Apple HQ - Cupertino 2004

Written by Philip Roy on 10 April 2004.

I was visiting the States to attend a video stream conference after being appointed as a Flexible Learning Leader in New Zealand and at exactly the same time as the conference, a group of educationalists from New Zealand had a briefing at Apple HQ in Cupertino (in relaity you don't get that far into Apple HQ, just inside the door into a briefing room). I couldn't attend as the funding was paying for me to go and report on the conference. So instead I visited HQ the next day (So close, but yet so far!). You aren't allowed inside without a reason. I was tempted to try and walk in, but resisted. Being an obsessive Apple fan boy apparently isn't a good enough reason.

Apple HQ - Cupertino 2009

Written by Philip Roy on 11 June 2009.

In 2009, I got the opportunity to spend a week at Adobe HQ as part of the summer school event for Adobe Education Leaders from around the world. Just before the event, I took the bus to the Cupertino area and wandered outside 'Mecca' for the second time.

Apple Store - Covent Garden 2010

Written by Philip Roy on 09 October 2010.

I was very very impressed with the Covent Garden Apple Store in London (so much so that I forgot to take any photos of my visit to the Regent Street store) but one of the reasons was because it was so quiet. Contrast this with the Regent Street store which is now almost so busy it feels uncomfortable, and I was amazed. Covent Garden at 11am on a Thursday was reasonably busy, but the Apple Store felt like it was just getting set up for the day.

Apple Store - San Francisco 2004

Written by Philip Roy on 09 April 2004.

I was visiting the States to attend a video stream conference after being appointed as a Flexible Learning Leader in New Zealand. This was my first visit to an Apple Store and what a great place to start...their flagship store in central San Francisco.

Apple Store - San Francisco 2009

Written by Philip Roy on 07 June 2009.

In 2009, I got the opportunity to spend a week at Adobe HQ as part of the summer school event for Adobe Education Leaders from around the world. Because I was flying out from San Francisco, I got a chance to pop into town for the day and check out the Apple Store for the second time. It amazed me how nothing had really changed in the store, but I guess why ruin a perfectly great store by altering the layout. What did amaze me more was that I intended to visit the Virgin MegaStore opposite to buy some CDs and DVDs...only to find it completely closed. I couldn't find a CD or DVD store anywhere!!

Apple Store - Santa Clara 2009

Written by Philip Roy on 09 June 2009.

In 2009, I got the opportunity to spend a week at Adobe HQ as part of the summer school event for Adobe Education Leaders from around the world. After the week I spent a day looking around including a large Mall nearby. There I saw my first 'normal' Apple Store...one in a shopping mall, as opposed to a larger shop that includes a tutorial area. Despite its small size, it was still very well set up and felt spacious.

Apple Store - Sydney 2009

Written by Philip Roy on 09 April 2009.

In 2009 I was staying with friends in Sydney at the same time that my favourite band, The Hoodoo Gurus, were set to play in the Apple Store as part of the iTunes Live series of performances. Apple PR kindly arranged for there to be a couple of tickets waiting for me at the door on the night, but I visited the store for the first time ever (and saw the band gear already set up) during the day.

Hoodoo Gurus - Sydney 2009

Written by Philip Roy on 03 June 2009.

In 2009 I was staying with friends in Sydney at the same time that my favourite band, The Hoodoo Gurus, were set to play in the Apple Store as part of the iTunes Live series of performances (the recording of the performance can be bought here). Apple PR kindly arranged for there to be a couple of tickets waiting for me at the door on the night.

iOS 7 peeves

Written by Philip Roy on 01 October 2013.

iOS 7 is a radical overhaul of the performance, look and feel, and way that you interact with your iOS device. It moves away significantly from previous versions of the iOS, bringing with it differing ways to interact with your iOS device. The UI/UX changes are severe in many cases. Apple has moved away from the approach of small incremental changes to iOS with each update, with a significant change that is not to everyone's liking.

I confess I haven't really got used to iOS 7 yet, but I'm sure that I will. I'm not saying whether I like it or not in this article...but instead, focus on some iOS peeves that have me frustrated or just simply surprised by what I consider (in some instances) bugs. Here goes...

iPhone Development

Written by Philip Roy on 09 October 2010.

The NZiPhone.com and NZMac.com News iPhone app launched in the iTunes App Store on 12 February 2010. This free app was built using the TapLynx iPhone development framework, and not only kept you up to date with all that was happening on NZiPhone.com and NZMac.com, but had the inbuilt ability to let you share what you were reading with friends via email and Twitter. I have now sold the two sites and the iPhone app is no longer available.

Mac OS X Yosemite quirks

Written by Philip Roy on 27 October 2014.

Mac OS X Mavericks wasn't a great experience for me. Understandably perhaps, my April 2008 iMac seemed to struggle with the OS. The update to Mac OS X Yosemite doesn't really improve upon the experience, but now the spinning beachball or interface delays seem to be the norm for me.

OK, a 6-year-old iMac with no additional memory added is (possibly) likely to struggle...and I had been contemplating getting a new iMac (which I will be doing with the Retina iMac announced), but I never expected to be sitting at my iMac waiting for what I consider to be basic interface changes to happen.

My Profile

Written by Philip Roy on 31 October 2020.

I have a background in eLearning, Instructional Design, training and teaching, having taught in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science and completed my Master of Education in Online and Distance Education (with Honours) in 2010, researching the perceptions of staff and students in the use of asynchronous and synchronous tools.

In 2009 I was appointed New Zealand's first Higher Education Adobe Education Leader in recognition of my work in the area of web-conferencing. In 2004 I was appointed as one of 15 inaugural Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand, recognising my innovative use of technology in teaching and learning.

I have experience in a number of multimedia and web-authoring products, as well as an absolute passion for all Apple products, notably the Macintosh. From 2002-2007, I wrote the multimedia section of New Zealand's only Macintosh magazine "NZ Macguide". In 2003, I launched NZMac.com, a website dedicated to supporting the New Zealand Macintosh community, and a sister site (NZiPhone.com) in 2008, before selling the sites in 2011.

NZMac.com was the largest Macintosh web site in New Zealand and ran on an open source content management system called Joomla. I am an experienced Joomla user (this site runs on Joomla) and NZMac.com was featured as a case study in a published Joomla book, as well as being mentioned briefly in another.

Notes on Mac OS X Lion

Written by Philip Roy on 27 July 2011.

After almost a week of using Lion I confess I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I'm wishing I had stuck with Snow Leopard in many ways and am in fact turning many options back to act more like they did on Snow Leopard. These are just some random (actually very random) notes from things I discovered.

Notes on Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8)

Written by Philip Roy on 30 July 2012.

Please note this is not a review and is not intended as a guide in any way shape or form...it's just some random notes on things I discovered whilst getting ready to install Mountain Lion and on starting to use it.

NZ Macguide

Written by Philip Roy on 09 October 2010.

New Zealand Macguide was a bi-monthly magazine that launched at the beginning of 2002 and published through until its demise in August of 2007. I wrote the multimedia section of the magazine from beginning to end, as well as an occasional review of other products.

It was a fantastic experience and I got to review a lot of great software. At the same time, Macguide sponsored my NZMac.com website for a year soon after it launched, and it was great to have that sponsorship early on in the life of the website.

NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com

Written by Philip Roy on 09 October 2010.

My expertise and enthusiasm for Apple products lead me to establish the NZMac.com website in 2003, as well as its sister site NZiPhone.com in 2008. At the time of the launch of NZMac.com I was writing for New Zealand Macguide Magazine, which now sadly is no longer published. Writing for the magazine was a great opportunity to review a lot of fantastic Mac software, and the establishment of NZMac.com allowed that to continue, as well as provide a focal point for the vibrant Mac community within New Zealand. The focus of NZMac.com was on community, and I ran both sites in such a way as to involve as many of the users of the sites in reviews and other events as possible. I am exceptionally proud of the work that I did establishing and running the sites, and of the community that the sites built up.