Cult of Mac

If you have an iPad (any model) running iOS 4.3 then you can easily add additional four or five-finger multi-touch gestures to your iPad. It will take only a few minutes and you don’t have to jailbreak your iPad to get them.

The only requirement is that you’ll need a copy of Xcode 4 and if you don’t already have a copy you can purchase it for $4.99 in the Mac OS X App Store. Registered Mac OS X or iOS developers in the paid development programs for either operating system can download a copy of Xcode 4 at developer.apple.com after logging in with their developer credentials.

However, you don’t need a developer account to activate these gestures either — at least for the time being. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple changes this later.

If you are using Windows you are out of luck that is unless you can find a friend with a Mac to help you out. Xcode doesn’t run on Windows.

Here are the steps.

Keyboard shortcuts are a handy thing to know when working on your Mac. They can save a ton of time and make your workflow much smoother. If you are used to using a PC and have recently switched to a Mac, you will have probably noticed that none of the keyboard shortcuts are the same. If you are confused, look no further. In this video, I show you the top Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts.

It looks as though early iPad 2 adopters are being hit by a previous problem with Apple displays on the iPhone 4  that had yellow tinting appearing on the LCD or backlight bleed through.

These problems are being reported on various news sites and I’ve experienced one of them myself. My own iPad 2 Wi-Fi-3G 64GB AT&T model is displaying some LCD anomalies on the portion of the display closest to the Home button.

It looks like the Apple Japan store has posted a message about the earthquake  — if you can help us translate it (they’ve posted it as an image, so there’s no way to copy and paste it for a robot-translation) we’d be much obliged.

Here’s a translation sent in by Cult of Mac readers @nick_gmit,  @Sugarless_GiRL_ , @Ignignokt:

“To those who have been affected by the earthquake and tsunami, we send sympathies from our heart – In this deep …sadness, we are praying for the victims and their families.”

While we’re on topic,  Apple also set up donations through iTunes for the Red Cross to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami, as it did after the earthquake in Haiti.

Apple has waived their usual 30% cut and donations start in increments of $5.

Early benchmark tests of Apple’s new dual-core A5 chip featured in the iPad 2 have revealed that each processing core is actually clocked at a slower speed than the previous A4 chip, which features in the original iPad, iPhone 4, and the latest iPod touch.

Tests performed by iOSnoops show that overall, each of the A5’s cores runs at least 10% slower than the single core featured in Apple’s A4 chip, running at around 890 MHz in comparison to the 1 GHz A4. The speed of the A5 fluctuates depending on the applications it’s running however, with its lowest speed clocked at 861 MHz and its highest at 894 MHz.

Like we said, the iPad 2 is one slim sexy slab of computing awesomeness. Most of the tech press has yawned at the iPad 2 because it doesn’t seem like there’s a ton of new features. But it’s the small changes — the thinness, the speed, the cameras – -that make all the difference. The iPad 2 is the tablet done right — finally.

For regular consumers, the iPad 2 is irresistible. Look around: the whole world is going iPad bonkers. Did you see the lines at the stores yesterday? There was nowhere near enough stock. A lot of people went home disappointed. And that was just the early adopters. There’s a lot of mainstream consumers lusting for the iPad 2. For weeks, I’ve been taking calls from friends and family of all ages and walks of life, from kids to grandparents. There’s a ton of non-nerds planning to get an iPad in coming months.

Are they right? Is this the iPad to get? What about the rumored iPad 3 in the fall? Should you wait?

Heck no! Take the plunge with the iPad 2. Read on for the details:

If you weren’t fortunate enough to order your iPad 2 through the Apple online store yesterday, you may want to try third-party suppliers and Apple specialists if you want one anytime soon, as shipping time for the second-generation tablet has today increased to 3-4 weeks through Apple.

When the iPad 2 launched yesterday, shipping times started at 3-4 days. They then increased to 5-7 days shortly afterwards, before rising again to 2-3 weeks. Now you could face a month-long wait for that skinny new Apple tablet, while the company seems to be struggling with demand once again.

It hasn’t yet been revealed by Apple how many iPad 2s it sold on launch day, however, industry analysts have predicted that a staggering 600,000 of the devices will be sold during its first weekend. Supply shortages across Apple retails stores, third-party resellers, and now the Apple online store, certainly strengthen these predictions.

[via 9to5 Mac]

Here’s some great news! If you are an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G owner on the AT&T network you are in luck.

You can remove the SIM card from your old iPad and insert it into the new one. Viola! You’ll have instant access to your current AT&T data plan, account, etc.

Apple representatives explained to me that all iPad 2’s are sold — unlocked. You can use any carrier compatible SIM card in the AT&T version of the iPad 2 (or actually any iPad).

So my AT&T 3G connection on my new iPad 2 was up and running instantly with my old iPad’s SIM card. I’ll end up giving the unused SIM card to the person buying my older iPad.

Here it is the iPad 2. After spending long grueling hours in the iPad 2 line at the Apple Store inside of Baybrook Mall in Friendswood, Texas just outside of Houston — I’m worn out!

However, I thought you’d like some photos of the iPad 2 being unboxed before I head off for some grub and well deserved R&R.

So click the read link below and enjoy!

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2WHnDE3i7U

Months of anticipation. Hours of physically waiting. Finally, I got my claws on the iPad 2. First impressions: It’s amazing. It’s a lot like the original iPad only anorexic, sports two cameras, and packs beefier processing power. Apps are fast just like everyone is claiming. Photobooth is a lot more fun to goof around on that I thought it would be. It feels a little bit heavier than I expected, but not in a bad way. It’s solid. My only gripe so far is that the Smart Case doesn’t stay totally flush with the iPad’s casing when you flip it around the back of the iPad when using it. Stay tuned for our in-depth review coming soon.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3wKYDkCrMs

https://www.cultofmac.com/85917/tech-news-bearded-man-reveals-holy-tablet/

As the frenzy commences on iPad 2 Friday, this image from The Register last week seems to sum up the zeitgeist of the moment nicely. Apple launch days are always amazing. Got your new iPad yet?

I plan to wait a bit myself. But that’s what I said when the original iPad came out too, that didn’t last long…

[via The Register]

Remember when logicboards were one of the biggest components of a computer? Not any more.

An iFixit teardown of the iPad 2 reveals a logicboard the size of a couple of matchbooks. By contrast, the three batteries consume almost all the interior space.

The teardown is being published live on the iFixit site.

The iPad 2 isn’t easy to open, iFixit says: it’s sealed with a ton of glue.

Here’s a couple more shots of the internals:

Almost shamefully, I’ve waited in line on launch day for every iPhone and iPad. Each waiting experience has had it’s highs and lows. All have definitely been memorable, but today’s takes the cake. Waiting in line at Apple’s Store at Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix, I was surprised to run into Phoenix Suns basketball player Mickael Pietrus waiting at the front of the line to get his hands on the iPad 2.

Today is iPad 2 day and like the rest of you I got up early today. I’d say way to early since it was 2:45 am CST and I was surprised to find out that my alarm clock on my iPhone 4 could be set to such an early hour. The engineers at Apple HQ in Cupertino could not have done a better job on that alarm, but for once I was wishing they’d screwed it up since I think it should be a crime for an alarm clock to ring before 5:00 am.

Feast your eyes on this gorgeous combination of old and new, as photographed and (at least in part) brought bang up-to-date by Pedro Moura Pinheiro.

It’s an original Power Mac G4 Cube, circa 2000, but with a few modifications to its insides. The original 450MHz G4 processor and 256MB of RAM have been replaced with dual G4 chips and 1.5GB of RAM. Those changes were made by its original owner, but Pedro wanted to take things a step further when he bought the machine. It’s now zippy enough to run Photoshop CS4 without any trouble.

Pedro says: “The only thing I did was get an Intel 40GB SSD, place it in an external Firewire 400 enclosure, and install Leopard on it – basically, Firewire 400 is much faster than the internal IDE interface, so the speed benefit is greater than trying to install an IDE SSD inside the Cube.”

He knows what he’s talking about. Check out this stop-motion video of him dismantling, then re-assembling, a G4 iMac. Great stuff.

College student Amanda Foote sold her place at the head of the iPad line at Apple’s 5th Ave. store for $900.

Who did she sell it to? The guy right next to her apparently. Why? No one knows.

She camped out for two nights for the $900. She plans to buy tickets to Lady Gaga.

More at Mashable.

“line is around the block” — Paul Arrington in Charlestown, SC.

“Hmmm, I wonder what these could be?!?” — Joey Egan at Apple Flagship Store in San Francisco.

“Its crazy how many ppl r standing in line 4 the new iPad,” tweets Tracie Cooke-Wilkes from the Oxmoor Mall in Louisville, Kentucky.

Here are some more pictures from around the U.S.:

Send your own to [email protected] and we’ll post them up.

If you’re thinking of visiting Target for an iPad 2 later today, better think again.

We just got a report from the stockroom of one Target store, which has only five iPad 2s in stock for sale at 5PM today. They are all 64GB, WiFi-only models in black.

An employee at the store just sent us the following message with the picture above:

“stockroom we only got 5 of the 64gb wifi only black models insulting right.

Stock levels at big box retailers like Target and Best Buy were expected to be much lower than Apple’s retail stores, but this is shockingly low.

It’s not clear if this is the inventory level at all Target stores, but I’d say it’s typical. Apple is offering the iPad 2 for sale at about 10 different retailers, so stocks are likely to be stretched thin. Obviously, retailers are keeping their inventory levels secret: they don’t want to scare potential shoppers away.

The Target employee summed it up nicely: “Better off waitin outside apple or best buy.”

We close out another week of deals with probably one of the most-awaited items on the recent past: the iPad 2. The next-generation Apple tablet is said to improve on the original device, released last year. Apple is selling a 16GB Wi-Fi version of the tablet for $499. Online sales are already underway, while brick-and-mortar retailers will offer the gadget later today.

Also on tap: a 1.33GHz iBook G4 laptop for just $240. Finally, whether your own an iPad, an iBook or other Apple computer, they all need some maintenance and optimization. MacUpdate.com has a deal on Coctail 4, a software toolkit to get or keep your Mac in tip-top shape. As always, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

The president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank came under fire after a comment that sounds oddly like the 2.0 version of “Let them eat cake.”

President William Dudley was peppered with questions about food prices from the public during a meet-and-greet session with business leaders in Flushing, Queens. As they asked him about issues of the day, ranging from oil prices to employment forecasts, they began to accuse him of being out of touch.

As he tried to explain how rising commodity prices translate into supermarket sticker shock, the audience asked him when he actually did his own food shopping last.

In a few short hours, the iPad 2 will go on sale at Apple Stores and approved retailers across the country, and if you’re anything like us, you’re probably discouraged by the up to three week wait times on online orders. Maybe you’re even considering dropping by an Apple Store after work and seeing if you can’t pick up an iPad 2 then. What are the lines like, though?

Short answer: it’s all over the place, but in front of most Apple Stores, there are lines, often substantial ones. New York’s Apple Store lines are reportedly crazy, and even at lesser known Apple Store locations like this one in Indianapolis, people have been reportedly lining up since 4am.

Where there don’t seem to be as many lines is at the big box retailers selling iPads: Wal-Marts, Best Buys, AT&T Stores and the like. Searching Twitter, it appears that at a lot of big box retailers, there are no lines at all… even where a line waiting area has been set up for the iPad 2.

All of this is anecdotal though. What about you guys? Where are you seeing lines for the iPad 2, and how long are they? Please drop us a comment if you’ve seen a line (or a conspicuous lack of one). At the very least, you might be able to help a fellow Apple fan out.

The UK-based ARM Holdings, which produces chips for about 95 percent of the tablet market, would seem to be nervously biting its corporate fingernails on chatter that Apple’s supreme dominance of the sector could leave component manufacturers for competing devices high-and-dry. Instead, the company’s stock is up on analyst comments dismissing the concern.

Recently, JPMorgan Research warned investors rival tablet makers could see almost 50 percent of their devices unsold amid Apple’s dominant market position. Such talk naturally spurred worries in the component manufacturing arena potentially producing parts for devices that won’t sell. Pshaw, replied an RBS analyst Friday.

Although online sales began just a few hours ago and brick-and-mortar sales of the iPad 2 are set for later Friday, analysts already are expecting Apple’s new tablet to outsell the original device. The Cupertino, Calif. company could sell 600,000 iPad 2s this weekend – double the 300,000 first-generation iPads sold during its first 24-hours of availability.

“Apple has such a huge lead,” Creative Strategies’ analyst Tim Bajarin told Bloomberg News early today. “Competitors are going to be chasing Apple for many years,” he adds.

The only way to ensure that you have an iPad 2 today is to buy one from one of the many retail outlets. However, all retailers are not treated equally, so I’ll be giving you the run down on the best places to purchase your iPad 2 from.

Your best, hassle-free bet is to pick one up from an Apple Specialist. Here’s why: