Steve-less Macworld Keynote: What came out of it

This year’s Macworld keynote is the last Apple will present. They have updated 3 products. No incredible mind-boggling announcement here. First the new 17 in. MacBook Pro. It has a non-removable battery which I have thought to be really bad because pro’s are the ones most likely to buy multiple batteries to carry around with them during long trips. Apple backs their choice by saying that most people don’t buy second batteries, but on the flipside, pro’s aren’t most people. The battery lasts 7 hours with the discrete graphics, and 8 with the integrated one, which is very high. Apple also claims the battery will last 1000 charges, and last 5 years. The resolution is 1900×1200 which is incredible. Another crazy new feature is the 8 GB of RAM max. It’s the first time I have seen a notebook support that much RAM. The MBP starts at 2799$. For the basic configuration you get: 2.66 Ghz processor, 320 GB hard drive, 4 GB of RAM, and an option for a 256 GB SSD drive. If you need more, there still is a build to order configuration where you can tweak every aspect of your MacBook Pro. Next are both iLife ‘09 and iWork ‘09. I will not dive in too deep into the details, iLife ‘09 is full of great new little features in every application. You can check out the Guided Tour video on Apple’s website for more. iWork ‘09 is also full of new features, you can try it for yourself by navigating to the Apple website and downloading the 30 day trial. Next are some small iTunes announcements. Songs will be available for 0.69$, 0.99$ (standard price), and 1.29$. Phil Schiller made sure to tell people that there will be more 0.69$ songs in the catalog than 1.29$ ones. Another announcement is that all the iTunes catalog will be DRM-free by the end of the year, which is excellent. Last, but not least, iPhone 3G users will be able to download songs not only over WiFi, but also over the 3G network, which is also a nice new feature to get people buying more songs. Overall, this Macworld keynote has been very average compared to the other years. Some disappointments for me include the lack of a new Mac Mini, and no demo of Snow Leopard. But Macworld isn’t just about Apple’s keynote, it is much more about the little developers in the small booths that have cool little products for the Mac.

Podcast download coming to iPhone firmware 2.2?

German blog Schimanke.com publishes screenshots that point out a new feature that may be coming to the upcoming 2.2 iPhone firmware. I really hope that these screenshots are truthful because having podcasts downloading directly to your iPhone would be incredible! I mostly listen to podcasts on my iPhone and iPod Touch because of the convenience. The screenshot (below) seems to be legitimate.

iPhone Apps, I am sooo disappointed in you…

iPhone apps have been here for quite a while, and now many apps have entered the App Store, which is, by far, the best way to deliver mobile apps to a mobile device. But I, have been very disappointed in these apps. It’s a frustrating feeling I can’t describe. Well, for one, the games are good but nothing more that O.K., because of the controls used to maneuver the games(ex: to steer a car in a racing game tilt the iPhone in the desired direction). One game that has stood out of the crowd is Spore Origins. Really nice game that is pretty much one of the rare games that is worth the price. For now, my favorite app is Remote, which I use when I am really tired and on my bed unable to move, to connect to my iTunes library and listen to some soothing music or podcasts. Maybe it’s just me, but the hype before the app store was launched was just not worth the content the apps delivered. What do you think of the current state of iPhone apps, do you like them or not, feel free to drop a comment.

iPhone 2.0.2, my experience with it

Apple has released a while ago the iPhone 3G, and with it came the 2.0 firmware also available for older iPhones. I upgraded my iPhone and jail broke it with PwnageTool. First thing I did (as everyone else) was rush and download all the apps I could cram into my phone that were available in the App Store. Then, the bad news caught up with the excitement, the 2.0 firmware was crashing like crazy. Every time I would open an app, the app wouldn’t want to load up or the whole phone would re-boot, all by itself. So, I thought that a restore would bring the phone back up and running in good shape as it always was before this buggy update. The phone would behave for a couple days than came back to the crashes and buggy behavior. This really frustrated me because I have grown to know that the iphone firmware updates were always success after success and would always bring new features and more stability that have a suitcase jam-packed with bugs and crashes and frustration. Then came the 2.0.2 update, which really relived my iPhone experience. It brought back the stability of the other iPhone firmware updates, with all the applications the App Store delivered with it. Of course, there are still some bugs here and there, but overall the experience has gotten much better and the OS much more stable and usable. That is what apple is all about!

3G iPhone in june?

All the rumors say that the next generation iPhone, with 3G networking, will be presented at WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference), then released a little time after. The rumors sites all seem to speculate that the 3G iPhone will include a GPS, which would be great side to side with the current maps application which kind of acts similarly as a GPS (it is able to find your location by the touch of one button). The design also is due to be changed. A black and rounded corner iPhone is what is in the talks. I personally have a current generation iPhone and will not upgrade to the new version when it comes out because of obvious financial reasons. If you happen to have a current generation iPhone, will you upgrade or not, why or why not? Even if you don’t have an iPhone, why are you choosing to buy this new one or why not? Why did you hold off on not buying the iPhone that is currently out in he stores? What are the features you’ve been waiting for? 

How the iPhone changed my life

The iPhone has been an excellent internet device that has gained me time numerous times and an intelligent device that can be a huge time saver. For example, lets say you are waiting for an email and you want to check if it has come or not, but your computer is shut down and your a little lazy at the moment and it’s a pain in the butt to start up and check it there, instead you reach down in your pocket and fire up your Iphone then tap on the mail icon and check for your mail there instead of on your good old computer. Or you want to check your favorite website or RSS feed and instead of your computer you choose your iPhone and fire up Safari to check out the feed. This is one of the many ways that helped me and maybe you also in your daily life.

FarFinder give access to your mac from the web!

This software gives access to your mac files via a web browser. FarFinder interface is like finder. Just sit down at any computer, anywhere on the net, open the web browser and there are the files on your Mac at home. Now you can view and download anything you want. It’s so easy you’ll find yourself using it all the time. FarFinder works on both OS X 10.4 (Tiger) & OS X 10.5 (Leopard). You can buy FarFinder for $35 or you can just try it 15 days.

Website: http://flyingmac.com/farfinder/

MisterK, Introduction

Hello, I’m Kamil ElFechtali but my nickname on the net is MisterK or MisterKamil. I’m a develloper and I devellop for the iPhone, OS X and I make homebrews for PSP. I own an iPhone, iPod touch, an HP pavillion dv6000, and in 1 month a Mac Pro. You can find me on Facebook as El Fechtali Kamil my email adress is “efkamil@gmail.com”. I’m going to help my friend El Ghali to make reviews and videos.

Hope you enjoy the blog, Cya Later

Ghalimacman, Introduction

My name is El Ghali Bouchareb, but on the net you will find me as ghalimacman. As my name indicates it, I am a mac geek and love to talk about things that are linked to computers especially Macs. You can find find me at Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/ghalimacman. I make a show all about macs iPods, iPhones, and much more. You will find an iPhone review, an iPod Touch review, and other videos you can enjoy. I own a Macbook, and iPhone, an iPod Touch, an iPod Shuffle and a Mighty Mouse. You can also find me on FaceBook as El Ghali Bouchareb and on twitter as ghalimacman!

Hope you will like the future posts I will deliver, Enjoy the Blog!