iTunes 8.0.2… various problems reported

Apple released a new iTunes version. I downloaded it and installed without problems, but many are reporting various issues.

MacInTouch has several reports today, ranging from possible permissions needing to be repaired, mail deletion (using AOL) problems, broken Internet radio apps (WunderRadio, BBC iPlayer for example).

I noticed that the Apple Store is difficult to contact. I tried to get app updates today, and the effort eventually timed out with an error message. I’ll keep trying, and report any more problems (and solutions) here.

New iPhone Software Release

Apple released new iPhone software today, version 2.2 available through iTunes. It provides new features and enhancements, and is easily installed.

Enhancements

Google Street View

The iPhone now has Street View available, so that if you are searching for a client’s office, or a restaurant, or whatever, if it is on a street that has been Street View-enabled, you can view photos of the building and the area… makes it so much easier to find!

Public Transit and Walking Directions

One thing missing - until now - from Google Maps has been walking directions. Not any more. You can also find public transit schedules and fares, and estimate transit time. I wish this had been available last month, when I was doing an Apple Certification course in San Francisco!

Podcasts

Now you can access the millions of podcasts at no charge at the iTunes store, using Wi-Fi or cellular connections.

Safari Improved

The interface is now more search-friendly, performance is improved, and it is reportedly more stable.

Home Screen Shortcut

You can now take a shortcut from any Home creen back to your first Home screen by pressing the home button. I haven’t tried this yet, so can’t comment on the functionality.

More…

• Enhancements to Maps - dropped pins now display the address, and you can share locations via email
• Decrease in call setup failures and dropped calls
• Preference to turn on/off auto-correction in Keyboard Settings
• Enhancements to Mail
  -
  Resolved isolated issues with scheduled fetching of email, and Improved formatting of wide HTML email
• Improved sound quality of Visual Voicemail messages

The above information provided by Apple Computer today, 11.21.2008.

Problems Reported

From iPhone Atlas, 11.21.2008:
Users Face Serious iPhone OS 2.2 Problems

Posted 21 November 2008 @ 1pm in Troubleshooting

From iPhone Atlas, 21 November
Users who have updated to iPhone OS 2.2 are facing some significant issues, including problems with third-party apps, Internet connection issues, problems deleting email and more.

Third-party Applications broken

Some third-party applications will no longer function properly under iPhone OS 2.2 due to API changes and other modifications. These include a number of applications that make use of CoreAudio. These applications will generally need to be updated by their developers. However, you can try uninstalling then reinstalling applications for problems that do not involve API or other strict compatibility problems.

“Could not Connect to Internet”

Some users are encountering an inability to connect to the Internet over cellular networks after the iPhone OS 2.2 update. In some cases, this issue can be resolved by switching from 3G to EDGE (or, for carriers other than AT&T, the appropriate GPRS network).

“SIM card not inserted” or PIN lock

Some users are receiving an error message indicating that the SIM card is not inserted, or that a PIN lock is in place when none should exist.

The SIM recognition issue can sometimes be resolved by removing the iPhone’s SIM card, then connecting it to your computer and restoring. iTunes may then reload the iPhone software successfully, after which you can re-insert the SIM card and attempt synchronization with iTunes.

If you get the PIN lock message, try the suggestions in this tech note.

Kilometers instead of miles in Google Maps

It appears that Google Maps for the iPhone now displays kilometers instead of miles for various countries. You can temporarily resolve the issue by selecting ‘USA’ in International settings, though this obviously introduces other problems for users outside the U.S.

Problems deleting email

Some users are unable to delete emails from certain accounts, especially AOL accounts after the 2.2 update. This problem can generally be resolved by navigating Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > (Your account name) > Advanced > Deleted Mailbox, then setting for the “On My iPhone” Trash for a POP account, or “On the Server” for an IMAP account.

App Store extremely slow

The App Store is extremely slow after the iPhone OS 2.2 update for some users. This may be a server-side problem that Apple will resolved shortly.

User reports noted in MacInTouch.com include:

Dez Chesterfield
It seems that upgrading my iPod touch to firmware 2.2 has broken access to BBC iPlayer. When I try to access a programme, it says ‘Sorry, programmes can only be accessed over a wifi connection’. Since the iPod *only* has wifi, that’s a bit strange.
Happens with a 1G and a 2G touch. iPhone upgraded to 2.2 works fine from the same wifi access point.

Peter Trinder
The update has also broken the BBC iPlayer as well. See:-
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1797710

Chuck Dingee
The 2.2 update did not erase my custom ringtones. I have had them erased too many times since MobileMe does not store them, so I opted to sync my contacts via USB rather than MobileMe - they have remained ever since. See Knowledge Base:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1948

Harold Lewis
I have noticed a dramatic increase in battery charge life since updating.

Ken K
More on iPhone 2.2:
I’m not really digging the new toolbar interface in (Mobile) Safari 3. Jamming both the address box and the search oval onto the small top line is cluttered and ugly — very un-iPhone. I guess I understand the reasoning behind it — I’ve seen newbies have trouble finding the search oval the first time, making the iPhone’s zero learning curve a tiny tick above zero — but I wish there were an option to use the older, nicer interface.

Or better still, why are there two boxes anyway? Why not a single round-cornered rectangle? If you type a URL, Safari goes there. If you type anything else, it googles it. Or yahoos it for the 2 people out there who have changed the default. I think the one ambiguous case — a one-word entry such as “apple” — is solved by the “.com” key on the keyboard. So how about it, browser interface people? Why 2 boxes when 1 would do?

Safari 3.2 a disaster in progress?

I use a few Internet plugins, like Glims and AcidSearch, and didn’t realize that Safari 3.2 would be so unfriendly to them. Previously, plugins would simply not load (with an error message) if they weren’t compatible. With the new Safari release, the app crashed instead. (the latest Pithhelmet release absolutely breaks Safari 3.2)

I tried the standard solutions…

I deleted the plugins, and thought I got all the files involved, but 3.2 still crashed. I reinstalled Safari. I restarted my Mac.

Safari crashed on launch every time.

Oh, and it appears that some permissions are corrupted, and Disk Utility and Cocktail can’t fix ‘em. Oh joy. My system seemed stable, but I did a restart yesterday and got a blank grey screen. DiskWarrior eventually sorted it, but basically Saturday was lost for work.

Saved by Time Machine

I replaced 3.2 with the previous release (thank you Time Machine) and it worked. I reinstalled Glims and AcidSearch, and it all worked.

Another fine mess

After the MobileMe rollout calamity, I expected Apple would be pretty careful about new releases. Apparently the Safari team didn’t get the memo. The various forums and sites like MacFixit and Macintouch list a variety of problems. The plugin incompatibilities I had are talked about as well as some people’s installation difficulties. Some users got an error indicating “You cannot install Safari on this volume. This volume already has a newer version of Safari installed.” Safari 4 Preview installation cause this, but even after removing the preview some files were left over preventing the 3.2 installer from working.

For those with too much time on their hands?

Except that the solution most often suggested doesn’t always work, and the only thing left to do is to an Archive and Install of the OS!

Or, go back to your backup like I did.

Safari 3.2 Success Stories

Some were able to install without difficulties. If you aren’t using any plugins, you should have no great difficulty, if these experiences are indicative. Some seem to have a great experience, but many are complaining of problems with everything from firewall settings to lost cookies.

Those with no problems say that it is absolutely stable, so far. Most seem to be running Intel machines on 10.5.5.

One user reports that the Google Safe Browsing Service is unavailable.

Some reported issues

Tiger problems

One user had big problems on Tiger on a PPC G5… it broke the OS prebinding, and the system won’t prebind at all. Maybe Apple isn’t testing on PPC machines?

Other problems

from MacInTouch

“With no 3rd party stuff installed, Sarari quits when I try to open a new tab in an existing window. This is whether or not the new anti-phishing feature is checked”

“The new Safari quit spontaneously 3 times this morning. Two times happened when trying to load and play an mp3. Firefox had no trouble.”

“I had just submitted my previous post and clicked on MacInTouch Home. Within a couple of seconds of loading the page, Safari quit.”

from other sources

“I just updated to Safari 3.2 today via auto update, and have had the program crash on me repeatedly, jusst about every time I click a link to another page, or a URL received in e-mail.”

more to come…

Apple released the Safari 3.2 update yesterday, and I downloaded and installed it immediately, ’cause I am your crash-test dummy.

I crashed.

ANY add-ons to Safari, including Concierge (bookmarks helper), PithHelmet (ad-blocking), AcidSearch (search enhancement), Glims and SAFT(several enhancements) seem to be causing crashes. Even without add-ons, some are experiencing crashes.

Before installing the update, do a full backup of your system with Time Machine or clone your drive with SuperDuper of CarbonCopy Cloner. If you do have problems you are then able to restore to the previous state, and keep on working.

This update was to address bugs including XML file handling, image handling and security vulnerabilities. Anti-phishing technology was also included.

Plugins and add-ons should be updated soon, so if you want to upgrade and forego the use of any helpers you are accustomed to you should be able to have them back reasonably soon.

Becoming a Mac Survivor

MacLife.com has a great article called How to Survive the 17 Worst Mac Disasters. I’ll list the disasters, but by all means read the entire article for great tips to keep your Mac out of trouble.

Macs don’t cause trouble often, but when they do it’s never good for peace of mind. My business is to keep client’s Macs running and to help them stay productive and stress free, at least as far as their Macs are concerned. These tips will help us all keep our Macs healthy and running strong.

Here are the disasters and tips from the article:

Disaster 1

Keyboard, Meet Beverage

Ever spilled your beverage? We all have. Spilled it on your MacBook or Pro? This tip provides good info for saving your machine. The key, of course, is to use a regular backup plan, so your data is safe.

There is also a tip for keyboard dunkings, and there are several others that have been known to work. Older keyboards have been saved by placing on the top shelf of a dishwasher, and run through a single cycle (without soap, of course) with NO drying cycle, and left to air-dry for 24-72 hours upside down.

Number one rule - keep beverages well away from your Mac and keyboard!

Disaster 2

Stuck in Startup mode

Ever started your Mac and wound up looking at the startup screen for 5, 10, 30 or more minutes? This tip is to use a techie’s tool call “fsck” while booting in what is called “Single User Mode” and using a Unix command to check file consistency and fix problems.

The 2nd tip is to boot your Mac with the OS X install disk and open Disk Utility and to run Repair Permissions and Repair Disk. Some might argue that this is a good thing to do first, but I think it’s a toss-up, personally.

Disaster 3

It Won’t Power On

Push the button, but no startup chime and no power indicator light. No drive spin-up or fan. This is not good… but Mac Life gives you a number of possible fixes. One that they don’t mention is that a dead PRAM battery can occcasionally cause this symptom as well.

Disaster 4

It’s Just Too Slow

Sometimes your Mac will slow down imperceptibly, until you suddenly realize that your former race-car is now a dog… sometimes it happens more noticably. These tips are good… a cluttered desktop is like dragging an anchor… every icon uses the same resources as an open Finder window!

One thing not mentioned is that Time Machine backups can sometimes cause a bit of a performance hit. If you are doing work that will suffer from a slow-down like video or music or intense graphics work, turn Time Machine off temporarily for better performance.

Disaster 5

Ouch, Your Thighs Are On Fire!

This is something we all need to pay attention to… even desktop users. Too much heat will cause all kinds of symptoms, including slow performance, crashes, shut-downs and more.

Get the crud out

This fix may require more expertise than you have… some Macs are not easy to open up (iMacs and Portables in particular), so if you don’t feel comfortable playing surgeon on your Mac, call me or take you machine to the local Apple Store.

Dust, hair, pet fur etc. can really mess your machine up! Free air flow is essential to keep your Mac cool… temperature-wise, anyway. It’s a Mac, so it’s already cool in the other sense.

Disaster 6

An App’s Gone Haywire

Great tips here. If you have a misbehaving application, the suggestions in this tip are very good. If you do have a “bad” app and can’t sort it out, please contact me for more assistance.

Disaster 7

Mac-Scratch Fever

If you have a metal Mac - TiBook, AlBook, MacBook Pro or Air, or the new MacBook… even the new iMacs, you may have scratched, scuffed or otherwise marred the surface. This won’t hurt your machine’s performance, but they look so great out of the box! It’s a shame to have to live with this, so don’t. Just be careful, as you can cause more trouble if you aren’t careful! If your machine has a matte or brushed finish, it can be very difficult to match. Restoring a gloss finish is much easier.

Disaster 8

Mucky MacBook

White or black plastic MacBooks can use more care… the white plastic gets dingy, the black shows fingerprints. Both can become scratched. The Magic Eraser tip in this part of the article is very good. There are other products and methods if you have bigger problems with the finish, and of course, stay away from ports and other openings in the case, and be very careful around the keyboard.

Disaster 9

A Key’s Come Free

This tip is useful, but would be better with a diagram or 2. If you have any trouble, contact me for more help.

Disaster 10

Click, Klunk, Buzz

Strange sounds coming from you Mac are never good. After a week or so you should be able to know the normal sounds it makes, but anything unusual can be signals of coming disaster, particularly to the hard drive. If your drive is dying, make sure you are backed up and replace it immediately. It can’t be fixed.

Disaster 11

Your iPod or iPhone’s Screen Takes a Scratch

Be careful with scratch-repair on screens, and use these tips ONLY on the glass screens of iPods and iPhones, NEVER on matte-screen portables and monitors. Glossy displays… maybe. Be careful!

That said, the tip has solid advice, with suggestions for products that will help, without causing more damage. Just be careful, don’t use too much force and do a little work and then check your results, then continue if need be.

Disaster 12

This Time The Scratch Is On Your MacBook

DON”T try to repair your MacBook (or Pro) display. It has a protective coating that won’t stand up to anything. Replacement by TechRestore or PowerBookMedic is definitely the best way to go. It’s not cheap, but you wind up with a new, perfect screen instead of making it worse.

Disaster 13

Plop Goes The iPod (or iPhone)

It’s not a submarine! Don’t let your iPod/iPhone get soaked! That said, stuff happens and the advice in this tip is very good. It may not work, but chances are much better for a healthy recovery if you use these methods.

Disaster 14

Your Fonts Turn Feral

Fonts and font caches can become corrupted, and cause all kinds of problems, up to and including application crashes.

If you are using OS X Tiger and Leopard you’ll find Font Book a great resource to check fonts. This tip has good suggestions, particularly the one to use Extensis Suitcase Fusion or FontAgentPro to manage your fonts. They provide the option to turn funky fonts off, and in most cases make it easy to determine if you have a bad font. Font Doctor is a great tool to repair corrupted fonts… but it won’t always work. Back up your fonts when you acquire them, just in case!

Disaster 15

Safari’s Gone Sluggish

Safari is my browser of choice, and if it’s yours, you may have seen it turn into a sluggish mess. If so, this tip can help. If it doesn’t, contact me for more assistance.

Disaster 16

MobileMe Mayhem

MobileMe rolled out too soon, and caused all kinds of problems for .Mac users. That’s done, and Apple has worked hard to correct the flaws of the initial roll-out version. Still, if you rely on syncing your Macs and iPhones with MobileMe, or rely on it for backup or a Web site, you may still encounter some issues. This tip addresses basic sync troubleshooting. Again, if it doesn’t sort your problem out, let me know.

Disaster 17

More MobileMe Mayhem

This is a more advanced tip for sync problems. I’d have rolled it into the previous tip if I’d written the article, but then we wouldn’t have 17 disaster tips, and maybe that is an important number.

The article finishes up with 5 good tips to keep your Mac trouble-free.

1. Stay Dry

2. Stay Up-To-Date

3. Stay Secure

4. Stay Clean

5. Back Up. Period.

This is a fine article with good advice. If you want to learn more about keeping your Mac in tip-top shape, let me know. My clients always learn a little every time we speak, and you can too. I’m happy to direct you to more information, and you can use MacHelpMate and your phone (call me at 707-479-6170) for diagnosis and assistance.

From MacInTouch and others:

For today only (October 28), CodeWeavers is giving away full versions of Crossover Mac Pro and Crossover Games Mac for free. The Crossover software makes it possible to run some Windows software (including Microsoft Office) on Mac OS X without having to install Windows itself. [The CodeWeavers web site has been stripped down to just a download page in order to handle the load, so information about compatible Windows programs, etc., is not currently available. If you're at all interested, download the program today and then check the CodeWeavers site for details tomorrow.]

If you get results that are incorrect when you tap the Location button in Maps, and you are using Wi-Fi, you can update the info that Skyhook has regarding the wireless router’s info and location. Go to http://skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/submit_ap.php and enter the address and click “Map It!”. Drag the marker or moe the map to refine the location. From that time forward, that access point will produce an accurate location.

Skyhook does not ask for any data that will identify you personally, and you can choose not to enable the feature without “negatively impacting your iPhone or iPod Touch in any way” according to Apple.

From Intego.com, 10/17/08:

Beware Bogus Security Software

There’s a new trend out there designed to scam computer users: web sites that sell bogus software. Not only does the software not do what it claims to do, but the companies that sell this “software” get a hold of your credit card and can do even more damage to your bank account.

Intego has spotted one such company, claiming to sell Macintosh antivirus software. MacGuard claims the following:

Macguard’s high-tech system scanner will search your hard drive for malicious objects such as Adware, Spyware and Trojans, cleaning your files, eliminating the threats, and securing your privacy in just a matter of minutes. Its Real Time smart protection will also ensure new threats will not even reach your desktop.

But what’s interesting is that Winiguard claims exactly the same thing. Not only is that claim the same, but every word on the two websites is identical.

One way you can spot a fake is that when you click what is supposedly the product’s download link, nothing downloads. So you can see that there’s no software behind the web site. (On the Winiguard site, something does indeed download.) If you are gullible enough to purchase this software from a company you have never heard of, who has no references, and whose web site is vague and imprecise, it is likely that you will find additional charges on your credit card. ArsTechnica reports that more than 30 million people have been scammed by such software.

We all know that security is a serious risk when using a computer, and especially the Internet, but one should not blindly trust a web site just because it claims that its software will do something. Look for trustworthy, reliable software, such as Intego VirusBarrier, which, over the years, has proven itself. Trust the gatekeepers - the computer magazines and websites that test such software; Macworld said that “VirusBarrier X5 is the gold standard.”

As the saying goes, let the buyer beware. That goes for anything you purchase online, but even more for so-called security software that does nothing more than take your money and run.

What were they thinking?

Apple doesn’t want people talking about it… all threads on their discussion boards mentioning the lack of FireWire on the new MacBooks have been deleted. Still, there’s lots of talk about it.

Trouble for iMovie users

No firewire port means that most iMovie users won’t be able to directly connect their cameras. Funny, ’cause they ship with iMovie. And Apple invented FireWire. I guess we’ll have to buy video cameras with USB connections, or find another way to import video files.

Troubleshooting more difficult?

One of the coolest things about Macs, from my point of view as a consultant, is that I can connect a troublesome Mac in Target Mode via FireWire, and have access to the machine for diagnosis and repair using software tools. I can reinstall a system and do many repairs and maintenance tasks much more quickly than booting the Mac from a DVD and doing it that way.

It’s also a great way to remove files from dead machines, and to migrate files from an older Mac to a new one.

Update: it’s confirmed that Target Mode will not work on the new MacBook and MacBook Pro. Dan Warne wrote the following yesterday:

According to Geoff Winder, Product Manager for Hardware at Apple Australia, Target Disk Mode relied upon part of the Firewire standard, which isn’t replicated in USB.

Winder said that Apple now believes that there is no real need for Target Disk Mode anyway — there are alternative methods for everything people would want to do with it. There’s Boot Camp for backup and the Apple Migration Assistant for full-disk cloning.

Hey, Apple! Here’s a question. How am I going to migrate from my older Mac to a new MacBook??? Guess you’ll tell me, but without FW, will it be as easy?

Update: Apple today released an update to it’s Migration and DVD/CD Sharing Update, which I guess will be used to migrate to the new machines.

Following the release yesterday of the new Apple portable line, Amazon is discounting FireWire MacBooks (starting at $869) and previous generation MacBook Pros starting at $1444! AppleCare is discounted too. Get ‘em while you can!!!

Update:
Lots of complaints about the lack of FireWire on the MacBook, but solutions are beginning to spring up. This will be an issue for some, but the MacBook Pro still has FireWire (800), and ars technica has a preliminary review out today using Portal and BioShock games running on Vista Home Premium under Boot camp to compile impressive performance benchmarks. They will have a more complete review within a few days.