I am back from the big city and MacLive Expo. Busy putting together a show review for all my loyal (and new) readers. In the interim period, you can catch some photos below.
MacLive Expo Day Two
So, I finally made it to MacLive Expo. What a surprise to find a much smaller event and NO APPLE. Come on Apple, wake up, Leopard is launching today and you had the opportunity to get some real press coverage.
Anyway, putting that big disappointment aside the exhibitors that are here, are very enthusiastic. Our sponsors Realmac Software, Eazy Draw, Simms International and Quark are showing their latest wares. It seems appropriate to point out that Realmac Software are one of my fave bunch of people, nice, honest and working to bring their excellent software to the Mac. Over at EazyDraw, Dave is underplaying his big news. Support for MacDraw is a big thing, it gives users the opportunity to use their old files, whilst moving over to Apple's own iWork for the rest of their office type files. Simms International make me smile, they always have. Being a long time user of their products it was nice to see them all kitted up promoting the Crumpler range, and the BuiltNY range of laptop accessories. I just love their enthusiasm, it is nice to see. Quark have a nice big arena, for product demos and they were just as busy as last year.
Of the other exhibitors here, Computer Warehouse are very busy, poised for the Mac OS X Leopard launch later today. Netgear have some of their juicy items here, including their NAS drive, which certainly looks the part. It was also nice to see both Parallels and VMWare showing how popular their products are. Mac users don't like to boast about being able to run Windows, but most of us need to sometimes, so both these products are on my list for pre-Christmas reviews. Konica Minolta have their great range of printers on the show floor and certainly seemed one of the busier stands.
Check back later for more coverage and photos.
Delay to MacLive Expo Coverage
Just a quick note for you all. Due to personal reasons my MacLive Expo coverage will be delayed until tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.
MacLive Expo Coverage Starts Tomorrow
Heading down to London tomorrow? You bet I am, and I will be bringing you updates throughout the day.
If you check back regularly, things will kick off with mini-reports during the day. The first will be around 12noon, with more to follow. It looks like be an exciting Expo, so there should be some interesting stuff for you.
A full photo gallery will be posted here, so if you just want the pics without the writing (you might miss something), then click the link.
iFold Stand - Ease the neck pain!
Matias today announced the iFold, a laptop stand that folds flat for travel. By raising your notebook to monitor height and attaching a keyboard & mouse, you get the comfort level of a desktop computer, without losing the convenience of your laptop.
"We've created an instant classic," said Vesna Vojnic, Marketing Director for Matias. "Made from beautiful black acrylic, the iFold is simply gorgeous. The folding mechanism is zinc alloy and fully visible. You can see one in person at flagship Apple Stores. It's really cool. "
"With laptops out-selling desktops, the landscape has really changed. Lots of problems that were solved in the desktop era are now reappearing. For example, displays are too low, so people are getting neck pain from looking down. Laptop keyboards are cramped and lack a number pad. Most of the products out now are not portable. In the coming weeks, Matias will be offering solutions to all these new problems," said Vojnic.
Price & Availability
The iFold is $59.95 (US) available today from the Apple Store, eCost.com, Amazon.com, and Matias.ca.
MacLive Expo Skype Giveaway at SIA Crumpler
It goes without saying that we will be covering the MacLive Expo in London, which starts on Thursday 25th October. We will be posting a link up tomorrow to our Flickr album, where photos will appear throughout the day. We will also have updates on the Geekanoids site throughout the day. But, that is not what this news snippet is all about.
If you head on over to the Simms International Accessories stand at the exhibition, you will find a large range of Crumpler bags and laptop sleeves available. Ten lucky visitors to the stand can pick up a free Skype for Mac Starter Kit, which contains some exclusively designed USB stereo earbuds and a microphone, courtesy of Skype and Geekanoids. Fingers crossed, you might be one of the lucky ones.
Let's Get Ready for Leopard
It's about that time again; the time where we get organized, back up our files, and prepare for an update to Apple's premiere operating system; Mac OS X, better known this time around as Leopard. You've undoubtedly seen the major changes to the operating system, including nice new features such as Spaces and Time Machine. While these are nice and (hopefully) useful, many have their own small list of changes they hope to see. Most of the changes I hope for reside within the Finder.
Network Storage is becoming more common these days, even for the average person. The problem is that the Finder does not have great support for two common protocols: FTP and SMB. FTP in Finder has always been read-only. This forces you to find (and possibly purchase) a third-party client or learn how to use the client built into Terminal. What I'd like to see is FTP support where read and write are both enabled. Unlike FTP, Samba does have read and write support within the Finder, yet it's unbearably slow. Perhaps it's fine for a 100 Mbps network, but the sub-100 Mbps performance on a Gigabit network is unsatisfactory.
Another feature lacked in the Finder is with "Column View". This is undoubtedly my most-used view when navigating folders, which is why this next "fix" makes sense. the column view needs to have an option to expand to the size of the longest file name in the folder automatically. It's a pain in the butt to frequently look for files with similar but different names and have to expand every column manually.
Safari, which had (emphasize "had") been my browser of choice for the previous few years. It's a great browser, but the "bloat" is setting in as it matures. As of now I'm using Camino, which is super light and fast. If the next version of Safari can manage to feel less like Firefox and more like Camino, as well as provide a little bit of plug-in support, I may move back again. I'd love a lean-mean browser with Del.icio.us support.
Lastly is iTunes, which like Safari is starting to feel a lot more resource intensive than it's previous releases. I'm sorry to say that I don't particularly like iTunes, but since I need it to sync with my iPod touch, it's a necessary evil. Apple needs to put this guy on the treadmill or I may build my own media player for just listening to music. I'd love to reserve more resources for other, more important applications.
Mac OS X has matured a lot over the years, there's no doubt about it, but there is still a long way to go before it becomes the Holy Grail of all operating systems. I'd love to hear what undocumented changes our readers hope for in Leopard. Please post your opinions and have a good day!
Frank Sandoval (Geekanoids Newbie)
www.shouldbefree.net
Griffin Evolve Wireless Sound - Now Shipping
Griffin Technology, maker of all things iPod, today announced it has begun shipping its highly anticipated Evolve Wireless Sound System. Evolve is available exclusively through its launch partner Best Buy, and online at BestBuy.com, at the retail price of $299.99.
"Evolve will change the way people listen to music," said Paul Griffin, President of Griffin Technology. "We did away with the limitations from traditional sound systems -- the wires. Evolve gives users the freedom to listen to their music wherever they choose."
Evolve is the first widely available digital sound system for iPod and other digital devices that features speakers that are both rechargeable and wireless; they need no power outlets or physical connection to the base station. Evolve is built for everyone who wants a simple, elegant way to play music throughout the home or workplace without the hassle of speaker and power wires.
Evolve consists of a base unit with a dock for your iPod (and line-in RCA jacks for other players) and a pair of matched speakers with internal lithium-ion batteries that play up to 10 hours on a single charge. Speakers can be easily carried from room to room throughout the home, apartment, office, patio, etc.
Evolve streams music digitally from its Base Unit to wherever you place the speakers -- inside, outside, in the next room -- up to 150 feet away. Evolve's powerful RF remote control puts you in command of Evolve and your iPod through walls and windows. It's the next evolutionary step in speaker systems for the home.
Videos of the Evolve Wireless Sound System in action can be found here.
Apple Store Lakeside Opening! Fun had by all!
The Apple Store in Lakeside, Thurrock, UK opened today and as with all store openings it seems that fun was had by all. By kind permission of Felix, here are a couple of photos and his rundown of the opening. You can find the full Flickr set of images here.
I went to the opening of the newest Apple Store in the UK today. This is at Lakeside Shopping Center in Thurrock, Essex. Its bigger than the Bluewater store, which has been open for some time now. I saw some of the staff from Bluewater there, they seem to have trucked them in from Regent Street as well. It was actually more exciting than I thought it would be and I managed to get 2 T-shirts and entered the Sweepstake.
The store's layout is two rows of tables half way down the store, along with tables along the walls. Genius bar is right in the back with the accessories and software. There's a kids area as well which you don't get in all the stores. It didn't seem to be as full as you would expect for an opening. However the entire mall was deserted, the Apple Store was the place where all the action was. They must have gotten everyone in the entire place to come to the Apple Store.
They seemed to have the new iPod Touch almost tucked away, only four on display. They do the same in Bluewater, don't know why. The staff are really pushing one-on-one selling and also the personal shopper scheme. Got spoken to three times about that.
They had the alarms go off and I took pictures of the system they use to disarm them. Actually kind of cool. But I decided not to publish the pictures, I think that's a responsible choice. There seemed to be a load of Apple Corporate staff around who looked nervous when the alarm went off. They were trying, but failing to be non-conspicuous.
All in all it was very exciting and I can see why they put this store in this location as the river is a sort of north-south divide.
I hope the guy in this picture is eyeing up a new iMac purchase. Go on, you know you want it ! [Ed].
Apple features Leopard Guided Tour Video
Be-ez introduce LA Dolce Vita Bag
Be.ez, a leading manufacturer of multimedia accessories in Europe and Asia, announced today the new LA Dolce Vita bags, an innovative space-saving Laptop bag that can transport your notebook during the day and your clothes in the night.
The LA Dolce Vita is an ultra sleek bag that offers style-conscious users a simple solution for carrying and protecting their MacBook in complete safety. Be.ez have included a removable compartment in LA Dolce Vita offering users the ability to change the bag as required, a Mac carry case during the day and a fashionista’s holdall during the night. The bag, made from original Tarpaulin material shines with its versatility, it comes in three different colours - Ristretto, Zucchero and Moka. With its ingenious removable flap (invisible to the naked eye…), the most original of users will be able to change their companion to reflect their personality and style, over and over again…
Nicolas Cottard, CEO, Be-ez, commented: “Here at Be-ez we are dedicated to producing the most fashionable yet intelligent protection for mobile devices, it is all about being sleek in the Apple world this season. We offer the best available material and design that people on the move will really appreciate. Featuring a cross-shoulder carrying style, Be-ez LA Dolce Vita clings snugly to your body bringing comfort with style. The removable compartment means you can carry your notebook to work and your running trainer’s home. The LA Dolce Vita bag is the ultimate in practicality and style.”
Pricing and availability
The LA Dolce Vita is available on 15th November and costs £49.95, a list of retailers can be found here.
Third Party Applications will come to iPhone
Apple have announced a great piece of news for all iPhone owners, and prospective UK purchasers come November 9th. Up until now, many have been using various hacks to get third party applications to the iPhone. Either that or you have to stick to using web based apps to feed your addiction. Well, Apple have finally announced that they are working on a Software Developer's Kit (SDK) to allow development of applications for the iPhone. This will be available February next year, so we have a little wait on our hands. The full details can be read here.