Graham Spencer

917 posts on MacStories since January 2011

Former MacStories contributor.

graham@macstories.net

Retina Display Featured In Latest “If You Don’t Have An iPhone” Ad

The iPhone 4’s Retina Display is the latest feature to be showcased in Apple’s new advertising campaign characterized by the “If you don’t have an iPhone” tag line. It highlights how without a Retina Display,  “movies aren’t this dramatic”, “maps aren’t this clear”, “emails aren’t this detailed” and “memories aren’t this memorable”.

Jump the break to watch this latest ad, as well as the other four featured in the “If you don’t have an iPhone” ad series which demonstrate Game Center, the App Store, iBooks and the iTunes store.

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Microsoft Prepares Enterprise Software To Manage iOS, Android and WP7 Mobile Devices

Despite the perception of Microsoft being bitter enemies with Apple it sure seems as if this rivalry is cooling off lately with Microsoft working to provide several services and products to iOS users in particular. From their iPhone apps to additional features in Bing (that won’t even make it to Windows Phone 7 till late 2011), Microsoft is making a concerted effort to be relevant in the increasingly iOS (and Android too) mobile market.

Its latest foray is an enterprise and corporate focused piece of software that will allow IT departments to more easily manage a workplace of iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7 mobile devices. Named, in typically superfluous Microsoft fashion, System Center Configuration Manager 2012, it will let those IT departments enforce password complexity and security, remote wipe devices amongst other key functions.

As Microsoft describes it, SCCM can “Streamline operations with a unified infrastructure that integrates client management and protection across mobile, physical, and virtual environments.” The Beta 2 of System Center Configuration Manager 2012 is available for download but it does require registration and only runs on Windows Server 2008.

[Via TUAW]

iPad 2 Price Comparison Across The World

Thanks to Italian blog Setteb.it you can easily check how much the iPad 2 price varies across most of the 25 countries launching the iPad 2 tomorrow. As is always the case for internationally sold products, and for a variety of reasons, the price varies quite substantially from country to country - even when currency and tax discrepancies are removed. The iPad 2 is no exception and some countries are paying a little more than their US counterparts, whilst some are paying far more.

The site tried to take the key variables of currency and tax out of the comparison by converting the local prices into the Euro and adding a rough sales tax average of 9.2% to the US prices. What was revealed was that the US had the cheapest prices for the iPad 2 but Australia was not far behind, only 14 Euros more expensive on the base 16GB WiFi only model and had the next cheapest prices for every other model except the 64GB WiFi + 3G which New Zealand had for the second cheapest price at only 18 Euros more than the US.

Comparatively the iPad 2 had the highest markup in Sweden and Norway at 100 Euros more for the 16GB WiFi model in Sweden and more than a 200 Euro markup in Norway for the 64GB WiFi + 3G. Click here for the full table of prices.

[Via TUAW]

Happy Birthday, OS X!

Ten years ago today, on March 24th 2001, Apple released Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah. Now ten years on, OS X has evolved into what we know and love as being Snow Leopard, that latest major update to OS X.

Between the original, and rather buggy version of OS X, Cheetah and Snow Leopard now, we had 10.1 Puma (September 2001), 10.2 Jaguar (August 2002), 10.3 Panther (October 2003), 10.4 Tiger (April 2005) and 10.5 Leopard (October 2007). With just a few short months before the summer, we don’t have much longer to wait until OS X 10.7 Lion arrives and brings a convergence of traditional desktop OS design and iOS design together into one great operating system.

So Happy Birthday OS X! If you’re feeling nostalgic you might want to have a read of the Wikipedia page on OS X which gives a nice synopsis of the major feature additions each release brought and jump the break to watch Steve Jobs introduce OS X at the 2000 MacWorld.

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iReply: Never Forget To Respond To A Text Message Again

It’s happened to everyone, you’ve received a text message and quickly read it but for any number of reasons decided you would respond to it later but then realize two days later that the message is still sitting unanswered in the Messages app on your iPhone.

Apple does a good enough job of alerting you to any unread text messages, but once read, you won’t get any more alerts about that text message. A new tweak to hit the Cydia store, iReply, aims to enhance that iOS SMS alert function by also reminding you of any text messages that you haven’t replied to and avoiding that awkward moment when your friend or boss asks why you ignored their text message. Jump the break for a short review of the app.

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US Senators Want Apple To Pull Apps That Aid DUI Checkpoint Evasion

A group of four US senators have called on Apple to remove apps from its App Store that warn and alert users of where DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoints are. In a letter addressed to Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iPhone software, the four US senators which includes Harry Reid, Charles Schumer, Frank Lautenberg and Tom Udall convey their “grave concern” over the apps which are “harmful to public safety.”

The letter doesn’t name any specific apps but takes at aim at those which “allow customers to identify where local police officers have set up DUI checkpoints” and citing a police officer asks “what other purpose are they going to use them for except to drink and drive?” The App Store does indeed include numerous apps that have DUI checkpoint databases, some of which are free and some of which are paid and many feature crowd-sourced information gathering on the location of the DUI checkpoints.

The senators end their letter stating “We appreciate the technology that has allowed millions of Americans to have information at their fingertips, but giving drunk drivers a free tool to evade checkpoints, putting innocent families and children at risk, is a matter of public concern.” Currently the App Store Guidelines only state that apps cannot “encourage excessive consumption of alcohol or illegal substances, or encourage minors to consume alcohol or smoke cigarettes” - there is no mention of such police or DUI checkpoint evasion apps.

CNet contacted Apple for comment but received no comment at the time of publication. For the full letter from the senators, jump the break.

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Wife Said No But Apple Says Yes And Gives Guy Free iPad 2

In what is quite an amusing tale, one of the iPad 2’s returned last week was owned by a guy who was unfortunately told to return it by his wife. Because Apple had been troubleshooting returned iPad 2’s his iPad was discovered with a post-it note reading “Wife said no.” According to MacRumors, this was escalated up the Apple hierarchy as somewhat of joke, eventually reaching two VPs.

Those VPs decided it was only fair to send the guy an iPad 2 and add a note that said “Apple said yes.”

Genius.

[Via MacRumors]

Steve Jobs Ordered By Court To Answer Questions In Class-Action Lawsuit

Steve Jobs has been ordered by a US Magistrate to answer questions in court in relation to a class-action lawsuit regarding the iTunes Music Store and monopolistic behavior by Apple. Bloomberg is reporting that yesterday US Magistrate Judge Howard R. Lloyd authorized lawyers representing consumers in the complaint to engage in limited questioning of Jobs.

The limited questioning is quantified as two hours of questions and only on the topic of changes that Apple made to their iPod software in October of 2004 that disrupted RealNetworks’ Harmony software. Harmony enabled users to transfer songs purchased from the RealNetworks store, to the iPod. When it was released the software caused considerable controversy and Apple quickly accused RealNetworks of using “the tactics and ethics of a hacker” and in a subsequent iPod update Apple stopped the Harmony software from working with iPods.

The class-action lawsuit was filed by Thomas Slattery in 2005 and alleged that by requiring customers use an iPod to listen to music purchased from the iTunes store, Apple had violated federal antitrust laws as well as California’s unfair competition regulations. David Kiernan, who is representing Apple, said that “any deposition of Mr.Jobs would be repetitive, at best.”

[Via AppleInsider]

Angry Birds Rio Flies Into The App Store

Angry Birds Rio, the collaboration app between Rovio and 20th Century Fox as part of the marketing of the new movie ‘Rio’ has just been released today. In principle this new foray in the Angry Birds series of apps is the same as before but with a different story based on the premise of the movie. The app also features new achievements, ‘special hidden fruit’ and a total of 60 levels across two episodes but with more promised to arrive over 2011.

What happens when everybody’s favourite fierce fowl get caged and shipped to Rio? They get very angry!

In Angry Birds Rio, the original Angry Birds are kidnapped and taken to the magical city of Rio de Janeiro, where they eventually escape their captors and set out to to save their friends, Blu and Jewel – two rare macaws and the stars of the upcoming Fox motion picture, Rio. Angry Birds Rio will pair the physics-based gameplay of the original game with unique twists based on the film.

Angry Birds Rio is available on the iPhone and iPod Touch for $0.99, on the iPad for $3.99 and on the Mac App Store for $4.99