Mac Talk

The rise of Mac computer manufacturer, Apple has been astonishing lately. At one time, this tech powerhouse seemed too feeble to survive, yet just this week, shares in the stock rose to new heights. 

Shipments of Macs, iPads and iPhones seem to be fueling the rise in stocks shares, indicating business logic, and not unfounded ebullience, is pushing the stock higher. The company has hordes of cash, and though traditionally it does not give dividends, apparently there’s a chance that it might. A chance of earning dividends is also appealing to investors.  

Those who enjoy comparing the financial fortunes of Microsoft to Apple as a kind of spectator sport might find it interesting that Apple has substantially more cash than Microsoft.

Those who aren’t so interested in the financial aspects of Apple might wonder whether Apple might lower some product prices. I haven’t seen any rumors about this, so it’s purely wishful thinking. Or, perhaps the Macintosh-maker will spend more on research and development for even more stellar products. Once again, that is just speculation. 

Then there’s the potential of improving workers pay and conditions in China, perhaps by paying more for component parts if the company can tie the higher payments to the third-party suppliers’ treatment of workers. This is also just speculation of the “wouldn’t it be cool” variety. All that cash though, does mean Apple has plenty of options. 

What do you thing Apple should do with its cash? What do you think it will actually choose to do? Are you invested in Apple? Are you considering investing?

Whether it’s Macs, iPhones, iPods, or iPads, Apple products users tend to venerate this company. Recent news stories have brought to light a number of issues including worker safety violations, use of child labor, and low pay. Although Apple is not the only company with this problem, it is disheartening for many Apple fans to discover the concerns with labor practices at the Chinese factories that manufacture some of the most popular Apple products. 

Fortunately, the light shed on these problems may force the Chinese manufacture to improve. Pay may improve, and I hope worker safety increases and the use of child labor is eliminated. 

Some commenters on the news articles have expressed concern about price increases, which leads me to wonder: will Apple absorb any cost increases in its manufacturing to cover reforms, or will the company pass on the cost increases to consumers? As consumers, are we willing to pay higher prices for products that have been manufactured at facilities that are safe and that pay workers reasonable wages? 

I like to thinks that U.S. consumers will be willing to pay somewhat higher prices, yet Apple products already command a premium. Many U.S. consumers are still affected by the recession and the high unemployment rate. Understandably, these consumers may feel they need less expensive computers and media devices. 

Please share your feelings. Do you think Apple, which has earned huge profits, can absorb any cost increases that result from improving worker pay and conditions? Are you willing to pay more for your products if the price increases are do to better treatment for manufacturing workers? 

We’ve become so comfortable with touch screens, given the popularity of iPhones and iPads. It’s not farfetched to wonder if Macs will soon come equipped with touch screens too. A quick Google search reveals that the possibility of touch screen Macs have been a rumor for years, and a rumor that had been put to rest. Just this week though, the rumor once again sprung to life, because it seems that Apple submitted a patent request for a Mac touch screen. 

If you are anything like me, you’ve been tempted at times to touch your Mac’s screen to perform an action, such as moving from page to page, especially if you are using a laptop. Although touch screens make imminent usability sense for smart phones and media tablets, they might not make sense for desktop or laptop computers, because the angle can be awkward. 

I don’t think a touch screen could effectively replace keyboard and mouse controls for the traditional Mac desktops and laptops, yet I do think some touch screen ability would be useful. For example, if you are working on a desktop with someone else, and you are operating the keyboard and mouse, it’s convenient if the other person can swipe through screens without bumping you out of your place. Certain software, perhaps arts or music applications, could also lend themselves to touchscreen technology. 

The technology to incorporate keyboard, mouse and touch screen control must be wonderfully complex, yet what better company than Apple to master this complexity? Apple could likely provide new interaction options that are use-friendly, beautiful to look at, and very efficient. 

Publishing ebooks is a hot topic these days, as book readers of all types are becoming more popular. Whether you’re a serious professional writer or a hobbyist, you’ll gain a sense of satisfaction when you create your own ebook. 

If you are a Mac user and you have the iWorks Pages program, you can easily create a professional looking book in either a PDF or ePub format. Pages is a robust word-processing program that offers the features most self-publishers will use. You can add graphics for a cover and throughout your book, set up a table of contents, and use hyperlinks so your readers can easily link to websites from your book. Then just export to either PDF or epub format; it’s that easy!

Here are a few quick tips for using Pages to create an ebook when you plan to export to the epub file format. The images need to be inline images. Floating images won’t display. The export to epub doesn’t support headers or footers, so anything you include in these areas in the Pages document will be missing from your epub. 

Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, you may still want to create ebooks. Both PDF and epub formats are popular, so the documents you create using Pages can be easily used by just about anyone who a reading device, whether it’s a desktop computer or a media tablet. Business owners might want to create small ebooks about their companies’ products and how to use them. Non-profit organizations can create ebooks about their groups history and their service projects.

On a more personal level, think how fun it will be to create an ebook of a family event or vacation . Fill your ebook with photos and a little text. Family members will enjoy your creation for years to come. New moms might want to create an ebook for each child, which is sure to become a family heirloom.