shownotes_20081031

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
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News
  More features revealed in iPhone 2.2 beta
    The Unofficial Apple Weblog was given a supposed "leaked" screenshot showing the ability to download podcasts right on the iPhone. A "get more episodes" link.
    Notification service promised in September? Play comment from Robert.
      Apple's workaround for the lack of background running apps.
      There have been mixed reports that support for it has been in the last couple Beta builds (2.1 and 2.2), but my guess is Apple will release it when they feel it's ready.
  iPhone 3G makes a big impact outside the US
    An Electronista report talks about Rogers in Canada
      The company sold 255,000 iPhone 3Gs between July 11th and the end of September.
      Increased their subscribers by 191,000 during that period. 33% of those subscribers came from other carriers or were new to Rogers.
      Those subscribers are also more valuable. Because of the added data plan, the average monthly bill for Rogers iPhone customers will be about C $26 higher per month. About C$100, up from C$74
    The site The Register out of the UK says researcher Strategy Analytics claims Apple grabbed 2.3 percent of the phone market for the 3rd quarter of 2008.
      Placed Apple 6th overall knocking RIM out of the top 10.
      Apple, Samsung, and Sony were the only 3 phone makers to gain market share in the quarter.
    Another interesting report from the Wall Street Journal notes that, despite the higher price, the iPhone is appealing to lower-income households
      A recent comScore study showed that the largest growth in iPhone sales in the US came from households that earn less than the median income.
      Why? Mark Donovan, senior analyst at the firm feels the iPhone appeals as a "Swiss-Army knife" gadget. Allowing consumers to get Internet, games, productivity, etc. all in one device actually reducing overall costs of gadgetry.
  More on new Macbooks
    8GB RAM out, but 6GB will do.
      I told you about the iFixit finding that the new Macbooks could see 8GB of RAM (Apple claims support of 4GB).
      According to Electronista, Barefeats has confirmed iFixit's results and both say running the new "books" with 8GB is unstable.
      Looks like you can run with a 4GB and a 2GB just fine according to several reports.
      Ramjet is even selling a 4GB memory module they claim is, "specifically designed and SPD configured for the MacBook Pro."
      Lots of speculation at this point as to why 6GB will work, but not 8GB. The good news is most seem to think it is a limitation that Apple will fix in a future software update.
    Even running with 4GB of RAM is said to be unstable for some users
      MacNN reports that some new Macbook customers report experiencing lock-ups after installing 2GB of RAM on top of the 2GB included in the machine.
      Replacing the included 2GB and installing a full 4GB from the same vendor at the same time ( from Apple or otherwise) is said to fix the issue for some.
      Apple has been replacing effected Macbooks.
    New Macbooks and Macbooks Pros don't appear to support Kensington locks despite having a "Kensington lock slot" specifically listed on Apple's tech specs.
      According to Kensington the slot on the new notebooks is not compatible out of the box and would require gluing a K-Slot adapter to the side of the notebook to get support.
  Updated Macbook Airs land ahead of schedule
    MacNN and other sites began receiving reports from reader last Wednesday that they were getting notice from Apple that their pre-ordered Updated Macbook Airs were shipping.
    Jobs and Apple had originally said the new units would ship in November.
    In case you forgot the Air now has new features like a faster 1066MHz frontside bus along with 6GB of L2 cache. Updated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. Faster DDR3 memory and a larger 120GB hard drive, plus option for a 128GB SSD.
  Free AT&T Wi-fi for iPhones. No, really this time.
    Last Wednesday I received an exciting SMS form AT&T notifying me that my iPhone now qualifies for free wi-fi access at all AT&T wi-fi hotspots in the US.
    Based on past history I was skeptical, but it looks for real this time.
    Access at locations like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and McDonalds.
    Details on the service were provided in a link to the AT&T site
    How to access:
      Activate Wi-Fi from the settings icon on your iPhone
      Select "attwifi" from the list of available networks
      Enter your 10-digit mobile number and check the box to agree to the Acceptable Use Policy. Tap 'continue'
      You will receive a text message from AT&T with a secure link to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot. You will not be charged for the text message.
      The SMS link will only be valid for 24 hours at the location it was requested. Another request must be submitted when using another hotspot location.
      Open the text message and tap on the link for 24-hour access to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot
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Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  Lots of UK pricing followup
    Play comment from Claus.
    Bottom line is that it's hard to compare US to other markets unless you remove any and all taxes and just look at base price using current conversions rates. Even then you are at the mercy of a fast moving global currency rates.
    Important to remember that UK prices are show with the 17.5% VAT tax added. US prices are before tax, which on average in the US adds about 7.5% to the price you see listed on the US site.
    On laptop subsidies...
      I said there was a rumor that O2 was in talks with Apple to subsidize Macbooks
      James in the Uk said that some retailers over there, like PC World, are already offering subsidies on Apple laptops. They offer them when you sign up for 2 years on a qualified notebook data plan with 3, T-mobile, or Vodaphone.
  Save money with Educational Pricing
    Daniel pointed out that VMWare has a Education Portal where students, teachers, faculty, and parents can get Fusion for USD $39.99. $40 off the regular USD $79.99 price
    Many 3rd party resellers and Apple give good discounts to students, teachers, faculty on software and hardware.
    Check their web sites for Education programs and stores. Call them and ask as some don't advertise it. Ask when you are at a retailer.
    Apple's online store has an education store and home schoolers qualify.
  Reinstall left out Leopard print drivers and languages
    Henrique wonders, if you left out specific printer manufacturers drives or OS languages during your initial Leopard install, how can you add them back in later?
      Insert your Leopard DVD
      Open the "Optional Installs" folder and run the "Optional Installs.mpkg" installer.
      During the "Installation Type" section you can select the languages or print drivers you need to re-install.
    After it completes, run Software Update from the System Preferences just to be sure.
    For printers you should check the manufacturers website for update drivers first, before re-installing from the original OS X Leopard DVD.
  Getting smart with iPhone syncing
    Play question from Andrew
    Full manual sync mode can be cumbersome. Sounds like you doing "sync only checked"?
    Use Playlists and only sync those, or better yet use Smart Playlists. Top 150 most recently added. 50 least played with ratings over 3 stars.
    Only sync recent episodes of Tv or podcasts. Only one format like video.
  Rotate pictures in iPhone Photo app
    Tip from listener Dan
    Of course you can simply rotate the iPhone to change an image from portrait to landscape, but that on screen only. What if you want to rotate it for sending in an email or using as a desktop?
      Open the photos app and find the image you want to rotate
      Select the photo and rotate the iPhone to get it in the orientation you want.
      Wait for any of the Photo navigation to fade out (so you only see the photo full screen) and take a screenshot by pressing the Home and Sleep/Power buttons at the same time.
      Now you can access the screenshot in the Camera Roll and it should be rotated the way you want it.
  Hide external Volumes from users
    Play question from Eric
    Change the permissions (in Leopard)
      Logged into your admin account.
      In the Finder, select the volume and choose 'Get Info...' from the file menu (Command+I).
      Make sure you uncheck the 'Ignore ownership on this Volume' option.
      Click the lock and enter your admin password to allow changes to the permissions
      Take a look a the privileges. You (your admin account) should show Read + Write access.
      Change the option for 'Everyone' to 'No Access'.
      Close and log out and back into your user account.
    You will see the volume as a folder with a red "no access" badge on it.
    Can hack the permissions from the Terminal if you know and understand UNIX permissions. In the /Volumes directory.
    Can also try looking at SharePoints. Not sure if it's 10.5 supported.
    A simpler way for the non-Time Machine volumes would be to simply eject them and turn them off. Saves power too. You can even do the Time Machine if you want as it will pick right back up the next time you DO have the drive mounted.
Closing
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