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    DOWNLOAD: On this week's all-star episode, we present long-time Mac programmer Dan Wood, of Karelia Software, who discusses the latest version of their acclaimed Web site creation tool, Sandvox.

    Author and commentator Kirk McElhearnMacworld's "iTunes Guy," and the editor of Mac OS X Hints, is on board to explain why his data began to "bleed" when he switched to a new wireless carrier. He also comments on why Apple might be ignoring Microsoft's alleged requests to make a Windows 8 version of iTunes.

    From Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer, you'll learn about Google's ho-hum I/O event, China's campaign against Apple, and about Tim Cook's expected proposal, to be delivered at a Congressional hearing, for new tax laws to allow the company to repatriate billions of dollars of cash kept overseas.

    Click to hear our latest episode: The Tech Night Owl Live — May 18, 2013

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    Special! Host Gene Steinberg is a featured guest on the 200th episode of The Mac Observer's Apple Context Machine radio show.


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    Newsletter Issue #703: Samsung Galaxy S4: More Bits and Pieces

    May 20th, 2013

    According to published reports, Samsung is claiming that the Samsung Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone shipped some 10 million copies during the first 28 days on sale. As my friend Daniel Eran Dilger remarks in a recent AppleInsider article, this is considered a great accomplishment compared to the iPhone 5, which sold five million the very first weekend, which wasn't considered so great. So much for being fair and balanced.

    Certainly, there are several published bake-offs comparing the Galaxy S4 with the HTC One and, of course, the iPhone 5. I won't consider whether these reviewers are necessarily accurate or misleading. Make your own conclusions.

    I've only had one for a few days, but I've been able to put together some random findings about whether it represents a major upgrade, or is just a minor update to an existing model. So, aside from all the flashy (if only occasionally useful) new software, the changes are relatively minor in the scheme of things compared to the Galaxy S3.

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    Samsung Galaxy S4: What About the Little Things?

    May 17th, 2013

    So I unwrapped a spanking new Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone the other day. It's Samsung's most popular handset, earning iPhone-level sales in the first two weeks on sale, and I had to wonder whether I had a mobile gadget, or a doorway to a magical world with all the publicity it has received.

    Well, I have to tell you that it's a really good product, but it doesn't quite match the manufacturer's hype.

    Now Apple has made a huge deal of the user experience that begins when you first open the box in which the unit ships. Well, Samsung has gone the route of a wood-grained finish cardboard, with the design motif carrying through to the tiny booklet that covers the initial setup and basic features. The charger and earphones, however, are white, same as Apple. In fact, from a distance, you may not see much of a difference, except for the fact that Samsung uses a micro USB connection for recharging (as opposed to mini USB). Apple, as you know, went from one proprietary connection scheme, 30-pin, to yet another proprietary connection scheme, Lightning.

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    iOS and OS X: Is Apple Running Out of Ideas?

    May 16th, 2013

    How time flies when you're having fun. The first Mac OS came out 29 years ago, yet it still somehow seems a little unfinished. After so many versions and the move from Mac OS to OS X, thousands of features have been added, some have been removed or changed, yet there always seems to be a large wish list for the next version.

    If you have a cynical bent, you might suggest that Apple deliberately holds back features in order to have something to promote, and sell, for the next release. Perhaps that's partly true, although it's probably true that features earmarked for a specific OS version just aren't ready to make the cut, although some will claim that Apple doesn't let that stop them.

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    So Where’s My File?

    May 15th, 2013

    Ever since the very first Mac appeared, the question "Where's my file?" has been asked over and over again. Depending on the app, it may be saved to one folder or another by default, and there may be special settings for that. But at the end of the day, the location might not be crystal clear.

    Worse, it's not that the normal OS X tools to locate a file offer the best solutions. Many Mac users don't even use the Open/Save dialogs, let alone a third-party enhancement, such as Default Folder X. Indeed, I've observed people double-clicking directly on files to open them, even when the proper app is already running.

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