MacRumors Page 2

Apple Releases Server Admin Tools 10.6.4

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:37:07 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Apple yesterday released Server Admin Tools 10.6.4, updating its suite of applications for remote administration of Snow Leopard Server systems.

The Server Admin Tools update is recommended for remote administration of Snow Leopard Server. This update includes the latest releases of:

- iCal Server Utility
- Podcast Composer
- Server Admin
- Server Monitor
- Server Preferences
- System Image Utility
- Workgroup Manager
- Xgrid Admin

Based on Apple's support document associated with the release, this update primarily appears to deliver filters for Apple's latest MacBook and MacBook Pro models. The update weighs in at 241.34 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6.4.

China Unicom Finalizing Deal for iPhone 4 and iPad?

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:02:14 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

SinoCast Daily Business Beat reports that China Unicom executive Li Gang flew to the United States yesterday to meet with Apple executives and finalize a deal to distribute the iPhone 4 and iPad in China. Discussions regarding the deal, reportedly scheduled to be announced on August 1 if all goes well, are said to be centered on pricing and terms for extending the original deal signed between the two companies last October.

China Unicom is rumored to have given an order to clear its stock of iPhones in preparation for the debut of the new iPhone 4 in the Chinese market. China Unicom had signed a contract with Apple in October 2009 to sell two million iPhones within a year. China Unicom has sold about 700,000 iPhones by the end of June.

China Unicom currently has inventory of 150,000 iPhones and that the iPhone 4 may be launched in China between mid August and the beginning of September.

China Unicom remains the only Chinese carrier approved to carry the iPhone and has yet to see the iPhone 4 despite two rounds of launches. A burgeoning gray market for Apple's latest iOS devices is getting a boost, however, as the iPad debuted in Hong Kong last week and the iPhone 4 will follow on Friday, providing a significant entry point into mainland China for those devices.

Apple Agrees to Honor Mis-Priced Mac Mini Orders in Taiwan

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:05:40 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

AFP reports that Apple has agreed to honor pricing on as many as 40,000+ Mac mini orders that had been erroneously priced at only about 40% of their actual retail prices. The announcement comes after Apple had quietly raised the prices to their normal levels for orders that had already been placed at the incorrect prices and after Taiwanese officials applied pressure on the company to honor the prices.

The error occurred last Friday when the company accidentally discounted a desktop computer and a server on the Education Apple Store's Taiwan website, with one on sale for a little over 40 percent of what it should have been.

Apple corrected the prices but not before over 41,500 units had been ordered by bargain-hunters, according to figures provided by the company to Taipei's consumer protection authorities.

Previous reports had indicated that as many as 200,000 orders may have been placed at the lower pricing, but this latest report places the figure much lower than that. In addition, the new report adds the detail that the pricing error occurred only in Apple's online store for educational purchasers in that country, and that Apple will be verifying eligibility for all customers who ordered at the lower price. Consequently, the actual number of orders Apple will have to fill at the discounted price may be considerably lower, as many non-eligible customers may have submitted orders in hopes of slipping past Apple's verification checks.

Apple Issues Updated Mac OS X 10.6.4 Versions for New iMacs

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:35:12 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Apple today released a pair of Mac OS X updates for the company's new iMac models refreshed this morning, bringing upgraded functionality in the form of new Mac OS X 10.6.4 and Mac OS X Server 10.6.4 versions.

Mac OS X v10.6.4 Update iMac (Mid 2010) weighs in at 452.62 MB and brings the following additions:

This update contains all the applicable fixes from the Mac OS X 10.6.4 Update, plus the following specific fixes for iMac (Mid 2010):

- Resolves compatibility and performance-related graphics issues.
- Improves compatibility with large-format SDXC memory cards.
- Adds support for Magic Trackpad.

Mac OS X Server v10.6.4 iMac (Mid 2010) weighs in at 460.91 MB and includes Safari 5, the Wiki Server Update 1.0 issued to other users late last week, and several other fixes.

It includes Wiki Server Update 1.0, Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your server, as well as specific fixes for:

- CalDAV querying of email addresses with Active Directory and Open Directory servers.
- Stability and reliability accessing Wiki Server pages.
- View movies on Wiki Server with Safari on iPad.
- Accessing publicly accessible Wikis when logged in to the Wiki Server.
- Listing blogs on Wiki Server.
- Vacation mail notices that span across multiple days.
- Updates from Software Update Server viewable by clients.
- Stability and reliability to Software Update Server synchronization.
- Downloading of software updates by Software Update Server.
- Creating NetInstall images which include iLife updater packages.
- Address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers.
- Improve reliability of VPN connections.
- Resolves compatibility and performance-related graphics issues.
- Improves compatibility with large-format SDXC memory cards.

Apple to Open First Retail Store in Philadelphia

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:43:00 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Walnut Street store under construction (Source: ifoAppleStore)
Apple today announced the grand opening of its new Walnut Street retail store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The events will begin with a press preview at 4:00 PM on this Friday, July 30th, with the store set to open to the general public at 5:00 PM that day.

While Apple has four existing stores in the Philadelphia area in its Suburban Square and King of Prussia locations in Pennsylvania and Cherry Hill and Sagemore stores in southern New Jersey, the new store will be the first within the city limits of Philadelphia.

Just last weekend, Apple opened new stores in Columbus, Ohio and Lexington, Kentucky.

TiVo Stock Rises on Rumors of Apple TV Deal

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:24:10 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Barron's briefly notes that TiVo's shares have jumped today (currently up over 6%) on rumors that the company's technology could make an appearance in revamped Apple TV hardware.

It is unclear, however, what aspect of TiVo technology would be brought to the Apple TV. Rumors have pointed to a dramatic overhaul of Apple's set-top box, bringing a new design based on that of the iPhone 4 with an iOS-based user interface and limited physical storage. While the device could pair with a Time Capsule device for expanded local storage, the focus of the new Apple TV, said to be priced at $99, would be on streaming.

It seems difficult to believe that something like the TiVo interface would come to the Apple TV given Apple's insistence not only controlling as much of its products as it can but also simply in delivering a consistent "Apple" look and feel for its software. It is possible that the Apple TV could use some of TiVo's underlying technology for some aspects of the its functionality, although rumors of limited onboard storage would seem to complicate its use as a DVR, TiVo's primary area of expertise.

For the time being, we are placing little credence in this rumor, as stock prices frequently respond to poorly-sourced or even baseless speculation. Consequently, we are publishing this on Page 2.

'iBooks' Bug Squashed With New Update

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:56:35 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Earlier this week, Apple released version 1.1.1 of its iBooks application, bringing several enhancements including support for embedded audio and video.

The update clearly contained a bug, however, as Apple today released version 1.1.2 with an additional bullet point in its "What's New" section:

Addresses a minor issue when updating iBooks.

Apple has not disclosed any additional information on the exact issue addressed, but clearly anyone who may have had difficulty updating previously might want to try again with the newly-revised version.

Apple Releases Second Developer Preview of Xcode 4

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:56:27 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Apple yesterday released a second developer preview version of Xcode 4 via its developer site. Xcode 4 brings a significant overhaul to Apple's tools for building Mac OS X and iOS applications, including a transition to a single-window application with Interface Builder integrated directly into Xcode.

Xcode is the complete toolset for building Mac, iPhone, and iPad applications - and with Xcode 4, the tools have been redesigned to be faster, easier to use, and more helpful than ever before. The Xcode IDE understands your project's every detail, identifies mistakes in both syntax and logic, and will even fix your code for you. Quite simply, Xcode 4 will help you write better code.

Xcode 4 has a brand new user interface, built upon proven technologies that Apple itself uses to build Mac OS X and iOS, and that have produced over a quarter million Mac, iPhone, and iPad apps.

The first developer version of Xcode 4 was released to developers at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference early last month.

Apple Updates Wiki Services for Snow Leopard Server

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:26:10 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Apple yesterday released a several update for Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard, bringing enhancements to the operating system's built-in wiki service support.

Users who are already running Mac OS X Server 10.6.4 can update using Wiki Server Update 1.0 (26.34 MB). For those users still running earlier versions of Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard, Apple has folded the update into a "Version 1.1" of Mac OS X Server 10.6.4, which is available in delta (615.34 MB) and combo (1.05 GB) versions.

Apple's release notes highlight the changes:

- Allows authentication by users who have high-bit characters in their full name. High-bit characters are "extended ASCII" characters such as � or �.

- Allows access to wiki group calendars from the iCal application.

- Prevents wikis and blogs from becoming inaccessible aftermigrating from Leopard Server to Snow Leopard Server.

- Fixes an issue that could prevent the Wiki service from rebuilding its index (globalindex.db).

- Allows users to access wikis using a secondary shortname (alias).

- Shows private blogs to the blog owner.

Mac OS X 10.6.4 basic and server versions were originally released in mid-June.

Apple Set to Open New Retail Stores in Columbus, OH and Lexington, KY

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:39:15 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Fayette Mall store in Lexington, Kentucky under wraps (Source: ifoAppleStore)
Apple has announced grand openings for two new retail stores set for this Saturday, June 24th, bringing new locations to Columbus, Ohio and Lexington, Kentucky. Both locations will see media previews taking place at 9:00 AM with the stores opening to the public at 10:00 AM.

The new Polaris Fashion Place store in Columbus marks Apple's second location in the Columbus area and is just ten miles from the company's existing Easton Town Center location.

Apple's Fayette Mall store in Lexington is the company's first in that metropolitan area and second in the state of Kentucky, joining the Oxmoor store in Louisville about 70 miles away.

Apple Developing New High-End Video Codec?

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:12:34 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Hardmac reports that Apple may be preparing to roll-out a new high-end video codec to compete against the existing H.264 standard of which it has been a staunch proponent.

First, a transition towards better codec, dropping the efficient but CPU-consuming encoding codec H.264 for adopting Wavelet transform-type of codec which will allow even better compression rate while offering better efficiency. This type of compression was already used for the JPEG 2000 format. If we did not get confirmation yet, we can suspect that Apple will be using a format evolving or directly originating from Dirac.

The Dirac codec was initially developed by the BBC, but is notable for being royalty-free with a commitment from the developers to steer clear of infringement of any third-party patents. Dirac's performance, however, seems to leave much to be desired, and while it is still an immature standard that Apple would obviously be working to considerably enhance, it remains unclear whether it would be Apple to displace H.264 as a first-choice web standard for video compression.

The report claims that the goal would be for Apple to support delivery of up to 4K resolution video of 4096x2304, as recently embraced by YouTube. But while the report says that Apple would thus be targeting high-end applications initially, it remains unclear exactly what deployment strategy would be and whether it will even see the project through to a public release.

Due to the sketchy details and seemingly questionable nature of the rumor, we are publishing it on Page 2 for the time being for interest and discussion.

Verizon Cell Towers on Apple's Campus Likely Mean Little

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:36:15 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Screenshot from Macworld's coverage quoting Jobs on Verizon cell site
Multiple sites have noted that during today's iPhone 4 press conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs mentioned that the company has cell towers for both AT&T; and Verizon on its campus, unsurprisingly sparking speculation that the existence of a Verizon cell site supports hopes of future support for the carrier on Apple's portable devices.

While several of these sites have indicated that Apple is unlikely to have invested in the Verizon cell tower infrastructure if it wasn't using it to test Verizon-compatible devices on its campus, the reverse is actually true -- carriers pay considerable sums of money to private landowners for the right to erect towers on their property.

This certainly isn't to say that Apple isn't testing Verizon-compatible equipment on its campus, but to suggest that the mere existence of a Verizon tower is evidence in favor of it is simply reading too much into things.

The iPhone Antenna Song (Humor)

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:35:49 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

On the eve of the iPhone 4 press conference, TechCrunch points us to this humorous music video about the iPhone 4 antenna issue.

Apple will be holding a press conference on Friday morning.

Steve Jobs Claims iPhone 4 'Facts are Different' Than Has Been Portrayed

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:53:44 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Apple's surprise announcement of a last minute press conference this Friday has led to a flurry of speculation about what Apple might be planning on doing. Apple will certainly be addressing the widely reported signal loss issue with the iPhone 4 in some form during the event. The speculation has ranged anywhere from free bumper cases to a full iPhone 4 recall. If a recent Steve Jobs email is to be believed, we expect Apple will continue to defend their published position on the iPhone 4.

This week, after the Consumer Reports news and talk of a recall emerged this week, MacRumors reader Tim fired off an email to Steve Jobs stating: "I'm starting to feel like a bit of a jerk for talking so many of my friends and colleagues into buying iPhone 4. Please fix it." To this, Steve Jobs reportedly replied:

"Not to worry. Facts are different than what you're hearing."

If this email is to believed, it seems Jobs continues to believe the problem is being misportrayed in the media.

These Steve Jobs email reports have recently taken a credibility hit with claims by Apple that one exchange published by Boy Genius Report was completely fabricated. However, Boy Genius Report maintains that the exchange was real (except for a misattributed quote at the end) -- and we believe them. One of the claimed emails from Steve Jobs at the time stated:

"You may be working from bad data. Not your fault. Stay tuned. We are working on it."

This statement lined up with the official Apple press release that was released only days later. That was the press release announcing that badly calculated signal strength bars were exaggerating the problem.

iPad and iPhone in the Spotlight on Jimmy Fallon and at Oxegen 2010

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:03:12 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Apple's iOS devices are beginning to make their usefulness as musical instruments known, with a number of musicians adopting them for use on stage in increasingly prominent roles.

Last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, English New Wave band Squeeze performed one of its early UK hits, "Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)", with keyboardist Stephen Large sharing time between his Roland VK-8 and an iPad, even going so far as to play a solo on the iPad.

(Thanks to DPA for the tip.)

Along the same vein from last weekend's Oxegen music festival in Ireland, Greg French of The Brilliant Things kicked things off as the first band ever to play on the Vodafone stage at the festival by incorporating an iPhone solo into the group's "Something to Say".

Rumors of New iPhone 4s with Non-Conductive Antennas

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:47:33 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Earlier this evening, there was a single report from a Gizmodo reader that believed that his replacement iPhone 4 was actually physically different from his previous one:

Well, when I got the new phone it was different. It was different hardware. The black [plastic] bezel isn't as black on the new one. I couldn't see the proximity sensor at all on the previous iPhone 4, now I can. The stainless steel band on the new phone is less 'steel-y' and more matte. I've also tried to replicate the signal drop and failure. While I can't say for sure that it is entirely fixed, there is certainly huge improvement. I'm guessing they coated the steel with something

The report had raised some eyebrows but without further evidence, it was hard to put much faith into it alone. However, iFixit also received a single report from one of their readers of a similarly updated iPhone 4.

iFixit even ran out and even bought another iPhone 4 to check, but the new iPhone wasn't built much later than their original (week 27 vs week 26). As a point of reference the conductivity of their original iPhone 4 was measured as such:

Original iPhone, high conductivity
Lower numbers indicate higher conductivity. If Apple truly did add a non-conductive coating to the iPhone 4's antenna, iFixit suggests the numbers should be in the thousands. We did manage to track down a week 28 (manufactured this week) iPhone 4 and found no difference in conductivity compared to the original iFixit measurements.

Macworld 2011 Registration Opens, Free Expo Passes Through July 26th

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:05:25 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Macworld yesterday noted that IDG World Expo has officially opened registration for Macworld Expo 2011, scheduled for January 26th through 29th in San Francisco. Free expo-only passes are available through July 26th, with pre-sale prices going up to $25 after that time. Onsite expo-only passes will be available at the conference for $50.

Packages and pricing for conference sessions at Macworld 2011 will be announced in October.

Apple was an annual participant at Macworld's January conferences for many years, using the stage for numerous product introductions, but announced in late 2008 that the 2009 conference would be its final appearance. Apple cited the decreasing relevance of trade shows and increased direct contact with customers through its retail stores as reasons for the discontinuation. IDG World Expo has continued to host Macworld Expo, however, pushing the conference date from its traditional early January timeframe to a late January/early February schedule in order to reduce competition from the larger Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas in early January each year.

Report of an iPhone 4 Catching Fire

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:39:26 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

BoyGeniusReports posts pictures of one customer's iPhone 4 having caught fire. The photos come from an AT&T; source after the customer brought the iPhone 4 in.

It's the first time our guy has seen this happen (us too), but the brand new iPhone 4 caught on fire while being hooked up to a computer using the Apple USB cable that accompanied the device. The customer wanted to exchange the iPhone -- obviously -- for a new, non-charred unit however the AT&T; store in question was out of stock. An Apple Store did confirm to our AT&T; connection that this did appear to be a defective USB port and not some sort of user error. Our source went onto say that the phone bezel was extremely hot (obviously), and it slightly burned the customers hand.

Apple's iPod nano has in the past been linked to overheating and potential fires. Apple issued replacements for those iPod nanos that dated back to 2005-2006.

So far, this seems to be an isolated incident.

Tesla Motors Hires Former Apple Real Estate Executive

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:06:43 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Electric car development company Tesla Motors today announced that it has hired George Blankenship, former Vice President of Real Estate for Apple, to head up the company's retail effort as it looks to begin offering its cars for sale with initial retail stores in Tokyo, Toronto, and Washington, DC.

As Apple's Vice President of Real Estate, he created one of the most successful retail growth strategies in history. Apple has repeatedly been recognized by Fortune Magazine as America's Best Retailer. Blankenship brings that experience to Tesla. Through his work creating Apple stores around the world, Blankenship defined and executed an International "Smart Growth Hit List" that encompassed major cities in Asia, Europe and North America.

Blankenship received some attention in the Apple press last year after he signed on as a consultant to Microsoft to assist that company with rolling out its own retail store initiative designed to go head-to-head with Apple. The first Microsoft retail store opened in Scottsdale, Arizona last October.

Fashion Photo Shoot Conducted Using iPhone 3GS

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:04:16 GMT

Note: This is a Page 2 News Item

Fstoppers posts an in-depth look at a recent fashion photo shoot conducted by fashion photographer Lee Morris using only an iPhone 3GS for the camera work. While the photos were processed in Photoshop, Morris notes that photos taken with professional-level cameras would be subjected to the same treatment. Post-processing, many observers have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the images.

I posted a few of the images and asked people to critique them (never exposing that they were shot on my cell phone). I couldn�t help but laugh when a few of our readers claimed that these were �the best images I had ever taken.� Nobody ever claimed that they were too grainy, too soft, or lacked detail.

Morris also produced a video showing how the shoot unfolded and demonstrating how photography should be more about taking good photos than obsessing over technical details.

There are so many photographers who are obsessed with noise, sharpness, color, dynamic range, megapixels, chromatic aberration, moire, distortion, etc. So many photographers get wrapped up in the technical side that they forget how to take compelling images. This video is for them.