Mac List

Apple iTunes 8: Wow

iTunes 8 provides a range of new and exciting features, designed specifically for those who have an account at an iTunes Store.

The best feature of the lot has to be the Genius, which includes a smart sidebar and playlist. It also has a playlist feature which captures data about the songs you are listening to and songs that you rate. It then recommends songs for you based on the data that has been captured. All you have to do is simply choose a song in your collection and the Genius playlist will then automatically organise and produce a list of songs for you to buy. It may be slightly daunting to have a machine recommend you songs, but the good news is that they are based on songs you listen to and songs that you like.

The sidebar feature of Genius also works in a similar way, but instead of songs it recommends albums and artists. It uses captions such as “Top Albums” and “Top Songs You’re Missing”, which makes this feature, look good, but when used there can be some issues. For example, when we used iTunes, we were recommended random songs, but to make things worse we had been asked to buy albums that we already had.

For those who do not like the cover flow layout or the seemingly plain text only style, the new grid view will provide the perfect mix. The album art can also be resized under the new grid view making it very convenient to view other things. You can get to see the tracks an album contains by double-clicking it in Grid view. You can also play the songs on the album be simply hitting the play button.

One downside though is that links that connect tracks with the iTunes Store have been made permanent. They cannot be put away so they are not seen either.

Good news everyone, I have just gotten paid for the illustration work that I did on those pvc banners last week. Turns out that Peggy was right, and the pink was a major improvement.

I Crazy About The I-Slate!

When we want cutting edge technology with an emphasis on beautiful design and cutting edge looks then, of course, we look to Apple to deliver. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas the talk was less about what was on show than on something that has yet to enter the public domain – yes the latest thing to get the techies talking is the much vaunted, yet still enigmatic, I-Slate!

Rumours of the I-Slate have been growing over the last year but the latest word on the super highway is that the official launch of the I-Slate is only days away with the product about to splash down into the stores in Spring 2010.

The domain name islate.com has already been registered by Steve Jobs and his gang at Cupertino, CA and speculators have already set up sites such as islate.org ready for the anticapted frenzy that the official launch will raise.

So what exactly is the i-slate and why are Apple being so coy about it? Well the official answer, of course, has to be that nobody knows yet but for those of us who make a living out of keeping our ears close to the Silicon Valley ground we have enough information to make a more than educated guess.

The i-slate will be, as you would expect, a beautiful piece of equipment but with functionality and performance that would not be expected from such an unobtrusive piece of kit. Think how it would look if French maestro Philip Stark re-designed the personal computer and that’s pretty much how the i-slate will look.

A rectangular tablet with a 10-inch screen size set in a matt black casing, rather than the ubiquitous white, the i-slate will look like an oversized i-phone or a netbook without a keyboard. Cutting edge touch screen technology provided by Fingertouch, the company bought by Apple in 2005, will provide a seamless interface that will be particularly appealing to the generation that has already fallen in love with the i-phone. The i-slate will be more powerful than existing netbooks without the disadvantage of a fiddly keyboard and will be ideal for reading e-books. Credible rumours, some people might call them leaks, state that it will also be able to run apps just like its little brother the i-phone.

Microsoft tried to jump the gun by announcing Windows 7 powered ’slate’ computers at the CES but were met with a general apathy but from what I have seen and heard the Apple I-Slate will blow people away, it is going to be everything that people are hoping for and more! Just keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for a big announcement on January 27th – and remember: you heard it hear first!

Some exhilarating news before I run, I was talking to my friend last night and he has just got a amazing new position at an hr software company. Well done Thomas

Review: iMac 27-inch with Core i5

When the iMac G5 came out some years ago it was a revolution in the all-in-one design for computers. The new iMac 27 inch with Core 15 is spun from that same thread and thus keeps the photo-frame look that we have now come to love. Keep in mind that this new design not only personifies the integrated concept but it also reduces the desk space previous machines took up. The new 27 inch is light and its display will rotate easily. If you want you can attach this machine to the wall via a wall mount and that is simply great from those who do not want to have this massive screen on their desk.

The iMac 27 inch display is now one that has a 16:9 aspect ratio and is wider but just a bit taller than the older models. It also provides you with an improved level of natural field of vision. There is also now an improved level of expansion with the inclusion of a SD/SDHC card slot which is just below the optical drive. This makes it easy to upload photos and not have to use up any usb port to read the card. Tests have shown that you can upload a cluster of photos really fast.

There are only four usb ports but it comes inclusive of a keyboard and a Bluetooth mouse. There is no longer FireWire 400 included but the new FireWire 800 is, and for anyone who has legacy devices you will have to find yourself an adapter. It has a dual core processor and a built in camera or as it is called an iSight camera. This iMac also comes with a Mini Display Port connection which allows you to play video.

There is an improvement in the memory as there is now 2 GB of Ram which is expandable and which should be pleasing to those into video editing. This iMac is wireless capable and with this machine you will be able to do multiple tasks at the same time without any problems. Currently there are some warnings about the use of Windows on your iMac but chances are this will not be the case for long.

Really amazing news about the band, I just found this great company who agreed to give us a discount on the Bespoke Packaging, check out the stuff on the site and see what you think!