Archive for the apple tag
I wrote this post last year about the iPhone coming to Mexico (if/when). The post still gets comments daily, most of which point out that indeed the iPhone is available in Mexico, albeit not officially supported by any of the major carriers.
I thought I’d follow up with some up-to-date facts:
- Yes, if you’re coming from the US and want to use your iPhone in Mexico, it’ll work on the Telcel network (edge). You’ll get voice and data.
- If you’re in Mexico, you can buy an iPhone, have it unlocked/chipped and use it on Telcel’s network and Movistar’s (assumably Movistar’s network is edge, also).
These are what 90% of the commenters seem to be saying. But no one is commenting on how the iPhone works once you actually get it up and on to the network. And more importantly, how much it costs to use the iPhone.
What I’m interested in are the following:
Read the rest of this entry »
Amazon totally b0rks the launch of their new ebook reader jackassingly called Kindle, by tying it to draconian 1984-inspired DRM and Terms-of-Service: The Future of Reading (A Play in Six Acts) by Mark Pilgrim. Brilliant and horrifying. And exactly the reason why Kindle will and should ultimately fail. John Gruber also breaks off some whup-ass for Kindle.
Three cursory things:
- All that white plastic is gonna get caked with mung, after a few months of greasy handprints (planned obsolescence?)
- what’s with all the buttons? these guys ain’t seen an iPhone?
- I’d love to see Apple come out with a similar tablet touch-screen device that kills the Kindle on usability, form+function and no DRM
wickedly good proposal for improving Spaces in Leopard. I love Spaces, but it’s got serious issues. This would be a painless solve for a large portion of Spaces’ issues. Someone else needs to address the dual monitor to one monitor issues (spaces doesn’t like it when you go from two monitors to one and at the same time switching your primary display preference). [via DF]
John Nack on Adobe: Aperture vs. Lightroom: What do the pros use? John has some dispiriting statistics for Aperture users, we’re in the 5.5% of users bracket. ouch! I can’t say I’m too surprised. To understand the derision in the photog community over these two apps, check out the comments. whoa. [via DF]
The Apple Aperture community is abuzz. After watching Leopard hit the street, we’re all biting our fingers hoping Apple is not too far off from releasing Aperture 2.0. It’s been over two years since the initial release of the product and to say that we could use an update, well, I’d drag out the desert/water metaphor but I’m so tired of waiting I’m just too lazy to put the whole sentence together.
O’Reilly’s Inside Aperture blog chimes in with two musings on post-Leopard Aperture goings-ons. The first, gave rowdy Aperture users a chance to sound-off on the features they’re looking forward to and the features they want (or else). The second, a roundup of useful Aperture community resource links that includes several ways to give your feedback directly to Apple (Tim O’Reilly is appreciative, but even he doesn’t have a direct line to His Steveness). There have been no concrete answers on when Aperture 2.0 will hit the streets with nary a peep from Apple (as usual). I have a laundry list a mile long of features I’d like to see in the new version, I gave my 2 cents in the first article above, you can click on over to read my abbreviated list.
In the second article, a commenter suggests that we, Aperture faithfuls, huff it on over to Apple’s Final Cut Studio site to see what the new version (6.0) has to offer, the reasoning is that some of the technologies found in FCS could possibly make it into Aperture 2.0. I took the advice and checked out a bunch of the ‘new feature’ videos. I was absolutely amazed by what I saw. My biggest curiosity was with FCS’s new bundled color adjustment application, quaintly called Color. If only half of the underlying technology and features of Color made it into Aperture 2.0, I’d be a happy camper. It’s gorgeous, innovative and intuitive. Here are just a few of the features* of Color that I’m hoping will have some shared DNA with those of Aperture 2.0:
- GPU accelerated action all over the place
- Next Generation FxPlug Filter architecture - for internal and 3rd party filters
- Filter presets and grouping of filters into one preset
- Pre-built color effects and ability to create your own (think Xprocess, film stock simulation, etc…)
- Drag and Drop filter application
- Grab and lift on-photo filter manipulation
- Signature looks that can by applied over an entire project (and controlled/adjusted from one place)
- 3D color scope
- Gorgeous curves implementation for Hue, Saturation and Luminosity
- Selective filter application based on targeted Hue, Saturation and Luminosity
- Vignetting - circle, square or custom shape (using b-splines)
I’m sure there are a million others, but this list is pretty impressive. The more I look at Color, the more I think that Apple should just do away with the Adjustments HUD concept all together. It works for a handful of limited-functionality filters, but what I’m seeing in Color is on a whole other level of image manipulation. I can’t see how the Adjustments HUD in its current configuration can possibly contain as much functionality as Color provides. I could be wrong.
One thing I gotta say though, is that even after two years of heavy usage, I still love the Aperture user interface. Looking at Final Cut Studio’s and even Color’s, they don’t quite match the polish and shine of Aperture. I’m assuming at some point FCS will inherit that particular part of Aperture’s DNA, as Logic Studio just has.
After seeing Color at work, two things strike me the heaviest: A. Color is so advanced it makes Aperture 1.0’s image adjustment capabilities look almost archaic. B. I have never been this excited and enthusiastic to see what the Aperture team brings to the table and I can only hope that they are sharing technologies with the team that worked on Color.
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Ars Techinica has a huge copy of the Mac OS X Leopard intro video. nice. Is this the work of Logan? me not so sure.
Unless you’ve actually got a life or have been living under a rock, you know that the webosphere is abuzz with news of Apple’s impending delivery of their next operating system Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Everyone’s giving their 5 cents on the best and worst features of the new system. All in agreement that Leopard is packed with great new features and Apple once again has raised the bar on powerful, useful features packed into deceptively easy-to-use interfaces.
Personally, I’m really looking forward to Leopard. Time Machine alone is worth the upgrade price. Quick look and Stacks are gonna be super cool and Spaces will pretty much do away with the need for a second monitor (I think this will most likely be a consumer favorite). But for me, personally, my money is on iChat and screen sharing. Let me explain.
I go for Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field marketing gimmicks just like everyone else. The mac is easier to use, your IT department will need to look for new jobs, things just work, etc… etc…
This just isn’t reality. Sure Macs need 10x less tech support then PCs running Windows/Vista and when something software-related goes fubar on the latter, you don’t need tech support, you need a new computer. Apple has made the OS so simple that someone with a pretty good knowledge of the OS can solve 99% of the trouble-shooting questions your average user has*. This means that if you’re a recent switcher, a mac novice or a technophobe and your friend is a savvy mac user, chances are s/he can fix any little problems you have. For most of the mac-centric people in my little corner of Mexico, I’m that person (the nearest Mac Genius is 3000 miles away). In addition to the people close to me, I have several friends in far away places that hit me up on a near daily basis over iChat/email to get quick help with some of Mac OS X’s “undocumented features” (read: idiosyncrasies). And in turn, I have a friend or two who I rely on when I get stumped.
At home I use Apple Remote Desktop, which is a heavy-duty version of the screen sharing capabilities that are built into iChat and the Finder in Leopard. I troubleshoot my wife’s computer almost daily, usually having something to do with MS Word/Excel. We have a mac mini that acts as our “entertainment hub”. I administrate both using Remote Desktop, over our home network, the screen controlling features are insanely useful and once you try it, you’ll never understand how you did without it.
Years ago, my good friend Steve showed me a new feature of Windows (back when he was confused and walking the desert alone), where you could share and control the screens of your friends’ computers, over the internet. I nearly shat my pants. If I’m not mistaken, this feature has since been removed from Windows because it was a security nightmare. Well, this feature has finally come to the Mac (albeit with a better security implementation). iChat and the new Finder now have built-in screen sharing capabilities and I think this is one of the “creeper” features of Leopard. Once I’ve had my fill of the glossy, marquee features, this is the one that’s gonna be the most life-changing.
The screen sharing capabilities of iChat will allow me to dip into a friend’s computer 2 blocks away or 5000 miles away to fix problems, show someone how to properly use and dispose of dmg installers or just to set my grand dad’s desktop to change images randomly every once in a while. I’ll have the ability to help a friend in San Francisco with a kerning problem in Adobe InDesign or a friend in New York City with organizational problems in Apple Aperture. This kind of screen sharing will be commonplace inside of 6 months. Your computer will no longer be an isolated piece of machinery, connected by text/audio/video chat and email. You can now share your computer with friends. Troubleshooting and asking for advice/help will no longer happen over a text chat or lugging your iMac to a friend’s house or the nearest Apple store. I’m really super excited about this feature. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take a fiber connection to work properly.
For an example of iChat screen sharing, check out Apple’s Leopard guided tour video. What I’m referring to starts at the 24 minute mark. This video is like crack for mac nerds. As I watched it, I was hooting, hollering at the screen in giddy anticipation. Reality distortion field, you are my friend.
For an added bonus, totally awol from the 300+ features page is the .Mac feature called “Back To My Mac”. This feature is gonna be killer. It allows you access and control your home computer (or other computers), over the internet, through .Mac. For instance, if you’re traveling and a client needs a tweak to a certain file. Instead of having to jibe a workmate into doing the change, you can access and control your work computer, make the change and send it off, viola. This feature gets super interesting when you think about how it could be integrated with iPhone or what happens when someone stupidly steals your macbook and tries to use it. Again, not even on the 300+ features list. but why? Right about now, I’m glad I renewed my .Mac membership.
So, what’s your favorite feature?
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Ok, it’s official. I’m sick of hearing about the iPhone. Yes, it’s great, but sifting through 40 rss posts a day about total minutiae regarding the iPhone is way too damn much (has there ever been a device that better helps these sites sell text ads?). I’m gonna make a suggestion here: since the iPhone is in a completely different category then the mac, wouldn’t it be nice if mac rumor sites split their coverage of the Mac and iPhone into two separate sites, or the very least provide different rss feeds for the two product categories. This seems like the humane thing to do. anyone with me on that one?
Universal Music Takes on iTunes. Business Week does a hatchet job on Steve Jobs and iTunes. John Gruber ways in with a clear and lucid look at the Universal Music service called “Total Music” and the crack-pot writing methods of the article’s authors: Ronald Grover and Peter Burrows.
If wishes were iPhones, then beggars would call, an article about Apple’s closed system around the iPhone. Groundswell anti-iPhone sentiments are really starting to gathering steam, slick marketing can never counter this kind of bottom-up criticism. [via DF]
I’ve posted a follow up article, that takes in to account everything we’ve learned about Apple, the iPhone and Mexico since this post was published last June (’07). I’m asking iPhone in Mexico users to give us a little feedback about their experience. The new article: iPhone in Mexico: A Follow Up. I’ve turned off commenting on this post.
Ok, so I’ve been doing some noodling into whether the iphone will ever make it to Mexico. My apprehensions start with the iTunes Store, which is currently not available in Mexico. I’m not gonna conjecture on why iTunes still isn’t available here. What is important is that you need an iTunes account to use most of the data features on the iPhone. No account, no dice. My next thought was that Telcel is a GSM network, but it turns out this thought isn’t entirely correct. Telcel actually has dual GSM/Edge systems in place. Hence, if you’re vacationing in Mexico, you can get international voice/data plans from Cingular/AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile that work on Telcel’s network.
The knife in the iphone-in-mexico coffin is most likely Apple’s deal with AT&T Wireless. Telcel, having a total monopoly on the cellular market in Mexico*, will never bend to Apple getting a slice of subscription fees, conversely Telcel would most likely demand a slice of iTunes booty, for songs downloaded over the phone and it’s network (if/when it’s added as a feature). Mexico is a huge and growing economy, but 99% of the country is still buying the subsidized $40 bottom-of-the-line Nokias. I rarely ever see Blackberrys here, they aren’t even marketed or displayed within Telcel’s stores and the Hip-Top/Sidekick is nowhere to be seen.
If there is a silver lining it’s this: iPods may be a total luxury item here, but I still see them everywhere. They are the ultimate in status symbol for mexican teenagers. The Motorola RAZR was also a huge hit (although it was subsidized), it was responsible for everyone and their mother’s mother re-upping their 2 year contract with Telcel. Telcel’s monopoly (and robust network) make people sign that contract without even blinking. Who ya gonna go to, if there’s only one player in town? I learned this the hard way: when I bought my first phone, down here, I payed full price without a contract and then found out that there is no other provider I could switch to even if I wanted.
So, to sum it up: the tech is here, iTunes Store is not, Telcel is a huge obstacle and I’m not quite sure if the market is ready for the iPhone. It may make one helluva splash with the fresas and the business community, but I don’t know if there is a large enough market to interest Apple. If I had a Magic 8 Ball, I’m sure it would say something like: “Dude, you’re SOL. Keep dreaming.”
Until the iPhone gets here I’ll keep dreaming, in the meantime, I’m going to NYC next week and I can’t wait to get my grubby mits all over one at the 5th Ave Apple store.
Update: I stumbled upon this post at mobilmag.com, in the comments someone writes, in spanish, that he hears from a reliable source, that the iPhone is coming to Mexico in September and Telcel will carry it. I am dubious, but I hold out a child-like hope that it’s true. I believe everything I read on the internets.
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