MacCast 06.15.2010 - Show #305
Media/Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is "Say Anything" by Manda and the Marbles
* Band's MySpace page
V Sponsor
V Gazelle
* Get cash for your used gadgets
* Your old 32GB iPhone 3Gs can likely cover the cost of a new iPhone 4
V Take the hassle out of getting rid of your old electronics
* Proper eWaste disposal is a pain
* setting up eBay auctions or dealing with Craigslist is a hassle
V Use their search tool to find your gadget and get an offer
* They have over 20 categories like cell phones, laptops, cameras, etc.
* They give you an upfront price for your device based on condition
* They pay for shipping and sometimes will also provide a box.
V After the item is received and inspected you get paid
* Check, paypal, Amazon Gift Card, or charity
* They securely wipe any data and put the product to reuse if possible. If not it's properly recycled.
* Get your old gadgets out of the closet or garage and earn some cash without contributing to 70 tons of e-Waste per year.
* Use the bonus code 'maccast' when checking out get get a 5% bonus on your item's value.
V News
V iPhone 4 goes on sale. Sorta.
V Shipping and in store on June 24th, with pre-orders starting 6/15
V Apple and AT&T servers failed under the crushing load.
* I tried for 4 hours to pre-order with no luck.
* Outages were also reported in the UK and Japan.
* As rumored the White iPhone is not yet available
V Other locations
* Best Buy is taking reportedly $50 pre-order reservations on 6/15 with in-store pick-up on the 24th.
V Radio Shack will also do $50 pre-order reservations on 6/15 with pick up the 24th. Also have a trade-in program for your old phone.
V I have had reports from listeners
* Steven: 16gb 3g in bad condition $119.
* Steven: $248 for my 32GB 3GS if it was in "perfect" condition.
* WalMart will have phones launch day, but no details on pre-order.
V Available in U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan and reaching 88 countries by the end of September
* Truly unlocked SIM-free iPhones (3GS and iPhone 4) being sold in the UK, France and Canada
* UK Pricing: 16GB £499 and 32GB £599
* France: 16GB 629 € and 32 GB 739 €
V O2, Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile, and 3 in the UK
* O2 pricing: Buy out of your current contract and upgrade to the iPhone 4 with a new 18 or 24 month contract. £20 for every month remaining on your existing contract.
* 1GB Data caps being rumored on Vodafone and O2
* Virgin Mobile will offer the iPhone 4 in Canada, along with Rogers/Fido, Bell, and Telus
V Apple Accessories
* Bumpers, only Black at launch. Other colors available July 2nd.
* iPhone 4 Dock - July 2nd
* Universal Dock Adapter 3-Pack have June 24 “ship by” dates.
V AT&T has bumped up the upgrade eligibility for a bunch of customers.
* Check by logging into their account on the AT&T website and selecting "Check Upgrade Options."
* Also by dialing *639# from the iPhone.
* Need to sign up for a new 2-year agreement that start from the day you purchase the upgrade
* Typically if you have a $99 per month or higher plan you qualify after 12-months
* I somehow qualify and I've only had my iPhone since 6/20/2009.
V Also rebates for late iPhone 3GS purchasers
V AT&T plans on offering those who purchased a 3GS, from a local AT&T dealer, from May 7th to June 7th two options.
* 1) A $50 rebate for the 16 GB 3GS or a $100 rebate for the 32 GB 3GS; credited to your next bill.
* 2) An exchange of your 3GS towards the new iPhone
* Customers who purchased iPhone 3GS May 7th through May 14th will have until June 14th to visit the original location of purchase and receive this one-time bill credit
* Customers who purchased after May 14th will have 30 days to complete their price protection transaction by returning to the original location of purchase
V iPhone 4 details
V In case you missed it, not sure how, WWDC ushered in the new iPhone 4
* Black or White. Stainless Steel Band (antenna), Hardened glass front and back. 24% thinner.
* 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel "Retina" display (326 pixels per inch). LED backlit LCD using IPS technology like the iPad
* A4 processor
* Improved battery life, 7 hours talk, 10 hours of Wi-fi browsing or video playback.
* Gyroscope added for 6-axis motion sensing.
* 802.11n (2.4 GHz) wi-fi
V UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
* HSUPA, the upstream, at raw data rates up to 5.8 Mbps, most carriers only support 2Mbps currently. Big deal for video?
V 5 megapixel camera, with LED flash. 720p HD video recording
* You can set the flash to never fire, always fire, or fire automatically when the camera senses that you need it.
V Forward facing 1.3MP camera and FaceTime video calling
* Can be used in Camera app (via Ars Techinica)
* FaceTime button replaces "hold" when on a call
* Can make a FaceTime call directly from contacts.
* 2nd noise canceling mic.
V Accessibility
* Large Font, works in Mail, Contacts, Notes, and Message.
* TouchTyping, slide across the keyboard and hear each letter spoken
* VoiceOver "rotor" has been improved
* Forward facing camera.
V Software
* iMovie video editing on the phone.
V iBooks for iPhone
* Notes and Syncing between devices.
* Adding PDF shelf and reading support
V $199 16GB, $299 32GB with 2-year contract.
* Early upgrade for those who don't qualify for full discount. $399 16GB, $499 32GB with 2-year contract.
* No contract: $599 16GB, $699 32GB
* $99 iPhone 3GS 8GB. $299 early upgrade, $499 no contract.
V Other iPhone 4 launch day surprises
V Mac Mini updated
* 2.4GHz or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 320 GB HD. Also 500 GB BOT or Dual 500 GB Server.
* 2GB of RAM, upgradeable to 8GB.
* 1.4" thick Aluminum Unibody enclosure
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M Graphics Card
V Built-in Power Supply
* No brick and connection like the AppleTV
V HDMI port and Mini DisplayPort with HDMI to DVI adapter included
* Dual-display support
* HDMI port supports multichannel audio output
* One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps), Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps), SD card slot
* AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
* Removable bottom panel for memory upgrade.
* 85W power consumption
* USD$699 for 2.4GHz : 320GB, USD $999 2.66GHz, 4GB memory, Dual 500GB Snow Leopard Server.
* Server and Home Media Center machine.
V Complaints about the higher pricing
* Went from $499 to $599 (intel) and now $699
* Still no Blu-Ray
* Where does that leave Apple TV?
V iOS Apple Store App
* Appears to be US only at the moment
* Reserve and iPhone
* Search, browse, and buy items from the Apple Online Store
* Locate any Apple Retail Store in the world, instantly. Add 'Favorites'
* Make Personal Shopping, Genius Bar, and One to One appointments.
* Sign up for workshops and events at your favorite Apple Retail Store.
V Mac OS 10.6.4 update
V Includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac
* Resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
* Resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
* Address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
* Improve reliability of VPN connections
* Resolve a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality de-interlacing
* Resolve an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
* Improve compatibility with some braille displays
V iPhone OS renamed iOS
* Added support for Bing search
* Free upgrade for iPhone and iPod Touch owners
* Not all features like multitasking are supported on iPhone 3G or older iPod Touch. Not supported at all on the original 2G iPhone.
V This time Apple licensed the trademark from Cisco.
* interestingly FaceTime was also a trademark purchased from a Social Networking Security Company which will change it's name.
* Released June 21st.
V Could also see iTunes 9.2 to add support for the new iOS
* Increased performance.
* iBooks Syncing, PDF support, etc.
V Tweaking the SDK to allow "some" interpreted code.
* New language allows interpreted code with Apple's pre-approval or if it's used in a limited way and if it is used for "for providing minor features or functionality that are consistent with the intended and advertised purpose of the Application."
* Seems to allow some popular interpretive code engines like Lua (gaming) and still keep out full interpreted runtimes like Flash.
* GameCenter is live for developers to create accounts.
V Some iPhone 4 features under scrutiny
V Screen
* Early Mac reviewers like John Gruber and Ryan Block are loving the screen using terms like "insane" and "unbelievable".
V Is 326 ppi indistinguishable to the human eye at a distance of 12 inches? Actaully Jobs said "retina"
* According to Engadget, Raymond Soneira, president of monitor diagnostics firm DisplayMate says it's more like 477 dpi at a distance of 12 inches.
* But Phil Plait from Discover who has calibrated a camera on board the Hubble space telescope say that 477 number is only for human beings with above 20/20 vision.
V Glass
V According to Electronista Apple is using an aluminosilicate glass that are supposed to be even tougher than on the iPhone. It should be more scratch-resistant and as much as 20 times stiffer, and 30 times harder, than plastic.
* Some googling revealed that it's a thermal-shock-resisting glass.
* Suited for high-performance applications such as high-temperature thermometers, space-vehicle windows, and ignition tubes.
* Coated with an electrically conductive film, they are used as resistors in critical electronic circuitry.
* Much more costly to produce than other borosilicate based glass (Pyrex).
V iFixYouri, a third-party solutions provider, claims to have drop tested an iPhone 4 enclosure and glass 9no internals) and had it shatter on a 3.5 foot drop on the third try.
* No details on surface it was dropped onto or how.
* Does note the glass sits on top of the frame rather than beneath the bezel like on current models.
* Laminated to touch layer. Reduces "gap" to eliminate distortion.
V Camera
* Apple not playing the "megapixel" game which is good.
* Better focus, clarity, noise reduction
* Using a back-illuminated sensor which is more common in advanced point and shoots.
* Improved sensitivity and noise reduction and a faster but smaller sensor.
V iMovie for iPhone
* Like a mini version of iMovie on the desktop
V Multiple projects, with clips, transitions, titles, themes, etc.
* 5 built-in themes
V Add video, photos, and music.
* Apple includes some music loops, etc to get you going
* ken Burns effect
V Exporting
* Medium (640x360), Large (960x540), or HD (1280x720)
* Send via e-mail, MMS, YouTube, or MobileMe.
V Designed for iPhone 4.
* A4 need for 720p video and real-time transition effects. (ArsTechnica)
* Will be iPhone only, no iPad. 960x640 resolution is required. (TidBits)
* Won't be able to export raw projects to iMovie on the desktop, but can bring over exported video to iTunes.
* Can use video from other sources, but will need to be encoded to iPhone 4 supported format and bit-rate.
* Should be available on iPhone 4 launch day for $4.99 in the App Store
V Expect to see iAds in July
* iAd will kick off with mobile ad campaigns from leading global brands including AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup Company, Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney, Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and The Walt Disney Studios.
V Apple provides an easy way for developers to add iAds into their apps
* Developers insert the ads, but Apple sells and places the ads
* Developers get 60% of the revenue. Apple has 2010 iAd commitments totaling $60 million, so some revenue to go around.
V iAd will require iOS 4. Wonder what happens with apps running on older OS?
* Contacted Apple PR and they responded, but only to point me to the PR and Developer web sites.
* Hope is that iAds allows developers to continue to produce free and low priced apps.
* Apple seems to be involved with the creative, but is working with the advertisers agencies to create the ads.
V 3rd party Ad services
* Apple changed the language to allow 3rd party ad services to collect data with a users consent
V Agreement does seem to exclude AdMob (Google).
* "provided to an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads (for example, an advertising service provider owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple would not qualify as independent),"
* Would also potentially exclude any Mobile Ad service from a competitor like Microsoft.
* Google wasn't happy about the change and is planning talks with Apple about the policy.
V Negatives to all this
* Less relevant or targeted ads from 3rd parties
* Limited choice fro developers
* Apple could be looking at more government scrutiny. The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission are looking into the complaints.
V Apple releases Safari 5
V Features
V Nitro JavaScript engine, up to 30% faster than Safari 4
* Macworld's testing showed it only to be 19.2 percent faster in the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark test
* Still has faster than Chrome 5.0 or Firefox 3.6
* Interestingly ArsTechnica ran tests on Google's V8 Benchmark, and Mozilla's . Guess what? Chrome and Opera beat Safari in those tests.
* Safari Extensions. Add-ons built with HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. Extension Builder Kit.
V improved HTML 5 support
* Closed captioning and full screen playback for HTML5 videos, geolocation, HTML5 object dragging, HTML5Ruby and AJAX History, sectioning elements, and forms validation.
* Reader, to view simplified version of a web page.
V Additional stuff
* Address filed auto population includes History and Bookmark search
* Option (In Tab Preferences) to force all new windows to open in new tabs. No longer have to Command+click.
* Bing!
* Undo Closed Tab, by hitting Command+Z
* 48 security vulnerabilities patched according to MacNN.
* Apple also released 4.1 for Leopard.
V Sponsor
V Circus Ponies
* Notebook
V User Interface mimics a real-world notebook
* Paper types
* Binding types
* Tabs, notes, sticky flags
* All gets indexed automatically making it easy to browse and search.
* Free 30-day trial.
V Feedback, Comments and Commentary
V My thoughts on FaceTime video chat
V While the feature might be "cool" I still think it's will not be used by many
* Exceptions being: Deaf, heavy travelers and people who are separated from family or friends.
* 1 to 1 private event streaming is the "Apple" justification I think I was looking for.
V Extremely limited for now
* Wi-fi only and iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 only
* if not 'docked" the video can be nausea inducing.
V FaceTime open standard might help?
V If Apple can get big players and competitors to adopt the standard then it might take off. I don't see that as an easy battle.
* Might have Cisco, AT&T, and Microsoft on their aside with recent agreements?
* Skype has said they are interested, but don't have immediate plans to implement FaceTime.
* Video chat has been promised for years. iChat and Skype have made it easy on the desktop and it's still not a mass used technology.
V Safari 5 tricks
V Changing the "style" in Reader
V This is a hack, so be careful and "backup".
* Quit Safari
* Control+Click (Right+Click) on the Safari 5 icon
* Choose "Show Package Contents"
* Navigate to 'Content-->Resources' and open the 'Reader.html' file in your favorite Text Editor or Web Authoring tool.
V Edit the inline CSS
* .page element controls the main text, h1.title the title
* Separate sections for "print" and "screen" although the .page font is only in the "print" section.
* I had to add the '!important' parameter to get the font take precedence over the on page code.
* Relaunch Safari and click the "Reader" link in the Nav bar to see the changes.
V Safari Extensions
* Currently a developer only feature.
V Enable the feature
* 1) Open Safari 5’s preferences, and go to the Advanced tab.
* 2) Click “Show Develop menu in menu bar”
* 3) In the Develop menu, select “Enable Extensions”
* 4) You should now have a new "Extensions" tab in the Safari preferences
V Site for finding extensions
* Be careful. These are not vetted by Apple yet, so know what your downloading.
* Download the extension and Double-click on a .safariextz file, and Safari should ask you whether you want to install it.
V Your mac is trying to tell you something
* Play audio from Greg.
* Try resetting the SMU/SMC/PMU
* Make sure you have applied all Firmware updates
* Backup and re-install OS. Download and install the latest combo-update for your OS.
* Get it to Apple or an Apple Authorized Repair center.
* You can also try Apple's Online Service Assistant
* Your machine might be asking to retire.
V Time Machine schedule confusion
* Dan is like many Mac users when it comes to Time Machine, and other Mac technologies for that matter. Why does it do what it does?
* The dilemma is that Apple creates a lot of "just use it" and "don't think about it" technologies.
V Us geeks want to understand the ins and out and mold them to fit our own thoughts on how they should work. Most of the time it's better not to fight Apple.
* iTunes and iPhoto are perfect examples.
* Time Machine is another.
* Moving your home folder.
V Common Time Machine complaints that are features
* It fills up my drive. It's supposed to.
* It deletes old backups. It's supposed to.
V It backs up too frequently. It's supposed to.
* Every hour for 24 hours.
* Every day for a month
* Every week for as far back as you have storage.
V Bending Time Machine to your will
* There are some Terminal hacks and a couple of GUi apps that used to work.
* Hacks haven't been updated in over a year or so.
* More often than not your better off using it Apple's way or picking another solution.
V Closing
V Podcast Marketplace
V Thanks to my sponsors
* Circus Ponies
* Smile on my Mac
* Faronics, Deep Freeze
* Cocoatech, Pathfinder 5
* Citrix
* Gazelle
V Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
V 281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
* PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
* MacCast Forum
* Follow me on Twitter
V New Music
* "Fall Away" by Rhyn
* From MusicAlley
* Artist web site
V EOL: Your iPad IS a Typewriter
* For lovers of old mechanical typewriters, you can now get a kit to convert your trusty Smith Corona into a keyboard for your iPad.