This is likely to be the last "Year that was" from me, with NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com up for sale. Looking back on last year's post (see here) I was about to start numerous days of writing to finish my Masters (all done!) and after that, I'm pleased to report I finally got the proper holiday I had been hoping for. Of course my trip to the UK included a few visits to Apple stores in London. Unfortunately I let myself down by stating in last year's post that I would commit to more podcasts and reviews this year, when in fact that didn't happen. Sorry.

It seems that Darryn took exception to my last blog post, which was a response to his earlier blog entry. Unfortunately, he decided to respond on his website (you can read it here) and unfortunately, he obviously took my comments personally, despite me trying to make sure I didn't criticise him directly but his opinion, even signalling this in the opening intro. Unfortunately, in response, I think he's decided to get a little personal...speaking of a tirade of comments from me, of being hypocritical and oh....something about dancing and jellybeans?!

I also suspect, knowing Darryn, that he may have posted on his site because he knows I probably wouldn't have allowed the post here. Don't get my wrong, I welcome...heck, enjoy, a good constructive argument. But I don't allow personal attacks or rude words (it's a family show folks) so without being able to speak for him, I speculate that's probably why it got posted there.

Of paraphrasing and quoting

This started as a comment response to Darryn's blog post here, but I then (as usual) began to ramble...so I'm going to post this as a blog post. Darryn, sorry if this offends, but I continue to be staggered by your selective logic...and this from someone who deals with computers every day! There are three sections of your post that I want to deal with....Multitasking, Camera and Flash.

Multitasking
You begin by stating a definition of multitasking..."the simultaneous execution of more than one program or task by a single computer processor". I've added my emphasis into that definition. Multitasking can simply mean the running or more than one task, but as the definition also shows, it can also mean the running of more than one program....and it is the latter that the "pundits" are referring to when they express disappointment over the iPad. I said in an email to you that I felt you needed to read what was being said by people. I don't think you have. Please don't focus on the word "multitask"...read what people are saying.

You then go on to state a fact and opinion...."the fact that they can't run more than one application at one time" and "to perform two tasks at once doesn't make sense for low power devices".

I have to stress that I'm writing this as I see the news come in about the iPad. Some of the things I might comment on may be due to the fact that I haven't researched enough. I'm really impressed by the iPad, disappointed also...and a bit surprised. I'll start with the disappointment. Adobe Flash. It's evident Apple's out to make sure that Flash isn't part of their platforms these days. Regardless of what sort of processor this thing has, it could, I speculate, handle Flash easily.

Surprise? No forward facing camera (oh, and no multitasking). I was sure a camera was a certainty. Why? Well this thing is going to be an absolute gem for the education sector, and a forward facing camera would make a superb device to give to kids to go off and hold video conferences...or heck, call back to the teacher whilst they are out and about surveying students in school, etc. I could have even seen myself telling my folks to ditch their Mac mini in favour of an iPad, but not now. The second surprise...where does this leave apps versus applications? I'll expand on this a bit more later.

The good news is that it looks amazing...and Apple have yet again shown that when the produce a product they think of it holistically...the whole concept for them isn't just the iPad, but everything that surrounds it...how to buy music, how to buy books, how to view them just looks amazing...and the fact that they have tied them back into the iPhone OS is clever. Just watch how beautiful the user interface is in the Apple videos on the product.....absolutely stunning.

2009 for me will be forever linked to two non-Mac and non-iPhone related things, study and illness. I won't bore you with details of the latter, other than to say it's not been a fun year (nothing life threatening)....and that it impacted both on my study and my attention to NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com, which had to come last on my list of priorities. I am hopeful that as I finally conclude my Master of Education at the end of January 2010 (woohoo!!), that I might also be able to look forward to healthier times...and finally, a proper holiday!! Even more so, I'll finally be able to have my evenings study free (yes, no doctorate is planned for a looooong time!), and whilst I am intending to go to full-time at the University (I currently work 4 days a week) there should be a lot more time to devote to NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com....and I can't wait. But hey, I did manage to get a few things done, include completely relaunch NZiPhone.com this year!

With my evenings free(ish), I hope to be able to commit to things more things like regular podcasts, blogging and more reviews (it's a shame that some companies will let me review a product, but when I decline, aren't prepared to open the offer up to one of you) and generally spend more time on the content side of the sites than I have been unable to in the past 12 months.

Speaking of podcasts, I do need to give a huge shout out to Darryn Lowe (Lowededwookie) and David Duvall (DavidNZ) who not only revived the NZMac.com podcasts, but often willingly participated in a session without me. It was fantastic to know that they and other site users were willing to do this and it was absolutely amazing to receive the podcasts and have a listen to them. I hope that people might join in over the coming year and that we can have more regular sessions from now on. Thanks guys...your contribution this year has been invaluable, both in the podcasts and elsewhere.

I've spent the past week in the United States, at the Adobe Headquarters in San Jose. Having been appointed as NZ's first Adobe Higher Education Leader, it was great to be able to attend their Summer Institute for Education Leaders and meet some very talented people. It was also great to see the sharp and welcoming contrast I received from Adobe (spending 5 days in their building and meeting their staff) compared to my two attempts to visit Apple HQ in recent years...both as a writer for NZ Macguide and as the owner of this site....which has seen me do little more than stand outside and take photos.

I'm writing this at San Francisco Airport, having spent the day in San Francisco before I fly back to New Zealand. I'm pleased to report that despite any support from Apple, I've been to two separate Apple Stores on this one week trip, stood outside Mecca (Apple HQ) and purchased some goodies to give away on this site....but purchased nothing for myself.

The two stores that I visited are very different in layout and size. But at the same time, the atmosphere in both was impressive...as were the number of staff. I'm assuming these staff get paid little or that Apple makes a fortune, because at one point I actually started laughing with how often I was asked how I was doing by the same person.

The following has also been published as an audio podcast as part of the NZMac.com podcast series. Click here to subscribe in iTunes, and here to access the RSS feed.

It seems strange to view a presentation suggesting cut and paste or MMS (multimedia messaging) will only appear after two years and in the third iteration of a smartphone's operating system. But it shows that whilst the speed that Apple might work at with regards iPhone development might be questioned, the meticulousness of their approach cannot. Apple isn't a company that tends to rush with the development of new features as much as others might. Instead, each version of a piece of software sees refinement and increased functionality that we all want...and that sometimes we've waited for.

The iPhone 3.0 operating system beta is no exception. There are aspects to the new software that have been announced that we feel like we've been waiting for forever. But at the same time, there are aspects to it that only Apple could do....and that if you're one of those fortunate to own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can't wait to see the new OS arrive in the coming months.

So, a Mac miracle happened recently. Not that any of you would have noticed, as it was a family miracle and not one broadcast across the net. My eldest brother after years of using a PC, decided to buy not one Mac, but two. To me, after years of using Macs and going on about how great they are...it was pleasing to know that he...well, never listened to a word I said.

This is because I should point out that his email contained two gems of info. One, that friends had been convincing him to buy a Mac. And two, he was really worried because he had all these M$ Office docs and what the heck was he going to do with those!?

At that point, I introduced my head briefly to the same wall I had been banging against for years, then realised...as I often have, that you simply can't win. I didn't feel like I had failed in preaching to convertees (those that I try to convert), because they simply don't know they need to be converted.

Someone's not doing their maths right!! Or if it was someone in the States that did this...they're not doing their 'math' right!

In this news item....http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple/apple-introduces-ilife-09.html, site user Whitty and I have been having a chat. I confess I didn't really think much of the issue of price until I went and did some hunting around about previous versions of iLife and iWork and the exchange rate at the time....so well done Whitty. I knew that times are tough, but Apple's not playing fair.

August 07
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US Price for iLife '08 and iWork'08 is $79 each
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/08/07ilife08.html
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/08/07iwork08.html

At the time, $1 NZD = $0.7608157438 USD (thanks to http://www.xe.com). That works out at $103.84 NZD based on the exchange rate at the time.

The items go on sale at the time for $109 NZ...so a reasonable conversion

http://www.apple.com/nz/pr/library/2007/08/07ilife08.html
http://www.apple.com/nz/pr/library/2007/08/07iwork08.html

January 09
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US once again get either bundle of apps for $79 USD....
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/01/06ilife.html
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/01/06iwork.html

Today, $1 NZD = $0.595880 USD.

That works out at $132.58 NZD for the product at today's exchange rate.