The Apple iPad wifi-only version will be launched on April 3, 2010, according to the official iPad press release distributed this morning by Apple. The 3G/Wifi version will ship ‘in late April’.

Users can pre-order the iPad starting March 13th.

via Gizmodo

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Apple iPad Official Launch Date April 3, Preorders March 13

No more driving to Westchester or (ugh!) Stamford Town Center. It has been under construction on the site of the old Clearview Cinema – just down the street from the post office and a couple doors up from Meli Melo:

The building was sold in 2006 to ‘356 Greenwich Partners LLC‘ (because seriously, who wants to try to negotiate a real estate buy as ‘Apple Computer’?). The Clearview Cinema closed August 27th, 2007.

Word is that Apple Stores are starting to get the new Core i5 iMacs in stock, but the Core i7′s are only available online.

I’m waiting for Amazon to get either one in stock – they have a marginal discount off the Apple Store price, ship from the US and don’t charge Connecticut sales tax.

Apple Store Greenwich Avenue (Apple.com homepage)
356 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830

Store hours:
Mon – Wed: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Thurs: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Fri – Sat: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Sun: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Greenwich Apple Store Opens This Weekend!

The new 27-inch 2560×1440 LED display bundled with the new iMacs is one of the most outstanding monitors (and values) in computing today.

With the same resolution and better specs than the Apple 30-inch Cinema display, the lowest end iMac with this panel is $100 less – and comes with a pretty nice computer!

But I don’t expect it will be too long before we start hearing some complaints of user eyestrain and headaches due to the density of the pixels in a space significantly smaller than the Apple’s 30-inch.

A few years back it wasn’t unusual that you would be able to purchase a 15″ laptop with a native screen resolution of 1600×1200 (UXGA).

Sounds great on paper – higher-res = better image and video viewing and more screen real estate, right?

Well, yes, but the tradeoff is that interface elements start to get really tiny and difficult to read- especially text, and especially for users over age 40.

I bought an 15″ Acer UXGA notebook several years back. It looked great in the store, but after 4 hours of it on my desk I realized my eyes would never adjust and promptly returned it. I think alot of other people did too, which is why you don’t see this kind of resolution jammed into notebooks as much.

Curiously, desktop LCD monitors up to 19″ have never really gone above 1280×1024 resolution, so its kind of odd to wonder why notebook makers once liberally sold 15″ panels with such a tiny dot pitch as mainstream.

There are a few holdouts – the 17″ MacBook uses a 1920×1200 resolution -the same dot pitch as a 15″ UXGA notebook. Most people are used to seeing this resolution on a 24″ display, so it’s a pretty tight squeeze.

Some netbooks also try to squeeze a lot of pixels on tiny screens never seen before on consumer notebooks. The Sony Vaio P probably holds the crown for tiniest dot pitch of any consumer LCD – it has an 8-inch screen with 1600×768 resolution!.

Yes, you can bump font sizes when text size gets too small, but how this affects the appearance and usability of your system or individual apps can vary widely. In general, your OS was designed with a rough idea of font size in mind and you will be better off to not use a dot pitch which works against this assumption.

Contributing to the iMac’s display problem is that it sports a glossy screen which can make things worse if your workspace causes reflections. Apple gets a lot of heat from users for its lack of matte display options.

Because office workers prefer to sit facing their cube or office entry (so prying eyes cannot look over their shoulder), its actually more likely that a workspace with a window will be arranged with the monitor facing it. With a matte screen, this is tolerable – with a glossy, it sucks.

Gizmodo’s Brian Lam noted issues with his using the display in his 27-inch iMac Review:

The default brightness is a bit much, but of course you can turn it down. And the contrast is welcome; even my new 13-inch MacBook Pro looks yellowed and washed out next to it. But at this pixel density, which is sharper than my notebook, it’s almost too sharp, requiring me to sit closer than I would ordinarily do with a 27 inch display. I like the feeling of crispness — 16% crisper than the last generation. But my eyes feel like the pictures are being delivered by a land shark holding a laser pointer straight into my corneas, and I can feel the strain within minutes. I would have to jack up as many font sizes as possible or sit as close as I do to my MacBook to make it work for long long periods of time. Maybe I’m just a wimp of a geek, but I’ve never been sensitive to these sorts of things on any sort of machinery before.

I’ve used the 27-inch display at the Apple Store and didn’t have any problems with it, but that was the case with the UXGA notebook I purchased also – you really need to sit down and do a day’s work with it to figure out whether it will be an issue for you.

It also doesn’t help to get other people’s opinion – I’ve found that when it comes to dot-pitch tolerance, YMMV.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Does the 27-Inch iMac Display Push Mainstream Dot-Pitch Tolerance?

I have used VMWare Workstation on Windows and VMWare Fusion on Mac OS for years.

VMWare an outstanding company and they have great products and support. If you are looking for virtualization software, VMWare is where its at.

Now, about VMWare Fusion 3 – its probably the only upgrade to a VMWare product I have not been immediately happy with.

When Windows 7 came out, I immediately installed the 64-bit version on Boot Camp under Snow Leopard on my MacBook, and then created a virtual machine for it with VMWare Fusion 2, configuring it as a Vista x64 guest.

This worked great.

Days later I heard Fusion 3 came out, with ‘official’ Windows 7 support and a slew of improvements. As a loyal customer, I upgraded immediately for $59.

After install, I converted the Windows 7 VM from a Vista guest to an official Windows 7 64-bit guest and installed VMWare tools (the special drivers you install in windows after you create the VM for better mouse, display, and network support, etc.)

The VM froze up.

Since then the VM has been hit or miss – sometimes it boots, sometimes it bluescreens, sometimes it locks up – sometimes it even locks up my entire MacBook and I have to hit the power button.

My recommendation is to wait and see before upgrading to Fusion 3. If there are issues, I’m sure they will be addressed quickly knowing VMWare’s customer support record.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: VMWare Fusion 3 for Snow Leopard Stumbles with Windows 7 VM Support

It may seem like it should all be the same, but its not. Both OS’s have their own algorithms to determine how the mouse moves.

The difference is dramatic, and in the case of someone switching from Windows to MacOS, the preferences pane really does not have the detailed control needed to customize the mouse to work like Windows.

For that, you need an external program, and that program is USB Overdrive.

To make the mouse moved the way I wanted to on my 24″ monitor with Logitech G5 laser mouse, I went into the Preferences Pane for the native MacOS Mouse settings first, and set the tracking to ‘fast’ (I don’t know if this overrides or complements the USB OverDrive settings, just letting you know that’s what mine is set at).

Then go into the USB Overdrive Preferences Pane, enable it, and enable the speed and acceleration options to 50%.

Voila – works great for me, but you may have to fiddle with it to get it right for you. Take your time and make sure its right. When I first got the app, I got frustrated and only had it 80% ‘dialed in’ the way I wanted it, and figured that was the best it could do. It wasn’t. It works perfectly now.

USB Overdrive is $20 and well worth the money if mouse movement is an issue for a Windows switcher. I think it was the first third-party MacOS app I ever bought.

It even has a brand new version for Snow Leopard which works great.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Make Your MacOS Mouse Move Like a Windows Mouse

I’m doing it right now.

However, it’s not a very simple task to turn off the MacBook’s LCD when connected without rebooting, as there are (very) limited display controls on the MacOS preference pane. With the MacBook’s monitor on, you wind up with a very awkward multiscreen setup with disjointed resolutions. If you mirror it, it is limited to the MacBook’s resolution not matter what monitor is connected.

What you are supposed to do is connect the monitor, reboot the computer, and close the lid when the Apple logo shows up, then it will just use your external monitor. That’s a pain in the ass.

I learned an easier way this week – its a hack, but it works beautifully.

1. Connect the monitor, and you will have the awkward spanning.
2. Place your forefinger fingertip on the MacBook next to the trackpad.
3. Close the lid so it is touching the top of your finger.
4. The MacBook will go to sleep.
5. Slip your finger carefully into the MacBook and press the spacebar a couple of times to make it wake up.
6. The external monitor will wake up, but not the built-in LCD.
7. You can actually close the lid now if you want without problem.

Via MacForums

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Easy Way to Use Macbook with an External Monitor

The student had written Jobs asking if there were a way a High School Student could take advantage of the half-off discount the company offers on it’s Final Cut Studio 2 software to college students.

Two weeks later, he got the full version of the software in a box from Cupertino.

In related news, the US government has donated $20B in cash to Citigroup.

Fun facts: Greenwich High School is the alma mater of Today’s Matt Lauer, Olympic Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill, NFL Hall Of Famer Steve Young, and Pulitzer Prize winning author Truman Capote.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Greenwich High School Student Writes Steve Jobs, Gets $1300 in Free Software