Screening at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
If you can?t get to this year?s Tribeca Film Festival in New York City,
you can at least enjoy trailers for a selection of the films that will
be seen at the annual celebration of independent filmmaking. They
includes the latest work from such directors as Atom Egoyan, Spike Lee,
Carlos Cuaron, and other new and well-known filmmakers.
The Year Was 1959
In his History of Jazz program, Dr. Gordon Vernick, Associate Professor
of Music at Georgia State University looks at just one year in the rich
history of this uniquely American musical genre. But Vernick sees 1959
as a ?nexus point,? the year he ?likes to think about as the most
important year in jazz.? What occurred in 1959 to make it such a
milestone for jazz music?
Coming Attractions: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
If you?re looking forward to the newest film in the X-Men series, you
have only a week to wait. Opening on May 1, X-Men Origins: Wolverine ?
a prequel to the rest of the films in the series ? focuses on Logan,
the character, played by Hugh Jackman, who becomes Wolverine. On the
Movie Trailers site, you?ll find an exclusive clip from the film, two
trailers, and (coming soon) the Wolverine Weapons App.
App Store tops one billion downloads
Just nine months after the revolutionary App Store opened, Apple today
announced, Connor Mulcahey, a thirteen year old from Weston, CT,
downloaded the one billionth app. By downloading Bump, a free contact
swapping app created by Bump Technologies, the teenager became the
grand prize winner of Apple?s one billion app countdown contest and
will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule,
and a MacBook Pro.
Apple Reports Second Quarter Results
?We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter
revenue and earnings in our history,? said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple?s
CFO, in announcing the company?s March quarter financial results. In
its fiscal 2009 second quarter, Apple posted revenue of $8.16 billion
and a net quarterly profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.33 per diluted
share. Gross margin was 36.4 percent, up from 32.9 percent in the
year-ago quarter.
Leaf Trombone joins Ocarina on the app world stage ?The
App Store ? stocked with 15,000 titles ? is on tap to move its 1
billionth application any day now,? reports Jefferson Graham
(usatoday.com). And it?s applications from relatively small developers,
like Smule, that have created such entertaining apps as Ocarina (one of
the best-selling apps on the App Store) and Leaf Trombone (a newcomer
to the Store) that are leading the way.
Oceans: Watch the Exclusive Trailer in HD
In theaters on Earth Day 2010, Oceans invites us to journey beneath the
waves to glimpse the wild and untamed world that few get to see. The
Disneynature film tells the story of the perils and uncertain future
the inhabitants of this world face while at the same time showing us
the bright future that could occur if we?re willing to change the way
we treat the world?s oceans.
App Store Pick of the Week: The Green Book
Now you can enjoy the environmental friendly book from Elizabeth Rogers
and Thomas Kostigen on your iPhone. And save a few more trees in the
process. The digital version of the New York Times Bestseller ?is full
of green living tips and each section is accessible through the table
of contents.? If you?d like to see more app options for Earth Day, pay
a visit to the Green Room.
Get your iTunes Pass to Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King Eager
to hear new tracks from the Dave Matthews Band? Subscribe to the iTunes
Pass for Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, and the hot single, Funny
the Way It Is, will download immediately. The rest of the band?s
eagerly anticipated eighth studio album will download as soon as it
becomes available. And until the pass expires this September, you?ll
receive bonus studio tracks, live tracks, and more.
App Store ?a runaway hit? for Apple
?Since it opened 10 months ago,? reports Dow Jones? Ben Charny
(smartmoney.com), ?the App Store has been a runaway hit selling a host
of software that turn the smartphone into everything from a carpenter?s
level to a virtual change purse.? Showing ?no sign of letting up,? the
success of the App Store has made Apple ??the platform of choice? in
the consumer smartphone area,? according to Gartner analyst Mike
McGuire.
Mac OS X Tip: Saving energy on your Mac
The Mac is energy efficient by design, but you can help conserve even
more energy by taking advantage of Energy Saver options. Using the
Sleep pane, for example, you can set the Display to sleep after your
Mac has been inactive for a specific amount of time. But don?t make
your Mac wait to get some sleep. Find out how to team Energy Saver with
Expos頴o put your Mac to sleep immediately.
Apple leads the way in customer satisfaction
When Forrester Research released the results of its annual survey on
customer satisfaction, says Jim Dalrymple (macworld.com), ?Apple not
only topped the list, it blew away the competition.? In fact, Apple
?dominated in each category? that the survey assessed, ?scoring 82
percent (Useful), 86 percent (Easy to Use), and 72 percent
(Enjoyable).?
Coming Attractions: Earth Next
Wednesday, you can celebrate Earth Day 2009 by watching Earth, which
opens on April 22. Narrated by James Earl Jones and directed by
Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the team who produced the
Academy Award?winning Planet Earth, the first film in the Disneynature
series offers incredible cinematography as it follows three animal
families over the course of a year. Enjoy.
Exploring the world of the Mountain Gorilla on iTunes U
Mountain Gorillas have fascinated us since the earliest days of the
20th century. And that was well before we knew that they were our
closest genetic relative on Earth, sharing close to 99% of our DNA.
Now, thanks to iTunes U and Open University, you can learn all about
the Mountain Gorillas still surviving in the Bwindi Impenetrable
National Park in Uganda.
Mac OS X Pro Tip: Lock Your Data with Disk Images
You may have used Disk Utility to format, verify, repair, or partition
disks on your Mac. But the Mac OS X Leopard utility also offers a great
way to protect any sensitive or confidential data you?re sending to
colleagues or clients. Encrypt a folder on your Mac as a .dmg file, and
you can confidently email it or include it on an optical disc or thumb
drive you overnight. Like to see how easy it is to create a .dmg in
Disk Utility?
App Store Pick of the Week: Flick Sports Fishing
Have you gone Flick Sports Fishing? The Freeverse game ? one of the
all-time top 20 apps on the App Store ? lets you virtually cast and
reel in some really big fish using iPhone or iPod touch. You can play
against friends and brag about your latest catch. And for a limited
time, if you download Flick Fishing ? or any other app on the App Store
? you could reel in a really big catch in the Billion App Countdown
Promotion.
Now Available: Aperture 2.1.3 Update Recommended
for all those using Aperture 2, the Aperture 2.1.3 Update ? available
as a free download from the Aperture site or the Apple support site ?
improves overall stability and provides fixes for issues related to
database integrity and compatibility with specific file types.
Logic Studio brings Spinal Tap Back from the Dead To
create Back from the Dead, a new album from Spinal Tap scheduled for
release in June, music producer CJ Vanston tapped Logic Studio. In
fact, he says ?every piece of the album was made using Macs running
Apple?s Logic.? PCs, the engineer adds, ?aren?t allowed within 20 feet
of me. There?s always a problem with them, whether its a virus,
defragging the drive, or something. They just slow you down.?
Enjoy exhibitions from leading European museums on iTunes
iTunes U now lets you sample some of the delightful content ? David
Hockney using Twitter to answer questions about his art, tours through
the palace and gardens of Versailles, Patti Smith singing about the
early life as an artist in Paris ? available at three of the leading
European museums: the Tate, Chⴥau de Versailles, and Fondation Cartier.
New Mac Pro ?is built to rock your world?
In his InfoWorld review, Tom Yager explains why he considers the new
Mac Pro ?the perfect workstation.? The new Nehalem-based Mac Pro ?is
impeccably built, extraordinarily configurable and expandable,
owner-serviceable, quiet, green, friendly, fast, and custom-made for
Snow Leopard.? The new systems, he says, ?establish a new bar in the
price/performance/watt trifecta.?
