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- The inevitable return of AirPort Extreme Update 2008-004
Filed under: Airport, Software Update
Now you see it, now you don't -- and now it's back. The very brief tenure of AirPort Extreme Update 2008-003 (it was available on Tuesday for a while, but then withdrawn) has given way to the shining reign of update 004. The update is a 2.2 MB patch recommended for all Intel machines on 10.5.5, resolving "some issues with Airport connections when roaming in large WiFi networks."
Some of the commenters who installed the earlier build didn't experience any obvious ill effects; others reported installation hangs, lockups on reboot or problems connecting to wireless LANs, so your mileage may vary -- with any luck the new build has a steadier grip on stability.
You can download the new update via Software Update or (shortly) from the Apple support downloads page.
Thanks to everyone who sent this inRead | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple opposes Calif. Prop 8, donates $100k to 'No' campaign
Filed under: Apple Corporate
Apple issued a short statement on its Hot News page today saying it is publicly opposing California Proposition 8, and donating $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign.
Proposition 8 seeks to amend California's constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. A "no" vote on the measure means marriages between same-sex couples would continue to be valid in California.
"Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees' same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person's fundamental rights -- including the right to marry -- should not be affected by their sexual orientation," the statement read.
"Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8."
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Beta beat: TuneUp plugin gets your iTunes straightened out
Filed under: Software, iTunes, Beta Beat
The MP3 is an astonishing invention; who would have thought, in the days of LPs and 8-track tapes, that someday you could keep a houseful of albums on a gadget the size of a Zippo? Unfortunately, with power and convenience comes managerial effort and housekeeping chaos -- duped files, missing cover art, and overall aggravation. Keeping your music clean and neat can seem like a full-time job.
I've long relied on Chaotic's vintage and versatile MP3 Rage (now Media Rage 3, $30) utility for organizing my music, and it does fine (although it can't resolve the one big issue I still have -- a smattering of very old MP2 files that need to be converted to MP3 or AAC before syncing to an iPod, and there's no good way to search for them... rrgh) but I'd love to have a plugin for iTunes that could handle some of the same chores.
It turns out, there already is such a plugin, but (silly Mac user!) I didn't know about it because it's only available in the Windows version of iTunes. TuneUp will happily sit in the iTunes sidebar and kick into gear on request, cleaning your song filenames, adding album art, pointing out concert dates and YouTube videos for your favorite artists, and more. The tool comes in a free version (limited to 50 art downloads and 500 file cleanups) or a paid Gold version ($12 US annual subscription or $20 lifetime license) with unlimited art and cleaning power.
If only there was a Mac version... ah, there's the fun part. The Mac beta for TuneUp will be starting shortly, and we can help you move to the front of the line. Send an email to with your full name as the only thing on the first line of the email -- the first 100 respondents will be automatically added to the beta list.
Happy cleaning!
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Investigators: No evidence that poster of Jobs heart attack rumor profited
Filed under: Apple Financial, Steve Jobs
According to the San Jose Mercury News, no evidence has been found to support the claim that a teenager who posted a rumor online saying Steve Jobs has suffered a heart attack tried to profit from the lower stock price.
One person involved in the investigation (who declined to be identified because it's still ongoing) said the agency hasn't unearthed any trading records that show the teen benefited from the drop.
The SEC and Apple officially declined to comment. An SEC manipulation case would depend on the teenager's intentions, according to the Merc.
The initial report, posted to CNN's iReport website on October 3, was publicized Silicon Alley Insider, prompting nervous investors to sell their AAPL shares. That day, the stock fell by 5.4 percent, but recovered to close down by three percent.
Update: My apologies: I misread the lead. Entirely my fault.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Friday Favorite: Coda + Versions + Beanstalk
Filed under: Friday Favorite
Welcome to Friday Favorites! Every Friday, one of us will get all sloppy over an app, web service, or Mac feature that makes us grin like an idiot every time we use it. This week, Robert tells us about his favorite Web development tools.
It's no secret that I heart Coda. I've been in love with the one-window web development app since the day it came out. It turns out, though, that I was just scratching the surface of using Coda until I signed up for my new favorite web service: Beanstalk.
Beanstalk is a service that hosts your version control repositories remotely. This is great for far-flung team members with firewalls and other networking hurdles between them. Having a zero-configuration Subversion repository available no matter where you're working is hot stuff.
Best of all, Beanstalk publishes items committed to the repository to my team's development server automatically. It's just like it lives on our network.
To make Beanstalk work with Coda, I first had to check out a copy of the repository with Versions. Versions is still in beta (and Christina has written about it before), but its ease of use is unparalleled. In fact, it has Beanstalk in mind, with shortcuts to help you connect with your Beanstalk repositories.
With the repo downloaded, it's just a matter of setting it up as a site in Coda, and entering my username and password for Beanstalk. Coda does all the heavy lifting from then on. Committing changes and adding files is as easy as clicking an icon in the same position as if I was uploading it (and not using Subversion). I love that it keeps my muscle memory working for me, and not against me.
Coda is $99, Versions is free (while it's in beta), and Beanstalk starts at $15 per month (which is the plan I have). Put together, though, it's a million-dollar solution.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Found Footage: SCOTTEVEST Woz-i-sodes
Filed under: Humor, The Woz, Found Footage
Apple co-founder Steve "The Woz" Wozniak must have a lot of time on his hands. He's acting in online ads for SCOTTEVEST, the company that makes those great geek clothes with all sorts of pockets, cable runs, etc...
Two Woz-i-sodes are already posted on the SCOTTEVEST site; one titled "Return of the Woz", featuring Woz as Lord Dirth Wozniak (see picture above), while the other "A Fish Story" has Woz using a 1G iPod nano as a handy fishing accessory. And of course, those geeky clothes products from SCOTTEVEST are featured heavily throughout the videos.
Additional Woz-i-sodes will be posted weekly, giving you an excuse to work on your Christmas list and have some fun in the process. Click here to view these cinematicblunderswonders.
Thanks to Kevin for the tip!Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Poladroid beta is seriously awesome
Filed under: Software, Beta Beat
Geezers like me probably remember Polaroid cameras. Before the instant gratification of digital, we stood in the back yard shaking a slowly-developing print of Aunt Shirley sitting with her sheet cake. The result was a square, over-saturated print that would be passed around with calls of "Don't get frosting all over that!"
While the Polaroid corporation stopped production of the bulky cameras in February of 2008, you can still find a few in stores. Or just try Poladroid.
Poladroid creates Polaroid-style images from your photos. The UI is a lot of fun. Drop your photos onto the Poladroid "camera," and after a few seconds, it spits out your unprocessed print. Watch it slowly "develop," or speed up the process by -- you guessed it -- shaking vigorously.
You can create an image at any stage in your print's development by double-clicking and selecting "Take a sample." When your print is fully ready, a red "x" appears on the bottom.
This application, while in beta, is a whole lot of fun. I dropped a dozen pictures onto it in the first five minutes and the results are just great.
I'm really looking forward to the progress of this little app.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Want to write for TUAW?
Filed under: TUAW Business
Let me just say it: we're looking for a few good geeks. Do you have a love for all things Apple, tempered with a healthy dose of skepticism for the power of the RDF? Are you eager to share your favorite tips and tricks with Mac users everywhere? Is your iPhone development mojo so strong that it deserves an iSoapbox? Are you, in short, TUAW material?
If you think you're what we're looking for, why not apply to blog for TUAW? Write about what you love and get paid to do it... seems like a good idea. Here's what we need from you:
A brief biography. Tell us about your history with Apple, how long you've been a Mac user, etc.
3 sample posts written in TUAW's style. One should be a review of something (Mac app or accessory, iPod gear, iPhone app, you get the picture), the second should be an opinion piece, and the third can be whatever strikes your fancy. NOTE: please do not give us links to previously published material in lieu of post samples. We're glad to know about other places your work has appeared, but we need three freshly written and unedited posts.
Your current Mac and iPhone/iPod setup.
Your contact info (email, phone, IM, anywhere else we can find you)
Send this package of "how I am so awesome" to us at apps@tuaw.com as a plain text email; no attachments, please. You have to be at least 18 years old to write for TUAW (sorry, not our choice), but we welcome applicants from all parts of the world -- in fact, we would love to bring some contributors into the fold who are in timezones far away from EST. If you've got specialized Mac interests (scientific computing, video/audio, education), that's fantastic, but generalists welcome too.
Our deadline for this round of applications is Friday, November 7 -- so get down to it!
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Fieldrunners: DTD for iPhone
Yes, I am one of those people.: the bleary-eyed Desktop Tower Defense addicts. The game concept is simple, but remarkably addictive. A series of creatures is attempting to get from the left to the right side of the playing field. You get a limited budget to build various kinds of weapons towers to prevent them from getting across. The more you kill, the more money you get to build more towers.
We've covered various implementations of the basic concepts, like Hordes of Orcs for the Mac. But now this sublime time-suck has an excellent iPhone version in Fieldrunner from Subatomic Studios (App Store link). Sticking to the tried and true gameplay, you have the option of placing four different types of towers (each of which can also be upgraded for additional cost). There are several different kind of enemies (some walking, some on wheels, some flying), each of which is more or less susceptible to the various towers.
The game responds more or less exactly how you would expect. You can zoom in and out with standard iPhone gestures to place your towers with more detail. Towers are positioned by dragging them onto the field from slots below. Each tower already in play can be tapped to bring up a menu to either sell it or upgrade it (if you've got the cash). The graphics are attractive (especially when zoomed in) and responsive. The biggest thing missing is sound, but since I prefer my own music anyway that's not much of a loss. In any case, they promise sound effects are coming in a future version along with new enemies and new towers.
Fieldrunner is $4.99 on the App Store, and worth every penny if you're a DTD fan. Check out some more images after the jump.
[via Infinite Loop]Continue reading Fieldrunners: DTD for iPhone
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - TUAW Hands On: MacSpeech Dictate 1.2 ships
Filed under: Hardware, Software
I've written blog posts on planes, on trains, and definitely in automobiles. This is the first time, however, that I've written a section of a post just using my voice. MacSpeech Dictate, version 1.2 (the
firstthird version using the Dragon technology licensed from Nuance), released this week, is so much better than any previous Mac dictation system that I find I can't think fast enough to keep up with it.The new MacSpeech version isn't cheap. For $200 you get the software on a CD and DVD, plus a Plantronics headset with a USB adapter (other microphone setups are available as options; I'm using it with a Sennheiser headset). It also has fairly steep system requirements -- you'll need an Intel Mac running 10.4.11/10.5.3 or higher. The software isn't problem free; it can get a little confused when you switch back and forth between dictation and typing, and the interface isn't exactly what I'd call streamlined... but the results are unbelievable.
Installation is quite straightforward. Run the app, adjust your headset volume, read about five minutes of training material; then you're ready to roll. Any application that accepts text input will work with the MacSpeech software. Your text appears just as though you had typed it from the keyboard. In my initial testing, accuracy is very, very good. Almost everything I say gets correctly interpreted by the software, so the recognition and correction tools aren't getting much of a workout yet. Later on I'll try some more complicated dictation tasks and see how it goes.
Having to announce each punctuation mark and speak like a newscaster could easily get old, and my coworkers may not appreciate me dictating everything every day. I can't deny, however, that there is something truly magical about the power of MacSpeech Dictate. Spell words it doesn't recognize, add custom words to the vocabulary (including entire text documents already written)... just awesome.
Back to the keyboard -- I can definitely type faster than I can dictate (at least, so far) and other formatting tasks are much easier with a hand on the mouse. Still, for anyone who faces challenges using traditional inputs methods due to RSI or other restrictions, this new version is definitely worth a close look.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - My Dad, the Switcher: Day Zero
Filed under: Switchers, Features
As far as database management and Windows programming is concerned, my dad is what you'd call "hard-core." He's been writing software since the 1960s, starting at Honeywell, then Hewlett Packard, eventually starting his own business. He is an expert with the HP 3000 minicomputer, which, in its day, was heavy computing iron to have lying around.
So it came as a bit of a shock when he called last week and said, "I'm ready to buy a Mac."
He and I are working on a web development project together using open-source tools. Because his workstation is set up for the Microsoft world of SQL Server and .NET, installing XAMPP was wreaking havoc with his complicated array of security software, including Norton and BitDefender. He wanted to start fresh, and work on a system without having to worry about something randomly disallowing access to port 3306. Understandable.
Continue reading My Dad, the Switcher: Day Zero
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - VoiceNotes vs. iDicto vs. Recorder vs. Record
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Four audio recording apps? Sure, why not? Voice note apps make a lot of sense if you are the type of on-the-go person fond of talking to yourself. Luckily there are plenty of choices, and I'll break down the functionality of four that I've been monkeying around with. Each app records from the iPhone mic (and I'm sure they record on the new iPod touches, but I don't have one for testing), each app allows some method to send the resulting audio files to your desktop machine, and each app offers some method for managing the recordings. As you'll see, none are perfect, but each may be suited to a particular type of user. To record the samples I used the same text, read into the built-in iPhone (1st gen) microphone. The apps above, from left to right: VoiceNotes, iDicto, Recorder and Record.
Recorder
Cost: $.99
Recording:
This was one of the first apps I purchased, and it was an early entry on the store. When you start Recorder you'll see a large red rectangle that allows you to quickly start recording. The large button is easy to hit with one hand, and on-screen meters give you a sense of how strong your recording is. Each recording is automatically named with "Memo" plus a number, similar to how screenshots work on your Mac.
Playback:
Recordings aren't great quality, but they are on par with every other app I tested: you won't be bootlegging concerts, but you can clearly hear yourself, even on the iPhone's speakers. A simple playback bar appears when you start playing the audio (just above the Record button), making it easy to move around in the audio sample.
Sync:
WiFi sync uses a browser upload model, similar to iDicto. A nice, big screen appears with a URL you type into your browser. Once you type that in you get a simple interface to download each recording. Those recordings go wherever you've got downloads set to go. You may also email recordings, but as all these apps point out, that's tricky. Apple doesn't really allow attachments, and file size limits would bog this down. I show how it works in the gallery: you are sent a URL in email where the file really lives. Files are saved as AIFF, which is a plus.
Bottom line:
Out of all the apps I tested so far, I think Recorder provides the best value overall. Super simple interface, best sync method, and the quality of recordings was on par with the rest. At $.99 it is priced to move, and should suit most needs.
That said, each of the other apps may have something you're looking for, so read on...
The gallery walks you through almost every screen in every app plus the desktop sync side.Continue reading VoiceNotes vs. iDicto vs. Recorder vs. Record
Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: Shelf Life
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
There are many iPhone applications geared towards helping you shop at the grocery store, but none of them can track how old your food in the fridge is. A new application called Shelf Life [iTunes link] hopes to help you out in this area.
Shelf Life keeps an inventory of your perishable groceries and, based on the date each is added to the list, displays either a green or red bubble beside it. The color will let you know if the item is okay to eat or not. Adding an item to the application is as easy as taping the "+" button in the upper right-hand corner -- once you start typing a name, the application will predict what you are trying to add. The predictive typing is based on other user input, as are the expiration times.
Overall, this application is extremely solid, and allows the user to quickly input items and see what food is about to expire. With the economic times we're in, everyone is trying to save, and this application could definitely help you achieve this goal. Shelf Life is now available on the App Store for $1.99. You can also check out our gallery of screenshots.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Classics brings a different approach to reading on the iPhone
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsA new application coming soon to an iPhone near you hopes to bring a new experience for reading e-books. Classics.app, which is being developed by Andrew Kazmierski and Phillip Ryu, will allow its users to read classic works of literature ... right on their iPhones!
Classics will feature public domain ebooks like Alice in Wonderland, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, and Paradise Lost. Best part of the application? The developers will be offering free updates to owners. With future updates will come a new collection of books. Classics should leave many iPhone owners flipping the virtual pages of books (just remember to charge your iPhone regularly).
Classics will be available soon on the App Store for an introductory price of $2.99. Until it is released, you can watch a short demo movie on their website, and sign up for updates.
For some insight into how Classics was made, check out the designer's blog.
Thanks for the info, Phil!Переслать - Mac 101: Address Book A-Z
Filed under: Software, Mac 101
New to the Mac? Welcome back to our Mac 101 series, which explores the basics of Mac OS X, provides tips and tricks, and dives into key features of Apple's bundled applications.
Address Book is the contact management software bundled with every new Mac. It's easy to use and well integrated with Mail and iCal. Let's explore some of its capabilities.
Creating a new record
There are three ways to do this. The first is to select "New Card" from the "File" menu. The second is to click the "+" icon below the "Name" column. Finally, you can press Command - N on your keyboard.
Next, fill in the fields. Some have drop-down titles. For example, you can label a phone number as "work", "home" or "mobile". Finally, you can add a note to the notes field.
Adding a photo is fun. Just click the photo box next to a contact's name and a new window appears. From there, you can browse to a photo on your computer or take a snapshot with your iSight camera. You can even apply some filters to the photo by clicking the Filters button on the right hand side of the window. That photo will appear on that person's record, on email messages retreived with Apple's Mail and on a synchronized iPhone or iPod.
Continue reading Mac 101: Address Book A-Z
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - O'Reilly iPhoneLive Conference Postponed
Filed under: Software, Other Events, Developer, iPhone, SDK
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsThe O'Reilly iPhoneLive Conference, which was scheduled for November 18th in San Jose, California, has been postponed.
Bill Dudney, one of the co-chairs of the conference, mentioned to me this morning that the conference had been postponed and would be rescheduled at a future date. The O'Reilly website for the conference
is now showing an announcement about the postponement, but no explanation.
Several TUAW readers have expressed their anger about the postponement, particularly because they've already purchased non-refundable airline tickets.
As we receive more info from O'Reilly about the postponement, this post will be updated.Переслать - Path Finder 5.0 is available, more file-management power
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsCocoatech's Path Finder is the Mac OS Finder replacement that many users love (including us). If you haven't used it, you are missing out on something. A tabbed interface, insane customization options, powerful search (you can completely override Spotlight if you like) and so much more will have you ditching the Finder in no time. Path Finder can be run in conjunction with the Mac OS X Finder or on its own.
Today, it gets even better with the release of version 5.0. There are cool new features like a dual-pane file browser, which lets you display two folders simultaneously in one window and move files between them. Other new features include sidebar, Favorite Places and shared network places.
Many so-called "power users" complain about the Finder's limitations. If that's you, chances are Path Finder has the fix. It requires Mac OS10.4Leopard 10.5, and costs$34.95$39.95 for a single license. (Cocoatech let us know that they're working on the server issues that blocked access to the PF5 pages earlier.)Переслать - NYT: Search engine seeing a Mac netbook?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Rumors, Steve Jobs
When Steve Jobs denied that Apple was working on a netbook (small, inexpensive laptop device) during Tuesday's 4Q earnings call, it immediately set off alarm bells for a lot of people. After all, Jobs has denied that Apple was working on other products, only to have them appear months later.
New York Times columnist John Markoff has reported that an "unnamed search engine company" is seeing visits from an unannounced Apple device with a screen resolution somewhere between that of the iPhone (480 x 320) and the 13" MacBook (1,280 x 800). This is leading Markoff to believe that perhaps the long-awaited Mac netbook or new, larger iPhone tablet is going to be announced at Macworld Expo 2009 in early January. Of course, it could just be a hackint0sh that is showing up on the search engine's logs.
When Jobs mentioned during the earnings call that "We don't know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk", perhaps he's telling the truth -- and Apple will have a $500, high-quality tablet or netbook to announce in January.
What's your take on the Mac netbook / tablet rumor mill? Inquiring TUAW readers want to know!Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Win a CardScan Executive for Mac
Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Peripherals
TUAW reported on the new CardScan Executive for Mac in late September, and now you have a chance to win one in an exclusive TUAW giveaway. It's the sweet little scanner seen at right. No, you don't get the iPhone along with it -- that's only in the picture to give you a sense of how small the CardScan really is.
We have a nicely repackaged review unit all ready to ship to one lucky reader to be randomly selected via the comments. To enter, leave a comment and tell us approximately how many business cards (other than your own) you currently have stashed around your home / office / bedroom.
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
- To enter leave a comment telling us how many business cards you currently have.
- The comment must be left before October 31, 11:59PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
- Prize: CardScan Executive for Mac ($259.99)
- Click Here for complete Official Rules.
Переслать - AT&T: 2.4 million 3G iPhones activated from July to September
Filed under: Apple Financial, iPhone
Earlier this week, Apple executives shared the company's fourth quarter financial results. It was a great quarter for Apple, including 6.8 million iPhones sold in June, July and August. During the call, Apple declined to report carrier-specific numbers.
Now, AT&T is reporting that 2.4 million 3G iPhones were activated during that time (that's global sales vs. US activations). It's noteworthy that 1.7 million of those were new subscription customers, representing the largest quarterly increase ever for AT&T.
What's also noteworthy is that US sales account for just 34.8 percent of the total iPhone market, a number likely to shrink even further when the African and Middle Eastern markets are expanded in the coming months.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать
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