• Download iPhone TV Commercial Ringtone

To install, just download it. Then, use iTunes to put it on your iPhone.

The original source file actually comes with iLife, which ships with all new Macs. You can find it on your computer at this path:

• /Library/Audio/Apple Loops/Apple/iLife Sound Effects/Work – Home/Cell Phone Ringing.aif

Special thanks goes to Sean for converting the source file into an iPhone ringtone for me.

Enjoy.

Want more design tips and life hacks? Click here to subscribe to our RSS feed.

It’s that happy-joy-joy time of the year again. Yes, Macworld Expo kicks off next week in San Francisco on January 15th. Steve will be delivering the keynote, and is expected to entice Apple fans with a new mouthwatering product. The rumor mills are abuzz with whispers of an overhaul to Apple’s notebook line and the launch of an ultra-portable Macbook. Sweet!

Don’t have passes yet? You can still get a free exhibit pass here.

If you can’t make it in person, check out live coverage at Mac Rumors Live.

So are you going? Do you believe the rumors? What are your predictions for MacWorld?

Photo by acaben

After seeing pics of Samsung’s new slim and sexy printers, I fell in love. Exclusively sold through Apple, the ML-1630 ($200) and multi-function SCX-4500 ($300) feature an unconventional design with a high-gloss black finish and slim form. After wiping off the drool off my face, I dashed to the Apple store in San Francisco and picked up the multi-function version.

Here are pics from the unboxing and my initial raves and rants:

Unboxing

What I like

Black is beautiful
I’m a sucker for good looks, and this printer doesn’t disappoint the eyes. Despite its unglamorous name, the SCX-4500 is one sweet piece of eyecandy. The black case, slim design, and high-gloss finish elevates the printer to the level of high-end stereo systems.

Less is more
With a tiny San Francisco apartment like mine, I’m usually very careful about buying new appliances and furniture. Since I bought this on a whim, I took a chance on the printer being bigger than expected. Fortunately, the printer turned out to fit nicely into my small home. Although a tad tall, it’ll look great on a desk next to a new iMac.

If you must hide it for some maniacal reason, you’ll also have an easier time fitting it into a cabinet than most other printers.

Shhhh
I also like the printer’s relatively quiet operation. While it’s not totally mute, it’s much quieter than the cacaphanous rumbling of typical laser printers.

Super-easy toner installation
If you hate installing toner cartridges, you’ll love how easy it is on this printer. The entire top portion of the printer lifts up effortlessly and locks in place while you slide the toner cartridge in. Though you won’t need them, instructions are also clearly printed near the toner slot.

What I don’t like

Unboxing is unsexy
When you open an Apple product, it’s like opening a present. Both the inside and outside packaging are thoughtfully considered and put-together. Since Apple is exclusively selling these new printers, you’d expect the Samsung unboxing experience would be as nice as opening a new Apple product. It’s not.

While the outside of the box has a fairly nice design–it could be simpler–the inside packaging is terrible. Instruction sheets are unceremoniously loose in the box, likely to fly away if you have the windows open. The printer and cables are wrapped in ugly plastic. Finally, the welcome letter, registration cards, and warranty information all look like they were designed by different people.

Other companies, like Seagate, have taken a cue from Apple and have designed unboxing experiences that enhance the emotional experience of using an electronic device. Samsung needs to catch up.

Paper-catcher is janky
In all official product shots of the printer, you see a nice clean square black box. What you don’t see is the extra attachment you’ll need to connect to catch the paper when it prints. This paper-catcher is a separate piece of plastic and not built into the printer. It feels very much like a last-minute design decision, and it scars the clean lines of the printer.

Small paper capacity
Here’s where my impulse buying gets me into trouble. I didn’t bother to check paper compacity before buying, so I was shocked when I pulled out the paper tray to see how shallow it is. It holds only 100 sheets of paper!

No built-in scanner sharing
I had no problem connecting the printer to my Airport Express and printing wirelessly from it. Scanning, however, requires a direct connection. This isn’t exactly a fault with Samsung, since Apple doesn’t yet support scanner sharing via Airport. But I do wish the printer had built-in networking. There is a solution with Belkin’s new Wireless Network USB Hub. But sadly, Mac drivers aren’t yet available.

My final word

While the packaging and unboxing experience won’t leave a lasting impression, the Samsung multi-function SCX-4500′s sleek look will certainly turn heads and ignite envy. Your friends might even confuse it for a stereo.

The printer’s stylish and slim design is well-suited for a swanky bachelor or bachelorette who wants to impress a date. But for heavy printing, scanning, and copying in a multi-user home, you won’t want to buy this on impulse.

It’s no surprise that Apple’s new sexy keyboard packs a lot of eye candy into a waifish body. Apple just loves sleek, minimal design. So why does the keyboard ship in a box a billion times its size?

Sean’s new keyboard just arrived and here’s what the crazy amount of packaging looks like:

No other products were in the box except for the keyboard. With a box that size, one wishes Apple had snuck in some goodies. But the box was mostly full of brown packing paper and air.

So what’s a clever designer to do? Turn it into a fashion statement:

Did your’s come in a giant box too? Or is this just a shipping fluke?

I just saw something about Apple releasing new versions of the iPod this year… got any details on that? I’m still a little irritated that the folks at the Apple store didn’t tell me that the 80gig was coming out when I purchased my 60gig last year (the 80 came out 3 weeks after I bought mine). Thanks! and I love all the tips, especially the resume tips.

Unfortunately, I don’t know when Apple releases new products or updates. Even if I did, Mr. Jobs would bury me in cement and throw me in the San Francisco Bay once he finds I leaked it. All is not lost.

To get a prediction of when you should buy a new Apple product, check out my favorite buying resource, the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide. Based on a combination of historical releases, current age of the product, and reasoned speculation, the guide tells you if you should buy now or hold off.

Sure, it’s still speculation, but the compilation of historical data will certainly help you make an educated guess.

If you want to get work done during the next couple of days, don’t get an iPhone. It’ll suck you in like a sailor to a siren’s song. I’m now separated from My Precious long enough to get back to work and write some thoughts about my experience on iPhone launch day.

I’m not going to gush about the iPhone’s alluring features or rant on its glaring omissions. There’s already a billion reviews out all over internet, and another billion to come out today. Rather, I’m going focus on what truly distinguishes iPhone from its competitors: the experience. And this experience doesn’t begin when you open the box, it begins before you even buy it.

So here’s how it went at the Apple Store in San Francisco at Stonestown Mall:

The line

Ryan, Thomas, and I get to the store at noon, with fresh In-N-Out burgers and fries. My two brothers were already in line towards the front. (we went to the back and did not cut in line).

To keep the lines from getting cranky, Apple assigned cheery line managers to entertain the crowd. They handed out free bottled water, Starbucks, and even cookies. Every couple of hours, store employees ran trivia contests to win prizes. I didn’t get any right. :-(

6pm!

At 6pm, a team of security guards and Apple employees escorted us into the store, making sure no one got ambushed or trampled. As we waited right before the entrance, store employees came by with iPhones to let us touch and marvel before we entered the store.

Once you pass the threshold of Apple’s doors, a throng of employees greet you, smiling, clapping, congratulating you as you enter the world of iPhone. I felt like a king on his way to coronation. And for a $600 dollar phone, this is the fanfare one would expect.

The actual purchase was quick, orderly, and friendly. The iPhone even came in it’s own specially designed bag.

Leaving the store

As you make your way back out, Apple employees were ready to answer further questions. One even offered to take group photos for us. When we finally exit, security officers offered to escort us to our car. Nobody touches my iPhone!

This experience won’t be a surprise to existing Apple fans. But to anyone who’s used to shopping at megastores such as CompUSA, the difference is clear. It’s not about the features, it’s about making the entire experience enjoyable, from buying to owning to using. This is why Apple Stores exist. This is why Apple fans are so devoted.

As promised here are some hi-res photos:

Did you buy an iPhone? How was your experience?

In a little bit, I’ll be heading down to wait in line with my colleagues from Dubberly Design Office, Ryan and Thomas.

The flagship store in downtown San Francisco looks like a madhouse (there are literally clowns in line). So, our plan is to wait at the lesser-known Apple Store at Stonestown mall in San Francisco. My two younger brothers are already in line.

The word on the street is that mall security is forcing iPhone fanatics to wait outside the mall. Looks like Apple’s neighbors don’t want their entrances blocked. It also means no Airport reception for folks waiting. :-(

I’ll post more updates and photos later today, either through a laptop or my soon-to-be replaced T-mobile Sidekick.

7:06pm We just got back into the office after getting our iPhones. Man, we are so freaking ecstatic! The experience was amazing, with Apple store employees genuintely congratulating you and taking your photos and just being amazing. Gonna unbox and setup.

4:21pm Here are some more photos taken with my Sidekick. We tried uploading higher-res pics from our Nikon Coolpix via Wi-Fi, but the battery died. :-(

iPhone shroud

Playing scrabble to pass the time

Ryan is number 64 in line!

Thomas is number 66

3:12pm Sweet! Apple is giving us another round of free Starbucks. Woohoo! Hello Frappucino. Right now, we are playing scrabble to pass the time. Apple employees just came by to “survey” everyone asking how many iPhones each person is buying.

1:36pm Yes! Found a wi-fi network to get on via Apple Store. Here are some pics from my Sidekick:

Front liners

My two brothers: Chhunpora and Veda

The line

Ryan and Thomas

12:44pm We’ve just arrived at Stonestown Apple Store about 40 minutes ago. Took awhile to get a stable digital connection on my Sidekick. As expected, the mall is making us wait outside of the building, so no Airport access at all. A couple of energetic employees came out to entertain the crown and hand out free Smart Water and Starbucks coffee. They also had a little Apple trivia contest to win free Apple T-shirts. We didn’t get any of the answers right. :(

I’m trying to a way get photos up somehow. But it might have to wait until I get back home.

The iPhone debuts to crowds of feverish fans this Friday. I’m definitely waiting in line, though I probably won’t be camping out in a tent like I did at the Apple Store San Francisco grand opening.

Everyone and their momma is buzzing about the numerous iPhone features (and lack of). But the most revolutionary feature isn’t its slick design, iPod integration, or impressive touch-screen interface.

It’s the activation process.

No more filling out lengthy forms and contracts. No more dodging sales pitches for accessories you don’t need. Just buy the box, go home, and set it up via iTunes. Brilliant, sweet, and simple. Just how life should be.

Thank you, Apple.

Some initial reviews:

• David Pogue, New York Times: The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype

• Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal: Testing Out the iPhone

• Edward Baig, USA Today: Apple’s iPhone isn’t perfect, but it’s worthy of the hype

• Steven Levy, MSNBC: At Last, the iPhone

Will you be camping out on opening day to get an iPhone? Or are you totally immune to the hype?

In many Mac OS X applications (such as Mail, iChat AV, and TextEdit), you can have the application automatically check your spelling as you type. When you mistype or misspell a word, it’s underlined in red so you can quickly spot errors and correct them.

To enable it:

1. Open an Apple app
   (so far, I know it works in Safari, Mail, iChat, TextEdit, Pages, iPhoto, and iWeb)
2. Control-Click or Right-Click in the area you’re typing in and select:
   Spelling > Check Spelling As You Type
3. Alternatively you can go to the menubar and select:
   Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling > As You Type
4. Or just use keyboard-shortcut, Command + Semicolon (Thanks, Adam)

Frank adds you can do this in almost every form field in Safari. Thanks Frank!

Bonus Tip: Control+click on a misspelled word and Mac OS X will show a list of correctly-spelled suggestions. Thanks to Mark at DDO.

<img src=’http://www.lifeclever.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/suggestions.jpg’ alt=’Apple’s spelling suggestions’ class=”large” />

The new webmail system will sport the look of Mac OS X’s Mail.app, and features fancy user interface enhancements such as drag-and-drop, smart refreshes, message previews, and keyboard shortcuts. It’s certainly a welcomed improvement and I will likely use it more. But is this too little, too late?

The hatred for .Mac is not new in the Mac community. For me, .Mac is slowly becoming less and less valuable‖certainly less interesting‖as free services from Google, Flickr, and Delicious duplicate or nullify many of .Mac’s offerings. Of course, some things to like include .Mac’s ability to sync certain system preferences between computers. Still, it doesn’t seem quite worth the hundred bucks a year.

Here are some areas Apple might look at to improve, perhaps innovate, .Mac’s services:

Social networking

Given the passion (obsession) of Mac users, it’s a mystery why Apple hasn’t entered the social networking space in an emotional, compelling way. Apple could infuse it’s suite of software and web services with social-networking features, connecting users in the dedicated Mac community to each other. Imagine being able to easily find other iChat AV users or the ability to share and trade Garage Band samples. It seems ripe for it.

Tiered membership

Apple’s current membership model for .Mac is a closed gated community. You pay for exclusivity and supposed premium services. With competition from explosion of free services, reasons for joining the .Mac country club will be fewer and fewer. Even AOL, perhaps the largest internet gated-community, are opening up their doors and offering free services.

To compete Apple might offer some .Mac services for free in addition to truly premium features that are worth paying for.

Apple + Google collaboration

A more open .Mac could happen with an Apple + Google collaboration. Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt just joined Apple’s board of directors, so this seems almost too obvious. For example, a .Mac version of Google spreadsheets could have interoperability with Apple software, allowing users to collaborate and publish directly to Google spreadsheets from a robust version of iWork. The possibilities are very interesting indeed.

What do you think? How can Apple improve or overhaul .Mac? What alternatives do you use now?