Maccast 2014.05.29 - Show #489
Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
* Mandaandthemarbles.com
V Sponsor: RageSW
V Everweb
* One of the tools that I know many of you loved for building your own websites was iWeb, but alas Apple left it behind when they moved to iCloud
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* Easy drag and drop site creation with great templates to get you started
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* Tons of great widgets to add Google Maps, contact forms, social integration with Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
V Brings in modern and advanced feature
* HTML 5 support, including audio and video
* Google Fonts
* SEO
* Mobile templates for each design.
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* Best of all Maccast listeners can get 15% off by using the code at checkout.
V News
V iWatch may be round
* Analyst Brian Blair of Rosenblatt Securities claims to have caught a glimpse of the iWatch in Apple’s supply chain in Taiwan.
* Claims it will have a round face and start production this Summer.
* The look is said to be similar to the "Moto 360", but have a slimmer profile.
* It’s also believe the watch will come in two sizes to market to men and women.
* Blair believes Apple will build between 18 million and 21 million before the end of 2014.
* With all it’s recent acquisitions in the health and fitness, sensor tech, and fashion fields it certainly describes the kind of product we’d expect Apple to ship.
* The new report doesn’t talk much about the health aspects of the device though.
* It’s expected to be loaded with sensors and tie into a companion, " " app for iOS.
V Another rumor out of China is that Apple is testing charging coils for wireless charging in the iWatch.
* Apple has reportedly been struggling with battery life of 1-2 days. They want 4-5 days.
* Most believe we will get all the details and an announcement of the iWatch in the Fall.
V Apple’s new Beat(s)
V Apple made it official this week. they bought Beats for 3 Billion dollars
* Broken into a 2.6 billion purchase price and $400 million that will vest over time.
* Subject to regulatory approvals, Apple expects the transaction to close in fiscal Q4.
V Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple
* They will allegedly both report directly to Eddie Cue
* Iovine will leave his job as Chairman of Vivendi's Interscope Records to work full time for Apple
* Dre will continue to produce music and work at Apple
* Beats Electronics (the headphones) will fall under Phil Schiller’s leadership
V Most feel having Iovine and Dr. Dre at Apple will help in negotiations of deals with Hollywood and the Music industry
* Iovine especially has deep ties and is know for being able to get deals done.
* Iovine helped Apple launch iTunes
V In the PR Eddie Cue mentions the deal improving Apple’s music line-up and talks about the three services as separate things. Free iTunes Radio, world-class Beats Music subscriptions, and buying Music from iTunes.
* Apple plans to keep Beats Music a separate brand, at least for now. They also seem to be keeping the apps for Windows Phone and Android
* Some speculated that iTunes Radio may combine with Beats Music
V Cue’s comments are in line with a TechCrunch report that Apple want an easy transition for the Music industry and artists into streaming services
* iTunes sales accounted for 1 billion (63 percent) of industry revenues from the direct sale of songs and albums to consumers in 2013.
* An iTunes Streaming service could crater that revenue.
* iTunes Store sales are declining and consumers are moving toward streaming services.
* iTunes has 800 million account holders, Beats has 250,000 paid subscribers
* Beats Music will let Apple transition customers and the industry gradually and keep Apple playing all sides of the field while it’s happening.
* Apple will show it’s not an all or nothing game. Each service and exist and feed the others.
V The headphone business
* Not clear what Apple and Beats plans are there, yet.
* Beats has captured 60% of its market, makes over $1 billion in sales
* The Beats brand, despite what you think of the quality of sound, is hugely popular with artists, celebrities, and athletes and that trickles down to consumers.
* But the press release hardly says word about Beats Electronics
* Design is already transitioning from Beats outside design team, Ammunition, to Apple.
V Some have questioned the cost and the fact that Apple could just build these products and services themselves
* Cook responded in a Re/Code interview
* It gives Apple a head start, incredible people, and culturally the two companies are in sync.
* They both operate at what Jobs called the intersection of art and technology
* The deal has already been and will continue to be an industry disruptor, something that Apple likes to do.
V Following the announcement Beats Music made some changes
* Trial period is doubled from 7 days to 14 days
* Annual subscription to the service is now USD $99.99 down from USD $119.88
V Low cost iMac and iPhone 5s at WWDC?
V KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who’s typically one to give a little trust to, says Apple will announce less expensive iMac and iPhone 5s models at WWDC
* iMac ship times slipped to 3-5 days, prompting update speculation
* The iPhone 5s he felt less sure on, saying it would be a 8GB model at a cheaper price and that Apple could wait since it’s not a major announcement.
* The note from Kuo promptly got a "Nope" from Jim Dalrymple, so you can pretty firmly bet it’s not happening.
* What Apple is expected to show off at WWDC is iOS 8, OS X 10.10, and possibly a new smart home system.
* The WWDC app has a bunch of mysterious session titles. “No Comment,” “This One Is Sealed,” “Shhhh, Can’t Tell You Yet,” and dozens of others
V Home Automation the BIG "one more thing"?
* Leak from sources who spoke with the Financial Times.
* Apple will introduce a new platform for controlling in-home devices such as lights, appliances, and security systems
* The system is also said to tie in with a new version of the Apple TV that will be released later this year.
V Apple has reportedly been talking with connected device makers to support and incorporate Apple’s system
* If so it’s amazing to me that this project has been kept secret this long.
* The idea of a device like an iPhone or iWatch with integrated BT/Wi-fi/NFC technology making you the center of a personal home automation system is a nice one to speculate on.
* To date various systems and standards along with fragmented device and control software application support has kept home automation systems in the realm of high end high cost consumer systems or fiddly tinkering home hobbyists.
* I’ve always wanted Apple to do a home media server solution that supported one library multiple devices and users, so I hope that is one branch of a home automation tree.
V GigaOm says the initial announcement will be no so ambitious
* The smart home effort will have a heavy focus on connecting devices easily via Wi-Fi and will likely offer voice control via Bluetooth
* Also a list of Smart Connected device partners on the MFi label
* And that’s about it
* No Apple Centralized app and software layer.
* No Siri integration
* Let’s hope they are wrong.
* The New York Times' Brian X. Chen writes on Twitter that he's been told "that the split-screen feature for iOS 8 isn't ready yet and won't be shown at WWDC.
* Signs have gone up at Moscone with the conference slogan, "Write the code. Change the world."
* And we will get to see what’s announced! Apple will stream the keynote which happens on Monday June 2nd at 10:00 AM PDT.
V Beyond WWDC
* The Fall is when we can expect big hardware announcements from Apple
V iPhone 6
* 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models
* I am beginning to believe that there may likely two size versions, although MacNN says reports of the 5.5-inch version seem to be slowing. Maybe production delays have pushed it off the table for 2014?
* I think if Apple did plan two sizes with a few months difference in release dates they’d have to pre-announce both and that could disrupt holiday sales numbers
* If the 5.5-inch is real, it is said to carry a USD $100 price premium.
* Improved camera and A8 processor.
* Unlikely Deutsch Telekom of a September 19th release date.
V iPads
* Updated Airs and Minis with TouchID
V Apple TV
* Siri integration
* Motion control system
* App and games support
V iMacs and Macbook Pros
* Prototype 64-bit ARM Based four-core and eight-core iMac, Mac mini and MacBook models.
* Could lead to lower cost and longer battery life models.
* Apple would be able to move their custom A-series chip designs into desktop and laptop models
* The systems are said to be running a "completely equivalent" OS X operating system in ARM
V iPhones held ransom in AU and US
* Some Apple owners in AU this week were finding their devices locked via My iPhone, Find My iPad and Find My Mac, but by hackers, not themselves.
V The hackers then sent them emails demanding a ransom of $50 to $100 to unlock the devices.
* Oddly instructions were to send the fund via PayPal, but the account they said to send to was not attached to any PayPal account.
V Some early reports claimed the hack was carried out via and iCloud hack, Apple responded and said no.
* Apple claims individual accounts were breached by hackers somehow obtaining the customers usernames and passwords.
* Apple encouraged impacted users to change their Apple ID password as soon as possible and to avoid using the same username and password on multiple services. Good advice.
* Users with illegally locked devices should contact Applecare support or go to a Retail Store.
* You could also enable two-factor authentication for more security.
V Earlier in the week there was reports of a different iCloud hack, one Apple has not responded to.
* A Dutch group claims to have hacked the iCloud system to allow for the unlocking of stolen, activation locked, phones.
* The media seems to be calling this one a "breach", but that seems like the wrong term
* It’s more like a man in the middle, where they have a server that pretends to be iCloud and they have figured out a way to trick devices into accepting unlocks from that system.
* To me breach implies that they somehow accessed Apple’s servers.
V iWork for iCloud Updates
V Up to 100 people can collaborate on a file in Pages, Keynote, or Numbers
* Not sure why you’d need 100 people, but OK
* Up the max file sizes to 1GB from 10MB
* Single image size limit doubled from 5MB to 10MB
* Create 2D interactive Charts
V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V The next OS, OS X Cubed
* Some of you loved this idea and others hated it.
* Some felt we should be moving to version 11, though I think if we did that we should be technically on version 20
* George, a pilot, suggested a scheme like the do with Boeing 777 or "triple 7". So OS "triple ten".
V Fixing embedded iTunes Art
* Matt reminded me of the great resource for all things iTunes and AppleScript, Doug Scripts.
* They have a script that will take the downloaded art from Apple and embed it in any selected iTunes files
* Just be sure Apple has the artwork you want downloaded.
* You want embedded artwork because it will use that data first. Good so you don’t get the wrong art associated with the tracks.
V GIMP Print and Gutenprint
* Several of you pointed out that for printing older devices you might try Gimp-Print and Gutenprint
V I hesitated mentioning it originally because the site says it supports 10.2 through 10.8.
* Some say it might work with 10.9, but be careful
* It’s also UNIX based so it’s a bit more technical then using the built-in or manufacturers drives. There is a DMG installer and setting up in Print Center can be a bit more manual process, but still not too bad.
* In newer versions of OS X you should just see the Gutenprint PPDs for printers. With Network printers you need to set-up "IP Printing".
V My failed logic board
* Share the story of how my Macbook Pro logic board failed
V Discuss getting by with the Macbook Air and SuperDuper
* Boot up while holding 'Option'
* Advantages over Time Machine in this scenario
* FW800 to Thunderbolt limits with external monitor and MacBook Air
V Details on SuperDuper
* I buy (or re-purpose) a HDD that is the same size as my internal (or larger)
V Run a copy using 'Backup - all files' option
* In options also set 'Repair permissions' and Smart Update
* Explain Smart Update
* Then set a Schedule using Smart Update, so each night that days worked get’s cloned.
* Recovery when I got my Mac back was to just boot and run a Super Duper Smart Update clone back to my MacBook Pro.
* When I get a new Mac or do an OS Upgrade I like to set up a new Super Duper drive, so I can keep the old OS for a while.
* Using 4GB of RAM with OS X Mavericks has not been fun
V Finally taking the plunge on a SSD upgrade
* Amazon had the Crucial M500 480GB SSD for USD $210.00 (now at $217)
V iTunes 11.2.1 freezing and podcast issues
* Rick, and a few others, sent in emails stating that after upgrading to iTunes 11.2.1 that iTunes would freeze up when attempting to update Podcasts from the Music library’s Podcast section
* I had a similar experience when I tried to test it and there were a number of reports in Apple’s discussion board.
* I took a look at the Application > Utilities > Console log and I notice that while iTunes was running there were a number of references to 'mDNSResponder' errors.
* 'mDNSResponder' is actually Bonjour networking, which I wouldn’t think would be related to Podcasts.
* 'mDNSResponder' errors in iTunes are nothing new and looks like they are generally related to SyncServices problems.
* My best guess is that what’s locking up iTunes isn’t Podcasts directly, but rather the iOS wireless device syncing running while using iTunes.
V To reset SyncServices make sure iTunes is quit and:
* 1) In the Finder, go to the 'Go' menu and choose 'Go to Folder…'
* 2) the the dialog enter '~/Library/Application Support'
* 3) Select the 'SyncServices' folder and move it to the Trash
* 4) Re-launch iTunes and see if the freezing has stopped.
* This fix worked for me.
V Apple also did just release an iTunes 11.2.2 update so that may also help if you’ve been having iTunes issues since the last update.
* Apple claims it address an issue where some podcast episodes my download unexpectedly
* Also general big fixes and improvements
V People have also reported more general Podcast app and iTunes Podcast issues to me. Basically shows not updating.
* Apple made a lot of Podcast changes this last round.
* I’ve found the first step in troubleshooting a podcast issues is to unsubscribe and resubscribe to the show.
V OS X Membership HTTPS issue in Downcast. Also in Apple’s podcast app.
* Old workaround for direct subscribing seems to have broken in the App, but subscribe in iTunes and sync seems to still work.
V Resubscribe in iOS Podcast App
* Open the App
* Go to the 'My Podcasts' tab and tap on the show
* At the top tap on the show again to get to the Description
* Tap on 'Settings'
* Toggle the 'Subscribed' toggle to OFF
* Then toggle it back ON
V Resubscribe in to Podcast in iTunes
* Open iTunes and go to the Podcast section of the Library
* Click on the Podcast
* In the main window click the 'Settings' icon (cog) and toggle the 'Subscribed' button to OFF
* Then toggle the Subscribed button to ON
V Thunderbolt Dock Solutions
* Play review of Belkin Thunderbolt Dock from Mark
V There are a few options on the market now
* CalDigit Thunderbolt Station
* Elgato Thunderbolt Dock
* StarTech.com Thunderbolt Laptop Docking Station
V The CalDigit, Elgato, and StarTech.com all have the same ports
* 2 x Thunderbolt, 3 x USB 3.0 (1x Front), 1 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x HDMI Out, 1 x Headphone Out (front), 1 x Microphone In (front)
* Dave at TMO said the CalDigit and Elgato are the same guts in different cases, StarTech might be the same?
* Belkin goes with a FW800 instead of the HDMI port and all of their ports are on the back.
* Thunderbolt and chain up to 5 devices, really only one Thunderbolt port because one is always used for the "in" connection.
* All seem to be priced around USD $200
V Closing
V Podcast Marketplace
V Thanks to my sponsors
* Smile
V Gazelle
* Gazelle. The fast and simple way to sell your used gadgets! Find out what your used iPhone, iPad and other Apple products are worth at Gazelle.com.
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