Photos, showing images in year view.
Next week, Apple will announce its Q2 2015 figures on April 27 at 2pm Cupertino Time (4am Thai time). Usually, this quarter is lower than the one at the end of the year, but sales of iPhones in China and elsewhere are reported to have boosted the numbers. Estimates of iPhone sales run between 57 and 70 million units. Figures are now being maintained throughout the year rather than being seasonal.
Apple is expecting revenue of US$52-$55 billion for the quarter. For those dedicated enough to wake up in the middle of the night, there should be a live audio feed of the event, including the question and answer session that always follows at investor.apple.com.
The Apple Watch will not feature in the figures, but there is considerable interest in this, as well as the usual negative reporting. For some, whatever Apple does is wrong. Many commentators blame Angela Ahrendts for perceived ordering problems. This is a different device and the initial approach in those few countries where the device is available has encouraged users to order online as many do now with the iPhone. This reduces lines at the shops. No crowds does not mean Apple is doomed (again).
When the Apple Watch was released in Milan last weekend some custom-coloured sportsbands were seen. The watches will start arriving in customers' hands by this Friday, although some VIP customers already have theirs. It was reported earlier that some 1 million had been sold initially, but that was for America. A revised figure suggests 2-3 million for the nine countries where it is available.
Ahrendts has said that it is unlikely that the Apple Watch will be in the stores until June or later. Some have tried to blame her, but this is an Apple supply problem, not a retail problem. Experience suggests that this is probably being attended to right now.
Photos is a perfect example from Apple of the way the corporation just moves on, even if some (including me) are upset by this. This was done with Final Cut Pro a couple of years ago to great anguish. With its latest update, Apple continues to add features, having rebuilt Final Cut Pro from the ground up.
I am hoping that this will be the approach with Photos. There was a glimmer of hope early last week when I was locked away avoiding all that water. Sal Saghoian (Apple Product Manager for Automation Technologies: responsible for AppleScript and Automator) sent links to the Photos & Automator site (which makes it really clear it is not affiliated to Apple). Several Automator actions for Photos are available, with a second page offering a download of AppleScripts that work with Photos.
Using Automator I have already been able to write an application that allows me to use tethering with Photos. Try my site for information.
Screen shot of Photos preferences - upload to iCloud Library 7 hours later (still 300 images to go).
Jason Snell, whose book on Photos I mentioned last week recently wrote on MacWorld about advanced tricks for Photos (including the above automation actions) some of which may appeal to some users.
With the arrival of Photos, I am still debating what to do about the way I work. I expect to run a dual system initially: Aperture for DSLR images and Photos for the iOS pictures. I will make some transfers of certain shots between the two.
The iCloud Library allows users to store all images in the cloud and display them on any Mac or iOS device. In Photos, there is an option to keep originals of images on the computer as well as in the cloud. I am moving photos to this bit by bit.
When I turned this on, just over 1,200 images were uploaded: not including Aperture photos. I selected "Download Originals to this Mac".
PhotoStream stayed on — and so images should be/are available — in Aperture. Uploading was slow, but there is a button marked, Pause For One Day. When I activated this on iOS devices, I was warned that photos synced via iTunes would be removed.
Storage is not free, apart from the 5GB that users are allowed when buying Apple devices. There are options for 20GB ($0.99 per month), 200 GB ($3.99), 500 GB ($9.99) and 1TB ($19.99). I have an older plan that came with Mobile Me — precursor of iCloud with 25GB of space. Apple adjusted the price of that downwards to fall in line with iCloud Library pricing.
I mentioned this last weekend to a user who was preparing to put his images online. There was a sense of annoyance as the 20GB was almost full. Apple is not flexible enough with storage: 25GB, 50GB or 100GB would be good entry points for some; not a leap from 20 to 200GB.
Graham K. Rogers of Mahidol University's Engineering Faculty has OS X flavoured web pages at www.extensions.in.th/index4.html
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