Mac OS X Lion Tip: Adding & Removing Spaces
In OS X, Spaces allows you to have multiple desktops running on the same machine.
For example, I like to have one desktop running a browser and my Twitter app, another running a word processor, and a third that has my to do list app, sometimes another depending on what I’m working on. They keep me focused.
In OS X Snow Leopard, setting up spaces was easy and obvious. There was a section in System Preferences called “Spaces.” It couldn’t get more clear.
OS X Lion is another story.
The controls for Spaces in Lion are actually very intuitive if you know where to look… But if you don’t know, it is very difficult to find. I put together a very brief screencast demonstrating how to add & remove spaces in Lion.
A very special thanks to Jason Lisnak for helping me figure out both how to add spaces, and that QuickTime allows for screencasting.
OSX Lion – “Natural Scroll” is Anything but Natural
Dear Apple,
“Natural Scrolling?” That’s really what you’re calling this shit? Natural scrolling?
Natural scrolling is about as natural as a deep-fried twinkie on a styrofoam plate, and fuck you for even trying to spin this stupidity.
Natural scrolling should be called “inverted scrolling” on a laptop or desktop. Sure it may be natural on a touchscreen to pull content in the opposite direction, but in case you didn’t notice, none of the devices that run Lion have touchscreens (at the moment).
Defaulting such an obnoxious and useless feature really diminishes the magic of using my new MacBook Air. Sure it’s easy to turn off, but why bother hassling me with it at all.
Cordially,
David
PS – The new MacBook Air is quite nice.
Knockoff Apple Stores in China
Here’s a bizarre story for you.
China is notorious for knockoffs. They produce fake apparel, accessories, electronics… Now you can add Apple Stores to the list.
BirdAbroad writes about her visit to a fake Apple Store in China. This is one of the strangest things I’ve read in a while.
Microsoft Views “Tablets as PCs” – Are They Right?
Microsoft’s Windows Phone President Andy Lees has declared, “We view a tablet as a PC” (electronista).
It took about 30 seconds for the Internet to start speculating about what this means for Windows 8. I can’t say I care much about Windows 8 predictions. We will see it when we see it.
More Marketing BS
What’s been driving me nuts is the abuse of the phrase “personal computer,” or PC.
As I demonstrated a few months back, iPads, iPhones, Macs, Androids, and Windows machines all fit the definition of a PC (Post-PC = Marketing BS)
Technically speaking, tablets absolutely are PCs.
Apple has spent years pummeling the “PC” as crap, then Steve Jobs declared it passe when he called the current tech world, “post-PC.”
Microsoft has a vested interest in breathing life back into the PC, because like it or not, they are stuck with the branding.
The bottom-line is that this is all marketing bullshit.
Will Microsoft treat tablets as tablets?
Microsoft figured out how to make a solid mobile phone operating system in WP7. It may not be catching on, but that doesn’t make it bad. They still named it Windows, and probably view it as an extension of the PC.
I’m inclined to believe that Microsoft will make Windows 8 a fairly interesting touch oriented operating system that gets some stuff right, and some stuff wrong.
We will see what happens when it comes out. In the meantime, I wish people would stop jumping at Apple & Microsoft’s marketing bullshit.
OSX Lion & New MacBook Air Due on July 14
Update (7/14/11) – It’s looking less like this is happening.
The lastest upgrade for Apple’s operating system OSX Lion is finally hitting the Mac App Store on July 14th.
Lion marks the first time that Apple (or anyone else) is making a paid upgrade available exclusively via online download. This essentially eliminates the problem of large-scale piracy. Unless the upgrade flops like the misguided Final Cut Pro X, Lion should prove a massive cash cow for Apple.
I’m excited because the MacBook Air will receive the refresh treatment sometime shortly following the release of Lion. My first generation Air is starting to drag a bit too much, so I’m planning on upgrading this time around.
(Via TUAW)
BlackBerry Deserves Compensation for its Failure
RIM, the makes of BlackBerry are quickly approaching a financial free-fall.
They have been unable to adapt their products to properly compete with the Android and iPhone. Even the US Government is starting to adopt the iPhone (and the US Government is insanely slow to change).
As a result, BlackBerry is fast approaching the point of no return, if they haven’t already reached it. They are screwed.
Their business model was disrupted by two companies who previously represented no threat. They are losing money, and will continue to lose more in the future. As a consequence Apple and Google should be forced to pay RIM enough money annually to keep the company financially solvent.
If the news, record, movie and print industries are entitled to compensation for dying business models, RIM should be too.
The Fake Apple Rumor Mill
Apple’s Gestapo works hard to prevent information leaks, but every once in a while a real product shot circles around the interwebs. However more often the blurry distorted “leaked” images are fake.
Most of the time the fake images are obviously forgeries. Today’s iPod nano leaked image is one example.
This image looks nothing like the direction that Apple has moved in their product designs. The bold color and lack of a clip (a key feature for this product), make it extremely unlikely that this is real. Yet, the tech press published it all over the place. My RSS feed was full of “Leaked Nano” stories all day.
The traffic increase on Apple leaks must be huge for everyone to forgo logic and publish this garbage.
That being said, readers are smart enough to know BS when they see it.
MacRumors article rating
If you’re going to post fake Apple products, they should at least look good:
Check out the iProbe!
(Source: MacRumors)
