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  • Swad

    Will Leopard look like iTunes 7?

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    So the big question on everyone's mind: did Val Kilmer really make a better Batman than Michael Keaton? Well, ok. Maybe that's not the big question. The other big question - why the new look for iTunes 7? Is this a sign of things to come in Leopard?
     
    If you're a big interface geek (like me) you probably enjoy reading about these things. I present a short list of thought-provoking material for your perusal:
     
    Another iTunes release, another widget kit: the iTunes 7 UI dissected. (Highly recommended)
    Disecting 'Gloomy' Unified in iTunes 7
    I like the iTunes 7 interface
    iTunes: is there a standard UI element left?
    iTunes: From 0 to 7.0
     
    So there you have it. The new iTunes UI is radically different than anything that’s come before. Since it’s so unlike the past, it must be more like... the future?
     
    There have been rumors that Apple’s Leopard UI will swap glossy for matte and brushed metal for unified (or something entirely new). My own opinion is that iTunes, as Apple’s most visible app, serves as a testing ground for these ideas. The UI designers might throw some of these concepts into iTunes to guage the appeal to their largest possible audience.
     
    Consistency is also important, however, and it’s something that’s sadly been lacking lately in the OS of “a consistent interface.” iTunes looks nothing like Safari looks nothing like Aperture looks nothing like... well, you get the picture.
     
    Will Leopard bring together this rag tag team of interface design choices? It hasn't yet (in the beta), but let’s hope so. I hate it when my GUI gets too gooey.
  • Colonel
    While looking inside the resource files from iTunes 7, a few items believed to be evidence of an "iTunes Phone" have been discovered. Contained in one of these files is the text for a new error message - MacShrine has the error output.

    Some of the games in your iTunes library were not copied to the mobile phone [name] because you are not authorized to play them on this computer” and “iTunes cannot sync photos to the mobile phone [name] because your iPhoto Library needs updating. Open iPhoto to update your iPhoto Library. In a bit of investigative reporting, I've attached below all the new error messages I found for you to evaluate at your disposal. I think you'll be interested in what you find.
     
    Note that this is a different report than the others we've been seeing regarding driver installation (come on guys, Steve isn't going to make it too obvious... he needs some material for that podcast...).
     
    Personally, I think we'll be seeing an iTunes Phone soon. Very soon. How about you?
     
    Errors.txt
  • Swad

    An evening with my new (old) iPod

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    Being the unmotivated college senior that I am, I decided to take this evening and spend some quality time with iTunes and my 5th Generation iPod. A few thoughts:
     
    1. Better late than never, “gapless playback” gives my iPod a new lease on life. I have a lot of albums, as I’m sure we all do, that have tracks which blend into each other. In the past playing these albums was a painful experience since I wasn’t hearing the art the way the artist intended.
     
    No longer. The iPod gracefully handled everything I threw its way, from Mae to MuteMath to Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (just listen to the last two sections - glorious music). If I were being picky I’d say that I noticed a split second (and I truly mean a fraction of a second) pause between a few of the tracks. At this point I’m just thrilled with this feature that should have been in place since the beginning.
     
    2. Thanks, Apple, for allowing my soon-to-be 1 year old iPod to stay relevant... and anything but obsolete. Customers like myself enjoy knowing that special Apple events might actually make the hardware they have better than it was before - not making them wish for an upgrade they can't afford.
     
    3. The iTunes movie experience is fairly seamless. I purchased Bicentennial Man for $9.99 and commenced the download. I’m on a campus connection so my speed varies with the number of frat parties, but the 1.4 gig file took 2:06 hours to finish downloading. While I experienced a few glitches getting the video to play in iTunes (the “Now Playing” window looked like an LSD trip for a few minutes...) playback on my iPod and in Front Row were flawless. Congrats to Apple on getting digital video downloads right.
     
    4. iTunes Movies should not be saved in Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Movies. Isn’t that like clicking the Start button to shut down?
     
    5. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but PAC-MAN rocks. The controls are intuitive and it’s just darn fun. Based on the way games are stored (a small file with the extension .ipg) I’m sure we’ll be seeing a torrent of them soon.
     
    6. Downloaded films are divided up into chapters, which I didn’t realize until I placed the movie on my iPod. This obviously makes jumping around in the film much easier.
     
    7. When it comes to movie quality, I can say that I was quite impressed. Granted, the MacBook doesn’t have the largest of screens, but at full screen the quality was as good as most TV/DVD combos that most students use.
     
    8. There’s now a “Volume Limit” setting to cap the volume at which your iPod plays. Quite handy if you’re as anal as I am about hearing loss. [Edit: Ok, so this may have been put in place earlier... let's just say I don't check my settings on a weekly basis...]
     
    9. The iPod integration within the regular iTunes window is very slick.
     
    10. Is iTunes 7 a hint at the UI we’ll eventually see in Leopard? I hope so. It’s easy on the eyes and looks quite professional. It makes glossy and blue seem a little outmoded.
     
    11. Bicentennial Man is a great film for the sci-fi buffs among us. Oh, and James Horner totally plagiarized himself by ripping the soundtrack for A Beautiful Mind from this film. Come on James. A lot of us listen to what you produce. At least mix up the chord structure...
     
    These are my short experiences with the changes Apple introduced today. Overall, I'm quite impressed, which is saying something for a skeptic like me. It's always been the attention to detail that attracted me to Apple and it's apparent that considerable thought was given to these upgrades.
     
    What have you discovered?
  • Swad

    New iPods, iTunes, and iTV

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    Instead of recapping all the things you've probably heard by now about Apple's event today, we'll cut straight to the good stuff.
     
    Aluminum iPod Nanos. "Completely Remastered."
    Improved iPods, with bigger sizes, cheaper prices, and a few great new features (gapless playback being the most notable).
    New iPod Shuffles, in a smaller, easier-to-lose package!
    New iTunes with new eye candy (and icon) and an improved interface. Oh, and did we mention Movies?
    iTV. Check out Engadget's thoughts on the new product.
     
    So who's elated? Disappointed? Indifferent?
  • Swad

    The Official "Showtime" Thread

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    As has been our tradition with Apple events in the past, I'm starting our dedicated thread for Apple's "Showtime" event. It's here that you'll find live updates (posted by our members from all the vast corners of the Web), pithy commentary, and a darn good time.
     
    Check out The Mac Observer's live feed for all the latest.
     
    InsanelyMac's "Almost Live Commentary Thread" - It's like being there. Only you're not actually there.
  • Colonel

    Today's Showtime schedule?

    By Colonel, in OSx86,

    A last-minute rumor has been floating around about the schedule of today's media event. TUAW has the timeline.


    ...Let's just say I have been informed by a little reliable birdy about Tomorrow's event. The line-up will follow this similar structure:
     
    * Welcoming of Media Members
    * Discussion on iTunes software, iTMS integration into iTunes, and iTMS sales and facts.
    * Announcement of iTunes version 7.0
    * Announces better search feature for Music Store
    * Announces Movie Store. Available Immediately will be movies from Disney and Pixar, among other studios.
    * New iPod Nano Announcement (nice brushed casing, while it will have same features as first gen, only a longer battery life)
    * New iPod Announcement (Widescreen, Bluetooth, and featuring virtual touchweel. Does not include Wi-Fi, or any other protocols)
    * One More Thing....TubePort. A $99 2-piece set that includes a dongle that connects via USB to your mac, and another dongle that connects via included HD cables or regular Component cables to your TV. The movie is accessed on your Mac via an iDisk-like storage component hosted by Apple.
     
    Jobs will then explain the pricing structure of the Movie Store. Movies will be available as either a smaller iPod-format (which will cost $9.99 per movie), or as a larger, streamed movie to be streamed to your TV via TubePort. This cost $14.99 per movie. To purchase an iPod-formatted movie and a streamed version of the same movie, it will cost you $19.99. Just keep in mind that all this is hearsay, so there's no guarantee it is accurate. "Tubeport?" Please let that name be fake. Showtime begins in a few hours...
     
    Mash's Edit: Note that the "iTunes Store" (and while you're noting, note that name change) is down due to "upgrading."
  • Swad
    AppleInsider is breakin' someone's NDA again with news that 10.4.8 will bring some big boosts to Rosetta and other OS X components.


    Apple Computer this past weekend released to its developers the second external builds of Mac OS X 10.4.8 Update, a stability and performance upgrade to its Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system.
     
    It's reported that on Friday, the Mac maker seeded Mac OS X 10.4.8 Update build 8L2122 for Intel Macs and build 8L122 for those systems with PowerPC processors.
     
    Once again, Apple asked developers to focus their testing efforts on system components such as AFP, DVD Player, Graphics, Fonts, iCal, iPhoto, Mail Printing, Networking and Safari.
     
    It also asked that developers extensively test scientific applications under the Rosetta PowerPC emulation environment, which has seen significant performance enhancements.
     
    With the latest seeds, Apple is reported to have addressed issues with Image RAW, ImageIO, ColorSync, Xsan, Xsan File Manager, CoreImage and web images.
     
    Mac OS X 10.4.8 is reportedly one of two maintenance updates that will be made to Mac OS X before the end of the calendar year.
  • Colonel

    iPods missing in Sunday ads

    By Colonel, in OSx86,

    In today's issue of the New York Times there was an unusual lack of iPod advertisements. A reader at Gizmondo was quick to notice the iPod absence.


    Just finished reading my Sunday New York Times. Intersting fact, every electronics ad--Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.--had zero iPods listed...Strange, given that every week, for months now, there have been iPods for sale. I think the big retailers know something we don't. Why would Apple be holding off on the iPod ads this week? Could it be because of some (insanely) great new product they'll be releasing on the 12th? Showtime is coming...
  • Swad

    CoreDuoTemp 1.0 Released

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    If you're wondering just how hot your blazing new Intel processor is running, check out the newest version of CoreDuoTemp. 1.0 finds CDT chillin' in the menubar with many of your Mac's most vital stats. There's also a new widget for those among us who are more Dashboard inclined.
     
    Both are free and are available for download here.
  • kevin_4e
    If you've ever wanted Azureus (or any other download client) to automatically shut off after finishing a download, then give the free beta of GoodNight a try... Check out MenuPics or iColon to change the look (and color) of your menubar icons... Learn how to dress like a Mac with LifeClever’s guide based off the popular "Get a Mac" ads... And speaking of those “Get a Mac” ads, it looks like Mac is also trying another medium of advertisement; a 14 page accordion-fold booklet.
     
    If you’re familiar with the popular forum userbars, you'll be excited to see DaxTsurugi’s custom InsanelyMac userbar... This week’s featured blog is Sportman’s Tips, Tricks, Reviews and More. The title basically says it all... If you’re looking for one more reason to switch to the upcoming Windows Vista, then this video may not be what you’re looking for. Try this
    instead. And since Vista is always good for a laugh, check out this guy’s tattoo (full video). Talk about fanboy.
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