Had a huge smile on my face last Friday as I reached the top of the escalators to catch my usual train and heard someone say on their mobile the immortal words “…press F1 and let the computer warm-up…”.  I cannot tell you enough the joys of owning a 24 inch iMac and a Macbook Pro.  I have never known such tranquillity while working (yes sure there are lots frustrations like not being able to resize a window other than from the bottom right tag!), but I have a “Peter Jackson” inspired theory.  You see like the Lord of the Rings trilogy (it was shot in one go but each part released over 3 years), I think that Mr Jobs has already invented the perfect all singing all dancing iMac and iPhone, but what would be the incentive to upgrade from perfection – and what to? So each year we are given incremental bouts of ecstasy.  A case in point is the fact that 3 years ago I paid £1600 for a top of the range Dell XPS laptop.  Today its junk and I would have to pay someone to take it away from me.  Had I invested in a Mac i would have probably still recovered 35-50% of my investment back…but the crucial point is it would still be 100% functional and not have committed kamikaze or become a blotted sumo wrestler from the constant intravenously injected anti-virus and immunisation patches to its OS…I rest my case. Period.

If you happen to own a Mac AND subscribe to their $99 MobileMe service you may not be aware of all the features that you are getting.  Most people don’t see the use of spending a C-note on an email service.  Well, it’s much more.

In the episode of the Lynda.com Video Training Podcast (subscribe), Nick Brazzi shows us how to share a screen from a remote location so that you can keep working even though you are not at your primary computer. [view tutorial]

MobileMe Essential Training with Nick Brazzi

I was reading a blog that I regularly visit yesterday and stumbled upon instructions for creating audio books from any type of text file. It was so awesome that I put it out on Twitter early today and have been requested to “fill in the blanks”.


First and foremost, credit goes to Rick Mansfield and his blog This Lamp. Unfortunately for you users of PC’s and the multiple variants of Windows, this will not help you, but if your a Mac user you will find all the instructions here.


The example that Rick describes is converting a christian resource book into an audio book. Yet this method works for anything that contains text – I have created audio books from pdf files, Word docs and Pages docs, the list is endless.


One last thing that Rick doesn’t mention is that when you have your new “Text to Speech” file in iTunes, you can then convert it into iTunes audio book format by running a script called Make Bookmarkable by Doug Adams and you can download the Apple Script here.


Rick in his post mentions how little time it takes to create an audio book from scratch. One of the ones that I created was The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson. The final product was an audio book that would take 10 hours and 54 minutes to listen through – total time to prepare and convert on my MacPro was about 8 minutes. 


It’s an absolutely awesome way to get audio books onto your iPod or iPhone. The possibilities are endless – I can see myself converting some of my daughter’s Uni text books next year so she can listen to them as she commutes to Uni, rather than having to carry them with her.


I hope you enjoy exploring these unlimited possibilities. If you’re a Windows user and you know of a way to do it on that platform, I’d love for you to share the secrets.


Happy audio book listening!

This is an interesting article about Macs in schools.” Apple’s resurgence and campaigns like “back-to-school” free iPods for students to buy its laptops and desktop computers appear to have increased its market share in education, according to new figures from research consultancy Gartner….”
http://www.agent4change.net/index.php?…

So your saying my Mac has cancer?

Attention all smoking Mac users, did you know your warranty could be null and void? Apple technicians have the right to refuse work on your smelly, smoked damaged machines if they want to, due to…wait for it…you know what’s coming…”health risks of second hand smoke”. Yes brilliant, it’s the reason why we love seeing cigarette companies get their friggin asses sued, they are friggin anti Christ. Ooh and Apple, bless their cotton picking hard drives are using the argument that secondhand smoke creates a bio hazard and surprise , surprise “bio hazard” is listed on that warranty! So to all Mac smokers,  I think you are iScrewed !

Enclosure Precision aluminium unibody
* Processor 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* L2 cache 6MB shared
* System bus 1066MHz
* Memory 2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM onboard
* Hard drive2 120GB 4200-rpm Serial ATA
* Slot-loading optical drive Optional external USB MacBook Air SuperDrive (sold separately)
* Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3
* Video Built-in iSight camera; Mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI (requires adapters, sold separately)
* Display 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution
* USB One USB 2.0 port (up to 480 Mbps)
* Audio Built-in mono speaker, built-in omnidirectional microphone, analog audio output/headphone out
* Networking Optional Apple USB Ethernet Adapter (sold separately)
* Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification)4; built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
* Hardware accessories 45W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord
* Limited warranty
and service Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty.
BONUS: Apple USB Mighty Mouse, Snow Leopard Update

Harga Rp 15.922.500,00

Harga sewaktu-waktu dapat berubah harap hubungi kami untuk update harga terbaru.

After the release of Archos 9 pc tablet, it becomes clear that the market for “keyboardless” tablets exists. Moreover, with the success of netbooks and iPhone there are not doubts that there is a huge demand for light and “keyboardless” computers. People like to interact with their technology either by swinging stuff around (the Nintendo Wii) or by touch (the iPhone).
It is logical to assume now that Apple would release their tablet sooner than expected. The initial roomer was that the tablet would come out at the end of 2010, but Apple cannot afford to wait that long. So, the new predictions are falling to Q1 of 2010, which is not that far away.
According to the information that licked out Apple’s device would havet a 9.6-inch “finger friendly” touchscreen from Wintek possible OLED, HSPA connectivity, possibly Wi-Fi and a processor from PA Semi (a company that Apple owns) and the battery from Dynex.

Device features:
According to the information that licked out Apple’s device would have:
• 9.6-inch “finger friendly” touchscreen from Wintek possible OLED,
• HSPA connectivity, possibly Wi-Fi
• Processor from PA Semi (a company that Apple owns)
• Battery from Dynex.

Why are there so many problems with pcs?  Just bought two new pcs running Windows 7.  Trying to install ACT from Sage and CS4 from Adobe, but problems with both.  incompatibility, install shields, whatever.  Are their respective Call Centres any good – no.  Although Sage have washed their hands of the issue and blamed a third-party install shield at least you could understand the operator.  But Adobe you can’t understand even when you can hear them.  Macs are so much simpler.

With the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last week causing quite a stir and breaking sales records, iPhone owners will be pleased to hear that the much-loved series is to be available as a cut-down release on the App Store.

World at War: Zombies takes the extremely popular arcade portion of the PC and console title and places it on the iPhone in app form, with touch sensitive controls and support for multiplayer via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

If you are not at home with the touch sensitive display there are two alternative control methods at your disposal.

In the app you can blast through several different maps ported from the console version, with the aim of dispatching as many Nazi zombies as possible.

Industry observers see the release as an attempt by Activision to draw attention away from the soon to be released Left 4 Dead 2.

Created by rival studio Valve, Left 4 Dead 2 has the potential to slow the astronomic sales of Modern Warfare 2, although the true level of competition presented by the mobile zombie shooter is yet to be fully established.

Posted 17th November 2009 at 1:33pm by Matt Dixon Top 10

Apple Helps You Install Windows on a Mac
Well, this is interesting: Apple has released a beta of a new utility called Boot Camp–which lets you install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac, then dual-boot between XP and Mac OS X. Until this morning, putting Windows on a Mac was a quirky hack; now it’s an officially-sanctioned feature. (Apple also says that Boot Camp will be a feature in Leopard, the next big update to Mac OS X.)

In the brief history of Windows-on-Intel-Mac, procuring suitable drivers has been a big issue, but Apple says that Boot Camp will install the necessary Windows drivers automatically. It’ll also partition the hard drive for you, and burn a CD you need during the install. All you need, in theory at least, is a Mac and a copy of Windows XP.
Read more

http://blogs.pcworld.com

Normally i would shy away from discussing tilt and shift lenses….. i would have always have considered them as pro architecture type / style lenses where you can tilt and shift your way (away) from converging verticals of a tall Building.

A quick google search later reveals thousands of images of (tilt and shift – miniature faking) Photography. (see below)

Copyright: www.tiltshiftphotography.net

Use software to create your own desired focus plane . up the saturation and there ya go! You don’t need these expensive lenses to create the look above.

P.S

(You do need these expensive lenses if you are an architectural Photographer)

I applied this technique to a photo i had on my desktop and was pretty pleased with the result. Not a usual tilt and shift example, toned down alot… but i like it!!

Depends on what kind of tin you’ve got though…

And if your name is Steve Jobs and your ‘tin’ is an iPhone, iPod or Apple Mac, well then not much talking is required. Is it?

Equally, when your audience is made up of your own people, brand advocates and maybe some ‘Apple-friendly’ journalists, how hard do you have to work on your ‘message’? Funnily enough, harder than ever.

See how Steve Jobs has been carefully crafting his ‘message’ over the years:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/09/0929_jobs_presentations/1.htm

- flick through the (18) slides to see how he does it.

Because if you’ve ever done any presentations to your own work colleagues (especially when it’s the entire workforce or the company’s management team) you’ll already know they’re the hardest gigs. Forget just trying to hit the right tone for those “in-house” jokes (where it’s usually the sales team or accounts department that are the butt of the joke). People you work with day-in, day-out, know how things are really going and are often the toughest critics and the hardiest of audiences to win over. Bring on new clients or customers any day!

So even if you don’t have something as funky as a 3G iPhone to talk about. And never mind that your name is not Steve Jobs or even that you’re not the CEO of your company, every presentation should be approached as an exercise in ’story-telling’ – entertain, inform and educate.

Here is a Website – Windows7wallpers.net. It has got hundreds of high quality wallpapers in all different sizes. If you are a wallpapers freak, then you ought to visit this Website to download some wallpapers…

I am listing a few samples from different sections that I personally liked. Click on an image in a particular section to visit that particular section and download the wallpapers….

Windows 7 wallpapers

Windows Vista wallpapers

Windows XP Wallpapers

Linux Wallpapers

Apple MAC Wallpapers

By vladstudio

Website for more wallpapers: vladstudio

This little baby is really quite hot.

If you have a Mac.  You want it.  You need it.

Get it.

Ok, so what do I actually intend to do here….

First a bit of background… I was a PC user  for just over 20 years when I decided to buy my first Apple MacBook. It wasn’t that I was really that unhappy with my Windows XP PC, but I was just completely fascinated with everything I’ve read and seen about the new Apple MacBooks. I decided to do a bit more research on exactly what it is that made these laptops so great and get behind the reasons why Apple users were raving so much about all their Apple products. So after months of consideration and saving, I finally got my hands on my own MacBook in Dec 2008.

Ever since then, I have never looked back. At work I still have to use a Windows PC that is supplied to me, but at home I’m only using my MacBook even though there is 3 other Windows machines in the house that the kids are now using. I know never is a very long time, but at this stage in my “Apple Life” I just cannot see myself ever going back to Windows ever again … ever !!

So after being so impressed with my MacBook, I’ve kind of become completely hooked on Apple products – mainly because of the lovely design, functionality, stability  and just about everything else about them make them so nice to be around. So obviously the next step was to get an iPhone … obviously !!

I’ve been waiting quite some time to get my hands on an iPhone (because of different reasons) and at this stage I must admit that I’m getting really excited about the prospect of actually finally having it in my hands maybe this week or next. So this blog I’m going to dedicate to the iPhone and how it becomes and stays a part of my everyday life.

I’m going to try to take a picture with my iPhone every single day since the first day I have it and post it here together with a short (or maybe long) description of what the picture is all about and why or how I took it.

We’ve known it was coming for a while now, but the milestone has finally been passed: Apple announced on Wednesday that the App Store now boasts more than 100,000 applications available for download. And download the people have, more than two billion times in 77 countries.

As you might expect, Phil Schiller weighed in on the announcement, calling the App Store “a major differentiator” for iPhone and iPod touch customers, of which there are more than 50 million. (Schiller didn’t comment on rumors that he had also asked his staff to address him as “Major Differentiator.”)

Apple’s App Store has seen tremendous growth, having only been open for business for just over a year and a quarter. The store hit one billion downloads about six months ago, at which point it had more than 35,000 applications. In September, when it hit two billion downloads, Apple said the store then boasted 85,000 applications. [read]

IK Multimedia has released two new applications for the iPhone/iPod touch: GrooveMaker Electro and Drum ’n’ Bass (D’n’B). These complete the range of available GrooveMaker applications with two new style-based apps that allow anyone to create and share non-stop Electro and D’n’B tracks for DJing, remixing, multimedia and movie soundtrack compositions on the go, in real-time.

With over 350,000 downloads since its August release, GrooveMaker has quickly become the top loop remixing application for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing any user to create professional, full-length songs in minutes, with its unique combination of advanced remixing software and high-quality included loops’ sound content.

GrooveMaker allows for instantaneous control over 8 stereo loop tracks, making it possible to remix the included massive loop library of drums, bass, bass drums, lines, pads, percussion and effects. Its unique and patented randomization feature allows musicians to generate a vast number of remixes on the fly, with one touch, to produce millions of possible groove combinations. [read]

This just in: Apple’s iTunes 9.0.2 update not only allows Palm Pre syncing, it embraces it wholeheartedly, offering to let you transfer all of your content to one of Palm’s devices to make it easy to switch to the rival handset and ditch your iPho—oh, whoops; apparently, I started reading my Bizarro World RSS news feed this morning.

No, in a far less surprising development, iTunes 9.0.2 once again blocks Palm’s attempt to ride on Apple’s coattails. The cat-and-mouse game between the two companies reminds me of some of my favorite classic John Le Carré Cold War espionage dramas—you know, if Cold War espionage dramas had been really boring and primarily revolved around arcane details of software development.

Video posted on YouTube by LaunchParties

Great google moogly – this is a nightmare.” my son on the Launch Parties video.

Okay, so no one’s asking me to switch from my wonderful, old and reliable Mac PowerBook with its OS X system to a PC with Microsoft Windows 7. Good thing. It’d be a waste of time.  I’d never switch. The only time I use Windows is when I’m forced to; i.e., working for someone who has it or away from home and no other option available.  I truly dislike Windows.

I could almost feel sorry for Microsoft these days.  For one thing, it’s all over the Internet that poor Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) made his launch presentation on NBC and in the background the network shows the launch logo and it’s running on a Mac. I almost feel embarrassed myself watching it. 

And the launch party thing . . . It’s like having to view one of those training (propaganda) videos at work. Seems like a strategy born of desperation.

And what’s with the Microsoft stores? People more knowledgeable then me about such things find it a source of humor, including writers for PC World. (The article is a kick.  Don’t pass it up.) There must be something Microsoft can do in terms of marketing that would be more dignified than imitating Apple.  And why try? Fruitless. (Pun intended.) Apple stores are an art form, a signature, a part of the tech-happiness that is Mac. Apple designs and produces its software and hardware. Microsoft is just software, a distinction that may impact their chances of success using the Apple Store model.

In fact, I think one of the most compelling characteristics of Apple’s set-up is that they are responsible for the whole package.  Back in the early 80s, we bought two K-Pro computers and Microsoft software for a family business. Computers were all new to us then, so it was quite an adventure and a lot of fun.  We got the first computer just before Thanksgiving.  On Thanksgiving day, all day long, my husband, my son and I took turns playing on it.  But as the days passed, there were problems.  The biggest being that when the hardware folks couldn’t fix a problem, they’d blame it on the software.  The software folks would in turn blame it on the hardware and some problems never got resolved.  

It will be interesting to watch and see how things pan out for Windows 7.  Stay tuned . . . I sure hope Microsoft employees are getting ready to make a switch. None of this would seem to bode well for them.

Windows 7 has arrived for dedicated PC lovers/users.  According to Business week, this new OS consist of “backing up all their files to an external drive, reformatting their PC, and then reinstalling all of their old programs, assuming they still have the CDs”. On the contrary, Apple continues with their advertising insults towards Windows PCs with their “Get A Mac” commercials.

From what I hear, Mac is less susceptible to viruses and you don’t have to go through all the step to step procedures to backup files like a regular Windows-based PC. Also, in my opinion it is multi-faceted because it works hand in hand with iPhones and iPods. I have a Dell Laptop that has a Windows Vista and I’m seriously considering a Mac based on these commercials, as well as the problems I’ve had with Vista presently. I don’t know if I have faith in Windows OS anymore.

Now I’m not one to follow the “norms” of society or follow the in crowd/jump on the bandwagon, but Mac just seems more functional and has a multitude of products and application to choose from-I’m just like this lady in this commercial at this point.

So which is better Mac or PC? Let me know what you think.