The camera, I have always seen phone camera’s as a less of a camera more of a connivence; however if the images Apple showed are what can really be achieved with the new camera I can see this as a permeant point and shoot replacement, Glenn Wolsey wrote an article on this. Along with the greatly improved camera the video quality has gone HD. When ever you want to record a funny video you tend to do it on your phone, it looks crappy to be kind. That is why you buy a Flip, but not more if you can shoot HD from your phone and edit it in iMovie video blogging will have a whole new dimension.

As much as Apple are excited about FaceTime, I really can’t see people full using it for another 3 or so years. The limitation of having to be on WiFi is just to great even tho when at home most people will be.

My problem is my contract expires in February and last time I checked Vodafone would upgrade me to anything but an iPhone, which is not what I wanted to hear.

Aperture 3 is said to have 200 new features but really how many of those feature will one use and how many of them are even worth my time? Well I am going to try and help answer that question.

Brushes

This is a feature similar to what Lightroom has had for ages and one I have been waiting for. Apple handle the idea of affecting certain areas very well with out complicating it with layers. In fact all you have to do to affect a select area is click the settings of the adjustment you wish to paint on and click paint in or paint away. You can do paint in almost every adjustment you get plus there are some new adjustments like skin smoothing which is one of my favourites and has huge potential for real life usage.

The skin smoothing has been really effective in this picture in making him look a lot younger.

Here I use brushes to reduce the saturation of the background so she popped out more.

Faces

This is a feature we have already seen in iPhoto and is great to see it in Aperture. Using keywords to tag an image is great but really time consuming and slow however Apertures face recognition is rather good and makes it a load quicker to group photos of the same person. I have used the faces feature to help me when I was making a calendar. We didn’t have any photos of my brother, faces made it much easier and quicker to find them and add them in.

Places

Again we have already seen this in iPhoto. It is a great idea and I am sure will be really useful when more cameras have GPS built in, but very few do and this is a bit of a downside. GPS units cost around £100 at the moment and most people don’t have them and I feel this feature has no practical purpose unless you have shelled out for a GPS unit, which is unlikely.

Presets

Most presets tend to be alright but never actually come in handy. However when using Aperture 3 I have found it really useful to use them to help you get an idea of what you can do to an image. I use them as a base and then adjust to suit the image itself. They offer some great effects and are super easy to use with their little pop out preview. Have you ever shot a load of photos then realised that the white balance is off on all of them or they are all too dark and need lightening up, this is where the presets really come into their own. Upon import you can apply presets to all the images fixing them and saving you hours of going through and adjusting all of them.

Here I used the punch preset as a base and worked off it.

Curves

Curves are powerful stuff and have been missing from Aperture. (As a little side note we actually had a little lesson on curves in Physics recently which was quite funny as most people struggle with the way they work.) As you would expect they offer you great control over your image.

Web Publishing

The web publishing links to Flickr and Facebook are a great idea but I doubt most people buying Aperture are going to be uploading to Facebook. Flickr on the other hand I personally prefer to use Photonic for uploading my images as it makes it super easy to add the pictures to multiple groups, but not everyone has Photonic and so I guess it could a be a useful feature.

UI

There are a couple subtle tweaks to the UI, that make it just that much nicer to use. The grey is slightly lighter and the icons bigger and brighter, this gives Aperture a much more friendly feel.

The Problems

As much as I like Aperture 3 it has some faults, and some major ones at that. It is painfully slow, much slower than its predecessor. It is also a complete memory hog when you first use it. When you first open it and import all your photos it will spend hours looking for faces and processing all the thumbnails. This is painfully slow and means you can’t do anything on your machine. When I had the trial version installed it was prone to crashes, especially if my computer went to sleep while it was open, however I have found this to disappear after installing the boxed version. I mention this sleep thing because lots of people seem to be having the same problem and from what I can work out it is due to a feature in newer macs that basically hibernates your computer if there is a power loss and so saves what you were doing in the RAM on to the hard drive; for me this has resulted in almost 20GB sleep image files that fill up my hard drive. Don’t fret they disappear after you have been up and running for a bit. This problem has again disappeared for me once I installed the boxed copy of Aperture 3, but I can’t speak for others. Something worth noting if you have lots of Aperture plugins, if they have not been updated to work with 64 bit then you will have to relaunch Aperture 3 just to use them.

Conclusion

Aperture 3 has some great features that are well worth the upgrade and make a huge difference in how you edit your photos, but as with any release it is not without its faults. Most of the major problems I experienced simply resolved themselves after I installed the boxed copy I bought, it may have just been a problem with the trial version of Aperture Apple were offering. Loads of the new features are actually useable instead of being just there for show. I have attached a gallery with some of my favourite images from Tough Guy.

]]> http://rmaspero.com/2010/02/21/tough-guy-and-aperture-3/feed/ 1 http://rmaspero.com/2010/02/01/ipad/ http://rmaspero.com/2010/02/01/ipad/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:00:34 +0000 rmaspero http://rmaspero.com/2010/01/01/ipad/ Initial Opinion

I was initially very disappointed in Apple for announcing what I was myself calling a “large iPhone that can’t even phone”. I saw no market for the iPad, I just could not see anyone buying it. You really can’t use an iPad unless you already have a computer (you need to be able to sync it) and so I thought why in the hell are people calling it a tablet computer, when it most clearly is not one.

The Good

However since then I have come round to the iPad a bit more. It has a great UI and from what I have seen and heard it works wonderfully in your hand. When I started to think about the kind of people at would use an iPad. I really could only see one possible answer, and that was the kind of people that use Netbooks. When Netbooks first came out I did a review of the Asus EEE PC and one of the major problems it had was the input devices i.e. a keyboards and trackpad, they were just not practical on such a small device. When Netbooks first came out most ran their own version of Linux, but nowadays we see most of them running Windows. The main reason for this is the lack of functionality and applications for the linux based versions. This is not a problem with the iPad as it already has thousands of apps ready to run sitting in the App store. The more I Think about it, it really is what Netbooks should have been. Finally the biggest surprise of all was the pricing; the top of the line only costing $829 (£530 roughly), putting it in perfect contention with other Netbooks.

The Bad

Sorry if this bit sounds like a rant but Apple left out some major stuff. First off why is there no camera? Considering most Netbooks are used for Skyping (and other AIM clients that support video), you would have thought a camera was an obvious one. Next on my list is the lack of Flash, Apple claim this is the best web surfing experience out there, but I ask how can it be if you can’t see anything done in flash? John Gruber of Daring fireball wrote a very interesting piece about this subject, which I suggest you check out. What really gets my goat is that people are calling it a tablet computer when it is clearly not a computer at all; even Steve Jobs calls it an iPod (29:40).

And that is a little bit of an overview of the
iPods hardware

It has no multi tasking and no standard interfaces such as USB ports, so if your friends shows up with a keynote on a memory stick and you want to put it on to your iPad you’ll need a computer; in fact if you want to put anything on your iPad you will need a computer. Apple also seem to be keenly advertising the iBooks function, but what they forget to mention is that at the moment it is US only.

The Ugly

In this case I think the beautiful might be more appropriate. There is no doubt that Jonathan Ive and his team have done a great job designing the iPad. Physically the iPad is slim and familiar. The UI is out standing and brings some of the nicest physical aspect of having a address book and a book in ones hand in to the digital realm. The contextual menus are well integrated and work seamlessly with the larger screen.

Final Opinion

My final thoughts after a bit of contemplation are that of contentment. I think it is a great start but as with any first generation device things are missing. Also I feel the hype didn’t help, people were expecting a fully fledged tablet computer and what they really got was a tablet iPod. I feel the iPad is for people who have a main computer, but might occasionally need a Netbook.

Rumours are flying around that Apple will release a tablet at their event on the 27th. They may just be rumours or complete truth, but what I want to talk about is where this tablet is going to fit in their line and who the hell is going to use it?

The idea of a tablet sounds great and I am sure if Apple make one it will work wonderfully. What I worry about is that there is just no market for one. If you want to surf the web while your out and about then you will use your iPhone; if you want to type a blog post you would use a laptop, it’s just that simple.

Where does a tablet fit in our lives? One possibility is as an ebook reader, but then you arrive at the question of the screen. What will they use? there are two choices and energy hungry LCD or a colour limited e-ink screen. If this was its primary purpose I just can’t see that many selling. Another use is for the more artistic mac owners who really want a touch screen to better create their art work, however this market share is probably so small it will not be profitable. It has also been rumoured that you maybe able to get it with a wireless carrier, if this is true it is competing with the iPhone as a wireless surfing device.

Then we come to the mine field that is price, this is a nightmare; if they price it at $1000 it is competing with fully fledged laptops and if they put it at $500 it is competing with the iPhone. A tablet sounds like a great idea, but it is a tried and failed model. I am not saying Apple should stay away from it I just hope they have something innovative and unique so it can easily be differentiated from an iPhone or a laptop.

Copyright: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deep-resonance

Just before the release of Windows 7 Apple announced a couple updates to some of their products. They released what are basically widescreen versions of the iMac, which have to be said look extremely nice, they also gave them a bit of a speed bump. They released a slender new aluminium Apple remote, a server version of the Mac Mini and a new MacBook with better longer battery life and a plastic unibody shell.

But most importantly they released the Magic Mouse, that is unbelievably cool. One of most talked about announcements is a flipping mouse. It is so hard to find a good bluetooth mouse these days. Logitech are the only company that sell a good basic bluetooth mouse ever other mouse wants you to plugin some form of dongle. Is it so unreasonable to use a technology that could be built into every Laptop and is in nearly every phone. Anyway back to the Magic mouse, it has the most sleek and stream line design of any mouse I have ever seen. I don’t know if I would really uses all those fancy finger gestures, but as long as I don’t have to lift my right finger to click with my left I might actually have to buy it.

What I did buy was a copy of Windows 7, there are so many version it can get really confusing but after looking around people were suggesting to get the 64-bit version on a Mac as Apple have drivers for 64-bit Windows 7 unlike Vista where there are only drivers for the 32-bit versions. In the end I bought the 64-bit Home premium version. I decided to get Windows 7 after playing with the beta which has to be said was rock solid and great to use. I need it for some of my A level subjects such as Physics where we are given a CD which, surprise surprise is Windows only and for DT where we use a lot of Windows design software packages such as “Pro Desktop”. I think I might wait till I have the official word from Apple that it is supported under Bootcamp, which is said to be coming by the end of this year.

WWDC

With Apple pulling out of Macworld in the years to come WWCD is left as Apple only regular annual event. Even without Steve Jobs giving the keynote it was a riveting presentation to watch and there were many exciting announcements.

MacBook Pro’s

The new Macbook Pro line now includes a 13″, 15″ and 17″. The introduction of the new 13″ initially confused me as to where Apple are going with this, but after a bit of thought I believe Apple are moving their laptops in to the MacBook Pro label leaving the MacBook label free for something new.

As an avid photographer I have been waiting for the day that Apple would add some sort of a card reader into there laptops and finally they have. The addition of the SD card slot may seem insignificant but it is one of those little thing like the backlit keyboard that will help set Apple laptops apart from the rest.

Another feature Apple were emphasising was the improved 7 hour battery life. I have used my MBP for nearly two years now. As a heavy user of my laptop the battery is nearly dead (lasting just over 1 hour on a full charge). Apple are claiming that their battery will last 1000 recharges compared to a typical 300, if this translates into real life use then I am one step closer to an upgrade.

With all these great updates you would expect in the economic climate of today that the prices would rise but Apple lowered the prices.

Snow Leopard

As expected Apple went into some depth on the new OSX release. They focused on the refinement they had made, for example the reduction of the OS by 6GB and on a MBA that would be a significant help. There are also simple speed improvements throughout the OS due to many of the refinements. They spent some time discussing the new improved Quicktime 10 and the addition of exchange support.

Apple are billing this update as a no thrills update with a software speed bump, because of this again they came out with some radical pricing to entice existing uses to buy it. At $29 could anyone say no to updating?

iPhone 3.0

Before WWDC Apple held an event to talk about the 3.0 update. Some of the highlights were cut and paste, tethering and in app purchasing. Cut, copy and paste were finally announced and from playing around with it well implemented. Tethering has been a hot topic of discussion with a few free work around’s already been put out.

With the ability now to create turn by turn GPS apps, the in app purchasing is being used as a subscription method. Spotlight is another feature that in my experience has been very useful. The average person has page after page of apps on there iPhone and with spotlight it makes it easier to launch all those apps.

A feature that has been neglected is the ability for apps to now interact with add on hardware. This would be great in a word processing app where you could add a keyboard, but there is much more you could do, a barcode scanner for delicious library, or even if you want to buy something off amazon you could find it in a real store and scan the barcode then purchase it from amazon while standing in the store.

A feature that was only announced at WWDC was Find My Phone, it uses the MobileMe service to track down your iPhone and place its location on a map. We have already seen how it can save people from loosing there phones and might make MobileMe a worthwhile purchase.

iPhone 3GS

The climax of WWDC culminated in the announcement of the next version of the iPhone. The new phone offers an improved camera with 3 megapixels, auto focus and video. The new phone is reportedly much faster and has a built in compass which dramatically improves the GPS experience. There is no alteration to the case design which in my opinion was a mistake, the matt backing which we saw in many of the leaked photos would have been a good choice for the new 3GS model.

Palm Pre

Just before the announcement of the iPhone 3GS Palm released the Palm Pre. From what I can gather from reviews of the Palm Pre, physically the device is nicely designed but where it really excels is in the Web OS it uses. Its use of gestures makes it easy to navigate around the phone and the UI is very good. Palm are also taking a very active ad campaign against the iPhone as users come to an end of their two year contracts. The Palm Pre is by far the iPhone’s best competitor but personally I think the iPhone still offers more.

Thoughts

The browser itself has gone through a radical new re-design, most notably tabs on top.

Not only have the tabs been put on top but they have a slightly different look, they will stretch till they fill the available space and there is a hideous square “x” button instead of the nice circle one in previous versions. The icon indicating loading shows as normal on inactive tabs but, in the active tab it moves to the url bar. Apple have also done a similar thing to Firefox’s location bar with smart suggestions.

Top Sites is the headlining feature allowing you when opening a new tab to go quickly to one of your top viewed sites just in one click. You can also browse history and bookmarks in coverflow, this generates screen shots of the webpages and may take up a lot of space. You can also do full page zooming similar to Firefox and IE.

There are some impressive new features in Safari and as my personal favorite browser and the one I uses I can’t wait to try it.

Above is a video of the keynote not all of it is perfect for some reason the 3rd slide gets stuck; every time it stops wait 3-5 seconds then click to continue. Not everything is in it but it does has a rough coverage of most things. I hope toy enjoy.

Organise

It is always good to organise your images, and the best way to do this is put them into a hierarchy, mine goes a bit like this.

In Aperture it looks a bit like this.

If your Library is organised it makes it much easier to find things and edit them.

Editing

After I have edited an image I rate it 1,2,3,4 or 5 stars; I would also add any meta data e.g. Keywords. Next I decide if it is Flickr worthy, if so it gets a Flickr tag added. This tag comes in handy when we get to my smart albums. These are contained in there own folder (Smart Folders). I have one for each lens followed by one for each camera body and finally one for any images tagged with Flickr. By tagging them I can see if I have already uploaded them or not, this makes life much easier.

After a few days break to help me absorb the information Apple put forward, I thought I would share my opinions on iLife ’09, iWork ’09 and iTunes going DRM free.

iLife ’09

The first thing I should say is I am not going to buy iLife ’09. As usual Apple updated iLife suite, the major updates are in iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand.

iPhoto

In iLife ’08 Apple introduced Events a great way to organise your photos, now they have expanded on this with faces and places. Faces organises your photos by people, it uses face detection to find the peoples face, and face recognition to group photos of the same person. Faces is a feature I would love to have in Aperture as often I am asked to find photos of people, and tagging each photo is a lot of effort. Places does what it says on the tin, it organises your photos by their GPS coordinates or if they don’t have any you can place a pin on a map. This would be great if you go on holiday and want to see photos from a certain place, but I think it will become more effective when GPS becomes more common in cameras. There is also integration with Facebook and Flickr.

iMovie

iMovie now has precise editing allowing you to make cleaner cuts, it also gives you have much more control over audio manipulation. This precise editing is reason enough to get iLife ’09, it looks extremely slick to use. You can add video effects and change video speed; you can do green screen but this was not shown in the keynote. A great new feature is themes which allows you to add and change titles and lower thirds quickly and easily. The final new feature is maps you can create 2D or 3D rendered maps that fly from place to place. Maps has to be the most exciting thing in the Keynote for me; Earlier this year I shot lots of video of Iceland and this map tool would have been great to show where we went.

GarageBand

It has been a long time since there has been some real improvement here, but Apple have defiantly improved the app by adding lessons, it add a whole new experience and make GarageBand a very different app.

The only reason I am not buying iLife ’09 is because I don’t use any of the apps instead of iPhoto I use Aperture and i don’t do much video and iMovie ’08 is sufficient for my needs.

iWork

There are some great new updates to iWork that make it a well worth purchase. I am planning on upgrading to iWork ’09 simply because of the cool new animations you can do inside of Keynote.

Pages

As you might expect new themes, mail merge integration and a full screen mode. I can see the full screen mode coming in handy when in lessons, the mail merge would have been helpful when doing my IT GCSE because instead of having to use Office I would have been able to use my Mac.

Keynote

Some cool looking new animations such as magic move, chart animation and new themes. Some of these animation would come in handy when doing my English presentation, and I just love to play with animations. You can also buy the keynote remote app to remotely control your keynotes for £0.59, it requires iWork ’09.

Numbers

Additional formula’s have been added, new chart styles and table categories. These are all basic functions that will hopefully make Numbers a more appertising app for Excel addicts.

iWork.com

iWork.com allows users to share and download documents as well as comment and chat about their progress. If you are calibrating on a document it is a great way for the client to see it and add comments to what they think needs to be changed. I like the idea but don’t think I will use it and don’t think it is right they should charge for it, it would be a nice part of MobileMe.

iTunes DRM Free

After EMI went DRM Free we new DRM would fall, but it was just a matter of time and with the Amazon MP3 store being DRM free with all major labels Apple had to do something. There is now varied pricing through out the store but I personally have yet to see anything that is still not £0.79 in the UK. To start 80% of the library will be iTunes Plus but by the end of Q1 Apple hope to have a 100%.