Iphone Updates

Government Computer News tested the 15-inch MacBook Pro in its “powerhouse notebook” roundup, making it a “Reviewer’s Choice” and giving it an A+ in battery performance. The reviewer notes that what “really knocked our socks off” was how MacBook Pro fared in the “brutal conditions” of the battery life test, where it “lasted five hours and 13 minutes, outlasting its closest competitor by almost two hours.”

Seattle Times reviewer Jeff Carlson calls Magic Trackpad “an excellent mouse alternative” and “a fascinating addition to the Apple hardware lineup.” He also mentions the new Apple Battery Charger, noting that it “pulls much less power (30 milliwatts) once the batteries are charged compared to other battery chargers.” About Magic Trackpad Carlson concludes: “…if you want to take advantage of Multi-Touch gestures on a desktop computer, it’s a stylish and solid implementation.”

Filed under: Safari

With the addition of the Safari Extensions Gallery to Apple’s website over the last few days, TUAW will be highlighting extensions that we think are special, useful, or just plain fun.

I’m a baseball fan, but other than my beloved Colorado Rockies and the rest of the NL West, I don’t follow a lot of other teams. While it would be nice to have a browser window open to MLB.com all the time, my screen is just too cluttered with work for me to be able to keep an eye on what’s going on in Major League Baseball and get work done. So what’s a Mac-lovin’ baseball fan to do?

One of the first Safari Extensions I downloaded was the MLB.com Toolbar. Written by the staff at MLB Advanced Media, it adds a tiny toolbar to the top of your Safari page, as well as an icon emblazoned with the unforgettable MLB icon. The extension displays scores of games in progress as well as games that are completed. As with the example above, you can see that the team logos are nicely rendered, the score is easy to see, and the winning (Ubaldo Jimenez 16-2!) and losing pitchers are listed. Each score remains visible for 5 seconds before fading away and being replaced with another.

A control on the right side of the toolbar allows you to stop the parade of scores and “fast-forward or rewind” to the next or previous score. If the scores are getting too distracting, you can make the toolbar disappear with a click on the MLB icon. Want to bring it back? Click again.

This extension is a perfect example of what a Safari extension should do — add functionality without being too distracting. Let’s hope that the NFL follows the lead of MLB with a well designed and executed scoreboard extension.

TUAWSafari extension highlight: MLB.com Toolbar originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Safari – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Major League Baseball – Safari Extensions Gallery

Filed under: iPhone, iPad

It’s a tip calculator, check-splitter all-in-one app… and yes, there are a bunch of ‘em on the store. Check out the demo to see if BistroMath combines the power you need with ease of use you’re comfortable with. Ultimately, that’s the differentiator in these calculator apps: usability. If you can’t quickly split a bill, or split a bill fairly (say some guy ordered a bottle of champagne just for himself), then the calculator isn’t for you. BistroMath seems to do this and more quite easily, so if you’re in the market for such a calculator — and yes, some people use these quite often — check it out for iPhone or iPad for US$2.99. Try not to confuse it with the other Bistromath, which is not in the App Store.

TUAWApp demo: BistroMath originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – IPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPad

Filed under: iPad

Hey we didn’t say it, we only repeated it. Consumer firm MyType has done a study of the opinions of 20,000 people, and have determined that iPad owners are wealthy, sophisticated, educated, and score very low in tests designed to chart altruism and kindness. In short, they’re rich and smart, but also spoiled and cruel.

If you happen to be anti-iPad (and probably vocal about it), don’t worry, we’re not leaving you out. Those who criticize the iPad, says the study, most likely don’t own one (which seems obvious, no?), and tend to be “independent geeks” — “self-directed young people who look down on conformity and are interested in videogames, computers, electronics, science and the internet.” In short, “bashing the iPad is, in a way, an identity statement for independent geeks.” Owning an iPad might make you less inclined to give to charity, but not owning one means you’re trying to define yourself by being anti-Apple.

Whew — and they say generalization is a bad thing. In reality, of course, there are all kinds of shades of gray in here. Certainly there are very altrustic people who have purchased iPads, and certainly, not owning an iPad doesn’t mean you’re searching for an identity (nor, of course, does it mean you have one). But these are definitely general trends — we’ve heard before that iPad owners tend to be at least more wealthy and educated than have-nots, and just one browse through your average comments section will tell you that “independent geeks” are often more than willing to criticize to make themselves look good.

[via Slashdot]

TUAWStudy: iPad owners are selfish elitists, non-owners are independent geeks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Altruism – Youth