Category: Apple Inc.

Apple announced their new Garageband App for the iPad.  Complete with Touch instruments, recording studio and and Smart Instruments, the app not only makes the iPad a complete musical instrument but also gives musicians the ability to work on their tracks while they are on the go. The program features Drums, Drum machines, Synthesizers, and Keyboards as well as Guitars and other modern musical instruments.  The multi-touch ability allows the iPad to be played as if playing the original instrument,…

There is a story running in a Forbes Blog (http://blogs.forbes.com/elizabethwoyke/2011/03/04/is-best-buy-planning-to-give-ipads-to-all-its-sales-associates/) by Elizabeth Woyke that Best Buy is planning on giving all of it’s 180,000 retail employees an iPad to help them become better sales people. If proved true, it could be a huge gamble for the retailer which is struggling as of late, but it could also have a huge payoff since Best Buy is an Apple sales partner. Best Buy may be counting on their employees becoming better educated…

Conan O’Brien has been known for his ability to have the latest and greatest in Apple gadgets and to poke fun at them at the same time.   While his iPhone skit was quite funny a while back, his new iPad2 commercial is absolutely brilliant in the manner it parodies the launch.   Stating “Apple is getting a bit cocky” in his monologue, he then turns to the following commercial to take the joke home.

This morning I was dismayed to find that the Opera web browser download was causing a warning when downloading the browser from the Apple website (http://www.apple.com).  Restricted — Ages 17+.  I didn’t want to believe it but it’s true folks and quite frankly it seemed totally inappropriate. Visiting the Apple App Store even as I write this shows the warning is still there. The warning made me wonder at first they decided this particular application needs to be restricted? Pornographic…

In obvious preparation for next weeks release of the iPad2, Apple has released the iOS 4.3 Gold Master to its developers.  With the new technologies implemented into the new iPad2, Apple is hedging its bets that one week will be enough for most developers to catch up on the Apps and get the new Apps into the App Store prior to the release of the iPad. There are sure to be a ton of new apps utilizing the cameras and…

Once again, the rumor mills have been running up all types of conjecture of what folks think the iPad2 will be.  I can tell you what it will not be.  It will not contain anything from the MacBook Pro other than 1 or two new  technologies.  Most of it will be rehashes and improvements of current technology. First off, memory has been a major issue on the machines from the get go.  I have friends who have the 16gb model…

Recently, at the Churchill Club dinner, two of Sun Microsystems top men, Scott McNealy and Ed Zander were discussing what happened in late 1995 and early 1996.  At the time, Sun was the darling of the computing world and Apple was on a value of five to six dollars per share.   If Apple had been bought out by Sun at that time, would we have seen the iPad and iPhones of today.  Not likely according to McNealy who said “I…

By Bill Martens Apple, Inc. this past month introduced a machine that everyone is talking about in one respect or another.  While the coolness factor of the machine has been undeniable from those who have had them in their hands, there has also been a lot of negative comments about the machine. Firstly, the iPad has not even been put on sale yet, however, it has generated more buzz than almost any machine in history outside of the iPhone.  This…

Apple, Inc this week dropped their notorious NDA associated with the iPhone Development Kit.  The NDA which had been the scorn of programmers around the globe had become so burdensome that developers were shying away from the iPhone due to their inability to discuss anything with any other developers. The release on the web site said “To Our Developers We have decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software. We put the NDA in place because the…

The feedback sessions at WWDC provide some of the most interesting and informative times. The VP event this year was a highlight. Many of the questions centered around education, and Tim Cook, Senior VP, Worldwide Operations took much of the heat. Why? Understanding higher education goes past price and compatibility issues. There was once a weight of Apple presence at the university level, but no longer (especially in Canada), and this is the nub of market share loss. You see,…

The big news story of this issue is obviously the arrival in town of Disk II and Applesoft II ROM. Rather than do a review, we have hidden behind the pretext of an editorial to state our feelings on the failings of Disk II and A/S ROM.  I’ve got a feeling I’m failing? (Oh dear! )) Applesoft II ROM for $100 is like buying 10K of memory for less than half price, since it frees that amount of RAM for…

Documentation has been cited by Apple Computer as a cause of delay in shipping both the new ROM board and the Disk II. Discs have been rescheduled for shipping during the first week of July, while the Applesoft ROMs should follow within two or three weeks. Well worth waiting for!

Here is a patch to correct one of the few bugs found in Applesoft II. The HTAB function will space 2 places further to the right than intended unless corrected with this patch: POKE (HM-28), 202 where HM = the value of HIMEM: for your Apple. This should be done after loading & prior to running.

We are pleased to report the formation of an Apple user group south of the border, Apple Portland Program Library Exchange. We attended their organizational meeting in May and spent an enjoyable evening in Portland as the guest of Terry Ashton of Computerland of Portland, who also hosted the initial meeting. We are happy to see that their membership now numbers in the 30’s. Their dues and program rate structure approximate sours, and we anticipate a good deal of interaction…

By Val J. Golding APPLESOFT I I Extended Precision Floating Point Basic. $20 from Apple dealers or direct from Apple Computer, 10260 Bandley Drive, Cuptertino, CA 95014. Supplied free with new 16-48K Apples. A ROM version is expected to be released about July 1st for $99. One’s first impression might be that charging for this updated version of Applesoft is unfair, which was our snap judgement. However, consideration must be given to other facts, the first being that Apple Computer…

……is the name of a new monthly newsletter published by Apple Computer, Inc.  The first issue (May 1978) was literally packed with good information and programming hints. If you did not get your copy int he mail, be sure to contact your Apple dealer.

The Apple ][ is country’s best seller?  This is what Phil Roybal, Apple Computer’s marketing manager expressed to us when we asked him recently.  Apple’s new Shuggart mini-floppy has now been officially announced at an unbelievably low $495.  The Delievery is scheduled to commence in lat June.  This drop of $200 was enough to influence our decision to buy. The Applesoft II ROM board will be available at $100 for an introductory period only, running through July 31st, at which…

We must thank Randy Wiggington of Apple Computer, Inc. for letting us bug him (no pun inteded) both by mail and by phone, and whose help was invaluable in helping to prepare the special Applesoft issue of Call-A.P.P.L.E Magazine (1978 June Issue)

We would like to extend a welcome to two new Computerland stores in Bellevue and Tacoma. Tom McConnell. manages the new Bellevue store at 14340 NE 20th, phone (206)746-2070, which opened April 28th and Dennis Griswold is in charge of the Tacoma store at 8700 S. Tacoma Way , scheduled to open May 5th. The phone far Tacoma is (206)581-0388. Welcome Aboard!

by Dana Redington = Apple Computer, Inc. More word on the utility Rom. In addition to the routines previously mentioned, this Rom will have new high-res operating routines, including a SHAPGEN command that will eliminate the need to manually write HIRES vectors. You will be able to directly address a d0t matrix, and there will also be a HIRES Ascii character set, displayable concurrently with the graphics. The Applesoft Rom board is scheduled for release to dealers July I st…