Category Archives: Apple

iPhoto Keywords

I like iPhoto, but I haven’t really used the keyword facility much. Creating and assigning keywords is just a bit too much hassle.

So I was pleased to discover Ken Ferry’s Keyword Assistant. Much easier.

Update: Keyword Assistant doesn’t work on the more recent versions of iPhoto, but there are some tips here which can get it going again.

Apple ahead of Dell again

A couple of weeks ago we had the interesting news that Apple’s market cap. exceeded Dell’s.

They’ve crept ahead in another way too. According to this MacWorld UK article, Apple now has more of the education market in western Europe, at just over 15%.

In Switzerland, they have 54%!

iPod ecosystem

The NYT reports that the iPod accessory market is a $1bn business. And that’s without counting the
ultimate iPod accessory

Platform of choice

Once again, a certain platform was noticeably more popular than any other at the O’Reilly Emerging Telephony conference.

Christine Herron, pictured here in the glow of her screen, has been blogging the conference pretty thoroughly.

Jewel Case Calendar

Now, this is quite a nice idea.

Tickr for Flickr

If you have a Mac and you don’t need to get any work done for a bit… Tickr for Flickr is remarkably addictive. You type a word into its search box and it displays, along one side of your screen, a scrolling band of photos which have that tag on Flickr. It’s very nicely done. If you want some good words to get started, try ‘coniston’, ‘scuba’ or ‘night’…

Apple Surpasses Dell’s Market Value

On Slashdot:

Nine years after Michael Dell said he’d shut down Apple and give the money to the shareholders, Apple has passed Dell in market value, at $72,132,428,843 compared to Dell’s $71,970,702,760…

iMac Extended

Apologies to those of you not interested in Mac-related posts. I expect the current flurry to die down soon!

I noticed a subtle but interesting change in the graphics specs for the new Intel-based iMac:

For the first time ever, iMac lets you use a second display in extended desktop mode, in addition to simply mirroring the first.

In the past, the iMac and the iBook have supported external displays but only as a clone of the main one, unlike the PowerMac and PowerBook. This was never a hardware limitation, only a marketing decision and there’s a good reliable hack to get over that foolishness. But it’s nice to see it won’t be necessary.

How To Install Front Row

Here’s how you can install Apple’s Front Row software on any Mac running Tiger 10.4.4.

Works for me…

ExpressCard

One thing my new MacBook won’t have is a PCMCIA (PC Card) slot. I’ve been rather fond of this on my old Powerbook – a CF card adaptor lives there permanently, and it means that I can always get photos off my camera without the need for cables.

CFCF adaptor

The new machines have an ExpressCard slot. This is the replacement for the old PC Card standard; it has been around for a while and has lots of advantages, but I haven’t seen any cards for it yet, and the slot is too small for a Compact Flash adaptor, so it’ll be back to cables, I guess, for transferring my photos.

Patience is a virtue

Well, I’ve been very patient. Patient, first, while my insurance company took two months to pay up after my old Powerbook came to a tragic end, and then patient while I waited for Steve Jobs’ keynote address. But it was worth it, because he announced the Powerbook replacement, the MacBook Pro, and I have one on the way… Hee hee.

But my patience is not yet exhausted, and it’s just as well, because though they’re taking orders now, delivery is sometime in February. And the Apple retail stores will no doubt get them sooner than the local dealer with whom I placed my order. I’m hoping that good things come to those who wait…

Hurrah!

Not only did Apple come out with some great new stuff yesterday, but Google Earth is now available for the Mac. Wonderful!

© Copyright Quentin Stafford-Fraser