Eastbay.com's
free shipping coupon on orders over $75 code expires today:
EMEB6422.
If you haven't checked out the Nike+iPod Web services, you might
really like it. Check it out (particularly the My Runs
section):
http://www.nike.com/nikeplus/
Don't miss the How to Buy a Macintosh Guide. Save money on your next Apple Computer purchase.
The wait is over: Apple has posted the new .Mac Mail, the online
mail client that's clearly designed to replicate the Mail.app
experience.
This is good stuff for me: I run .Mac Mail on all but one Mac. I
have several Macs, always on, but I only run Mail.app on one Mac at
a time, this after having some sync issues with multiple Macs
running Mail.app simultaneously. I spend more time in .Mac Mail
more on average than in Mail.app.
The new interface is very slick. Apple's done a great job making it
look and feel like Mail.app's interface. (I would add that Apple's
tab navigation theme looked a little dated before the new .Mac
Mail, but now it looks positively dated.)
Here's a snap of the .Mac Mail interface:
Here's a snap of Mail.app's navigation bar:
Love this: when you click "New" the new message gets its own
popup window, just like in Mail.app. So do replies. Here's a snap
of the reply window:
The two are very similar indeed, although using the new .Mac Mail
proves that it's anything but a duplicate of Mail.app. Tons of
stuff that works in Mail.app doesn't work in .Mac Mail. I have no
real issue with this, I'm simply pointing out that there are
differences despite appearances.
.Mac Mail's preferences are extensive. There's simply too much on
the page to snap as the page requires scrolling on all but a
30-inch display: you can select keyboard shortcuts, small icons, and mucn, much
more. The best improvment over old .Mac Mail's prefrences has to be
that new .Mac Mail offers all the settings on one page rather than
on several.
My only gripe so far is that when moving a message to a subfolder
in 3-pane view that message is marked as Read upon selection with
the mouse. I need it not to change the status. So far I
haven't found a way around it other than to go to 2-pane
view.
I might well go to 2-pane view permanently because I get a boat
load of junkmail. Opening junk mail validates the to address, and
no one wants that.
And WHERE'S THE JUNK MAIL HANDLING? Sorry to get dramatic, but I
need JM Handling like I need oxygen. Seriously. Can't emphasize
that enough. Really. Junk Mail Handling. Need it.
I would also like to see an RSS feed added (if that's possible), so
I could see the new message count in Safari the same way I can see
the RSS feed count for sites I have in my ToolBar.
I do like the new way that .Mac Mail times out. Old .Mac Mail used
to just keep the mail viewer up, and when the user would click for
new mail the login screen would come up. This way if for whatever
reason you forget to close the browser when on a public computer
.Mac Mail will eventually time out protecting your privacy:
All in all .Mac Mail looks good, Apple. Thanks for the upgrade.
That should keep the .Mac-hata's quiet for a day or two.
(Now, perhaps we could get some more .Mac upgrades, please.)
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Apple: Do you really
think you can put the kibosh on Greenpeace's message about your
environmental record?
Don't kill the messenger.
According to this post on Macnn, Greenpeace was forced to
leave their booth at the MacExpo London:
Greenpeace's 'Green my Apple' stall today was shut down at the start of MacExpo in London by event organizers who claim they received complaints from unnamed sources. Greenpeace set up the stall in an attempt to raise awareness about concerns over the use of toxic chemicals in Apple's products. The Greenpeace volunteers manning the stall were signing up Mac fans to challenge Apple to 'go green,' according to the organization.
There's no point in being heavy-handed about all this, but I always find it amusing when Apple is hammered for not being more environmentally friendly. Al Gore is an Apple board member. The irony's amazingly rich.
So, while Apple is making strides in the packaging department and elsewhere, and we applaud these decisions loudly, Apple does need to get its environmental-impact house in order. There's no point of having the desire to change the world with one's computers when it's killing the environment in the process.
Apple's efforts clearly need to be stepped up, if what Greenpeace claims is accurate. Paper packaging materials that Apple has used less of are made from a renewable resource, but the chemicals Apple works with are hazardous. There's a striking difference there.
1) Manufactured in a way that was more environmentally friendly
2) Designed in such a way as to be easily upgraded with Apple-branded upgrade packages, to reduce "Mac churn"
3) Engineered in such a way as to use less energy (something Apple is, in fact, continually working on)
In short, whether Apple wants to put the lid on Greenpeace's message, there are a lot of us out there who know there's a problem and would like to see Apple green up all aspects of their business.
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Short and sweet: If you're a Steve Wozniak fan, you'll enjoy
this video Cringely has posted in place of his
regular column.
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This article is obviously a great way to drive traffic to the WashintonPost.com.
So much so, we didn't really want to post that link. You'll
understand after you read the actual article, or read about it on
another Mac-related site.
The one thing that Apple-Project noticed right away was that Mueller is sponsored by Creative, and that he doesn't know the difference between a hardrive-based MP3 player and a flash-based MP3 player.
Given that he's sponsored by Creative, one would think he wouldn't put such an obvious target on the article, but instead pimped the sponsor's product and vaguely referred to the "popular MP3 player that didn't work for him." That would have done damage enough, yet it would have kept the author away from the kind heat that he's getting from such blatant smear job.
In fact, perhaps there's a little irony to be found in the truth. If Neil Mueller would have appealed to Apple Computer to become a sponsor of his expedition (something that's become a cliche in and of itself), they would have suggested the flash-based nano or shuffle. Problem solved.
But as many of us know Apple doesn't open up the corporate doors to just anyone, and likely would have rejected Mueller's request. Maybe, just maybe, that's why there's so much iPod hate coming from the "anti-iPod" climbing set.
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Whether this is a cheeky move against Apple's Web service suite (it's
not, of course) or it's just a nice hook designed to pull back some
Vista customers they're worried they've lost based on the poor
reviews and seemingly endless delays, Microsoft gets it.
Microsoft understands the power of Web services to sell hardware
and software. Office Live Basics offers users all of this and more,
all for free:
Easy-to-use Web site design tool
Get started fast with our easy-to-use Site Designer tool. Don't worry — it was designed with the small-business owner in mind, so you can quickly create your own Web site.
Free domain name and hosting
Select your own domain name (for example, www.northwindtraders.com) and let Microsoft keep your Web site up and running.5 personalized e-mail accounts
Access your company e-mail using your personalized domain name (for example, jsmith@northwindtraders.com).Storage and data transfer More than enough space to promote every aspect of your business and plenty of bandwidth to allow lots of customers to visit your site.
Web site traffic analysis and reporting tools
View the success of your Web site with reporting that lets you see how often people visit your site, what pages they visit the most, and their system and browser information.Support
Our online support pages are here to answer questions and help you get started by providing quick responses to your most frequent questions. One-on-one e-mail support is also available to address other questions.
Nice move. Windows users are going to eat this up (no, Mac users can't use the service, we checked the FAQ). All that stuff can be had for free elsewhere, but why not bundle it and give it away to your customers? That's a good question for Apple.
In the beginning, there was iTools. It was free, just like Office Live Basics. Then Apple changed the name and beefed up the product and started selling it for $99/year.
One can make a fairly good argument that the $99/year is money well spent for some Mac users, but as robust Web services continue move to the free model (read Google gives everything away) in greater numbers, Apple has been heaped considerable amounts of criticism for slow iDisk data transfers, dodgy iSync functionality, etc, etc, etc.
Apple does get a few things right with .Mac, but in the end shouldn't Apple follow Microsoft's lead on this one?
I for one say no. I would just like Apple to reconsider the $99/year subscription price and reexamine the question as to whether or not Apple branded free Web services sells more Macs.
If free Web services for Mac users in fact does, or would, sell more Macs then I would like to see Apple follow Microsoft and offer "Basic" features free and up-charge for advanced features.
Man, that wasn't any fun taking Microsoft's side.
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Intel-Mac update:The "transition" to Intel processors is complete. But should you care? Well, unless you still need OS 9 or Classic for some reason, you shouldn't worry about it, or spend valuable time figuring out which processor you need, as you'll find out soon enough that it doesn't matter.
Instead, this guide focuses on how to get a good price on a Mac, but if you do want help in finding out which Mac is right for you there's a ton of information about that out on the Web already (Macworld.com is a great source).
Macs are Macs, for the most part, and we'll focus on other questions throughout this guide.
The next ten installments will move you towards an understanding on where and when to buy a Mac. How to look at the marketplace so as to arm you with the information required to get the best Mac at the best price.
Enjoy and save, because there's lots of savings to be had out there.
How To Buy A
Macintosh!
A Savvy Guide To Buying An Apple Mac
©2006 Matthew Wanderer
Installment 1
Intro:
Thank you for checking out “How To Buy
A Mac!” Our goal is to save you time and money on your next, or
even your first, Apple Macintosh. Together, we’ll prevent a
situation where you waste valuable time, get confused by the
options, or simply pay too much for your Mac.
I've been buying Macs for over 20 years. That's a lot of Mac-buying
experience. I'll try to share what I've learned, on and off-line,
so you can go Mac shopping armed with the information you need to
know ahead of time–before it’s too late–and find exactly the right
deal for you.
This exercise is all about saving you time and money, and it might
even turn you into you a Mac buying expert in the process. This
discussion not necessarily about which Mac is right for you,
however you will find information about making that choice in this
whitepaper. Saving money and where and when to buy is the
focus.
From buying at retail to bargain hunting, we’ll cover it all. We’ve divided this document into several essential sections. Apple-Project's Savvy Buyer Tip: If you want to skip right to the dessert portion, how to save money, I’ve summarized everything I’ve written that touches on the subject of finding a deal in the section titled “Macs For Bargain Hunters.” Feel free to jump there now.
If you don't have a lot of time to shop but you want to save $100 or more on your next Mac, we recommend buying your Mac from the Apple Online Retail Store's Special Deals section. Click the banner below to check out the models Apple has in stock.
Remember, the AppleCare warranty is identical to new-in-box Macs, so your new Apple Factory Refurbished Mac is protected in the same way as a brand new Mac. Click the banner link just below to start shopping.
If you work for the government (including the military) or are involved in education make sure you skip to the “Buying A Macintosh: Education, Government and Developers” section before reading the rest of this white paper. Apple has some substantial savings waiting for you.
1) First we’ll talk about the experience of opening a new in box (NIB) Macintosh. It’s a special event, and if you’ve never experienced it for yourself, you’ll see why it has become an “event” in just a little bit. The main point here is that although it’s entirely worth the expense, a NIB Mac does cost more than other “new” Macs and I’ll explain why.
2) We'll briefly talk about Apple’s product cycle. Notoriously secretive about new products, it's possible to research anticipated or expected revisions to Apple’s product line. This can be helpful if you must have the newest of the new, or you plan to sell one or your Macs with the expectation of upgrading to something new. It can also tip you off to the right time to shop for discontinued Macs that are often available at significant discounts. Timing can be everything when buying or selling, so if you’d like get the very best deal on an Apple Mac you’ll want to explore this topic a bit further.
4) Following warranties, we’ll explore the different types of “new” Macintoshes available to you. Not the different models of Apple Computer products, rather the different “new” Macs being sold in the marketplace. From New In Box to Open Box, from Factory Refurbished to Reseller Refurbished, you’ve got a lot to choose from out there. This is perhaps the most confusing and often overlooked aspect of buying a Mac; you might not actually need a New In Box Mac, instead you might find a less expensive Factory Refurbished model fits the bill perfectly. I’ll sort it all out and provide you with the information you need to make an intelligent buying decision.
5) We outline the different kinds of “new” Apple Macs, we’ll look at the Mac marketplace. There are obvious places to buy your new Mac, such as an Apple Retail Store, but there are several reasons to look elsewhere depending on your experience with the platform. If you’re all about saving money, or you’re looking for a competitive price but you’d like added support to go along with your new Mac, I’ll point you in the right direction.
6) We'll talk about what you might need to go along with your new Mac right out of the box. Because this is about buying an Apple Mac and not accessories we’ll limit our conversation a quite bit, but I think you’ll gain enough information to make a solid decision when the sales pressure is on.
7) Don’t forget to check out the “Right before you buy” section. I’ll tip you off to a few last-minute things you should do before you hand over your credit card. We’ll discuss upgrades and peripherals briefly with the idea that there are often better ways to buy these products than at the same time you buy your Apple Mac.
Special bonus sections:
Apple’s Best Kept Secret, and Apple-Project's Best Kept Secret, two bonus sections I’ve included to help you get more out of your Macintosh experience. The high resale value of Macs is a best-kept-secret held by Apple users. And if you’re into the latest-greatest, I’ll show you how you can “turn” your Macintoshes regularly without taking too much out of your pocket. Some call it the “free Apple upgrade program.” Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
I’ve also included a simple grid designed to give you an overview of Apple’s products and their capabilities. If you’re a shopping for a basic home computer, start by looking at Apple’s iMac and iBook. If you’re a power user, or a professional, consider Apple’s MacBook Pro or Mac Pro. That said, many “Pro” users, depending on the tasks they work out on their Macs, can get by quite nicely with Apple’s Flat Panel iMac and they’ll save quite a bit in the process. Check out the grid for more info.
The Macintosh Experience:
Your own Macintosh Experience begins when get your new Mac home and you start to unpack the box. Opening your first New In Box Macintosh is a unique experience, and it can be a lot of fun.
When you open your new Macintosh, you’ll find that Apple has thought of everything from the box itself and the molded foam, right down to the cable twist-ties. Everything’s first class all the way.
Some Mac fans enjoy the process, or ritual, of unpacking their new Macs so much that they document the experience online with photos and descriptions. I’ve even heard of dinner parties being arranged around the opening of a the latest Macintosh release. No kidding.
Documenting the opening of a new Apple product is becoming rather legendary among Mac users, in fact. Tech writers even write articles about the experience. Here’s a great Wired online article about the subject:
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,50384,00.html
Apple-Project’s Savvy Buyer Tip: All of the glamor and attention to detail found in Apple’s New In Box packaging is insanely great. But it comes at a price. If you’re all about saving money, consider holding off on a New In Box Mac and opt for a Factory Refurbished Mac instead. There’s more on this in the “Shopping For A New Macintosh” section below. Keep your Mac’s original packaging materials around for two reasons. First, if you need to transport your Mac (for service or relocation) there’s no better way to protect your computer and keep it looking great. Secondly, you’ll get more for your Mac at resale if you have the original packaging materials at hand.
Support Apple-Project's How to Buy a Mac. Here's a link to Apple's Online Store:
Next Week: Check back next week for the next
installment. Go ahead and bookmark this page, We'll update this
static page with a link to the second installment when it posts. As
always, please feel free to link back to the page and please share
it with your friends.
All original How To Buy A Mac! installments can be found here, but note that we're migrating all How To
Buy A Mac installments to this new site (URL: apple-project.com).
Look for a new, updated installment every week right here:
http://www.apple-project.com.
Apple Displays with
built-in iSight rumors resurface.
But the The New Mac Pro
LoopRumors has received confirmation today on a story we told you on November 11. iSight will be included on all new forthcoming Apple Displays. Those close with the development of the new displays say we can expect an even thinner, lighter design, with more mobility, brighter screens and an IR receiver for the Apple Remote.
If true, this is a the next logical move for the iSight concept.
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Steve Jobs makes a great commencement speech here. It's a great motivational
speech, period.
Don't miss the
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Four (five if you
count OS 9 emulation) OSes on the Mac, all at the same time.
Nice.
Here's a great article on how to run OSX, Linux, Windows
Vista and XP on your brand new
MacBook Pro.
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Update: Apple has indeed introduced "39-percent" faster
MacBook Pro
models:
15-inch MacBook Pro: 2.16GHz or 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
17-inch MacBook Pro: 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Notably, the MBP15 ships with 1MB PC2-5300 SODIMM (one chip) and
the MBP17 ships with 2MB PC2-5300 SODIMM (two chips). There are a
few other new additions including FireWire 800, an airline Mag-Safe
AC adapter, and twice the memory from the previous models. Click
here for complete specs from both MacBook Pros.
Original post:
New better, faster, more feature-rich Merom-based
MacBook Pro's
tomorrow?
The rumor mills are cranking, so I'm sure you've read about it
already. Here are a couple of links (one and two) and heads up just in case you're about to
pull the trigger on your own new MBP. Sounds like if it's not
tomorrow, new MBP's are just around the corner: definitely worth
waiting for.
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YouTube, Google, $1.65B, those three words are stirring up a lot of
conversation on the Web. From what I've read, journalists and
individuals alike are divided rather equally on the topic.
I will agree to this, however, YouTube, the iTV and iTunes Store, and a few other online-related video services all represent a seismic shift in how we watch video content.
cousinlarry, Digg.com member, put it rather well here:
So what's good about YouTube? How about that I dont have cable TV, nor ever plan to subscribe again in my lifetime. I'm in my 20's -- and I will NEVER pay for cable TV again. How about that? Yet I love to watch video on my computer. I love ABC's new delayed-delivery of their shows. I'm happy to watch the shit ads they stick in there because they delivery model is giving me value - I can watch what I want when I want. I'll pay for that -- certainly with my attention, and maybe even with a little of my money. But will I subsidize "Yo Mamma" episodes on MTV and HGTV and every other shit station I dont give a shit about by subscribing to Comcast? HELL NO. Never again.
Larry, soon, with iTV you won't have to only watch Internet video on your computer.
At face value a statement like, I'll never pay for cable TV again is a bit extreme. On one hand, Larry will save $50/month for the rest of his life. Not bad. On the other hand, he's missing out on hundreds of channels, thousands of programs.
That $50/month does, in fact, get you something in the end: access to programming. And then there's TiVo and other PVRs to taylor the view experience to one's viewing habits, right? What's so bad about cable, anyway?
If you look at it from Larry's point of view, his argument is spot on as well, and I think it's his argument that will win out in the end. Here's why:
$50/month buys you cable. Another $13 or $5/month buys you access to either a TiVo or cable-supplied PVR respectively. Let's average that to $55/month for basic cable and a PVR. Now let's look at what kind of programming that gets the user when buying shows one-by-one.
Paying for individual shows via the iTunes store is one alternative to cable. That $55 buys you 27 shows at $1.99. If you're show is weekly, that buys you all the episodes for six different shows. The downside here is that all shows aren't available for purchase, let alone for download, but that's changing rapidly. A year from now the online video landscape will be vastly deeper.
Sure, the cable user gets access to thousands of programs, but how much can a single person watch in a month? Certainly not thousands. Hundreds is a reach. Two dozen shows represents nearly one show per night for the month. Some of us watch only three or four different shows a month. That's seems to make buying individual programs a decent way to go. You might even have some money in your pocket at the end of the month.
So, for the heavy television viewer access to cable is close to being a good deal. But for those of us who don't watch TV regularly, or who watch very few shows regularly, buying them from the iTunes Store, or accessing them for free on sites like YouTube or via torrent files, the alternative starts looking like a steal.
The one aspect of television programming that makes cable, and its pay-for-monthly-service competitors, a must-have is live sports. For some of us, live sports will be our only tether to the cable bill. Until, that is, live sports moves to the Web.
Back to YouTube. Google and Apple have been very cosy lately. I would not be surprised that a result of the latest news between the two companies that Apple and Google announce that Google's video content (etc) will be among the first "online" television networks ever, and that content will be made available for the first time on consumers' TVs via iTV. We'll have to wait and see.
So, iTV backed by the power of Apple's iTunes store, Google's forthcoming Internet broadcast network and torrent files, and. . .well, you get the point. Apple will have a ton of content to push through their iTV to your Mac, PC or TV, and the number and variety of programs will only grow with each passing day.
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Here's a rare glimpse of Steve Jobs at work during the first
90-days of NeXT, SJ's interim computer project.
That's Part 1 of a two part series. Look for Part 2 in the sidebar
(or click here).
He also talks about changing the world. It's clear that he's done his part in changing the world with computers. SJ is well on his way to changing the world's way of listening to music (and, soon the way we watch video), and with Pixar and now Disney, he's going about changing the world of entertainment.
This is all so obvious as to not really sound all that interesting to post here, but after watching those NeXT videos the great strides Jobs has taken in such a relatively short amount of time is staggering.
It also makes the recent discussion on Ars Technica about Jobs' successor sound pretty awful: the companies Steve Jobs presides over will, of course, survive for a period of time without him, but they will be very different places. So will the world.
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Geeks.com is shipping orders for $2.99 for one day only:
today.
They have "retro" iMacs and iBooks starting at about $60 and $475
respectively. Geeks also has Mac peripherals, upgrades, and
Mac-ready mobile phones from Sony Ericsson.
Apple iMac G3 400MHz 128MB 13GB DVD w/15" CRT OS9 (Gray) -
B
Search Geeks.com for "apple" to see everything they have
in stock.
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Originally, you were white, but now you're black, blue, silver, pink, and green. You've grown from 5GB to a hefty 80GB.
In late-October 2003 you hung with Mac addicts, but now you hang with legends in sports, celebs, sheikhs, to-be kings, and sitting queens.
You've got skills. Your display used to do one color, black, now it does full color video. At first you could only play music, but now you spin out music, podcasts, TV and movies.
You've come a long way, but you're about to meet the Apple product that will eventually replace you, the iPhone, so enjoy your time at the top, or what's left of it. Party like you own the planet, because you do.
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