The super slim runway model MacBook Air is the best MacBook I’ve had so far. It’s thin, light, and zippy fast for the work I need to do – like this blog post and everything I need to do while mobile so far. Unfortunately it managed to slip out of manufacturing and into our hands with a few issues.
Now there is definite proof that at least some of the video issues are related to sleep/wake and that Apple, who has been completely quiet about it – knows that the problem exists, but isn’t publicly acknowledging it.
Ask most iTunes users and they’ll agree that 30 second song previews are simply too short to inform a decision on whether or not to buy a song… but if the music labels had their druthers, they wouldn’t even allow that, which makes it amazing to me that Apple has successfully employed its clout to triple the length of iTunes song samples.
If you’re a Mac developer hoping to squeeze some more sales out of your software by bringing it to the Mac App Store, rev up your engines: Apple has notified developers that they are now accepting submissions.
When owners of the iPhone 3G started reporting massive performance issues with iOS 4, we knew it was only a matter of time before the first lawsuit dropped, and here it is, lodged by plaintiff Biana Wofford in the Superior Court of California for San Diego.
The lawsuit’s even crazier than what we expected though: it thinks Apple conspired to make iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G suck so that users would be forced to upgrade to a new model.
Bringing home your new Mac only to notice a perpetually stuck pixel in the display can be teeth-gratingly irritating, especially when it proves impossible to convince a blank-faced Genius that that lodged speck is so distracting that it absolutely demands an LCD replacement.
Here’s some information that will help you know if Apple will be willing to replace your device due to stuck pixels. An internal source at Apple has leaked the complete internal policy on the acceptable number of anomalies in a display required for Apple to issue a replacement.
Designed for the Harley rider with an iFetish, Hell’s Foundry has introduced the Dashlink Docking Console for the iPhone and iPod touch. Integrated atop a replacement gas tank, the Dashlink charges your iDevice while integrating it with your bike’s audio system. A smart charging system detects when a device is present, and built-in drainage channels are designed to route liquid away from the device and dock connector. 1996 and newer FLHT/FLTR & FLHR models are currently supported.
Sweet. Though how you can actually hear anything while riding a Harley remains a mystery…
Before the iPad debuted, the tablet market was basically limited to niche convertible laptops with stylus-driven displays largely marketed to digital artists. The iPad changed everything: it placed the tablet as a bridge device between a phone and a laptop and made it less about the creation of a few specific types of digital media than a gadget aimed at the consumption of digital media.
It was a genius redefinition of a product class, and Apple’s basically dominated the tablet market ever since it was released. You might be surprised by how utterly complete the iPad’s domination of the tablet market is, though: according to statistics released by Strategy Analytics, the iPad accounts for 95.5% of all tablet sales.
That number’s going to go down, of course. The iPad basically caught gadget makers with their pants down, and we’re only just staring to see devices like the Galaxy Tab and the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook creep out of electronic makers’ design factories to challenge the iPad’s crown. Apple’s percentage of the tablet market is largely due to the fact that there just aren’t any good tablets out there besides the iPad.
So that number’s going to go down, but by guess, with that sort of head start? Apple’s still going to sell more than half of all tablets made for at least the next couple of years.
Apple’s patent battle with Nokia might not be going to plan for Cupertino’s lawyers: staff of the International Trade Commission have reportedly told the judge in the case that Apple’s patent allegations are “unfounded.”
The case is being heard for the first time before Judge Charles Bullock today, but as Bloomberg reports, the third-party of the ITC does not feel Apple’s patents have merit.
At 9 AM ET on Thursday, November 4, the Skyfire Browser will be coming to iOS and will allow users to watch Flash video on their iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch by converting it to HTML5.
Priced at $2.99, Skyfire Browser has been available on Android devices since May 2010, and has been incredibly popular with 1.5 million downloads. Now, after a “rather rigorous review,” Apple has finally approved the app for iOS devices, and it will soon be available in the App Store.
The Sesame Street Workshop’s charming take on Apple’s “There’s An App For That Campaign” and featuring the so-called “iPogo” is plenty cute, but after watching the whole thing, does anyone else think that the idea of a pogo stick with knives built into the handle might not entirely be child-friendly?
If you use a pair of Monster brand headphones using Apple’s Remote and Mic technology and if you’ve been noticing your iPhone or iPad fritzing out on you when they’re plugged in, don’t worry: it’s not in your imagination and you haven’t just gotten a dud pair. There’s an issue with Monster cans, and Cupertino is very aware of it.
It seems that Google and Apple might be in another bidding war… this time to acquire BOKU, a payment startup which aims to bring “bank-grade payments technology” to mobile gadgets like the iPhone or iPad.
It sounds like the setup to a heist movie: a speeding truck smashing through a wall, screeching to a halt and almost instantly disgorging itself of a gang of robbers, perhaps all wearing disguising Dead President masks. Take away the masks, though, and you have the real-life caper of a bunch of Apple-coveting thieves who just hit up a reseller in Oregon.
Unkrich during production of "Toy Story 3" in November 2009 (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)
This is a guest interview by Mike Bastoli of The Pixar Blog, a popular news blog about the studio.
Lee Unkrich is the director of Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story 3, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, which was released on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes today. He also served as co-director of Toy Story 2 and editor of Toy Story, and is a member of Pixar’s Senior Creative Team.
Unkrich is an avid Mac user and Apple ‘addict’ who can be spotted at Apple’s events from time to time. “Whenever I’m invited, it’s something awwwwwwesome,” he tweeted to his 80,000 plus followers on Twitter ahead of the launch of the iPad in January.
Here’s an exclusive interview with Unkrich, who talks about his first Mac, Apple cameos in Pixar’s movies and Steve Jobs feeding his Apple addiction.
Living in the Eurozone, it can often be frustrating to go to buy a new Apple product being appraised of its cost in dollars, only to find Apple charging an amount in euros far greater than what the exchange rate would imply.
In truth, the price discrepancy is usually (mostly) imaginary: if a Mac costs $999 in the States and the same in Euros, most of the discrepancy is made up by the obligatory Value Added Tax. Still, Apple does make a small but real margin on every Mac sold in Europe compared to the price they charge in America… and when the exchange price fluctuates, sometimes Apple can seemingly come way ahead.
It’s good to see Apple occasionally jiggle their European Mac prices to more closely align with the current exchange rate. In fact, Cupertino’s just done exactly that in Europe, dropping the price of the two Mac mini models from £649 to £599 and £929 to £879 in the U.K., and from €809o to €709 and €1149 to €999 in the rest of Europe.
That makes it a good time to buy a mini if you’re a European. You might want to get in on this soon, before the exchange rate fluctuates again and Apple changes its mind.
Earlier today, Apple released the Gold Master version of iOS 4.2 and the corresponding SDK to developers, bringing the current version of both to 4.2 GM (builds 8C134 and 10M2423 respectively). The update follows the release of the previous beta by about three weeks.
In addition to those updates Apple also has a beta 2 version of iTunes 10.1. However, iTunes hasn’t gone to Gold Master status and there is no indication that this will happen soon.
I want to like MobileMe. It’s the Apple-sanctioned slice of cloud computing, integrated with the Mac and iOS operating systems. The setup is simple, the price is reasonable, and despite the unprofessional name and lack of phone support, when all is humming along things just work.
Except MobileMe doesn’t keep working. It stops syncing. It loses data. And Apple provides little or no advance warning of potential problems, nor easy ways to fix issues that occur. Apple TV may have moved on to a professional product stage with the latest iteration, but from a business perspective MobileMe is still a “hobby” for Apple.
If you haven’t already downloaded VLC Media Player for your iPhone and iPad, now’s the time to grab it if you want it, as it may soon be pulled from the App Store.
One of the contributors to the VLC project, Rémi Denis-Courmont, has filed a formal copyright complaint against the app, which could see it pulled by Apple very soon.
Some early Macbook Air adopters have reported seeing video anomalies and kernel panics on the new 11-inch and 13-inch models of the Macbook Air which may be related to sleep/wake issues.
Additional reports about the video problem have been posted to Apple’s discussion forums and for the people reporting it the symptoms can vary. I’ve even encountered the problem myself on my 13-inch MacBook Air.
The problem with kernel panics has been experienced by Cult of Mac staff that purchased 11-inch or 13-inch models. Users on Apple forums haven’t complained about this specifically yet, but they have been complaining about their new MacBook Airs crashing.
Apple has released an updated version of iPhoto ’11 version 9.0.1. The update, which is currently available within Software Update on your Mac, will fix data loss issues that users have been reporting after updating from iPhoto ’09 or earlier. According to Apple:
This update addresses issues that, in extremely rare cases, could result in data loss when upgrading a library from an earlier version of iPhoto.
At last week’s Back to Mac event, Steve Jobs made a pretty compelling argument against imbuing multitouch into desktop and notebook displays. He argued — rightfully, I think — that multitouch is only workable ergonomically when a gadget can be positioned horizontally: if you have to keep leaning forward to interact with a touchscreen, you quickly develop gorilla arm.
I was pretty satisfied with that answer as to why Apple wasn’t exploring multitouch displays in their current iMacs, Mac Pros and MacBooks, but if you’re not adverse to a case of gorilla arm or two, Troll Touch is now offering a couple of options to bring multi-touch to Apple’s 27-inch LED-backlit Cinema Display.
If the back of your iPod or iPod Touch looks anything like the back of my iPod Touch, it probably looks like it’s spent a few hours in a rock tumbler on a low stuffed with diamonds… but if a new Apple patent application pans out, Cupertino may already have some plans to unleash new scratch-resistant coatings on their gadgets in the near future.
If you’ve been waiting to buy the white iPhone 4, we hope you’ve caved by now and just gone black instead. It’s hard to think of a more troubled product: not only has the white iPhone 4 undergone a troubled manufacturing history thanks to light leaking into the camera sensor, but Apple’s said that we can’t expect to see one until spring 2011… just three months before they unveil the fifth-generation handset.
To be honest, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the white iPhone 4 is probably never going to arrive: at this point, it makes more sense for Apple to aim to have the white iPhone ready for June for simultaneous launch with the iPhone 5 than try to sell the white iPhone 4 at the tail end of the current generation.
In fact, that’s just what Boy Genius Report is now claiming, saying that the white iPhone 4 has been secretly canceled. Not that Apple will admit as much: BGR says that they will instead just claim there’s another delay in March, and assume everyone will forget about the debacle of the white iPhone 4 by June.
Apple’s probably right: the longer the white iPhone 4 is delayed, the more the returns diminish on actually releasing it. Time for an informal poll: how many of our readers are still holding out for the white iPhone 4? Let us know in the comments.
Last week’s Back to the Mac event ran pretty long even for an Apple gig, but at the end of the day, it turns out it’s pretty easy to compress into just a couple of minutes of signal. Or, at least, a couple minutes of adjectival hyperbole.
An interesting rumor floating around today suggests that Apple might be using the holidays around Thanksgiving to migrate its iTunes services to their huge North Carolina data centers.
