Archive for the ‘apple’ Category

SOLVED: How to Download a Podcast on your iPod without a computer

Saturday, June 16th, 2012

How can you get podcasts on your iPod without a computer?

This is possible, and it’s not hard at all.

  1. Open iTunes on your iPod.
  2. Select Podcasts.
  3. Search for the podcast you wish to follow, e.g. “shieldsgroup” or “curwensville alliance” (minus the “” marks).
  4. When the search results come up, select the feed you wish to receive.
  5. Choose the episode you want, perhaps the most recent, by either pressing the down-arrow on the right (to download it for later) or the episode name (to stream it right now).

Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Hype and Non-Hype from Apple’s WWDC…

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

A quick read of a report from the Apple WWDC presentation was interesting.

It appears the Apple phone world has few real innovations — some enhancements to Siri and finally turn-by-turn navigation. It’s great that Apple’s providing their own maps. (Here’s hopin’ they didn’t buy them from Mapquest.) Still, the phone enhancements that interest me basically catch it up to Android. Just more Apple hype, from my perspective.

But that Premium Macbook Pro…. Wow. Just wow. That’s not hype. It’s nearly as thin as a MacBook Air, but includes more features, including Retina display technology. The screen is 2880×1800 pixels in resolution at 15″. Can my eyes even appreciate that?  The unit features a solid state drive, with a size that maxes out at 768GB. The battery lasts 7 hours. I thought it would last even longer since it doesn’t have to spin a hdd, but then again, that screen is lighting a load of pixels.

Their engineers are leading the pack on this type of hardware. Find me a Dell, Asus, or anything that compares with that Pro. I am sure it’s not that Apple engineers are special and can make what others cannot. More likely, they are willing to create this kind of hardware because they know their ad department can sell it. Good for them.

Still, at a starting price of $2199 — yeah, that’s the starting price — I’ll pass. Not only does it seem excessive, having it would kind of make you look like the kid whose mother called your Resident Assistant and provided a pizza party for the entire floor for your birthday. That price pushes it a little over the top.

Are Macs more secure than PCs?

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

A lot of people think I am anti-Apple. I am not. I love the iOS. And Macs are great machines if that’s how you want to spend your money.

I am not anti-Apple. I am anti-hype. Sometimes I resonate too soundly with Dr. Carrasco of Man of La Mancha. I am anti-stupidity. I thought of this today when a tech friend of mine told me he had just removed a virus from a Mac. This friend, like all Mac guys, always teases PC users about viruses on PCs.

The reality is that in over 25 years of computing, I have only had a couple viruses. And I’ve had none since Windows 98. I know they are out there because through the years I have removed them from District Office PCs, from Life Impact Ministries PCs and the PCs of many individuals. But safe-computing practices protect against viruses.

When he was at our church, an international worker told me that he was getting a Mac because he had to deal with so many viruses in Southeast Asia. I thought to myself, “Wait a minute. Viruses don’t float through the air. They come over the net. And I am only seconds, digitally speaking, from the same servers that he is using. What would make him so much more susceptible to viruses than me?” The answer is: unsafe computing practices. Ironically, he was not back in the field for a month before an email came back regarding his computing needs as his Apple was down and he could find no one qualified to repair it.

This year at Carnegie Mellon, my son took a high-level data security course. He said words like these to me, “Dad — the Mac is the least secure platform of those widely used. It’s amazing that it hasn’t been hit with viruses. The only explanation is that it’s just not popular enough for virus writers to target.” But as Apple’s market share increases, that popularity safeguard decreases.

If you get a Mac, do it because you like the feel of the OS. Play with one for a weekend. See how well it syncs with your data.

But don’t get it because of the hype.

And whether you get a Mac or a PC, get commercial anti-virus software and keep it current.