shownotes_20100510

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is "Say Anything" by Manda and the Marbles
    Band's MySpace page
Sponsor
  Faronics
    Deep Freeze and Power Save Mac
    Power Save Mac gives you much more control over scheduling than the built-in Energy Saver
    Also finite control over power save settings.
      Base energy savings on what's happening on your Mac. CPU, disk, keyboard, mouse and application activity
      Avoid energy saver when you don't want to and need maximum wake time.
    If you run a multi Mac or PC environment tweaking energy setting can translate into significant savings. Faronics has a calculator on their site.
    Only $14.40 USD and you can try before you buy. Volume packages are also available.
News
  FTC and DOJ reportedly keeping eyes on Apple
    A lot of speculation floating around of an inquiry (just asking questions). No charges.
    iPhone programming language restriction and how they will use data from iAd are at issue.
      Some speculation that Adobe asked that they investigate Apple for antitrust.
    iAd concerns come over some changes to section 3.3.9
      These concern me a bit more as the seem to limit 3rd party Ad services from being able to use geo-location and other device data
      Also it seems to restrict developers from using 3rd party code in their apps to Analytics services (Flurry, MediaLets, Mobclicks). Analytics data is standard on the web.
    Fear, hurt feelings, and media hype vs. reality
      To be anti-competitive would mean that Apple would need to be acting in a way that blocks out their competition.
      According to ComScore numbers for US RIM 43%, Apple 25%, Microsoft 16%, Google 7%
      NPD Group did their own survey recently and their number look even better for Apple in an anti trust case
        Blackberry 36%, Google (Android) 28%, Apple 21%
      Worldwide. Nokia 39%, RIM 19%, Apple 16%, and HTC 4.8%
    Arguably Apple's restrictions serve to hurt and annoy developers (and customers) and would likely push them to other platforms.
      Apple spawned the "app" marketplace in Mobile devices and spurred on competition
        Android App Marketplace, BlackBerry App World, Windows Mobile Marketplace, Palm App Catalog, Nokia Ovi Store
      Can you really argue that Apple is a "locked" in App platform?
      There's also a jailbreak community with Cydia and their marketplace on the iPhone and iPad.
    Consumers and developers have a right to be upset with these changes and the existing restrictions Apple's polices, but I think we are no where near needing the government getting involved.
  iPad goes (even more) International
    So after selling over 1 million iPads in just 28 days, Apple is getting ready to take it global, well "partially" global.
      Took the iPhone 74 days to reach 1 million.
    Apple finally announced that the iPad go on sale on May 28th in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.
      And they are now taking pre-orders.
    They also announced that the iPad will be released in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Singapore in July 2010.
    Pricing was announced for several of the May 28th countries and as usually happens caused accusations of International price gouging.
      Most countries have additional taxes (UK VAT for example 17.5%) that are included in Apples pricing.
      TidBits crunched the numbers form many of the countries and determined when you backed out the taxes Apple is charging a 5-8% increase over US prices.
        Seems reasonable to me, but that can be up to $70 more for a comparable US iPad, but hardly egregious.
        I don't pretend to know all the additional costs for US based companies doing business in other countries.
      German customers were being charged 15 Euro more due to a new "copyright" tax. Turns out only devices with storage over 40GB are impacted, so Apple revised pricing on 2 lower models.
    Customers in Japan upset that the 3G iPad is SIM locked to the "Softbank" network
      So far the only country to have SIM locked iPads
      According to a 9 to 5 Mac report Japanese complain of Softbank's poor data network and no tethering (sound familiar?).
    iBooks will be in many countries as well
      Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Spain and the UK are confirmed.
      France, Germany and Switzerland are likely.
    US iPads are in high demand with reports of sell out in major cities like New York, three San Francisco, LA, Boston, Miami, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, and others.
  The iPad is a cannibal?
    Katy Huberty with Morgan Stanley has some numbers from an Alphawise survey they conducted in March
      They surveyed people "planning" to buy an iPad and found some shocking results
        44% said they would use the iPad instead of a Notebook
        41% said the wouldn't buy an iPod Touch after getting the iPad
        27% they would use the iPad instead of buying a desktop.
    This just says to me that the average consumer doesn't get the iPad and didn't listen to Steve Jobs.
      Until the OS, workflow, and apps mature there is only a small percentage of users who will be able to use the iPad in lieu of a Mac or PC.
      Delay an new laptop or desktop purchase? Possibly.
  Flash Bashing is the new geek sport
    I give up on the point/counterpoint.
      read a lot on this issue and to be honest there are a lot of right and wrongs on both sides. Plus Flash bashing seems to be the new geek past time.
      3-points
        It was a bit hypocritical of Jobs to bash Adobe on not having CS3 be Cocoa native
        H.264 is a licensed codec that is supported by the HTML 5 spec for web video. Codec is and open standard, but part of the MPEG-LA patent pool.
        I still believe that Apple and others are right in saying that Flash solved an issue for the web of the past, delivering dynamic content with animation, audio, and video for the web, but it's now inefficient, outdated, and no longer required for most applications.
    Product analyst at Opera said the Flash is needed for todays internet, but for video it makes little sense due to it's impact on CPU and battery.
    ARM marketing VP Ian Drew blamed Flash delays for delays in shipping ARM-based mini notebooks like the Lenovo Skylight.
      Not being reliant on a 3rd party for shipping was one of Jobs' reasons cited for not supporting Flash.
    To balance the web scales
      Flash is still a large part of content on the web and while some large publishers are moving quickly to HTML 5 it will take time for others.
      A Macstories.net piece highlighted a reader email to Steve jobs (another new geek fad).
        Safari for Mac (and Windows) doesn't have official and full support for many HTML5 specs like Geolocation API, Drag and Drop, Form Features and Inline SVG.
      HTML 5 is far from being a finished specification and it is JUST a specification.
        Good news is all the major players, including Microsoft, seem to be behind it this time.
      H.264 video is an open standard, but not "free". OGG is "free" an d open source, but not nearly as efficient at the same quality levels as H.264 (OGG supporters will disagree).
  Apple scolds Ellen for iPhone parody
    First the "spoof" wasn't even that well done, but it did have a few "funny" moments.
    Basically it just showed "Ellen" not really knowing how to user her iPhone.
    Apple Marketing felt it made the iPhone look like it was hard to use and had Ellen apologize, which then blew up big on-line.
    I wouldn't have ever seen it without the apology clip and coverage.
  Rumors of a new Macbook Air
    AppleInsider reports that the same source that correctly leaked rumors of new Macbook Pros to Macworld Australia now says new Macbook Airs are on the way.
    Article cites Air shortages down under as further evidence of the pending arrival.
    New model number MC516LL/A K87 BETTER BTR-USA.
    Some speculate it may actually be a new 27-in, LED back-lit display.
    It's been about a year since the last Macbook Air update.
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Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  MakeMKV for ripping BluRay
    Dean confirmed that this app works quite well, if not a bit daunting to figure out for the technically uninclined. "Only a programmer can love the MakeMKV GUI".
    Doesn't offer transcoding (re-encode to smaller files), so extracted videos are 15-30 GB.
    Use Handbrake to encode to other formats.
    RipIt does have a beta transcoding feature and Handbrake can do ripping of DVDs + encoding in one step.
  Feedback on my Apple marketshare commentary
    Play and comments on clip from Tobin
  Cleaning out login items
    Andrew's had an 'sh' process running that was chewing up 25% of his processor
    There are often processes that get installed and launched at startup or in the background for various reasons.
    How to check:
      Especially if it seems like your Mac is working harder than you think it should.
      Look at the Applications-->Utilities-->Activity Monitor
        Sort by CPU or memory usage.
      Check System Preferences-->Accounts, and look at the Login Items tab.
    Try to see if there are any items you no longer are really using or don't need started all the time.
      Be careful, Backup and use Google if needed.
      Make sure you know how to launch them manually when needed.
      Old printers, scanners, etc. Can also check for updated drivers 9Snow Leopard helps).
    Remove items from Login Items by selecting and clicking the "-".
    Remove old apps
      Download and re-run the manufacturers installer or check for an uninstaller.
      Use an uninstall utility like App Zapper. Will pick up system locations. Not perfect.
      Manually delete.
    Logout or Restart and then check that the process was expunged.
  128kbps iTunes Sync issue and fix.
    Added in 9.1, it's a great feature for saving space on your iDevices
      In the Options on the 'Summary' tab for the device in iTunes
      "Convert higher bit-rate songs to 128kbps AAC".
    Issues started for me after the 9.1.1 update
      Does it on the fly, but was re-encoding the same songs on every sync.
      Turns out there are two versions of iTunes 9.1.1
        Do a get info and if yours says (11) then you have the first release
        Re-download from Apple's iTunes site and install (12).
  Safeguard notebook data in case of theft
    Play question from Antonio
    Backup
      Won't stop the theft, but at least you'll have a backup to recover your data from.
    Require password on wake from sleep or boot-up
      In System Preferences --> Security
        In the "general" tab, check the "Require Password" and set desired time after sleep or screensaver begins. I use "immediately".
        Set a good strong password.
      Turn Automatic login off
        System Preferences-->Accounts
        Click the "Login Options" (if "locked", click and enter admin password)
        Make sure "Automatic Login" drop-down is set to off.
      This is easily bypassed by booting from a system disk or removing the HD
    Set-up Firmware password
      This will require a password to boot up the Mac even from an external disk
      Can be hacked around by removing RAM chip and resetting PRAM or by moving the HD to another system.
    Use a "whole disk" or partial encryption scheme
      Using Disk utility you can create an encrypted "sparse disk image"
        Mount this image and store sensitive data and files in it.
        Will need to mount it each time you want to access it. Also eject it to protect.
      File Vault
        Apple's built in home folder encryption.
        System Preferences --> Security and click the "File Vault" tab
        You need to have as much free space as the size of your home folder to enable and clicking the "button" to enable it starts the process immediately.
        Uses your login password (you can also set a "master" password), so make sure it's a secure password. Forgetting these two passwords you won't be able to access your data.
      PGP Whole Disk Encryption
        I have never used it, but know people who swear by it.
    Notebook "recovery" apps
      Orbicule Undercover
        Adds "Find my iPhone" like features and more.
        Geo and IP tracking every time the machine is turned on and connected to a network
        Takes photos and screen shots and generates a log.
        Remote "locking" and message.
        Company claims 200 recovered Notebooks in 4 years.
Closing
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  New Music
    "Yellow, The Color of Friendship" by James in Color
    From MusicAlley
    Artist web site
  EOL: iPad, 128K Mac Edition
    Someone has hacked an iPad into an original Mac case (via Cult of Mac)