| Apple
News
“One-of-a-kind gift ideas” you
can create on your Mac
Offering readers a gift suggestion “I’m
certain your loved one isn’t going to receive
from somebody else,” Bob LeVitus (Houston Chronicle)
suggests “creating a book or calendar”
from the images in your iPhoto library. And, LeVitus
points out, “it couldn’t be easier to
create one in iPhoto: Just select the photos, drag
them where you want them on the pages and then add
some text. When you’re done, you order it with
a click of a button.”
Thinking about placing an order? You have just a
few days left if you want your parties to receive
their gifts by December 25. [Dec 11, 2007]
Customers download 100,000 copies of Bento
in just 30 days
Created expressly for Mac OS X Leopard, Bento, the
personal database from FileMaker, has caught fire.
As FileMaker announced this morning, customers eager
to experience the easy-to-use applications have downloaded
more than 100,000 copies of the preview release in
just 30 days. What’s more, Bento has received
excellent reviews. A reviewer at Networkworld.com,
for example, said of Bento, “I, for one, never
thought I’d see a database able to achieve that
level of simplicity. Yet another reason to consider
a Mac?” [Dec 11, 2007]
Lecture notes travel well on iPod
“Laura Martho, a student at El Centro College
in Dallas,” writes Anne Eisenberg (New York
Times) “has four children [and] commutes 45
minutes each way four days a week to a hospital for
clinical work in echocardiology. During the commute,
she plugs an iPod into her car radio to review lectures,
and checks visuals during lunch.“ And Martho’s
hardly alone in her studious use of iPod. Indeed,
she joins an increasing number of students who take
advantage of the “lecture-capture” systems
more and universities have installed to bring the
art of lecture notes into the 21st century. [Dec 10,
2007]
ChangeWave calls Mac the “dominant
PC Story of 2008”
Looking at the data collected in their latest PC buying
survey, ChangeWave paints a picture of “extraordinary
momentum” for the Mac. “Not only do new
Mac buyers report sky high satisfaction with their
desktops and laptops, but planned Apple purchases
for the next 90 days also look exceptionally robust,”
report Jim Woods and Paul Carton (changewave.com).
In fact, 24% of survey respondents say that Leopard
“has made them more likely to buy a Mac in the
future.” [Dec 10, 2007]
The tale of the traveling music teacher
Inspiring students to practice regularly may not be
an easy assignment for any music teacher, but Sarah
Grenier found iPod, her MacBook, and iLife to be excellent
motivators. Grenier records student performances on
a digital camcorder, edits the footage in iMovie,
then burns the finished video using iDVD so that students
can enjoy—and critique—their own performances
and share their progress with parents, staff, and
other students. Like to hear how she uses iPod in
the classroom? [Dec 10, 2007]
“Apple Stores are rockin’”
says TechIQ
The “Var Guy” at TechIQ Magazine offers
“five reasons why Apple’s retail strategy
is crushing the competition this holiday season:”
Simplicity, Quality, Integration, Expertise, and Design.
As an example, the Var Guy contrasts buying a Windows
smartphone with buying an iPhone: “buy the iPhone
(five minute process), link it to your Mac (five minute
process), and activate the iPhone online (five minute
process), and you’ll be wondering why Apple’s
approach isn’t the norm for the entire cell
phone industry.” [Dec 10, 2007]
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