Got a minute? Actually, a lot of minutes? Here's the solution for your resolution to "exercise your brain"! Jim Hamm sends us this link, and he suggests subscribing to it. This TidBITS site is now available to be read on the iPhone and on the Kindle, as well as on your computer. There's lots of computer news here!
Latest About Microsoft Word
If you’re keeping track of the Microsoft Word case here’s more. David Passell notes this link from the BBC stating Microsoft has issued a patch for Office 2007 to bring the suite into compliance with a court edict. Here’s how Computerworld sizes up the situation.
On the Phone
Computing seems to be shifting more and more to mobile devices. This observation from De Prez Allen Laudenslager accompanies a link to Wired.com. The article compares Windows Mobile (on mobile phones) to Apple OS X and the chart shows that more phones now run OS X than Windows Mobile. Blackberry still outsells any of the others, but with the release of Android, Windows Mobile is losing ground fast. And, speaking of the latest tech wonders . . .
How about that new word "vaporware" in the Wired info on Popular Science publishers, and the dorky product for fliers pictured here. Hard to flip past some of this info, isn't it!
Keeping Up With Apple
It's so easy to get the very latest Apple news, whether it's this new article about the University of Washington and their proprietary iPhone app — or the Quad-Core iMac — or the Nuru non-profit organization which uses MacPro and MacBookPro computers, iPhone, Final Cut Studio, iChat, and Mobile Me. Just go to Apple here and find at the right side of the sidebar Actions: > Subscribe in Mail. You'll be notified on your Mail page when there's an entry, giving you the headline and four lines of the article. Click to read more.
What's the Apple News?
This morning’s Google News sends us scurrying for more information. Stories on the Fall 09 iMac 27 inch computer problems and delays brought us to this report at AppleInsider. Two other headlines jumped out: “Tablet rumors: February production start, 10-inch LCD screen” and “Apple offers free taste of iTunes LP format with ‘Holiday Sampler.” In red headlines, “Black Friday Deals Extended" takes us to a price comparison chart. It's interesting to see what's up with our favorite Apple products. And now, John Carter finds a nifty app for iPhone. Take a look . . .
"If you’ve ever spent too much time composing an email on your iPhone’s tiny keyboard you are going to LOVE this! Dragon Dictation is an amazing, free, dictation app for your iPhone.
"Just launch the app, press the record button, and start talking. You can dictate anything from a short note to a longer soliloquy. Once the text is transcribed, you can send it as an email, text message, or copy to the clipboard. Clean up some missed words and add punctuation, and you are set!
"Link: Dragon Dictation at App Store (Do take serious note of the complaints, however, which warn of security and privacy issues.)
"The accuracy of the speech-to-text conversion is amazing. There are typically a few errors, but they are easy to fix.
"Tip: You can add punctuation to your text by saying ‘period’, ‘question mark’, or ‘exclamation mark’ as you talk. It’s a nice touch." (Double click to enlarge.)
Apple is Hiring "At Home Experts"
Would you like to work independently in your your own office at home? Apple is advertising for phone-based support team openings. Ads recently appearing on monster.com state that applicants can help provide a "rewarding" customer experience.
Art Gorski sends us this link: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/05/apple-beefing-up-phone-support-with-about-450-telecommuters.ars The article goes on to say that according to Cult of Mac, Apple aims to hire 150 remote technicians a month in July, August, and September. They declare that this is "likely evidence that Apple plans to launch something big in October, when the company generally announces new laptop computers."
Breaking News!
Maybe you saw it already, but breaking news is Apple bails on Macworld Expo after the '09 show, and Steve Jobs will not be presenting at that event. Phil Schiller will be presenting.
De Prez Jim Hamm alerts us to a site to bookmark, http://macsurfer.com. Here you can scan down an itemized list of headlines and links. It lists news articles, troubleshooting info, how-to tips, Op/Ed, press releases, hardware, price trackers/deals, analysis and editorial opinion. It goes on to list articles of both Apple and Non-apple industry news.