MacCast 10.11.2009 - Show #281
Media/Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is "Say Anything" by Manda and the Marbles
* Band's MySpace page
V Sponsor
V Faronics
* Deep Freeze
* If your in IT, running an edu lab, library, have a hotel or internet cafe.
* Snow Leopard compatible and was from day 1.
* 30-day free trial available
V News
V Predictions for Apple 4Q call
* The upcoming call is Oct. 19th at 2:00 PM PT
V AppleInsider says according to Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner investors don't yet fully realize the impact that last months accounting rules changes made by the Financial Accounting Standards Board will have on Apple's results
* Under the new rules Apple will get to report and recognizes more iPhone sales at time of sale.
* Oppenheimer's price target is set to $210 per share.
V New mouse to go with new Macs
* AppleInsider claims Apple may be looking to make the Mighty Mouse mightier. A simple feat if you ask me. Just add 2 real buttons and a scrollwheel.
* iMac and Mac Mini supplies are said to be dwindling with resellers being told to expect long lead times to get new shipments.
* Now the Mighty Mouse in on 2 week backorder fueling the speculation.
* No scrollball or wheel, but multitouch surface. Software expected to mimic the iPod touch and iPhone scrolling actions, including acceleration and "bounce" back.
* The name will likely change since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded use of the "Mighty Mouse" name for peripherals to maker Man & Machine.
V Engadget noted a FFC filing by Apple for a new Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard
* Included images which were pulled and replaced with cropped ones only showing FCC labels and model numbers
* new keyboard is smaller than the current AL one, so no number pad
* rumor that mouse may be Al as well, but not likely with multitouch.
V Rumors on Mac Tablet shift to media device
* TMO has a report that Apple is allegedly in talks with book and magazine publishers to provide content for a new device
* iTunes Albums, could be great for syncing to a larger media tablet.
V Gizmodo sources a Newsarama piece that says Andy Ihnatko believes Apple is poised to start selling eBook content on iTunes, he just doesn't know when
* Says he's hearing over and over Apple is getting large shipments of books delivered to it's campus.
V Several blogs noted that AppleInsider recently uncovered a 2009 Apple patent filing for a multitouch gesture and hand-based interface that would be prime for a tablet UI.
* TMO says PC World Blog things the patent may apply to a replacement for the keyboard and mouse combo.
* One of the patent filing images seems to support that.
V TMO and others site the Digitimes which is reporting that Foxconn will manufacture the device
* Will be due in Q1 of 2010
* With a 10.4" touchscreen
* Apple reported ordered an inital shipment of 300,000 to 400,000 units.
V I still feel the device should be able to dock and be used as a 2nd USB display, using DisplayLink like technology
* Actually this would be cool for iPhones and iPod touches as well, for little widgets, monitors, etc. (iStat display).
V Snow Leopard adoption going strong
* ArsTechnica looked at recent numbers released by Net Applications and about 18.5% of Mac users appear to have made the leap to Snow Leopard.
V Net Applications numbers
* 5% of visitors to their member sites running OS X
* about 33% running Leopard
* about 20% running Tiger
V More iPhone carrier choice in the Great White North
* According to a MacNN piece both cell carriers Bell and Telus in Canada have announced agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone 3G and 3GS starting in November
* This is another in a series of announcements where Apple is opening up the iPhone to multiple carriers in various markets outside the US.
* Interesting in the Bell and Telus situation is that they are both currently CDMA only carriers, but will deploy compatible HSPA (3G) networks until they move to 4G LTE in 2011
* Bell says they will launch a 21Mbps HSPA+ network in November
* In other, but unrelated international news, AppleInsider notes that Apple launched a regionalized online Apple Store for Brazil.
V AT&T will allow Skype and Google Voice VoIP on 3G
* MacRumors says AT&T confirmed it notified Apple and the FCC that it would allow VoIP functionality on the iPhone over it's 3G network
* As Electronista notes, AT&T had, in the past, disallowed VoIP on the iPhone.
V Apple quickly responded to the announcement with good news.
* Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said, "We will be amending our developer agreements to get VOIP apps on the App Store and in customers' hands as soon as possible."
V The MacObserver note AT&T told the Wall Street Journal that while they will allow VoIP they haven't figured out yet how to open up tethering for iPhone users
* "For tethering, we need to do some additional fine tuning to our systems and networks so that we do deliver a great experience," an AT&T spokesperson said.
V AT&T CEO De la Vega says iPhone owners may need to be "managed"
V Macworld says in a recent speech at the CTIA Conference in San Diego AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega put a lot of attention on iPhone owners disproportionately heavy use of it's data network.
* The 3% of AT&T customers using iPhones eat up 40% of all smartphone data
* They use 13 times the data as an "average" smartphone customer
* De la Vaga hinted that until new spectrum and 4g networks become available that the network would have to be "managed" to avoid shutting out the majority of customer who use less data.
* Of course he offered no specifics, but I think we have seen things like delayed roll-out of MMS and tethering as examples.
V At the same CITA event AT&T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan defended the AT&T network which has been under attack by a recent Verzion anti-iPhone ad, "There's a Map for that" (Coverage map).
* Will start upgrading it's 3G network to HSPA 7.2 (iPhone 3GS supported, 7.2Mbps) this year in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Miami and Charlotte, North Carolina.
* In 25 of the top 30 markets by the middle of next year
* Will begin deploying their 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network commercially in 2011.
* AT&T is 90 percent finished deploying 850MHz spectrum which offers better indoor coverage in larger metro areas.
V iPhone OS 3.1.2 released
* For iPhone and iPod Touch
* Resolves sporadic issue that may cause iPhone to not wake from sleep
* Resolves intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular network services until restart
* Fixes bug that could cause occasional crash during video streaming
V I continue to have horrific battery issues with my 3GS
* Hoping this update may improve things, but seen some tweets to the contrary
* Updates AT&T carrier settings file to version 5.6
V Feedback, Comments and Commentary
V Additional ways for viewing dock icon minimized windows
* Play tip from Arun
* You can also tab through all the open apps when the Expose view is active to see minimized apps in each app.
* I should have been clearer. I was wanting an "at a glance" way to look at the dock (without having to activate anything) to know which apps I had minimized windows into. A badge icon with numbers might even be nice.
V Possible reason for slow iPhone software/hardware integration
* Andy a grad student has shed some light. He is trying to work on projects that would integrate iPhone hardware and software
V The issue is more on the hardware side and Apple opening up the program to more people
* While all of the software APIs exist in the form of the External Accessory Framework in the iPhone SDK it's the hardware that's the sticky bit
* To make your hardware you must "Apply" for and pay for the "Made for iPod and Works with iPhone" license
* An Apple rep told Andy that Apple is much more selective about who is allowed into the "Made for iPod and Works with iPhone" programs.
V Flash sneaks on to the iPhone, but do we want it?
* Adobe announced that Flash CS5 will let developers create iPhone-native applications.
* Is that a good or bad thing?
* I will say up front I despise Flash. I think it's an outdated technology that is bloated and no longer needed with HTML 5 on the horizon.
* My initial reaction is we will see another flood of "experimental" apps like we did when the SDk first came out.
V To be fair there are some amazing Flash developers out there, but it does significantly lower the barrier to entry to the App Store.
* Again I think the iPhone has become the Windows application world for Apple fans
* Too many choices getting harder to find the gems, but there are great gems.
V Parental controls broken in Snow Leopard
* I don't use the feature, but Dan says he does and can't upgrade until the issues in this discussion thread are fixed
* Basic issue seems to be it not honoring computer time limits.
* Wasn't clear if this was only an issue with upgrade installs or if it was an issue with a fresh clean install creating brand new user accounts.
* For Internet blocking and time limits there is Intego Content Barrier, which says it's Snow Leopard compatible
V Maccast One Minute Tip #166 - The Dirty Button
* Play Maccast One Minute Tip
* The One Minute Tip podcast
V Duplicate contacts on your iPhone or iPod Touch
* This happened to me after the 3.1 update. You can now sync Mobile Me and Mac contacts.
* If you do this on the same Mac you use for Mobile Me syncing you end up with the same data in an "On my iPhone" and "Mobile Me" section on the device.
* Macke sure your contacts and calendars are backed up just in case.
V To eliminate the duplicates
* 1) Make sure you iPhone has been set up for Mobile Me Syncing and that it is sync'd with all your latest data.
* 2) Dock you iPhone and launch iTunes.
* 3) Select your device in iTunes and go to the Info tab. Uncheck the sync option for Calendar and Contacts buttons. The data will still get synced via MobileMe.
* 4) Sync and undoc your iPhone.
* 5) To eliminate the existing dupes go to Settings on the iPhone, then Mail, Contacts, and Calendars, then the Mobile Me account-it. Turn off Contacts and Calendars. It'll ask if you want to delete then. Say "Yes". This will remove the duplicates.
* 6) Turn the Contacts and Calendars in the iPhone settings back on and say "Yes" to merge, and it will sync without the dupes.
V Closing
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V Thanks to my sponsors
* Circus Ponies
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* Faronics, Deep Freeze
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V "Happy Ending" by The Atomic Love Bombs
* Bryan Chaffin from the Mac Observer is in the band
* Artists web site
* New CD is called "Let it Burn" and is on iTunes.
V EOL: Done
* Stick a fork in it.