The website iLounge has a 5+ year tradition of a journalistic approach to Apple iPod news; their reviews, articles, and regular news updates are completely devoid of snarkiness, instead focusing on facts and well-written leads. In short, they’re a well respected resource for Apple news. However, their review entitled “Apple iPod touch (8GB/16GB)” did nothing but attempt to reinforce the iLounge opinion that the iPod touch is a “downgrade” from the iPhone. Preoccupation with iPhone comparisons caused iLounge not to miss the boat, but miss the harbor on this one:

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We’ve all already heard it in the news already: Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Inc., was recently pulled over in California for driving at a rate of 104 mph (167 km/h) in his Toyota Prius. You may read the original article by Gary Richards at the San Jose Mercury News website: “Can Prius top 100 mph? Ask Wozniak.” Now, according to the list of speed limits in the United States, Mr. Wozniak was likely in an area where the speed limit was 70 mph, putting him 34 mph above the legal limit and therefore justifying his approximately $700 ticket. I believe Woz’s story of 104 mph (though cops do sometimes get speeds wrong, as in this recent story from my state: “Motorcycle enthusiasts question 205 mph ticket.”) I do not, however, believe Woz’s explanation.

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A better Mac keyboard - The Tactile Pro 2.0 reproduces the mechanical key feel from older Mac keyboards, with updated USB technology.

KeyCue - Now this is brilliant: an application that shows you all the keyboard shortcuts for your current application. It’s like a little training program to help you use your computer faster … no more searching for shortcuts.

So Leopard’s Delayed

I’m incredibly unconcerned that Leopard (Apple’s upcoming point revision of its OS X operating system) has been delayed. As long as they fix the finder (!!!!), I’ll have nothing really important to criticize in OS X.

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Is AppleCare worth it if you have a pet geek? - This Metafilter thread seems to point to the value of AppleCare, especially for laptops. From everything I’ve read in Consumer Reports, AppleCare is second to none for customer service. For that reason, if I could afford it (and when I purchase a Mac), I will spring for AppleCare, if only for the peace of mind for my laptop monitor.

T-Shirt with Undo Joke - Yes, the command for undoing your last action on a computer is either ctrl-z, or in this case, apple(command)-z. I’ll take one in a medium, please. From Insanely Great Tees.

Justification for tumbledry version 15 design decisions

Computers are most useful when they get out of our way. I recently realized that when I say I work with computers, people automatically peg me as that computer geek who loves hardware, spec sheets, and processors. Thing is, I only know about them in order to get these blasted machines to do what I want to do. I spend an inordinate amount of time shoehorning machines into working the way I think, so (pardoxically) I can stop worrying about shoehorning the machines into working the way I think. I’ve always seen Windows as a respectable software tool to deal with, but I must liken the experience to taming a wild stallion (without any of the glamorous trappings inherent in the animal analogy). Windows has to be poked, prodded, altered, trimmed, augmented, and examined from the top to the bottom and up again, to get it to do what you want it to do … when you want it to do it.

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If you are having problems with iTunes 7 - This provides information for a fix to the garbled or distorted sounds that iTunes 7 will sometimes make when you change the volume (Windows XP version). This actually didn’t work to fix my iTunes 7 volume problem, so I reverted to iTunes 6 and will wait for a later release of iTunes 7.

Word of the Day: glomp - “… in the grey area between a caring embrace, and a flying leap to tackle someone.” Now, glomp is certainly a good word, and I will use it more in the future. However, the word “spudger” also came to my attention tonight. It doesn’t scratch plastic or metal, so you can pry apart really awesome computers with it.

Tweak OS X - Mental note for when I get an Apple.

I think some day it would be nice to have colleges have programs, very strong programs, in this sort of user interface but with a very humanist attitude point of view, and start playing around with new approaches. Some year, some decade, it might just come into the popular conscious to start making things more beautiful for people.

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Best Firefox skin I have used in some time - Apple’y, customizable, light colored. A great replacement since my GraphiteFox theme is outdated.

Good and Bad Presentations - Featuring Gates and Jobs. (via Authentic Boredom).

McDo Design - Some amazing GFX work - makes using your computer much more pleasant.

My guess: Apple & eInk

Apple upcoming product speculation is mind-numbingly boring. Why am I interested, then, you ask? I am a perfectionist, and Apples are made by perfectionists. The fit and finish of the cases combined with the rendering of the text on the screen (literally 50% more readable than Windows XP’s text), is enough to sell the machines (for me). It is obvious that Apple is a company guided by people with ridiculously high expectations for the Apple Computer experience.

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Docktopus - Stats on your dock. This is cool and I don’t even own a Mac!

iPod nano: That small? - Yeah, the iPod nano next to a Club cracker. Good lord.

Best OS X Third Party Software - What-a-list. I’ll be referring to this if I ever get a Mac.

Control iTunes with Global Hotkeys - The lack of global hotkeys is a massive hole in iTunes. It’s good to see a program like this fill it. Personally, I use iTunesKeys: both are still being updated frequently.

iPod Stand - Having a hard time rationalizing this purchase … but it’s one of the most appealing iPod accessories I have seen in a while.

No no, thank YOU

The unbelievable folks at St. Thomas got together and got me a 200 dollar gift certificate to the Apple Store. I was absolutely blown away by this birthday gift (earlier in May), and jumped at the chance to get the music player that my ears have always dreamt of. They wrote:

We love you Alex - thanks so much fo all your help & for being so so great!! We know you really want/NEED an ipod - here’s a start! We all owe you our computer’s lives! Happy Birthday! - you are the BEST!

- Elise, Emily, Emily, Jordan, Kim, Dan, Ryan, & Tony

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Shuffle Phones

Mark my words. I will tell you one more time - mark my words, this is what will be coming out so very soon I can taste it. Now, I have heard no industry rumblings about this idea, but one thing I have been inspired by was a wonderfully funny Do-It-Yourself Oakley Thump using the iPod Shuffle. Consider this, the iPod Shuffle is unbelievably small and light (and yes, it is just a glorified USB flash drive … but stay with me here), so this allows it to be used in ways music players have not been used before. People need to think outside of their “box” here (to borrow a corporate clichÉ). You see, the music player no longer has to hook to your headphones via a long, cumbersome cable that twists and turns its way up through every piece of clothing you are wearing - no, the music player can be your headphones now. Before we get to that, I must share my favorite two comments from that DIY Oakley thread I mentioned above.

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Insert Tab G5 into Slot A2

Wandering over to Airbag yielded a link that brought me to a lovely pattern for a paper cut-out project. The result was supposed to be a miniature Apple G5, complete with fold-away panel revealing the dual G5’s powering the little beast. I guess I didn’t know what I was in for.

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Finn Brothers: Everyone Is Here; plus other see dees

This will be the first album recommendation I have made based on … almost no exposure to an album. This little disc, Everyone Is Here, has a single called “Won’t Give In,” which is available on iTunes as a part of a three-song download. Unfortunately, I do not have iTunes and do not have the time to grab it, so I am sitting here hoping Cities 97 will play this song again for New Music Monday. It was just one of those songs that grabbed me. Traveling 70 miles an hour eastbound on I94 with the windows open, some subtle nuance of the tune grabbed my eardrums and told them “this is something special.” Then again, I am suggesting you buy a compact disc based on 30 seconds of hearing bits and pieces of one song from it. This means either the song is so amazing that 30 seconds of it filtered through traffic causes melodic brain convulsions, or I am utterly misguided and should be doing better things during the driving task.

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