Morpheed » Apple

O2 to open early, may unlock iPhone 3G after one year

AppleInsider — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:35:00 +0000

British carrier O2 plans a prompt morning launch for the iPhone 3G, AppleInsider has learned, and hints that it may unlock the iPhone for use on any carrier for Pay As You Go customers. Appearing to confirm some recent rumors senior O2 retail sour...

LiveDiscKit

Scott McNulty — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Open Source, Developer

Moments before our Macworld 2008 interview with Paul Kafasis he told me about the unique way the demo CDs they were giving out worked. What's the main problem with software on CDs? Those apps are suspended in amber, frozen in time, and many other overused metaphors. The fine folks at Rogue Amoeba make living, breathing code. They don't stop updating it for a second, and they wanted to make sure that the app you installed off of that CD was the most up to date version available.

Impossible, you say. Piffle! Not for Rogue Amoeba (that one celled organism is a determined little guy). They looked at the problem and thought of LiveDisc. LiveDisc is an application that is burnt onto the CD. This application points to the most recent versions of the actual app that you want the user to install (an Internet connection is required). A simple solution to a highly specific problem, which is why I like it so much.

Rogue Amoeba is now sharing LiveDisc with other devs in the form of LiveDiscKit, an open source plugin for Interface Builder. Simply tweak a few settings, point it at the right places, and you're set to press a large number of CDs which will never go out of date (CD pressing functionality is not included with LiveDiscKit), that is assuming CDs stick around for much longer.

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Did you Get Smart last weekend?

Apple Hot News — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:21:21 +0000

Then you’ll want to download the free Making of Bruce & Lloyd Out of Control. The short, now available on iTunes, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the hilarious new film that parallels the Get Smart movie. It features Bruce (Masi Oka of Heroes) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) as they conjure up inventions for use by unsuspecting CONTROL agents.

As a business user how can I transition to Macs? Check out Apple’s free seminar

Opal Tribble — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:00:57 +0000

A few years ago I made the switch to Macs. One of my concerns as a business owner was making a smooth transition. I had been interested in Macs for years but held off mainly because I would be starting from the beginning. I was a Windows power user. My natural skin care business, up until that point, had been running on the Windows OS. I’ve always been fascinated by Macs but my own fear of learning a new system kept me away from Macs for years.

I finally switched my personal and business computers to Macs almost two years ago. I quickly realized that much of the concern I had about the Mac OS were unjustified. In making the transition the most important thing, I learned was not to treat my Mac like my Windows computers. They are different. It took me a few weeks before I felt comfortable with my 17″ MacBook Pro and a few months after transitioning I wondered why it took me so long to make the switch?

Mac’s Mail application quickly replaced Outlook. I include photos of the actual products on my website and the brochures I create I was able to upload and edit my pictures in iPhoto. Eventually I upgraded to Aperture. I was still able to create graphics in Photoshop I just had to purchase a copy for my Macbook Pro.

I had a few of my clients that needed documents completed in Word and have found NeoOffice to be a good solution. Occasionally I would chat with clients through Instant messaging and iChat and Adium has fit the bill perfectly. I use Quickbook Premium for business planning. Endicia for Mac is my home postal office. It lets me ship out most of my packages. Keeping track of time and submitting invoices is handled through TimeNet Pro. I also found David Pogue’s Switching to Mac series to be extremely helpful.

Apple is offering a free online business seminar which is perfect for the business user who is contemplating a move to Macs. Not only will you receive valuable information on how to make your transition seamless you’ll also receive helpful tips to get your Mac office up and running in not time.

The seminar is 26 minutes and will be led by Jim Heiser, Apple Business Marketing, and Sasha Rovin from the Apple Retail Store in Los Angeles. The course is geared towards new Mac business users. They will guide you through the basics of Mac OS X Leopard.

In the seminar you will learn:

How to get around on the easy, user-friendly Mac OS X interface
How to customize your Mac
How to use shortcuts and quick keystroke and mouse commands
How to connect a Mac to existing workgroups and other office computers, including PCs
How to communicate, share files, and use existing printers as a shared resource for the group

If you’re interested log onto the Apple website and register for the free online business seminar. Since the seminar is available 24/7, you are able to watch it when it’s convenient for your schedule.

Do you have any tips to share to help make the transition to Macs easier? Leave a comment.

ScreenSteps 2.1 released, interview with Blue Mango

Brett Terpstra — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Software, WWDC, Interviews, Developer

Screensteps, the software documentation generator we've come to love, has reached an official 2.1 status and has been released into the wild. Well, as wild as software documentation gets, anyway. This gem is a TUAW favorite and I'm personally very psyched about the new upload-to-blog feature, which has come a long way since we first announced it in the beta. The other 74 enhancements, changes and fixes can be found in the release notes.

You'd expect software in this genre to be well documented ... you won't be disappointed. In addition to the extensive, ScreenSteps-generated online manual, there are new screencasts available on the updated website. You can also grab a 30-day trial of ScreenSteps Pro on the download page. The Standard version is priced at $39.95 and the Pro version comes in at $59.95 (feature comparison).

I happened to have a chance to sit down with Trevor and Greg, creators of ScreenSteps, at WWDC. It's quite by coincidence that I managed to finish editing and uploading the video right before they let me know about the 2.1 release. Our chat is after the jump.

[Viddler Link|QuickTime version]

Continue reading ScreenSteps 2.1 released, interview with Blue Mango

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Canadian iPhone 3G Service Plans Require 3-Year Contract (TechWeb)

Yahoo! News: Apple/Macintosh News — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:50:00 +0000

TechWeb - InformationWeek - Rogers said there would be no unlimited data plans, and prices range from $60 to $115 a month.

Canadian iPhone 3G Service Plans Require 3-Year Contract (TechWeb)

Yahoo! News: Apple/Macintosh News — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:50:00 +0000

TechWeb - InformationWeek - Rogers said there would be no unlimited data plans, and prices range from $60 to $115 a month.

Mac 101: Safari tabs

Dave Caolo — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Internet, Internet Tools, Mac 101

Here's a quick tip for Safari users. As you know, tabbed browsing is best thing to happen to the 'net since The Tron Guy. Keyboard jockeys create new tabs by pressing Command-T. But there are a few of you who dislike releasing the mouse, even for a second.

You folks can simply double-click the grey area next to a tab to create a new one. Everybody wins!

[Via Geek&Mild]

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WALL•E - Robot with the heart of a Mac

Steven Sande — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple

Several TUAW readers have reported after seeing midnight showings of Disney-Pixar's new and highly-rated movie WALLo.E that when the robot boots up, he makes the standard Mac startup sound. That's not the only Apple connection with the movie.

Of course, Steve Jobs is the largest single shareholder of Disney after Pixar was purchased by the entertainment giant for $7.4 billion in 2006. He still serves on a steering committee for Pixar that oversees the Disney-Pixar animation businesses, and he's on the Disney Board of Directors. I'm not sure, but he may be tapped to be the first CEO of BuyNLarge...

WALLo.E's job is to wander around an abandoned Earth, pick up trash, and compact it into small blocks. However, when he finds something nostalgic that he likes, such as an iPod or Rubik's cube, he keeps it.

The object of WALLo.E's desire, EVE, was actually designed with the assistance of Apple Senior VP of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive, who apparently spent a day with the Pixar team in 2005 consulting on the ultra-sleek floating robot.

Thanks to Matt for the heads-up and inspiration for this post!

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iPhone 2.0 to include secure erase

Mat Lu — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:00:00 +0000

Filed under: iPhone

A while back we noted that refurbished iPhones still contained previous users' data and that there was no built-in way to securely erase it (though there were some rough suggested work-arounds). With the new 3G iPhone, and lots of upgrading, around the corner the problem seemed more worrisome than ever. However, AppleInsider is reporting that the iPhone 2.0 software will have a solution.

Unlike the present "Erase All Content and Settings" feature in the iPhone Settings, the new version "will wipe data in similar fashion to the 'Secure Empty Trash' function of Mac OS X, by which all data is deleted, unlinked, and then overwritten several times to make it irretrievable by even the savviest of recovery tools." This is obviously good news for everyone looking to upgrade and it should roll out when iPhone 2.0 lands on July 11.

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