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  • Swad
    As a student, if there was ever an application that needed to be universal, it's Microsoft Office for Mac. That's why I was fairly excited (gasp! - excited about Microsoft?) to read about all the goodies coming for the Mac version of Office 2007.


    Microsoft’s next-gen Office suite for the Mac is being given a top-to-toe refit in readiness for its debut in the third quarter of 2007.
     
    On the surface is a revised interface which borrows ideas from the Office 2007 for Windows ‘ribbon’ and has already been radically changed due to user feedback. The new versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint will all adopt the native XML file formats of their Windows siblings.
     
    And, the program is of course being rebuilt as an Intel-friendly Universal Binary application. That's the good news. The bad news is that we shouldn't be expecting to buy it at a booth at Macworld 2007 in January.


    “Typically we release about 6-8 months after Windows Office, and they’ve announced general availability in the January timeframe, so we would be 6-8 months after that.” If her timetable holds firm, the program that will likely be christened as ‘Office 2007? will touch down between July and September of 2007 — around three and a half years since the arrival of Office 2004 in March of that year.
     
    Microsoft’s 130-odd Mac developers have already reached the halfway mark in their marathon march, Last month, they completed the transition to Apple’s Xcode, which forms the basis for the Universal binaries that are compatible with new Intel-based Macs as well as older PowerPC machines. Oh, and what about "ribbons" you ask?


    “We will be doing a UI refresh” Starman confirms, “but it won’t be exactly like you see in Office 2007. It just wouldn’t make sense. Apple has got their own very specific set of user interface guidelines and we try to first and foremost to follow those guidelines. If we can innovate on top of that and do some interesting things to make sure that the interface is really discoverable for the Mac user, then we’ll look at doing that. We can get some ideas (from the ribbon) but it still has to fit within Apple’s UI guideline, that’s what a Mac user wants to see” Starman says.
     
    “There’s also a lot of speculation in the Apple developer community about the UI changes that will come in Leopard, too, and what are we all going to have do when we see those changes.”
     
    Design and usability testing on the Office 12 interface is already underway in the MacBU labs at Redmond and Cupertino, and the team has already made one trip back to the drawing board based on user feedback. Thank goodness. While I use Word out of compulsion rather than inspiration, the Windows version just seems much easier to use, if admittedly very un-Mac-like. The Mac buttons look cheesy, the little side "box-o-settings" is a usability disaster, and... well... I'm just not a huge fan.
     
    Will 2007 make switchers of many Pages fans? Maybe. We'll see what Macworld has to offer.
  • Alex Oughton
    It has been reported today that Google is in talks with Apple to supply video content for their upcoming iTV device.
     
    According to Newsweek, Google’s consumer product chief, Marissa Mayer, has been quoted as saying that Google and Apple are currently engaged in talks to provide content directly to users’ televisions, via the Internet.
     
    Apple hopes to capture some of the market currently held by Microsoft’s Media Center system, which already has similar streaming abilities. “Everyone who’s tried this before has failed,” said Apple boss Steve Jobs at the recent unveiling of the new device, resembling a smaller Mac Mini.
     
    Clearly Apple believes that the key to ensuring better success is content, and this deal with Google is the first of perhaps many to give iTV a strategic advantage over its rivals.
  • kevin_4e
    If you've ever searched (like I have) for a free WMA converter, take a look at Switch. Switch is the best app I've found to convert wav to mp3, mp3 to wav, wma to mp3 and a host of other types other types... Although certainly not new, Front Row Enabler simply lets you install Front Row on any Mac running 10.4.5 or above... Since it’s been awhile from the first launch of iTunes, take a look at this story looking at iTunes 1.0 through the latest release of 7.0... An up-and-coming iTunes related site that may be worth a bookmark is I Leak Things, which - admittedly - hasn’t actually “leaked” anything yet... Apple’s special event on the 25th is now confirmed. MacWorld has received their invite for the ‘special’ event, one day before Photokina. Based on the invitation, a new release of Aperture is likely... What’s highly unlikely to be announced is a hacked together 8 core Mac Pro.
     
    Only 221 more posts (for the moment that is) ‘til the 1000 post thread is complete... Check out InsanelyMac’s latest blog, The Quirky Mac which promises, well, quirkiness... Last week’s humor at Microsoft’s expense, but what about the Macintosh? Here’s a compilation of some of Apple’s Keynote bloopers. That reality distortion field only extends so far...
  • Swad

    Upgrade your Mac Mini to Core 2 Duo

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    We're all about the "unofficial" here at InsanelyMac and nothing meets that criterion better than CPU swapping.
     
    Dubbing his updated computer "Meromac Mini," Macaholic (it's ok man - help is out there) takes us through the steps to go from mini to mighty by upgrading his Mini's Core Duo processor to a Core 2 Duo. He's also got tons of pictures to help along the way, but if you're looking for instructional text, you're on your own.
     
    Anyone breaking out the toolset yet?
  • Colonel

    Boot Camp 1.1.1 Released

    By Colonel, in OSx86,

    Apple has just released an update to Boot Camp, version 1.1.1. The new update contains the following improvements,
    Support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk Support for built-in iSight cameras Support for built-in microphones Right-click when pressing the right-hand Apple key on Apple keyboards Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock key It appears that Apple has also added Core 2 Duo support. Keep up the good work Apple!
  • Swad

    Taking a look inside iPod Games

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    Curious about those new iPod Games of yours? Go forth and learn...
     
    Dissecting iPod Games
     
    - Modifying the games is difficult at best, if not impossible, because of the checksumming of every file in the bundle, and then the certificate against the manifest.
    - Game resource files, particularly audio, aren't obfuscated and can be extracted successfully.
    - Homebrew is probably an impossibility at this point because of the expectation of a signed cert from Apple.
    - The fact that there are platform identifiers in the plists makes me wonder what Apple's future plans entail. Maybe this would just be for later iPod revisions, or maybe they're just looking forward. Still, quite interesting.
     
    What's inside an iPod game?
     
    Manifest.plist seems to contain information used by the iPod itself, but possibly iTunes. It contains references to the Description.xml files used by iTunes. It also references the executable used by the iPod, and apparently the loading artwork. I’m sure it does a lot more, but I haven’t gotten too far into it.
     
    Mini Golf contains several non-DRM AAC files that are used for background sounds. Sound effects are in the various bank folders and are in WAV format.
     
    iTunes apparently generates a copy of the game just for you when downloading. It inserts your name and email address (iTunes store user name) into the archive.
     
    The .bin.sinf file in Resources contains your name, and iTunesMetaData contains your email address.
  • Swad

    Will Leopard look like iTunes 7?

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    So the big question on everyone's mind: did Val Kilmer really make a better Batman than Michael Keaton? Well, ok. Maybe that's not the big question. The other big question - why the new look for iTunes 7? Is this a sign of things to come in Leopard?
     
    If you're a big interface geek (like me) you probably enjoy reading about these things. I present a short list of thought-provoking material for your perusal:
     
    Another iTunes release, another widget kit: the iTunes 7 UI dissected. (Highly recommended)
    Disecting 'Gloomy' Unified in iTunes 7
    I like the iTunes 7 interface
    iTunes: is there a standard UI element left?
    iTunes: From 0 to 7.0
     
    So there you have it. The new iTunes UI is radically different than anything that’s come before. Since it’s so unlike the past, it must be more like... the future?
     
    There have been rumors that Apple’s Leopard UI will swap glossy for matte and brushed metal for unified (or something entirely new). My own opinion is that iTunes, as Apple’s most visible app, serves as a testing ground for these ideas. The UI designers might throw some of these concepts into iTunes to guage the appeal to their largest possible audience.
     
    Consistency is also important, however, and it’s something that’s sadly been lacking lately in the OS of “a consistent interface.” iTunes looks nothing like Safari looks nothing like Aperture looks nothing like... well, you get the picture.
     
    Will Leopard bring together this rag tag team of interface design choices? It hasn't yet (in the beta), but let’s hope so. I hate it when my GUI gets too gooey.
  • Colonel
    While looking inside the resource files from iTunes 7, a few items believed to be evidence of an "iTunes Phone" have been discovered. Contained in one of these files is the text for a new error message - MacShrine has the error output.

    Some of the games in your iTunes library were not copied to the mobile phone [name] because you are not authorized to play them on this computer” and “iTunes cannot sync photos to the mobile phone [name] because your iPhoto Library needs updating. Open iPhoto to update your iPhoto Library. In a bit of investigative reporting, I've attached below all the new error messages I found for you to evaluate at your disposal. I think you'll be interested in what you find.
     
    Note that this is a different report than the others we've been seeing regarding driver installation (come on guys, Steve isn't going to make it too obvious... he needs some material for that podcast...).
     
    Personally, I think we'll be seeing an iTunes Phone soon. Very soon. How about you?
     
    Errors.txt
  • Swad

    An evening with my new (old) iPod

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    Being the unmotivated college senior that I am, I decided to take this evening and spend some quality time with iTunes and my 5th Generation iPod. A few thoughts:
     
    1. Better late than never, “gapless playback” gives my iPod a new lease on life. I have a lot of albums, as I’m sure we all do, that have tracks which blend into each other. In the past playing these albums was a painful experience since I wasn’t hearing the art the way the artist intended.
     
    No longer. The iPod gracefully handled everything I threw its way, from Mae to MuteMath to Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (just listen to the last two sections - glorious music). If I were being picky I’d say that I noticed a split second (and I truly mean a fraction of a second) pause between a few of the tracks. At this point I’m just thrilled with this feature that should have been in place since the beginning.
     
    2. Thanks, Apple, for allowing my soon-to-be 1 year old iPod to stay relevant... and anything but obsolete. Customers like myself enjoy knowing that special Apple events might actually make the hardware they have better than it was before - not making them wish for an upgrade they can't afford.
     
    3. The iTunes movie experience is fairly seamless. I purchased Bicentennial Man for $9.99 and commenced the download. I’m on a campus connection so my speed varies with the number of frat parties, but the 1.4 gig file took 2:06 hours to finish downloading. While I experienced a few glitches getting the video to play in iTunes (the “Now Playing” window looked like an LSD trip for a few minutes...) playback on my iPod and in Front Row were flawless. Congrats to Apple on getting digital video downloads right.
     
    4. iTunes Movies should not be saved in Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Movies. Isn’t that like clicking the Start button to shut down?
     
    5. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but PAC-MAN rocks. The controls are intuitive and it’s just darn fun. Based on the way games are stored (a small file with the extension .ipg) I’m sure we’ll be seeing a torrent of them soon.
     
    6. Downloaded films are divided up into chapters, which I didn’t realize until I placed the movie on my iPod. This obviously makes jumping around in the film much easier.
     
    7. When it comes to movie quality, I can say that I was quite impressed. Granted, the MacBook doesn’t have the largest of screens, but at full screen the quality was as good as most TV/DVD combos that most students use.
     
    8. There’s now a “Volume Limit” setting to cap the volume at which your iPod plays. Quite handy if you’re as anal as I am about hearing loss. [Edit: Ok, so this may have been put in place earlier... let's just say I don't check my settings on a weekly basis...]
     
    9. The iPod integration within the regular iTunes window is very slick.
     
    10. Is iTunes 7 a hint at the UI we’ll eventually see in Leopard? I hope so. It’s easy on the eyes and looks quite professional. It makes glossy and blue seem a little outmoded.
     
    11. Bicentennial Man is a great film for the sci-fi buffs among us. Oh, and James Horner totally plagiarized himself by ripping the soundtrack for A Beautiful Mind from this film. Come on James. A lot of us listen to what you produce. At least mix up the chord structure...
     
    These are my short experiences with the changes Apple introduced today. Overall, I'm quite impressed, which is saying something for a skeptic like me. It's always been the attention to detail that attracted me to Apple and it's apparent that considerable thought was given to these upgrades.
     
    What have you discovered?
  • Swad

    New iPods, iTunes, and iTV

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    Instead of recapping all the things you've probably heard by now about Apple's event today, we'll cut straight to the good stuff.
     
    Aluminum iPod Nanos. "Completely Remastered."
    Improved iPods, with bigger sizes, cheaper prices, and a few great new features (gapless playback being the most notable).
    New iPod Shuffles, in a smaller, easier-to-lose package!
    New iTunes with new eye candy (and icon) and an improved interface. Oh, and did we mention Movies?
    iTV. Check out Engadget's thoughts on the new product.
     
    So who's elated? Disappointed? Indifferent?
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