If PCWorld is the Dark Side
Does that make Apple the Rebel Alliance?
Apple Training Video
Training video for staff at the Apple Store.
(for real)
Steve Jobs Infographic
Created by: Infographic World
Staples, really no idea!
It has been sometime since I went to a mobile phone store, but I do remember that all the phones on display were fakes, plastic copies to give you an idea of how it looked and size, but had no functionality whatsoever and were very lightweight so bore no resemblance to how heavy the actual phones were.
How different it is at an Apple store. If you have been to an Apple store you will know that all the kit that is laid out is the real kit. It also all works too. If you want to make a phone call on the display iPhone, you can! Well you could the last time I tried… All the iPads have real apps on them that work, okay some are “lite” versions, but they do function as well as the real apps. I also like the fact that they have photographs in the photo albums, music, films and TV shows. You can really get a feel for how the iPad will work and how it would fit into your lifestyle and your needs. The same can be said for the Macs, which again are populated with Apps and content in a similar vein.
Another key feature of the Apple store is that all the devices can connect to the internet, so if you want to check how the web works on the device you can.
So what has that go to do with Staples as it says in the title of the blog post?
Well Staples could learn a lot from Apple about how best to present the kit they sell they have on display.
I was in there the other day and they had a really nice range of tablets on display, most were Android, but there was also the HP TouchPad.
Most had power, but not all.
None had anything on them except the default install, so no apps to try, no content to view or look at.
Though all had wifi, none could be used to access the internet as none of them were connected to the internet!
Really what was the point of having them on display, when the average consumer is going to have no idea about how they work and how they could fit into their lifestyle.
In a recent blog post of mine I said:
1.21 million Android tablets have been sold, and in the same time period 28.73 million iPads have been sold by Apple.
In that post I put the focus on the price and went on to say:
…with the iPad, though its price is more than the price of similar Android tablets, people buy the iPad because of factors other than price.
Well if the buying experience is anything to go by and I had to make a choice based purely on that, it’s a no brainer you would go for the iPad.
Apple have made a reputation in the retail business by providing a good retail experience. I am sure if Staples created a buying experience that matched the one you find in the Apple store I am pretty sure that the sales of Tablets in there would increase. By how much, probably double or even treble. It’s not that difficult, get the tablets to sell themselves.
I am sure it’s not entirely the fault of Staples, the suppliers of the tablets probably don’t provide anything either except perhaps a “demo reel”.
So have you bought a tablet from Staples or other retailer? What was your experience like?
1 million downloads
Apple have announced that there have been over one million downloads of the Lion OS X operating system from the Mac App Store.
That’s a lot of data at 3.49GB per download and £21m worth of revenue to Apple. Though with £47bn cash reserves that is mere pocket change for Apple, but not bad for one day methinks.
I haven’t downloaded it yet, but concerns about my Adobe software is making me hesitant about installing it on my main iMac. Adobe have published a list of known issues with Lion 10.7 and Adobe products. Previous experience with Adobe tells me they rarely update their current software, but release a completely new version that is compatible with the new operation system…
I will probably install it on an external drive and possibly on the kids’ computer and try it on there first.
So have you downloaded and installed it? What do you think? Is it a worthwhile upgrade?
Roar!
The Lion is here!
Apple’s latest version of its operating system, Lion 10.7 has arrived. Unlike previous versions that you needed a DVD for, this version is only available via the Mac App Store and costs £20.99. The server version is £34.99.
OS X Lion is the next major release of OS X, the world’s most advanced desktop operating system. It includes over 250 new features that will transform how you interact with your Mac. Tap, swipe, and scroll your way through your apps using fluid Multi-Touch gestures that make everything you do feel more natural and direct. Full-screen apps take advantage of every pixel of your display — perfect for reading email, surfing the web, or browsing photos. Launchpad gives you instant access to all the apps on your Mac in a stunning new layout where you can quickly find any app and open it with a single click. And Mission Control brings together Exposé, full-screen apps, Dashboard, and Spaces in one unified experience. With a gesture, your desktop zooms out, displaying a bird’s-eye view of everything running on your Mac and making it easy to navigate anywhere with a click.
I won’t be installing it straight away and will wait to see what happens with everyone else first. I will also probably first install it on an external drive before installing it on my “production” iMac.
It’s one big download 3.49GB and even if you have broadband, on a typical connection this is going to take hours to download. For those on rural broadband or 3G connections I have no idea how they are going to download it! Thankfully I have my BT Infinity fibre connection so it shouldn’t take me too long to do.
There is one advantage to downloading it through the Mac App Store and that means you can install it on all your Macs (legally).
Update: You can only download it and install on as many Macs you own or control if it is for personal use only (so not for commercial or educational use).
The screenshot was taken from the OS X Lion 10.6 License Agreement as linked to in the Mac App Store on the right hand side of the Lion App page.
Though in theory it does mean you need to download it each time for each Mac! I am sure there will be some workarounds soon.
This version of OS X combines the traditional elements of the desktop operating system with some of the features you will find on the iPad and the iPhone.
The use of gestures is much more useful in the OS, but I am sure will take a lot of training and getting use to.
I still smile when I see Apple talk about full screen apps, this is something that has been in Windows for ages. Often when people I know used Windows for the first time they would ask me how to make an application full screen, I said that it “wasn’t possible” and that the maximise window feature was there to put the application window at the ideal size for working with. So with Lion we now have full screen apps.
I have been using iPhoto full screen on Snow Leopard, however most of the time I have found I hadn’t needed to click the “full screen” button and have worked with it the same way I always have.
Apple have said that most of the refinements in Lion are behind the scenes, they have improved the way the operating system works rather than lots of new features, which in some ways is a good thing, but I am guessing provides less of an incentive to people to install it, if they can’t see what it brings to their Mac.
So if you have downloaded and installed Lion, what do you think? It is an incremental change with little new, or is it making a radical difference to the way that you work on your Mac?
Final Cut Pro X Unstuck
The new version of Final Cut Pro X does not seem to be going down well with users. Many are asking Apple for refunds and at £179.99 though a lot cheaper than the previous version is still a hefty amount of money for many. Apple as a rule does not give refunds on purchases from the App Store but for those customers who are not entirely happy with the new version there may be a chance.
I’ve not gone out and bought the new version, though I do have the older version on my work Macs (we have a site licence) I have not really used it in anger, in the main had a “play” and then gone back to iMovie as I knew it and it was quicker and easier to use than what is a professional application.
Doubt I will buy the new version for my home Mac, partly on the reviews, but in the main as iMovie meets my video editing needs.
Mac App Store goes live!
After the announcement last year, today saw Apple’s OS X App Store for Macs go live.
This is an obvious move for Apple following the success of the App Store for iOS devices.
For me this is a great way of buying Apps, not having to worry about creating accounts on multiple websites and an easy way of installing Apps. I don’t think this will stop me buying Apps from websites, but if an App is available on the App Store I think this might tempt me more to make that purchase.
Impressed that some of the Apple Apps are “cheaper” than their boxed counterparts, Aperture for example is £173 in the main Apple online Store for the boxed edition and just £44.99 in the App Store.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Microsoft doing something very similar for Windows and Google making Android and Chome a more coherent experience.
Your name’s not on the list, so you’re not allowed in….
According to PC World (Magazine) Apple recently decided to “ban” a magazine app from the iTunes Store, because it was focused on the Android operating system.
As one might guess, Android Magasinet–a brand-new, bimonthly magazine app from Danish publisher Mediaprovider–focuses on Android and the devices that run it. When Mediaprovider managing director Brian Dixen asked an executive from Apple Worldwide Developer Relations why the app was banned, he was told explicitly that it was the magazine’s Android-focused content, according to a report on Mediawatch.
“You know… your magazine…it’s just about Android…. we can’t have that in our App Store,” the Apple executive reportedly told Dixen.
Is this really “offensive” content or is this about competition?
Fair enough Apple can decide themselves what does and what does not go into the App store and I guess there would be other (less lucrative) channels that Mediaprovider could use for the Android based magazine so that iPad owners could read it.
Bizarre behaviour from Apple, but then we have come to expect that.
Some more thoughts…
If you have a look at the invite for the 20th…
Have another close look…
Notice how the bottom corners are square and the top are rounded?
Significant?
Photoshop error?
Probably!
Some other thoughts coming from discussions over the tubes.
3D could be coming.
Blu-Ray, though I think not…
Facetime, very likely in my opinion.
I still think touch will be there too.