Features of Leopard... 300 of them listed... PART I

I'm gonna break down the NEW features of Leopard that I know of to date... [thanks to MacRumours, Apple.com/macosx/leopard, and other sources.]

1. New Welcome Screen with new music!
2. Boot Camp
3. New Dock: 3D
4. Stacks
5. Cover Flow in finder
6. Redesigned sidebar in Finder
7. Translucent Top bar
8. Spotlight: Search your entire network
9. Back To My Mac
10. Quick Look in Finder
11. Time Machine
12. Spaces
13. Stationaries in Mail
14. Notes in Mail
15. iChat: Show Keynote Presentations
16. Remote Desktop thingy in iChat
17. Video Background efx in iChat
18. PhotoBooth Efx in iChat
19. PhotoBooth built in
20. Front Row: More Apple-TV-ish
21. Front Row: gets its own icon in Apps folder and dock
22. iTunes: New Visualisers
23. iCal: Event Drop box [place media stuff in ur appointments]
24. iCal: CalDev support
25. iCal: Room Service
26. iCal Sidebar- like iTunes again.
27. Dashboard WebClips
28. Dashboard Templates
29. Widgets Sync on .Mac
30. Movie Widget in Dashboard: buy tix, watch trailers
31. Safari 3.0 :PDF control
32. Safari 3.0: moveable tabs
33. Safari 3.0: resize stuff
34. Parental Control: Time Limits
35. other enhancements to Parental Control
36. DVD Player: Make Video snippets!
37. Dynamic Chaptering Thumbnails
38. Zooming feature: Remove Letterboxes!
39. Alex: New voice.
40. VoiceOver: Supports Jap & Chinese!
41. lots of other enhancements in Universal Access
42. Core Animation: New Dev tool
43. Full 64-Bit OS
44. Networked Computers appear in SideBar of Finder...
45. Larger, higher-res icons
46. WiFi: see which networks are password protected, thanks to a lock icon.
47. Screen Savers: new ones!
48. Monotonised Look... no more varying OS X windows...
49. Active window more obvious...
50. Preview.App: add text and annotations!
51. Search built in to Preview!
52. Bookmarks in Preview.
53. Safari parses out search results
54. preview other tabs [like previewing other windows in vista!]

and more...

Sesame Street Podcast Number 1 on iTunes?!

I didn't know there was a Sesame Street Podcast on iTunes...

anyway, Mervyn, that one's for you, if you still love Sesame Street clips...

It's still new... [they only have 2 episodes so far...]

It's about 5 minutes long per episode...

But you get to learn about newspapers!

and giess what? It's beaten NPR and This American Life Podcasts to be Today's Top Podcasts on iTunes... I'm serious.

O well, who knew what Cookie Monster could do on iTunes...

random word of today...

my brain says...

ISOTOPES

definition:
Isotopes are forms of a chemical element whose nuclei have the same atomic number, Z, but different atomic masses, A. The word isotope, meaning at the same place, comes from the fact that all isotopes of an element are located at the same place on the periodic table. --from Wikipedia

iTunes says...

If I Like Britney Spears' "Gimme More"...

I would like wil.i.am's "I Got It from My Mama"...

And then I would like Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girl"...


Let's try that again...

If I Like 1234 by Feist...

nonono....

If I Like Bubbly by Colbie Caillat...

I'ld like Wake Up Call by Maroon 5...

And then Umbrella by Rihanna...

Followed by Stranger by Hillary Duff...

And Potential Breakup Song by Aly & AJ...

And Extraordinary by Mandy Moore...

And Falling or Flying by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals from the Grey's Anatomy Vol. 3 (Original Soundtrack)...

And Across The Universe by Jim Sturgess...

And of course, 1973 by James Blunt...

And let's end the chain at track 10! It's How Far We've Come by MatchBox Twenty!!!


[indeed... how far we've come...]


Conclusion:
iTunes really knows what I like! [sort of...]

Thanks to the guys who thought of the "Listeners Also Bought" feature...

migrating in progress...

i'm moving over to wordpress...

but hold on...

i'm not done...

i'm still working out the transition plans...

but for now, enjoy reading 2 blogs!

ronfiles.wordpress.com
ronfiles.blogspot.com


when i finished moving over, this blog shall redirect there...


so watch this space

Updated the blog!

notice I've been on a blogging rampage today?

Anyway, I'm going to try some things out from today onwards...

The blog shall start displaying posts from the past 7 days instead of the last 6 posts. Let me know how it goes.

Also, I lengthened the foreword. Please read it, coz I spent quite some time thinking of what to write there. If you haven't please go and read. If you have, please read it again. It just received a revision.

Then, I mixed the Sidebar elements a bit. See if you like it!

Finally, you may notice that there's 2 tests on the side. Well, one is the easier, 6-question test which I'm glad to see many have tried.

The other one is a newer, more challenging 12-question test. Other than having more questions, it has more questions which many people will not know the answer to, simply because I never mentioned before... OR have I??? Or maybe I just manipulated it until it looks darn wrong... Case in point: Physics 40-question test...

Anyway, do try that test if you have the time! It will [not] help you in getting A1s for your final year!

Btw, Isaac [Wong], if you still plan on getting that stupid rumour mongering ba-gua corner, here's something for you guys to post: I just got a haircut from a barber [again.] And no, I didn't cut it this time. So buzz off...

Haiz... rumours... rumours...

appetizers for the chefs that don't cook...

seems disgusting? think again///

INGREDIENTS
-Rojak peanut sauce. just get a thick layer of this on a flat surface or a container with a wide, flat surface.
-Lays Stax Salt & Vinegar flavoured potato chips. As many pieces as the sauce allows. Alternatives possible.

STEPS
1. Dip a piece [or 'pieces'] of potato chip(s) into the peanut sauce.

2. Spread the sauce generously over both sides of the chip. This is to ensure that the potato chip tastes sweet all around, rather than salty. It is recommended that you ensure the sauce covers more than 60% of each side.

3. Leave the potato piece to soak the sauce for a minute or more [optional.] This gives the potato chip a richer more fulfilling taste, but be warned that the chip will turn soggy and flimsy and not as crunchy.

4. Place the chip on a plate to serve, or heck, just dip it in your mouth!

Bon Appétit!

video camera in a blender? you gotta be jokin'...

Step 1: blend your camera


Step 2: get it to the store you bought it from. You won't get a return... duh...



Moral of the story: cameras which blend don't get covered under warranty...

ever wondered the apple ads?

ever been bugged with the desire to find out what songs apple used in their ads?

well, great news for you.

I found the iMix on the iTunes music store that has compiled all the songs ever used in an apple ad!

enjoy!

Link to the iMix on iTunes Store [iTunes will open]

Leopard time!!! coming soon...

as leopard bakes...

the flour expands rapidly...

some bits overflow...

just like this video! it leaked!



get the song here

thanx to macrumors for the heads-up.

If I were an analyst...

Yet another one of those analystic predictions I am making...

This time, it's "iPhone in Singapore"...

Let me start with the "When and how" part....



When, How?
As Apple mentioned, Asia gets the iPhone in 2008.

I predict this maybe November 2008 for Singapore, just before Christmas season. Apple goes off from product release after November and enters a window period until MacWorld in January the following year. And as we see, Germany and the UK have confirmed iPhone availability (one day after each other, i might note) on November 9 2007.

However, if Apple were to release the iPhone in Asia, I reckon they may release it in the rest of Europe, Japan, NZ, and Australia first. Why? Look at iTunes...

Singapore still doesn't have an iTunes Store. Part of the iPhone feature is activation through iTunes using your iTunes Account. This does not make sense if you don't have a iTunes Singapore Store. How do you activate a Singaporean iPhone if you don't have the store to connect to? and forget about the whole iTunes Wifi Music Store...

iTunes has to come before iPhone. That's the logic. and that should both happen almost simultaneously, along with a Genius Bar and an Apple Store in Singapore.

now, we get to the "who"...

Who?
There's 3 options in Singapore... M1-Vodafone, Singtel Mobile, and Starhub Mobile.

Case #1: M1-Vodafone

I deliberately added the "-Vodafone" to remind you that Vodafone owns M1, so whatever Vodafone gets, M1 should also get. Previously, I would have placed high hopes in iPhone being on M1 because of rumours that Apple and Vodafone may be teaming up for the release of iPhone in Europe. But the dating game failed, according to follow-up rumours. So, by looking at Europe now, I predict M1 will NOT get the iPhone, because of the fact that M1 is the smallest telco amongst the 3, and the fact that Vodafone and Apple are ex-girlfriend/boyfriends... you know what I mean...

Case #2: Starhub

Starhub is the 2nd largest Telco in Singapore, and they have the best data plan rates. I really wish Apple will go with Starhub. Both companies seem to always innovate. There's no reason why these to don't match, but at the same time, none for them to match either. Having no EDGE network is not necessarily a problem, as we saw with O2 in UK.

Case #3: Singtel

Singtel is the largest Telco in Singapore, needless to say. However, Singtel does not seem to care about the services they carry. I don't think they really care if they have visual voicemail, data plans, etc... If Apple goes with Singtel, they may not see eye to eye on many issues...

Case #4: All of the above.

Actually this is quite likely. Singapore has a law which prohibits mobile phones to be locked to one telco service. All phones must be interoperable with other telcos, such that you may switch between telcos by means of swapping the SIM Card. As such, iPhone cannot be locked into one carrier, or Apple will have to hear from the lawyers, together with whatever telco they married with. Thus, the only way to avoid this problem is to sell the iPhone hardware unlocked, but register online and choose the telco the customer wants to join at that point in time... The only forseeable problem I see is that Apple is very reluctant to do this, so I doubt this scenario is possible (for them)...

now, we get to the Where...

Where?
Apple Store Online, Telco Official stores, Apple Store [w/ the Genius Bar] at the yet-to-be-known place.

Possibilities of all these being true?
Quite low. Singapore has only 4million people. Not a huge market. How many iPhones does Apple to sell here? not a lot. Handphones are not disposables. So, Apple may not even consider Singapore when opening stores, even iTunes Store... but never say never. Look at iPods. They sell quite well here, in spite of Creative's local presence. So, let time tell...

What?

iPhone. The 8GB and 16Gb models... I expect 16GB iPhones by Macworld for presently "iPhoned nations". Price of 8GB iPhone is now US$399 (S$601.29). After including 7% GST, inflation, etc, I predict a price of... [drum roll...]

S$ 599 for 8GB and...

S$ 799 for 16GB

How did I guess? Look at the iPod Touch Pricing...

The US Store sandwiched the prices of the 8GB iPhone between the 2 iPod Touch config prices...

Expect the same when the 16GB iPhone comes out...

and btw, the iPhone will not be 3G. too battery consuming... Just WiFi and GSM+EDGE...

maybe there'll be one version for video-conferencing, though...

featured song| james blunt - 1973

"1973"
James Blunt
All The Lost Souls

btw, while you're at it, here's another 2 videos to check out...


"Where Is My Mind" LIVE
James Blunt




"1234" [better known as the song they used for the new iPod nano ads]
Feist

jogging, anyone?

don't know why, but i suddenly feel like going on regular jogs...

but the prob is: where in Singapore can I go?

So this is where you come in!

recommend me a couple of places [or just one] for me to jog!

Preferably around Potong Pasir...

Just post it as either a comment to this post or on the tagboard!

thanx in advance.

S$3138 for a mac... then and now...

What's S$3138 in the year 2000?

Apple iBook Special Edition [rated 5/5 by HardWareZone]
-366MHz PowerPC G3 processor
-Up to 256MB RAM
-6GB Ultra-ATA HDD
-24x CD-ROM drive
-1 USB1.0 Port
-802.11b
-4MB ATI RAGE (AGP2x)
-12" 800x600 TFT LCD Screen
-6h battery life
-3.0kg, 5.12cm thick.

What's S$3138 on 14 September 2007?

a Black MacBook with CTO Option... [3080.70 w/ GST, so we have $57.30 left...]
-2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
-2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
-200GB Serial ATA @ 4200 rpm
-Superdrive 8x (DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW)
-Apple USB Modem [must include this since both computers have modems...]
-Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter [need to screen onto projector, right?]
-AirPort Extreme built-in [802.11a/b/g/n, including the n-activation]
-Bluetooth 2.0
-2 USB2.0 Ports
-Intel GMA950, shared with main memory
-Limited time only: iPod nano [with rebate offers]

If not, the MacBook Pro [cheapest model] with rebates also cost the same...


technology... the convenience rocks, but the prices suck.

just realised...

"Like a fine pair of jeans, iPod nano colors may vary and change over time."

--Adapted from the back of the box for the new 3rd Gen iPod nano.

Well, who knew? iPods? Jeans? they're related!

random photos - the sight of an iSight camera

shot with my Mac's iSight... apologies for the crappy quality & angles... (my laptop's quit bulky...)



italy art trip exhibition... see ur work, esmond?



home-made iPod dock! just get the iPod dock adapter which came with your iPod, and then "wrap around"... leave a hole at the bottom, add a support beam to keep your iPod standing, and voila! customizable iPod docks!

music chart for da moment yet again again... again...

here's d list!

1. aly & aj - potential breakup song

2. sean kingston - beautiful girls

3. feist - 1234

4. kt tunstall - hold on

5. timbaland feat. keri hilson & d.o.e. - the way i are

Holiday roundup...

I slept...

ate...

did the tile piece for the HortPark Tile Design Competition with Isaac...

Presented the InfoComm Alice Competition stuff with Zul & Matthew Sia...

Went For Choir Amazing Race Recee session...

Choir Camp...

AmaZing Race,,,

Choir ABRSM...

Made some predictions on the Apple Annoucements...

Got more than 50% accuracy...

Prepared Smart Albums ready to sync to my future iPhone and iPod nano 3G...

and yes, i'm planning on buying a new iPod Nano [my iPod video is dying on me]...

Magic Flute...

Comex W/ Chen Lin and Zexun...

Bought RAM for my MacBook Pro and charger for my phone...

October is coming...

Exams are coming...

Leopard is coming...

iPhone is coming...

Lluvia is coming...



what's "holiday"?

["Holiday" is the third single from Green Day's seventh studio album, American Idiot. It is a pre-player to "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" (the second single from the album), and the two videos collide into one another]
~~adapted from wikipedia

Prediction accuracy measurement...

1. New iPod nano Accuracy: 75%
In 4GB, 8GB, 16GB. Flash drive, aluminium and glass, colours: black, silver, cranberry, baby blue, and light green. Shorter than current nano models. I doubt video it supported.



2. iPod shuffle gets new colour Accuracy: 100%
The iPod Shuffle PRODUCT (RED) edition. In red.
[of course, there are other colours as well]

3. iPod videoAccuracy: 90%
This is the tricky part. Apple could have gone in so many different directions from here...
one is the iPhone form factor, minus the GSM module, bluetooth and camera.
another is the current iPod videos turned on its side. Familiar?
The material of the surface has to change. I'm going for aluminium on the outer rim case [to match the rest of the line-up] and glass on the main display and Apple logo on the rear (like the iMacs)
WiFi for YouTube? Sounds cool... Apple TV has it, iPhone has it, Why not iPod?
Cover Flow is dfinitely in, though...


4. iPod nano is now iPod video? HERATIC! Accuracy: 100%
i invented this rumour! lol.. anyway, why not make the current nano and video become one product - The NEW iPod [6th gen]?


5. Beatles on iTunes Accuracy: 1% [there are songs by the Beatles on iTunes, but that doesn't count... and it's only 3 tracks]
The last conference the Beatles had... the first 4 letters of the band's name... the invitations Apple sent...
"The BEAT goes on..."
Get it?
BEAT! BEATLES! iTunes!


6. One more Thing... Ringtones accuracy: 100%
iPhone gets ringtones. dunno how, but it's getting ringtones.


7. One last thing... Slap you, iPhone owners! accuracy:40% [Current iPhone owners did get slapped with a price drop, and a slap of a $100 Apple voucher from Steve Jobs]
Yep, slap you b*t*hes, coz iPhone 2nd Gen is out... and it has HSDPA! and it's shipping in early '08...


8. Lucky number 8... iTunes 8 available for download accuracy: 0%
iTunes 8 gets new feature: support for AVCHD? iMovie 08? Import YouTube bookmarks? not youtube site addresses, but the embed video's link, somehow... i'm confusing myself


9. 4 Billion songs sold! now suck in iTunes' awesomeness, Singapore! accuracy: 0% still at 3m+, but nearing 4m...
Apparently, last years rumours point to iTunes Store in Singapore this year... Ready?


10. iPod Backup accuracy: 10% the iTunes Wi-Fi Store save-to-my-computer feature is considered quite similar to my prediction...
ITunes can back up your iPod music. In an unreadeable format? maybe... In a way that empties the iPod, but gets the songs on your computer? maybe...


on average, ACCURACY= 51.6%

not bad... I passed...

The Beat Goes On...

"When the spinning stops -- that'll be the time to worry, not before. Until then, the Beatles are alive and well and the beat goes on, the beat goes on."

--The Beatles' final words in their last press release...

Predictions for Apple Announcements September 5th

"Sorry, we only have the white model... and we only have 2 left..."-- Epicentre@suntec staff...

This, my friend, is a harbinger.
I realised it's the last day of COMEX...

but if this is occuring in San Fran, US...
and people are reporting that Apple has decelerated manufacturing of iPods..

Am I not right that this is a stock clearance for things to come?
Here's what I'm predicting... Could be wrong, but heck, predictions are predictions...


1. New iPod nano
In 4GB, 8GB, 16GB. Flash drive, aluminium and glass, colours: black, silver, cranberry, baby blue, and light green. Shorter than current nano models. I doubt video it supported.


2. iPod shuffle gets new colour
The iPod Shuffle PRODUCT (RED) edition. In red.


3. iPod video
This is the tricky part. Apple could have gone in so many different directions from here...
one is the iPhone form factor, minus the GSM module, bluetooth and camera.
another is the current iPod videos turned on its side. Familiar?
The material of the surface has to change. I'm going for aluminium on the outer rim case [to match the rest of the line-up] and glass on the main display and Apple logo on the rear (like the iMacs)
WiFi for YouTube? Sounds cool... Apple TV has it, iPhone has it, Why not iPod?
Cover Flow is dfinitely in, though...


4. iPod nano is now iPod video? HERATIC!
i invented this rumour! lol.. anyway, why not make the current nano and video become one product - The NEW iPod [6th gen]?


5. Beatles on iTunes
The last conference the Beatles had... the first 4 letters of the band's name... the invitations Apple sent...
"The BEAT goes on..."
Get it?
BEAT! BEATLES! iTunes!


6. One more Thing... Ringtones
iPhone gets ringtones. dunno how, but it's getting ringtones.


7. One last thing... Slap you, iPhone owners!
Yep, slap you b*t*hes, coz iPhone 2nd Gen is out... and it has HSDPA! and it's shipping in early '08...


8. Lucky number 8... iTunes 8 available for download
iTunes 8 gets new feature: support for AVCHD? iMovie 08? Import YouTube bookmarks? not youtube site addresses, but the embed video's link, somehow... i'm confusing mysel


9. 4 Billion songs sold! now suck in iTunes' awesomeness, Singapore!
Apparently, last years rumours point to iTunes Store in Singapore this year... Ready?


10. iPod Backup
ITunes can back up your iPod music. In an unreadeable format? maybe... In a way that empties the iPod, but gets the songs on your computer? maybe...


here's my insight!

Elvis & Lisa Marie Presley - In The Ghetto

one of those digitally remastered Elvis songs mixed with a female duet partner... Only this time, it's more personal than the American Idol duet...

Heroed on HD-DVD?! Get me one!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Season-1-HD-DVD/dp/B000QTD5TS


I haven't watched the show before... just bits of it through VH1... but the show seems awesome. I need to catch up!!! [and I love HD video... so why not?]

now, i need a HD-DVD player...