iPods
So, the new iPods are in. At first glance, I was kind of disappointed; the second time I looked, I wasn’t quite as disappointed. Apple has been very frugal in their latest batch of new hardware. My greatest displeasure comes from the new iPod Touch. . . IT HAS NO CAMERA (not to mention the exclusion of a compass and FM radio). Although they did add a mic, voice control, a faster processor, better graphics, and better wi-fi, a camera would have been appropriate as well.
Apple did do a good job with the new iPod Nano – its got a video camera and radio.
The iPod classic merely got a gigabyte update and price reduction.
iTunes 9
While the iPods did not do so well, iTunes got some major updates. Genius, for one, has become brilliant.
iTunes LP is cool for those willing to spend a little extra to get access to interviews, flashy lyrics, a band-based home screen design, and other cool stuff.
The iTunes store has become much more user-friendly (especially with song previews)
Genius Mix – creates whole albums of genius based playlists.
Improved syncing – faster and more user friendly.
A wish list - good business for Apple 
enjoy,
rooster
Although Apple is rumored to release a new line of iPods this coming September the 9th, there are some rumors supporting that a last-minute defect was found and that their release may be delayed. One source states:
According to one of our reliable source (however, it remains a rumor), Apple is facing problems with the production of the new iPod Touch. The issue would be linked to the new camera module. We did not get any further details, but the problem has been spotted in the first dozen of thousands units produced. Those units have been put aside.
One good thing we can glean from this is another supporting rumor for a camera to be added to some iPod devices.
Hopefuly Apple can get their act together in two days.
rooster
Although Apple has not yet confirmed this date, it is expected that the next “release party” is to be on September 9th. On this day, Apple’s top release will most likely be the iPod 3G . They will mprobably also update the rest of iPod line. Whats more, it is also believed that the Beatles are finally coming to Itunes. Personally, I hope that they remaster this old Band and bring its sub-par quality up to current standards.
Oh, and Facebook 3.0 is finally in the horizon. A much needed update considering the current version does not support much that makes Facebook so cool.
Itunes 9 is rumored to have facebook support as well…. but don’t bet too much on this haha. It seems like a far shot.
Apple also released a software update that fixes the beeping and hard drive freezing issue that has been occurring on many 15in. MacBook Pros with the 7200RPM 500Gb Hard drive.
Snow Leopard is expected to be released August 28th, why…. I don’t know.
Hope this gets you up to speed.
rooster
Rumors have emerged around the release of a new iPod Touch, the 3,1, coming soon. Apple recently ordered a large amount of cameras (just like the ones for the iPhone 3Gs). My guess is the new iPod Touch and possibly new iPod nano will be equipped with a nice cameras.
As for the release date, my best guess would be that Apple will release the new hardware along with Snow Leopard this coming September. For those of you purchasing MBs between now and September, the price of Snow Leopard will be decreased form $29.95 to $9.95.
No new news from the Dev Team yet, but I will keep you updated.
rooster
The Dev Team just released their tools (RedSn0w and UltraSn0w) for the 3Gs running at 3.0. They have also enabled support for Winterboard and MobileSubstrate running the 3.0 version.
They mention that Apple is closing Jailbreakable holes at an increasing pace and that its becoming more and more difficult to jailbreak devices.
Their warning Sounds:
ultrasn0w unlockers — You all must remain particularly vigilent against upgrading your basebands, since doing so will kill the unlock (for most phones, there’s no going backwards in baseband version). Apple has gotten very serious with the latest baseband — they’ve removed 180 (!) commands in an effort to cut down their exposure to holes. So please always stay away from stock Apple IPSWs and instead use our tools as we release them. These tools let you update your firmware without updating your baseband.
Those installing ultrasn0w will probably also need to do a single run of Settings->General->Reset->Reset Network Settings. We’re testing various fixes for that particular glitch.
Listen up for coming updates.
rooster
This September, Apple will strive to create an even more perfect OS as it releases its newest update for Leopard. Here are some of the many updates it will include:
- A faster finder
- 64-bit support
- Grand Central Dispatch
- Icon refresh rate has been greatly increased
- Expose updates – now a dock option
- Stacks with more features including scrolling and navigating between folders
- A faster time machine backup (50% faster)
- Wakes up twice as fast, shuts down 1.75 times as fast, and finds the network 1.5 faster.
- Installs updates 45% faster
- Uses up 6gb less space
- A new quicker, cleaner, and more useful Quicktime X
- Chinese Character input – allows you to draw characters directly on the trackpad
- A more reliable and higher resolution iChat
- More streamlined and intelligent services – a better command click
- Automatic time zone sync
- Easy PDF text selection
- The fastest browser alive – Safari 4 (runs faster on a mac than even Google Chrome)
- A more reliable disc eject
- More efficient file sharing – can sync while computer is sleeping
- Restore deleted item from the Trash
- You can now watch movies in the finder icon view
- Assign Spaces
- HFS+ support for Bootcamp – this allows you to access your Mac files over windows in a read-only format (so you get the files, but not the viruses)
- Date in the menu bar
- The new American Writer’s Thesaurus 2.0
- Safari is more crash resistant. If a plug-in crashes the browser stays active and you merely have to reload the page.
- Record your screen easily in Quicktime X
- OpenCL support – an awesome graphics update
- Xcode has been updated as well – used for the iPhone development platform
So, as you can see, Apple will make some updates intended to refine, not reinvent their already unbelievable OS. The update will cost $29.00 for the majority of users and will only cost $9.95 to those who purchased a mac right before the release.
rooster
Just a little update on the 3Gs Jailbreak from the Dev Team.
“We can jailbreak the 3GS right now. But making our jailbreak public at this point in time would benefit relatively few people. It would in fact be detrimental to many more people than it would help. So we feel it’s best to keep our version of the jailbreak out of Apple’s sights for the time being.”
Their intentions are pretty clear and so, for those of you already with the iPhone 3Gs, patience is the game.
We all know how Apple pumped up the gaming updates for the new iPhone 3Gs, but these updates may not be as useful as previously thought. What type of developer would restrict his target audience to just 3Gs owners? The answer: probably very few. So, although the new phone has the ability to handle better games, the market will most likely not see an enormous gaming graphics update until the majority of people have a device that can support them.
As for RedSn0w: Again I am sorry to announce that I’m currently unavailable to help you in great detail and that I only left some general instructions. As for the rate and timing of the updates: Please accept my apology but the times I’m allowed near the Internet are few and sporadic.
rooster
I visited the Apple store the other day and talked to a genius for a while about the new macbook pro. I’m considering buying one and then upgrading some of the specs. Instead of paying the extra $1000 to update to 8gb of RAM, I was planning on going to OWC.com and purchasing the same two sticks for $600. But I learned something very interesting, and slightly disappointing. For some odd reason the genius told me that updating will not help me because the RAM will not be interweaving making it less efficient, and ultimately, equal to just having the regular interweaving 4gb of RAM.
Just thought that was kind of informative for anyone planning on updating the specs on their mac.
* He also mentioned that there will most likely be a new iPod hitting the market in September, around the same time Snow Leopard and the iPhone 3.0 software will be released.
rooster
As most of you know, the Worldwide Developers Conference, otherwise known as WWDC, takes place every year and allows Apple to show off its newest products and updates. This years WWDC will be held at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco.
The official dates are June 8th thru June 12!!
rooster
As you may have been expecting, Apple’s infamous World Wide Developers Conference is coming up. In 2008, they showed us the iPhone 3G, the iPhone OS 2.0, Mobile Me, and, of course, the App store! I think we should expect quite something this year.
The expected date for the conference is either May 16-22 or June 6-12. Personally, I believe June would be a better date because old Steve Jobs may make his triumphant return by this time.
As for what they may release, I believe the most notable will be Snow Leopard! This suspicion has been reinforced by the news that Apple has just seeded Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, termed Build 10A286, to the developers.
Well, we will see.
rooster
P.S. I heard another really cool thing that may be released in the future: A wireless sync! I wouldn’t get my hopes up for this year’s WWDC but who knows.
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