07-31-11
My First Day with the New Macbook Air
Design
The design of the MacBook Air is not particularly new to Apple however, over the last 3 years or so nobody seems to have been able to replicate it. This is a telling indicator that Apple’s R&D department have a plenty of capital and time to go after future thinking design concepts, coming to market with something other manufacturers don’t seem to even thought of yet. The day this approach to hardware dies, is the day that Apple becomes run of the mill.
Even thinner and more precisely put together than my old MacBook Pro I find myself wondering how a computer can fit in a space this small! The keyboard is laid out perfectly (I love Apple’s keyboard design so much I even bought one for my work PC a few months back), the space between the keys helps you to avoid mashing two at once. There is a good feel to the scissor keys and while they have relatively shallow key travel, there is no doubting you have made the keystroke you intended to. The LED backlighting under the keys is very welcome and in my opinion essential on a portable. The display is still glossy but not the glass glossy panel that makes the MacBook Pro hard to use in bright spaces or near windows.
Apple’s unibody design has shone through again as being strong but incredibly light – holding the laptop by one corner while moving between rooms is natural and no flex or weaknesses are apparent. The one thing instantly apparent is the lack of ports – there are now 6 in total, that’s four less than the 13” MacBook Pro. Unless you are someone who connects to high-speed peripherals or needs wired network access often, this shouldn’t be a problem.
If anyone was looking for a compact well-designed ultraportable – this is it.
Speed
The new MacBook Air has already been hyped for it’s benchmark scores the world over – “2x faster”, “better than the 2010 13” MacBook Pro”, “biggest leap Apple has made in a long time”, etc, etc but that speed in performing image resizes and intricate maths for a score translates incredibly well to daily computing tasks. I ran a GeekBench test myself and the results put this Macbook Air in the same league as the base 27″ 2010 iMac.
Booting from power off takes under 20 seconds, opening Mail or Safari is faster than you can reach from the trackpad to the keyboard to input the URL you are looking for. Even more complex applications such as Photoshop CS5 and Aperture open snappily and respond quickly. I can’t name any task which this MacBook Air could do faster or better.
Bloggers and pundits put this down to the SSD and the i5 processor (I opted for the BTO i7 option) but I put it down to a great meeting of the hardware and modern OS. Apple is at the pinnacle of optimization with their personal computers – they have taken realistic hardware and paired it with an excellent operating system to create a winner.
03-08-11
My New [old] Apple Cube
“Never has so much supercomputing firepower been engineered into such a small space. The remarkable Power Mac G4 Cube, measuring less than eight inches per side, delivers more computing power than PCs four times its size. Yet while it’s packed with advanced technology, there’s still room for more inside.”
I am writing this post to celebrate my acquisition of an Apple Power Mac G4 Cube.I have always loved these computers and have longed at listings on eBay.
I’ve always been drawn to the Apple Cube because of it’s simplicity. One small box houses your whole computer. It makes no noise, has no fan to remind you this is a computer you are sitting in front of. It’s nice to have on your desk – quite a departure from the old beige boxes Apple used to make before Steve came back and a nice change of scenery from almost every PC of the day. And, despite being spec’d at year 2000 speediness it still handles general use very well, certainly browsing, email and music.
This is now a cult collectors item and rarely found in a full set as it is here. I am most proud to own this amazing computer.
[For extra fun value, check out the original PowerMac Cube product page]
07-02-10
Why I’m getting an iPhone 4
I have to admit there is a degree of Fanboy to my upcoming purchase of the iPhone 4. But that’s not the only reason.
The iPhone 4 is what we have been waiting for in a phone all these years. The hardware is beautiful, stunning even.
iOS4 has matured and become what everyone always hoped it would be. With multitasking added it’s reached a whole new level of awesome and it’s Apple awesome not generic battery wasting all at once awesome. 
Can’t wait for them to be released in New Zealand!
Are you getting one? Let me know in the comments below.
05-26-10
How to get 13Mbps and killer wifi, in New Zealand
I have been on a quest for the last 6 months to set up the fastest, most stable & efficient wireless network for my flat.
I think I have found the magic recipe.
Ingredients:
- Apple Airport Extreme (or Time Capsule)
- PPPoA to PPPoE bridge to handle your ADSL (I used a Draytek Vigor 120 and highly recommend it, buy here)
(Depending if your unit has been pre-configured or not, you may have to pop into the web interface and just switch on the bridge function)
Instructions:
1. Plug everything in (make sure you plug your bridge into the WAN port on your Airport)
2. Set up your Airport with the utility (use PPPoE for internet and add your usual ADSL login/pass)
and now, ENJOY!
You have one of the simplest and fastest connections possible, and with a good wireless setup you will be able to get internet and media all over your house without all the pesky wires, neat!
The reason I recommend the Airport Extreme is this, it is really fast AND it does Wireless G/N on separate radios (this means it is not a hybrid AP which will slow down for G devices or force you to use 2.4ghz, it will do them both, simultaneously).
The use of the PPPoA to PPPoE bridge means the Airport will be in control of the connection, free to do the port mapping and not slowed down by your normal modem. There is one more reason. As you may or may not know, IPv4 (think 192.168.1.1) is about to reach exhaustion point, there will be no more addresses left to give out. The solution is IPv6 allowing more addresses than the world will ever need, and the Airport Extreme has full support for this standard.
So go ahead, splash out and set yourself up a network all the neighbors will envy (the range will be so good they will be left no choice).
For those interested my connection is now ~13mbps down, 0.8mbps up (it was ~3mbps down).
NOTE: After having this set up for a few days I have discovered some other perks to having your network set up this way.
05-24-10
MobileMe needs to be Free
I believe MobileMe should be free, this would be an important move for Apple to compete with the Android operating system by Google.
The Android operating system has Google products integrated in every app, this is especially important when it comes to the Personal Information Management features ie. Contacts, Tasks, Calenders etc.
In the iPhone OS the equivalent is MobileMe, while you can set up Google Sync via Exchange the experience is less than optimal. The answer is MobileMe, I have used MobileMe and the sync is flawless, set and forget.
I believe MobileMe should be free for anyone who owns a Mac, iPhone or iPad, this would complement the ‘Apple experience’ really well and make the iPhone (and your new iPad) an even better device to own.
05-15-10
REVIEW: iPad
As one of the privileged few to lay my hands on an iPad in New Zealand I cant help but feel like I have been let into a secret club. One where everyone wants to get into but very few people have. iPad is still very much a buzz word in New Zealand and this was proved to me when my friend Michelle said “Is that an iPad?” in the middle of class, the whole room went quiet for a second. What is it about the iPad that has made it so revered? Is it the Apple branding? The media hype?
I think the iPad is as much an idea as a product and Apple seems like the perfect company to deliver that idea. Before you ask, “Isn’t this just a big iPod touch?” I will say, to use an iPad is like nothing you have ever used before, the fluidity of the interface and the beautiful large display make the only similarity to the iPod touch the tried and true system of Home Screen, App then back to Home Screen workflow. The first time you touch an iPad you will realise this device could change the way you think about computing and your use of the internet.
To look at, the iPad seems quite plain. The design does not interfere with usage in any way, more is almost transparent. Once awoken the 9.7” touch panel shines. The colour is amazing. The image is crisp. Reading on the bus, using at home and also using outdoors, it seems to perform more than appropriately.
Don’t be fooled — this device is a game-changer, even my iPhone could learn more than a few tricks from the iPad.
Books.
The iPad is a perfect device for reading. I can’t decide if it’s the high resolution display or the automatic backlight about it but something makes it unlike a normal computer screen to read on. I can happily send extended trips on the bus or in the car reading. You have the ability to change the type size and typeface. This did not seem significant to me until I demoed the iPad to a tutor of mine (he wears glasses and has difficulty seeing small type). His eyes widened when he was able to make the typeface bigger and was he beaming. If only he could have used this in his working days on the London tube!
Apps.
To use apps on the iPad in New Zealand you don’t need to jailbreak or anything like that. What you do need is to have a US iTunes account. This will let you take advantage of the numerous apps that bring to the iPad the same “there’s an app for that” feeling as already exists on the iPhone.
To set up a US iTunes account is fairly simple, Apple will even tell you how to do it. Just choose US store from the little globe flag on the lower right hand side of the store and set up! (I used the address of the Bellagio for my new US account.)
Since the method tells you to set your payment method as ‘none’ you will need to buy iTunes vouchers through an intermediate service, I find MediaWoB works as advertised.
Once you have procured a US iTunes account you will see the content available is far richer and more comprehensive then what we have in New Zealand. (bonus: it’s available sooner!) If you can be bothered with the vouchers setup, using a US account is much better than a New Zealand account and your devices will use either/both without issue.
If you need any help with this Lance Wiggs has written a really good post on how to do it or just flick me an email.
This brings me to the question, where can I get one of these?
The iPad on which I have based this review and the only one I have seen in person was an early US import for a friend, by a friend. The total cost to import the iPad was around $1000 due to various taxes and other costs of bringing it over.
Recent news from Apple indicates the pricing in Australia to be:
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB A$ 629
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB A$ 759
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB A$ 879
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB A$ 799
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB A$ 928
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB A$ 1,049
The exchange rate to New Zealand dollars puts that at $785 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model and $1000 for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G version. These prices seem about right but Apple will surely price them at nice-looking, round values. If you can’t wait, Mighty Ape and Parallel Imported are selling them right now.
There is no news yet as to whether Vodafone or XT will resell or subsidise the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G model, but both operators have confirmed [link & link] they will have micro-sims available to the public by the time the iPad lands here. If you are considering the Wi-Fi + 3G model I would recommend using XT over Vodafone. The iPad supports 3G over 850, 1900 or 2100 MHz and while XT operates the on 2100 MHz in the city, falling back to 850 MHz band in rural areas, Vodafone operates on 900 MHz in rural areas meaning you will be crawling on GPRS if you have an iPad (or an iPhone for that matter).
Some of my favourite New Zealand sites on the iPad:
Suggestion for improvement.
The iPad could really benefit from user accounts of some sort. This would give the benefit of each user being able have their mail calendars etc set up.
Oh and you already know what to do with it: