Just stumbled across a site that is claiming to have iPhone 4G parts in hand. Looks like there are some changes to the reflective surface and the face appears to be a tad bit longer. It’s tough to say if these signify something legitimate that’s coming or if they’re just prototypes built by some Chinese rip-off device company.

Regardless, it’s still exciting to anticipate what Apple will be releasing in the next gen iPhone. I really hope it’s 4G capable and would LOVE IT if it were on Verizon.

[Source & Image: iresq.com]

Can’t wait for Apple to release the new iPad? Build your own iPad…well, sort of. This is more like an iPaperPad, but it will be one heck of a sweet piece of “gear” until you get your hands on the real thing. The process is pretty easy. Here it is:

1. Go here to print out the front and back of the iPad: Front, Back. Make sure you print in color on a printer capable of borderless printing.
2. Cut along the dotted lines and fold.
3. Put either a pad of paper, or a stack of heavy paper into the middle.
4. Glue everything together.
5. VOILA! You’ll be the envy of the coffee shop.

If you’ve got a large format A3 printer, you can grab a PDF that will print an iPad to full size here: iPad A3 PDF.

Personally I think it looks pretty nice. A great mod would be to use a bound pad of paper and keep the front page loose so you can use the pad underneath it. Then it would serve a useful purpose as well as be some eye candy.

I got to thinking again this morning about Apple’s latest “money saving tactic” of quitting Macworld Expo altogether (read my earlier post here). I’m Wondering what Apple is up to.

Are they trying to avoid going down with yet another event that is trouble and headed for the big Consumer Show Heaven in the sky? Are they really spending that much money taking part in a show they don’t feel they’re getting a good value out of? Did the Macworld Expo execs forget to send the Apple execs a Christmas card with the usual jelly bean of the month club membership for the coming year?

Of course there’s a lot we don’t know, but one thought ran through my mind…is this an easy way to transition Steve Jobs out of the spotlight and begin grooming, or at least trying out, possible replacements? Phil Schiller is, after all, one of Apple’s marketing geniuses. It would have been better if he’d gotten some stage time at the WWDC Keynote, but nonetheless, a guy in marketing, much less a genius, should be able to get up and kick some keynote butt.

As I was pondering these lofty questions and running through my mail, I see an update from a news service about Steve Jobs’ hormone imbalance treatment. Now replacing Jobs at Apple’s last appearance at Macworld Expo makes sense. It also lends some credibility to the news sources reporting Jobs’ health issues. At this point you may be thinking “Uh, yeah genius!  That’s exactly what they’re doing.”, but I hadn’t made the jump yet.

With Phil at the keynote helm, we have to wonder if Apple will set him up for success or test the waters first. Will they show that Apple is bigger than Steve Jobs and announce a revolutionary product or two (such as a new iPhone form factor or Mac tablet)? That would sure solidify a stance that Apple can/will march on regardless of whether or not we see Jobs at the public forefront.

Or will Apple give us some dismal upgrades to existing lines leaving us wanting just a bit more like it has in too many keynote addresses in the past? Consequently, this wouldn’t do much to solidify the Philster as a worthy Jobs replacement.

It will be interesting to see what happens and we won’t know, as usual, until showtime.  One thing is for sure:  Apple again has us talking about and wondering what tomorrow’s keynote will contain. I’m already excited!

We at TweakOSX.com just want to take a minute to wish you all a happy and safe New Year. We hope that 2009 presents lots of great opportunities and lasting memories.

Happy New Year everyone!

I just read on Macworld’s site that Apple is no longer going to take part in the Macworld Expo after this January’s conference.  If that wasn’t enough, Steve Jobs isn’t going to be giving the keynote as has become tradition at the Expo in years past.  Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, will be giving it in his place.

My initial reaction:  What the HECK?!

I don’t know what Apple’s financial responsibility is for Macworld Expo, if any, but it seems to me it’s a great opportunity to take part in and give back to the Apple community it has created. Not to mention it’s a show at which Apple is undisputedly the king vendor.

Sure times are tough.  Of course all businesses need to look for ways to cut back. There’s no doubt the Apple stores could easily fill the role and have proven to generate more impact than an Expo every could. BUT…to bail on one of the largest and possibly purest Mac related events…that seems like a bit of a kick in the face. Where else are they going to walk in and get “the king” treatment and exposure without exceeding what was required for the Macworld Expo?

Even though I have never attended a Macworld Expo, I look forward to the keynote and what goodies Apple will be providing in exchange for my wallet getting lighter. I personally believe that Apple’s exposure at this event goes far beyond the group in attendance, impacting what they have referred to in the stores as “Mini Expos”.

Anyone else with me on this?

Here are a couple of articles on Macworld.com if you want to read a bit more:
Apple announces its last year at Macworld Expo
Apple at Expo: What went wrong?

I read an interesting post on ZDNet today about the best OS between Mac OS X, SuSe Linux and Windows Vista. It’s pretty common to see OS X and Vista in the lineup, but adding SuSe Linux was an approach I hadn’t seen recently. Needless to say, Mac OS X came out on top as far as the poster was concerned. Surprise surprise. I liked this summary:

For those who put a premium on user productivity, MacOS X is the no brainer option: it’s more matter of fact than Novell’s new GUI skin and packaging, and mostly just stays out of the way of knowledgeable users. In fact, for many it meets the IT ideal: it works so well, they don’t know it’s there or doing anything to help them – they just click and expect it to work; because, well, it just does.

I also found it interesting that it was suggested that all 3 OSes be run on Apple hardware for the test. An obvious choice to give OS X a fair shake, but an approach I hadn’t thought of.

Anyone performed a similar test or given a Linux flavor a true day-to-day productivity test?

Click here to view ZDNet’s original post.

I’ve had a nagging problem since installing Microsoft Word 2008 for the Mac. For some reason the default template adds an additional 10pt space after each line making it look like double spacing is turned on. I have to change it every time I type a doc, not a big deal. The bigger deal is having to change it EVERY TIME one of my kids or wife wants to type something. I finally sat down to change it today once and for all. Here’s what you need to do to make a change to the default template for Word 2008:

1. Make a backup copy of Normal.dotm (Default Word Document Template) found in /Users/~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/.
2. Open the Normal.dotm.
3. Make whatever changes you’d like to make to set it up the way you’d like to start each new document in Word.
4. Save the template.

That’s it. Keep in mind that whatever changes you make to the template will change the starting point/default template for all future Word documents.  This process should also work for other default templates for Microsoft Office for the Mac applications.

I picked up a LaCie Little Disk 320GB hard drive to store some files I’d previously had on my iPod Classic.  I have several large data files that are upwards of 8GB.  When I went to transfer one of these over, the transfer failed at about 4GB with the following error message:

I’m always looking for tools that can make me life easier…one-click even. I know ripping DVDs to a portable device is hardly something new, but I’ve been using an application from Xilisoft called DVD to iPod Converter that makes it one click.

Anyone who’s tried hacking together your own DVD ripping solution knows that it’s not easy or simple. There are always lots of steps using a number of applications to get something down to carry on your iPod or other portable media device. I was pleasantly surprised to see that after loading up DVD to iPod Converter, I was able to insert a DVD, click the Convert button, and let the software do it’s thing.

There are lots of options for different devices, file quality, screen size, etc. Check out the software here.

PLEASE READ: This is not intended to encourage the stealing of DVD content you don’t own. Use the software at your own risk.

If you’re a blogger, or even an aspiring blogger, you should check out Red Sweater Software’s MarsEdit 2 blog publishing software. I’ve been using MarsEdit 2 for a while now and love being able to edit blogs from a local desktop application. The interface is clean, you have access to both a WYSIWIG as well as an HTML editor, and you can manage media files (pictures, audio, video) right from the application. Also added to the latest version is expanded access to post preferences such as comments and pings.

Aside from the great features, there are two things I love about MarsEdit. First is the ability to create and edit blog posts offline. It’s rare that I don’t have an Internet connection, but it seems like when I don’t have access is oftentimes when I’d like to be working on a blog post. Second, you can have access to multiple blogs without logging in to each control panel separately. If you post to more than one blog on a regular basis, this feature alone is worth picking up the software for.

Check out the trial version of MarsEdit 2 and see what you think.