Want your desktop browser pages to show up on your iPhone or iPad, so you can keep on browsing where you left off? There are a few products already offering this feature, including the capable Firefox Home, but Yahoo's mobile product team didn't want to stop with a simple sync engine. They decided to deliver a new search plugin for the desktop, and a new browser for the mobile space: Yahoo! Axis.

Billed as "a new way to search and browse," Axis aims to give your searches more flexibility and flair with predictive results, swipe-to-view search thumbnails, and the aforementioned synchronized recent pages. The overall result is pretty easy to use, if not exactly pretty-pretty -- the theme is very dark gray, compared to Safari's lighter look.

Axis includes sharing options for Pinterest and Twitter, plus emailing URLs. Logging into the iOS browser and installing the desktop plugin (for Safari, Firefox or Chrome on the Mac, and those plus IE on Windows) enables the synchronized open tabs & recent searches features. Bookmarks in the app also sync across, making it easier to track your favorite sites on the go.

Axis has still got a few rough edges, especially on the desktop plugins. The Chrome plugin I tested had some issues with page content and didn't seem particularly happy with YouTube playback. Still, Yahoo is definitely putting some energy (technical and promotional) behind this offering -- it's not bad now, and it's going to get better.

For a quick demo of the product, Yahoo has thoughtfully posted the video below. (Link via The Next Web)

And here's the rather silly TV ad for the iPad version of Axis. Watch out for that caber, laddie!

Yahoo! Axis delivers synchronized browsing for iPad and desktop originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a pity that they don't feature a doorway that lets you crawl inside his brain, but the ever-fascinating John Malkovich is the star of two new "Celebrity Siri" ads. Previous ads have featured Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L. Jackson chatting with Apple's iPhone 4S-based digital assistant.

The two ads, "Life" and "Joke," are embedded below via Apple's official YouTube channel. Enjoy!

Thanks to Sean for the heads-up.

Two new carrier Siri ads feature John Malkovich originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 22:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a busy Wednesday in the software mines of Cupertino, as Apple followed up the release of OS X 10.7.4 with a patch to the Safari browser and a tech note detailing how to back out from the password/plain text issue in legacy FileVault accounts and other circumstances.

Safari 5.1.7 patches three Webkit security flaws, but the big change in user-observable behavior is that it will automatically disable any version of Flash Player older than 10.1.102.64. If the plugin is out of date, Safari will gracefully move it aside and offer to download the latest version. Of course, Safari no longer includes the Flash Player plugin by default.

For FileVault or remote home folder users, Apple now recommends upgrading to 10.7.4 followed by a series of steps to change passwords and clear out the log files that may contain the user password in clear text. There are quite a few places where the passwords may have ended up, so be careful to go through all the steps in turn. Apple also provides a set of Terminal commands that will clear the offending logs if needed.

More updates: Safari 5.1.7 will block out-of-date Flash plugins, tech note updated on FileVault bug originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 09 May 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The latest point release of Apple's mobile OS hit today, with fixes for several issues on the iPhone and iPad. iOS 5.1.1 (about a 50MB download over the air, depending on your device) addresses the following issues:

• Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
• Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G wireless networks
• Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
• Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
• Fixes an issue where 'Unable to purchase' alert could be displayed after successful purchase

The security fixes for this update are not yet listed, but when they are published you'll find them on Apple's security rundown page.

[hat tip to Ars Technica]

iOS 5.1.1 update now available in iTunes and OTA originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 07 May 2012 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tonight's Talkcast is all about you -- not that it isn't about you every week, but this week in particular. It's our Listener's Choice show; we discuss what you want to discuss, help solve your tech problems, mull your crackpot theories. We welcome your calls, questions and comments at 10 pm ET, 7 pm PT tonight live on Talkshoe.

To participate in the call, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients -- basic instructions are here. Skype users with dial-out credit can call in via the service, or use those free iPhone minutes. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET: Listener's choice originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 06 May 2012 20:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Learning professionals have long been familiar with Articulate's Studio line of e-learning tools. The suite allows content developers in both enterprise and educational contexts to easily leverage PowerPoint slideshows in building out interactive, scored and narrated lesson modules. The Studio suite of apps (Presenter, Quizmaster and Engage) offer a good mix of powerful capabilities and a relatively shallow learning curve, at a premium price -- the current special deal offers Studio for just under US$1,400.

Studio '09 is a Windows-only offering, but that's not the limitation that has proved most challenging to users over the past two years. It's the suite's lack of a compelling Flash-free output option for mobile devices (for all values of "mobile device" = "iPad") that's been a thorn in the side of content pros desperate to get their modules out to the iOS ecosystem.

While Studio itself won't gain iPad or HTML 5 savvy until the subsequent Studio '12 version ships, there is an all-new platform rising for training designers who need those flexible output choices. Articulate Storyline (Windows only, US$1,398 with a 30-day demo) steps away from the PowerPoint underpinnings of Studio and delivers downloadable, playable content for iPad users via the Articulate Mobile Player app (free in the App Store).

Storyline users can take advantage of accessible slide templates and animated character presets, slide layers with multiple interactive moments, a full set of action triggers and object states and more. Storyline can set and read variables, making it easier to track user activity across a slide or a module. Assessment tools, quizzes and a full screencasting environment round out the feature set. iPad and HTML 5 output are both one-click easy. The Mobile Player doesn't yet fully support SCORM tracking or other enterprise e-learning management features, but they are on the way.

It may take a while for Studio customers to get comfortable with the new toolset in Storyline, but the opportunity to get content onto the iPad easily should help motivate them.

Articulate launches Storyline authoring tool, outputs training modules to iPad and HTML 5 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When your job (or schoolwork) involves giving presentations to rooms full of more-or-less interested parties, you know how hard it can be to maintain a constructive level of audience attention. The economical cloud audience response system (ARS) provided by the mad scientists at PollEverywhere is a great way to spice up a session with quick, engaging multiple choice and full-text questions.

PollEverywhere's polls display wonderfully on the web (if you've got the Flash player) and do well in Windows versions of PowerPoint, where the appropriate ActiveX control to embed the remote Flash animation is available. For Mac presentation apps, however, the path is not so smooth. Prior versions of the company's Mac Presenter app used a QuickTime workaround to display polls, but it was somewhat clunky and did not automatically cue up when the polling slide appeared on screen.

Time for an improved approach. With the December 2011 release of the all-new Mac Presenter application, the polling experience is now hands-free and incredibly simple. The Mac Presenter app connects to your PollEverywhere hosted account and lets you embed polling references into Keynote or PowerPoint slides with a single click -- the poll identifiers end up as a block of XML code in the slide notes, so you can easily move polling slides from deck to deck. The rest is easy: you just draw a solid color box on your slide where you want the poll to show up. Like magic, when you present that slide, the Mac Presenter app will scale the poll display to cover just that placeholder box.

True, it's a smidge more effort than the Windows PowerPoint configuration, but it's definitely worth it. PollEverywhere offers a free plan that allows up to 40 responses per poll, and business pricing for higher service levels starts at $15 per month. K-12 and higher-ed discounts are also available.

Do you have a favorite Mac app, peripheral/accessory, cloud service or iOS app that you think deserves to be featured as a Friday Favorite? Be sure to let us know.

Friday Favorite: PollEverywhere Mac Presenter grows up originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Padcaster, which we told you about in March, showed off this week in its public debut at the NAB show in Las Vegas. As expected, the rigid mounting frame for the iPad makes it easy to use Apple's tablet on a tripod or with other film accessories like lights, microphones or 35mm lenses. An interchangeable insert in the frame will permit the use of iPhones or other tablets as well.

Proud Padcaster papa Josh Apter of NYC's Manhattan Edit Workshop shows off the device in a video on the Padcaster page, and also showcases a "padumentary" short film shot with the iPad and the Padcaster. While it may seem like a lot of effort for a tripod mounting solution (and a good bit of money; pre-ordered units will ship for $199), the ability to shoot and screen in high-def with a firm mount -- then to edit and upload from the same device -- may give some would-be iPad filmmakers a few new ideas.

The gang at The Verge did a nice hands-on video with the Padcaster; check it out below.

Padcaster iPad shooter frame debuts at NAB originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dear Aunt TUAW,

When you go to Amazon or Best Buy or Newegg and search for powered USB hub for a nice new iPad... Good luck!

The results provide lots of choices. The kicker is adding the iPad to the search terms does not help, as all it does is get items that explicitly state they will not fast charge an iPad.

Have you folks found any powered hubs that will fast charge iPads?

Your darling nephew L. Randolph

Dear Nephew L,

When Apple released the iPad, it came with recommendations for power management on the device. The provided battery tips are mostly commonsensical, but the charging rules are not.

Since the iPad "fast charge" mode requires extra power compared to the standard USB specification, the best way to charge it is using the provided 10W iPad adapter. Second best: connecting the device to a high-power USB port on a recent vintage Mac. Connecting the iPad to other powered ports results in "slow charging," although the screen indication says the iPad isn't charging. It actually is -- as long as you leave the screen off (or turn the iPad off completely), it will eventually top off the battery.

There's a great primer from Plugable on how the iPad charging process works, and what tricks you can do to get charging traction (in trickle mode/"Not Charging") with your iPad and a powered hub. Plugable is now selling a 4-port hub that supports the USB Battery Charging 1.1 specification, which enables high-power charging for devices like the Kindle Fire, but as far as we know Apple's devices aren't yet working with that new spec.

It is possible (although not necessarily recommended) to trick the iPad into drawing the extra power it needs from a standard USB port. BoxWave's $7.95 sense cable doesn't support syncing, but if you don't have too much else plugged into your hub it may work for fast charging. (If anything catches fire, we never had this conversation, capice?)

Cirago sells a small hub with a dedicated iPad charging port -- but like the BoxWave cable, this is a charge-only port that does not allow you to sync simultaneously. Uncle Mike hasn't tested the device, but it's not expensive ($29.99). The folks at Aviiq have a portable charging station with a single iPad-friendly high power port ($59.99), and most of the Powerbag products also have one port to charge iPads.

Professional-grade multidevice charging is the province of companies like Datamation, which offers a full suite of charging, sync and storage setups. The 16-port PowerPad 16 delivers charges for up to 16 iPads simultaneously -- at the bargain price of $710.

Happy charging!

Uncle Mike

Dear Aunt TUAW: Why can't I find a USB hub that charges my iPad? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The security risks of having a Java virtual machine/runtime environment on your Mac have been highlighted over the past two weeks, as the Flashback trojan spread widely by taking advantage of a vulnerability that Oracle had patched months ago -- but that Apple had not. There is a mitigating factor, however, in that Apple does not ship a JVM with Lion; users who need it have to opt in and download it.

Today, Apple released a standalone Flashback removal tool for Lion installs that don't have Java. While Apple's Java package has now been updated repeatedly both to patch the exploit and to Flashback-proof the system as a whole, Lion users without Java installed were left out. In theory they could be affected by the Flashback trojan itself even if they weren't susceptible to the specific means of infection that this variant uses.

The 356KB download is recommended for all Lion users without Java installed.

Flashback removal tool for no-Java 10.7 Lion now available originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

That's a nice graphic. US and Australian Apple Stores are down, and most likely the rest of them around the world as well. We'll keep an eye out for when it returns.

Thanks to Peter for the tip.

Update: The store's back up, but we don't see anything new... not that we really expected to. If you see something we missed, let us know.

Apple Store is down, minus yellow sticky (Update: back up, nothing new) originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a tech note published today, Apple discussed the Flashback trojan (past coverage here) and reminded users of OS X 10.6 and 10.7 that they should install the April 3 Java update to remove the vulnerability that the malware uses to infect Macs. For users of OS X 10.5 Leopard or earlier, Apple has not updated Java yet to patch the flaw; in that case, Apple's recommendation is to turn off Java in the browser to guard against Flashback.

The note also says that "Apple is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware." No ETA on that yet; in the meantime, the company is working with network service providers to disable or block the command and control servers that Flashback checks in with.

[via The Loop]

Photo by Joost J. Bakker | flickr cc

Apple responds to Flashback trojan, promises removal tool originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Next week is the big show: the National Association of Broadcasters' annual exhibition and conference in Las Vegas kicks off April 14, and every video software and hardware company will be on hand, eager to meet customers new and old. Just in time to land on laptops before everyone packs up for their flights, Apple has updated the Final Cut Pro X suite.

The three apps of the FCP X family (Final Cut Pro, Compressor and Motion) are all revved, with plenty of changes:

Motion -- v5.0.3 update improves overall stability and performance, including improved loading time for projects, text editing in the Canvas and other fixes

Compressor -- v4.0.3 update adds functionality and improves overall performance, including allowing the app to run as an encoding node on a headless (no monitor) Mac, exporting when logged in as an Open Directory user, improved encoding of mp4 and AVI files, and other fixes

Final Cut Pro -- v10.0.4 improves stability, performance and compatibility including better image quality and responsiveness of broadcast monitoring using PCIe and Thunderbolt devices, improved performance of multicam syncing and editing, and more. The previous 10.0.3 build added back the (much desired) multicam editing, media relink and XML features from Final Cut Pro 7.

All three updates are available immediately in the Mac App Store.

Apple updates Final Cut Pro X, Compressor and Motion ahead of NAB originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There are several perspectives on the iPad as a productivity tool. Some knowledge workers thrive on a suite of native apps; others can't really get comfortable within a text or code-based workflow without a legitimate keyboard and mouse. The "third way" of iPad productivity provides a hybrid environment: familiar Office apps or remote access to existing computers, with varying degrees of customization to incorporate the touch UI atop the traditional desktop.

We've previously talked about Onlive Desktop, one of the major players in the remote gaming and desktop SaaS space (which seems to have struck a conciliatory tone on Windows licensing by moving from Win7 to Windows Server for the underlying tech). Today, the first major version update of CloudOn, one of the primary alternatives to Onlive and other "full Windows" tools, is hitting the App Store.

The original free iPad app from CloudOn provided users in the US, UK and Canada with a straightforward way to create and edit Microsoft Office documents without Office, and without their own PC. The back end CloudOn servers plug into your Dropbox account to give you near-immediate access to your files for touchups or extended editing sessions. What you see on the screen is a remote session, optimized for quick transmission across the Internet to you. It works great on WiFi, acceptably on 3G and shows snappy response on a new 4G iPad as well.

In the new 2.0 version of the app, the cloud storage options have been extended to include Box.com for personal or enterprise users. CloudOn 2.0 also adds Adobe Reader to the app suite, permitting iPad users to view 3D content or fill-in PDF forms on the fly. A universal image viewer and full outbound email support round out the new feature list.

Instead of making the iPad into a virtual Windows desktop, CloudOn masks the filesystem and other apps to deliver an Office-only experience. You want Word, you get Word -- and nothing else. This no-distractions, one app at a time model can track closer to the native iPad experience of "app immersion." While the lack of native copy/paste and autocorrect does slow things down a bit, I found that I could be pretty effective while typing into CloudOn's apps, especially with a Bluetooth external keyboard.

Since you're using "real" Office, albeit remotely, some of the key features normally absent from iPad productivity apps are there for you. Ryan Faas keyed in on one of those features: Track Changes and comment support in Word, which has made CloudOn very popular with members of the legal profession.

Last week I met with Milind Gadekar, the CEO and founder of CloudOn, and got to hear a bit of his company's vision for the future of distributed work. He told me that his team forsees a continuing fragmentation of the computing landscape, with multiple OS platforms and devices talking to multiple storage providers. The way to enable productivity, he suggested, is to provide a functional nexus of three key components: your files, your apps and your collaborators.

While some successful companies are building the infrastructure for files and collaborators and then laying the applications over that with third party integrations (like Box.com), Gadekar and his team decided to go at the problem from the applications vertex first. Given that there are a lot of very capable and popular storage solutions in the market, this seems like a good play.

In developing CloudOn, Gadekar and his programmers are keenly aware that the iPad is being positioned as a productivity tool even though it doesn't have the major productivity app suite that most people use everyday: Microsoft Office. While native app vendors have the freedom to create novel interfaces that leverage iOS's touchscreen UI directly, CloudOn's emphasis is on making the subtle adjustments and accommodations that let Office apps (and eventually more mouse-based apps) work smoothly without a mouse and keyboard. Hiding the Windows desktop from the user was the first step in drastically simplifying that legacy UI.

As CloudOn expands its suite of available applications (and perhaps makes a move to other access approaches from its current iPad-only incarnation), we can expect to see some revenue models evolve. For now, though, it's a free service and a great way to get your feet wet with remote productivity apps on the iPad.

iPad workspace app CloudOn goes 2.0, adds Adobe Reader, Box storage support originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As this holiday weekend draws to a close, the unfortunate fact is that we may be dealing with the largest Mac-centric botnet ever documented in the wild. While the Flashback trojan is easy to find and simple to prevent -- in fact, a stock Lion installation includes neither Java nor the Flash plugin, cutting down dramatically on the attack surface for malware of this kind -- there are still thousands of compromised Macs out there.

Given the requirements of a Java installation to enable the trojan's exploit, it looks like a nontrivial number of infections have hit experienced Mac users. We recommend immediately updating your Java install with Apple's patch. You can test for the Flashback trojan using the standalone Terminal method or a simple utility -- and you can also install some free virus protection if you're so inclined.

That's our topic for tonight's Talkcast, same as it was two weeks ago: Mac (and iOS) security. We welcome your calls, questions and comments at 10 pm ET, 7 pm PT tonight live on Talkshoe.

To participate in the call, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients -- basic instructions are here. Skype users with dial-out credit can call in via the service, or use those free iPhone minutes. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET: Fighting Flashback originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Want to watch TV on your iPad? It's natural, healthy and it sure does seem like everyone is doing it. There are hearty hardware-supported options from companies like Elgato, and most pay TV subscription services (Time Warner Cable, Comcast, DirecTV, RCN, Dish Network etc.) have figured out a way to move some of the programming you're paying for from the big screen to the small.

Waiting a day or so, of course, means that prime-time programming on Hulu Plus and Netflix has you mostly covered; but that loses you local news, sports and talk. Even single channels, brands or sports leagues (ESPN, NBA Courtside, MLB At Bat) are getting into the action -- but getting live access means hefty subscription fees, being an existing cable/satellite customer, or both.

If you're not interested in the supra-broadcast offerings that cable or satellite can deliver -- or if you just can't stomach the idea of paying $60, $75 or more per month to watch television -- there is this ancient and hoary concept called "over the air." Yes, Americans are still benefiting from their divinely granted inalienable rights to free TV, but they need antennas and reasonable signal strength, not to mention TVs. Elgato's HDHomeRun product works well to take your TV programming to your Mac or PC, but it's a $179.95 cost and you can't really carry it around with you.

That's why Aereo's offering -- $12 a month for broadcast TV to your iPhone, iPad, Roku box or browser, as long as you live in New York City -- is so intriguing. Aereo has chosen to deliver over-the-air television programming straight to the browser, rather than through a native iOS app, and the result is remarkably smooth and easy to use. By combining your device with a remote antenna/DVR combo, and allowing easy AirPlay/Apple TV streaming or Roku integration for big-screen viewing, the service seems to have found a way to deliver a premium live and recorded programming experience without the steep price.

Gallery: Aereo live OTA TV for the iPad

The geofencing limitation on Aereo's market is a consequence both of the technology that Aereo has invented and the television industry's regulatory ecosystem. Aereo is working around the legal minefields of "rebroadcasting" to customers by making every subscriber the renter of a tiny bit of New York real estate -- a pair of teensy HD antennas, each the size of a dime, rack upon rack of them in the company's datacenter. Through the subscriber website, you can browse and search the live TV program guide, assign episodes for recording on a 40 GB DVR, share viewing choices with Twitter or Facebook contacts -- it's all there, and all pretty easy.

The proof of any streaming service, however, is in the video quality. Aereo allows users to force a low, medium or high quality setting, plus an automatic setting that adjusts to available bandwidth. In my testing of Aereo's service, I made a point of sticking to high-speed WiFi on my iPad 2 to give the video quality the best chance to show off -- and show off it did. The video clip above gives you a taste, but keep in mind that you can quickly take the video full-screen (I didn't show that in the demo, as Reflection doesn't handle full-screen video correctly). The full-screen streaming looks fantastic; it's largely indistinguishable from broadcast at its best, and even when it chunks up a bit it's still very watchable.

Aereo is offering 90 days of free trial service to New Yorkers on a rolling invitation basis as it spins up into full operation. There are still a few rough edges to fix; if you're timeshifting a program by a few minutes, for instance, it has a habit of cutting off when you reach the scheduled stop time (rather than just rolling forward as it would on a conventional DVR). Building the service on a pure HTML/mobile web platform, however, gives the company space to iterate rapidly and fix bugs faster than Apple's review process would allow. Support for more browsers and more devices is also in the immediate plans.

If I was in a cord-cutting mood -- but I still wanted to keep my DVR capability and supercharge my TV mobility -- I'd put Aereo at the top of my service list. It remains to be seen how well customers take to it and what kind of geographic range the service will eventually cover; if you don't live in NYC then (forgive me for this) you'll have to stay tuned.

NYC gets live iPad IPTV of broadcast channels with Aereo originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On April 18 and 19, the MacTech live event series will be coming to the Big Apple. The Park Central Hotel in New York will be hosting MacTech Boot Camp and MacTech In Depth: OS X Server Administration over those two days, giving IT professionals and consultants covering the range from home user support up to small & medium-sized businesses the best sessions, instruction and networking opportunities out there.

TUAW is a media sponsor of the MacTech series (and our readers get a hefty $200 discount + a free MacTech subscription when signing up for either of the daylong events in NYC; just follow this registration link), but that's not the only reason I'm looking forward to the program on the 18th. At 6pm on that Wednesday, I'll be among the participants in a bonus panel session called "Understand and Make The News."

My fellow hosts for the panel are MacTech's Neil Ticktin and TidBITS's Adam Engst. The discussion will cover how magazines and websites evaluate Apple-centric news, why some stories thrive and others don't, and how SMB owners and consultants can work more effectively with digital and traditional media outlets. If there's time afterward, I'll be happy to chat one-on-one with attendees about their specific media challenges and suggestions.

If you haven't signed up for MacTech's NYC events yet, time is running short! Be sure to use the TUAW registration link to get the special pricing, and we'll see you there.

MacTech NYC Boot Camp to include TUAW/TidBITS panel originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Writer Lex Friedman has covered Apple's iTunes Match cloud music service for Macworld, his home base, but if you want all your Match instruction in one convenient ebook, you're in luck. Friedman has written Sams Teach Yourself iTunes Match in 10 Minutes, a full guide that provides all the instruction any Match user could need.

The ebook ($7.99 in the Kindle store, $9.99 in the iBookstore) might cover some familiar ground in the basics of how the service works and what it does. It's definitely adding value, though, when it comes to the details of forcing your low-bitrate tracks to upgrade, tracking down sync errors or controlling which playlists download to your iOS devices. If you have a friend or relative just jumping onto the Match bandwagon, it might make a thoughtful gift (and one that will cut down on the support calls).

One tip from the book that was new to me was how to use the Settings app on the iPhone to reset local music storage and start fresh with iTunes Match. Open Settings, tap General, then Usage. Once the space allocations get calculated, you can simply wipe all the music from your device with a single click -- best to do it when you've got WiFi and time to spare, though.

iTunes Match book delivers useful guidance in minutes originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If this story had hit yesterday, we might have cried "April Fools!" As it is, though, it's a remarkable tale of a rescue -- helped by an iPhone. A Chinese two-year-old was trapped in a 40-foot-deep well, and the crews working to extract him could not get their hoist harness properly positioned.

The Telegraph and the Daily Mail report that a rescuer managed to lower an iPhone into the well to record video of the boy's position. Once they were able to see the situation more clearly, the team successfully pulled him out. He's now hospitalized but not seriously injured.

iPhone video helps rescue trapped Chinese toddler originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who love to edit text files on the iPad, and those who really, really don't. For everyone in the first group, our resident mad scientist Brett Terpstra (ably assisted by a crew of volunteers including TUAW contributor Michael Jones) has kicked off the iTextEditors reference page.

The page provides a full feature matrix for more than 30 iOS editors, with more entries on the way. Looking for an editor with printing capability, Dropbox sync and word count for $0.99? The chart's got you covered (several times over, actually, including iA Writer). Brett plans to continue updating the page indefinitely, so if you're a developer (or ardent and well-informed fan) of an application that's not yet on his list, check out the page and let him know.

iTextEditors provides quick app reference for plain text fans originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Where do they get those wonderful toys? Yes, the mad geniuses at ThinkGeek once again are offering a slate of new products scheduled to go on sale today.

If you're an iPad owner, there are some great choices here; the Hungry Hungry Hippos iPad game shown above looks fun, and the Barbie digital fashion styling iPad/head set is very innovative.

It's not clear when some of these products will ship, so would-be buyers should be patient (although the Inflatable Captain's Chair seems to be ready to go right now). Back in 2009, the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag was one of the site's most popular 4/1 product introductions; it took months to actually start shipping to customers.

Can ThinkGeek's April product introductions get any geekier? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Having the iPad serve as a portable, simple display kiosk or showcase is terribly tempting. For one thing, now that the 16GB iPad 2 has dropped in price due to the new iPad launch, it's more affordable than ever. For another, getting that touch interaction right in front of your customers or exhibit viewers is a great way to increase their engagement and focus.

Rule #1 of iPad kiosks is, of course, make sure we don't lose the iPad. That's among the strengths of lilitab's kiosk line, which keeps device security top-of-mind throughout the design without giving up ground on ease of assembly, looks or price. I tested out the lilitab standard kiosk model, which comes in either white or black and retails for US$495.

In white, the lilitab looks a little bit like a section of a high-end shower assembly. The heavy steel baseplate keeps the unit steady and vertical once the iPad is installed (it can be bolted to the floor too, if desired), and the top section encloses the device easily and without fuss. The top enclosure comes with a set of security screws (and an Allen wrench to set them) so that nobody else can come along and abscond with your iPad. You have a choice of frontplates with or without a camera opening, and with or without a home button pinhole -- you can lock in your chosen app with the fully closed frontplate and it won't get changed inadvertently or purposefully.

Down at the base, the main pipe stalk slides into a corresponding section welded to the baseplate. That's also where the included iPad charging cable meets up with the user-supplied iPad AC adapter and Apple charger extension cord -- you do have to bring your own on those. Getting the power adapter installed was really the only tricky bit of the assembly, as it requires you to feed the AC cord into the base at a sharp angle so that both pieces fit into the available space.

Once the power is plugged in, the next security step is the two-piece cowling that attaches around the pipe fitting. Another pair of security screws keep it firmly attached. The base also has a lock fitting for both Kensington-style and conventional 3/8" steel cable attachments. With all items set up, the iPad can be fitted into the enclosure and mounted either in landscape or portrait mode. The enclosure itself includes foam supports that can be adjusted to house any model of iPad (current or future, as long as it's the same screen size); there's also no metal at all around the iPad's RF antennas, so WiFi and 3G performance should be unimpaired.

You can get additional options and branding kits from lilitab, but even the spare and unadorned kiosk made a positive impression on everyone I showed it to. Aside from the tight tolerances on the power adapter in the base, there's not much to criticize and a lot to admire about this product; if you're looking for a good way to get your iPad kiosks to look professional and sleek, give them a call.

Lilitab iPad kiosk hits the mark on price, simplicity originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The baseline of iOS document sync and editing rests with Apple's iCloud, which allows the company's three productivity apps (Keynote, Numbers and Pages) to automatically back up, synchronize versions across devices and accept uploaded files via the web browser -- or, if you're sneaky, you can use a Mac folder that ties into the cloud storage service. That's all well and good, but it doesn't deliver the syncing magic of services like Dropbox, Box.com, Egnyte or SugarSync for easy and rapid file access on the iPad.

Of course, getting your files onto the iPad is only half the trip -- specifically, half of the round trip. "Round tripping" files means that your iPad productivity apps need to be able to save modified documents back to the cloud, creating new versions automatically rather than having to be manually emailed, uploaded or copied over. Cracking that challenge is a key advantage for apps that aim to address the enterprise/mobile professional market.

This week, two major players announced new round tripping features for their productivity platforms; one's from an application vendor moving into the cloud, and the other's from the cloud storage side opening up new opportunities for app developers.

First, we have Connect by QuickOffice. QuickOffice was founded in 2002 and grew up in the smartphone space, but CEO & co-founder Alan Masarek told TUAW that "things have really gotten off the hook for us with tablets." In fact, the flagship QuickOffice HD product is the #2 highest-grossing iPad app in the store, sometimes trading spots for #1 with Apple's Pages app.

QuickOffice HD already allows solid document, spreadsheet and presentation editing (including the XML/Office 2010 and 2011 formats for Excel and Word), with good round-trip cloud storage hooks for most popular services. The recently-released Pro Select HD product allows administrators to set data security policies and turn off specific file access methods. With Connect by QuickOffice, the company is moving towards providing a proprietary, highly tuned cloud storage system of its own with the viewing and editing prowess of QuickOffice HD on the front end.

The new app will allow users to sync immediately, save round-trip and access files stored on remote computers (either in designated folders, or via remote access to the full volume) while still providing sync with other cloud services besides the core Connect service. Collaboration options include file sharing and commenting; you can manage your shared files online via the Connect web portal.

Connect will be offered on a free/subscription basis -- the free version lets you view files and sync up to two devices. Premium and Pro subscriptions (at $19.99 or $69.99/year, with Premium going up to $44.99 after an introductory period) add editing features while bumping up the device limits and file sync capacity. Connect by QuickOffice should be available as a free download in the App Store within the next few days.

The second new wrinkle is from cloud storage vendor Box.com (formerly Box.net). The company's free iPad app has been revamped as Box OneCloud, providing quick links to over 30 Box-friendly iOS applications for viewing and editing files. Four of those apps get pride of place as "premier apps," offering -- wait for it -- round-trip file saves directly back to Box.com for the simplest possible integration and file management. Rockin' demo video below.

The four premier apps available at launch with Box OneCloud are portable document reader/annotation tool PDF Expert, speech-savvy notetaking app PaperPort Notes, remote signature & authorization app Adobe EchoSign and, surprise surprise, QuickOffice HD. All four should gracefully save back to Box, and there will be more premier apps coming in the future. Box accounts are available free for personal use (5 GB storage, with paid upgrades available), and business accounts start at $15 per user per month.

The iPad may not be the ideal tool for office applications, but if these two vendors have anything to say about it the story is going to get better.

Connect by QuickOffice and Box OneCloud attack iPad file round-trip challenge originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filmmakers Josh Apter and Peter Olsen like to tackle new technology as soon as they can get their hands on it -- but they don't really have a choice in the matter. As the proprietor of NYC's Manhattan Edit Workshop, Josh is obligated to get ahead of the curve so that his stable of trainers and edit experts can provide top-notch instruction to the eager community of digital editors in New York.

Josh let us know about a new gadget they're working with: the Padcaster. He hasn't told us much more than the name and that it's coming next month, but from what we can tell it's a lens rig for iOS devices that lets filmmakers use traditional lenses to get the best results out of their iPhones and iPads.

The proof's in the pudding: Pete and Josh made a demonstration mini-doc, "Sprung Spring," in NYC's Union Square using the new iPad and the Padcaster. When you see the focus shifts and the control over depth of field that they got out of their rig, I think you'll be impressed too.

The "Sprung Spring" video is embedded below; be sure to watch it full-screen to see the HD impact of the iPad's new camera and the Padcaster lens rig.

Credits: Music by Van Davis. Equipment list: 2012 iPad, Padcaster prototype #4, Cinevate 35mm adapter, Carl Zeiss 85mm f1.4 lens, Sennheiser MKH-60 microphone, Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 tripod. Software: iMovie for iPad, Final Cut Pro 7, FCP X, Filmic Pro.

New iPad 1080p camera put to the test with prototype Padcaster rig originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dear Aunt TUAW,

Ever since I started using Messages, it appears to be logging everything it does. Can this be disabled, or can the log file be moved to somewhere out of the ~/Documents folder?

Your darling nephew Tommy

Dear Tommy,

Auntie's tending to the spring turnover of the vegetable garden, so she asked Uncle Mike to chime in on this question. The beta of Messages, like its predecessor iChat, has a feature that automatically saves chat transcripts (including transferred files or images, which can get out of control pretty quickly if you're not minding it).

Unlike iChat's setting, however, in Messages there's no way to turn the logging off. Be sure to let Apple know that you'd like to see this changed before Mountain Lion ships!

With regard to the second half of your question, the answer is absolutely yes; you can go into Messages' preferences, click the Messages icon in the top bar, and then adjust the "Save chat transcripts to:" folder however you like.

Since you can't disable the logs, the next best thing would be a way to clear them out periodically -- once an hour, once a day, once a week, whatever. There are scores of approaches to scheduling repeating tasks on your Mac, ranging from the UNIX-savvy one-liners (cron, launchd etc.) to capable and flexible commercial applications (Auntie's terribly fond of Noodlesoft's Hazel). For something like this, though, if you want to clear out the logs once a week, you might give OS X's built-in Automator utility a try.

Automator lets you set up a workflow to run when triggered by an iCal event, so it's straightforward to set up a repeating "silent reminder" that simply goes into the logs folder, grabs what's there and tosses it into the Trash. Here's what the workflow would look like:

Each step in the workflow passes its results along to the next step, letting us zero in on what we actually want to throw out. This workflow starts by identifying a specific folder (in this case, the iChats log folder), then getting the contents of that folder, and finally moving those items to the Trash.

When you save an iCal alarm workflow, it gets dropped right into your calendar. You can then adjust the repeating schedule to make it run at whatever frequency you like.

The log files will end up neatly in the Trash; no muss, no fuss... which is more than Uncle Mike can say for Auntie's rows of sugar snap peas. This same technique can be used for any folder that tends to accumulate things you don't actually need to keep.

Toodles, UM

Dear Aunt TUAW: Can I turn off Messages logging? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a press release this afternoon, Apple announced that it hit the three million unit mark for iPad sales since Friday's launch of the device, presumably including pre-ordered iPads. That's the strongest launch for any version of the device, according to Apple's Phil Schiller (although it should be noted that the new iPad was available for pre-order, while the iPad 2 was not).

On this morning's financial analyst call regarding Apple's new dividend and stock repurchase plan, Tim Cook allowed that Apple had a "record weekend" of sales, but likely he was waiting for the point where Apple could release a nice round number before giving any figures.

Lumping in pre-ordered devices and assuming that the count went from 8 am ET Friday to 4 pm ET today, that's a total of 80 hours of sales -- 4,800 minutes. Some quick arithmetic shows that worldwide, Apple averaged a transaction rate of six hundred and twenty-five iPads per minute, or more than ten iPads sold every second. If we could drop out the pre-orders from that, the rate would go down... but still. Wow.

Apple: Three million new iPads sold since Friday's launch originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gene Munster knew that today's analyst conference call was reserved for discussion of Apple's newly announced dividend and stock repurchase plans, but he couldn't help himself -- he tried to sneak in a question about current results, specifically whether Apple would be issuing a press release about this weekend's iPad launch.

Tim Cook, naturally, was prepared for this impudence, and promptly released a squadron of nanodrones to shock Munster into submission carefully guarded his answer. "We had a record weekend and we're thrilled," he said, but declined to provide any specific numbers at this time.

iPad presales and in-person lines were reported as hefty around the world, but we'll have to wait a little longer to get an exact measure of how successful the Retina-equipped device launch really was.

Tim Cook announces "record weekend" of iPad sales originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Welcome to our liveblog of the Apple financial call discussing the company's cash position. As announced in the 8:30 am press release, Apple plans to issue a dividend and initiate a stock buyback program.

Apple Cash Call: TUAW Liveblog originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The green beer taps may have run dry, but that's no cause for despair: the TUAW Talkcast is here to soothe your headache and recommend you take it easier next year.

Tonight, of course, we want to talk about the new iPad -- so if you've got one, come on over and flaunt it! We'll also review Friday's bombshell announcement from Ira Glass and This American Life that the show has retracted its January episode featuring excerpts from monologuist Mike Daisey's Apple-centric show. Several of the more dramatic stories included in the show turn out to be of questionable veracity. And, of course, we'll talk about the surprise financial call scheduled for tomorrow morning.

We're also pleased to welcome a special guest this week, our friend and former TUAW contributor Christina Warren, now covering the entertainment world over at Mashable. Let me just say it right now: you all are not ready for this. Brace yourselves.

Your calls and questions help us make the show the best it can be. To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cellphone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy (you know those headphones that came with your iPhone?), you can connect via the free Zoiper, X-Lite or Blink SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET: New iPads, theatrical revelations, and special guest Christina Warren originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The wave of happy new iPad owners is rolling towards US shores, as the 8 am local on-sale time has already hit the other side of the world; heavy traffic and brisk sales were reported in Sydney, Hong Kong and elsewhere.

For those of us waiting in line overnight outside Apple Stores to pick up a new iPad (picture above is from Burlington, Ontario and the one below is from Park City mall in Lancaster), we should take a moment to acknowledge our wacky, wealthy patron saint: Woz.

Yes, once again Apple's co-founder and resident free spirit has chosen to wait in line to buy a product that he could certainly have delivered to him by a fleet of hovercraft or a butler on a Segway. That, in part, is why we love him. Business Insider pointed out the interview below, where Woz talks with our buddy Shira Lazar in Los Angeles.

Woz knows that he doesn't have to wait in line from Thursday noon to Friday morning, but he says his "ritual" is important to him. He also said he's finally going to move up to a higher-capacity iPad so he has more room for movies.

Inveterate line-waiter Rob Shoesmith opted to have his iPad delivered directly, and shares his unboxing video. NYC retailer Tekserve has a video rundown of iPad accessories, too. If you've got pictures to share, hit us up on Twitter or on our Facebook fan page!

Park City line:

And here's Knoxville, TN as of 7:30 AM ET.

iPads bought, unboxed ahead of US launch; Woz waits patiently in LA (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not quite sure how it got into the wild ahead of schedule, but Vietnamese sites Tinhte and MuabaniPhone have posted a lovely little video review and unboxing images of the LTE-equipped new iPad model [via our siblings at Engadget]. Spoiler alert: It looks an awful lot like an iPad.

While some domestic customers are already getting shipping notifications, chances are (as in past launches) almost all of those new iPads will be held by the logistics vendors until the scheduled delivery day on 3/16. A few lucky folks may get theirs on Wednesday or Thursday, but don't hold your breath.

Vietnamese site posts new iPad video, unboxing pictures originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The cabling for Apple and Intel's next-generation peripheral interconnect will be getting an upgrade this year, says IDG. Thunderbolt optical cables will be shipping in 2012, according to Intel; current cabling for TB is all copper-based.

The PCI-based Thunderbolt technology has always included optical cabling in its roadmap, but the costs of fiber versus copper and the development lead time meant that the initial implementation didn't include the optical option. Mac Thunderbolt ports and peripherals, fortunately, should be compatible with both types of cabling; swapping out one for the other should be straightforward for the most part.

The only catch with optical TB cabling is that bus-powered devices (like Elgato's new Thunderbolt SSD drive) will probably require a power injector or standalone power supply. The optical cable's extended run length (multiple times the six-meter copper TB cable limit) means that power can't be dependably run through it.

Thunderbolt peripherals have been thin on the ground since the first TB-equipped Mac models were announced early in 2011, but more and more are starting to arrive now. Sonnet's ExpressCard adapter allows for multiple interface options for TB machines, including FireWire 800 and eSATA.

Optical cables for Thunderbolt coming in 2012 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ah, the pleasures of Daylight Saving Time. The semi-annual clock shift (known as "Summer Time" in the UK and Europe) saves energy on lighting and heating and aligns daylight hours with the times most people are active; unfortunately, the actual change leads to frayed sleep, a brief spike in traffic accidents, and frustration with gadgets that ought to know how to handle leaping an hour forward.

Apple's devices and operating systems are by no means immune to the confounding effects of DST, as we've seen repeatedly over the past few years. Odd behaviors have cropped up including alarm fouls on iOS, mistaken clocks on Snow Leopard and even Siri being confused about when DST actually starts.

This year, despite substantial updates to iOS, there still appear to be a few kinks to work out. Several readers report that rather than jumping forward an hour last night as expected, their iPhone clocks actually shifted in the wrong direction -- back an hour -- because the automatic time zone adjustment went wonky. A reader in Nashville has a phone that thinks he's in Mountain Time; a reader in Florida's phone is convinced it should be on Chicago time. Our colleague Mel Martin lives in Arizona, which mostly does not observe DST at all; nevertheless, his phone (which had automatic time zone settings & location settings on) incorrectly jumped forward one hour.

Most of these issues will probably resolve themselves with a device restart, or by turning timezone automation on and off, but it's still annoying. By now it's probably too late to issue our regular reminder, but I'll say it just the same: if you are depending on your iPhone as a critical, gonna-miss-my-flight, OMG-I'm-so-fired alarm clock, set a backup. Or two. In a pinch, use the countdown timer rather than the alarm clock -- Siri can do that for you. For years, I've used a 999-minute pocket timer (a gift from SKYY Vodka inventor Maurice Kanbar) as a backup alarm, which trained me to multiply by 60 quickly; your iPhone won't make you go through that work.

Thanks Tommy & Alexander

iOS users jump time zones during DST switch originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Update: Added BareFeats performance testing information.

If there's one word I'd pick to describe Elgato's newest Mac peripheral, the Thunderbolt SSD external drive, it would have to be "minimalist." With this product, the company has delivered storage so simple that it's almost featureless.

The Germany-based accessory maker (best known for the EyeTV line of tuners and video capture gear) jumps into the slowly-growing Thunderbolt market with these two drive models, identical save for capacity: the 120GB unit retails for $429.95 and the 240GB unit for $699.95. Unboxed, the drive is a compact gray metal oblong -- no lights, not much adornment, and just the single Thunderbolt port dead center on the back. It feels quite solid and is about as heavy as a LaCie rugged compact FireWire drive.

Plug it in, and it mounts on any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac; it's thoughtfully preformatted as HFS+, since precious few Windows users would have any use for it. Note that the drive also requires, but does not ship with, a Thunderbolt peripheral cable -- so add that $40 to your net pricing. In use, it's fanlessly silent, although it does grow warm over time. You gain all the benefits of SSD storage, including no-moving-parts reliability and full resistance to magnetic field interference.

Given the premium price (not as steep as LaCie's TB external SSD, but that includes a passthrough Thunderbolt port that the Elgato drive lacks), what are you getting for the money? Standalone storage for your Mac that beats USB drives on speed; it also blazes past external FireWire 800 drives, for machines that have that interface option.

Update: BareFeats also performed tests on the Elgato drive with several different performance tools (AJA System Test, QuickBench & others) and saw dramatically better sequential write performance than I did; however, when they tested with the BlackMagic utility, they saw the same performance I reported. It is possible that the BlackMagic utility is doing something with write testing that is not optimized. BareFeats also noted that the Elgato unit is using a 3G SSD internally; when they replaced it with a 6G SSD storage module they saw a corresponding bump in speed.

Elgato cites an optimal data transfer rate of 270 MB/second for data reads in its testing. When I fired up Blackmagic's speed test utility, I didn't get quite that fast a show, but it was definitely respectable: 222 MB/s on reads, 112.7 MB/s on writes. Compare that to an external FW 800 1TB drive, which leveled off at about 80MB/s on both writes and reads. My MacBook Pro's internal SSD (an OWC Mercury Pro 6G), connected directly to the SATA bus, topped out at 281/163 read/write. Of course, none of these speeds measure up to the fastest rated SSDs out there.

One can't expect to do too much data sharing with the Thunderbolt drive, at least not until most of your fellow travelers also have TB-enabled machines. If you're looking for additional storage for your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, it's fast and sleek; you're paying for speed and simplicity, but slower USB or FireWire storage can be had in much higher capacities for a fraction of the cost, which would be more appropriate for Time Machine backups or archival storage. For now, the Elgato drive is a premium option that's great if you have the cash -- but it might be overkill for most casual users.

Elgato's Thunderbolt SSD delivers fast portable storage at premium prices originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It was late last year that Intuit offered a Christmas olive branch to frustrated Quicken 2007 for Mac customers. The finance software giant promised that it would find a way to make Quicken work on the latest version of OS X; today, it looks like that promise has been kept. Quicken for Mac 2007 Lion Compatible is now available for purchase.

While the company had built a ground-up Mac offering in Quicken Essentials that showed some spark and a new look, it lacked some of the key features that users of Q2007 had grown fond of (QIF export, direct bill pay, support for rental properties); unfortunately, the older app was never updated past its PowerPC roots and ceased working when Lion dropped support for the Rosetta compatibility layer. Q2007 users fumed, jumped ship to other finance products, stuck with Snow Leopard, or shrieked with frustration if they updated without realizing the issue. (We tried to warn you, people, really we did.)

It's not easily found on the Intuit site, but the Lion-friendly version of Quicken 2007 can be bought online (it's US$14.99). Searching for it via Intuit's built-in tool doesn't work, and it's not listed in the full product rundown; it's possible that it's not officially announced/ready for prime time, but there it is. You can read about the data migration process back from Essentials on the company's support page. No data migration is needed for Q2007 or older versions post-2004. Intuit still recommends that new customers go with Essentials instead of Q2007.

You can read our interview with Intuit's Aaron Patzer here, and an external perspective from Intuit's competitor IGG Software here.

[via MacRumors]

Intuit releases Lion-compatible Quicken 2007, as promised originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The next-gen Apple TV isn't alone in getting the new button-centric UI; older Apple TV models (iOS-based, not the really old OS X Apple TVs) got the new look as part of an update today, bringing the devices to system software version 5.0. It would be nice if the iOS versions on iPhone and on Apple TV matched up, but what can you do?

As usual, the Apple TV update process is smooth and simple -- if your Apple TV hasn't notified you of the update yet, just go to the Settings menu, to General, and choose Update Software. The download will take a few minutes and your Apple TV will reboot.

Gallery: Apple TV new-look UI

The new look brings all the Apple TV 'channels' to badges on the main screen, letting you use the remote to navigate downward and expose the rest of the options. Both Movies and TV Shows now have an auto-rotating carousel at the top of their interfaces, letting you see a selection of top purchase choices. Most of the other channels, like Trailers and the sports services, don't appear to have gotten any facelift.

If you're looking to upgrade your hardware and not just your software, the 1080p version of the Apple TV is available for preorder today.

Hands on: Apple TV software update and new UI originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As widely rumored, the new iPad models (one for Verizon and one for AT&T) announced today will offer several varieties of high-speed cellular wireless networking. iPads sold for use with those two carriers, plus Rogers, Bell and Telus in Canada, will work with an alphabet soup of fast connections: the 3G EVDO and HSPA standards (also on the iPad 2) plus the newer HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE standards.

All three of the newer standards are speed demons when compared to the 3G technologies. HSPA+ tops out at a theoretical maximum of 21 Mbps download speeds, and DC-HSDPA can hit a screaming 42 Mbps. Neither of them can stand up to LTE, however, which (in theory) can hit a scary-fast 73 Mbps of downlink speed. If you think the carrier networks are congested now, here's some crystal ball forecasting: wait six months.

Another interesting tidbit about these hyperspeed iPad models is that they will support personal hotspot networking (with carrier approval). You could run a small network of five devices off your iPad's fast connection; that's great news for mobile professionals.

iPad pre-orders start today.

New iPad models include high-speed LTE networking originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's always something at the last minute. Yesterday, the UK's Guardian newspaper stoked the iPad rumor fires with a nuclear blowtorch by pairing the verbiage of Apple's event invitation -- "We have something you really have to see. And touch." -- with the work of a Finnish technology company called Senseg. A similar speculation hit over at The Next Web, and a MacRumors forum member outlined the argument last week.

Senseg's patented screen technology creates a layer of "tixels," texture pixels that allow developers to control the feel of the screen; smooth to rough, slippery to sticky. The company's tech leads did a demo for the Guardian in January, where the reporter was able to identify on-screen textures (sandpaper, cloth, ridged surface) with eyes closed.

Senseg's been fairly close-mouthed about any relationship with Apple when asked about it over the past few months, but that hasn't always been the case. Back in June of 2011 VP Ville Mäkinen let slip that Senseg was "currently working with a certain tablet maker based in Cupertino." Oh really.

GigaOM pointed out this Cnet video demo of the Senseg technology (from November 2011), which of course appears just as if Rafe Needleman is using an ordinary tablet. The real innovation of Senseg's system is that unlike other haptics approaches, the screen uses electrostatic attraction to modulate the friction between finger and surface. No moving parts and "just works" simplicity -- sounds pretty Apple-esque.

While Senseg executives have wisely delivered no comment on the upcoming Apple event, the notion of a sensable screen for the iPad aligns awfully neatly with Apple's collection of patents covering haptic interface elements like keyboards. Unlike some other Apple innovations that don't necessarily align immediately with users' needs, there's no question about this one: giving tactile feedback to iPad typists would provide a real-world benefit right away. And don't even get us started on what haptics would mean for game developers.

Be sure to join us for our metaliveblog coverage of Apple's announcements, coming up in just a couple of hours.

Something to touch: Haptic feedback rumor gains traction for iPad "magic" feature originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this week Erica told you about Reflection, a new AirPlay client for the Mac that supports mirroring from capable iOS devices (the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S). For anyone capturing iOS screens for video or webcasting use, Reflection's capability means you can do away with complex cabling and expensive hardware in favor of a $14.99 app.

Now one of the previous entrants in the AirPlay client market has released an update to add mirroring support: AirServer, which Steve reviewed back in October of 2011. Also $14.99, AirServer includes hardware accelerated video and works with Android devices running the doubleTwist utility as well. Existing AirServer users can update to version 4 for $3.99.

Here's a brief demo video from our buddy Doc Rock:

Unfortunately, AirServer doesn't offer a demo version, while Reflection does let you test for 10 minutes per day in demo mode. Nevertheless, if you've got a preference or if you're already an AirServer user, check out the new version.

[Per Reflection developer David Stanfill, the mirroring code in AirServer is the same as it is in Reflection; it was licensed.]

AirServer adds mirroring for supported iOS devices originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The flexible Fuze Meeting web conferencing platform already had a very solid iOS story, with the ability to schedule and start meetings from the iPad (including multiparty HD videoconferencing). Now, with the recently released version 4.0 of the app, the company is building a bridge to corporate high-end conferencing gear.

The new app is compatible with Fuze's Hosted Telepresence Connect service, which allows iPad users to join in videoconference sessions with high-end installed systems from Cisco, Polycom, LifeSize and other vendors. These enterprise conferencing room systems don't come cheap, but adding the iPad clients into the mix expands their flexibility and may increase their utilization. (If you have to ask: the Telepresence Connect service starts at US$2,000 a month for connection to three endpoint systems.)

In addition to the big-ticket feature, the new app version also includes the ability to start a meeting recording from the iPad, touch annotation of shared documents, and more. The free app paired with a trial Fuze account allows you to test out the meeting functionality; monthly plans start at $29.

Daily iPad App: Fuze Meeting HD connects to telepresence systems originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.