This week, John Gruber wrote an excellent piece on the slow decline of Microsoft. Interestingly, just a few days later Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer explained to a group of financial analysts Microsoft’s new strategy, to raise prices.
Balmer explained, “The theory [cutting prices] was wrong …You’ll see us address the theory. We’re going to readjust those prices north [using Windows 7].” I’m not sure this will work for Microsoft. In the last several years, they’ve dropped the ball and people have opened their eyes to other operating systems. Put simply, a significant number of users have moved to OS X and Linnux based platforms. They’ve discovered they can compute just fine without anything from Microsoft.
While Balmer’s comments were made in the context of raising PC prices, it seems the only way Microsoft could do that is by raising the license fee for its operating system to the PC manufacturers. The problem is Microsoft has spent bucket loads of money trying to sell itself and PC’s as the “cheaper” alternative. It seems to me Microsoft’s move to now raise prices will only accelerate people’s interest in Linnux (cheaper) and OS X (better) operating systems. Microsoft has only itself to blame.
BusyCal Goes Public Beta
The very smart people over at BusyMac have released the public beta of their new iCal replacement BusyCal. I’ve been running it a few days and am impressed. It incorporates the BusySync calendar syncing and adds several features that iCal, for lack of a better term, has ignored.
Continue readingiPhone Game Pebbles Free for a Month
While I don’t usually write about iPhone games, Objective Development (makers of LaunchBar) have released a fun diversion, Pebbles. It will remain free for a month so don’t miss out.
Continue readingMacSparky on Typical Mac User
This week I appeared on the Typical Mac User where Victor and I discussed our recent efforts to troubleshoot his Mac comparing benchmarks from our respective machines. It was a lot of fun and worth a listen.
Continue readingiTablet Redux
The rumors involving the long rumored iTablet seem to be snowballing. I weighed in on my dream tablet a few years ago. Between the running battle with the Pre and the possible announcement of a new device, the next few months should be interesting.
Continue readingMac Power Users 7 – LaunchBar
We’ve released a new Mac Power Users Episode, all about LaunchBar. There is a discount code through the end of August for 15% off, DT-37F9-D8EB. Get it while it’s hot.
Continue readingComic-Con 2009 Photos
I’ve never read many comics but this year I trekked down to San Diego with some friends and saw the Comic-Con event for the first time. It was a good time. Everyone was very nice and all were proud to show off their costumes. I’ve let my Flickr stream die so here are some pics of interest.
“So Say We All!”
Lou Ferigno would not look at me no matter how much I asked.
I was 8 when Star Wars first came out. You don’t let that stuff go easy.
Beware! Corellians shoot first.
Original Tron Costume.
There is nothing shy about the people who dress up at Comic-Con. They are really in their element.
Not sure who they are but they really liked posing.
Even Trekkies must eat.
Is it just me or does Batman look like he is enjoying this?
I found Waldo!
This is just wrong.
Continue readingPixelmator Review
A lot of Mac photographers remember that Adobe took a long time to get Elements on the Intel platform. In that void several independent competitors appeared. I started using Pixelmator shortly after it came out and it has quietly replaced Elements for me.
Pixelmator is a $59 pixel pushing beast. It uses your graphics card and makes quick work of most common graphics tasks. Pixelmator delivers many (but not all) of the core features of Photoshop in a better, and more Mac friendly, interface. The general layout is very similar to Photoshop. It even recognizes most Photoshop keyboard combinations. It uses a dark grey interface similar to Apple’s Pro applications that is easy on the eyes.
Pixelmator ships with tools, masks, layers, and several useful image filters. I primarily use Pixelmator with photographs and there is the usual assortment of levels, color curves, balancing and other photography tools. I really liked the way it renders gradients in real time. I, frankly, don’t need a lot of tools as Aperture has become so robust. When I do need to roundtrip to an external editor, Pixelmator is usually enough.
Having used Pixelmator for some time, I’m also impressed with the slow march of new features the developers are releasing with each new update. They are not throwing in the kitchen sink but instead spending time on UI design and polish with each new feature.
Once your image is done, you can easily export the usual formats including PSD, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, and PDF just to name a few.
While Pixelmator most certainly is not Photoshop, it is feature rich and a respectable competitor with Photoshop Elements. In my testing, I found Pixelmator easy to use but with fewer bells and whistles than Elements. At a fraction of the cost of Photoshop, you really can’t go wrong with either application. Regardless, the Mac polish and excellent interface make Pixelmator the winner for me. For $59, it takes care of all of my imaging needs. You can download a free trial from pixelmator.com.
You can listen to this review on Surfbits MacReviewCast #218.
MacBook Scuba: What To Do When Your MacBook Gets Wet
1. Get the Mac Out of the Water.
Continue readingSena Case Winner
The winner is Karen G. Thank you everyone for participating. Also, a big thank you to Sena Cases for being so generous. If you haven’t already, check out their variety of quality leather cases.
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