www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPDSThRG_n8
Well, that was quick: just an hour or two after it broke that Apple lost an iPhone 5 prototype at a San Francisco tequila lounge, someone’s already given it the good old Downfall treatment.
This one starts slow, but it really gets good in the tantrum part of things. ‘What will they lose next, Tim Cook’s sex tape?’
"
(Via Cult of Mac.)
A repeat of last years missing iPhone prototype (pictured) playing out again?
Gray Powell can take a little bit of comfort in today’s news: According to a report Wednesday, he’s not the only person to lose track of an unreleased iPhone in a bar. CNET reports that Apple has again lost a prototype of an unreleased iPhone. It went missing in a San Francisco tequila bar last month, and then was possibly sold by a San Francisco man on Craigslist for $200. It’s the second high-profile Apple prototype to go missing and wind up on a public online sales site this year, and of course, follows last year’s missing iPhone 4 prototype brouhaha.
CNET says Apple was ‘desperate’ for the missing iPhone’s return:
Apple electronically traced the phone to a two-floor, single-family home in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood, according to the source.
When San Francisco police and Apple’s investigators visited the house, they spoke with a man in his twenties who acknowledged being at Cava 22 on the night the device went missing. But he denied knowing anything about the phone. The man gave police permission to search the house, and they found nothing, the source said.
It’s not clear in the report if the device made its way back to Apple. A police report was not filed.
It’s been a busy summer for Apple’s lost-and-found. Earlier this month an older model prototype MacBook modified with a 3G external antenna and sim card slot showed up on eBay. The bidding was up to $70,000, when Apple asked the auction to be shut down, and Apple has since requested the prototype’s return.
And who can forget spring 2010′s lost/stolen iPhone 4 scandal, that only recently resulted in criminal charges for the two men who found and sold the device that Apple engineer Gray Powell left in a bar.
Apple is rather famous for the tight security of its labs. But the company still seems to be rolling the dice by allowing employees to take prototypes outside the office before they’re released to the public.
"
Macs are fairly dependable, but there will still be occasions when you have to take them in for service at an Apple Authorized Service Provider. This can be a major undertaking. Obviously, the first step is to be sure you have a good working backup in case you for some reason your hard drive is erased. But there’s more to it than that. Here are a few other quick tips for making sure your service trip goes off without a hitch.
Often repair work involves administrator-level access to your Mac’s operating system. While I’ve never heard about privacy violations at Apple Authorized Service Providers, I like putting an extra barrier to protect my personal data, since I’ll sheepishly admit my account password is used in a few other places, and I’d rather nobody know it.
For added protection, I have another administrator account prior to sending my Mac in for service. An extra administrator account is good for testing purposes, so I already have one. If you don’t, then go to System Preferences, and then to Accounts and click the plus button and under ‘New Account.’ choose ‘Administrator.’ Create a full name and unique password and then click ‘Create Account.’
When checking in your computer at the repair shop, give them this password. Yes, your original account’s password could be reset and your data read, but at least this makes it a bit more difficult to do so. Even if your primary account’s password is reset, they still won’t have easy access to your keychain or be able to find out where else you use that admin password.
Now that your Mac is safely backed up and ready for service, here are two tips for an often overlooked part of the job — physically transporting your Mac.
The iMac’s screen in particular can be easily scratched when lifting it in and out of the car. Shirt buttons and jewelry are common items that could cause scratches on your person, too. A large towel is a common protector for transport, but it’s difficult to keep that in place. My solution is an old t-shirt. If your screen size exceeds your shirt size, go to a thrift store and pick up an XL. Old shirts tend to be extremely soft and stretch easily, thereby protecting your iMac screen and keeping that protection in place during transit. The bonus is that your computer looks absolutely adorable.
Once you’ve got the T-shirt wrapped around the iMac, lift it carefully, making sure to grasp it firmly with two hands at the bottom and press the protected screen against your body. Don’t try to carry it by the stand. Unless you’re a weightlifter with unusually long arms, avoid carrying an iMac under one arm.
Just like people do with their other most precious cargo (ie., children and pets), keep the Mac in the backseat. Have the screen face backwards and strap it in with the shoulder and waist restraints. I typically place the shoulder strap over the back of the iMac and then use the waist restraint close to the base. This will not keep it in place as well as it will a child in case of an accident, but it serves to slow the Mac down, and if it does hit the back of the passenger seat, the screen is less likely to crack and the hard drive is less likely to get jostled. For an extra ounce of prevention, I push the passenger seat as far back as I can and brace it with a pillow if needed. This will also help if you have to make a sudden stop, or if you hit a few potholes long the way.
"
The 10 Commandments of Steve Jobs - Click For Full-Sized Version
As part of the recent Newsweek cover story on Steve Jobs retirement and his legacy inside and outside of Apple, Cult of Mac was invited to contribute our own piece about how, more than anything else, Jobs’ true genius is in managing the creative process. Here’s what we came up with: the 10 Commandments of Steve,
"
(Via Cult of Mac.)
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Apple’s latest Photo Stream beta has an interesting icon that seems to look like the rumored iPhone 5s with extended screen and elongated home button (we count 4 pixels by 2 pixels – close up below the fold). What do you think? Coincidence?
.
(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)
In today’s connected world I pretty much assume that an iPad will find its way into every school, job, and politicians office on the planet, but I have to admit I never once thought about putting iPads directly into shopping carts at a grocery-store.
Sainsbury’s and Sky TV have created a new shopping cart that has an iPad holder and speaker system built directly into the cart. The move wasn’t made to help you shop at Sainsbury’s, and it won’t help you find the food products you’re looking for either. Instead of actually being useful, the iPad will stream Sky TV entertainment directly to your cart.
Hilariously, the company has even included a collision detection system that will audibly notify customers when their carts are getting too close to other carts in the store.
Dumbest. Idea. Ever.
If you can’t spend thirty minutes shopping for food without having to be plugged into your television programming then something is seriously wrong. The last thing I need is a bunch of hapless customers crashing into each other when I’m trying to buy dinner. If you thought the grocery store was packed on a Friday night, just imagine how packed it’s going to be with people slumbering around watching television and trying to buy food at the same time.
Source: The Telegraph
(Via Macgasm.)
Apple is reportedly working on a brand new new online diagnostics tool that could solve problems with your iOS device through your mobile Safari browser — saving you a trip to your local Apple store.
The report comes from HardMac, which claims that the system works by sending you a unique URL which you visit on your iOS device. The web-based software is then able to gather information from your device and determine a solution to problems you’re experiencing.
The news comes from an internal announcement which Apple has reportedly sent out to employees to inform them that work on the service is nearly complete. GigaOm explains why a system like this could make fixing our iOS issues a whole lot easier:
It makes sense for Apple to do this, because one of the first steps in determining what’s wrong with a product brought in by a customer reporting problems is to run a software diagnostic. Doing this remotely could free up time for in-store service technicians, by determining if issues can be fixed at home or should be immediately escalated to a mail-in factory return, and by providing them with crucial info in advance of a customer visit.
The information the tool gathers from your device will also be available to Apple store staff, according to the report, so that if you do have to take it into store, they will have all the necessary information in advance. That information will include details on your battery’s health and charge capacity, the last time it was fully charges, its minimum charge levels, which version of iOS you’re running, and more. Apparently, no personal information will be sent, other than your device’s name and its UDID.
The online tool is expected to roll out within the next few months.
"
(Via Cult of Mac.)
We told you a couple weeks ago about the possibility Apple was testing 3G MacBook Pro designs back in 2007 after a prototype popped up on Ebay recently. After reaching nearly $70,000 in bids, it looks like Apple is stepping in and requesting the device be returned.
A report from CNET today sheds a little more light on the current situation of the seller, who was allegedly contacted by Apple to return the machine to local Apple employees after the company had the eBay listing removed citing copyright, trademark, and IP infringement.
A little more back story surrounding the device and it’s eBay auction also emerged in the report…
Apparently the seller had originally sold the device not long after acquiring and repairing it. The new owner unfortunately took it to a Genius Bar only to be turned away after an inspection of the machine.
The following is an excerpt from the Genis Bar repair sheet:
‘Opened machine to observe that nearly every internal part was third party; main logic board, optical drive, display, hard drive, top case, and others. Machine serial number (W8707003Y53) is also not recognized as a valid number.’
The new owner eventually took the original seller to small claims court, winning the case, and costing seller $740. The seller did however receive the device back, which is when it ended up for sale online, and also when Apple found out and requested it be returned home.
(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)
A 9to5Mac reader in Sulaimaniya in Northern Iraq sent this new store opening. It looks like they might even have some MacBooks up there on the top shelves.
Thanks Alan Esa!
"
(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)
I would be convinced this was an April Fools joke out of Redmond were it not August, but no, it’s the new Windows 8 Explorer default interface.
While Apple is busy reducing clutter and creating minimalist interfaces, streamlining OS X and iOS, Microsoft is busy moving in the opposite direction. Believe it or not, these pictures show what, somehow, Microsoft has determined is the future of the user interface and file system; adding even more buttons, icons, actions, tabs, and whatever else they could stuff onto the already cluttered Windows Explorer interface.
Microsoft is proudly displaying this new UI to the world on a MSDN blog post titled ‘Improvements to Windows Explorer’ (seriously).
Everything imaginable is jammed into your brand new ultra-cluttered window toolbar, and you thought Microsoft Office had a mess of an interface? I suppose once you get below the disastrous ‘home tab’ eating the top half of the window, it just looks like Windows 7:
For some comparison, here is the Mac equivalent to Windows Explorer, the Finder of OS X Lion, in a comparable list view of a heavily populated folder.
Which looks easier to use?
Putting iOS side-by-side with Windows 8 makes Microsofts future UI even more silly looking, as posted by MG Siegler, who calls it ‘one of the worst UIs I’ve ever seen’:
Apple’s vision for the future of computing versus Microsoft’s vision for the future of computing.
It’s no wonder this is being lambasted around the web, being called a ‘self parody’ and drawing comparisons to Homer Simpson designing a car.
To be clear, I’m not trying to Microsoft-bash here, I think the Windows 8 touch interface shows promise. But this? What on earth is Microsoft thinking?
"
(Via OS X Daily.)
iPhoto is a great picture management app, but you may still occasionally want to access the original picture files for a variety of purposes, either to import them into another app or for backup purposes. This is easily done, but what exactly you are looking for depends on which version of iPhoto you are using.
iPhoto pictures are stored within the home /Pictures/ directory, in a file called iPhone Library. But with newer versions of iPhoto, iPhone Library became a package file rather than a folder, so in order to access the original picture files you have to go one step further in one of two locations:
iPhoto 9 pictures location:
/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/
iPhoto 8 and prior versions pictures location:
/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/
You can either access the directory from Go To Folder command within the Mac OS X Desktop by hitting Command+Shift+G or by opening the directory manually:
Picture Organization by /Year/Month/Date/
Regardless of the version of iPhoto, the pictures are stored and organized by folders based on dates, broken down by year, month, and day. For example, pictures imported on August 30th 2011 would be in the folder ‘2011″ followed by ‘August’ and then within that directory, another named ‘30″. If you know exactly what import date you are looking for you can specify that as a full path and go directly to it, like so:
/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2011/August/30/
The precise path format varies slightly in iPhoto versions, and older versions may contain full dates in the directory in the format of ‘August 30, 2011″ but it’s not any more difficult to work with. These directories are also the same regardless of the device the pictures originated from, whether it’s from an iPhone or a digital camera.
Once you’re in the directory, you can copy these files over to elsewhere and it will not impact your iPhoto library assuming the originals remain in the library.
"
(Via OS X Daily.)
It’s pretty obvious that the smartphone market is turning into a two legged race between Android and iOS. The next time you’re out on the street, or in a bar, take a quick poll of how many iPhones and Android phones you see in your vicinity, then look for a Blackberry or Windows Phone 7 device.
Don’t see anything? That’s probably because almost 70 percent of all smartphone owners are now rocking an Android or Apple handset, according to the latest findings from comScore. Android phones now account for about 42 percent of the market whereas the iPhone is holding stead at 27 percent.
That’s pretty impressive when you stop and think that neither Apple, nor Google were in the cellphone industry a decade ago. If you ever need any evidence that being first to market isn’t the be-all and end-all, this may just be it.
Something else worth noting, and we’d be doing a disservice to our allegiances if we didn’t point this out, Apple has one phone on the market (or 4 depending on if you count previous generations), compared to dozens of Android devices. For one phone to hold 27 percent of an entire market is pretty impressive. It also makes the iPhone the single most popular handset on the market, just in case you were wondering.
Source: comScore
Via: TechCrunch
"
(Via Macgasm.)
The Shrine of Apple website is worth a look for the diehard Apple fan who wants to reminisce about Apple's product history. The site provides photos and video for many products that Apple has made. Each section has a description of the hardware or software, specifications, and a poll that lets you say whether you wanted the product, owned one in the past or own one now. There are a few gaps here and there that need to be filled in (the iPad section is blank) but it's a nice effort that, once completed, will chronicle Apple's long history as an innovator in the computing and mobile phone marketplace.
[Hat Tip to The Loop]
Shrine of Apple offers visual history of Apple's hardware originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST.
The HP TouchPad, which the company killed last week due to few sales and retailer rejections, might live again if the firm spins-off its PC manufacturing business, an executive in China said Tuesday.
‘Tablet computing is a segment of the market that’s relevant, absolutely,’ HP Personal Systems Group chief Todd Bradley told Reuters in China. Although he was in Beijing, it wasn’t to sell WebOS to the Chinese, the HP executive insisted. However, ‘a number’ of companies have expressed interest in using the OS, he told the news agency. Samsung could be one of those eyeing the software. As we’ve reported, the handset and tablet maker is looking at WebOS to bolster its position against Apple.
HP is also walking back speculation that it might do an IBM, which sold off its personal computing business to Lenovo. ‘The numbers don’t support that that strategy works,’ Bradley said, pointing to Acer’s first quarterly loss. Acer acquired Gateway in 2007.
Instead, the executive plans to lead a spin-off of HP’s personal computing division, a move that would ‘bring the ‘best value’ to HP shareholders,’ according to Reuters. Any decision on HP’s next move could be known in December when the company’s board next meets.
"
(Via Cult of Mac.)
Apple has temporarily closed down the iTunes Match beta to developers trying to access it for the first time after Apple launched their match-and-stream music service yesterday afternoon.
If you haven’t accessed iTunes Match before and try to use the service through the latest iTunes beta, this is the message developers are receiving as of 9:45am ET this morning.
iTunes Match beta testing has begun with an initial set of developers. Over the next days, we will continue to expand our testing. Please check back later to describe.
At least the way Apple rolled out the iTunes beta seems egalitarian. First come, first served. "
(Via Cult of Mac.)
Mac OS X Snow Leopard would allow you to assign applications to a particular space using a control panel in System Preferences. This is no longer the case with Mac OS X Lion which offers a completely different option for assigning applications to spaces.
If you want to assign an application to a particular space you simply Control+click or right-click on the application’s icon in the Dock. Now look for the Options menu and you’ll see a section labeled Assign To which contains three options: All Desktops, This Desktop or None.
Once applications get assigned to desktops you’ll find them listed when you Control+click or right-click on their dock icon just like in the image above where a Twitter application shows that it is assigned to Desktop 4.
"
(Via Cult of Mac.)
Boeing-powered Batmobile. Well friends, it could be yours via eBay auction in about a week. Currently, the highest bid is you can buy it now for $620,000 -- which would be enough to cover the cost of several cars not fit for the Caped Crusader. However, none of those come equipped with a helicopter turbine, now do they? Putsch Racing reminds interested parties that the mean machine is street registered in the US, so you can roll like the Dark Knight without fear of the police pursuing you. An iPad loaded with digital avionics helps you monitor the jet engine, and you can use your choice of three fuel sources to power the thing: Jet A, kerosene, or diesel. Hey now, we never said it was environmentally friendly. If you, like Jay-Z, are 'planking on a million,' check out the detailed auction shots below and bid on Batman's ride yourself.
World's only turbine-powered Batmobile up for sale on eBay, recession hits Bruce Wayne, too originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:21:00 EDT.
CNN is reporting that recent Wikileaks cables have revealed that Apple assembled an anti-counterfeit team in 2008 to combat counterfeited iPhones and iPod touches. Apple’s early plans to attack Chinese counterfeits were to go after retailers and street vendors, work with police to raid manufacturing facilities, and to go after online retailers.
The technology giant eventually organized a team in March 2008 to curtail the explosion of knockoff iPods and iPhones, according to an electronic memo from the Beijing embassy dated September 2008.
Counterfeiting Apple products has been a huge issue in recent years. Most recently, fake Apple stores have opened up selling almost identical products to Chinese consumers. We attribute the high amount of counterfeit sales to the scarce availability of stores in this region. As of now Apple only has 4 stores, but a new Hong Kong store is on its way — which we’ve heard is coming along nicely.
Apple’s efforts to combat counterfeits has slowed down recently, as more and more appear due to the upcoming iPhone 5. Apple reportedly isn’t getting any help from the Chinese government either, as CNN notes after the break:
China’s government declined to investigate a facility in March 2009 that was manufacturing imitation Apple laptops because it threatened local jobs, says a cable dated April 2009. A different arm of China’s government scrapped plans for a raid on an electronics mall in the Guangdong province because it could have driven away shoppers, the cable says.
"
(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)
Developers, get downloading! Apple has just begun seeding iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1 to developers, which features iTunes Match. This is the first time developers will be able to get their hands on the new cloud platform, announced by Apple at WWDC in June. The beta is available in the United States, and still has the $24.99 subscription cost with it. Apple sent the following email to developers seen after the break.
Apple warns that what is uploaded to iCloud will be deleted at the end of the beta period. Also, Apple wants to thank developers of their service with a free beta period and an additional free three months with their 12 months purchase.
For your perusal, we’ve included the release notes after the break:
iTunes match now featured in iOS 5 beta:
Great video by iDownloadBlog.
Ah! The limit has been reached!
Backup regularly and do not delete the music you add to iCloud from your computer. Apple
may periodically delete all iCloud libraries during the beta period. This will require you to scan,
match, and upload songs again. Also note that some of the features and optimizations of
iTunes Match may not be available during this beta.
About Subscribing
iTunes Match beta is available to iOS developers in the United States.
• iTunes Match beta is available as an automatically renewing 12 month subscription for
$24.99 per year. You may cancel at any time from your Account settings.
• To thank you for your participation, beta subscribers will receive the beta period and an
additional 3 months of service with their 12 month subscription.
• You can subscribe to iTunes Match using iTunes 10.5 beta on your Mac. iTunes Match is
not available with iTunes for Windows at this time. You cannot subscribe to iTunes
Match from your iOS device.
• You can access your iCloud library on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch with iOS 5 beta, or
your other computers with iTunes 10.5 beta.
• Once subscribed, you can add up to 25,000 songs to iCloud, and iTunes purchases do
not count against this limit. iTunes Match will not add your apps, books, movies, TV
shows, ringtones, and audiobooks to your iCloud library. These items can continue to be
synced to your iOS device with iTunes. iTunes LPs and iTunes Extras are also
unsupported.
• iTunes Match includes limits to how you may access your iCloud library:
- You can use iTunes Match on up to 10 computers and iOS devices, up to five of
which can be computers authorized with your Apple ID.
- You can only associate computers and devices with a different Apple ID once every
90 days.
Getting Started
Important: Before you get started, it is recommended you make a backup of your complete
iTunes library. You can find your iTunes library inside /Music/iTunes in your Home folder.
To subscribe to iTunes Match:
1. Install iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1 or later on your Mac.
2. Open iTunes and choose Turn On iTunes Match from the Store menu.
3. Click the Subscribe for $24.99 button and follow the onscreen instructions. Once
complete, your Music library will include songs on your computer and in iCloud.
Once iTunes has completed matching your music with the iTunes Store, you may begin
accessing your iCloud library:
• From your iOS device:
1. Tap Settings > Music > turn iTunes Match ON.
This will disable syncing music with iTunes.
2. Press the Home button and tap Music.
• From your other computers:
1. Install iTunes 10.5 beta on your other Macs
2. Open iTunes and choose Store > Sign In. Sign in using the same Apple ID you used
to subscribe to iTunes Match.
3. Choose Store > Turn On iTunes Match
4. Click the Add this Computer button
5. Once complete, your Music library will include songs on your computer and in
iCloud.
Known Issues
• Songs in unsupported formats will not be uploaded to iCloud at this time.
• Some songs that are available in the iTunes store may not be matched correctly.
• Some songs may match to a different version of the same song on the iTunes Store.
• You will not be able to add music to iCloud from more than one computer at a time.
• You may experience playback issues on iOS, such as slow performance, incorrect track
playing, or songs being shown as unavailable when they are available.
• Playback over cellular data connection will occur when Wi-Fi is not available, despite
this option being turned off in Settings > Store
(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)
Microsoft is in the process of developing Windows 8, and the Redmond giant has posted an analysis of what it’s calling ‘Improvements in Windows Explorer.’ We’ll leave you to be the judge of the ‘improvements’ made in Windows 8, but we couldn’t resist showing you Microsoft’s idea of a ‘streamlined’ interface in the new Explorer.
Laurie Voss shares this fantastic post on his personal blog. In the post, Microsoft shows what it believes to be an ‘optimized’ and ‘streamlined’ UI for Windows Explorer in Windows 8.
Here are the exact words:
Goals of the new Windows Explorer
We set out to accomplish three main goals with this new version of Explorer.
- Respect Explorer’s heritage. Maintain the power and richness of Explorer and bring back the most relevant and requested features from the Windows XP era when the current architecture and security model of Windows permits.
And here’s the screenshot:
There’s plenty of other juicy tidbits to gawk at in the post, including this screenshot of the commands with an overlay of how often users actually click.
Basically, 50% of the buttons that Microsoft proudly attributes to its ‘streamlined’ interface won’t ever be used by Windows users — and that’s according to Microsoft’s own research.
We’re sure that Jony Ive is proud.
"
(Via Cult of Mac.)
