maccast_20090219

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
    Mandaandthemarbles.com
Sponsor
  Circus Ponies
    Notebook
    Getting close to tax season and Notebook is a great preparational tool
    Lists of donations, scanned receipts and other documents. Drop in PDFs and add notes and annotations.
    Everything in one nice neat place, indexed and searchable.
    Download a copy and try if for yourself.
News
  Apple gearing up for VOD service?
    According to AppleInsider Apple might be getting ready to add Video on Demand service to iTunes
      iTunes Replay would deliver purchased movie and TV content to iTunes, Apple TV, and iPhone and iPod Touch.
    Unclear if it will be a free or paid service
    Apple recently beefed up it's CDN network adding service from Limelight Networks along with existing service from Akamai
  Sacconaghi chatting up Apple's bright future
    A Barrons.com blog piece says Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi has been chatting with Apple execs COO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and Senior Vice President of Product Marketing Phil Schiller and they are bullish on Apple's outlook for Q2
    Software on the iPhone is continuing to help strength the devices market share. They also believe apps are helping drive iPod Touch sales too.
    Said Tim Cook has "ideas" for netbooks and there may be a future opportunity for Apple, but he reiterated there are no immediate plans.
    Sacconaghi expects new iMacs in March and iPhones mid summer
      Apple doesn't appear to be interested in entering the low cost desktop PC space. They have 80% US market share in PCs above $1,200.
      Stripped down iPhone doesn't seem likely either. Any new phone would have a browser and App store support. Also Apple was "emphatic" on using touchscreen keypads and not physical ones.
    Wired Cult of Mac reports that Gene Munster is a little more conservative on Apple's Q2
      Looking at the latest numbers from NPD group Munster expects
        6% growth in Mac sales and overall sales growth of 4.8% from Q2 2008. That is way down from the 42% sales growth in the quarter last year
        iPod unit sales down 6-15% at 9 to 10 million units
        iPhone sales up at 4.4 million units.
  New iPhone going matte
    The iPod Observer posted possible images of the backplate for a new iPhone
    Shows a 16GB back in matte black with model number A1303.
    Images may be etched into the back suggesting a metal case and not plastic.
    MacRumors had a shot of the inside of the case which was more plastic looking, but also had tool marks similar to what I seen inside my unibody Macbook.
  Apple may be taking the App Store offline
    According to ifoApplestore Apple might be looking to refocus the layout of it's Apple Store to put more emphasis on customer training and education and software.
    Would be the 3rd time Apple has re-invented the interiors of the stores
    A “Why You’ll Love a Mac section as you enter the store. Focus on advantages of using a Mac
    Next an iLife and digital lifestyle section.
    3rd section focusing on iWork
    Apple recently shifted the focus on iPhone and iPod Touch display tables to put focus on Applications.
  A bunch of iPhone stories and stats
    Electronista says a new study from ABI Research claims 75% of iPhone users use wi-fi on the device regularly. This is vs. HTC users who only use it about 10% of the time,
      I think the apps and app store may add a lot to this stat
    The wi-fi usage on iPhones and iPod Touches seems supported by numbers from AdMob that show iPhones leading the smartphone pack in the US when it comes to viewing web ads
      51% of web ads served to US mobile phones are to iPhones. 32% internationally.
    Apple and AT&T may be considering more iPhone plans
      MacNN says Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu believes the two might be considering new ipHone models and plans tailored to the needs of different users
      A plan with no set monthly web data but geared of email and SMS for example. Cheaper plans for lighter web surfers, etc.
  Security and Java Updates from Apple
    Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 3
      Updates the Java Web Start and Java Applet components to address security and compatibility issues.
      For Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later PPC and Intel
    Java for Mac OS X 10.4, Release 8 for Mac OS X 10.4.11 Tiger
    Security Update 2009-001
      Simply said improves the security of Mac OS X.
      The tech notes lists 28 updates to components like AFP Server, Carbon Core, Clam AV, CUPS, Printing, Apple Remote Events, Safari RSS, SMB, and X11
    Apple also released the MacBook SMC Update 1.3, firmware update for the White Macbook
      Improves startup time on some MacBook computers when starting up from the battery.
  Mobile Me adds easy iDisk File Sharing
    Log in to Mobile Me and select a file anywhere in your iDisk (not just public) and you will see a "Share file" button
    Can set a time limit, add a password, and it will generate a link and email it to whoever you want. They can then use that link to download the file
    The file will also be listed in special "shared" section of the iDisk web interface so you can see the files you are currently sharing and adjust the settings.
  A couple more Snow Leopard features leaked
    Spring loaded stacks. You can now navigate down inside folders. Small icon of prior stack level slides up into upper corner so you an back out.
    "Put Back" command for items left in the trash. They will magically be returned to their original locations. Right now you can only command+Z the last item added to the trash
  Apple wants to keep option to jail Jailbreakers
    Every 3 years the copyright office hears and considers exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA)
    The EFF want jailbreaking to be added, Apple doesn't.
    Apple has lots of reasons for wanting the protections
      Costs of support, control of the user experience, etc.
      Apple hasn't exercised it right to go after Jailbreakers. Want to protect from it becoming mainstream.
  17" Unibody Macbook Pro dissected
    Macfixit.com has opened up the 17" Unibody
    Need to remove 10 screws on back plate
    Battery is huge, but has a connector and doesn't seem to be really unusual in shape.
Sponsor
  Smile on My Mac
    TextExpander
    Internet Productivity Snippets
      Under Snippets tab in TE preferences, click the "+" and choose 'Add pre-defined group'.
      Support for URL shortening services. bit.ly, is.gd, tinyurl, and tr.im
      Copy a URL and then type the shortcut "\[service]", like "/bitly".
    Get it and other apps for $49 as part of the Mac Switcher Bundle (Textexpander, 1Password, Witch, and ScreenCastsOnline Switcher Series)
    Enter Maccast in the "Where did you hear about us".
Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  Quicklook in the Finder
    Had a couple people ask me why the file icon in their Finder doesn't look like the application file icon. Answer: Quicklook preview
      You can turn off the preview by going to Finder-->View-->Show View Options (Command+J). Turn off the 'Show icon preview' setting.
      Interestingly in column view you can also turn off icons in the Finder completely. Also remember that in list and icon views the settings are per folder unless you click the 'Use as Defaults' option.
    I think Quicklook is an often forgotten and wonderful feature of Leopard.
    Hit the spacebar on any supported document type you have selected in the Finder to get a preview without opening the native app.
    Developers can add Quicklook support for their document types. There are also add ons you can download
      Place in the ~/Library/QuickLook or /Library/Quicklook folders
    Select a folder of images and get a thumbnail view or play as slideshow.
    Play video and audio files. Go full screen.
    Quicklook combined with Coverflow view.
  iPhone calendar colors now syncing?
    Play comment from Bob
    My calendars now sync and the colors match, even custom colors.
    My Exchange calendar is "yellow", so that may be the default for Active Sync calendars?
    Not sure if this was added as a .Me update or as part of 2.2.1
  Resize Faces add new face box the normal way
    Rob Griffiths from Macworld has a tip that fixed an annoyance for me in Faces
    When you need to add a new face box (using add missing faces button) it re-sizes from the center.
    Holding the Option key while dragging a corner will resize from the corner like a normal box.
    Can they now make Shift constrain the box to a square?
  Macworld 2009: Intuit
    Quickbooks for Mac 2009
    Quickbooks Online
  Understudy adds Hulu and Netflix to FrontRow
    Via TUAW
    Understudy is a FrontRow add-on that allows you to add Hulu, Netflix, and other Video feeds to the OS X FrontRow interface
    It is a beta on Google code. I had crashes when attempting to add URL feeds from the clipboard.
    With Hulu being pulled off Boxee will have to see if Understudy lasts (feeds are on Hulu's site).
    I was already logged into my Netflix account, so not sure how the auth works. Access Watch It Now queue.
  Apple TV syncing and storage
    Mario is running out of space on his Macbook drive for Movies and such and wanted to know if he could buy an Apple TV and just copy the content to it.
    Short answer is no.
    Long answer
      Yes if it is iTunes purchased movie content
      All other content syncs
      Could hack the Apple TV with a patchstick and use SSH/SFTP to copy content to the Apple TV and then use Boxee/XBMC to play it (non-iTunes purchases). Also could use a mapped network drive.
    Move main library to an external and create a second smaller internal library
  Protecting yourself from Trojans
    Jonny wanted to know how he would know if he had a Trojan on his Mac.
    You are the first and best line of defense. Know what you are clicking on and installing.
    Don't run in admin mode. Standard user accounts can only make changes and install software for that user. If something does get on your system it will be limited in it's access to the system.
    Run virus scanning software
      MacScan, Anti-spyware
      Intego Virus Barrier
      Clam X AV
Closing
  Podcast Marketplace
    Thanks to my sponsors
      Circus Ponies, Notebook
      Smile on my Mac
      Softpress, Freeway Express and Freeway Pro.
      Faronics, Deep Freeze
      Thoughtout.biz
  Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
    maccast@gmail.com
    281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
      PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
    MacCast Forum
  "Buy You a Life" by Young Dubliners
    Brendan is a member of the band, a Maccast listener, and a Mac geek.
    On tour right now and have 9 Macs in the tour bus.
    New album, Saints and Sinners is available on iTunes, buy it. Write a review and mention the Maccast.
    Artists site
  EOL: Apple Disk ][ Mini
    Cult of Mac has a report of a user on the Retro Maccast forums hacking a Mac Mini into the case of an Apple Disk ][ 5.25" floppy drive.