Written by Benny Ling | 04 January 2012
Posted in Site News

Apple has been fined $1.2 million for misleading Italian consumers on the warranty period of their products, says Ars Technica. There's a law in Italy that guarantees consumers a two-year warranty period on all products they purchase — including Apple products — and apparently Apple hasn't been clear enough about that with Italian Apple enthusiasts, leading to two fines; one for violating the consumer law by only providing a standard one-year warranty period, and another for leading consumers to believe they needed to purchase an AppleCare Protection Plan in order to extend their warranty.

Some intrepid developers have successfully ported iOS apps to the Apple TV, paving the way for more progress in this area. It's taken a little work, but developers Steve Troughton-Smith and a developer going by the name of TheMudkip have re-written parts of the Apple TV software in order to allow iOS apps to be run on the platform. It's by no means a complete implementation, but is definitely a step in the right direction for iOS apps on the Apple TV.

Written by Benny Ling | 27 September 2011
Posted in Site News

With every significant release of any interesting or special technology comes the Anandtech review of said technology, and the Apple Thunderbolt Display is no different. The thing about Anandtech reviews is that they are incredibly thorough, so if there was anything you ever wanted to know about the Apple Thunderbolt Display (and perhaps even a few things you didn't want to know you wanted to know about), then head on over and read their review.

Support for a quad-core ARM processor has appeared in Apple's own Xcode IDE, and no one knows why it's there. Ars Technica speculate that support could have been included for the next generation of iOS devices, but the other, more interesting angle is that Apple may be considering non-x86 processors for a revamped MacBook Air, or similar.

Written by Philip Roy | 19 February 2011
Posted in Site News

NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com have been acquired by NZ Tech Media Limited, who will continue to operate both sites in much the same manner and format as they are now. NZMac.com – supporting the New Zealand Macintosh Community, and NZiPhone.com – the home of the iPhone in New Zealand, will continue to provide users with all the latest news on Apple products, as well as a vibrant community section, discussion forums and reviews.

Philip Roy, the previous owner of the sites for over 8 years, will remain behind the scenes for a number of months to ensure a smooth transition and hand-over of the sites to NZ Tech Media Limited.

Written by Philip Roy | 25 January 2011
Posted in Site News

Interesting fact....I'm currently unemployed...and yesterday I got offered $1500 NZD for something in an email that ended with the comment "I can pay today". That something? The domain names of the two sites....and YOU. Yes you, the registered users of NZMac.com and/or NZiPhone.com. The company (I'm not naming them as I can't be bothered giving them the publicity) offered me that amount if I was willing to provide them with your user names and contact details.

It took two seconds for me to say NO....and now this company is suggesting I'm trying to sell you all to the highest bidder and (strangely) that my announcement to close the sites was a ploy to sell them(??). For a company full of journalists, they're not doing well on the facts. YOU are not something I have the right to sell...nor would I ever even contemplate making use of you all financially in that way. You intrusted me with your contact details...I never said I would try to sell them on, so I have no intention of doing so. What I was trying to sell was a couple of great working websites that you are a part of. That's common knowledge and the company has been talking to me since November of last year when I announced the sites for sale.

Written by Philip Roy | 24 January 2011
Posted in Site News

It is with tremendous sadness that I announce my decision to close both NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com on 1 March 2011 as I have been unable to find a buyer for the two sites. I will be keeping ownership of the domain names and I will not be passing on the user/subscriber list to any third party. Holders of an NZMac.com email account will be contacted within the next 24 hours and given until the end of March to move their accounts to another email service. I apologise for the inconvenience that this will cause.

Written by Philip Roy | 24 November 2010
Posted in Site News

Did I mention last night that I'm a fan of Ecamm? And their new Mac app to allow air printing to any printer attached to your computer called Printopia? I bought the app within seconds of using it and decided to write a review on it too (see here). And of course I flicked Ecamm an email and asked if they were willing to give away a couple of copies to NZMac.com users...and sure enough they were!! So here's how to win a copy of Printopia (valued at $9.95 USD each) courtesy of Ecamm...

Written by Philip Roy | 22 November 2010
Posted in Site News

After eight years of running New Zealand's largest Mac website NZMac.com and it's younger sister site NZiPhone.com, the time has come for me to consider moving on to other things. This decision is not due to lack of enthusiasm for all things Apple, but simply because of my desire for some freedom from the commitment I put into running the sites.

The sites combined are some of the most active and successful Mac and iPhone sites in New Zealand. Awstats has recorded well over 1.1 million hits for NZMac.com and 400K of hits for NZiPhone.com per month throughout this year (much higher stats for NZiPhone.com since June also). They feature an abundance of information, news and lively discussions and receive a great deal of international attention...even being featured in a book on the Joomla content management system that run the sites. The sites include a widely used RSS and Radio widget for the Mac, and recently a dedicated iPhone app to bring all the latest information straight to the iPhone and iPad. But most of all, they both feature an amazing community of users, who I cannot lay claim to, but thank for their ongoing and continued use of both sites.

Written by Philip Roy | 29 October 2010
Posted in Site News

NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com have today withdrawn from the Apple Store and iTunes affiliate schemes. These were schemes that allowed you to support the sites at no extra cost when buying from the Apple Store NZ and App stores. I confess that membership of the scheme has been a mixed blessing...it's been great to get affiliate cheques when they do arrive, but there have been many months when no payment has been received. This is due to the fact that cheques aren't issued until they total over $100 AUD (and then you wait 20 more days for them to be issued) and I was informed yesterday that payment will now only be made electronically at a cost of $15-$20 per payment, as opposed to the 5 cents my bank charged for depositing an $AUD cheque. I am exceptionally disappointed to be leaving the scheme (and thereby making your support of the sites more challenging) but financially it just simply wasn't worthwhile to see what commission I did receive, reduced further. At the same time, Apple's decision to give no commission on iPhone 4 and iPad sales has been incredibly disheartening.

Written by Philip Roy | 13 October 2010
Posted in Site News

We have a couple of hardware items up for review from the kind people at Kanex. This article is a "Call for Reviewers" and an opportunity for you to get your hands on a great piece of audio video hardware and write a review for NZMac.com. There are two devices that are up for review...

Written by Philip Roy | 21 August 2010
Posted in Site News

Today sees the long overdue relaunch of one of the oldest section of the NZMac.com website...the Useful Websites section, which allows you to suggest websites that are of use to Macintosh users to look at around the internet. This update has been a long time coming (sorry), but it is only recently that some new software became available to bring great enhancements to this section of the site. And to celebrate, NZMac.com is giving away 2x $30 NZD iTunes credits...and all you have to do is recommend a new site (called "Adding a link") to the Useful Websites section or review an existing listing. If it gets accepted you are in with a chance. Suggest more than one site or add more than one review and you get more than one chance to win.