Tag Archives: apple

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Can We All Just Get Along?

April 1, 2012 – 9:17 PM

I am an Apple fanatic. That is no secret. We bought our first iPod back in 2005 and then eMacs, iMacs, Powerbooks, iPhones, iPads and more iPods than you could shake a stick at.

Aside from being an Apple fanatic, I am a technology fanatic. I love gadgets. I also really love seeing how people use their gadgets.

What I don’t love, however, are the brand snobs. I’m an iPhone guy. So, you’re an Android guy… that doesn’t mean we can’t get along. We can still be friends. We can still play Draw Something and no one has to know we don’t have the same phone.

If you’re in the Android camp, or even the Blackberry camp and roll your eyes every time someone says iPhone, you are probably a snob. And if you’re in the iPhone camp the same thing applies to you. Instead of bashing the other person, ask them to show you their favorite apps. You might just learn something new! And you won’t come across as a snob.

Can we all just get along?

 

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No More iDisk? No Problem?

October 16, 2011 – 6:14 PM

I love the Mac environment. Since we purchased our first Mac several years ago, we have slowly turned into a Mac-only household. With iPhones, iPads and Macs, I love how simple the syncing works. We each have a seamless experience no matter which device we’re using. We can easily keep our contact list up-to-date, as well as our calendars. The four of us tend to stay pretty busy, it’s awesome how simple calendar syncing and sharing are in the Mac / iOS environment.

Then, there’s iDisk. My own personal thumb-drive in the sky. Or, as has become popular lately, in the “cloud”. iDisk, which came with our mobileMe (formerly known as Dot-Mac) account has always been one of my favorite features of the service. I kept all of my important files there and had no problem accessing it from any computer or iPhone. I liked that I didn’t need to carry a thumb-drive.

But, with iCloud, iDisk’s days are numbered. After June 2012, I won’t be able to use iDisk.

Oh no. What will I do?

Those that know me well know that the only technology I love as much as my Apple gear is Evernote.

Evernote is so much more than a place to keep notes. It’s where I keep everything! Given it’s powerful indexing and searching (text in images is searchable!), it is a far superior place to store documents. You no longer need a premium account ($45 per year) to store all types of files, but the free account does have lower usage limits. There is a 50MB max per note (25MB for free users) so I won’t store my video projects on Evernote, but 99.44% of my files will work just fine.

So, goodbye iDisk. You’ve been a good friend for many years. And thanks for the one-year notice on your shut-down. That will give me plenty of time to move my files over.

 

Another post about Evernote… Use Evernote to Track Your Accomplishments

 

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Goodbye Steve Jobs

October 10, 2011 – 8:50 PM

drawing by Abraxas579

Last week, Steve Jobs, the most prolific CEO of my lifetime, died. I can’t describe how I felt when I learned of his death. I had never felt this sad from the death of someone I did not know personally.

As my oldest daughter told me so eloquently: in 30 years, we’ll all remember where we were when we heard the news. Just like when Princess Diana or Michael Jackson died, and just like our parents remember so clearly when Elvis, John F. Kennedy, and John Lennon died.

Steve Jobs, through the company he co-founded, had a huge effect on my life and my family. We bought our first iPod nearly eight years ago and shortly after, learned about podcasts, something that certainly changed the direction and quality of my life.

Then came the Macs, iPhones, the iPad, the Apple TV.

Apple and Steve Jobs didn’t just create products, but built an eco-system where we could truly get the most of the things we love. I am able to listen to more music, record more of my own music, and stay connected with my friends and family. The things we can do with our iPad and Apple TV still seem right out of the Jetsons!

As a corporate leader, his drive was famous. My friends and family that have worked at Apple have all told of Steve’s influence. His attention to detail and expectation of perfection is something I admire, both as a consumer and a manager.

Thank you Steve, for the iPod, the Mac, the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple TV, and for encouraging us to think different.

 

 See all my posts tagged with ‘Apple’

 

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Apple TV

October 9, 2010 – 9:02 PM
Screen shot 2010-10-09 at 4.25.11 PM

The Apple TV is awesome! I considered leaving this blog post as just that one short sentence but, alas, I’ll elaborate.

I was never excited about the previous version of the Apple TV. First, until recently, we only owned a very old (and pretty small) standard definition television for almost 18 years. Second, I was always turned off by the on-board storage. We have a couple of computers in the house, and plenty of external storage. I didn’t care to fuss with syncing yet another device. When I first heard that the new incarnation of Steve Job’s pet project would be streaming only, I had to have one.

We picked one up from the Apple Store in Modesto a couple days after they hit store shelves and after a little help from my friend Manny, we were good to go. For the record, it couldn’t be more simple to connect. Just takes an HDMI cable between the device and the TV. My audio setup was a little wonky between the cable box, TV and surround sound receiver.

Ok, that’s enough back story.

read more »

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Why I Like Ping

September 5, 2010 – 9:39 PM
pinggrp

Last week, Apple announced Ping, calling it “a social network for music”. Like a lot of comments I read online, I thought, “great, do I really need another social network?”. After downloading iTunes 10 and setting up my Ping, I realized I do need (or should I say, want) another social network.

I like Ping. Here’s why.

  • It lives within iTunes. I care most about what music my friends are buying, listening to, recommending, when I am in iTunes
  • It’s focus is narrow. Very narrow. I am interested in music and learning about other styles of music. I can see Ping helping me discover music I would’ve not otherwise discovered
  • I actually enjoy reading reviews, they may not sway me, but I like them nonetheless. When the reviewer is also a friend of mine it helps put the review in better context for me. Being able to easily read friends’ reviews is a big plus

As a first generation social network, Ping has promise. Some improvements I hope Apple makes are:

  • Greater delineation of genres. This goes for iTunes as a whole. Rock and Pop are pretty wide. And there is no category for Bluegrass. I don’t consider Sam Bush country
  • Should have custom URL that will forward to iTunes app (rather than telling people to go to iTunes and search for… )
  • The ability to “Like” and “Post” about podcasts and audio books
  • Re-activate the Facebook friend finder. I saw it there when I first signed up but it seems it might’ve since been removed
  • Allow me to change my user name to be different than my billing name; “Matthew” is too formal for me

Interested in what music I am buying or recommending? Look for me on Ping, as Matthew Beckwith.

 

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Steve Jobs – My Opinion

January 15, 2009 – 10:22 PM

Steve Jobs’s (temporary, perhaps) absence from Apple, Inc. will be just a blip on the radar.

In an e-mail to Apple employees, Steve Jobs announced he would be taking a medical leave from the company until June.  Saying that his “ health-related issues are more complex” than he originally thought. He told employees that Tim Cook would lead the organization during his leave and that he looked forward to seeing them again “this summer”.

Rumors about his declining health have been flying around as furiously as iPhones off store shelves.  Ever since it was announced that he had pancreatic cancer in 2004, we have heard from analysts, critics and bloggers that have predicted the end of Apple’s market dominance if Steve Jobs were to depart.

When Apple announced that 2009′s Macworld would be it’s last and that Steve Jobs would not be delivering the keynote the blogosphere erupted in a guessing game about the CEO’s health.

I agree with the notion that there is no company in America, likely in the world, who’s identity is as closely identified with it’s CEO as Apple.  I also believe that Steve Jobs has been the driving force behind Apple’s successful product offering.  And even though I do believe there is a cult-like following of the all-things-i-maker (to steal a phrase oft used by Ken Ray) I believe that happened because they filled a need.  As my college economics professor often said, “it is better to have demand first, then supply.”  Apple didn’t create the iPod and hypnotize millions of people into thinking they wanted one.  Millions of people wanted something better than what the market was offering. Apple filled the need better than anyone.  Sure, Steve Jobs had a great deal to do with revolutionizing the music industry but he had some help.

Apple has become much bigger than just Steve Jobs.  To say that he is the lifeblood of the company is to take away a great deal of credit from all of the talent that exists within the rest of the company.

As a self-professed Apple fan-boy, it is a little scary to imagine Apple without Steve Jobs (I have only been an Apple fan since after Steve Jobs’s return).  As an Apple investor I can’t help but think logically about this.  Apple has remarkable design, distribution, strong financials and from an outsider’s viewpoint, a very capable executive staff.  Because it is Apple, it can be easy to forget that it is a for-profit, publicly held company and I trust that it will continue to drive innovation in the marketplace and the opportunity for financial return to shareholders for years to come.

Separating the health concern from the rest of the issue – I think this is a positive change.  Steve Jobs said he will still be involved in strategy level decisions but allowing Tim Cook to run the organization will prove that exciting new things can still happen at Apple, even if Steve Jobs is only in the background. Perhaps this is test for Apple, a chance to show us, the Mac community, that the company is strong enough to survive and grow with someone else steering the ship.

As for the call from investors demanding to know more details about the CEO’s health, I don’t need to know details. I just need to be re-assured that the company has a plan to succeed without him. I am an investor in Apple, Inc. the company, not the leader alone. Sure, he’s integral to Apple, but again, he is not Apple. I did not invest in the Steve Jobs index fund. If he was the one that built the products and personally sold each of them than I might agree and demand his medical record.

Get well, Mr. Jobs.  I hope you are afforded the peace and quiet you need to get better.  At the end of the day, it’s your well being we should all hope for.

And maybe Flash on the iPhone.

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iPhone 2.0

July 14, 2008 – 11:48 PM

After returning home from camping, I finally downloaded iTunes 7.7 and iPhone 2.0. Even though I’m not getting the new 3G iPhone I have been really looking forward to the new software.

I had just won a $50 gift card from Stacey over at Pill’s Place so I decided to get an iTunes card, just in time for the opening of the App Store (and the purchase of Alan Jackson’s Good Time).

In addition to the App Store, 2.0 has some new features, such as the ability to do a screen shot (Jason Tucker explains how). Now I can easily show the applications I’ve downloaded.

photo

So far, my favorite apps are:
Remote – now I can control my iTunes from my iPhone… awesome!
Guitar Toolkit – A great portable guitar tuner
Where To? – An app that shows nearby restaurants, attractions, etc.
Super Monkey Ball – fun game, kids will probably play more than I do
Fuel Gauge (MPG) – helps me track my gas mileage
Tetris – amazing game for the iPhone, a must have!
AOL Radio – I know, it’s AOL, but the interface is beautiful and the music choices are great!

I was also thrilled to see the push services work. Since I rely heavily on iCal and Address Book (and, oh yeah, Mail) I can now go about my day no longer worrying that I may double book myself. Another new feature I really like is the way passwords are masked. Now, the last character is left un-masked until the next character is typed – very helpful when I fat-finger a password and forget what I’ve already typed.

So, thanks Stacey, for letting me go wild on the App Store!

Do you have an iPhone? What are some your favorite apps? E-mail me (mb@mattbeckwith.com) or post your favorites in the comments section.

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Happy Birthday to my iPhone

June 29, 2008 – 11:56 PM
hbip

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to my iPhone
Happy birthday to you

Of course, everyone knows that the iPhone turned 1 today. I still love my iPhone as much as I did the day I brought it home and am proud of the fact that even though I have dropped it several times it still works fine (except that the vibe doesn’t work).

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My Hopes for iPhone 2.0

June 8, 2008 – 10:08 PM

I originally planned on waiting until June 29th to write “Why I Still Love the iPhone One Year Later”. With any luck, however, I won’t have the same iPhone on 6/29.

ipiporiginal

I was one of those crazy people that stood in line overnight to get my hands on the first iPhone. Emily and I spent 20 hours in line in front of a local AT&T store and were, in fact, one of the first people in the store when they opened the doors at precisely 6:00 PM on Friday, June 29, 2007, amidst cheers and applause.

My impression of the new device and the launch event was very favorable. In my mind, I had built up the new super phone to be the greatest thing since the invention of, well, you guessed it, the phone. How do I feel about the phone a year later? I still love it. The seemless integration with my e-mail, iCal, Contacts, pictures and videos makes it one of the most useful tech gadgets I have ever used.

Having said that, I am super-excited about the rumored next generation iPhone announcement next week. Nearly all rumors point to the new iPhone running on the much faster 3G wireless network and being available in larger capacities, among other exciting offerings.

Of course I understand that next week’s WWDC is about more than just the iPhone. Perhaps we’ll see some new hardware. Perhaps all of the iPhone chatter has provided a convenient cloak for some other new whiz-bang; only time will tell. For me, it’s all about the iPhone, so here are my hopes for what happens tomorrow on the iPhone front (in order of personal importance).

* New iPhone available for purchase
* Lower price, subsidized by AT&T
* 32 and 64 GB models
* Copy and paste (c’mon, why did I have to wait a year for this!?!)
* Picture messaging (I am so tired of the “… has sent you a picture…” messages)
* Search functionality (like PBF Search)
* Video camera (like PBF ShowTime)
* Over-the-air syncing with dot-mac (or whatever it’ll be called after next week)
* Native IM with video
* Flash
* GPS

I am also excited about the launch of the new App Store. I am not much of a gamer but the games that were shown at the SDK launch were pretty cool. Also, I can’t wait to see what the jailbreakers have been bragging about.

If you have some time to kill tomorrow morning, check out 2008 WWDC keynote bingo. Me, I’ll be following on MacRumorsLive andTwitter (although, based on the recent health of Twitter I would venture to guess that this site will crash tomorrow).

I will not be attending WWDC but, as luck would have it, I will be in San Francisco on Monday afternoon, perhaps a trip to Stockton street will be in order.

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Leopard Arrives!

October 26, 2007 – 10:49 PM

Months after we were first teased with demonstrations of the next release of Mac OS X, Leopard was unleashed today. I arrived at the Apple Retail Store about 4:30 and waited with a bunch of other Mac faithful. The best part was seeing the reaction on the faces of the passers by asking what we were standing in line for. Just as the Apple website countdown clock hit zero (we were all verifying on our iPhones) the doors flung open to enormous applause from the gang of Apple employees. As they cheered and high-fived us, we piled into the store to claim our copy of Leopard.

desktopleopard

Now for a couple of observations. Leopard was not the only thing flying off the shelves. It’s no secret that Apple retail stores are sales powerhouses (see Apple Stores Now More Profitable Than Tiffany’s Per Square Foot) and anyone at an OS launch day can easily see why. Anecdotcally, nearly half of the people I saw snatching up Leopard were also buying external hard-drives. I recommended theLaCie Big Disk 1TB drive to a fellow shopper but they sold out of all of them in just a few minutes. Gone, too, were the 500GB LaCie drives among most other high capacity external hard-drives. The cool thing was to see just how many new Mac users there were joining in on the fun of a new OS launch.

Two hours versus twenty? Waiting on line for the iPhone was great fun, but doesn’t come close to the excitement of the Leopard launch. Sure, it might’ve been because we got my iPhone at an AT&T store but I still think the excitement of the crowd was still higher today. I mean, the iPhone is cool because it is a phone and it has the look and feel of Mac OS X… but Leopard is Mac OS X!

Well, I just glanced over to the PowerBook and see that the installation is complete… time to get to work. I opted for an erase + clean install on that computer. Later this weekend – the iMacs get the upgrade.

Rock on Leopard!

Did you get Leopard? Waiting on the fence? Mac-curious? Check out the greatest Mac podcast on the net - Typical Mac User.

Check out some pics here.

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iDay – the iPhone Launch!

July 1, 2007 – 10:15 PM

Wow! That’s the best way to describe this phone. Since January I have been eagerly waiting for the iPhone. Could this small device truly be all that Apple and AT&T said it would be? Was it really going to perform like those great videos Apple released in the last couple of weeks? For the last several years I have carried about 10 different cell phones and a few different PDA’s and Blackberries. I have never found a device that did a good job of syncing my life (e-mail, calendar, contacts, etc.) and have been stuck with a Razr for the last 18 months, waiting for the iPhone.

After spending 20 hours in line with Emily, I finally got an iPhone in my hand shortly after the AT&T store re-opened. The employees of the store were great and added to the carnival like atmosphere. Once I got home I took the iPhone out of the box and connected it to my iMac. My activation went flawlessly and my number moved from my Razr to my iPhone in just a couple of minutes. Syncing my pictures took the longest time but by 7:00 I was making calls and sending e-mails.

iPhonehand

Although it could have been due to the plethora of blogs, podcasts and the Apple videos about the iPhone before it was released, I had no problems whatsoever setting up or using the device. The menus and functions are all very intuitive and most have a similar look-and-feel as their Mac counterparts.

I couldn’t browse the internet using WiFi the first night but once I edited the static IP WiFi options on the iPhone I was on my wireless network. I have pretty slow DSL so I didn’t mind using the Edge network. Websites really looked great on here. I bet the NY Times got a lot of traffic because that was one of the first sites I could think of to visit.

iPhonephoto_mbdc

Visual voicemail is awesome! Instead of “dialing” in to the voicemail system and fumbling my way through the menu to find the options for greeting there is a “Greeting” button once I selected voicemail on the Phone menu. I was purposely missing some calls just to get a voicemail… something I would have never done with any other phone! This feature is amazing!

Google maps has great detail on the satellite view and looking for directions was a snap, even without GPS. I will never get lost again (yeah, right)!

The camera feature is cool… with it’s full screen view finder and the pictures seamlessly work iPhoto. With good lighting it takes pretty good picture!

iPhonephotoKids

The typing did take some getting used to… notice I said “did” and not “does”. After a full day of e-mailing and texting I’ve got it down! Typing is very comfortable, more so than on my Blackberry and faster than traditional predictive text. I really like how it guesses my mistakes when I “fat-finger” a word. I thought I was going to be disappointed that I can’t text page pictures but it is so easy to e-mail which is even better!

All in all, this is the greatest phone ever and I had a blast waiting in line with Emily and the other iPhone iPhans!

Time again to plug two great podcasts. If you have an iPhone (or just want to learn more about it) check out Today in iPhone. Rob does a great job covering the iPhone. Also, check out Victor’s show and blog at Typical Mac User.

Check out the pictures here.

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