Archive for September 2011

There are two main ways for running Windows on your Mac. You can install Windows on a separate partition of your Mac's hard drive and boot up with Windows, this method is called Bootcamp. The other way is to run Windows directly from Mac OS X, this is called virtualization. We will have a look at both methods for running Windows on your Mac as they have their advantages and disadvantages.

Tim Cook to announce the iPhone 5 on October 4.

Finally the public will be able to see Apple's latest iPhone 5 release on October 4. The new iPhone will be unveiled at Apple's campus in Cupertino, California according to All Things Digital.

This year things are going to be different. This year, Apple’s holding its big iPhone media event closer to home.

Sources close to the company say the demonstration — currently scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 4, a date first reported by AllThingsD — will be held at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, Calif.

Usually Apple launch big broducts like the iPad and iPhone at larger venues in San Francisco. However, many of Apple's product launches have been unveiled on Apple's Campus.

The big question still stands, will Steve Jobs make an appearence? It is certain that Apple's new CEO Tim Cook will lead the event with the help of Phil Schiller – senior Vice President of worldwide product marketing.

Unlike the Mac Mini, the iMac isn't as popular for modding. However, I have found some notable iMac mods. Here is a list of the best and coolest iMac Mods.

Black iMac Case Mod

A simple, yet clean and elegant iMac case mod. The original iMac G4 (originally in a gloss white colour) has been given a semi-gloss black colour finish. The iMac G4 was entirely disassembled and each individual piece has been sprayed in satin black. For more photos and step-by-step details, you can see the whole project here.

Apple under Steve Jobs has produced some of the most innovative and ground-breaking products of our time. Without Steve Jobs Apple would not be where it is today. This is all because of Steve Jobs' obsession to fine detail and perfection. But even a genius like Steve Jobs can screw things up. Here is a list of Apple products that have flopped or are just absolute rubbish!

Apple III

In May of 1980, Apple had high hopes on it's new business-orientated personal computer. However it became a commercial and engineering failure. Steve Jobs believed he knew better than Apple's engineers by insisting the Apple III to have no fans or air vents! Steve believes fans are too industrial and inelegant. By adopting this method, the Apple III suffered constant overheating which caused the computer to short circuit.

To add further insult to injury, the Apple III  had a starting price at $4340.00 and word quickly spread on it's design flaws and unreliability. The Apple III's sales performed very poorly which caused Apple to discontinue the product in 1984.

Adobe have been sneaky by finding a way to allow Flash video content to play on iOS devices like: iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The new release of Flash Media Server 4.5 gives web publishers that option. This backdoor approach by Adobe converts the Flash video file to HTML-5, a language that is recognised and mainly used for viewing web content in iOS devices.

So will Apple be happy with Adobe's new fix to the Flash problem? Maybe.  Adobe have not approached Apple or asked them permission to bring Flash to iOS. The reason that Apple don't support Flash in the first place is it's poor performance, especially on mobile devices such as the iPad. The biggest problem with Flash is the content is decoded in software and not hardware. Because of this, the device will require more processing and therefore use more CPU power which will quickly drain your battery. Other formats will use your devices hardware to decode and render content, which will preserve the battery life on your device.

According to Computerworld, Adobe's Flash Media Server 4.5 will address these issues:

Adobe's solution repackages content in real-time, changing the protocol to suit the target device, HTTP Dynamic Streaming or HLS, for example. This should mean that iOS devices will get much of the advantages of Flash video support, without the processor degradation and battery life cost of the format in use on other devices.

It is interesting to see how Apple will react to Adobe's new Flash. Apple's main reason for not supporting Flash in Steve Jobs' 'Thoughts on Flash' is the issue on battery life. Now that Adobe has found a solution to that problem, it will be interesting to see Apple's reaction.

The iPhone 4S will more likely be the next iPhone and not a redesigned iPhone 5. There have been many rumors floating around about a thinner and larger screen size iPhone. However recent sources indicate that the next generation iPhone's design will not change, and that only internal changes will be made, much like the iPhone 3GS. According to Macrumors, there is a report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states the following key features in the next generation iPhone:

- 512 MB of RAM: This is to be expected, as the next iPhone should be using the same A5 chip found in the iPad 2, which does in fact offer 512 MB of RAM.
- Camera module height "almost same" as in iPhone 4: Camera thickness is the major limiting factor for overall device thickness, meaning that the next iPhone is not likely to be significantly thinner than the iPhone 4. Sony is said to have started shipping camera sensors to Apple's manufacturers back in July, with OmniVision coming online to assist in September or October.
- 3.5-inch display: A number of rumors have claimed that Apple will be using a larger display for the new iPhone, but Kuo's sources indicate the screen will be the same size as that found in the iPhone 4.
- Glass front and back: Although not 100% confident on this item, Kuo's sources suggest that Apple will continue to utilize the same basic design of the iPhone 4, with glass on both the front and back of the device.
- Manufacturing shares: Foxconn is scheduled to handle 85% of the production load for the new iPhone, with Pegatron taking the remaining 15%. As previously noted, Pegatron will be a bit slower to ramp up production, and will primarily be supplying Apple's Asia-Pacific markets.

Although not stated by Kuo, the rear camera is more than likely to be upgraded to at least 8 Megapixels, as Android powered smartphones already have 8 megapixel cameras.

Apple has released Security Update 2011-005 for OS X Lion and Snow Leopard and can be downloaded via Software Update or direct from Apple's website. The update is very necessary as it addresses a security issue with fraudulent certificates. As said on Apple's website:

"An attacker with a privileged network position may intercept user credentials or other sensitive information"

"Fraudulent certificates were issued by multiple certificate authorities operated by DigiNotar. This issue is addressed by removing DigiNotar from the list of trusted root certificates, from the list of Extended Validation (EV) certificate authorities, and by configuring default system trust settings so that DigiNotar's certificates, including those issued by other authorities, are not trusted."

For more info. Visit Apple's support site.