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Snow Leopard Finally Shows Web Colors Properly

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Snow LeopardHave you ever noticed that Web page colors generally look brighter on Macs than on PCs? Contrary to what Mac fanboys will tell you, that’s not a result of Steve Jobs’ infinite wisdom. Macs use a gamma of 1.8 to match most printing presses. Windows uses a gamma of 2.2 to match the HDTV capture standard.

The gaudy brightness of Web colors on Macs is merely a vestige of print publishing. That’s why Web design newbies on Macs tend to come up with dark layouts that are hard to read on PCs.

People who still publish on dead trees would appreciate Mac displays matching print. The difference between how Macs and PCs show Web colors, however, has been a pain in the ass to Web designers for years. That pain is about to go away, as Mac OS X Snow Leopard switches to a gamma of 2.2.

For years, Mac fanboys have been trying to convince me that their brighter Web page displays are better. For years, I’ve been tolerating unreadably dark Web pages from newbie designers on Macs. Turns out they were all just hanging on to outdated specs.

Originally posted on September 7, 2009 @ 8:44 am

Microsoft partners impressed with Apple’s Snow Leopard

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mac-os-x-snow-leopardDon’t get too excited — nowhere do we see evidence of Microsoft itself being impressed with the next version of Apple’s operating system. However, channel partners do seem to be impressed with Snow Leopard, and they aren’t afraid to talk about it.

For example, the president of Global System Services, Ron Herardian, noted that Snow Leopard would likely far exceed Windows 7’s 64-bit and multicore hardware performance, while the president of Daystar Technology, Gary Dailey, said that Apple was still able to improve on a mature OS while Microsoft tried to recover from the Vista disaster.

Not every one of Microsoft’s friends is that impressed, of course, with the CEO of InterKnowlogy suggesting that some of Snow Leopard’s new technologies — including Grand Central and OpenCL — are features achievable using .Net. [Read more…]

Originally posted on August 26, 2009 @ 7:11 am

How the iPhone Gouges You

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Want to know how much Steve Jobs is gouging you on that pretty little underpowered toy you call the iPhone? Consider this: the iPhone has the highest profit margin in the entire handset industry, at a whopping 40%. Even though the iPhone accounts for only 8% of the industry’s revenue, it rakes in 32% of the industry’s profit.

Amazing how much some people will pay to play in a walled garden. Apple fanboys are suckers.

Originally posted on August 14, 2009 @ 10:26 am

ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC offer HD lineup on iTunes Store

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Apple announced that ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC are now offering primetime programs in high definition through iTunes Store, including Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, CSI, CSI: Miami, Bones, Prison Break, Heroes, and The Office.

“We’ve got an incredible Fall 2008 TV lineup with over 70 primetime comedies and dramas, including many of the most popular shows on TV in stunning HD,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “With over 200 million episodes sold, iTunes customers have proven they love watching television on their computer, iPod, iPhone and TV with Apple TV.”

Originally posted on October 16, 2008 @ 9:54 am

Death of CD Imminent, Apple Says

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The death of the CD has been imminent since its inception back in 1985.  However that hasn’t stopped over 200 billion from being sold.  While the number seems to decline each year, thanks in part to the vast amount of music that is available in digital format, the medium is still rocking (weakly) on.

Apple is ready to take the compact disc to the brink, offering a new application later this month that promises to deliver many of the features CDs offer that the digital medium does not.  Among them, lyrics, images, artwork and other extras.

Some reports are saying that the first album to drop with the new digital features will be Snow Patrol’s forthcoming A Hundred Million Suns.  Expect future iTunes albums to get the features over time.

Up until this point Apple has been super protective of individual’s music libraries, not permitting third-party developers from accessing content.  Will this new app change all of  that?  Stay tuned!

Originally posted on September 1, 2008 @ 9:32 pm