht mitbekommen oder sie ist erst gar nicht bei ihm angekommen. Mein Kollege leistete Aufklärungsarbeit.

Anderes Beispiel: Ich hatte vor kurzem den Fall, dass mich ein Bekannter ansprach, wie er denn Filme auf den iPod nano bekommt? Er zieht die VOB-Dateien immer wieder ins iTunes, aber nix passiert. Als ich ihm erklärte, dass es da so was wie DRM gäbe, schüttelte er den Kopf. Und auch der Einsatz von Crack-Software wie Handbrake sei illegal, weil man offiziell den Kopierschutz nicht knacken dürfe. Da wurde ich mit großen Augen angeschaut und ein sonst rechtschaffender Mann meinte nur: „Ich hab die DVD gekauft, jetzt will ich das Zeug auf dem iPod sehen. Basta.“

Hier für alle, die Fragen rund um Apple und deren Bedienung haben: 01805009433 ist der User-Support. Da wird Ihnen geholfen. Oh Mann, war es ruhig zu Zeiten von Mac OS 7.1 – und auch langweilig. 

Established as Apple Computer, Inc., on April 1, 1976, The company kept its longer title until 2007, when it changed to Apple, Inc. Started in Cupertino, California, the American corporation was incorporated on January 3, 1977.

Founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, Apple, Inc., designs and manufactures consumer electronics and software for the electronics. Apple products include laptops, desktops, numerous iPods, and the iPhone; while software includes the Mac OS X Operating System, Final Cut Pro, iLife, and iTunes.

Apple, Inc., has 20,000 employees and 200 retail stores in 5 countries as of 2007. The company also boasts $24 Billion in annual sales.  Apple, Inc., also has an online store as well as iTunes which sells music, movies, audio books, pod casts, TV shows, and iPod games.

The company’s first logo was designed by Jobs and Wayne. The logo depicted Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. The logo did not last long, and was quickly replaced by a rainbow colored apple silhouette drawn by Rob Janoff. The apple, very similar to the logo used currently, had a distinctive bite in it. The logo was revamped in 1998 and was given a monochromatic color. The Apple logo is one of the most recognizable brand logos in the world. Apple includes its logo as sticker with the purchase of the company’s products.

The first Apple slogan was “Byte Into An Apple.” In the beginning, Apple used singular slogans for the company as a whole; however, today the company uses individual slogans for each of their products.

To introduce the Macintosh computer in 1983, Apple created an 18-page brochure that was sent out with a number of magazines. For a special post-election edition of Newsweek in 1984, Apple purchased each of the 39 ad pages in the magazine – spending $2.5 Million.

Also in 1984, Apple ran a promotion titled “Test Drive A Macintosh,” where people could take home a computer for 24 hours and then return it.

1984 is most famous for Apple’s Super Bowl advertisement to introduce the personal computer. Aired in the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII, the $1.5 Million commercial, titled “1984,” was directed by Ridley Scott. The commercial was modeled after George Orwell’s novel 1984.

The commercial showed a heroine, Anya Major saving humanity from conformity – or “Big Brother,” – meant to depict IBM. The voiceover in the commercial stated “On January 24, Apple Computers will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 wasn’t like 1984.”

Apple’s Super Bowl commercial in 1985 was far less successful. The commercial, titled “Lemmings.” Created for the launch of Mac Office, the ad depicted blindfolded business people following each other off of a cliff. The last man in line stops and pulls his blindfold off, while the voiceover states, “You Can Look Into It…Or you can go on with business as usual.” The commercial was developed into a print advertisement for newspaper.

Apple consumers are unusually free thinking and unusually devoted. Surveys by J.D. Power show that Apple has the highest brand and repurchased loyalty of any other computer manufacturer. Apple’s consumers are youthful, artistic, creative, and well-educated. These consumers react best to artistic, free-thinking advertising messages. Each new Apple store opening draws crowds of thousands who stand in line for hours.

Apple is an environmentally conscious company in four specific areas: product and package design, manufacturing, energy efficiency, and recycling.

In the late 1990’s, Apple’s New York advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day compiled the “Think Different” campaign. The campaign consisted of both television and print advertisements. Running for 60 seconds, the commercials included black and white footage of Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon, R. Buckminister, Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Hensen with Kermit, Frank Lloyd Write, and Picasso. The commercial ended with a close up of a young girl opening her eyes – and therefore seeing the possibilities in front of her.

[youtube-http://youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE]

A shortened, 30 second, version of the commercial aired during the series finale of Seinfeld. Rather than close with the shot of the young girl, the commercial ended with Jerry Seinfeld.

Print versions of the campaign made appearances in magazines including Time and Newsweek. Some of the ads referenced products, while others just displayed the Apple logo and the current tagline “Think Different.”

The “Think Different” campaign was created almost entirely in house by TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles. The slogan was brought back three times after its retirement to be placed in ads on Apple’s online Home Page:

2000 – When Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize

2005 – When Rosa Parks died

2007 – When Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize

Numerous parodies of the campaign have been created and can be found online.

In 1990, Apple released the “What’s On Your PowerBook?” campaign. The company’s print ads and TV spots featured celebrities explaining how they use their PowerBook and how the PowerBook helps them with their lives.

In 1995, Apple created print and TV ads that responded to the introduction of Microsoft’s Windows 95 Operating System.

In 1998, the iMac slogan became “I Think, Therefore iMac.”

In 2002, Apple coined the term “Switcher.” A Switcher is someone who switches from Microsoft Office to the Mac Operating System. The “Switch” commercial showed real customers explaining their switch. The television commercials were directed by Errol Morris, and both the TV and print ads directed consumers to the Apple Website. The “Switch” actors in the US were different than those used for the “Switch” commercials in Japan. As with the “Think Different” campaign, numerous parodies of the “Switch” campaign can be found online.

Current commercials for the iPod show dark silhouettes dancing against brightly colored backgrounds and holding visible, white iPods. The commercials have been created for both print and television.

The iPod Nano commercials have a black background, with the iPod Nano glowing to show that the newest iPod Nano’s are colored.

The songs in the television commercials are both by known and relatively unknown artists. Some of the ads also feature the silhouettes of celebrities, including Eminem, U2, Jet, Wynton Marsalis, Ceasars, and Bob Dylan.

The ads in the iPod campaign have a consistent, unified style that can be found in print, television, posters, and public transportation wraps.

In 2006, Apple introduced the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” campaign. The television commercials are directed by Phil Morrision, with actors Justin Lang (Mac), from Accepted, and John Hodgeman (PC), from the Daily Show. The idea was created by TBWA/Media Arts/Lab. The premise of the ads is that Mac can do everything PC can do, but Mac can do it quicker and safer, with more creativity and versatility.

In the commercials, Mac wears more casual, laid-back attire, while Mac Wears business attire and is uptight and overly concerned with work.

The US version of the ads air in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, while different actors are used for similar ads in Spain, Japan and the UK. In Japan, the country’s famous comedy duo The Rahmens, star in the commercials, while the spots in the UK use famous UK comedy duo Mitchall and Webb.

There are 42 different versions of the commercials in the US with 8 additional online-only spots which run for 20 seconds and reference online ad features. There are 12 spots in Japan and 15 in the UK. Not surprisingly, there are numerous parodies of the spots online.

Apple also advertises on Free Rice – a program online created in 2007 to fight world hunger. Apple is also in discussions with New York Yacht Club to sponsor America’s Cup.

I occasionally am asked why I prefer Mac OS X to Windows and no matter what explanation I give the response is often that Macs are “too expensive.” Well, Popular Mechanics would beg to differ with that assessment.

Mac vs PC – Benchmark and Speed Tests – PC versus Mac – Apple, Windows Reviews – Popular Mechanics
The Asus M51sr costs the same as a MacBook, while the Gateway One actually costs $300 more than an iMac. That means for the price of the Gateway you could buy an iMac, boost its hard drive to match the Gateway’s, purchase a copy of Vista to boot—and still save $100.

They also determined that the Macs booted, launched applications, surfed the web and were generally faster than their comparably equipped PC counterparts. Then, to add insult to injury, they used Apple’s free Boot Camp application to install, run and test Windows Vista running on the Apple Macs and they even ran Windows Vista faster than their PC competitors!

So, yeah. I prefer Macs to PCs.

X^P

Tanto que nos quejabamos de las clases escolares dadas a base de innumerables diapositivas para que después cuando nos tocará presentar algún tema acabaramos haciendo lo mismo. Lo peor es cuando salimos de la escuela y seguimos haciendo exposiciones de la misma forma.

Guy Kawasaki, director de Garage Technology Ventures y ex integrante de Apple Computer Inc. expone en su libro “The Art of the Start” la regla 10/20/30 que me parece sumamente valiosa para estos casos y quisiera comentarla brevemente. Se resume así:

• 10 diapositivas
• 20 minutos
• 30 tamaño de la fuente

Cuando ofrecemos una exposición o plática, en especial las que tiene que ver con vender nuestras ideas, Guy nos invita a no pasar por alto esta regla y la explicación es la siguiente:

10 Diapositivas
Comunica lo ’suficiente’ y no todo. ‘Suficiente’ significa lo mínimo necesario para dar el siguiente paso, ya sea una nueva cita, conocer mas contactos, instalar un test de prueba o lograr una pequeña venta. El propósito es despertar el interés y no precisamente cerrar un trato. 10 diapositivas permiten al oyente captar lo esencial. Si consideras más, nunca excedas las 20. Mientras menos diapositivas uses más convincente será tu idea.

20 Minutos
La mayoría de las reuniones se programan para una hora, sin embargo, debes es sabio tener un plan para exponer todo en 20 minutos. ¿Por qué?  1) Nunca tendrás una hora si. Siempre habrá retrasos en una reunión. 2) Necesitas un amplio tiempo para discutir y responder respuestas. Esto permite inclusive seguir cómodamente una dinámica de diapositiva/preguntas, diapositiva/preguntas. No importa si la gente domina la información a nivel muy técnico. No importa si tratas de vender comida para perros, la vida eterna, nano partículas, componentes ópticos o la cura para el cáncer: 10 diapositivas y 20 minutos es todo lo que tienes.

30 Tamaño de la fuente
Si con frecuencia tienes que reducir el tamaño de la fuente para acomodar todo tu material, definitivamente estas poniendo demasiado en tu diapositiva. Cada diapositiva debe describir un punto principal, y todo lo que muestra debe contruibuir a darle soporte. Usa las diapositivas para guiarte y no para leerlas. Recuerda que la gente puede leer más rapido de lo que tu puedes hablar. Si tu diapositiva tiene mucho detalle la gente lo leera más rapido de lo que tu lo haces y dejará de escuchar lo que estás diciendo.

Otras recomendaciones que Guy hace son, ir preparado para cualquier incidencia. De ser posible, lleva tu proyector, una laptop (incluso dos con la presentación cargada). Carga una copia en tu USB. Y carga unas copias impresas de tus diapositivas por si aún todo esto falla. No habrá nada de tu lado que impida la reunión y daras una impresión excelente. Además se recomienda que ensayes tus presentaciones varias veces, cosa que con frecuencia nunca se hace.

Las siguientes introducciones también son valiosas:

“¿De cuanto de su tiempo dispongo?” Este pregunta refleja que se tiene en consideración el tiempo de los demás y que no vamos a excederlo.

“¿Cuáles son las tres cosas más importantes que puedo explicarles?” Claro, para plantear esta pregunta tenemos realmente que dominar el tema.

“¿Me permitirían explicar de forma rápida mi presentación y dejar las preguntas al final? Sin embargo, tengan la libertad de interrumpirme en cualquier momento si lo necesitan”.

Me parece que son excelentes recomendaciones para poner en práctica en la próxima exposición que tengamos que hacer.

I have a problem with Apple, I just had to say it. They got so many issues, and they’re total control freaks. I mean think, if Steve Jobs had shared how to code with developers, developed some SDK’s, or told them exactly how to do it, they’d be on top of the world. They’re such a small portion of the market, and come on if it wasn’t for the iPod who would care? No one. Quite frankly iPods are a total rip, they make you convert to their format, run the .app on their hardware, make you buy from their online store (a few other places can sell but most people get their goods from iTunes store), and use their program (iTunes). It’s a total rip. If I want to put MP3’s on an iPod let me do it (not that I own an iPod). Sure they have a community the size of cruise ship, and a homebrew scene, but who said you couldn’t do that with other MP3 players? Just because no one has found a way to do it doesn’t mean you can’t, their are less people trying to exploit specific MP3 players anyhow. Get something robust, that doesn’t make you take hours to convert a few hundred songs. Who wants to spend a ton of money (buying) or a ton of time (converting) songs? Might as well get something that you have more control of, there’s great alternatives to iPods, and if you have a ton of MP3s hanging around you won’t want to convert. Back to Macs, they have a sexy interface, some cool built in apps, and are cool for multimedia. Now the downsides, there isn’t a ton of software, you can’t code for it very easily, it’s not good for a gamer, and you could buy a Windows PC with professional grade multimedia software for the price you spend on the Mac. To me, the only way to go is Windows or Linux. With all the customization, software, and ability to do more with your desktop (look at the market, and Linux supports much of the same things Window’s does), there’s no better choice.

For those who didn’t want to read all of it: GET WINDOWS, GET LINUX, BUT PLEASE, NO MACS.

Cheers,

gamehawk

Corporates being assholes again ?

I have a habit of occasionally writing about things I’m not fully aware of. Such as this one. Heard from Sonia Belle’s blog that a technologicaly knowledgeable model named Anina has been given an ultimatum:

either quit doing the technology stuff, or leave the agency. they say that fashion and technology do not go together.

. I think this sucks. And I know I don’t agree with Microsoft all the time, but Microsoft’s technical evangelist Robert Scoble has the same opinion:

Anyway, I just saw that Anina, the geek model, has been told to stop blogging. That sucks. But leaves a bunch of future opportunities. She’s smart and that’ll take her a lot further than her looks.

I agree with Robert’s statement that it’ll leave her with a bunch of future opportunities, possibly with a more forward thinking agency. But I don’t think she she should be forced to leave her agency just because she might endager the image that models are stupid. other models might make poor decisions, some of them are made to appear more stupid than they really are. A lot of them, like Anina are highly intelligent, probably more so than a geek like me.

Anina told her agency that she was going to be doing all this geeky stuff before she signed up with them. Only now that she’s been doing it are they starting to whinge. I’m not a lawyer or anything, but isn’t that breaking some sort of contract law as the contract was signed under the agreement that Anina would be doing all of that then they change their minds ?

New Technuendo.

This situation between Anina and her agency, who I’m not agreeing with so much that i’m not even going to bother giving them a rel="tag" or a rel="vote-against" link. What they have deserved is this: a technuendo dedicated to themselves. And apple. (must balance out mentioning microsoft somehow).

Mac OS X on a x86 processor.

1) Something that’ll bring a great product to a wider audience.

2) Straight women discovering the joys of another woman.

3) Something that is good for the industry that you can’t stop from happening no matter how much you don’t like it. Yes, you know who I mean.

Yet again, this isn’t spellchecked cos I’m using the latest stable release of Firefox.

This search was just for a laugh.

How was I to know something would come up ? 15″ storage capacity: Apple Dildo.

Grrr.

I hate trying to get things done on a windows box.

Backlog of photos.

I had a 3 month back log of photos I took within Second Life to upload to my flickr account. It’s taken me about 2-3 hours to convert, tag, title, and describe every photo.

The photos of me at Mac World and the polluting Prim rig are up.

Pissed off.

Can’t access my uni files for some reason, and the windows box took a hissy fit this morning, making it really difficult to do anything.

I was at Mac World today.

So I’m hanging around in the empty, low lag sim that is the poluting Oil Rig in ANWR. Along comes Brent Linden, and with him everyone at Mac World. Geek out moment.

Photographic proof, along with transcripts and the photos of the polluting oil rig itself that i took last year while chatting with Hamlet Linden coming over the weekend.

ps. forgive the spelling mistakes (if any), I’ve yet to install the spell check extension after moving and upgrading my Firefox instal.