July 24, 2008

Mossberg/Boehret “very impressed” with new App Store

Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret (allthingsd.com) consider the new App Store “the single best feature in Apple’s second generation iPhone 3G.” The “easy availability of so many programs,” they say, “makes the iPhone a true computing platform, like a pocket-sized Windows or Macintosh PC,” one that allows iPhone owners to “have a device with fresh, different capabilities every day.”

iPhone 3G “a superb piece of multipurpose technology”

“Better than the original in almost every way,” iPhone 3G “is an endless source of entertainment — as well as a platform for useful business applications that transform it from a cute gadget into a true hand-held computer,” suggests Mike Himowitz (baltimoresun.com).

Aperture 2 captures five-star rating

Thanks to a “dramatic overhaul,” Aperture 2, “Apple’s all-in-one photography tool, overtakes Adobe’s Lightroom,” reports Alex Singleton (macworld.co.uk). “Much faster than its predecessor,” Aperture 2 has “a new user interface [that] makes it more appealing to first-time users, and over 100 new features means it significantly leapfrogs Lightroom in functionality.”

App Store “puts iPhone above all others”

What makes the App Store “a win for the user”? Andy Ihnatko (suntimes.com) ticks off the reasons: “The entire universe of iPhone software is in one central location.” “Prices start at free.” “Buying and installing an app is dead simple and reliable.” And thanks to the App Store, iPhone and iPod touch now “represent a formidable and legitimate new computing platform.”

iPhone 3G “still rules the smart-phone roost”

When Jonathan Takiff (philly.com) conducted his own touchscreen-to-touchscreen comparison of three new smartphones — iPhone 3G, LG Dare, and Samsung Instinct — the results were crystal clear. “The new iPhone,” he reports, “still reigns supreme in overall performance and enjoyment.”

Quick Tip of the Week: Restricting Spotlight

Did you know that you can tell Spotlight not to index folders you’d prefer to omit from your searches? Or that you can control the order in which search results appear? Find out how by watching the latest Quick Tip of the Week.

July 23, 2008

“The App Store—oh, man, the App Store.”

“It’s a candy store, dude,” David Pogue (nytimes.com) exclaims — a “single, centralized, utterly complete source of software” that makes “the iPhone (or the iPod Touch) do absolutely amazing things…stunts a cellphone has no right to perform.” And because the new App Store “is beautifully integrated with the iPhone itself,” it makes “it fast, simple and idiot-proof to download and install new software morsels.”

Enjoying “blazing fast” iPhone 3G performance

After taking it on a test drive across Michigan for ten days, Mike Wendland (freep.com) concludes that “the 3G network makes the iPhone about as close to a laptop in convenience and functionality as a mobile phone can be.” Yet “it’s the new iPhone 2.0 software upgrade that is the most impressive — allowing users to connect seamlessly to business e-mail and run hundreds of new games and programs.”

Four stars for FileMaker Bento

Bento, the personal database application for Mac OS X Leopard, ”may be one of the most user-friendly relational database applications I have ever encountered,” suggests Tom Nelson (about.com). “For a remarkably low price of $49, FileMaker has created a truly easy-to-use database product.”

Coming Attractions - The X-Files : I Want to Believe

Week after week, season after season, the series captivated the country as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigated the paranormal and bizarre in The X-Files. Now David Duchnovy and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles as Mulder and Scully in The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The film, directed by Chris Carter, who also created the television series, opens in theaters on Friday, July 25.

July 22, 2008

Macs help Trek get the message out

“We’ve got some incredible products,” says John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle. “But if you don’t tell people about them, it doesn’t really matter.” Not about to let that happen, Trek uses their Macs to create videos as marketing and training tools. “We’re using podcasting to talk” directly to consumers about Trek bicycles. As a result, “they’re walking right into the retailers asking for the product.”

App Store Pick of the Week: Exposure

With Exposure, you can take Flickr on the road, browsing and enjoying the billions of photos on Flickr on your iPhone or iPod touch. Both Exposure (free) and the ad-free Exposure Premium ($9.99) let you browse your own library, flip though a contact’s recent uploads, create favorites, add comments, even search through Flickr’s vast library of images.