on 3 February 2010
I watched the launch of the iPad (or iSlatelet, as I’d taken to calling it in the hope that someone would have explained to Steve why iPad was an even less sensible name for a consumer electronics product than Wii) with considerable scepticism, but on reflection, so many aspects of this thing are near enough right. continue
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on 11 January 2010
Tired? Sluggish? Lost your get-up-and-go? Yes, Mac, we’re talking to you. Find out how to get your hard disk fit in MacFormat issue 217, on sale now. continue reading extract
on 1 January 2010
I never fully believed the Apple Tablet was real until I heard these words on my iPhone: ‘It’s [name withheld], I work for Apple and I can confirm that, yes… I’ve read the rumour websites too. We’re all really excited and just waiting for Steve to tell us to start making it.’ continue
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on 18 December 2009
Computer Shopper magazine asked me to produce a special Christmas issue on Windows 7. Which was great, except the time frame was less than four weeks, start to finish. continue
on 20 November 2009
Nobody was shocked when the Secretary of State for Business announced three strikes. There could be a lot more than that by the end of the winter. As it turned out, though, he wasn’t talking about industrial action: Lord Mandelson was resurrecting the proposal to cut off your access to the Internet if you’re accused of infringing copyright. Like privatising the Royal Mail, he probably doesn’t see why this is controversial. continue
on 12 November 2009
If you spend your day using PCs, dealing with infuriating glitches becomes second nature. But Apple has made things so straightforward that you get used to stuff just working. When it doesn’t, it comes as a nasty shock. Fortunately, the brick walls you may occasionally run up against will generally turn out, on closer inspection, to be mere ha-has in the garden of Mac. So next time you find yourself staring at the screen with a mounting sense of horror, take a deep breath and read this article. In MacFormat issue 215, on sale now.
on 22 October 2009
I’m totally coveting the new 27-inch iMac. Whether the LED screen will be a great leap forward, I don’t know; my current 24in LCD is crystal clear, and the backlight goes up several notches beyond what I’m using, so there’s little obvious room for improvement. But bigger is better. continue
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on 1 October 2009
Windows 7 is the most significant upgrade to Microsoft’s PC operating system for years. Dennis Publishing’s MagBook on the subject is likely to be one of their best sellers this year, and since they liked the way I designed its predecessor (on the somewhat less inspiring Vista), they asked me back. continue
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on 25 September 2009
As I write, artificial intelligence (AI) teams are gathering in Brighton for the 2009 Loebner Prize Contest. This is where chatbots – programs that simulate conversation – compete to pass the Turing Test, convincing a panel of human beings that they’re talking to a real person. Despite the incentive of $100,000, no system has actually won so far, though presumably they all have tearful acceptance speech modules just in case. continue
on 16 September 2009
From the Finder to the Firewall, key shortcuts to sync tricks, we round up all the clever little wrinkles that can make life sweeter in Mac OS X. If you’ve ever thought ‘there ought to be a smarter way to do that’, there probably is, and it’s probably here. Read the full article in MacFormat issue 213, on sale now.
adambanksdotcom Google Instant seems like the search equivalent of the Interrupting Cow knock-knock joke — go to this tweet