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- How iTunes Match solves my obscure downsampling problem
I have a longstanding audio quality problem with iTunes -- but iTunes Match will finally resolve it for me. Hurray! Hopefully this post will help others in the same situation.
It all starts with the sad fact that I'm a perfectionist idiot about audio quality, so I still buy CDs and rip them myself using Apple's lossless codec -- I can't quite bring myself to (usually) pay more on iTunes for a lower quality file. The lossless codec achieves about 50% compression, yielding files about three times larger than the iTunes Plus 256-kbps AAC setting that most people rip in and the iTunes Store uses. It is, however, a complete bit-for-bit copy of the original CD.
Note that its not so much that I can hear the difference; more that I don't drive myself mad wondering if I can. I have occasionally, but admittedly not often, picked up the odd rough-sounding cymbal splash in iTunes Plus files when listening on decent headphones; but I am by no means one of those audiophiles who believes in spending thousands on speaker cables and $2000 on a power cord that defies the laws of physics. Still, though, by using only Apple lossless audio codec (ALAC), I know that I can avoid even thinking about sound quality issues. That's the appeal for me.
Even if you're unconvinced by my reasoning here (and I admit it has more to do with my own eccentricities than strict logic), there's another reason to prefer ALAC format ripping -- down the road, if I have to change to alternative music formats, I won't need to rip the CDs again. I can turn the ALAC files back into pure WAV format and then transform them into any other format without any further loss of quality. I do this occasionally when I want to put more music on the USB stick that I keep plugged into my car radio, which will play mp3 and WMA files but not AAC. In contrast, running a lossy encoded format file like AAC through the encoding process to another one like mp3 results in a really muddy, horrible sounding file.
However, whilst ALAC is fine for use on my Mac where disk space is cheap and for streaming around my house's Ethernet network where bandwidth is plentiful, it's not really much use for syncing to my iPhone, because it's too darn big. I'd prefer to compromise quality a little on the iPhone in order to fit a decent amount music in and because I mostly listen to the iPhone when walking the dogs or in my noisy day-job office, neither of which demand the highest fidelity.
Sadly, iTunes really doesn't want to work with me. It has the "convert higher bitrates" option, which is teasingly close to what I want, but it's irritatingly locked to only output 128 kbit/sec AAC. That really is too low -- I can definitely hear annoying compression artifacts. So, for a long time, I've been maintaining two iTunes libraries. One is full of ALAC and I use it for playback in the house; the other is full of AAC and I use it to sync my iPhone with. Hence, when I rip a CD, I have to rip it twice (or do a second pass of conversion from the ALAC files to AAC), and if any track names, album art, or other metadata need adjusting, I need to adjust it twice. This is tedious and annoying.
Enter iTunes Match, which might just solve this problem for me at a stroke. I'm hoping it will allow me to rip once as an ALAC file, and upload that converted file to iCloud. Apple says that:
[A]ll the music iTunes matches plays back at 256-Kbps iTunes Plus quality -- even if your original copy was of lower quality.
which implies to me that even ALAC files going in come out at the lower quality 256 kbit/sec setting. I wouldn't even need to cable my iPhone to iTunes to get new music any more, let alone rip CDs twice or juggle multiple iTunes libraries. For $25 a year, I'm in, although it seems that we'll be waiting until 2012 to get iTunes Match in the UK.
Although this problem is fairly obscure, I have seen others people post about this problem from time to time (one, two, and many of the comments below). I hope this post will reach those folk and prompt them to look at this little side-effect of iTunes Match more closely.
How iTunes Match solves my obscure downsampling problem originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me pick a shopper card app
Dear Aunt TUAW,
My wallet is full to bursting -- and not with cash. (Don't try pulling a Soupy Sales on this nephew.) I've got too many shopper cards, library cards, etc.
Help me empty my wallet of cards -- and if you don't mind, fill it with cash instead.
Your loving nephew,
Fnulnu
Dear Fnulnu, (And, yes, Auntie knows what that stands for.)
Auntie isn't about to send you money, so she's skipping the filling-with-cash part. Cheeky! She does, however sympathize about the shopper cards.
All of us now carry more and more IDs around that stretch our wallets to their limits and our patience as well. She's reminded of a great scene from Neil Gaiman's American Gods, where the hero tried to argue with a ticket agent that an expired driver's license was worthless for driving but perfectly valid for identification purposes. Good book.
Auntie is most familiar with two iPhone Apps, CardStar and Key Ring Reward Cards. Both are free. CardStar is ad-supported, and Key Ring seems to be monetized by referrals. Both are fairly badly designed, with annoying GUI quirks, and Key Ring requires that you register -- so your personal information is almost certainly being used to fund the app.
It is, however, the slicker and easier-to-use of the two. Auntie qualifies "easy to use" because both apps have significant issues. For example, Key Ring never seems to have assumed that you might want to enter a pile of IDs all at once. You have to keep going back to a main menu to get to "Add Card" again.
CardStar (first mentioned here) offers buttons that seem to have been tested on the computer rather than on actual devices -- its Cancel and Next buttons are so close together that Auntie always hits the wrong one. On the iPhone, developers need to remember that the human finger is bigger than a mouse cursor and space items accordingly.
Key Ring is superficially prettier and offers a much more complete set of retailers. Both apps allow you to enter vendor names manually, but CardStar's entry method (you have to edit "Title," halfway down the page, not "Merchant" at the top) is poorly designed. Key Ring also automatically offers you coupons related to your vendors, so it's got some smart marketing happening.
Neither app really wins Auntie's heart. She really would like to see either or both developers hire some good GUI talent and work on their app usability.
In addition to the current functionality, she'd love to see both apps add a rotation lock, so when you present your ID to a retailer, the person working the cash register won't get confused by the iPhone's autorotate feature. She'd also like to be able to snap photos of IDs in addition to just scanning bar codes. (Although the scanning features offered by each app are sweet.)
On the whole, Auntie rather prefers Key Ring, privacy issues aside, because it's somewhat slicker than Card Star. Plus the coupons can be occasionally cool. Both apps are useful enough to keep around on your phone until someone gets around to developing a tighter solution, but both would benefit from interface overhauls -- as well as more explicit privacy statements from inside the app.
If you're looking for a more general keep-track-of-stuff app that can handle loyalty cards and the like , Uncle Mike suggests either the free Evernote (which will take pictures) or the paid 1Password (which will keep things extra secure).
Hugs,
Auntie T
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me pick a shopper card app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Create quality iPad 2 product demos with Apple TV and EyeTV
After much effort, we've found a solid TUAW solution for screencasting the iPad 2 to desktop computers. Steve Sande and I have been documenting our attempts at this challenge for several months now.
Back in March, Steve got basic 480p mirroring working. I then improved that to 720p/720i, although my solutions did have a slight aspect ratio problem. I also wrote about adding audio narration and pointer effects.
Now, by modifying my setup and adding in technology introduced in Steve Jobs' keynote this past Monday, I've built a really reliable system with great responsiveness, minimal wires, and good video details. It's built, as you've already guessed, around AirPlay Mirroring, so it is limited to the iPad 2. And, because it uses AirPlay's announced but not-yet-shipping features, I can't offer screenshots or talk about how to set it up on the iPad side.
That's okay, because from the iPad side it's just a matter of setting the AirPlay options as required. The hardware is the interesting bit, and none of that is specific to iOS 5. I'm going to describe how I set up things on my computer, with equipment you can purchase and test today, even if you're not in the developer program.
What I'm going to describe is not capturing video from the iPad, it's capturing video from your Apple TV. When iOS 5 is released, you'll be able to use the wireless screencasting from Monday's keynote to send your iPad video to Apple TV. Right now, unless you are in the beta program and have an iPad 2, you will only be able to record your Apple TV screen with whatever content is on it today.
Like my previous efforts, this solution is built around the Elgato EyeTV HD (street price around $170). The EyeTV HD accepts component (RGB/RW) input and can ably display and record 720p HD video.
I was met with complete failure when I first tried converting the iPad 2's HDMI cable output to composite video. I had bought an HDMI-to-Component converter box from Amazon. For that failed effort, I was personally out about $55 dollars plus a bit of time. The box didn't work with Apple's multimedia cable and the iPad 2, and I never ended up posting about the solution -- there was nothing more to say than "it didn't work."
Fortunately, the converter was still on-hand this week. I had tossed it into a box of outdated and failed equipment. When I realized I might be able to use the Apple TV's HDMI output for product demos, I connected the converter up to the EyeTV HD and ran the Apple TV HDMI cable to it.
Success!
So what do you get for your approximately-$325 solution (EyeTV, component converter and Apple TV)? You get very good quality capture, as shown in the screen shot at the top of this post. Don't expect pixel-perfect accuracy. EyeTV will compress your video and you will experience some blurriness. What's more, wireless video almost always involves some bandwidth compromises, so don't expect perfection there either for when you do get access to iOS 5.
Instead, expect a really workable answer to your iPad 2 demonstration-recording needs. This setup works well for both product videos and screencasting. As a bonus, the iPad 2 isn't tethered to an awkward cable adapter, and your various boxes can stack neatly next to your computer (or TV, as the case may be).
Create quality iPad 2 product demos with Apple TV and EyeTV originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - UAE carrier Etisalat says 4G iPhone 5 will ship this year
Dubai's Gulf News is reporting that United Arab Emirates-based carrier Etisalat is in talks with Apple to sell a 4G iPhone 5 later this year. Ali Al Ahmad, Chief Corporate Communication Officer of Etisalat told the Gulf News, "Yes, we are in talks with most smartphone manufacturers including Apple on the rollout of the 4G handset, iPhone 5 later this year. As the first telecom organization to roll out the 4G network, LTE, in the Middle East, we have already started talking to them for the handsets and chipsets in them."
However, despite Ahmad's assertion on an LTE iPhone 5 later this year, readers should approach this news with caution. Right now there are no solid facts about the next iPhone. The next iPhone will be the fifth-generation iPhone, but no one can even agree on its name, let alone the telecommunications technology it will have.
Some say the fifth generation iPhone will be called the "iPhone 4S," while others say it will be known as the "iPhone 5." However, regardless of the name, there are rumors that the iPhone won't see 4G LTE until the sixth generation iPhone (which could very well be called the "iPhone 5"). It's entirely possible that carrier executives like Ahmad could be confusing the version and name with associated telecommunications technology.
But at the risk of fanning the flames, it's also possible that Apple could roll out a 4G LTE-equipped iPhone in the fall. The company is pushing back the new iPhone hardware launch later this year than in the past and the extra time could provide the wiggle room to wait until there are enough 4G chips ready in a slim enough form factor to fit the next generation iPhone without compromising its design -- something current 4G chips can't do.
UAE carrier Etisalat says 4G iPhone 5 will ship this year originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me monitor security video from my iPhone
Dear Auntie,
Hey Auntie what's up? I would love if somebody over there can point in the right direction of the best iOS-friendly business security system.
I would love to be able to control my security DVR and view it remotely on either my iPad or iPhone so I can keep an eye on my small business when I am away.....
Love the site and keep up the great work,
Jay-G
Continue reading Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me monitor security video from my iPhone
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me monitor security video from my iPhone originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Facebook acquires Mac development house for design talent
Facebook has just bought Dutch Mac development house Sofa, according to a company blog post. In the Mac world, Sofa is best known for four of the Mac apps that it makes: Kaleidoscope, Versions, Checkout and Enstore.
However, Facebook's acquisition of Sofa had nothing to do with the Mac apps -- it was purely a purchase to get the company's design talent. "Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. But again, this is a pure talent acquisition for Facebook. And we've heard the main emphasis behind it is to continue to boost their [Facebook's] product design talent," according to TechCrunch.
Fans of Sofa's apps don't have to worry about their future however. Though Facebook purchased the company, it did not purchase the rights to the apps. The company says that Kaleidoscope and Versions will live on, but Sofa will need to find homes for the apps at other development houses. Checkout and Enstore will also survive due to joint partnerships that were formed to create the apps.
Facebook acquires Mac development house for design talent originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Bria extends VoIP phone client to iPad
If you've been looking around for a solid VoIP/SIP client for the iPad or iPhone, consider CounterPath's Bria.
For all the excitement around VoIP on the iPhone and iPod touch (including high profile apps like Skype, Vonage TalkFree for Facebook and Line2), relatively few developers have gone after the corporate side of the voice mix. With so many large enterprises using Asterisk-based PBX replacements for VoIP telephony, a solid SIP client for iPhone and iPad seems like a natural winner.
Bringing the advantage of its long pedigree in desktop VoIP clients, CounterPath now delivers some of that savvy to iOS with Bria. On the Mac, Bria is the successor to the capable EyeBeam and free X-lite softphones; now shipping on both the iPhone (US$7.99) and launched this week for the iPad ($14.99), it provides some of the key features needed in a mobile voice solution. Bria works out of the box with major IP-telephony service providers (ITSPs), but keep in mind it does not include service with the app; you need to be using a hosted service or your company's IP telephony infrastructure for Bria to work.
The three most important considerations for any softphone app are call quality; call quality; and, of course, call quality. I was able to make and receive calls on several WiFi networks using Bria and a Fonality PBXtra server (built off the Trixbox Asterisk platform). While I heard a bit of near-side echo and low-bandwidth choppiness during some calls, most of the time the audio was as good or better than it would be on a conventional iPhone call, and less likely to drop. The people I called reported my voice quality as 'awesome' and 'really spectacular,' so it seems the artifacts I heard from time to time were on my side only.
It's easy to set up Bria; the app takes the same credentials and server info you use for your desktop VoIP/SIP softphone. Once you enter your server name and authorization, you can begin making and receiving calls. Bria is optimized for WiFi use, but it will work over 3G if you enable that option in preferences; however, you're at risk of chewing up your wireless data allocation if you make a lot of calls that way, and quality will suffer a bit. On the flip side, you are not using any voice minutes, and for calls to colleagues on your internal phone system you will appear to be calling from your office extension -- a great trick when you're actually enjoying a piña colada by the pool.
The iPad edition of Bria works perfectly with multitasking, allowing you to switch apps and continue a call in the background. Both standard wired headphone/mic combos and Bluetooth headsets work great, but what's really surprising is that the iPad works quite well as a speakerphone -- plop it onto your conference table and away you go.
You can optimize your voice quality by selecting a preferred codec in the advanced app preferences; this is also where you turn on 3G calling, set backgrounding options, and adjust other items. For the best quality on 3G calls, Counterpath offers the G.729 premium codec as an in-app purchase -- unfortunately, it's $8.99, so it's unlikely to appeal to most users unless you really need the improved low-bandwidth mojo.
Backgrounding may affect your battery life, since most SIP servers will require a UDP connection that isn't directly supported by Apple's notification scheme; some newer servers may work with TCP, which does save power and improve background rings. You can also set incoming calls to forward to your cell number for when Bria's not running.
CounterPath's market position provides a good perspective on the impact of iOS and the Mac in the enterprise market, since its products address business needs almost exclusively. When I spoke to senior VP of marketing and products Todd Carothers earlier this week, he acknowledged the accelerating interest from businesses big and small in Apple platforms: "We have seen a significant enough growth in Mac Bria sales since the launch of 3.0 to SME/Enterprise customers. What's happening is Enterprises want multiple OS support with common UI elements." Being able to offer a consistent user experience across PC and mobile platforms would seem to be particularly important for telephony applications, since business users are going to spend a lot of time making and taking calls.
Bria is definitely a business product at a business price, and it's a bit frustrating that CounterPath didn't choose to deliver it as a universal app instead of the split-SKU arrangement in place now. Nevertheless, if your company is rocking an IP PBX and you want a premium VoIP experience, there's no better choice right now.
Bria extends VoIP phone client to iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - UK GQ subscribers will get iPad version for free
Conde Nast has told Pocket-lint that UK subscribers to its print edition of GQ will get the iPad version of the magazine for free. Currently the UK GQ Magazine iPad app is a free download, but users have to pay £2.40 per issue. However, Conde Nast is working with Apple to bring annual subscriptions and more a la carte options to the UK edition of GQ on the iPad. When it does, subscribers to the print edition will get the iPad edition for free.
Conde Nast's decision to give the iPad edition of its magazine away for free to subscribers mirrors the decision by Time, Inc to give away its iPad editions to annual print subscribers. While iPad editions of magazines are starting to catch on, it looks like the magazine publishers have realized that current print subscribers wouldn't be happy if they had to pay for the digital editions of the same magazine they already get in the mail.
UK GQ subscribers will get iPad version for free originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - HTC leveraging window before next iPhone release
HTC may top Apple as the #1 smartphone vendor in the US for the next few months, according to a report in DigiTimes. The Taiwanese handset maker is selling two new and popular Android models, the Thunderbolt for Verizon and the Inspire 4G for AT&T. At the same time, Apple is still offering the iPhone 4, a model that is now more than one year old on AT&T. Sales are expected to slow for the iPhone 4 and rise for the HTC handsets.
Apple did see a small boost in sales when it launched the iPhone 4 for Verizon and the white iPhone 4 earlier this year, but these additions may not be enough to fend off the growing sales of the HTC devices. HTC should enjoy its time at the top, as this may all change when the iPhone 5 is introduced -- hopefully this fall.
HTC leveraging window before next iPhone release originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPhone 101: Using Voice Control
While we wait for iOS 5 to deliver cool new features, here's a look at Voice Control, a feature introduced with the iPhone 3GS model. There are three types of Voice Control commands: phone, music and other. Here's how to use each.
Launching Voice Control
Of course, you can't use Voice Control until you get it running. You can either hold the Home Button down for about two seconds, or do the same with the middle button on your supplied Apple earbuds. You'll hear a beep and the iPhone's screen will display "Voice Control" with a blue background. Now, let's issue some commands.
Phone commands
Your iPhone understands "call" and "dial." To tell your iPhone to call a contact, say "call" (or "dial") plus the contact's name. For example, saying "Call Janie Smith" will launch the phone app and call Janie's number. If a contact has several numbers (work and home, for example), you can specify which one you want. "Call Janie Smith home" will call Janie's home number.
Calling a number that's not in your contacts list is just as easy. Simply say, "call" plus the number.
Music commands
Voice Control supports a nice list of music commands, from starting and stopping a song to asking about the artist. Here's how to get started.
You can say "play" or "play music" to get the music going. If you've got a song paused when you issue the play command, it will resume. If the iPod app isn't running, it will start at the very first song in your library.
Of course, you can get specific. Voice Control also understands "play playlist [name of playlist]," "play album [name of album]" and "play artist [name of artist]." For example, saying "Play album Dark Side of the Moon" will start the first track of that album, while "Play artist Pink Floyd" will start at the first track of the first album in your Pink Floyd collection (you have one, right?).
While you're at it, create a Genius playlist. While a song you dig is playing, tell Voice Control "Genius play more like this" or "Genius play more songs like this" or simply "play more like this" and it'll create a Genius playlist for you on the spot.
Simple navigation is also possible. Your iPhone understands "pause," "pause music," "next song," "previous song" and "shuffle."
Finally, you can ask your iPhone four questions about the track being played. Specifically, "what's playing," "what song is this," "who sings this song" or "who is this song by."
Miscellaneous commands
Here are a few other commands that don't fit into the previous categories.
"What is the time" or "what time is it." For most people it's quicker to tap the Home Button once and look at the time, but this command will benefit visually impaired users.
"Cancel" and "stop" exit Voice Control.
You can correct a mistake (and there will be plenty. More on that in a minute) by saying, "no," "not that," "nope," "not that one" or "wrong." Write those down now.
Finally, saying "FaceTime" supposedly initiates a FaceTime call. Which brings me to the bad news.
Voice Control works in the way that temporary tattoos look like real tattoos. At first it's passable but upon closer inspection, you see that it's not the real thing (my attempts at initiating a FaceTime call launched a Genesis album). Placing calls was the most reliable function, while the phone had trouble understanding some musical artist's names and was downright befuddled at other times.
That being said, I have friends who swear by it, so perhaps I've got poor diction. Give it a try yourself using the commands listed above, and dream of the day that Siri purchase actually pays off.
Thanks to reader Walt whose email inspired this post!
iPhone 101: Using Voice Control originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW's Daily Mac App: MailTab
Even with the upcoming overhaul to Mail in Lion, there are still plenty of alternatives for accessing your Gmail in OS X without going through the default Mail.app. Several TUAW bloggers are ardent fans of Mailplane, a US$24.99 app that turns Gmail's web interface into a dedicated email client.
Then there's MailTab, which comes in two flavors: Free and a $1.99 pro version. MailTab sits in the menu bar and allows you to access Gmail's mobile interface without needing to access a web browser. It works fairly well and brought in my Gmail information automatically from where I had been signed in with Safari. If you're familiar with Gmail's mobile interface, it's easy to use. The only difference between the free and the pro version is that Gmail chat is added to the pro version. It also lacks switching between linked accounts. You have to completely sign out of MailTab to sign into another account.
If you don't care to constantly fiddle with a web browser or have a single Gmail account, check out MailTab. But, if you have more than one Gmail account and want a more robust features that integrate with OS X, Mailplane is the better choice.
TUAW's Daily Mac App: MailTab originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - T-Mobile ad illustrates Angry Birds' immense popularity
One app that has grown from an iPhone hit to a worldwide phenomenon is Rovio Mobile's Angry Birds. Whether you're a fan of knocking over pigs and structures by flinging birds, or go berserk when you hear the Angry Birds theme music, you have to admit that the popularity of what was originally a simple iOS game it pretty amazing. Now T-Mobile is capitalizing on Angry Birds fever with a clever YouTube video titled Angry Birds Live.
A human-scaled mockup of the Angry Birds world was created in a square in Barcelona, with lucky participants using the game on a smartphone to launch birds on their castle-smashing journey. It includes authentic sounds effects and exploding pigs, and was obviously popular judging from the size of the crowd that appears.
The ad isn't iPhone-specific, noting that T-Mobile has the "widest range of smartphones," but the carrier does sell the iPhone outside of the U.S. and the game got its start on iOS. With that, we present to you Angry Birds Live in all of its glory:
T-Mobile ad illustrates Angry Birds' immense popularity originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - New MacBook Air production rumored to begin this month
MacBook Air fans who are anxious to have the latest Intel Sandy Bridge chips in their thin and lovely laptops don't have much longer to wait. Wall Street analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, in a conversation with Apple Insider, noted that Apple has placed orders for nearly 400,000 MacBook Airs containing the Core i5 and Core i7 chips.
Slightly over half of the new MacBook Airs being produced this month are expected to be the 11.6-inch model, which has proven to be a bit more popular than its 13.3-inch sibling due to the $999 price for the entry-level device.
The new ultra-low-voltage Core i5 and Core i7 chips contain between 3 and 4 MB of Smart Cache and can support a theoretical 8 GB of RAM. The present MacBook Air models use two-year-old Core 2 Duo chips that can only support a maximum of 4 GB of DDR3 SDRAM. It's unknown, but likely, that the new MacBook Airs will also support the new Thunderbolt I/O technology.
New MacBook Air production rumored to begin this month originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iOS 5 contacts app has fields for Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn and Myspace info
One of the more interesting iOS 5 features revealed this week during the Monday keynote was seamless integration with Twitter. Now a report published by All Things D shows that fields for other social networking sites also appear in the iOS 5 contacts app, including Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, and Myspace.
While the operating system's integration with Twitter is fairly widespread -- single sign-on for multiple apps, ability to send photos directly from the Camera, YouTube, Safari, and Maps apps, and auto-fill from Contacts -- it appears that at this time the other social sites aren't as tightly bound to iOS 5. Users can begin by populating handles for each of the sites on an address book page for a contact, although developers speaking to All Things D reported that even that capability was a bit buggy at this time.
As blogger Liz Gannes notes, "The inclusion of the feature shows Apple's acknowledgement of the importance of Web presences and contact information." At this point, manually entering friends' handles could be onerous for those who have hundreds or thousands of "friends" on each social networking site. Apple could offer Twitter-like authentication for the other services, which would make matching contacts and social network handles somewhat more automatic.
With at least three or four months remaining before iOS 5 becomes available to users, we're sure to hear much more about social network integration in the new mobile OS.
iOS 5 contacts app has fields for Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn and Myspace info originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Display shortage forces Samsung to lose its competitve edge over the iPad 2
Samsung may be forced to fatten its tablet devices due to a display shortage. The Korean company gleefully proclaimed its revised Galaxy Tab line was thinner than the iPad 2 and repeatedly showcased the tablet's anorexic design.
An unfortunate display shortage has forced the company to drop its thinner GFI display and replace it with a thicker GFF display. This Glass Fiber Filter display is almost 40 percent thicker and has lower light transmittance than its thinner counterpart. Samsung maybe forced to make two variants of the Galaxy Tab, one with the original spec and one with a slightly heftier profile.
Display shortages are an unfortunate part of electronics manufacturing. AMOLED display shortages delayed the full rollout of the several Android handsets inducing the DROID Incredible. More recently, Apple is thought to have cornered the market in tablet displays, forcing manufacturers like RIM and Motorola to scramble for the leftovers.
[Via Electronista]
Display shortage forces Samsung to lose its competitve edge over the iPad 2 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Current stock of Verizon iPad 2s being pulled by Apple?
Several posts on Apple's support forums suggest Apple is withholding shipments of a select number of Verizon iPad 2s. Details are sparse but shipments en route from China are apparently being called back to their destination.
9to5Mac was also reportedly told by a store employee that Apple has provided a list of serial numbers for Verizon iPad 2 models. All shipments from June 6 to June 11 are supposed to be scanned for these blacklisted devices. If any are found, they are sent back to Apple. This one store has already sent back 100 tablets.
From the description, this unknown problem apparently affects a handful of Verizon iPad 2 units. Neither Apple nor Verizon has publicly commented on this unexpected and unofficial recall.
Current stock of Verizon iPad 2s being pulled by Apple? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - WWDC Interview: Boinx Software
This week TUAW and MacTech Magazine teamed up to speak to developers at WWDC about the keynote and how Apple's new technologies will help them and their customers. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll bring you those videos here, at MacTech.com and at MacNews.com. Also, check out the free trial subscription offer for MacTech Magazine here.
In this video I have a chat with Oliver Breidenbach from Boinx Software, makers of FotoMagico, iStopMotion, PhotoPresenter, Mouseposé and one of the tools we use for our Macworld streaming setup: BoinxTV. This week at WWDC Boinx introduced Orientator for BoinxTV and LibOrientator for iOS devs. Most of the Boinx products are available in the Mac App Store as well, often in a "pro" and "home" version with pricing according to your needs.
Oliver's team delivers a great suite of tools for animators, filmmakers, videographers and presenters. We spoke about their business and what the WWDC announcements mean to them.
WWDC Interview: Boinx Software originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple files motion to intervene in Lodsys suit
Apple has filed a motion to intervene for developers being sued by Lodsys. The motion was filed in the Eastern District of Texas and notes that the developers are:
"are individuals or small entities with far fewer resources than Apple and [...] lack the technical information, ability, and incentive to adequately protect Apple's rights under its license agreement."
Precedence suggests Apple will be allowed to intervene in this case. The company will likely argue that Lodsys' claims are covered by an existing licensing agreement Apple has with the firm. If Apple is successful, Lodsys would not be allowed to collect twice on the same licensed patent.
It is not known whether Apple will pay for the legal costs of these developers, but it is good news that Apple is stepping in legally in this case.
Apple files motion to intervene in Lodsys suit originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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