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Apr 27 2009

Mail Meets Tasks and More

ail, tasks and the integrated suite. How will you manage your personal information in 2008?


GNUMail

GNUMail Mail Meets Tasks and More

With Gmail and IMAP, you can now manage your mail in the browser and offline. Mail.app isn’t a bad place to start. Thunderbird is out there if you’re looking for more features. But, if you’re looking for speed with just the right amount of features – GNUMail is for you.

GNUMail supports POP and IMAP as well as rules and off-line mail management. Did I mention its fast? You’ll have your inbox downloaded while Firefox is still bouncing in the dock.

Anxiety

For Leopard users, there’s a great new interface for managing tasks. Anxiety generates its namesake emotion by making your iCal and Mail tasks visible on the desktop in a smooth black interface. It’s as good looking as it is useful.

Chandler

Until now, most personal information managers have segregated mail, events and tasks into separate silos. Chandler breaks that model with a GTD friendly application that makes turning a message into an event with a check of a box.

chandlerpim Mail Meets Tasks and More

In addition to a brilliant interface to your data, Chandler also offers powerful sync capability – integrating iCal calendars and IMAP folders into its one-stop-shop solution. Its new, and it is a little slow, but it has a lot of promise.

Brian

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Mar 11 2009

New talking iPod shuffle released. Talks funny to PC users and annoys Apple earbud haters.

09ipodshuffle hand 20090311 191536 New talking iPod shuffle released. Talks funny to PC users and annoys Apple earbud haters.

Apple announced its newly designed iPod shuffle today. It’s nearly half of the size of the previous model and now it talks to you. The same VoiceOver technology found in Mac OS X now enables the iPod shuffle to speak your song titles, artists and playlist names (oh, yeah, you can have multiple playlists now!!).

This is now the third generation iPod shuffle and you’ll find all of its controls have moved from the device to the earphone cord. This means, with the press of a button on the supplied Apple earbuds, you can play, pause, adjust volume, switch playlists and hear the name of the song and artist. It also means if you’re one of the multitude of people that prefer not to use Apple earbuds with your iPod, you’re out of luck when it comes to the shuffle until third party adapters come along:

Apple says there will also be third-party adapters that will let you add a remote to your favorite headphones.

The new iPod shuffle comes in silver or black at a capacity of 4GB selling for USD$79. The new iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later and iTunes 8.1 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista, Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 8.1.

As this is a Mac website, I don’t usually list Windows PC requirements in the posts I make here, but thought I would this time since I’m going to talk about an interesting difference in using the 3rd Gen iPod shuffle on a PC than on a Mac: it talks funny on a PC. Watch this guided tour and at about 3 minutes and 24 seconds in you’ll hear what VoiceOver sounds like for PC users.

You might have noticed the mention of iTunes 8.1 in the shuffle’s requirements. iTunes 8.1 was released today as well. Here’s its list of added features:

  • Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rd generation).
  • Allows friends to request songs for iTunes DJ.
  • Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows.
  • Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs.
  • Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods.
  • Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus.
  • Includes many accessibility improvements.
  • Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls.

Note:

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Oct 14 2008

Spotlight on the Spotlight on Notebooks Event…what the heck is going on?

0810mbp aperture 20081014 180923 Spotlight on the Spotlight on Notebooks Event...what the heck is going on?

At Apple’s “Spotlight on Notebooks” event in Cupertino (video) this morning, Steve Jobs announced and unveiled a new line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros with a new design that more effectively “unifies” the family of notebooks. Whenever Apple makes an announcement like this that drastically changes the way they approach a specific product line, the internet begins to buzz as each gadget blog discovers a new piece of the puzzle that wasn’t mentioned in the presentation, or a whenever shortcomings of a newly applied technology are unearthed. You’re going to see a lot of links in this post as I try to connect you with what went on today. Let’s start with the announcements themselves…

One big happy family

Previously, only the MacBook Pros were constructed of aluminum while the MacBooks were made of polycarbonate plastic. The new designs of both models consist of a unibody enclosure milled from a single block (the “brick” rumored in the last few weeks) of aluminum. The new ‘Book bodies are now thinner and more durable. The whole family of notebooks also sport NVIDIA graphics processors, glossy LED-backlit displays (no anti-glare screen option available) and large glass Multi-Touch trackpads.

0810macbook fam 20081014 191131 Spotlight on the Spotlight on Notebooks Event...what the heck is going on?

The new MacBooks (video) are available in two models: the 2.0 GHz MacBook with a 160GB 5400 rpm hard drive (selling for USD$1,299), and the 2.4 GHz MacBook with a 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive and a backlit keyboard (selling for USD$1,599). Neither MacBook model offers Firewire.

The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in two models: a 2.4 GHz model with a 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive (selling for USD$1,999), and a 2.53 GHz model with a 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive (selling for USD$2,499). Neither MacBook Pro model offers Firewire 400, though they both have the faster Firewire 800.

Also updated was the MacBook Air which now includes NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics, a 120GB 4200 rpm hard drive, a new 128GB solid state drive (in the USD$2,499 model) and sells at prices starting at USD$1,799

Here’s a breakdown showing the differences between the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

led macbook 20081014 191224 Spotlight on the Spotlight on Notebooks Event...what the heck is going on?

The Mini DisplayPort and the 24-inch Cinema Display

The new MacBook, 15-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air include a new oriface: the Mini DisplayPort (why?). This port was included to facilitate the connection of the new Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display with a built-in iSight, mic and speakers in an iMac-like aluminum and glass enclosure. The Mini DisplayPort is ultra-compact at just 10 percent the size of a full DVI connector. Adapters are available for using the MacBook’s Mini DisplayPort with older generation VGA, DVI/HDMI and Dual-Link DVI displays.

Wither the 17-inch MacBook Pro

The 17-inch MacBook Pro, though now showing updated specifications, keeps its the original aluminum MacBook Pro design and was pretty much left out of the fun today. It now comes with a high resolution 1920 x 1200 LED-backlit display and a larger 320GB hard drive or an optional 128GB solid state drive, but does not appear to have the new glass trackpad nor is it compatible with the Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display without the use of an adapter. On the plus side, it does still come with an anti-glare screen option. The 17-inch MacBook Pro sells for USD$2,799.

UPDATE (10/15/08 – 19:02 PT): According to MacInsider, the 17-inch MacBook Pro will be upgraded to the next generation stylings in a few months. So if you want Firewire 400 and anti-glare screens, get ‘em while you still can.

Blu-ray

Addressing the question of upgraded optical drives in the new notebooks and, indeed, in Apple’s entire line of computers, Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying that Blu-ray is a “just a bag of hurt” and that Apple is waiting until licensing requirements for the technology settle presumably after the format takes off more in the home theater market. This was said following the presentation of these new computers, at a brief Q & A session for the attending journalists.

The Apple Online Store

Once the new products were announed, the Apple Online Store came back online with the new Macs ready for purchase. Apple’s websites geared toward other countries took a bit longer to return from the break and, apparently, Apple French language site went live with a graphic displaying placeholder text reading what translates to English as “perfectly stupid, nobe,” and “New design. New functions. New technologies. Entirely designed from criteria not defined yet.”

Oh, and one more thing…

These new notebook computers have hardly been released long enough for many to have been sold and Apple has already issued MacBook, MacBook Pro Software Update 1.2, an update that improves compatibility with external displays and includes a variety of software fixes.

Note:

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