Things is a to-do list/task manager for Mac OSX by Cultured Code.  Now, there are a LOT of list-managing "solutions" out there, and I've tried many of them, but I always ended up going back to a disorganized paper list, because it was just too inconvenient and/or slow to use software.  With Things, however, I never use paper anymore.

One of the reasons Things is so convenient is that you can type in a to-do item without actually having to be in the Things application.  If I'm working in Photoshop, for example, and it reminds me of some product pictures I forgot to take, I can hit a particular keystroke and a little black box pops up.  I can then type, "Take product photos" in the box, hit the Enter/Return key and my item will end up in my Things inbox, where I can sort it later.  At no point do I have to switch out of Photoshop to do this, so there's no delay in being able to get right back to work.  Since I type faster than I write, this process is actually faster than using pen and paper.

At a good stopping point in my day, I usually open up Things to sort my inbox.  Like in other programs, in Things you have the ability to create projects and due dates to house your to-do items, but the most wonderful and brilliant thing about Things is that you can use tags as well.  Whats so great about tags?  It means you can sort your items by any category that is meaningful to you.  In most other programs, you can sort items by priority, due date, person responsible, etc.  All the usual office categories.  But by creating your own tags, you can sort items by where they occur, how long they take, or how fun they are.  For example, maybe you run most errands in three different places: your local main street, the street near your work, and the big box strip mall two towns over.  You can tag the errands you need to run with "local errand," "work errand" or "mall errand."  Then, the next time you are headed to any of those three places, you can click on that tag and all of the errands you can do in that place pop up.  Print your list and you'll never again kick yourself for forgetting something while you were out.

But maybe you don't have time to "Buy a new dishwasher," even though it's on your "mall errand" list. If you've also tagged your items with the time they take, you're good to go!  Just click on both the "mall errand" tag and (while holding down the Shift key) the "5 min" tag, and you'll get only those items you can do at the mall in five minutes or less.  Sweet!  By using tags, you can create and sort a list based on how you already live and work, rather than having to adjust the way you think in order to fit into some software company's idea of what is the best way to organize your life.

Things has many other great features, such as an automatically generated "Today" list, based on your due dates, reminders and recurring tasks.  Really, the only big drawback of Things is that it only works on Apple products, like Macs and iPhones.  If you use a PC or are planning to get a Google phone that uses Android, you are S.O.L. my friends.  The developers have said that they are not going to release a version of Things for these other platforms anytime soon.  For the rest of us Mac-only users, Things will remain free of charge until MacWorld, when it goes from beta to full release.  At that point it will cost $39 for early adopters, and $49 for everyone else, which is still much cheaper than your average Filofax.

Guitar Praise goes on sale on September 25, 2008. It comes with a wireless guitar controller and has a different focus. For those that want to venture away from secular influences in music, it may just be a fun choice.

You get 52 Christian songs by artists like tobyMac, Flyleaf, Reliant K and more.

Buy it here: Guitar Praise By Digital Praise

Original Article from Macworld

In particular, Apple introduced their new iPod Touch which has slimmed down and iPod 4G Nano that comes in 9 rainbow colours (one of them being pink!)

The new 4G Nano has the same capability as the Touch where you can turn it sideways to view videos. But the coolest addition is the unique shuffle function. Shake the Nano side to side and it will skip to another tune at random.

When you next see a passenger on the Underground acting erratically with their Nano, remember they're not getting frustrated but changing their tunes!

Enjoy!

.
A estadia aqui por esses lados não tem sido das mais tranqüilas. Afinal, a empresa paga tudo, mas não nos dá chance legal de eliminar os brasileiros que usam frases de filmes para falar na recepção.

O complexo tecnológico das redondezas é elogiável. Aproveitamos os descuidos da equipe de apoio e saímos atrás de espécies vivas da categoria dos voadores. Capturamos "uns par".

Todos se fazendo de vítima, e tal, como é comum nesses eventos. Sem muitas novidades. A Sony adiou o squeeze, a Nintendo desmentiu os rumores e a Microsoft se negou a revelar números. A Apple, sim, precisa de uns releases.

Aí já era. Quanto mais vivo, melhor. Trata-se, enfim, mais das leis de atração do que dos fatores oferta/procura.

O resultado vem em tempo recorde, disse o executivo. Segundo estimativas - ninguém sabe de quem -, 70% das pessoas que nunca foram entrevistadas em pesquisas de opinião têm opiniões catastroficamente radicais e inéditas, diferentes de tudo-isso-aí-que-você-já-viu.

(Mac OS X)

The install is pretty straight forward.  Before you run Pwnage you must download the lates 2.1firmware from Apple.  You will also need the bootloader files BL-39.bin & BL-46bin.  PwnageTool will then create a new custom firmware.

To install your new custom firmware you must put your iPhone into DFU mode.  If your iPhone has not been Pwned use the PwnageTool to boot the phone in DFU mode.  If your iPhone has been Pwned you can boot into DFU mode by connecting your iPhone via USB connector and power it down.  Power your phone back up but hold the home button down until you see the Connect To iTunes screen or the Angry Steve Jobs screen.  iTunes will detect a iPhone/iPod in restore mode.  While clicking on the option button hold down "Option"  This will allow you to choose the Custom_Firmware_ 2.1.

It's all about selling and buying on 10 pt increments. When the stock drops 10 pts (+ or - a point) within two days you NEED to SELL!!! Then you need to do the opposite and BUY when the stock rises 10 pts within 2 days. The stock follows a pattern of dropping 20 or more when it really drops, and shooting up 30-40 points when it gets going, in response to new products, the Macworld, and the WWDC events. If you look back you'll see you could have made at least a 10-15 pt increase even playing it safe and waiting for the stock to drop ten pts.

Don't let me be your only reason for selling on this pattern though. Just watch the opportunities pass you by and you'll convince yourself. The perfect opportunity is coming up this Macworld. Good luck trading.

Alguns outros bons momentos:

Bill gates e o controle remoto:

Macworld Boston 1997 (atenção especial para a hora em que o convidado especial aparece):

O próximo não é tão clássico mas é um exemplo de apresentação. O background é o seguinte, WWDC e um bando de rumores. Um deles dizia sobre a introdução da plataforma Intel. Parecia o mais improvável de todos. Quem usa Mac a algum tempo lembra do quanto se falava entre os macboys sobre o processador PowerPC ser melhor que Intel. O próprio Jobs usava isso em seus keynotes, era motivo de altas discussões. Como então fazer essa mudança e vendê-la aos seus desenvolvedores? Entra em cena o "Campo Apple de Distorção da Realidade" e como o Steve Jobs faz isso.

Para os mais Geeks, prestem atenção aos 1:25. Um slide de duas palavras passando um conceito enorme.

A introdução do iPhone (outro exemplo de apresentação):

Você pode ver nos relateds os resto do video da apresentação.

E você? Alguma sugestão de video que ficou faltando? Deixe aí no comentário.

Il Macworld 2009, come ogni anno, si terrà al Moscone Center di San Francisco dal 5 al 9 Gennaio dell’anno prossimo.

Dal sito dell’evento è già possibile iscriversi per la partecipazione. Come per le altre edizioni, il Macworld 2009 sarà l’occasione per seguire decine di conferenze e di corsi specializzati e, soprattutto, sarà un’opportunità per seguire il keynote di Steve Jobs (ancora in attesa di conferma ufficiale) che si terrà probabilmente il giorno 6 Gennaio.

I'm tapping into the community of gambling know-it-alls over at Predictify just to see what the Net addicts who don't read Apple rumor blogs are thinking. I'm not the betting type because I typically end up losing money when I enter such agreements, but Predictify is the startup of an old friend so I thought I'd give it a try.

The question I posed: Will Apple unveil a Mac tablet this January? Or will it come out later? One day's cycle and almost 100 votes in, voters are sounding pretty hopeful:

Not sure if I agree with the majority now, especially considering recent "October" hub-bub. If you're a Mac enthusiast, gamblin' (wo)man, or blueblooded pedant, hop on over to Predictify and pitch in your two cents.

Tenemos ya confirmadas las fechas en que se presentara la nueva edición de la Macworld en el Moscone Center de San Francisco.

Se trata del 5 al 9 de enero y ya esta abierto el periodo de inscripcion al evento que como de costumbre, reune a todos los Mac Users y en general seguidores de Apple ya que Steve Jobs tambien estara realizando su keynote para mostrar las novedades para el año que viene tanto de software y hardware y creemos que tambien sera un buen momento y lugar para presentar Snow Leopard con toda la ola de novedades que traera la 6ta. version de Mac OS X.

Asi que vamos preparandonos para un cierre de año espectacular y el comienzo de un nuevo año donde Apple estamos seguro que nunca parara de deslumbrarnos

Fuente: MacWorld Expo

Renovación (mas o menos) de la línea de Ipod; nuevos iPod Nano con 8 colores (muy muy bonitos); un solo iPod Classic de 120GB -ya no 80 o 160, porqué?- nuevos colores en el iPod Shuffle y nuevo iPod Touch que es igualito al iPhone 3G hasta con speakers y botones de volumen.

Toda la línea iPod está un 20% más barata!!!! buenísima noticia, hoy démonos un tiro todos los que compramos iPods caros...

Nuevo iTunes 8, ya lo bajé y lo probé! me encanta eso del Genius que es como un asistente para buscar música que te guste basado en lo que más oís y hasta hace playlist con ellas!  Recomendadísimo! Las nuevas visualizaciones también están buenas. Bájalo aquí.

Nuevo FirmWare 2.1 para iPhones y iPod Touch del que juran y perjuran que arregla toodos los bugs del 3G pero parece no añadirle mucho nuevo a los 2G más que reparacion de errores.

Hay mas cosas pero para mi es lo que importa porque implica que los Nano gen3 se van a poner más baratos y a mi me gustan! :D kiero uno! y lo del iTunes que ya lo probe y sta bueeeeno! :D

Haber si alguien me informa como trabaja en windows el iTunes.

Solamente.

From the International Business Times:

The Cupertino-based company is being tight-lipped about what's going to be announced, but many industry analysts predict the company is going to unveil new iPods and lower prices for some of its digital music players.

The event, titled "Lets Rock", will make it the fourth year in a row that Apple has held an event focused on its popular iPod in September.

"We anticipate a modestly redesigned 4th-generation iPod Nano and slimmer 2nd-generation iPod Touch, with lower price points and higher storage capacities," said Shaw Wu, an industry analyst with American Technology Research. "New Macs (are) not likely at this event,"

However, "radical changes in the iPod portfolio" are unlikely, he noted.

Apple may also make some announcements about new software. "Very often when the hardware gets revised, we see a new version of iTunes," the company's online music service, said Ross Rubin of NPD Group, a market research firm.

Apple has sold over 100 million iPods since the wildly popular device first became available in 2001, while rival Microsoft in May announced that it has sold over 2 million Zune devices since the product was released in late 2006.

From CNET:

As today's Apple event gets underway and journalists from all over the world are waiting on bated breath to see what Steve Jobs has to say, it's abundantly clear that the vast majority of people going and those that read the news, will be disappointed.

No, it's not because Apple will waste time or that all those people are Windows fanboys and want nothing to do with Apple. Instead, it's because Apple, unlike every other company in the technology industry, has created such a hype machine that unless it offers something major like a touch-screen Mac or a new iPhone, it'll disappoint even the most giddy fanboy.

See, the problem with Apple's success is that it's expected to keep up with it. How many times has the company announced a press event, carted Steve Jobs onto stage, who then announced a few minor upgrades, only to see less than shining press opinions later on because it wasn't "newsworthy" enough? Probably more times than we can count.

Apple's success over the past few years has revolved around these press events. The company has consistently made huge announcements at Macworld and other assorted locales over the years. But in recent years, it hasn't. Not because it's failing to release good products, but because it's so difficult to create and release groundbreaking products every few months.

But it's Apple's fault that all this happened. The company is big on these events and it does its best to build up the hype around each of them. I can't blame it - it's in the business of good coverage and big profits and the best way to do that is to build up some serious hype.

But because it relies on these events so much, the very thing that makes it successful is also becoming a problem. How can you satisfy the press and make sure that they continue building the hype, while ensuring that the right products are made available at the right time? After all, doesn't Apple have a responsibility to its shareholders first?

There's been a lot of confusion about what Jobs meant when he set that sales target for the iPhone in January 2007. The giant screen behind him showed "10M units" -- 10 million being roughly 1% of the nearly 1 billion mobile phones sold worldwide in 2006. But did Jobs mean that Apple would try to sell a total of 10 million phones in 2007 and 2008? Or did he mean 10 million phones in calendar year 2008 alone?

The timing question should have been settled once and for all when it was put directly to Apple COO Tim Cook and answered unambiguously: Steve meant calendar year 2008. (See the earnings call transcript here.)

But now a new wrinkle has emerged. The cellphone market has not stood still since January 2007, when Jobs gave the Macworld keynote speech that introduced the iPhone. Worldwide sales of mobile phones hit 1.15 billion in 2007 and is expected to grow to 1.28 billion in 2008, according to a report issued last week by Gartner, Inc. (see here).

So is Apple's (AAPL) 2008 sales target still 10 million iPhones? Or is it 12.8 million, 1% of the current worldwide market?

That depends, once again, on what Steve Jobs said and what he meant. You be the judge. Listen to the relevant section of Jobs' 2007 keynote, available here and pasted below, and decide for yourself.

Nu verkar det i alla fall vara bekräftat att det kommer hände något i den stora Applevärlden på tisdag den 9 september, ska bli intressant och se vad det är som kommer hända. Det har ju redan läckt bilder på nya modellen av ipod nano, hittade denna bild hos macworld. jag hoppas att de släpper den nya modellen av "macbook" som det också var rykten om.

I will se you there!

by Benj Edwards, Macworld.com

The iMac made an instant impression when Apple first unveiled it in May 1998. But it didn’t start to really shake things up unitl it began to ship—which happened 10 years ago on August 15, 1998. Arguably the most influential desktop computer of the last decade, the original iMac’s specifications seem quaint by today’s standards. For $1,299, you came home with a 233MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 32MB of RAM, a 4GB hard drive, a 15-inch built-in monitor, and stereo speakers—all in an amazingly stylish case.

The Bondi blue wonder heralded the return of Steve Jobs as a visionary leader for Apple, and it halted Apple’s mid-1990s financial freefall. Initially marketed as an easy-to-use gateway to the Internet, the iMac transcended that simple role and redefined the desktop PC market—not to mention consumer industrial design—forever.

But have you ever wondered how? Here are eight ways the original iMac shook the world.

1. It killed beige

Before the iMac, personal computer enclosures were stuck in a design rut. Most manufacturers produced beige or gray metal boxes, each designed as a merely functional piece of equipment instead of an aesthetically pleasing creative tool. The iMac’s desig. shattered the status quo with its preference for gentle curves over harsh corners, and for vibrant color over dull neutrality. Apple even coined a new term, “Bondi blue”—a blue-green hue named after Australia’s Bondi Beach shoreline—to describe the color of its new machine. Combined with an ice-white pinstripe pattern, the color scheme create a stunning enclosure theretofore unseen in the PC world. It made quite an impact on the public, but that was only the beginning.

The original iMac, in all its Bondi blue glory

2. It hit us in the “i”

iThis, iThat — iPod, iPhone, iChat, iLife, iSight. Where did all those lowercase iPrefixes come from. You can thank the iMac for starting this ubiquitous Apple branding trend.

The “i” in “iMac” originally stood for “Internet” (or alternately: “individual, instruct, inform, or inspire,” according to Steve Jobs’ introductory 1998 iMac slide show). The “i” prefix even trickled out to non-Apple product names—mostly in the form of iPod accessories. After the Internet became ho-hum everyday news, Apple’s iPrefix shifted meaning to serve puns like “iSight,” or to ambiguously imply the empowering first-person pronoun “I,” as in “iChat.”

3. It launched on the Internet wave

Apple’s first marketing angle with the iMac relied heavily on the expanding popularity of the Internet in the mid-1990s. With the “i” in “iMac” being short for “Internet,” Apple billed the iMac as an easy way to get connected to the global network (in just two steps, according to one Apple advertisement). By focusing on the iMac’s Internet aptitude, Apple chose a unique way to differentiate its product from other computers and to leapfrog to the top of the consumer PC heap. It worked.

4. It introduced USB to the masses

The iMac’s sole reliance on the USB interface meant that Mac users had to throw out all their old mice, keyboards, scanners, printers, and external drives. The computer’s lack of SCSI ports particularly scared Mac pundits, who long relied on SCSI for external storage. But at the same time, the iMac provided the first kick start USB needed to really get off the ground. Thanks to the iMac, many peripheral manufacturers launched their first-ever round of USB computer accessories—it was no coincidence that most of them shipped in transparent blue-green housing.

Macworld editors discuss the iMac’s impact in the latest Macworld Podcast

5. It killed the floppy drive

Apple launched the Sony 3.5-inch disk drive with the Macintosh in 1984—and 14 years later, the company killed it with the iMac, which included no floppy drive whatsoever. The press greeted the decision to omit removable storage with considerable skepticism. But the absence of a floppy drive was a bold statement—Apple was declaring, “From now on you will use the Internet and local networks to transfer your files.” And Apple was right, even if the company was slightly ahead of the curve: these days, most computers lack a floppy drive, and users barely miss it.

6. It set standards for industrial design

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but when George Foreman Grills are following your lead, it’s time to change things up.

The next time you see a consumer thingmabob with a translucent plastic case—especially those available in multiple candy colors—you can thank (or curse) iMac chief designer Jonathan Ive. After the release of iMac, multi-colored translucent plastic housing became such a common staple in the consumer products industry that the iMac’s 1999-2000 Technicolor parade of models almost became a parody of itself. Apple had to move on, dropping the bright array of colors from the product line with the release of the flat-panel iMac in 2002. Even then, other companies came along for the ride: most consumer electronics devices now ship in brushed aluminum, frosty white, or glossy black—the colors of more recent iMac iterations.

7. It redeemed Steve Jobs

During a power struggle in 1985, Apple executives forced Steve Jobs to resign from the company he co-founded. After Apple purchased NeXT in 1997, Jobs returned to Apple and soon became “interim CEO.” The world looked to him to turn Apple around, and he delivered: after dumping unprofitable product lines and streamlining the business in general, Apple was back in the black. But no amount of fiddling with the budget could compare symbolically with the success of the iMac—clearly Jobs’ baby—which served as a concrete reminder of his uncanny ability to inspire those under him to create incredible products. The iMac’s success meant Jobs’ success, and it inspired the Apple faithful to follow him once more.

8. It saved Apple, too

In 1996-97, the media pronounced Apple all but dead. The company lost $878 million in 1997, but under the renewed guidance of Steve Jobs, it earned $414 million in 1998—its first profit in three years. Those results stemmed from both reducing operating costs and from iMac sales. And yet the iMac meant more than just financial returns: the symbolic impact of Apple once again having an exciting, innovative product marked a victory in the hearts and the minds of the public, and it proved that Apple still had the chops to stay in business.

Thanks to continued innovation in the iMac line and beyond, Apple is now more profitable than ever, and will likely continue to be so. But even with the iPhones, iPods, and iTunes dominating today’s news, we shouldn’t forget that Apple’s 21st century success can be traced directly back to iMac’s launch a decade ago.

[Benj Edwards is a freelance writer and Editor-in-Chief of Vintage Computing and Gaming, a blog devoted to computer and video game history.]

sumber : http://www.macworld.com/article/135017/2008/08/imacanniversary.html