ChrisUllrich
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Ask TUAW: iPhone alerts, Migration Assistant, annoying coworkers and more
Welcome to this week's edition of Ask TUAW. As you probably know from last week's column, Mat Lu, your favorite TUAW answer-man, is on vacation and this week I'm here to try and fill his very large shoes. We'll see how that goes but I feel optimistic.Remember, if you want to ask us a question here at Ask TUAW, just post it in the comments of this post and we'll try to get it answered for you next week. Or, maybe one of your fellow commenters will give you the answer before that. Ok, now that that's done, let's get to this week's questions.
Consumer Reports on iPhone as a Phone
One of the most important things to think about when considering any new cell phone purchase is how well the device in question functions as a phone. Whatever other cool features it may have going for it: Internet access, sms, music and video playback or a camera, you will probably still want to make a few calls with it now and again as well.As a new iPhone user, I'm neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed by the iPhone's ability to make and receive calls or by its call sound quality -- I think its fine. Coming from a Blackberry, for me the iPhone pretty much sounds the same as my old phone, so I'm satisfied with it.. However, Consumer Reports takes a different view of iPhone's voice and call quality. According to the site, the iPhone is "undistinguished at best" when it comes to call voice quality. They also highlight some other shortcomings of the iPhone as a phone including its lack of voice-activated dialing and the lack of an easy method for accessing frequently called numbers.Maybe its me but I don't miss voice dialing and I don't find it very difficult to access frequently needed numbers. Sure, it would be great to just hold down one key to dial a saved number -- as I used to do with my Blackberry -- but the lack of that feature, or the others highlighted in the article, don't really cause me to like the device any less. What you iPhone users out there? How do you think the iPhone rates as a phone?Thanks, Chris.
Apple Sells Half a Million iPhones in the First Weekend
The first numbers are in and it looks pretty good for Steve Jobs, Apple, and the iPhone. According to market research firm Piper Jaffray, Apple sold about 500,000 iPhones from 6 p.m. on Friday through end of business Sunday night -- 300,000 more than the market research firm originally estimated the company would sell. In a report released by Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, it was also revealed that ninety-five percent of buyers in San Francisco, New York and Minneapolis purchased the 8GB model iPhone (myself included) instead of the 4GB one. Also, about half of the 253 buyers surveyed were new customers to AT&T.So, let's see, what's 500,000 times $650? Actually, I think I might need a calculator for that one. Someone hand me an iPhone.
My Date With iPhone
My soon-to-be date with the iPhone began innocently enough with the wanting. Then, obsession began to set in. Now that I'm actually in line, as of Noon Pacific time, waiting patiently at the Sherman Oaks, CA Apple store and "borrowing" a steaming cup of wi-fi, I can say my date has definitely begun in earnest. Although, as they say, waiting is the hardest part. As everyone knows, I cannot actually, formally begin my date until 6PM when the iPhone goes on sale. Until then, I will wait patiently in line with about a hundred others with similar obsessions to myself. As I wait, several questions come into my mind. Why am I here? What will it be like when I first get my hands on one of those shiny beauties? Will there be enough iPhones for everyone (especially me)? And most importantly, shouldn't I be doing something else with my time instead of waiting in line for a phone? I don't know the answer because, as any good Psychologist would tell you, obsession isn't always rational. So, knowing I may not be completely right in the head, I will sit here, waiting, wanting, wondering, and hoping that once my iPhone and I are united, it will all be as good as I dreamt it would be. Until then, here I sit.
Moving your Parallels virtual machine to another Mac
Recently, I decided it was time to do a clean install of OSX on my current primary home Mac -- a 20" Intel Core Duo iMac named Phoenix. Ordinarily, when I first get a new Mac, I usually wipe it completely and start over with a fresh install, putting in only the things I want -- but for some reason never did that with this one. So, it was time. Really, who needs all those printer drivers and languages anyway?Another reason I wanted to nuke and pave this Mac was to reclaim the space taken over by the Windows partition devoted to Boot Camp. Yes, I realize I could have accomplished that by using the Boot Camp Setup software, but I was already ready to do a fresh install anyway, so I went ahead and just reformatted the drive completely. Once it was done, I went happily along installing the things I would need on the iMac to get my daily work done: Microsoft Office, NetNewsWire, Firefox, Adobe Photoshop, etc. I also wanted to use Parallels on this Mac as well, so I installed that too. However, and this is the cool part, I didn't want to take the time to reinstall Windows and have to reconfigure it, do all the updates, etc. Instead, I copied the Parallels Folder from my MacBook Pro, which is located in the Documents Folder inside my Users Folder, to my iMac, started up Parallels and presto: Windows booted and I was good to go. No reinstall or re-authorization necessary. The only thing that I needed to install again was Parallels Tools -- even though it was already installed.Once I did that, Windows functioned exactly the same way it did on my MacBook Pro. Fortunately, the serial number I used for my Windows install on the MacBook Pro allows it to be installed on two machines, otherwise I would delete it immediately from the MBP. So, just a tip should you ever need to wipe your drive and wish to alleviate at least some of the resulting hassle associated with putting all your software back on your Mac.I'm sure this would also work if you were moving from an old Mac to a new one. Or, you could always use the Migration Assistant, which should accomplish the same thing. Although, being a hands-on type I usually migrate everything manually and drop it where it needs to go. But that's a subject for another post. For now, any questions?
Why the iPhone Will Fail
With all the mostly glowing and semi-glowing reviews starting to come in about the iPhone, I thought it might be interesting to read and provide to you a little counter perspective. Not that reading this article at Suckbusters gave me much reason to doubt my love for all-things iPhone, but its still nice to hear opposing viewpoints -- especially those that actually make a bit of sense and some good arguments.In the article, author David Platt outlines three key reasons for his prediction that the iPhone "is going to be a bigger marketing flop than Waterworld and Ishtar combined." If you know those movies, that's saying quite a bit. That said, what are his three key reasons? For starters, he complains that the designers of the iPhone have ignored the simplicity and ease of use demonstrated by the iPod and have instead designed a device that is not simple or easy to use.Second, he feels the iPhone "crams" too many features into a single unit which when used in combination will require "far more dedication than a user is willing to invest and remember." This, he says, "condemns the iPhone to a tiny niche at best." Lastly, Platt laments the iPhone's touch screen and lack of "tactile feedback" which will force users to look at the screen at all times while using it -- something, he says, they will "detest."Some valid points to be sure and perhaps worthy of consideration. But does any of it change your opinion about the iPhone? Or is it still the shiny, touch-screened soon-to-be love of your life it always was?
The Leopard Roadmap
With all the hype surrounding a little device known as the iPhone, its sometimes easy to forget that Apple actually makes some other stuff too -- including a world-class operating system now currently known as OS X Tiger version 10.4.10. And unless you've come to the Apple fold only for the iPhone, you probably also know that Apple is currently working to bring the next version of its terrific operating system out into the world.This upcoming version, known as OSX 10.5 (aka Leopard) was one of those things discussed rather thoroughly at the recent World Wide Developer's Conference -- in addition to that other big thing coming out next Friday. And now, thanks to Mac Scoop, there's more information about the future roadmap of Leopard, its upcoming milestones and its eventual release. Among the details, its reveled that Leopard is expected in August to achieve a feature-full build -- where the various features of the OS are "frozen" and finalized with no more to be added.Next, Leopard will move towards final candidate status in September where developers have stopped including new features into the OS and instead, focus on testing it in various ways. Finally, after four to six weeks of testing, Leopard will then move to Gold Master status to prepare for its expected release date in late October. With all the iPhone talk around the net and at recent Apple events, its nice to hear a little about Apple's other plans. Don't get me wrong, I want an iPhone. But I'm first and foremost an Apple computer user and am glad to see that in the rush to become the king of consumer products, Apple doesn't seem to be forgetting about its millions of loyal customers who were there before it made iPods and iPhones.
iPhone Crowd Control
So, any of you as hyped up and anxious to get their hands on a iPhone as I am? Well, if you're reading this I'm guessing you probably are. For those of you who are counting the moments until that sleek, shiny block of touch-screen goodness is actually in your hands, I have a word of warning for you -- especially if you intend to line up early and be the first kid on your block to have a new iPhone. This warning comes via the safety-minded folks over at the Boy Genius Report wherein they feature a document from "official" channels at AT&T which outlines how retail store managers are to handle the teeming masses who will no doubt be lining up early for the device come June 29th. Among the methods featured in the document to help ease the situation and control the crowd, is an outline of a mock conversation where AT&T store managers explain to the stores near them why they need to stay open late and what steps they will be taking to help ensure the crowds don't spill into the surrounding stores and do all kinda damage. The document also reveals the super-secret method that will actually accomplish this miraculous controlling of the crowd. What is this miracle you may wonder? Stanchions. Yes, the proverbial "velvet rope" they use to keep people in line at events across America will be standing guard and providing security for the giant iPhone launch event.Having been at a few Apple retail store events and openings (including the first one at the Glendale Galleria) I can attest to the fact that when Apple does almost anything, crowds of devoted users do show up -- and in really big numbers. For something like the iPhone, which really isn't just for Mac people but for anyone interested in a cool new device, I can only imagine how big the crowds are going to be. Reading this document doesn't really fill me with confidence that AT&T really has a complete grasp of what they're getting into here. I hope they do because we sure don't want a repeat of the iBook debacle from a couple years ago. So, just so I can get a rough count and maybe help AT&T realize the scope of this launch, how many of you are planning to line up early for an iPhone?
