Archive for the ‘Apple’ Category

iPad: First Impressions

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Apple’s just unveiled their new iPad. It’s basically a cross between a Laptop and an iPhone. You can see all the glorious tiny details on Apple’s website (apple.com/ipad) but let’s discuss first impressions.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the beautiful, huge, ridiculously thin, touch screen device I got very excited. But then he started talking about what it did. It’s nothing groundbreaking. My first impression is of a glorified iPhone, minus the camera and GPS. I was hoping for a full blown touch screen computer, which would mean no more horrible keyboards and mice, just pure finger freedom. I was hoping to be shocked and make oooo, ahhh noises just like the moment the iPhone was revealed but there was none of that.

Don’t get me wrong, the device is great to look at, and probably fun to use but there is no must buy factor. If you have an iPhone or even an iTouch then there is no great appeal to the iPad. In fact, even if you don’t I would rather have an iPhone simply because it’s easier to cart around.

Maybe the problem is the huge hype, such intense hype that even if the iPad shot lasers it wouldn’t have lived up to it. I was practically expecting a unicorn to prance across the stage today, but I was disappointed.

We’ll have to wait and see if Apple has anything more up their sleeves, but for the time being, I’m not interested.

Marc Williams

iTunes 8

Monday, July 27th, 2009

iTunes 8Along with the new iPods, Apple recently launched a new version of iTunes, iTunes 8. The new version looks very similar to the old version, but has a few new features that we’ve all been waiting for.

The biggest addition to the program is HD (High Definition) viewing. You can now download and watch HD T.V. shows using iTunes. When you buy the show you will also get an iPod ready version with the best settings for your iPod.

Another important background addition is in the accessibility department. It is now screen reader friendly on both Mac and PC. A screen reader basically helps disabled people to use the computer. It uses audio and/or Braille outputs to help the user to understand what is on the screen. It also works for iTunes content so that anybody can now purchase and download from iTunes.

Genius is Apple’s new playlist creator. You choose a song and click on the genius button and iTunes will create a playlist of other songs in your library that, ‘go great together.’ The sidebar will find music on the iTunes Store that goes with the song, helping you to find new music that you may like. It’s a nice addition but nothing groundbreaking.

On the visual side Apple has added two new elements. They have a new Visualiser with 3D spheres, ribbons and lights that move to the beat and they have Grid View. Grid View is just another way to look through your music. Your library will be displayed using the cover art of the albums. It looks great if you have all your album artwork, but if you don’t, this new feature will be of no use to you.

Although iTunes has not changed much at first glance it has taken a huge step forward, a step into the next generation of entertainment. And along with it they’ve given us a few extra features that can be used or ignored at your discretion.

How to copy DVDs to your iPod

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

iTunes StoreFor many iPod owners the idea of watching your favourite movies on the go is really appealing. You happily buy your iPod and some DVD’s and then realise it’s not so easy to just move them onto your iPod. You aren’t doing anything illegal; you have a right to watch the movie you bought on your iPod.

Apple has finally realised this and is now very slowly adding iPod versions of movies onto DVDs. This means you just have to pop in the DVD, put in a code, and your movie will be added to your iPod perfectly. But while we wait for that to get into full swing we still want to watch movies on the go. You can buy all these weird and wonderful pieces of software or you can do it all free!

Here is the step by step guide to getting your DVD to your iPod.

1)     Download Handbrake here.

2)     Download DVD43 here.

3)     Put your DVD into the disk drive of your computer. The DVD43 face should be happy once you have done this.

4)     Open Handbrake

5)     Under source, click browse and locate your DVD. Look for the VIDEO_TS folder and click on it. Then click OK. Handbrake will read your disk.

6)     Under the Source Title select the longest time, this is usually the movie.

7)     Under destination put the location you want your iPod ready file to be saved and give the file a name.

8)     Select your iPod from the white box on the right.

9)     Click the video tab and select 2-Pass Encoding

10) Click the start button in the top left hand corner

11) Your movie will now be made. This may take a few hours depending on your computer speed.

12) When your movie is done open it in iTunes. You can do this by right clicking the movie and selecting open with, and then iTunes.

13) Then simply drag your movie into your iPod.

It’s that simple. There are many other options you can play with to adjust the video quality, size and more. You could also use this program to create files that will support other devices like a PSP. Now you can watch your DVDs on the go.

American iTunes Store Account

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

iTunes StoreFor those countries which have iTunes Stores, setting up and purchasing items from the store is simple and easy. You just click sign in, create account, and off you go. But for countries without iTunes Stores, or iTunes Stores which only have certain content, getting the content you want is not so easy.

I doubt there will be anybody who will deny that out of all the iTunes Stores in the world, America has the best selection. So everybody wants an American account, even those that have iTunes stores in their country. For millions of people around the world, piracy is their main music and movie distributor. iTunes provides a simple paying alternative and because of the great content and ease of use many people prefer it to pirating their music. Unfortunately the studios, record labels and governments of the countries around the world don’t seem to see the benefit of making iTunes access a priority when it comes to fighting piracy. So some countries end up with no stores, and others have very little in their stores.

We found a way for anybody, from anywhere, to get an American iTunes store account and buy their music from the best music store in the world. Although what is being done does seem to be a loop hole in law and Apple’s policies, it still feels a little underhanded.

The best acceptable way to get an account is to get an American friend to create one for you with their address and details. If your credit card is not from an American bank you will not be able to register. So the way to get around this is to purchase gift vouchers for the iTunes store account and use those to pay for your music.

It sounds simple enough, but not everybody has a friend in the states, and getting gift cards on the internet can lead to scams. So what do you do? Step in tunecard.biz. A legitimate company that you can buy iTunes gift vouchers from. If you want, they will even set up an account for you.

UPDATE: tunecars.biz has closed down. This may or may not be due to Apple or dodge behavior, or maybe both. The only other way to get the vouchers is to buy them from ebay.com. If you do this, we recommend only buying from Top sellers. Look out for the Top Seller logo next to their name.

iPhoneAll you need is a paypal account and you’re on your way. We decided to give them a test run and see if this was all real. We had to set up a paypal account and get our credit card confirmed which took two days. After that we went through to their site, clicked on the amount we wanted and paid them through paypal. We were then directed to a page which asks for your details so that they could either set up your new account or put money into your existing account. After completion we received a confirmation e-mail from the site, thanking us for our payment. In just two hours we had an e-mail with our new account details. After logging on, our account had already been credited with the amount requested and we were free to download music.

It was simple, easy and the service was fantastic. If you want to pay for your music and have quality albums for great prices this service is your golden ticket. But I can’t stop wondering how legal this process is. After looking into Apple’s policy you can’t begin to deny that this process is not accepted by Apple. Their very first clause is that you must be in the United States to use the service. Here is the excerpt:

U.S. SALES ONLY

Purchases or rentals (as applicable) from the iTunes Store are available to you only in the United States and are not available in any other location. You agree not to use or attempt to use the iTunes Store from outside of the available territory. Apple may use technologies to verify such compliance.

After further investigation it seems there are very different and confusing tax laws in the different countries. This reason alone is probably good enough to stop outside buyers. So, unfortunately those of us who want to obey the rules have hit another brick wall. Although I think Apple is simply covering themselves from law suits, they can block your access if they catch you. It’s back to the drawing board for those of us who are too impatient to wait for our own great stores.

2008 iPod nano

Monday, September 15th, 2008

iPod NanoApple has recently announced their 2008 version of the iPod nano. With a new design, new features and the option of 8 or 16GB, we had to take a closer look.

The new iPod nano comes in eight fantastic colours and has some fantastic new features. To start off the new iPod comes with Genius, the new Apple playlist creator. It finds the songs in your library that will go well with the one you select.

The new nano comes with Apples famous accelerometer. This makes using it a lot more interesting and adds a new dimension to nano games. If you tilt your nano on it’s side you will be able to flip through your cover art with Cover Flow. If you want to shake things up a little, give your nano a shake and it will shuffle your music for you. I hope you can turn this off though, because if you are enjoying an intense dance session your nano could begin shuffling your music to your dismay.

Photo’s can now also be seen in landscape thanks to the accelerometer. The new two inch screen plays movies and shows pictures beautifully, but it is still totally impractical to watch a full two hour movie on.

iPod Nano

The new nano is not groundbreaking in the traditional sense but it adds some nice new features and a new look just in time for the Christmas season. Apple continues to update and improve it’s range, even if the improvements may be small. I wouldn’t suggest buying this unless you are in need of a replacement iPod or if you’re looking to buy for the first time. Apple’s best selling iPod is back and it has a fresh new look.

iPod Nano