Most likely your AirPort (or Time Capsule) will find and download the update automatically; however, you can also visit the Apple Support Downloads page to download the installer package for Leopard, Tiger, or Windows.
My relationship with my iPhone hasn't been an easy one. On the one hand, it's an absolutely brilliant platform -- I just love programming for it. On the other hand it's a money hole. To keep it legit, I'm forking over a wad of cash each month to AT&T and from there on to Apple (not to mention the $99/year new iPhone play tax). One of my biggest decisions on that end involved giving up my data plan. Leaving the $20/month data plan behind as my "optional extra" has saved me $240 over the course of the year.
Read on for more about the iPhone and EDGE and my 3G service dilemma.
Last week we posted about AT&T offering free WiFi access for iPhone customers at several of their hotspot locations, including a few Starbucks stores. According to MacRumors, AT&T has disabled this free service. However, since AT&T never made an official announcement of this service, it seems possible that the free service was launched early (possibly for testing). AT&T representatives have declined to comment on the issue.
If you got a glimpse of the free future and have now seen that wireless door slam shut again, let us know.
A MacRumors tipster has discovered a treat for iPhone users from AT&T. It would seem that AT&T is offering free wireless internet access via an iPhone in Starbucks (we posted about the Starbucks-AT&T deal a little while ago) as well as in Barnes and Nobles and 71,000 other locations.
MacRumors notes that you must enter your mobile iPhone number as a means of verification. A picture of the portal home page is available on MacRumors.
Multiple sources are repeating Stuff.tv's report that Apple is planning to bring the Nike+ system to the iPhone and iPod touch. Nike+ is of course a special kit, originally made for iPod nano, that will record the distance and length of a walk or run -- you stick the little sensor in your shoe, and it works as a timer and pedometer to record personal workout stats.
Stuff also reports that in addition to bringing along the sensor system, the new Nike+ system may also be able to take advantage of the iPhone's and touch's wifi by sending stats from the sensor directly to Nike's online database,where a new "Coach" system will help you schedule runs and activities.
Sounds pretty amazing. Of course, this is only the beginning of the kind of "life management" software that we'll see coming out of the SDK. Stuff suggests that your iPhone will help you know when go to out and for how long, but of course we know that by the time June comes around it'll be able to do a lot more than that.
Wanting to get the scoop on the new coffee generation, I put in a call to my secret barista, Ms. Coffee. "Quick, tell the dish about the nationwide Starbucks retraining this afternoon!" "Wish I could -- got nothing to tell. All the stores close at 5:30 pm local time, no matter where they are. We have no idea what the training involves." So I extracted a promise: any mention of AT&T, the iPhone, EDGE networks or WiFi and she is to dash to the bathroom on a "weak bladder" excuse and call.
For those of you who are completely caffeine deprived, Dunkin' Donuts will "ensure that no coffee lover is denied a delicious espresso-based beverage," offering lattes, cappucinos and espressos for $0.99 between 1pm and 10pm today.
So what do you think, TUAW readers? Is this the big AT&T intro we've been waiting for?
In the world of wireless networking, there are big secrets and little secrets. For a great rundown on the obvious and hidden implications of the AT&T/Starbucks WiFi deal, you should check out Glenn Fleishman's piece at TidBITS. Glenn sussed out the various flavors of AT&T's offering, mused about the implications of WiFi ubiquity for the anticipated 3G iPhone, and tried to track down the deal for Starbucks card holders; it's still not clear exactly how the "2 hours of access" arrangement will work, but the expectation is that anyone with a Starbucks card that gets used (to make a purchase) once a month will be able to connect for up to two hours a day during that month.
Things got really interesting, however, when Glenn talked to Starbucks CTO Chris Bruzzo about the AT&T deal. Bruzzo strongly implied that Starbucks retail locations are caching iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store content for sales to iTunes, iPhone and iPod touch users in-store, rather than having to backhaul the content from Apple. Glenn quotes Bruzzo, "Right now in our stores that have the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, you go and buy the song that's playing directly overhead, and see how fast it transfers." If Starbucks is populating hundreds of Wi-Fi Store-enabled locations with edge servers to speed content delivery for music, wouldn't it make sense to do the same for the yet-huger TV show and movie files that are zipping about? At that point, Starbucks becomes a loading zone for both caffeine and content. Fill 'er up!
Update: Apparently there's some confusion over 'edge servers.' To clarify, I don't mean EDGE as in AT&T's 2.5G wireless network, I mean edge as in the edge of a network, a razor, or of night. Apple's investment in and longtime use of Akamai shows that it understands the value of having content decentralized across the network.
As the wanton, reckless eager early adopters of Mac OS X 10.5.2 begin to explore the update's new features and fixes, a few folks are running into a WiFi buzzsaw. Some D-Link and Westell router users have noted on Apple's support boards that their 802.11n connections are failing to authenticate post-10.5.2. Dropping the router back to 802.11g seems to straighten things out. Macfixit concurs, with user reports of ongoing wireless problems.
Considering that Apple's own Airport Extreme has come in for some criticism over the past months for dropping connections (in some cases prompting radical solutions), and that 10.5.2 has wireless fixes listed among the changes, it's both unsurprising and disappointing that the upgrade hasn't gone more smoothly for WiFi users. If you're running 10.5.2 and seeing problems with wireless, let us know below.
I'd just like to say that I called it. Way back earlier this year when Apple first announced that you'd be able to use your iPhone to buy iTunes songs at Starbucks, I commented that this was only the beginning, and now Forbes publishes news about a patent that confirms exactly that: Apple is working on other ways to sell downloads (and even merchandise) on the spot to iPhone users.
Imagine being at the movie theater, really liking the film's soundtrack, and having the ability to buy it on your iPhone with a click. Or ordering your latte from your seat at the internet cafe. Or hitting a button to buy something with your credit card at an electronics store, and then having it waiting at the entrance when you leave.
All of these things are possible, providing that a) companies are willing to install the infrastructure in the store, and b) Apple is willing to create the software for the iPhone. Given the prices involved, it'll obviously only start with large chains-- you won't be able to walk into your neighborhood grocery store and do it right away. But there is money to be made here, and if Apple can find common ground with retailers we'll see the Starbucks deal happen in more places for sure.
iPhone iSync is potentially a very interesting application with great promise. It's a GUI implementation of an rsync-based folder synchronization tool that works with WiFi. This means it will sync a folder on your Mac to your iPhone/iPod touch over the wireless network. In the future, this suggests the possibility of iTunes syncing over WiFi... unfortunately, it's not quite there yet.
The author, francisois, says that he has "reached a breakthrough that has allowed me to synchronize my own iPod Touch over wi-fi with an older version of iTunes," and he is working on getting iTunes 7.5 support but a few obstacles remain. Nonetheless, he eventually plans for syncing music, photos, contacts, and bookmarks over WiFi.
Obviously you'll need a jailbroken iPhone to use this. If you have any experience with "shell scripts and ssh and especially iTunes library access," francisois is looking for help. iPhone iSync is a free download from its Google Code page.
PC Magazine has given the iPod Touch a 5/5 score and their Editor's Choice award. High praise even from a definitely non-Apple source. Tom Gideon calls it "a thing of beauty," and says it's the best iPod ever. Well, no duh.
He does say a major drawback is that the WiFi store doesn't contain movies, but that's just a matter of time, isn't it? Otherwise, he says the store works great, and will allow for plenty of spur-of-the-moment music purchasing (which surely Apple will love). Gideon even spends quite a bit of time on what I really think is one of the most important features of the iPod Touch-- the Starbucks integration. Every time you pass a Starbucks, an icon shows up in the dock of the iPod Touch's iTunes WiFi screen, and that is huge. Advertisers with even a little bit of forward-looking ability are probably fainting at the thought of what they can do with what.
Strangely enough, Gideon doesn't mention the one problem I have with an iPod Touch, and the reason I'm sticking with my video iPod: the memory. 8 and 16gb are just embarrassing for a serious music player, whether the interface is amazing or not. For Gideon and other folks with only 16gb of music, obviously it's not a problem. But for us music lovers, who want to carry around our entire collection in our pockets, the current Touch doesn't cut it. Better to stick with a classic and leave the awesome interface for the iPhone.
What exactly that entails, no one seems to know. Wifi sharing? Web radio? iPod-to-iPod connections? Steve will choose a new Lion King? Anything (and nothing) is on the table.
While it would be nice to see a way to transfer music and video between iPods, a closed concept like "The Circle" seems un-Apple, and so of all the unsubstantiated rumors, this seems the least substantiated. I have no doubt at all that we'll see a new iPod, and it's turning out to be pretty likely that both a touchscreen and a new Nano are going to appear, as well as a CoverFlow interface in one or both. But "The Circle"? Don't hold your breath. We'll find out tomorrow morning at noon central.
Don't feel badly, I can't resist that green mermaid logo either. Since I like to check the mail and surf the web while I drink my usual, I make sure my Mac is secure while on the T-Mobile Hot Spot.
There's a great tip at Mac OS X Hints about locking down your Mac for that very situation. The process involves creating a new 802.1x configuration in Internet Connect, resulting in a secure TTLS setup. It's not too tricky, but will take some clicking around. Good luck, and take your caffeine with confidence.
Last week many, many of you reported problems with wifi since the OS X 10.4.10 update. Fortunately, Apple appears to have heard your cries of anguish and has released the Airport Extreme Update 2007-4. Apple doesn't say much about what the update contains but does say it "is recommended for all Intel-based MacBook, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini computers and improves the reliability of AirPort connections."
So, for those of you who had problems, did this fix it?
Ah, the open road. What's more American than being mobile, drifting along the highways and byways, traveling hither and yon, free as a debt-laden bird? While I try to rein in that derailed train of road metaphor, let's consider the options for Mac users and wireless data. Many of you would love to take your Internet access with you as you travel on family vacation or spring break; for others, terrestrial broadband (cable modem or DSL) is unavailable or prohibitively expensive at your fixed location. Good news for all: the choices on the wireless access front are better than ever before. We'll cover the US domestic options today, and hopefully get to Europe/UK and other international options sometime soon.
Along with the Mac OS X 10.5.4 update tonight, Apple also released firmware 7.3.2 for Time Capsules and AirPort Base Stations. Apple states that it "includes general fixes and compatibility updates" for both Time Capsule and AirPorts with 802.11n. 
My relationship with my iPhone hasn't been an easy one. On the one hand, it's an absolutely brilliant platform -- I just love programming for it. On the other hand it's a money hole. To keep it legit, I'm forking over a wad of cash each month to AT&T and from there on to Apple (not to mention the $99/year new 
Last week we posted about 
As the 
I'd just like to say that I called it. Way back earlier this year 
PC Magazine has given the iPod Touch
Of 
Don't feel badly, I can't resist that green mermaid logo either. Since I like to check the mail and surf the web while I drink 
Last week many, many of you 
Ah, the open road. What's more American than being mobile, drifting along the highways and byways, traveling hither and yon, free as a debt-laden bird? While I try to rein in that derailed train of road metaphor, let's consider the options for Mac users and wireless data. Many of you would love to take your Internet access with you as you travel on family vacation or spring break; for others, terrestrial broadband (cable modem or DSL) is unavailable or prohibitively expensive at your fixed location. Good news for all: the choices on the wireless access front are better than ever before. We'll cover the US domestic options today, and hopefully get to Europe/UK and other international options sometime soon.
