Found: New (Unmentioned) Feature In iPod Firmware

The recently released firmware for the 5G iPod (you know, the iPod with Video) includes a feature that I don’t think anyone has mentioned before. As far as I know, Mr Jobs didn’t even mention it in the presentation.

Scott has just pointed out that when using the touch-wheel to browse your library, a certain number of revolutions at high speed cause a letter to appear on screen. From this point, keeping your finger on the touch-wheel maintains visibility and scrolling the wheel cycles through the alphabet. Letting go skips straight to the corresponding part of your collection.

It’s a neat feature, and certainly makes scrolling through a large collection quite a bit easier. Perhaps it goes some way to making up for the lack of the search functionality found in new iPods?

Apple’s Show (And Tell) Time

We’ve been here before. Every time Apple - and Mr Jobs - schedule one of their big events we, the faithful, dutifully line up with our browsers, and hang on every word. Prior to the event we’ve discussed, blogged, and flamed about rumours, hopes, and desires.

And do they live up to our expectations any more? Perhaps more accurately: Are our expectations somewhat tarnished by the countless promise of “one more thing”?

Maybe the stakes are higher than they once were. Back when the iPod wasn’t “hip” and digital music was the domain of hardcore geeks and techies, these events weren’t such high profile. These days, they’re important.

And none of Apple’s recent events have been more important than this one. With mounting speculation suggesting that the iPod bubble was about to burst, Microsoft’s competing device on the horizon, and the holiday season approaching, Apple needed to reveal something big.

And, I think, they did. Not big in a “hardcore, techie geek way”, but big in a “continued dominance in the mp3 market” way. And I suppose, these days, that’s what counts for Apple. And what’s this big thing I think they’ve revealed? Coloured Nanos - that’s what.

The Nano is, as Jobs mentioned, the most popular MP3 player in the world. The best way for Apple to make it more popular is to introduce new colours - check - and to improve the range of sizes to suit a wider range of budgets - check. The new, and let’s not forget scratch resistant - Nanos are sure to be a big hit for Apple this holiday season, assuming they can meet the demand. I suspect the new Nanos are the shot in the arm required to carry the iPod line up to the true video iPod.

And what of the Video iPod? Sadly, unsurprisingly, and inevitably there was no sign of such a device. Instead, we’re treated to an updated 5G line of ipods - the iPod With Video. The new line of 5gs (so 5.5gs?) sport a brighter screen, improved battery life, and slightly tweaked hard disk sizes.

I’ve Got Apple Sussed

So, Apple have confirmed their “special event” for September the 12th. The collective minds of the internet are predicting that said event will see the unveiling of the iTunes Movie Store, new iPods, Nanos, a humongous 23 inch iMac, a magic device that streams video across your network, and an attractive range of Apple pyjamas.

But I know what they’re actually unveiling. Oh yes. It’s so obvious.

Apple have sent out invites with the caption “It’s Showtime”. Which can only mean one thing. Forget iTunes, Apple are going to take digital entertainment in a whole new direction.

I give you: ShowTunes.

ShowTunes will feature the classic songs from all your favourite shows: Westside Story, Gone With The Wind, Guys And Dolls; you name it, it’ll be there. Steve Jobs has worked tirelessly, and endured untold horrors to deliver the most complete selection of musicals you could ever wish for.

Not only that, but ShowTunes will enable an unprecedented level of synchronisation with your iPod. You’ll be able to store song lyrics (for those important sing-a-long sessions), dance moves, and video versions of memorable performances.

Mark my words, Tuesday night will see the unveiling of Apple’s most important product yet. You’ll all want one. Now, all together now: The hiiiiiiills are alive…

Mac Mini + Vista Success

I’d heard that the Pre RC1 release of Vista (build 5536) ran happily on Intel Macs so, having been looking for an excuse to try Boot Camp, I gave it a go.

I had two issues. The first involved the firmware on my Mini. Even though Software Update displayed no additional updates, Boot Camp insisted that I was out of date. Every time I ran Boot Camp Assistant, it displayed an error message about the firmware version I was running.

A quick browse around the forums presented this. One brief download later, and Boot Camp was running happily.

I’m impressed with Boot Camp. It’s incredibly easy to repartition your drive, and initiate a Windows installation - simply drag the slider to the size you want, and click “install Windows”.

I happily watched my machine reboot, launch the Vista setup, and start installing. Foolishly assuming that everything was going well, I left the Mini merrily chugging along, and busied myself with other things.

When I returned to the machine, the monitor was in power saving mode and nothing I did would wake it up. I rebooted, and the same thing happened - white startup screen for a few seconds, then into power saving mode. I tried to boot from the CD again, but the same thing happened.

I booted back in OS X, and tried to kick off another install from the CD. I got the same blank screen again. So I removed Boot Camp, and tried the whole process from scratch. Same result.

Finally, because I’ve known it cause problems before, I powered off my LaCie external firewire drive and tried again. Sure enough, the Vista installation DVD booted and ran. This time - and I know this breaks the golden “watched pot” rule of Windows installations - I kept my beady eye on the installation process.

This time everything worked fine. I hadn’t burned myself a Boot Camp driver cd, but Vista already included the network driver, and managed to locate the video driver using Windows Update. Impressive.

So at this stage I’ve got a fully functional Vista machine, on the Mini, without the need to jump through lots of complicated hoops. Even the Media Center side of things works. Well done, Microsoft. If they’re going to try to tempt Apple users away from OS X - and there’s a very real possibility of that with Intel based machines - then it’s in Microsoft’s interest to make the process as painless as possible. And I’m pleased to say: Right now, it pretty much is.

Apple Keynote: Response

It’s that time again. The Mighty Steve has delivered his opening keynote for WWDC, and unveiled Apple’s latest raft of products. All, erm, three of them?

As anyone who knows me, or who’s read this site for any length of time will know: I’m a big fan of Apple. I use an iPod. My home PC is now a Mac Mini. There’s something about their products, applications, and philosophy that just appeals to me. I use Windows all day at work; OS X is a nice antidote for that when I come home.

So what do I make of these three products? Perhaps more importantly, in the case of Apple’s new hardware, does it matter? These products aren’t aimed at me. The Mac Pro is an awesome looking machine, with a fantastic spec, but I don’t want one. I’ve just relegated my Dell workstation to file server-dom, so why would I spend the best part of £2000 on a machine that I’ll not drive to its fullest potential. Yeah, I’d like one, but this machine doesn’t put my credit card in jeopardy.

The Xserve is the same story: It’s not for me, I’m not supposed to be interested, and I’m not. But if someone offered me one, I’d take it.

So, well done Apple - your migration to Intel is complete, and you’ve got two very nice looking high spec products to offer to those that need it.

The third product is far more interesting for me though. The Leopard features on display are things I’ll be using when the product ships. And yet it’s interesting to see that many features weren’t on display. By the sounds of it - and despite their tongue-in-cheek digs at Microsoft - Apple are quite annoyed that Microsoft have stolen many of their ides for Vista. As a result, it sounds like they don’t want to unveil a whole new set of innovations before Vista has shipped.

Or maybe it’s the opposite of that - maybe Apple want to wait until Vista’s launched, and steal Microsoft’s ideas this time? I doubt it, but who knows? One thing is for sure, Apple’s bravado and taunting of the Beast of Redmond is certain to annoy more than a few people, and draw the collective attentions of faithful Windows users, for better or for worse.

Apple does it again

Apple really do have a talent for kicking up a frenzy of internet activity when they decide to make an announcement. Inevitably (and this has been the case for the last three events Apple have staged) this leads to disappointment. I've read several posts bemoaning the lack of a real video ipod at last night's event. There are also people moaning about the lack of Apple's new tablet-style device. Once again, large numbers of people were taken in by the rumour-mongering, the photoshopping, and the speculating. Have we reached a point where Apple cannot possibly announce something that's as significant as the internet expects it to be? Have they become the ultimate victim of their own success?

What's my take on last night's products? The iPod Boombox is, as many other people have said, overpriced, unimaginative, and a blatant attempt by Apple at carving off their own slice of the iPod peripheral market. The iPod leather case is, as many other people have said, overpriced, unimaginative and a blatant attempt by… It's true though, these two products really aren't anything special, and it's obvious that Apple has finally realised that it doesn't like other companies making lots of money out of its products. Now the Mac Mini, on the other hand, is something I could open my wallet for. I always fancied having the diminutive slice of Apple in my life, and the Intel Core Duo version just makes me want it that much harder. I really miss using an Apple machine as my desktop for the tasks that I currently do on my Dell. Web browsing, email, downloading, music, etc all have that extra soupcon of serenity inside Apple's OS. I know there are perfectly serviceable video editing packages for Windows, but I like iMovie; it makes me happy. It gives me that warm and cuddly feeling. It's a bit like Horlicks (or Ovaltine ; name your poison) in that respect. All of which just strengthens my desire for a Mac Mini. If it wasn't for the fact that I do, on the odd occasion, play games on my PC, I'd have already ordered one…