Lemmings with a Touch

If there's ever a reason to buy the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar it's Lemmings. Now if Twitter will just let me center the embed. Grrr...

This may be the best app I've ever built pic.twitter.com/Z9WJi7e74G

— Erik Olsson (@valross2) December 11, 2016

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar - Bright Future

You've pretty much read about the new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar and Touch ID on every corner of the web so lets not get there. I've had no intention to write anything about it but this Cult of Mac post sure peaked my interest! A modified version of watchOS is actually powering the Touch Bar and Touch ID independently under the hood. I suppose this makes sense why the price of the new laptop got to be more expensive than it already was.

What's even more interesting was that this revelation prompted me to revisit the post "Here’s why Apple will never give MacBook a touchscreen" that I've read moments before the one mentioned above. Sir Jony Ive:

“In our view this is a big, big step forward. It is a new system architecture, and it allows us to then create many things to come, things that we can’t envision yet.”

It's integration of macOS and watchOS (and to a certain extent, iOS) but not in the way that boring companies would do. Dual boot is so yesterday! I'm excited all over again about the future of the Mac (and for that matter, iOS devices) indeed!

Hung Up On Mac App Store Updates

View image | gettyimages.com

Since yesterday, I had some problems updating to OS X Yosemite 10.10.4. Once after launching the Mac App Store and selecting the Updates tab, the pinwheel will kick in and spin forever and ever with the 10.10.4 and GarageBand updates hanging there longingly to be installed into my Mac Mini.

Many restarts proved unsuccessful. The same scenario will appear. I also noticed that my Mac Mini actually became quite warm. Very uncharacteristic from its usual cool self. After a few searches, I finally came to a solution from CNET that worked. There are a few steps and here they are. Hope it works for you. For a more comprehensive explanation, visit the CNet link.

Disclaimer: Remember to backup all your data before proceeding! Don't hold me responsible for anything bad that may happen!

1. Look for the Macintosh HD/Library/Updates folder and delete everything in it.

2. Open Terminal, type and run this command: open $TMPDIR../C 

When the window with all the cache files opens, search for folders beginning with com.apple.appstore and send them to the trash.

3. Repeat #2 but this time open the Temporary Files folder: open $TMPDIR../T

4. Launch Disk Utility and Repair Permissions for the Macintosh HD root drive.

5. To be on the safe side, I restarted the Mac and software updates functioned as normal. My Mac is also cool again.

Phew! I was worried I needed to resort to reinstalling the whole OS... something I've done a few times while using Windows.

It won't be "Apple forever", just like how IBM never was.

View image | gettyimages.com

Interesting read from The New York Times - a reminder that no company thrives infinitely and, in the business world, enemies don't stay as enemies forever - putting the world's largest company in the spotlight and comparing it with its once behemoth of a nemesis, IBM.

With hindsight, it’s clear that IBM’s Olympian status was part of its problem. In the 1980s, at the height of its powers, it continued to come up with scientific breakthroughs and ultrafast computers, but its focus on its own product lines and customer service flagged. IBM “naïvely” handed over crucial parts of the computer business to companies like Microsoft and Intel, while its own profit margins began to erode, D. Quinn Mills, a professor at the Harvard Business School, has written.  

... 

For decades now, IBM has engaged in a sometimes painful transition, and as it revealed in its quarterly earnings report last week, it is still hurting: Its revenues have declined and it has endured wrenching business shifts. My colleague Steve Lohr wrote last week that IBM has been getting out of slow-growing old businesses, like personal computers, disk drives, low-end server computers and chip manufacturing — but its new initiatives in fields like data analytics, cloud computing and mobile apps for corporate customers haven’t entirely succeeded yet. 

In a turnabout, IBM’s mobile app strategy relies on a partnership with the current giant, its old nemesis Apple. IBM is leveraging its prowess with supercomputers and artificial intelligence with a new initiative, Watson Health, that includes Apple. That alliance could help both companies grow — in Apple’s case, by ensuring that its products work more seamlessly in corporate environments where IBM is deeply entrenched. 

Rapid growth, after all, isn’t a sure thing, especially when you’re already the biggest company in the world. IBM has proved that. Sooner or later, Apple investors will have to take that lesson to heart.

The one where the Apple logo no longer lights up...

View image | gettyimages.com

That's it. I'm not getting THE new MacBook.

Why?

Because the Apple logo on the lid doesn't light up.

---

I fear this could be the sunset phase for Apple.

Why?

Superstition, of course. When a logo no longer lights up, the only way to go is down, dude.

---

Yeah, right. I don't got no money to buy THE MacBook. That's why I'm not getting it. I think THE MacBook is going to sell well and will probably convert some road warriors over from Windows, too. As to why the logo no longer lights up, I suppose it's got to do with thickness (but don't kill me if that's not the reason). Since iPhones and iPads sell better and their back logos do not light up either, I guess it's quite ok that the new MacBook follows suit.

Spring Forward with Apple

View image | gettyimages.com

Another keynote, another hope for surprises. What interested me were:

• ResearchKit - that's a great thing for medical research. A right step forward indeed. 

• MacBook (from RM4,499) - the long rumoured 12" is finally announced. What a name. It's not a MacBook Air. It's simply called MacBook. Sounds like Apple is calling it THE MacBook. It's fanless, has Retina display, Intel Core M with 8GB RAM, starts with 256GB SSD, re-engineered full size keyboard, Force Touch trackpad and it's super thin. There's also the new USB-C standard where everything goes into this (one and only) port including power, USB 3 and video out. New battery design plus efficient processor brings up to 9 hours of battery life. It comes in silver, space grey and gold. Truly for the mobile user, IMHO. And going around with a gold MacBook? Woooohooooo!

Although the Apple Watch was the main attraction in this keynote, it isn’t really my cup of tea. I'm not going into specifics here because by now you would've read all about the watch. I don't have that feel for having an advance watch on my wrist, because I'm not exercising (uh oh! Maybe I actually need it to remind me to stand up more!). It certainly didn't have that impact on me like what the calculator watch of yesteryears.

It would be great if the third party apps such as WeChat and Instagram will use the same bubbly thing as its home screen to present their emoticons and photos. Heck, it would be great if Apple’s own Photos app did that. I was also hoping that there is some Wii functionality when combined with the Apple TV (now cheaper), will bring a new gaming experience. Perhaps in the future, then. It’s too early to tell how successful the watch will be but pundits seemed very positive. So it’s going to be the next big thing, but I will just wait patiently for the WWDC and iPhone/iPad keynotes for now.

Cosmochoria - A Quick Review About Terraforming in the Nude

What is Cosmochoria? According to the developer:

Cosmochoria is a love letter to old-school action / arcade games like Asteroids, Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Cosmochoria is a mesmerizing way to kill hours: hopping between planets, unravelling forgotten mysteries, killing aliens and planting seeds to sprout new life across a long-barren galaxy.

I would personally like to add that Cosmochoria reminded me of the psychedelic Jeff Minter game Llamatron that everyone I knew loved (but obviously which I don’t and yet had spent hours playing it!?).

Ahem, personal nostalgic moments aside, lets get back to my take on the Steam Early Access version of Cosmochoria. Early Access would mean that the game is still in development but good enough to be played. In other words, it’s the beta or whatever version.

Under normal circumstances, I would not have purchased this but it must be the lure of terraforming (I'm still desperately searching for a good modern day God game) and what more, doing that in the nude in space except for a helmet!!!

Ahem, ahem. Anyways, in Cosmochoria, you hop from planet to planet but because your size is not proportional, it's like you are actually hoping from rocks to rocks... which makes it look rather appealing. You will need to plant seeds and nurse them to grow while at the same time fight off aliens that appear out of no where (I assume wormholes). There are boss battles, too after every few planets you save. Well ok, I apologise for the long winded narration when the whole game could be described in a paragraph. :D

Graphically this game is simple but at the same time rather appealing. 3/5

The gameplay can be a little slow at the start but will become frantic in no time. So provided this is your cup of tea, I'd rate it a 3/5. Would be higher if not for the very difficult boss battles (difficult for me, at least!).

There's basically no story there yet but probably things might come together better when the game is fully polished. I'd also like to see the save game feature return soon. Otherwise, I'd call this an above average game that's unique in its own way. 3/5

Update: Cosmochoria will be out of Early Access come Monday, 27 April 2015 and become a full game.

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty - A Modern Day Remake of Abe's Oddysee

First played Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee on my friend's Playstation One, I started reading more about it in gaming magazines. I (hopelessly) got addicted to it and kept on bugging my friend to let me play the game until late into the nights. The game was awesome - it's got all the humour, puzzles and graphics that a platformer should.

Therefore, it's not surprising to be excited to find that there's a remake in the name of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty and this time around, available for almost all platforms, including the Mac! The Mac had been deprived of all the Oddworld games so this is a most welcome change. The Windows, Mac and Linux versions are available for pre-order on Valve's Steam.

Below is the trailer of the new game:

And here's a comparison of the old and the new. Although the new game received raving reviews and praise, the person that uploaded the video here is not too enthusiastic, though, and if you have half an hour, you will find out why.

As for me, the remake is now in my wishlist and when the price is right... ;)

The Amazing Apple Earnings

Normally, I don't care about a company's earnings... mainly because it's really depressing to see the amount they earn compared to my meagre salary as an employee but this... this Apple's earnings announcement was something else:

The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 27, while many analysts had expected fewer than 70 million. Revenue rose to $74.6 billion from $57.6 billion a year earlier. 

Profit of $18 billion was the biggest ever reported by a public company, worldwide, according to S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt. Apple's cash pile is now $178 billion, enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to $556 for every American.

Did you get that part where Apple earned a profit of $18 billion dollars and broke the world record? Wow.

There is no doubt that as we approach the end of this quarter, all sorts of negative news will start appearing again saying that Apple profits will drop compared to the quarter reported and share prices will fall followed by doomsday prediction for Apple. If anything, these critics and remarks are the ones that we can predict.

via Reuters.

Sid Meier's Starships Announcement

While I'm still wasting my time away with Civilization V, Sid Meier and Firaxis came out with Civilization: Beyond Earth. While I try to save up money and wait for Steam's next mega sale, Engadget just told the world that Sid Meier and Firaxis are going to be releasing Starships in Spring 2015. Looks like it's about conquering the universe this round!

Hence, I would like to be waiting in anticipation together with you for this new game. After all, anything Sid Meier is supposed to be awesome, right? Right? And guess what? It appears that besides PC and Mac versions, the AppStore logo made an appearance at the end of the trailer, too!

Family Sharing and FaceTime

#166053658 / gettyimages.com

I have to admit that when I first heard about this “Family Sharing” feature (new to iOS 8), I had quickly dismissed it as nothing more than a gimmick. However, after giving it a chance, I had to agree that it’s indeed a good feature and one that deserves a mention.

Family Sharing consists of a few things which you could read about it here. The feature that I use most is the family photo album where we share photos of family moments and our new addition that I would refer to as The Mini (sorry, Apple, I am not referring to your Mac here). It’s way easier than Airdrop because we don’t always keep our wifi and bluetooth on and we’re not always next to each other. It’s a nice touch that we can “Like” a photo and put comments in them… just like that popular social media app that has billions of users but private enough for just the few of us.

The next portion of Family Sharing that I might be… most likely be using would be apps, songs and (eventually?) movies sharing. Unfortunately, these are dependent on the publishers if they enable their software and media for sharing (if they don’t I’d just say they are plain greedy, but I suppose there is this thing called business sense, too).

It’s also nice to have location sharing - not so much for spying on your family members but more to knowing they are safe, particularly if you have kids, I suppose.

Besides that, there's FaceTime which I had no use for until recently. Work wise I could only use it with people that have iOS devices so not very useful there because a lot are Android users. But for family use, it's invaluable when I'm out of town! It's the next best thing to being there. I've installed and removed Skype because not many people in my circle use it. I've installed Hangouts but I've never opened the app before...

There you go, Family Sharing and FaceTime are positive steps forward. Apple, please continue improving the experience factor!

My First Days with the Mac Mini

#112299692 / gettyimages.com

I didn’t do much with the little teeny weeny desktop computer from Apple other than to install Spotify, Steam client, Gimp (because I’m totally confused with the iPhoto app - there are simply too many weird albums and events (what’s that?!) popping up… it got me so confused that I went to download the more complicated Gimp!). I also installed Civilisation 5 via Steam, a gift from my bud. Haven’t got the time to mess with the game yet, though. Been busy with something just as "mini" lately.

As I type more on the Mini, I discovered OS X or rather the Mac’s idiosyncrasies such as there are no page up, down or home and end keys. Did I tell you I had been a Windows user all my life since 3.11 days? I had some problems holding “ctrl + arrow keys” to skip words because on the Mac keyboard, it’s “option + arrow keys”. I’m also still confused with the file system like where should I keep photos. Oh yeah, I discovered that shortcuts are called aliases on OS X and “delete” on the Mac keyboard is actually “backspace”. If you want to do the Windows “delete” thing, you will need to hold “fn + delete” on the Mac!

Nonetheless, sitting back and surf the web is such a breeze, especially with the very nice Magic Trackpad. I can’t stop saying all the good things about the Magic Trackpad. Spreading four fingers would reveal the desktop (though I only have a “Applications” and “Games” folder on it but I’m sad to know I will fill up a large portion of it with stuff eventually). Tapping three fingers and holding on the top of a window will move it. There are a tonne of options to activate on the trackpad preference. Double tapping (which also means “right click” in the Windows world) on a word would produce a list of menus and one of them is to quickly look up the meaning of it. Nice. Unfortunately, with everything good, there’s still always something to complain. I can’t seem to be able to double tap and hold on to an icon or folder or window to move it. I need to press down on the Magic Trackpad.

Another reason I had to buy a computer was to backup my iPhone and iPad and I couldn’t help wondering why in the world would iTunes be THE app that does the job. The name itself would depict it as a media player app but I don’t suppose this bothered anyone else. I’m also puzzled why couldn’t I select to automatically backup on both iCloud and iTunes?

As you may notice, this post is quite unstructured. This and the Getty image above reflect rather well my current learning curve with the Mac and OS X so I guess that's enough confusion for the day. :P

My first hours with the late 2014 Mac Mini

#157331713 / gettyimages.com

First comment I received upon delivery to my doorstep (ordered via online Apple store - took just about 3 working days to arrive) was in the tune of "really? That's all?" because a much bigger desktop was expected. There were just three packages:

1. Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad

2. Mini DisplayPort to VGA adaptor 

3. THE Mac Mini, of course 

Next up was to open the packaging and set up the Mac Mini. Pairing the keyboard and trackpad was a breeze as it was all automated even before the Mac load up the OS. Connecting to my wifi was a pain because I kept getting disconnected so I disabled it. Finally, after keying in my name and password as the admin, I am in OS X Yosemite. 

Frankly, my heart dropped a little expecting to see the colours pop out like from an iMac or a MacBook but I know, I’m using the poor guy’s Mac so it’s my screen that’s not producing the colours. I quickly went on to launch that gear-looking program called “System Preferences” to set up my wifi and proceeded to install apps from the Mac App Store. The first one was, amusingly, Pocket, followed by Feedly. I still can’t quite get over why I searched for Pocket first but it is a great app after all.

Next, I started to chat with my bud via Messages (that was after setting up and getting it connected to my Apple ID, of course) and he reminded me all about Apple’s sandbox so I had to download Google Chrome browser by first launching Safari to go to Chrome’s website to download the installer. Installing third party software that’s not Apple approved was not easy at all (first time using OS X, remember?). After the installation a window popped up and I was staring at it not knowing what to do for quite awhile until I clicked on the huge Google Chrome icon and dragged it out of the window. Ah, so that was how it should be done. =.=“

I spent the rest of last night and the wee hours of this morning reading through my RSS feeds via Feedly and then, bed time. Oh did I mention that I was pleasantly surprised by the Magic Trackpad and OS X’s awesome gesture controls? It was almost like using a touchscreen and not a desktop! Gosh, I wonder why Microsoft never made the trackpads even half as good. It’s all in the software, right? After just a night of using the Magic Trackpad, I absentmindedly did the same gestures with my office laptop trackpad only to be reminded that I was using Windows.

And with that, I would like to end this post and prepare for bed, TONIGHT. ;)

Bloated Fruit

Apple's gone a long way and I wouldn't agree more with this article about too many things to focus after the most recent event.

Apple currently makes five different iPads (ten if you include the cellular ones), six kinds of Macs, four kinds of iPhones, three kinds of iPods, a set-top box and soon, 34 different styles of watch. And that's before you consider its music and movie businesses, its software business and its imminent role as a global payment service. It's even taking on the phone networks with Apple SIM.

via techradar.

Apple 16 October 2014 Event - The Aftermath

Even with not much expectations on the 16 October 2014 Apple event (to be frank, I was actually only hoping for a new Mac Mini) I found it lacking with a Phil Schiller that seemed to be less than his usual enthusiastic self. 

First of all, I'm glad that Apple reintroduced the numbering system into their iPad product lines and all's well with yet a thinner body, Touch ID, new processor, better camera, etc. However, that's more a refresh than any major innovation. The Retina iPad Mini 3 was mentioned quickly with even less fanfare.

The new Retina 5K iMac sounds cool with such a nice screen but that's something beyond my reach so it garnered nothing more than a quick "wow" from me.

My heart almost dropped when I thought it was the end of the event but alas the refreshed Mac Mini was introduced quickly with a lower price point. I think I'm going to get one! Just like Phil Schiller said, a first Mac. 

Despite a refresh and a price "drop", I can't help feeling that it's not really a super bargain that Apple would want us to believe. There's no more quad core i7 and apparently, RAM is no longer user upgradeable. Well, there is better graphics, even for the base model (which essentially is a base Macbook Air and iMac). Sigh, so things are really not as rosy but I most likely will get the mid-range version. It is still the cheapest Mac around after all and that's all I can afford at the moment.

Way too long, indeed...

I particularly like Apple's tag line of the upcoming 16 October 2014 invite because "it's been way too long' offers a glimmer of hope of a new Mac Mini and what else that've not been updated for ages? Ah, the Apple TV, iPod series of products... heck it could also mean new designs for all those Macs!

And what's with the colourful outlines of the background that otherwise look so similar to the recent invite? Hmmm... speculations run wild as the event approaches...

My last 2 sen about Apple's announcement in a few hours...

Gosh! The much anticipated Apple announcement is just hours away and I'm super anxious about their best product pipeline in Eddy Cue's 25 years at Apple. I'm really hoping for surprises rather than the usual product announcements.

The fact that Apple built a separate, windowless building at the announcement venue made things ever more mysterious... filled with excitement and... hopeful. I am hoping that this announcement will have cool live demos about integrated systems based on HomeKit so that's why there's the need to build a whole building and probably HealthKit is embedded in Tim Cook and reading out his vitals. Yeah, I have faith in Apple's presentation style - something that I hope to emulate into my presentations but alas I've little success. I know this time the presentation will be different!

So Apple, do your fans proud (two years earlier I wouldn't even have the slightest thought about anything Apple but after owning an iPad followed by an iPhone, I now hope to own a Mac...)!

AnandTech Founder Joins Apple

The founder of one of the industry's leading tech website, AnandTech, Anand Lal Shimpi is to leave behind his tech journalism days and join Apple. This is BIG news - Apple is sure to gain much in many ways but the tech industry is going to loose one of the better and more objective reviewers/journalist around.

via Cult of Mac.

My very own 2014 iPod, Apple TV and Mac Mini speculation

While the world speculate the next iPhone and imminent iWatch, I would like to contribute my share of crap awesomeness - the next iPod Touch, Apple TV and Mac Mini.

I think it makes great logic sense in the current situation that Apple will do something to revive the declining iPod and Apple TV sales... by ingeniously combining both devices' functionality into one single device! Today's technology should be able to shrink the Apple TV into size (think how small Google's device is). The new iPod-TV combo would just need to be thick enough to accommodate the HDMI port or Apple might just use an existing Lightning to HDMI adaptor. This way consumers would own a music device on-the-go and a streaming media player at home - more value!

Or maybe Apple will combine the Mac Mini and the Apple TV since the Mini is often used as a media device anyway. That would be awesome.

Ok, before I typed this post, it all seemed so brilliant but now that I'm done, errr... guess maybe not. :(

In the face of Apple's iWatch rumours and bonsai in space, there's the worrying thing if Mac Mini will still exist...

I'm a fan of the Mac Mini even though after years of ranting I've still not own one (shame!). So, it's getting worrying by the day as more new iWatch rumours appear and even with a bonsai travelling to space, there's still no news of a Mac Mini... not even a refresh. :'(

comics via Macworld.