Blogintosh

In recent days we have seen several laptops with problems in their Auto-off, or Sleep-Mode. While Apple did release an update to the firmware to help with this several months ago Smartacus also has a tip for laptop users.

Macbook manuals instruct users to never unplug the charger from the wall before unplugging the charger from the computer. By unplugging the power cord from the wall first, users essentially confuse the On-Off modes on their computer which can cause computers to not turn-on after being on Sleep-Mode or to wake up at random. So keep in mind the power cord needs to be unplugged from the laptop first before unplugging it from the wall.

Apple released a firmware update for the Xserve today. The update says it will help “improve the stability of Xserve computers.” The update 1.1 can be downloaded using the Apple Menu and clicking on Software Update, or it can be downloaded from the installer package on Apple’s website.

Of course you can always just call Smartacus to have a Technician install the update and do some routine maintenance on your Xserve. Calling us in when there isn’t an emergency will help lessen your probability of having emergencies in the future.

Apple Stores will be having Apple Camp in July with registration open now. Kids ages 8-12 will have the opportunity to learn how to work in iPhoto, Keynote, Garage Band, and iMovie making their very own song, movie, presentation, and slideshow. Campers can register for 2 workshops that are 3 hours long July 14-17 and July 21-24 from 9am -12pm. Campers do not need to bring a laptop or camera with them but if they have something in particular they would like to work on they can bring it along. They receive a t-shirt and CD of what they created plus the promise of “more fun giveaways.”

Space is on a first come first serve basis and are geared for all skill levels and is recommended for ages 8-12 but does note that kids over 13 don’t need to have a parent accompany them. The best part is….. it’s FREE, so all you Mac Mommas out there sign those kiddies up! It leaves adults everywhere are saying, “I want to go to Apple Camp” who knew that all the cool kids would be going to computer camp?

NOTE: In checking online, it looks like a lot of the camps are full, Bridgeport and Washington Square have a few spots left on the waiting list and Pioneer seems to have more space open so register quickly!

http://www.apple.com/retail/camp/

 Students already get a 10% discount at the Apple store, but now Apple is throwing in a little extra.  With the purchase of a new computer for college Students also receive a $299 rebate for an 8GB iPod touch or 8GB iPod nano.  After purchasing your Mac and iPod submit your rebate online before October 15, 2008.  Apple isn’t taking any chances this year  in their fight to be number one on college campuses.  The college students of today, are the Enterprise Employees and Business Owners of the future. 

Like it or not, the wedding season is upon us. When I was planning my wedding one of the most difficult things was avoiding the cheesy “wedding” products. A feather longer than my arm with a pen attached to it and a binder covered in a large lace pillow seemed to be my only options for the guest book. I waited until the very last possible moment and finally cut up a bunch of paper and just had people sign their names on a random piece of paper… it turned out OK at the time but now I have 500 pieces of paper with signatures and limited closet space.

Now 3 years later (which equals about a million in the technology world), one novel idea to avoid the lace pillow binder is a book from iPhoto. Put pictures of the couple in using the smaller picture settings with two or three pictures per page, or place one large picture with the opposite page blank. Provide fine tip permanent markers and have guests sign their names and comments in the blank portions of the book. Creating a beautiful personal book will give the couple something to treasure rather than shove in the attic.

iPhoto books run $29.99 for a 10 page book which should be more than enough space for the average wedding and is much cheaper than every company specializing in personalized guest books.

Apple released a promotional video on Apple.com illustrating the convenient new MobileMe. They have marketed it as “Exchange for the rest of us.”

MobileMe is a secure online server that holds your email, calendar, address book, photos, and files pushing your most current information to all of our devices. MobileMe will work with your Mac, iPhone, PC while also giving you the option to access your information from online from any computer in any location. Web applications can be accessed through Me.com where icons for your mail, address book, calendar, photos, files and account settings are readily available upon login. This means even on your trip to Mexico you can access all your information from any hotel internet center and photos on MobileMe are accessible through Apple TV creating beautiful slide shows of your pictures. The instructional video illustrating every possible feature is on Apple’s website at: http://www.apple.com/mobileme/guidedtour/index.html?size=medium

While Apple only talks about the consumer benefits of such a product the business benefits are obvious. Try MobileMe for free for 60 days or purchase 20GB of space on the secured server for $99 a year. A family plan is also available for $149 a year for 4 people with 40GB of space.

Yesterday, Apple announced the release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard to take place in 2009. The developers in the press release give a large amount of information as to why they want to lay a foundation for the greatest operating system to date. The truth of the matter is that Leopard, while a great system with a lot of wonderful new features, is just plain buggy. Our technicians have spent hours working with Leopard and have found odd spots here and there (no pun intended). Apple describes Snow Leopard as the following,

“Snow Leopard is optimized for multi-core processors, taps into the vast computing power of graphic processing units (GPUs), enables breakthrough amounts of RAM and features a new, modern media platform with QuickTime® X. Snow Leopard includes out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 and is scheduled to ship in about a year.”

Snow Leopard is an attempt to make Leopard the operating system that was expected and the system Apple intended. When Leopard is working more efficiently Apple can roll out all of the great new features they are sitting on. Our predictions are that Snow Leopard will be set at a lower price point around the $30-$50 range to encourage consumers to buy. It makes sense to us, what is the point in releasing more features and more gadgets if the fundamental operating system is weak? If that were the case we would call it Microsoft.

Get a little Pro-Patria in July by spending your Economic Stimulus Check on the new iPhone. Apple announced the release date of the iPhone G3 today. The beautiful new iPhone will be faster, with enterprise features such as Microsoft Exchange.

The iPhone comes in the standard black or new white option with a GPS unit inside giving the Google Map feature an even greater boost. But here is the kicker, this new iPhone which has all the features of the original plus is selling for half the price. It is not available for pre-order on the website as of yet. For purchasing Internet searchers are being directed to the Apple Store.