A MacThemes Forum member earlier today posted this image with the following statement attached.

“This app is really running, and it’s so awesome. But it makes me want to buy so much more music on ITMS”

I’d love to see what Apple could have in store for us in the future with its Google/YouTube relationship. They’ve already done exciting things with the iPhone and the Apple TV together, I’m sure that wont be the last we see from the partnership.

Digg the original source.

iPhone in New Zealand. 11th July. 3G 16GB (Black). I’ll be there. Need I say more?

After a few hours, I discovered this glitch with the volume adjustment slider, which was presenting the volume change the same way as the Mac does in OSX. Check out the video for the interesting find.

While a switch to a MacBook Air may or may not be on the cards for various reasons, the decision turners for making the change (or not) will fall into its own post later in the week.

The increased use of Safari is also down to moving away from three desktop based applications (Mail, NetNewsWire, TextEdit), moving to three similar browser based Google applications - Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Docs.

After keeping a close eye on which applications I used over a seven day period, I came up with the above chart. Overall, it doesn’t really surprise me considering I spend most of my time on the computer writing, while listening to music, keeping an eye on email and RSS, while occasionally popping open iMovie to export video to YouTube and editing images in Aperture.

The only thing holding me back from the MacBook Air at this current point in time? The 15% area on the chart dedicated to Aperture & iMovie.

Late Addition: I’m going to stick with the MacBook Pro - install a new internal HDD, and see what Apple has in store with the next revision of the MacBook Air. I’ll keep riding this laptop until I see a need to change, adding a 2nd rev MacBook Air at a later stage looks likely - however.

I try out dozens of new applications each and every week, and get along well with a handful of software developers . Based on my experience with Macintosh software, I have my own standards and my own personal opinion on what makes a Mac application exceptional in its field.

My three points of consideration? Interface, simplicity and usability. Of course, an application needs to fulfill a suitable function, but these three pointers are what pulls me in to software and get me hooked.

I’m sure most of you have heard about AppZapper at some point or another. If not, AppZapper allows you to confidently uninstall virtually any application as easily as it was installed - just drag and drop. Drag one or more unwanted apps onto the main AppZapper window and watch as it finds all the extra associated files and lets you delete them with a single click.

The first thing which attracted me to AppZapper was not only the elegant ability to uninstall applications which has been carried out so well, but the complete usability and overall simplicity of the application, it immediately leaped into my dock and hasn’t left since, same goes with many other applications such as Delicious Library, Coda, MarsEdit, and Transmit. They are all so elegantly developed, with attention paid to both form and function.

Two standout examples of companies paying severe attention to detail are Panic Software with their lead applications Coda, Transmit and CandyBar. Along with Delicious Monster’s application “Delicious Library.”

Potential For Greatness In Form

Other applications, including DVD-ripping software HandBrake, have the potential to be amazing with some work on the usability and form. HandBrake is a wonderful application but it doesn’t come across as elegant and as easy to use as an application like AppZapper. Of course, it fills a much larger function than AppZapper and requires a large scale of features - which I believe could be carried out in a different manner.

Why is that? Because consumers want applications that are extremely easy to use. Austin Sarner, the developer of AppZapper, hit the sweet spot when designing it: he knew exactly what the people wanted and how to give it to them. AppZapper is so simple to use that it’s ingenious.

Companies like Panic and Delicious Monster have got all aspects right on design and user interface which in my opinion is a contributing fact to why they have enjoyed so much success. Form & function my friends. Pay attention to the vital details.

After publishing my first thoughts, I came to the consensus that the MacBook Air had a lot going for it, and a lot going against it. It would pair up perfectly as a second more portable machine for those already running iMac’s/Mac Pro’s, etc.

After viewing Macworld benchmarks, the last statement above that the MacBook Air would be suited as a second machine for the creative professional is a somewhat accurate one. The MacBook Air clocks in as the slowest Mac in Apple’s lineup.

Speed aside, if anything could be added to the MacBook Air, on my terms, they’d be as follows.

Extra USB Port & FireWire Port

The MacBook Air’s hub is home to a magsafe power port, one USB 2.0 port, a micro-DVI port, and a headphone jack. While the term less is more is often used in the Mac world (typically when talking about software), the same doesn’t apply here.

One extra USB port, along with a FireWire 400 port would be greatly received. It’s on of my major gripes about the machines design. While it can be easily fixed with a USB hub, it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing or simple solution.

User Replaceable RAM

I’d almost be fully content to use a MacBook Air full time if the RAM limitation wasn’t set at 2GB, tethered to the motherboard. While I’m not certain on the practically of it, having the ability for the user to replace RAM with standard DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz DIMM RAM. It would take the RAM limitation to 4GB on the MacBook Air if two slots were open - much more acceptable for those multi-tasking on the notebook - although, that opens the question once again, if you’re multitasking heavily, why are you doing it on a MacBook Air? The irony.

Don’t get me wrong, the MacBook Air is super elegant in its current state. I still want one, and most of the problems above can be fixed with third-party products (well, not the RAM). All-in-all, the MacBook Air is shaping up to be much more desirable than I initially thought.

Really? Apple’s ’slowest’ computer is the new main coding machine for one of the most well known Mac shareware developers. Shipley shed a little light on the subjective move.

The criticism all basically goes like this: “It’s not like a MacBook Pro!”

No, really? Seriously? I mean, they introduced this new product, and it doesn’t have the same specs as the MacBook Pro? God, that is bizarre. I wonder why they gave it a new name, and continue to sell the MacBook Pro, then, if it’s not going to be exactly the same. I mean, that hardly makes sense, does it?

Apple have three different break-offs in its notebook line. The MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and the MacBook. Each machine is suited for different people, not everyone will be happy with a certain machine, hence the reason there’s three options.

There’s no ruling out the MacBook Air can’t be used as a main (and only) machine. It all comes down to what you do. Most people working with video for instance will not be looking at the MacBook Air, due to its limited storage capacity, processor speed, and lack of connectivity options. However writers who don’t need blazing fast processors, tons of storage, and lots of ports will welcome the machine with open arms. Needs will vary. Something that’s perfect for you might not be for the next person, and vice versa.

Some journalists get so close to the truth it hurts, yet miss the large print. “OMG! The unit is all sealed and self-contained like the iPod!”

I feel this point is possibly the most talked about aspect of the MacBook Air. Whether good or bad, the Air doesn’t have a user-replaceable battery or easy access to replace a hard drive. Then again, devices like the iPhone and iPod don’t have user replaceable batteries like many other devices in the same category, it hasn’t hurt Apple at all.

It’s a fact that if you want a new battery, you’ll have to pay Apple to install a new one. How many batteries do most Apple laptop owners carry around anyway? I only have the one which is permanently residing under my MacBook Pro. I suspect most other buyers of Apple laptops are in the same boat as me.

I don’t buy a laptop because I want to replace its drive in a year. I buy it because it seems great and meets my needs today. If my needs magically morph over the coming year, I guess I’ll sell it on eBay.

This is a perfect example in my eyes of the way I’d like people to think. Buy a computer based on today’s needs. If your needs change down the line, adapt to that with a different tool set; it’s how I’ve personally begun to look at things.

4.1 Million To 1.3 Million

Pixels, that is. When I sold the 30″ Apple Cinema Display, I sold the large canvas I had become so attached to when the Mac Pro was in my possession.

Have I missed it? Not at all. The MacBook Pro paired with Spaces has been a perfect solution to losing my large display. I feel so much more comfortable knowing everything is in one place, in one machine. I don’t have as much cash tied up in technology that’s sitting unused.

It’s surprising to myself that I haven’t once regretted my decision. This could be reinforced by the 2 week period I had leading up to listing the display for sale. I told myself I’d not touch it for another two weeks, and see if I missed it. I didn’t, so off it went. Out of sight, out of mind.

Adapting With Spaces

Spaces, one of Leopard’s ‘innovative’ features has shaped the way I use my notebook. When playing with a screen measuring 1440 x 900 pixels - things are bound to change compared to a 2560 x 1600 canvas.

I set up three Spaces on the 15″ MacBook Pro to organize various applications. The first Space been the active work area, for Safari, blogging, writing, editing, etc. The second space is set aside for communication (Mail, iChat, Twitterrific), while the third is my reference Space (iTunes, NetNewsWire).

High Resolution Future

The High-Resolution 17″ MacBook Pro currently sports a display measuring 1920 x 1200 pixels (133ppi), equaling that of the current 23″ Apple Cinema Display (98ppi). The iPhone and iPod touch both boast screens with a pixel density around the 160ppi mark - compared to the 15″ MacBook Pro’s 110ppi display. Where does this leave us for the future of Apple notebook displays?

An addition of the high resolution option in 15″ model would be well received in the next revision of the MacBook Pro line. I don’t expect to see 1080p, but 1680 x 1050 (same as the 20″ Apple Cinema Display) would be a significant move in the right direction. Displays with a high pixel-per-inch density are in our not too distant future.

Macworld received its first baseline MacBook Air earlier this morning, and has posted initial benchmarks using its in-house Speedmark test suite courtesy of the lab.

The results are not mind-blowing as expected, slower than all other current model Mac’s in the open market. Including the MacBook Pro and the MacBook.

For this first set of tests, we used a default-configuration MacBook Air powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 4200 rpm, 1.8-inch 80GB parallel ATA hard drive.

I do feel the hard-drive is one of the major bottlenecks of the MacBook Air. When set against laptops using 5400 and 7400 RPM drives, the difference is noticeable to say the least. I’m looking forward to seeing some benchmarks with the 64GD SSD option installed in the machine.

When set against a 2.2Ghz MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air encodes music in iTunes almost 50% slower than the Pro counterpart, and around 40% slower in the Handbrake encoding test.

Speaking of Speedmark, the MacBook Air’s score of 123 is the lowest score we’ve recorded for any Intel-based Mac laptop, but it does handily beat our PowerPC laptop reference system, the 1.67Ghz 15-inch PowerBook G4.

The 1.67Ghz 15-inch PowerBook G4 crossed the finishing line with a Speedmark overall score of 92 compared to the MacBook Air’s score of 123. The 2.2Ghz MacBook Pro led the chase at 185, just over double the score of the PowerBook.

Check out the full piece complete with initial performance views.

And so, after 15 very exciting days, the MacHeist II bundle finally comes to a close. It’s hard to believe but during the peak of the sale, the bundle was selling at an even higher rate then the Nintendo DS! So we’re ecstatic beyond belief with the way it all turned out to say the least.

Congratulations to the winner Calvin Chu of the MacHeist II bundle competition I ran last week.

MacHeist II finished the 15 day period selling 43,815 bundles and raising $488,003 for charity which was rounded up to an even half million dollars by the generous crew.

Your serials for the fourteen excellent applications are on the way.

If you haven’t already watched the keynote, now couldn’t be a better time. In 720P (1280×720) at 30FPS, it’s the next best thing to watching Steve Jobs present Macworld Live in San Francisco.

Watch the presentation here.

There are things in the MacBook Air that aren’t perfect, and some that aren’t even near acceptable. But these are the trade offs that must be had in ultra portable laptops. I feel a lot of the community was expecting far too much from a laptop that’s designed with portability, sleekness, and style in mind. Bottom line.

The MacBook Air falls behind in these aspects:

- Lack of ports, specifically, the dropping of FireWire and the miniscule number of USB ports (one). Those with FireWire HDDs or other devices connecting using the standard will be disappointed. The lack of an Ethernet port is a slight disappointment, but the the recent advances of 802.11 N, this is a smaller point of interest.

- Storage Capacity. Another major tradeoff due to the size of the laptop consumers will need to overcome. Shipping with a 80GB 1.8-inch HDD, storage is at a premium with the MBA. The 64GB SSD is a nice additional option, however pricey at this current point in time.

- CPU/RAM thresholds. Stock at 1.6Ghz, and clocking out at 1.8Ghz, the MBA is notably slower in clock speed than other Apple notebooks. RAM on the MacBook Air is limited to 2GB of non upgradeable memory due to the fact it’s tied to the systems motherboard. Anyone requiring more RAM will need to look at other options (more on that soon).

- No user swappable battery. Possibly one of the most talked about aspects of the machine over the past three days, is the lack of a user swappable battery - falling as a major disappointment for users who wish to carry a couple of spare batteries with them on travel.

- Mono only audio. Not much to say on this point. This is what external speakers are made for, or alternatively, headphones.

As you can see, there are many aspects of the MacBook Air which do lack compared to the MacBook and the MacBook Pro - there’s no lying.

How about some finer more positive points?

- Form factor. Labeled and claimed as the worlds thinnest notebook computer by Apple, this is the main pulling point of the new machine. Clocking in at just 3.0 lbs and dimensions 0.76 x 0.16 inches, the MacBook Air is set to take the notebook industry by storm. If there’s one thing Apple can be praised on in the process, is its strong and continually developing relationship with Intel, shown by the new chip Intel built specifically for the machine.

- Possibly the perfect companion notebook for iMac owners and don’t need any real power in their notebook.

- First Mac with a SSD (solid state drive) option. I feel this is one of the less talked about BTO options on the MBA, however we’ll soon see this as an option over Apple’s complete line of notebook computers as price becomes more competitive.

- Keyboard backlighting. A feature previously only available on the MacBook Pro’s, it’s a nice addition to see a full size keyboard complete with ambient light backlighting. A finer point of interest, but one which does impress.

- Multi-touch input. Possibly something which Apple will incorporate on its full line of notebook computers in the future, much like the SSD. Taken from the iPhone, it’s a great sign of innovation and Apple’s willingness to try new technology on new devices.

Thoughts

The MacBook Air has a lot going for it, and a lot going against it. It’s not going to be suited as a main machine for most people requiring more than a simple notebook. It will pair up perfectly as a second more portable machine for those already running iMac’s/Mac Pro’s, etc.

Although expensive, I feel it will still be a huge success for Apple. When SSDs come down in price and ship as the stock drive in the machine, the MacBook Air will be even closer to the perfect portable machine.

Yes - I want one. But not it its current state. I feel as technological advancements improve, Apple will equally do so with the MBA. How does a MacBook Air with a 128GB SSD standard sound for the same going price? A lot better, and that’s the direction we’re heading for 12-18 months down the track.

One of the smaller announcements of the day are the new applications released in a software update for the iPod touch. Mail, Maps, Notes, Widgets, Weather, and Stocks are all included in the iPod touch software update pack, which retails for $20 USD ($27 NZD).

Like many other Mac enthusiasts, I purchased the pack immediately after it was listed as available on the iTunes Store. One thing I reported on back in my iPod touch review was the lack of certain applications compared to the iPhone. This negative point can now be eliminated, and I expect to start enjoying the iPod touch even more so because of it.

I’m primarily excited about having my Mail with me on the go. Although needing a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect, it’s better than nothing which is the case here in New Zealand at the moment with the iPhone not yet for sale.

Equally impressive is the Maps application. I never expected it to be so useful, however it has already come into play once today offering me directions when I went for a drive this afternoon.

5 applications for $20, working out at $4 each. I know the Mail and Maps applications are alone worth $20 to me, so it really isn’t that much of a bad deal. I can see why some are disappointed with having to fork out cash for these additional pieces of software, but I’m not one of them.

I am in the buying position for a new Mac Pro and a new IiMac 24″. I currently do video editing currently on my iMac G5 with the old Final Cut and i just got the new Final Cut Studio 2 for Christmas, I also do audio production on my iMac with the old Logic, looking to get Logic Studio.

For years I have always wanted a Mac tower but never had the money, I am looking at the educational store to make my purchase. I finally have the money and I want the best Mac Pro I can get for my money and a baseline 24” iMac which is $1700. I have a budget of $7,600 and I want 2 x 30″ display set up for my Mac Pro.

Does your setup need two 30″ Apple Cinema Display’s, or would you be okay going with another brand? I would stay away from the Apple Cinema Display’s at this point in time as they’re on the verge of an update. Instead, I’d recommend two of Dell’s 3007 displays. These retail for $1399 each. If you’d be willing to stretch the budget, opt for the newer 3008 model ($1999 each). Saying you choose the 3007, this leaves $4800 left in the budget.

What is the best option for me? My Final system must include 2 30″ Cinema Displays and the 24″ iMac as well as the best Mac Pro I can get with the money. If it goes a couple hundred over….thats ok….but only if I really need it.

With the Mac Pro recently updated, your timing to make the large investment is very good. As far as I can tell, I see the Two Quad 2.8Ghz system to be the best value for money. First of all, you say you need the 24″ iMac. That’s $1700 more of the budget gone, $3100 remains to play with.

I’d suggest ordering from Apple with the following specs (prices from normal, non education store). Pretty much order the stock machine, with the exception of changing to video card to the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB, an extra SuperDrive, and a AirPort Extreme card (Wi-Fi). The machine totals in at $3200, putting you $100 over budget, not taking into account the educational discounts you’ll receive.

Any extra money saved I’d spend on third party upgrades. I’d suggest keeping the 320GB drive for a Leopard (boot drive), then picking up a 750GB drive for storage ($170). As far as RAM goes, it’s dirt cheap now. Pick up a 8GB kit for $400 at OWC. You’ll notice the difference far more than any processor upgrade the money could be otherwise spent on.

First question: I have a 20″ iMac and I am planning on getting a 2nd display. I am looking for something that matches size and color. I was looking at the LG L194WS.

If you own the newer 20″ iMac (aluminum), I’d alternatively suggest a 24″ Dell monitor. The Dell displays have a great reputation for quality and value, along with looking the part. The 2407 Dell runs in at around $375 USD which is great value for a 1080P LCD display.

Second question: I have been looking at getting a 17″ powerbook for traveling. I was wondering if you knew why the 17″ still cost over $1000.

First of all, a 17″ PowerBook for traveling? I’d say your optimal choice for a traveling machine would be something smaller than a 17″ notebook. I’d suggest a used or refurbished MacBook if you can afford that much. If not, take a look at the late iBook G4s, more specifically, the 12″ version.

The form factor and casing of the 12″ PowerBook might be nice, but just like the 17″ PowerBook, resale value is still far more than it should be. If you really do want a 17″ laptop, purchase the original Core Duo 17″ MacBook Pro. It’d be a much better investment than spending 2/3s of the money on an aging PowerBook.

I’m still hard at work finishing up a NZ national computing course, hence the lack of recent blog activity. In the mist of an eventful past few weeks, I’ve sorted a solution to something which has been on my mind for quite some time, a reliable active photo storage system complete with a backup.

The Hardware

I now have a thee tiered system which incorporate Lightroom as the image management tool. The system is made up by three pieces of hardware. The MacBook Pro, Seagate Freeagent 250GB USB drive, and LaCie Porsche 250GB Firewire 400 drive.

The System

My active 2008 library is stored on the MacBook Pro’s internal HDD. Previous years folders (2006 & 2007) are sitting on the Seagate Freeagent 250GB USB drive. When 2009 comes around, the 2008 folder will be archived on the Seagate drive, on a continuous cycle.

Both the active 2008 library and the archived images get backed up onto another 250GB drive, the LaCie Porsche Firewire 400.

I’m relatively happy with how the system shapes out. I have my current years worth of images on hand wherever I am with the MacBook Pro and access to older archived images is provided by the very portable Seagate Freeagent USB drive. While backups are hosted on the reliable LaCie Porsche drive at Firewire 400 speeds for snappy regular backup sessions.

This years MacHeist bundle features eleven popular software titles for just $49 USD, the bundle is an excellent deal for anyone interested in trying out new applications. This years bundle is of excellent value, you’d pay $10 more for Pixelmator along (an excellent image editing application in comparison to Photoshop).

Phillip Ryu, MacHeist founder stated “Last year, our members were offered a choice of charities to have 25% of their purchase donated to. This initiative became a spectacular success, with $200,000 raised by the end of the event. This year, we’re hoping to shatter last year’s record numbers, and show how generous the Mac community can be.”

ChaChing
1Password
Awaken
TaskPaper
iStopMotion
CoverSutra
Speed Download
AppZapper
CSSEdit (Locked)
Snapz Pro (Locked)
Pixelmator (Locked)

Purchasing the bundle today will give you access to seven of the ten applications, the other three unlocked when certain sale milestones are accomplished. 25 percent of sale proceeds will be donated to various user-chosen charities.

If you’re into Mac software, supporting developers and charity, and want to stretch your dollar and receive great value for money, check out the MacHeist 2008 bundle. At $49, you can’t go wrong.

I have one bundle to give away thanks to Phillip Ryu and the great folks at MacHeist. To be into win all of the eleven applications free of charge, simply leave a comment below.

Those involved in any kind of video work will be able to relate to the grueling chore of long encoding sessions, especially if you’re not on an exceptionally quick Intel based machine. Video encoding takes time, hogs your machines resources, and is a long and tentative task.

I’m lucky enough to own a powerful dual-core MacBook Pro now which makes encoding videos for my show an easy process. However on my old Intel iMac this wasn’t the case. Videos took an age to encode into different formats, while the process left something to be desired. Enter the Elgato Turbo.264, saving your sanity, and your wallet from having to shell out for a quicker machine for faster video encodes.

The Turbo.264 can essentially be thought of as an extra processor which can be used externally on your Mac. It plugs into any free USB port and acts as a second (or third in the dual-core MacBook Pro’s case) processor solely for the purpose of video encoding. Once plugged in and installed it will show up when exporting in Quicktime, iMovie, iDVD, and the Final Cut suite. How much faster does this device process videos that than your current Mac, well, it all depends on what exactly your current Mac is.

If you’re running a newer and more powerful Intel based machine, results will not be as astonishing as when using the Turbo.264 on a G4 or a G5 based Mac. I’ve done a little testing a few different machines (Intel only).

When exporting a 2 minute, 19 second long MP4 clip from Quicktime to the Apple TV format without the device installed, I received these encoding results:

- Mac Pro 2 x 2.66Ghz - 58 seconds.
- MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz - 61 seconds.
- iMac Core Duo 1.83Ghz - 74 seconds.

However when the device was plugged in and enabled, I was presented with these more than acceptable results:

- Mac Pro 2 x 2.66Ghz - 53 seconds.
- MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz - 59 seconds.
- iMac Core Duo 1.83Ghz - 67 seconds

Michael Mistretta asked if the Turbo took the load off of the MBP’s processors while encoding. In answer, yes. The second advantage of the Turbo is not only faster encoding speeds, but the ability to free up your main CPU. This made the MacBook Pro run quicker, and cooler than it would have when not using the device.

Overall I’ve been very impressed with the Elgato Turbo.264. Will I miss it? Not terribly, because I feel my MacBook Pro is quick enough to export video in able time, but if I was stuck with any other slower Mac, I believe I’d miss the device a considerable amount more. My advice, if you do any video related work and don’t have a state of the art Intel Mac in your office, you couldn’t invest $100 in any better way.

BitClamp is a brand new $20 shareware application which allows you to encrypt files and folders to protect them from prying eyes. BitClamp is fast and easy to use. Simply drag and drop a bunch of files you’d like to encrypt onto the main application window (much like AppZapper), choose your encryption settings (Blowfish - 448Bit, AES - 256 Bit, Serpent - 256Bit), and click the encrypt button.

The three winners are Cloudyboy, Elliott Cost, and Joachim - please send me an email to claim your prize. For all those who didn’t win, use the code WOLSEY as you check out to receive a 15% discount on the application.

I’d heard a lot of good things about Altec Lansing’s FX6021 range, and had played with them a few times within the confines of an Apple Reseller. However the noisy and crammed environment is not necessarily the place to put speakers to the test, I had to make a ‘deaf’ decision.’

I decided to finish my long search for speakers and just purchase them, if they were awful, I could always sell them. Once they arrived, the word awful wasn’t even in my vocabulary, the speakers are outstanding, to the point that I would refer to them more as a ‘sound system’ than multimedia speakers.

Sound Quality & Density

When the FX6021s started pushing out audio the first thing which blew me away was the super high density and ‘punch’ of the music, it sounds very luxurious. The ability to fine tune the Bass and Treble setting to your liking is a much appreciated feature.

The system has 5 volume levels, I’m generally listening to music on the first level, occasionally kicking it up to the second. Anything past two and you’re getting into something I’d like to call the ‘party setting,’ ideal for blasting music through a large noisy area. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to have them accidentally turned up to level 4 or 5 when kicking up iTunes first thing in the morning, unless you’re sending out a wake up call for your neighbors.

I’ve been very impressed with how quickly I can change settings to adapt different styles of music. Generally I leave bass and treble two bars off the top - set to the mid level the bass it delivers is really thumping, I’ve been told time and time again to turn the bass down due to excessive thumping, not necessarily a bad thing.

Design & Overall Environment Blending

Residing next to a 30” Apple Cinema Display the two speakers look impeccable. They match the ‘Apple environment’ very, very well. I assume these would look as amazing when hooked up to a MacBook or one of the newer aluminum iMac’s.

The subwoofer sits conveniently under my desk, it’s not massive, though it’s not small. I’d recommend checking if you have enough room on the ground near your workstation to place it, as you’ll get much better sound quality with it on the floor than sitting on top of your desk.

Included in the box is both a wireless remote, and a desktop controller. The desktop controller is used for controlling volume, treble, bass, and power - while also providing you with a headphone port to isolate your sound into a pair of headphones should the need arise. The desktop controller would be amazing if it was wireless, sadly, it’s not, meaning it’s a little restrictive to where you can place it on your desk - not a huge problem, just a little grudge. If Altec Lansing had anything they could improve on, that’d be the one thing I’d push forward.

The design of the speakers, sub, desktop controller, and remote are all perfectly in sync. The system is very well polished and looks very professional in any setting.

Concluding Thoughts

Overall, I’ve been more than impressed with the system. I would highly recommend these to anyone who is looking for a suitable and compact sound system to hook up to your system for music, DVDs, and other media playback.

They have been a dream since day one, I really didn’t know how bad the audio on any other sound product I own was until I was treated to these. A must have addition to your setup is a good sound system, make these your choice.