Posts in news

Give Safari 6 Its RSS Back

Apple made the decision to remove RSS support from Mountain Lion with Mail (it felt out of place there anyway) and Safari 6 - no more RSS detection and easy-to-click buttons. RSS isn’t dead, so what can you do to get feed detection working again? One option is to download an older version of Safari, use an excellent 3rd party Mac app such as Reeder, or a new Safari extension (yeah, remember those?) by Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software. It’s called Subscribe To Feed and in a blog post yesterday, he expressed his opinion about Apple’s decision and offers a solution to add RSS detection back to Safari 6.

My beta-quality, more-or-less unsupported Subscribe to Feed extension adds a handy button to the toolbar that, when a page offers RSS or Atom feeds, can be clicked to easily open the feed:// link, which should automatically open your favorite news reader.

I hope this extension fills a void for those of you missing the beloved RSS button from Safari 5 and earlier.

The extension not only works like it’s supposed to (this is beta?) but also matches the look and feel of Safari’s UI. When activated, it simply finds the RSS url and adds it /opens it in your default RSS app. The functionality really needed is the ability to view an RSS feed inside the browser but it does bring back the button functionality, which is nice. You can download Jalkut’s RSS extension on Red Sweater.

[Hat Tip TUAW]

Xcode 4.4 Now Available in the Mac App Store, Enhanced for the MacBook Pro with Retina Display

While developers are likely already running the latest and greatest from Apple’s Mac Dev Center to take advantage of iOS 6 beta and Mountain Lion beta SDKs, everyone else who is learning about development, building for fun, or simply wants a stable version of Xcode can find the latest release in the Mac App Store. Updated to take advantage of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, Xcode 4.4 also includes OS X 10.8 SDKs in concert with the release of Mountain Lion earlier this morning. (Later versions of Xcode 4.3 already offered support for iOS 5.1). Xcode 4.4 requires the latest version of Lion, 10.7.4, or Mountain Lion 10.8 to run.

Xcode 4.4 Release Notes from the Mac App Store

Included in Xcode 4.4:

• SDKs for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and iOS 5.1.
• Enhanced for the MacBook Pro with Retina display.
• Code completion persists your selections to give more accurate suggestions.
• Objective-C @synthesize command is generated by default when using properties.
• Objective-C adds literal syntax for numbers, arrays, dictionaries, and expressions when developing for OS X.
• Apple LLVM compiler supports additional C++11 features, including lambdas.
• Assistant editor tracks caller or callee for the current selection.
• New localization workflow can share a single base .xib file for multiple locales on OS X.
• Source control can commit individually selected changes.
• ARC migration tool converts both retain/release and garbage collected code.
• Fixes an issue where code completion could fail, requiring the user to delete derived data.
• Additional bug fixes and stability improvements.

Specific Xcode 4.4 release notes and feature highlights should be available through the Xcode 4 Downloads and Resources page later today, and through the Mac Dev Center for developers in the Mac Developer Program. Xcode 4.4 can be downloaded via the link above or from the Mac App Store.

Aperture, iPhoto, and iMovie Receive Small Updates Alongside Launch of Mountain Lion

While Apple’s iWork updates for Pages, Keynote, and Numbers include support for iCloud and the MacBook Pro with Retina display, today’s updates for professional and creative applications such as Aperture (already updated to take advantage of the Retina display), iPhoto, and iMovie consist of stability improvements and further integration with this morning’s release of OS X Mountain Lion.

Aperture 3.3.2

The latest version of Aperture includes updates for added compatibility with Mountain Lion, addresses stability issues that can occur when the app is in Full Screen mode, tweaks auto white balance when using Skin Tone mode, and now lets users sort projects and albums in the Library Inspector by date, name, and kind.

iPhoto 9.3.2

Today’s iPhoto update is about bringing sharing options to Messages and Twitter, whilst fixing some stability issues and improving compatibility with Mountain Lion. Last month, iPhoto and Aperture were updated with the release of the MacBook Pro with Retina display. Among other things, this update unified the two apps’ libraries, enabling them to access each others’ stored photos natively.

iMovie 9.0.7

While iMovie’s release notes don’t specifically mention Mountain Lion on the Mac App Store, it does call for fixes with third-party Quicktime components, improved stability when viewing MPEG-2 clips in the Camera Import window, and brings sound back to MPEG-2 clips important from a camera (where it may have been absent before).

You can download Aperture, iPhoto, and iMovie from the Mac App Store.

iWork Suite Updated With iCloud & Retina MacBook Pro Support

Apple has today updated the Mac versions of iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) to include support for the new display on the Retina MacBook Pro as well as integration of iCloud. Support for iCloud now allows users of the iWork apps to create documents on their iPhone, iPad or Mac and then continue working on them on any of their other devices, no matter where they are. The highlight of it all is that changes are synced across automatically and instantly. iCloud support for the Mac apps has been a long time coming, with the iOS versions updated to include support late last year, but comes today on the release of Mountain Lion which touts iCloud support as one of the key improvements.

Users of the new Retina MacBook Pro and iWork suite will also be happy with today’s update that now natively supports the new display. As Apple says, “everything you create in iWork is stunning on the new MacBook Pro with Retina display”.

For those wanting a complete overhaul of the iWork suite, well today just isn’t that day. Whilst Apple nearly always just calls it “iWork”, there are a few reminders on Apple’s own website, that these are apps that last received a major update in 2009.

You can download or purchase the latest version of iWork from the Mac App Store: Pages, Keynote, Numbers.

Apple Pulls Lion From The Mac App Store With The Release Of Mountain Lion

Apple today released OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion on the Mac App Store and has now also removed OS X 10.7 Lion from the Mac App Store. You can no longer go to the Lion page via its direct link, by searching or by finding it on the top grossing list as it was earlier this morning.

Apple presumably pulled Lion because users wanting to upgrade to Mountain Lion can also do so from Snow Leopard. Keeping both Lion and Mountain Lion on the Mac App Store would have presumably caused confusion for some users - particularly given Lion cost $29.99 and Mountain Lion costs just $19.99 - seemingly suggesting that Lion was the latest OS.

Update 4:05 PM: Customers who purchased Lion should still be available to download Lion from the Mac App Store when you option click the Purchased tab.

You can read the MacStories review of Mountain Lion here.

Announcing Our First eBook

MacStories is pleased to announce their first eBook, MacStories Features: OS X Mountain Lion, for $6.99. With a detailed review of Mountain Lion, numerous sections covering its new apps and features in depth, and 30% of its proceeds going to the American Cancer Society, MacStories Features: OS X Mountain Lion is a great way to learn about Mountain Lion, support MacStories, and fight cancer all at once.

Contents

We’ve put a lot of effort into this book: it contains exclusive guides for preparing your Mac for Mountain Lion, walks you through every aspect of the install process, and contains great tips and tricks you won’t find anywhere else. Every inch of its over 120 pages is custom-designed and optimized for Retina displays, presenting its content in a beautiful, easy-to-read format.

You can download MacStories Features: OS X Mountain Lion here.

Buy Now

Buy Now

Cover image by ehtesham/Shutterstock.com

Apple Confirms OS X Mountain Lion Coming Tomorrow

In the Q3 2012 press release, Apple has confirmed that OS X Mountain Lion is launching tomorrow, July 25th. The OS will be available on the Mac App Store at $19.99.

OS X Mountain Lion is a major upgrade to Apple’s desktop operating system which includes over 200 new features that further ties OS X into iCloud and brings many important iOS applications to the Mac. Major new OS X features include apps such as Notes and Reminders, Messages, Game Center, the Notification Center that works similarly to iOS, Gatekeeper — ensuring that users stay safe when they download and install applications, Dictation, and Power Nap for compatible Macs.

Apple Q3 2012 Results: $35 Billion Revenue, 26 Million iPhones, 17 Million iPads, 4 Million Macs Sold

Apple has just posted their Q3 2012 financial results for the quarter ending on July 24, 2012. The company posted revenue of $35 billion, with 17 million iPads, 26 million iPhones and 4 million Macs sold. iPhone represented a 28 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter, while iPad reported a 84 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 6.8 million iPods, a 10 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The company posted quarterly net profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per diluted share.  International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

For Q2 2012, Apple posted revenue of $39.2 billion, with 11.8 million iPads, 35.1 million iPhones and 4 million Macs sold. Apple’s iPad represented a 151 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter, while iPhone reported a 88 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. 7.7 million iPods sold, a 15 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The company posted quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share. In the year-ago-quarter, Q3 2011, Apple posted revenue of $28.57 billion, with 9.25 million iPads, 20.34 million iPhones and 3.95 million Macs sold.

Expectations

On July 24th, Philip Elmer-Dewitt published a forecast chart tracking predictions from 63 analysts, half working for banks or brokerage firms, and half independent whom follow Apple for fun or personal profit. Professional analysts expected $10.33 per share and revenue of $37 billion, while independent analysts expected $12.31 per share and revenue of $41.5 billion.

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, quoted from Apple’s Financial Results for Q3 2012:

 Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $7.65.

Apple will provide a live audio feed of its Q3 2012 conference call at 2:00 PM PST, and we’ll update this story with conference highlights. The full press release is embedded after the break.

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Google Acquires Sparrow

Sparrow, the email client for OS X, just announced they have been acquired by Google. The Sparrow team will join the Gmail team to “accomplish a bigger vision”. Since its release, Sparrow has quickly become one of the most popular mail clients on OS X and, more recently, on the iPhone as well.

From the Sparrow website:

We’re excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google!

We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience.

Now we’re joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.

According to the developers, while the product has been acquired by Google, it will continue to be available, and the team will still provide support for its users, at least for the time being.

After the release of the iPhone client, the Sparrow team publicly asked Apple to figure out a solution to let them implement push notifications, which Sparrow wanted to use through a different method than the one enforced by Apple. The Sparrow team stated push was coming with or without Apple, but then suggested push would be coming with a yearly subscription after Apple’s decision not to allow their implementation of push notifications.

Recently, Sparrow also announced they were working on an iPad application. However, in an email the team just sent to existing customers, they wrote:

as we’ll be busy with new projects at Google, we do not plan to release new features for the Sparrow apps.

On the other hand, Google’s own Gmail app has always been heavily criticized (in spite of its improvements) for its performances and reliance on web views instead of “native” code in several interactions with navigation, message search, and more. In theory, the acquisition of Sparrow should hint at a major update to the official Gmail offerings for iOS coming in the future, although, obviously, the details are not clear at this point.

Interestingly enough, while Sparrow does have clients for both iPhone and OS X, Google has never offered an official Gmail application for the Mac. Similarly, one of the most prominent features of Sparrow is its ability to pull contacts’ profile pictures from Facebook, a kind of integration we assume would be going away in an hypothetical Google-owned version of Sparrow, replaced by Google+ support for avatars. Again, the same would apply for Dropbox and CloudApp, both of which are file sharing services supported by Sparrow; theoretically, Google would want to replace those features with Google Drive, their service for sharing and collaborating on documents online.

For a background on Sparrow, check out our latest coverage of the Mac client, our review of Sparrow for iPhone, and initial impressions with the Google Gmail app.

Update: A Google spokesperson has provided MacStories with a statement on Sparrow’s acquisition.

The Sparrow team has always put their users first by focusing on building a seamlessly simple and intuitive interface for their email client. We look forward to bringing them aboard the Gmail team, where they’ll be working on new projects.