Apple’s Developer Forums going crazy about the new way to install OS X Lion through the Mac App Store. There’s complaints about failed downloads, invalid redemption codes and overall installation issues. But once developers get it installed, they say the new OS is awesome and totally opens up the Mac to new possibilities.
I recently was surprised to find a Google Chrome netbook waiting at the door for me. I had requested one through the Cr-48 pilot program when it was announced last year but was not counting on getting one. I am a power Google Apps user and use everything from Calendar to Latitude to Chrome. So far I love it and here are some of the features the Cr-48 has that Apple should employ into their future laptops:
Apple’s new social network for music fans, Ping, has had a rough start. People didn’t expect it to be a Facebook for music right away but they did expect more from Apple. After years of social media hype many people thought Apple would have learned from the mistakes others have made. While Ping might not be the best idea Apple has ever had, I think when will look back years from now we will wonder what took them so long! For those of you who have turned on Ping, here are some things Ping should have and a few tips to make your Ping experience a little better. Read more after the break.
It only makes sense that the company who brought us the first mouse would try to re-invent the way desktop computers are used. Apple is attempting to bring multi-touch to the masses with its new Magic Trackpad. While this might seem like just a trackpad, this could be a sneak peek on how Apple plans to implement iOS onto OS X. Regardless of their intentions, this is the most exciting input device since the Magic Mouse. Read the rest after the break.
Apple appears to have fixed the widely-reported iPhone 4 proximity sensor issue in the latest iOS 4.1 beta 2 update.
The latest beta also includes a baseband update (AT&T 7.1), which seems to fix HSUPA upload speed issues, which slowed video and photo uploads to a crawl.
Despite reports to the contrary, our tests show that the proximity sensor issue appears to be have been fixed. (MacRumors says the issue hasn’t been addressed).
In numerous tests, I couldn’t get my iPhone 4 to hang up a call. Previously, the iPhone was plagued with proximity sensor issues. It would constantly hang up calls when I held the phone next to my cheek.
But after installing the iOS 4.1 beta 2 update this afternoon, I couldn’t force the iPhone to hang up calls when lifting it up to my face, no matter how hard I tried.
I stress that the issue only seems to have been fixed. I could of course be wrong. Apple hasn’t yet documented what is in the latest beta update.
Tired of paying for ringtones for your iPhone? In this tutorial I will walk you through on how to create a ringtone from within iTunes using any song. This tutorial works on any song you may have purchased or ripped into iTunes. Read the full tutorial after the break.
As you can see in the above screenshot, Apple has delivered on their improved signal bar graphics. Only time will tell if this is an actual indication of signal strength. Other noticeable changes include a revamp of the Game Center app, the ability to add FaceTime favorites and the Camera app (incl. camera roll) auto-rotating in landscape. More screenshots after the break.
The honeymoon is officially over. With the release of iPhone 4 over two weeks ago, Apple has been hit by everything except the kitchen sink. From the 3G iPad privacy concerns to the most recent App Store hack, Apple has been in full damage control mode. This makes it the perfect time to add insult to injury. Read my 5 suggestions on how to improve iOS 4 after the break.
The MyWi app by Intelliborn has been one of the biggest reasons to jailbreak an iOS based device. With the latest 4.0 release, creating a wireless hotspot has never been easier. For a one-time fee of $19.99 you can turn your stingy 3G iPad into a wireless hotspot capable of sharing your 3G connection with as many devices as you wish. I’ll show you how after the break.
I have been using OS 4 for a couple of months now. It’s amazing how subtle changes can affect the way the whole operating system feels. From the unified inbox to the portrait mode lock, Apple really has taken their time with improving the iPhone experience. I have been using OS 4 on my everyday iPhone 3GS (not recommended) and it’s been quite a bumpy ride (especially when I lost my camera functionality) but using OS 4 everyday has been awesome.
Some people are hesitant to jailbreak anything because they worry it will ruin their device. Think of jailbreaking as an addition to your device and not a substitution. Jailbreaking is the only way to unlock some awesome features on your iPad. Earlier this week I walked you through on how to jailbreak your iPad using the Spirit jailbreak. Now I will tell you why you should jailbreak your iPad.
Yes, the iPad is good. But you haven’t seen the full potential of the iPad hardware until you jailbreak it.
Jailbreaking may seem like something your shady neighbor or geeky cousin does, but you can do it too!
I’ll walk you through the easy process of jailbreaking your iPad to unleash its full potential.
With Twitter gaining so much popularity in the mainstream, there seem to be hundreds of Twitter clients available for Mac. But what about us Tweeters who still have old Macs and are running OS X Tiger or even Panther? Twit Menulet fills the gap for those Mac users who still want to Tweet without having to upgrade their entire system. Read on for the full review and an exclusive offer for the Cult of Mac audience:
As a contributor to Cult of Mac, you can probably guess that I’m an Apple fanboy. I showed up to the Apple Store at 5:45 AM on April 3rd (iPad Day for you civilians) ready to have my mind blown. Little did I know that I would soon be returning my iPad to that same Apple store.
I blame iPhone OS 4.0 and here’s why:
I love to travel. Whether it be for work or for pleasure, nothing beats exploring the country or the world. What I don’t like about work travel is keeping up with expenses. It sucks out any fun I may be having and adds on to any frustrations I might be experiencing.
The only way to make expense reports even worse is to try and tackle them on the flight home in coach with a one-year-old behind you screaming and kicking your seat. But a free new iPhone app, Expensify, makes expense reports easier for those who travel with an iPhone.
Read on for the full review:
While the Emoji keyboard is not new to the iPhone, it seemed as if it was disabled in iPhone OS 4.0 .
For those of you developers big into the Emoji keyboard, here is how to regain the Emoji keyboard while still using iPhone OS 4.0 :
By having an iPad, you now have the internet in your hands (and probably on your couch), at least according to Steve Jobs. But are you wishing you had a bookmarks bar like in regular Safari? After reading this quick guide you soon will.
With the release of the iPad, we have yet one more way to access our email. While the look and feel of the Mail app for iPad is good, let’s dig a little deeper into what’s good, what’s bad and what’s ugly (Hint: Gmail and saving messages).
A couple of weeks ago I canceled my MobileMe account. Why? Because it didn’t do the one thing I wanted it to do: share my calendar with my wife so we could coordinate our busy lives. That’s all.
I love MobileMe’s email, calendar, contact syncing (especially on the iPhone) and even iDisk. I gave Apple a year to improve it, but nothing happpened, so I switched.
Here’s how to recreate all of MobileMe’s features for FREE (except one) and how I use it to sync my iMac, MacBook and two iPhones.
