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- ExpanDrive 1.3 Beta - Funnest Version Yet!
Fans of Magnetk’s ExpanDrive — a great SFTP client for OS X — should definitely go out and grab the latest beta (1.3) of this fine application. For starters, they support plain-ol’ FTP (and FTP/SSL) which, though insecure, is still used in many, many hosting outfits. The developers also tapped into the magic of OS X system notifications and the application does a much better job of detecting a lost (or reconnected) internet link, system sleep/wake events and IP address changes (which is literally an option equivalent to manna from heaven for those of us on 3G cards in metropolitan areas).
While Magnetk has made great strides in their support of FTP, anyone who has ever tried writing an FTP client knows that not all FTP servers are made equal. If you give the beta a try, but are having difficulty, make sure you take them up on their generous offer:
If you have an ftp server that ExpanDrive can't connect to and you can give us a login to that server, then we'll send you a generous ExpanDrive coupon for your trouble.
I feel obliged to point out, though, that if you can’t use the application to connect to your FTP server, having a free version of it will not do you much good.
ExpanDrive runs on OS X 10.4+ as a Universal Binary and will set you back US$29.00 should you decide to purchase it.
I’ve been running ExpanDrive since it was in pre-release form and this update will really improve my workflow. Give the new beta a go and let me know what you think.
Переслать - Godfather of Ambient Creates iPhone App
Seemingly not content with having fathered an entire musical genre, pioneered generative music, produced U2’s Where The Streets Have No Name, collaborated with Bowie and generally rubbed-shoulders with a raft of modern music legends, Brian Eno has now released his first iPhone app dubbed Bloom ($3.99).
Developed by Peter Chilvers, in collaboration with Eno, the app is described as, “Part instrument, part composition and part artwork…” The idea is that anybody can play with Bloom and coax gentle melodies and ambient soundscapes out of their iPhone. Having downloaded the app, plugged a pair of speakers in to my iPhone and cranked up the volume, it took only a few moments to compose an authentic ambient piece that sounded like a convincing out-take from Eno’s Music for Airports. It works and it is a joy to toy with.
Being a sound-based app, the screenshots on the store do it absolutely no justice, Bloom ends up looking somewhat staid. It’s in hearing Bloom and experiencing the ambience that it creates, that you truly understand how magical it is. According to the App Store product page, “… Bloom’s innovative controls allow anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen.” Setting aside the marketing spiel, Bloom is utterly unique — a truly enchanting experience, like nothing else I have experienced on the iPhone, this is an app that will make you smile.
(more…)Переслать - BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac, Storm Announced Stateside
The Boy Genius Report brings word of relief in sight for Mac users with BlackBerry. The official Research In Motion (RIM) application BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac will bring all the functionality of BlackBerry Desktop Manager to OS X users.
Third party solutions like PocketMac for BlackBerry have filled the void left by RIM’s lack of official support, but in practice these solutions were not always elegant or simple enough for novice users. The new app seems to address both these issues, although the early version depicted in the screenshots apparently doesn’t yet seem to offer much sophistication when it comes to handling and distinguishing between different media types.
What it does promise, however, is the ability to sync your iTunes library, playlists or specific songs to either the internal memory of your handset or to microSD cards. Expect RIM to add the ability to sync other media types as well in the final release. Including, one would hope, movies and other videos from your iTunes library, to take advantage of the apparently very impressive screen on the company’s latest handset, the BlackBerry Bold. The application is said to be compatible with the BlackBerry Pearl and presumably all later models as well. For more information about what to expect from the upcoming release, it’s probably safe to assume that the featureset from the Windows version will be closely mirrored.
(more…)Переслать - A Field Trip to the Apple Store
Apple have recently announced a new field trip scheme, encouraging youngsters to visit their local Apple Store. The aim is to either let children use the hardware and software in the store to create a new project (likely using different iLife packages), or to turn the area into a theater to showcase a movie or production to the children’s teachers, families and parents.
A field trip lasts one hour, and Apple have created a package around the event offering a free t-shirt to children and a complimentary year long One-to-One membership to the event organizer. It’s a great idea, but does raise a few questions about the motives behind the promotion and whether it can really add much value to education.
Ripe for the picking
Children soak up information like a sponge at a young age. Apple are definitely portraying the field trip scheme as something which will be a fun and creative event, but it’s clear that their main aim is to have young minds exposed to their products and software. They will like nothing better than a class of 25 kids to go home and explain in animated and passionate voices to their parents the virtues of being able to run iLife.
Apple already have a very high brand recognition with teenagers, as surveys illustrate. They need to be very careful when moving into the territory of younger minds that they don’t push their products too hard.
Is it a sign of our material times that children will be taken to an Apple store on a field trip rather than a beach, park or museum? It’s a great idea from Apple, but one that generates a lot of potential debate.
Переслать - Norway and iTunes: The DRM War
Norway has taken their two-year fight against iTunes and Apple’s FairPlay DRM to its next step, and will now ask the government to force Apple to open their iTunes music to other devices besides the iPod.
As background, this all began when Norway’s consumer ombudsman, Bjorn Erik Thon, ruled that Apple’s FairPlay DRM violated the country’s consumer rights laws by locking down iTunes Store content to iPods and iTunes. This was first communicated to Apple in June 2006, and a few months later was escalated to Norway’s Market Council, which has the power to order companies to change their business practices. In January 2007, Norway declared Apple’s DRM illegal and gave Apple until October 1 of that year to open up FairPlay to other parties. By this time France and Germany had joined in on the action as well.
(more…)Переслать - Windows XP Lives On…Again
Several websites have reported in recent days that Microsoft are once again extending their period of official support for vendors offering Windows XP on new machines. The proposed deadline had already been extended to the end of January 2009, but appears now to have been prolonged to July 31, 2009.
For Microsoft, it is usual practice to have a period of change-over where sellers are allowed to bundle copies of an older OS with their machines. With Apple, however, the switch is made, more or less, immediately. A friend recently bought a new MacBook on the day Leopard was released and, while the operating system was not installed, a free upgrade copy was bundled with the purchase. Within literally a couple of weeks it was very difficult to purchase a Mac with anything other than the new operating system.
(more…)Переслать - Liberate Your Memories: Home Movies on Your Apple TV
I adore my Apple TV. Really, I absolutely would not want to give it up. My love affair with the Apple TV began when it gave me access to my entire (50+ GB) music collection on my “big” sound system. Then there’s the little things like the family pictures that float by while the music is playing. I love how I can listen to any music from my library that my heart desires and I get to see all the pictures that would otherwise be sitting in some dusty book somewhere.
Liberate Your Memories
Just like those pictures that I maybe wouldn’t take the time to look through otherwise, I’ve decided to start converting some of our home movies to play on the Apple TV. One of the big problems with the movie footage we have on tapes or in iMovie is that we never watch it. Getting our home movies on to the Apple TV means that we actually get to enjoy reliving some of those memories together.
(more…)Переслать - Software Updates and New Releases for Week Ending 2008-10-04
My Apple TV woes managed to eat away at some of the time I would have dedicated to scouring for updates and new toys, but I managed to find some interesting applications and utilities. I didn’t have time to put Stainless (a Google Chrome-like browser for OS X based on WebKit) through enough paces to really post, but wanted to give it a mention since it has some very interesting features and may be a glimpse into the future of Safari. I also wanted to take the opportunity to once-again thank Tyler Loch for his work on VisualHub (and other goodies) over the years. Your contributions to the OS X community will be sorely missed!
AIM for Mac - Beta 1 - Much to the surprise of many, AOL decided to release a new beta of their instant messenger for OS X. The big question, as a result, is “Why?”. After testing it out, I can find no compelling reason to switch from iChat or Adium and no features that would make this a “must-have” application, but I welcome your thoughts in the comments. [10.4/10.5; Intel/PPC] Free!
Gimp.app - 2.6.0 - Hot on the heels of the official Gimp release comes the OS X native (non-X11) release, complete with enhanced toolbars/docks, full panning beyond the image border, much-improved free-select tool and snazzy improvements to brushes. Much of the enhancements were under-the-covers and provided a foundation for future crunchy-goodness by integrating GCEL (Generic Graphics Library), a powerful graph-based image processing framework (think “undo”) and support for a wider range of color models and pixel storage formats when reading or saving images. The developers also improved plug-in support.
The interface is not exactly perfectly Mac-like and feels awkward and clunky at times, but it is definitely usable and has a good feature set. Would you use it over Photoshop or even some of the newer Flash-based online editors? Let me know your thoughts! [10.4/10.5; Intel/PPC] Free!ReceiptWallet - 2.0.8 - This minor update will make folks in Switzerland happy (fixes an issue with that locale), but also fixes a couple of other annoyances (a “Cancel” button one that was – on occasion – catching me) and a few bugs. [10.4/10.5; Intel/PPC] US$39.95
Apple iTunes - 8.0.1 & Apple TV - 2.2 - As you saw on TAB, iTunes and Apple TV received updates this past week. The former improves music playback during Genius playlist creation (along with other improvements), and the latter provides support for HD TV shows and tosses a Genius into the tiny box for good measure. [10.3.9 (Apple TV update)/10.4/10.5; Intel/PPC] Free!
Editra - 0.3.80 - Entering a candidate into the text editor fray on OS X takes guts. You are competing with the likes of BBEdit, TextMate, TextWrangler and many others, each of them having a loyal and vocal user-base. Editra is aimed squarely at the developers out there as it has most of the goodies you’ve come to expect (line numbering, commenting, indenting, syntax highlighting, etc.). The interface is straightforward enough, but it is obvious that the “0.x” version numbering is accurate since there is much room for many refinements. It already supports plug-ins (written in Python) and has the benefit of being cross-platform (it is written with the wxWidgets library), so you can use slide between platforms without losing your editing mojo. This application is definitely something to keep on your radar and in your RSS feeds. [10.4/10.5; Intel/PPC] Free!
Perian - 1.1.1 - The self-dubbed “Swiss-Army knife for QuickTime” releases a two-dot update that I would have missed since the “update” button in the PrefPane did not work (and I just happened to hit their site from the other button in the PrefPane). This minor update fixes a problem with H.264 in AVI files, corrects a frame skipping issue, adds some codecs and incorporates a few additional bug fixes and feature tweaks. [10.4/10.5; Intel/PPC] Free!
Schnippselchen Pro - 2.0.1 - I’ve been slowly getting back into software development (that may or may not be obvious from my posts) and came across this code-snippet saver which allows you to store, track and fully manage your bits of useful source with full support for syntax highlighting and drag-and-drop to Xcode or TextMate. The Mail-like interface should be quite accessible to everyone and the builtin search makes it pretty simple to find what you are looking for (especially if you’ve commented the snippets well). You can add a custom icon to each snippet and backup, export or share your library. The manual states that the app “will only store the data as long as [it] is running” but all my test snippets have been available across multiple launches. [10.5; Intel/PPC] Free?
Remember, drop me a note on Twitter (@hrbrmstr) or in the comments if there is something you’d like me to try!
Переслать - Review: AIM for Mac Beta
It’s been four long years since AIM 4.7 for Macintosh was released by AOL. The screenshots on their product page still show the horizontal pinstripes of the original release of OS X. The version was old. Some would say languishing in neglect. Really, though, since iChat was released in 2002 with Jaguar and featured AIM integration, Mac users have found little cause to turn to the AOL branded alternative.
With programs like Adium already a favorite among many Mac users and boasting multi-client support, AIM for Mac Beta 1.0 would seem to have a lot of catching up to do. Their approach, however, does not seem to involve competing head-on with Adium or Apple’s built-in iChat. Instead, according to statements made by AOL following the release, the aim (haha, ugh) appears to be to nab users who’ve just made the switch from PC to Mac, the idea being that Windows users will be more comfortable with a familiar product.
I’m sure the ads AIM for Mac sports will make users of the Windows product feel right at home, but the “AIM Zones” page that launched in my browser when I signed in for the first time had me eyeing the trash bin before I so much as sent a message. Still, the option can be turned off, so I fought my destructive urges and took another look. My eyes were not offended.
(more…)Переслать - Replacement 3G iPhone Adapters Arriving
About three weeks ago, we reported that Apple had issued a recall on the small form-factor USB wall charger that was included with the iPhone 3G. Apparently there was a slim chance that the prongs could break off in the outlet, and Apple didn’t want to be liable for you sticking a fork into the outlet to fish those little metal bits out. Probably not a bad idea…
I registered through Apple’s web form for my replacement unit. (Because Heaven knows, I’m always looking for any reason to stick metal into a hot outlet.) Not expecting anything until around October 10th, based on Apple’s information, I received a call from my wife yesterday, wondering what I’d ordered now. I’m not sure where that finger pointing comes from, honest! Well it turns out Apple’s running ahead of schedule by a few days, and my new adapter is keeping me safe from myself and charging my iPhone all at the same time.
If you’ve got the original 3G iPhone USB adapter and haven’t replaced it yet, get over to Apple’s online form, or a Genius Bar at your local Apple Store, post haste.
Переслать - Logo Wars Continue Over Apple's Forbidden Fruit
After targeting New York City’s GreenNYC campaign earlier this year, Apple is now threatening The Victoria School of Business and Technology for infringing on the Apple logo.
The school, located in British Columbia, Canada, contends the claim of infringement:
We strongly disagree and say so in our reply letter. Whether you agree with Apple, or say no you don’t agree we invite you to vote, and/or post your comments. We don’t have their deep pockets for a legal fight so we thought we would let the public bear witness and see if Apple might learn to play nice … not that we are naive, but hey, they may surprise us
Posted along with the comment is an informal poll asking visitors whether they believe the school’s logo can, in fact, be confused with Apple’s corporate trademark. At the time of this writing, the vast majority of respondents (72% of nearly 5,000 responses) agree with the school’s opinion that the logos cannot be easily confused.
In this case, the claims are not totally out of left field (like they seemed to be with GreenNYC) since the VSBT is a tech school. Are they taking advantage of the Apple association to attract more students and therefore more tuition dollars? Or has Apple tightened, rather than loosened, their legal reigns?
Переслать - Apple Loosening Muzzles?
One of the inaugural stories on just-launched news site The Daily Beast is a column by the founder and former editor of Mac news and rumors site Think Secret, Nicholas Ciarelli. The article suggests that Apple is relaxing its notoriously strict veil of secrecy. Think Secret was shuttered in 2007 because of a suit brought by Apple following Ciarelli’s decision not to remove details of the Mac Mini published before its release.
Ciarelli points to the many recent instances of early product leaks from other rumor sites which have not resulted in site closures or suits. The following is from an interview conducted for the article:
“There’s no doubt that Apple has changed,” Jeremy Horwitz, editor in chief of iLounge, told me in an email. “Probably due to the awful PR its prior lawsuits generated, and because cease-and-desist letters only confirm leaks, Apple has wisely stopped going after the people who generate its ‘buzz.’”
Apple has not only become more mellow with product leaks. The recent lifting of the restrictive NDA is yet more proof that Jobs and company are beginning to see that with rapid growth comes a necessary relaxing of control. It was far easier to maintain a culture of silence when Mac users were a much smaller and less vocal group. Increased sales, attention from the mainstream press, and the heightened degree of credibility accorded tech news and review websites and blogs have combined to create a consumer environment antithetical to secretive Apple corporate practice.
So what are the next steps? More cooperation with companies and organizations like DisplayLink, and OpenClip seeking to develop utilities Mac users are hungry for but Apple seems unwilling to provide? Let’s hope that a more open and communicative Cupertino is in fact on the horizon.
Переслать - Using Droplets With Transmit
For those of us who don’t have an iDisk up in the MobileMe cloud, it can be very useful to have a way of easily moving files to an FTP server without opening up your FTP client and moving the file manually. Maybe you want to share a photo folder, send a colleague a set of documents or pass an MP3 file along — something which could surpass the attachment limit of your email server.
If you are using Transmit, there is a simple way to automatically upload a file to a given folder on your server, just by dragging and dropping. Known as a ‘Droplet’, it can reside on your desktop, in your dock, or even on Dashboard. While this idea seems a very simple concept, once you have set up and started using Droplets on a regular basis they can become an invaluable time-saver.
(more…)Переслать - IBM Extends iPhone Development to Windows/Linux Programmers
The now non-existent iPhone developer NDA seems to have been holding back a flood of useful and diverse information. IBM has contributed to this information deluge with their release of a tutorial (registration required to view HTML-version, non-reg PDF download), authored by PJ Cabrera, on how to use the Eclipse C Development Toolkit (CDT) to program native applications for the Apple iPhone with open source tools.
Unfortunately, any application you create will not be headed for the App Store any time soon since it requires you to jailbreak your device by using any one of the more popular utilities (e.g. QuickPwn, XPwn, Pwnage, and WinPwn). While many iPhone users have used these tools to “free” their devices, I am still not a proponent of doing this since the practice is not supported by Apple in any way, and their use may void the device’s warranty if Apple has evidence of third-party software modification. You also open yourself up to device corruption and security problems due to the fact that jailbroken applications have free reign over every bit of data in your phone. If you do go this route, your application will reach the widest audience via Cydia.
(more…)Переслать - Google's New Update-Engine Shifts Into High Gear
I sometimes wonder if the folks over in the Googleplex ever sleep. It seems like we have a new product or service update every other day some weeks. Google is now getting even closer to Mac desktops with the release of Update-Engine, a Mac OS X framework designed to help Apple developers keep their applications up-to-date.
Most Mac users now expect to have their applications notify them if there is a new version awaiting download and installation. There is almost a de-facto way this works thanks to the incorporation of the Sparkle framework into a whole host of applications. From a user’s perspective and from the perspective of most developers, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the way Sparkle behaves. Greg Miller, one of the developers of Update Engine, agrees that Sparkle rocks, but says there is definitely a place for Update Engine.
I would say that unless you’re having problems with Sparkle, you probably wouldn’t want to move away from it. We did not build Update Engine to steal Sparkle users—we really like Sparkle! We built Update Engine to do a few things that Sparkle doesn’t do (or at least didn’t do at the time we designed Update Engine). We needed something that could update non-bundle-based apps in addition to regular Cocoa apps. We needed something that could update root-owned products and things with, for example, kernel extensions. And we needed something that could update multiple products all at once. We also needed something that was flexible and could be extended in a number of different ways to support future products.
Our intent was not to build competition for Sparkle. We focused on different problems than those that Sparkle solves. Update Engine is a lower-level solution than Sparkle. For updating an ordinary Cocoa application, I don’t see anything wrong with using Sparkle.
The Google engineers have taken security pretty seriously and provide extensive documentation to help get even the least experienced developers up to speed pretty quickly.
There are some helpful videos/tutorials over at the Official Google Mac Blog which should make a good starting point for any developers interested in migrating to, or incorporating the functionality of Google’s open source gift into their own programs.
If you are a developer, share your thoughts about Update Engine with TAB readers in the comments. If you are “just a user,” drop a note with how you’d like to see the third-party update process improved in general.
Переслать - 10M iPhones to Market
Estimates show that as September came to a close, Apple’s iPhone manufacturers should have rolled unit number 10,000,000 off their lines. Not totally shabby for 18 months of iPhones on the open market — a significant portion of that time limited to potential sales in the United States only.
To put things in perspective, iPods have historically averaged out to around 30 million units every eighteen months. So the iPhone is running at about one third of its predecessor. This number may seem far smaller, but consider that the iPhone represents a significantly greater barrier to entry due to being tied to specific cellular providers.
Let’s be clear, this pertains to units manufactured, not units sold. There have been plenty of replacements (I’ve talked to more than a few iPhone owners who are on their 2nd or even 3rd replacements…), returns, and that’s not even to mention the demo units and freebies given out to Apple staff. Regardless of the difference in sales and manufacturing numbers, this is still a big milestone for Apple.
Переслать - Quick Tip: Change iTunes Buffer Size for Smoother Streaming
When I moved in with my old roommate he already had a router…a router that did not play nice with my Macbook Air. Browsing the internet was almost as painful as being on dial up, and streaming media seemed like an impossible task.
After a while of watching videos play in stop motion through iTunes, I decided that there must be something I could do to remedy the situation. After a poking around in iTunes I found out you could change the streaming buffer size. Changing the buffer size to “Large” tells iTunes to load more of the movie/song/whatever before starting playback, that way you experience fewer (or even no) breaks in playback.
To change your buffer size for smoother streaming:
- Launch iTunes
- Go to Preferences
- Go to the “Advanced” tab
- Go to the “Streaming Buffer Size” pull down menu. If you have a slow internet connection choose the “Large” option. If you have a fast internet connection (DSL or cable modem) select the “Small” option to have streamed media playback faster.
After I switched my streaming buffer size from the default medium setting to large, my videos definitely streamed a lot smoother. As always, have fun and good luck!
Переслать - Techspansion Shutting Down Development of VisualHub/iSquint
Techspansion developer Tyler Loch, maker of the incredibly useful multimedia manipulation tools VisualHub, iSquint and AudialHub, has announced he is discontinuing all further development.
“…After much soul-searching (it’s not you, it’s me), for personal reasons, Techspansion is closing its virtual doors. The Support Forum and Support E-mail will be available for a while longer to take care of any remaining issues for you. “
Thanks for all your support. It’s been a fun ride.This has been the main tool I use to convert content for the iPhone & Apple TV and the continued enhancements will be sorely missed, especially if Apple patches or new OS releases cause the software to break.
While there are other programs out there, VisualHub provided a clean interface with very helpful pre-sets that made it a snap to do batch conversions. Tyler was always very helpful with support questions and seems to truly appreciate his user community.
What will replace Techspansion tools in your Applications folder? What are your key conversion utilities? How will the loss of these applications impact your workflow? Drop a note in the comments with your suggestions for other TAB readers or just to say “thank you!” to Tyler for his contribution to the Mac community.
Переслать - App Store Dollar Deals: Moto Chaser and Solebon Solitaire
Freeverse’s App Store launch title Wingnuts Moto Chaser and Smallware’s Solebon Solitaire, two games which have received fairly high praise from reviewers, are on on sale for a limited time for only $0.99.
Moto Chaser (normally $5.99) is an accelerometer-controlled motorcycle racing game, with a variety of lush environments and Road Rash-style on-bike combat. Players can select from multiple difficulty levels, a variety of riders and motorcycles. Steering is controlled by tilting the iPhone or iPod touch to either side, while a button on the lower left of the screen controls the gas. Available here.
Solebon Solitaire (normally $9.99) includes 20 different Solitaire card games, including Kondike Deal 1 and Deal 3, Free Cell and Spiderette. Card suit icons and numbers are large for added readability on the iPhone’s relatively small screen, and features stat tracking, scorekeeping, unlimited undo and autoplay. Get it here.
If you come across any special pricing, drop us a line and we’ll include it in our next round.
Переслать - Update: More "Brick" Rumors, Nvidia MacBook GPUs
A few days ago we posted a story about the much-sensationalized upcoming Apple mystery product, “The Brick.” While there is still no definite word regarding what it actually is, 9to5mac is now reporting that a “reliable” source has lead them to believe that “The Brick” is not a product at all, but rather a production process and the facility to house it.
The blog cites Steve Jobs’ experience with in-house manufacturing during his days helming NeXT computers, and their earlier accuracy in predicting the arrival of a number of Apple products prior to launch (aluminum iMacs, MacBook Air, etc.) to back up their claims.
(more…)Переслать - Why Google's G1 Entices Me More Than the iPhone
I have a confession to make. The new Google G1 smartphone appeals to me a lot more than the iPhone does. Not in terms of slickness and coolness of course, but actually, even though it’s about 30% thicker and nearly 20% heavier than the iPhone, I kinda’ like the G1’s more understated and utilitarian look.
I don’t own a smartphone. I live at least 30 miles from the nearest GSM coverage and we barely get digital voice service here. But were I in the market, I would be leaning toward the G1 for a variety of reasons - appearance being well-down on the list.
For one thing, I’m not a touchscreen fan and prefer a physical keyboard. The G1 has a retractable one as well as a touchscreen (albeit not MultiTouch). I like easily user-replaceable batteries; G1 has one, iPhone doesn’t. I like lots of manual controls. The G1 has a trackball and arrow keys.
(more…)Переслать - Steve Jobs' Heart Attack
Nearly a month ago, at Apple’s unveiling of the new iPod lineup for this fall, Steve Jobs quoted Mark Twain’s “The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” (By the way, Snopes.com and Wikipedia both say that is even a misquote of Twain’s original comment: “The report of my death is an exaggeration.”)
Even though that remark was funny, and got a rousing round of applause, I do believe that Steve Jobs was serious: he is not as sick as all the pundits proclaim, nor is his health in any great danger. But yesterday, Apple’s stock price plummeted briefly due to reports from CNN’s iReport.com that Jobs had just had a massive heart attack and had been rushed to the hospital. Both claims turned out to be completely untrue. The really interesting part turned out to be how Apple’s shareholders reacted.
In addition to their being a temporary drop in Apple’s stock price there was also an overall drop as the stock closed for the weekend at 97.07…its lowest close in nearly 18 months. The SEC is investigating and ireport.com is cooperating fully by handing over any information they have gathered on Johntw, the poster who put up the “fradulent” story.
I don’t understand why the stock market is so volatile as to let the rumors posted on a site where the claim to fame is “Unfiltered. Unedited.” change how money is invested. Maybe iReport was going to add “Untrue. Unethical.” to the tagline, but they ran out of room, and had to settle on the first two. This could very easily be someone who thought they could make a quick buck by posting the story, buying some Apple stock, and then selling it when everyone found out it was fake. It will be interested to see what the SEC finds.
Here’s to hoping Steve Jobs stays healthy for a long time and that AAPL stock starts the trek back upward before the 21st when the 4th Quarter earnings call is scheduled.
Переслать - iPhone Gets VoIP, Thanks to Fring
As of yesterday, the iPhone natively supports VoIP calls without jailbreaking thanks to fring, a multi-client instant messaging application with Skype, Skype-out, fring and other SIP support for voice calling.
Fring has previously been available on Symbian and WinMo phones, and for jailbroken iPhones. It supports IM through fring, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Skype, Twitter, and ICQ over all connections (EDGE, 3G, GPRS and WiFi). In order to use the VoIP functions, however, you must have an active WiFi connection. This limitation is in keeping with Steve Jobs’ earlier statement that “We’ll limit [VOIP applications] over the cellular network”, made when the iPhone SDK was originally announced.
I took fring for a brief test drive shortly after it was announced (although I had a nail-biting wait for it to appear in my iPhone’s App Store since I feared another NetShare type disappearing act). Though it required a fring account sign-up (normally a pet peeve of mine when it comes to iPhone apps), the process was quick and painless and within seconds I was presented with an add-on selection screen with a list of supported IM and VoIP services.
(more…)Переслать - Apple TV Authorization Server Problem Causes Mass Factory Restores
I was in the process of attempting to install the Apple TV 2.2 update and then rent a movie for the family tonight when my Apple TV began a loop where it would get through the introductory Apple TV movie and then start to load the main screen but end up in a cycle between that and the shiny, silver-grey Apple logo. I attempted a factory restore by holding “Menu” and “-” after a power cycle, but that did not work either, even after multiple reboots.
With all my attempts failing, I made a broad assumption that it was the hard drive (my unit is one of the original) and I was resolved to putting in my own drive and taking the opportunity to hack the base image (why not!?) when I checked out Twitter to find many, many other users in the same situation, all of us quite unhappy.
(more…)Переслать - The "Brick": Game Changer or Niche Product Without a Market?
The internets are currently abuzz with rumors of a new, genre-bending product due out of Cupertino, possibly at the speculated October Mac event.
Though most agree it likely isn’t a building material to be used with mortar in the construction of buildings, there are a number of different theories about what the “Brick” in fact could be.
iPhone Savior cites the ever-informative “sources” in suggesting the the “Brick” may in fact be the long-awaited Mac Mini redesign. They admit their source is unreliable, and that the supposed near-pro performance upgrades attached to the rumor seem far-fetched at best. While it is true that the Mac Mini has been nearing obsolescence for quite a while now, a mere spec bump does not seem grounds enough for Apple to use the speculation-inspiring term “product transition.”
(more…)Переслать - Modernizing Mail.app: The Solution
Mail.app is an imperfect beast. Thankfully, with a little modification and some extensibility, you can make Mail.app a more modern email management client.
In my previous post, I criticized Mail.app for not providing modern tools to improve email management. Nevertheless, I was able to find a basic solution to a couple of my gripes.
Tagging and Searching
I decided to purchase MailTags. It did not take a long time to go through my archived email messages, tag them and then create smart mailboxes to display these items grouped by tag. Hats off to Scott Morrison, the developer of this excellent product. I am now able to search by my own tags as well as filter the results accordingly. MailTags also has functionality in terms of task management, as you can assign projects, reminders and more to your existing and new messages.
Here is a screenshot of my left navigation bar (I did remove some items for privacy – sorry):
Here is an example screenshot of a Smart Mailbox I created:
I now only have one real mailbox with my MobileMe account (the Archive mailbox). I didn’t want all of the email in my Inbox, so it made sense to store everything in another mailbox. The rest of the email management is now via the Tag-based Smart Mailboxes.
(more…)Переслать - Apple TV 2.2 Wish Lists = Fail
Yesterday, Apple released both an iTunes (8.0.1) and Apple TV (2.2) update. The Apple TV update has some great new features:
- Support for the Genius
- Support for HD Television Shows
- Numerous bug fixes
One unmentioned feature change is how Apple TV now handles Wish Lists. In the previous release (2.1), you could click through to the movie you wanted to rent/buy/wish and with one click of the remote, be in the bliss of watching your movie or highly anticipating its eventual release.
Now, with the 2.2 software, the Wish List button has been replaced with an Ellipsis button. The button takes you to a new screen whereby you can see more detailed information about the movie and then select whether you want to add it to your Wish List or not.
What stinks about this is that a formerly discoverable feature that was really easy to use is now buried in another screen. If Apple wanted to provide more information about the movie, they could have added a button to do so and still left the Wish List button alone.
Instead, the users of Apple TV now have to click twice to Wish List their movies. Maybe in the next Apple TV release (2.x), Apple will get it right and move the Wish List functionality back to a single click.
Has the Apple TV 2.2 update made other changes that you’ve noticed?
Переслать - iTunes Store Free to Continue Dominating Digital Music Sales
We reported earlier on the possibility of a 66% raise in royalty fees for digital music distributors. Have no fear readers, the iTunes store will continue offering the generous service of providing somewhere for you to dump all that spare cash. According to CNET News, the Copyright Royalty Board informed interested parties yesterday that they’ve frozen the amount owed music publishers by digital music retailers at 9.1 cents per track.
Apple’s strong statement to Fortune published Monday this week seems to have had some influence on the Royalty Board’s decision. Everyone, however, is claiming to be happy with the deal. Record labels see it as a guarantee that even if they up music prices, the cut they pay out to artist stays the same. Artists themselves are happy that they’re guaranteed the same take away even if physical music sales continue to trend downward. Apple and company are just happy to stave off a potentially devastating cut to their bottom line. The decision today represents the first time a formally set (or “mechanical”) rate has been set for digital downloads.
Nice to see that Apple isn’t afraid to brandish its market strength like a club. As their market share grows, expect to see their influence over industry policy grow. Let’s all hope for responsible musical overlords.
Переслать - Obama for iPhone
Billed as “your official, comprehensive connection to the heart of Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s campaign,” Obama’s campaign today released an official election application for the iPhone and iPod touch. This marks the first sanctioned application release from either side in the American presidential race, though several unofficial apps of varying utility have previously been available.
It’s immediately clear upon launch that the application was not rushed, but was actually developed with care and attention to detail. The UI is clean and attractive (despite the Windows-ish color scheme) and the action is snappy. It was clearly developed with two key aims in mind: promote all things Obama and encourage you to do the same.
The app is innovative in that it goes beyond being simply an information delivery tool. Instead it uses the unique capabilities of the iPhone platform to attempt to make campaigners out of anyone who downloads it. The first option you’re presented with is “Call Friends,” which searches your contact list and prioritizes your friends and associates based on whether or not their state is considered a key battleground. You can then call them directly from the list to attempt to sway their vote.
(more…)Переслать - Netflix "Watch Instantly" Coming to Mac
I don’t know about you but my favorite corporate blogger is now Brent from Netflix - or as I like to call him - “The Bringer of Good News.”
Netflix announced on Wednesday the addition of 1,000 movies to its “Watch Instantly” collection, which on its own is a welcomed announcement. But at the end of blogger Brent’s announcement was this little gem:
And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) we've been busy working getting a solution that will allow you to watch instantly on your Mac. So hang in there - we'll have something for you by the end of the year.
The only reason I currently have Parallels installed on my Mac is so I can run Internet Explorer in order to access Netflix’s streaming TV and movie library. It’s a good feeling to know that by Christmas I will be able to sever the connection to my home PC completely.
But perhaps even better news is the pressure this announcement places on Apple to improve the Apple TV experience. By increasing its library of streaming titles for a ridiculously cheap monthly price, Netflix is doing what we all demand but Apple refuses to do - offer an affordable subscription model for media. Let the competition begin…
Переслать - Modernizing Mail.app: The Problem
When will Apple move Mail.app into the modern world of email management? Even with version 3.5 (included with the latest OS 10.5.5 update), users of the application are stuck with some pretty cryptic email management paradigms. Why are we stuck with email folders? How about those ahem, powerful email threads? Let me elaborate…
I use both Mail.app (personal) and Microsoft Entourage (corporate) as my daily communication tools. Both are feature rich applications that apparently meet the needs for their user base. I prefer Mail.app due to its performance and extensibility (it also has better support of MobileMe than Entourage does, with respect to MobileMe accounts/email aliases).
My overall email load is probably average. I see about 10-20 personal emails per day and over 100 in the corporate environment. I do not subscribe to many lists, so this keeps my email pared down and relatively focused.
(more…)Переслать - Apple Officially Drops the iPhone NDA
iPhone Developers ’round the world can breathe a sigh of relief today. Seven months after the release of Apple’s iPhone SDK, the restrictive NDA that Apple placed on the SDK has officially been dropped.
We have decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software.
We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don't steal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others.
However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone's success, so we are dropping it for released software. Developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering released software within a week or so. Please note that unreleased software and features will remain under NDA until they are released.
Thanks to everyone who provided us constructive feedback on this matter.
This is great news for everyone involved and will certainly increase the quality of apps as developers will be able to freely exchange information. Of course, the other side of this is that the number of “beginner” apps being submitted to the App Store will most likely greatly increase. I imagine Apple has significantly increased the workload of the staff of people who approve/reject submitted applications. Poor guys.
This is also great news for our iPhone SDK Tutorial. All of those comments about the Apple police knocking down our door thankfully never came true. Props to Apple for doing the right thing.
Переслать - iPhone 101: Syncing Photos & Wallpapers to Your iPhone/iPod touch
Getting photos or wallpapers to your iPhone/iPod touch isn’t initially very obvious, but it’s actually quite easy. Once you have the photos or wallpapers you want, you can either use a software program to organize them (such as Aperture or iPhoto) or organize them yourself into folders and sub-folders.
Syncing Photos to Your iPhone
You can sync photos via iTunes to your iPhone from your iPhoto or Aperture libraries, your Pictures folder, or from any folder you select.
- Open iTunes and plug in your iPhone.
- Once your iPhone is mounted and you see the iPhone icon in the “Devices” list, click on your phone’s name.
- Click the tab labeled “Photos”
- Check the checkbox labeled “Sync photos from: “
- Select the source of your photos.
- Click the “Apply” button to sync the photos to your iPhone or iPod touch
If you are using iPhoto or Aperture, I highly recommend making albums with only the photos you’d like to sync to your iPhone. Syncing your entire photo library is not only time consuming, but it could also take up a substantial amount of disk space on your iPhone.
I created an album titled “iPhone Wallpapers” specifically for my wallpapers. It helps me keep them separate from all my other galleries and makes changing my wallpaper a snap.
(more…)Переслать - Flash for iPhone Confirmed; Ball in Apple's Hands
From a blog post that launched a thousand rumors, comes confirmation that Adobe is, in fact, creating a way to bring Flash content to the iPhone.
Here is an excerpt from their official statement during a recent “town hall”:
“Upon a direct question from the audience, Paul Betlem for the first time publicly confirmed that Adobe is actively developing a Flash Player for Apple's popular phone. He said (not direct quote) 'My team is working on Flash on the iPhone, but it's a closed platform.' He noted that Apple makes all the decisions, so in other words, the ball is in Apple's yard at this time. If Apple says yes, Adobe will have the player available in a very short time.”
It will be interesting to see how this makes it way through the Cupertino application gates since this will be a direct competitior to the built-in audio and video players and will also provide an alternate way to develop applications for Apple’s devices. Given how Flash-centric their new creative suite appears to be, this move by Adobe may be seen as a real threat to Apple’s hold on the platform.
Apple may have little choice but to let Adobe into their camp since Microsoft has licensed Flash Lite for their mobile devices and it is expected that the Android phone platform will also eventually support it (but support is not expected out of the gate).
Do you want or need Flash support on your phone? If you are a developer of Flash content, are you eager to adapt your creations to run on Apple’s iPods & iPhones? Keep the converation going in the comments!
Переслать - iTunes Store and Apple's DRM Safe Haven In Jeopardy
Fortune has an article on an upcoming ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board where artists are proposing a 6 cent (66%) hike in the per-track royalties they receive for digital music retail sales. Needless to say, Apple is not happy with this situation and has indicated that the continued operation of the iTunes store would be questionable at best if the resolution is passed:
“Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably.”
We’ve heard for years that Apple operates the store on a tight margin and it is conceivable that this royalty increase could eat away at the per-song profit to the point where running it would be economically unwise.
(more…)Переслать
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