Superb review of the new iMovie for iOS by my friend Jeff Carlson at Macworld. He mentions that the new version doesn’t run on the original iPad. True enough, but there are several workarounds that will let you get around that limitation, including at least one that does not require a jailbreak. (via Your Mac Life)
Category: Technology
Use iPhone tethering to allow 3G iPad to do FaceTime?
Jordan Yee ponders: “I’m just putting two and two together here, so hear me out: if an iPhone 4 can only make FaceTime calls over WIFI like the iPad 2, could an iPad 2 make a FaceTime call over 3G by connecting to an iPhone 4’s Personal Hotspot feature which is WIFI?” Absolutely. This already works on Jailbroken iPhones with MyWi installed. Um, that is, so I’ve heard. (via Daring Fireball)
The Daily’s ‘moment of truth’ comes next week
It’s gotten better since it first launched — at least technologically — but I stopped reading it while it was still free. I don’t think this is going to be the subscription model for tablets that takes hold. (via paidcontent.org)
Report: Microsoft killing the Zune; giving up effort to ‘loosen iPod’s stranglehold on the iPod market’
In what may be the only way anyone would notice, Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft is dropping its Zune media player, and would incorporate the technology into other devices such as phones and its XBox gaming platform. Microsoft introduced the Zune in 2006 as a competitor to Apple’s iPhone.
The Bloomberg article outlines the Zune’s reception as an “iPod killer,” including Talk Show Host Craig Ferguson’s observation that the device was Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates’s bid to “loosen iPod’s stranglehold on the iPod market.”
Bon Jovi: Steve Jobs killed the music business
If you read his explanation for that charge, what he really means is Jobs killed the experience of shopping for music by listening to it in record stores, and that’s not true — big retailers like Target and Walmart had already taken care of that. In fact, iTunes preserved that experience to a much greater extent than brick and mortar retailers. (via The Loop)
Macworld appearances at MWSF11
It’s that time of year again, but with some interesting differences. Last year’s Macworld Conference & Expo proved IDG could host a successful show without Apple’s presence; this year we’ll see if exhibitors and attendees got the word. This year’s conference also makes a break with the past by using a new venue — or more accurately — leaving an old one. The entire show — including conferences, feature presentations and exhibit hall — will be held within Moscone West with no elements of the show using the familiar North and South halls.
I’ll be at the show as usual. For those interested in catching up with me, here are your best shots:
- I’ll be delivering a User Conference Session called “Tell Me What I Didn’t Already Know About Safari” on Thursday, January 27th from 10:30-11:45 in Room US907.
- I’ll be appearing in the Macworld All-Star Band at Cirque du Mac 8.0. The time and location are undisclosed and the event is strictly invitation only, but if you’re nice to me, I may have an extra ticket or two.
- On Friday, January 28th, I’ll be participating in a panel called “Parenting in the Digital Age,” hosted by Chuck Joiner. It will be held in Macworld LIVE stage at noon. In addition (and perhaps contrast) to me, the panel will include smart folks like Tonya Engst, Omaha Sternberg and Christopher Breen.
Chances are excellent that I’ll also be Tweeting about interesting sessions, discoveries and sessions, so if you’re at the show, follow me at twitter.com/RandomMaccess. And if you see me, please make a point of saying hello. It’s the opportunity for real-world, face-to-face interaction that makes Macworld such an important aspect of the Mac (and technology) community.
Apple’s Press Event: My Dark Horse Prediction
Yeah, yeah, Mac OS X 10.7 — Lion — will be the star of the show, and we’ll probably see some refreshed Macs and maybe even a new MacBook Air. But I’m hoping we’ll also get FaceTime integration on Macs — most likely through iChat. And while I’m pushing my luck, I’ll add the hope that it comes as a separate update and we won’t have to wait until 10.7. A side note: does this spell the end of Apple’s cat-themed OSes? I mean, where do you go from Lion?
Apple’s Music Event announcements explored on MacJury
I took part in the latest MacJury podcast, where we discussed the announcements made at Apple’s September Music Event. I joined Host Chuck Joiner and panelists Dave Hamilton, Don McAllister and Omaha Sternberg to give our thoughts on the slew of product updates ranging from new iPod shuffles, nanos and touches; iTunes 10; iOS 4.1 (and beyond); the updated AppleTV and more—even the marketing strategy behind Apple’s return to live streaming of events.
I like the MacJury whether I’m on the panel or not. I’ve said it before, but Chuck does a great job of bringing together people with interesting points of view and importantly, objectivity. MacJury also provides enough time to delve beneath the surface on issues and get into the details—this is not just a bullet-point listing of what was said, but an exploration of how we got here and what it might mean for the future.
The show can be downloaded for free from iTunes or you can listen directly from the MacJury website. It’s a smart group of people and I’m happy to be asked to participate so often.
Newer’s HDMI adapter gives your Mac the ‘Big Screen’ treatment
[In my latest piece over at The Mac Observer, I look at very cool adapter from Newer Technology that lets you hook up your Mac’s video (and audio!) to an HTDV. I examine it mostly from a road warrior angle, but it’s also got some great applications as a home theater solution (as an alternative to an Apple TV) or a presentation tool. The full review is at TMO, along with my final “star” rating.]
I spend a fair amount of time in hotel rooms these days, and lately, I’ve noticed a couple of trends in in-room entertainment. No, not that kind of entertainment — I’m talking about the increasing frequency of HDTVs and the decreasing quality of the programming available for them. I mean, how many different ways can you mash up reality TV concepts? What’s left — “The Real Housewives of the Jersey Shore Apprentice for Survivor Runway Designers?”
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No, between Hulu and burning my own DVDs onto my MacBook Pro I rarely want for something good to watch. But viewing all that content on a 15” laptop when there’s a perfectly good 42” LCD screen blankly staring at me from the wall is not my idea of an efficient use of technology.
Since I usually have a projector cable and a Mini DisplayPort adapter with me, I can get a pretty good picture, but I’m stuck with laptop sound, since I’ve never been able to get the audio in on those sets to work with the video from the projector cable. Besides, when it comes to video-input acronyms, I’d rather go with HDMI than SVGA any day. On a more business-related note, I’ve come to love running through my presentations on a big screen. I find it a much more natural way to practice the delivery and pacing of a talk.
Suffice it to say that when I learned about Newer Technology’s Mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter, my interest was piqued — especially when I learned it carried stereo audio to the HDMI port as well as video.
Like most of Newer Technology’s products I’ve tried, it’s a clever and thoughtful concept, well executed. The male Mini DisplayPort jack ends in a female HDMI port, which has pluses and minuses. On the downside, it means you’ll have to supply your own HDMI cable — which means cannibalizing one from another source whenever you need it, or buying a dedicated cable — which adds to the total cost of your solution. On the plus side, it means you can choose whatever length of cable suits your needs; it also presumably keeps the adapter’s overall cost down. I suppose it’s a pay-one-way-or-another situation, and with a little online digging, you might even find a separate cable for less than what an integrated adds to the price of the adapter.
Audio is supplied through your computer’s USB port, which the adapter integrates into its HDMI port. It’s a nice solution, which provides an uncompressed stereo signal through an integrated USB audio decoding chip.
In practice, the adapter couldn’t be simpler to use. Just plug the adapter’s two cables into your Mac (Mini DisplayPort and USB), plug one end of your own HDMI cable into the adapter on one end and the TV on the other. Make sure your TV is tuned to the right input and you should be all set. If your Mac doesn’t recognize the new display on its own (mine did every time), just fire up your System Preferences’ Displays pane and choose it. You can choose to use your TV as a second monitor or a mirror of your Mac’s screen. Audio volume is controlled the same way as your Mac’s speaker — either through software controls or the keyboard. Although the Newer Technology adapter is capable of displaying full 1020p high definition video, what you’ll actually get depends on the source. But in all resolutions I tried, the output was pristine, with no jittering or artifacts. Sound quality was equally good, although I tested it using the TV’s internal speakers and not a high quality sound system.
My only quibbles with the adapter are small ones. First, the plastic housing of the adapter felt slightly “soft” to me, which I at first attributed to a lower quality. After some fairly rough testing, though, the adapter was still in great shape, and I began to think that had the housing been more rigid, it would have been more likely to break. The softness, I suspect, provides more give to withstand the rigors of a travel bag.
Second, at $49.99, I thought it seemed expensive. Searching online, though, it seems in line with or less than similar adapters I found. The only significantly cheaper alternatives only work on a select few newer Macs, and Newer Technology offers those, too.)
So then, the real question is what value to you put on the ability to turn an HDTV into a big, beautiful monitor and speaker for your Mac? While the occasional traveler might be inclined to make do with that small screen, the seasoned road warrior is sure to want Newer’s HDMI adapter for his or her arsenal.
One thing’s for sure: you’ll never be happier to find an HDTV in your next hotel room than you will when you have the Newer HDMI adapter in your travel bag. And you’ll never have to settle for hotel programming again.
Shameless plugs
I missed the opportunity to pimp a couple of my recent contributions to the collective consciousness lately. In my latest piece for the Mac Observer, for instance, I presume to discover the true and heretofore hidden appeal of the iPad.
Meanwhile, over at the MacJury, I participated in a panel discussing AT&T’s new data plans, and give them them a lot (perhaps too much) credit for devising a way to expand their user base in a highly saturated universe while ensuring they don’t take a proportional hit on their infrastructure. Whew, that’s a lot of marketing jargon, even for me.