Mail in Leopard is a disaster
I’ve been messing around with Leopard all day, and while there are a number of improvements, the update was not worth it yet. I’ve come across a number of bugs, particularly in Mail, which, in my opinion, is a complete and utter disaster. Notes? More like nots. To dos? Nuh-uh… more like to don’ts. Not intuitive, completely buggy, fugly, a mess. Get away from me, Mail. I hate you.
Leopard looks nice, but the Apple website looks great
Just finished watching/reading the announcements made by Steve Jobs at this year’s WWDC keynote and I think I speak for many when I say that I was significantly underwhelmed. (“You can be overwhelmed, you can be underwhelmed… but can you ever just be whelmed?”)
There were a few mildly exciting points, so I’ll start with those:
The new Finder was great news. It is cleverly based off of the iTunes interface, even allowing one to browse through files in CoverFlow mode. This could be extremely useful when browsing through folders filled with photographs, but maybe not so much for browsing document folders.
Panic Software releases their one-window web development solution: Coda
I am buying Coda. Without thinking twice. As soon as possible. And I am going to love it. It is honestly so exciting when a piece of software, especially one as refined and styled as this, is released that fills such an obvious and gaping hole in one’s computational workflow.
Windows Users Get “Mac Experience”
In Tuesday’s entry, I noted that “if Apple gets iTunes for Windows out soon enough, they could outdo Napster and become the number one music downloading program across both the Mac and the Windows platform.” Well, with news that Apple will launch iTunes for Windows on October 16, it looks like Apple will one up Napster by launching first. Not to mention the fact that iTunes for Windows is guaranteed to be compatible with the iPod, unlike Napster or other 3rd-party music downloading programs.
I’m no psychic, but all things point to Apple being victorious. (Not to say that Napster can’t have a user base. I’m just noting that Apple will most likely be the more successful of the two.)
Napster: “It’s Coming Back”
I never guessed that Napster would be reborn, but it is happening, and 2.0 sounds better than ever. Now owned by Roxio, Napster 2.0 will boast a 500,000 track library, which will of course grow as time progresses, each available for individual download, or through a “monthly subscription to Internet radio.” The available music will come from all five major record labels plus a number of independent labels.
It will most likely become the top legal music downloading program for the PC because it will outdo BuyMusic.com, which I have only heard bad things about, and it is known for being “the first.” The only question is, how compatible will it be with Apple’s iPod, the hottest-selling MP3 player on the market? Fact is, it probably won’t be… at least not at first, which means that if Apple gets iTunes for Windows out soon enough, they could outdo Napster and become the number one music downloading program across both the Mac and the Windows platform.
Looks like we’ll all have to wait and see!
By the way, check out Napster’s animations. They’re super clever, and give a hint of the attitude that Napster is taking on with the launch of 2.0.
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Suite and Complete
The ultimate design bundle has just been released: Adobe’s Creative Suite, in both Premium and Standard editions. Built especially for Mac OS X and optimized for the Power Mac G5, Creative Suite Premium and Standard run for $1,230 and $950, respectively.
Included in the Standard Edition are Adobe Photoshop CS (8), Illustrator CS (11), and InDesign CS (3). In addition to those, the Premium Edition includes Acrobat Professional CS (6) and GoLive CS (7). And, as always, there’s an upgrade, only available for the Premium Edition, which runs for the fair price of $750.
Also worth mentioning, the new packaging design is quite awesome – silhouettes of vibrant, flowery photographs.
Check out all the new features at Adobe.com!
QuarkXPress 6 Hits the Shelves
That’s right. QuarkXPress, Quark’s industry-leading software for design and layout, has reached version 6. It has a number of new features and enhancements, including layout spaces with synchronized text, full-resolution preview, and improved tools for web design. It is also specifically designed for Mac OS X v10.2, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. With upgrades starting at $199, it’s worth checking out!
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