Both Leopard and Snow Leopard are getting Java updates today: OS X 10.5 getting its 9th, while OS X 10.6 is getting a 4th update to improve reliability, security, and updates Java SE 6 on 64-bit capable Intel Macs to 1.6.0_24. You can download the latest version of Java for your Mac through the links below, or simply use the software update from the menu bar.
Download:
Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 9
Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 4
Since I might (and that is a huge might) be using Ustream’s latest app on Friday to broadcast my adventure to the Apple Store and the line craziness, I figured I’d give all of you Apple iPad 2 buyers the heads-up on Ustream 2.0, which launched late February but was drowned out in the sea of MacBook news and iPad 2 rumors. Ustream was used extensively by Engadget during their last meet-up, and it worked out incredibly well. Ustream is bringing everything together in the 2.0 release so you can record, talk to peeps in the chat room, share content with friends on Facebook and Twitter, and you can customize Ustream’s menu so you have all of your favorite features right at your fingertips. The app also defaults to an audio stream when your connection is poor, but Ustream is looking into a way to gracefully degrade the quality of the video stream instead. It’s a free download in the App Store, so if you have a Ustream account and want to clog Verizon’s or AT&T’s network with iPad 2 launch shenanigans, join me in downloading the latest update from the App Store.
[Ustream Blog via TechCrunch]
With all the hands-on videos and first impressions about the iPad 2 we collected from around the web last week, we didn’t have the chance to take a look at the actual quality of videos recorded through the new device’s cameras. The iPad 2 features both a rear and front-facing camera to shoot videos and photos, use Photo Booth and have video calls with your friends and family using FaceTime. The front-facing camera is a VGA one, whilst the rear one allows for 720p HD video recording at 30 frames per second, with zoom up to 5x for stills. Apple didn’t provide detailed specs on the megapixels of the rear camera, but it appears that it will be a 1 MP one similar to the camera found on the iPod touch 4th gen.
So how will videos shot on the iPad 2 look, exactly? We don’t know yet, but the video embedded below was indeed recorded with the iPad 2’s back camera. The video doesn’t offer precise indication of how videos will look on the new tablet, mainly because it was shot in low-light conditions, shared via email and then uploaded to Youtube – which applies compression to video files.
Some quality got lost in the process, but it’s one of the first examples of how iPad 2 videos will look on Youtube, right? Check it out. [via iPadevice] Read more
According to German website Macerkopf.de, Apple will hold a media event at the corporate headquarters in Cupertino to give a sneak peek of the upcoming major version of their mobile operating system, iOS 5, and the new MobileMe. The website reports [Google Translation] invitations will be sent out in the second week of April, and admittedly this rumor corroborates several blogs’ speculation that Apple wanted to save iOS 5 for a proper dedicated event instead of a quick preview at the iPad 2 event on March 2.
Previous rumors suggested iOS 5 would get a completely new notification system, deeper integration with the cloud (thanks to the data center in North Carolina) and several location-based features. As for design changes, patents Apple had been awarded showed new scrollable menus and other interface styles. MobileMe is also widely believed to come with a new, free version for all customers with cloud backup support for iTunes and other media. Steve Jobs once said in an email to a customer that MobileMe would get “a lot better” in 2011.
Code references found in early iOS 4.3 betas pointed to a new feature in development called MediaStream for photos and videos. In the past months speculation also indicated Apple was working on a smaller version of the iPhone strongly based on cloud services, although the rumor has been debunked from various sources since then.
There is no doubt, however, that Apple will prefer holding a single event focused on iOS 5 rather than including the preview in other product announcements. With an iOS 5 preview and beta likely to ship in April, developers will have plenty of time to update their applications for a possible launch of the new OS at the WWDC in June alongside the new iPhone.
2011 won’t be a year just about the iPad. Apple’s AirPlay will be saturating the market this summer with dozens of speakers, docks, and receivers designed to wirelessly stream your tunes in lossless glory. Today, Philips, Pioneer, and JBL have all announced speakers and receivers that all support Apple’s wireless sharing capabilities, and we’ve got press releases, prices, and more after the break.
Update #2: MacRumors and others report the iPhone 4 on SK Telecom is a CDMA one. We’ll see.
Update: It looks like Electronista incorrectly reported the iPhone 4 on SK Telecom was CDMA, and has updated the article. We indeed noticed the lack of CDMA details, and as also noted by our friends over at SetteB.it the iPhone 4 on SK Telecom will be a GSM unit because of the mention of a SIM slot in the device’s FAQ.
As reported by Electronista, South Korean carrier SK Telecom has officially announced they are bringing the iPhone 4 to South Korea on March 16 with online and retail store pre-orders starting on March 9. Although no technical details have been provided by Apple or SK Telecom’s website in the press release, it is widely believed that the CDMA version of the iPhone will be released in South Korea, thus ending the temporary “exclusive” availability of the device on Verizon Wireless’ network in the United States.
“SK Telecom is proud to offer iPhone 4 on the nation’s top network,” said So Jin-Woo, President of Platform Business and Co-CEO of SK Telecom. “Our customers will benefit from flexible tariff plans tailored to their unique usage needs along with a high level of customer care.”
Customers may pre-register for iPhone 4 beginning March 9 at 7:00 a.m. at SK Telecom’s official online store, T Smart Shop, or at one of 1,500 authorized SK Telecom T World retail stores.
Full pricing and availability details for iPhone 4 in Korea will be available soon.
The release of the CDMA iPhone on a network outside the United States opens, of course, to the possibility of other countries getting the CDMA device relatively soon. For instance, it was rumored that China Mobile might be getting the iPhone (and LTE) this year – a great opportunity for Apple to expand the iPhone’s addressable market in Asian countries typically relying on CDMA networks instead of GSM. Apple’s move to South Korea could also mean big trouble for manufacturers like Samsung, which has maintained a strong grip on the market in the past years.
The launch comes late into the iPhone 4’s lifecycle but could have a major impact on the spread of Android in the country. Although KT has sold over two million iPhones since it began carrying the iPhone 3GS in November 2009, its role as the third-largest carrier has limited its reach and, similar to AT&T’s US exclusive, given Android free rein.
A teardown of the CDMA iPhone revealed the device is running a dual GSM-CDMA chip with worldphone capabilities, and yesterday it was reported a software hack can make the CDMA Verizon iPhone run on pay-as-you-go US network Cricket.
Former senior vice president at Apple Jay Elliot shares some details and thoughts about Steve Jobs’ “modus operandi” in a recent article at Forbes. That’s an interesting read that, overall, seems to confirm what most people think about Jobs’ way of leading Apple to success:
The key point, however, is this:
Many people still think Steve Jobs does everything at Apple from coding to design to marketing and app development, but they don’t understand Apple as a company is “simply” a well-oiled and functioning machine made of talented people.
Happy Fat Tuesday, it’s Mardi Gras season again! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
A few minutes ago Google announced the availability of Instant Previews for mobile devices, a new way to quickly preview the contents of a webpage by simply tapping with your finger on a magnifying glass icon next to search results. Instant Previews, perfectly compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch, allow you to flick through a series of thumbnails for a specific webpage like in the iOS photo app, without actually following the link in Mobile Safari.
As soon as you tap on a link from the visual preview gallery, Mobile Safari will open the webpage. Hit the back button, and you’re brought to the gallery again. The animations are very neat and fluid from what we can see now, and there’s even some kind of rubber-banding elastic effect when you scroll thumbnails. Sadly, there’s no support for Instant Previews in mobile Youtube videos – just webpages.
For example, if you’re looking for a webpage that has both photos and descriptions, you can use Instant Previews to quickly identify these pages by navigating across the visual search results with a few swipes of your finger. Or perhaps you’re looking for an article, a step-by-step instructions list, or a product comparison chart—with Instant Previews, you can see easily spot pages with the right content without having to navigate back and forth between websites and search results.
iOS 4 or later is required for Instant Previews, and you can try them on your iPhone now. Promo video and another screenshot below. More information available here. Read more
