Thursday, October 18, 2007

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) (20 сообщений)

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  • More new iPhone ads up on Apple.com

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    As TV watchers may have noticed this evening, three more 'stories' ads are now playing for the iPhone; Apple has just posted the new spots at http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ for your viewing pleasure.

    The new true-life participants are Bryce, Kristin and Ken. Interestingly, Kristin and Ken both mention their websites in their ads. Kristin, an NYC ballet dancer, blogs at TheWinger.com about her career in the performing arts, and specifically mentions her "secret California trips" in blogging about her iPhone ad.

    Ken, a theater producer of Off-Broadway fare including Awesome 80s Prom and Altar Boyz! (music by Michael Patrick Walker, my college friend and fellow Scotch 'n' Soda-ite... small world) talks about his iPhone use in keeping tabs on the fansite for his current project, My First Time (slightly NSFW) which is about exactly what you think it's about.

    Meanwhile, pilot Bryce has the most practical use for his iPhone -- correcting an overly-pessimistic weather forecast that was keeping his flight grounded. Nicely done.

    Thanks Bobman & Dave C.
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  • Partridge Creek grand opening tomorrow morning at 10am

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    As more than a few of our readers have noticed, Michigan is set to receive its fifth Apple Store tomorrow, in the form of a new store at Partridge Creek (near Clinton Township). Apparently, it's not an Apple-only opening-- the whole mall is having a grand opening tomorrow morning, but we're told there will still be the usual Apple festivities (and t-shirts, which is really why you guys go to these things anyways, isn't it?).

    And as usual, take a camera and capture all the goings-on for us, won't you? Especially keep an eye out for any new Leopard displays. If it's already shipping, maybe Apple will grab a head start on showing the new OS off in a new store.

    Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
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  • BBC iPlayer on Mac by end of year

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    We've covered the brouhaha over the BBC iPlayer several times. Basically the BBC is putting lots of their video content on the web, but they chose a Windows Media-based solution that was incompatible with Macs (and Linux). After an uproar from British Mac users that actually got a response from 10 Downing Street, the BBC assured the public that a Mac compatible solution would be forthcoming. Now the Guardian is reporting that the Beeb has settled on an Adobe Flash-based system to stream content to Mac (and Linux) users "by the end of the year." Non-Windows users will still not be able to download content, however.

    This kind of streaming-only "solution" for Mac users looks to be picking up steam with Napster recently announcing the same sort of streaming-only (no download) service for Macs. While we can certainly appreciate that getting something is better than nothing, I hope that full feature parity is in the works across the pond.
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  • Leopard... shipping 10/18?

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    What the? Reader Dean O. sent us this shipment notice from the Apple Store in Canada, and says that he ordered Leopard as part of Apple's up-to-date program (he bought an MBP last week), and yet was surprised to see that even though it doesn't come out until the 26th, his delivery date is October 18th-- tomorrow.

    Interesting. I was under the impression that even though Apple had announced a formal release next week, they still hadn't finished the OS-- they were working on the last bugs, or QA-ing the last beta copies, or even printing the gold masters, or whatever else you do when you're about to make a gigantic software release. But according to this (as long as it's not just a typo-- Dean says he lives by a Canadian warehouse, so it's probably a shipping mistake), Leopard is currently boxed up and ready to sell. Very interesting. I guess Dean will know by tomorrow whether he receives his package on time or not.
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    Комментарии к сообщению:
    http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/17/leopard-shipping-10-18/#comments



  • Flickr Find: Ron Paul, iPhone user

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    Ron Paul, one of the Republican candidates for the Office of the President of the United States of America, is gaining some steam. It wasn't so long ago that most people didn't even know who Ron Paul was, but now a few more people are cognizant of him. Why post this on TUAW? Because it would seem Mr. Paul is using an iPhone to talk to his supporters. Check out this picture and tell me if that doesn't look like a man who is happy with his iPhone.

    We all know the current US President is an iPod user, as is the Pope and the Queen of England. Have you seen any other noteworthy folks chatting away on iPhones? One imagines that Al Gore has an iPhone or two.

    Oh, and just because Ron Paul is a political figure doesn't mean the comments on this post should descend into partisan talk. Let's keep the focus on the technology, shall we?

    Thanks, John.
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  • Classic mini jukebox

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    Here's an awesome project from over at 123Macmini-- James Colby hollowed out a Classic Mac, and stuck a ripped apart mini in there along with a new LCD, took Finder out of the interface and sent it straight to Front Row, and bingo-- a Classic mini jukebox. And I especially like that the Classic was named Morris and the (10 minute old) mini was named Frank, so together, they're Frankenmorris. Cute.

    It's a tight fit to get all that stuff in there and working, but it's even more amazing that he was able to get everything out of there-- as he said, he had to cut the front off of the CRT. The front also looks nice considering he made a few cuts there, to let the floppy take in a DVD, and another hold for the IR receiver.

    But the end product looks great. One more reason why the mini, despite recent rumors, should stay right where it is.

    Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
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    Комментарии к сообщению:
    http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/17/classic-mini-jukebox/#comments



  • Ask TUAW: Migration Assistant, Boot Camp time problems, iWeb and more

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    In this round of Ask TUAW we've got a bunch of questions on the Migration Assistant, getting time synced properly between Windows and OS X when using Boot Camp, using iWeb without .Mac and more.

    As always your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. And now on to the questions!

    Continue reading Ask TUAW: Migration Assistant, Boot Camp time problems, iWeb and more

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  • Deep Discount Apple TV

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    TUAW reader Cannonball found an amazing deal on Apple TV at Sams Club in Murfreesboro, TN for $153.01. Call your local Sams Club and see whether they are offering clearance Apple TVs as well and, if they are, let us know in the comments.

    For all of you wondering about the big fuss, not only is Apple TV a great and thoroughly hackable toy but it is also, essentially, a very inexpensive Mac Mini. Check out the wiki at Awkward TV for wonderful ways to hack your unit.

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    http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/17/deep-discount-apple-tv/#comments



  • iToner 1.0.3 works with iPhone 1.1.1

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    The iToner saga continues. As you might recall, iToner (which allows you to create ringtones for your iPhone using any non-DRMed AAC or MP3 files) no longer worked with the iPhone 1.1.1 firmware. All seemed lost, but those crafty folks at Ambrosia figured out a way to get iToner working as a beta. The beta has now been released as a full fledged update.

    iToner 1.0.3 costs $15 and requires OS x 10.4.10 or higher and an iPhone.

    Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
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  • Put TUAW on your iPhone or iPod touch home page

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    If you want to run lots of Apps on your 1.1.1 iPhone or iPod touch but don't want to install SummerBoard, you can download this SpringBoard patcher that provides you with multi-page support.

    Copy off Springboard, patch it, put it back onto your device and reboot. It's what I'm running on my iPhone and touch right now and it works beautifully.

    Of course, once you have all that space available to work with, what are you going to do with it? I put together a TUAW webpage launcher using the OpenURL kit I posted about a few weeks ago. Now I just tap to launch TUAW.

    If you'd like to download your own TUAW launcher, you can grab a copy from the Samples folder in my OpenURL kit. You'll also find instructions there for creating your own website launchers.

    Over at website "Jon's Thoughts on Everything", you can find a web-based equivalent of OpenURL. I actually found it harder to use. For me, it involved more work than just adding an icon and editing two lines of text but you might enjoy using it.

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  • Secure Your Mac: What's new in Leopard security?

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    Mac users everywhere are salivating over the approaching release of Leopard (this humble blogger counts himself amongst that number). We all know about the flashy new additions to the OS that Leopard will bring, but what about security?

    Apple has a whole section detailing the new security features in Leopard on their huge list of 300+ features to be found in the new OS. The highlights from the security list are:

    • Tagging downloaded Apps: This feature seems to be what Microsoft was trying to do with Vista. The first time you launch a downloaded app Leopard will ask you if you really want to run this app and display from whence this app came (so if you see it was downloaded for a wacky URL you can cancel launching it).
    • Application specific firewall: You can set the firewall to allow or refuse connections per app.
    • Library Randomization: Places system libraries in randomly assigned memory addresses.

    Interesting there are a few other security enhancements scattered about some other areas of Leopard:

    • Custom access privileges for shared folders: Leopard lets you share folders, which you can do now, but also makes it easy to assign differing levels of access per shared folder. You can also use your contacts in Address Book to control access.
    • Airport Menu: The Airport Menu now tells you if the WiFi networks you're connecting to is secured. The more you know, kids, the more you know.
    • Activity Logging: This feature is both a little creepy, and secure! The best kind, if you ask me. Part of the new set of Parental Controls, though I assume you can use this to track folks other than kids, Activity Logging will log what websites a user visits, who chats with them, what apps are used, and saves a transcript of any chats.
    • Guest Log-In Accounts: Right at this moment you can create a guest account with limited permissions, so any of your friends can use your Mac without having unfettered access to your documents. Leopard has a built in feature that allows you to create Guest Accounts which purge their contents when your guest logs out. The Desktop won't be cluttered with files, Mail won't have someone else's setting waiting, and people won't come to think of the Guest Account as 'their account.'

    Did I miss anything? Sound off in the comments.

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  • Mac 101: Enlarging Finder Previews

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    Leopard may be just around the corner but we're not ignoring you readers who aren't ready to upgrade. Here's a quick tip for those of you who plan on staying in Tiger land. Sometimes you want to view pictures by previewing them directly in Finder. To automatically view the largest possible preview, just double-tap the column resizing handle at the bottom right of the preview image. This automatically maximizes the picture without affecting your other columns.

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  • Periscope 1.5

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    The good folks at Freeverse dropped us a line informing of an update to their webcam app, Periscope. We first looked at this app awhile ago, and the UI has been completely overhauled (for the better in my opinion). If you aren't familiar with this app it is a simple idea: harness the power of your Mac's webcam (either an iSight or an external cam) to do more than just Photobooth.

    Periscope lets you set your Mac to take a picture when it hears a noise, when it detects motion in user-defined zones, at a specific time, or when you push a button. The resultant pictures can be automatically uploaded to Flickr or .Mac, they can be saved into a movie to make a simple time lapse, emailed, or FTPed to a location of your choice. But wait, there's more! The images can also be timestamped, overlayed, or have text labels applied to them automatically.

    What would you expect to pay for such a powerful application? If you said $39.95 you'd be right (and get out of my head!). There is a fully functional demo that lets you use Periscope for 50 hours, so you really don't have a reason not to try this sweet little app out, now do you?
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    Комментарии к сообщению:
    http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/17/periscope-1-5/#comments



  • 1.1.1 iPhone firmware offers low-rent Push-to-Talk

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    Although I knew that the 1.1.1 firmware update introduced more attachment viewing support, I didn't realize until now that it added AMR playback. AMR, if you don't recall, refers to Adaptive Multi-rate Compression. It's the audio data compression format used by the iPhone for both voice memos and (if you've installed my Voice Notes application) voice recording. AMR is used primarily to store spoken audio.

    So why is this big news? Well, if you're very very patient and you don't mind waiting for long gaps within a conversation, you can now use your iPhone as a very low-end push-to-talk device. By this I mean, you can install VoiceNotes and use it to record short messages. You can then email those short messages to a friend and they can play it back on their iPhone. To respond, they do the same: record and email.

    This is obviously a long way from VOIP but as a stop-gap measure it works pretty well. I tested out a voice-only conversation the other evening and, while slow, the recording and playback quality was just fine for communicating.

    Right now, the slowest part of the process involves addressing the message in Mobile Mail. If people show an interest, I'm considering either updating VNotes or writing an app that allows you to add the recipient's email once and then handles the addressing bit. Let me know in the comments.

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  • Mac II couch

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    I love this. From my old hometown of Maryland Heights, MO (although Google says there is no Mac Store in town there-- maybe it's that old computer store that used to be on Dorsett just east of 270), it's the Mac II couch, made completely out of old Macintosh IIs held together with drywall screws. I can't imagine that it would actually be comfortable (although it's probably as comfy as any park bench), but I do like how there is actually a little bit of design to it-- instead of just building a solid block, those armrests and that base look great.

    See, that's the problem with today's computers. Sure, MacBook Pros are super thin, and iPhones are slim little devices that have many times over the power of the old Mac II, but can you build a couch out of them? I think not!

    [ via Neatorama ]
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    Комментарии к сообщению:
    http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/17/mac-ii-couch/#comments



  • French iPhone buyers may choose Orange or unlocked

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    In the collision between French telecom law and Apple's carrier exclusivity for the iPhone, guess who blinked. Engadget and the International Herald-Tribune among other sources are reporting that the French iPhone will be sold in two versions, an Orange-locked handset for 399 euros, and an unlocked party animal for some as-yet-unannounced higher price. This is a consequence of France's statute, on the books since 1998, forbidding carrier locks beyond a six-month introductory window.

    Given the option of a third-party unlock (either free or paid-for) versus shelling out extra for a legit, unlocked, vive le France iPhone... well, I expect there'll be a bit of shuttle diplomacy going on as would-be iPhone buyers decide to visit Paris for the holidays.

    Thanks, Loki.
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  • Apple: "we plan to have an iPhone SDK in developers' hands in February"

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    That's right folks. You read it correctly. Cats & dogs are living together, and in other news Steve Jobs has, via Apple's 'Hot News' page, announced that Apple will, FINALLY, support third-party development of native applications for the iPhone.

    The SDK will arrive, for iPhone and iPod touch (!), in February 2008 after MacWorld San Francisco. Apple "[is] excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users," but they are taking the time to do it properly "because we're trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once -- provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc."

    I think I can speak for everyone here at TUAW, and of course our loyal readers, when I say that this move is so incredibly welcome and WOW. All I can say to Steve is: "What took you so long to let us at your beloved devices?" Now the only question is whether the various iPhone dev teams can sit on their collective coding hands until Valentine's Day...

    Thanks to all those who sent this in!
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  • Apple adds 2 million more iTunes Plus tracks

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    After much speculation, Apple has finally announced that iTunes Plus is finally expanding - and keen to point out (perhaps to Amazon's chagrin) "The iTunes Plus catalog is now the largest DRM-free catalog in the world." Whilst three major labels are sadly missing in action - how many more hints do they need that DRM-free music might just be popular with their customers? - there is a plethora of independent labels now going DRM-free in addition to EMI such as "Sub Pop, Nettwerk, Beggars Group, IODA, The Orchard and many others."

    In addition to the expansion of iTunes Plus, Apple has now officially dropped the price of the DRM-free tracks to the usual 99¢ per song in the US and 79p here in the UK (although there's no word on whether the upgrade pricing of $0.20 a song remains, or what's happening in other international markets).
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  • New Xserves in the pipeline?

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    With the release of all the Leopard Server specs, eagle-eyed reader Tony notes that Apple's Server Administration information page shows a screenshot of an intriguing configuration: a 2x 2.7Ghz Dual-Core Intel Xeon-based XServe. No such machine with that processor config is currently available from Apple.

    Factor in that Intel doesn't actually ship a 2.7Ghz Xeon dual-core chip at the moment, and it seems that Apple and Intel may well be plotting a new build of the XServe on a new CPU for eager enterprise customers, just in time for Leopard Server.
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  • Atomic Bird celebrates 5th birthday with a sale

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    Atomic Bird software, makes of MondoMouse and Macaroni (an app designed to automate maintenance, according to our fine commenters-- thanks!) has reached its five year birthday, and to celebrate, owner Tom Harrington is giving away some software. Through the 19th, every fifth order on Atomic Bird's website is going to be completely free. If you've been thinking about picking one of those up (or give one of them a try and decide you'd like it) order before the 19th and you've got a 20% chance of getting it for free.

    And even if you don't buy anything, Tom's got a good writeup on his blog about how he got started selling software over the internet. I've always enjoyed hearing stories like this-- whenever you make good software, the Mac community seems completely ready to support what you do. While users of other systems (no names) seem to grab at the free stuff, no matter how buggy or slow it is, Mac users always seem ready to pay a premium price for a premium product. Then again, maybe I'm putting the horse before the cart on that one.

    At any rate, congrats Atomic Bird on five years of successfully selling that software, and here's to many more.

    [via Gus Mueller]
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