599 replies to this topic

[Arbogast777]

I might have gone over the edge into Mac obsession today when I bought... MacPadd

Hey, it looks cool

[Joe Bond]

It seems the iTunes Store has added more Bond films and several of them are available to purchase in HD: Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, The Living Daylights, and The World is Not Enough. Some of the films in HD have not been released to Blu-ray as of yet but I would not be surprised if the HD versions are 720p versions of what will eventually come out on Blu-ray.

[Mister Asterix]

I picked up a iPhone 3G 8Gb Refurb last week from AT&T's website for $50US. I love this thing. I've only had it a week and I've nearly 8 page of Apps already. All free so far.

I'm finally in the 21st Century.

[Professor Dent]

Joe Bond, I noticed the Bond movie mention in the weekly iTunes email. I'm hoping this means that we will get the rest of them on Blu-ray soon. If On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was on the list, I would have clicked the Buy button real fast.

Mister Asterix, welcome to the 21st century! When you are ready to venture into the paid but inexpensive game territory, I'd recommend Field Runners, Flight Control, & Harbor Master. All three are easy to play & very addictive so don't venture too far from your battery charger.

[Joe Bond]

Joe Bond, I noticed the Bond movie mention in the weekly iTunes email. I'm hoping this means that we will get the rest of them on Blu-ray soon. If On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was on the list, I would have clicked the Buy button real fast.

I am hoping they add that sometime this week because that would be a must buy for me. I did buy You Only Live Twice HD version and it looks great. What is strange about it is that the default audio track is the original mono and the alternate audio track is the 5.1 track but I can't find a way to get it to work but maybe thats because I don't have an Apple TV but still worth it for the HD. As for more Blu-ray's, I wouldn't hold my breath because I sort of believe what someone else mentioned on the Blu-ray thread that MGM seems to be holding off on them so they can get more money for TV deals and digital distribution for HD versions of the Bond films that are not on Blu-ray yet which is the wrong movie IMO.

Update: On Her Majesty's Secret Service is NOW available on iTunes in HD. Here is the link.

Edited by Joe Bond, 13 November 2009 - 02:26 PM.

[zencat]

I'm now the proud owner of a new 27 inch iMac. Pure bliss!

Zen,

After having it for a few days now what are your thoughts on the Magic Mouse? I played with one in an Apple store and it just seems too small to hold comfortably. Whats real world use tell you?

I really like it. The mouse was the only part of my system that wasn't Apple because I wanted right click and scrolling. Now I have it. Works great, and feels fine in my hand.

One more observation about the magic mouse, the batteries die FAST. I've already replaced a set. Good thing is it takes normal AA, so not a big deal. I bought a pack of 16 for $8.

So I'm crazy in love with my 27" iMac, but it has had an unexpected effect -- I'm now josin' for a new 13" MacBook Pro to go with it. The iMac is just so nice, it's painful for me to use my old PowerMac G4. The thing is near death anyway. I can't load any OS above Tiger and the disc drive doesn't work anymore. But, dang-it, it still does what I need it to do, so I don't really NEED a new laptop. But oh to have a speedy MacBook to match my iMac, backing up to Time Capsule, etc....

I'm going to be watching those Black Friday sales, and if the price dips below $1000, it just might happen.

[Arbogast777]

One more observation about the magic mouse, the batteries die FAST. I've already replaced a set. Good thing is it takes normal AA, so not a big deal. I bought a pack of 16 for $8.

Yeah, it was problems like the fast battery drain and the slower tracking that caused me to not pull the trigger on the Magic Mouse (I also just didn't care for the feel of it in my hand), but I did get the new wireless keyboard, which I love. Battery drain seems to be decent with it - I'm at 74% after about 3 weeks.

For a mouse, I settled on a Logitech MX1100, which I'm happy with.

Something you might want to play around with is the Better Touch Tool which supposedly makes the Magic Mouse a lot easier to use (including speeding up the tracking).

I'm going to be watching those Black Friday sales, and if the price dips below $1000, it just might happen.

The best I've seen so far is this rumored Apple Black Friday add which lists the MacBook Pro for $1098 or the Best Buy Black Friday deal where they'll give you a $150 gift card for purchasing the $999 MacBook.

[[dark]]

I'm itching to accessorise my brand new 50" inch full HD plasma telly.

Anyone have an Apple TV? And would you recommend it over any other HD media player?

[zencat]

The best I've seen so far is this rumored Apple Black Friday add which lists the MacBook Pro for $1098...

At Amazon it's $1068 (saving $130). And with Amazon there's no tax, so in CA that's another $100 saved. But I didn't go for it. Just can't justify the expense.

[Professor Dent]

One more observation about the magic mouse, the batteries die FAST. I've already replaced a set. Good thing is it takes normal AA, so not a big deal. I bought a pack of 16 for $8.

Yeah, it was problems like the fast battery drain and the slower tracking that caused me to not pull the trigger on the Magic Mouse (I also just didn't care for the feel of it in my hand), but I did get the new wireless keyboard, which I love. Battery drain seems to be decent with it - I'm at 74% after about 3 weeks.

For a mouse, I settled on a Logitech MX1100, which I'm happy with.

Something you might want to play around with is the Better Touch Tool which supposedly makes the Magic Mouse a lot easier to use (including speeding up the tracking).

I have the Logitech MX1000 (hooked-up to a Windows machine) & it is a great mouse. I've been using the Magic Mouse for a while now & really like it. The slower tracking is a pain, especially if you are using a big iMac, but this has been getting a lot of press so I'm sure Apple will issue a firmware update to fix it. If not, one other good option is USB Overdrive. The developer is working on Magic Mouse support now but this is a great tool for getting just about any mouse to work better with a Mac.

I'm itching to accessorise my brand new 50" inch full HD plasma telly.

Anyone have an Apple TV? And would you recommend it over any other HD media player?

I've debated an Apple TV for a while but just never pulled the trigger on it. One other option to consider is the Roku. You can rent Amazon movies &, if you have a Netflix account, this will let you stream movies. Their top of the line model is selling for $100 less than an Apple TV.

[Joe Bond]

I'm itching to accessorise my brand new 50" inch full HD plasma telly.

Anyone have an Apple TV? And would you recommend it over any other HD media player?.

Anyone have an Apple TV? And would you recommend it over any other HD media player?
When I was thinking about upgrading to a HDTV I knew that if I did I would have to get an Apple TV since I own 5 or 6 iTunes movies in HD. So when I did decide to go HD I got a refurbished 40GB Apple TV and while it has its own quirks I really love this machine. Firstly, when I played some of the HD movies I own from iTunes, including some Bond titles not available on Blu-ray, I was pretty astonished by the sharpness and detail and I would agree with iLounges assessment that on smaller 720p HD TV's the itunes HD movies look as good as Blu-ray discs. Now what was probably the biggest surprise was the fact that movies I bought from iTunes in SD and Handbrake conversions I had made of the DVD's I owned while not looking as good as the HD movies looked pretty amazing for their quality. I mean whenever I played SD movies through my iPod touch's composite tv output you could see blockyness due to the compression but surprisingly through the Apple TV's HDMI output you really don't but I suspect this is due to the fact that it really upconverts SD. For example, my SD copy of Diamonds Are Forever from iTunes had a better color reproduction of color than Syfy's HD channel did during the Thanksgiving Bond marathon. Plus add the fact that the size of the hard drive is pretty meaningless because of the ability to stream movies from my computer without any loss of quality. To me this is a must for anyone who wants a video on demand type product that allows you to watch movies at a touch of a button in pretty good quality without much hassle that is if you already have a big enough iTunes movie library like I have.

Edited by Joe Bond, 29 November 2009 - 05:19 AM.

[Arbogast777]

Google Chrome for Mac is now out. I can't say I'm diggin' it...

[Jose]

Google Chrome for Mac is now out. I can't say I'm diggin' it...

Well, it's in beta so one can't be too harsh on it.
Using it right now as I type this post. So far, I'm inclined to agree with you, Arbogast777.
Hopefully, the final product is far better.

[Arbogast777]

Yeah, nothing especially wrong with it, just nothing to take me away from Firefox

[Professor Dent]

I played around with Chrome when the Windows version was released & didn't see a compelling reason to switch from Firefox. I think if you are a heavy user of Google Docs, you will likely get some integration benefits over other browsers.

[[dark]]

I must be alone in loving Chrome for Mac. Sure, there are some kinks to be ironed out, but the dual functionality of the address bar is stellar, and I love the minimalist approach in offering as much space as possible to view the site itself. It's already replaced Safari for me as my default browser (much as I love Firefox, I find it too clunky and a bit slow on the Mac) - and it takes a lot for me to choose third party software over an Apple product.

Chrome's become my default browser when I'm lumbered with a PC at work too. Looking forward to seeing it evolve.

[bondrules]

Tablet, iPhone OS 4.0, iLife 2010 'confirmed' for Apple event - report

I can't wait to see the Tablet. And OS4 for the Iphone. I own a BB (adore mine), but find all things Apple fascinating.

http://www.appleinsi...ent_report.html



Oppenheimer: Bing deal could bring Apple more risk than reward

I really dislike the idea of Bong getting into the Iphone. Micro$haft is such a mediocre brand.

http://www.appleinsi...ent_report.html

[Professor Dent]

I'm very curious to see if this tablet will see the light of day next Wednesday. From reading through tons of rumors, I'm still trying to figure out where this thing would fit in my life given all the other gadgets I already own. I don't feel like carrying one more thing around with me & I definitely don't want something that I have to pay a monthly fee for (assuming they integrate 3G cell network service into it). I'm definitely ready for iPhone OS 4.0 & iLife 2010.

[bondrules]

I'm very curious to see if this tablet will see the light of day next Wednesday. From reading through tons of rumors, I'm still trying to figure out where this thing would fit in my life given all the other gadgets I already own. I don't feel like carrying one more thing around with me & I definitely don't want something that I have to pay a monthly fee for (assuming they integrate 3G cell network service into it). I'm definitely ready for iPhone OS 4.0 & iLife 2010.

Yeah. I am thinking who exactly is the target for this tablet.

[Righty007]

Here's a live news feed for the Apple Event on Wednesday, January 27, 2010.

[Professor Dent]

Apple released their first fiscal quarter 2010 results today & Jobs has the following quote in it (my emphasis added):

"The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about."

Also rumors going around of a Verizon kick-off event the same day. Could be coincidental timing but, regardless, Wednesday should be pretty interesting.

[Joe Bond]

Apple released their first fiscal quarter 2010 results today & Jobs has the following quote in it (my emphasis added):

"The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about."

Also rumors going around of a Verizon kick-off event the same day. Could be coincidental timing but, regardless, Wednesday should be pretty interesting.

Possibly it could do with the rumor that the iPhone may no longer be exclusive to AT&T since their contract ended this year. I am guessing that the tablet will be the major product they are talking about. Personally I don't see the big hub bub about the tablet since I would prefer a laptop over a tablet and imagine how much cleaning would be need just to clean off smudges. I know this will probably not happen at tomorrow's event but I still hope there is an announcement about Blu-ray for the Mac OS X operating system.

[zencat]

I'm getting excited.

[zencat]

Just over an hour to go.

http://live.appleinsider.com/

[Righty007]

18 more minutes...

[Righty007]

iPad!

[Arbogast777]

Ok so let me get the ball rolling on the newly announced iPad discussion...

It's definitely a nice looking device but I'm still not sure how it fits into my computing life. It seems too big to be a mobile device (like iPhone) but too small to do what a laptop/desktop does.

For instance, am I really going to hold the thing for 2 hours to watch a movie on it? Zencat - are you going to type a screenplay on it while it sits in your lap?

It seems like I'm still going to need a laptop/desktop to do work on, and if I wanted something smaller I'd rather have an iPhone/iPod touch that can fit in my pocket and go with me.

I'm not really down on it, I'm just curious to see how this fits into people's lives over the next few years...

[zencat]

Presentation isn't even over yet.

I think iBooks and the iBooks store could be the killer app. No, I'm not going to write a screenplay on it. But I could definitely see reading a book on it.

[Righty007]

Presentation isn't even over yet.

I think iBooks and the iBooks store could be the killer app. No, I'm not going to write a screenplay on it. But I could definitely see reading a book on it.

The iPad is going to kill the Amazon Kindle, IMO.

[Righty007]

Presentation isn't even over yet.

I think iBooks and the iBooks store could be the killer app. No, I'm not going to write a screenplay on it. But I could definitely see reading a book on it.

The iPad is going to kill the Amazon Kindle, IMO.

Actually, I revoke that statement.

The iPad is backlit which means the Kindle's e-ink is still better for your eyes when reading for long periods of time.