Archive for the ‘Apple’ Category

Safari – Reviewed

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Safari for WindowsApple launched the Windows version of their web browser, Safari, to the public just a few months ago. After all this hands on time with the program I think, pro Apple bias aside, that Safari blows Internet Explorer out of the water.

To begin, Safari has the same look and feel as iTunes. It feels clean cut, polished and advanced beyond Internet Explorer’s years. The top bar is clean and has a minimalist feel to it.

Apple claims that Safari is the fastest web browser, and they are correct. You will see a noticeable difference in page load times, and site functionality.

It comes with everything you’ll ever need including bookmarks, RSS feeds, tabs, a search bar and more.

Additional extras over Internet Explorer include Forms AutoFill – something Explorer sort of has but it doesn’t work like this. Pop up blocking that doesn’t have this huge ugly bar across your screen. It just works; you never even know pop ups are there. Sites that are supposed to work just do and sites that have pop ups will work perfectly without you knowing a pop up was even there. Other nice features include find, where you can search the text on the page, and a spell check as you write.

Safari did have one problem when it first launched but that was taken care of quickly. I believe them when they claim Safari is very secure.

When using Internet Explorer it would slow down when I opened more tabs and often crashed if I had too many open. Safari works with the tabs effortlessly, making internet browsing exactly what it should be, quick, easy, and fun.

You haven’t surfed the internet until you’ve used Safari, and you will never go back.

South Africa gets an iTunes store

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

iTunes Store“It’s finally here,” I shouted whilst hopping around the room. “It’s finally here!” South Africa finally has an iTunes store. We can finally get accounts and finally benefit when there are free items needing accounts. iTouch owners can finally legally upgrade their iTouch with just a few clicks.

The sad news is we only have an applications store at the moment. The main reason South Africa never had an iTunes store, is because the music and movie studios in our country are always haggling over copyright. But the first important step has been made. You can sign up and get applications, some are free and the highest price I have seen is under $10. With Vodacom still keeping very silent on a release date for the iPhone we can only hope that sometime soon music and movie stores will be added to iTunes too.

iTouch Review

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

iTouchApple’s iPhone is a groundbreaking cell phone, but unfortunately many people can’t buy them in their countries. People resort to illegally importing and hacking into the phones to use them. If you aren’t the criminal type or feel you just don’t want another phone the iTouch is the best iPod ever made.

The iTouch sports the same design as the iPhone but sheds some weight and looses a few buttons. There are only two buttons on the iTouch. Everything else is controlled through touch on the beautiful 3.5-inch screen. I have heard people say the screen is not as good as the iPhone, I can’t really see how.

iPod Touch

From Apple: Flick through album covers and find your music. Download and watch your favorite movies, rentals, TV shows, and more from the iTunes Store. Tap into thousands of photos. All using incredible Multi-Touch touchscreen technology on a beautiful 3.5-inch display.

The iTouch comes in three versions. The only difference being the space. 8G, 16G and the latest 32G. Users have complained about the size of the hard-drives, which is the reason Apple later released a 32G version, but to be honest I think those people are being picky. On a 16G hard-drive you can comfortably fit 1.5 days worth of music and 8 full length movies and still have 2G left to play with. Most people plug their iPod into their computer regularly so I do not see how there is a need for more space. No normal person could watch 8 movies and listen to 1.5 days of music so quickly that they would not have time to go to the computer and put on new movies. The battery power lasts for 5 hours of video OR 22 hours of audio.

The iTouch interface is the same as the iPhone in most respects. Most people who play with one for the first time don’t even need to ask questions. The interface explains itself making it extremely easy to use. The best thing about the iTouch is not the music, the great 3.5-inch screen to watch movies or the cool sensor which flips the screen according to how you hold it. It’s the fact that it’s fun to use. And it never seems to wear out. The idea of using touch is just so natural.

I managed to embarrass myself the other day when looking at a friends normal iPod. I automatically touched the screen trying to navigate the menu. It was just so natural for me. That for me is the best proof of how this is the best iPod to ever grace our stores, and until we get the new iPhone in our countries it will be the best compromise you will ever have to make.

iPod Touch