The Rotton Family

Update: oh, I was pretty close on the “official Apple case that could be used as a stand” thing too, wasn’t I?

Well, let’s see how I did with my predictions:

• Well, I couldn’t have been further off on the name. Apple seems stuck on the “i” prefix, though they avoided iSlate in favor of “iPad”. Honestly, iSlate would’ve been better.
• Hardware keyboard = yes, Bluetooth keyboard = no. There’s an available hardware keyboard dock which I’m not thrilled about. But there IS (thanks to @macosken for pointing this out to me) Bluetooth on the device, so 3rd part Bluetooth keyboards are not outside the realm of possibility. Of course, no Bluetooth keyboard yet exists for the iPhone or iPod Touch, due to Apple’s limitations.
• No OLED option, I think because the size of the device vs. the cost of OLED screens. But there are several options as far as memory size, plus 3G access is a separate charge, meaning you don’t HAVE to get 3G capability if you don’t want it.
• No camera. WTF?
• But YES on the microphone. DING DING DING! I got that one right. Of course, I had assumed video recording capability which would require a microphone. So the fact that there is a microphone without a camera leaves me slightly baffled.
• It’s 0.02 inches THICKER than an iPhone 3G(s), so I was wrong there. But they’re comparable.
• Even though it’s not OLED, it’s still (technically) HD, boasting up to 720p.

So overall, I don’t think I was any better or worse than anyone else as far as predictions go. The price point I was sorta right on, saying that the low model would go for $499, but I figured that would be for a 32GB model. Instead, that’s what Apple’s charging for their 16GB model. I think most people were calling it a lot higher than that. But yes, I did say the 64GB model would go for $699 which is what it is (minus 3G), but to be fair I had thought that the 64GB model would be OLED (which it’s not).

Overall, I’m giving myself a C. Your thoughts?

Okay, people of the Internets. I need your help. I’ve been offered by various family members a new notebook computer for my birthday, but I’m torn between two Apple offerings: the 15″ MacBook Pro and the 13″ MacBook. On one hand, I’m drooling over the lighter weight and smaller form factor of the 13″ MacBook and I’ve always thought that the MacBook Pro I have now was a bit overkill for me, at least when I got it (but at the time, it was the only Intel machine Apple offered). On the other hand, the graphics capabilities of the MacBook Pro are much better than its little sibling, and the higher screen real estate (which is what I’m used to now) would be useful when working with iPhoto and iMovie (two applications I’m using more and more).

Now, since this is going to be a gift, cost is not technically a factor, but I’d prefer not to break my benefactors’ banks. So asking for a MacBook would be a kinder request.

So what do you think? Please vote in my poll and help me decide. Thanks!

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I subscribe to several news video podcasts (such as the NBC Nightly News) that I listen to at work. I subscribe to the video feeds because I like to have the video option available, although 90% of the time I’m content to just listen to it. And since this is at work (and I don’t keep an iPhone cable with me), I’m often concerned about exhausting the iPhone’s battery before the end of the day.

So, in order to keep power consumption at bay, I’ve found a trick to turn off the video on a video podcast yet still listen to the audio content. By default, you can turn off the screen on audio content and continue listening, but to do so on any video content will also turn the audio off. Here’s the way around that:

1. Go to Settings > General > Home Button and check “iPod” under “Double-clicking the Home Button goes to:”. Also, set the slider for “iPod Controls” to “On”.
2. Go into iPod mode of the iPhone, choose the video content you want to listen to and begin playback.
3. Turn off the screen by clicking the power button on the top right of the iPhone. Audio and video playback will stop.
4. Double-click the home button on the iPhone. The iPod controls will appear underneath the clock.
5. Press the “Play” triangle. The background screen will change to the title screen of your video content, the audio will begin, but the video will not begin playing.
6. Click the power button on the top right of your iPhone again. The audio will continue, but the screen will go dark.

This will work for music videos as well as video podcasts. I’m presuming that it will also work for TV shows and movies, but I don’t have any content like that on my iPhone so I can’t test it.

Unfortunately, once you go back into your iPhone (that is, move the unlock slider from left to right), the iPhone will immediately resume the video playback, and if you try to leave iPod mode to go do something else, the audio will cease again. (This stinks because I often need the calculator while working, and hate having to stop and start my podcasts all the time.) At least, however, this is a way to conserve some battery life when you really don’t need to see the video in your video podcast.