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- How-to: Get Google Gears Working in Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard was a remarkably painless upgrade for me, but one particularly important piece of software was broken: Google Gears.
For those who don't know, Gears is Google's framework for storing browser data offline. It works with many Google services as well as some third-party products. I use Gears primarily with Site Specific Browsers (SSBs) like Mailplane and Fluid, which give me offline access to Gmail, Google Reader and Remember The Milk.
These are some of my most used programs, and as such it became eminently obvious to me after the Snow Leopard upgrade that Google Gears was no longer working. To be clear, not all Snow Leopard installs will cause Google Gears to stop functioning. If you do a standard upgrade, Gears functionality should be carried over. Rather, it's those like me who see a new operating system update as an opportunity to do a clean installation that will run into problems.
Specifically the new 64-bit version of Safari includes updated security features that are incompatible with Google Gears. If you tried to install Google Gears for OS X you would get a warning telling you that Google Gears won't install on a version of OS X higher than 10.5. Now this makes some sense since Gears simply won't work with the 64-bit version of Safari, but it also means that other programs like Mailplane and Fluid, which will work fine with the current version of Google Gears, are unable to get access to it's features.
Google gears won't install on a clean Snow Leopard installation.
Thankfully, the helpful folks who developed Mailplane have created a hacked installer for Google Gears that skips the version check and allows you to install the program in Snow Leopard. You can pick up the modified installer here. As with any hack, proceed at your own risk, but my own experience has been flawless. Once I installed this version of Gears, Mailplane and Fluid were once again able to take advantage of the offline features of sites like Gmail.
Even with this version of Gears installed you won't be able to use Gears with 64-bit Safari. If you do want to use Gears with Safari you will need to run it in 32-bit mode. This can be done easily by right-clicking on the Safari package, choosing Get Info and putting a check in the box next to "Open in 32-bit mode". Those of you who use Gears with Firefox may be wondering what all the fuss is about as Gears works fine with that browser. That's because Gears for Firefox is actually a Firefox extension, rather than an operating system service as Gears for OS X is.
I hope this helps out all those other Snow Leopard users who depend on Google Gears and lost the functionality during a clean install. Hopefully Google updates Gears to work natively with Snow Leopard soon so workarounds like these are unnecessary.
Переслать - Apple Negotiating Deal With Second Chinese Cell Carrier
No one said Apple's partnership with China Unicom is exclusive, right? It's an open relationship. Y'know how it is, dinner dates, the cinema, maybe even occasionally meeting the parents. But it's totally cool for them both to see other people, OK?
And that's precisely what's happening. Back in July, I reported here that China Unicom had secured the deal to supply to the iPhone in China. Just two weeks ago other sites were reporting the same thing and now, according to the Wall Street Journal, rival carrier China Mobile appears to be getting in on the action, too.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, China Mobile's chairman Wang Jianzhou said that Apple’s deal with competitor China Unicom was "…absolutely not exclusive.”
"We are still in talks," added Mr Wang, "so I can’t say anything else."
China Mobile was, for a time, the favorite for securing a deal to offer the iPhone in China but apparently negotiations hit a roadblock over Apple's business model which, at that time, was based around revenue-sharing. In November 2007, speaking at the GSM Association's Mobile Asia Congress in Macau, Mr Wang told attendees that he did not like the new business models emerging in the mobile phone industry — specifically, device manufacturers seeking to share revenues with cellular network operators. Instead, he asserted, “We still think we can maintain the operator-centric model because we have the customers, the end users."
They certainly do. China Mobile is the country's largest cell network operator with over 420 million subscribers. That's more than the entire population of the United States.
This move marks the first time since the launch of the iPhone in 2007 that Apple has not expressly fostered an exclusive arrangement with a single carrier in a country, but is instead pursuing arrangements with multiple carriers.
Переслать - Nano Ad Screen Goofs?
With the new iPod nano featuring a built in video camera, Apple’s latest commercial really highlights how easy it is to use. Entitled “Nano Shoots Video,” the spot makes it look super easy and trendy to shoot video, but does the commercial really tell the truth?
Looking at the structure of the iPod nano, the camera is actually found in the lower left corner of the backside. For some, this would be be a bit awkward when holding it, to ensure not covering up the camera.
Generally speaking, Apple’s commercial takes this into account, with careful positioning of holding the iPod. But in reality, is the location of the camera the best possible place? For those of you who have already purchased one, what are your thoughts?
A Few Goofs?
We know Apple’s award winning ad campaigns are creative, inspirational and very memorable. (How many of you have bought songs on iTunes because they were featured in an iPod commercial? Consequently, this song in the latest ad is called Bourgeois Shangri-La, by Miss Li.)
Sometimes though, a close look at the commercials can reveal a bit about how they are made, and show a few goofs. For example, look close at the screen grabs from this commercial below. You’ll see things like video that isn’t quite centered on the screen correctly (indicating it was added after the fact, something Apple actually admits in fine print at the end of the spot). At first, I just thought this was a result of motion blur, but going frame by frame, it’s fairly inconsistent throughout the entire piece.
The very last scene of the commercial showcases all of the nanos in a row. Here is another example of where the video shifts inside the blue nano as it is added to the group. Look at the vertical alignment of the video. As the nano comes into the frame, it’s more aligned towards the bottom of the iPod and when it sits into place, it becomes centered (most obvious when you compare frames 1 and 2 to frames 3 and 4).
Another interesting catch is around 19 seconds in when the guy who is moonwalking is being filmed by an iPod nano that is being held up by just a thumb. Have you noticed anything like this in Apple’s ads before? If you’ve bought the new nano, is this commercial a realistic representation of the video quality, color accuracy and the like? I’d love to hear what you think.
Переслать - iTunes 9: Smart Playlists Are Now Smarter
Smart Playlists in iTunes have always been a powerful way to create specific playlists to meet your needs, from creating a rotating fresh playlist for syncing to an iDevice to creating a specific playlist for a party. Being able to say “give me my music that hasn’t been played in the last month, that is of at least 320kbps and is rated 5 stars” is pretty sweet.
In iTunes 8 and earlier you could create all of these multiple rules and have them applied with a ‘match operator,’ which could be ALL (all rules have to match for a track to be included) or ANY (if any of the single rules apply the track will be included).
iTunes 9 has quietly and substantially expanded the level of complexity that you can create in these rules by allowing you to create nested rules. This lets you build up substantial logic with multiple ANY and ALL match operators being applied.
Lets look at a simple example.
Here I have four individual rules:
- Not played in the last week
- Bitrate is higher than 150kbps
- Was added to my iTunes library this year
- Is Music (not a podcast, or video)
Previously this had to be an ALL or ANY. But now the rule comes down to one and four and (two or three). So it will give me all music that hasn’t been played in the last week, and has either been added this year or is higher than 150kbps.
The example above is simple but reflects the power that can be obtain from single level nesting. But wait, there’s just one more thing. Actually, there’s more than one; you can have up to five levels of nesting.
The possible combinations of logic available here are liable to do one’s head in — but I’d be interested in seeing what complex rules are being used by our readers. Let us know how you use Smart Playlists.
Переслать - Zune HD Getting Application Store, 3D Games
Microsoft is obviously positioning the upcoming Zune HD as a competitor to Apple’s market-dominating iPod touch media player. More evidence of that came out today, as Engadget reports that Redmond has revealed that it will support downloadable apps, including 3D games.
I’m curious about whether or not said games will play nice with their Xbox 360 counterparts, or whether gaming on the Zune HD will at all influence or be affected by the superb 360 gaming experience (minus the occasional RROD, of course). With enough interoperability between the two devices, I think Microsoft could really take some ground away from the iPod touch.
Price is another area where Microsoft could potentially cut into Apple’s business. According to Microsoft’s Zune marketing manager, speaking to the Seattle Times’ Brian Seitz, all games and apps available on the Zune HD will be free downloads. That’s because they’ll either be developed in-house or in tandem with third-party sources, so developers won’t be able to just pick up an SDK and create software for the platform, at least not yet.
Which brings us to the Zune HD’s major failing when compared to the iPod touch. A few select free games handpicked (or hand-coded) by the device’s parent company itself will definitely help the Zune avoid a lot of the chaff and terribly designed offerings available in Apple’s App Store, but it will also stifle the possibility of finding a Rolando, a Tap Tap Revenge, a Fieldrunners, or any of the unique, amazing offerings from smaller studios and developers that managed to do more with the platform than Apple probably envisioned on its own.
In addition to games, the Zune HD will also get Facebook and Twitter apps. Early game titles include Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, and Audiosurf Tilt. Does this latest announcement have anyone feeling more inclined towards Microsoft’s upcoming multimedia device?
Переслать - Nano vs. the Flip: Who wins?
Talking to Flip owners, you sense a bit of defensiveness about the new Nano. It reminds me of a political discussion where you're talking to someone who just saw their candidate lose, despite being smarter, with better positions and shinier teeth. In a sense I can't blame them, since — as shown by Liz and Chris over at NewTeeVee — the Flip actually is a better video camera than the Nano.
But as we know, being better doesn't matter. The new Nano will sell by the truckload, and in the process push pocket video to the masses. As for the Flip, it may not sell as many video cameras as Apple will with its Nano in the coming year, but its certainly not going to get crushed as many predict. What will happen instead — as I write in my analysis over at GigaOM Pro (subscription required) — is Cisco will actually sell more of these devices because of the Nano, as awareness of pocket video goes up.
What are your thoughts? Will the Nano crush the Flip, or grow the market as I predict?
Переслать - Rumor Has It: Apple Tablet Still in the Pipeline, Headed to AT&T
Oh Apple tablet rumors, how I’ve missed you. The interruption of Apple’s Rock and Roll event seemed to take the wind out of your sails, but luckily, it was only temporary. Now, the Taiwan Economic News (via All Things D) is stoking the fires of hope once again with updates on pricing, time frame and technical details of the oft-rumored upcoming device.
Should these latest rumors prove correct, we can expect to see this tantalizing Apple fanboi fantasy by February of next year. Pricing should fall between $799 and $999, which will net you a 9.6-inch touch panel device powered by a mystery P.A. Semi-engineered chip, with a super-long-lasting battery by DynaPack International Technology.
The battery pack order size provides a rough estimation as to what Apple’s expected sales for the new device will be:
Outbidding its Taiwanese counterpart Simplo Technology Co., Ltd., DynaPack International Technology Corp. has been exclusively contracted to supply up to 300,000 units of long lasting battery packs a month for Apple’s newest tablet PCs.
In addition, the tablet will reportedly contain a 3G HSDPA modem, which seems to indicate it would be designed to operate on AT&T’s network. If true, it’s possible that consumers will see some decent discounts on the hardware, so long as they purchase data plans from AT&T along with an Apple tablet.
The full supplier list from the Taiwan Economic News also includes Wintek for the capacitive touchscreen, Wanshih Electronic Company for cables, and Mag. Layers Scientific-Technics Co. Having such an extensive parts supplier list is of course no guarantee that the rumors are accurate, but similar lists appeared before the launch of the iPhone 3G and the 3GS, and both turned out to be accurate.
As for the February date, it does seem a likely candidate for a new product introduction, if only because it will coincide with the new Macworld Expo. Apple, of course, won’t be participating in Macworld this year, but it has traditionally used the keynote of the event to announce new products, so even without participating, it makes sense for it to stick to its established product release schedule.
Steve Jobs, freshly returned as the public face of the company, also dropped some very oblique, but very tantalizing possible reference to a tablet recently in statements made after the Rock and Roll event to David Pogue of the New York Times. He is rumored to be the driving force behind the tablet initiative, if it does exist.
Переслать - Apple Stores May Get Dedicated iPhone Activation Zones
I bought my iPhone 3GS from the Apple Store in London's Regent Street. It's one of Apple's flagship stores, so on any given day of the week it's usually busy. And when I use the word "busy," what I really mean is "insanely, painfully, dizzyingly frantic." Imagine, then, how the just-launched iPhone 3GS added to the Busy. The word "pandemonium" springs cheekily to mind.
Well, now it seems Apple might be taking steps toward improving the in-store iPhone purchasing and activation experience. According to MacRumors, Apple is planning to introduce new, specially-trained dedicated staff and permanent in-store areas where customers can pick up their shiny new phones and have them activated.
The plans require changes to the store layout to make space for a dedicated space, a la Genius Bar, but titled "iPhone Activation Zone." This new zone will be manned by a new category of Apple Store staff, named "iPhone Experts," sporting unique name badges and t-shirts.
MacRumours says that the service requires customers to have already completed the pre-authorization process online, presumably before coming to the store. Mind you, I suppose customers who haven't done this already might use one of the ubiquitous display-model Macs they can find elsewhere in-store to do it. (That's assuming they can fight their way through the throngs of students and curious shoppers who stopped-by to check their email.)
A Wise Move
Increasing the end-to-end speed of the purchase-to-authorization process is crucial to improving the overall experience of acquiring a new iPhone. For many people, the iPhone is the most sophisticated piece of Apple hardware they own. I suspect in a great many cases the iPhone is something of a "gateway drug" to the Macintosh. It certainly was for me. For other potential switchers (even those who don't yet know they're going to become switchers!) enhancing and smoothing-over the iPhone purchase process is a wise move.
The iPhone 3GS is my third iPhone but it's the first I bought in an Apple store. I was so excited — not only was I getting the latest, greatest iPhone, I was getting it from one of Apple's most impressive and famous stores. I expected a typically Apple-tastic experience, but instead, had a pretty lousy one. I stood in a queue with other bored, angry customers who had been waiting a long, long time for the pleasure of parting with a significant amount of their money. (Call me old fashioned, but I believe that a flagship store should provide a flagship experience, particularly to customers who are there specifically to empty their wallets of a lot of green.)
Once I (finally) got to see a member of staff (who shepherded me to an area in the corner where a few old tables had been jumbled together surrounded by rope) I still had to wait and wait and wait. Apparently, there were only two portable credit card machines amongst a dozen staff. Bafflingly, there was only one SIM card removal tool (aka, straightened paperclip) between them, too. After the pain of waiting, waiting and waiting some more, I felt much less giddy about parting with many hundreds of hard-earned pounds sterling.
But I'm already a Mac fanatic. There's just enough fan-boy-ism in my blood to forgive Apple's Regent Street store for its obvious difficulty managing the extraordinary demand the 3GS generated. But in the time I had to sit and stare vacantly into space, I couldn't help but notice the Genius Bar dedicated to Macs and the iPod Bar on the opposite side providing for users of Apple's music players. Clearly Apple catered to its other big sellers, why not the iPhone? Why did we poor saps have to be crammed into a poorly lit, grubby and crowded corner of the store where the experience was…well…lacking.
I'm delighted with the prospect of Apple fixing this and showing its iPhone customers a little more love (at least in-store, where we happily part with our money, if not online, where we grumble and complain and ask for it back.) The name “iPhone Activation Zone" suggests this is only for the purchase and activation of iPhones, not trouble-shooting faulty units. Presumably the Genius Bar will continue to provide that service for iPhones, but I can already picture the many puzzled customers, battered iPhones in-hand, wandering up to the Activation Zone staff and asking,
"Can you fix my iPhone?"
"No, this is just for activating, you need to go to the Genius bar".
"Oh," the customer blinks, double checking the sign on the wall, "I just thought, since the sign says iPhone…"After my poor experience at the Apple Store earlier this year, I was planning to get next year's (inevitable) new iPhone via one of O2's brick and mortar stores. But now I look forward to what might just be a far better experience. At the very least, I'll give it a try.
MacRumors reports Apple's iPhone Activation Zones and iPhone Experts may appear as soon as… right now. So there's a chance your local Apple Store staff might already be moving the furniture about. Have you spotted an iPhone Expert? Have you spoken with one? Most importantly — and this is the question we all want to see answered — what color t-shirts do they wear?
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