Friday 14 March, 2008.
While it was already a great tool for reading PDFs, Preview in Leopard became even better with new features that include a new user interface, relevancy ranked searches (thanks to Spotlight), and many more. In fact, Preview now lets you annotate PDFs, offering a fast and efficient way to share comments with those you’re collaborating with. Find out how by reading our Pro Tip of the Week. [Mar 14, 2008]
“I’ve never had to wait less for any application to launch or process to complete,” says Michael DeAgonia (computerworld.com) in his review of the new Mac Pro. Calling it “an amazing machine that is as fast as it is stable, offering pure brute force and processing power at a competitive price,” DeAgonia concludes that the latest version of the Mac Pro “is beyond the sum of its parts. It’s the technological equivalent of a well-played symphony: Each individual piece is solid in its own right, but everything is amplified once they’re put together in concert.” [Mar 14, 2008]
Says David Pogue (nytimes.com). Waxing enthusiastic about the forthcoming iPhone 2.0 software, Pogue explains that following its release, “there will be thousands of iPhone programs, covering every possible interest.” And they’ll be available 24/7 since “Apple will preinstall the iPhone Apps Store right on every phone.” The move will turn iPhone into “an engineering tool, a game console, a free-calls Skype phone, a business tool, a dating service, an e-book reader, a chat room, a database, an Etch-a-Sketch,” and, Pogue predicts “a gigantic success.” [Mar 13, 2008]
“It’s clear that the platform is gaining momentum,” states Jim Goldman (cnbc.com). Goldman’s comments stem from the revelation this morning that more than “100,000 iPhone developers downloaded the beta version of the SDK in the first four days that it was available.” And to the fact that Intuit, Namco Networks, NetSuite, PopCap, Rocket Mobile, Six Apart, and THQ Wireless have joined Sega, salesforce.com, Electronic Arts, and ePocrates in expressing enthusiasm for the SDK and their interest in creating software for iPhone. [Mar 12, 2008]
After describing how he shot the recent Lunar eclipse, photographer Marty German also explains how he processed his RAW images: “I used my Aperture 2 trial software to process the three shots. Thanks to Derrick Story’s, Aperture 2: New Features tutorial on lynda.com, it took only a couple of minutes for me to adjust each shot, fine tuning exposures, boosting contrast and reducing color noise.” German adds that, in his estimation, “the raw converter in Aperture 2 is as good as NX’s and both NX and Aperture produce noticeably better Nikon raw conversions than ACR does.” [Mar 12, 2008]
Tom Yager (infoworld.com) expects gobs “of great software for iPhone and iPod touch” by the end of the year. All thanks to the recently released SDK, which Yager describes as “the simplest, best-documented, and most enjoyable experience for mobile application developers.” Comparing it to other mobile software environments, Yager says the iPhone SDK “blows them away.” In fact, Yager contends that once available, iPhone 2.0 software “will instantly transform high-end consumer phones and music players, and it will gradually alter the landscape for commercial mobile devices.” [Mar 12, 2008]
“Easy and fun to use,” Aperture 2 is “an incredibly powerful tool for the professional or serious amateur photographer,” writes Russ Juskalian (macworld.com). Praising its “across the board speed improvements,” its “streamlined interface,” and such new tools as “ Vignette, Definition, Vibrancy, and others,” Juskalian calls Aperture 2 “the program photographers wanted all along.” [Mar 12, 2008]
In the first four days since its launch on March 6, more than 100,000 iPhone developers have downloaded the iPhone SDK, Apple today announced. Leading developers such as AOL, Electronic Arts, Epocrates, salesforce.com and Sega have already demonstrated amazing applications using the SDK, and developer response continues to be phenomenal with more developers embracing the platform. [Mar 12, 2008]
Phil Baker (sandiegotranscript.com) calls MacBook Air “the sleekest, thinnest and most beautiful notebook ever.” He admires its construction: “Fit, finish, and workmanship are superb,” he says. “Whether sitting back in a lounge chair outdoors or at a desk indoors, the brilliant, sharp and high contrast screen has no equal in brightness or readability. Its comfortable full-size backlit keyboard is a pleasure to use, and the housing never gets hot as other Mac notebooks sometimes do. [Mar 11, 2008]
“If you travel frequently or if you have any care for your shoulders and back, the MacBook Air is as close to must-have as any computer can be,” posits Mark Kellner (washtingtontimes.com). “This was most plainly evident when I wandered the halls of a convention in Nashville, Tenn., toting the MacBook Air in a briefcase. The computer itself was almost negligible in terms of its presence: I didn’t really feel it in the bag. Yet, when I needed to check e-mail or do some writing, the power of the MacBook Air was there, ready to respond in an instant.” [Mar 11, 2008]
A major step forward in portable computing,” MacBook Air, writes Eric M. Strauss (abcnews.go.com) “is a mega-desirable computer that blends aerodynamic styling with serious innovations in an itsy, bitsy three-pound package that is a blast to use.” Strauss suggests that “if you are a student or worker-bee who is often on the go and wants your email, Internet, and access to your music, photos and movies, you’ll love MacBook Air.” [Mar 11, 2008]
“If you’ve been waiting to buy a new Apple laptop, or you’ve been hesitating about upgrading from your G4 PowerBook, wait no longer,” writes Jackie Dove (macworld.com). That’s because the new MacBook Pro computers “are Apple’s speediest laptops ever. The higher-end models are loaded with both system and video RAM and better L2 cache capacities, which directly affect performance,” making them “outstanding top-of-the-line models for any professional, artistic, scientific, or scholastic application.” [Mar 10, 2008]
Greg Laswell’s studio may be crammed with state-of-the art synthesizers, samplers, and recording gear, but when its time to get down to the business of writing music, Laswell finds the inspiration — and the tools — he needs in his MacBook and GarageBand. “You can do so much with GarageBand, from recording to composing to effects,” he says. “It’s fun and it’s part of being a musician today. Once you power GarageBand up for the first time, you’ll get hooked.” [Mar 07, 2008]
Using Mac OS X Server. The simply powerful solution from Apple harnesses the power of Leopard to run your network, letting you set up and manage a server in just a few clicks. It’s the perfect option for small business owners just getting started with servers. Or even IT managers who’d like to quickly deploy a wide assortment of new client services. To find out how you can bring more power to your organization, sign up for a free Leopard Server Seminar today. And hurry. Seats are filling fast. [Mar 07, 2008]
Writing for Digital Arts, Steve Paris awards Aperture 2 a four-star (out of five) rating and proclaims it “a great version that will please professional photographers and other creatives working with large collections of photos.” The redesign, Paris says, “has made the application more streamlined and efficient. The addition of new tools means there are even fewer reasons to visit another application when working on your projects, and the speed increases are definitely welcome.” [Mar 06, 2008]
In her review of MacBook Pro, Grace Aquino (bloomberg.com) reports that the latest version “offers some compelling reasons for a Windows PC user to switch to a Mac. It’s fast, elegantly designed, simple and a pleasure to use.” Calling it the “ultimate workhorse,” she points out that the updated MacBook Pro “uses some of the most powerful pieces of notebook hardware available” and that she doesn’t “even have to give up using Windows, since I can run both Windows and Mac operating systems on the same Apple notebook.” [Mar 06, 2008]
Apple today previewed the iPhone 2.0 software — scheduled for release this June — and announced the immediate availability of a beta release of the software to selected developers and enterprise customers. The iPhone 2.0 beta includes both the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) and new enterprise features, such as support for Microsoft Exchange Active Sync and the addition of Cisco IPsec VPN. [Mar 06, 2008]
For most companies, saving $60,000 in one year alone and setting the stage for similar savings in the future might serve as ample proof of a wise business decision. But for Quist Valuation, that decision has also allowed the company and its employees to reap professional (and personal) benefits, expand into multiple branch offices, even to develop its own web-based valuation software that promises to revolutionize the way it conducts its business. All the direct result of switching to the Mac. [Mar 05, 2008]
“Just as Bento, the traditional Japanese dish, serves up different foods in a single compartmentalised tray, Bento, the new Mac application, serves all your different types of personal data in a single window,” writes John O’Brien (news.com). In his review. O’Brien calls FileMaker’s new personal database application for Mac OS X Leopard “a cohesive, powerful tool for keeping personal information at your fingertips.” [Mar 04, 2008]
Because fewer public schools offer music programs to students, the nonprofit organization Little Kids Rock decided to “provide its unique music curriculum” free of charge to schools. And to us. Part of the expansive iTunes U, Little Kids Rock offers guitar lessons, drum lessons, and other musical resources. Check it out. [Mar 04, 2008]