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November 23, 2009

Swype, meet Shapewriter

“Hi this is Swype. A new way to type. Just make a reasonable effort to trace through the word and Swype will do the rest.”

Those are the words used as a challenge between the new version of Samsung Omnia II which will be released by Verizon in the US and the iPhone.

The video by TechCrunch shows you how using Swype technology, the typist (swypist?) can complete the challenge faster than using an iPhone. I call bunk. I can type faster on my iPhone than the person swyping on the Omnia II and so do many other people who are used to using the iPhone.

Oh and guess what, there’s an app for that. Shapewriter for the iPhone has had this ability since it was released in July 2008 with support for Email and SMS integration. Sure, it’s a separate app but it’s there and it’s patented by its developers. It’s also available for the Android platform since April 2008 and hey, it’s on Windows Mobile as well! 

Erick Schonfeld doesn’t seem to know about Shapewriter but TechCrunch readers do. I’ve used ShapeWriter in the past but I couldn’t get used to it. This could be a reason to fire up the app and give it a new shot.

Yes, Swype was done by the people behind the T9 predictive text technology commonly found on most mobile phones in the last decade but the technology behind Shapewriter is around the same age which means it predates Swype.

So, Verizon, Samsung, Swype, there’s absolutely nothing new about your “new” way of texting.

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Filed under  //   apple   iphone   omnia ii   samsung   texting   verizon  

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November 23, 2009

1979 Apple Graphics Tablet

Gems from the past kept popping up

While every geek and his dog are drooling over the rumored Apple Tablet, edible Apple found this relic from the days before Macs were around. Steve Jobs certainly changed his mind about input devices when he worked on the iPhone because this gem carried a tethered stylus.

Note the bite in the Apple logo being filled by the letter g.

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Filed under  //   apple   classic   tablet  

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November 21, 2009

iTablet at the hands of Huffington Post

Occasionally I check out the HuffPo for things people write about what's going on in the US but I'd never thought I'd read anything about the Apple tablet there. It's a riot. Have a read for avoid laugh. Here's a taste; a 10" screen tablet that works as a dashboard- mounted GPS device. And it's a phone too.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gerald-sindell/itablet-beta-tester-break_b_364351.html

On a funny though possibly disturbing note, TUAW posted a seemingly serious story on the HuffPo piece. http://bit.ly/5RoMRs

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Filed under  //   apple   humor   satire   tablet  

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November 12, 2009

AppStore claims another developer

Joe Hewitt, developer of Facebook application for iPhone announced via Twitter that he's handed off the development of the app because he was frustrated with how the App Store review process works (or doesn't work, depends how you see it). Hewitt has sworn off iPhone apps.

Yes, Apple has 200 thousand iPhone developers and 100 thousand apps on the App Store and counting, but there's been a steady stream of news of developers quitting app development for iPhone OS and going back to Mac work or switching away to other mobile platforms because they see them as having a more open process.

Mike Rose of TUAW has some sound suggestions regarding the App Store approvals:

Once a developer has had an app pass the traditional review, any further releases by the same developer would be pushed but not made public until a proper review is completed. People would still be able to search and find the updated versions but it won't make it on to the lists or the front page of the App Store. Said app will also carry a warning on its App Store page that it's not completely approved yet, so buyer beware.

This does however mean that people are expected to not irrationally complain if the app goes awry, because they knowingly download an untested app.

via TUAW

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Filed under  //   app store   apple   developer   facebook   iphone   joehewitt  

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November 6, 2009

Fortune Magazine names Steve Jobs CEO of the Decade

While Fortune magazine named Jobs CEO of the decade (really, who could argue with that after seeing how well Apple performed this last ten years?) Leander Kahney from Cult of Mac interviewed a Ken Segall, former creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day who revealed that Jobs initially hated the name iMac, even so far as to reject it twice along with about eight other names, four at the first submission, and four more at the second.

Although Jobs never got back to Segall about it, he ended up growing fond of the name and the rest is history.

Fortune supplements the appointment with testimonials from eight other high profile business executives about Steve Jobs which you can read here, starting with Intel's Andy Grove's.

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Filed under  //   apple   mac   steve jobs  

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November 2, 2009

From a dedicated Windows user

"I know Windows is awful. Everyone knows Windows is awful. Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's grim, it's slow, everything's badly designed and nothing works properly: using Windows is like living in a communist bloc nation circa 1981. And I wouldn't change it for the world, because I'm an abject bloody idiot and I hate myself, and this is what I deserve: to be sentenced to Windows for life."

The Age: Better the broken Windows than life with the Mac monks (via @dirgayuza)

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Filed under  //   apple   funny   mac   microsoft   theage   windows  

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October 21, 2009

Brand new Mac stuff

Following recent rumors and rumbles around the web, Apple "surprised" everyone with a slew of updates to many of its current Mac offerings. It's been a while since Apple refreshed its desktop Macs so it's rather expected that they would launch new iMacs and Mac minis around this time of the year. The Mac Pros on the other hand, remain as they are. What is surprising though is the trackpad-like multitouch mouse they call Magic Mouse.

Magic Mouse
Since the name Mighty Mouse is no longer available, Apple went with a new name for its new wireless mouse which is available with the new iMacs or sold separately for US$69. It's just a beautiful looking bluetooth mouse with no moving parts to remove and clean. Any action that used to require the little ball on the old Mighty Mouse now can be done by swiping your finger on the surface of the mouse. The mouse is powered by 2 AA batteries which will last through four months of use according to Apple.

Unfortunately Magic Mouse is not available in wired version but Apple is still selling the old USB Mighty Mouse, renamed as the Apple Mouse.

iMacs
Along with Magic Mouse, Apple is shipping brand new iMacs. Now in 21.5-inch and 27-inch sizes, the new iMacs lost even more of its Jay Leno-like jaw, and shaved more bulk from its back. The screens are now on a proper 16:9 ratio as you would find on a standard widescreen HDTV and the 27-inch model has a DisplayPort input that lets you plug in an external digital media source such as a DVD or Blu-Ray player, or even game consoles. All you need is a DisplayPort adapter which will be available in several weeks.

New in these iMacs are SD card slots which were introduced to the Mac line back in June with the current MacBook Pros. Apart from Magic Mouse, these new iMacs also ship with wireless keyboards, the ones without the numerical pad on the right. The back of the iMac is no longer black plastic but aluminum like the rest of the computer. It still uses the thick glossy glass panel on top of the LCD screen.

No, there is no Blu-Ray drive on these iMacs. Apparently Apple still considers it "a bag of hurt". 

Mac mini
The Mac mini is the computer people love to ignore or hate. Plenty of claims of its demise since Apple went with Intel but still, the little computer that could, persists. In fact, this tiny box of aluminum and plastic has a sibling now, the Mac mini server. The server model comes with no optical drive. In its place, it has an additional hard drive giving the unit a 1TB storage which can be set up as a RAID. The Mac mini server also comes with Mac OS X Server.

MacBook
If you thought Apple was going to kill off or completely replace the white MacBook with something more revolutionary or economical, think again.

Instead of succumbing to the popular calls, Apple redesigned the white MacBook with a unibody frame to bring it back in line with the Pro machines after the previous unibody MacBooks were upgraded into Pro status back in June. Instead of aluminum though, it still uses the same polycarbonate material. The bottom case however has a non-slip surface added which removes the need for rubber feet. 

With this new design, Apple finally brings the multitouch glass trackpad to the white MacBook, a built-in battery that can last 7 hours, a thinner and lighter unit, and one heck of a storage at 250GB. It also loses the separate audio in/out port, both now combined into one port like in the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

To differentiate it further form the Pro machines, its keyboard is not backlit and Apple has removed the Firewire port. While this has brought back the debate over Firewire, its effects may be lessened since the 13" MacBook Pro with Firewire is not too far out of reach. If you want to compare the MacBooks directly across the board, check out this page Apple put together.

Apple Remote
Apparently this is still around. Even though Apple no longer ships Apple Remote with its computers, Apple still sells them especially because the Apple TV needs it. The new Apple Remote comes in aluminum with the menu and play buttons relocated to below the circular navigation buttons instead of inside it. It works with any Mac since 2005 that has an infra red port. The new white unibody MacBook does not work with Apple Remote.

The bad news
None of these new Apples are going to be available immediately in Indonesia. Estimates on Apple's Online Store ranges from 2 weeks (optimistic) to December.

The new MacBook is estimated to arrive in 5 weeks, Apple Remote and Mac minis in 2-4 weeks, and the iMacs as well the Magic Mouse are expected in December.

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Filed under  //   apple   gadget   imac   mac mini   macbook   magicmouse   mouse  

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October 21, 2009

App Store Expense Monitor

Evan alerted me to this nifty app earlier which I should have noticed even earlier since Macworld US wrote about it a couple of weeks ago. It's a menu item called App Store Expense Monitor. What it does is it gives you a list of all the iPhone apps you've ever purchased based on the iTunes Media folder in your computer and it also tells you how much you've spent.

If you have purchased apps using different iTunes Store accounts, it will display them separately although it can only display in one currency. It uses the currency setting inside the System Preferences under Language & Text in Mac OS X Snow Leopard or under International in Leopard. This means if you use accounts with multiple countries that use different currency symbols, it will only show your primary currency.

It's handy because it lets you keep track of what you've bought and how much you've spent. You can also export the list into one text file that can be imported into a spreadsheet.

It's not without several issues though:

1. It looks up current app prices on the App Store to determine how much you've spent. 
It doesn't help if you got the apps at different prices or even for free during promo periods. If you did, you'll have to manually enter the actual price you paid. If you've spent money by purchasing for items directly from inside an application, this app won't know anything about it.

2. It's a menu item app
It could have been a proper application that sits on the Dock but the developer decided to make it a menu item. I can see why it's useful up there but it should have been an option like with Skitch. There is precious little real estate on the menu bar when you're not using a 2000 pixel wide monitor.

3. The app stays on top
Even dialog boxes would step back when you switch to a different app. This thing stays on top even when it's not the active window, obscuring whatever windows you have open underneath.

4. No secondary click option
It would have been more useful had it had a contextual menu when you control+click on each of the app listed

Regardless of those shortcomings, this app is undoubtedly useful. Arguably, buying apps using iTunes Gift Cards would be a better way to control your spending if that option available in your country. At the moment, there is no iTunes Cards for the App Stores in South East Asia.

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Filed under  //   app store   apple   apps   budget   iphone   mac os x   money  

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October 21, 2009

Telkomsel's current tethering option with iPhone 3G

There was no public announcement but Telkomsel sent out a text message to its iPhone 3G customers several weeks ago telling them that the tethering option has changed. Tethering is a way to use your phone as a modem by connecting it to your computer either wirelessly or via a cable.

Yes, the company that couldn't decide how to package the iPhone 3G since it launched the phone back in March this year changed its policy yet again and apparently many new customers aren't aware of it. Then again not many are aware of the tethering option in the first place.

The new policy came with the latest promo package which began sometime before Ramadhan to coincide with the price drop on the 16GB model from 9.5 million to 7.5 million. With the new package, tethering is still optional via sms to 1377 but if you had to pay Rp 87,500 per month before, which gives you an additional 1GB quota for tethering, this offer is no longer available.

Tethering is now available for free and data usage is taken from the 500MB quota you get as the standard package, which if you notice, is the only package available now. There seems to be no more Turbo Plus or Turbo Premium.

Another catch is that the tethering menu in the Settings app may disappear if you upgrade to OS 3.1 or 3.1.2 and decide to use another operator. Your iPhone 3G is unlocked when you restore it to OS 3.0 so you're free to use it with SIM cards from other GSM operators. What they didn't tell you though, is that the tethering menu in Settings app disappears if you use a non-T-sel SIM card. I currently have no information on how to get it back. I'll update this entry once I do.

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Filed under  //   apple   internet   iphone   telkomsel   tethering  

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October 8, 2009

How to open a locked Time Machine drive

The other day I had the opportunity to troubleshoot two issues on an iMac using iChat's Screen Sharing feature. While the screen sharing itself isn't new, it's been around for ages via various VNC software and was made easier in Mac OS X when Leopard came out in 2007, the actual use of it makes you feel like you're working in the future.

iMac can't boot properly
The first problem was that the iMac wouldn't boot into the system. It would display the Apple logo and just stays there for hours. This is unsolvable using screen sharing since the iMac wouldn't boot so we went via text chat.

Get the original Install DVD from the box the iMac came in. If you don't have this DVD or something similar, you're basically screwed until you can get yourself one or you go to an Apple Service Provider to fix your problem.. Don't lose this DVD. If you do, you need to have a Mac OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard DVD that you can buy from any Apple Reseller.

Insert the DVD, follow along as if you were to install the OS but once you see the menu bar on top, select Utilities from the menu bar and choose Disk Utility. Select the hard drive of the Mac and choose Repair Permissions. Once it's done, it doesn't hurt to click on Repair Disk.

Once you do that, restart the computer.

If the hard drive is not detected by Disk Utility then your problem is more serious than that. You need to take it to an Apple Service Provider.

Locked Time Machine drive
The second problem I faced while troubleshooting that iMac was that it had a Time machine backup drive, presumably a Time Capsule, which was inaccessible. 

Once the iMac restarted successfully, the backup drive appeared with a padlock image on its icon indicating that the user account is unable to access it. It turns out none of the administrator account could access that drive.

Until I found this solution on Apple's discussion board.

1. Open Terminal
2. Enter the following lines:

sudo chflags nouchg /Volumes/"TM drive name"

followed by

sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/"TM drive name"

This command needs a password.
Note that you have to have a password set for an administrator account. When you enter the first command, you'll be prompted for a password. This is the password for the administrator account. If you set up your account without a password, go to System Preferences > Accounts > and change the password. You can replace the password with a blank one after this is done if you don't want to use one.

How do you know you use or have an administrator account? Go to the Accounts pane in System Preferences and see the label underneath your account name.

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Filed under  //   apple   backup   guide   leopard   mac os x   screen sharing   snow leopard   terminal   time capsule   time machine   tip  

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