shownotes_20110319

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is "Say Anything" by Manda and the Marbles
    Band's MySpace page
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News
  iPad 2 details and impressions
    Thinness due to display, battery and display changes
      Great article on TMO covering the iSuppli teardown
      Touch screen 25% thinner, speculated that the glass is a product from Asahi Glass Co. of Japan called Dragontail Glass
      Stamped metal frame thinner
        Better wifi reception?
      59% thinner battery
    Performance
      I understand the reviews and comments on "snappiness"
      High demand apps and some tasks are faster.
      The real world translation of this has less of an impact in my option. It's those 0.5 - 1 second pauses when doing some tasks are what we are talking about here.
      Frame rates on games are improved, so smoother graphics.
        Again the old iPad didn't really slouch here.
      It will get better though as stuff is optimized for dual core and the new GPU
    Improved screen?
      DisplayMate did tests and claims retina like performance
      Apple could improve anti aliasing in software to make it even better.
      Developers like fire mint have already leveraged the software technique.
    Cameras
      Biggest area of disappointment
      Front camera
        Fine for Face Time
        Photobooth is a lot of fun
      Rear camera
        Almost useless for stills
        Even in bright light not sharp.
        Good for well lit video
    My thoughts
      Three word review: It's an iPad
        All the things that make an iPad great are still great
      Nice updates, but not one thing to make it a "must have" upgrade
      Likes
        Form factor, screen, Smart Cover
      Dislikes
        Cameras, connectors, battery indicator
  iPad 2 a smashing success
    sold out everywhere
      4 - 5 week ship times
      Still long lines outside Apple Stores
        I had a frind in LA area that went at 4:15 AM on Thursday and still has a line. 27th. Said hundreds in line by opening.
      Shutdowns of some key component suppliers in Japan, like Toshiba (NAND), could increase shortages and delays.
      Early online orders did start shipping.
    Lots of grey market reports
    Predictions of first week sales range from 500,000 to 1 million units
    Analysts have set a 500 Credit Suisse have set a 500 price target on Apple stock
  Apple helping employees in wake of disaster
    Jobs sent letter to employees
    Kevin rose post from retail employee
    Apple stores had electricity and Internet connectivity
    People were aplenty to use FaceTime to reach loved ones outside the country
    Can donate using your (US) iTunes account. 100% goes to Red Cross
  Reports of MacBook Pro and other bugs
    A couple of bugs plaguing new MacBook Pro owners
      Home Sharing glitches.
        Losing connection to library from iOS devices
        iTunes 10.2.1 update from last week doesn't seem to fix it
        fix may be in upcoming 10.6.7 update
        temporary workaround involves disabling and then re-enabling Home Sharing in iTunes
      also reports of some display issues when connecting to 24 LED Cinema displays
        - flickering
        does it on AMD or Intel
        apple is reportedly investigating the issue
      Additionally reports of crashes, freezes, and kernel panics
        Mostly in apps that place high demands on CPU and GPU
        Even when running in the background
        Quitting the apps when not in use or using tool, like AppTamer, that "pause" idle apps reportedly help.
        Obviously Apple will need to issue a fix.
    iPad issues also being reported
      yellowing on screen. Glue issue
      light leaking, replacement units sometimes worse.
      Dead pixels
      internal mic on 3G models more muffled sound due to location and the plastic
    Apple TV
      Flickering when using an HDMI to DVI adapter after the latest iOS update
      Apple is reportedly working on a fix
    iPod Touch issues
      iPods screens seem to flicker and distort
    iOS 4.3 Battery issues
  Safari performance bump native only?
    Reports that web apps saved to the home screen load slower than in Safari
      some speculation apple is trying to promote web apps of which it gets a 30% cut.
    Gruber the voice of reason explains what makes more sense
      Security
        Nitro engine allows pages in memory to be marked executable, something that was disallowed in iOS for security
        could allow remote code execution, but Apple has hopefully sandboxes it in iOS.
        web apps saved to home screen have an aap wrapper and can't access the nitro stuff.
    Link baiting percentages like Android dater on fortune 1000 sites 84%of the time
    Blaze study showed Android lightly fast at page loads, around 1 second. Used custom app browser, not Safari which has the new Nitro JavaScript engine.
  Do I detect snark in new iPhone ad?
    basically your phone is not an iPhone
    “if you don’t have an iPhone, well, you don’t have an iPhone.”
  AT&T ends tethering free ride
    Sending out letter to customers who are using tethering without paying for it.
      "Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan... if we don't hear from you, we'll plan to automatically enroll you into DataPro 4GB after March 27, 2011. The new plan—whether you sign up on your own or we automatically enroll you—will replace your current smartphone data plan, including if you are on an unlimited data plan."
    No one is quite sure how AT&T can tell
      Usage, browser ID string, different TTL (Time To Live) units on packets have been thrown out by various sources as theories
  iPhone 5 rumors start
    Early case design leaks purportedly show little design changes
    Identical button, sim, and camera hole placement
    Flat metal back case
    Larger screen
    Dual Core A5 like in iPad 2, I assume also the same GPU?
    NFC
      Remote guest login with temporary access to you're apps.
      Portable home folder maybe sync'd with Mobile Me in the cloud.
  MobileMe going free soon
    iLounge is quoting a "trusted" source in the educational circle
    The schools suppliers say MobileMe is no longer available and recommending new users sign up for the 60-day free trial
    New service will reportedly be announced and launched in the next month.
    Apple will reportedly support existing subscribers on the paid service for the next year
      Seems to indicate the two services would be different in some way?
Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  Mini gets no respect
    You know that Mac Mini is under appreciated
    I still have my 1.6 Core Duo and it's a work horse
    You never hear about issue with the Minis
      That's not to say they don't exist
      Less complexity and older proven components
    BYO screen so if it breaks your computer is fine
    Firewire 800 and 4 USB ports and SD card slot.
    Awesome media center machine
      Built-in HDMI port
      Server version has dual 500 GB hard drives
    Wish it came with more RAm standard. Only 2 but upgradeable to 8 GB
    $699 and $999 might be a little bit pricey.
      If Apple would rev to the new Core i3 or i5 processors and Intel GPUs it would be better.
  iPad 2 compatible accessories
    Power adapters and accessories made for iPad 1 (10 watt) will work
    Headphones and inline mics that are Apple iDevice compatible should work
      A2DP Bluetooth headphones and speakers should work
      New doc connector mics are coming
      USB mics via Camera connection kit, if low power. Can use a powered hub with others.
    Docked accessories
      Docks, speaker systems, etc.
      Most should work, but the iPad might not fit
        I was able to get my iPad into Apple's iPad Keyboard dock and it seemed to fit OK
        Macworld reports more trouble than iI had and says even a skin caused it not to work
      You can get dock extender cables from RadTech or Cable jive
        Power may or may not work depending on the accessory
    Cases
      Hardshells, wraps, skins, form fitted obviously won't work
        No camera holes
      Slip covers, bags, etc. might work
  Enable 4 finger gestures on iPad
    Play audio tip from Mark
    I have been playing with it and I see why it's beta
    Mis-registers swipes in some apps that save have 2-finger "zoom" features
      Nebulous Notes pinch to adjust font size for example
  AudioEngine N22 Review
    I have been using this system in my office for several weeks and I am dreading sending it back.
    Premium Desktop Audio Amplifier
    Bring your own speakers
      Provides 22W RMS/40W peak per channel
    They also provided the Audioengine P4 passive bookshelf speakers (USD $249)
    Beautifully packaged with all the cables you need
      1/8" audio cable
      RCA cable
      speaker wire
    Setup was easy
      Plug unit into power
      Connect the speakers to the gold plated binding posts
      Connect an audio source
        I started with an iPod connected via the 1/8" input from it's headphone jack
        Can also go line in from an Apple dock.
        A USB port on the back allows for charging
    Sound was excellent and the P4's had great mids to highs with decent base response
    The N22 was able to deliver full clear sound and fill my office with sound.
      A full volume the sound was loud, but wasn't overpowering and clear (no distortion)
    Going wireless
      Using the AudioEngine W2 or W1 is perfect. The wireless receiver unit can be attached to the USB and then run to the RCA or 1/8" line in on the back of the N22
      I also connected my Airport Express which made it awesome thanks to Airplay and Home Sharing
      In this configuration I could also use AirFoil to send any audio from my Mac to the N22
        Also using Airfoil Speakers on an old iPhone connected to a dock and line in to the N22
    My new Apple TV 2 only has digital out, but I could use the N22 connected to the line out on my TV to get better sound
    Priced at $199 (USD) the N22s aren't cheap, but if you already have a good set of speakers and you want to set up an audio zone in your house they may be a perfect fit.
      It's going to deliver better amplification and sound then lots of powered speaker systems in the same price range.
      Offers more versatility
  PICT, legacy documents, and OS X
    A common question I get asked is often about how to open legacy document formats on newer systems, or actually more often about why older formats are lost or not supported.
    Short answer is often "they just aren't supported anymore", but that still leave the issue of lost content or data.
    The longer answers often have technical explanations that I don't usually dive into, but are still interesting to explore.
    Enter Glenn Howes, a listener who has great insight into these issue because of his job.
      This is part history lesson, part technical geekery, and part cautionary tale.
    Play conversation with Glenn
Closing
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  New Music
    "Howaya Girls" by The Young Dubliners
    Just played on Kimmel on St. Paddy's Day
    Band site
    Get "Saints and Sinners" on iTunes
  EOL - Smart Cover Fridge Magnet
    via Cult of Mac
    Stick your iPad to the fridge using the 22 magnets in the iPad SmartCover