Founder, Publisher and Editorial Director of the 9to5/Electrek/DroneDJ sites.
Seth Weintraub is an award-winning journalist and blogger who won back to back Neal Awards during his three plus years covering Apple and Google at IDG’s Computerworld from 2007–2010. Weintraub next covered all things Google for Fortune Magazine from 2010-2011 amassing a thick rolodex of Google contacts and love for Silicon Valley tech culture.
It turns out that his hobby 9to5Mac blog was always his favorite and in 2011 he went full time adding his Fortune Google followers to 9to5Google and adding the style and commerce component 9to5Toys gear and deals site. In 2013, Weintraub bought one of the Tesla’s first Model S EVs off the assembly line and so began his love affair with the Electric Vehicle and green energy which in 2014 turned into electrek.
In 2018, DroneDJ was born to cover the burgeoning world of drones and UAV’s led by China’s DJI.
From 1997-2007, Weintraub was a Global IT director and Web Developer for a number of companies with stints at multimedia and branding agencies in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Madrid and London before becoming a publisher/blogger.
Seth received a bachelors degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California with a minor in Multimedia and Creative Technology in 1997. In 2004, he received a Masters from NYU’s Tisch School of the Art’s ITP program.
Hobbies: Weintraub is a licensed single engine private pilot, certified open water scuba diver and spent over a year traveling to 60 cities in 23 countries. Whatever free time exists is now guaranteed to his lovely wife and two amazing sons.
More at About.me. BI 2014 profile.
Tips: seth@9to5mac.com, or llsethj on Wickr/Skype or link at top of page.
Sometimes developers find some pretty funny stuff. This was apparently the prototype name for Apple’s Magic Trackpad. I’ll be honest: I like SuperMondo better than Magic.
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Those new MacBook Pros – the ones released last month – are not only as fast as last year’s Mac Pros, they can also take 16GB of RAM. That puts them a pretty rarified world of computing, at least as far as laptops are concerned.
OWC has the brand new OWC133DDR3S8GB 8GB modules currently at $100 per GB price of $800/each. While some may be able to justify the price now, it will come down dramatically as production ramps up. 4GB modules were just as expensive when they debuted and now they can be had for under $50/each. This may be the same part for $320 less (no guarantees!)
PS, they also work in last year’s 27-inch iMacs and some PCs.
Best comment: “For $1600, they must be fashioned by Samurai sword makers.”
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We’re getting this question a lot so I thought I’d put together a really quick HowTo guide.
0. HomeSharing is the new feature in iOS 4.3/iTunes 10.2 that allows you to watch videos on your computer with your iOS devices. Download and install iOS 4.3 on your iOS device and iTunes 10.2 on your Mac if you haven’t already. Make sure your iOS device and your Mac are on the same Wifi network.
1. In iTunes 10.2.1, go to Advanced and click on “Turn on Home Sharing”
Then put in your iTunes Creds (Apple ID)…
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Some interesting news is coming out of the development community as developers take apart the newly released iOS 4.3 software (or really just publish stuff they’ve been under NDA about until now). Notably, there are three separate versions (surprise!) of the iPad:
iPad2,1 (K93AP) = WiFi.
iPad2,2 (K94AP) = GSM.
iPad2,3 (K95AP) = CDMA.The A5 Processor, is called a ‘S5L8940’
…and the iPhone 5 (N94AP), has the same S5L8940 processor.
The previous A4 processor is the S5L8930.
Thanks @chronic
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If you are a Macintosh application developer but don’t want to spend the $99 to get into the Mac Developer program (and don’t mind missing out on early OS builds) Apple might just have the program for you. You see, now that XCode 4 has gone final, you can now download it at the Mac App Store for only $4.99. (Yeah it is free otherwise but Apple has some accounting issues to deal with).
In probably the least exciting update of the day, Safari has been updated to 5.04
This 40MB update contains improvements to stability, compatibility, accessibility and security, including the following:
In addition to all of the multi-touch iOS devices, our little AppleTV peripheral got a nice little update of its own today, including the addition of MLB.TV, and NBA League Pass integration. AppleTV says it is 4.2 but in the Apple download direct links, it says 4.3. Whatever. Sports!
Gallery below:
Currently, Apple shoppers must visit AppleCenter in Dubai
According to Stuff Middle East, Apple is the final stages of opening an Apple Store in cash-drenched Dubai. The Store – whether it is officially an ‘Apple Store’ or not, the distinction is dubious– will be a store within a store of Richard Branson’s Virgin Megastore. It will be staffed by Apple geniuses/employees, however and will retain the Apple Store “look and feel”.
The store, in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, will be 100 per cent Apple, we’re told, complete with Apple staff and know-it-all Geniuses. It’s a real boon for Apple-lovers in the UAE, who in the past have had to deal with extra-long waits for Cupertino’s latest toys or suffer the hugely-inflated prices on the grey market. Bad news for other manufacturers though, who have no doubt capitalized on Apple’s lackluster presence in the region.
Apple has indeed been staffing-up on its retail employees for just such a move. Just in time for iPad 2s.
Branson has also been working on an iPad magazine which might just be the best put out by a billionaire this year.
It is time to get your iOS 4.3 download on. With a bevy of new features, bugfixes and sweet, sweet Safari speed improvements, you pretty much can’t lose…unless you have a VZ iPhone or iPhone 3G that is. Here are all of your current iOS device downloads.
| device | current version | date found |
|---|---|---|
| AppleTV(2G) (AppleTV2,1) | 4.2 (8F191m) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPad (iPad1,1) | 4.3 (8F190) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPad2,1 (iPad2,1) | 4.3 (8F191) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPad2,2 (iPad2,2) | 4.3 (8F191) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPad2,3 (iPad2,3) | 4.3 (8F191) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPhone (iPhone1,1) | 3.1.3 (7E18) | 04/08/2010 21:05:48 |
| iPhone3G (iPhone1,2) | 4.2 (8C148) | 11/22/2010 13:08:57 |
| iPhone3GS (iPhone2,1) | 4.3 (8F190) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPhone4 (iPhone3,1) | 4.3 (8F190) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPhone4(vz) (iPhone3,3) | 4.2.6 (8E200) | 01/31/2011 20:30:02 |
| iPodTouch(2G) (iPod2,1) | 4.2 (8C148) | 11/22/2010 13:08:57 |
| iPodTouch(3G) (iPod3,1) | 4.3 (8F190) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| iPodTouch(4G) (iPod4,1) | 4.3 (8F190) | 03/09/2011 13:07:02 |
| last updated: 03/09/2011 13:08:01 EDT | ||
same numbers!
We’re not sure if this has already happened, but EETimes reports on the rumors that Apple has shifted its A5 production from Samsung to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). Since no one has seen a real A5 processor yet, we don’t know if Apple has already switched.
Perhaps most damning, the art that Apple has put out on its A5 Chips is actually just an A4 Chip with ‘A5’ superimposed over top(!) See same part numbers around the edges above. Does this mean that Apple has something to hide? (They always do)
The move would make logistical sense as Apple’s current (former?) partner in processor manufacturing, Samsung, is increasingly becoming a competitor in both iOS devices and in PCs. Apple was supposed to take $7.8Billion in parts from Samsung this year. Might be time to adjust that estimate.
With little or no fanfare, Apple and TSMC have recently entered into a foundry relationship, sources said. As reported, TSMC will make the A5 dual-core processor on a foundry basis for Apple’s iPad 2. That can be read here and here.
We reported on Apple’s move to Qualcomm (from Infineon) who use TSMC’s process for GOBI chips in October.
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Apple has mailers going out today telling us to get ready to interrupt our Friday in order to line up like little actors all over the place in their iPad 2 Friday marketing campaign blitz. Ugh. I’m kinda down on the whole “spend Friday in line without a reservation” thing if you hadn’t noticed.
It is also interesting that Apple seems to default to the White iPad more often than not in its marketing – which was only a rumor a week ago.
Sorry Apple, I’m not spending my Friday in line. Instead, I’m going to do the more convenient thing: Have my alarm wake me up at 2:55 am on Friday morning before work, order it online then, then try to go back to sleep. (we love you Apple) I won’t have a 2 to play with over the weekend but at least I’ll have my Friday.
I think @MarkGurman will be queueing up at the Grove in LA if anyone wants to go bother him there (or hold his place in line).
Also, Me: White 16GB Wifi, Tan Leather iCover. You?
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Parallels did this a few months ago, so it is nothing terribly groundbreaking, but today, VMWare 3 allows you to run remote Windows, Linux, (OSX Server!) images remotely from your iPad with ‘VMWare Viewer’. VMWare is a much more popular virtualization solution in big business so this may have a lot more people moving off their PCs and onto iPads. We had previously reported on this in October.
From commenter Pino: lol username: vmware07 password:vmware07 ip: 204.51.683.102 domain:VMWORLD
Commenter @carvin8:
This is a much bigger deal than Parallels. VMWare View on a server farm can host hundreds of remote desktops. I can now offer a cheaper more secure way for road warriors to access their enterprise desktops without lugging a laptop around. Many of our sales people will be very excited when we deploy iPads for them to carry around instead of a 6-8lb laptop. We also use a custom built CRM that has access to their main tool that is 70% of their workday
Full press release below:
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There has been some outrage in the Android community this week about how their ‘4G’ phones can’t upload data as fast as a 3G iPhone 4. (welcome to AT&T Android!). Even the ‘King of Android Phones’, the Atrix, gets schooled by the iPhone. Word on the street is that AT&T hasn’t enabled the higher speed HSDPA+ radios on the Androids but since Apple controls the iPhone firmware, AT&T can’t mess with it. That sounds like the AT&T we know and love.
At the moment, 3G iPhone still beats 4G Android.
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I remember when installing Toast was one of the first things I did when I got a new Macintosh. Now, I don’t even have an optical disc reader on my main computer and I use optical less and less on the home Macs.
However, I know there are a lot of uses of optical still out there and for those folks that create it, Roxio today updated their Toast software to Toast 11 with some important updates.
For existing users, Toast 11 adds many requested features such as recording to multiple drives simultaneously, a streamlined product update mechanism, and the ability to save custom video profiles, which is very useful for those that are often converting video for a particular device. The latest version now also offers built-in features for directly uploading media to social networking sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook and technology optimizations, dubbed VideoBoost, that help dramatically speed H.264 (high definition) video conversion or encoding.
New or exclusive-to-Toast features include: Internet audio recording; the ability to capture, save, and convert Web-based video content; disc spanning (automatically spreading a large amount of data or audio tracks across many discs); one-click backup of HD camcorder footage; dual-platform compatible disc creation; and TiVo-to-Go support.
The boxed package is $99, the Not-App Store download is $79 and a Toast 10 upgrade is $59. Amazon has it as well.
Also launching today is Roxio Toast 11 Pro. Toast 11 Pro includes everything offered in Toast 11 Titanium as well as the Blu-ray Disc Plug-in and four award-winning digital media applications for making stunning video, photo, and audio projects….
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MIC Gadget got some hands-on time with that 64GB iPhone we told you about earlier. You’ll notice the camera doesn’t have a silver ring around the edge like the infamous “lost in a bar” phone.
Perhaps most interesting is that we’ve been hearing that Apple does limited runs of these things (and had done them in the past as well) but the guy who got them from Foxconn said:
According to the owner, he believes that the next iPhone will bring 64GB storage capacity to users.
Bring it Apple!
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Macerkopf.de claims to have information on the media event surrounding the release of iOS 5. They say it will happen on the 14th or 15th week of the year – or early April. The move wouldn’t be a surprise as Apple has traditionally had its iOS beta unveilings during this time of year, the most recent being April 8th of last year.
We’re expecting big things from iOS 5, including Maps, Speech and Cloud features as well as the answers to the ‘MediaStream‘ and ‘Find My Friends’ riddles. Also, maybe a much needed notifications update.
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Korea’s biggest Mobile operator SK Telecom today announced they’d be carrying the iPhone. There is some question as to whether this is a CDMA phone or a GSM iPhone.
SK Telecom’s Wikipedia entry says that it was the world’s first to commercialize HSDPA in May, 2006. However Macrumors and others note that the iPhones the models are holding are of the CDMA variety.
Release follows:
We know a certain percentage of you have forsaken Adobe’s Flash altogether. For those who haven’t, Adobe just released a new beta version of Flash for Mac (and Windows, Linux)
Key new capabilities in Flash Player 10.3 include:
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As we showed you back in January, Google Instant is now live for all users on iOS and Android.
Instant Previews provides a fast and interactive way to evaluate search results. Starting today, Google Instant Previews is available on mobile for Android (2.2+) and iOS (4.0+) devices across 38 languages. Similar to the desktop version of Instant Previews, you can visually compare search results from webpage snapshots, making it easier to choose the right result faster, especially when you have an idea of the content you’d like to see.
Pioneer announced their first AirPlay compatible receiver, the VXS-1021 today. It does what you probably think it does – it let’s you stream music from your iOS device to the receiver as if it were an Airport Express.
Here’s where it gets interesting though. The Pioneer will put the album art and music information on your screen (Via HDMI out?). If they can do that, why can’t you stream video to this bad boy?
The VSX-1021 also offers other connectivity choices:
(yeah the $549 receiver is already in our cart at Amazon)
Pioneer also updated their other iOS products, below:
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:376563
You’ll recall Mr. Colbert was given one of the first iPads to pull out of his suit at last year’s Grammy’s. He subsequently took ownership of the iPad suit pocket. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve heard from him. International/Flashless users, talk to Comedy Central.
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BGR says 10am PT. Are your ready for Nitro? Can you handle the snappiness™!?
Update: 10am came and went. Jim at Loopinsight says tomorrow. Apple’s press release says the 11th. We couldn’t wait.
Engadget reports that a few jailbreakers have discovered a way to get the Verizon iPhone to work on Cricket, a Pay as you Go carrier which rides on Leap Wireless’ CDMA 3G Network. You’ll have to jailbreak, install some third party MMS software and let a guy at a Cricket dealer flash your iPhone so clearly this isn’t anywhere close to mainstream.
Can I flash a phone to work on the Cricket network?
Yes, Cricket will activate any phone that’s been flashed to work on the Cricket network.
Cricket corporate stores currently do not flash phones to work on the Cricket network but many of the indirect dealer (both standard and premier) have the ability to flash a customer’s phone, and most corporate stores will be able to tell a customer where to go to have their phones flashed to Cricket. To find a list of store locations, click here.
If you choose to activate a non-Cricket phone on the Cricket network, there is a possibility that some of the phone features or service plan features may not operate. Additionally, flashed phones are not eligible for the Cricket Phone Replacement Program or Cricket Warranty Exchange Program. Not all phones are capable of being flashed to work on the Cricket network.
Why is this important? COO Tim Cook recently said that Apple is looking to innovate in pre-paid markets.
He further noted that the handset distribution model was poorly constructed and that Apple would look to “innovate” and do “clever” things in addressing that market.
From a 1996 Wired piece as told by ElectricPig.co.uk.
“We didn’t have a very good one so we spent a little time looking at them,” he told contributing editor Gary Isaac Wolf. “It turns out that the Americans make washers and dryers all wrong. The Europeans make them much better – but they take twice as long to do clothes! It turns out that they wash them with about a quarter as much water and your clothes end up with a lot less detergent on them. Most important, they don’t trash your clothes. They use a lot less soap, a lot less water, but they come out much cleaner, much softer, and they last a lot longer.
“We spent some time in our family talking about what’s the trade-off we want to make. We ended up talking a lot about design, but also about the values of our family. Did we care most about getting our wash done in an hour versus an hour and a half? Or did we care most about our clothes feeling really soft and lasting longer? Did we care about using a quarter of the water? We spent about two weeks talking about this every night at the dinner table. We’d get around to that old washer-dryer discussion. And the talk was about design.”
Two weeks of discussions to choose a washing machine? That’s life in the Jobs household. (He opted for Miele in the end, adding, “I got more thrill out of them than I have out of any piece of high tech in years.”)
So how does he justify deliberating for so long? Well interestingly he compared it to a phone – an essential item, but something people don’t have time to spend figuring out. “You just don’t have time to learn this stuff, and everything’s getting more complicated.” So he simplified it all with the original iPhone, and the mobile landscape changed forever. If Apple made washing machines, you can bet they’d be the easiest to use in the world.
I didn’t remember seeing that one way back when but it sounds about right.
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