Design
New Design
Aug 19th
Since Fruit Bytes is almost 3 years old, I decided to give the site a fresh lick of paint. The old theme was feeling dated and didn’t support many of the features available in the newest versions of Wordpress.
Hope you like the new look 
(+1 rating, 1 votes)
Loading ...Noir Luxe case for iPhone 4
Aug 19th
A few weeks ago my Apple Bumper arrived as part of the free Case Program from Apple for iPhone 4 customers. I chose the Bumper as I didn’t want my iPhone completely covered by a case. However, I wasn’t impressed with the way it made my iPhone look – bulky and very un-iPhone-like.
Up until today I had been using my old Proporta Maya sleeve from my iPhone 3G. Because iPhone 4 is slimmer, the sleeve was very sloppy on it and easily slid out. But, it was enough to protect it in my pocket for the short term while I shopped around for replacement sleeves specifically for iPhone 4.
A few days ago I was browsing AmazonUK and found a Noir Luxe leather sleeve for less than £12. Here are some photos…
It’s hand stiched fine quality leather and has a soft protective interior – and a pull tab to get the iPhone in and out easily.
If, like me, you prefer your tech naked in your hand but fully protected when it’s in your bag and pocket then I’d recommend the Noir Luxe leather sleeve for iPhone 4.
Rating: 
(+2 rating, 1 votes) Loading ...Griffin Jumper for iPad
May 25th
With the iPad due to land at Fruit Bytes HQ in just 3 days, I have been wanting to find a suitable sleeve to carry it in. I first turned my attention to the official iPad case from Apple, but after hearing about it’s tight fit and inability to sit in the iPad Dock while in it’s case, I started to look around for alternatives.
Because I wanted a sleeve to easily pop my iPad in and out of between using, I started my search online a couple of weeks ago for something that not only does the job but looks good aswell. One of my first stops was Griffin Technology, knowing how they make great accessories for Apple hardware. I found the perfect sleeve: Jumper for iPad.
I ordered the Jumper on Monday 17th May and it was shipped on Tuesday 18th May. Despite the estimated delivery time of 2-3 weeks it arrived today, just 7 days after shipping! That’s super speedy delivery.
I am absolutely thrilled with it. The material is a soft stretchy neoprene on the outside with a beautiful soft material inside which will really offer great protection against dust and dirt.
Griffin also have fantastic support, from the speedy and friendly response I got when asking for stock estimation, to the despatch and delivery of it. Jumper for iPad is just $29.99 which is a fantastic price for such a good quality and well made sleeve.
Rating:
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...UK iPad Pricing details released
May 7th
With just a few days left before the UK can finally pre-order the Apple iPad, the pricing and availability details were announced not only for UK but also Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland.
The pricing structure is as follows…
WiFi
16GB: £429
32GB: £499
64GB: £599
WiFi + 3G
16GB: £529
32GB: £599
64GB: £699
There’s no doubt that UK iPad fans knew that we were going to pay more than our friends across the pond, but I’m personally a little disappointed in the price of the 64GB WiFi model as I was hoping for a £529-£549 pricetag. An extra £100 between the 32GB and 64GB has killed the deal for me and I’ll be settling for the 32GB WiFi model. The largest capacity would have been preferred, but since I’m someone who always has 4GB free on her 8GB iPhone then I think it’s a safe bet that I won’t be going anywhere near filling up 32GB, let alone 64GB. I plan on buying the official case and Camera Connection kit so the £100 I save will be used for the accessories.
Pre-ordering begins Monday 10th May and will be available on Friday 28th May.
What capacity are you going for?
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Twitter Mousepad
Jan 4th
On 11th December I placed an order with Meninos for a Twitter Mousepad. Choosing a mousepad can be harder than you think – the shinier plastic/rubber topped ones have been a real drag for every mouse I’ve used including the Mighty and Magic mice – and using it directly on my desktop was even worse. But, the description of the Twitter mousepad made me confident that this would be perfect.
It arrived today and I’m so delighted with it. The quality of the cloth material is excellent and it has a rubber backing to keep it in place on the desk. My Magic Mouse glides across it quietly and fluidly.
The Twitter Mousepad is $11.99 plus shipping – in British money the total was around £12.50. A great price for such a high quality mousepad. A Facebook version is also available for the same price or if you really want to go crazy then you can order the Twitter and Facebook Mousepads in a pack together for $17.99 – a saving of $6 over buying them individually.
After sampling the quality of the mousepad, I will have no hesitation about buying from Meninos again. They carry a range of great products for the discerning geek.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Quick Look: New Apple Remote
Nov 5th
When I ordered the Magic Mouse from Apple Store online a couple of weeks ago, I popped the new Apple Remote into my shopping cart. Then a day later the shipping dates changed on the remote which would have held my mouse up for at least another 36 days. So, I removed the remote and decided to buy at a later date when stock was in.
After doing a Twitter search for ‘new apple remote’ a few days ago, some were reporting that their Remote was now being shipped, despite the availability still showing as 2-4 weeks on the store listing at the time of ordering. (now changed to 1-2 weeks). But, I decided to pop in my order on Monday and just sit it out. Less than 48 hours later the remote had shipped.
Delivery method showed as ‘Postal’ on my invoice, so because of the Royal Mail strikes across the UK recently I wasn’t expecting it to arrive anytime soon. However, it seems Apple are now using a different courier service to get their goods to customers in the wake of these RM strikes, so it arrived in a timely manner by UK Mail this afternoon. Apple packaged it very well, in a shoe-box sized box!
Check out more photos of the New Apple Remote on Flickr.
I unpaired my old Apple Remote and paired up the new one by holding down the right and menu buttons together for 5 seconds, then a link icon appeared on the screen to show I’d successfully paired it with my iMac. I’ve been asked a few questions around the internet about the remote already, so here’s a little summary.
It’s slightly heavier than the white plastic remote. It’s also a lot colder to the touch, being all aluminium. Even though the play/pause button has been moved from the centre, the centre still acts as a play/pause button. This is good news as I’ve become rather accustomed to clicking the centre for that and I’m sure it would take a while to re-program that action.
There isn’t a great deal more one can say about a Remote Control, but if you do have any questions then fire away in the comments.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...It’s A Kind Of Magic
Oct 29th
The Apple Magic Mouse arrived at Fruit Bytes HQ late this afternoon, courtesy of UPS. Having ordered it direct from Apple Store online 9 days ago, I was very much looking forward to receiving it and having a bit of a play to see how it compared to it’s older sibling, the Mighty Mouse.
When I unpacked the mouse I was expecting it to come in the cardboard packaging like the Mighty Mouse, but instead it’s a plastic box much like the ones that the iPod range come in nowadays (below). The batteries were already inside of the mouse, so all I needed to do was flick the switch underneath, browse for a new Bluetooth device and within a few moments the Magic Mouse was ready for business.
The back of the box shows all the various actions such as the two-finger swipe and screen zoom. But, I know you’re keen to know how it feels compared to the bigger Mighty Mouse…
Because it’s so much thinner and flatter, you will notice the difference in your hand right away. A couple of my fingers felt like they didn’t quite know where to be, mostly my ring finger which ordinarily would be hugging the side of the Mighty Mouse. I sometimes found myself using my index finger to scroll rather than my middle finger. I didn’t expect anything other than an alien feeling to begin with and it would be silly to say otherwise. The more I’m using it, the more intuitive and natural it’s starting to become and I know for sure that the Mighty Mouse would feel big and chunky in my hand now.
I’ve had a play with just some of the functions of the Magic Mouse in the short time I’ve had it. Obviously vertical scroll is particularly enjoyable and the thought of no more scroll ball getting clogged up is a sweet one. I have scrolled through my iTunes music library (cover flow view) using one-finger horizontal scrolling. This was just to test this feature out but doubt it will be an action I use regularly as I never browse my library in Cover Flow view. Similarly, two-finger swiping for going back or forward in Safari may not be something I use much, but it works and works well.
These are my Magic Mouse preferences…
I increased the Scrolling up one notch from it’s default and it feels perfect for me. Aside from it’s functionality, it’s a beautifully designed piece of hardware as one comes to expect from Apple. Underneath the mouse is almost as gorgeous as the top of it. No doubt I will take further pictures to show off it’s slim profile soon and put them up on Flickr.
I know there have been quite a few questions on Twitter about the particular functioning of the Magic Mouse which I have been unable to answer due to being away from the device at the time. But, I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have, in the comments. My Mighty Mouse is currently being packed up and will hopefully be off to a new home very soon. The Magic Mouse is here to stay.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Magic Mouse and The Mighty Macs
Oct 21st
If you’re quite fond of that rather large glowing fruit company in Cupertino, you will already know that yesterday Apple released a slew of updates to their hardware range, along with a brand new product, the Magic Mouse – the world’s first multi-touch mouse.
The Apple Store was offline from approximately 3pm until 5.30pm UK time while they updated it with the new shiny hardware including new 21″ and 27″ iMacs, white unibody MacBook, Magic Mouse, new Apple Remote and updates to the Mac Mini, AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule. Almost too much to take in! tomacintosh.com has written a little on the new iMacs and their specs, here.
Aside from the new 27in iMac being of particular interest to me, the more affordable option currently is the Magic Mouse and Apple Remote. I ordered both of these shortly after the store came back online and delivery date was 5th November. However, the Apple Remote today changed to 2-4 weeks availability so my order was pushed back another 30 days. I did the sensible thing and cancelled the order for the remote otherwise that would have held up my Magic Mouse, which is now due to ship in 3-5 days.
I’m very much looking forward to using the new Magic Mouse. I bought my wireless Mighty Mouse back in February and while it’s much better than the wired version I’d been using for over 12 months before it, I do find the scroll ball something of an annoyance. To not have that aspect to deal with will be very refreshing. The new Apple Remote looks nice and finally it looks like it belongs with the iMac and MacBook Pro’s. I will pick one of those up when they’re in stock for immediate shipping.
As with every new hardware update of particular significance, it’s time to show some restraint and not let that reality distortion field take control. I suspect and must remember that in a few months we’ll all be salivating over something new and even more shiny – hopefully possibly the Apple tablet. As much as the new more powerful iMac would be a wonderful addition to my workflow, I am holding out for a tablet device. If that looks unlikely for the first quarter of 2010 then an upgraded iMac could take it’s place.
Were you excited about the hardware upgrades yesterday? Have you ordered a new Mac already or are you considering a purchase in the not too distant future? If you are ordering direct from Apple Store UK, would you consider using this link which supports Fruit Bytes as you buy. Thank you!
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Phoney Dock Icon for Tweetie Mac
Oct 13th
I just want to pass on this wonderful alternative dock icon for Tweetie Mac, created by Matthew Rex, which matches the new icon for Tweetie 2 iPhone.
Let’s hope this becomes the official icon for the next version of Tweetie for Mac. It looks so much more stylish in my dock than the default.
To change the dock icon, I recommend downloading the trial of CandyBar.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...That Syncing Feeling
Aug 13th
I’ve written here a few times about RSS Readers both on the Mac and iPhone – and my quest in trying to find the one that does it all. I went from NewsFire to NetNewsWire then back again. Now it’s happening all over again.
After enjoying a long and happy relationship with NewsFire, I recently ran into problems where my feeds simply weren’t refreshing after upgrading to the most recent version. I’d look at the icon in the dock and wonder why it’s little green badge hadn’t appeared in hours to show me I had feeds to read, especially when it’s set to refresh every 5 minutes. Closing down the app and restarting prompted the downloads, but I’d find myself with almost 100 new articles awaiting my attention, not my usual easy-to-get-through bitesize chunks when arriving in a timely manner.
However, I wasn’t persuaded back to NetNewsWire for that reason alone. I’d have learned to live with NewsFire needing the occasional nudge because of it’s gorgeous UI and ability to auto refresh feeds less than just every 30 minutes, unlike NNW. No, my arm was finally twisted by Newsstand for the iPhone (my old review). It’s always been the most reliable and elegant RSS Reader on the iPhone, in my opinion, but the arrival of version 2.0 last night gave it the killer feature – Google Reader syncing. NetNewsWire now also syncs with Google Reader meaning that these two apps go together quite magically and beautifully.
As you can see by the above images, the Newsstand [£2.99 | iTunes Link] icon has been beautified even more, as has the app itself with the new carousel style flick through feeds. The only thing that would make this partnership even better is push notifications in Newsstand when new articles are available.
So, for now my RSS needs are being catered for by NetNewsWire on the Mac and Newsstand on the iPhone, with Google Reader syncing bringing them both together. It’s not the perfect solution for me as my heart still belongs to NewsFire for it’s beautiful UI. I hope our paths will cross again, hopefully when it’s own iPhone app is available with syncing.
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