Did someone fall asleep on writing the copy for this lovely Apple e-mail I got tonight? “iPhotoready on your Macis packed with beautiful templates for you to customize.”
Perhaps they were awake; only, the sentence was written in Japan. Is this a case of nonsensical Japanese captions spilling over into American products?
Some time ago, I did a post on Apple Technology as part of my back to school series, and Chris ribbingly asked me how much Apple was paying me. This afternoon, I find that Brian‘s on fire as far as the blogging goes, and his latest post is about the latest in iPod technology. The Apple Website confirms much of what he says, especially about the iPod Touch, which has all the features of the iPhone without the phone.
So, how much are they paying you, Brian? 
As you embark on your college journey or are returning to school, you can’t get caught without technology in the 21st century educational environment. Of course, you can go anywhere and buy a PC with the new Vista operating system, but get a Mac. They’re more attractive, better made, and have significantly less headaches than the machines on that Microsoft operating system. Okay, I’m biased, but you get the point.
Apple brings sexy back into computing with the iMac
That’s not completely true, but largely so. Apple has made computers sexy for the 21st century with the G5’s, Macbooks, PowerBooks, and its piece de resistance, the iPod. In time for new college freshmen in need of computers or those returning to school in the fall, the slender incarnation of the iMac enables you to do your homework, research, and e-mailing in style. These new models have plenty of hard drive space (250-500 GB) for those projects and presentations you’ll do for that A. Plan for desk space as the screen and CPU combo comes in 20” and 24” sizes. Good for work and for fun, and the support for any Apple product is excellent.
MS Office For Mac (A Wonderful Oxymoron)
While Mac has its own set of office utilities, Microsoft makes smooth working versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for its rival platform. MS Office saves your work in the same file formats as its Windows counterpart, so you can easily send your files to a PC user (who may very well be one of your professors. Not me – definite Mac user). Best of all, MS office is priced at an academic discount, available at the Apple Store or your local college bookstore.
Dot Mac is where it’s at
.Mac has upgraded to 10 GB of online memory space, which you can use the space for e-mail (and have a super cool e-mail address), back up for all those files you create as homework, or for hosting a website and/or blog.
iPod – Definite Space Saver
Do you really want to lug all your CD’s with you to college? And, aren’t they so 20th century? Save some dorm space, get an dock, and hook your iPod to your stereo. Plus, you can take your tunes wherever you go. You can also download new tunes and your favorite TV shows (and even movies and games) from iTunes. The standard model (30-80 GB) comes in black or white, but you can dress it up with protective sheaths, covers, and socks. If you need something that can take a beating, get a Nano or a wearable Shuffle (in your choice of several fashion colors). They hold fewer tunes, but enough for music on the go, and they’re good for workouts or jogs around campus. Buy a Mac and get a Nano free. Just don’t let me catch you with it during test time.
Can’t endorse the iPhone…
I’m not sure if a phone is worth the hefty price tag, even with some fabulous features. Price aside, the iPhone offers some useful applications for students: e-mail, iCalendar to manage schedules, web browser for research, and a much more sensuous version of the iPod built-in. All that’s missing is a word processing program to write papers on the go. The keyboard function does take some getting use to. Buy at your own discretion or risk, but don’t let me catch you using it during test time.
Update, 9/5/07
Apple has a new fall line of iPods, including the iPod Touch, a phoneless version of the iPhone. Thanks to Brian for the update.
I stopped by Fashion Valley’s Apple Store to check out the iPhone. Given that it’s been on the market for a few weeks, there’s obviously still much interest in this device that is essentially a prototype for future generations of iPods. I managed to find one that was not being molested by a customer and sampled it (oooooh….. aaaaaahhh!). The touch screen display is definitely more sensuous than the iPod‘s clickwheel (which is quite tactile) and puts Star Trek: TNG‘s idea of the touchscreen into the 21st century. Yes, touchscreens have existed in one form or another for almost twenty years, but the iPhone‘s functions in an absolutely flawless way. Almost, anyway. The screen responds well to touch, but the keyboard function, when brought up, takes some getting use to. I just can’t tap the screen with my fingernail, but must touch a “key,” “button,” or icon with the fleshy part of my fingertip. The landscape, or horizontal, presentation of the QWERTY keyboard is preferable, but still difficult to use.
The iPhone has no difficulty pulling up webpages in their full aspect ratios. Width isn’t compromised, but there is little less of the height in the Safari browser. However, scrolling down isn’t too hard. The odd thing about going down in a website is “pushing” the brower with an upward motion by your finger. The one drawback is that the links are extremely tiny, especially the text ones. There should be an iStylus for the iPhone, made in a texture that approximates the softness and firmness of a fingertip.
I took some photos on the sly to show what a website looks like in iPhone‘s Safari Browser. I have used ShindoTV and a couple of my cyberfriends’ blogs to show how they appear:
Ramblings of a Hopeless Khowaga displayed on iPhone‘s Safari Browser.
Urban Bohemian as displayed on iPhone‘s Safari Browser.
Given the small drawback with the keyboard, the iPhone makes a wonderful Internet access device. A laptop with WI-FI feels clunky in comparison. I played around with a few other functions, such as the calculator (the 10 key is digit friendly), iCalendar, and a few other applications. That the screen can detect its orientation and adjust the screen accordingly is one of its amazing features. While Zune introduced the basic idea late last year, iPhone makes Zune look like a neolithic knife in comparison. The iPhone adjusts without prompting, while Zune’s screen position must be changed manually. I have written some things about Zune in the past, and my opinion is reinforced by this experience.
Sometime last year, iTunes introduces a more visual element to browsing the library by going through the Albums’ artworks by scrolling from side to side. This new feature is perfected in the iPhone, and there’s a more visual menu where one can choose music, video or podcasts with the tap of a finger. The icon menu is much more appealing than the click and view text interface of standard iPods. The sound is excellent (but the demo iPhones used Bose headsets).
The iPhone has a camera. Cameras are almost a standard feature mobile phones these days,
but the iPhone‘s shutter could also be a logical outcome of the cameras that are now embedded in the iMacs and MacBooks. Like most phones, the iPhone‘s camera has low fidelity, but still can take some decent photos. If you want to take a picture of yourself (as many people are doing), that can be difficult as the “button” is a two dimensional icon on the glass sceen. It’s best to have someone take the picture for you. I managed to get this photo taken.
I e-mailed the picture to myself from the iPhone, thus being able to show you my mug. The only thing I didn’t do in my brief exporation of this brave new device was make a phone call.
Computing grade: 7 out of 10.
Telephone grade: no empirical data available to evaluate mobile phone function.
As an Apple user, I feel it’s my God-given right to bitch and moan about them from time to time. This morning, something happened to my iBook’s AC cable that it no provided it with any current. The LED light lit up when I jacked one end into the computer after plugging the other end into an outlet, but went completely dark after one hour.
An easy solution would have been to get another AC cord to see if it works. However, it might not be the cord, so I took my laptop and cable to the local Apple store. It turned out it was the AC, not the computer, and they had plenty of the adapters for sale. The catch: $79.99. I was in no mood to pay that much for a power line, so I drove to Fry’s Electronics.
There, I found some Apple clone products, such as macally‘s AC adapter for the G4 Powerbook. The good news was it only cost $44.99.
Interestingly, I saw the Apple Genius I consulted earlier that day and her boyfriend (also a Genius) shop at Fry’s when I was there to get my fake Apple product (which works, BTW). Was I being followed, or do Mac salaries not allow them to be purist fangirls and fanboys?
Apparently, some Photoshop users found the time to skewer dumpy man on the streets and publicity whore Greg Parker. Adam Frucci of the Gizmodo blog solicited these images from users early this week and here are the frightening results.
My favorite result is where someone used a clip from the Star Trek: TNG episode “Conspiracy” and have Picard and Riker phaser him until his head explodes.
I wonder what Parker’s going to do with his iPhone once he’s purchased it. Sell it on e-Bay, perhaps, complete with Parker DNA (eeeeww!). He’s soliciting donations on his hardly updated blog about the experience. Dude, if you want blog readers to pony up some cash, you got to give some content. Talk about how stinky you’ve become and how you probably would pee your pants (or worse) rather than give up your place in line. At least the friend of yours who set up the blog should have the decency to get you to dictate updates.
Update:
New York Times reports on the sale of iPhones in 5th Ave Apple Store, Manhattan. Everyone’s favorite Photoshop target is pictured with two iPhones. The donations must have come through. Stay tuned on eBay…
Update 6/30/07:
Read Fredo’s account of the iPhone sale in DC.
Being an Apple user, I got suckered into having a .Mac account when I bought my iBook. Perhaps suckered is a strong word, as I thought (and still think) having Mac in my e-mail address is cool. My main beef with them right now is how they are “improving” the .Mac site. Last week, when I logged on to use my e-mail on the new, improved .Mac, I couldn’t access my e-mail at all on the webmail site. I had to log into the account section and then click “mail.” The bugs seemed to be worked out until this morning. I can’t access my e-mail on the webmail site, so I’ve had to resort to setting up Gmail to access my e-mail.
Perhaps the answer is as simple as getting a new computer, but that’s not in the budget right now. Well, I can still dream.
I certainly wouldn’t wear an ex-roomate’s socks. However, I would cut the foot off and sew up the end to make a sheath for my iPod. I’ve done it with my old socks and I always get, “You should sell them.” Well, that’s a great idea except my handicrafts are more a reaction to what’s out on the market: I can stitch and I’m too cheap to buy an iPod sock.
This perhaps marks the end of the bathroom books. I was at Fry’s Electronics with a friend this afternoon and I can’t believe what I saw: an iPod dock with a toilet paper holder. If you have to take a dump, you can always bring your music with you. I suppose it can provide music for the shower as well.
While I couldn’t stop laughing about the device, it has some good features. It has a standard dock for the video iPod and Nano. There is also a place to put the Shuffle (1st generation), which most docks don’t have.
Having an iPod dedicated for the bathroom may be a good idea. Just wash your hands before and after use.
Everytime I’ve visited a Target during the past couple of weeks, I noticed the Zune Player, Microsoft’s answer to the iPod. A friend of mine also got a Zune for Christmas, and I had the opportunity to closely look at his yesterday. I’m a Mac guy and a devoted iPod enthusiast, so I’m biased. The Zune is approximately close to the iPod in shape and size (which is as small as a deck of playing cards) and colorwise matches the iPod in black and white. For those who would like the Zune to be more coordinated with their wardrobes, there is also a brown option. And then there are the accessories designed to go along with the Zune: car kits, covers, etc.
Right now, the Zune is only supported by Microsoft platforms such as Windows XP and Vista. Since iPod and iTunes have become ubiquitous in the PC realm, the Zune is Microsoft’s attempt to reclaim the PC market from Apple. It will be a matter of time before Microsoft turns its attention to the Mac world and make the Zune more cross-platform. Just as MS Office for Mac is fabulous, the Mac supported version of Zune will most likely be a superior version of its PC sibling.
Here are the pros of the Zune I’ve been able to observe:
Now here are the cons:
I haven’t had the opportunity to look closely at the Zune software or the Marketplace (useless at this point since I have a Mac). iTunes Store offers the option to purchase music from its site similar to how one buys music from a music store like Sam Goody or Virgin, except there is the option to buy songs only and not the entire album. Zune Marketplace, from what I can gather from the site, has individual purchase options like iTunes, but there is also the Pass option. This operates more akin to a music club. With a pass to the Marketplace ($14.99 a month), one can dowload as many songs as they want. As long as a user holds a subscription to the Pass program, the songs they download are theirs. There must be some code that disables the songs if the user doesn’t renew their subscription.
While there is much that can be said about the proprietary nature of the iTunes Store, I’m not sure if I like the proprietary nature of the Pass system. Sharing iTunes purchased music is extremely limited, so the ability to file share more freely with Zune is appealing. On the surface, it sounds like there are no strings attached, but the subscription may hold more strings than the iTunes purchase ever had.
I still like my iPod. I have a couple. While the interface isn’t as pretty as that of the Zune, there is something to be said about simplicity. I can easily navigate through the menu options, and, more importantly, I can read the text without distraction. The click wheel, which has definitely evolved since the iPod’s introduction, is sensous and elegant. The dial is tactile and the clicking points are well integrated. I’m glad the iPod no longer has seperate buttons or a more mechanical wheel. The options of the iPod are the best thing about it. I can get a 30 or 80 GB iPod to store my music library, but if I want something more portable that can take some punishment, I can use a Shuffle or a Nano for music on the go. Good for a walk, a workout, or a drive.
My online version of my MFA creative writing afterlife. So much for the afterglow.
