I feel pretty good about being a 13-inch MacBook Air owner, but as the computer becomes more popular I’m no longer unique. My MacBook Air looks just like all the other ones out there, but it doesn’t have to thanks to Colorware.
[polldaddy poll=4138392]
Apple released iOS 4.2.1 for the iPad and true to their word converted the iPad switch from screen orientation lock to mute and un-mute. If you’ve had an iPad since it launched you’ll understand how convenient that switch can be when using your iPad. Of course, this change brings the iPad into alignment with the iPhone. The iPhone switch has always been used to mute and un-mute that device.
Both devices now use the switch in the same way and the screen orientation lock has been moved to the running tasks bar which is accessible by double-tapping the Home button and swiping to the left.
Today is the day. Finally. Apple is shipping iOS 4.2 to iPads, the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4, and second, third and fourth generation iPod touches. iPad users have the most to benefit since they will be getting app folder enhancements and multitasking for the first time. The update also includes Game Center, AirPlay and AirPrint for all devices. Find My iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is now free to use without a MobileMe subscription and you can now rent TV episodes directly on your iPad.
The update should be available for downloading around 10:00 AM PST today. You’ll need the latest copy of iTunes (version 10.1) so make sure your Mac is up-to-date. Afterwards tether your iOS device to your Mac and check for updates in iTunes after the appointed time.
Check out Apple’s press release for complete details on this exciting new iOS release.
Black Friday is this week and it will mark the beginning of the 2010 holiday shopping season in the U.S. Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Black Friday.
I’m not exactly excited about braving the crowds for holiday bargains. So I’ll be using my iPhone or iPad and any of the free apps below to help me shop from wherever I happen to be.
Apple released a support document yesterday titled MacBook Air (Late 2010): Video anomalies after waking from sleep, wherein Apple says that if you are experiencing these symptoms, “After waking from sleep, your MacBook Air display may flicker or fade from light to dark repeatedly.”
The solution is to: “Download and apply the Mac OS X v10.6.5 update to resolve this issue.”
Apple never mentioned this in the Mac OS X 10.6.5 release notes. I’m not surprised by that, but I’m happy that Apple has a solution to the problem that plagued early MacBook Air adopters – including myself and other staffers at Cult of Mac.
Have you seen any more video anomalies after applying the Mac OS X 10.6.5 update on your MacBook Air? Let us know if it worked for you or not by leaving a comment.
There are a number of reasons I like writing for Cult of Mac, but one of the most important reasons is the great readers, like you, we have visiting our site. Granted every so often you can be pretty vocal about the tiniest detail, but when you come through with some good comments they should not be ignored. Therefore when I found two comments about shopping at Apple in my first post about Apple Technology Will Make You A Savvy Black Friday Shopper — I just had to share them.
Microsoft’s official Office for the Mac blog has announced a list of places where you can buy Office for Mac 2011 at discounted prices during Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. The prices are pretty good during the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend at various retailers, but Amazon has the best price of all.
Office for Mac 2011 has gotten favorable reviews and performs better than previous versions. If you are interested in upgrading from an older version Thanksgiving weekend will probably be your best opportunity to get a good deal.
Traditionally Black Friday takes place on the Friday immediately following Thanksgiving — November 26th this year. It is the official start of the holiday season when retailers generally open up very early and offer deep discounts on items geared towards drawing you into their stores. They hope you’ll buy more through impulse buying.
However, in recent years things are changing so start looking for deals – now. The holiday shopping season seems to start earlier every year, but actually practically after Halloween in the US. Best Buy, Target and Walmart are already offering pre-Black Friday deals on their websites and many other retailers are too.
If you are looking for the best Black Friday deals you’re in luck because you have Apple technology to help you find them. You need to use that technology to your advantage so you don’t miss out on some good deals. I will help you get started with this first post — a technology overview for all you avid shoppers out there.
Later this week and next week I’ll follow-up with more specific information on applying these technologies which I’ll summarize here. I hope all this information will turn you into a savvy Black Friday shopper.
Here’s a simple how to that will lead you and your computer to an internet without Flash just like on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. I think most of you won’t miss it, but if you do you can reinstall it.
I’ll have to say that when I went cold turkey and kicked the Flash habit, that I’ve had for years, I didn’t suffer from withdrawals. In fact, I found my browsing experience with Safari to be a whole lot better and definitely more stable than before. I don’t have any regrets about it so far.
Some people might recommend, ClickToFlash, which is a Safari plug-in that blocks flash content and doesn’t allow it to run unless you allow it or you add specific sites to a “white list. ” It’s a great plug-in, but I prefer to use fewer plug-ins and no Flash. You on the other hand might think otherwise so ClickToFlash might worth a look for you.
Ars Technica stumbled upon an interesting tidbit while reviewing their 11-inch MacBook Air. They found a compelling reason for Apple to not install Adobe Flash on the MacBook Air and it wasn’t just because they wanted to make sure users always had the latest version of Flash.
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.
The much-anticipated Skyfire Browser finally came to iOS today albeit briefly before vanishing from the App store. If you haven’t heard about it Skyfire is a new app that would allow users to watch Flash video on their iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch by converting it to HTML5.
It was an unexpected surprise to find out that Apple didn’t pull the app — the vendor did. The vendor advised me that Skyfire’s launch was actually very successful or should we say overly so – not like that hasn’t happened before right?
According to Kevin Jordan, a spokesperson for Skyfire Labs, Inc., “The app is actually SOLD OUT while Skyfire increases server capacity. They’ll open up a new batch for download very soon. Skyfire is working to increase server capacity as we speak and in the end, this will result in the best possible user experience once they hit the store again. ”
In any event the app, which has initially sold out in only five hours, will make a reappearance in the App Store soon.
Read the complete Skyfire Labs, Inc. press release here.
Early MacBook Air adopters have been reporting problems with their new notebooks that include video problems and frequent kernel panics. Now some of these users have released pictures and video evidence demonstrating the flickering video and computer freezing issue that appears to be happening on nearly all 11-inch and 13-inch models of the new MacBook Air.
We were the first to report this issue last week-end and since then there are more reports of other MacBook Air users encountering the same problem. Users in Germany are reporting problems and the folks at MacWorld have reported seeing the problem happen on of their new MacBook Airs.
The first interesting tidbit to surface from the iOS 4.2 GM firmware release today is the fact that there is a new multitasking bar on the iPad.
The new version sports both brightness and volume controls for quick access to these settings. In addition to the regular audio controls and screen orientation lock Apple has added a new AirPlay button just to the left of the volume control.
[via deanostetto at Macrumors forums]
BGR is reporting that as of October 28, 2010 all AppleCare Protection Plans now have a 30-day window within which they are transferable to new products. The ability to transfer these plans was previously available only on AppleCare for the iPhone.
Apple hasn’t formally announced this change to the public as far as I know, but it appears that this rule will apply to purchases within the same product family. For example, if you purchase a MacBook Pro with AppleCare and then change to a MacBook Air within 30-days the theory is that you would simply transfer the AppleCare to the MacBook Air.
[Via BGR]
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.
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.
It was brought to my attention that the ability to make calendars in iPhoto ’11 has gone missing. I missed it too since that isn’t a feature that I’ve spent a lot of time with. I’m still buying my calendars at online or at a local store.
Apple is aware of this and in summary had this to say about it: “Ordering calendars with iPhoto ’11 is not currently available. ”
They then took it upon themselves to answer your questions in advance about this issue, which you can read by clicking the link below.
Apple has given themselves a deadline of “as soon as possible” so I’m unable to tell you to mark your calendars about when calendar creation will reappear in iPhoto ’11. So keep your eyes on Software Update.
Halloween isn’t very far off — it’s tomorrow. So here’s a last-minute Halloween themed iOS app that runs on the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. It can turn your next scary party into a real spooktacular or you can use it to enhance the fun while passing out loads of candy to all the little ghosts and goblins that visit.
The app offers 50 sounds that you can use to startle just about anyone on Halloween or realistically anytime you feel like it. All you have to do is plug your iOS device into your stereo or some other amplified speakers, turn up the volume (important for the best scare), and start playing with the buttons on the apps sound board.
The apps sounds can be played manually, via auto-play, or just give your iOS device a good shake and you’ll hear some pretty scary stuff right away.
The iPad version of this app costs only $1.99 (iTunes link) and the iPhone and iPod touch version is free (iTunes link).
I recently reviewed the 13-inch MacBook Air and I noted that many of you were curious to know how well the new MacBook Air would work emulating other operating systems running Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac or VMWare Fusion.
I’m happy to report to you that I spent some time with both of these applications and I have some good news — they not only work, but in my opinion they work pretty damn good if you ask me.
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.
For detailed information on this update, please visit this website:https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4431
By now, everyone that wants a white iPhone 4 knows that you aren’t going to get one any time soon. So in the meantime, while you are waiting for the white iPhone 5, check out the banned white iPhone 4 video (warning: NSFW) by clicking the read link below.
[Think Halloween graphic by ~Zefhar]
This Sunday, October 31st is Halloween and if you aren’t thinking about Halloween yet you should be. Since it is almost here.
Do you know what your costume will be this year? Need to add a little zip to your scary get up? Here is a collection of iOS apps that are bound to add some fun to the scariest holiday of the year.
If you download them and get scared don’t blame me about things you hear that go bump in the night afterwards.
Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air isn’t anything like the old one. It’s incredible. It’s incredibly thin, light, and powerful. It’s blazing fast. It’s incredibly beautiful and well made.
It has an older CPU and comes up short with only 2GBytes of RAM in the base model, but it is not underpowered. It’s a perfect fit for users like me, who aren’t rendering 3D graphics, it’s more than perfect. It’s hugely better than previous models of the 13-inch MacBook Air. Incredibly thin and light, yet very capable of running a large number of applications without showing the infamous Mac OS X beach ball.
Unlike the 11-inch MacBook Air, reviewed by my editor Leander, there are a few less compromises in the 13-inch MacBook Air. While larger the 13-inch model still excels in the most important things portability, durability, and functionality.
Last year, I also bought a 13-inch MacBook Pro, which I loved, but in comparison to the 13-inch Air, it is huge, only a little bit faster, and comes with an optical drive that I seldom use any more.
I know what you’re thinking, “Didn’t this guy toss the new MacBook Air in the dump last week?” Well, last week I did and now it looks like I’m going to have to eat crow after buying a 13-inch MacBook Air last Saturday. Read on to find out why.