[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/maccast/MC20100630.mp3] Download today’s show here! MC20100630.mp3 [42.6MB 01:28:32 64kbps]
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Episode 308. Based on the success of last month’s “no agenda” cast I re-dubbed the format the “uncast” to bring you it’s second installment. For part duex I brought over a couple of friends from the KnowTech podcast. John Foster, Kenji Kato, and I sat down to chat about all things Mac. No prep, no outlines, no show notes just pure unbridled Mac geekiness. We uncast the structured format and see what hits the feed. Enjoy.
Special thanks to our sponsors: Circus Ponies NoteBook – The Easy Way to Get Organized on the Mac. Try it FREE for 30 Days. Path Finder – The advanced file browser for Mac OS X. Try it free for 30 days
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Episode 018. In this episode we try to help a listener who wants to set up an alternate “from” address to use when replying to and sending email from his Mac or iPhone.
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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Episode 017. In this episode we answer a question from a Maccast Member who wants to know how to burn an appendable CD using Mac OS X.
Maccast Members
The audio for this episode is available to Maccast Members. Sign-up or log in by visiting the Maccast Member site.
[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/maccast/MC20100626.mp3] Download today’s show here! MC20100626.mp3 [42.5MB 01:28:15 64kbps]
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 306. iPhone 4 is here. And what about Verizon? First iPhone 4 reviews. iPhone 4’s issues reported early. My personal launch day experience. iPhone 4 still had some secrets. iMovie for iPhone 4 review. iOS 4 update released. iBooks 1.1 for iOS. MobileMe Mail app updated. iPad continues strong sales. Tablets killing netbooks, are desktops next? Apple gearing up for iAds. Quintet of new Canadian Apple Stores. Get “Hold” back on iPhone 4. Clearing up AT&T data plan confusion. How to pick a new Mac. iTunes not keeping album artwork
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Episode 016. Continue our “Deep Look” into Apple’s suite of iLife apps. This episode is all about Podcasts. How to subscribe, manage, inspect, and tweak your feeds and subscriptions to get the most out of your shows.
Update: Added HD (720p) version below for comparison.
Above is a sample movie I created 100% on the new iPhone 4. I used the iPhone 4’s built in front and rear facing cameras to capture stills and video. I used Apple’s new iMovie for iPhone App to edit and assemble the clips and add the transitions, titles, and audio. Finally the video was exported to the Camera Roll and uploaded directly to YouTube via the device. The whole project took about 2 hours or so to complete and was actually quite simple to put together. As you can see the final results are pretty good, but there is room for improvement. First. I don’t have steady hands and I think a tripod or something to stabilize the phone as I shot the video would have been a great help. As for the audio, I used the built-in “theme” track. In the app there was no indication of the length of the track. When enabled it simply created a green “tack line” under my video timeline and the line extended the full length of my video project. I naturally assumed it was long enough or would loop to cover my whole project. When previewing in edit mode in the app it even played the audio throughout the project. It was only after export that I discovered the track simply faded out at the end, around a minute or so in. There is no option to loop the track and you can only have one such “background” track per project. You can however also include the recorded audio from each clip over the background audio if you choose and it will even auto-duck the background track. Finally, the video exported to the Camera Roll on the iPhone is output at 720p (1280 x 720). Unfortunately, uploading to YouTube directly from the iPhone only yields a maximum resolution of 568 x 320. I assume this is why the YouTube above maxes out at 360p. Even so I think that all of this can be done on a phone. Just so you can get a comparison, I do plan to upload a 720p version polished up in iMovie on my Mac so you can see what the iPhone is fully capable of. Stay tuned.
Here is the 720p version as promised. It is still exactly the same version produced and exported entirely on the iPhone. The only change is a new music track I added in iMovie on the Mac since the iPhone version couldn’t be looped.
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Episode 015. In this episode I put the spotlight on Spotlight. OS X offers up a very powerful built in metadata search and I try to give you some helpful tips and trick for maximizing your searching and results.
Today a bunch of reports started to surface raising concerns that the iPhone 4’s new antenna design may be affecting cellular reception when it’s held in your hand. If true, it would be a major flaw and shocking that Apple would let something like that slip through. I’m picking up my new iPhone 4 in the morning and the news of this issue was putting a major damper on my pre-iPhone 4 excitement. I continued to read report after report and kept hoping to find more info about the cause of the issue. I also hoped to find a possible solution or work around. Luckily I found a piece on MacRumors.com that indicated the issue might not be new and it also might not be as serious as is currently being reported. Check out the video.
So it looks like the “issue” can be replicated on not only the new iPhone 4, but also on a 3G or 3GS iPhone. What remains now is to determine if this is simply a visual issue or if reception is truly being affected. Early reports seem to indicate that calls continue even with the diminished bars on the display which is a good sign. Either way I’m sure these reports will grab Apple’s attention and shed some light on what seem to be a long standing issue. Hopefully we’ll also see an fix issued soon.
Maccast listener Joe is in Johannesburg working on the World Cup and sent in some snap shots of an iStore.
But what’s an iStore?
It looks very much like a typical smaller Apple Retail Store you might see in a US mall, but it obviously wasn’t an “Apple Store”. I’m pretty sure iStore is a local chain or brand, but behind it is a program run by Apple called the Apple Premium Reseller program. These are local resellers authorized by Apple to sell Apple products and accessories. You’ll find Apple Premium Resellers in many countries like South Africa, UK, Germany, etc. They are retail locations staffed by Apple experts and offer many services similar to ones you would find in an Apple operated retail store. Services like seminars, events, business solutions, and educational pricing.
At least for some. Starting Sunday many of you emailed me to let me know that Apple had started sending iPhone shipping notices for your pre-ordered iPhone 4’s. One thing I noticed in several of the emails was that the arrival date was noted as June 23rd, a day before the officially announced June 24th date. I figured it was the scenario we had seen in the past where the shipments start, but Apple requests the shipper hold the items until the actual launch date. Well now it’s looking like this time will be different.
Checkout the email being sent out this morning to pre-order customers:
Dear Apple Store Customer,
You recently received a Shipment Notification email from Apple advising you that your iPhone has shipped.
This email is to confirm that your delivery will occur on June 23rd. Although Apple and FedEx tracking information may currently indicate a later date, you can check the FedEx website the morning of the June 23rd to track your package to your doorstep.
In the event that you will not be available to accept delivery on June 23rd, it may be more convenient to use our pre-sign delivery option by visiting our Order Status website at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus.
Sincerely,
The Apple Store Team
So I guess that date was correct. What is not clear at this point is why Apple bumped up the date. A logical guess is that there are concerns over the volume of activations and they may be trying to spread the load between at home deliveries and in-store pick-up which will still take place on the 24th.
I’m glad that many of you will be getting your new iPhones a day early, but I do have to mention this will likely create some outcry from those who weren’t able to get their pre-orders through Apple and AT&T’s systems. Either way I expect Thursday and (now) Wednesday will be both exciting and frustrating for Apple fans.
