Pixelmator For Mac Review

There are quite a few options anymore when it comes to choosing a graphics processor or design program. It's sometimes hard to determine which ones are worth the money and which aren't. I am happy to say that Pixelmator is a powerful application for the Macintosh that offers a variety of options similar to Photoshop, but has an additional feature that I wish Photoshop had, it has floating windows instead of a boxed-in feel.

My Two Reasons on Why You Shouldn't Buy the iPhone 4S Now

A question I get a lot is "Orestis, shall I buy the iPhone 4S?."

My answer is, definitely not. Just for the heads up, I am an iPhone 4S user, the first who bought it in Greece back in November, so of course I do have a huge experience with the phone and I can give you my honest thoughts on this question.

First of all there is not  a reason to sign a contract with AT&T, Verizon or Sprint for two years or spend 600$ without a contract, when the sixth generation iPhone is coming the next few months. As everyone knows Apple every two years makes a whole different and groundbreaking iPhone like the iPhone 4 was back in 2010. The "iPhone  6" (that's not the official name) will definitely support 4G LTE (considering the iPad 3 has, which is a tablet), it will have quad-core graphics due to the A5X chip, and a new redesigned quad-core processor (that's sure because all the new high level  smartphones must have a four core chip, this is the new technology. HTC already started this with the HTC One X). Also even better camera(s) (we hope to see an upgrade to the front facing camera also), higher resolution display new design etc. Overall the "iPhone 6" will be much, much better compared to the iPhone 4S. According to this occasion, my advice is just wait a few months to buy this incredible device that is coming soon.

Second occasion is, if you really need a smartphone i would definitely   not suggest the iPhone 4S. There are many Android smartphones, a lot cheaper and with better features. You don't have to "lock yourself", with a two year contract or paying 600$ plus when you can find other smartphones, in the same level and even better for a lot cheaper.

Let me give you some examples of a few great Android phones that you can check out.

1.) Samsung Galaxy Nexus

2.) Samsung Galaxy S 2

3.) Samsung Galaxy Note

4.) HTC One X

5.) Motorola Droid Bionic

And many others. Those Android devices are really good, in many categories better than the iPhone 4S and cheaper.

Of course the Windows fun boys will complain for not refering the Windows Mobile 7 phones. I don't suggest them due to the OS. I don't like it at all. That's of course my opinion and it could be wrong, but I've been using the Nokia Lumia 800 for a month and I didn't like the OS. 

Many people will wonder since I don't suggest the iPhone 4S, why did I buy one? Let me explain you.

First of all I bought the phone in November when it was all brand new. Also I am not suggesting the phone ONLY for that period of time, because the new iPhone is on the way and due to the economic crisis, you can find better and cheaper solutions. I did buy the 4S, because I love everything on it, including of course the OS (I've been using iOS since  2 years, and I am not looking forward into switching to another OS, anytime soon). It is fast, excellent camera, HSDPA + (14.4 Mbps), amazing design and many other benefits.

I think you should take into consideration my answer to this question, due to my experience and that I am always honest (because I am an iOS fan boy, it doesn't  mean I have to hate on Android. Android it's an excellent OS in a very sophisticated level). Thank you for reading, if you have any questions or anything else related to this article, please leave them in the comment section below.

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Mac App Store Demo

The Mac App store was released January 6, 2011 and was made available to all Snow Leopard users. So, you'll need to get Snow Leopard to have the Mac App Store. The Mac App Store is a lot like the one you'll find on an iPad or iPod touch, but you will find actual Desktop Applications, not just games. I believe the Mac App store will be the way Apple distributes their iWork and iLife updates from now on. The Mac App store is hooked up with your iTunes account, so you won't have to go to a developer's website and pull out a credit card to pay for it. I think the Mac App store is great and it has a lot of potential! 

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iLife 11: Unboxing and Installation

This post is about my unboxing of iLife 11 and installing it. iLife 11 packs many great new features in iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band. Installing this product took about 40 minutes and it was a breeze. The main reason I purchased the upgrade was for iMovie. I do a lot of editing work with iMovie and the new audio editing enhancements, along with the trailers had me sold. iPhoto looked like it was taking a step forward as well. You can now create books easier, as well as make letter pressed cards. The interface looks a lot like the iPad's "Photos" application. The Facebook enhancements were a welcome feature as well. Garageband's updates were pretty great if you're a GarageBand user. I personally don't use it too much but if you do, you will be thrilled. You can use Flex Time to match rhythms, so you're music reaches full potential. Groove matching is also a very useful feature. If you're band is not doing too well, groove matching is you're savior. You can go click on the best instruments and select the groove matching option, and every other instrument will get in sync with that particular instrument. iLife 11 is a $49 upgrade. I say it's well worth you're hard earned cash. 

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Tek Nation Episode 8: "Back to the Mac" Event

Today I'm presenting you with episode 8 of Tek Nation. We're also in a MacBook Air, because it may get updated come October 20th. In this episode we talked about the BlackBerry Playbook, Windows Phone 7, and the "Back to the Mac" event. 

The BlackBerry Playbook has potential to be a very legitimate contender to the iPad. I think the specs for the device are pretty impressive. It packs a 7-inch capacitive display, a 1 GHz Dual-Core Processor, and runs on BlackBerry Tablet OS. For more information please refer to the video. 

The "Back to the Mac" event came as a bit of surprise to me. Usually Apple doesn't schedule events right after their annual music event until January. I hope to see an update to iLife. I'd really like an iWeb update and/or an iMovie update. I use iMovie to edit my videos, so I'd like more features to play around with. Rumor has it that we may also see an update to Mac OS X. I've heard it will be called Lion. I don't know what to expect with the new operating system will improve or do different than previous versions, but it will be very interesting to see. Many technology websites such as Engadget, Gizmodo and Technobuffalo are also reporting that we may see an update to the MacBook Air as well as the MacBook.

Windows Phone 7 was unveiled by Microsoft last week. It's a very interesting platform. The interface looks pretty great. It looks almost identical to the Zune HD. You can also access Xbox LIVE content right from your phone. I use Xbox LIVE like many others, so this feature could potentially go a long way. For more information, please refer to the video. 

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