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Adobe demos a Flash to HTML 5 Conversion Tool

| Latest News | October 30, 2010

Flash: DIY install on your new Air

Flash: DIY install on your new Air

The web is alight with the Flash vs HTML 5 video debate right now: Is it wrong that Apple are trying to force out Flash? Is Flash simply the wrong tool for delivering video over the web through a browser?

All the questions people are hotly debating. They're certainly are benefits to moving away from Flash for smaller devices. This is, after all, Apple's reasoning behind not including it in iOS and even now going as far to not bundle it as part of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard on the new Mac's that it sells.

Others are calling on Apple as being hugely arrogant and wanting to kill off Flash to benefit its own devices. They cite it as an engineering reason. This I tend to agree with. When my iPhone plays back H.264 video it is able to use its hardware acceleration and play it natively, which in turn provides a better user experience, and crucially for a handheld device: better battery life.

Then again, my friends HTC Desire HD will run Flash and I have successfully managed to get it to play something from the iPlayer. It worked rather well. I wasn't able to judge the effect on battery life however.

So the debate will rage on. One thing that will mantain Flash's status as the big deal for video on the web is the fact that so much of the content available that people want to watch is only in Flash, rather than being available in HTML 5 Video form.

However this may start to change: firstly much of Flash video is delivered in the  H.264 Codec, meaning that the content itself is already ready for HTML 5 Video playback in browsers such as Safari, Chrome and the forthcoming Internet Explorer 9 (Firefox will not natively support H.264 due to licensing fees issues).

But what if there was a tool that could convert your Flash apps, games and video to HTML 5 code?

Well Adobe seem to be developing one.

Are they getting real about Flash's dominance waining? Or shooting themselves in the head? That remains to be seen. Clearly though the tables are turning in the Flash video game.

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Is FaceTime coming to Windows and Mac or will the iPad get it first?

| Latest News | September 15, 2010

FaceChat Thumbnail

FaceTime: Not at all for use in Bed. Obviously.

FaceTime, Apple's new Video Calling service for the iPhone 4 and the latest iPod Touch, is rumoured to be the inspiration for a new iPad. The new service, which utilises Wifi to easily enable video calls between you and your friends, is Apple's push into becoming a 'virtual network'. I.e. being the gatekeeper for your communications with others, irrelevant of what actual network you or they are on.

At the launch of the iPad, many questioned the lack of a Front Facing camera for video calling. There was no FaceTime at the iPad launch though, this service coming later with the iPhone 4, the first iPhone to have a front facing camera. It was significant that Apple decided that FaceTime would be Wi-Fi based only, as it freed them from relying on Mobile carriers. This in reality is a simpler proposition for users: if you know your parents have an iPhone 4 and are at home on Wi-Fi, you only need to tap there contact in contacts and video call, without concerns about 3G signal or running up video call costs.

Evidently Apple want to quickly establish FaceTime as a popular video calling protocol in order to compete with Skype. We have already seen rumours of it coming to the Mac (iChat being the obvious client to implement it into) and even to Windows. Hey they could even sneak an install in with Apple Update like with er, ahem, Safari.

So spreading the FaceTime word via the desktop would surely be the most straightforward way to sign up more users. Surely this is easier than revising the iPad early? After all we know that Apple normally do major updates on a yearly cycle. Is it beyond the realm that they will update the iPad early, even though it’s still flying out of Apple Stores?

Appleinsider think otherwise. They have sources claiming that Apple wish to aggressively expand FaceTime with front camera equipped iPad’s. If this does happen, it could show Apple has almost acting a little too quickly to add a feature to the iPad that many thought was a flaw at launch.

Is this Apple looking for that 'Killer App' for the iPad? They are certainly marketing it hard as the key new feature for the iPhone 4. As brilliant as the iPad is, it is yet to be known for 1 killer feature, more as being a great coffee table companion device, or a netbook replacement on the train.

Personally I'm sceptical this update will happen. That's a short lead-time to get it in place for Christmas and hugely early for an update going on Apple's traditional update cycle. Unless of course it will be the big bang for the release of the hotly anticipated iOS 4.2 for iPad.

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Paid App of the Week: Fission – the Mac Audio Editor

| Uncategorized | August 19, 2010

Want a simple Audio Editor for OS X? Then here is my fave:

For simple audio editing of speech or cutting out clips you want to download Fission.

It's a Lossless Audio Editor from the brilliant RogueAmoeba.com (I'll be looking at some more of their software in the future so stay tuned).

Fission: Easier than Nuclear Fission. Obviously.

I love Fission. It has all you want from a brilliant Mac application: simple, intuitive and integrated.
It works seamlessly with the rest of OS X using 'Core Audio' meaning it will be able to work with any CODEC that OS X supports.

It's easy to use and best of all when working with digital audio, it will make lossless edits. This helps maintain quality if you're working with an MP3 or M4A file. Normally each time you make a change and save in a compressed format it will do something those of us in audio call 'cascade compression'.

What this means is every time the audio is resaved in say MP3, it will compress it again, so you get a 'cascade' effect of continually degrading the sound quality as more and more information is lost. Once its gone, you cant get it back.

No such worries with Fission though.

It's only $32 US Dollars which at the time of writing comes out at £20.

You can try it completely free first by downloading it here

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Google: Can You Finish Chrome for OS X Properly Please?

| Uncategorized | August 12, 2010

Wow! It's good, but it's not right

When I first made the move to Mac I kicked off with Firefox until it got more bloated than Rick Waller. Plus it looks about as attractive as Carole Malone.

Therefore I was an early adopter of Google Chrome. And boy its come a long way since its early Beta. So much of Chrome has been intuitively thought out, especially the options for handling tabs. It makes Safari seem clunkly even though as the Mac's native browser, Safari is better integrated with the OS.

Chrome for the Mac is now on a par feature wise with its Windows sibling: synced bookmarks, extensions, Porn Incognito mode and a rapid rendering engine.

However since the completion of the web based Bookmark Manager on OS X they seemed to have cocked up the spacing of the Bookmark Bar icons:

MIND THE GAP: I could get a bendy bus through that

Look at all that wasted space! Look how it ruins my lovely 'Bookmark icons without descriptions idea' stolen from the Chrome OS screenshots! Grrr. Sort it Google.

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5 Tips When Buying an Apple Mac on eBay

| Selling on eBay | July 15, 2010

There has been some bad press about buying larger basket-value items on eBay, but if you follow some basic rules there is no reason to worry!

 

1) Beware of Uneducated Sellers
Now we don’t mean people with no qualifications who hang around pubs at 11am.... We’re talking about people who don’t know what they are selling. The item description needs to be full and professional, showing processor type/speed, memory, hard drive capacity and other important specifications. If there is a defect, you need to ensure you understand exactly what the problem is or you’ll end up with a corrupt Mac that doesn’t work... Sometimes you can pick up a bargain when the seller doesn’t quite know what they are selling, but as most Mac owners possess a decent amount of Apple knowledge these auctions are rare.

 

2) Read Carefully!
Ensure you double-check what you are bidding for. Is the product brand new, used, refurbished or just for spares/repairs? You wouldn’t believe how many people fail to see the spares/repairs text in bold and then wonder why their £50 MacBook Air doesn’t actually work...

 

3) Research the Seller
Many people take a few minutes to view the feedback ratings for the seller but most fail to delve any deeper than this. Check out their recent item sales – try to find similar products or higher value items. If they have sold £500 items before with no issues then this is a good sign. If the eBay seller is a small business then they may have a website – check this out and maybe give them a call if you have any questions.

 

4) Don’t Get Auction Fever!
Many auction items on eBay are very good value, but unfortunately Apple products can generate huge interest leading to bidding wars. The prices are pushed up quickly and many get carried away with the moment and end up paying over the odds for their item. Decide your limit – this should be item-specific – and stick to it religiously.

 

5) Use PayPal
Despite media attitudes, eBay is actually heavily biased towards the buyer, protecting them in numerous ways. As long as you follow their recommended payment procedures then you are very well protected. If you pay with PayPal, you can get the value refunded if by some chance the seller was a scammer. Don’t, whatever you do, send a cheque or collect in person and pay by cash as you probably won’t get a receipt.

 

Now visit eBay and get shopping for a bargain Mac!

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