Apple release OS X Leopard 10.5.4 Update

Fantastic news hit the scene late yesterday. Apple released the 10.5.4 update to OS X Leopard. This comes with some great fixes, and it is certainly nice to see Apple continually strive to improve the speed and reliability of Leopard. For a full rundown of what the 10.5.4 delivers check out the Apple article here. The update is available via 'Software Update' that resides in your Apple menu, or you can download the combo update here. A smaller 'Delta' download, for those of you already on 10.5.3 can be found here.

Some of the main inclusions are as follows;

• Resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 files on a remote server.
• Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
• Addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks.
• Improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone.
• Resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator.
• Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages in Safari.
• Addresses an issue in Spaces, in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space.
• Fixes another Spaces issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space.

Apple Backup 3 Disappears

Am I mistaken, or has Apple removed the link to download the latest version of its Backup application? After the MobileMe announcement, I promised myself that I would make more use of iDisk, for storing some files off-site. It is/was my intention, that when MobileMe is released, I would upgrade my storage space and push some important files into the cloud. This followed considering using Amazons S3 service, but for some reason deciding against it.

After logging into my .Mac account and following the route to download Backup 3, I found my browser in a loop. Then I searched and went direct to this page, but all it does is go to a ".Mac will soon be MobileMe page". Nothing would download! So, perhaps in anticipation of MobileMe launching, maybe a new version of Backup is on its way. Yes, I know Backup resides in my iDisk, but I thought it strange that I was unable to find the download anywhere.

Apple Mail - Search not working? Re-index your messages

I recently moved all of my Mail accounts and messages over to our new iMac, using the Migration Assistant that comes as part of OS X. Everything seemed to work fine, in fact, although it took a long time to transfer the files, Mail was up and running with minimal fuss.
However, when I came to search for an old email, I could not find it. Mail would only give search results on emails that had arrived or been sent after the transfer. A quick search found this Apple document on the issue. I am happy to say that re-indexing the messages solved the problem. In my case though, I only moved the Envelope Index file and not any additional folders.

Apples MobileMe to replace .Mac - an Overview

Following yesterday’s WWDC announcements, I am going to concentrate on the new MobileMe service that will replace dotmac (.mac) for current subscribers. The new service has no firm date for rollout, though I expect we will see this during July. It sounds very exciting, so I am hoping sooner rather than later.

Current dotmac subscribers get an automatic update. Renewals fees and new users to the service get very good value for money. A single-user one year subscription costs just £59 and a family pack for up to five users is £89. The single user account also gives you a massive 20GB of storage space and 100GB monthly data transfer allowance. I know that this will certainly encourage me to take advantage of the service for more off-site backup.
Extra storage space is also available, with an extra 20GB weighing in at £30, or 40GB of additional space for £59. So with the figures out of the way, let’s take a look at what MobileMe actually offers on the application and service front.

The announcement for a service like this really does go hand-in-hand with two of Apples other products. Yes, the iPhone will be served well by MobileMe, it makes it easy for the rest of us to have Exchange-type functionality, without the tech know how and infrastructure behind it. Secondly, look back to when the MacBook Air was announced. This was a definite push from Apple that content and files would be stored remotely, available for download wherever you happen to be.

The MobileMe service strengthens this view, and offer up a whole host of ‘in the cloud’ features. For starters you get Push email, contacts and calendars. This equates to a very useful and powerful set of features. For example, if you receive an email whilst out and about, your iPhone would automatically be ‘pushed’ the email, instead of you having to start the Mail application and retrieve your new messages. Push contacts and calendars work in much the same way, but with an added pinch of goodness. Imagine you have a Mac computer back home and whilst you are out you meet a new friend, add their details to your iPhone or MacBook address book and the details are whizzed off through the MobileMe service and again ‘pushed’ into the Web 2.0 application on your desktop Mac. Another scenario would be someone back in the office changing or adding an appointment to your calendar. Within a very short period of time, this change would be reflected on your iPhone. This sort of power is now going to be available to us all. For me, this is a real winner.

Whilst we are on the subject of the calendar. For a long time iCal has lacked the ability to add or edit events through the .Mac interface. Now, with MobileMe you have the power to make changes to your calendars from all of the current internet browsers. Whether you are on a Mac or PC, you can take full advantage of the feature rich Web 2.0 interface. The calendars look superb, fully colour coded, with drag and drop functionality. Superb, I waited for a long time for this and it is finally going to be delivered with true style.

In much the same way ‘Gallery’ also pushes changes out to friends, colleagues and relatives. Taking a photo with your iPhone, allows you to upload and share this via the new service. Great for social use, but also from a business point of view, in many jobs this could be invaluable.

Last, but not least is iDisk. Personally, I have underused this great feature in its current version. It seemed very slow to me and the hassle of uploading to it far outweighed it usefulness. This was probably very shortsighted on my part, but I have vowed that I will take advantage of the new iDisk. Not only is it very well priced, but the Web 2.0 interface adds a whole new set of features to it. The interface looks as though it is a local desktop window. You can upload a file and share it with a link that is provided. The file can be openly shared or password protected. This would put an end to me sending out large files via email. Imagine you have an artwork proof that needs to be approved by more than one person. Now, you will be able to just send a link to the file... this will be much quicker and ultimately more productive.

Mac, PC, iPhone or iPod touch, the new MobileMe is a real winner. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. For current .Mac subscribers a useful FAQ can be found here.

New iPhone 3G Tariffs O2 UK + PAYG + Free Upgrades

During the exciting announcements for the 3G iPhone last night, it was great news that the UK will be getting the new model on 11th July. It seems that we will also be treated to a PAYG version, so a double whammy of great news. Going for the triple, O2 have also published their costings for the iPhone 3G on various tariffs. The goods news is that the 8GB and 16GB models are free on their highest £75/month tariff, and the 8GB model is also free on the lower £45/month option. Both models are significantly cheaper, with £159 being the most you will pay for the 16GB version on the lowest £30/month deal... I know where my money will be going.

Existing users can also upgrade to the new version free of charge. The only requirement is that you sign a new 18 month contract. You will not be expected to complete your current contract or pay for ending it early... fantastic.

Check out the new tariffs here.

Apple announce 3G iPhone - available July 11

Apple® today introduced the new iPhone™ 3G, combining all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast* as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK. In the US the new iPhone 3G is priced at a stunning $199 for the 8GB model, and just $299 for the 16GB model.** iPhone 3G will be available in more than 70 countries later this year, beginning with customer availability in 22 countries—Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US—on July 11.

“Just one year after launching the iPhone, we’re launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “ iPhone 3G supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync right out of the box, runs the incredible third party apps created with the iPhone SDK, and will be available in more than 70 countries around the world this year.”

iPhone 3G gives users ever faster access to the Internet and email over their cellular network with quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA for voice and data connectivity around the world. iPhone 3G supports Wi-Fi, 3G and EDGE networks and automatically switches between them to ensure the fastest possible download speeds. The new iPhone 3G also makes it easier to multi-task with simultaneous voice and data communications, so with iPhone 3G you can browse the web, get map directions, or check your email while you are on a call.

iPhone 3G includes the new iPhone 2.0 software with both the iPhone SDK and key enterprise features such as support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide over-the-air push email, contact and calendar syncing as well as remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks. The iPhone SDK allows developers to create amazing applications that leverage the iPhone’s groundbreaking Multi-Touch™ user interface, animation technology, accelerometer and GPS technology on the world’s most advanced mobile platform.

iPhone 3G includes the new App Store, providing iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, which means it is accessible from just about anywhere, so you can purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Some applications are even free and the App Store notifies you when application updates are available. The App Store will be available in 62 countries at launch.

Additional features available with the iPhone 2.0 software include the ability to do real-time mapping and track your progress with GPS technology, mass move and delete multiple email messages, search for contacts, access a new scientific calculator, turn on parental control restrictions for specified content, save images directly from a web page or email them to your iPhone and easily transfer them back to your photo library on your Mac® or PC. iPhone 3G delivers an amazing 10 hours of talk time on 2G networks and 5 hours using 3G, with up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing, up to 7 hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback.

iPhone 3G takes advantage of MobileMe™, a new Internet service that pushes email, contacts, and calendars from an online “cloud” to native applications on iPhone, iPod® touch, Macs and PCs. With MobileMe email, messages are pushed instantly to iPhone, removing the need to manually check email and wait for downloads, and push keeps contacts and calendars continuously up-to-date so changes made on one device are automatically updated on other devices. With iPhone, you can even snap a photo and post it directly to a MobileMe Gallery to share with friends and family.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 3G will be available in the UK on July 11. Further details about pricing and rate plans will be announced at a later date.

*Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.
**Based on iPhone 3G (8GB) and first generation iPhone (8GB) purchases. Requires new two year AT&T rate plan, sold separately.

Apple Introduce MobileMe - replaces .Mac

Apple® today introduced MobileMe™, a new Internet service that delivers push email, push contacts and push calendars from the MobileMe service in the “cloud” to native applications on iPhone™, iPod® touch, Macs and PCs. MobileMe also provides a suite of elegant, ad-free web applications that deliver a desktop-like experience through any modern browser. MobileMe applications (www.me.com) include Mail, Contacts and Calendar, as well as Gallery for viewing and sharing photos and iDisk for storing and exchanging documents online.

“Think of MobileMe as ‘Exchange for the rest of us,’” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Now users who are not part of an enterprise that runs Exchange can get the same push email, push calendars and push contacts that the big guys get.”

With a MobileMe email account, all folders, messages and status indicators look identical whether checking email on iPhone, iPod touch, a Mac® or a PC. New email messages are pushed instantly to iPhone over the cellular network or Wi-Fi, removing the need to manually check email and wait for downloads. Push also keeps contacts and calendars continuously up-to-date so changes made on one device are automatically pushed up to the cloud and down to other devices. Push works with the native applications on iPhone and iPod touch, Microsoft Outlook for the PC, and Mac OS® X applications, Mail, Address Book and iCal®, as well as the MobileMe web application suite.

MobileMe web applications are 100 percent ad-free and provide an incredible, desktop-like experience that allows users to drag and drop, click and drag and even use keyboard shortcuts. MobileMe provides anywhere access to Mail, Contacts and Calendar, with a unified interface that allows users to switch between applications with a single click, and Gallery makes it easy to share photos on the web in stunning quality. Gallery users can upload, rearrange, rotate and title photos from any browser; post photos directly from an iPhone; allow visitors to download print quality images; and contribute photos to an album. MobileMe iDisk lets users store and manage files online with drag and drop filing and makes it easy to share documents too large to email by automatically sending an email with a link for downloading the file. MobileMe includes 20GB of online storage that can be used for email, contacts, calendar, photos, movies and documents.

Pricing & Availability
MobileMe, available on July 11, is a subscription-based service with 20GB of storage for £59 per year for individuals and £89 for a Family Pack, which includes one master account with 20GB of storage and four Family Member accounts with 5GB of storage each. Users can sign up for a free, 60-day MobileMe trial at www.apple.com/mobileme and current .Mac members will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe accounts. MobileMe subscribers can purchase an additional 20GB of storage for £30 or 40GB of storage for £59 annually.

Apple Stores Down - Worldwide

Ahead of todays WWDC Keynote announcements, Apple's online stores are all down. So, I guess, well not entirely guess, that we will be seeing a new product or two today, or at least something new on the Apple Store website. I can't help myself getting excited about this, so credit cards at the ready :-)

Apple WWDC 08 - Steve Jobs Predictions

Before I kick things off with my customary predictions for this years WWDC Keynote from Steve Jobs, I wanted to let you know about my 'Mac & Gadget Show'. We had a successful show yesterday, where we talked about what might be coming from Apple this year. Many thanks to all who participated.

I am running a special edition of the 'Mac & Gadget Show', tonight at 6:00pm (GMT) or 1:00pm (EDT) to cover the WWDC keynote as it happens. Pulling in news from all over the internet, using various news feeds, expect to hear a great overview of Steve Jobs Keynote speech. Point your browser here to join in, or to listen as things happen. I will try and bring in callers when I can (if you would like to talk live on the show), but please accept my apologies in advance if I rabbit on and miss you. I will try to accommodate your views and questions where possible.

Now, onto my predictions for this years WWDC.

iPhone 2.0 (or 3G)
It seems like a forgone conclusion that we will see the new iPhone launch, or at least announcement of features. If we don't, there will be a lot of disappointed people across the world. The new iPhone is predicted to include 3G technology for faster data transfers, GPS and ho knows, maybe even some sort of partnership with the likes of TomTom or Garmin to bring us true in-car or on-foot navigation.

iPhone 2.0 (or 3G) part 2
There have been images floating around showing a front facing camera on the new iPhone. Whether these are real or not, many 3G mobile handsets offer video calls, so why not Apple's iPhone. With OS X built into this little box of technology, iChatAV is an obvious progression for the device. I think that this new feature, coupled with upgrades to the .Mac service could well round up the iPhone announcements today.

Mac Mini Version 2
For quite a while now, it has been predicted that the Mac Mini will face the chop. Well, CrunchGear have posted these rather tasty (if somewhat blurry) images of Mac Fusion. A new even slimmer miniature Mac. This all-aluminum enclosure certainly looks tasty and if we see a slight ramp up from current Mac Mini specs, along with a slight price drop, then hurrah for Apple... I will buy one for sure.
Why might we not see this? Well, it would hurt sales of both the current Mac Mini (if they keep this line going) and also the AppleTV.

iPhone Goes Large
Over the past few weeks there have been loads of mini laptops (or sub-notebooks) announced from the likes of Acer, Asus, HP, MSI and Dell (to name just a few). Apple must be sitting up and taking notice of this, after all, they would be stupid not to. People love to communicate whilst 0n-the-move nowadays, and the likes of these new devices really do fit the bill. For example the MSI Wind, you get a nice keyboard, Intel Atom CPU, 10-inch screen, 80GB hard drive, all for around £300. The only downside is that it runs Linux or Windows XP.
Apple can do this product right, with the all important Mac OS X operating system. Give us a tablet computer, based around the iPhone, but twice the size. Add onto this a real keyboard, maybe a wireless unit that can sit separate or snap onto the screen and wow, they will sell truck-loads.

Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'
I don't think we will see this, as Leopard in its current 10.5.3 guise is just too new. Maybe I will be totally wrong on this one.

An exciting day for us all. Join me on Talkshoe for the Mac & Gadget Show for the news as it happens.

Apple Brings Movies & Rentals to iTunes Store UK

Apple today announced that movies from major film studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Sony Pictures Television International and Lionsgate UK are now available on the UK iTunes Store. Movie purchases and rentals feature iTunes’ legendary ease of use, which makes discovering and enjoying movies as simple and easy as buying music on iTunes has always been. The iTunes Store in the UK features over 700 films available for rent or purchase, with titles available for purchase on the same day as their DVD release, including favorites such as “Hitman”, “I Am Legend”, “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets” and “Into the Wild”. iTunes Movie Rentals also features over 100 titles available in stunning high definition, perfect for viewing on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.

“We’re kicking off movies on the iTunes Store in the UK with over 700 films for purchase and rent”, said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think customers in the UK are going to love being able to enjoy their favorite movies on their iPod, iPhone or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV”.

The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting directory, iMix playlist sharing, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

With iTunes Movie Rentals, once a movie is rented, it starts downloading from the iTunes Store directly to iTunes or Apple TV, and users with a fast Internet connection can start viewing the movie in seconds. Customers have up to 30 days to start watching it, and once a movie has been started customers have 48 hours to finish it — or watch it multiple times.

Pricing & Availability
Movie purchases and rentals from the iTunes Store for Mac or Windows require iTunes 7.6.2, available as a free download from www.apple.com/uk/itunes/. iTunes movie purchases and rentals require a valid credit card with a billing address in the United Kingdom. iTunes movies are available at £6.99 for library title purchases and £10.99 for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are £2.49 for library title rentals and £3.49 for new releases, and high definition versions are priced at just one pound more. Movie rentals can be previewed, purchased and watched on iPod classic, iPod nano with video, iPod touch, iPhone and on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.