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Showing posts with label iPod. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPod. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

The day I almost fell in love with an Apple

The day I almost fell in love with an Apple computer was a strange day. A client had recently purchased a new Macbook Pro from me and I had just delivered the Mac to her. Now to say I am anti-Apple is not correct, I am just neither for it or against it. Given that this Macbook was to be first time setting up a Macbook I was a little apprehensive about what to expect.


Image representing Apple as depicted in CrunchBase
Image via CrunchBase
Opening the boring brown box only to reveal the beautiful packaging of the Mac box immediately got me going into the positive mindset about Apple. Opening the box feels like a sense of occassion, it makes you want to open the box and see the mystery that awaits inside.

Opening the box does not dull the occassion, there it was the brand new shiny silver Macbook Pro glistening in the late winter sun, the Apple sign looking polished and ready to snapped up. Even unwrapping the plastic coating is an experience, effortless, simplicity at best.

Switching the machine on and hearing the familiar 'gong' the screen comes alive, the setup is so easy and then the migration assistant prompt appears. This is an awesome tool, selecting the old Mac and transferring the data to the new could not have been easier. It even moved all the applications, everything! Coming from a strictly Windows background I will admit I was in awe of this machine.

The design, the simplicity of use, the way it basically set itself up, it felt like some real IT voodoo magic was happening before my very eyes. After all the stardust in my eyes had settled and I started to use the MacBook and check the settings the magical effects began to wear off.

Setting up the scanner was not as easy you would think, although the scanner was installed, when trying to scan the documents were being cut-off and other random things were happening. Thankfully it was enough to fix.

Then the confusion over the Thunderbolt adapter, having to have an adaptor to connect to an external screen is stupid. The Macbook easily has the space for this why make something easy into a money making thing and force people to buy an adapter.

Adapter in hand, setting up the projector was ok, it didn't just work. I did have to go into system prefernces and fiddle with the display settings but it now works. While I am going on about adapters, only having two USB ports? Seriously? I would really have thought a company has design and customer focused would realise that two USB ports just doesn't cut it.

I do like the magic touchpad with all its gesture controls, but sometimes you can end up flipping screens and scrolling through the wrong document but that is more user error than anything and not the fault of Apple.

Whilst I am thoroughly impressed with the Macbook's packaging and easy setup making you feel like you have not bought a computer but something more something unique something wonderful, that all starts to fade as you realise it is just a computer. Considering that it still costs more than an equivalent spec Windows computer, I do wonder what the fuss is all about.

Is Safari really better than IE9. Is Mac Mail with its limitations better than Windows mail?  Can a new user take to a Mac quicker than Windows. I do not know, but since I love my right click being on the mouse and not a keyboard and mouse click combo. I will stick to Windows for a little longer.

Maybe when Apple release their next model, I will take a look at again, that won't be to far away either as there constanly seems to be a newer model launched every month, we are already up to the iPhone 4S already, I think the 4T comes out soon. I joke of course, but the day I almost fell in love with an Apple certainly changed my admittedly limited perception of what it is all about.
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Thursday, 28 July 2011

FNB Smartphone App for Blackberry

FNB has launched a South African first, a smartphone and tablet banking application (App). The good thing going for it immediately is that it is free (for now). It is available for registered FNB online banking customers who have a compatible Android, Apple or Blackberry smartphone or tablet device. Symbian device support is coming soon.

As stated on the FNB website:
The FNB Banking App allows you to view your account list and balances, transfer funds, make payments and get detailed transactional history.

The FNB Banking App also brings you additional value added benefits like the ability to access a FNB directory and make free calls to any FNB Call Centre. You can also locate FNB branches and ATMs on a map using Location-based Services.
My first impressions of the FNB app have been good. The Blackberry App world allows for an easy installation of the app. On your side all you need to do is provide your banking username on the app and then login to FNB online banking and link your phone with the site. Once done you login to the App on your phone and access all the content and functions mentioned above.

When starting the app on the Blackberry Torch there is a little delay in opening but there is a decent splash screen and you are welcome to a nice slick and simple to use menu. All the buttons are self explanatory and the interface makes navigation very easy.

On the down side, the app is a little sluggish in changing screens and did make my Blackberry hang upon accessing the app the third time round. The phone did recover without any issues and use of the app continued. Given that I have not used the app all to much yet, my first impression of the app is that it is very good but only time will tell.

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Kindling has taken - Kindle books selling faster than print books

The sale of Kindle books has overtaken the sale of old school print books according to Amazon.com. Amazon.com started selling books, softcover and hardcover, in July 1995. Kindle was introduced in November 2007.

It toook just three years to out sell hardcover books and a further six months more to overtake softcover books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Today less than four years after the launch of the Kindle, Amazon.com customers are buying more Kindle books than all print books combined.

Since April 1, 2011 for every 100 print books Amazon.com sold it sold 105 Kindle books. This is excluding the free books that Kindle offers. Amazon.com has sold more than three times as many Kindle's so far in 2011 than it did in 2010.

Kindle books let you "Buy once, read everywhere" on all generation Kindles as well as on other platforms like Blackberry, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, MAC, PC, Windows Phone, Android-based systems and many others.

However it will be interesting to see how the sale of Kindle books will be affected by an Apple issued edict that all Apps offering content for sale or subscription are required to do so through the App Store and not through external links to the sellers web store. In addition to this Apple also want 30% of sales through an iOS app!

The Kindle seems to be an amazing product and more importantly it means that people are still interested in reading books. Although the medium through which we read books is shifting from paper to digital it is still great to see that the Kindle is getting people reading more. Maybe not more people reading but at least people are reading.