A tip sheet for switchers from Walt Mossberg

July 3, 2008

“Sales of Apple’s Macintosh computers have been growing much faster than PC sales overall, with many new Mac buyers switching from years of using Windows computers,” admits Walt Mossberg (allthingsd.com). And to help those who have made the switch, he’s assembled “a quick tip sheet explaining a few of the most common differences” between Mac OS Leopard and Windows. Filed under: Mac. Read more: ptech.allthingsd.com

Fastest way to master Aperture 2

July 3, 2008

Aperture 2: Professionally Manage Digital Photographs, a new title from Ben Long, Richard Harrington, and Orlando Luna, guides you step-by-step through the entire Aperture workflow, even providing hundreds of sample images to experiment with. Download the free Aperture 2 trial, work through the book’s in-depth tutorials, and you’ll see how far Aperture 2 can advance your photography. Filed under: Mac. Read more: store.apple.com

MacBook Air takes laurels in three-way usability competition

July 2, 2008

Of three ultrathin portables — MacBook Air, Toshiba Portege, and Lenovo ThinkPad — which is the most usable? To find out, Computerworld turned to usability experts and 20 impartial testers. Those testers, David Haskin relates, found MacBook Air the most usable, the most fun, and the best value of the three. In fact, they made MacBook Air “the clear winner when asked which laptop they’d purchase.” Filed under: Mac. Read more: computerworld.com

Pro Tip of the Week: Become a Spaces Cadet

July 2, 2008

When open windows start piling up on your desktop, Mac OS X Leopard provides a great way to establish control. Spaces. How can Spaces help you get more organized? Find out by reading the latest Pro Tip of the Week. Filed under: Creative Pro, Mac. Read more: apple.com/pro/tips/

iTunes U now home to K-12 educational curricula

July 1, 2008

Thanks to a new educational initiative, teachers and parents can now access a wealth of K-12 educational curricula on iTunes U. Delivered by state and district agencies in Arizona, Florida, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Utah, the free content provides “global access to educational content, curricula, learning materials, news, best practices, and other resources,” reports Dave Nagel (thejournal.com). Filed under: Education. Read more: thejournal.com

Now Playing on iTunes U: THE WAR

July 1, 2008

THE WAR, the most watched PBS series in the last decade, now serves another tour of duty as an excellent online educational resource. WETA, Washington D.C.’s public broadcasting station, provides film clips, lesson plans, and additional educational resources for students and teachers. Watch — and enjoy — them today on iTunes U. Filed under: iPod+iTunes. Read more: apple.com/iTunes

“All I can say is ‘wow.’”

July 1, 2008

Bob LeVitus (Houston Chronicle) considers the 17-inch MacBook Pro “the fastest, most powerful, and most capable notebook I’ve tested.” And he’s particularly taken with its display. “All I can say is, ‘Wow.’ With its bright, deeply saturated colors and rich, dark blacks, full-screen HD video is mind-boggling.” Filed under: Mac. Read more: houstonchronicle.com

Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control now on iTunes

July 1, 2008

Get Smart introduced us to Bruce and Lloyd. Now the two, played by Masi Oka (Heroes) and Nate Torrence (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) appear in their own film: Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control. A hilarious treat for the holiday weekend, it’s available online exclusively on iTunes for purchase or rental. Enjoy. Filed under: iPod+iTunes. Read more: apple.com/iTunes

Quick Tip of the Week: Drag-and-drop PDF merging

June 30, 2008

Ever wished you could drag the contents of one PDF into another? You can — using Preview in Mac OS X Leopard. We show you how in the latest Quick Tip of the Week. Filed under: Business, Mac. Read more: apple.com/business

Science Productivity Lab opens on apple.com

June 30, 2008

As a scientist, your Mac can be a valuable asset, especially when it comes time to share your research findings with colleagues. To find out how you can use tools on your Mac to create research posters, websites, and dynamic presentations, visit the Science Productivity Lab, where you’ll find tips and tutorials created with the needs of the scientific community in mind. Filed under: Science. Read more: apple.com/science

Did you Get Smart last weekend?

June 27, 2008

Then you’ll want to download the free Making of Bruce & Lloyd Out of Control. The short, now available on iTunes, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the hilarious new film that parallels the Get Smart movie. It features Bruce (Masi Oka of Heroes) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) as they conjure up inventions for use by unsuspecting CONTROL agents. Filed under: iPod+iTunes. Read more: apple.com/iTunes

6.9 million searches for iPhone in April

June 27, 2008

“comScore has today released the results of a study into iPhone related searches” during the month of April, reports Davey Winder (itwire.com).The study “reveals that there were 6.9 million searches on related keywords during that period.” Of the 6.9 million searches, 1.5 million of them were for the term “iPhone” and Google delivered 88.4% of the search returns. Filed under: iPhone. Read more: itwire.com

Yankee Group says 8 in 10 businesses now using Macs

June 26, 2008

After surveying “more than 700 senior IT administrators” and executives, Yankee Group Research Inc found that “nearly 80% of businesses have Macs in-house, nearly double the percentage that said they had users running Mac OS X two years ago,” reports Gregg Keizer (computerworld.com). Filed under: Business, Mac. Read more: computerworld.com

Now playing on iTunes U: 92Y - George Carlin

June 26, 2008

New York City’s 92nd Street Y has been serving community interests for more than 133 years. And, now — thanks to iTunes U — it brings its programming to a really large community. For example, “92Y: George Carlin,” just one of the many programs available from 92Y: Online, lets us spend some time with Judy Gold and George Carlin, the renowned comedian who died this week. Filed under: Education, iPod+iTunes. Read more: apple.com/iTunesU

Take a free online business seminar

June 25, 2008

If you’re a business customer anxious to get off to a great start with your new Mac, you’ll want to sign up for a free, online seminar. It’s called “New to the Mac for Business Users.” Watch it, and you’ll find out how you can run Windows applications on a Mac, download your email from a corporate Exchange server, give presentations to clients using iChat theater, exchange files over a network, and much more. Filed under: Business, Mac. Read more: apple.com/business