As we all know, Apple has a history of great advertising. One of the most popular campaigns of all time are the Mac vc PC ads with John Hodgman as PC and Justin Long as Mac. They had 66 TV commercials before the series was ended last year. Adweek has compiled all 66 of them into one post for your nostalgic viewing pleasure, in chronological order too.
The very first commercial after the break.
Over in China, iPhones and iPod Touches don’t come with the in-built YouTube app because of that infamous ‘Great Firewall of China’. Like various other websites and social networking sites, YouTube is blocked in the country. But reports today suggest that YouKu, effectively China’s version of YouTube, may soon have an app that comes pre-installed on Chinese iOS devices, just as YouTube currently does in the rest of the world.
TechNode claims, based on information gathered from a trusted source, that the YouKu founder, Victor Koo, met with Steve Jobs over the possibility of having a YouKu app pre-installed on Chinese iPhones and other iOS devices. YouKu, like YouTube is for the rest of the world, is a pretty dominant and popular videa sharing site, allowing users to upload videos of unlimited length and even has licenses with over 1,500 television stations, distributors and film production companies which are a large part of the site.
Apart from the TechNode report, information on this is scarce, but the fact that YouTube is banned in China does lend credence to the possibility that Apple would want to build in another online video streaming app directly on their devices.
[Via TheNextWeb]
This week’s release of iOS 4.3.3 may have patched some of the location log concerns people had, but it did nothing in the way of patching the exploit used by the Dev-Team that allowed them to release PwnageTool and redsn0w, both of which can jailbreak nearly all iOS devices on 4.3.3. The key exploit, discovered by relative newcomer to the jailbreak scene, Stefan Esser (@ionic) was originally used to deliver an untethered jailbreak, but surprisingly still works despite two iOS updates.
The small work that is required to get the exploit to work on the new iOS version has been done and as a result there is a new PwnageTool and redsn0w available for download. Like the versions made available for the 4.3.1 jailbreak, it uses geohot’s limera1n bootrom in conjunction with Esser’s exploit. Unfortunately the iPad 2 has yet to be jailbroken by the team, but they do note on their blog that development is currently going ahead. However apart from that, every other device capable of running iOS 4.3.3 can use the 4.3.3 untethered jailbreak – this includes the iPhone 3GS and 4, iPod Touch 3G and 4G, iPad 1 and the Apple TV (2G).
For those curious, it is presumed that the first iOS update after the jailbreak was made available, 4.3.2, didn’t fix the exploit because it was compiled the day before the release of the jailbreak. Finally, a note of warning to those ultrasn0w unlockers to stay away from redsn0w and use a custom IPSW to update to 4.3.3.
PwnageTool (OS X Only) [Torrent] [Direct Download]
[Via Dev-Team Blog]
The iPad 2 today launched in Thailand and China, following last weeks launch in twelve other countries and yet again queues could be seen outside Apple stores and other resellers. Unsurprisingly, the Apple online store also sold out within hours in both Thailand and China as well, with an expected shipping time of 1-2 weeks.
Jump the break for some more photos of the launch in Thailand and China.
Could Apple transition from Intel processors to ARM processors within the next few years? A report by SemiAccurate yesterday suggests that, yes, Apple is planning to transition Intel processors off its laptop line in the not too distant future.
They suggest that the transition will take place once ARM has matured onto full 64-bit chips which is expected by mid-2013; likely using something akin to NVidia’s upcoming Denver chips. Furthermore they note:
At that point, Apple can move to ARM without worrying about obsoleting code with an [instruction set architecture] that is on the verge of changing, and no memory overhead worries either. Basically, it looks like the perfect time. Ironically, SemiAccurate’s moles tell us that the boys on infinite loop are planning to move laptops to ARM at about that time. Coincidence? Nope.
Apple isn’t a stranger to the ARM architecture; it has a heavy investment in it with its iOS platform of devices, strengthened recently by its acquisition of ARM designers P.A. Semi and Intrinsity. Whilst ARM has been known for their low power processors, in recent times there have been strong signs that ARM will move into high-performance computing as well – a suggestion strengthened by the announcement of 64-bit chips and NVidia’s “Project Denver”.
Despite the promise of ARM’s power, it still is, like yesterday’s 3D iPad rumor, a rumor that is at this point fairly far-fetched. Apple’s transition from PowerPC to Intel came with some serious amount of engineering and whilst that paid off, it also created compatibility issues. Similarly, if Apple made the transition to ARM processors they would not be able to run existing OS X applications without an emulation layer and it wouldn’t just be Apple that would have to do a lot of work to get everything working, developers too would feel the pain.
As MacRumors points out, SemiAccurate is not a frequent of source of Apple rumors, although the site does point out that they were correct in predicting Apple’s move away from NVidia GPUs in their computers. Meanwhile, earlier this year, at CES, Microsoft demoed an early build of Windows 8 running on ARM processors which does suggest that perhaps Apple and Microsoft have seen the potential in ARM and are willing to go through the hard yards and re-engineer their Operating Systems to run on the ARM architecture.
[Via MacRumors]
With all the debates surrounding Apple’s use of location tracking data, it’s not surprise that apps based on the opposite concept have started showing up on the web and App Store: whilst the blogosphere made a big deal out of a software bug in iOS that left a cache of cellular points unencrypted on a computer, some people thought from the beginning of this latest Apple brouhaha that having visual access to your location in history, on a map was a cool thing. That’s why the NYT Lab department itself created a web tool to donate and visualize location data: if you have nothing to hide and you don’t mind sharing your location history, seeing stuff on a map is neat. Some even say it reminds us of the power of mobile technology nowadays. Footprints, a new app for iPhone and iPad, takes this idea a step further and allows you to constantly monitor the real-time location of your friends, family members and employees legally, with an app, all the time, with a few taps.
Footprints has got an interesting pricing scheme: it’s free for two months, but you can purchase a subscription for 3 months ($0.99), one year ($2.99) or two years ($4.99). If you download the app now, create an account and then purchase a three-month subscription, those three months will add on top of the two months you already have for free. Very cool. So how does it work? You basically can create an account to be tracked in real-time, and share your location with your friends and family. Similarly, people can share their location with you, choosing an expiration time for sharing and the maximum number of “waypoints” to display. Footprints relies on Apple’s GPS tracking implementation, and for this reason it comes with several settings to tweak the behavior of background tracking in order to make sure battery won’t die in 2 hours. The developers explain the app uses Apple’s “Significant Location Change” technology to determine location changes and waypoints, which are typically logged after a change “of 500 meters to 3 km or a quarter-mile to 2 miles”, depending on cellular network coverage. In the Settings, however, you can customize the location tracking method even deeper: if you don’t want to use cellular triangulation, you can turn on GPS pulse every 10 minutes, or every 5 minutes. Of course, the more frequently a GPS call occurs, the faster your battery will drain. But there’s more: you can specify a “sufficient accuracy” in locating your position, auto-sensing and “minimum movement.”
The app’s got Facebook check-in integration and parental controls with passcode, but what struck me as incredibly easy is the way you can share your location with people you know and trust. In the settings, all you have to do is pick a contact from your Address Book, and choose to share your location with him / her. Provided this person is using Footprints with the same phone number and email address you have in your Address Book, he or she will be able to see your position based on the sharing settings you chose. In the main screen of the app (a map), you’ll be able to switch between your location (marked by a Me tab) and others’ (the Friends tab). That’s it. As these people move and go places, you’ll see them on your device with the waypoints and information they chose to share. It’s remarkably user-friendly, private, and, overall, simply well done.
Footprints is free, features iTunes in-app purchases and adopts the “it just works” philosophy for two important subjects nowadays like location tracking and privacy. Give it a try.
If you’re a proud user of The Iconfactory’s Twitterrific (Hooah!), it’s time to check the Mac App Store or the menubar for an update to 4.1, which brings lots of new & thoughtful features to the colorful client. Introduced with the most recent iOS update, Twitterrific for the Mac now boasts autocomplete (which is done just as tastefully) and has updated its fonts to Helvetica, prominently used in Lion. Font rendering and especially scrolling performance will now see a significant improvement with the Magic Mouse, but that’s not all you’ll find underneath the new hood.
This year, Apple ranks 35th in Fortune 500’s rundown, edging out Microsoft at 38 and Boeing at 36. Apple’s jump from 56 last year just shows how much impact the iPad has had on the company, along with continuing growth for Macs and iPhones. Fortune notes that stock holders have nothing to fear; Apple’s dominating the playing field by continuing to sell first class products that outpace what the rest of the industry currently offers.
During the past months, I’ve stumbled upon several Mac apps that enable to turn your computer into an AirPlay receiver. None of them, however, provided the same amount of stability and functionality I’ve found today in AirServer, a $3 app that easily turns your Mac into an AirPlay device for audio, photos and videos. Since Apple introduced AirPlay with iOS 4.2 back in November, many have wondered whether it’d be possible to use the streaming features of the protocol (for music and other kinds of media) on a Mac, rather than on iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs. The number of Mac apps that came out promising to bring AirPlay on the desktop was quite overwhelming: from simple utilities to stream music to more complex solutions like Banana TV, developers didn’t even refrain from creating similar alternatives for iOS devices, turning an iPad into a receiver for video. And if that’s not enough, remember a few weeks ago a hacker cracked the encryption keys used by Apple in the AirPort Express station – opening the door to even more apps with AirPlay / AirTunes integration.
AirServer brings some clarity and unification with a $3 purchase and a simple package that runs in the menubar. That’s it, no UI. Heck, the icon can be removed from the menubar, if you want. What AirServer does is simple: it turns a Mac into an AirPlay receiver for anything. Provided you have an iOS device (or another Mac) to start a streaming session, you’ll be able to listen to music (or any other audio) or watch videos and photos coming from AirPlay on your Mac’s big screen. I have an iMac at home, and AirServer is just perfect on it: I can fire up Instacast on my iPhone and listen to my favorite podcast on better speakers (pardon me if I don’t have external speakers); I can find a cool YouTube video and instantly beam it to my Mac without sharing any link; I can take my entire Camera Roll and show photos of my last vacation to my (poorly sighted) parents on the iMac. Now we’re talking.
As for quality, I have tested AirServer on two different local networks with pretty good results. Videos stored on device start playing almost instantly; music quality was great, with a couple of lags on my slower home network in a 2-hour playing time; photos stream just fine with responsive touch controls as you swipe. AirServer takes a minimal footprint on your Mac, and I’ve also noticed it reproduces the fading effect you get on the iPhone when you change your audio source. Overall, the app is stable and I was pleased to see an update was issued a few hours after I bought the app.
To sum up: at $3 you get an AirPlay receiver for Mac that supports audio, videos (even from Youtube and other apps) and photos. If you love AirPlay, get AirServer.
