The Macalope, on the churning shitstorm the media has created around Apple:
People like stories. Even—and sometimes especially—if they’re not true.
Category: Apple
AppleTV Gets Silent Revision, Smaller A5⇢
Anand Lal Shimpi:
The latest Apple TV doesn’t change functionality, nor does it appear to be a step back in performance. The A1469 model really helps Apple reduce costs, both through better engineering and through a physically smaller A5 SoC.
While the implication of this smaller A5 chipset isn’t immediately clear, it’s always fun when Apple tinkers in public.
Apple Releases 10.8.3⇢
Here are the goods:
- The ability to redeem iTunes gift cards in the Mac App Store using your Mac’s built-in camera
- Boot Camp support for installing Windows 8
- Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3 TB hard drive
- A fix for an issue that could cause a file URL to quit apps unexpectedly
- A fix for an issue that may cause Logic Pro to become unresponsive when using certain plug-ins
- A fix for an issue that may cause audio to stutter on 2011 iMacs
- A fix for an issue in Contacts that may cause cards to print out of order
- A fix for an issue that may cause the desktop picture to change after logging out or restarting
- A fix for an issue in Messages that may cause messages to appear out of order after waking from sleep
- A fix for an issue that may cause the screen to display incorrectly after waking from sleep
- Improves compatibility with IMAP servers in the Notes app
- Allows the Slideshow screen saver to display photos located in a subfolder
- A fix for an issue in Contacts that may cause addresses to print in the wrong location
- Reliability improvements when using a Microsoft Exchange account in Mail
- Xsan reliability improvements
- A fix for an issue that could cause Active Directory accounts to be locked out after accessing the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences
- A fix for an issue that could cause link aggregation to not complete after a restart
- A fix for an issue that could cause delays when logging into an Active Directory account on high latency networks
Apple Adds VESA Mount Option to new iMacs⇢
For $40 more than the standard price, Apple will ship you an iMac without a foot, but with a VESA mounting plate on the back.
Microsoft, Mozilla and iOS: Pouting Isn’t Fun for Anyone
Two and a half billion dollars.
That’s how much Morgan Stanley’s Adam Holt estimates Microsoft (MSFT) may be leaving on the table by not offering a full version of its Office suite (Word, Excel, etc.) on Apple’s (AAPL) iPads.
But Microsoft hasn’t released Office for iPad. While the usefulness of such a suite of applications is lost on users like me, there’s no doubt the company is leaving (what the kids call) a metric shit ton of money on the table, even with Apple taking 30 percent off the top.
Apple’s Not A Parent⇢
Jim Dalrymple:
The simple fact is, as parents, it’s up to us to monitor what our kids do with technology or any toy. If you choose not to use the included controls because they are a hassle, then that’s your choice. You made that decision.
This.
Education iMac Gets Spec Bump⇢
Edgar Alvarez at Engadget:
Apple’s pricing its newly redesigned iMac starting at $1,099 instead of $999 – and that includes Intel’s 3.3GHz, dual-core i3 CPU alongside HD Graphics 4000, a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM.
The educational machine is not as beefy as the i5-powered public-facing model, but I’m sure schools will appreciate the price break.
Unless they’re all buying iPads now.
On the Mac Pro, the xMac and What’s Happening in 2013
John Siracusa, in 2005, for Ars Technica:
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the xMac. My xMac. The Mac that I want to buy. Reduced to one sentence, it’s a completely configurable, headless Mac that trades expandability for reduced size and cost.
The idea of the xMac is older than this article, as John explains, but it’s pretty simple: a Mac that trades some of the flexibility of the Mac Pro for a big reduction in price. A Mac mini-priced system with a few PCI Express 2.0 slots, a nice RAM ceiling would tickle the fancy of many Mac nerds who dislike the iMac’s severe lack of upgradability.
Investigative Tech Journalism At Its Best⇢
The subhead to a story written by Austin Carr:
Six years and five iPhones later, Fast Company tracks down the recipient of Steve Jobs’s groundbreaking prank call, the first ever made from Apple’s original iPhone to the outside world.
Beyond the Living Room: Using the Apple TV in the Real World
It’s hard not to like the Apple TV. For just $99, it delivers iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and more, right to your television. It’s simple to setup, simple to use and simple to troubleshoot. There’s really no reason not to have one as part of your home media setup.
As Apple’s quarterly numbers always show, the Apple TV continues to grow in success.
I manage almost 40 of them at work.
We use them in classrooms, conference rooms and sound booths for AirPlay from iOS devices and recent Macs. AirPlay works great — even across VLANs — if you have your network set up well.
On Samsung and Blind iPhone Users⇢
Shame on you, Samsung.
The Worst Apple Print Ads of All Time⇢
Linus Edwards has complied a list of doozies.