Fresh Apple: The Apple Blog (14 сообщений)

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The Apple Blog
The Apple Blog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products.
http://theappleblog.com
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A.I. Disk Brings MobileMe iDisk to the iPhone
The cloud is gaining ground. Despite early hiccups, I signed up for a MobileMe account shortly after purchasing my iPhone and I haven’t looked back since. Yes, the webmail is buggy, and yes, the Push is sometimes more of a playful shove, but it still keeps my information consistent across two Macs and a phone without any significant drawbacks. And it just got better still, thanks to A.I. Disk from Readdle.

The purpose of A.I. Disk is to provide access to your online MobileMe storage via your iPhone, across any data connection (Wi-Fi, 3G, and EDGE are all supported). The app works much like the popular Air Sharing, allowing you to view multiple document types, including Office (both 2007 and earlier formats), PDF, iWork, and TXT files. Files are copied from your iDisk to your phone for offline viewing, and can be attached to an email and sent from within the application.
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Handshake: "Beam" Contacts to Other iPhones
It’s mildly entertaining to me how we all seem to get excited about apps that bring functionality to our iPhones that has existed elsewhere for ages.

As an example, Shazam came to the iPhone to decipher music we didn’t know, by playing it into the microphone — Blackberry has had this capability for a while. When I run into one of these scenarios while showing off to iPhone-less friends, my argument is, “But it’s an iPhone! And now it does that too!!”

Handshake brings us the capability to easily send our own contact “card”, or that of others we already have entered into our iPhone, to other iPhones around us. (Does anyone remember beaming contacts between Palm Pilots?) If I can step onto my soapbox for just a moment, I feel as though this capability is something Apple somehow missed out on including in the firmware. Given the interaction of links to Google Maps (in email) which opens the Maps application, or phone numbers (in SMS or email) which will automatically dial the phone, the built-in ability to send contact information to others feels like a no brainer to me.

So thanks to Skorpiostech, and Handshake, I’ve regained the functionality my Palm Pilot gave me almost 10 years ago… While I feign annoyance at the situation, I really do like this application. It’s simple and elegant in functionality, and as such, fits right in with the iPhone (too bad it’s not native). Handshake comes in the flavors of free and premium. The former has ads at the top and bottom of the interface, while the latter ditches the ads, comes “karma-enhanced”, and costs $2.99 in the App Store.

Thanks Gruber!

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My Move to the Cloud
There’s been some discussion about the possible "dangers" or problems of Cloud computing. Some of it, though not all, stems from Richard Stallman's recent comments about the Cloud initiative. The primary concern is that one may lose control of one’s data, or be at the mercy of (or “locked in” to) a single entity.

To be sure, Mr. Stallman and others make valid points in that if you trust your data to the cloud, where is your control? Where are your options in case of failure? If the entity has a catastrophic error, you could be in a world of hurt.

I freely admit that for years my concern with the Cloud (even before it was called that) was very real. For example, I've had a Yahoo! email account for years, but always set my desktop client to download the messages and then delete them from the server. They were local on my primary machine only.

However, I've recently changed my mind and moved whole-heartedly to the Cloud, though not without some conditions that make it possible for me to feel a bit more comfortable with the move.
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Apple U: Education or Indoctrination?

Wednesday saw an interesting development in the academic world when Yale’s Dean of the School of Management announced he was departing for greener orchards. Specifically, Joel Podolny will be helping start Apple University, with a target time frame of early 2009.

Don’t get your application package together just yet, as the nature of what exactly is meant by “university” in this case remains unclear. Neither Apple nor Podolny are disclosing details of his engagement for the time being, in a typical move by the notoriously tight-lipped Cupertino.

There are a number of possibilities as to the nature of Apple U, ranging from the fantastic to the mundane. Let’s look at some of the ideas floating around and see if we can’t drill down to some likely theories.
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Cruz: New Social Browser for OS X
If you are a regular user of sites like Gmail, Tweenky, Google Reader and other application-like web apps then you are probably already familiar with Fluid, an OS X application written by Todd Ditchendorf that lets you turn those sites into bona-fide, separate Cocoa desktop applications (a.k.a. Site Specific Browsers) via one simple dialog.

With Fluid, you also get some neat extras like built-in Greasemonkey-powered user scripting, the ability to use URL pattern matching to create browsing whitelists and blacklists, auto-software updates of the base application framework, custom site application icons either based on the site’s favicon or an icon you specify, a JavaScript API for showing Dock badges, Growl notifications, Dock menu items, and more. There’s even a built-in plug-in which allows you to browse the web with CoverFlow or iPhoto-like thumbnail previews for links on the current page (which is fully customizable).
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Exclusive: Sonic Vox From Smule - Unleash the Voices in Your iPhone
Sonic Vox, by Smule

New this very day, Smule releases their latest audio based iPhone application, Sonic Vox. With Sonic Vox, simply slide your finger across your iPhone and slip through a range of voices from Darth Vader to Gollum.

Perhaps it’s easiest to think of Sonic Vox as Voice Candy for your iPhone. So the most obvious question that came to mind for me was, “Can I talk to other people over my iPhone as Vader or Gollum?” Based on the current constraints of the iPhone SDK, this capability unfortunately is not allowed. But as I get into the finer points of Sonic Vox below, you’ll see that it is possible to talk in these modulated voices via iChat or Skype — using your iPhone!

The visual feedback to Sonic Vox is minimal, and reminds me of the pulsing strobe from the hood of KITT (if I must explain myself, that’s the car from Knight Rider). But the point isn’t the visual, as with all Smule apps to date (and in the future…), it’s all about the audio. When you speak into your phone with Sonic Vox running, the playback can be heard from the iPhone’s earpiece speaker. (Admittedly, this was only interesting to me for the initial testing of the application. However, if you’re my boys who are Star Wars junkies, the iPhone battery will die long before they get tired of listening to their own Darth Vader voices.) If you’re interested in greater fidelity, however — or to share with a friend — you can plug in your head phones and listen. Upping the ante a bit more, connect your iPhone to an external amplifier via the headphone jack to a line-in on say, your MacBook.
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Fix Our Broken iPhones
It is indeed a wonderful little device, but you know all those little niggles we have about the iPhone? Like, the lack of landscape e-mailing, the omission of Flash-support and video-recording or hiding those pesky unused apps?

Now there’s a special place for all you disgruntled folk who want a little more from your iPhone, there’s even a chance that Jobs (or one of his minions) might be listening. The site is called Please Fix The iPhone, it’s open for business right now and optimized for iPhone too (naturally).

The idea is that you visit the site, look through a big list of iPhone problems and vote for whatever you want to be fixed. There’s no registration and voting up a problem takes a single click. Furthermore, you can add your own iPhone fix requests too. Top of the list at the moment seems to be, “Copy and paste,” closely followed by, “Ability to view Flash content in Safari.”

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RF Modules Planned for Future Apple Gadgets?
A new proposal from Apple, highlighted today by AppleInsider, hints at their desire to provide ubiquitous connectivity to the internet through a series of tiny RF modules. At present, the only device in Apple’s lineup capable of providing wireless connectivity anywhere is the iPhone, supporting Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, 3G and other wireless data technologies. An RF transmitter could — in theory — perform a very similar function, passing the connection on to all your nearby short range devices (such as laptops, iPods etc).

The vision is that these devices would be present in your home, car, clothing and workplace to ensure that you’re never without a connection to the internet. Apple suggest that “When the user moves from one location to another, the host device may determine which RF module to access when requiring use of a long-range communications protocol.”

One potential use would be to provide a robust VoIP network, passing your call data from one transmitter to another as you move around with no loss of connection. They won’t necessarily be simply inanimate network devices either — other proposed features include a microphone, display (an iPhone controlling watch anyone?), or the ability to control nearby devices.

The possibilities here do seem endless. It would provide a real new wave of innovation in terms of connectivity and re-write the book on how devices can interact with each other. That said, it’s also a very complex and ambitious technology to pursue — leading the field in a system such as this doesn’t fit with what Apple have done in the past. Their oft used approach favors watching other companies fumble around with a new technology before launching their own competition which alleviates all the problems posed by competing devices.

It’s a ground breaking concept, and a space worth watching, but I don’t foresee any physical products in the near future.

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Airport Extreme Update Pulled, But Damage Already Done
Updates turning out to be harmful rather than helpful are nothing new, and it’s beginning to look like you can add Apple’s latest Airport Extreme software “fix” to the list of the potentially damaging.

Complaints from commenters and bloggers around the net are beginning to pile up, yet Apple remains silent on the status of the update (numbered 2008-003) which was uploaded to their servers Monday and then pulled shortly after without explanation.

While the update was intended to resolve issues when roaming in large Wi-Fi networks, reports are claiming that not only does that issue persist, in some cases the patch is causing network problems. Some users are even claiming that following the update, Airport ceases to work at all. Total Airport failures are being reported on multiple platforms, including the Aluminum MacBook and late model white MacBook. Others are claiming reduced capability, including connection problems and the inability of their machines to recognize the 802.11n capability of their cards (a/b/g only).
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Inquisitor Search Now Runs Across Platforms
The Inquisitor plugin, (now owned by Yahoo) long monogamously committed to the Safari web browser, is now available for Firefox and Internet Explorer, across the OS X and Windows computing platforms. Inquisitor plugs in to the search bar in your browser, and functions much like the OS X based Spotlight when performing web searches.

Inquisitor gives you the ability to go directly to top search results right from your search bar, rather than sifting through results in the resulting Google page. As their website explains:

Start typing and websites appear instantly, along with suggestions to help refine your search.
Inquisitor understands you, learning and tailoring your results as you search. You can also add more search engines with customized keyboard shortcuts.

At one point in time, Inquisitor came under fire when it was discovered that the original developer, David Watanabe, was getting Amazon referrals from people clicking search result links. Personally, I thought it was no big deal — he offered the software for free after all — but others got a little peeved about it because the Amazon links were promoted to the top of the results list without being disclosed ahead of time. It was addressed appropriately with a website disclosure (and ultimately was completely removed), and I think David has done a fantastic job with this application plugin.

Periodically I get the wild hair and move away from Safari to another browser (Firefox, currently, for those keeping score at home), and Inquisitor has consistently been one of the main things I miss from the move. I definitely suggest checking it out for yourself if you haven’t yet.

Via LifeHacker

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How-To: Moving Email Between Macs
Of all the information I have stored on my Mac, email is by far the data I hold with highest regard. I choose not to use a web based email service such as GMail or MobileMe Mail – rather using the basic Mail application bundled with OSX. While my various accounts do utilize IMAP, all my archived mail messages are stored locally in various folders.

When recently moving to a new Apple machine, I needed to quickly and easily move all my email account data, messages and attachments, along with the data I’ve collected for my spam filtering application, SpamSieve. This process can be very straight forward when you know how.
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Classics for the iPhone Makes Reading Look Good

Classics, an upcoming e-book reader for the iPhone/iPod touch, looks like the Crown Jewel for the App Store’s Book category.

Developed by Phill Ryu and Andrew Kaz, it features a gorgeous UI that includes elements such as a virtual page flip to give the illusion that you’re turning an actual page, and an elegant bookmark letting you know that your page is saved when you switch books. It comes preloaded with eleven classic works and more will be made available via free updates.

The ability to add your own books (that are in PDF or text format) does not exist, but the developers are evaluating this, and other possibilities, for a spinoff e-book reading app.

The initial library includes:
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- Gulliver’s Travels
- The Metamorphosis
- Paradise Lost
- Hound of the Baskervilles
- Alice in Wonderland (Illustrated)
- Through the Looking Glass (Illustrated)
- Flatland (Illustrated)
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Robinson Crusoe
- The Jungle Book
The developers took great care in making sure each book was properly formatted for optimal reading and trimmed down all the would-be application clutter to the bare necessities so you can focus on the book and forget about the app. As a bit of a teaser, we’ve included the wireframe of the page-turn animation (designed by CG artist Kevin Capizzi) as well as a run through of the app just to show the detailing that went into Classics development.

You can sign-up to be notified of when Classics is released and, when available, will sell for $2.99.
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Recall Everything With reQall
I like to think I do a pretty good job of keeping the major stuff in order, on track, and on time. Where I begin to lose focus is in the personal details of my life. Ask me what I’m doing this weekend for instance, and I’ll almost always defer to my lovely activities coordinator (e.g. my fantastic wife). So you could say I’ve been very much in need of some ubiquitous way of managing these ‘little’ tasks that tend to slip through the cracks of my memory.

I’ve done my best to mash the likes of Evernote and other reminder/note taking/productivity apps available on the iPhone, into my natural workflow throughout the day. But no matter the level of effort I’ve applied to each, it’s been a larger task to utilize these solutions than it has been a help to me. You may have guessed it by now — this is where reQall comes screaming in as my saving grace.
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Flipping Function Keys!
The problem with function keys on a MacBook or MacBook Pro is that they are one-trick ponies; they are either regular or special F-keys, but not both. With FunctionFlip, you can have complete control over those flipping function keys.

On the keyboard of a MacBook or MacBook Pro, function keys can either be standard or special. As standard function keys, they control certain features of OS X, such as Exposé and numlock. They can also be special function keys to trigger hardware controls such as screen brightness, volume, and keyboard backlighting when they are pressed in tandem with the Fn key. For example, if I want to decrease the brightness of the keyboard backlight, I have to press Fn+F9; if I press F9 alone, Exposé is triggered instead.

In OS X's Keyboard & Mouse preferences, you can set special features to be triggered either with or without the Fn key. But what if you want to reduce some finger-work, and use only some F-keys with the Fn key, but not others?

This is where FunctionFlip comes in. FunctionFlip lets you 'flip' the function keys on your MacBook or Macbook Pro between standard and special mode, allowing you to set which F-key you wish to use alone to access those hardware controls. Since I hardly trigger Exposé via the keyboard (I prefer using an Active Screen Corner for that), I'd much rather have F9 and F10 adjust the keyboard backlight directly. Now I can quickly adjust brightness of the keyboard backlight by pressing either F9 or F10, and trigger Exposé only when I press Fn+F9.

What I absolutely love about FunctionFlip, besides the fact that it is a free application, is that it installs itself as a Preference Pane and works its magic invisibly in the background. Give FunctionFlip a try; I guarantee you'll like the goodness of the one-finger convenience it brings.

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