Me.com address working for me

July starts with a software salvo for gadget geeks!

Following my weekend away in Colchester, Essex. I've returned home to news of the long-awaited PS3 XMB firmware update, Mac OS X 10.5.4 and a working @me.com address (as reported by MacRumors)!

After 8 years using an @mac.com address, and safe in the knowledge that e-mail directed to my @mac.com account will reach me, I've readily made the switch to Apple's upcoming MobileMe online proposition!

Do you intend to make the move to @me.com or are you happy with the way things are?

Tweet-Up

Yesterday I attended my inaugural Tweet-Up or Tweet Meet, depending on your preference.

What's a Tweet-Up? Making new friends and acquaintances online is one thing, but meeting them is entirely different! Hopefully it gives people a chance to learn new things, meet even more friends and have a good time away from the online world that we all now and love.

Saturday's Tweet-Up stemmed from an idea proposed by one of my Twitter peeps @LittleLaura! The venue of choice, as suggested by yours truly, was the Apple Store Princesshay, Exeter; anywhere else would have been considered sacrilege!

At Apple Store Princesshay I got up close and personal with the MacBook Air! Still stand by my previous assertion that it's a 'pretty paperweight'! That said, it's the future...

It was great to meet-up with like-minded, and friendly, folk and discuss everything from how long we've been using Mac OS X and the return of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) in last night's episode of Doctor Who to Tim Burton's cinematic oeuvre - Edward Scissorhands is still his most accomplished film-to-date in my subjective opinion - and musicals!

We intend to have a Tweet-Up on a regular basis! If you're actively involved in the social media space (this is the only prerequisite), would like to attend and drink copious amounts of coffee and tea, then please follow me on Twitter or, alternatively, leave a comment on this post!

Special thanks to @LittleLaura and @huskypup. Two Twitter peeps you should be following.

WWDC 2008 AKA The Day the Earth Stood Still

The title of this post is somewhat overblown and pretentious! It's not entirely without some merit as an in-joke; Twitter has been electric with, witty, sci-fi references regarding announcements beamed from the Apple mothership, I only needed to mention that Exeter was thundery and my Twitter peeps were inspired to alude to ID4 amongst others.

My initial reaction to Steve Jobs keynote is mostly positive, mostly!

The new iPhone 3G looks most compelling. I'm sold on the 16GB model (in limited edition white) and will be contacting my O2 Shop in short order: as soon as tomorrow. Assuming O2 can offer a good pay-as-you-go plan, alongside the £269 price tag, for an iPhone 3G, July 11th can't come soon enough! An iPod touch 32GB is on order for wireless browsing around the home.

.mac is to morph into MobileMe and e-mail addresses can be transferred, if desired, to @me.com. However, a free service would've been welcomed! Apple's e-mail solution looks like a poor investment against highly featured, and free, services such as Google's Gmail! I'll review MobileMe once it becomes available, from July, and make it known whether or not subscribing for a fee-based service is worthwhile in the long-term!

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard was previewed: “We have delivered more than a thousand new features to OS X in just seven years and Snow Leopard lays the foundation for thousands more,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “In our continued effort to deliver the best user experience, we hit the pause button on new features to focus on perfecting the world’s most advanced operating system.”

Breaking news: Aliens have invaded Apple Store Princesshay...

Apple+Twitter

Follow tomorrow's Apple WWDC 2008 breaking news on Twitter and discover whether or not I'll be buying an iPhone 2! It'll be up to Steve Jobs to convince me!

Friend me on popular social networks: claimID.

iCalamity

In the wake of last week's release of Mac OS X 10.5.3, the Apple Discussions forums have been flooded with myriad threads related to innumerable iCal problems! I can concur that the latest Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard update wiped all my iCal calendars, following a .mac sync, and replaced these with empty duplicates!

Thankfully I had a usable backup from which to restore all my calendars! This is my suggested workaround:

*Uncheck iCal sync (System Preferences/.mac)
*Delete this folder: ~/Library/Calendars
*Restore all iCal settings via your backup plan

Hey presto! A working copy of iCal. Your mileage may vary, but I hope that this simple tip will help some (if not all) affected users. Further to this, I'm seriously considering purchasing Time Capsule 1TB at the conclusion of WWDC 2008!

Twitter adores ASUS Eee PC

Last night (GMT) Twitter was awash with excitement regarding the award-winning ASUS Eee PC range of portables! Of particular note was the all-new Eee PC 900; the latest weapon of choice for discerning bloggers-on-the-go everywhere (and that includes Mac Users too)!

A few weeks ago The Gadget Show, shown on five (a UK-based commercial television network), tested the Apple MacBook Air, Sony VAIO TZ31 and ASUS Eee PC, to ascertain which product offered the best value for money in terms of both ease of use and wireless blogging for all members of the family.

Inevitably the MacBook Air achieved merit for its eye-catching beauty and build quality. The ASUS Eee PC was victorious due to its multimedia flexibility (an aspect woefully overlooked in the MacBook Air), ease of use and compelling price point! What blogging-on-the-go consumer would bemoan £200+ against a bank-breaking £1000+ for either the MacBook Air or Sony VAIO TZ31? Unless you need to undertake any heavy lifting...

I've yet to play with an ASUS Eee PC (sponsored review machine anyone?)! But, many of my Twitter (direct link to my profile) peeps own, or loan, an ASUS Eee PC and can't recommend the brand highly enough!

Seven

Mac OS X turned 7 years old this weekend! Where has the time gone? It'll soon be graduating from Primary to Junior School! What will adolescence bring?

Mac OS X was launched on March 21, 2001 and you can read my post An Aqua Anniversary from 2005.

Below is a list of the version names, numbers and launch dates of each Mac OS X release (taken from TUAW):

Mac OS X Public Beta (September 13, 2000)
Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah (March 21, 2001)
Mac OS X 10.1 Puma (September 25, 2001)
Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar (August 23, 2002)
Mac OS X 10.3 Panther (October 24, 2003)
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (April 29, 2005)
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (October 26, 2007)



Were you, like me, one of the early adopters who bought Mac OS X Public Beta or have you only recently switched? Do leave a comment.

Faster Photo Editing Aperture

After much soul searching, I've decided to switch from Adobe Lightroom to Aperture 2 as my photo editor of choice!

Aperture 2, Apple's groundbreaking photo editing and management software, delivers more than 100 new features that make it dramatically faster and easier to use and even more powerful.

Featuring a streamlined user interface, Aperture 2 provides accelerated performance with its optimized database and new Quick Preview mode for rapid-fire browsing. Thanks to advanced image processing with powerful new tools--such as Recovery, Vibrancy, Vignette, and a soft-edged Retouch brush--you'll get the most out of every image. And thanks to integrated .Mac Web Gallery support, you can showcase your work on the web in minutes.

From importing images to publishing them online or in print, Aperture 2 helps you realize your creative vision.

The price cut made the decision even easier!

Kindle

Today's Sunday Times Culture section spurred me into researching Amazon's Kindle and establishing another dedicated aStore!

Obviously, as I'm a UK-based blogger, Kindle is out of my reach (unless someone at Amazon would kindly send me review hardware prior to a Pan-European launch)! Have you used Kindle? What's the end user experience like? Is it a viable portable platform when Apple dominates this space?

The Kindle Shop currently carries more than 100,000 books plus newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For your convenience, you can shop the Kindle Shop directly on Kindle or on your PC via Amazon.com. Either way, all titles are wirelessly delivered right to your Kindle for free. Amazon pays for the wireless delivery charges so you don’t have to. Buy a book and Amazon will auto-deliver it to you wirelessly in one minute.

The Kindle Shop provides the same Amazon shopping experience you're used to, including customer reviews, personalized recommendations, 1-Click purchasing, and everyday low prices. Check the store often; we're adding new titles every day.

Books
Whether you prefer biographies, classics, investment guides, thrillers, or sci-fi, thousands of your favorite books are available. The Kindle Shop offers more than 90 of 112 books currently found on the New York Times® Best Seller list and we’re adding more all the time. New York Times Best Sellers are $9.99, and you'll find many books for less. Can't decide what to buy? Kindle lets you download and read the beginning of any book for free. This way, you can try it out—if you like it, simply buy and download with 1-Click, right from your Kindle, and continue reading.

Digging Duffy's Dimples!

Sitting pretty at number one in the Official UK Charts! The girl to watch in 2008 hit the stage at the Apple Store in London recently and knocked the onlookers nearly three decades back into soul heaven.

Duffy's sassy, love-starved "Mercy" kicks off this four-track EP with her voice spiraling and rising up like a candy-coated Aretha Franklin. The meditative, nostalgic powerhouse of "Rockferry" finds a new vitality, moving beyond the loaded Phil Spector-isms of the studio version and firmly into the here and now.

Duffy - Live from London (iTunes Exclusive) - EP

"Rockferry" is the debut album from Duffy. Written and produced in collaboration with Bernard Butler, the album is a stunning showcase for her voice, which brings to mind such great singers as Dusty Springfield, Lulu and Sandie Shaw. Includes the singles "Rockferry" and 'Mercy".

OneRepublic covered "Mercy" during a recent BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge session! Well worth listening to.

Mac OS X 10.5.2 released to the wild

Tonight Apple released the most significant Mac OS X iterative update to date! Mac OS X 10.5.2.

The 10.5.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac:

Active Directory

* Addresses issues which could hinder or prevent binding Mac OS X 10.5.x clients to Active Directory domains.

AirPort

* Improves connection reliability and stability
* Includes 802.1X improvements
* Resolves certain kernel panics

Back to my Mac

* Adds support for more third-party routers, as detailed in this article

Dashboard

* Improves performance of certain Apple Dashboard widgets (such as Dictionary)
* Addresses an issue in which Dashboard widgets may no longer be accessible after switching to or from an account that has Parental Controls enabled

Dock

* Updates Stacks with a List view option, a Folder view option, and an updated background for Grid view

Desktop

* Addresses legibility issues with the menu bar with an option to turn off transparency in Desktop & Screen Saver preferences
* Adjusts menus to be slightly-less translucent overall

iCal

* Improves iCal so that it accurately reflects responses to recurring meetings
* Addresses an issue in which a meeting may remain on the calendar after being cancelled
* Addresses stability issues related to .Mac syncing of iCal calendars
* Resolves an intermittent issue in which editing an event with attendees would cause the event to shrink and not register that the event was updated

iChat

* Addresses an issue with simultaneously-logged in accounts in which iChat sounds generated from one account might be heard in another account
* Fixes an issue in which iChat idle time is affected by Time Machine backups
* Improves connectivity when running iChat behind a router that doesn't preserve ports
* Enables logged chats from previous versions of iChat to open faster and more reliably
* Addresses an issue with text chats in which users may be unable to receive messages from the sender
* Addresses an issue that may prevent rejoining an AIM chat room without reopening iChat
* Addresses video chat compatibility issues with AIM 6 and third-party routers
* Fixes an issue with case-sensitivity of AIM handles

iSync

* Adds support for Samsung D600E and D900i phones

Finder

* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when displaying folder contents in Column view
* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when accessing Users and Groups in a Get Info pane
* Resolves an issue that prevented setting permissions on a folder alias
* Resolves an issue in which the Eject command could write to a disc in the optical drive
* Fixes an issue in which the scroll bar might disappear when deleting a file within a folder that includes files that are out of view
* Fixes an issue in the Sharing & Permissions section of Get Info windows, in which the gear icon appears to be gray/disabled after authentication
* Addresses an issue in which the Show Icon Preview preference might not be not saved when turning it off
* Fixes an issue that could occur when trying to print an image from the Finder

Mail

* Addresses an issue with Message menu's Mark > As Read choice
* Fixes an issue in which duplicate On My Mac folders may appear in the sidebar after upgrading to Leopard
* Improves the accuracy of the Data Detectors feature
* Resolves an issue with scrolling through a Note that is displayed using the split view in the message window
* Fixes an issue with deleting messages located in the Drafts folder
* Fixes an issue in which dragging the icon in the Safari URL field into a Mail message creates an attachment instead of a link
* Addresses an issue found when opening a item in the Notes folder that is not a Note
* Fixes an issue that may prevent RSS feeds from being delivered in Mail
* Resolves an issue in which a selected message could "flash" from blue to gray when in Organize by Thread mode
* Fixes an issue with scrolling between multiple To Dos in an email message
* Fixes an issue in which the body of email messages with certain MIME structures may not be displayed
* Improves performance with America Online (AOL) account-based messages in Mail
* Addresses issues with some ISPs during automatic set-up in Mail
* Addresses an issue in which Mail might not send mail on some networks to some SMTP servers
* Mail now automatically disables the (unsupported) third-party plugin GrowlMail version 1.1.2 or earlier to avoid issues
* Adds an option to view large icons in the Mailbox list

Networking

* Addresses a hanging issue that may occur when connecting to an AFP network volume

Parental Controls

* Improves stability when opening the Parental Controls System Preferences pane
* Fixes an issue that may prevent changes to the email address for permission requests
* Addresses an issue with printer administration for a guest account enabled with Parental Controls
* Addresses an issue with setting printer administration privileges from another Mac on the local network
* Fixes an issue that could prevent certain applications from being allowed
* Addresses accuracy issues with the web content filter

Preview

* Improves stability when scrolling through a PDF document
* Fixes an issue that prevents tabbing within a PDF document after clicking on the PDF
* Improves the Mail Document feature so that email attachments are more reliably created from Print Preview

Printing

* Addresses an issue in which remote printers may be deleted when the computer is put to sleep
* Improves printing performance when using some Microsoft Office applications
* Resolves an issue with some printing options, such as landscape orientation, number of copies, two-sided printing, and so forth that may not have functioned with some printers shared by Microsoft Windows
* Adds support for certain printers connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station
* Resolves a stalling issue that could occur when installing certain Canon printing software from a disc

RAW Image

* Adds RAW image support for several cameras, as detailed in this article

Safari

* Addresses issues with Safari reliably resolving certain domains

Login and Setup Assistant

* Addresses an issue in which Setup Assistant could unexpectedly appear each time Mac OS X 10.5 starts up
* Improves stability and performance during log in

System

* Improves the accuracy of the grammar checker
* The computer will now shut down if an automatic disk repair does not succeed during startup

Time Machine

* Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features (the menu extra can be enabled in Time Machine preferences)
* Improves backup reliability when computer name contains slash or non-ASCII characters
* Fixes an issue in which the backup disk displayed in the Finder may be out of sync with the disk chosen for Time Machine
* Addresses issues in which some external drives are not recognized by Time Machine
* The status menu now appears by default

Other

* Improves general stability when running third-party applications
* Addresses an issue in which the incorrect search results may be displayed for certain Automator Find/Filter actions
* Addresses an issue with the Latvian and Russian keyboard layouts
* Addresses an issue in which the backlight could turn off before Energy Saver's backlight setting

May I suggest that you download the Combo Update!

Pre-order New Apple iPod touch 32GB

The iPod touch 32GB model arrives just in time for Valentine's Day!

*Comes with the latest announced new software applications for the iPod touch
*32GB flash drive
*Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
*3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen multi-touch display
*480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 pixels per inch
*Holds up to 7,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format
*Holds up to 25,000 iPod-viewable photos
*Holds up to 40 hours of video

Movies, music and more
Listen to your favourite music. Watch video podcasts and music videos. Catch up on TV shows. Flick through photos. With iPod touch, you can bring it all along for the ride.

The Internet in your pocket
Surf the web and send email while walking down the street. Get directions, check the weather, follow stocks and more. With Wi-Fi, the Internet goes wherever you go.

The increased capacity reaffirms my view that the iPod touch is a most viable proposition in the PDA space and knocks Sony's PSP back into a cocked hat!

If you think it's too good a gift for your other half...

EasyWMV

Since Apple decided to remove built-in third-party plug-in support from QuickTime, I've been dogged, like most Mac Users, with file format conversion trammels! Not any more!

EasyWMV, a Universal binary, can be used to convert or resize wmv, asf, avi, mp4, mpg, mpeg, mov, m4v, flv, nsv, swf and vob video files so that they can be used with QuickTime Player, iPod and iPhone. EasyWMV has a very simple user interface, supports drag and drop as well as batch processing. EasyWMV can export video to mpeg and mpeg4 formats and can optimize videos for playback on iPod.

Main Features:

*Input formats: asf, avi, flv, m4v, mp4, mpg, mpeg, mov, nsv, swf, vob, wmv
*Output formats: mp4, mpg
*Manual or automatic audio bit rate selection from source (32-320kbps)
*Video encoding up to 2.5mbit/s
*Support H.264 encoding for mpeg4 video
*Creates video for QuickTime, Apple TV, iPod, and iPhone
*Batch processing
*Optimized for multi-core and multi-processor systems
*Drag & drop of files and folders
*iTunes integration

EasyWMV is already an integral part of my video toolbox alongside QuickTime Pro and Flip4Mac! I can't recommend this fledgling application highly enough and, once you've downloaded the demo, I'm sure that you'll agree it's worth $15 (£7.50 GBP)!

An 'air of excitement' surrounds Macworld 2008

Apple's alliance with Nike extends beyond iPod co-branding to include a new line of sneakers! I jest of course, although a pair of Air Mac would be most desirable! However, the notion of a, speculative, product called MacBook Air exudes irresistible cool! Especially when said device could be a wafer-thin laptop replete with flash drive and Blu-ray!

We won't know for certain what "2008. There's something in the air" equates to until Steve Jobs' Keynote, at Macworld 2008, tomorrow! It's safe to assume that web-enabled gadget geeks, around the globe, will be watching...

Warner Bros. Do Blu Only

The news Blu-ray supporters have been waiting for! Reuters confirms that Warner Bros. is to back the Blu-ray format exclusively!

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers," Warner Bros. Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer said in a statement.

From Michael Bay on Blu-ray/HD DVD and Transformers

Director Michael Bay posted this message on the Official Michael Bay Forums:

"Well another studio down. Maybe I was right? Blu-ray is just better. HD will die a slow death. It's what I predicted a year ago. Now with Warner's down for the count with Blu-ray. That makes it easier for Wal-Mart to push Blu-ray. And whatever Wal-Mart pushes - wins. HD better start giving out those $120 million dollars checks to stay alive. Maybe they can give me some so I can give it to my Make-A-Wish charity, just to shut me up. Have faith people Transformers will come out in Blu-ray one day..."

Personally, I can't wait for Batman Begins, The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix trilogies! Where Warner Bros. leads, other studios will, ultimately, follow! Warner Bros. will continue supporting HD DVD until May 2008. However, after that time, the studio will be exclusively Blu. To read the full article, please click here.

Incidentally, whilst on the subject of Blu-ray and Reuters. Reuters has republished a post of mine, via BlogBurst, here.

If the Blu-ray Macworld rumours are correct, this will be a great month to go Blu!

Christmas on Exeter Street

If it wasn't enough that Exeter, my birthplace, garnered pride of place on Monopoly Here and Now UK Edition! Apple has finally announced that the Apple Store, Princesshay, opens on Saturday November 24th!

Here's the official announcement:

Come to the new Apple Store, Princesshay, and bring your curiosity. It's the place to test-drive any Mac or iPod, experience iPhone, and catch free workshops for all the latest Mac tips and tricks. When you get there, find our Concierge in the blue shirt. They're your guide to everything, from checking in for an appointment to instant checkout. This Saturday, you can enter our Grand Opening Sweepstakes* to win a Mac and loads of accessories to go with it. And if you're one of the first 1,000 visitors, you'll get a free Apple T-shirt.

Discover what makes the Apple Retail Store everyone's favourite neighbour.

Store Address:
24 Princesshay,
Exeter,
Devon
EX1 1GE

Telephone number: 01392 31 66 00

iPhone Home in Princesshay

It would be most negligent of me not to mention today's European launch of the iPhone! Will I be taking one of these home tonight? No! Its superior, and newer, sibling, the iPod touch, is a far more alluring consumer product and isn't tied to a misguided and expensive O2 contract. And the diminutive charms of the new iPod nano cannot be resisted! A black iPod nano sits on my computer desk craving attention!

The enigmatic Apple Store Exeter, now securely encased in Apple's trademark black fascia, purportedly opens on Saturday November 24th in Exeter's all-new Princesshay shopping centre! Don't quote me. Perhaps I'll see you in the queue!

Vanquishing Vista

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is released to retail on Friday October 26th and Amazon.co.uk is offering 6% off the pre-order price for both client versions:

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (Single-user license)
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Family Pack (5-user license)

*Introduces over 300 new and enhanced features to OS X, including a new desktop and updated finder enabling easy browsing and sharing between multiple Macs
*Take advantage of the latest developments in processor hardware with full native 64-bit support, multi-core optimization, and new Core animation
*Preview files without opening an application using Quick Look
*Easily and automatically back up and restore lost files or a complete Mac with Time Machine
*Create groups of applications and instantly switch between them with Spaces

Will Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard be worth the wait? Of course it will! And pre-orders are more than double that of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger! Various online forums are positing that the increase is related to the advent of Boot Camp and native Microsoft Windows OS support! Certainly PC-based games, such as the stunning Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, can now be played with a copy of Windows Vista Home Premium installed! And, in fairness, I've experienced no problems with running Windows Vista on my Intel-based Mac!

I'll post my Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard review in short order!

Touch Me (All Night Long)

Pre-ordered an iPod touch 16GB model! Well, how could I resist its consummate gorgeousness? The form factor eclipses even Sony's PSP, which I predominantly used for Wi-Fi web surfing and not gaming!

I believe that the launch of iPod touch is profoundly more important than even the iPhone and the iPod touch will become the "must-have" holiday season gift! Why? Because it's the summation of the direction that Apple Newton, or simply Newton, alluded to prior to Steve Jobs' decision to cancel the company's personal digital assistant (PDA) product line in 1997!

A decade on and Newton OS has been replaced by Mac OS X in Apple's newest PDA family.

Sexy! Yes Yes Yes

The new iPods are delicious! iPod touch is especially captivating and Apple has delivered a compelling refresh to its ubiquitous all-conquering brand - nano, shuffle and all-new classic.

I'd certainly have liked to see a