shownotes_20110918

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  EFI Firmware updates
    MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.1
      MacBook Air (mid 2011) models.
      Includes fixes that enhance the stability of Lion Recovery from an Internet connection, and resolve issues with Apple Thunderbolt Display compatibility and Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode performance
    Macbook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.2
      MacBook Pro (early 2011) models
      Enables Lion Recovery from an Internet connection and includes fixes that resolve issues with Apple Thunderbolt Display compatibility and Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode performance
    Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.3
      Mac Mini (mid 2011) models
      Includes fixes that enhance the stability of Lion Recovery from an Internet connection, and resolve issues with Apple Thunderbolt Display compatibility and Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode performance
    iMac Graphics anomalies
      Cult of Mac reported on an iMac users having strange graphics and video issues under Lion
      One screen shot shows just the icon in the tabbed switching panel being scrambled
      A restart seems to resolve the issues, at least temporarily.
      Cult of Mac has confirmed that Apple Engineering is aware of the bug and it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue.
      There are reports in the comments of it appearing on other models.
      Apple didn't have a timeline for a fix, but hopefully it can be resolved in a future software update.
  New Macbook Pros this month?
    Electonista has an interesting rumor that Apple may bump Macbook Pro models mid season
    Even though the machines were released in February, they think them might get a speed bump this month
    Reason? Stay competitive with newer PC laptops recently released and because Intel has bumped the Ivy Bridge release back to March or later.
    If Apple waited then the Laptops would go over a year without an update.
    Apple has done mid-season bumps in it's history so the move wouldn't be unprecedented
    I assume it would be a quiet update of just the CPUs
      13-inch MacBook Pros would jump from the dual-core 2.3GHz Core i5 and 2.7GHz Core i7 of today to 2.5GHz and 2.8GHz
      15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros would jump from 2GHz, 2.2GHz, and 2.3GHz quad Core i7s to 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz, and 2.7GHz
    Also wouldn't hurt to juice the sagging Back to School sales and add to Apple's fiscal 1st quarter 2012 numbers
    Apple's sales for the current quarter are strong
      Gene Munster noted the latest NPD numbers indicate Mac sales may be up by 22%
      He expects Macs to sell 4.4 to 4.6 million units in the quarter
      Strong sales attributed to Lion, new Mac Book Air and Mac Mini
      Interestingly he expects the typical end of September slowing in sales resulting in a final quarter year over year unit sales gain of 13%- 18%
      Macs should make up 20% of Apple's revenue for the quarter.
    After Ivy Bridge
      At the Intel Developer Forum Intel disclosed details on the next gen chips codenamed Haswell
      Will also use a 22 nanometer design like Ivy Bridge
      Offer a 30 percent reduction in active power use over a modern Core i5
      Intel claims that it could result in notebooks that run 24 hours on a charge (so we may finally get the 8 hours we are promised on current gen chips. ;) ).
  Airport Express update soon
    AppleInsider is reporting
    They note some authorized resellers as showing the current 802.11n Airport Express as discontinued in their systems
    Also longer shipping lead times at resellers like Amazon
    This is further backed up by a source that claims an AirPort Utility 5.6 update currently in development references that it "Adds support for the AirPort Express 802.11n (2nd Generation) base station".
    Like the update that was quietly done to the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme in June it's expected the Express will get improved range and performance.
  iPad 2 still dominates tablets
    Despite the rise of Android tablets IDC says Apple gained market share in the second quarter
    The tablet market saw an overall second quarter growth of 88.9 percent over the prior quarter and a year to year increase of 303.8 percent selling 13.6 million units.
    Apple's share for the quarter rose from 65.7 percent in the prior quarter to 68.3 percent in the second quarter.
    By contrast Android's share fell from 34 percent to 26.8 percent.
    I think tablet fragmentation in the Android market isn't helping.
    The negative press isn't helping Apple's competitors
      I think the general public see's iPad and "other tablets"
      Android likely suffers when HP, RIM, and Samsung start taking negative press
    Apple shipped 9.25 million iPads last quarter vs. RIM shipping 490,000 Playbooks (19:1) [Bloomberg]
    According Brazil's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation new iPads could be shipping out of their Foxconn plant by December
      Will reduce iPad price in Brazil by 40%. They have heavy import tariffs.
  iPhone 5/4s rumor roundup
    Prepaid data plans ripe for 4s
      If you believe there IS a 4s which I didn't until this weekend
        An listing for a white iPhone 4s allegedly appeared in AT&Ts internal systems (Engadget)
      AT&T - 240 minutes, Unlimited messaging, $25/mo
      Virgin - 300 minutes, Unlimited text, unlimited data, $35/mo.
      Verizon - Unlimited voice, text, and data. $50/mo.
      No word on tethering and I believe all these carriers announced at least throttling if not caps on their data plans.
      It's also pure speculation if the iPhone will be supported. Historically it hasn't.
    iPhone 4 shipments from Foxconn slowed down in August (9 to 5)
      iPod Touch shipments are reportedly not slowing.
    Casemate may have leaked iPhone 5 images
      they were quickly pulled, but not before being picked up by my several tech blogs
      If they are accurate the radical new iPhone 5 design is basically the iPod Touch
        Aluminum back, but brushed material like the iPad 2
        Black plastic buttons, oblong like on the Touch.
    AppleCare reps were reportedly being told to expect 8 times increase in iOS call volume starting October 10th
      Could be iOS or iCloud
      Could release iOS 5 on the 10th and follow up with a iPhone lunch on Friday the 14th.
      Some estimates had the release date set to the 7th.
    Sprint getting iPad2 in addition to iPhone 5
      Would also bring Unlimited data plans to iPad 2.
      I'm with this rumor until they say it will be a different model than the Verizon one.
      Sprint and Verizon use CMDA networks.
      Speculation is Sprint's iPad 2 would have 4G WiMax support. (why since sprint already announced they'd be moving to LTE)?
    iPhone 5 demand is highest yet
      RBC analyst Mike Abramsky has numbers from a survey of 2,200 people
      31% said they were likely to buy an iPhone 5. A similar survey done before the iPhone 4 showed just 25% saying they were likely to buy an iPhone 4
      66% of current iPhone owners surveyed said the were likely to buy an iPhone 5
  iMessage coming to iChat
    MacRumors reported that a developer source found references to iMessage in the frameworks of OS X Lion's version of iChat
    The speculation is that when iOS 5 is released with iMessage that support will also be added into iChat.
    This makes a lot of sense
      Would add additional user base (Macs) to the new iMessage platform, which would help adoption rates
      You're conversations could follow you from Mac to mobile.
    Whether it's true or not Apple needs to do something because their messaging strategy is a mess
      iChat - Video, audio, text
      iMessage (Messages) - SMS and new iMessage protocol (text)
      FaceTime - Video calling
    Personally I's like to see all of this rolled up into iMessage across the OS
    Seems like there is not need for 3 apps that have such obvious crossover.
      Could separate text (iMessage, iChat text) and video (FaceTime, iChat video)
      Do a Skype style client that integrates it all.
    Not without its' challenges though
      iChat supports many other protocols (AIM, Jabber, GoogleTalk, Yahoo)
Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  More on why Apple's upset with Samsung
    Tony pointed out some things that I think make Samsung a bigger target for Apple
    Apple has given 8 Billion dollars of it's business and they may have had more access than others to Apple's internal info
      This makes their "copying" seem more egregious
      Also likely why Apple is moving some contracts away from Samsung as they expire
    As Tony points out it's a similar situation with Google and Eric Schmidt or Andy Rubin.
    You might also make the same argument against Jon Rubinstein and HP and WebOS
  Cleanliness is next to Jobsliness
    Stan points out a bug that seems to have surfaced in the OS X Lion 10.7.1 update
    After a restart icons on the desktop are suddenly rearranged and ordered cleanly on the right side of the screen, despite how you may have arranged them yourself.
    Might be Steve's way of telling you to clean up your desktop, but I doubt it.
    Seems more like something is causing corruption of the desktops hidden .DS_Store file
    To fix:
      Use the Terminal or other app that displays invisible files to remove the corrupted file
      It will automatically rebuild and then you should be able to put everything back and have it stick.
      At this point you may wish to use the Terminal to make a backup of the file, as it seems like the corruption is likely to return.
    You could also write an Automator app to backup and restore the file.
    Apple obviously will need to address this in an update.
  What's in a name? For Apple, a lot.
    Seth Weintraub had a great piece this week on one aspect of Apple's consumer success that often goes overlooked, but is very significant none the less. Naming.
    Apple's naming
      Simple (Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV)
      No confusing model numbers.
        The iPhone has numbers (3G, 3GS, 4, 4s, 5), but I think it further illustrates the point.
      Has extended to software
        OS X Lion, iLife '11, but in App Store titles are iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand
    This change happened around the time Jobs returned to Apple
      Remember the Performa naming? Dozens slightly different models with cryptic model numbers. I had a performa 575
      Power Macintosh 6100/7100/8100. In the 7100 line there was also a 7200, 7215, 7220, 7300, 7500, 7600 and they were release sequentially. The 7220 came out after the 7600.
    Apple's competitors use numbers in much the same way
      Cryptic codes that define new models or slight variations in the specs within a line.
      They usually don't go in any kind of rational sequence and usually don't help the consumer make a buying decision
      You have to know the specs behind the code
    After Job's return the products were distilled down to the basic needs and given simple names
      PowerMac, iMac, Powerbook, iBook
      iPod, iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Touch
    The philosophy extends to peripherals and accessories too.
      Airport, Airport Extreme, AirPort Express
      Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad
    Apple often doesn't change the names as the products mature
      Much like people.
      The new iMac is also iMac
    The naming not only simplifies the choices, but also humanizes and personalizes the products to a certain degree
      Seth notes in his piece the subtle distinction that in keynotes Job's refers to products as "iPod" or "iMac", not "the iPod" or "the iMac"
      I know many Apple users who name their devices like pets.
    Apple simplifies not just the products buy the entire buying experience
      Are you Pro or Consumer?
      Portable or Desktop?
      Good, Better, Best?
      You buy based on your needs and not specs
        Competitors would point to this as a disadvantage. Limiting consumer choice.
        Most consumers are overwhelmed by choice though.
          Buying a digital camera or video camera takes days for me to decipher specs and I still often feel I make the wrong choice
      Apple stores are clean, bright, organized, and thought out
        You know where to go to get which product, accessory, or service
      Apple's online iPad buying page was recently changed
        Single page
        White or Black?
        Wi-fi or 3G?
        16GB, 32GB, or 64GB?
        Done. (Well on 3G models, you have to pick your carrier too ;) )
  Cross platform external drives in Lion
    Had a question about doing read/write to NTFS formatted drives using a Mac with Lion
    Macs have long had the ability to read from Windows NTFS formatted drives, but can't natively write to them
    For read write between Macs and PCs FAT 32 is usually the choice, but it has a 4GB size limit. Also not as efficient at storage.
    There are a few commercial product that add read/write NTFS support to the Mac
      Tuxtera NTFS for Mac (USD $34.20) - Lion compatible
      Paragon NTFS for Mac (USD $19.99) - Lion compatible
    Free solution has been to use MacFUSE
      FUSE - Filesystem in User Space, open source project. Basically creates a filesystem in the user space and bridges that to the the kernel interface
      MacFUSE is Google project and is an OS X port of FUSE
        MacFUSE was developed for Leopard and ran under Snow Leopard in 32-bit
        Tuxtera has created a MacFUSE port compatible with Lion FUSE 2.2
        There is also a new branch OSXFUSE
      NTFS-3G from Tuxtera for 10.4 - 10.6
        This does seem to work in Lion, but with errors, even using Tuxtera's Mac FUSE 2.2
        Errors mounting disk and it takes a while to mount.
        Seems to work once mounted
    Options
      Don't upgrade
      Use MacFUSE 2.2 and NTFS-3G, seems dodgy
      Buy a commercial product, pricing seems reasonable if you need this type of functionality
    Best option may be to switch formats
      There is a new version of FAT supported by OS X (10.6.5 and higher) and Windows, exFAT
      Supported by 10.6.5 and 10.7. Windows XP SP 2 (with update), Vista SP1, and Windows 7
      You'll need to backup existing drives, reformat, and restore data
      Doesn't really support Linux
    Thanks to Neil Turner's great article for summarizing all this info
  Mission Control tricks
    Assigning apps to a desktop
      Used to be done in the Spaces System Preferences
      In Lion you use Mission Control and Desktops and the assignment is performed within that Desktop
        Launch the App and use Mission Control to place it on the desired desktop
          You can enter Mission control and drag an app up to the upper right to get the "+" symbol to add a new Desktop
        Go to that Desktop and then Control+Click the icon in the Dock.
        Under Options you'll see 3 choices under 'Assign To'
          Need to have multiple desktops active in Mission Control before the Assign To option appears
            All Desktops - App will appear on every Desktop
            This Desktop - Will always launch into that desktop (i.e. Desktop 2)
            None (default) - Launches to whichever Desktop you are currently in
          Assigning to a Desktop and then removing that Desktop seems to break the link.
    Assign different background to Desktops
      Go to Desktop
      Launch System Preferences --> Desktops & Screen Savers
      Choose your Desktop
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