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138 Days With The Macbook Air: Better Than Any Copycat
Ultrabooks: Things That Could Make Or Break The Category
CES 2012: Will the Ultrabook be as Ultra as Promised?
What Ultrabooks Could Do To The Tablet Craze
Blackbird MacBook
Hack Allows PowerPC Macs to Access Flash 11 Content
Years In Development, Has Scribus 1.4.0 Been Worth The Wait?
Scribus 1.4.0 Open Source Desktop Publishing Application
Firm Defends Made-in-China Steve Jobs Doll
Blind Filipinos Take Baby Steps In Using The Mac
Clementine Player - A Cross-platform Music Player Based On Amarok 1.4
138 Days With The Macbook Air: Better Than Any Copycat
BusinessInsider's Dylan Love has posted an enthusiastically positive review of the Core i MacBook Air, relating that he's been using it almost daily for 138 days and doesn't think he'll be stopping any time soon.
"It's been a total joy and a very welcome upgrade from my previous laptop," says Love, and most anyone who's ever owned a 12" Powerbook G4 like the one Love says he "used and abused from August 2004 until August 2011 knows that's a tough act to follow. However, noting that, when it came time to replace his elderly PowerBook last August, he sprung for a Core i7 13" MacBook Air in and has never looked back, praising the Air's impressive combination of size, weight, and battery life.
"Don't let its low weight and skinny profile make you think it's some forgettable softie of a machine," Dylan Love assures. "I've never once felt like I could break it and I routinely get way more hours of use out of the battery than I need. It's robust as hell.... I don't think twice about taking it somewhere... The opposite of this."
What about performance? In a word, fast, Love confirms, observing that "Computers this thin shouldn't be this fast."
Dylan concludes that the 13" MacBook Air is the best computer for his needs that he's ever used, and
he's used a lot of them.
For the full review visit here:
http://read.bi/zOZ9Gs
Ultrabooks: Things That Could Make Or Break The Category
Larry Dignan says what's unclear is how much market traction ultrabooks will grab and how quickly, noting that, IHS iSuppli estimates that 43 percent of notebook shipments will be ultrabooks in 2015, and that in 2012, about 13 percent of notebooks will be ultrabooks. Dignan thinks that 40% ultrabook penetration for C2012 might be too ambitious, and that several factors will need to align in order for ultrabooks to be a commercial success.
They include:
1) Price, which Dignan suggests may be the single most important metric for ultrabooks, and that it may need to be as low as $500 in order to compete with tablets.
2)Windows 8 needs to be huge, since Dignan thinks it will be the big driver for ultrabook sales [I agree, Ed.], a new OS designed to meld PC and tablet experiences, and observes that ultrabooks with touchscreens and hybrids could appeal to the masses.
3) The MacBook - Apple created the category, and ultrabook success will depend largely on Apple prices, Dignan noting that assuming they can handle an 11-inch screen many folks will go MacBook Air at $999 over an ultrabook at $800, and the challenge for ultrabooks is going where Apple has been - not where it's going. Apple could cut prices, cook up new designs and offer more screen variety to fend off ultrabooks.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://zd.net/zRGu38
CES 2012: Will the Ultrabook be as Ultra as Promised?
Computerworld's Barbara Krasnoff says that in speculation about the upcoming CES trade show the word everyone is tossing around as this year's product to watch is the Ultrabook, and notes that up to 50 of these new notebooks are expected to be announced at CES, leading her to suspect that many will not be strictly following the Intel Ultrabook rules.
Krasnoff observes that while the idea of a slim, lightweight, comfortable-to-type-on full-featured notebook with a very long battery life is extremely attractive, the current crop of initial Ultrabooks aren't yet quite the wonders that we'd like, partly because they are still using the Intel Sandy Bridge processors, with more efficient Ivy Bridge chips due later this year.
Krasnoff says she's curious as to how well the Ultrabooks will do if the pricing remains, as indications seem to be, in the $1,000 range.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/yo1qkJ
What Ultrabooks Could Do To The Tablet Craze
Forbes Contributor Michael Humphrey notes that an Ultrabook must weigh no more than 3.1 lbs, be no more than 0.71 inches thick, and provide five-plus hours of battery life, boast flash-based storage, and incorporate Intel's Rapid Start Technology for speedy boot times.
Humphrey observes that based on personal use that he dwescribes in the article, it's occurred to him that the only reason to use a tablet instead of an Ultrabook is that tablets are better for reading. But the Air is more comfortable for viewing, with its keyboard base propping the screen up nicely. It's also fast, the screen is beautiful, and in terms of mobility, the weight difference is negligible, especially if you factor in an iPad cover. Plus, the Air is a fully functional computer for the rest of one's needs.
Of course the same would apply to a MacBook Air as well as a PC Ultrabook, and perhaps even more so
Humphrey oserves, as have many others, that tablets make sense as an entertainment and mobility gadget, and can work for some kinds of business use, but not those that need intensive written input, while ultrabooks [and MacBook Airs - Ed.] offer a powerful alternative all the functionality of your old laptop with nearly the mobility of your tablet, so "why not just one device?"
For the full commentary visit here:
http://onforb.es/AB49T9
Blackbird MacBook
Low End Mac's John Hatchett says that ihe Intel age has arrived in his neck of the New England backwoods, his beloved 12" PowerBook G4 having died and been at least provisionally replaced by a black 13.3" MacBook from Wegener Media for Christmas.
John says he likes his new computer, whhich has a matte screen, replaceable battery, replaceable hard drive, and easy to update memory, and can also run OS X 10.7 Lion if one is so inclined, but he's sticking with OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for now.
However, John says the big thing he likes about the MacBook is ita black finish. Howcum? Because he likes owning a computer that's different from everyone else's and there aren't many black MacBooks in his parts. Actually, they're not exactly plentiful anywhere. I'd live to see Apple offer a black-anodized MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/zz3i92
Hack Allows PowerPC Macs to Access Flash 11 Content
Low End Mac's Simon Royal says:
If you are a fan of Low End Mac, chances are you are using at least one PowerPC Mac, so you are in the same boat as other PPC Mac users with software support dropping very fast - even though your hardware is still very capable. If you are reading this article, then I bet the title grabbed you.
Royal notes that TenFourFox, an unofficial port of Firefox, is the last remaining browser being maintained for PPC Mac, but with Adobe's recent decision to stop any further development of Flash for PowerPC, leaves users wondering where that will leave us, noting that already there are sites that require the latest version, Flash 11, and our older Macs choke, since they're stuck with Flash 10.
However, all is not lost, says Royal, noting that there's a hack floating around the Net that tricks your Flash 10 plugin into reporting it is Flash 11, and even a YouTube video explaining how to implement it, although you'll need Flash 11 to view it.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/ud3O1Q
Years In Development, Has Scribus 1.4.0 Been Worth The Wait?
BetaNews's Nick Peers reports that the open-source, cross-platform desktop publishing package Scribus 1.4.0 has been given a final, stable release, four years after the first developmental version saw the light of day, with over 2,000 feature requests and bugs having been resolved in this new release, which, despite the relatively minor version number jump from 1.3.3.x, is a major new release.
Scribus 1.4.0 is available as a free, open-source download for Windows, Mac (Intel only running OS X 10.5 or higher) and Linux.
For the full review visit here:
http://bit.ly/zETJqw
Download:
http://www.downloadcrew.com/article/4581-scribus
Scribus 1.4.0 Open Source Desktop Publishing Application
Scribus 1.4.0 is a multi-platform, open source page layout program that can produce press-ready output. It includes vector drawing tools, rendering of markup languages such as LaTeX, color-blindness emulation, CMYK support, spot color, ICC color management, PDF output, and other features.
This release is based on the Qt4 application framework and includes install files for Mac OS X 10.5 or later, enhancements for object handling, extended support for text and typography, (including character styles, optical margins, and glyph extension), a line style editor and vector effects for vector objects, a Render Frame frame type for rendering the output of other programs, export to PDF 1.5, and more. Scribus is free for Mac OS X 10.5 and up (Intel), Windows, Linux, and OS/2.
With Scribus's full-featured desktop publishing package, you can create newsletters, brochures, greeting cards, CD covers and more.
Operating Systems: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows 2000, Windows 7 (32 bit), Windows Vista (32 bit), Windows XP
Requirements:
Languages: English, Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Basque, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukranian, Welsh
Free
RSS News Feed:
http://www.scribus.net/?q=taxonomy/term/25/feed
Download:
http://www.downloadcrew.com/article/4581-scribus
ZipCloud Reviewed by Online Backup Search
Online Backup Search ( http://onlinebackupsearch.com ), have released their review of the new online backup and cloud storage company ZipCloud. ZipCloud found a niche in online backup that combines traditional online backup and cloud syncing. Online Backup Search tested and reviewed ZipCloud ( http://goo.gl/75lxD ) to learn more about the company and its services.
While reviewing ZipCloud the Online Backup Search editors found that ZipCloud performs well because it is easy to use and has a clean design. The review goes into detail about how the online backup works as well as the cloud storage. Overall the review is good, but their are a few criticisms about how the addons work and how the backup features are limited in the Mac version.
"Online Backup Search downloaded and tested ZipCloud in order to provide a thorough review of the product," says Steven Johnson, editor for Online Backup Search . "We like the way ZipCloud was developed. It takes advantage of cloud storage and online backup in the same product. They could make some improvements, but it is a very simple and great product. I would say that it a great fit for home users."
Steven also talked about how the file sharing worked with ZipCloud saying it was easy to use and only required that the other users have a ZipCloud accountCharles W. Moore
News Editor/Columnist
Applelinks.com
"Overall we are pleased with ZipCloud. The product is fully functional and works simply and easily. We expect that they will keep improving the product as time goes on." he commented.
For more information:
http://twitter.com/backupsearch
Firm Defends Made-in-China Steve Jobs Doll
Relaxnews reports that the Chinese company behind a Steve Jobs action figure insisted Wednesday it was not a toy, but a realistic depiction of the Apple founder designed for fans of his iconic products.
The 30.4-centimetre (one foot) tall dolls, which will go on sale next month with a price tag of $99, are being manufactured for Hong Kong-based DiD Corp.
For the full report visit here:
http://yhoo.it/y9waE0
Blind Filipinos Take Baby Steps In Using The Mac
Philippines-based NewsBytes reports:
After mastering the use of software based on the Windows operating system, a local organization of blind people recently completed a training session in which blind or low-vision instructors taught their fellow blind how to use devices running on Apple's Macintosh OS.
Atriev, short for Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired, partnered with local Apple store Power Mac Center (PMC) to conduct the two-day workshop late last year at the groups headquarters in Cubao, Quezon City.
Atriev also operates its office as a school for the blind that specializes in computer access and information technology. Before the Mac training, the group was exposed only to Windows-based software, primarily aided by a screen reader software that provides every stroke of the keyboard and click of the mouse with a vocal prompt.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/weytjN
Clementine Player - A Cross-platform Music Player Based On Amarok 1.4
Clementine is a modern, multiplatform music player and library organiser inspired by Amarok 1.4, focusing on a fast and easy-to-use interface for searching and playing your music.
Features
• Search and play your local music library.
• Listen to internet radio from Spotify, Grooveshark, Last.fm, SomaFM, Magnatune, Jamendo, SKY.fm and Digitally Imported, and Icecast.
• Create smart playlists and dynamic playlists.
• Tabbed playlists, import and export M3U, XSPF, PLS and ASX.
• CUE sheet support.
• Play audio CDs.
• Visualisations from projectM.
• Lyrics and artist biographies and photos.
• Transcode music into MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Speex, FLAC or AAC.
• Edit tags on MP3 and OGG files, organise your music.
• Fetch missing tags from MusicBrainz.
• Download missing album cover art from Last.fm.
• Cross-platform - works on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
• Native desktop notifications on Linux (libnotify) and Mac OS X (Growl).
• Remote control using a Wii Remote, MPRIS or the command-line.
• Copy music to your iPod, iPhone, MTP or mass-storage USB player.
• Queue manager.
New in Version 1.0:
This release adds Spotify, Grooveshark and SKY.fm/Digitally Imported support. We've also added a Global Search feature that allows you to easily find music that's either in your library or on the Internet. Other features include audio CD support, more transcoder options, an improved settings dialog, smarter album cover searches, and loads of bug fixes. See the full changelog for more information.
Complete release notes:
http://bit.ly/sBEltk
For more information, visit:
http://www.clementine-player.org/
or
http://code.google.com/p/clementine-player/
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