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iWitness - The Original Compact Macintosh's Designer On His Old Boss: Steve Jobs
The FBI's Steve Jobs File Posted
Europe's Independent Apple Resellers Bring Pushed To Bankruptcy
If Not Orwell, Then Huxley: The Battle for Control of the Internet
Kodak To Stop Making Digital Cameras
Apple Now Worth More Than The GDP Of Sweden; Also, The Combined Market Caps Of Google and Microsoft
Inside Sandboxing: Apple's Plan To Make The Mac App Store As Secure As iOS
Finally, A Good Reason To Dump Quicken And Use A Mac Money App You Can Love
Transforming Apple Magic Trackpad, Voila - Magic FrogPad Keyboard/Mouse
MathMagic v8.0 for Mac - Equation Editor Adds Support for iBooks Author
IvySkin Unveils iPad 3 and MacBook Crackeld Cases
iWitness - The Original Compact Macintosh's Designer On His Old Boss: Steve Jobs
Paula Routly of the Vermont-based Journal Seven Days has posted a fascinating interview with, Jerry Manock, who back in the day filled the Jonathan Ive role for then-fledgling Apple, designing the classic original compact Macintosh, and well as the Apple II, the Apple III and the Apple disk II,
Manock, who these days lives in Burlington, Vermont, was 33 back in 1977 when he was one of Apple's five employees, hired by Steve Jobs as a consultant to design the Apple II. Ms. Routly reports that Manock gets credit for almost everything but the circuit board and the logic (which was engineered by Jobs partner and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak), including the structure, the outside aesthetics, and the color beige (Pantone 453, the color of the deep-space universe, Manock says), and was part of the original team of a half-dozen workers who designed the original Mac.
Manock worked under Jobs for three and a half years, a witness to Apple's early innovation, exponential growth and subsequent conflicts, including the legendary one between Jobs and CEO John Sculley.
Manock, now 66, is currently sole proprietor of Manock Comprehensive Design, and for 21 years has taught a University of Vermont class on integrated product development.
Ms. Routly's article provides more insight into the enigmatic Mr. Jobs, Mr. Manock relating that he would say things like: "I was just thinking, in my career I could be the CEO of two or three billion-dollar companies."
"When somebody asked him what kind of market share he wanted, Steve was famous for saying, I want it all. I want 100 percent," Manock recalls.
For all his involvement with computers, Manock is not an uncritical cheerleader for what they have wropught. He notes that "Nowadays you can design something in 3D, have photorealistic rendering, cast shadows and specify, This is metal. This is wood. You can come up with a picture of it without ever touching a physical thing, without ever building a model to hold in your hand. To me, thats really dangerous."
He also says he gets really upset when he's walking downtown and there are three young people walking toward him, all with their heads down. "I try to make eye contact to say hello, good morning, and nothing. The disconnect there bothers me, and that's going to get nothing but worse. I've got my iPhone and GPS and news anytime I want it. But my mindset is: I'm not married to this thing. I don't have to look at it every five minutes. I can kind of use the technology for what I need. I feel pretty balanced that way. And I've made a conscious decision not to go with all the social-media stuff, because it takes up too much of my time. I can't read a book. I can't sketch. I can't go to movies if I'm constantly tweeting somebody."
You can check it out at:
http://www.7dvt.com/2012jerry-manock-mac-designer
The FBI's Steve Jobs File Posted
The FBI has posted the contents of its 1991 background check file on Steve Jobs. all 191 pages of it.
The Steven Paul Jobs file was compiled when Jobs was being considered for appointment to the President’s Export Council, on which Jobs served on the President’s Export Council under the George H.W. Bush administration, and notes that several individuals questioned Mr. Jobss honesty stating that Mr. Jobs will twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals. One interviewee characterized Jobs as an honest and trustworthy individual, but suggested that his moral character was questionable. Another said she had questions concerning his ethics and morality. The FBI also notes critically Jobs's use of marijuana. Another nugget is that Jobs was given Top Secret security clearance in 1988, later terminated in 1990.
You can check it out at:
http://vault.fbi.gov/steve-jobs/steve-jobs-part-01-of-01/view
Europe's Independent Apple Resellers Bring Pushed To Bankruptcy
The French language journal Les Echoes' Maxime Amiot and Solveig Godeluck report that a revolt is brewing among Europe's Apple resellers, who contend that Apple is financially stranglling them by delivering its products in dribs and drabs and strengthening its requirements in aid of displacing them with Apple Stores.
The article notes that since their introduction in 2001, Apple Stores have gradually marginalizde the historic network of Apple Premium Resellers (APR), and says that in France, a war is about to be declared. Amiot and Godeluck note that last November, eBizcuss, ICLG, owner of the largest network of APR centres (15 stores), filed an injunction against Apple and threatened to file a complaint at the Competition Authority for unfair competition. They report thst eBizcuss, which employs 200 staff, is on the verge of bankruptcy, with sales falling 22% for its fiscal third quarter and its stock price plunging 50% last year. This week, the group's employees, joined by those of other retailers, created a group called "Apple Of Discord". The reporters observe that Europe's independents have discovered, as have underpaid employees of Apple's Chinese subcontractor Foxconn or Chinese telecom operators, "the apple has a bitter taste sometimes."
For the full report (via Google translation) visit here:
http://bit.ly/yQbxTp
If Not Orwell, Then Huxley: The Battle for Control of the Internet
The Atlantic's has posted an excerpt from Rebecca MacKinnon's Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom (Basic Books, 2012) that warns our online freedoms are in danger of being eroded in ways more subtle and insidious than George Orwell - or Apple's marketing department - ever imagined.
It is noted that the struggle for freedom in the Internet age is shaping up to be very different from the ideological struggles of the twentieth century - not a clear-cut contest of democracy versus dictatorship, communism versus capitalism, or one ideology over another, but that it has acquired a digital dimension with new, cross-cutting power relationships, and today's battles over freedom and control raging simultaneously across democracies and dictatorships and across economic, ideological, and cultural lines, and with all governments, from dictatorships to democracies, are learning quickly how to use technology to defend their interests.
The article contends that in the Internet age, the greatest long-term threat to a genuinely citizen-centric society - a world in which technology and government serve citizens instead of the other way around - looks less like Orwell's 1984, and more like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World: a world in which our desire for security, entertainment, and material comfort is manipulated to the point that we all voluntarily and eagerly submit to subjugation, and if we are to avoid this dystopian fate, political innovation will have to catch up with technological innovation.
To read more, click here:
http://yhoo.it/xfwAEZ
Kodak To Stop Making Digital Cameras
The Register's Hard Reg reports that beleaguered former photographic monolith Kodak is discontinuing its lines of digital cameras, handheld video cameras, and digital photo frames, to focus on its still profitable lines of business - online and retail-based photo printing and desktop inkjet printing, although the company is open to licensing its brand to camera makers wanting to cash in on the Kodak name.
The report notes that Kodak, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 19, says it will spend $30 million shutting down its camera and related divisions, which will save it an estimated $100 million annually.
MacPrices.net's Charles W. Moore (http://bit.ly/wStuzI ) observes that Kodak has been on the bubble for the better part a decade, posting just one profitable year since 2004, and having shrunk to a mere shadow of its former towering corporate self.
From a peak of 145,300 employees in 1988, Kodak has radically downsized its global payroll to 18,800, and at its home base facility in upstate Rochester, New York to 7,100 from 60,400 workers there in 1982.
Ironically, Kodak fell victim to a technology attributed to one of its own engineers, Steven Sasson, credited with creating the first digital camera back in 1975. Film imaging had been Kodak's lifeblood since its founding back in 1880 by George Eastman, who brought photography to the masses in 1900 with the Brownie Camera which sold for the princely sum of a single dollar (although dollars were a lot bigger back then).
Kodak embraced digital imaging technology, and was an early leader in bringing consumer level digital cameras to market. By 2001 it was the number two digital camera vendor in the U.S. behind Sony in sales, although it subsequently faded to fourth place.
Kodak recently sued Apple for alleged patent infringement, Apple responding by petitioning the US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York to prevent Kodak from using certain disputed patents as collateral to obtain loans, contending that those Kodak patents actually belong to Apple. The petition filing says Kodak is seeking authority to enter into a $950 million postpetition financing facility secured by security interests in and liens upon substantially all of Kodaks assets, including certain patents that are subject to ongoing patent ownership and patent infringement disputes between Kodak and Apple, and that the disputed intellectual property involves pioneering work on digital camera and imaging technology and related hardware, software, and user and communication interfaces dating back to the early 1990s, when Apple partnered with Kodak to explore how the two companies could work together on various projects including commercialization of Apple's digital cameras.
To read more, visit:
Hard Reg:
http://bit.ly/zGhdag
Charles W. Moore 'Book Mystique:
http://bit.ly/wStuzI
Apple Now Worth More Than The GDP Of Sweden; Also, The Combined Market Caps Of Google and Microsoft
Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt notes that Apple closed Thursday at a record high $493.17, up a whopping $16.49 (3.46%) on the day, and pushing its market capitalization (share price times shares outstanding) to nearly $460 billion - more than any other company in the world and greater than the value of Microsoft and Google combined, to say nothing of the gross domestic product of Sweden ($458 billion).
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/AhvCzV
Inside Sandboxing: Apple's Plan To Make The Mac App Store As Secure As iOS
Appleinsider's Daniel Eran Dilger notes that Apple's deadline is approaching for requiring that all apps sold in the Mac App Store be sandboxed for security, a policy that is drawing complaints from some developers.
Sandboxing works with app signatures, creating an app-centric security model, doing for apps what file permissions does to files: only allowing access to certain features that have been designated in advance. Sandbox permissions are called "entitlements" and because there's no way for the operating system to decide on its own what an app "should" or "shouldn't" be doing, developers must create apps that outline what they are designed to do, applying for entitlements that allow them to only do those specific, limited tasks.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/wEEDf0
Finally, A Good Reason To Dump Quicken And Use A Mac Money App You Can Love
Mac 360's Bambi Brannan says if youre ready to dump Quicken and look for greener pastures for your money, you won't have to go far.
Either Quicken Essentials or MoneyWell could be the charm.
She observes that Essentials must mean the lowest number of features a Mac user can put up with and still pay money to Intuit, but you can still set budgets, set up reminders, and track transactions using the best Quicken interface ever. However, It doesn't import standard QIF files from other Mac money apps (just files from Quicken Windows or Microsoft's defunct Money).
Ms. Brennen notes that Mac 360 have long advocated MoneyWell as the Mac money app for the rest of us.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/y9mIyO
Transforming Apple Magic Trackpad, Voila - Magic FrogPad Keyboard/Mouse
Magic FrogPad is a one-handed keyboard, either left-handed or right -handed. The Magic FrogPad transforms Apple's Magic Trackpad into a keyboard and Numeric keypad and keeps the functionality of the mouse.
FrogPad has redesigned its FrogPad2 architecture to fit on a single, clear, repositionable cling. The touch sensitivity is powered by a simple software that turns your Apple Magic TrackPad into a Magic FrogPad. Functionality can easily be interchanged between mouse & keyboard by simply sliding your finger across the FrogMouse Key. You don't need your QWERTY keyboard anymore. Magic FrogPad can take over the functionality of both keyboard and mouse with one simple cling.
"What if you had a new way to interface with your Mac, your Tablet or any Multi Touch Surface? FrogPad is transforming the way you think about interacting with your latest Multi Touch technologies" says FrogPad president Linda Marroquin. FrogPad's one-handed user interface is easy to use, lets mobile workers be more flexible, and improves efficiencies and safety in many environments.
FrogPad's move into the tablet space is nothing new. FrogPad interface is a first mover in the "tablet" space. Since its inception, the FrogPad, inherently a one-handed keyboard interface designed to make mobile use easier, is squarely focused on the mobility space. Its unique keyboard design takes less space, and requires only one handed use. Tutorials can be found on YouTube, its website, and through fun games FrogPad has developed to make learning the new interface fun.
Globally, FrogPad has been critically acclaimed, and is considered a most successful alternative user interface for all languages and character sets.
"I want people to imagine a world without the QWERTY keyboard, which was developed long before mobile computers were even imagined. The multi-touch capabilities we are releasing with Magic FrogPad transforms the way people develop information. Try it. Talk about it. Challenge it. And tell us what you think," says Marroquin. "We offer an Apple Magic Trackpad as our Gift."
"The phone calls and emails that I receive from people around the world are truly inspirational. Whether it is, a technology enthusiast who raves about the ease of using the FrogPad interface with their tablets, or veterans who have lost the use of a hand, our base of users are passionate and dedicated to our platform," Ms. Marroquin continues. The stories users share move her to make sure FrogPad continues to be available to everyone.
Features:
• Mouse and one-handed FrogPad keyboard in one device
• Every function of a standard QWERTY keyboard including numbers
• Find your best fit, either a Lefty or a Righty
• Easy to follow tutorials
System requirements:
• Bluetooth enabled Mac computer
• Two AA batteries (included)
• Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6 with latest updates required.
• Compatible with OSX Lion (10.7)
FrogPad:
http://www.frogpad.com
Magic FrogPad:
http://www.frogpad.com/magic-frogpad.php
Magic Numeric KeyPad:
ttp://www.frogpad.com/magic-numberpad.php
FrogPad iPad App Notetaker:
http://www.frogpad.com/ipad-app.php
MathMagic v8.0 for Mac - Equation Editor Adds Support for iBooks Author
InfoLogic, Inc. has announced the release and immediate availability of MathMagic Personal Edition 8.0, a major update to their award-winning, professional equation editor for Mac OS X. This version now supports Apple's new iBooks Author, as well as other iApps, including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. The upgrade also includes: new Math body text fonts and improved symbol fonts, drag & drop support for PDF equations, and improved Math Styles and fine control. Selected for use by thousands of large publishers and university presses around the world, MathMagic offers hundreds of mathematical expressions and symbols, reads LaTeX and MathML, and saves in high quality formats.
iBooks Author, Apple's recently released free application for OS X, promises to accelerate the iPad revolution in education. According to Apple, the new app allows users to easily create "beautiful Multi-Touch textbooks - and just about any other kind of book - for iPad. With galleries, video, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, and more, these books bring content to life in ways the printed page never could." MathMagic Personal Edition 8.0 complements the ease of use offered by iBooks Author, and facilitates the creation of new textbooks that incorporate equations and scientific symbols, as well as the conversion of print textbooks for the iPad.
With its superior quality and productivity, MathMagic is the choice of millions of professors, students, scientists, engineers, and school districts that rely on it for their math communication and publications. MathMagic's equation quality is unsurpassed and designed to meet stringent, high-end DTP requirements. MathMagic Pro Editions allow graphic designers to write, edit, and save equations directly in InDesign or QuarkXPress documents without going through an export/import step.
Feature Highlights:
(*) Intuitive Graphic User Interface
(*) Intelligent WYSIWYG editor with auto formatting
(*) Well organized palettes of Templates and Symbols
(*) Beautiful interface Beautiful equations
(*) Many predefined keyboard shortcuts and User definable shortcuts
(*) Drag & Drop and Copy & Paste to other applications
(*) Multiple Undo/Redo, View magnification up to 3200%
(*) Multiple StyleSets for group-wide sharing of settings
(*) Fine adjustment for template shapes, gaps, and locations
(*) Variety of Fonts bundled and all System fonts supported
(*) EPS, PICT, WMF, PNG, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, Wiki, TeX, PDF support for compatibility with other software
(*) Multiple Units, and high resolution up to 2300dpi for DTP users
(*) Ideal for use in Science, Physics, Electronics, Statistics, Accounting, and Mathematics
(*) Supports iBooks Author, iWorks, PDF, HTML, MS Word & Powerpoint, QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Illustrator & Photoshop, LaTeX, and MathML
(*) Dozens of additions and improvements in Version 8.0
"There is no other equation editor available that offers the power, ease of use, flexibility, and equation quality of MathMagic Personal Edition 8.0," stated Charlie Lee of InfoLogic. "MathMagic products work seamlessly with iBooks Author, iWork, Adobe InDesign, and QuarkXPress."
Language Support:
(*) U.S. English, Japanese, and Korean
System Requirements:
Mac:
(*) Mac OS X 10.4 or later (Lion compatible)
(*) Universal binary for PPC or Intel
(*) 5 MB RAM
(*) About 30 MB hard disk space
Windows:
(*) Windows XP or later including Vista and 7
(*) Pentium or faster
(*) 5MB of available memory
(*) About 30 MB of hard disk space
MathMagic Personal Edition 8.0 is available now for $69 USD ($49 for Academic). MathMagic Personal Edition 8.0 with 2-years of free updates and free tech support is $89 ($69 for Academic). MathMagic Pro 8.0 for InDesign and MathMagic Pro 8.0 for QuarkXPress are $499 each ($299 for Academic). All MathMagic installers come with a fully functional trial period of up to 50 equations.
MathMagic Personal Edition 8.0:
http://www.mathmagic.com/product/pe.html
MathMagic Pro for InDesign 8.0:
http://www.mathmagic.com/product/pro.html
Download Trial:
http://www.mathmagic.com/download/
Screenshots:
http://www.mathmagic.com/macscreenshots.html
Feature Comparison Table (pdf)
http://bit.ly/x11QoU
IvySkin Unveils iPad 3 and MacBook Crackeld Cases
IvySkin, a manufacturer of accessories for mobile devices, audio, power and laptop accessories, has announced new MacBook and iPad 3 sleeves. Crafted from high-quality and on-trend materials, Crackled's laptop and iPad 3 sleeve designs protect iPad 3 and MacBook Pro devices at all times and in style.
Supple Crackled leather gathered into softly pleated waves is accented with ultra plush interior and delicate hardware. This case is designed for the new iPad 3 and MacBook Pro
Modeled after a classic saddle bag but with all the fine details of a quality leather case, the product is hand crafted in Crackled leather style, with an ultra plush interior to protect and safe keep the iPad in case of a drop. Handmade in gently distressed crackled leather-like tanned exclusively for IvySkin, each case is carefully antiqued and made to fit the new iPad.
Crackled Sleeve
Blending fashion and function, IvySkin's iPad 3 and Macbook Sleeve brings a new look to the iPad 3 collection. Comprised of high-quality Crackled Leather mixed with a super plush shock absorbent inner layer, the Crackled case defends against water and scratches.
The complete Crackled Collection by IvySkin is available immediately and a selection of the collection will be available at select premium outlets in the coming weeks.
IvySkin:
http://www.ivyskin.com
Crackled Case:
http://www.ivyskin.com/crackled-case-for-ipad2.html
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