iLifeZone Episode 23
Run Time: 39:38

Scott Bourne www.podcastingtricks.com and www.podcastgearguy.com
Derrick Story www.thedigitalstory.com
Chris Breen www.macworld.com/mac911 and www.playlistmag.com
Colleen Wheeler digitalmedia.oreilly.com

Today we're going to discuss the most famous big cat in the Apple world right now. No, we're not discussing some obscure Unix command ... Oh no... Today, it's all about Leopard ...

On with the show!

Derrick allays Scott's fears that Apple is going to run out of cats to use as names for its OS in the future. Scott fantasizes about OS X Mexican Hairless (Hey Scott, the Mexican Hairless is a dog!). Chris points out that Jazz musicians are often referred to as Cats and suggests OS X Charlie Parker , Miles Davis , and John Coltrane .

We interrupt this comedy special for some important show-related news...

Scott announces that Leo Laporte's radio show is now syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks . As a consequence, we'll be moving off of Twit.tv . You'll still be able to find us on iTunes, iLifeZone, and Podango.com! We'll give you plenty of notice before the move so you don't miss a minute of our show. Scott's still going to be working with Leo on Gear Media Tech and MacBreak Weekly , so have no fear. We're going to try hard not to break our feed so you shouldn't have much (if anything) to do when the time comes. Watch this spot for the skinny!

Let's take some time to cover the 98.2 Octillion listener e-mails and phone calls we've been kinda lax in keeping up with.

Collin sent us an e-mail.

"Would you buy a refurbished iPod from the refurb store on Apple.com ?"
Derrick would if it comes with a warranty, noting that most electronics go bad quickly anyway. Chris agrees also seeing as Apple sends out refurbs when you send your iPod in to get repaired anyway. Scott has never purchased an iPod from the Apple Refurb Store, but he has purchased computers from there and saved a bunch of money (Vinny, our producer bought his MacBook from there and had no trouble either and was even able to buy AppleCare for it). The answer is unanimous... YES!

Todd White:
"The reason Apple changed iTV to Apple TV is because El Gato owns EyeTV and wants to avoid confusion"
Derrick said that's possible and if things don't work out with Cisco , things may change but it remains to be seen.

Erris from Houston:
"When do you think the next version of iTunes will be available? With the iPhone or with the Apple TV?"

Chris thinks that the Apple TV will require an iTunes update anyway, and there's rumors of another iPod coming soon, and we may see iTunes 8 soon, otherwise it'll just be a "point" release for the Apple TV and then a full-on new version for the iPhone. Derrick thinks something is coming relatively soon. He also wonders about the storage capacity of the iPhone (4 or 8 gigs). Scott points out you could put a couple of movies and a few songs and you should be in good shape for a whole flight. Derrick isn't really convinced ;-)

Aaron from Salinas:
"To make ringtones from iTunes songs, pick any file and go to Options and choose the start and end time of the song. Right click it to turn it into an MP3 of that length."
Chris notes that this doesn't work with iTunes Store purchases. In that case, you can use Wiretap which captures audio that's playing on your Mac. DUBIOUS LEGALITY ALERT: You could also go to the iTunes store, click a preview to any song, and let Wiretap record the 30-second preview. Scott plans on turning Chris in and Derrick mentions that Audio Hijack Pro will also do the job nicely.

Bruce Horseman:
"To get around battery issues when you use a video camera as a monitor, press record and open the tape drawer. On some cameras, this will give you a live feed as long as the camera has power."
Scott is surprised by this tip. Chris notes that your results may vary depending on the camera you have.

Tammy from Little Rock:
"Is Derrick Married?"
The answer is _________________________. (Thought I was gonna share it with you, didn't ya?)

That covers the e-mails for this week... Let's get into the Leopard discussion...

Chris thinks Leopard is an interesting upgrade because of what Apple is touting on their site. Their focus is mostly on the applications (iChat, Mail, etc.) and less about the geekier stuff (the core of the OS). It's important to look under the hood a little bit because we're not using the full potential of our Macs just yet by running Tiger. Leopard will have major performance improvements over Tiger. He also thinks we'll see the OS taking advantage of the hardware you have better like the increased RAM, virtual memory, etc.

Derrick also notes that many areas of the OS can be multithreaded now because of the dual core chips, increasing efficiency. Scott tries not to upgrade the OS and instead prefers to buy a new computer, although this time he may not have a choice due to the potential for new Leopard-only features in the upcoming version of iLife . Derrick notes that third parties will also take advantage of Leopard and because of the extensive time they've had with it, they should be rolling out apps shortly after it's released.

Chris notes that because Leopard is tied to features like Core Animation , you have to do the two things in tandem if you want to get the full benefit from newer software.

Scott notes that Derrick, Chris, and he believe that the reason we don't have the new iLife apps yet is because there are heavy ties to the new version of OS X. Derrick thinks that whether or not Apple ties the release of Leopard and the release of iLife '07 is something we'll know in the upcoming weeks.

Scott wonders if the arrival of Vista will get Apple motivated to finish Leopard quicker. Chris doesn't think so because Apple doesn't care what MS does anyway, especially since Vista is already just a knockoff of OS X anyway and there's not much in it that Apple would be worried about. He thinks we'll see Leopard in April.

Scott asks what features exist in the new OS that we should care about. Scott is mostly interested in Time Machine . Derrick thinks it's fantastic and does some smart stuff including working in the background. He's also curious about how third party developers will use the APIs to enhance its functionality. He also notes that if you don't already have a comprehensive backup strategy (shame on you!) that Leopard will work well since it costs as much as good backup software anyway.

Chris is looking for Time Machine and the new version of iChat (backgrounds, etc.) He really likes the idea of Remote Desktop being built in to iChat because it makes remote control accessible. Scott thinks that might be his favorite feature when he's stranded and Chris is available. Derrick also notes that iChat will have tabs too.

Colleen Wheeler jumps in...

Colleen notes that she's not scared of upgrading to Leopard, but she would be if she was upgrading to Vista (I don't blame her one bit!) Colleen has been a Mac user for 2 years and only recently upgraded to Tiger so she could use LightRoom .

She is planning on upgrading for work only if there's a compelling reason (new software, etc.) From a personal standpoint, she might since her computer is relatively new. She agrees with Derrick that Time Machine is great because it's a backup strategy you don't have to think about. She has had a hard drive crash recently, but she is fully backed up both at home and at the office.

If she had to pay for Leopard, she'd probably upgrade anyway. She likes the new integration of iCal and Mail for Todo's, as an example.

Colleen correctly points out that Steve Jobs didn't talk about the calendaring of the iPhone at all during the keynote. Scott noticed it also, but doesn't think it's anything to worry about.

Colleen thinks the most important thing about Leopard is going to be the lack of frustration. She wants it to just work smoothly even if it meant decreased performance. She thinks it's important for the OS to just do its thing in the background and not require her to think about it.

Thanks for stopping by, Colleen!

Let's put a wrap on this one...

Chris' Final Thought:
He thinks it's going to be bigger, better performance, more features, sparklies (hehehe), lots of new stuff under the hood, and he's going to upgrade right away, although he advises most people to watch things develop and see if Leopard is right for them. He notes that he's even willing to pay for Leopard so he can get it faster! Now there's devotion!

Derrick's Final Thought:
The geek side of him requires Leopard and he's dying to run it on his MacBook Pro. It's a compelling upgrade for him and he's going to move slowly in upgrading his machines. He thinks it's going to be solid, run well, and be good from the first release.

Scott's Final Thought:
Scott's going to wait a few weeks, but he is going to upgrade without buying a new computer because he wants to have the latest and greatest iLife when the time comes.

This episode was sponsored by Podango and Rogue Amoeba .

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The next show lands on February 10, 2007. For more information email us at info@ilifezone.com.

Thanks to Libsyn for hosting services.

Thanks also to Vincent Ferrari for the shownotes!

Subscribe free of charge to the iLifeZone podcast at the iTunes Store

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