The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)http://www.tuaw.comThe Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/feedlogo.gifThe Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)http://www.tuaw.comen-usCopyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/How to get the most out of in-flight Wi-Fihttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/25/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-in-flight-wi-fi/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/25/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-in-flight-wi-fi/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/25/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-in-flight-wi-fi/#commentsFiled under: How-tos, Internet, MacBook

Over the weekend, I discovered that my annual flight from Phoenix to Alabama (via Atlanta) had in-flight Wi-Fi. Best of all? It happened to be free, thanks to eBay jumping in on the free holiday Wi-Fi bandwagon. The promotion was already active on the flight I took from Phoenix to Atlanta. If you're traveling for Thanksgiving or Christmas, here's some things to consider about utilizing this service with your MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

Is it worth it?

It all depends. It was very nice being able to talk with my fiancé (who, on his part used FlightStats.com to inform me of where I was at) during the flight. I'm no fan of flying, and when the turbulence got bad, it was a nice distraction. However, I did notice I got a slight motion-induced headache and had to take a break. If the seat in front of you is reclined to the point where your computer is rammed into your chest, the person in the seat next to you is taking up half of yours with their elbows, or if you're inclined to motion sickness, this may not be for you. Still, a free promotion is the perfect time to give the service a try.

Normally, this service can cost anywhere from $6-15 for a flight. Gogo's pricing structure is $5.95 for a flight less than 90 minutes, $9.95 for a flight between 90 minutes and three hours, $12.95 for one more than three hours or a daily pass on a single airline. If you're just using your iPhone, it's $5.95 for a flight less than 90 minutes and $7.95 for one longer than that.

Read on for tips on maximizing your battery life in flight.

Continue reading How to get the most out of in-flight Wi-Fi

How to get the most out of in-flight Wi-Fi originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How to get the most out of in-flight Wi-Fi originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>batteryGOGOInternetmacbookmacbook airmacbook proMacbookAirMacbookPropowerthanksgivingtipstravelwifiMegan LaveyWed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00 ESTGoogle revamps mobile Google News formathttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/google-revamps-mobile-google-news-format/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/google-revamps-mobile-google-news-format/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/google-revamps-mobile-google-news-format/#commentsFiled under: Internet, iPhone, iPod touch

Like most "mobile versions" of websites, Google News was simplified for use on devices featuring what Steve Jobs once called "the baby Internet." Sadly, this simplified version also showed up by default on the iPhone, leading to an experience that was, to put it charitably, subpar.

That's all changed now that Google has redesigned the mobile version of Google News for iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre users. The new mobile version is far more feature-rich than the old one and is more consistent in its appearance (i.e., it's almost indistinguishable from the desktop version) compared to the old "mobile-optimized" Google News.

It also includes a handy "Jump to" link which brings up a window that allows you to skip to the news section of your choice, saving your thumbs from severe scroll fatigue.

There's no need to download anything. Simply go to Google News on your iPhone and check out the changes.

[Via MacRumors]

Google revamps mobile Google News format originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google revamps mobile Google News format originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>GoogleGoogle NewsGoogleNewsInternetiPhoneiPod touchIpodTouchChris RawsonThu, 19 Nov 2009 22:00:00 ESTHow to revert to the stable version of Flash playerhttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/how-to-revert-to-the-stable-version-of-flash-player/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/how-to-revert-to-the-stable-version-of-flash-player/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/how-to-revert-to-the-stable-version-of-flash-player/#commentsFiled under: Software, Internet

It's no secret that Flash is a blight on the Internet and should be killed with fire. However, some sites insist on using it, and so you may be interested in having it around.

Towards that end you may have read about the pre-release of Flash player 10.1 and decided to install it for the possible improvements in performance.

If you then decide to uninstall it, ha ha! You can't! Sorry!

Update: there is a uninstaller available, it is not included in the installer package. Read on for manual un-installation instructions, but use of the uninstaller is recommended. My apologies for the confusion. I wrongly assumed that Adobe would package an uninstaller with the installer, as that is what most Mac developers do when they offer an uninstaller. I regret the error.

~~There is no uninstaller, and~~ you can't re-install the older version over the pre-release version, because the installer sees it as a newer version and won't let you.

Fortunately it can be removed by what I like to call "brute force."

Quit all browsers
Go to /Library/Internet Plug-Ins in Finder and delete the "Flash Player.plugin" and "flashplayer.xpt"
Download the latest stable version of Flash player (which will download a file called "install_flash_player_osx_ub.dmg")
Double-click "install_flash_player_osx_ub.dmg" which should open "/Volumes/Install Flash Player 10 UB" where you will find a file called "Adobe Flash Player.pkg"
Control (right) click on "Adobe Flash Player.pkg" and choose "Show Package Contents".
Open the "Contents" folder
Drag the "Archive.pax.gz" file to your Desktop
Double click on the "Archive.pax.gz" file to unarchive it, which will create a folder called "Archive"
Open the "Archive" folder and locate the "Flash Player.plugin" and "flashplayer.xpt" files.
Copy the "Flash Player.plugin" and "flashplayer.xpt" files to /Library/Internet Plug-Ins (you can then throw away the Archive folder on your Desktop, as well as Archive.pax.gz if it is still there.)
Launch Safari and check your Flash version here. As of this writing, the current stable version is "10,0,32,18"
(Optional) Install ClickToFlash so that Flash will only load when you want it to.

It is utterly baffling to me that a company as large as Adobe would ship a pre-release version of their plugin without an uninstaller [that you don't have to download separately, see above]. Then again, given Adobe's reputation, perhaps it shouldn't surprise me.

Some of you may be wondering why I didn't just delete the files from /Library/Internet Plug-ins/ and then run the installer for the stable version. I tried that, but the installer still insisted that there was a newer version installed, even after a reboot.

My advice is to keep using the stable version (with ClickToFlash) for now.

How to revert to the stable version of Flash player originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How to revert to the stable version of Flash player originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>adobeflashpluginTJ LuomaThu, 19 Nov 2009 19:00:00 ESTChrome for OS X before 2010http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/chrome-for-os-x-before-2010/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/chrome-for-os-x-before-2010/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/19/chrome-for-os-x-before-2010/#commentsFiled under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools

Google is making some big announcements today during their Chrome OS press event. In addition to the official announcement for Chrome OS they also let another little tidbit of information loose:

"Just this year alone in Chrome, there's tons of new stuff coming. Before this year gets over, we'll have 3 more announcements to make. Chrome for Mac will be ready, very close to launch."

That's some pretty good news for those of you out there who are running the developer preview and are looking forward to integrating Chrome into your daily browsing.

Chrome for OS X before 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chrome for OS X before 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>browserchromechrome osChromeOsgoogleAron TrimbleThu, 19 Nov 2009 14:30:00 ESTAdobe pre-release of Flash Player 10.1 now availablehttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/17/adobe-pre-release-of-flash-player-10-1-now-available/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/17/adobe-pre-release-of-flash-player-10-1-now-available/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/17/adobe-pre-release-of-flash-player-10-1-now-available/#commentsFiled under: Multimedia, Video, Internet

Adobe's Flash Player has long been a notorious CPU hog on Macs. Every time I hear my wife's MacBook's fans going off like a cyclone on the other side of the living room, I know it's because she's playing Bejeweled Blitz or some other crazy Flash-based game that's pegging her poor machine's CPU to infinity and beyond.

Things are a bit rosier with Adobe's pre-release of Flash Player 10.1. The Windows version has significant improvements, namely support for hardware-accelerated video decoding of h.264 video, but the Mac and Linux versions do not include support for this feature. As usual, Adobe blames Apple for "not being open enough" -- "Mac OS X does not expose access to the required APIs" according to Adobe -- but even without hardware-accelerated video decoding, this pre-release build of Flash boasts significant CPU load improvements over its predecessor.

Anandtech tested the performance improvement of the pre-release version of Flash Player with the following results:

I took the same Office clip I'd been using for all of the other tests and ran it on my Mac Pro at full screen (2560 x 1600). Using Activity Monitor I looked at the CPU utilization of the Flash Player plug-in. I compared both versions of Flash and saw a significant drop in CPU utilization:

Flash 10.0.32.18: 450%
Flash 10.1.51.45: 190%

Going from roughly 450% down to 190% (or a bit over 10% of total CPU utilization across 16 threads) made full-screen Hulu playable on my machine. In the past I always had to run it in a smaller window, but thanks to Flash 10.1 I don't have to any longer.

Continue reading Adobe pre-release of Flash Player 10.1 now available

Adobe pre-release of Flash Player 10.1 now available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adobe pre-release of Flash Player 10.1 now available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>adobeadobe flashAdobeFlashflashChris RawsonTue, 17 Nov 2009 16:00:00 ESTGoogle to deliver free airport Wi-Fi for the holidayshttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/11/google-to-deliver-free-airport-wi-fi-for-the-holidays/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/11/google-to-deliver-free-airport-wi-fi-for-the-holidays/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/11/google-to-deliver-free-airport-wi-fi-for-the-holidays/#commentsFiled under: Internet

Here's one holiday treat that Mac and PC users alike can enjoy. Google announced yesterday that during the holiday season, it is sponsoring free Wi-Fi at 47 airports around the United States, as well as on every Virgin America flight. According to CNN, those who choose to take advantage of this will be urged to set Google as their home page, or receive an offer to download Google Chrome. Google has also suggested that those utilizing the free service should donate the money they would have otherwise spent on airport Wi-Fi to a worthy charity.

Full details, including a list of airports, a contest and the charity drive, can be found at FreeHolidayWiFi.com. To connect on a MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, simply make sure your Airport is turned on and look for the available networks at your airport, then launch a web browser to complete the connection.

Other free Wi-Fi deals for the holidays include Yahoo donating a year of free Wi-Fi service to Times Square in New York City, and Microsoft's Bing search engine joining forces with JiWire to offer free Wi-Fi at JiWire hotspots that opt into the program -- provided that you run a search using Bing first.

Google to deliver free airport Wi-Fi for the holidays originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google to deliver free airport Wi-Fi for the holidays originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>googlehggwifiwirelessMegan LaveyWed, 11 Nov 2009 18:30:00 ESTApple updates Safari to 4.0.4http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/11/apple-updates-safari-to-4-0-4/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/11/apple-updates-safari-to-4-0-4/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/11/apple-updates-safari-to-4-0-4/#commentsFiled under: Software, Internet, Software Update, Apple

In just two days after Apple released the Mac OS X 10.6.2 update, there's now an update for Safari. This new version, 4.0.4, improves and fixes performance, stability, and security of Safari including:

Improved JavaScript performance.
Improved Full History Search performance for users with a large number of history items.
Stability improvements for 3rd-party plug-ins, the search field and Yahoo! Mail.

This update requires Mac OS X 10.6.1 or 10.6.2, Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.5.7, Mac OS X 10.4.11
or Windows 7, Vista, XP and is available through Software Update, or on the Apple Downloads page.

Do you notice any improvements in this update? Leave a comment and let us know!

Apple updates Safari to 4.0.4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple updates Safari to 4.0.4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>browserSafariSoftware UpdateSoftwareUpdateJoachim BeanWed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:00 ESTSave URLs for later with Quiet Readhttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/07/save-urls-for-later-with-quiet-read/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/07/save-urls-for-later-with-quiet-read/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/07/save-urls-for-later-with-quiet-read/#commentsFiled under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools

Bambooapps has released a simple and useful utility called Quiet Read that has earned a spot on my Mac's menubar. With a simple drag-and-drop, it lets you save a web page for later review.

Of course, there are many apps that do this, including Instapaper and Evernote. Instapaper gets the job done via a bookmarklet; just give it a click while at the desired URL and it's saved. Evernote does pretty much the same thing, thought their bookmarklet behaves differently between Safari and Firefox. In addition, they have the Mac application for tagging and organizing.

I spent the day using Quiet Read instead of the other two. Here's what I liked and disliked. First, adding a URL is as easy as possible. Simply drag it out of your browser's address bar and drop it onto the menu bar icon. The display keeps track of how many you've collected. A tidy drop-down lets your browse the saved articles for easy selection.

What I disliked is that once an app is gone, it's gone. Instapaper saves read articles.

But Quiet Read isn't Instapaper. If you're looking for a free, simple way to save articles for later reading (and you're running 10.6 or later), Quiet Read could be the solution.

Save URLs for later with Quiet Read originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Save URLs for later with Quiet Read originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>bambooappsinstapaperinternetquiet readQuietReadutilitiesDave CaoloSat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 ESTMac share of web browsing goes up after Windows 7 launchhttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/03/mac-share-of-web-browsing-goes-up-after-windows-7-launch/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/03/mac-share-of-web-browsing-goes-up-after-windows-7-launch/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/03/mac-share-of-web-browsing-goes-up-after-windows-7-launch/#commentsFiled under: Odds and ends, Internet, Surveys and Polls

It may seem a little strange, or downright counter-intuitive, but Net Applications is reporting that Mac OS X's share of computers using the web grew from September to October this year, while Windows' share of browsers declined.

Windows (all versions of the OS) totaled 92.54% of computers browsing the web, a .25% drop, while Mac OS had a 5.27% share, up 2.73% from September. The iPhone, by the way, had a month to month increase of 5.71%.

The numbers come from tabulating visits to 160 million websites.

Windows 7 got 3% share in the daily tracking, largely at the expense of Windows XP. If Microsoft was depending on Windows 7 to quickly stop the Mac momentum, it hasn't happened yet, but at the same time, most Windows upgrades take place when new machines are bought.

Also, the general release of Windows 7 didn't happen until October 22nd, so the jump in Windows 7 on the internet wasn't available for most of October except for pre-release users.

[via Fortune Brainstorm Tech]

Mac share of web browsing goes up after Windows 7 launch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mac share of web browsing goes up after Windows 7 launch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>internet shareMac OS XNet ApplicationsNetApplicationsWindows 7Mel MartinTue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 ESTNew Apple Switcher-Cam ad will take over online mediahttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/03/new-apple-switcher-cam-ad-will-take-over-online-media/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/03/new-apple-switcher-cam-ad-will-take-over-online-media/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/03/new-apple-switcher-cam-ad-will-take-over-online-media/#commentsFiled under: Internet, Apple

The newest Get A Mac, ad from Apple will take over the front page of a number of sites this month. Created by TBW\Media Arts Lab, the ad takes over the page as PC chases switchers through various switcher-cam displays.

Thanks to Ivan for sending it in, and Ads of the World for hosting it.

New Apple Switcher-Cam ad will take over online media originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Apple Switcher-Cam ad will take over online media originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>advertisingget a macGetAMactbwa media arts labtbwachiatdayTbwaMediaArtsLabDavid WinogradTue, 03 Nov 2009 09:00:00 ESTGoogle Chrome released for Machttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/23/google-chrome-released-for-mac/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/23/google-chrome-released-for-mac/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/23/google-chrome-released-for-mac/#commentsFiled under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools

Google has released an official developer preview of Google Chrome for the Mac. Rather than digging through nightly development builds, you can download the developer preview of the WebKit-based browser at Google's official webpage.

Chrome sports several features similar to Safari 4 in Snow Leopard, such as sandboxing - each tab runs as its own process, so if one crashes, it doesn't bring down the whole browser. It also sports the "tabs on top" interface present in some builds of the Safari 4 beta released earlier this year. Some people hated tabs on top in Safari, but others eventually got used to it and even missed the feature when it was omitted from the final release of Safari 4; if tabs on top is your thing, then Chrome has you covered.

Chrome supports importing bookmarks, settings, and history from whatever browser you're currently using, so if you're curious to see how it runs on a Mac, go ahead and give it a try. Let us know in the comments if you run into any issues.

[Via Download Squad]

Google Chrome released for Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google Chrome released for Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>betabrowserschromegooglegoogle chromeGoogleChromeChris RawsonFri, 23 Oct 2009 17:30:00 ESTThe future of TV on your iPhone is ATSC Mobile DTVhttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/17/the-future-of-tv-on-your-iphone-is-atsc-mobile-dtv/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/17/the-future-of-tv-on-your-iphone-is-atsc-mobile-dtv/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/17/the-future-of-tv-on-your-iphone-is-atsc-mobile-dtv/#commentsFiled under: Hardware, Multimedia, Wireless, Odds and ends, Internet

If you're able to watch TV on your iPhone or iPod touch right now, you're probably having something streamed to your handheld device. That may change -- your phone may soon be equipped with a digital TV tuner to pick up the signals sent out by your local stations.

The Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) announced on Friday that they've agreed on a standard that will let local TV stations broadcast directly to mobile devices on their existing frequencies. The devices that can be equipped to pick up the ATSC Mobile DTV signals include mobile phones, laptops, handheld TVs, and even in-vehicle digital TVs.

ATSC Mobile DTV will be completely different from the existing services provided by AT&T and Verizon, which are pay-for-view services streaming national content. With ATSC Mobile DTV, you'd be able to watch local newscasts as well as network TV that is broadcast in your area.

The signal is carried alongside regular digital TV broadcasts using Vestigial Sideband modulation and the IP transport system. ATSC Mobile DTV can send H.264 video and High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding Version 2 (HE AAC v2) audio and support interactive and subscription-based TV.

I want my Mobile DTV! Here's hoping that the next generation of iPhones, iPod touches, and future iTablets can receive ATSC Mobile DTV.

[via Macworld]

The future of TV on your iPhone is ATSC Mobile DTV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The future of TV on your iPhone is ATSC Mobile DTV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>ATSCDTViphoneipod touchIpodTouchitabletMobile DTVMobileDtvSteven SandeSat, 17 Oct 2009 10:00:00 ESTBlog Action Day: Five apps to help save the worldhttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/15/blog-action-day-five-apps-to-help-save-the-world/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/15/blog-action-day-five-apps-to-help-save-the-world/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/15/blog-action-day-five-apps-to-help-save-the-world/#commentsFiled under: Features, Education, Other Events, Freeware, Internet, Apple, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

TUAW is participating in this year's Blog Action Day on 10/15, an annual event in which bloggers around the world aim to spark discussion and awareness of serious and important issues. This year's topic is climate change, and fortunately, just like last year, we in the Apple community are in a pretty good place -- the company makes it a point to stay as green as possible, they have Al Gore on their board, and they make it safe and easy to dispose of their products in an environmentally friendly way. But there's always more we can do, from person to person -- making the earth a better place to live is going to take all of us working together.

And so, here's five iPhone and iPod touch apps you can use to find out what you can do to take action on climate change. Some are paid, some are free, but all of them will give you fun and useful ways to help find approaches to dealing with climate change in your own behavior and life.

Continue reading Blog Action Day: Five apps to help save the world

Blog Action Day: Five apps to help save the world originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blog Action Day: Five apps to help save the world originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>al-goreapp-storeappleblog-action-dayblog-action-day-2009carbon-calcclimate changeclimate-changeClimateChangeenvironmentalgas-cubby-litegoodguidegreeniphoneipod-touchpocket-gardenpollutionproductstuawMike SchrammThu, 15 Oct 2009 15:00:00 ESTThe T-Mobile Sidekick data failure, and what it means to iPhone usershttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/12/the-t-mobile-sidekick-data-failure-and-what-it-means-to-iphone/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/12/the-t-mobile-sidekick-data-failure-and-what-it-means-to-iphone/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/12/the-t-mobile-sidekick-data-failure-and-what-it-means-to-iphone/#commentsFiled under: Analysis / Opinion, Enterprise, Odds and ends, Internet, MobileMe

You may not have heard about the recent loss of data for T-Mobile Sidekick users; after all, this is an Apple-focused site and there probably aren't as many Sidekick owners out there as there are iPhone users. I'll explain the situation, and how it could happen to anyone depending on cloud-based data stores for their mobile devices.

The Sidekick is made and supported by Danger, which since April of 2008 has been owned by Microsoft. As such, all of the personal information on the Sidekicks was stored on servers owned and operated by Microsoft. During the last week, Danger / Microsoft had hired Hitachi to do an upgrade to their Storage Area Network (SAN). That's usually not a problem, as the owner of the data (Microsoft in this case) performs a backup of all the data in case of an issue.

Well, something went wrong, and it appears that Danger / Microsoft did not have a backup in place. The result is a catastrophe for Sidekick users. T-Mobile sent out a statement last week explaining the situation, and placing the blame directly on Microsoft and Danger: "Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger's latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device -- such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos -- that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger."

Continue reading The T-Mobile Sidekick data failure, and what it means to iPhone users

The T-Mobile Sidekick data failure, and what it means to iPhone users originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The T-Mobile Sidekick data failure, and what it means to iPhone users originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>backupcloud computingCloudComputingdangeriphonemicrosoftSANsidekickt-mobileSteven SandeMon, 12 Oct 2009 17:00:00 ESTA collection of iPhone home screens from your favorite Apple celebritieshttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/23/a-collection-of-iphone-home-screens-from-your-favorite-apple-cel/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/23/a-collection-of-iphone-home-screens-from-your-favorite-apple-cel/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/23/a-collection-of-iphone-home-screens-from-your-favorite-apple-cel/#commentsFiled under: Internet, iPhone

With over 75,000 applications to choose from, it's no secret that every iPhone or iPod touch user has a different set of "favorites". A new website, First & 20, is shedding some light on the mystery of home screens starting with some popular website designers, developers, and writers you may have heard of.

The website's concept is pretty simple - get a glimpse of the home screens of popular Apple or online notables such as Joe Hewitt, John Gruber, or Jason Snell. The creator hopes that the website will help you "see something you've never heard of" and discover some apps that are so good that they made it on the phones of top developers, writers, engineers, and bloggers in the Apple world. The reason behind just featuring the home screen is also simple. While many people may have the same applications, the question is "how many love it enough to have it on their home screen, one of their first twenty apps."

In my experience, the website has opened me up to a few new applications and even some new ways to organize them. Leave a comment if you find someone's home screen to be of particular interest to you.

A collection of iPhone home screens from your favorite Apple celebrities originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A collection of iPhone home screens from your favorite Apple celebrities originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>appsappstoreDevelopersHome ScreenHomeScreeniPhoneJohn BurkeWed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 ESTAT&T poised to roll out 3G MicroCell servicehttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/22/atandt-poised-to-roll-out-3g-microcell-service/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/22/atandt-poised-to-roll-out-3g-microcell-service/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/22/atandt-poised-to-roll-out-3g-microcell-service/#commentsFiled under: Hardware, Wireless, Odds and ends, Internet, iPhone

For many iPhone owners in the U.S., the fact that you're tied to AT&T as the wireless carrier has been a serious problem. As an example, until this week, I was lucky if I got 2 bars of signal strength on EDGE at my house and I never had 3G service. Now, for some inexplicable reason, I'm able to get a full 5 bars on 3G on the top floor of my house and about 3 bars on the lower floor.

Unless you're fortunate enough to have a similar miracle take place near your home, you may need to take advantage of AT&T's upcoming 3G MicroCell service. This service literally puts a tiny Internet-attached cell tower in your home or office, blasting out 5 bars of 3G goodness to about a 5,000 square foot area.

The 3G MicroCell comes at a price, of course -- the device is rumored to cost $150 and there will be no monthly charge if you wish to use your existing minutes. You can also add unlimited phone calls through the device for an extra $20 per month, so if you primarily use your iPhone in one location, it might be cheaper to get the minimum service plan for the iPhone and just use the 3G MicroCell unlimited plan for your calls.

AT&T's rollout of the 3G MicroCell service will make the iPhone available to a wider audience of potential users, and may also benefit the overstressed AT&T network by decreasing the number of voice and data calls using the regular cell towers.

At the present time, AT&T is testing the 3G MicroCell service in Charlotte, NC. You can check availability of the service by visiting the AT&T site.

AT&T poised to roll out 3G MicroCell service originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T poised to roll out 3G MicroCell service originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>3GattEDGEfemtocelliphonemicrocellwirelessSteven SandeTue, 22 Sep 2009 15:00:00 ESTApple store is down... and now back uphttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/20/apple-store-is-down/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/20/apple-store-is-down/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/20/apple-store-is-down/#commentsFiled under: Retail, Internet, Apple

The online Apple store is currently down. Considering it's the middle of the weekend for folks in the Western Hemisphere, and considering that we haven't heard much in the way of rumors concerning new products or product updates, this is more than likely just a maintenance update. We'll be monitoring the store's status and try to determine what, if anything, has changed when it comes back up.

And... it's back up. Nothing much appears to have changed, aside from some reports of pricing changes on refurb iPods and the 'new' badges on some products.

Thanks to the many readers who sent this in.

Apple store is down... and now back up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple store is down... and now back up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>apple storeAppleStorestore downStoreDownChris RawsonSun, 20 Sep 2009 03:02:00 ESTiPhone usage metric for Flickr drops big timehttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/15/iphone-usage-on-flickr-falls-big-time/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/15/iphone-usage-on-flickr-falls-big-time/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/15/iphone-usage-on-flickr-falls-big-time/#commentsFiled under: Hardware, Multimedia, Software, Internet, Internet Tools, iPhone

We've posted before how popular the iPhone is as a camera on Flickr, with people uploading tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr themselves.

TNW suggests that the problem is the Flickr iPhone application, which will upload pictures straight to the service -- but not include metadata information like the fact that the pictures were taken with the iPhone. Still, even they sound a little skeptical: not all of that drop can be attributed to just the Flickr app's shortcomings. They also suggest that the iPhone is wearing out its welcome -- lots of people jumped to use it as a camera when the 3GS introduced a better lens and the video capability, and now in day-to-day use, they're not using it as much. Other commenters to the post suggest that the vastly improved Facebook app may be eating away at the use of the built-in Camera app.

I know that my photo habits for the phone haven't changed -- I use the iPhone quite a bit to take pictures, but looking at my own usage, I don't use Flickr nearly as much these days, as I use services like Twitpic and other sites built up directly around the iPhone. A drop in usage on Flickr doesn't mean people aren't using their iPhones to take snapshots -- they could just be sending their photos and media somewhere else.

Update: One of our commenters, echoed by our old friend & past colleague Barb Dybwad at Mashable, notes that Apple's change to the EXIF data recording for iPhone photos (breaking out the different iPhone models to indicate which specific phone took the picture) may be partly responsible for the drop.

iPhone usage metric for Flickr drops big time originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone usage metric for Flickr drops big time originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>appcameraschangesflickriphonemetadatareportingservicesmartphonesuploadingusageMike SchrammTue, 15 Sep 2009 12:30:00 ESTLost your favorite Safari plugin after upgrading to Snow Leopard? Try 32-bit modehttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/03/lost-your-favorite-safari-plugin-after-upgrading-to-snow-leopard/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/03/lost-your-favorite-safari-plugin-after-upgrading-to-snow-leopard/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/03/lost-your-favorite-safari-plugin-after-upgrading-to-snow-leopard/#commentsFiled under: Tips and tricks, Internet, Internet Tools, Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard has brought a host of improvements to OS X, but Safari has been changed in one way that could ruin your day if you're used to using third-party plugins. Support for Input Managers has been removed in 64-bit Safari, which means that popular Safari plugins like Saft won't work.

Getting these plugins to work again in Safari is easy, but there is one tradeoff to keep in mind.

Re-enabling plugin support for Safari is as simple as forcing Safari to start up in 32-bit mode. When you choose "Get Info" on Safari, you'll notice a checkbox in the window that says "Open in 32-bit mode." Check this box.

That's it. Safari will now open in 32-bit mode, and any Input Manager plugins you were using before upgrading to Snow Leopard, like Saft or PithHelmet, should work just fine. Additionally, running Safari in 32-bit mode allows Multiclutch's custom trackpad gestures to work; these weren't working for me when I ran Safari in 64-bit mode, probably because Multiclutch is a 32-bit prefpane.

There's one caveat to running Safari in 32-bit mode: there's a tradeoff in stability. One of the features you gain by running Safari in 64-bit mode is that Safari will "sandbox" plugins like Flash, so if (when) Flash Player crashes, it doesn't take all of Safari down with it. This is because when Safari runs in 64-bit mode, plugins actually run as their own separate processes rather than being bundled up with Safari. But when Safari is run in 32-bit mode, Flash and other plugins work the old way, which means if (when) Flash crashes, so will Safari.

Safari in 64-bit mode: Flash runs as its own process.
Result: far fewer four-letter words in your workflow

Safari in 32-bit mode: Plugins work, but Flash makes it crash

If you can't live without your plugins (and I can't - Safari without Multiclutch or PithHelmet is like a day without sunshine), then the small sacrifice in stability you'll suffer by running Safari in 32-bit mode is probably going to be worth it to you.

Note: if you're running anything that runs off the SIMBL input manager plugin like Saft or PithHelmet, you might have to take a few extra steps to get things running properly in Safari on Snow Leopard. This procedure is specifically tailored toward getting PithHelmet running, but the steps for Saft should be similar (Procedure courtesy of versiontracker.com user tech.bear).

- Edit the file "/Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins/PithHelmet.bundle/Contents/Info.plist" using either TextEdit or another editor (If you're dealing with Saft, substitute as needed); you can find this file by finding PithHelmet.bundle, right-clicking on it, and choosing "Show Contents" from the contextual menu.

- Look for "<key>MaxBundleVersion</key>" down towards the bottom of the .plist file; now look at the next line. It's the <string> line.

- Change the number to 9999.9

- Save the file

What happens is there's an identifier string that checks against the version number of Safari; by changing that value to 9999, you shouldn't have to deal with that incompatibility error ever again. Of course, this is at your own risk -- this version check is designed specifically to prevent SIMBL plugins from "breaking" Safari when Safari gets updated, but if you don't want to or can't wait for the developer to update the plugin, this procedure shouldn't really give you any problems. I've been doing something similar for four years of using PithHelmet, and I haven't run into any major issues.

Lost your favorite Safari plugin after upgrading to Snow Leopard? Try 32-bit mode originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lost your favorite Safari plugin after upgrading to Snow Leopard? Try 32-bit mode originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>input managersInputManagersmulticlutchpithhelmetsafarisaftsnow leopardSnowLeopardtips and tricksTipsAndTricksChris RawsonThu, 03 Sep 2009 07:00:00 ESTRoad Tested: the Verizon MiFi portable broadband routerhttp://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/02/road-tested-the-verizon-mifi-portable-ev-do-router/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/02/road-tested-the-verizon-mifi-portable-ev-do-router/http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/02/road-tested-the-verizon-mifi-portable-ev-do-router/#commentsFiled under: Peripherals, Internet, Reviews, Road Tested

For the last couple of weeks, I've been testing the Verizon MiFi portable WiFi hotspot. After writing about the MiFi, a few months back, I was placed on a waiting list to receive a test unit. Could the MiFi enhance the iPod touch experience to bring it into the realm of the iPhone? A unit finally came free and I finally got my hands-on experience to discover whether my assumptions would be proved right or wrong.

The MiFi, which is a portable EV-DO router, provides a 3G connection through an absolutely tiny unit. All plastic, it's about as thick as an iPhone and about two-thirds as large as its front face. The MiFi's entire user interface is its single button (seen at the bottom right of the image here). When pressed, the button switches on and glows green. Pressed again and held, the unit turns off and the green glow disappears. Sprint offers a near-identical unit, except it's finished in brushed metal instead of black.

Read on to discover how my MiFi testing went...

Continue reading Road Tested: the Verizon MiFi portable broadband router

Road Tested: the Verizon MiFi portable broadband router originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Road Tested: the Verizon MiFi portable broadband router originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>broadbandevdoipod touchIpodTouchmifimobilereviewroad testedRoadTestedverizonwi-fiwifiwirelessErica SadunWed, 02 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST