LINK GOODNESS:

Speaking of the iBooks app, there is a great overview at geek.com of the recent update to iBooks. This update has a lot to talk about (including a night reading mode!), so check out the overview:

http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/ibooks-gets-a-huge-update-2011127/

I was at Barnes and Noble today, considering a novel to read over my Christmas vacation, and started thinking about whether or not I should switch exclusively over to digital books, using iBooks or the Kindle app. I have a growing iBooks and Kindle collection, but could I abandon paper books altogether?

I was in the Fantasy section, and picked up the book by Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind, and sat down with it to get a good preview of the book. As I read the first chapter and thumbed through the pages, I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed holding a physical book in my hands. To read a book from paper pages is a tactile experience that somehow adds to the value for me.

I’m sure I could dig through my psychology and figure out why, but for now I can’t completely give up paper for pixels.

How about you? Do you still prefer paper? Or are you ready to keep your entire bookshelf on your iPad?

The one setting I access more than any other on my iPhone and my iPad is the brightness controls.  I appreciate the easy access to that setting on the iPad, using the four-finger upward swipe, but on the iPhone, you have to go into the settings and navigate to it.  Developer Jeff Broderick has created a terrific shortcut method, where you can have icons on your iPhone that lead directly to your iPhone settings.  I’ve set up a folder with six favorite settings that I use the most, and it works great.  If you want to try it, you have to go to the following site on your iOS device:

http://brdrck.me/settings/

He’s taking donations, and I’d say it’s worth giving him a few dollars, but according to AppleInsider.com there is a good chance that this shortcut will not be available with the next iOS release (5.1), so enjoy it while you can!

Amazon (Hardcover) – $17.88
.  

Amazon (Kindle) – $14.99

iBook – $14.99

Apple announced this evening that Steve Jobs has passed away at the age of 56. They didn’t give the exact cause, but Jobs has battled cancer starting in 2004, and more recently has faced the complications from a kidney transplant he received in 2009.

I have followed Apple and Jobs for the last 21 years, starting with the Mac SE/30 I used almost every day at the junior college I attended during my freshman year in 1990. I remember that the green and black screens of the IBM computers seemed like dinosaurs as they sat juxtaposed to the innovative Macintosh interface, so I never understood why anyone was using them.

The Mac was the first computer to inspire creativity, not just productivity.  Yes, I hammered out a lot of college papers on computer lab Macs, but from the beginning, the Mac was built for more than typing or number crunching. This was the vision of Steve Jobs. “Think different” was the motto from an advertising campaign launched by Apple in the 1990′s, and that’s an appropriate label for the DNA of Apple that spread from top down.

While Jobs was truly a great visionary of invention, it was the drive to ideate and implement that put an innovative Apple product in our hands.  I’m inspired by the legacy of visioneering that Jobs left, but I’m equally inspired by his ability to turn ideas into reality at Apple.

The words from one of the Think Different ad campaign spots encapsulates the way Jobs approached his mission at Apple:

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

For a quick look at some of Jobs’ great keynote moments through the years, check out this video from wired.com:

When it comes to picking out a stylus for your iPad, many styluses are created equal, so the decision comes down to your own needs.  I review three styluses that I’ve tested out, but there are a lot of other options out there.  I chose these three because they serve as examples of three broad categories of styluses:  The Cheapies, The Slim and Small, and The Pretend Pen.

The Acase iPad Stylus (The Cheapies)

I spent $10 on the Acase Stylus, which is on the low end for stylus prices. It didn’t exceed or disappoint my expectations.  I didn’t think I was getting top quality, but I hoped for a stylus that would serve me well enough, which is exactly what it did for about three months of moderate to heavy use.  But after three months, the head of the stylus must have lost its coating, because I no longer had a smooth glide over the surface of my iPad.  At that point, I decided that I might have gotten my $10 out of it, so it was time to move on. You can find it online at Amazon for under 10 bucks.

elago Retractable Stylus (The Slim and Small)

At first glance, I loved the idea of the elago Retractable Stylus.  It appears to be a quality stylus and it retracts within itself to become compact and easy to carry around with your iPad, thanks to the headphone port plug that is attached to the cap. The writing is very smooth with this stylus, and it has a nice feel on the screen.  I’ve used it for a few months and have seen no noticeable wear.  However, even with the top of the stylus extended out, it is still a little too small for my hands.  My hands aren’t huge, but they are probably a little bigger than average, so it may work for those with smaller or average-sized hands.  But for me, I need something longer.  If the size won’t be an issue for you, I highly recommend this stylus.  You can get it for 36% off through this Amazon link.

Wacom Bamboo Stylus (The Pretend Pen)

Having the size, weight, an feel of a normal pen, the Wacom Stylus makes it easy to transition to writing on the screen.  I have had this stylus for about a month, and cannot be more pleased. One thing I noticed about it is that it has just the right amount of “bounce” in the tip.  Some styluses are either too firm or too soft, but this is an important balance.  Getting it right means that it will respond more appropriately to t Bamboo he movements of your hand.  If you are looking for a stylus that feels most like an ink pen, the Bamboo Stylus from Wacom is the way to go.Amazon has it, though they are having some trouble keeping it in stock.

Here’s how to set your screen to lock instantly when you are going away from your Mac:

1. Open System Preferences and click on Security.  Click the first checkbox, then choose “Immediately” in the dropdown menu:

2. Go to the Desktop & Screen Saver section of your preferences.  At the bottom left, click the “Hot Corners…” button:

3. A drop-down menu will give you choices for each of the four corners of the screen, as you see below.  When you choose one of these, you are telling your Mac to take a particular action whenever you slide the mouse pointer to that corner of the screen.  Set one of the corners to “Put Display to Sleep” and click OK.

Now, whenever you slide your mouse to that corner of the screen, a password will be instantly required to disengage the screensaver.

Just before selling my wife’s iPad to upgrade to a 3G model, we updated to the 4.2.1 iOS.  Here’s my review:

Love the folders.

Love the multi-tasking.

Love the AirPrint capability (once we have a compatible printer, or make it work with our wi-fi Brother HL-2170).

Hate, hate, hate the repurposed button on the side which used to control orientation lock.  What was Apple thinking? I’m okay with making the functionality a user option, but to make that a mute button means that there are now two buttons on the side of the iPad, BOTH of which are effective at muting the sound on the iPad (hold the “down” volume for 2 seconds and it goes to mute).

Anyone have insight as to what Apple’s rationale was on this one?

I’m keeping my 2008 MacBook Pro until Apple releases one with two features that I’ve decided are essential if I’m to upgrade [writer crosses arms and points chin upward and off to the side in a defiant stance].

SSD internal storage. I’ve gone through two hard drives on my current MacBook Pro because I toss the thing around like it’s notebook, as in a paper notebook.  Ya know, the ones that won’t break when you drop them onto the floor?  I don’t actually drop my MBPro, but when I’m done using it, I close the lid, grab it, and drop it into my laptop bag.  I don’t have time to wait for the drive to completely spin down and get its shit together.  I’m ready to go when it’s time to go.  After losing two drives, probably because of this habit, I’ve been forced to give it a few seconds before I yank it into the bag, or at least be extra careful while that drive is still spinning.  I’m ready for a solid state drive, not only for the quick startup and performance enhancement, but also because of the reliability.  Mechanical hard drives are leftovers from the industrial revolution.  Let’s move on.

Retina display. I’m still enjoying my iPhone 3Gs, but when I look at the screen on the new iPhone 4, I fell like I’m looking into the future of the MacBook line.  I don’t know how long it will take for this technology to become affordable enough to include on the MacBook Pro, but I’m ready now. Oh, and speaking of affordable…

I’m gonna go all dreamy now and say that I want all of this for $1600. I wonder how long I’ll be waiting?

The new specs on this box are far beyond anything we’ve seen in a Mac.  Two 2.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors come standard, but as FastCompany points out, if you go for the dual-6-core Intel Xeon CPU option, that gives the Pro 12 cores of processing power, and “this is more or less equivalent to low-end supercomputer power of couple of decades or ago.”

If you are loaded with cash, you can also enjoy up to four 512 GB solid-state drives inside, which is almost like have 2 terabytes of RAM.  Take the Radeon HD 5770 and HD 5780 options for graphics in account and you have serious power for video and other whatnot.

And the biggest upside?  Having a supercomputer doesn’t cost millions anymore.