death of Adobe Flash?

On February 4, 2010February 4, 2010 By Rick McIn Apple, internet, product endorsements1 Comment

If a Mac browser crashes, or hangs with a spinning pizza of death, it’s almost certain that Adobe Flash, a “method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages”, is the cause.

Dana’s Mac laptop has been running slower-and-slower. Mine too, after 18 months, though I’ve taken many steps to try to speed it up.

Here’s the BEST thing I’ve done, so far, to improve speed and stability.

I installed ClickToFlash , the Flash-blocking plug-in for Safari on Mac OS X.

Works perfectly.

Instead of some distracting animated ads, I get this …

If I really want to see something, the flash video centre screen for example, I click and it will load.

LOVE this feature.

For Windows use the FlashBlock Firefox add-on.

Leave a comment if you’ve any other advice on speeding up the computer experience.

=== Steve Jobs is on a personal mission to KILL Flash, Apple not supporting Flash on either the iPhone nor iPad.

But rumours of the death of Flash are premature. It will be around for a while, yet.

This is a great compromise.

Obama vs Steve Jobs

On January 29, 2010 By Rick McIn Apple, governmentLeave a comment

On Wednesday two major news stories dropped the same day:

1) the unveiling of the Apple iPad and
2) President Obama’s State of the Union speech

We wondered: what would people talk about more? Was the announcement of Apple’s Tablet Steve Jobs potentially more captivating than Obama’s first State of the Union speech?

Mashable – Steve Jobs vs. Obama: Who Got the Bigger Buzz?

Apple iPad … the anti-hype

On January 27, 2010January 27, 2010 By Rick McIn Apple, product complaintsLeave a comment

A few hours after the announcement of the God tablet, the nay sayers have had time to weigh in.

… To be fair, it would have been almost impossible for the actual iPad device announced today to live up to the insanely hyped idea of an Apple Tablet that consumed the Internet’s attention in the weeks (if not months) leading up to today’s event. There are also many positives that are hard to deny about the iPad, not the least of which is its characteristically drop-dead gorgeous design aesthetic.

Nevertheless, before this thing wins your hard-earned dough, make sure you know what its limitations are. …

I still think it will be a huge hit. But I’m not sure I personally need one if I’m willing to haul around my much superior laptop.

Mashable – What’s Missing from the Apple iPad?

Mashable – The Anti-Hype: Why Apple’s iPad Disappoints

the Apple iPad intro video

On January 27, 2010January 27, 2010 By Rick McIn Apple, books, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Watch it on Apple.

Price starts at $499. Cheap.

Most people will pay $30 / month for internet access.

Is it a good book reader?

On first impression, I thought kindle had nothing to worry about. But Mashable disagrees:

… given that iPad starts at $499 and iBooks offers such an impressive ebook experience, we have to wonder what Amazon could do at this point to stay competitive.

Apple announces the iPad

On January 27, 2010January 27, 2010 By Rick McIn Apple, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Yup.

They went with that name. …

Here is the first reveal:

Watched live blogging with photos on gdgt. While listening to live audio on ustream.tv.

I’m quite happily impressed with the first version. It’s enough for me. I’ll be buying one sometime in future. No rush, though. There’s nothing it does that my MacBook doesn’t.

Web of Tomorrow: 4 Big Trends

On January 24, 2010 By Rick McIn AppleLeave a comment

1. The Web Will Be Accessible Anywhere

2. Web Access Will Not Focus Around the Computer

3. The Web Will Be Media-Centric

4. Social Media Will Be Its Largest Component

Great article. Click through for details – Mashable

How does the Apple tablet fit into this vision?

apple-ipad-render-640 — mock up of possible Apple tablet

Very well.

A NEW device that integrates with your home computer and iPod.

… The Apple Tablet looks to be the next stage of this evolution. Rumor has it that not only is the device going to have 3G access, but Apple envisions it is a shared piece of hardware among the family. …

renting a movie from iTunes

On January 18, 2010January 11, 2010 By Rick McIn Apple, movies, product endorsementsLeave a comment

I downloaded a rental movie online for the first time. It worked perfectly US$3.99.

The Bourne Trilogy is fantastic. Why aren’t more Hollywood movies put together like this?

Click PLAY or watch a trailer for the Bourne Ultimatum on YouTube.

Video tutorial … How to Rent Movies With iTunes.

Amazon Video on Demand for the same film was only $2.99, but could not be downloaded to Canada for some reason. Amazon is usually cheaper than iTunes, but doesn’t work quite as well.

I’ll rent more from iTunes.

Kindle DX fights back

On January 7, 2010 By Rick McIn Apple, product endorsementsLeave a comment

People love their Kindles.

But the electronic book reader from Amazon is a huge target. Everyone, including Apple, is scheming to eat their lunch.

How is Amazon responding to that threat?

They’ve announced the next generation, available January 19, 2010, called Kindle DX:

3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map.

Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents

Longer Battery Life: Now read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on, a significant improvement from the previous battery life of 4 days

Cost $490. About $10 / book. But no monthly charges. Sweet.

Many of the competitors require a monthly internet connection service.

Click through to Amazon to see details and videos on how it works.

… I’d still wait to hear about Apple’s Kindle killer device the end of January before ordering a DX.