I am now on the 32 GB 3Gs. Loving it.

We will have some announcements today about some ipod releated products and services. I will update when those come in. Until then. Thanks for your support and your emails threatening me to come back.

I have been able to play with them briefly and here are my thoughts:

Obviously from the looks of it it is the same basic design as before. The imac kept it’s Leno Chin on the bottom of the mahine under the screen. It has gotten  significantly thinner. and has received a new color and material change. It is now Aluminum and black.

Most importantly it has been upgraded with slightly faster processors as well and a better graphics card and more ram. The keyboard is a completely new design. WAAAAAY thinner with dedicated keys for certain function that are used regularly.

Check out the pics below for a visual.

Flickr Uploadr 2.3 is free.

A few pics of the interface are waiting for you, after the jump.
Photo upload:

Batch upload:

OK. This is not exactly mac related but I figure anyone who can appreciate a nice apple product will appreciate this one too.

This Camera is made by Sanyo. Itis their third revision of the HD Line. This is not your grandmas camcorder though. This one does not use a tape and it does not even use a hard drive like a lot of newer camcorders do. It uses SD memory cards. I have been looking at this camera for several months and finally made the purchase last week.

Here are a few details that stand out:

Camera accepts Secure Digital and SDHC cards. up to 8GB in size I use a 4 GB and a 2 GB card

Camera records 720P which means it records in HIgh definition and will play on all HDTVs directly and natively

Camera is small and fits nicely in the palm of your hand or in your pocket.

Camera ALSO shoots 7 megapixel still photos on the fly. No switching modes. just press the button and you are shooting stills. (love that)

Best of all…. It is cheap!!! It sells as low as 609.00 at Amazon.com I picked mine up for $650 at Costco online for their return policy, but wow what a deal!I have been shooting with it 3-4 times and am very impressed.

I popped in the card, took it to disneyland with the kids, shot 20 minutes worth of HD on a 2 GB card , went home, stuck the camera in it’s convenient dock (with HDMI out) and Iphoto automatically opened and was ready to import my photos AND movies. after they transfered, I opened up the clips and played them right out of iphoto. could not have been easier. I also turned the tv on and watch the video straight off the camera via the HDMI cable and it looked incredible!!

All in all this is a Great Camera with a tons of potential. In my case, I wanted a camera for my upcoming trip to Sweden in June so I would not have to lug around a video camera and a still Camera. I will just pop it in the pocket and shoot when needed. Love It!!!

5 of 5 on this one!

Dictionary: hook up your ipod with dictionary that includes over 40,000 definitions and pronunciation guide ($9.95)

Encyclopodia: this incredible tool can get wikipedia.org into your iPod, if you’re one of those who can’t imagine web without wikipedia defintely check it out

GoogleGet: weather+news combo tool. When it comes to news, best option would be to have something like RSS reader that can convert feeds into iPod readable format, however I wasn’t able to find any free tool for that, what I got is Igadget which will cost you ($15). Post it in comments in case you know about any other alternative

iDirectionz: store driving directions on your iPod

iPodGym: turn iPod into your gym advisor; iPodGym is a website where you can find over 80 exercise videos (incl. descriptions) all of which can adopted to the iPod format.

iPodwizard: windows program that let’s you change fonts, graphics and text on you iPod

Ipod-notes | Ipod-ebook-creator: these 2 nifty tools let you easily create iPod compatible ebooks from regular text files. Actually, Ipod-notes goes even further by letting you create ebook from a webpage, check it out. In case you need some free ebooks to start with, drop by Project Gutenberg Library

piPod – guide to the best pizzerias in the five boroughs of NYC

Senuti (Mac OSX): this application syncs files off your iPod and sends them directly to your iTunes library. It can also play songs directly off iPod

Weather for Me: downloads weather forecasts from Myforecast.com and puts it on your iPod

Ipodlinks: variety of icons and wallpapers

Ipodwizard: ipod themes

Video Converters

videora iPod Converter: free video conversion application, you may use it to convert regular PC video files (avi, mpeg, etc) into iPod compatible format

Media-Convert: web based media converter

HandBrake: Rip DVD movies to your iPod. (MacOS X, Linux and soon Windows)

The thing that strikes me is that most of these problems could be resolved by Apple. For example, when a user downloads an EXE file, Safari could easily give the user a quick warning that it’s a Windows program and won’t install on Mac. (Before you say, “ha! What if it’s in a ZIP file?” Safari already checks inside ZIP files to see if something is a “program” that Safari should give a security warning about.)

Here’s a precis list of things that TUAW and its users said in comments, and a few of my own:

1. Closing an application window, thinking it has quit.

2. Downloading an app and running it from the disk image.

3. Creating endless untitled folders

4. Using Safari’s Google search to get to a website

5. Confusing the concept of wallpaper with screensaver

6. Double-clicking a window thinking it will maximise it, but instead sending it to the dock

7. Not understanding the usefulness of column view and leaving everything in icon view

8. Not using any keyboard shortcuts

9. Thinking that now they’ve got rid of Windows they won’t have problems of _any_ sort on their Mac

10. Renaming desktop icons to random characters because they don’t understand the difference between the enter and the return key on Mac. (Enter puts an icon into rename mode).

11. People trying to find the menus on a window, not realising they’re always at the top of the scree

12. Trying to resize windows from the edge rather than the drag area on the corner

13. Trying to use the CTRL key rather than CMD key for shortcuts.

14. Thinking it’ll be easy to get a stuck CD out.

15. Installing a program every time they want to run it because they think the installer _is_ the program.

16. Where’s “the internet”? (looking for the Windows Internet Explorer “e” icon)

17. Repeatedly hitting the Apple key expecting the Apple menu to pop up (confused with Windows Key and Start Menu concept)

18. Thinking the green “+” button maximises a window to full screen (not realising that Apple’s maximise philosophy is to only make a window as big as it needs to be to comfortably fit the width of content currently being displayed)

19. Looking in vain for an uninstaller app, because they don’t realise that uninstalling an application on Mac is as easy as dragging the program icon into the trash.

20. Minimising windows all the time rather than using “hide”, leaving the document section of the doc littered with forgotten minimised windows (that are quietly occupying system resources).

21. Double-clicking dock icons.

22. Inadvertant click-drags and removing programs from the dock in the process.

23. Saving everything to the desktop or somewhere on the hard drive other than their home folder

24. Trying to load documents or programs multiple times because they don’t recognise the progress indicators (sound of hard drive grinding, CD spinning, Mac spinning beachball, browser status bar)

25. Not understanding that the dock is used to both launch and return to a program …

26. Inability to work with multiple documents on-screen at the same time, because they have only ever learned to use Windows’ maximise mode which always makes everything full-screen

27. Confusing “delete” with “backspace” (because Apple has two keys named “delete” on the keyboard, one of which does forward delete and the other backward delete. Way to go, usability geniuses).

28. Expecting “home” and “end” keys to go the beginning and end of a line, rather than beginning and end of a document.

29. Not realising that when you copy a folder over an existing one, OS X -replaces- the destination folder rather than merging the contents, which is what Windows does.

30. Looking for the “complicated” way of doing everything. For example, trying to go into system preferences and right-clicking on the networking icon in order to find available wireless networks, rather than just clicking on the Airport icon in the menu bar and selecting the relevant wireless network.

Import Photos

Once you connect your camera to your Mac, just click Import in iPhoto to download your pictures.

1. Connect your camera to your Mac. (See “Connect Your Camera” if you need help doing this.
2. Open iPhoto; the application switches to Import mode.
3. Type a name and description for your import in the Roll Name and Description fields, respectively.
4. Click Import.

View and Organize Your Pictures

Use settings in iPhoto preferences to change the way your iPhoto browser looks.

Once you import your pictures and movie files into iPhoto (you can also manually add files by dragging them from the Finder to the iPhoto Library icon in the Source column), it displays thumbnails (small image copies) of your files in the browser window. The Source column on the left allows you to select your Library, certain albums, slideshows, books, and more. Select any source item to view its images in the window.

• To change the size of the thumbnails, move the zoom slider in the bottom-right corner.
• To change the look of the browser window, choose Preferences from the iPhoto menu and click Appearance. You can select any options you want in the pane to display border outlines or drop shadows, change the background from white to black (or somewhere in between), and organize the thumbnail placement.
• To help you search for particular photos better, add keywords to your photos. Click the keyword button (the button with a key) to display the Keywords pane, which comes with a few default keywords such as Vacation, Kids, and Birthday. To assign one of these words to a photo, select a thumbnail and drag it onto the keyword in the Keywords pane. You can assign more than one keyword to any picture. To view photos by keyword, click a keyword in the Keywords pane (click Reset to return to your full library).
• To add your own custom keywords, choose Preferences from the iPhoto menu and click Keywords. Click Add to create a new keyword entry and type a name for your keyword such as “My Dog,” “Company Party,” or “Good Blackmail Material.” Close the window; your new keyword appears in the Keywords pane. (Drag the divider above the Keywords pane to increase the view.)

  

  For better organization and search capabilities, add keywords to your photos.

Edit Your Images

The Adjust palette features an assortment of tools that allow you to make your photos look the best that they possibly can.

If you want to make your photos look their best, edit them. Select a thumbnail and click the Edit button to open the image in the editor. The toolbar below the image displays all the available editing tools you can use. Here’s what each tool does (from left to right).

• If you need to rotate your image, click the Rotate button. Each click makes your image rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Option-click this button to rotate the image clockwise.
• To crop your picture, choose a preset size or choose Custom from the Constrain pop-up menu. A crop selection box indicates which part of your image will be retained. If you chose Custom, a dialog opens, allowing you to enter your own dimensions before you see the crop box appear. You can then move the box anywhere to frame the area you want to keep, and resize it to zoom in on the details; the crop area’s proportions will be retained when you resize it.
• Click the Enhance button to have iPhoto automatically adjust your photo’s color and contrast.
• If someone in your photo has red-eye (not the medical condition; the photo-ruining one where a person’s eyes glow a bright red), click the Red-Eye button, then click the center of each eye to remove the red.
• If you need to remove blemishes, marks, or other small items from a photo, click the Retouch button. Use the zoom slider to zoom in on the details, move the crosshair pointer over the thing you want to remove, and then drag short strokes to blend the blemish into its surrounding areas.
• To turn a color photo into a black-and-white one, choose B & W in the Effects button menu. Or, to give a photo an old-fashion look, click Sepia in the Effects button menu, which transforms your image into a sepia-tinted photo.
• If you want total control of making your picture look its best, click the Adjust button to open the Adjust palette. Use the sliders to adjust your picture’s brightness, contrast, color saturation, color temperature, tint, sharpness, straightness, exposure, and levels.
• When finished, click Done to save your changes and return to your library.

Make a Slideshow

Use the Ken Burns Effect to make your still images come to life in your slideshows.

1. Select the photos that you want to display in your slideshow by selecting thumbnails in the Library or choosing an album.
2. Click the Slideshow button.
3. Type a title for your slideshow in the Source column.
4. Choose an effect (if you want one) from the Effect pop-up menu, and choose a transition style from the Transition pop-up menu.
5. If you want to add a motion effect to your pictures, select the Ken Burns Effect checkbox.
6. To add music, click the Music button and select one of the sample songs, or select Library (or a playlist) to select something from your iTunes library.

Make and Buy Photo Books

For your prize photos, create a photo book that can be viewed electronically onscreen, or send it directly to a print service from iPhoto to buy one for coffee table viewing.

iPhoto makes book-making easy; just choose a style, and drag and drop your photos onto the virtual pages.

1. Select your favorite pictures in the Library, then click the Book button.
2. In the dialog, choose a book size and type from the Book Type pop-up menu.
3. Select a book design theme from the left column and click Choose Theme.
4. Select whether you want iPhoto to layout your book for you (click Automatically), or you want to do it yourself (click Manually).
5. Your book appears in the Source column; click the name to name it.
6. Your book pages display in a book-editing window. Click the pages icon in the top view bar to navigate to each page overview. Click the pictures icon below it to view all photos that are still waiting to be placed in your book (if you had iPhoto make your book, you won’t see anything here).
7. On the cover page, type whatever text you want to appear on your cover.
8. To add pictures to a page, click the pictures icon to display all photos, then drag one down to a book page. If your image is too small to be fit for print, an exclamation point icon appears to alert you.
9. To delete an image from a page, drag it from the page; your photo will be held in the pictures bar for later placement.
10. To swap around photos, drag one image to another on a page.
11. To add more pages, click the Add Pages button.
12. If you want to turn your electronic creation into a real book, click Buy Book. iPhoto assembles your book and then takes you to a book order screen for purchase.

Make and Buy Calendars

Turn your photos into personalized and practical calendars for friends and family.

Wouldn’t it be great to give all your prize photos as calendars to your friends and family? Since you’ve already done the hard part, taking the great pictures, iPhoto makes this priceless gift a snap.

1. Calendars contain photos that are relevant to particular months, so start by creating an album for the calendar project. Each page can have more than one photo, so you can include more than 12 photos in the album.
2. Select your calendar album and click Calendar.
3. From the dialog box that appears, choose a theme for your calendar from the list on the left, and click Choose Theme.
4. Include any calendar information from iCal calendars, as well as national holidays and even birthdays you’ve entered into the Birthday field in your Address Book.
5. Click Autoflow to fill the images from your album into your calendar. You can rearrange them later as needed.
6. When your calendar is ready, you can click Buy Calendar to order and upload your calendar project to Apple for professional-quality printing.

Make and Buy Cards

Share your travel with everyone you know and add a personal touch.

Besides photo books and calendars, you can use the photos in your iPhoto library to create greeting cards and postcards. When you’re done, choose professional printing for your cards and take “wish you were here” to a whole new level!

1. Choose the picture you want to use for the card in your iPhoto library.
2. Click Card
3. Choose Greeting Card or Postcard from the menu, choose a theme, and continue.
4. Add text to your card. You can change backgrounds, choose frame designs, and add caption text to your cover picture.
5. Click Buy Card to order your cards, and your card will be uploaded for professional printing.

Putting your Photos on CDs

Protect your photos against disaster by backing them up to DVD, or CD.

After organizing and sharing your photos in iPhoto, you can make sure they’re not accidentally lost or damaged by copying them to a CD or DVD. The photos you copy onto CD or DVD are copied complete with their keywords, titles, comments, and so on.

1. Select your Library, roll, album, or individual photos you want to burn to a disc.
2. Click the Share menu, and choose Burn.
3. Insert a blank CD or DVD into your drive.
4. Name your disc.
5. Click the Burn button in the Burn Disc window.

Share Your Photos

You can make your entire iPhoto library (or certain albums, slideshows, and books) available to up to five computers on your local network. Here’s how to do this.

1. From the iPhoto menu, choose Preferences.
2. Click Sharing.
3. Select the “Share my photos” checkbox, then select what you want to make available. Anyone on your local network who has the “Look for shared photos” option selected will be able to view your photos in your selected albums.

So here is a quick tip on a great program that helps you to design professional looking cd/dvd covers and labels.

First of all I have used dozens of programs or techniques to create nice looking covers and labels for tapes or dvds or cds. None of them have been as smooth and easy to use as this one. Disc Cover is a slick and intuitive Mac OS X software to create labels and covers for CDs, DVDs and more. Variety of professionally made designs are just fine for a quick start. The program imports data and images from iTunes, iPhoto, Finder, iDVD and many other sources. You can easily experiment with styles and graphic tools. It is a great program and is so easy to learn. Check it out.

The URL is http://www.belightsoft.com/products/disccover/overview.php

It only costs $34.00 but it is worth every penny. You can buy it online via download or pop into the apple store and buy the nice colorful box.

Here are some samples of what you can create with this program.

Different Elements
Take a look at the media elements that can be designed and printed in the program.