Apple Mac

Apple’s upcoming MobileMe service, replacing the existing .Mac offering, has yet to be released. However, some users are reporting proper e-mail forwarding with the @Me.com alias.

I confirmed this with my own .Mac account. This morning, a test email sent to “[My .Mac Name] @Me.com” was correctly forwarded to my current .Mac inbox.

The complete transition of to MobileMe is expected to occur sometime around July 11th to coincide with the release of the Apple iPhone 3G.

I’ve been reading this week about Apple’s next new major update to Leopard, OS X 10.6 which will be aptly named Snow Leopard.

Why’s this name so appropriate? According to Apples CEO Steve Jobs this will be the first version of OS X to have few if any new user features from the current version which is Leopard. Therefore it will be in the same “Leopard” family.

That doesn’t mean that there will absolutely nothing new in Snow Leopard, but most of the new stuff will be “under the hood” and not readily apparent to the end user except perhaps in improved speed and reliability.

It appears that Snow Leopard Server version may see the most enhancements as Apple strives to make OS X Server enterprise friendly and ready. Server enhancements being mentioned include: Mail, Calendar, Address Book Servers: the ZFS file system, and complete 64-bit support.

Apple has stated that with this release it will be focusing on the performance and reliability of OS X, fine tuning and improving the current applications and features not adding new ones, it’ll be quality over quantity.

Snow Leopard will strongly appeal to the technical user due to Apples focus on improving the technical aspects of OS X, but the non-technical user will also benefit with a better performing, more secure and more reliable computer.

In my opinion, Apples announced focus with Snow Leopard is spot on, and I applaud them for taking this stand.

I ordered an iPod Touch a few days ago and it arrived yesterday which allowed me a little time to play and explore.

There’s been thousands of reviews and impressions published on both the iPod Touch and the iPhone so I don’t believe I can add anything, but here’s a few of my first impressions:

• The multi-touch interface is very good, better then I expected. It doesn’t take long for you to feel comfortable with it. Being a two-handed touch typist I’m not overly fond of the virtual keyboard for entering text but it does function well as designed. Maybe I just need to work on my thumb dexterity.
• Safari on this thing is miles ahead of any other mobile browser I’ve ever experienced. I actually can surf the web and not get completely frustrated as I have on any other mobile browser I’ve tried. Nice job!
• All the applications seem to function well. This however makes me want even more. Hopefully 2.0 with downloadable applications with satisfy this need. I can certainly understand why people “jailbreak” these devices to unlock more potential because there’s lots of potential here.
• I’m not sure I’d want to watch a two hour movie on the Touch. The screen is very nice but still it’s small for watching anything longer then maybe 30 minutes. However, I have to say that it’s not as bad as watching one of those airline movies from four rows back of one of the drop down screens.
• The performance of the device seems acceptable. I haven’t experienced any frustration with its speed.

Like I said, nothing new, but I wanted to share my initial thoughts. Overall I’m very impressed.

After what for me was an ex-ordinate amount of control I caved in today and ordered an Apple iPod Touch.

Apple introduced the original iPhone on June 29th 2007 followed by the iPod Touch on September 5th 2007, which was based on the same form factor and Multi-touch OS user interface.

I resisted the initial hype and even survived my son getting an iPod Touch for Christmas ‘07 (he loves it.) This was no small feat…

“Hello, my name is Earl and I’m a gadget junky…”

Yes, I resisted the Apple handheld multi-touch gadget temptation for almost a year…somebody call Guinness.

My will broke after seeing the new features being built into version 2.0 of the iPhone/Touch OS software and spending time with my sons “Touch” yesterday.

Why the iPod Touch when the new 3G iPhone will have more usable features based upon a direct Internet connection?

For me it keeps coming down to three reasons:

• the area I live;
• the importance of our Cell phones; and
• AT&T.

I live in a small town in North Carolina between the cities of Charlotte and Greensboro. This area would have spotty if any 3G service. That removes a big advantage of the new 3G iPhone.

My wife and I use our Cell Phones as our primary phones with a family plan that makes it economical. We do not have a “landline” phone so consistent cellular coverage is of upmost importance. My wife’s phone is also used for her work taking calls or participating in phone-conferences at odd hours. Her work is the only reason that I am able to be retired. Enough said!

Through personal cellular experience with Altel, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T I’ve discovered Verizon coverage to be the most consistent in this and many surrounding areas. AT&T coverage seems to be spotty and I’ve never enjoyed my customer experiences with them.

Based upon these three conditions, I decided that I could get 90% percent of the enjoyment of the iPhone by purchasing an iPod Touch and using my home Wifi and other Wifi providers in the area without upsetting our current well balanced cellular phone services.

We’ll see if I made a wise decision.