iOS App of the Week I’ve tried a number of ‘remote Desktop’ apps that allow you to control a Mac or a PC from an iPhone or iPad, but their performance over a wireless network has always been too sluggish for them to be of much practical use.
Set-up is effectively automatic on the iDevice
Not surprisingly, then, I was quite sceptical when the recently updated Splashtop was claimed to be fast enough to even stream watchable Flash video to iOS devices. And to other devices – Splashtop Remote Desktop is available on Android too. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The first major update to Apple‘s Mac operating system in some five years is nearly ready, and what has been removed is as significant as its improvements. Mac OS X 10.7, known informally as Lion, continues the trend of removing “legacy” components and technologies from OS X with a zeal that would leave Microsoft quivering in terror.
If you’re a fondleslab addict and folders are too complicated, there’s Launchpad (click to enlarge)
Mac OS X development has slowed markedly since the release of OS X 10.4 – “Tiger” – in 2004. Two years later, 10.5, “Leopard”, was the most recent major update. 2008′s “Snow Leopard”, version 10.6, was as its name suggests a relatively minor release, which mainly just dropped support for PowerPC machines. This means that Lion is OS X’s first big overhaul since 2006. Read the rest of this entry »
This Old Box Ten years ago on Sunday, Apple called it quits on one of its oddest products ever, the G4 Cube. The Cube was a strange and wonderful machine that continues to fascinate today – but it was widely perceived to have failed. Some people thoroughly enjoyed the failure, thinking it served Apple right.
Dull people will always cheer a bold experiment that goes wrong. After July 2001, Apple‘s design team never again attempted anything as daring or distinctive. It has produced beautiful designs, and unarguably influenced consumer technology design more than any one else. Read the rest of this entry »
iOS App of the Week Apple’s iBooks Store is as slick – and expensive – as you’d expect any Apple product to be, but it’s not the only source of digital books for the iPhone and iPad.
Alongside apps from commercial rivals such as Amazon’s Kindle, I recently discovered an app called OverDrive that gives you online access to the UK’s public lending libraries – or “idea stores” as they are moronically referred to these days.
OverDrive lists the books you’ve borrowed (left) and presents them for reading (right)
Many of Britain’s public libraries allow you to borrow e-books and MP3 audiobooks – who’d have thought it? You’ll need an existing library membership, but then all you have to do is locate your library in the app’s ‘Library’ menu and use your membership details to log in. Read the rest of this entry »
Review For those of you who revel in Mac versus Windows shouting matches, click the Comments link now. You’ve already made up your minds, so feel free to dive into the debate without reading the review. That’s what you normally do, anyway.
If you’re still with me, let me confirm the worst: Apple’s iMac range continues to be the most preposterously expensive series of home computers known to man. Towards the top-end, the 3.1GHz quad-core i5 edition with 27in display is one of the most pernicious offenders, setting you back in excess of £1,600 for the shallow glam of brushed aluminium, unnecessary space-age design and the kind of performance that’s wasted on its target domestic buyer. In other words, it’s god-damned gorgeous. Read the rest of this entry »
