• apple,  ios,  itunes,  mac os x,  mobileme

    30-second Initial Reaction to Apple’s WWDC Announcements

    June 6, 2011 /

    I was stuck in a staff meeting during the live steam of Apple’s WWDC keynote today, so I’ve gone through great lengths to avoid media coverage and my Apple loving family, friends, and co-workers so I can go in cold when I watch the video steam of today’s event.

    After spending about 30 seconds on Apple’s website, here is my initial reaction to today’s news.

    • iOS 5.0 and iCloud will go live this fall.
    • Mac OS X 10.7 Lion will go on sale in July for $30; appears to be electronic download only.
    • There is no iTunes or other Mac OS X software updates available today.
    • From the Apple.com website, it wasn’t clear if there was any changes to MobileMe starting today.
    Like I said, this is a 30 second impression from quickly skimming the Apple website and taking a look at what updates appeared in the Mac OS X Software Update control panel and what is being featured in the Mac App Store.

    You can watch today’s keynote address now as a steaming video from the Apple website.

    I’ll have more impressions and comments as soon as I can sit down and watch today’s WWDC keynote address.
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  • apple,  mac os x

    Briefly Noted: Apple Releases Defense for MacDefender Malware

    May 31, 2011 /

    Apple has released Security Update 2011-003 today with the express purpose of protecting Macs from the MacDefender malware.  If the update is installed on a Mac that is already infected, the update will remove the malware program.

    Malware removal
    Available for: Mac OS X v10.6.7, Mac OS X Server v10.6.7
    Impact: Remove the MacDefender malware if detected
    Description: The installation process for this update will search for and remove known variants of the MacDefender malware. If a known variant was detected and removed, the user will be notified via an alert after the update is installed. Additional information is available in this Knowledge Base article:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4651

    Security Update 2011-003 is available now from the Software Update control panel or from the Apple Support Downloads page.

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  • apple,  ios,  mac os x,  mobileme

    Steve Jobs to Deliver WWDC 2011 Keynote Address

    May 31, 2011 /

    Apple today confirmed that CEO Steve Jobs will be on hand, along with other top executives, for the 2011 World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC).

    Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch; and iCloud, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

    I’m really looking forward to what Apple has in store for us with regard to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iCloud.  Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is close to a golden master (GM) release with several pre-release beta builds having already gone out to developers already.  Many are speculating that Lion will go on sale in the next few weeks.  Rumors have also been circulating for a while now that the iCloud service, a potential repackaging of MobileMe, will offer more free services as well as a new option to stream your purchases from Apple’s servers.

    iOS 5.0, the next major release of Apple’s mobile operating system, which is based on the same core as Mac OS X, will likely become available in the next 90 days after it is formally introduced at next week’s developer event.

    [Via Apple.com…]

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  • android,  apple,  blackberry,  google,  ipad,  touchpad,  web os,  windows

    Forget the iPad! The HP TouchPad Will Be the #1+ Tablet!

    May 24, 2011 /

    Chalk this one to drinking too much marketing Kool-Aid(tm), but Eric Cador, HP’s senior VP of Personal Systems Group in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, said that the HP TouchPad, powered by webOS 3.0, will surpass all of the tablets on the market today; including the Apple iPad.

    Mr. Cador, in an interview with The Telegraph, stated:

    “In the PC world, with fewer ways of differentiating HP’s products from our competitors, we became number one. In the tablet world, we’re going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus.”

    Are you kidding me?!  I think that it is going to take a little more than HP willing that their new TouchPad will beat out the growing number of tablet devices in the market running Google’s Android, Windows 7, RIM’s QNX, and, well, Apple’s iOS powered iPad 2.

    Don’t get me wrong.  I’m sure webOS 3.0 and the TouchPad are going to be a great platform, but with webOS hovering around 3% market share in the smartphone OS category, HP is facing a long hard up hill battle.

    [Via AllThingsD.com…]

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  retail

    Apple Launches ‘Retail 2.0’ Store Format

    May 22, 2011 /

     Rolling out across all of Apple’s Retail Stores this morning is the “Retail 2.0” make over.  As seen from the picture above, Apple has replaced the paper details display with interactive iPad 2 displays.  Cool!  Not get-out-of-bed-super-early-on-a-Sunday-morning-and-drive-an-hour kind of cool, but cool none the less.

    In addition to the changes to the retail displays, Apple is expected to deploy a new Apple Store iOS app that will allow you to customize your online order, something that is not possible with the original app.

    Apple retail employees are getting some new toys also.  They are suppose to be outfitted with iPads to help manage the large numbers of customers that come to the store each day.  9To5Mac.com writes:

    “The new iPads are imaged with: RetailMe, Apple Connect, Apple Directory, Concierge, and strangely enough, the Easy Pay application (huge credit card readers on the way?!), as well as the standard Mobile Genius and iRepair.”

    Click the Read More link for more photos.

    [Via MacStories.net, 9To5Mac.com…]

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  • apple,  retail,  rumors

    Apple Retail Stores Turn 10

    May 19, 2011 /

    On Thursday, Apple’s retail stores turn 10 years old.  Over the last few days there have been muted rumblings across the Internet that Apple could have a bit of a surprise for retail store customers this weekend to help celebrate the occasion.

    Take for example, BGR.com is reporting that they have received a tip “from a solid Apple source” that Apple will be doing “something this weekend.”

    While I was really looking forward to a *cough*sickdayofffromworktomorrow*cough* it looks like Apple will be running their special event on Sunday, May 22.  To help prepare for the event, Apple is allegedly bringing in staff overnight to setup for Sunday morning.

    Adding to the aura surrounding Sunday’s event, Apple employees will be putting up black curtains over the class windows and doors to the retail stores, are being required to sign NDAs, and to have their cell phones locked in a secured location during the setup.  BGR also reports that, “[t]here are a wide variety of roles, we’re told, for the overnight shift. This includes all visuals staff, a manager, a business team member, a few Genius team members, one back-of-house employee, and a few generic Apple specialists.”

    Ok, so, I’m already making plans to trek down to the nearest Apple Store on Sunday morning.  The nearest stores are 45-60 minutes away by car.  With all the secrecy around the event rumored to be planned for Sunday, it sounds like Apple has more up their sleeves than iTunes gift card or iPod nano case give aways.  But what is it?  Will Apple finally bring their new massive North Carolina data center online to support iCloud?  Will iTunes finally go streaming subscription based?  New Mac hardware refresh?

    We’ll have to wait a few more days to find out.

    [Via BGR.com…]

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  • apple,  iphone,  rumors,  sprint

    Rumor: More On Possible Sprint iPhone 4S This Fall

    May 17, 2011 /

    Late last week there was some new chatter about the fifth generation iPhone being an evolutionary upgrade and the next iPhone would be the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S is rumored to coming to T-Mobile and Sprint this fall. Well, it looks like that rumor just became a little bit more credible.

    Last week, Peter Misek, an analyst for investment firm Jeffries & Co. wrote that the new iPhone would have “minor” cosmetic differences over today’s iPhone 4; that it would include the A5 processor, and have improved cameras.
    Today, Electronista.com staff point out that Apple has a new job posting up for a Kansas City, Missouri based “carrier engineer” and would “be responsible for getting technical certification of devices[.]”
    Ok, I think this is a good news/bad news thing. Since I like to get bad news first, I’ll take this in reverse order. The bad news is that I’m not going to purchase another webOS phone or tablet to replace my aging Palm Pre smartphone. The good news, if this rumor is in fact true, I won’t have to leave Sprint, with whom I’m happy, to get a pair of iPhones when they become available. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy being contract free.

    [Via Electronista.com…]

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  • apple,  iphone,  rumors,  sprint,  tmobile

    Rumor: Sprint, T-Mobile iPhone 4S This Fall

    May 14, 2011 /

    Well, well, well, maybe I spoke too soon about Sprint not getting the iPhone.

    Take the following with a heaping helping of salt, Morton’s is my favorite brand, but Peter Misek, an analyst for investment firm Jeffries Co. has released a research note indicating that the next iPhone will be called “iPhone 4S” and will be released for both Sprint and T-Mobile here in the United States.

    “Citing industry checks, he said the fifth-generation iPhone will arrive in September with “minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support.” New carriers are expected to include Sprint, T-Mobile, and China Mobile.”

    The research note also points to comments made by Apple COO Tim Cook, that Apple won’t release an LTE 4G version of the iPhone until the LTE chip set technology evolves to a point that does not cause the company to have to make compromises that could negatively impact the customer experience.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

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  • android,  apple,  google,  ios

    Google Admits Android Platform Fragmentation, Vows to Address Problem

    May 11, 2011 /

    After repeated denials from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Mobile VP Andy Rubin, the Internet search giant unveiled plans today to address fragmentation of the Android problem.

    Google will be pulling together a standards board of sorts, made up of OEMs and wireless carriers, with the intention of standardizing when and how Android updates would be rolled out to new and existing hardware.  The target is to have Android hardware supported with software updates for at least 18 months.

    You may recall that things got a little bit heated between Google and Apple late last year, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs lacing into the issue of Android fragmentation during the company’s October, 2010 quarterly conference call.

    “Unlike Windows, however, where most pc’s have the same user interface and run the same app, Android is very fragmented. Many Android OEMs, including the two largest, HTC and Motorola install proprietary user interfaces to differentiate themselves from the commodity Android experience. The users will have to figure it all out.” “We think Android is very, very fragmented and becoming more fragmented by the day. And as you know, Apple’s provides with the integrated model so that the user isn’t forced to be the systems integrator.” (Source: CNNMoney)

    The few mobile software developers that I’ve talked to in the past six months all cited platform fragmentation as the main reason why they were sticking with iOS application development for the time being.  Hopefully, Google can get their act together and provide more clear guidelines on the modification of the Android platform because getting OEMs and carriers to all go in the same direction is about as difficult as herding cats.

    [Via Electronista.com…]

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