Archive for October, 2009
Guest post: Setting up an AT&T MicroCell with Murphy Mac
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPhone
Editor’s Note: We welcome guest poster Murphy Mac, a long-time friend of the site who shared with us his experience of setting up one of the new femtocell AT&T repeaters that promise to improve reception for well-heeled iPhone users… or will they?
Good times for Charlotte, North Carolina: First AT&T makes Charlotte one of six cities getting a 3G speed boost by the end of 2009. On the heels of that news comes the MicroCell, a device that facilitates AT&T 3G calls where coverage is weak or nonexistent.
How? The MicroCell acts like a miniature cell tower in your home or office. Your 3G phone connects to the MicroCell just like it’s any other tower. Voice and messaging traffic is then relayed across your broadband Internet connection. Charlotte is the sole initial test market for AT&T’s version of the device, though other carriers are distributing their femtocells more widely.
Here’s the full breakdown on pricing:
Purchase Price: $150
Monthly Charge: None
Optional Unlimited Voice Minutes Plan while using MicroCell:
AT&T Customer with both AT&T landline and DSL: Free
Customers with AT&T Landline or DSL: $10 per month
All others: $20 per month
I installed a MicroCell for a friend the other day, and after one small hiccup it’s running. But is it everything I hoped it would be?
Setup for the MicroCell is straightforward. Most users will probably connect it via Ethernet to their router, which is exactly what we did. Optionally, the device can be placed between the router and the modem, giving MicroCell traffic priority handling over other Internet connectivity. If you don’t have a router, the MicroCell can be plugged directly into your broadband modem and your computer can be connected to the MicroCell.
Gallery: AT&T MicroCell
Continue reading Guest post: Setting up an AT&T MicroCell with Murphy Mac
TUAWGuest post: Setting up an AT&T MicroCell with Murphy Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Five Apps for leaf-peepers
Filed under: Software, Features, Internet Tools, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
It’s autumn here in the northern hemisphere, and where I live, in New England (and elsewhere around the US too), that brings leaf-peepers. What’s a leaf-peeper? It’s a tourist, typically from New York or New Jersey, who visits rural New England to observe the beautiful autumn leaves. It’s a big deal for us. Each year we New Englanders take a break from eating cranberries, disavowing the Red Sox and pahkig the cah in Harvard yahd to view nightly news reports on peak leaf-viewing projections, which states are changing first and at what rate, etc.
Fortunately, there’s an app for that. Five, in fact, and here they are.
Rest Area
If you’re traveling from out-of-state, you could encounter unfamiliar highways … not good when you got to go, if you know what I mean. Is the next rest area 5 miles away or 35? Rest Area [iTunes link] knows the answer. It displays the nearest pit stops as well as what facilities each one has, like bathrooms, vending machines, restaurants, etc. Rest Area costs $0.99US.
Gallery: Autumn Apps
Continue reading Five Apps for leaf-peepers
TUAWFive Apps for leaf-peepers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple bought mapping service company Placebase
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, Software, Internet Tools
Seth at Computerworld has noticed Apple’s purchase of Placebase, the former mapping service company that GigaOm was praising last year. Of course, this begs the question: Will Apple be rolling their own maps?
As Gizmodo says, Apple uses the technology they buy (Coverflow, for example). We were unfamiliar with the service, but GigaOm describes some sweet features like PushPin, which provided developers with an API that could layer commercial information, crime data, etc. on a map. For a nice example of PushPin at work, check out PolicyMap.
Now for the baseless assumptions. Google maps appear in a number of Apple products, like the iPhone, iPhoto and iWeb. Perhaps Apple plans to stuff their own solutions into those slots. Or perhaps they’re after a certain technology from Placebase and not the whole enchilada.
Note that the purchase went down back in July. Seth has also discovered that PlaceBase’s founder and former CEO, Jaron Waldman, is now a part of Apple’s “Geo Team,” which sounds like the Justice League but with Al Gore in charge.
TUAWApple bought mapping service company Placebase originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Finally Flash Animation on the iPhone, well kind of
Adobe took a new strategy to put Flash animations on the iPhone, with the release later this year of Flash Pro CS5 Beta, Adobe will enable any Flash developer to create an iPhone application (.ipa file) and then the developer could send it to Apple for approval.
So it is definitely for Flash games on the iPhone, unfortunately, no Safari plugin to be able to see flash animations on web pages.
Quick video to explain it:
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
Tags:adobe application appstore flash game iphone swfadobe, application, appstore, flash, game, iphone, swf
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CoPilot Live navigates to more features
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review
CoPilot Live [iTunes link] for North American roads is becoming the little engine that could. At only US$34.99 it is quickly adding new features, and in this latest update has added the coveted text to speech capability. For drivers, that means the nav app will say “turn left on Elm street” instead of “turn left just ahead”.
Other new features include adding an iPhone-standard keyboard for entering destinations, instead of the one designed for the app (which was clunky). The maps have been updated, and the developer says there is better integration of the address book from the iPhone.
I took CoPilot for a drive. It acquired the GPS signal quickly and I was on my way. It looks like the POI database has been improved, and the text to speech worked as anticipated. It is a great addition, and even the TomTom still doesn’t have that feature. Navigon and AT&T both have text to speech in their offerings.
I still find that the maps are way below the quality of every other navigator I have tested. Driving home it couldn’t find my street so it just put me on some nearby street. That could be misleading to a driver at best, and dangerous at worse.
The developers say the maps will continue to improve, but maps are what navigation is all about and they need to be up to date. I’ve talked to some users of this software, and they say their region is very accurate, so it depends where you are.
At a fraction of the cost of the ‘big boys’ and with text to speech, CoPilot Live is becoming a very competitive driving companion.
User ratings continue to improve, and I think it is very worthwhile at the low cost (if the map coverage in your area is adequate). If you have your own experiences to share, we’d love to hear from you.
TUAWCoPilot Live navigates to more features originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Using Skype to battle cell phone dead zones
Filed under: Tips and tricks, iPhone, App Store
Is the cell coverage in your area not up to par? Whether you happen to have steel walls or live where there are no cell phone towers or trees cleverly disguised as cell phone towers, some of us must deal with the reality that, while we own arguably the most innovative gadget in recent years in the iPhone, we may not have had the best carrier to accompany it. One way to address this “bag of hurt” is through the Skype [iTunes link] app.
If you don’t already have the Skype app, download it — it’s a free download in the App Store. Next, you’ll need to make sure that Skype stays online when the screen is locked. This is accessible via the Skype app preferences within the iPhone’s main settings page. After this is enabled, the Skype app continues to run in the background and maintains a Wi-Fi connection even after the sleep/awake button is pushed — or if it’s set to automatically lock after a given time interval. Second, because Skype requires a Wi-Fi connection to make and receive calls, you’ll also want to make sure that whatever cell phone dead zone you’re at also happens to have a Wi-Fi connection.
This workaround obviously isn’t without its weaknesses. Assuming that most of those calling you would prefer dialing a phone number instead of your Skype user name, you’ll likely need a separate phone number. One option is SkypeIn, which marries Skype to a real phone number. The service costs $18 for three months or $60 for a whole year. And if you happen to have a Google Voice phone number, directing your calls to your SkypeIn number is an option. Alternatively, you could forward all of your iPhone calls to said Skype number whenever you anticipate a cell phone dead zone — say, before you enter your house, if you have bad reception there. This is accessible via the Phone preferences within the iPhone’s main settings page. Doing this, you won’t have to give out multiple numbers to your friends and family.
One of the other drawbacks of this alternative is that while an audible indicator (a ringing noise) is present when you’re receiving a call, a visual one isn’t. In other words, you may need some cat-like ears to know when you’re receiving a call.
A seamless solution this is not, but it nonetheless provides a possible workaround until more cell towers are built in your area, or until a push-based solution is available for Skype.
Readers, tell us what you’re doing to remedy cell reception issues. Be it a do-it-yourself tin can signal booster or anything else, let us know what’s worked for you.
TUAWUsing Skype to battle cell phone dead zones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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CNN jumps on the news app bandwagon
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
CNN released CNN Mobile [iTunes link], an impressive news app but there are some caveats.
The app is loaded with features, including the latest international and US News, local weather and traffic, and the ability to share stories with email, SMS, Facebook and Twitter.
You can follow topics that are of interest to you, and they get placed in a special spot you can access with a tap of your finger.
You can also shoot video if you have an iPhone 3GS, and send it along to CNN. All in all, it’s as full featured a news app as anyone could hope for, and includes live streaming of breaking events.
If you turn your phone to landscape mode, you get a kind of cover flow of stories, where you can drag your finger across the screen and explore stories in an interesting way.
Continue reading CNN jumps on the news app bandwagon
TUAWCNN jumps on the news app bandwagon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rumor Roundup: iMac and Mac Mini due to refresh before October 9th?
Filed under: Desktops, Hardware, Rumors, iMac, Mac mini
We have received countless tips about the availability of iMacs and Mac Minis – or lack thereof. AppleInsider posted earlier that Apple notified retailers that their Mac mini orders will not be filled at the moment — but soon. A later update states that the low-end Mac mini has been discontinued entirely, leaving us to believe that we’ll be seeing a hardware upgrade shortly.
Several of our tipsters work for Apple Authorized re-sellers who are running very low on desktop supplies, even an Apple Store tip says they have 4 iMacs in stock. When I worked at the Apple Store, there were always 40+ iMacs in stock. Having 4 in a store is just unheard of — unless there’s something in the works. The day of, or a few before the announcement, we would always get a couple pallets worth of machines that were labeled “Do Not Open Until” either a date or notification from corporate.
Another tipster ordered a mini on September 18th, received shipping information but today… they received an email saying that their Mac mini order will ship on October 9th.
Lastly, an Apple Store employee “confirmed” the rumor of new machines being out this October to one of our readers. I have to speculate and say that the employee (who we won’t name) is probably reading too many rumor sites. Apple does not tell their retail employees about product refreshes for this exact reason. It’s too risky — one careless employee could essentially steal all of Apple’s ability to announce a cool, new product. We’re pretty good at digging the information up anyways… but why make it easy for us?
We’re hoping that these rumors don’t amount to a minor speed bump… SD Card slots, Blu-ray, Cinema Display styled design — If we don’t see something new, we’ll all be somewhat disappointed. We’re also hoping for a MacBook refresh but that conversation has paled in comparison to the iMac and Mac mini rumors. We’ve been on the edge of our seats since Monday when the store went down twice. Each time gave us no fruit from the Apple tree, but we’ll keep an eye out. Let us know if you hear anything else about it via our tips page or in the comments.
TUAWRumor Roundup: iMac and Mac Mini due to refresh before October 9th? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Force Snow Leopard's Dictionary.app to reuse definition window
Filed under: Tips and tricks
The Dictionary.app in Snow Leopard has been driving me nuts. If you use LaunchBar or Spotlight (or probably any other method of sending a word to Dictionary.app), it opens a new window. And then another. And then another. This might be handy if the window bar was updated to show the word that you had looked up, but it doesn’t, meaning that the extra windows are just clutter.
Before 10.6, Dictionary.app reused the same window for each new definition. If you wanted to go back to a previous word, you could simply use the “Back” button. As we’ve heard countless times, Snow Leopard has been about subtle refinements, but this was a step backwards to me. I was surprised that there isn’t a Preference setting to reuse the same window or open a new one.
In a fit of frustration yesterday, I posted a bounty on Twitter and asked Rob Griffiths to see if he knew of an answer. Rob is the proprietor of MacOSXHints.com which I consider essential reading for Mac users (I have even submitted a few tips of my own over the years). I knew if anyone could find an answer, it was Rob.
Well, it turns out they don’t call him Rob “The Hints Guru” Griffiths for nothing. Not long after my cry for help, Rob figured out how to Force Dictionary to show definitions in one window. As you might expect, it involves entering a command in Terminal.app while Dictionary.app is not running:
defaults write com.apple.Dictionary ProhibitNewWindowForRequest -bool TRUE
Voilà! Dictionary will now revert back to the 10.5 and earlier behavior of using one window for all definitions.
Rob must truly be credited for discovering this gem, because (as of this writing) Google comes up 100% empty when looking for ‘ProhibitNewWindowForRequest’. When was the last time you tried to Google something and came up completely empty? That doesn’t happen often anymore!
Turns out that Rob used another tip from his site to find hidden preferences (something else which has gotten more difficult in Snow Leopard). It’s the circle of life… or at least, tips.
Thanks again, Rob. Now where do you want me to send your Ferrari? (You’ll have to read Rob’s post to get that joke. It also explains how to undo this change if you decide you want to revert to the standard 10.6 behavior.)
TUAWForce Snow Leopard’s Dictionary.app to reuse definition window originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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FIFA 10 coming to iPhone this Friday
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
What’s it going to take for us to get developers to release games for Apple products earlier than two years after the fact? The iPhone, apparently — EA has announced that their soccer flagship FIFA 10 will be available for the iPhone this Friday, which is the same day the console game shows up in stores as well. The game will have everything the full versions have, including real teams and leagues, a licensed soundtrack, and all of the usual soccer standbys. One thing missing: online multiplayer, though local wifi multiplayer will be available.
Sounds good to us, especially if you’re a fan of the sport all those crazy Europeans call football. The app should be $9.99, befitting of a premium EA sports app, though there will probably be a sale on it sooner or later. Now, about that actual Mac version…
TUAWFIFA 10 coming to iPhone this Friday originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Turn On Your iPod and Learn
Matthew Symonds (independent.co.uk) reports that Warwick Business School has made its courses and research material available in iTunes University, a free education area within the Apple iTunes Store. Symonds cites new research suggesting “that university students who learn by downloading a podcast lecture achieve significantly higher exam results than those who attend the lecture in person.â€
Comments are off for this postScanning your way to a healthier diet with FoodScanner
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review
Calories do count, and if you are among those who keep track of your daily intake and want an easy way to log what you eat, FoodScanner [iTunes link] may be just the iPhone app for you.
On a trip to the grocery store or just your fridge, FoodScanner reads the bar code and matches it to a large database of food items. If the app is successful in finding a match, you’ll get the product name, amount of calories in a single serving, fat, carbohydrates, and protein content. You can that information to a daily list to keep track of what you are eating, without the pain of doing it all on pencil and paper.
While on a trip to my local Safeway, the bar code recognition worked really well. It just took a second or so to capture the info, and then match it to a database claiming to list over 200,000 food items.
In many cases, the scan returned several items, but it was a simple task to select the correct item by name.
Continue reading Scanning your way to a healthier diet with FoodScanner
TUAWScanning your way to a healthier diet with FoodScanner originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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China Unicom to start selling the iPhone in October
Filed under: Hardware, Retail, iPhone
Hong Kong-based China Unicom released details today concerning its August announcement of a three-year deal to sell the iPhone. Sales of the iPhone will begin in October, dovetailing with its October 1st 3G network launch, and will be priced at approximately 5000 Yuan, or around US$730. The iPhone will be sold in both Apple retail stores and through Unicom’s own network of stores, and plans for the iPhone will range from 126 Yuan to 886 Yuan, or about US$18 to US$130. There will also be a handset subsidy, depending on the chosen plan above 126 Yuan, which maxes out at 4253 Yuan, or about US$623.
China Unicom competes heavily with the larger China Telecom, which is believed to be in negotiations to distribute the Palm Pre.
Details here (in Chinese.)
TUAWChina Unicom to start selling the iPhone in October originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Drobo Dashboard can show used/available space
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends
Drobo was a bit of a life-saver for me. Before Drobo I had about 13 different hard drives storing different kinds of data (music on one, video on another, pictures on another, etc). My Drobo let me bring those all together in a very cool way.
I just stumbled across a new-to-me feature of the Drobo Dashboard (the Mac application used to control your Drobo) which allows me to do two things I enjoy:
1. Free up space on my menu bar
2. Utilize space on my Dock better
While I was looking for something else, I clicked on the Drobo Dashboard menu, and saw the options shown in the picture. Actually when I saw it the line which reads “Show Menu Bar Icon” said “Hide Menu Bar Icon.”
So I clicked on it, because I love getting things off my menu bar, and I rarely looked at the Drobo menu bar icon. What I did not realize was that when you hide the menu bar icon, the Dock icon for Drobo changes from a static Drobo logo a pie chart you see in the image here (4th from the bottom, in case that isn’t clear).
As you can see, I have about 22% of my Drobo available. (I assume at that color will turn yellow when I get below 15% available space, or red if I get below 5% free space, as those are the colors and thresholds that I believe Drobo uses for “low” and “critical” levels, respectively.)
I haven’t used the Drobo Dashboard for awhile so I am not sure how “new” this feature is, but it is a welcome option. The Dock icon is much easier to read than the menu bar version, and it frees up valuable real estate in the menu bar. I could not find a way to turn off both the menu bar and the dock display — you have to choose one or the other.
Also, if you have not looked at “DroboCopy” it’s worth checking out as well. It is a simple backup system to dupe a folder from your hard drive to the Drobo. It is fairly rudimentary, but rudimentary backups are better than none. Personally I use Apple’s own Backup.app to automatically backup my iCal and Address Book information to my Drobo every day, in case it gets corrupted using MobileMe syncing. You can use Apple’s Backup app even if you don’t use Mobile Me.
TUAWDrobo Dashboard can show used/available space originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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