Cult of Mac

The iOS 4 update is probably the most radical overhaul to Apple’s mobile operating system to date, so it was probably inevitable that it would also prove to be Apple’s most hiccup-prone update as well.

Even so, the bug complaints currently floating around the internet seem pretty severe for an Apple product and include:

• The update to iOS 4 never installs and simply reboots your device endlessly.

• Update deletes all contacts, which are not restored in backups.

• Photos that you have synced to your device with iPhoto are extremely blurry.

• Broken MMS and Push Notifications.

• Auto-lock set to one minute with no option to change it.

Those first two bugs fall under the category of “whoa nellies,” and that iPhoto bug has got to be an annoyance for people (like me) who use their devices to keep their photo albums always on hand.

Don’t get too comfortable with iOS 4… 4.1 might be just a few days around the corner if these bugs don’t iron themselves out soon.

The UltraSn0w iPhone unlocking software has been updated to support iOS 4.0.

The iPhone Dev-Team’s has updated Ultrasn0w to version 0.9.3, allowing you to unlock your iPhone running iOS4.

The update was announced on the Dev-Team’s Twitter stream. According to the release notes, it works with all basebands from 04.26.08 through 05.13.04:

iPhone DevTeam’s 3G and 3GS software unlock, now with added PwnApple. Compatible with basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01 and 05.13.04! Thanks to @sherif_hashim and @Oranav for contributing baseband crashes.

We will have an easy-to-use unlocking how-to guide coming soon.

NOTE: This post has been edited. It incorrectly said Ultrasn0w was for jailbreaking iPhones.

Apple knows where you are and plans to put that information to work.

The Cupertino company updated its privacy policy today to disclose that it may now “collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device.”

The new terms of service will pop up as a prompt next time you try to download or buy anything on the iTunes store — there is currently no opt-out option. (As Cult reader Joh pointed out — iOS4 users can opt out of iAd, however, online here.)

The only service to users mentioned in the privacy policy update is the recently-announced  “Find my iPhone” for MobileMe subscribers.

iOS 4 is now available for download through iTunes, adding over a hundred new features to the iPhone and iPod Touch, including multitasking. If you’ve got an iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPod Touch (second gen or above), plug your iDevice into your USB port and hit the “Update” button in iTunes now.

Busy updating? You can also now officially grab iBooks for iPhone through the App Store as well.

What do you think of the new OS? Let us know in the comments.

For many of you, it’s probably a bit too late, but if you’re a Mac gamer who uses Valve’s Steam for Mac games delivery client, you might want to hold off updating to 10.6.4: according to Valve, 10.6.4 introduces some major performance issues to owners running Macs with NVIDIA GPUs.

The following message warend Steam users who logged in over the weekend about the upgrade:

The recent 10.6.4 update from Apple has noticeable performance issues for NVidia graphic chip owners running high performance games. If you wish to avoid this, you should consider waiting to install the 10.6.4 update until Apple has had the opportunity to address this issue. Full details of what is contained in the 10.6.4 update can be found here: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4150. If you have already installed this update and believe your graphic performance is affected, please contact Apple support (https://www.apple.com/support/) for details on what to do.

I haven’t noticed anything on my 27-inch Core 2 Duo iMac, but your mileage may well vary. If you haven’t updated to 10.6.4 yet, and if your Team Fortress 2 performance is more important to you than your Snow Leopard importance, it can’t hurt to hold off for now.

For many of you, it’s probably a bit too late, but if you’re a Mac gamer who uses Valve’s Steam for Mac games delivery client, you might want to hold off updating to 10.6.4: according to Valve, 10.6.4 introduces some major performance issues to owners running Macs with NVIDIA GPUs.

The following message warend Steam users who logged in over the weekend about the upgrade:

The recent 10.6.4 update from Apple has noticeable performance issues for NVidia graphic chip owners running high performance games. If you wish to avoid this, you should consider waiting to install the 10.6.4 update until Apple has had the opportunity to address this issue. Full details of what is contained in the 10.6.4 update can be found here: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4150. If you have already installed this update and believe your graphic performance is affected, please contact Apple support (https://www.apple.com/support/) for details on what to do.

I haven’t noticed anything on my 27-inch Core 2 Duo iMac, but your mileage may well vary. If you haven’t updated to 10.6.4 yet, and if your Team Fortress 2 performance is more important to you than your Snow Leopard importance, it can’t hurt to hold off for now.

We start the week off with a different sort of speaker deal. This time we bring you the iOctopus speaker system by Pixxo. It includes an iPod dock and 3.5mm jack for $13. Also available, an 8GB iPod touch for $139 and some screen protectors for the soon-to-be shipping iPhone 4.

Details on these and many other bargains are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

It was a big disappointment to many when it became apparent that the white iPhone 4 would not be available at launch, forcing many to choose between waiting to upgrade their handset or getting a different color.

According to iClarified, though, there may be one big box retailer with some white iPhone 4s on hand come June 24th: Best Buy.

According to their intel, there are between 10 to 20 white iPhone 4s ordered by each Best Buy location. It’s unclear if Best Buy will actually get these white iPhone 4s, but it appears they at least expect to receive a limited number of them.

Who knows? If you’ve got your heart set on a white iPhone 4, you might want to try your luck at Best Buy later this week.

It’s not out quite yet, and there’s no official word on exactly it will be pumped through the iTunes download chute, but just to remind everyone: iOS 4 will be available today as a free download to all eligible third-gen iDevices (the iPhone 3Gs and third-gen iPod Touch), as well as as a limited update without multitasking for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G.

As a further reminder, if you’ve jailbroken your iPhone or iPod Touch, you’re going to want to hold off installing the update until the Dev Team tells you it is okay, although take heart: they anticipate the relase of a fully working jailbreak for iOS 4 this month.

Although Apple is not set to launch its iAds platform until July 1, placeholder tests are already being spotted at the App Store. The placeholders appear with the iAd logo in apps for developers OneTap Movies and the Yellow Pages, according to Monday reports.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs told a Worldwide Developers conference that 17 advertisers had already signed onto the platform, committing up to $60 million for iAds. Jobs said 60 percent of that money will return to developers. “Apple sells and serves the ads, and you recieve 60 percent of the advertising revenue,” he explained.

The clusterflug continues. If you were one of the few prospective buyers who managed to successfully order an iPhone 4 from AT&T last week before their whole untested system crashed, you may well have gotten an email from AT&T over the weekend, claiming your order had been canceled for no particular reason.

Meet 24 year old Yuan Yandong, one of almost 500,000 workers employed by Foxconn. From 7:30 pm to 5:30 am, Yandong works the night shift, monotonously putting together over 1,600 hard drives a shift.

His task is to help complete 1,600 hard drives – his workshop’s daily quota – and to make sure every one is perfect. Seated in the middle of the assembly line in his black Foxconn sports shirt, cotton slacks and company-mandated white plastic slippers, he waits for the conveyor belt to deliver a partly assembled rectangular hard drive to his station. He places two plastic chips inside the drive’s casing, inserts a device that redirects light in the drive and then fastens four screws with an electric screwdriver before sending the drive down the line. He has exactly one minute to complete the multistep task.

Although Yandon describes the work as numbing, this New York Times profile piece does not make Yandong’s work seem particularly hellish. Perhaps the most disturbing detail in the entire piece is that Yandong is unaware that he is only legally allowed to work a maximimum of 36 overtime hours a month, saying that he more commonly works twice as much overtime, especially when big orders come in.

Working at Foxconn looks tedious make no mistake, but it doesn’t look obviously hellish: the psychological factors at play that are driving Foxconn’s workers are a lot more subtle than whip-lashing taskmasters.

If you managed to get your order in before the colossal iPhone 4 pre-order server meltdown, be on the lookout for shipping confirmation from Apple and AT&T.

Apple started to confirm shipping notifications and FedEx tracking for the iPhone 4 yesterday, some with a June 23 deliver-by date. The official release is June 24.

Today, AT&T customers are getting some relief from iPhone 4 pre-order anxiety as shipping info and confirmation emails are being sent out.

Has your new device been confirmed as on its way yet?

Via MacRumors

Amazon, although it is in a tug-of-war with Apple for the hearts and minds of publishers, may have a more immediate concern when it comes to other e-book rivals, such as Barnes & Noble and Borders: pricing. While Apple has staked-out the higher-end, the makers of the Nook and Kobe e-readers are rushing toward the lower-end, leaving the Internet retailer in a lonely position. However, Amazon could lower its Kindle’s $259 price tag very soon, one analyst suggests.

The Kindle could drop below $200 “before the end of summer,” according to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney. In May, brick-and-mortar bookseller Borders introduced the $149 Kobe e-reader, joining competition from Barnes & Noble’s Nook. The Nook in March forced Amazon to also find a retail partner, Target, to get the Kindle on the radar of non-Internet shoppers. Possibly forcing Amazon’s hand was a DigiTimes report that the Nook had captured more than half of the U.S. e-reader market.

Analysts often point to the introduction of video conferencing – branded as FaceTime by Apple – as a chief selling point for the Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s soon to be released iPhone 4. However, a nagging question had remained until Sunday: won’t video calls drain your cellular minutes? Over the weekend, Apple put the doubting minds at ease.

“The voice call ends as soon as the FaceTime call connects,” an Apple representative told Silicon Alley Insider Sunday. Because FaceTime uses Wi-Fi, no carrier minutes will be used.

The complete text of Best Buy’s launch plan for the iPhone 4 has been leaked to iClarified by an individual going by the handle of bbinsider.

The 24 page launch plan addressed to Best Buy employees includes:

• Things employees should not do during the sale.
• Details about employee purchases.
• Best Buy SKUs and pricing.
• AT&T rate and data plan requirements; Early termination fee information.
• Information about the iPhone 4 Micro SIM
• Tips on what to do with an old iPhone; Comparison between iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.
• Comparison with other vendor offerings from Sprint and Verizon
• Etc.

The  most interesting information revealed in the document, according to iClarified, is that Best Buy will be offering pre-sales on launch day for people standing in line waiting to buy an iPhone 4:

Since inventory availability is expected to be minimal, stores may open up a limited time pre-sale window as an option for customers on launch day who have not previously pre-purchased.
– Pre-sales may only occur up to 11:00 am local time
– Customers who pre-purchase on launch day will be added to the store’s pre-sale cue based on time of pre-sale and will get their pre-sale fulfilled in priority order
– Do not provide customers who pre-purchase on launch day timing on when a device may be available

You can read the entire document and grab the rest of the plans highlights yourself here.

Still haven’t gotten that geeky dad of yours anything for Father’s Day? Here’s a late last-minute suggestion: Run out to your local bookshop and grab a copy of 62 Projects To Make With A Dead Computer. It’s a sort of $15 Maker Faire for dummies that’ll keep him busy for months, get rid of some of that junk lying around and maybe save him a little moolah in the process.

I have a personal request: I’d like to ask for your support for a charity bike ride I’m doing in July.

I’m riding the Tour of the California Alps, better known as the Death Ride, to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program.

I’m $1,000 dollars short of my fundraising minimum ($3,500). I’d like to ask for your support.

If you can help in the fight against blood cancer, please make a pledge using this link (use the “Make a Donation” widget at the right). It’s fast, easy and totally secure. I only need 20 people to make a $50 donation (or one person to make a $1,000 pledge). The deadline is June 24 — less than a week away.

The Death Ride is a very challenging 130-mile route that goes up and over five mountain passes in the awesome Sierra Nevada. It  features 15,000 feet of climbing in one day, most of it between 6,000- and 9,000-feet above sea level, where the air is pretty thin. Here’s the elevation map. For an idea of how high that is, see this amazing infographic. It’s a lung-busting, masochistic ordeal.

We did a training ride last weekend that featured bears, snow and very little oxygen. Beautiful — but brutal.

Many thanks for reading this — and your support. I’d appreciate you sharing this post via email, Facebook or Twitter. Every penny counts, and it’s for a very good cause.

Perhaps the best iPhone 4 Promo video Apple would never want you to see.

“It’s probably safe to say we invented a new metal.”

[via iPhoneSavior]

I like my apps to be simple and clean and I think that you would agree that is what Apple likes to see in apps designed for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Echofon Pro from Naanstudio is a universal app which makes it compatible with all of Apple’s iOS based devices. All of these attributes made Ecohfon Pro a great Twitter app for my iPhone, but the recently released iPad compatible version really put the icing on the cake.

Police in Sussex want to test an app that would let gun owners start the renewal process using their iPhones.

Part of a £3 million cost-cutting campaign, anyone who wanted to renew shotgun and firearm licenses would start via iPhone, then be visited in person by officers.

Not everyone thinks the streamlining is a good thing.
”We’ve got to be extra careful giving gun licenses,” Lyn Costello, of Mothers Against Murder and Aggression (MAMAA), said. ”We have this attitude that gun murders don’t happen very often so its OK to be lax, but it is not OK and we’ve got to do everything in our power to stop it happening again.”

We close out another week with a deal on i5-based MacBook Pros, the new Mac mini desktops, and price cuts on Electronics Arts games for the iPhone and iPad. Expercom offers a MacBook Pro powered by a Core i5 Dual 2.4GHz processor and a 15-inch display with 8GB of RAM for $2,198 from Expercom. There is also a deal on Apple’s recently refreshed Mc mini computer, complete with a Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.4GHz for $669. Lastly, Electronics Arts, maker of the Madden NFL games, offers its semi-annual sale on software, including “Battleship,” “Boggle for the iPad,” and “The Sims 3” for the iPhone.

As always, details on these and many other bargains are available on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Apple has taken MobileMe Mail out of beta and made it available to all me.com members.

The iPad-inspired three-column view is especially nifty. See the screenshot above.

The new web mail also includes a couple of features not available in the beta: mail forwarding from another account and improved junk mail filtering.

Here’s the full list of features:

With the release of Safari 5, Apple introduced a much-requested feature — extensions.

Extensions are a better way to add those little missing features than the old and complex plug-in approach. Extensions have been available on Firefox and Chrome for a while and finally are available for Safari too.

However, Apple currently labels it as a developer feature, which needs to be enabled before extensions are available.

Apple quietly updated OS X’s malware protection system in the recent OS 10.6.4 upgrade, but made no mention of it in the accompanying release notes or security bulletin.

The updated XProtect.plist now protects against HellRTS, a Trojan Horse often disguised as iPhoto that hijacks the host Mac to send spam, take screenshots, and peek at files and settings.

Security expert Graham Cluley slammed the company for stealth security updates.

Unfortunately, many Mac users seem oblivious to security threats which can run on their computers. And that isn’t helped when Apple issues an anti-malware security update like this by stealth, rather than informing the public what it has done. You have to wonder whether their keeping quiet about an anti-malware security update like this was for marketing reasons. “Shh! Don’t tell folks that we have to protect against malware on Mac OS X!”

Sophos: Apple secretly updates Mac malware protection