Apple in Zoom

Apple in Zoom exists for 4 months at this moment, bringing very special experience for me. As I am not personally interested in Search engines optimization (SEO) I do ignore all the basic rules for SEO as they are defined on the web.

From 4 months so far I can see the following: One month is low, the second is high and third is again low. With the high seasons higher than the previous high month and low are not that low as the previous low month. Interesting - a financial analyst would call that - a growth.

I use no special SEO approach as being managed by different SEO advices found on the Internet - I would have no post on my blog. The advices were so difficult I decided to ignore them. With just one exception - “Make fun from your blogging.”

I understand SEO can help to many web sites to increase their popularity, but it is the same as with a real world. Luis Vuitton does not make a lot of advertisement, but the company knows every year that the whole production will be sold at the margin they want.

I can imagine, that a very deep SEO research could help me to boost the number of the visitors of the blog, but why? When I find information I am not interested in, I do not read them.

So, I am expecting another low month in the row, but in September - it will get better again.

Marketing is not about product placement and product positioning on the market. Marketing is also about product development and product development is a very strong part of Apple’s marketing mix. As Apple is a very successful organization at the moment, it has also a lot of rivals trying to take a share on the successful product release to the market.

Apple is a company, which inspires other companies. But with their most successful products, the company was inspired by others. Apple has a huge sense to recognize big uncovered ideas and to build their own solution based on the innovation.

The graphic user interface is not an idea directly from Apple. It was invented by Xerox, but Xerox was not able to introduce their own solution to the market and to make it a success generating cash-flow. Xerox was quite open to Apple’s technicians and demonstrated the solution fully to them. And Lisa and first MacIntosh were born. iPod is the same story, it is not a gadget fully invented by Apple. Apple bought basic ideas and basic solution and made it perfect.

Apple knows what the customers want to get. As many companies are adding more and more features and functionalities into their products, Apple does not add many features. Apple make the user interface very simple focusing on the main tasks. The customer enjoys very simple user interface.

Apple has a lot of followers when the products is released to the market. There is a blog spot just making a simple example of this behavior. Generally, this approach can look interesting, but as usually - being a follower does not bring such a huge cash-flow as a position of the leader. The leader generates enough money to invest them back to keep the distance on the market to keep the market share and margins.

Apple has to fight many plagiarists on the market. iPod has many followers trying to make the gadget as similar as possible. And you can buy them at your local Tesco store. iPhone will be plagued within several weeks from now as factories in China are really quick.

Apple uses marketing to drive the members of the Apple community to be very loyal with the products and the company, which is one of the best assets for the future as the members of the community will buy new products as they feel the need to help the company to survive in the wars on the market and to grow in the future.

To find the best appropriate text editor or word processor is a tough task. The demands of every single user are so different, there is no one common answer. On Mac OS X the users can choose from many different solutions available at the moment.

Text editors or word processors are the most common application for every single operating system. In case, there is no user friendly text editor or word processor present for the operating system, the system has no chance to spread among the users to be used as a desktop operating system.

Mac OS X users pick from several text editors or word processors. Generally, the offer includes:

• Microsoft Word as a part of Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac;
• Texts as the part of OpenOffice.org or NeoOffice suite;
• and excellent cheap text processor Nissus Writer Express or Nissus Writer Pro.

Nissus Writer Express is an excellent and cheap text editor for people, who need to write a lot of documents, they look for something pretty simple and speedy.

Nissus Writer Express has a true and genuine Mac OS X user look and feel. The application is fully integrated with the operating system and using the application is really a pleasure. Nissus Writer Express is the text editor, which has not so many features as Microsoft Word, but everything you need to use daily is included in.

Nissus Express Writer knows how to work with styles and their usage is very comfy. You see a list of pre-defined styles in the side window and you can use them quickly. Modifying and adding new styles is a very simple task, which is always finished very quickly.

Nissus Express Writer has integrated window for the Thesaurus and always offers a selection of synonyms as you type and the word can be changed just with a single click.

In general, Nissus Express Writer is a very user friendly application, which is very stable and the learning curve with the application is really extremely quick. The text editor does not offer a lot of features you would have to pay for an extra money, but all the features included in Nissus Express Writer can be used. There is no other application to build professional-looking tables in such a short time. Nissus looks very easy at the first look, but the features of the text editor are really huge and you will be really amazed by the features offered.

Nissus Express Writer is a very agile text editor for Mac OS X and the application is really worth of its price. But, try to download it and you can use it for 30 days… And then you can decide to pay about 50 USD for a very good text editor. Or you can leave it.

Financial analysts have tough two days. Waiting for the results announced by Apple about the number of iPhones sold to the customers. After first two days, the financial analyst were expecting about 500 000 iPhones to be sold to the customers.

But today, AT&T announced, it activated just about 140 000 iPhones during first two days. This number of iPhones activated by the customers of AT&T is not compliant with the number of iPhones sold to the customers.

As always - the financial analysts have the answer to the public about the number of iPhone sold, but not activated by the customers immediately. This sounds really strange to me - in case I am a customer waiting for iPhone for several months I would be very in a hurry to activate my new iPhone as soon as possible.

The waiting will be finished within several hours, but for the investors - it can be a real pain. The expectations about the sales volumes are extremely high. Apple did not make any comment to the public, which could help to estimate the number of pieces sold.

So, let’s sit and wait for the final result. I believe iPhone will be a successful product and the number of iPhones sold be significantly higher than the number of activated iPhone with AT&T.

Members of the Apple community believe their operating system is secure and nothing can be a danger for them. They like to read about the issues the end users of Microsoft Windows have to face.

Mac OS X is secure!

Right, Mac OS X is one of the most secure operating systems and compared to Microsoft Windows is more secure operating system (but Microsoft Windows Vista made a huge step to increase security of its users) and Mac OS X protects its users from its installation on the hard drive of the computer, but its protection is limited. Mac OS X is the secure operating system, but it depends on the level of the management provided by the user.

Basics of Unix security

Mac OS X benefits from the security offered by its UNIX roots. All the standards developed for more than 30 years are included in your favorite operating system. Apple did deliver a nice user look and feel, but the roots are strictly UNIX based and nothing potentially dangerous was added by Apple.

UNIX security is based on the file system and the access rights system provided by the operating system. Mac OS X just adds several extensions to this simple concept, which is fully functional for more than 30 years. Currently, even Microsoft Windows implemented very similar concept of managing user rights and privileges.
UNIX and Mac OS X knows generally three levels:

• users
• administrators
• superuser, generally known as root

The most used level is user. But on Mac OS X it is different. Most users of the system operate their Mac OS X using administrator’s account. Just because it is the first account to set up and the installer does not make the user to create another account with the explanation about the security reasons to do so.

What should Mac OS X user do?

Mac OS X is really a secure operating system. It is as safe as the user allows the operating system to be secure. The user of Mac OS X is really the biggest danger for the system security. When the user downloads everything possible from the Internet and use strange applications, the personal data can disappear very quickly. When using Mac OS X, be sure about its security, but do not forget to protect your privacy. Create an user level account. You do not have to be an administrator.

Audacity is one of the best open source applications for recording and editing sounds on Mac OS X. Audacity is a multi-platform application, generally made for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, but the version for Mac OS X runs natively using Cocoa and Aqua interface.

When you need to edit your favorite song to make a new ring tone in your mobile phone there is no better option from Audacity. Audacity is a free application /but you can contribute some funds to its development/. When you need just occasional edit of the sound file - Audacity will be a solution.

Audacity can directly record sounds from connected microphone or any other source of sound and it knows to import almost any possible sound format. Natively, it supports WAW, AIFF, AU, MPEG audio and Ogg Vorbis. For MP3 exports Audacity needs a help from the external MP 3 library, but it is really very easy task to accomplish. As a nice feature, it can work with RAW audio files, but it takes more time to work with such file.Audacity knows basic editing feature for sound files, but you can do even more. Cutting, copying, pasting, these are just the basic editing features of Audacity. And Audacity knows them to make very fast. Audacity will help you to identify the best places inside your favorite song and to cut them out to make your own MP3 ring tone really fast.

In case you are not satisfied with the sound Audacity can apply a wide range of effects. A lof of effects is built inside Audacity, but you can install your own ones as well, including VST plugins which are an industry standard.

In case you need to record or edit sound - nothing better than Audacity can be found.

There are new iPod rumors around us. Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune will get new features. At least Apple and Microsoft have registered new patents with the Patent Office. It does not automatically mean the features will be implemented, but it shows the way for future development of Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune.

Both competitors are aiming the same capabilities - Wifi interconnection. But their approach is different. Microsoft is the innovator in this area of WiFi interconnection, but the innovation not big enough. Microsoft Zune knows to connect to other Zune gagdets, but the limitations are so huge, it is almost non-existent feature.

Right now, Microsoft expects Zune to be updated. The limitations of Zune should be made less significant to its users. And Microsoft plans to make resellers from Zune owners. Just by distributing music among your friends making them to buy the song, you will receive profit share from the site. Maybe, it will work, but I think - someone will find the way how to hack the system to distribute everything freely.

Apple’s approach is a bit different. After a success with Apple TV and iPhone, Apple plans to make iPod more connected with your friends and computers at home. Your iPod or iPhone will look for friend near them and it will allow you to exchange information and songs. The gadgets should not be just other iPods, it should include PDA and maybe computers. Your home can get fully connected then.

So, let us see, what about new iPod rumors will become true.

BitTorrent can be very dangerous technology in the Internet world. Quite luckily, Mac OS X users are safer from the rest of the world. But, you know, when you feel safe, you can become less aware to the symptoms of coming dangerous situation. The latest BitTorrent story can be a dangerous sign for Mac OS X users.

BitTorrent network has another scandal. The scandal is prepared directly by the Motion Picture Association of America. Yes, those guys fighting against piracy on the Internet prepared a small surprise to the Internet community.

The guys at MPAA prepared a completely new website and a customized BitTorrent client. They were so nice to the Internet community; they developed separate versions for MS Windows and Mac OS X. It had two small issues inside.

 The website was pursuing people to download and share the block busters from Hollywood. So, they just lead people to piracy and illegal actions on the network. And the client was scanning hard drives of users and sent the information about movies directly to Hollywood. In their interpretation just information about illegal movies were sent. But honestly – how do you want to recognize your copy of the movie on the hard drive is illegal?

BitTorrent network offers a lot of things to download and when you need to download a larger open source application, there is no better option than to use a BitTorrent client for Mac OS X. But you have to be careful in selecting the right BitTorrent client.

Selecting the BitTorrent client developed by guys from MPAA can be a big danger for your privacy and security. The guys are telling they are not connected with the whole activity, but we have to wait for the progress in the whole issue to see the final result.

A belief in more secure Mac OS X from MS Windows can be very risky for the future. Many Mac OS X users trust the operating system to make their personal data secure. But, one day, we can be all really surprised by the virus or spyware. Latest BitTorrent client can show the way to others. The bad functionality can be built inside the application. And when you just install it, it can send your personal data somewhere in the world without noticing from your side.

Be careful about all the files and applications you download from the Internet.

Negotiations about introduction of iPhone to Europe have to be really very tough. The mobile phone operators were making complaints about “non-acceptable” conditions from Apple to co-operate on the partnership with them. Right now, having a look at the opposite side of the ocean, Apple can ask even more.

European mobile phone operators believed to get better conditions from AT&T, but the sales results show different negotiation position at the moment. The results of sales volumes and mainly the numbers about transfers of customers from one operator to different make very important signals for negotiations.

The winning European mobile phone operator will have to pay a fortune to Apple, praying for the same results as in America. The possible gain is too attractive for mobile phone operators.

iPhone’s success had to be a surprise even for Apple. The factories are running at the full capacity and orders are coming every single day. Right now, the development of the gadget had to be fully saturated and Apple can start to count the profits.

Apple is known to be tough in negotiations with mobile phone operators. In USA, AT&T was a winner of discussions and generally expressed – it was a huge risk for them, but it will be a huge success for them. To get 250 000 customers from different operators just within one single day – it is a dream for every single mobile phone operator.

In Europe, the mobile phone operators are still competing for the contract with Apple. And Apple can demonstrate the success of the whole gadget showing the numbers and emotions from the opposite side of the ocean.

The conditions for the contract winner were announced to be tough to meet. And right now Apple can ask for even more. Is there any other model of the mobile phone which led 250 000 people to move from one operator to a different within just two days? iPhone looks to be really a killer gadget on the market.

Nokia as the market leader has to be really sad. After several years of trying to make their smart mobile phones as a market standard, it looks Apple has a chance to define a new market standard. The situation is the same as with iPod. Just iPod is a real market standard and others are just trying to overcome it. Microsoft Zune is a good example to mention. Zune is told to be better than iPod in many areas and functionalities, but did you meet someone with Microsoft Zune?

I think at Microsoft, it is a rush time right now. In February, Steve Ballmer was laughing at TV show. Now, he has to see that as a really big mistake from his side. Apple is the winner of the battle. As he was mentioning, no one will buy a mobile phone for 499 or 599 USD. But he did a mistake. A lot of people were willing to spend such huge money for a “stupid iPhone”. And they were not willing to spend 99 USD for a cute Windows Mobile.

Do you know, you can add Apple in Zoom easily to your favorite RSS Reader just by clicking here. Or you can select your favorite web based RSS Reader in the sidebar?

Adobe Illustrator is one of the best vector graphics editors for your work. But the cost associated with the whole Adobe Creative Suite is really too high. There are alternatives on the market to the whole Adobe Creative Suite, which offer almost the same comfort for the job, but their price is much more acceptable.

There are generally two main alternatives to Adobe Illustrator available at the moment for the users of Mac OS X:

• Inkscape
• Lineform

Inkscape and its capabilities in vector graphics are covered in other articles, which can be found here, here and here. Inkscape is an open source application, natively developed for Linux and for its execution under Mac OS X; the X11 environment is needed. This brings several disadvantages. The whole application is developed intensively and the team releases a new subversion every several months.

The other possibility is application Lineform. Lineform application is developed purely for Mac OS X and is fully integrated with user look and feel of Mac OS X. You can buy the application for 79,95 USD and this price looks affordable to almost every single Mac OS X user.

Lineform vector graphics editor offers a lot features very similar to Adobe Illustrator. You cannot expect the full functionality of Adobe Illustrator, but the main features are the same and you can work with Lineform with ease and comfort.

The main features of the application include the work with arrows, bezier curves and gradients. All the features are supported on layers and you can adjust visibility of each layer separately. And what is very important. You can export the result as a CMYK picture so the communication with the printer is much easier and more comfortable.

The user interface of Lineform vector graphics editor is very similar to KeyNote and Pages applications provided directly by Apple. When you just want to start with vector graphics, it is one of the best starting point – to use Lineform.

The application offers 30-day trial period. You should try it, it can be your choise for vector graphics on Mac OS X. Lineform is an excellent alternative to Adobe Illustrator.