TidBITS#862/15-Jan-07
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/862>
At last week's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, the newly renamed
Apple, Inc., introduced the long-rumored iPhone, combining the
features of an iPod, a mobile phone, and an Internet communicator,
along with an espresso machine and window cleaner - or were we
imagining those last two? We run down just what the iPhone can do,
according to Apple, and go further with Glenn Fleishman's hands-on
report. We also pass along the details on the iTV, now called Apple
TV, and Apple's new AirPort Extreme networking system. Other
companies had announcements too, and Jeff Carlson looks quickly at
the releases of BBEdit 8.6, Yojimbo 1.4, TextWrangler 2.2, Fetch
5.2, and Microsoft Office 2004 11.3.3. Finally, Adam ties it all
together with his take on the new feelings of Macintosh vitality at
Macworld Expo.
Articles
Want to Hear More about Macworld Expo?
Bare Bones Releases Multiple Updates
Fetch 5.2 Improves Your WebView
Microsoft Office 2004 11.3.3 Update Released
iPhone Seeks to Redefine the Mobile Phone
iTouched an iPhone
Apple TV Connects Macs and TVs
AirPort Extreme Updated
Macworld Expo SF 2007: The Mac is Back!
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/15-Jan-07
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Want to Hear More about Macworld Expo?
--------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8806>
Tonya and I were speaking in presentations, on panels, and in
interviews all week, and although not all of these appearances were
recorded or are available yet, here are a few that are posted. First
up is a Tuesday Your Mac Life show I did with Shawn King to dissect
the keynote a whopping 60 minutes after it was over, followed by a
Wednesday MacNotables panel that turned out to be just Tonya and me
talking with Chuck Joiner about what wasn't announced at the
keynote. And finally, be sure to listen to this Friday Macworld
magazine panel moderated by MacCentral's Jim Dalrymple, in which I
was joined by Macworld's Chris Breen and Your Mac Life host Shawn
King, discussing the week's news in a lively back-and-forth. More
next week!
<http://www.yourmaclife.com/index.php?topic=MWSF>
<http://www.macnotables.com/wordpress/macnotables-702-macnotables-on-stage-at-expo-1/>
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mwpodcast/2007/01/podcast67/>
Bare Bones Releases Multiple Updates
------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8807>
While everyone's eyes were on Apple's iPhone last week, Bare Bones
Software released updates to three of its applications. The
company's flagship text editor BBEdit 8.6 improves Java and TeX
handling, and adds support for the Markdown structured text format
(which we use to produce TidBITS), including text coloring, folding
of document structural elements, and previewing the results within
BBEdit. New in this version are commands to save and copy text as
styled HTML, which is helpful when posting code samples to the Web.
BBEdit can also now read and write Mac OS X's binary property list
format used for preference files. BBEdit 8.6 is a free update for
owners of version 8.5 or higher, and is a 14 MB download.
<http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/>
Yojimbo 1.4 expands the organizer's AppleScript support and fixes
bugs. This update is free for registered owners and is a 10.1 MB
download. TextWrangler, the company's free text editor, jumps to
version 2.2 with an interface overhaul to match BBEdit's
look-and-feel as well as features such as support for the binary
property list format, an enhanced Preferences window, and
improvements to the built-in Java, TeX, and JavaScript language
support. TextWrangler 2.2 is a 9.9 MB download. All of the company's
updates require Mac OS X 10.4.
<http://www.barebones.com/products/yojimbo/>
<http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/>
Fetch 5.2 Improves Your WebView
-------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8808>
Jim Matthews of Fetch Softworks has released Fetch 5.2, adding a new
feature called WebView that promises to make it easier to share
files with others who may not have the capability to download via
FTP. In essence, WebView translates ftp URLs to http URLs according
to a pattern you specify; once that's done you can click the WebView
button to view files in your Web browser and also copy the http URLs
for selected files. Also new in this version is support for FTP over
SSL/TLS (FTPS) secure connections, droplet shortcuts for drag & drop
uploading to a server, and a number of bug fixes. When we visited
the Fetch booth at Macworld Expo, Jim also told us that he had
overhauled the FTP networking code for better performance and
compatibility. Fetch 5.2 is a free update for owners of version 5.0
or later, requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later, and is a 15 MB
download.
<http://www.fetchsoftworks.com/>
<http://www.fetchsoftworks.com/fetch5.release.notes.html>
Microsoft Office 2004 11.3.3 Update Released
--------------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8809>
On the heels of a recent software update (see "Microsoft Releases
Office 2004, Office X Updates," 2007-01-08), Microsoft last week
released Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.3. The update improves
security throughout the suite; improves compatibility with Rich Text
Format (RTF) documents created with Office Word 2003 for Windows;
corrects calculation of standard deviation in PivotTable reports
within Excel 2004; fixes an issue in Entourage 2004 that caused
events after 11-Mar-07 to be displayed incorrectly; and updates the
Japanese postal code dictionary in Entourage. The updater is a
whopping 57.6 MB download, but it includes the improvements and
fixes from all previous Office 2004 updates. It's available via
direct download or through the Microsoft AutoUpdate utility.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8799>
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download&location=/mac/download/Office2004/Office2004_1133.xml>
Microsoft also presented us with a preview of features that will be
included in Office 2008, the Macintosh refresh of the suite due in
the second half of 2007, despite the 2008 moniker. In short,
Microsoft is trying to make much of the existing functionality in
the Office applications more obvious and easier to use. Alas, there
was no word about new collaboration features that small workgroups
so desperately need from Word and other applications. We'll keep you
updated as details become available.
iPhone Seeks to Redefine the Mobile Phone
-----------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8810>
Despite months of rumors about an Apple phone, Steve Jobs still
managed to wow the crowd at the Macworld Expo 2007 keynote with the
iPhone, a sleek handheld device that incorporates features of the
iPod, a smartphone, and an Internet communications device. A
two-year service commitment from Cingular is required; it will not
be sold separately. Service plans have not yet been announced. The
iPhone will begin shipping in June 2007 in the United States in two
configurations: a 4 GB model for $500, and an 8 GB model for $600.
Jobs said that it will be available in Europe by the fourth quarter
of 2007, and available in Asia in 2008.
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/>
The delay in availability was a letdown for the primed audience, but
Jobs noted that the iPhone still needs to go through certification
by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC); he said Apple
wanted to announce the iPhone, even if it's six months early, and
not have the FCC "announce" the device in its public records.
(This explanation rang flat to contributing editor Glenn Fleishman,
who noted that the FCC has a confidential process in its Office of
Engineering and Technology Equipment Authorization program for
products that have not been publicly announced; it was expanded to
handle items like the iPhone back in 2004. Confidentiality can be
granted for up to 180 days before a product is marketed or shipped,
and it covers all details of the product. In fact, it's likely that
the AirPort Extreme introduced at Macworld at the same time as the
iPhone was certified under these rules, as no information was
available from the FCC until the device was announced.)
<http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-1705A1.pdf>
**Design** -- As we've come to expect from Apple's industrial design
division, the look of the new device is both impressive and
distinctive - it looks nothing like any other phone on the market,
nor does it look like an iPod or any of the supposedly leaked
mockups that appeared before the announcement. Measuring 2.4 inches
(61 mm) wide, 4.5 inches (115 mm) tall, and just 0.46 inches (11.6
mm) deep, it's only slightly larger than the current
fifth-generation iPod with video. It weighs 4.8 ounces (135 grams).
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/iphone_hero.jpg>
Apple opted out of a physical keyboard, eschewing the tedious 10-key
phone layout, the awkward mini-QWERTY keyboard on devices like the
Blackberry and Palm Treo, and even the newer two-letters-per-key
entry found on the Blackberry Pearl. Instead, you type with your
fingers on a virtual keyboard that appears as needed on a
touch-sensitive color display measuring 3.5 inches diagonally. The
screen resolution is 320 by 480 pixels at 160 pixels per inch (ppi).
Omitting the keyboard also allows nearly the entire face of the
device to be used to view video or photographs.
The iPhone can be viewed in landscape or portrait mode; a built-in
accelerometer automatically shifts mode (when viewing photos or Web
pages, for example) depending on how the phone is held. David Pogue
of the New York Times noted that the phone can be used upright in
portrait mode with the single front button at the bottom, and in a
counter-clockwise landscape mode, but not 180 degrees from either of
those positions.
In addition to the accelerometer, the iPhone incorporates two other
sensors. A proximity sensor above the screen turns off the backlight
and disables the touchscreen feature when you bring the phone to
your ear, to avoid, in Jobs's words, "spurious inputs from your
face." An ambient light sensor automatically dims the screen in
low-light conditions (thereby also reducing battery consumption).
A Home button below the display takes you to the iPhone's main
screen, and is one of just a few physical switches; there's also a
mute switch and a volume slider on the left side of the device, and
a button on the top to put the phone to sleep and lock the
touchscreen. The paucity of physical switches is important; the more
of the iPhone's interface that's provided by software, the easier it
is for Apple to change or add to it.
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/iphone_home.jpg>
The back of the unit is an expanse of brushed metal, interrupted
only by a small camera lens - for its 2-megapixel digital still
camera - and a mirrored Apple logo. (That logo is a good example of
Apple's minimal design approach. Most camera phones include a small
mirror near the lens, which you can use when framing photos of
yourself. That reflective blob would be superfluous to Apple's
designers, leading to the mirrored logo.)
What you won't find on the back is a speaker, another departure from
many cell phone designs. Instead, there's a speaker at the top of
the front face where the iPhone meets your ear, along with a second
speaker on the bottom edge for playing ringtones and other sounds,
and for when you're using the iPhone as a speakerphone. You can
listen to music through the speaker, too, and the quality was fine
on a prototype unit. A microphone at the bottom captures voice
input. As one would expect, the iPhone also includes two ports: a
jack for headphones and microphones, and a 30-pin iPod connector for
connecting to an included dock.
Jobs advertised the battery life at 5 hours of talk time, video
playback or Web browsing, or 16 hours for audio playback. (In a
Saturday Night Live sketch, "Steve Jobs" was asked - after
describing a range of hyperbolic features including iGenie for
making iWishes - about battery life, and said, "20 minutes" to
guffaws from the audience.)
Apple also plans to release an optional wired headset (resembling
iPod earbuds with a small microphone on the cord) or a tiny
Bluetooth headset that would automatically pair with the iPhone; it
was unclear if third-party headsets would be compatible. Given that
Apple is using the term Bluetooth, it's reasonable to assume that
other Bluetooth headsets would work, as the Bluetooth specification
doesn't allow the use of the name and associated profiles - like
headset - without allowing all compatible devices to be used.
**User Interface** -- Since the iPhone's screen takes up nearly the
entire front of the device, most of the controls are offered through
what Apple is calling the "multi-touch display." The proprietary
technology ("And, boy, have we patented it!" exclaimed Jobs) allows
the user to control the device with a hand, incorporating not just
pointing, but also scrolling by dragging a finger across the
touchscreen, and "pinching," a two-fingered gesture that zooms
images and other content.
Pressing the Home button takes you to a page of icons representing
the main features. From there, everything operates via gesture. For
example, a virtual left-to-right slider unlocks the rest of the
interface (so you don't inadvertently activate the iPhone in a
pocket or purse). Scrolling through the list of contacts functions
like a physical wheel: run your finger up or down the screen and the
list scrolls by at a speed based on how fast you dragged, slowing
gradually and "rubber-banding" off the top or bottom if you hit the
edge fast. On her Creating Passionate Users blog, Kathy Sierra has
an excellent discussion of why this lack of abruptness in the
interface is so important.
<http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2007/01/iphone_and_the_.html>
By not implementing physical buttons, Apple gains the capability to
display whatever interface is most appropriate for a given task,
such as context-specific buttons while talking on the phone,
watching movies, listening to music, or browsing the Web. Watching
Jobs demonstrate the device during the keynote provided half of the
"wow" factor. View the keynote online or watch the QuickTours that
Apple has set up on its Web site for a better sense of how
multi-touch functions.
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/keynote/>
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/phone/>
Jobs made much of the fact that the iPhone is actually running Mac
OS X - not a stripped-down version, but the full operating system
that powers your Mac. (David Pogue says that Apple told him
otherwise - that it was a subset of Mac OS X.) However, don't expect
to run it the same as a computer. The iPhone's features and
interface are the only aspects of Mac OS X that are accessible, with
the rest of the system locked away by Apple. This also means that
developers are not going to be able to write their own applications
or even widgets; if anything, Apple will approve future applications
and distribute them itself. Given Apple's tight hold on the iPod, we
anticipate that third-parties will be limited to cases, docks, and
other accessories that can plug into the iPhone's 30-pin dock
connector.
<http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/ultimate-iphone-faqs-list-part-2/>
**Phone Features** -- Job announced that Cingular will be the
"multi-year" exclusive provider of cellular service to the iPhone in
the U.S., and guest presenter Cingular CEO Stan Sigman noted, in
reading a speech from index cards, that the two companies forged a
"multi-year" contract. Interestingly, according to Glenn Lurie,
Cingular's president of national distribution, in a PC Magazine
article, the deal was a win for Cingular, with Apple giving more
than they got. (Cingular's name will start transitioning to AT&T
today, as the acquisition of BellSouth by AT&T gave the telecom
giant 100-percent ownership of Cingular. Formerly, it owned 60
percent.)
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2082059,00.asp>
The iPhone goes way beyond the basics of placing and receiving
calls, making it easy to look up phone numbers, put calls on hold,
and create conference calls. Jobs demonstrated taking an incoming
call and performing other features, such as looking up movie times
from the Web, while the call remained active. These aren't unique
features to smartphones, but Apple has made the interface extremely
easy to use (especially setting up multi-party calls, which on most
phones is frustrating).
It also features Visual Voicemail, which provides nonlinear access
to voicemail messages and avoids the dreaded menu trees used by most
systems. Most phones and smartphones show, at best, the number of
messages waiting for you to listen to. The rest of the process is
aural: you listen and skip messages in the order they were left. On
the iPhone, the process is both visual and random access. The
messages appear in a list, each of which is accessible with a finger
tap. The messages have a contact name if Caller ID matches someone
in your address book. Apple was able to add Visual Voicemail through
the partnership they've forged with Cingular, which had to
re-engineer part of its network and storage system to provide this
feature. It's a bar to entry for other non-U.S. Apple partners, to
be sure, unless Apple makes that feature optional outside America.
The iPhone also features SMS text messaging, and the iChat-like
interface allows users to maintain multiple discussions, while
typing on a small QWERTY key layout on the touchscreen. Text input
is eased by automatic completion and other entry aids. There is no
instant-messaging client planned for inclusion, oddly enough, not
even a version of iChat.
**Internet Features** -- The new iPhone can connect to the Internet
via super-fast 802.11n-enhanced Wi-Fi or a mobile connection using
Cingular's EDGE service (which provides data speeds of about 50 to
150 Kbps downstream). Jobs promised third-generation (3G) network
support at some future point. Cingular has, to date, deployed UMTS
(200-300 Kbps downstream) and HSDPA (350 to 500 Kbps downstream)
spottily throughout the United States; European and Asian carriers
have deployed those faster flavors aggressively. The supposition was
that Jobs didn't want a phone that offered higher speeds but
couldn't work at those higher speeds in all urban areas. Verizon and
Sprint's incompatible 3G technology covers virtually all major
cities and many smaller ones. AT&T will likely push HSDPA nationally
as part of its overall strategy as a new, enormous entity.
Once connected, the iPhone uses a version of the Safari browser to
display Web pages. In contrast with most WAP-enabled browsers
running on mobile phones, Web pages load with their layout looking
as it would normally in Safari running on a Macintosh, but with tiny
text and images. iPhone's Safari compares favorably with Opera's
browser designed for mobile phones, too.
Users can use hand gestures like double-tapping and "pinching" to
enlarge portions of the page that they wish to view. Although, no
doubt you wouldn't want to do huge amounts of Web surfing on such a
tiny screen, it looked like an intelligent and useful way to use the
Web, especially in comparison to any other mobile phone in
existence.
You can also send and receive HTML email from the device, which will
apparently work with any IMAP or POP3 connection. In particular,
Apple has partnered with Yahoo to provide free "push" IMAP email to
all iPhone customers. Push email was one of the reasons that
Research in Motion's Blackberry devices gained such quick
acceptance: the instant you receive mail at a server, that server in
turn pushes the message to your device, much as receiving voicemail
causes an almost immediate notification on a phone. You can also
pull messages through normal POP and IMAP.
The iPhone's email interface looked like it would be familiar to
users of Apple Mail, although no one will be typing long messages on
the onscreen QWERTY keyboard. The device automatically recognizes
phone numbers in email messages, and users can call a number by
tapping it. It's likely that the Bluetooth support includes a
keyboard profile, which would allow a compact keyboard to turn the
iPhone into more of a computing device on the road.
Jobs also demoed widgets (mini-applications, just like in Dashboard
on the Mac) working on the iPhone to check stocks and weather, and
he showed what appeared to be a special Google Maps application that
provided mapping (but apparently not driving directions) in both a
street map view and a satellite image view. While no mention was
made of location-based GPS services in the phone, a federal mandate
requires all cell phones to offer E911 coordinates to operators. The
iPhone thus has to have some method of triangulating its location
and sending it over the air - whether real GPS or cell-tower
interpolation - and we might see a combination of mapping and
location awareness.
**iPod Features** -- The iPhone software that enables it to play
videos and movies has the same basic organization as what you'd find
in an iPod, but it adds some new access methods. You won't find a
click wheel; instead, you scroll using the multi-touch dragging
method described earlier. The iPhone also inherits the CoverFlow
feature from iTunes, which lets you browse albums by flipping
through miniaturized versions of the album covers.
**Waiting for June** -- All in all, for anyone who is struggling to
integrate data between different devices, or for anyone who wants to
put more of the features found on a personal computer onto a mobile
device, the iPhone looks like a winner, assuming the touchscreen
works as well as advertised and doesn't show greasy fingerprints too
much. Well... there are plenty of other open questions about the
iPhone, and we'll be looking at those in an upcoming article.
iTouched an iPhone
------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8811>
Come, feel the hem of my garment, ye lowly. Or at least that's what
it felt like at Macworld Expo when I would mention, offhandedly,
that I had iFondled an iPhone. As a bona fide member of the print
press - representing The Seattle Times at the show - I received an
executive briefing, and spent 10 minutes with the iPhone. I joked to
Macworld editorial director Jason Snell, who also touched an iPhone,
that we could put up a sign that read, "Hear about what it's like to
play with an iPhone: 25 cents."
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/practicalmac/>
I didn't realize then that Apple allowed only select press and
partners to touch an iPhone. Samples were encased in glass pillars
on the show floor. Demonstrations were continuous at Apple's booth
with a specially equipped iPhone that had its display inserted into
a mockup on screen.
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/iphone-security.jpg>
The iPhone feels like a device that fell through a wormhole from the
future. I can safely say that I've never held anything but certain
sculpted art objects that had the feel and nature of the iPhone.
It's definitely a work of art. [Writing about the iPhone on a
current Macintosh feels a bit like this photo I took in the lobby of
the W hotel. -Adam]
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/iphone-typewriter.jpg>
The touchscreen works as somewhat breathlessly promoted by Steve
Jobs. Gestures result in almost instant responses. Learning to pinch
and expand (or my preferred terms of "pucker" and "bloat," suggested
by a colleague) takes a matter of seconds. Navigating a Web page
requires a little more effort because you have to sort of grab the
page and move it around, and then pinch to zoom in on a story.
I didn't have a chance to try typing, which several colleagues who'd
used the iPhone said was rather satisfying. It offers predictive and
what I'd dub "postdictive" suggestions. If you typed, for instance,
"t" it might add an "h" as a suggestion, but if you followed the "h"
with an "f" - typing "thf" instead of "the" - the iPhone would
helpfully recognize you probably meant "the." (I don't know if it
prescriptively changes it or just offers the change, however.)
The built-in speakers provided good sound, and navigating iTunes
libraries was pretty straightforward. I'm not sure the navigation
method of being able to scroll by throwing your finger - sliding it
rapidly off the edge of the screen - is perfect, but it has a kind
of artificial gravity to it that seems to work. There's also
friction, so the speed at which you throw the page doesn't continue
in pure Newtonian (the scientist, not the late Apple PDA) terms.
The iPhone would sell remarkably well as an iPod with no Wi-Fi and
no phone capability. But based on reports following its
announcement, a phone sold for $500 by a cell provider and with a
required two-year commitment would retail for as much as $1,000.
It's likely the touchscreen represents a significant portion of that
- perhaps a few hundred dollars. (Cancellation fees might require
many hundreds of dollars to be repaid.)
Those that don't opt to switch to Cingular and buy an iPhone may be
waiting some time for costs to drop enough for the touchscreen and
interface to make its way into the regular iPod lineup.
Apple TV Connects Macs and TVs
------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8812>
Although the big news at Steve Jobs's Macworld Expo keynote was the
iPhone, Jobs also introduced the Apple TV, previously codenamed iTV
when it was previewed at a special press event in September 2006
(see "Apple Updates iPods, Introduces Movies, Previews iTV,"
2006-09-16). The $300 Apple TV sits between Macs and large-screen
televisions, offering both local storage of audio, video, and photos
on a 40 GB hard disk, and streaming of media using Ethernet or
pre-standard 802.11n, which is not yet part of Wi-Fi. Media arrives
on the Apple TV's hard disk by synchronizing from a single Mac
through iTunes, just like syncing to an iPod. For media that either
doesn't fit on the Apple TV's hard disk or that exists only on a
visiting Mac, the Apple TV can stream audio and video from other
copies of iTunes, from up to five different computers. Apple is
currently taking orders for Apple TV, and plans to begin shipping in
February. The Mac mini-shaped Apple TV is 7.7 inches (19.7 cm)
square, but only 1.1 inches (2.8 cm) high, making it 1.2 inches (3.0
cm) wider in two dimensions, and 0.9 inches (2.3 cm) thinner than
the Mac mini.
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/>
<http://www.apple.com/Apple TV/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8676>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/appletv_frnt_rem.jpg>
On the TV, the media is accessed via a Front Row-like interface,
controlled by a slim Apple Remote. Interspersed with menu choices
for playlists and albums, and other methods of browsing the local
content, are choices that play movie trailers from Apple's Web site,
connect to the iTunes Store, and more. When you're not actively
using the Apple TV, a screen saver kicks in, with a new multi-photo
display of your synced photos.
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/appletv_interface.jpg>
Output ports include HDMI (encrypted digital audio and video),
component video, analog audio, and digital optical audio. In terms
of connectivity, the Apple TV sports a 10/100 Mbps wired Ethernet
port, and 802.11n wireless networking that can also hit 100 Mbps in
real world throughput. 802.11n is backwards compatible with 802.11b
(AirPort) and 802.11g (AirPort Extreme) wireless networks as well,
but 802.11n isn't yet final, which casts a cloud of doubt over
industry-wide compatibility. We anticipate that Apple will ensure
compatibility with at least existing and future wireless-enabled
devices also from Apple.
A USB 2.0 port is also present, which Apple's specifications page
lists as being "for service and diagnostics." That's a pity, because
it would be nice to plug in an external hard disk or
network-attached storage drive to augment the internal 40 GB drive,
as is possible on the new AirPort Extreme Base Station. 40 GB simply
isn't much when it comes to storing video, so it remains to be seen
if the Apple TV is more of a media center or a media relay.
AirPort Extreme Updated
-----------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8813>
Missing from last week's Macworld Expo keynote address was Apple's
one other announcement from the show. The company updated its
AirPort Extreme Base Station with a Mac mini/Apple TV form factor
and 802.11n networking - a new, not-yet-standardized form of faster
wireless data networking. The new device - which retains the AirPort
Extreme Base Station name - includes the first Ethernet switch found
in an AirPort base station, sporting three local area network (LAN)
ports offering just 10/100 Mbps Ethernet. There's also a USB port
and a wide area network (WAN) Ethernet jack for a broadband
connection. Only a single model is being offered so far, and it
lacks an external antenna jack for reasons I'll explain shortly.
<http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/airportextreme.jpg>
Apple claims a speed boost of about five times with twice the range
of 802.11g, which is the standard underlying the previous AirPort
Extreme and still-current AirPort Express base stations. This is
consistent with 802.11n's capability to achieve a real throughput of
about 100 Mbps versus the real throughput of about 20 Mbps for
802.11g.
The new base station is due to ship in February 2007 for $180. It
appears that the separate AirPort Extreme Card will not be updated,
because Apple has already included 802.11n in certain shipping Macs,
and will include 802.11n in all future desktops, laptops, phones,
and the Apple TV. Using AirPort Extreme and 802.11g on an 802.11n
network will slow the network down, but not to the same extent as
when older 802.11b devices were used on 802.11g networks. However,
using 802.11b will dramatically slow an 802.11n network.
A number of companies will offer USB, PC Card, and ExpressCard
802.11n adapters. Belkin started shipping an ExpressCard adapter for
$100 just a couple of weeks ago, although Mac drivers weren't
mentioned. In any case, within a few months there should be options
costing $50 to $100 for most older Macs - the USB adapters will be
especially appreciated this time around due to so many Macs having
no expansion slots.
Apple says in a footnote on their site that all Core 2 Duo and Xeon
Macs except a single model - the iMac with 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- support 802.11n. An "enabler" firmware updater comes with the new
AirPort Extreme. It was widely reported last year by Mac users who
disassembled parts of their computers that early 802.11n chips were
installed, but the functionality wasn't enabled in firmware.
No antenna jack exists in this new AirPort Extreme Base Station, as
was in a previous configuration. 802.11n uses multiple-in,
multiple-out (MIMO) antenna arrays that allow two or more radios to
send distinct data across different radio reflective paths at the
same time. This approach enables the reuse of spectrum across space.
However, the internal antennas must be carefully placed and tuned in
design phases, making attaching external antennas pretty much
impossible. The MIMO approach produces far better coverage range by
listening better (distinguishing more signal out of noise) and
sending further (by focusing energy in specific directions).
New to this model is network attached storage (NAS): plug in "almost
any" external USB drive, as Apple puts it, and the drive turns into
a networked resource. Apple says the drive can be configured for
password-protected accounts, read-only access, and other forms of
access control. You can also attach a USB hub to the AirPort Extreme
and connect multiple printers and hard drives. Previously, only an
education-focused AirPort Extreme Base Station model supported
multiple printers. (So far, there's no word about a fire-resistant
standard known as "plenum" that was also in the educational unit,
and is required for many corporate and academic installations.)
The new AirPort Extreme Base Station offers both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Wi-Fi. This is significant because 802.11n can operate over both
frequencies. While 5 GHz signals travel shorter distances, there is
more spectrum available that's less crowded. Before 802.11n, only
802.11a - a spec designed at the same time as 802.11b, back in 1999
- would work in 5 GHz, and generally only corporations using it for
voice-over-IP had adopted that band.
Steve Jobs dismissed 802.11a back in 2003 at the introduction of
AirPort Extreme with a pre-standards version of 802.11g because
802.11a used this different frequency range, and thus would break
compatibility with 802.11b. However, it's essentially free to add
802.11a along with 802.11n to support the full number of channels
and purposes worldwide. AirPort Extreme can now use either 2.4 GHz
(802.11b/g/n) or 5 GHz (802.11a/n), but not both simultaneously.
Apple's technical specifications say that in the United States,
channels 36 to 48 and 149 to 165 are available for use in 5 GHz.
This is a bit confusing because channels in 5 GHz don't increment by
one - that is, it's not 36, 37, 38, and so on - and because
different channels are limited to indoor or outdoor use. It looks
like the new AirPort Extreme Base Station provides seven indoor
channels (lower numbers) and five outdoor channels (upper numbers).
There should be a total of 23 indoor and outdoor channels in 5 GHz
in the United States, however, so I'll be looking into that.
<http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/specs.html>
The utility necessary to configure one of these new AirPort Extreme
Base Stations requires Mac OS X 10.4.8, although devices using
technology as old as that shipped in 1999 - the original AirPort
Card and 802.11b, for example - can associate for a network
connection just fine using their older 802.11a, b, or g connections.
The 802.11n standard is still in progress at the IEEE engineering
standards group, but a number of companies released early versions
of the protocol in equipment that was widely criticized for a lack
of compatibility with each other and for faulty, early firmware.
However, in recent months, chipmakers and the IEEE task group
responsible for the standard have coalesced around a proposal that
should be released this week, and possibly approved as a working
draft in March as it edges toward release.
Macworld Expo SF 2007: The Mac is Back!
---------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8814>
The last few Macworld Expos in San Francisco may have shown a
rebound from the doldrums of the previous years, but that was in
large part due to the number of vendors showing iPod-related
products and to Apple releasing exciting new hardware and software.
In short, the Macintosh industry, not including Apple or
iPod-related products, hasn't made strong showings at Macworld Expo
for quite some time.
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/>
Thus there was some cause for concern when Steve Jobs led off the
show with a keynote address that, rather than setting the tone for
the rest of the week, served as notice that Apple Computer, Inc. was
de-emphasizing its computer roots by becoming Apple, Inc. and
announcing the Apple TV media center and the truly amazing iPhone.
Jobs not only didn't announce any new Macintosh hardware or
software, he didn't so much as say the words "Leopard," "iLife," or
"iWork."
(My analysis of the lack of the iLife and iWork suites is that both
probably rely heavily on Leopard-specific technologies, such that
even if they function in a more-limited way in Tiger, Apple won't be
releasing them until Leopard is out. Several Keynote transitions
that appeared in Jobs's keynote may have required the CoreAnimation
technology in Leopard, indicating that Jobs was relying on the
latest and greatest, even if it's not ready for the unwashed masses.
As to when we can expect Leopard, and potentially updates to iLife
and iWork as well, I'm guessing late April or early May of 2007.)
As a result, the Apple booth, though it had decent traffic, wasn't
the mob scene it has been in previous years. Sure, it was hard to
see the two iPhone models on display in their clear lucite columns
and watched over by security guards, but I never had trouble walking
through the Apple booth, as I have at other shows.
As for the vendors of iPod products, they were certainly out in
force again, but it felt as though they were a smaller proportion of
the 356 total exhibitors (down ever so slightly from last year's 361
vendors, but covering much more space). A friend has run a contest
on a private mailing list to guess the number of iPod case vendors
at Macworld SF the last few years, and there were 45 such booths
this year, down from 49 last year.
Despite the lack of new Mac-related products from Apple and as much
iPod emphasis from exhibitors, this was by far the strongest
Macworld Expo I've attended in many years, thanks to the leadership
of new IDG World Expo vice-president Paul Kent. To jog my memory, I
read our Macworld Expo coverage back through 1998, and it was
instructive to see how I was attempting to put a brave face on some
of the rougher shows, and how the resurgence from those shows was
due mostly to Apple and to iPod vendors. Along with plenty of
vendors I've known for years, there were booths from companies I'd
never heard of before. Attendance was very good - reportedly up more
than 30 percent on pre-registrations alone (we won't know final
attendance figures for some time yet). Crowds in the South Hall,
where the larger companies were located, made walking slow at pretty
much all times, and although the North Hall was never as full, I
talked with a number of people who never even realized there were
more vendors in the North Hall, which wasn't used in 2006 or 2005
(and shouldn't have been used in 2004).
Other aspects of the show were also well handled, with the only
shadow being IDG World Expo's low estimate of attendee numbers in
sessions the first few days, which led to some people being turned
away and sessions being repeated. Seating was reconfigured at some
point to eliminate the tables that had reduced the number of
available seats in each room. Most notable was the the swag bag
given to speakers - it was a huge piece of rolling luggage stuffed
to the gills with software, iPod cases, speakers, and more.
Rewarding speakers, who in previous years received only a shirt or
jacket with a Macworld Expo logo for their efforts, in this way was
pure brilliance, since it makes industry experts much more positive
about the effort necessary to prepare and present a talk, and it
enables many companies to get their products in front of some of the
most influential people in the Mac world. As full as the bag was,
there was a rumor circulating that twice as many companies had
wanted to include their products, with half being turned away for
lack of space.
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/862/speaker-swag-bag.jpg>
My only regret was that there wasn't another day in the show
schedule, since I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have
liked on the show floor, and had to rush past some booths where I
could have happily watched a demo or grilled a company
representative for product details.
Much of my lack of time was due to all the panels, presentations,
and interviews I had scheduled. Apart from my appearance at the
MacTech booth, which was unfortunately stuffed in the far back
corner of North Hall, to discuss and sign the new TidBITS Archive
CD, my other presentations and panel discussions were standing room
only, and often not even that. Many of the panels were with other
Mac luminaries who have become ever more friendly over the years,
which turned previously dry panels into spirited exchanges that
bordered on improvisational theater, all while revolving around the
events and announcements of the week. We'll be posting links to
appearances that were recorded as they become available, and I
strongly encourage you to give them a listen.
<http://www.tidbits.com/cd/>
Perhaps some of the enjoyment of this year's show, from the keynote
to the MacBrainiac Challenge (my team lost on the final, fuzzily
worded question) to the Netters Dinner, was that we had no
middle-of-the-year Macworld Boston, nor a MacHack/ADHOC conference,
thus focusing everything onto this show. (If you want to try your
hand at the MacBrainiac Challenge, Chris Breen has posted all of the
questions online, and will be adding the answers later in the week.)
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/expo/2007/01/macbrainiac/>
For many people in the Macintosh community, these expos are an
essential time for in-person networking and reconnecting with
friends. We met John Moltz of the Crazy Apple Rumors Site for the
first time (and it was his first time at a Macworld Expo), and also
got a chance to spend some time with Dan Pourhadi, from whom we hope
you'll be reading more in upcoming issues. And I can't count the
number of times someone would come up to me and say, "You don't know
me, but I've been reading TidBITS for <insert some large number>
years, and I just wanted to say 'Thank you.'" I'm always extremely
grateful to hear such kind words, and I love meeting readers at the
show, so thanks back to all of you who took the time to introduce
yourselves. I hope next year will be even bigger and with even more
great people.
<http://www.crazyapplerumors.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/author/Dan+Pourhadi>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/15-Jan-07
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8815>
**Macworld 2007 keynote** -- What did the TidBITS audience think of
this year's Macworld Expo keynote address? (11 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1082/>
**Younger Than Thou: "When I was your age..."** Readers respond to Dan
Pourhadi's first Younger Than Thou column. (5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1079/>
**Younger Than Thou: Instant Messaging** -- A self-described "old
fogie" suggests that Dan Pourhadi's article needed more information
about why people use instant messaging, versus how it's used. (2
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1083/>
**MPEG4 audio and the Mac** -- Got an MPEG4 movie clip that's missing
sound? Here are some suggestions for demuxing the file. (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1084/>
**iTunes Backup** -- The recent addition of backup reminders in iTunes
prompts discussion of good backup habits. (6 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1085/>
**Trying to salvage LaserWriter** -- Yes, you can still use an old
LaserWriter Select 360 printer on a modern Mac. Find out how. (6
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1086/>
**iPhone, is it an iPod or a Mac?** Will the iPhone follow the path of
the Mac or of the iPod? In other words, how open is the iPhone going
to be for outside development? (5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1087/>
**iPhone impressions and opinions** -- Opinions continue to fly about
Apple's new phone, but it's important to remember that we're still
six months away from the final product (not to say that speculation
isn't fun). (10 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1088/>
**Market for iPhone** -- A reader points to some good analysis about
the iPhone's potential market. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1089/>
**It's a Mac, Mac video production world** -- Adobe announces the
return of Premiere to the Mac. What does this mean for Final Cut
Pro? (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1090/>
**How to temporarily turn of TidBITS Auto Correct?** The auto-correct
dictionary for Eudora seems to work too well for one reader. How to
disable it? (4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1091/>
**GPS and MP3** -- A reader comments on the music-playing capabilities
of recently reviewed GPS units. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1076/>
**Support from GPS companies** -- Following up from Adam's most recent
review of GPS units, a reader relates his take of dealing with
Magellan. (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1077/>
$$
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