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iTunes Store pays tribute to the great Isaac Hayes

Tuesday, 19 August 2008

To many younger folk, Isaac Hayes will be remembered primarily as the voice of Chef from South Park, but to those who grew up in the 70’s, Hayes is a legend. One of the most prolific artists of the era, he composed the iconic theme music for Shaft, and helped launch soul music into the mainstream with his record label, Stax Records.

Not just a singer-songwriter, Hayes was also an actor, film composer, record producer, and arranger. His album Shaft made him the first African American composer to win an Academy Award for Best score. So it’s no wonder iTunes is paying tribute to Hayes’ expansive accomplishments with a special page devoted to him. You can pick and choose songs from 20 albums of funky soul goodness (but you can’t rent Shaft), and read a biography on his greatness.

Macworld Team | David Dahlquist | Read more...


Mobile still isn’t really portable

Monday, 18 August 2008

My two-year-old daughter looked at me with confusion and at my camera with derision as she tried to navigate through the pictures on the LCD screen using her fingers. She is so used to flicking through pictures on my iPhone that a real camera lacking this rather obvious functionality seems perverse to her.

I have so many portable devices nowadays that together they’re not really portable at all. There’s my iPhone, which is excellent as a phone, web browser, emailer, texter, video player, location finder, contact manager, clock and calculator, but is pretty useless as a camera and lacks the capacity to replace my iPod. So I have to keep my iPod (itself a bit light at just 60GB) and a compact Canon camera for my audio and photography needs. I’ll probably upgrade to the iPhone 3G, as web browsing is my number one use of the mobile, but that won’t help either my music or picture-taking needs.

Simon Jary | Simon Jary | Read more...


Teacher fury at iPod-hiding school blazer

Monday, 18 August 2008

Teachers are waving their canes in fury as Mrs Thatcher’s knicker-maker Marks & Spencer is selling a "Blazer for iPod” as part of its 2008 Back to School collection.

The iPod-hiding blazer has been branded irresponsible by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), the largest union representing sirs, misses and head teachers in the UK.

Simon Jary | Simon Jary | Read more...


Dell’s new plan is music to your fears

Monday, 18 August 2008

Remember Dell’s new music initiative? The one that Rob Enderle works for and then failed to disclose? Turns out they’ve got a secret weapon: the person heading it up is an ex-Apple executive, Tim Bucher, who was briefly Senior VP of Macintosh Hardware Engineering in 2005 and oversaw the development of Mac mini.

Bucher went on to found Zing, which was later bought up by Dell and became the main thrust of their attempt to unseat iTunes and Apple from the top spot in digital music. Zing’s premise is to create an open-standard of music and media that will allow Apple’s rivals to take it on as one force, rather than a bunch of smaller companies. Dell will build the software, then work with hardware manufacturers to establish the standard.

Macworld Team | Dan Moren | Read more...


Thin Steve Jobs

Friday, 15 August 2008

It kinds of amuses me that everyone’s so worried that Apple CEO Steve Jobs looks ill.

He steps onto stage looking like his lost a bit more weight and all havoc breaks loose. Recent speculation about his health even caused Apple’s share price to take a plunge.

Karen Haslam | Karen Haslam | Read more...


Second thoughts about iPhone 2.0?

Friday, 15 August 2008

Elsewhere on Macworld, I've offered up some advice on troubleshooting common iPhone issues. That was my mostly reasoned approach to troubles that have sprung up since I've upgraded to the iPhone 2.0 software; this is my more emotional response.

I've had a colourful history with Apple's iPhone software updates. Back in the 1.x days, I was convinced that I would never upgrade my iPhone software--not while I could enjoy the best applications that my jailbroken phone could support. I softened my stance with the arrival of the iPhone 2.0 update and its introduction of the App Store, because I believe third-party apps increase the power and the utility of the iPhone--and perchance because Those Who Sign The Checks asked that I upgrade. Despite my reluctance, however, I've been generally thrilled with the third-party App Store programs that I've installed, tested, and reviewed.

Macworld Team | Rob Griffiths | Read more...


Apple loses site of Me

Tuesday, 12 August 2008

One of my favourite Apple tools is HomePage – a wonderfully easy and stylish photo-sharing feature in Apple’s .Mac suite of web services. HomePage started life as Claris Home Page – one of the first user-friendly WYSIWYG HTML editors, which launched in 1996. Creating your own web pages required no knowledge of HTML. In 2000 it became HomePage in Apple’s online iTools suite.iTools and Apple’s later versions are examples of so-called “cloud computing,” using the internet to allow users to access technology enabled services and applications.

HomePage in iTools was free until July 2002, when Apple changed iTools to .Mac and started charging £69 a year. The fallout for Apple was immense. The company was even denounced by one Macworld reader at the time as acting like a drug dealer: “Dealers give out free drugs then charge once you need it. Sounds very like .Mac email addresses to me.”

Simon Jary | Simon Jary | Read more...


Locked out

Tuesday, 12 August 2008

If I thought conditions were primitive on board the cruise ship I sailed on last year to Mexico – and honestly, they were: beverages in the four restaurants included milk, water, lemonade and iced tea… but you were charged extra for sodas and mixed drinks – they were nothing compared to what my ancestors faced nearly 100 years ago.

They piled into the steerage compartments of unseaworthy vessels and hauled off across the Atlantic to America, taking with them nothing but the clothes on their backs, their meager savings, and the desire to experience ethnic and religious persecution from the other side of the ledger for once in their lives.

Andy Ihnatko | Andy Ihnatko | Read more...


Cleaning up the MobileMess

Friday, 08 August 2008

Part of a stipulation of testing a product is that it works. I know it sounds ridiculous, but this was something that MobileMe spectacularly failed to do upon launch. The failure of a product to work as intended puts the reviewer in something of a difficult spot.

There is the potential of user error, which although problematic for the consumer, is potentially embarrassing for a reviewer being asked to rate millions of pounds worth of investment for a company in front of a wide audience of, potentially, pitchfork-wielding Mac fans (a generally fanatical mob that is often unsure in which direction to wave the pointy-bit at).

Mark Hattersley | Mark Hattersley | Read more...


Farewell PhoneSaber

Thursday, 07 August 2008

No it's not a Jedi mind trick. PhoneSaber, the utterly useless and mildly amusing iPhone application, which does nothing more than make lightsaber noises when you wave your iPhone about, has been removed from the iTunes Store.

After a 'chat' between the makers at TheMacBox.com and THQ Wireless (the company that owns the rights to mobile Star Wars stuff), it has been agreed that a Star Wars branded version will be a much better idea, and the two parties have agreed to create an 'official' version.

Andy Penfold | Andy Penfold | Read more...


Art attack

Wednesday, 06 August 2008

It’s time for a reality check on the digital convergence thing that’s bringing music, film and other entertainment online.

For consumers, the attraction is that it’s easy to find what you want, in many cases without paying for it. The argument many media companies use against technology is that it has removed the notion of fair exchange (paying for it) from the agenda.

Jonny Evans | Jonny Evans | Read more...


Why we love to hate Bill Gates

Tuesday, 05 August 2008

It’s fair to say that Bill Gates isn’t our favourite person. In the black-and-white world of technology tribes the innovatory, commercial and PR war between Microsoft and Apple – and particularly between their leaders Bill Gates and Steve Jobs – is the stuff of legend.

Gates co-founded the software vendor 33 years ago. Since then he has been both leader and public face of Microsoft. But, as of this July, the 52-year-old will officially step away from his day-to-day role at Microsoft in order to devote more time to his charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. According to a 2004 Forbes magazine article, Gates gave away over $29 billion to charities from 2000 onwards. And he’s kept on giving. So why is he such a hated man? Perhaps we should ask instead “Why would a universally despised man give away so much money?”.

Simon Jary | Simon Jary | Read more...


What's Apple got against the Contacts App?

Monday, 28 July 2008

I have this thing about incorrect images of the iPhone in Macworld, and it's got to the point where I want to give Apple itself a stern ticking off.

Allow me to explain: The iPhone has space for 20 Apps on a screen (a 4x4 grid and 4 permanent Apps in the dock). When Apple first released images of the iPhone there were 15 Apps on the screen. The iPhone looked like this:

Mark Hattersley | Mark Hattersley | Read more...


Why can't Apple and China just be friends?

Thursday, 24 July 2008

Because Mike Elgan says so, that's why.

He penned a piece at Datamation attempting to explain the 'incompatibility' between Apple and China that has prevented Apple from effectively extending its business, and therefore its market share, throughout the People's Republic.

Macworld Team | Dan Pourhadi | Read more...


The Mac keeps driving Apple

Thursday, 24 July 2008

Some 48 hours removed from the light and heat of Apple’s third-quarter earnings announcements, a couple of things deserver further examination. And no, I’m not talking about the “Did someone just cough? Sell! Sell! SELL!” mentality that seems to have gripped the investment community.

What still stands out about Apple’s third-quarter performance—for me, at any rate—is just how well the company’s Mac business did. In case you missed Monday’s announcement, Apple said that it sold a little bit less than 2.5 million Macs during the three months ending in June. That’s the most Macs Apple has sold in any quarter ever. And if it sounds like I’m repeating myself, that’s because I am—this is the fourth time in the last five quarters that Apple has set a new standard for Mac sales.

Macworld Team | Philip Michaels | Read more...


Attack of the clones

Tuesday, 22 July 2008

We scorned. We mocked. We laughed.

Psystar was a puzzling joke. We had no doubt they could get OS X running on non-Apple hardware, sure…but what happens after it’s installed? Can it be updated? Is it even legal? How long would Apple just wait on the sidelines before they light-sabered Psystar in two and sent their attack-droids to destroy the rebellious few who dare purchase a Psystar machine? Seemed risky, and those risks were realized when Apple filed suit against the wannabe Mac-maker last week.

Macworld Team | Dan Pourhadi | Read more...


Psystar: a clone alone

Saturday, 19 July 2008

No one gives a damn when a new PC manufacturer enters the market selling its own-branded Windows computer. The launches of Wizard Micro, Delta Desktops and Lasco laptops do not set the web’s blogs alight. They’re just another bunch of plastic/metal boxes running standard components, initially put together by a small bunch of grunts under some railway arches. They will be cheap – probably so cheap that the company will go bust as soon as it tries to market itself or supply tech support.

But it’s a very different matter when there’s a new company making and selling Macs, and – after 11 years with no one but Apple in the market – there’s a new player in town. Although possibly not by the time you’re reading this…

Simon Jary | Simon Jary | Read more...


UK iPhone launch - in pictures

Friday, 11 July 2008

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Well, doubtless, I'll be writing more than a thousand words on today's iPhone launch, but I thought this visual aid might just show the difference between last year's iPhone launch, and this year's.

iPhone launch: O2 Store, Oxford St, 2007

Mark Hattersley | Mark Hattersley | Read more...


How was it for you?

Thursday, 10 July 2008

If you're buying an iPhone 3G today, then I want to know how it went. Badly, is most people's experience. But let us know what it was like in your neck of the woods. Was there a queue? Did you get an iPhone 3G? How did the approval process go?

We managed to get iPhones from both O2 and Apple Stores in London, but we want to know what it's like outside the capital.

Mark Hattersley | Mark Hattersley | Read more...


New-look iDisk folder

Thursday, 10 July 2008

Today has been marked by some very odd things periodically happening to my .Mac / Mobile Me account.

The latest is my iDisk which has just switched over to the new-look logo. Not sure if I fully approve of the new design, that cloud looks a bit 'Fisher Price', but then the old logo looked like a 1990's throwback.

Mark Hattersley | Mark Hattersley | Read more...