The Mac Observer

Product News: Apple Releases iPhone Configuration Utility 3.1

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:51:16 -0400

Apple released iPhone Configuration Utility 3.1 for Mac OS X Wednesday, an update that brings the software up to date with iOS 4.1, which was released earlier in the day. iPhone Configuration Utility (iPCU) allows system administrators to create, install, and manage configuration profiles for iPhones for use in corporate environments.

IPhone - Apple - Mac OS X - IPhone OS - Smartphones

Tips: iOS 4.1: Digging Past The Release Notes

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:55:01 -0400

We’ve been digging into iOS 4.1 at TMO Towers, and we’ve found a few new features and changes not explicitly listed in Apple’s upgrade notes.

Apple - Cisco IOS - Macintosh - IPhone - IOS

Product News: iMovie 1.1 Adds 4th Gen iPod touch Support

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:44:46 -0400

Along with iOS 4.1, Apple released iMovie 1.1 for the iPhone on Wednesday. The update added support for the new fourth generation iPod touch.

iPhone - Apple - IpodTouch - Smartphones - Handhelds

How-To: Up and Running with Game Center

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:07:38 -0400

iOS 4.1 includes Apple’s new social game service called Game Center. It only takes a few steps to get up and running, and it uses your existing Apple ID, so you don’t have to set up another social network account.

Apple - Game Center - IOS - Social network - IPhone

Product News: Apple Releases iOS 4.1

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:01:50 -0400

Apple released iOS 4.1 on Wednesday for the iPhone and iPod touch. The update includes several new features such as Game Center, HDR photo capture, HD video upload support and TV show rental support.

iPhone - Apple - IpodTouch - Game Center - IOS

News: Oracle Calls HP Lawsuit “Vindictive”

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:32:51 -0400

HP is suing its recently fired president and CEO, Mark Hurd, for taking a job at Oracle, and that’s a move that Larry Ellison called “vindictive.” Mr. Hurd was hired to serve as Oracle’s president and as a member on the company’s Board of Directors.

Mark Hurd - Larry Ellison - Oracle Corporation - Hewlett-Packard - Board of Directors

News: iFixit Guts 4th Gen iPod shuffle

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:56:31 -0400

Apple’s iPod shuffle is only now making it into customer’s hands, but that hasn’t stopped iFixit from stripping one down to its bare components and posting photos for all the world to see.

Apple - iPod - iFixit - IPod Shuffle - Apple iPod

TMO Appearances: Ted Landau Discusses iPods, Apple TV, Ping on MacNotables

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:37:54 -0400

TMO columnist and popular author Ted Landau joined Chuck Joiner on the MacNotables podcast to talk about Apple’s new iPod models, the second generation Apple TV, Ping and the cable TV industry.

Apple - IPod - appletv - Television - Apple iPod

Hot Forum Topic: Forum Poll: When Will You Install iOS 4.1?

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:05:09 -0400

iOS 4.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch should be available any time now. Take today’s TMO Forum poll and let us know when you’re planning on installing the update.

iPhone - IPod Touch - IPhone OS - Smartphones - Handhelds

Apple Stock Watch: Analyst: iPad Sales Could Top 28M in 2011

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:38:03 -0400

Interest in Apple’s iPad doesn’t seem to be letting up, and UBS analyst Maynard Um thinks that could lead to 28 million units sold in 2011. He also sees the iPad eating away at more of the PC notebook market.

Apple - IPad - Personal computer - UBS AG - Business

Product News: MobileMe iDisk Update Improves Keynote Support

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:02:21 -0400

Apple released MobileMe iDisk 1.2.1 for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on Tuesday. The update for the iDisk file access app fixed an issue that prevented some Keynote files and other package files from opening properly on the iPad.

iPhone - iDisk - Apple - MobileMe - IPad

Product News: Find My iPhone Adds New iPod touch Support

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:47:30 -0400

Apple rolled out Find My iPhone 1.0.1 for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on Tuesday. The update for the MobileMe-based device tracking app added support for new iPod touch model with built-in cameras.

iPhone - Apple - IPod Touch - MobileMe - IPad

Product News: iWeb Update Fixes MobileMe Publishing Issues

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:28:12 -0400

Apple released iWeb 3.0.2 late on Tuesday with fixes for issues related to publishing content to MobileMe Web sites. The update also “refines comment and search support for blogs and podcasts published to MobileMe.”

Apple - MobileMe - IWeb - Blog - Site Management

How-To: iOS 4.1 Upgrade Guide

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:00:19 -0400

iOS 4.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch is set to roll out this week, which means there’s plenty for users to think about before updating. We’ve put together this guide to help you decide when to upgrade, and what you need to do to be prepared when the time comes.

iPhone - IPod Touch - iphoneos - Handhelds - Smartphones

Reports: iOS 4.1: What You Need to Know

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:14:56 -0400

iOS 4.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch is set to be released sometime this week, and for some the update will bring welcome fixes along with new features. Deciding whether or not you should install the update, however, depends on how you use your iPhone or iPod touch, and exactly which model you have.

iPhone - IpodTouch - Apple - iPod - Smartphones

Product News: Apple Releases Safari 5.0.2 with Bug Fixes, Security Patches

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:19:12 -0400

Apple updated Safari to version 5.0.2 for Mac and Windows Tuesday, an update that includes both bug fixes and security patches for the company’s Web browser. The update also adds an encrypted connection for users visiting the company’s Safari Extension Gallery, a gallery of third party Safari Extensions.

Safari - Apple - Web browser - Macintosh - Patch

News: Google Set to Launch Google TV This Fall

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:57:50 -0400

Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced Tuesday that his company was ready to launch Google TV this Fall in the U.S., and throughout the rest of the world during 2011. Mr. Schmidt made the announcement during his keynote speech at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin Tuesday, and is seemingly in response to Apple’s unveiling of its newest Apple TV model last week.

Google - Apple - United States - Eric Schmidt - Consumer electronics

Deal Brothers: Refurbished 13” MacBook Pro 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo: $1949

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:15:44 -0400

The Deal Brothers noted that Apple was offering a refurbished 13” MacBook Pro 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for $1949, including free shipping.

Apple - MacBook - Intel Core - Hardware - Macintosh

Ted Landau's User Friendly View: Apple Stumbles Over the New nano

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:56:33 -0400

This year’s 2010 iPod nano is dramatically different from last year’s model. It looks entirely different (smaller overall, square instead of rectangular) and works entirely differently (via a multi-touch display instead of a click wheel). It isn’t until you start studying the specs, however, that you discover that the most significant changes in the new nano are not what features have been added, but what have been subtracted.

Apple - IPod Nano - IPod click wheel - Apple iPod - Shopping

News: HP Sues Hurd Over Oracle Gig

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:32:25 -0400

Hewlett Packard filed a lawsuit against its former CEO Mark Hurd for taking a new job as president at Oracle. The PC and printer maker alleged in its filing that Mr. Hurd is violating his contract by joining the Oracle team, and that there’s no way he can avoid divulging trade secrets at his new job.

Mark Hurd - Hewlett-Packard - Oracle - Oracle Corporation - Trade secret

News: Apple Details Game Center Compatibility

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:55:02 -0400

Apple’s Game Center, a new feature in iOS 4.1, will bring game-related social networking to the iPhone and iPod touch, assuming you have a compatible device. Luckily for iPod touch owners, most models are supported. iPhone owners, however, are a little more limited.

iPhone - Apple - IpodTouch - IOS - Social network service

News: Apple Consultants Network Expands Into the UK

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:32:35 -0400

The Apple Consultants Network is finally branching out into the U.K. The program includes independent consultants specializing in a wide range of Mac support and training areas, and in the U.S. serves as a resource for locating specialists to help with your Mac needs.

Apple - Macintosh - IPhone - Facebook - Mac

News: iPod Pre-orders Shipping

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:56:01 -0400

Apple’s freshly updated iPod touch, iPod nano and iPod shuffle aren’t available in stores yet, but they’re on the way to customers that pre-ordered last week. Apple unveiled the new models during a media event on September 1 in San Francisco.

IpodShuffle - Apple - iPod - IpodNano - IpodTouch

TMO Appearances: TMO’s John Martellaro Talks iPods, MacBook Air

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:32:27 -0400

Last week, The Mac Observer’s senior editor John Martellaro was interviewed by Gene Steinberg of the The TechNightOwl. They recapped John’s predictions for the Apple iPod event on September 1 and how he fared.

IPod - Apple - MacBook Air - Apple iPod - Hardware

Product News: MarkdownMail Brings HTML Email to the iPhone

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:15:46 -0400

Second Gear Software released MarkdownMail for the iPhone and iPod touch on Tuesday. The app lets users create email messages that include stylized text using John Gruber’s Markdown markup language.

iPhone - John Gruber - IPod Touch - Markdown - Handhelds

News: Macworld Road Trip: Mobile World Congress

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:43:15 -0400

Macworld Expo has teamed up with Mobile World Congress to bring iOS developer training to the Barcelona-based event in February 2011.

Mobile World Congress - Barcelona - Macworld Conference & Expo - AppPlanet - United States

Product News: QuickBooks 2011 Adds Multi-user Support [Updated]

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:11:02 -0400

Intuit announced QuickBooks 2011 on Tuesday with the promise of multi-user support for the Mac OS X business accounting and bookkeeping application.

QuickBooks - Mac OS X - Intuit - Small business - Business

News: Oracle Hires HP’s Former CEO

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:36:42 -0400

Former HP CEO and President, Mark Hurd, is already back among the employed thanks to a job offer from Oracle. Mr. Hurd resigned from HP in August over sexual harassment allegations.

Mark Hurd - HewlettPackard - Sexual harassment - Oracle - President

Hot Forum Topic: Apple’s iPad Revolution

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:06:34 -0400

Today TMO readers are talking about the major changes the iPad is making in the way people use their computers, and also the positive impact the expect the device will have on Apple’s bottom line.

Apple - IPad - Companies - Macintosh - Apple II

Product News: Nike Intros Nike+ GPS for iPhone, iPod touch

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:42:57 -0400

Nike’s own Nike+ GPS hit Apple’s App Store over the Labor Day weekend, giving iPhone and iPod touch owners a way to track their run performance without requiring a Nike+ shoe sensor kit.

IPhone - IPod Touch - App Store - Apple - Nike+

News: Eminem Wins iTunes Royalty Fight

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:14:08 -0400

Popular rapper Eminem will be receiving a bigger share of the cash his songs earn through the iTunes Store now that the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled he should get 50 percent of what Universal Music Group makes on his music download sales. The case was file by F.T.B Productions, the company that kick started Eminem’s music career, over claims they should receive more than a 12 percent cut of his digital and ringtone sales.

Universal Music Group - ITunes - United States courts of appeals - Music download - Music

News: iLife 11 Appears, Vanishes from Amazon.com

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:29:49 -0400

Rumor and speculation has suggested that Apple is planning on releasing a new version of its iLife suite this fall, and a pre-release iLife 11 listing at Amazon.com hinted that the update might be just around the corner. The iLife 11 listing, which apparently has been showing a two to four week delivery since July, disappeared over the weekend, however.

Amazon.com - Apple - iLife - Peru - Loreto

News: Happy Labor Day

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:30:57 -0400

In observance of Labor Day, a U.S. holiday, The Mac Observer will be taking the day off. We will resume our regular publishing schedule on Tuesday, September 7.

Labor Day - Holiday - United States - Work - Labor Movement

News: iOS 4.1 Launch Set for Sept 8

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:45:27 -0400

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled iOS 4.1 during the company’s iPod and music-related media event on September 1, and it looks like his nebulous “available next week” release window will actually be Wednesday, September 8. The news comes from Apple’s own U.K. Web site, although the U.S. site still says the update is “coming soon.”

Apple - Steve Jobs - iPod - Macintosh - History

News: Ping Tops 1 Million Users in Two Days

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:09:29 -0400

Apple’s Ping music-focused social networking service may be little more than 48 hours old, but it already boasts over a million users. The Mac and iPod maker announced that Ping topped the million mark late Friday afternoon.

Apple - Macintosh - Social network service - iPod - Facebook

News: Quantcast: Android Eats into iOS Lead of Mobile Browsing

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:03:34 -0400

The Android platform has been eating into the sizable lead Apple’s iOS platform has in mobile Web usage, according to analytics firm Quantcast. The company released new numbers Friday that show iOS with 56% of all mobile Web usage, with Android a distant second with 25% of mobile Web usage, but the delta between the two platforms is narrowing rapidly, as shown in the graph below.

Apple - Android - IOS - Quantcast - Mobile Web

Free on iTunes: Netflix, Fotopedia, The Citadel and More

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:24:45 -0400

New stuff from Apple this week and along with it some new and familiar freebies. Netflix for iPhone, Fotopedia, and The Citadel are featured in this week’s Free on iTunes.

iPhone - Apple - Netflix - iTunes - Fotopedia

John Martellaro's Blog: Particle Debris (wk. ending 9/3) A Bundle of Critical Thinking

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:49:36 -0400

This week, John looks at some very critical thinking and analysis regarding the Apple TV and iTunes.

AppleTV - iTunes - Apple - IPhone - Technology

Deal Brothers: Cavalry Storage 1TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive: $59.99

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:26:09 -0400

The Deal Brothers found a 1TB external USB 2.0 hard drive for less than $60 (after a $20 rebate), with free delivery, too

Universal Serial Bus - External hard disk drive - Hard disk drive - Storage - Hardware

Games: Assault Commando Hits the App Store

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:22:19 -0400

3D Magic announced the immediate availability of Assault Commando for the iPhone and iPod touch on Friday. Assault Commando is top-down shooter style game that send players on a mission to stop a mad scientist from taking over the world.

iPhone - IPod Touch - App Store - iPod - Apple

Product News: Chronicle for Mac Adds Income Tracking

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:46:51 -0400

LittleFin Software announced the immediate availability of Chronicle 3.4 for the Mac on Friday. The update for the bill management and home finance application added the ability to track and compare income tracking to bill spending.

Macintosh - Apple - Finance - Mac - IPhone

Hot Forum Topic: Reader Debate: Why Buy the New Apple TV

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:06:02 -0400

Apple introduced the second generation Apple TV at it special media event on September 1, and today TMO readers are discussing why — or why not — they want to buy one.

Apple - AppleTV - Media event - Macintosh - Apple II

News: Facebook May Be Blocking Ping

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:30:54 -0400

Apple showed off basic Facebook integration in its new music-focused Ping social networking service, but that feature went missing shortly after users got ahold of iTunes 10. The reason Ping users lost the ability to search for friends on Facebook may be because Facebook chose to block access to that feature, according to AllThingsD.

Facebook - Apple - iTunes - Social network - All Things Digital

TMO Appearances: Dave Hamilton, Chuck La Tournous Discuss Apple Media Event on MacJury

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:51:43 -0400

The Mac Observer’s Dave Hamilton and Chuck La Tournous joined MacJury host Chuck Joiner to talk about Apple’s September 1 media event, the introduction of updated iPod models, and more.

Apple - iPod - Media event - Macintosh - Hardware

News: Apple Highlights Upcoming iPad Features

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:19:19 -0400

Apple announced during its iPod and music-related media event on Wednesday that iOS 4.2 with new features for the iPad would be available in November. Now Apple has a Web page dedicated to showing off exactly what iPad owners can expect when they finally get their hands on the update.

Apple - iPod - IPad - IPhone - Media event

News: Google: Android Activation Numbers Don’t Include Upgrades

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:41:29 -0400

In Wednesday’s media event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told the audience that his company was seeing 230,000 iOS device activations a day, a number that put it ahead of the competition (read: Google), and that some that competition (read: Google) was including upgrades when touring its own activation numbers. On Thursday, Google released a statement saying, in essence, “Nuh-uh.”

Google - Steve Jobs - Apple - statement - IOS

Product News: NewerTech Announces 7-Port Powered USB Hub

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:36:19 -0400

NewerTech announced Thursday the release of a new hub called the NewerTech Seven Port USB 2.0 Powered Hub. As the name suggests, it’s a powered hub with seven ports, but it’s small enough for mobile use.

USB hub - Universal Serial Bus - USB - Ports - Business

Product News: NASA App HD: Cool Space Stuff for iPad

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:06:03 -0400

NASA announced Thursday the release of NASA App HD, a new app that brings all kinds of cool NASA content to your iPad.

NASA - IPad - Space - Technology - Education

In-Depth Review: Touch Mouse: Free Wireless Mouse app from Logitech

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:30:53 -0400

Just what we needed—another reason not to get up off the couch. Logitech’s Touch Mouse turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a wireless mouse, perfect for those moments when you want to do something on your computer without actually touching it. Although the application and its accompanying computer server software is slightly more involved installation-wise, it’s worth it, especially for ending the hassle of getting up and down to manually change programming when watching video from your computer displayed on a television.

iPhone - Microsoft - Mouse - Logitech - IPod Touch

News: Ping Steered Clear of Facebook Over Onerous Terms

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:28:11 -0400

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a new music-related social networking service called Ping on Wednesday, and it seems the company intentionally steered away from tying the service into Facebook. Mr. Jobs said his company talked with Facebook about a possible team up, but ultimately wasn’t comfortable with the terms of the deal.

Steve Jobs - Apple - Facebook - Social network service - Social network