Macintosh archives

Apple announcement roundup: iOS 4.1 and 4.2, new iPods, new Apple TV

Earlier today, Apple held their annual fall product announcements. Industry experts have come to expect new music-related products at this event, in time for the holiday season. For the first time in eight years, Apple provided a live video stream of the event, so we were able to keep up on the announcements as they were made (as opposed to frantically refreshing live reports from gadget blogs). For the most part, the video presentation was phenomenal–you can watch the recording for yourself–but people weren’t glued to computer screens around the world to critique Apple’s cinematography skills. Here’s a rundown of some of what Steve Jobs announced:

iOS 4.1: Apple’s taken its lumps over the past few months on a number of bugs and general shortcomings with the iPhone 4 and its operating system (iOS 4). To address these, Apple is releasing iOS 4.1 in the coming days. In addition to the bug fixes (including a promised fix to the proximity sensor, the only problem I have with my phone) Apple’s rolling in some new features, including HDR photography and direct high definition video uploads over WiFi to YouTube and MobileMe. The update will be free for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and most iPod touch models.
iOS 4.2: Following the 4.1 updates, an iPad-specific round of updates will be available in November. Of note, this will include the multitasking feature already present in iOS 4 and brand-new wireless printing functionality. Yet another yeah-but-the-iPad-can’t-do-this argument is in trouble. This update will also be free.
iPod shuffle: Apple took the best things of the last two models and merged them into the latest iPod shuffle. The new model has easy-to-click buttons and VoiceOver technology, and costs $49.
iPod nano: The iPod nano might have received the biggest overhaul of any iPod announced today. It’s tiny and no longer sports the iPod’s trademark scroll wheel. Instead it’s all touch-based, like its bigger brothers the iPod touch (more on that in a minute), the iPhone, and the iPad. I’ve seen mixed reactions but of all the products announced today this is the one I’m most likely to buy, to replace my first generation nano. The new nano starts at $149, available next week.
iPod touch: Jobs announced that the iPod touch is now the world’s most popular handheld game player, outselling Nintendo and Sony combined. I still have trouble believing that, but if it’s true it’s very impressive. New features: Apple’s new Retina Display technology (if you haven’t seen it, go to your local Apple Store and look at a demonstration iPhone 4–the screen is almost as crisp as paper), front and back video cameras to support Apple’s FaceTime video conferencing technology and high definition video recording, and a slimmer design. We’re planning to pick up a few of these to send to schools for experiments with mobile data collection and mobile coaching via FaceTime. The iPod touch starts at $229 and is also due out next week.
iTunes 10 and Ping: iTunes 10 is available now and has an updated user interface and a more modern icon (no more CD, since iTunes is coming close to outselling CDs). The big new feature is Ping, a built-in social network for music fans. I was skeptical that users will flock to this until I read the suggestion that Ping is not so much another Facebook clone as it is a blow toward MySpace; whose remaining audience tends to revolve around music. I am a little concerned that this new social network being built-in will cause some knee jerk blocking of what is otherwise very useful software for educators, when you consider the vast amounts of podcasts and iTunes U content available from the application. Time will tell.
Apple TV: To round out the product announcements, Jobs introduced a revamped version of Apple TV, a device that connects to your television and lets you stream content from iTunes on your computer, rent movies and TV shows, stream Netflix (if you have a Netflix account), and watch podcasts. The new version is tiny–no more built-in hard drive; everything is streaming–and costs $99 (the original model was $229 and included a hard drive). I was a faithful user of the original Apple TV until mine gave out on me earlier this year. I’ve since replaced it with a Roku box, which is priced similarily and also streams Netflix (as well as content from other providers) but not local media (that is, stuff from my computer’s hard drive). I’m on the fence on this one–I use my Roku to stream Major League Baseball; I may stick with it through this season and reevaluate after that. I do miss being able to stream music and video from a computer to my larger television screen.

Jobs also showcased some beautiful new Apple Stores in London and Paris, and Game Center, a system to help game developers make their games more social.

By Aaron Sumner | September 1st, 2010 | View Comments

Manipulating PDFs in Preview

As you may know, PDF support is built into Mac OS X. This means you can accomplish a lot more than just reading PDF files, without having to invest in extra software. Here are a few resources to help you get more out of PDF files on your Mac:

Print, annotate, rearrange, bookmark, crop:

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (“TUAW”) listed five tips for working with PDF files in Mac OS X last week. If nothing else, become familiar with how to print directly to PDF–this is one of the most unsung features of the Macintosh operating system. If you’d like to see this broken down, check out Amber’s brief tutorial on printing to PDF from this past winter.

More on annotating:

If Preview’s annotation tools are too limited for you, or you don’t like the idea of having your annotations saved inside the PDF document, check out Skim, a PDF viewer written by and for the research community. We’ve written some advice on using Skim to annotate PDFs here in the past.

Merge PDFs:

If you’re sharing multiple PDF files, it might be useful to merge them into a single document before passing them along. This is easy to do with Preview–the following video tutorial shows how this works in Snow Leopard (version 10.6 of Mac OS X):

Delete pages:

Finally, a quick tip on deleting pages from your PDF. I find I have to use this more often than I think I would, when deleting intentionally blank pages from electronic books.

By Aaron Sumner | August 17th, 2010 | View Comments

Pages: Impress your colleagues with these quick tips

Pages, Apple’s version of Microsoft Word, contains several tools to improve efficiency while drafting documents. Learn more about Pages with Apple’s short tutorials.

Here are a few things to try next time you work with Pages:

Any iWork application can have a “Require password to open” setting by checking the box in the Document section of the Inspector.

To avoid breaking a paragraph across pages, select the section to be grouped together. Click Inspector in the toolbar, click the Text button, and then click More. Select “Keep lines together.”

Track changes made to a document by clicking the Edit menu, and then Track Changes. Highlight the word or phrase being edited and begin typing. The original word will be crossed out with the changes tracked in the margin.

To add an image to your document, simply drag it from your desktop (or other location) to your document and release. The image will automatically be inserted into the paragraph.

By Amber Nutt | August 11th, 2010 | View Comments

5 ways to get the most out of iChat

A few days ago Aaron announced the Distance Coaching project, which uses iChat and Flip video cameras to bridge the physical gap between teachers and coaches. We’re pretty excited about iChat’s many capabilities, especially video conferencing. Here are some tips to keep in mind when tackling a project similar to this.

1. Adjust your bandwidth. In iChat, visit Preferences > Audio/Video > Bandwidth limit to change. Lowering the bandwidth will reduce the quality a bit, but will speed up your connection in the long run. (Kbps stands for “kilobits per second” and Mbps stands for “megabits per second.” 1 Mbps is over 1000 times faster than 1.0 Kbps)

2. Ensure capability. The Connection Doctor is a handy, built-in tool that allows you to see whats going on with your connection in iChat. This list will explain what capabilities are possible (think video conferences) on your current Internet connection. Visit Video > Connection Doctor > Capabilities to get a report.

3. Get a pair of headphones. This isn’t always necessary, but it never hurts to have a pair on hand. Wearing headphones will help to increase volume and clarity, while minimizing feedback and background noise. I’ve got these, but any pair will usually suffice.

4. Compress video before sharing. Several free programs, such as Evom, are available for download. Sometimes shortening a clip just isn’t enough, so minimizing video size before sharing on iChat makes the process go a lot smoother.

5. Practice makes perfect. Reduce surprises by planning a trial run before attempting a video conference or presentation. You’ll know what to expect and feel much more comfortable when it comes time for the actual meeting.

By Amber Nutt | June 25th, 2010 | View Comments

5 ways to start using Safari extensions

Somewhat lost in the shuffle of this week’s iPhone 4 announcement was Apple’s release of Safari 5, the latest and greatest version of its web browser for Macintosh and Windows-based computers. One of Safari 5′s new features is one I’ve been wanting for awhile, called extensions. Extensions extend the functionality of the browser via downloadable add-on modules. With extensions you can customize how your browser and even individual websites work for you. They’re similar to plug-ins, which have been around since the 1990s, but are much easier for developers to create. Instead of having to write programming code in heavy duty languages like C++, developers can create extensions using standard tools for website creation–that is, HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

Extensions have been around for awhile in other browsers like Firefox and Chrome, so I’m glad to see that Apple has brought Safari up to speed. After you’ve downloaded Safari 5 (go to the Software Update control panel), you’ll need to follow a couple of steps to get extensions set up–see Mashable’s instructions on getting them up and running on your computer. Once you’ve done that, here are five extensions to show off the kinds of things you can do with this new functionality.

1. Shut Up

On many newspaper and blog sites, the rants, raves, and opinions of uninformed anonymous commenters can take over an article quickly and easily. As I’ve said from the early days, the best thing about the Internet is it gives everyone a voice. The worst thing about the Internet is it gives everyone a voice. If you’d prefer to not get everybody’s respective two cents, check out the Shut Up extension. It does a great job of hiding the comments sections on many web pages (including this one). You can toggle Shut Up off and on if you do want to read a conversation or add your thoughts.

2. Feedly

If RSS readers like NetNewsWire or Google Reader aren’t your thing, check out Feedly. Feedly takes your feeds from a Google Reader account and displays them in a friendly, magazine-style format. This extension gives you one-click access to your Feedly page, and more convenient access to RSS content.

3. GoMBoX

Do you use Google Image Search to find images? The GoMBoX extension modifies the behavior of the search results, so instead of having to click through each image to view it, you can view images in a nice slideshow format. Find the one you like, then click it to save it to your computer.

4. Weather

This is a simple extension, but a useful one: Weather displays the temperature and weather of a location of your choice in a Safari toolbar.

5. Gmail Checker

Last but not least: If you’re a Gmail user, the Gmail Checker extension keeps you from having to compulsively load up your inbox. A small button will notify you of new, unread messages waiting for you. Click the button to get to your inbox.

Looking for more extensions?

Check out the Safari Extensions Tumble Blog for announcements of newly available or updated extensions for Safari 5.

By Aaron Sumner | June 11th, 2010 | View Comments

Life without Microsoft Office

A few months ago I received a new MacBook Pro for work and spent a few weeks slowly migrating everything over from my older Macbook laptop. I used this opportunity to perform some hearty spring cleaning and printed a list of every piece of software currently installed on my old laptop. I crossed off outdated versions and any programs that hadn’t been used in over six months. This eliminated over half the applications thus saving time and capacity when setting up my new laptop. I decided that in order to survive the great Laptop Migration of 2010 each program had to be efficient, completely necessary, or host to a unique set of tools. For my personal and professional needs, Microsoft Office didn’t make the cut.

My intentions are not to negate its usefulness to others, I’ve just found that iWork does everything I need it to do. I had copies of both iWork and Microsoft Office on my old laptop. This took up more space, but I thought I needed Microsoft Office because thats what I had always used. When I decided to give Pages (equivalent to Word) and Keynote (similar to PowerPoint) a try I found the interface to be friendlier, the process to be faster, and the headaches to be fewer. Both programs allow documents to be exported as .pdf or .doc, making compatibility with others fairly seamless. My daily routine consists of two separate professions, schoolwork, and personal tasks all demanding accessibility to Microsoft Office. I haven’t missed it yet.

photo credit

By Amber Nutt | May 19th, 2010 | View Comments

Annotate PDFs on a Mac with Skim

As you may know, I’m a big fan of saving paper and use electronic formats instead of printed ones whenever possible. I often print to PDF, then either file that away or read the document on my screen. I’ve been using Preview, the built-in PDF reader in Mac OS X, to not only read PDF files but also mark them up with my own annotations and highlights. (You can also mark up PDF documents with the non-free version of Adobe Acrobat.) However, these markups get baked into my documents once I save them–so if I wind up sharing the PDF, or I need it for some other reason, I need to make sure I’ve kept a clean copy lest my notes and markings get passed along.

Last week, though, our student programmer Nate pointed out to me that an alternative PDF reader called Skim not only has better markup features, but also saves annotations separately. In other words, my original PDF is kept clean, and my notes are on a transparency sheet placed on top of the document. It works great! And if I do want to share my notes with someone else, I can save a Skim version of the PDF that contains the original PDF and the corresponding notes in one bundle.

Since Skim is built by and for power PDF note-takers, its annotation features are top-notch. One big feature improvement over Preview is the ability to search my notes, as well as to export just my notes. This could be very handy for quickly gathering notes taken in a PDF-formatted book. The Skim wiki lists a number of PDF-enhancing features to help you get more out of your electronic documents and give a reprieve to a tree or two.

Skim if open source and a free download for Macintosh computers only. Download Skim and see what you think.

By Aaron Sumner | May 11th, 2010 | View Comments

What is the Connection Doctor?

The Connection Doctor is a built-in tool on the Mac that works in iChat or Mail to determine network connectivity. It also indicates the ability to use audio or video in any given setting. If you are having trouble with iChat or Mail, just run the Connection Doctor and it will summarize the bandwidth capabilities of your computer and Internet connection.

To use:

1. Open the mac Mail client or iChat
2. Under Video, select Connection Doctor.

3. It will automatically start running to test your computer’s current bandwidth.

By Amber Nutt | April 29th, 2010 | View Comments

From last week: Mobile documents, creating PDFs on a Mac, Google privacy. Oh, and the iPad.

Last week was a busy one–if you happened to blink, you might have missed:

On Tuesday, I shared some tips for using Dropbox or MobileMe to access files from your smart phone. This is very handy when traveling.

On Wednesday Amber provided a useful public service announcement: How to save any document as a PDF on a Macintosh computer.

Later that day, Amber also summarized Apple’s announcement of the iPad, a new device that sits somewhere between an iPhone and a laptop computer in terms of size and functionality. This news was so hot it crashed our server for a little bit!

On Thursday, Amber followed this up with a definition of tablet computers, in case you weren’t sure what this currently popular term meant.

Thursday as also Data Privacy Day, so I shared a video explaining the how and why of the data Google collects as you use their services. It’s less technical than it sounds, and worth a few minutes of your time.

On Friday we closed out the week with my thoughts on how educators might use the iPad. Everything is purely speculative at this point, but I hope the article at least gets you thinking beyond the product demonstration on Wednesday. If you have any thoughts on what I wrote or the iPad itself, be sure to share them in the post’s comments section.

As usual, we still found time to share quite a few links to interesting things we found throughout the week.

By Aaron Sumner | February 1st, 2010 | View Comments

Apple News: January 27th

You might have heard some of the hype recently over the possibility of Apple releasing a tablet-style product soon. The press received an invitation yesterday to an event in San Francisco on January 27th. Details are still unknown regarding the nature of the event or if a tablet is even in the works, but speculation seems to be leaning heavily in favor of a pretty cool new Apple laptop in our near future. Look for future updates when we find out more.

By Amber Nutt | January 20th, 2010 | View Comments