Cult of Mac

Apple’s done a deft job mitigating the disadvantages of true multitasking with iOS 4 by giving devs access to a few intelligently chosen APIs (like background audio) and universal state saving.

That’ll be good enough for most people and most apps without causing a huge drain on battery life or processing power, but unfortunately, the new iOS 4 APIs don’t do anything to address one of the biggest advantages to multitasking: background applications that can update or sync information when they don’t have focus. In other words, when iOS 4 comes around, apps like feed readers, Twitter clients and IM programs will still need to be open the whole time in order to suck in new information from the Internet.

Over at his personal blog, Marco Arment — developer of App Store favorite Instapaper — has posted a great suggestion to Apple on how to allow apps to update themselves in the background efficiently: give iOS the ability to prioritize periodic third-party app network requests.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5iM9YSs0Q8&feature=player_embedded

E3, the year’s biggest video gaming conference, hasn’t revealed too much about Valve’s upcoming Mac-friendly puzzle shooter, Portal 2, except the pre-emptive announcement that it’s been delayed until 2011. On the bright side, though, we have gotten this great new trailer.

Set hundreds of years after the first game, Portal 2 again puts the player in the shoes of the hot hispanic cyborg Chell as she solves numerous physics based puzzles to defeat the schizophrenic, cake-obsessed GlaDOS.

The new trailer makes clear that some of the “jungle” locations seen in earlier preview images are in fact parts of the Aperture Science labs that have been reclaimed by nature over the past few centuries. As usual, Valve is doing a smart job reconciling their timelines: while the first game took place roughly at the same time as the original Half-Life, Portal 2 takes place several hundred years after the end of Half-Life 2. The games share a universe, but they don’t chronologically have to wrestle with each other.

Not enough for you? IGN has just posted ten minutes of Portal 2 gameplay footage! You can find it after the jump.

Just as Apple’s servers are finally accepting pre-orders of the iPhone 4 after being down most of the day, the device may be selling out.

AT&T sold its stock of the pre-order iPhone 4s this afternoon, and now Apple appears close to running out also. In certain parts of the country, the east coast especially, the online Apple Store has pushed shipping dates for the device back to the July 6-8 timeframe, according to reader reports.

The device appears to also have been sold out in the UK and Germany, according to MacRumors.

Let’s hope you were able to order or reserve one — delivery dates for latecomers have been pushed back to July 4 at the earliest.

Earlier today, AT&T said Tuesday was the busiest online sales day in the company’s history:

“Because of the incredible interest in iPhone 4, today was the busiest online sales day in AT&T history. As of Tuesday afternoon, customers who preorder iPhone 4 moving forward will receive their device on June 25 or later, depending on when the order is placed. We’ll email customers with confirmation once their order is placed, and again when it ships. In addition, we will have devices available on a first-come, first-serve basis in our stores beginning on June 24.”

Engadget: AT&T sold out of iPhone 4 pre-orders for launch day

As the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues, many of us wish there was some way we could help.  iPhone users along the Gulf coast now have an opportunity.  Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created MoGO, a free iPhone app to report injured animals in spill affected areas, take geo-tagged photos and send them directly to groups providing assistance.

Say the app’s developers:

Trying to distract attention from the iPhone 4 pre-order flustercuck, Apple has just released the Mac OS 10.6.4 update, whoch has been expected for weeks.

Weighing in at 315.5 MB, the update includes a bunch of minor fixes, including stability issues with Adobe’s Creative Suite 3, SMB file servers and DVD Player.

The Mac OS 10.6.4 update can be downloaded via the built-in Software Update application.

Here’s the full details:

My birthplace, South Africa, has shared some cool stuff with the world. Rooibos tea, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Dave Matthews, J.R.R. Tolkien — all hail from South Africa.

However, judging by comments I’ve encountered in the media, on Facebook, in bars, on the phone and elsewhere, there seems to be a large contingent of ungrateful sods who are less than enamored with the country’s latest gift — the Vuvuzela horn (if you’ve watched a World Cup match, it’s the reason for that noise in the background that sounds like a swarm of apoplectic bees climbing up into your head through your nose).

That sentiment has spilled over to the iPhone/iPad, because there’s now a $1 app — Vuvuzaga — that joins the throng of protests against the yellow horn, this time in the form of a game that lets the user wander around a 3D arena hunting down horn-blowers. Of course, there’s also a variety of free apps that transform your iDevice into a Vuvuzela, should you wish to see how well your iPad mimics a frisbee when grabbed from your hands and flung out the window by the person sitting next to you.

The iPad may be seen as an expensive bauble, but at least one has proved worth the purchase price by helping its owner recover stolen goods.

Recently in San Francisco, a man was followed by a 16-year-old girl. First she asked him for money. He gave her some change. She continued following him, hit him up again for more money. When he said he didn’t have any, she pulled a knife on him and took his wallet, iPod and iPad.

The victim managed to call police, who tracked down the thief thanks to the iPad’s GPS. Turns out the teen thief caught the 38 Geary bus to flee the scene of the crime. The wallet and iPod were also recovered. The 75 cents, the SF Appeal notes, went to pay for the getaway bus ticket.

Source:  SF Appeal

Even though Apple’s and AT&T’s pre-ordering systems are crashing due to high demand, several people have reported success pre-ordering the iPhone 4 through the new Apple Store iPhone app.

However, that too is over-subscribed. Attempts to pre-order the iPhone through the app are returning the following message:

“Due to high demand, we are not currently accepting iPhone 4 reservations via the Apple Store app. To pre-order or reserve yours, please visit apple.com/iphone/pre-order.

But Apple and AT&T’s systems are still down, with attempts to reserve an iPhone resulting in error messages and timeouts.

Anyone had success using a different method? Radio Shack?

We kick-off another Tuesday with three hardware deals. This is the first day Apple accepts pre-orders for the recently-unveiled iPhone 4. The 16GB model is $199 while the 32GB version is $299. Also, we have the just-announced refresh of the Mac mini, complete with aluminum body, 2.4GHz processor and 320GB hard drive for $699.

Along the way, we’ll check out the latest crop of App Store price drops, including a touch-screen version of the classic “Clue” mystery game. We’ll also look at some new iPhone software, along with hardware for your iPhone or iPod.

As always, details on these and many more items are available at CoM’s”Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Yet another report suggests Internet giant Google has Apple’s monolithic music empire in its sites. The Mountain View, Calif. Google could have an iTunes alternative ready to announce by this fall, according to CNET. What could be even more worrisome for Apple: music labels may welcome Google with open arms.

Although we’ve known for quite some time Google plans to offer a service for Android users that would convert iTunes tracks, this appears to be the first report Apple’s rival is speaking directly to music execs.

In January, Google pitched its idea of a competing music service to music labels attending the January CES conference. After previously attempts by the music industry to get everyone from AOL to Facebook to take on iTunes, Google’s idea for a streaming music service “would be warmly welcomed by the top labels,” according to the report.

It also appears Google wants to beat Apple to the punch, introducing a streaming music service before the Cupertino, Calif. company has a chance to unveil a similar version for iTunes. Many thought Apple purchased Lala in a bid to gain the necessary technology. However, when the company recently pulled the plug on Lala without naming a successor, some onlookers doubted Apple would unveil a cloud-based upgrade to iTunes.

Still, it appears Apple’s mind remains in the clouds. The company has made strides allowing music consumers to preview tunes via the web without requiring the iTunes app first be installed.

[via Barron’s and CNET]

Despite it being the lowest-cost Mac in Apple’s lineup, one analyst is disappointed today’s refresh of the Mac mini came with a $100 price increase.

“The only disappointment we have is the price point of $699 vs. the previous price of $599,” Kaufman Bros.’ Shaw Wu told investors Tuesday morning. The Mac mini had a $499 price tag when introduced in January 2005.

After a morning of spotty service, both Apple’s and AT&T’s iPhone processing systems have crashed, leaving customers unable to order the iPhone 4.

Instead, customers are lining up at retail stores belonging to Apple and AT&T. There are lines in New York, Louisiana and Japan.

We have been unable to preorder an iPhone despite dozens of tries and, and neither is anybody else, according to a surge of #ATTFAIL messages on Twitter.

Above is a line outside a New York AT&T store. “Check out this line of people waiting to pre-order iPhones at our local AT&T store. This isn’t even to take them home or anything — it’s for the right to wait in another line next Friday (to pick up the phone),” Business Insider notes.

Apple and AT&T’s systems have been choking all morning, returning error messages saying orders cannot be processed. This, of course, is good news/bad news for the companies.

The iPhone 4 is on sale at a bunch of places — Apple, AT&T, Best Buy and Wal-Mart — but Radio Shack may be the best place to pick one up, thanks to rebates on older iPhones.

The Shack is offering special trade-in deals for older iPhones that can be applied to the cost of a new iPhone 4. In some cases, a new iPhone may be free.

Apple contractor Foxconn Technology Group will move all workers except those building iPhones away from the highly-publicized Shenzhen factory, according to China Daily.

“We’ve got a notice today,” a source told the newspaper Wednesday morning. Researchers supporting Hewlett-Packard servers will move to northern China, while other workers are sent to Tianjin, Yantai and Wuhan. The exodus will be made in two months, the report said.

We kick off another week of deals with a bargain on the stamp-size iPod shuffle: $39 for the 1GB version. Americans by droves tuned into the World Cup this weekend to watch the U.S. and the U.K. battle to a 1-1 draw. Whether you are an American soccer fan or a European “football” fan, today’s batch of App Store freebies includes “Goaaal!” a soccer game for your iPhone or iPod touch. Finally, a USB cable isn’t very sexy — until you need an extra.

Along the way, we check out new software deals, some camera, as well as storage options. As always, details on these and many other deals are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

OK. So what have we got here?

Hey kids, look what uncle Steve has made for us overnight: a new Mac mini.

It:

• is tiny
• has HDMI
• has an easy-to-remove lower panel for replacing memory
• has an SD card slot
• is tiny (did we say that?)
• still has a Core 2 Duo processor
• supports up to 8GB RAM
• looks amazing
• is tiny

That’s all I’ve discovered after three minutes of drooling and surfing; more posts with more details coming later.

As it turns out, if you want a white iPhone 4 on June 24th, you’re out of luck: Apple’s iPhone 4 pre-order site is now explicitly saying that the “white iPhone [is] currently unavailable for pre-order or in-store pick-up.”

The omission of the white iPhone 4 seems to be universal: Apple’s domestic wireless partner AT&T has also sent out an internal memo saying that they will only have black handsets in stock on launch day, with the white model promised “later this summer.”

I suppose it’s possible that white iPhone 4s will be available for cold pick-ups on launch day, but everything about this indicates that Apple has had some unexpected last minute delay in producing the white iPhone 4.

It’s disappointing: I think the white iPhone 4 is a significant improvement over the style of the black version, especially with a bumper installed. What about you? Will you wait for the white iPhone 4, or settle for a black version on launch day?

When you actually click the links, Apple’s bouncing around some bad link error messages, but if you want to preorder your iPhone 4 for pick-up or delivery on June 24th, Apple’s preorder website is now live. You might want to keep refreshing it until the kinks go away. (Update: the preorder forms are now working).

Completed your preorder? We’ll see you for some jubilant crowing in the comments!

Well, it’s about time: yesterday, Starbucks announced that they would be activating free, one-click WiFi access across all of their United States locations, starting on July 1st.

For iPhone owners, this isn’t a big deal: they’ve long enjoyed free AT&T WiFi at Starbucks with their Frappucinos.

By opening up WiFi to everyone, though, Starbucks has finally allowed iPod Touch and iPad owners free access to the Internet… not to mention MacBook owners and the rest of those Android and PC toting plebes.

Over at Gizmodo, they’re making a big stink about Apple’s decision to ban two graphic novel adaptations of famous literary works from the App Store for obscenity— namely, James Joyce’s Ulysses and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

Now Apple’s reversed the ban on these two graphic novels… but in the process of doing so, have ironically made themselves look far more hypocritical in their App Store censorship policies than if they’d stuck to their original decision.

Apple execs have a hard time telling the difference between porn and literature.

First Apple removed images from graphic novels of classics “Ulysses” and “The Importance of Being Earnest” for being, well, too graphic for the device that has been touted as “freedom from porn.”

Robert Berry, the illustrator of “Ulysses Seen,” told the New York Times that an image of a woman with exposed breasts was one of the offending panels in the comic version of the book.

Monday Giveaways took little hiatus because of holidays and big Apple announcements, but it’s BACK, and we’ve got some sweet apps to give away. We currently have 8,362 followers on Twitter, but we think 9,000 is such a better number. We want to put our cult to the test and see if you have the power to help us reach 9k followers! For every 100 new followers we get, I’ll give away a batch of codes to 10 random Twitter followers that re-tweet the special tweet below:

Steve Wozniak will be taking a break from Segway Polo and dancing the tango to be interviewed on radio program “The American Entrepreneur” Tuesday, June 15.

Tune in from 3 PM – 6 PM (EST) online and call 412-333-1360 to ask Woz your most pressing Apple questions.

Host Ron Morris will be chatting to Apple’s other Steve about his personal history, the early days of Apple, what he is up to nowadays and what Steve thinks of the evolution of the computer industry since he and Steve Jobs launched their fledgling startup in April 1976.

Via TAE radio

Electronics giant Best Buy announced today it will team up with Apple and other retailers to handle pre-orders for the new iPhone 4 handset. Tuesday, pre-orders begin at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile storeswith delivery to consumers set for June 24.

“It’s exciting to have an opportunity to launch this iconic device with this pre-sale,” Best Buy Mobile president Shawn Score said. “Adding the iPhone 4 to our stores alongside other great smartphones like the HTC EVO from Sprint and the HTC Incredible on Verizon, giving customers a great opportunity to view each side-by-side and get the mobile phone that works best for them,” he added.