A modest proposal: Detente between Mac and PC laptop fans
There are a handful of topics guaranteed to get readers all ginned up and at each others' throats in the comments section of any Web site. While PS3 vs. Xbox or AT&T vs. Verizon are solid go-to choices, anything that gives Apple and Microsoft fans a chance to vent at each other is on another level entirely. Not that we don't enjoy pouring a little lighter fluid on the fire occasionally, but in the spirit of the holiday season, we have a proposal for peace between PC and Mac laptop users--or at least finding some middle ground both sides can agree with. With that in mind, we offer the following modest proposal for a détente in the war between Mac and PC fanboys. >PC Makers will agree:To adopt the large multitouch touchpad that has become so popular on MacBook laptops. Once you get the hang of using two fingers to scroll down a page or flipping four fingers up to hide all your active windows, there's really no going back. Yes, we acknowledge that many Windows laptops now support some kind of multitouch gestures. But we have yet to find a single PC that implements them particularly well--the worst offenders being touchpads that require your fingers to be lined up on a mathematically precise plane to activate simple two-finger scrolling. Even worse, they shoehorn gestures into the same tiny touchpads we've been cramping our fingers on for years. Additionally, when you close the lid on a MacBook, it goes into a low-power sleep state, and then wakes up in a few seconds when you open the lid. It works the same every time, like clockwork. No matter what kind of sleep, hibernate, or other lid-close function we set up on a Windows laptop, the result is always a roll of the dice--yes, even in Windows 7. We particularly like the one where the machine wakes up, but the screen doesn't, requiring us to open the close the lid repeatedly until it randomly starts working. Therefore, PC makers will agree to work with Microsoft to come up with a sleep mode that actually works the same way every single time. >Apple will agree:To turn touchpad tapping and click-dragging on by default, and not make us dig around in the menus for this very basic functionality. Secondly, Apple will agree to finally acknowledge the concept of two mouse buttons once and for all. That means second buttons on all mice (although the two-finger touchpad tap really works quite well), and no more pretending to be a one-button OS while actually including right-click functions for just about everything.Finally, Apple will agree to ditch (or augment) its mini-DVI ports with plain old HDMI. It carries HD video, plus audio, and it's built into pretty much every other AV device known to man. Heaven forbid we should want to watch HD iTunes videos on a TV by plugging our laptops directly in, instead of buying an Apple TV unit.Remember, they finally caved in on SD card slots, so this isn't outside the realm of possibility. (We agree to table the Blu-ray issue for another day.) >In summation: PC makers--pump up those touchpads to XL, add multitouch gestures that actually work, and make sure we can open and close our lids without worry. Apple--embrace your inner right-mouse button, don't hide basic touchpad features like tapping, and add HDMI. Following these simple steps will eliminate most of the thrust behind hostile Mac vs. PC arguments and usher in a new era of peace and mutual communication between tech fans of all stripes (and if you believe that, I've got some bank account information I need you to verify). What's your peace proposal between Macs and PCs? Sound off in the comments section below! > Need more? Follow me at twitter.com/danackerman. > See our Holiday laptop picks in the CNET Holiday Tech Guide.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
How to stream Amazon Cloud Player music on iOS devices
How to stream Amazon Cloud Player music on iOS devices
iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users can now access Amazon's new Cloud Player on their mobile gadgets, bypassing the initial lack of support for Apple iDevices. It doesn't work flawlessly, but if you follow the instructions detailed below, you'll be streaming cloud music to your iPhone in no time.Unveiled late March, Amazon's cloud-based music player lets you play music purchased and downloaded from Amazon or uploaded from your own local music collection, providing a way to retrieve your various music libraries online.Technically speaking, the Cloud Player is geared toward PC and Mac users as a desktop-accessible service. The player also is available for Android devices through a dedicated Cloud Player app from the Android Market.The Cloud Player was previously off-limits and unsupported on Apple iOS devices, but after some apparent change on Amazon's end, those of you with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch can now launch the player simply by running it through Safari.To do this, you'll first want to access the Cloud Player through your PC or Mac. Browse to Amazon's Cloud Player page. From there, you can buy a song on Amazon to add to your cloud storage or open the Player directly and upload songs from your local library. You can add MP3 files and iTunes AAC files.Once some music is in your cloud collection, you can then open the Cloud Player online through Safari on your Apple mobile device. When you try to access the list of songs that you just uploaded, you'll receive a message that your browser is not supported. Just continue past that message, pick the songs you want to hear, and they should start playing. I tried the process on both an iPad and an iPod Touch, and it worked relatively smoothly.The requirements for the Cloud Player still say that it's optimized to run with Adobe Flash installed. That need for Flash was thought to be one reason the service didn't work on iOS devices. But apparently the Flash requirement wasn't the major issue. Or course, there are still some limitations without Flash.You still can't upload music from your Apple iDevice to your Cloud Player or download music from the Player to your device, since those tasks require Flash. But the basic ability to store and play your music online through the Cloud Player does work as it should.Amazon's Cloud Player starts you off with a free 5GB base plan, then bumps up the capacity incrementally, asking you to pay a buck per gigabyte per year, with plans ranging from 20GB for $20 all the way up to a terabyte for $1,000 a year. For now, customers who buy an entire album from Amazon automatically get upgraded to the 20GB plan for a year.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users can now access Amazon's new Cloud Player on their mobile gadgets, bypassing the initial lack of support for Apple iDevices. It doesn't work flawlessly, but if you follow the instructions detailed below, you'll be streaming cloud music to your iPhone in no time.Unveiled late March, Amazon's cloud-based music player lets you play music purchased and downloaded from Amazon or uploaded from your own local music collection, providing a way to retrieve your various music libraries online.Technically speaking, the Cloud Player is geared toward PC and Mac users as a desktop-accessible service. The player also is available for Android devices through a dedicated Cloud Player app from the Android Market.The Cloud Player was previously off-limits and unsupported on Apple iOS devices, but after some apparent change on Amazon's end, those of you with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch can now launch the player simply by running it through Safari.To do this, you'll first want to access the Cloud Player through your PC or Mac. Browse to Amazon's Cloud Player page. From there, you can buy a song on Amazon to add to your cloud storage or open the Player directly and upload songs from your local library. You can add MP3 files and iTunes AAC files.Once some music is in your cloud collection, you can then open the Cloud Player online through Safari on your Apple mobile device. When you try to access the list of songs that you just uploaded, you'll receive a message that your browser is not supported. Just continue past that message, pick the songs you want to hear, and they should start playing. I tried the process on both an iPad and an iPod Touch, and it worked relatively smoothly.The requirements for the Cloud Player still say that it's optimized to run with Adobe Flash installed. That need for Flash was thought to be one reason the service didn't work on iOS devices. But apparently the Flash requirement wasn't the major issue. Or course, there are still some limitations without Flash.You still can't upload music from your Apple iDevice to your Cloud Player or download music from the Player to your device, since those tasks require Flash. But the basic ability to store and play your music online through the Cloud Player does work as it should.Amazon's Cloud Player starts you off with a free 5GB base plan, then bumps up the capacity incrementally, asking you to pay a buck per gigabyte per year, with plans ranging from 20GB for $20 all the way up to a terabyte for $1,000 a year. For now, customers who buy an entire album from Amazon automatically get upgraded to the 20GB plan for a year.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Analysts predict all-in-one Apple TV in 2012
Analysts predict all-in-one Apple TV in 2012
Apple inked a deal with Rovi today that could potentially see the firm's TV listings guide make its way to future Apple products.Rovi, which was formerly known as Macrovision before the company officially changed its name in 2009, provides TV guide listings to hardware vendors. The company's technology allows users to sift through programming, find shows, and record programs to a DVR.Exact details of Rovi's deal with Apple are unknown, but analysts at Piper Jaffray believe the licensed services will be making their way to the Apple TV and eventually, an all-in-one Apple television.According to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster and two other analysts at the firm, Apple's deal with Rovi provides "further evidence that Apple is developing live TV and DVR features for its Apple TV product." The analysts went on to say in their note to investors that the deal makes Apple "clear to add live TV, DVR, and guidance features to its Apple TV product."However, the recently revealed Apple TV does not boast any onboard storage. Some sort of local storage would be required to add DVR functionality to the device. Andrew Murphy, one of the analysts who worked on the note, said in a phone conversation that the functionality could potentially be added to "a future Apple TV product."But the new Apple TV is a stepping stone for something much greater, Munster and his cohorts contend. They said a more capable Apple TV "is another step in the direction of an all-in-one Apple television." In fact, over the next couple years, the analysts believe the company's new Apple TV, which boasts television show and movie streaming, as well as Netflix content, will attract more customers than its predecessor, potentially setting the stage for a television.The Piper Jaffray analysts estimate that Apple has been selling about 400,000 Apple TV units since its launch in 2007. Going forward, the new Apple TV will sell 1.5 million units during its first year of availability, they said in the note.Using those sales to justify its future plans, Apple will finally release an all-in-one television during the 2012 calendar year, the analysts said. They believe that the company is waiting on consumers to "gain comfort with connected TVs and apps on their TVs." At that time, it will deliver its "all-in-one philosophy to the digital living room like it has with the iMac and the iTunes ecosystem."But before all that can happen, Apple needs to get its set-top box onto store shelves. The Apple TV is scheduled to launch later this month. It will retail for $99.
Apple inked a deal with Rovi today that could potentially see the firm's TV listings guide make its way to future Apple products.Rovi, which was formerly known as Macrovision before the company officially changed its name in 2009, provides TV guide listings to hardware vendors. The company's technology allows users to sift through programming, find shows, and record programs to a DVR.Exact details of Rovi's deal with Apple are unknown, but analysts at Piper Jaffray believe the licensed services will be making their way to the Apple TV and eventually, an all-in-one Apple television.According to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster and two other analysts at the firm, Apple's deal with Rovi provides "further evidence that Apple is developing live TV and DVR features for its Apple TV product." The analysts went on to say in their note to investors that the deal makes Apple "clear to add live TV, DVR, and guidance features to its Apple TV product."However, the recently revealed Apple TV does not boast any onboard storage. Some sort of local storage would be required to add DVR functionality to the device. Andrew Murphy, one of the analysts who worked on the note, said in a phone conversation that the functionality could potentially be added to "a future Apple TV product."But the new Apple TV is a stepping stone for something much greater, Munster and his cohorts contend. They said a more capable Apple TV "is another step in the direction of an all-in-one Apple television." In fact, over the next couple years, the analysts believe the company's new Apple TV, which boasts television show and movie streaming, as well as Netflix content, will attract more customers than its predecessor, potentially setting the stage for a television.The Piper Jaffray analysts estimate that Apple has been selling about 400,000 Apple TV units since its launch in 2007. Going forward, the new Apple TV will sell 1.5 million units during its first year of availability, they said in the note.Using those sales to justify its future plans, Apple will finally release an all-in-one television during the 2012 calendar year, the analysts said. They believe that the company is waiting on consumers to "gain comfort with connected TVs and apps on their TVs." At that time, it will deliver its "all-in-one philosophy to the digital living room like it has with the iMac and the iTunes ecosystem."But before all that can happen, Apple needs to get its set-top box onto store shelves. The Apple TV is scheduled to launch later this month. It will retail for $99.
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