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Posts tagged Mac
Thank You, Steve Jobs
11 year ago
Sometimes in life something unexpected happens and you just don’t know what to do afterwards. A sort of empty feeling which is hard to describe. That’s exactly how I felt when I heard Steve Jobs was dead after many years of illness a few days ago.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple more than 30 years ago in 1976. Since then Apple has grown to be the most valuable company with some of the best products in the world. Think about Mac and iPhone, they really care about the user experience more than anything else.
I completely understand why many people can’t see why we love Steve Jobs so much. He was just a man, right? Of course, but his brilliant and crazy ideas changed the world forever. Steve knew technology alone wouldn’t do any difference. You have to make the products fun, magical and easy to use in order to make the customers excited. Do you remember how you felt the first time you touched an iPad?
In 2010 after introducing the iPhone 4 he said something which I think really describes the company.
What made Steve Jobs truly legendary for the Apple fans was the keynotes where he got to introduce all of the new products, just like the video above. Steve had the magical ability to sort of catch the audience. In many ways I think the audience was more excited to see Steve Jobs than the actual products. He was simply amazing and I can’t describe why.
My favorite moment with him is the iPhone 2007 presentation. You can really see how excited he was and today we know it was a revolution in technology.
Ultimately, Steve Jobs has been a huge inspiration for me. He’s why I love and care about technology and I personally see him as one of the greatest men who’ve ever lived. That’s why I still can’t believe how such a genius could pass away so early in life.
Rest in peace, Steve. We’ll all miss you.
Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple
11 year ago
Apple announced yesterday that Steve Jobs, the famous co-founder who most of us has come to love, has resigned as CEO of the company. Tim Cook has been chosen to be the new leader.
Here’s the heart breaking official resignation letter from Steve:
I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.
I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.
As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.
I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.
Steve
We all knew it would happen at some point in time. Steve Jobs has been seriously ill for years now and in 2009 he underwent a liver transplant. But why is he so special? Simply because he’s one of the few people who has changed the technology industry completely!
Steve founded the company with Steve Wozniak exactly 35 years ago. Since then Apple has introduced many revolutionary products that’ve just changed everything. Think about the Machintosh, the iPod and the iPhone. Of course, Apple wasn’t the first to invent the phone. Instead they reinvented it by making it incredibly easy to use with new advanced technology. Apple has done this with many products and even if you don’t like the company I hope you’ll eventually admit it.
Personally I’ll never forget when Steve Jobs walked on stage in 2007 to introduce their first phone.
I found this little tribute to Steve Jobs and his work on YouTube. It’s nothing special but I like it.
For me, Steve Jobs wasn’t just the leader of Apple. He has also been a role model and he always will be. Almost a friend. He didn’t just invent products to sell them, he cared about every single detail. Nothing was too small to be closely examined and I hope other companies will eventually understand that.
I send the best wishes to Steve and his family. I hope he will continue to work with Apple and I hope they’ll always remember his visions and ideas.
Apple Introduces New Products and Kills the MacBook
01 year ago
While many might still be disappointed because we haven’t seen an iPhone 5 yet Apple decided to update some of their other products today.
The biggest thing is the release of OS X Lion, the next major version of their operating system. It’s only available to get online as a download on the Mac App Store and the price is only 29.99 dollars.
In terms of hardware The MacBook Air and Mac Mini have been updated with better processors and a Thunderbolt port. The Air also gets a backlit keyboard but surpringsly they’ve decided to remove the SuperDrive for DVDs and CDs on the Mini. A new Cinema Display with Thunderbort has also been revealed today.
On the other hand they’ve decided to kill maybe their most famous computer, the MacBook. It’s simply not on their website anymore.
I have a MacBook Pro myself but I’m not sure yet whether I’ll be buying Lion. It seems like a nice release and most reviews are positive but it doesn’t really seem like a must-have. But then again, the price is really nice so I might end up doing it anyway.
The only thing I’ve mixed feelings about is the MacBook. I’m not sure whether I think it’s good they’ve decided simply to remove it completely. It seems like the MacBook Air is their notebook for everyone now and it’s definitely a nice computer but now you’ll have to pay even more than 1000 dollars just to get something bigger than 13 inch. Only the future will tell if it’s gone forever and whether it was the right decision or not.
You can check it all out in their website, Apple.com.
New Information About OS X Lion
12 years ago
Some days ago, Apple launched their new MacBook Pro computers with better processors, new graphics and the ultra fast Thunderbolt port.
However, what I didn’t notice is that they also published some new information about their upcoming operating system, OS X Lion (version 10.7).
If you go to apple.com/macosx/lion, you will find lots of new pictures and information. It’s even possible for developers to download preview versions now.
There’s also a video on the site, but you can just watch it here.
What do you think? I’m really excited myself and I’ll probably be buying a copy at release. 
Multi-Touch Trackpad Trick for Google Chrome
32 years ago
If you’re using Google Chrome on of the newer MacBooks with a multi-touch trackpad, continue to read. I’ve discovered that you can actually get Exposé in Chrome. Well… sort of.
Type “about:flags” into your browser. Here you can activate experimental features. This trackpad trick is one of them, it’s called “Tab Overview”. Just find it on the list and activate it.
When you have done that, try using three fingers to drag down on your trackpad in Chrome, and all tabs will show up. Just like Exposé, except that uses four fingers.
Even though it’s experimental, I haven’t had any problems so far. I don’t really know if this is useful either, but it’s cool.
How to Start Programming on Mac
42 years ago
I’ve never really been into the programming stuff, you know, making applications by writing code. I do know some basic web languages, like HTML and CSS, but not much more than that.
That’s why I recently bought this book on Amazon. “Beginning Mac Programming – Develop with Objective-C and Cocoa” by Tim Isted. I’ve already read some of the chapters, but from now on I’ll try to take it seriously and see if I can actually learn to make real apps.
The book is for beginners with no knowledge, so if you got a Mac you can go buy it as well.
Twitter for Mac Review
02 years ago
One of the first applications I downloaded in the Mac App Store was Twitter for Mac. It’s a new version of an earlier Twitter client called Tweetie. You’ll also need a Twitter account of course.
The application is completely free and you can easily download it if you got the newest OS X Snow Leopard update with the Mac App Store.
This is how the user interface looks.
It looks very good, as you can. Everything is simple and feels very natural to use because of beautiful slides when something is clicked.
One the left side we got a menu with 6 buttons:
timeline – shows you all the Tweets from the people you’re following
mentions – Tweets where you’re mentioned
messages – your direct messages
lists – your lists
profile – your own profile
search – the search feature with the current trending topics
So basically you have access to almost the same features as on the website. Very well done, I think, especially when you consider how beautiful the design is.
When you want to write a new Tweet you can just click on the little arrow under the menu and a new little window comes up.
You can also shorten links, retweet and favorite Tweets as well.
Basically it’s like Twitter for iPhone. It works very well and it’s easy to use. Overall I really like it, now I don’t need to have my browser open anymore just to check Twitter.
Good: great design, free
Bad: might be too simple for some users
If you want to try Twitter for Mac out download it here.
There are also other clients available, like TweetDeck, but I haven’t used them.
A Quick Look at the Mac App Store
02 years ago
This is something I have been excited about for a long time – the Mac App Store! It was released to all OS X Snow Leopard users today as an update and I’ve taken a very quick look at it.
The interface
The interface is very, very simple, just like the store we know from the iPhone. Once you’ve installed the newest software update a little new icon will show up on the dock. When you click it Mac App Store will launch, so it’s not a part of iTunes like the iOS App Store.
On the top we got a little menu with 5 buttons: featured, top charts, categories, purchases, and updates. You can click on them to browse different apps, but you can of course also use the search feature if you want.
You can click on any app to buy it or get a more detailed description if you want. Not much more to mention here.
Applications
So overall everything is so simple that I don’t really need to explain anything, but what about the apps? According to Apple there’s more than a thousand free and paids apps. That’s a lot an this number will probably increase very fast in the future.
I haven’t tried many apps myself yet, but I’ve seen some good ones, including Twitter, Angry Birds, Flight Control. And this isn’t just small useless apps anymore, I’ve also seen Lego Harry Potter, which is actually a “full” game, you know, like a “real game”.
Apple’s iWork and iLife applications is also in the store, and this time you can actually buy each app seperate. You don’t have to buy the whole iWork package just to get Keynote, for example. I think this is very nice, now I could use Keynote instead of the stupid OpenOffice Impress.
Remember, this is Mac apps. Your iOS applications won’t be in this store.
Installation
Downloading and installing apps is also like on the iPhone. Once you’ve logged in with your iTunes account you’re ready. Click one button and the application starts to download right on your dock.
It’s almost too simple when you’re used to get all your apps from the web. 
You can of course download your apps to more than one Mac, but I’m not sure if it’s unlimited Macs or just 5 like in iTunes.
Thoughts
So overall I think the Mac App Store is pretty nice, but it’s not really much of a suprise like it was on the iPhone 3G in 2008. It’s just the iPhone App Store… on the Mac.
Everything works really nice and it looks like there’ll be applications of much higher quality than we’ve seen on the iPhone, so I can’t wait to see what will happen in the future. I might also do some application reviews soon.
If you have a Mac and haven’t updated yet, do it NOW! You can also visit Apple’s Mac App Store website to find some more information about the apps you can download.
Technology I Am Looking Forward to in 2011
02 years ago
Which gadgets, software and stuff can us geeks look forward to in 2011? I’ve made list of 4 things I am excited about:
Nintendo 3DS (e3.nintendo.com/3ds)
You’ve probably already heard about it, Nintendo 3DS is the next portable console from Nintendo. It has two screens just like the previous DSi but this time one of them can show 3D without the user needs to wear special glasses or anything.
There are lots of upcoming games for this console too, including Mario Kart and Animal Crossing.
New iPhone, iPods, iPad and Macs (apple.com)
Like every year there’ll of course be new Apple products too. A new iPad, new iPods, new MacBooks and so on. The next iPad will probably be the first product to be introduced in just a few weeks.
They’ll also release their new OS X Lion operating system next year.
Mac App Store (apple.com/mac/app-store)
Also something from Apple. The online store for applications, we know from the iPhone, is coming to the Mac.
This is something I am very excited about! It’s going to be released for everyone with the newest OS X Snow Leopard operating system. It’s coming Janary 6th.
Chrome OS notebooks (google.com/chromeos)
Last year Google announced their new operating system based on their Chrome-browser. It’s mostly for people using the surfing the web since it’s bascially… a web browser.
2011 will be the year when we’ll get to see lots of new shiny notebooks running this operating system.
There is probably more cool stuff to be relased next year. What are YOU excited about?
Magic Mouse Review – Does It Live Up To Its Name?
22 years ago
I got the Magic Mouse as a Christmas present for my MacBook Pro. It’s the newest mouse from Apple, which is currently shipping with the iMac and can be bought for 69$ (US price).
After using it as my primary mouse for some days, here’s my review.
Design
There’s not much to say about the design of this mouse – it’s gorgeous! Definitely the most beautiful mouse I have ever seen. As simple as a mouse could possible be.
And because this mouse only works on Macs, you won’t need a stupid USB receiver, it just connects using Bluetooth.
So what’s special about this thing? It’s a multi-touch mouse! The whole top surface, except for the part under the Apple logo, is like a touch screen. The top surface also works as one giant button to click, just like on the MacBook trackpads.
The mouse itself is a little heavy but it makes it feel more solid, which I like.
As you can see, the bottom of the mouse is made aluminum. It looks very nice as well.
Touch gestures
The mouse has several touch gestures, including scrolling with one finger and going forward and back with two fingers. This video shows the basics.
Use
The most important thing is of course how it is to use. Personally I think it’s really good! All of the touch gestures works very well without problems. It also works decent on all kinds of surfaces, but the rubber feet can be a bit noisy sometimes, for example when using it on a wooden surface. I’ve been using on a mouse mat myself.
The mouse is very slick and low-profile and you can’t just lay your hand on it like other mice. Instead you should try to grip it at the sides with your pinky and thumb. Like my hand on this picture.
Because of that it takes quite some time to get used to, and is not as comfortable as other mice where you can just rest your hand.
I can imagine this is especially a problem for people with big hands, but I think it’s fine myself.
The only problem I’ve had, is the tracking in Mac OS X. The cursor moves pretty slowly in the highest tracking speed compared to Windows and the mouse acceleration can be a bit annoying. However, after some days of use, I’ve gotten used to it.
Batteries
As many other mice out there, the Magic Mouse uses batteries. Two AA batteries were already included when I got it!
I haven’t been testing this mouse long enough to change them, but after 3 days of heavy use there still 93% of power left. I think that’s pretty decent and definitely better than other wireless mice I’ve used.
Changing the batteries is very easy. The only thing to do is to remove the little piece of aluminum as shown on the picture.
Verdict
So overall, the mouse does live up to its name for the most part. I think, after getting used to it, it’s a great mouse for everyday use. The touch gestures works flawlessly and the mouse is really beautiful.
At a price of 69$ it is pretty expensive, but I think it’s worth it. However, if you’re a hardcore gamer or something else, then this mouse it not for you.
Tip
If you want more functionality instead of the standard gestures and fix the slow tracking speed, you can download a little application called MagicPrefs.