Ho, Ho, Ho, There Macintosh User!
If you are getting this email you have sometime been a client of mine — thank you for your past custom!
I am away from work Friday 24th December, back to work Monday 4th January Have a very Happy Christmas and a Funky New Year!
1. Cheaper Than Ever: Thanks to the strong dollar prices for Mac computers are lower than ever. A MacBook is $1200 and an iMac $1600. And these are modern, very powerful machines. The downside is that the 2nd hand market is not so great, but if you are looking to buy new or used this is the time to do it. And a backup external hard drive as well please! And Apple Extended Warranty too… 2. SixthSense Computer Interaction: These Indian guys are pioneers of a really different way of using computers. Quite amazing. Check the TED clip and then have a look at their website. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tv/TED-India-Pranav-Mistry/videoshow_ted/5231080.cms http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/
3. Augmented Reality via iPhone: AR is the name given to the very modern process where your iPhone can ‘see’ what you are pointing it at — thanks to GPS and photo recognition — and offer you lots of information about the thing you are both viewing. It uses different apps to retrieve data and present it depending on the choices you make. The main app so far is WikiTude, free from the app store, with a website as well. Some of the apps mentioned in the video link like Bionic Eye, Layar and Yelp are only for the US or Europe so far, although this is early days and Australian versions will be being created as we speak. Google ‘augmented reality iPhone’ and be amazed! An area that will grow massively in the near future. They only work on the iPhone 3GS which has compass functionality built in.. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2009/dec/10/augmented-reality-travel-apps http://www.wikitude.org/
4. iPhone Apps: Words With Friends is like Scrabble between you and other iPhones, anywhere! Free with ads, $3 without. Pocket God be an all powerful deity…for $1.19 Photoshop for free!!? Yes the iPhone version Photoshop.com Mobile is just that. It helps you tweak the pics you take with the camera. Ustream is a free suite that enables live video streaming from and reception to, the iPhone. Consisting of a recorder, viewing app and a broadcasting app, which let you get in on the act if you have a video iPhone, the 3GS, after setting up a free account at http://www.ustream.tv/ You can still view the streams with an older non-video iPhone.
5. Live Video Streaming: Purportedly the next area Apple is going to break into with it’s recent purchase of a video streaming company called Lala, the Ustream iPhone apps preview what will be coming from Apple. Eventually it looks like we will be zooming video around to each other. Play with the future, people! http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/apple-live-video/ 6. Faster Broadband Sooner?: Regional Development, Northern Rivers urge us with or without businesses to go to the link below and complete the survey to help us get faster broadband without waiting 8 years. Well worth doing. http://www.gobroadband.org.au/reg_interest.php
7. The Internet Is 40: An excellent series from the UK Guardian is a page with a multitude of stories if you’re interested in online history. 40 years that have changed the world forever… http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/series/internet-at-40
8. A Browser From Google — Chrome: Another choice of browser to add to Firefox and Safari, currently the man ones chosen by Mac users, comes from Google called Chrome. http://www.google.com/chrome
9. BOM Weather Widget: A really improved weather widget with a heap of detail in one small package. http://www.radocaj.com/TheBom
10. RipDifferent: Is a website that caters exclusively for DVD issues of all kinds. The front page is mainly advertising, but the Forums have all the answers you need for all those DVD questions once you have registered. http://www.ripdifferent.com/forum/index.php
11. Radio Paradise: Ad-free internet radio with a mainstream format to please everyone! There is a link to open it in iTunes if you want to listen while you work. http://www.radioparadise.com/
12. Keyboard Maestro: For those who want to customise their computing experience and make shortcuts that can be used anytime. Plus multiple clipboards and more. US$36 http://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/ 13. A Reminder of My Rates: I charge $88 per hour including GST. No call-out fee or travel charge in the Byron Shire. Half-hour minimum. Telephone support costs the same in 15 minute increments.
Email support is still free! Please include plenty of detail in your email inquiries. Serving the Byron Shire Apple Macintosh community for over 9 years. Until next time, Have a relaxing break and may the coming year be good to you and yours, and of course to the Mighty Chelsea. Premiership champs this season I hope… Thank you Tommi ;>)
Mr Macintosh Tom Hain PO Box 1040 Byron Bay NSW 2481 6685 5504 041 840 8869