The written musings of a long-time Apple //e and Macintosh tech nerd. Opinions are my own.
Earlier today, Apple released the iTunes 10.1 update that paves the way for a release of iOS 4.2.
With the iTunes 10.1 release, Apple has included support for iOS 4.2 running on current generation iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices and the new AirPlay feature.
The update is currently available for Mac OS X and Windows PC users. To get the update, use the Apple Software Update control panel.
Earlier this month, Apple introduced the second generation Apple TV. At about a quarter of the size of the first generation model, the new Apple TV emphasizes steaming content over having to sync and manage content from iTunes running on your Mac or Windows PC.
Along side the introduction of the new Apple TV, Steve Jobs introduced a new 99 cent TV show rental model. The idea that you would rent your favorite TV shows and movies rather than watching them on TV (does any one actually watch TV shows when they “air” anymore?), your DVR (I honestly don’t have a DVR), or a DVD from your local BlockBuster, library, etc.
Over the last few days, we’ve started hearing studio execs talking about the “value” of their content and that it is worth more than 99 cents. For example, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman was quoted as saying “The 99-cent rental is not a good price point,” and that “[I]t doesn’t work for us.” (AppleInsider.com…)
We’re all entitled to our opinions. When I look around at some of the shows that are on TV today, I’m hard pressed to see the “value” in a lot of whats on. I absolutely refuse to watch a so called reality TV show; regardless of whether it’s American Idol, Survivor, Kate Plus 8, Jersey Shore…the list goes on, and on, regrettably. I do like watching scripted dramas, but I tend to watch more and more TV on my MacBook. But I degrees.
I think that the 99 cent price point does makes sense. Depending on what show, and whether it’s standard def or high def, to purchase a show, it will cost you $1.99 – $2.99 an episode. If the rental price is low enough, I’m more inclined to “impulse rent.” If I have to think about whether or not to rent the show, I’ll start thinking about the various options: the studio’s own website, Hulu, Netflix, a local library, or an app on my iPad or mobile phone. I can also go rent a DVD for about $5.00 which will include four episodes.
The definition of “value” aside, I still think that the studios stand to make some money from Apple’s 99 cent plan. There are free TV options out there, but I’m willing to pay a fee to watch TV on my Mac or Apple TV if I’m getting entertainment value, as well as an ease of use or convenience value out of it. Sure, 99 cents sounds reasonable for a 22-45 minute TV show.
It has been a busy day for Apple fanatics customers today.
New iPods, Apple TV
At today’s annual September media event, Apple took the wraps off a new iPod nano and iPod touch. The iPod shuffle got it’s click-wheel back. Apple TV received an extreme makeover, and we were told that iOS 4.1 will arrive next week (9/8/10) to fix the proximity sensor and Bluetooth issues on iPhone 4 and performance issues on the iPhone 3GS. Owners of current iPod touch models will also be getting the iOS 4.1 treatment next week. iPad owners, like me, will have to wait until November for the iOS 4.2 update to be released. Ugh!
The good news for those of us not eager to shell out a few hundred more dollars for the latest shinny Apple gizmo is that we can get our hands on iTunes 10 today.
Once you get past the hoopla over the redesigned logo, Apple dumped the CD to focus on the music note, you’ll see the new features that have been added to the popular jukebox software. Click the read link for the new iTunes 10 features and more photos of Apple’s latest gear.
What’s new in iTunes 10
•Introducing Ping. Use Ping to follow your favorite artists and friends or connect with the world’s most passionate music fans. Discover the music everyone is talking about, listening to, and downloading.
• Rent HD TV episodes for just 99¢ each. Watch them on your Mac or PC, on-the-go with iPhone or iPod touch, or in your living room with the all new Apple TV.
• Play your favorites on the all new iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and Apple TV.
• Play music wirelessly with AirPlay on AirPlay-enabled speakers, home theater receivers, and iPod accessories.
• Explore many look-and-feel improvements throughout iTunes.
• Enjoy performance improvements which make iTunes faster and more responsive.
• Additional voice support with VoiceOver Kit for iPod.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.
[Editor’s Note: At the time we posted this article, iTunes 10 was only available as a download from the Apple website. It was not appearing in the Software Update control panel on our Mac OS X and Windows 7 boxes.]
Since getting back to (almost) daily Palm support forms moderation duty, I’ve been reading a lot of posts from people asking how to sync their Palm OS PDA, Centro, or Treo with Windows Vista or Windows 7.
The answer largely depends on what version of Windows you have installed on your PC. If you are still running the insanely popular Windows XP, you can safely stay put with Palm Desktop 4.1.x or 4.2.
If you are running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you really should be using Palm Desktop 6.2.2 by ACCESS. This version is compatible with Vista and unofficially compatible with Windows 7. (Neither Palm nor ACCESS have gone back and retested Palm Desktop 6.2.2 under Windows 7, but it does work.)
You can download Palm Desktop 6.2.2 from the Palm support website. Be sure to read the release notes fully before installing the software on your Windows PC. (By the way, Palm Desktop 6.2.2 does work with Windows XP.)
The tricky part comes in when you are running a 64-bit version of Windows XP, Windows Media Center, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. There are no 64-bit compatible USB HotSync drivers available, so you have to jump through some hoops to make your Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or IR enabled Palm OS device sync with your 64-bit Windows PC.
The good folks over on the Palm Support Community forums have written up a good primer on how to make your old Palm OS handheld or handset work with Microsoft’s newest desktop operating systems.
For more details on how to setup your Palm TX, T5, LifeDrive, Zire, Treo, or Centro syncing with Windows 7 or Windows Vista, check out the Palm Support Community forums thread: Windows 7 and Vista HotSync Instructions. You’ll be glad you did.
Apple has released minor iOS updates for iPad (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G) and iPhone (4, 3GS, and 3G) and iPod touch (second and third edition) to address a Safari PDF security flaw.
Hackers were able to use the Safari exploit to “jailbreak” iOS devices to run applications that had not been approved by Apple. However, that same exploit could be used to allow an attacker to gain control of your iDevice remotely.
If you are running a stock iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, connect your device to your Mac or PC running iTunes and hit the Update button on the Summary tab for your device.
The update weighs in at about 457MB for my Wi-Fi edition iPad. The package size might be smaller for the iPhone and iPod touch.
If you are on of the folks that doesn’t like to be told how to use your device by Apple, and have gone ahead and jailbroken your device, you will want to wait until there is a new “adjective”sn0w update that allows you to patch your device and exploit a different vulnerability to load unauthorized applications on your iDevice. Proceed with caution. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
John Paczkowski, of All Things D fame, is reporting that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will deliver the kick-off keynote address during the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.
Mr. Paczkowski writes:
“This will be Ballmer’s third time headlining CES, and after his first two appearances, I don’t think anyone’s expecting too much. The highlight of his 2009 keynote: The widely expected announcement of the Windows 7 beta. The highlights of his 2010 address: An ill-starred Windows-based tablet and Project Natal, a controllerless game interface system the company debuted at E3 months earlier.”
If “The Other Steve” wants to keep things interesting, he will have to really play up his company’s new Windows Phone 7 operating system and have a slew of OEM and carrier partners on stage to help launch the new phones.
I have to admit that I’ve never watched a Steve Ballmer keynote. They lack the excitement of even the dullest Apple keynote or media event. The last Microsoft event that I watched was the “Windows Longhorn is Windows Vista” keynote. We all know how that turned out. (Because of Vista, I switched back to all Macs at my home office.)
You can read the full article on the DigitalDaily website.
Over the last week reports have been popping up around the web that HP could have a webOS tablet ready to go sometime in the back half of 2010.
Reported by webOSRoundup.com, HP could be ready to bring out a tablet computer running webOS as early as Q3, 2010 or as late as the 2010 holiday shopping season. Adding fuel to this rumor is another rumor that HP has killed a project to release a tablet computer later this year running Microsoft’s Windows 7.
My personal opinion is that a commercial release of an HP tablet running webOS before November is an incredibly aggressive timeline. Even if HP’s hardware is ready to go, there is still the issue of actually acquiring Palm and the license(s) for webOS. Then there is the time required to recode the webOS Linux kernel to run on the new tablet, beta testing, manufacturing, software imaging, shipping, etc. Needless to say, there is a lot of work to be done. If HP wants it done, they can pull it off, but at what cost? The last thing that HP would want is to race to market with a new webOS tablet and to have it be a train wreck. That already happened with Palm’s Foleo. I would much rather see a product that can deliver on the promise of the Foleo that is done well and not rushed out against some imaginary schedule.
[Via webOSRoundup.com…]
Time Magazine’s Techland writer, Peter Ha has a good write up of Microsoft’s recently announced Windows Phone 7 series mobile operating system, due out at the end of the year (2010). While I don’t agree with everything Mr. Ha writes (Doesn’t Motorola’s MotoBlur do the same social media aggregation trick as Windows Phone 7?), he does a good job of summing up why this now mobile operating system is so important to Microsoft.
“When you think about Microsoft, a lot of adjectives come to mind, but hip and cool are probably not among them. Many consumers associate Microsoft only with the Windows machine they’re using. And all those “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC” ads have made Apple users like me feel kind of sorry for PCs.
But it’s a brand-new decade, and Microsoft is about to leapfrog Apple — and every other player in the cell-phone world — with the launch of Windows Phone 7 (WP7).
But the most underappreciated product in Microsoft’s vast portfolio, the Zune digital media player, is about to roll all these products into one handy little phone that catapults Microsoft ahead of Apple, Google, Palm and BlackBerry’s maker, RIM.”
You can read Mr. Ha’s full article on the Time website.
The company I work for is continuing it’s search to find the perfect smartphone to replace our existing Treo 700p and 755p fleet of phones. This past Friday, I found a new phone to take out for a test drive: the Verizon Wireless edition HTC Touch Pro 2!
The Touch Pro 2 is a Windows Mobile 6.1 powered phone that has one of the largest screens I’ve ever seen on a Windows Mobile phone. (The last two Windows Mobile phones I’ve used where the Palm Treo 750 and Palm Treo Pro.)
There are two things that you will immediately noticed as different with the Touch Pro 2 than other Windows Mobile phones. The first is the Touch Pro 2 is has a slider that reveals a roomy landscape keyboard that will make people who complain about cramped keyboards happy. The screen also tilts up toward the user. The second thing that you will notice as being different in this Windows Mobile phone is the the special sauce that HTC has added; TouchFlo. TouchFlo is HTC’s customized user interface (UI) that added the much needed “cool factor” to Microsoft’s mobile operating system.
To learn more about the HTC Touch Pro 2, visit the HTC website.
You have read the hype about Microsoft’s newest desktop operating system, Windows 7. You are getting ready to purchase or install the upgrade on your PC. But what about support for your Windows Mobile smartphone or PDA?
Microsoft has you covered. As with Windows Vista, Windows 7 users will need to download and install Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 (WMDC). WMDC is a free download from the Microsoft website.
On the WMDC download page, Microsoft has some notes that you will want to be aware of before you get started.
I’ve also seen some people mention on Microsoft Windows forums that if you have a partnership between your Windows Mobile phone and your Windows XP or Vista system that you should break the partnership before upgrading to Windows 7. Once the installation or upgrade has been completed, then install WMDC 6.1 and then pair up your phone to your PC.
To learn more about the Windows Mobile Device Center, visit the Microsoft website.