shownotes_20120407

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
    Mandaandthemarbles.com
Sponsor
  Gazelle
    Get cash for you old Apple products.
    They also take major brand cell phones
    The process is quick and easy
    Re-commerce service, so your device doesn't just end up in a landfill.
    Gazelle - The fast and easy place to get cash for your used iPhone, iPad, and other Apple gadgets.
News
  New Trojan uses Java flaw to target the Mac
    Flashback.K exploits a flaw in the Java code and could allow an attacker to exploit the Mac by installing software without requiring admin access
    The vulnerability was patched by Oracle in February, Apple released two updates this week for Lion and Snow Leopard
      No patches for earlier systems
      Lion doesn't come with Java pre-loaded
    Russian antivirus company Dr. Web claims the Flashback Trojan controls over half a million Macs on the web.
    Use Terminal to test for exploit
      Launch Applications > Utilities > Terminal
      Run the command: defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment
      Check the result for: "The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist"
      Run the command: defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES
      Check the result for: "The domain/default pair of (/Users/username/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist"
      If the results are similar to the above your system is clean.
    Disabling Java on your Mac if you don't need it
      In Safari, Safari Preferences > Security tab. Uncheck the Enable Java option
      In OS X, Applications > Utilities > Java Preferences. Uncheck everything in the General tab.
    Might consider installing anti-virus
      Won't protect you on first day, but vendors tend to update their definitions very quickly
      Sophos
      ClamX AV
      Intego Virus Barrier
      ESET Cybersecurity for Mac
    Emailing with George Starcher, who is in the security industry, he says we should have know this was coming
      He recommends: Patch, don't run as admin, layer in something like opendns etc. and if really sensitive data run av.
    In a separate, but equally concerning security issue the Facebook and Dropbox apps for iOS were found to be storing login credentials locally unencrypted in the plist files on the device
      Anyone with physical access to the device could potentially access that info
      Dropbox says they are working to update their app to change that behavior
      Another good reason to lock your device with a pass code and use the iTunes option to encrypt your iOS backups.
  Universal added to iTunes Cloud
    Purchased iTunes movies from Universal are now available for re-download to Macs and iOS devices and for streaming to Apple TV
    Apple enabled the redownload service for movies back in March for some studios like Sony, but Universal and Fox were excluded mostly due to exclusivity agreements for TV releases with HBO
    Universal has apparently reached an agreement, so now that leaves Fox as one of, if not the last major movie studio hold outs.
  New MacBook Pros and iMacs in June
    DigiTimes, quoting a report from China's Economic Daily News, shows supplier checks indicating that new iMacs and MacBook featuring Intel's next gen Ivy Bridge technology could be arriving in June
    Speculation is that new hardware would feature the latest core i7 and i5 quad core chips and bump up the integrated graphics to the Intel HD 4000 as the default chipset along with upgraded discrete chips on the higher end models.
    Also that Apple may employ a new glass technology from G-tech to reduce glare
    The report also indicates that the new iMac designs could be thinner losing the internal optical drives. MacBook Pro models may also undergo the same digital liposuction shedding their optical drives as well.
  AT&T will unlock off contract phone
    The Mac Observer reports that starting tomorrow AT&T has agreed to start unlocking iPhones for qualified devices.
    Requirements are that a customer’s account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.
    Unlocking would allow you to use your old device on an AT&T pay as you go plan or to take your device to another network domestically or abroad with a compatible SIM.
    T-mobile's voice network in the US should work fine, but most of their 3G data network is incompatible.
  Siri is a busy lady
    The Wall Street journal is reporting on an unpublished report.
    Consulting firm Parks Associates surveyed 482 owners of Apple's iPhone 4S and found that some 87 percent of iPhone 4S owners use at least one of the features offered by Apple's Siri each month.
    Most seem to use it for routine tasks like placing phone calls and listening to music. Voice features that were available prior to Siri
    33% place phone calls, send texts or look up information daily with Siri
    32 percent control music . 35 percent schedule meetings
    26 percent claimed to dictate mail almost daily.
    55 percent of users were satisfied with Siri, 9 percent were unsatisfied
  iPhone sales up among teens
    According to a new report, one-third of high school students in the U.S. are owners of Apple’s iPhone
    The report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster surveyed of 5,600 U.S. high school students And showed that 34% of surveyed students now own an iPhone
    up from 23% in the Fall and 17% last Spring
    34% of students report owning some sort of tablet device, with 70% of those indicating that they have an iPad. 53% of those iPad owners also own an iPhone
      up from 29% in Fall 2011 and 22% last Spring
  A look at iCloud Data Privacy
    Ars technica dove into iClouds terms of service with the help of some privacy experts
    The general consensus was the data security meets industry best practices, but leaves room for Apple to review and access your data and even in some cases provide unencrypted data to authorities.
    There is no indication that Apple is or will access your data, but the TOS seems to imply that they at least have the ability to do so.
      Apple can "pre-screen, move, refuse, modify and/or remove Content at any time" if the content is deemed "objectionable" or otherwise in violation of the terms of service
      Apple can "access, use, preserve and/or disclose your Account information and Content to law enforcement authorities" whenever required or permitted by law.
    Apple further says that it will review content reportedly in violation of copyright under DMCA statutes.
      The article didn't make it clear what action if any Apple might take it it discovered a violation of the DMCA
    Better protection using asymmetric public key encryption.
      Data encrypted with a public key prior to being sent to the cloud. Any device or person wanting to decrypt that data would need the private key which you would control.
  What's next for iOS and iDevices
    John Gruber says 7.85-inch iPad is in the works with a 1024 x 768 resolution.
    “Samsung Display” claims Apple will switch to their OLED smartphone displays possibly in the next generation of the device
    Apple may drop Google Maps in iOS 6 in favor of open OpenStreetMaps data
      Apple acquired 3 mapping companies.
      Two, Poly 9 and C3 are focused on 3D mapping
      Placebase is another service similar to Google, with the ability to overlay additional data over the maps
    Analyst Peter Misek claims the Apple branded TV will be called the iPanel
      Saya Apple will begin production of 5M in May
      will retail for $1,250 and bring in 30 percent gross margins
      Claims it will use Sharp IGZO panels
Sponsor
  Faronics
    Deep Freeze
Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  How to share iTunes purchases
    I spoke about this on a recent episode, but didn't cover exactly how to.
    Copy files from the iTunes Media folder over the newtwork or to a disk and sneakernet them to the other system
    Add the files to the other library and then authorize it with the Apple ID that was used to make the original purchase.
    Or you can use Home Sharing
      You don't have to use the same Apple ID for Home Sharing as you use for iTunes purchases.
      You can even set up automatic transfers. Selecy the Home Share from the devices list and at the bottom right of the main iTunes window, click the 'Settings…' button
      Then you can check the purchase types you want to automatically sync (Music, Movies, TV Shows, Books, and Apps).
  Perspective on new iPad issues
    I'm not saying these issues aren't real or that they are not valid. I think that in many cases they are.
    I will say that so far I have had only a handful of Maccast listeners report issues to me and in asking friends and family all but 1were completely satisfied with their new iPad.
    The current list of complaints includes:
      Yellow or uneven screen color
      Wi-Fi connectivity issues like intermittent connectivity, slow WiFi speeds and the inability of the iPad to see nearby WiFi networks.
      3G issues
      We won't even discuss "heat gate" which is a non-issue.
    Many sites are pointing to the "numerous" and "growing" threads on Apple's discussion boards as evidence of "serious" issues with the new iPad.
    To me these seem like media attempts to grab eyeballs and also detractors efforts to find any flaw with Apple's products.
    Some of these threads have 1,500 or 2,000 posts to be sure, but let's put things in perspective.
    Let's say there are 15 times that number of people who have a legitimate defect in their new iPad. That would be say 30,000 people who got defective "yellow" screens.
    That's 1% of the 3 million devices Apple sold in the opening weekend of sales.
    I think that's within normal manufacturing defect limits. Hardly an epidemic nor a cause for concern, yet Apple has been forced to respond to the media for these issues.
    Plus Apple is investigating issues and replacing units for customers who are dissatisfied.
  Managing Photo Metadata on iOS
    While the new iPhoto for iOS lets you add a caption to a photo's metadata, it doesn't seem to stick outside iPhoto on iOS
      Saving it back to the camera roll seems to make a copy without the info
    What apps are there to edit and save metadata on iOS images?
  Renaming Finder Items
    Adam wanted to know about good tools for batch renaming items in the Finder
    Terminal
      Could write a BASH script, use some kind of awk, sed, or grep thing depending on your needs
      I did this recently for a folder of files using the command 'rename'
        'rename' is not part of the default OS X install
        I use a package manger called Homebrew, some use MacPorts.
        Homebrew is also how I installed wget, BTW. ;)
    Automator
      Start Automator (Applications > Automator) and create a new Service
      Select “files or folders” at the top
      In the left sidebar, search for “Rename Finder Items”, and drag it the main pane
      A modal box will pop-up and ask "This action will change the names of the Finder items passed into it. Would you like to add a Copy Finder Items action so that the copies are changed and your originals are preserved?"
        If you want the Service to save copies to a specified location before renaming then say yes.
        In the options for the action set the folder location or check the "Show this action when the workflow runs" option
      In the "Rename Finder Items" action, click on “Options” and check “Show this action when the workflow runs”
        This will allow you to set the rename settings and customize them each time you run the service.
        Options are:
          Add Date or Time
          Add Text
          Change case
          Make Sequential
          Replace Text
          Name Single Item
      In the File Menu, click “Save” and name it “Rename files”
      Now you can select files in the Finder, go the application menu, hover over “Services”, and click “Rename”
    Commercial apps
      Better Finder Rename (USD $19.99)
      Name Mangler (USD $9.99)
  OS X Lion auto reboot after crash
    I had a listener ask about the ability of OS X Lion Server being able to auto reboot if the system freezes or locks up.
    I didn't think OS X had this feature and I told him as much, but he prodded my and said it was a feature of pro servers
    So that prompted me to do further research and low and behold the feature does exist in OS X Lion, and in the client, not just server.
    You'll find the setting tucked away in System Preferences > Energy Saver. On a notebook it's under the Power Adapter tab.
      A checkbox for 'Restart Automatically if Computer Freezes'.
    While there you may also want to check out the "Schedule…" button in the lower right corner
      You can schedule a time and days for you Mac to start up or wake and for it Sleep, Restart, or Shutdown.
    If you want really fine control over Energy Saver settings try Faronics Power Save Mac
      More flexible scheduling
      Control timing of sleep functions based on CPU, Disk or Network activity
  App Store apps asking to update twice
    Bruce was getting the indicator on the App Store icon in his dock to update some of his apps.
    When he ran the update all went fine, but then the bade remained. He would launch the App Store again and go to updates and it would want to update the same apps again. After running a second time all would be fine.
    Turns out that Bruce also does a cloned backup to an external drive, my guess was that Spotlight was being used by the App Store to detect apps installed on the system.
    Adding the external backup drive to the exclude list in System Preferences > Spotlight, seemed to do the trick.
    Excluding backups from Spotlight Indexing is also a good idea to help keep the Launch Services database clean. If you ever have seen the same app listed multiple times when you control+click and select open with you know what I mean.
Closing
  Podcast Marketplace
    Thanks to my sponsors
      Faronics, Deep Freeze. 5.0 released with Lion compatibility
      Circus Ponies
      Smile
      Gazelle
  Guest on the Mac Show
    A podcast on the British Tech Network and currently #1 Tech podcast spot in UK iTunes
  Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
    maccast@gmail.com
    281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
      PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
    MacCast Forum
    Follow me on Twitter