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MacUser blog makes way for Mac Channel
The MacUser blog is no more. But don’t worry—all of our great Mac content remains a part of Macworld.
Instead of putting our Mac-focused coverage in a single blog, we’ve moved it to our Mac Channel. That means old favorites like The Macalope and Remains of the Day can be found alongside news, reviews, and how-tos related to the Mac in our Mac Channel news feed.
Our Mac 911, Mac OS X Hints, and Mac Gems blogs will continue as before.
Review: Varsity 13" Messenger Bag for iPad and laptop
Hex is known for its iPod nano watch straps, but the company recently ventured into the laptop-bag market with its Fall/Winter collection. The sleek $80 Varsity 13" Messenger Bag for iPad is a beautiful everyday option, appropriate for use anywhere from the boardroom to the classroom to the coffee shop. And despite what its name seems to imply, the Varsity is a bag for both an iPad and a laptop.
The Varsity's appearance exudes class, comfort, and style. The gray-wool shell is fashion-forward yet professional, and the minimalist design makes it an appealing bag to carry around in various situations and settings. The bag features a single top flap, which is secured by two velcro corners. It also has a simple exterior pocket on the back that's perfect for carrying everyday items such as keys, a phone, and a wallet; and under the flap, a black zipper closes off the interior of the bag. The black-canvas shoulder strap complements the overall charcoal color.
In my testing, the Varsity is also quite functional. Padded on all sides, edges, and corners, laptop protection is clearly a priority. The interior laptop sleeve is fleece-lined and adds even more padding. When I slipped my 11-inch MacBook Air into the sleeve, it was completely protected, as if surrounded by firm pillows. I also briefly tested the bag with a 13-inch MacBook Air and a 13-inch MacBook Pro. Each of these models fit more snugly but was just as well-protected. (Hex also makes a 15-inch version of the bag for larger laptops.)
One drawback to the Varsity is that because it's so slim, the bag's generous padding takes up much of its volume. Once a laptop is stowed inside, there isn’t room for much more than your laptop power adapter and a book. The interior does include organizer pockets for smaller items such as business cards, pens, pencils, and USB keys, all of which have no problem fitting in the bag, but if you’re the type who carries around much more than a laptop and the essentials, the Varsity isn’t for you.
Remains of the Day: No Siri, that’s my baby
The iPhone 4S meets its match in the team at iFixit, Apple may add movies to the cloud, and one Apple executive gets a lengthy write-up. The remainders for Thursday, October 13, 2011 are down for the count.
iPhone 4S Teardown (iFixit)
In a development that should surprise absolutely nobody, iFixit has already turned a brand new iPhone 4S into a pile of parts. The crew found a 1GHz A5 processor, 512MB of RAM, and absolutely no trace of that Siri chick.
Apple prepping movie cloud service (LATimes)
Remains of the Day: Bite out of the old apple
A squabble over an iconic Apple image, a professional opinion of blogger conduct, and an explanation of Steve Jobs’s choice in fashion. The remainders for Wednesday, October 12, 2011 are a 1-2-3 inning.
Former Marin man files copyright for Jobs image (Mercury News)
A 25-year-old man, Farzin Adeli, has filed for a copyright of the now iconic image of Apple’s logo, where the bite is replaced by Steve Jobs’s silhouette. There’s some controversy, however, over just who came up with the image first. Fortunately, the Internet is really good at sorting out these kinds of disputes.
How Gizmodo escaped indictment in iPhone prototype deal (CNet)
Remains of the Day: Hip to be square
Heck of a week, huh? And things are only just getting started. Early iPhone 4S units have begun slipping out overseas, the iPad is dominating in the Web surfing arena, and one of the great writers of our time remembers Steve Jobs. The remainders for Tuesday, October 11, 2011 are so tired they could eat a lion. With milk.
‘Square’ gives small US businesses an edge (AFP)
Payment processor Square, which lets merchants accept credit card payments via a dongle that plugs into their smartphone or tablet, now handles $2 billion in transactions every year. Unfortunately, $1 billion of that was a single payment to this guy.
iPhone 4S delivered early in Germany, packaging & Siri shown off (AppleInsider)
The Macalope Weekly: Respect
The Macalope paid his respects to Steve Jobs on Thursday, so today we’re back to punching morons. And, though it seems like a million years ago now, it was only Tuesday that Apple announced the iPhone 4S—which, naturally, was an utter disappointment.
Now, the Macalope wants to warn you that the commentary he wades into in the middle section this week is not pretty. If you want to skip that and go right to the happy ending, no one would think any less of you. Because, in the end, the outpouring of respect for the life of Steve Jobs this week was as beautiful as the things he helped create.
Teardrops
Sell all your Apple stock and light your Apple products on fire, the company “only” announced the iPhone 4S Tuesday morning.
Remains of the Day: Nothing's gonna change my world
It’s been a strange couple of days for all of us on the Apple beat. On Wednesday afternoon, I was in the midst of writing a Remains of the Day that begged bloggers to write about anything other than iPhone 4S nitpicks when I heard the news. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose.
We’ve done a couple of Jobs-centric Remains in the past. But we'd like to acknowledge the man one more time as the remainders for Friday, October 7, 2011 make their way across the universe.
Steve Jobs Funeral is Friday (Wall Street Journal)
Jobs’s family and friends gathered Friday for a small private service, according to the Wall Street Journal. There will be no public funeral, though Apple is expected to hold a “celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life” for employees at some point in the future. (Employees-only or not—I hope they invite Bob Dylan.)
The Macalope Daily: Giant
The Macalope’s going to keep this short because he’s not a eulogist, he’s not a poet, he’s just a pointy instrument for skewering silly pundits. His hooves can’t do someone like Steve Jobs justice.
No, this mythical beast was not blind to Steve’s flaws, but when someone lives a life writ so large, the footnotes are unimportant.
In his commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University, Jobs said “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
He never did. The man lived that sentence in ways the rest of us can only dream of. He was compared to Ford, Edison, Disney, P.T. Barnum, and worse. He was one of the greats of our time. Of course people would try to throw fruit at him.
Remains of the Day: Please, sir, can I have some more?
I know, I know. You’ve read about the iPhone 4S all day. But you just can’t get enough! Don’t you worry your pretty little heads: The remainders for Tuesday, October 4, 2011 are happy to serve another helping.
Apple Special Event - October 2011 (Apple)
Not one of the lucky few invited to Apple's campus for Tuesday's event? Guess what: Now you too can watch Phil Schiller talk about squirrel nose hair.
Siri is coming to Canada (The Loop)
Remains of the Day: Rehearsal dinner
Tomorrow’s the big day, and boy, are people fired up: There’s the Siri co-founder who’s convinced Apple's announcement will change the world, the company willing to fork over billions for a (big) piece of the action, and the familiar face that may make an appearance. I don't know about you, but the remainders for Monday, October 3, 2011 have fallen prey to the hype.
Co-Founder of Siri: Assistant launch is a “World-Changing Event” (9to5 Mac)
Could Apple’s (supposedly) forthcoming Assistant feature change the very fabric of our world? The co-founder of virtual personal assistant software Siri certainly thinks so. Norman Winarsky told 9to5 Mac in an interview on Monday that he not only thinks the feature will be nifty, it’ll be “a world-changing event.” Why? Because, says he, “if the rumors are true, Apple will enable millions upon millons of people to interact with machines with natural language.” Yes, yes, I know I should be scared about the doomsday potential of intelligent AI, but that fear is being shouted down by the thought of having an R2 unit inside my phone.
Sprint scores iPhone 5 exclusive thanks to $20 billion deal with Apple? (BGR)
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