Apple App Store: Don't be stupid and purchase immediately! iWork, iLife and Aperture update for free

If you are like me, then usually you check the facts make sure that you only purchase when the price is where you want it and then go for it and get the additional pleasure of purchasing the right stuff at the right price. You make sure you beat the system.

But sometimes you don't wait and against all reasoning you purchase something on the spot. Definitely you'll regret it as I do most often.

But really terrible is when you purchase something that you thought all along that you should get for free, which is free for all that purchase a new piece of hardware. But you were almost always loyal and stuck with the product. Then they release Mavericks and you think you must update immediately because any improvement in the OS makes your life much easier. And since they introduced all the remodeled applications you convince yourself that this is the day you are going to upgrade.

BIG Mistake.


First of all the applications are not worth it, the improvements in some are extremely minor, such as iPhoto that has not seen a really big improvement for a long time. Next imagine that you paid dollars for programs like pages and numbers that you can even use less now than before. You already knew you cannot get rid of Microsoft Office but at least you thought there's one that could actually give you the right tools in a more colorful way than Microsoft (It's all so white, you know).

Ok I make the purchase. Big Mistake! I hold of the purchase of Aperture as I kind of consider going to Lightroom and Adobe.

The last bit was lucky. But just 2 days after I upgraded I read that Apple is giving iWorks and iLife programs for free for previous owners of the software. Actually they link your non App Store purchases with the System and you get the free update (function downgrade but more colors! That they maybe are going to fix like for movie editing software.).

I just spent $90 dollars on the apps that I would have gotten for free and I hope that some poor soul is going to do a class action suit and all the people that purchased the software get a refund automatically ;).

But I was able to get Aperture for free and I made all my colleagues aware of my mistake, so they can benefit. And I was also partially successful as I updated all the programs for free for our extended family members.

So it's not a complete failure, but definitely again one that does not taste right and I will remember for some time until I make the next Big Mistake. Did I mention that I still want to purchase Office 365 (subscription model)?

Google Rant #1: Google Drive in 2013: Would you have thought that they cannot continue sync of a partial folder

I had to reinstall my iMac from scratch thanks to Mavericks.

Now i thought great just get google drive installed and let the sync update my folder. The folder has been restored.

Not possible. It forced me to delete all and then start the sync. Can you imagine that somebody in the year of 2013 asks you such a stupid thing? I would have thought that the magicians at google would be able to properly handle sync even doing some hash on files etc.

Since I was not sure if I had already added something in anticipation I had moved all files to desktop start sync and then visually compare. I should've used rsync with -c or so, but maybe Google would not like that as well.

I really hope that dropbox will rule the world, but it's kind of to quiet and in enterprises box is making more often an appearance.

Apple Annoyances 23Beta-2: How to force iBooks bookmark sync once your online again?

The new iBooks application for Mac OS X is great.

Well, actually all the iBooks applications are great.

No actually that's not true and almost everyone will tell you many things that are wrong with it.

Did someone mention PDF annotations? How about personal document sync? What about some better controls of sorting and displaying additional information, why not include information about other books by the same author etc? Calibre does not have a really great interface nor reader but it's way more pleasant in terms of information on the books it shows and searching and filtering.

(One of the biggies is that Apple must allow at one point to give full access to all data to whatever applications I deem to be worthwhile and therefore let calibre access the same library as iBooks and modify names, categories add metadata etc. This is also true for all calendars, photos, documents etc. But especially for iBooks as no app can access the data in iBooks at all)

All this iCloud sync with whatever applications but not iBooks? How strange is that?

Ok, but the most annoying problem I face is that I want to be able to read a book on my iPhone, iPad and Mac OS X in parallel. Start on the way to work on the iPhone, continue during lunch on the iPad and sometimes in the evening on what device I lay my hands on.

But the iPhone I read on is not connected to the internet while I'm on my way to work and then all the other iBook applications do not get the correct position in the book or the bookmark that I set as a precaution.

I don't get it, I don't understand what's going on and I certainly don't understand how to force an iBooks synchronisation that I think must happen automatically without me doing anything as soon as I have some Internet connectivity. But even now 15 minutes later after I have been in the iBooks application on the iphone which is connected to the internet again and writing this blog entry I don't have the update on the iBooks application on Mac OS X.

This is not right, Apple fix it.

And now, I sometimes try to open the iBooks on the phone then click on library then back into the book, but still does not sync. Sometimes I close the app, then reopen but not always do I see the internet activity icon turning and no sync.

Trying to do that just now again and see if I will find a reliable way to start a sync when my device is back on the internet.

Apple let me down now a couple of times, but this only because one tends to have a habit of ever increasing lust to a more perfect world and then discovers that the reality still hasn't catched up. 

But the review of Mac OS X on 512 px was great and I wish for the future that we will be able to speed up development of all things exponentially.

Apple should include an sync/out of sync information whenever I touch a book and somewhat show the interval at which data is being synced.

I found out now that even when the iPhone is fully connected it can take the Mac OS X iBooks ages to sync. For a sync to happen I only have had a chance (without waiting for some timer to expire) when going back to library (you'll see the internet activity rotating logo) and then closing iBooks on Mac OS X and staring it again. Then I usually got a strange view. The book was at page 1 again and after 10 to 15 seconds it found it's way to the latest page I was viewing on the iPhone also the notes had no page numbers etc. So there's a couple of data points being recalculated. 

AirVideo HD: Go get it.

I've been using AirVideo for a very long time now. And the new AirVideo HD is a great update.

So go and support the guys and purchase the client.

Purpose: Watch movies in any kind of format from your MAC or PC on your iDevices (iPod, iPhone, iPad). No need to convert before but convert on the fly. And you can boost the audio if the source is somewhat below average.

The update to AirVideo is great but I still miss the client for MAC and PC.  I would also love to have some info on movies or files as in Plex and automatic renaming etc.

Apple Rant #2093-2: iPhone 5c, is actually a completely overpriced piece of LEGO.

After reading all the articles and for the first time holding a blue iPhone 5C in my hand I would say that it is feels like a $150 piece of lego with some electronics but actually costs more than $600.

Compare that to the new iPhone 5S in Gold, that's a real marvel and the camera is just really amazing. The whole thing is a big improvement, but not if you already have a 5 and no play money to spend.

FreeMind: 1.0.0: Must have!! Copy/Paste of images, waited for years

Just today noticed that FreeMind 1.0.0 had been release a few days back. Their webpage does not work currently. But I was able to download the software and make use. Had been using 1.0.0 RC something but with the final release I saw some slight difference and what's more I just tried to copy/paste a picture into the mind map, and it works!!!!

This is unbelievable!!! I was waiting for years for this. I refuse to use any other software than this and have been using on multiple platforms. Now the function today makes life easier, but it will store the image in the same directory as the .mm, which means you have to be careful when you want to give the mind map to someone else or continue to work on another platform.

Thanks, this is still great stuff.