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- Apple extends AT&T exclusivity to 2010
Filed under: iPhone
USA Today has an interview with AT&T head Randall Stephenson in which he discusses the success of the iPhone for the wireless carrier. He notes that in the original deal back on 2005 they were "betting on Jobs" -- and it's now clear that that bet paid off: "It's everything we hoped it would be," according to Stephenson.
In fact the Apple/AT&T partnership is going so well that AT&T managed to wrangle another year of exclusivity out of Apple, extending its US monopoly on the iPhone at least until 2010. This extension is part of the iPhone 3G deal that eliminated revenue sharing with Apple, but has AT&T paying about $300 per phone up front. The numbers continue to look good for both parties, with the iPhone generating almost twice the revenue as the average AT&T wireless customer. Then again, it's hardly a surprise. It's not like betting on Steve Jobs' tech business savvy is that much a risk these last few years.
[via Engadget]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Bubble Level: surprisingly useful
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
With my girlfriend in the process of refurbishing her kitchen, I found myself in need of (and without) a carpenter's level yesterday afternoon. But then I remembered Bubble Level, an application for the iPhone and iPod touch.
A penny short of a dollar later, I had myself a working, surprisingly accurate level right in my iPod touch.
Bubble Level allows you to calibrate it (for example, with an actual bubble level) so its measurements are accurate enough to use for household chores and hobbies. (Professionals may still need the precision that a traditional liquid bubble level provides.)
Bonus: it tracks how level the device is in three dimensions: laying your iPod or iPhone on a table allows the bubble to travel toward the center circle on the interface.
Bubble Level is 99 cents, and available in the App Store now. You can also check out A Level, a similar app that's expected to support calibration in the next release (it's from Posimotion, winners of TUAW's Most Risque iPhone App Name award).
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - MobileFamilyTree: Genealogy for iPhone
Filed under: Odds and ends, Software Update, iPhone, App Store
Want to carry your family tree with you?
Synium Software, the developer of a genealogy app called MacFamilyTree, has announced a mobile companion for their Mac product. MobileFamilyTree for iPhone and iPod touch requires MacFamilyTree 5.2.3 to run, and allows genealogists to review, edit, or add to family tree information anywhere at anytime. Once you're back at your Mac, MobileFamilyTree syncs your changes with MacFamilyTree.
This is great for adding genealogical information on the spot from interviews with relatives, doing additional research on the road, or just having a copy of your family history to review wherever you are. MobileFamilyTree is a free update to registered users of MacFamilyTree 5.2.3, or available for $4.99 from the App Store (click here to view the app in iTunes).
[via prMac]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - MsgFiler 2.0.3: Improvements to an old favorite
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends
Adam Tow's MsgFiler plug-in for Mail.app has been a favorite of many Mac users since it was first released in 2006. In the succinct words of Mr. Tow:
"MsgFiler is a plug-in for Apple Mail which quickly files emails into existing mailbox folders. MsgFiler's fast searching means you just have to type a few characters to find the right mailbox. Move selected messages with a click or open a mailbox without having to navigate the mailbox folder pane. MsgFiler is optimized for keyboard-only usage, perfect for Apple Mail power users."
Version 2.0.3 has just arrived on the scene, with a new installer app and refinement of the interface being the two big changes. MsgFiler now works properly on HFS+ Case-Sensitve partitions and ignores mailbox directories, and Adam has added a new "Hide mailboxes from inactive and offline accounts" feature for the proverbial icing on the cake.
MsgFiler is shareware ($8) and is available from the tow.com web site, Version Tracker, and other shareware distribution sites.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple's DNS patch coming up short
Filed under: OS, Bad Apple, Security
The distance between good intentions and actual results seems to be getting longer and longer. While Apple did release a security patch yesterday that included a fix to BIND for the highly publicized cache poisoning exploit -- some time after most other vendors got updates out to customers -- that fix doesn't seem to be, you know, actually working.
Multiple sources have noted that Apple's DNS patch, at least on Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 client versions, isn't implementing the key feature that's meant to block cache poisoning: port randomization on requests. While the same version of BIND running on Linux systems behaves as expected, Mac OS X machines doggedly issue DNS requests on sequential ports, making them far more vulnerable to spoofing by malicious folk.
This may seem like an esoteric vulnerability, and indeed for most Mac users the more important question is whether or not your ISP or network manager has patched the primary DNS servers you rely on (you can check your DNS server status via Dan Kaminsky's tool here). The behavior of Apple on this security issue, however, is very troubling. Waiting weeks to issue a patch for a key vulnerability and lagging behind other OS vendors is bad enough; shipping that patch only to have the user community discover that it doesn't work worth a bucket of warm spit ... that's not the act of a company that claims to care deeply about the security of its customers.
Update: Kaminsky suggests that we lighten up; Mac OS X Server (which would be the most vulnerable to attack, if it serves as the primary DNS for your network) has been patched, even if the client patch isn't behaving properly yet.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - The Numbers Game
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Freeware, iPhone, App Store
It's a week of superlatives for Apple content providers!
Tapulous announced that their free game for iPhone 2.0 / iPod touch, Tap Tap Revenge (click opens iTunes) should reach the one million download mark sometime this weekend. Tap Tap Revenge joins Facebook in the million-download club, with Facebook being the first app to reach these lofty heights last week. A visit to the Tapulous website shows a counter ticking off the downloads (less than five thousand to go as of 10:42 AM ET today).
Tap Tap Revenge uses soundtrack music by indie artists and over 2.5 million song downloads have been counted so far. Tapulous is now approaching the major labels on a "Pro" version of the game that would feature music by top stars.
On Wednesday, Walt Disney Co. announced that they have sold over 5 million movies to viewers through the iTunes Store since the company started offering their releases online. While Disney CEO and President Rob Iger noted that although the company doesn't achieve the same margin on online sales as they do through traditional channels, it's the increase in online consumption of movies that the company is focusing on.
[Disney info via Marketwatch]Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Quark releases QuarkXPress 8
Filed under: Software, Graphic Design
Love it or hate it (with the burning fire of a million angry suns), Quark yesterday released QuarkXPress 8, which features new tools for developing for the web, workspace enhancements, and refinements to tools to finally bring it into the 20th century. Steve Sande mentioned back in May that it was coming, and now it's finally here.
Quark 8, the William Shatner of page layout software (old, bloated, sweaty, and desperate to stay relevant), allows you to create content for the web using HTML and Flash without writing any code. This has been a feature of Quark since QuarkImmedia and Quark Interactive Designer, but now appears to be fully rolled into QuarkXPress, to the abject horror of web designers everywhere.
Also, a new feature: A measurements palette. That's right, it's 2008, and they're adding a measurements palette. Also: east-Asian language support and hanging punctuation. Wow. Well done, Quark.
I've been using QuarkXPress since version 3, and having very briefly tried the new version, it's a little depressing to see them keep trying to reclaim their glory years. Small design shops, freelancers, and many printers have largely moved to InDesign for their page layout software. Yes, Quark 8 is light-years ahead of where they were, but still light-years behind where they need to be.
Quark makes its money on giant-scale installations at newspapers and magazines, so we'll see how quickly their enterprise customers adopt this new version. My guess: not very, as many printers I've dealt with overseas, especially in Asia, are still using QuarkXPress 6.
A 60-day trial is available, and is a whopping 517MB to download. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 and a G5 processor or higher. New licenses are $800, and upgrades are a scant $300. Discounts are available for education and non-profit customers, too.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple's quality dwindling: My MacBook Pro sob story
Filed under: Retail, Bad Apple, Apple, Macbook Pro
When faced with the dilemma of upgrading my iBook G4 in June, I started looking for a replacement that would have the same performance as my Intel iMac. I decided upon getting a MacBook Pro 15". With money in hand, I eagerly clicked the "buy now" button on Apple's website. Little did I know that I would be trading in my MacBook Pro more than 6 times over the next 2 months.
I received my first MacBook Pro, and it was beautiful. I loved everything about it. However, after 2 weeks of use, I started noticing the screen striping symptom that others before me have noted. This problem usually occurred after charging the computer from a half-filled battery and unplugging the MagSafe power cable. I didn't think anything of this problem, since it only happened once or twice. After another week of use, the striping problem started becoming an everyday part of charging the computer. I called Apple and even emailed them the picture that you see above (minus the additional note) -- they did nothing and said it was a "software glitch."
The first MacBook Pro did have another problem: When I went to check my email one day, every program would crash repeatedly. I immediately ran the Apple hardware test (AHT) to find out what was going on. As any unlucky person (me) would have it, the memory sticks were dead. I called AppleCare, told them all of the problems I was having and then told them about the AHT results. They set up a replacement order since I was having hardware problems within the first month of ownership.
Continue reading to learn more about my MacBook Pro woes.Continue reading Apple's quality dwindling: My MacBook Pro sob story
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Mac 101: Running the Apple Hardware Test software
Filed under: Hardware, Mac 101
Is your Mac acting funny? If so, you can use the install disks that came with your machine to test your hardware. To use Apple's Hardware Test (AHT), insert install disk #1 and reboot your Mac while holding down the "d" key on the keyboard (Intel machines only).
The AHT software will load and ask for your language -- choose your correct language and click the arrow. From the main menu you can click the "Hardware-Tests" tab. Two tests are available: standard and extended. The standard hardware test will allow you to do a quick, 1-3 minute test of the memory and logic board, while the extended test will run an hour-long test of your system. You can get to the extended test by clicking either a button or check box (this depends on your AHT software version).
Want to see more tips and tricks like this? Check out TUAW's Mac 101 section.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple Security fix includes BIND update
Filed under: Software Update, Security
In Apple's notes on the update, they mention fixes for:
- Open Scripting Architecture, which addresses the ARDAgent issue which allowed Trojan Horses and non-administrator users to gain root access
- The aforementioned BIND issue which allowed for DNS poisoning (allowing malicious websites to forge their identity)
- A CarbonCore stack buffer overflow which allowed for arbitrary code execution
- A CoreGraphics memory corruption issue and a CoreGraphics PDF weakness, both allowing for arbitrary code execution
- A Data Detectors issue which could be exploited for [DOS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial-of-service_attack) attacks
- A Repair Permissions/emacs exploit in Disk Utility
- An LDAP weakness
- An OpenSSL weakness
- Multiple PHP vulnerabilities
- A flaw in QuickLook's handling of maliciously crafted Microsoft Office files
- An issue with rsync's handling of symbolic links
Some of those had been reported, some I hadn't heard about previously, but I'm certainly feeling more secure this morning.
[via Macworld]
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - What happened to NetShare? - UPDATED
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
It was there. And now it's... gone. What happened to iPhone 3G tethering app NetShare?
For a while it was live on the App Store, for a meagre ten bucks. Then it vanished. And now, it seems to have vanished from Nullriver's web site, too. Their news page has no mention of NetShare.
This smells of lawyers. NetShare was designed to let you share your iPhone's connectivity with your computer. Wireless freedom for all. And quite possibly something the telephony service providers in various countries would be alarmed to see on offer in the App Store, ten bucks or no. But wait -- the App Store is vetted, isn't it? Something like this couldn't just creep in through the ventilation shafts. This couldn't just be a ghastly mistake, could it?
You can't make software just disappear from everywhere. There must be some TUAW readers who managed to get hold of a copy before it disappeared. What do you make of it? Is it working?
For the record, we have asked NullRiver for comment, but not heard back from them yet. As soon as we do, we'll add an update.
UPDATE: And here it is. No word directly from NullRiver yet, but one of the NullRiver team pointed out in the comments that they did not have a web page for NetShare in the first place. Also, the following text has now been posted on the NullRiver home page (a fact that was also noted in the comments):
"We're not quite sure why Apple took down the NetShare application yet, we've received no communication from Apple thus far. NetShare did not violate any of the Developer or AppStore agreements. We're hoping we'll get some feedback from Apple today. Sorry to all the folks that couldn't get it in time. We'll do our best to try to get the application back onto the AppStore if at all possible. At the very least, we hope Apple will allow it to be used in countries where the provider does permit tethering."
AGAIN UPDATE: NetShare has now reappeared in the App Store, at least in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands, and probably in many other places as well. You can download and play with it to your heart's content. Thanks to all the commenters and tipsters who alerted us to this.
AGAIN AGAIN UPDATE: Now we've had a reply from NullRiver, as follows: "Hi, NetShare is back on the Apple Store, hopefully for good this time! We're not quite sure why Apple took down the NetShare application yet, we've received no communication from Apple thus far. NetShare did not violate any of the Developer or AppStore agreements to our knowledge. It is unknown how mobile phone carriers may react to using the program. Or if they are even in a position to tell. My personal advice is to not go NUTS just yet by downloading tons. Also be aware that contracts/carriers vary in what they offer from country to country, please be careful your service doesn't have a metered limit, that if you go over may incur extra costs for you."
Odd, is it not, that despite all the ups and downs their app has experienced during the last day or so, NullRiver has not heard anything at all from Apple? What's that all about?
Thanks to Zoli + everyone who sent this in.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Feral to bring Sid Meier's Pirates! to the Mac
Filed under: Gaming
Sid Meier's Pirates! was one of my favorite games of all time. Another legendary game from the mastermind behind Civilization, it first came out for the C64 way back in 1987 (with ports to both the Apple II and Mac). Then in 2004, it was remade for the PC and later ported to the (original) Xbox and PSP. Now Feral Interactive is finally bringing out an OS X version of Pirates!. The open-world (better yet, open seas!) gameplay is relatively simple, but addictive. There's an overall quest to exact revenge against a dastardly villain, which is advanced by various sub-quests, piracy on the high seas (of course!), trading goods, searching for buried treasure, and wooing Governors' daughters.
Sid Meier's Pirates! for Mac is available for pre-order at $30. It's expected to ship on August 29th.
[via Macworld UK]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Turn off Data Detectors in Mail.app
Among the new features Apple touted in Leopard was data detectors in Mail.app. The idea is that if somebody sends you an email with a street address in it, for example, Mail.app can detect that it's a street address and add it an Address Book contact with just a couple of clicks. Unfortunately, while the basic idea isn't bad, sometimes you just want to copy something and the data detectors simply get in the way (and leads, in my case at least, to some gratuitous cursing).
Well, Michael Tsai has found the solution with a hidden preference. All you have to do is type in (or copy and paste in) one line to the Terminal and the data detectors will be banished from Mail.app. Head on over to Tsai's post for full details and kiss the cursing goodbye.
[via Daring Fireball]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: Teleport, new VNC client for the iPhone
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store
Jugaari's iPhone debut, Teleport (iTunes link), is a new VNC client for mobile remote control of a Mac or PC (not the super-awesome pseudo-KVM app). It's a $24.99 investment, and I don't know many people who are going to dish out twenty five clams for an iPhone utility, but I know plenty who are curious about it and frustrated about the App Store's lack of any "try before you buy" mechanism. Here's a "look before you buy," either to help you make a decision or just to satisfy a curiosity.
Teleport is naturally subject to all the things that are intrinsically annoying about any VNC connection, which are then compounded by a (relatively) small screen and less-than-ideal network speeds; it's not the ideal way to access a remote machine. The options allow you to set the speed of the refresh rate, but "fast" is slow, even on a local wireless network. Those annoyances are obstacles to be overcome, though, and I think that Teleport makes a valiant effort to provide a usable interface in light of these hurdles.
Check out the gallery for a mini-tour, and see the rest of this post for more impressions of Teleport.
Continue reading First Look: Teleport, new VNC client for the iPhone
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple Security update 2008-005 released
Filed under: OS, Software Update, Security, Leopard
Apple has just released a new security update for client and server users of Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard). This Security update 2008-005 is "recommended for all users and improves the security of Mac OS X," and includes fixes for a dozen or so features in Mac OS X.
This update fixes a QuickLook bug where loading a malicious Microsoft Office file could lead to "arbitrary code execution." Doesn't sound too good to me! It also fixes a DNS vulnerability that has been highly discussed over the past week (and which many other vendors have already patched).
You can download this update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update). You can also find more information on what this update fixes by looking at Apple's support note.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - 10.5.5 developer seed released, includes install warning
Yesterday, we noted that Apple was close to releasing a 10.5.5 seed for developers. Little did we know that it would be dropping a couple hours later. AppleInsider is reporting that the 10.5.5 developer seed was released today, along with an interesting note.
Developers were told not to install the update on any Mac that uses integrated graphics. These computers include: MacBook Air, MacBook, Mac Mini, and some models of iMac. The build number of 10.5.5 is showing up as "build 9F5," however, these pre-release build numbers have a history of changing before the update is released to the general public.
Developers were asked to evaluate many parts of the OS, specifically: AirPort, FileSync, and the Finder. AppleInsider notes that this update fixes over 82 bugs that were reported in 10.5.4.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать
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