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Thoughts and Questions On The Mac App Store

Many of us thought Apple would never announce an App Store for Mac. When we discussed the subject, the most frequent reaction I heard from developers was:

“They can’t force users to go through an App Store on computers”

That is going to change. Like it or not, Apple wants to make the process of finding and installing software on the Mac easier, faster and integrated, and by bringing the system created on the iPhone and refined on the iPad back to the Mac, they’re going to literally reinvent the wheel. Read more

Inside FaceTime for Mac

Earlier today Apple announced FaceTime for Mac and released a first beta version for download. Despite some initial download issues, the beta is now up and available here. I’ve tested the app on my MacBook Pro by calling a couple of friends on their iPhone and MacBooks, and it works really well.

It’s a first beta though, and there are some unpolished areas and unfinished features Apple is likely going to address in the future updates. Read more

iLife ’11 Officially Announced, Available Today!

At today’s press event, Steve Jobs announced iLife ‘11. It’s got all the same apps in it, that means iDVD and iWeb haven’t been removed.

iPhoto ‘11 comes with new full screen modes, revamped Facebook features, email support, a UI very similar to iOS. There are new slideshow modes with templates as well (with nice 3D effects) and better Maps integration.

iLife ‘11 comes for free with every new Mac, $49 as an upgrade and it’s available today.

Tim Cook: Mac’s Not Dead, A Third of Apple’s Revenue

During today’s Apple event, Tim Cook confirmed what we already knew: the Mac is definitely not dead. Some numbers:

  • Mac is 33% of Apple’s revenue, $22 billion

- Mac share of US consumer retail PCs: 21%.

  • #110 in Fortune 500

- 13.7 million Macs sold FY 2010. That’s 3x as many sold as 5 years ago

PwnageTool 4.1 Is A Go, Jailbreaks Apple TV Too

Great news, jailbreakers: PwangeTool 4.1 is out. It jailbreaks the new Apple TV as well.

Through a combination of the recently released geohot limera1n exploit comex’s recently released pf exploit, and our original pwnage2 exploit, PwnageTool 4.1 works on these devices at firmware 4.1:

  • AppleTV 2G
  • iPad (firmware 3.2.2)
  • iPod touch 4G
  • iPod touch 3G
  • iPhone4
  • iPhone 3GS
  • iPhone 3G

PwnageTool allows you to restore to a custom IPSW file.  For instance, you can restore to a pre-jailbroken firmware while simultaneously maintaining your current baseband (and thus your ultrasn0w carrier unlock).  You can also add whatever packages you want in the “Expert” mode of PwnageTool, if you wish to pre-install Cydia packages.   iPhone 3G users get the additional benefit of selecting their own boot and recovery logos, and features like multitasking and battery charge percentage.

PwnageTool’s main advantage to ramdisk-based methods (limera1n, greenpois0n, redsn0w) is for unlockers — those that need to keep their current baseband and preserve their ultrasn0w unlock.  But in this new age of both bootrom- and userland-based exploits, its an excellent platform for continuing the jailbreak through all future firmwares.

Unlike previous rumors claimed, the iPad with 4.2 beta firmware is not supported. I guess the Dev Team will just wait for the GM release at this point.

Acer’s JT Wang Thinks iPad Users Will Eventually Return To Their Senses

Oh, Acer. It must be difficult to be cut out of a new market segment and not be able to come out with a product to compete with Apple’s iPad or the upcoming Samsung tablet.

Acer’s chairman JT Wang, at a recent summit in Taiwan, commented on the success of the iPad by stating it hasn’t got a “serious impact” on the notebook market, and consumers will eventually grow tired of the product. Tablets will be a new potential segment, according to Wang, but they won’t “eliminate” notebooks. Read more