512 Pixels

It seems that Apple is having employees — retail employees, at least — post some fine print on their Twitter accounts.

Here are a few examples I’ve come across over the last few days:

The comments and views shared on this or any other site are not shared by Apple or any affiliated parties…They belong to me and Apple can and should not be held responsible in any way for my postings on this site or any other.

And:

The comments and views shared on my Twitter are not shared by Apple or any affiliated parties. They are my own personal opinions and views and Apple can not be held responsible in any way for my postings on this site. Thanks!

Think of this what you will. During my time in Apple Retail, I wasn’t allowed to blog about technology and once was refused permission to write a piece for our local newspaper on digital photography.

Before Apple allowed third-party apps on the iPhone, jailbreaking was the only way to run native applications. Then, many of the apps were simple and usually didn’t run very well. But the community behind those apps made the iPhone do all sorts of things Apple didn’t include at the time — most notably copy and paste. Those (along with UI tweaks) were compelling reasons to jailbreak.

Today, Apple’s App Store offers many of the things that the jailbreak community once did. However, the jailbreak repositories still house some great software that Apple won’t allow you to install or run on your device.

I’m now on my third iPhone. I’ve jailbroken each of them with all versions of the iPhone OS. Here’s why:

1. Tethering

I have a Verizion 3G card I use with my MacBook if I need an Internet connection when I’m away from wi-fi, but Verizion (as great as they are) has dead spots just like anyone else. I like having my iPhone’s data plan handy as a backup if I need it. PDANet is a jailbreak app that makes tethering a breeze.

Sure, there are hacks out there to make tethering work without resorting to jailbreaking, but they aren’t too stable in my experience, so until AT&T turns on tethering for iPhone customers (at a decent price, mind you), PDANet is a must-have for me.

2. LockInfo

LockInfo allows me to see into my most important data quickly via the lock screen. Sumperimposed on my wallpaper, I can see the weather, any missed calls, voicemail or SMS messages, get a preview of unread emails and see upcoming calendar events — all without sliding my finger and opening an app.

I fell in love with this functionality back when I carried a PocketPC (and later a Newton MP2000) and consider it my launchpad, especially during busy workdays. Not having to fumble with my iPhone while driving is real useful.

3. GV Mobile (and other forbidden apps)

When Apple removed all the Google Voice apps from the App Store, I was bummed that I hadn’t snagged a copy of GV Mobile when it was available. I don’t intend on replacing my mobile number with my Google Voice number, but I like having a number I can give that rings my office and iPhone at once. I was relived to hear that the developer was going to make the app available for free for users with jailbroken developers. With the ability to use my phone’s contact list, store voicemail visually like the phone app and more, GV Mobile is another app I’ve come to rely on almost every day, but can’t get via Apple’s official channel. I’ve heard Google has plans to re-write Google Voice as a web app (right now, if you visit google.com/voice on an iPhone, you just see a stripped down page), but there’s no comparing an actual application to webpage in Safari, no matter how pretty that webpage may be.

For me, jailbreaking my iPhone isn’t about sticking it to the man or shaking my fist at Apple. I just want my iPhone to do things Apple won’t allow. If Apple would allow for these apps via the App Store, I’d go that route. But they don’t, so I jailbreak.

Yes, there are risks, but almost any problem that could arise can be solved by simply restoring the iPhone’s firmware in iTunes. Hopefully it always be that simple.

The Loop:

Speculation of an Apple event in September broke earlier today, but The Loop has learned the event will not include the introduction of the rumored Apple tablet.

Very reliable sources familiar with the product have said speculation of the tablet being introduced during the September event are flat out wrong. The Apple tablet, they said, would not see the light of day until the first part of 2010.

The event in September will be focused on music, which means we could see new iPods and perhaps some updates to iTunes. The tablet computer will not even be mentioned as part of the event, my sources said.

Macworld:

Microsoft announced Thursday that the next edition of Microsoft Office for Mac will be released in late 2010. The new edition of the venerable office suite will include Outlook for Mac, a new application that will replace the Entourage.

“We’ll bring forward all the functionality from the Entourage Web Services Edition, including public folders, managed folders, and category syncing, but with Outlook we’re going even further and building a whole new application,” said Microsoft Mac Business Unit general manager Eric Wilfrid.

Wilfrid said that Microsoft will create Outlook for Mac using Apple’s modern Cocoa development frameworks, rather than the older Carbon system used by previous Office applications because of their legacy of having been originally developed for the Classic Mac OS.

This is great news all the way around.

It’s good news for Apple in that many businesses that already are married to Exchange and Outlook have one less reason to ignore the Mac. By having Outlook running on OS X, the Mac becomes much more attractive to business customers.

Sure, 10.6 includes built-in Exchange support, but Outlook is far more familiar to old PC users than Mail, Address Book and iCal, and migrating people away from Outlook to these three applications is painful. Hopefully migrating from Outlook on the PC to the Mac will be much easier, making the entire move from the PC to the Mac much smoother all around.

It’s good for Microsoft for several reasons as well. They will be able to continue making money off of Exchange licenses, even if that license is being used for someone on the Mac. They will still make money on Office for Mac licenses as well.

I think this marks a shift in thinking for Redmond. I think Microsoft knows that more companies are moving to the Mac, and they’ve responded well by opening their flagship enterprise product to all computer users — not just those running Windows. In the past, they’ve tried to draw a line in the sand between PCs and Macs with Office — different versions, different applications and different features that usually left the Mac looking a little wimpy. Yes, the PC version of Office still includes things like Access and Publisher that aren’t on the Mac (FileMaker and Pages make for decent competitors, though), but now the biggest difference — Outlook — isn’t an issue anymore.

Hopefully this won’t be a big deal:

Wilfrid emphasized that while Outlook for Mac won’t be a feature-for-feature match with Outlook on Windows, Outlook for Mac will be extremely compatible. “Outlook for Mac and Outlook for Windows work great together, and work great in an Exchange environment,” he said.

It can’t be worse then Entourage.

Adobe’s John Nack:

It’ll probably come as no surprise that Adobe is following Apple’s lead & going Intel-only with the next generation of the Creative Suite. That is, CS4 is the last version that’ll run on PowerPC-based Macs. You can read the details in the FAQ on Adobe.com.

By the time the next version of the Suite ships, the very youngest PPC-based Macs will be roughly four years old. They’re still great systems, but if you haven’t upgraded your workstation in four years, you’re probably not in a rush to upgrade your software, either. Bottom line: Time & resources are finite, and with big transitions underway (going 64-bit-native, switching from Carbon to Cocoa), you want Adobe building for the future, not for the past.

AppleInsider:

• Options to “Erase and Install” and “Archive and Install” are no longer present in the Mac OS X 10.6 installer. According to those familiar with the software, this was done for convenience, so that users do not accidentally erase and install their Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard partitions. However, “Erase and Install” remains available through Disk Utility, which is also included on the installation DVD.

• If you need to reinstall 10.6, it automatically archives and installs for you.

• A reinstallation will not affect your Mac OS X version number. In other words, reinstallation of Mac OS X 10.6 on a Mac that contains Mac OS X 10.6.1 (when it becomes available) will not overwrite any new components delivered by 10.6.1. So when the re-install is complete, you will still be running Mac OS X 10.6.1. This will save users considerable time.

I personally don’t think the OS X Installer is all that confusing now, but as long as Apple doesn’t get rid of any of the features, I have no issue with them rearranging things.

Ars Technica has info on a new Mac trojan horse:

The latest version of this trojan, dubbed OSX_JAHLAV.D by Trend Micro, comes from a number of websites like comandtryx.com, simplexdoom.com, and sinisteer.com—all which originate from a server with the IP address 91.214.45.73. When clicking to play the videos on these sites, you’ll be prompted to install a QuickTime update or plug-in. If you agree, a file called QuickTimeUpdate.dmg will be downloaded.

Here’s a hint: do not install this. If for some reason you fall prey to this scheme, a number of scripts are installed which allows a remote hacker to monitor your online activities and possibly key presses. It also redirects DNS requests, sending you to phishing sites and other unsavory areas of the Internet. And, notes Trend Micro researcher Feike Hacquebor, the scripts have been set up in such a way that if the IP addresses used by the hackers are shut down, they can quickly direct them to another one with ease.

The Mac is still the safest platform out there. Don’t be stupid. If you’re installing an update or system software, be sure it’s from Apple. Staying safe really is that simple.

Read Write Web:

AdMob just released some data about how iPhone users discover new apps in the App Store and how they use them once they have downloaded them. According to AdMob, most users download apps from the App Store directly from their phones. Only 7% go through iTunes to download apps. To find new apps, 62% of all respondents searched for a specific app and 60% looked through the lists of top selling apps in the store. AdMob also found that the majority of users (62%) install between 1 and 6 new apps per month and 22% of all iPhone users download more than 11 apps per month.

[…]

About 40% of all iPhone users use about 4 to 6 apps at least once a week. Only about 5% use more than 20 apps per week. Given how many apps most users download per month, these results validate some other reports we have seen which argue that most iPhone apps are disposable and are discarded after a few days of usage.

From the creators of Things, a wonderful to-do manager for the Mac and iPhone:

Believe it or not, we have been working on over-the-air sync since the beginning of this year. In the meantime, our goal changed from “something that works” (check out our competition if you want to know what we mean by that) to “a really sweet solution”. The tough challenge here is to develop a highly performance-oriented solution that works for everybody. In particular, we wanted it to work for Mac and iPhone users alike, without requiring a MobileMe account (or any WebDAV disk for that matter).

The whole issue is indeed complex and interesting enough to warrant its own blog post, but suffice it here to say that we are well under way to providing the above-mentioned “really sweet solution."

I currently use Remember the Milk, mainly becuase my iPhone and their web interface sync no matter where I am. If the Things guys get this working, I’d be all over it.

Each year, the Newton hardcore have a conference to discuss development and survival of the platform. This year, they’ve posted a PDF containing all of the presentations given. (I’ve decided to post a copy of the PDF here, since the site they have it at is real, real annoying.)

Presentations include a history of the Newton platform, a history of tablet computing as a whole, tips and tricks on programming for the Newton OS and some nifty hardware upgrades. If you’re a fan of the Newton, this is heaven.

Sadly, it seems that WWNC may be dying. This year the event looked like it had been canceled, but then was revived just a month before it was scheduled. There haven’t been any announcements regarding 2010’s conference yet.

Engadget:

We’d heard just under a month ago that Apple was mulling the possibility of adding matte display options to more than just its flagship 17-inch MacBook Pro, and lo and behold, it seems the anti-glare revolution has begun. Starting now (like, right now), those in the market for a new unibody 15-inch MacBook Pro can order one directly from Apple with an anti-glare widescreen display, packing 1,440 x 900 pixels and a LED backlight. Sadly, the privilege will run you an extra $50 over the traditional (mirrored) glossy panel, and it will replace that svelte borderless look present on glossy MBPs with a silver frame bezel. A brief look around Apple’s international sites also shows it available elsewhere in the world for similar amounts, though we’re still curious as to what machine will be next in line for the upgrade, er, “option.”

If this filtered down to the 13-inch models, it’d be the perfect machine for me.

PC World’s Michael Scalisi:

I know Apple has a sweetheart deal with AT&T, and that the notorious wireless provider pays handsomely for the privilege. However, it’s been over two years, and I think it’s time for Apple to give the public the option of a choice of wireless providers.

If that day ever comes, the iPhone is going to destroy a lot of competitors that are currently safe simply due to being on a different network.