Apple released a new security update today, more info can be found here. It’s available for Mac OS X v10.5.8, Mac OS X Server v10.5.8, Mac OS X v10.6.4 and Mac OS X Server v10.6.4.

It blocks several security holes, and I recommend all Mac users keep up to date with ALL security updates. Use Software Update to download and install them, with a restart if necessary. This could prevent a malicious criminal from accessing your information and stealing your money, or your identity.

I don’t like to be alarmist, but it only makes sense to take advantage of Apple’s security updates. They haven’t caused any serious issues, and are worth the protection they provide.

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Mid-2010 iMac

The new Mid-2010 iMacs are out, and they are pretty wonderful. the backlit displays are brilliantly sharp, and are powered by upgraded graphic cards. They have faster processors, too.

They also feature Hyper-Threading and in the case of the i5 abd 57 processor models, Turbo Boost.

The Intel Xeon processors support Hyper-Threading, which allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core. So, for example, a 12-core Mac Pro presents 24 virtual cores that are recognized by Mac OS X. Performance is enhanced because Hyper-Threading enables the processor to take better advantage of the execution resources available in each core.

Turbo Boost is a dynamic performance technology that automatically boosts the processor clock speed based on workload. If you’re using an application that doesn’t need every core, Turbo Boost increases the speed of the active ones, up to 3.33GHz on a 12-core Mac Pro, and up to 3.6GHz on a 6-core system.

The 21.5″ models come with 3.06GHz and 3.2GHz both with Intel Core i3 processors and supporting Hyper-Threading, and a 3.6GHz with Intel Core i5 supporting Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost. Both have 4MB level 3 cache.

The 27″ models come with 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 process with Hyper-Threading, 3.6GHz Intel Core i5 with Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost, with 4MB level 3 cache. Top of the line 27″ iMacs are available with the Quad-Core 2.8GHz Intel Core i5 or 2.93GHz Intel Core i7, both with 8MB level 3 cache and of course, supporting Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost.

All models come with 4GB RAM, and support up to 16GB. Hard drives options are 500GB (21.5″ only) or 1TB (2TB optional) and an optional 256GB solid-state drive for the 27″ version.

CAUTION: I toured DriveSavers today, and much to my surprise, learned that solid-state drives are experiencing high failure rates and after 6 months or so are not nearly as fast as they are new. More on this in another post. If you have questions, contact me.

Graphics processors for the 21.5″ iMacs are ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory or ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB. The 27″ with the 13 or 15 processors use the ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB while the Quad-Core i7 uses the ATI Radeon HD 5750 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, making it a serious tool for designers, photographers, etc.

Details on the new iMacs can be found on Apple’s page.

Mid-2010 Mac Pro

Lots of improvements on the Mac Pro, but since it’s a more specialized machine, I’ll let the tech details go for the most part. You can find ‘em here, but I will say that the graphic capabilities are amazing, the processors are very fast, the architecture has been upgraded and memory is supported up to 32GB on dual-processor systems. This is an amazing machine!

Magic Trackpad

The new Magic Trackpad gives desktop users the Multi-Touch features that only newer MacBook Pro owners have had to date. Replacing the mouse, the Magic Trackpad is like the MBP in everything but size… it’s 80% bigger. The entire surface is a clickable button, and it’s the same design as the Wireless Keyboard, same angle, heights, etc. It’s Bluetooth, like the Wireless Keyboard.

You can even buy an Apple Battery Charger with 6 high-performance AA NiMH batteries to keep your keyboard and trackpad charged up, without wasting energy or fouling the environment by throwing away regular batteries. At $29, it’s not a bad del, since it draws much less electricity than the average charger.

Bigger Picture, anyone?

Oh, and there’s a new 27″ LED Cinema Display, too. With built-in iSight camera and mike, 178° viewing angle, and a cable that combines the MagSafe connector, USB and of course the Mini DisplayPort connectors. The 27″ Cinema Display has 3 USB 2.0 ports to add to your choices, and a 49 watt speaker system.

It also features an ambient light sensor, so if you’re working in a bright room, you’ll have perfect brightness. When the sun goes down, you’ll still have perfect brightness. Great feature, in my opinion.

The LED Cinema Display also is adjustable from -5 to 25 degrees via a smooth-motion hinge.

If this doesn’t whet your appetite for Mac hardware… nothing will.

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An update to Mac OS X 10.6.4 was released this morning, with additions specific for the new iMacs… oh, you didn’t know about the new iMacs? Read the next post! Unless you have one of the new model iMacs, you won’t need this update.

The new update addresses graphic anomalies occurring in the new iMacs with the current version of 10.6.4. It also fixes compatibility issues with reading SDXC memory cards.

A new driver for the Magic Trackpad (read the next post) was released as well, and is required for the new device. It also enables iertial scrolling and 3-finger dragging gestures on the newest MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. Download it here.

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Apple is working to fix a security flaw in Safari that could allow a web site to grab names, email addresses and other info from visitors, no matter if the visitor volunteers the the info or not.

The AutoFill feature in Safari is very convenient, and is turned on by default, but has recently been exploited in a “lab setting”. Autofill works by filling in fields based on the letter or letters typed into the field. For example, If I type “C” into a name field, AutoFill will fill in Charles, or Charles Lindauer depending on the context. This information is pulled from the Address Book application data. Other browsers autofill from info previously entered on web forms.

There’s no evidence that this flaw has been used to steal information, but it’s not terribly difficult to do, and the flaw has been around for a while.

I opened Safari preferences, chose AutoFill and unclicked the boxes. Now I have to fill in forms the hard way, but my personal information is safer.

Apple will, hopefully, have a solution for this flaw released soon. I’ll post any updates as they are released.

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Apple unleashed it’s free iPhone 4 Case Program for all iPhone owners who purchase an iPhone 4 prior to September 30, 2010. This fulfils a promise made by Steve Jobs last week.

To take advantage, download an app and select either an Apple Bumper Case, or one of the third-party cases offered, at no charge. The app checks the serial number and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) to verify that you’re using an iPhone 4 and your eligibility for a free case. This is a lot simpler than going to the Apple Store, online or brick-and-morter. In fact, as far as I know, going to the local Apple Store won’t get you a free case at all.

Search in the iTunes Store, or go to this page for info and to download the app.

What do I get?

As of today, the cases offered are the black Apple Bumper case, the Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4 (Smoke and Clear), the Belkin Shield Micra for iPhone 4 (Clear), the Griffin Motif iPhone 4 (Diamonds/Smoke), the Griffin Reveal Etch iPhone 4 (Black/Black Graphite), the Speck Fitted Case iPHone 4 (Black Tartan) and the Spec PkxelSkin HD 4 (Black). Average cost of these cases is $20-30+.

If you don’t like any of the cases offered, you may have an option. Apple states that it’s case selection is subject to change at any time. You may find something you like better on another occasion, but there’ll be no warning, and no guarantee it’ll be something you like better. Plan to wait 3-5 weeks shipping time or more for your case.

If you’ve purchased a Bumper Case already, as I have, you should get an email from Apple with a link to determine the status of your refund. Apple started automatically issuing refunds yesterday, and mine already went through.

Sample Email:

Dear iPhone 4 owner,

Apple recently announced that iPhone 4 customers who purchased an iPhone 4 Bumper are eligible for a full refund.

As of today, we have automatically processed your refund. If you would like to check the status of your refund, click here.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Sincerely,
Apple Retail Store Support

What if you bought your Bumper from AT&T?

You still get your refund, but have to fill out the rebate coupon PDF form to claim it.

If you bought a 3rd party case, you’re out of luck.

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iTunes 9.2.1 was released yesterday to improve security and fix bugs.

Some of the changes:

• Disables older versions of some incompatible third-party plug-ins
• Addresses minor issues with dragging and dropping items
• Addresses a performance issue when first syncing to some devices with iTunes 9.2
• Addresses an issue upgrading to iOS 4 on an iPhone or iPod touch with encrypted back-ups
• Addresses other issues that improve stability and performance

In addition, there are new features and improvements, including iPhone 4 sync improvements, the ability to organize and sync PDF documents as books and read with iBooks 1.1 on the iPad or any iPhone/Touch with iOS 4 and more.

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The new iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch operating system is available, and downloading as I write. I’m excited! I plugged my iPhone in to my Mac, fired up iTunes, and… my software was up to date, supposedly. I clicked the button to update, and lo and behold, I was offered the option of downloading and installing, downloading only, or canceling. Which do you think I took?

The update provides more than 100 features, and all kinds of new goodies for app developers, the most interesting from my point of view is multitasking support. Now we have the possibility of at least limited functionality for apps in the background, and quicker app switching.

Another big deal is the ability of creating folders for organizing apps. The limitations of OS 3 are gone, hardware permitting.

Speaking of hardware, this new OS works on the iPhone 3GS, the 3G, iPod Touch (2nd and 3rd generation only), as well as the iPhone 4 releasing this Thursday. Some features aren’t supported on the older devices, but enough will for this to be a big deal.

Original iPhones won’t run the new OS at all, and iPads won’t update until sometime this fall… the latter irritates me no end, but I’ll be patient.

Open iTunes (version 9.2 required), plug in your iPhone, and click on the Update button under Version on the Summary page. The process takes a bit of time, and the size of the download depends on the device you’re updating.

This morning Macworld and others seemed to have no problem updating, but after the iPhone 4 pre-order fiasco last week, I’ll be curious to see if the servers can handle the load. So far so good, for me (2:30 Pacific Daylight Time).

Hey, my iPhone is restarting! The download and update took around 10 minutes, and the restart about 5 more minutes. Guess I should have timed it, but my stopwatch is my iPhone!

Early experiences

Multitasking… not the same as on my Mac, and Apple says it is a battery drainer.

Folders… I have way too many apps anyway, since I’m a crash-test dummy for my clients, but now I can organize the ones I use a lot, the ones I need to test, and the ones I’ll get around to one day. I had to go to Apple’s site to figure out how to make a folder, but it’s easy. Simply drag an app onto another and a folder is created. It’s given a name based on the category of the app, but it’s easy to rename. It works the same way using the Apps tab in iTunes, and is easier to navigate. I recommend giving it all some thought… I spent about 30 minutes, and am only about half-way organized. Once done, tho, what a timesaver!

Now I can have 180 folders, with 12 apps each. That’s 2160 apps, which means that if I use one every minute, I’ll be done in… 3 days!

Something I didn’t expect, even tho I’d read about it, was seeing my “desktop picture” behind the app icons. Not sure how I feel about that. The black background is something I’ve got used to over the last 3 years. I may have to choose a new picture. Even so, it’s certainly more interesting than it was.

Mail app improvements include a unified inbox, which allows us to see all incoming messages, no matter how many accounts they come in to. Threaded messages are supported, and tapping attachments allows separate apps to open them.

iBooks is nice, but I now depend on the iPad for books. Still, it’s not bad. Camera and Photo apps are improved (hardware permitting), and bluetooth keyboard support is very nice. You also can choose between Google and Bing as your default browser search engine.

Conclusion

I LIKE it!

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It took about 3 dozen tries… well, maybe 2 dozen, but I finally got a “reservation” to pick my new iPhone 4 32GB (Black) up at the Santa Rosa, CA. Apple Store on June 24. Stay tuned for first impressions. I’ll no doubt be posting that day.

Problems with the pre-order process

I can’t speak for those who went to AT&T, but the pre-order was a bit of a disaster for those of us who tried the Apple channels. The Apple web site timed out many, many times for me, and for thousands of others. Some were able to use the Apple Store app for iPhone to pre-order, but when I tried it it didn’t work for me.

I saw more dissatisfied posts about this than any other single subject. Apple created the largest single-day sales event in its history, but also pissed a lot of customers off.

I’d have waited to get mine sent to me after July 2, but once I tried the Apple site, and had it fail, and read about so many failures, I had to keep trying. For you, my readers, of course. I did get through, although I didn’t realize it until Apple emailed me the following:

When you come in to pick up your iPhone, you’ll be part of an exciting launch at the Apple Retail Store. We’ll have Specialists ready to transfer your contacts, set up email, and help you get apps so your iPhone is just the way you like it. We can’t wait to see you at the store.

Sincerely,
The Apple Retail Store team

Pickup Date and Time
June 24 starting at 7:00 a.m.
Please note that your reservation will be held until close of business on June 24.

Pickup Location
Apple Store, Santa Rosa Plaza

Until I read the email I kept trying to get registered, unsuccessfully. I never did see a confirmation page of any kind. Apple was not ready for the crush in any way, shape or form. I keep hoping that they’ll put on resources enough to cope with these releases, but that may not be possible. One can hope, tho.

I remain the eternal optomist, I guess.

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Apple released the newest update to Mac OS X 10.6 yesterday. They have more info on this page.

Updating instructions from Apple:

Updating your system

You should back up your system before installation; you can use Time Machine.

Do not interrupt the installation process once you have started to update your system. You may experience unexpected results if you have third-party system software modifications installed, or if you’ve modified the operating system through other means.

Choose Software Update from the Apple () menu to check for the latest Apple software via the Internet, including this update.

If your computer is not up-to-date, other software updates available for your computer may appear, which you should install. When Software Updates states “Your software is up to date,” you can be sure that all available updates have been installed.

Note that an update size may vary from computer-to-computer when installed using Software Update. Also, some updates must be installed prior to others, so you should run Software Update more than once to make sure you have all available updates.

You can manually download the update installer. This is a useful option when you need to update multiple computers but only want to download the update once. These versions of the standalone installers are available from Apple Support Downloads.

I always recommend downloading the Combo Updater, as there is a small percentage of users who have issues updating through Software Update. Combo Updaters seem to be a trouble-free approach.

That said, I’ve used Software update regularly, and never had an issue. As I said, it’s a small percentage of updaters that have any problems.

General fixes and improvements

• improves compatibility with some Braille displays
• resolves an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
• resolves an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
• addresses issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
• improves reliability of VPN connections
• resolves a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
• resolves an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
• resolves an issue with Parental Controls Time Limits for Open Directory or Active Directory users
• resolves a display sleep issue with MacBook Pro (Early 2010) computers
• resolves an issue with MacBook Pro (Early 2010) computers in which the right speaker may sound louder than the left speaker
  includes Safari 5.0; for more information about Safari 5.0, see this webpage
• Security improvements; for information about the security content of this update, please visit this article

Fixes and improvements for Aperture 3

• adds tethered shooting support for additional digital camera models
• addresses IPTC metadata compatibility issues
• Fixes and improvements for external devices

RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras

• resolves an issue with using third-party USB web cameras
• resolves an issue with noise when using some third-party FireWire audio devices
• resolves pairing issues with Apple remotes

Additional Information

This update also includes the improvements found in the Mac OS X v10.6.1, 10.6.2, and 10.6.3 updates.

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Apple just announced the new Mac Mini, with new features:

• An aluminum unibody enclosure
• Up to twice the graphics performance
• Industry-leading energy efficiency
• An HDMI port and SD card slot

The HDMI port will make the new Mini a very interesting solution for Home Theater installations.

Basic configurations are:

• 2.4GHz with 2GB RAM, a 320GB internal drive, SuperDrive, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, Mac OS X Snow Leopard for $699.00
• 266GHz (With Snow Leopard Server), 4GB RAM, Dual 500 GB internal drives, NVIDIA GeForce 320M Graphics, Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard for $999.00

Build-to-Order options include a faster processor (to 2.66 GHz), more memory (to 8GB), a larger drive (to 500GB). It can be ordered with software preinstalled, and Apple would love to sell you a stunning Apple Display to go along with it.

The Mini has been a great solution for years, now it looks even better. What really excites me is the easy access to install RAM without prying open the top case. This makes it easy to add memory if you need to, down the road. The lack of easy RAM addition was the primary flaw in the previous Minis, in my mind.

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