9to5 Staff

It looks like those AT&T upgrade costs haven’t killed demand for the new iPhone 3G S.  BGR is reporting that AT&T is all out of pre-orders. 

BGR states that they only have access to AT&T’s systems and it is uncertain how many iPhones had been allocated to the sole iPhone carrier.  AT&T and Apple will both have more stock on launch day.

It looks like the zany idea of having to repurchase apps is a no-go (thankfully).  According to appadvice (via Giz) the inability to re-download apps was just a "bug" which has been cleared up now.

With the final release of iTunes 8.2, we discovered that the message stopped appearing for users who had an authorized computer, but people who were sharing applications with unauthorized devices would still see the message. It was a welcome discovery that seemed to make the new policy palatable.

Now today, in a surprising turn of events the entire feature was removed completely! The message now will NOT appear in any environment, authorized, non-authorized it doesn’t matter. We were able to talk to a lead Apple developer first hand at WWDC and he confirmed the feature is now gone completely.

While we are fans of the removal of this "slip", we have our doubts that it was unintentional.  The window seemed to have all of the right wording and came up pretty reliably when an app was re-purchased. Plus, what hapens now when you log into someone elses mobile app store and ry to download one of your apps? We’re not 100% sure we are done with this one yet.

From the Toys section:

For those of you with MacBooks who want to make the leap to SSD, Kingston offers an incredibly affordable solution. The Kingston SSDNow V-Series 128GB Serial ATA Internal Solid State Disk (SSD) 2.5" Laptop Kit (pictured), model no. SNV125-S2BD/128GB is $226.99 with free shipping ($1.79/GB). That’s the lowest total price we could find by $15 and 64% off of list price.  64GB is $135.

Featuring no moving parts, a Solid State Drive (SSD) is designed to access data faster and last longer than typical hard drives.  They also typically use less power which allows for longer battery life.  The laptop kit comes with an external USB enclosure and cable for your old HDD.

Datasheet (from Kingston)

Adding an SSD to a desktop already using a standard hard disk drive is a smart and efficient way to upgrade. Transferring the operating system and applications from the HDD to the SSD allows the SSD to be used as a bootable drive that takes full advantage of the Flash-based technology. The SSD and the HDD then co-exist to drive optimal performance in the upgraded desktop

For notebooks, SSDNow drives are a perfect replacement for hard drives resulting in faster, more reliable performance. Making this change will improve a notebook’s efficiency in a wide range of tasks, from booting up to running the most robust operating system and demanding applications.

SSDNow uses a standard SATA interface but, unlike a regular HDD, SSD is very rugged and built with no moving parts, making it ideal for power users and road warriors who push the limits of their notebooks. Other benefits include reduced power usage, less noise and less heat generation.

Kingston’s SSDNow V Series offers performance gains and power consumption reductions at a fraction of the cost of a new system. For added peace of mind, they’re backed by 24/7 tech support, a three-warranty and legendary Kingston reliability.

Specifications/Features
 

Features:
• Fast – up to 100MB/sec. read; 80MB/sec. write**
• Performance – enhances productivity; makes users more efficient
• Innovative – 2.5" form factor; uses NAND flash memory components.
• Silent – Runs silent and cool with no moving mechanical parts
• Reliable – less likely to fail than a standard hard drive
• Shock Resistant – No moving mechanical parts so the SSD handles rougher conditions.
• Supports S.M.A.R.T. – Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology tells the user when a drive is about to fail
• Guaranteed – 3 year legendary Kingston warranty, 24/7 tech support

Specification

• Capacity* – 64GB, 128GB
• Storage Temperatures – -40° C to 85° C
• Operating temperatures – 0° C to 70° C
• Vibration Operating – 2.17 G (7–800Hz)
• Vibration Non-Operation – 20 G (20–2000Hz)
• Power Specs –128GB  Active: 2.5W (TYP)  Sleep: 0.45W (TYP)
  64GB   Active: 2.0W (TYP)  Sleep: 0.45W (TYP)
• Life expectancy – 1 million hours mean time before failure

The Apple Store this week updated its high-end video card selection to include the EVGA GeForce GTX 285. This monster comes with 1GB of DDR3 memory and 240 stream-processors.  This makes it the fastest video card Apple sells for its systems.  This is important because Snow Leopard will use the GPUs of the video card to accelerate CPU intensive processes like video encoding and decoding.

******Update: We called EVGA.  The PC version will not work in a Mac.*******

The lowest price we could find for the Mac Version of this card is $438.

A word of caution from the comments on Apple’s site: You need to make sure you install the driver from the CD BEFORE you install the card in your Mac. If you don’t, the system will kernel panic and crash at startup.  OSX Snow Leopard will likely have drivers built into the OS install disks.  Review and more pictures.

via MacRumors

Apple’s new Scottsdale Arizona Store is a sign of things to come according to CNET. The new store has a much bigger Genius Bar than most its size.  It also has some new design elements:

When looking through the wall of windows on one side, you can see straight through to the other side of the store and out another wall of windows. If that wasn’t enough to give you a feeling of space, the Scottsdale store also has a 75-foot long skylight.

Apple plans to open or update more than 100 stores this year incorporating some of this new thinking.

Apple announced today that in the three days since its launch, Safari 4 Final has been downloaded 11 million times.  Interestingly, 6 million of those downloads were on the Windows platform.  Windows iTunes owners do get a reminder that there is a new Safari browser is available, but it is still interesting to see that the browser is more popular on the Windows platform than on Mac.  Obviously, with around 10 times the user base, there are many more seats out there from which to choose.

 If you haven’t downloaded yet, what are you waiting for?

We’re getting a lot of tweets that the WWDC 2009 Developer Preview has hit your local torrent sites.  We’d reccomend you wait until it is available for purchase for $29.99 in a few months but who are we to tell you what to do?  Feel free to discuss in the comments.

Our Beta tester had the opportunity to try out the new AIM Push Notifications App that was made available this evening on the developers App Store.  According to our source, the app is working exactly as it should.  We are really looking forward to apps like Fring and Skype getting this functionality. Any other developers out there trying this out?

Oh, and here’s another little bonus (and another FU to AT&T?).  You can now send SMSes to your contacts with this application just like you can in iChat.  In fact, your numbers come over when you sign into your AIM/.Me account.

Update: Now that the 3.0 release is out in the wild, it only takes 3 steps

If AT&T didn’t drop every other call we make and have the worst data service we’ve ever used, we’d think twice about dropping this little hint.  But we’re about to unleash this with little guilt. Here’s what you need to do to get Internet tethering on ANY iPHONE OUT THERE.  Yes, even yours.

So without further ado, the 9to5Mac Tether:

There are 2 things at work here.

A. The iPhone 3 OS GM activates on any iPhone as long as it is a legit iPhone.  (Not SIM unlocked and working on Tmobile in the US or Vodafone in the UK for example).  If you are using your iPhone on AT&T in the US, it unlocks without issue.  When you go to iPhone 3 you lose your abiity to Jailbreak (for the moment).  More information on this here.

B. The first iTunes 8.2 Pre-release (not the second) allows you to upload carrier .ipcc files directly to your iPhone which enables tethering AND puts your carrier settings on the iPhone.  This was a huge mistake (or was it?…hmm) from Apple because with this version of iTunes you can turn any iPhone into a tether iPhone without permission from the carrier.

This works.  It has been tried a number of times on a few different iPhones.  Here’s the easiest way to do this:

1. You probably already have iTunes 8.2 final on your machine.  No problem.  Update your iPhone to 3 GM like so.

2. Now you have to download the 8.2 pre-release 1. We can’t tell you how to do this but we’re sure you’ll get some help in the comment threads. You’ll also need to get the carrier settings file from this application (UPDATE: Commenters are saying this one works better for AT&T)..  Most international carriers are supported.

Once you have iTunes pre-release1 , you’ll need to completely uninstall iTunes 8.2 before installing the pre-release.

3. Completely Uninstall iTunes 8.2 Final by:
A. Trashing the iTunes.app application from your applications folder
B. Kill the iTunes Helper process in Activity Monitor.app
C. Go into your ~/Library folder and delete all of your iTunes plists and folders.  Alternatively, you can just create a new user account on your Mac and install it from there.
D. Empty trash

4. Install iTunes 8.2 Pre-Release.  Plug in your iPhone 3.0 and go to iTunes, go to the Summary page

5. Option-Click on Restore and browse to the AT&T.ipcc file you extracted from the iPhoneTether.app before (or here from AT&T).

6. Click open and you should only have to wait a few seconds while you see this:

7. Once that is complete, go to your iPhone/Settings/General/Network and you should see a new option about 1/2 way down called "Internet Tethering".  Click "on".  Instructions will be below.

8. Once enabled, your Mac should pop up a notification:

That’s it.  You should be tethering, free of (additional) charge on your unlimited iPhone plan.  As far as we can tell, so long as you don’t update your iPhone or iTunes, you should be able to continue.

By the way, AT&T doesn’t allow apps like Sling because it considers the iPhone a computer and it falls under those terms of service – which is already a tethering plan.  If that is the case, then there shouldn’t be additional charge for using your unlimited plan with a computer.

Boom.

It probably isn’t a big surprise to many, but you can officially boot the new MacBook Pros from an SD card according to this KnowledgeBase Article (via Ars).  On older machines, you could boot from a USB external drive and it looks like that SD card dock is connected through the USB connector, so there aren’t too many tricks at play here. 

To create a boot disk, you’ll need to format the card to Mac OS Extended using Disk Utility.app which will make it mostly useless with PC’s and cameras.  It will also be many times slower than a standard hard drive or SSD for boot-ups.  However, this could be a great tool for diagnosing issues with hard drives and running diskutils.  Diskwarrier should come on SD…in a few years.

Interestingly, you could also use those little SD cards as backup drives.  If you just want a quick and easy Time Machine/automated CCC of your important docs, it is hard to imagine an easier solution.  With a 32GB card going for $70, or a 16GB card coming in around $30, it is a small investment to keep your files safe.

Oh, and those with older MacBook Pros with ExpressCard slots?  You can be part of the fun as well with an ExpressCard to SD card reader ($28) – which turns your ExpressCard slot into an SD Card reader.  Or eliminate the middleman and just get an ExpressCard SSD.

Those slackers at iFixit really know how get into a MacBook quick. Here’s their takeapart of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro. Note that it is fairly simple to replace the hard drive and RAM.  Unscrew the bottom lid and you are presented with all of the good stuff right away.  The RAM slides out, while the hard drive is four more screws away. 

Speaking of which, here’s a 5400 RPM500GB Hitachi drive for $89.  Dayum.

Or a 7200 RPM 2.5 inch 500GB HD for $20 more.

Of all the price drops/feature updates announced at the WWDC keynote, the 13-inch laptop is seeing the biggest changes.  Many will say that this is the MacBook that should have been released last year. 

Complaints about lack of Firewire and screen issues have been addressed, along with other significant upgrades, listed below.  The result is quite a bargain for what is now, without a doubt, a Pro machine.

Lost in yesterday’s torrent of information was that the new iPhone 3GSes have a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic screen which may go further in reducing oils left on the iPhone.   Apparantly the change wasn’t big enough news to warrant time at the Keynote.

 via MDN

Look, we know what type of trouble we are asking for here, so let’s get this out of the way first: You are responsible for what you do.  We take no responsibility for this information and if your iPhone explodes, we don’t even care.

That being said, and only(!!) if you so choose, you can now download the 3.0 OS software from those nefarious torrent sites, or your buddy who is a iPhone developer.   You can then option/install it on your iPhone/iPod touch using iTunes and get a week jump on Apple’s official release.  Also, remember to get the right firmware for your device.  iPhone 3G has different firmware than the original iPhone for instance.  Finally, consider that the 3.0 software updates the baseband, potentially making a SIM-unlock more difficult.

Before, to do update to 3.0, you’d need a developer to put your Device ID in a list.  Now, iPhones and iPod touches are activating normally without being "on the list".  Plus, this is the GM that we’ve been playing with for awhile and we can say that this is very stable and complete…plus, for some reason we can still tether on AT&T.

If you want to share your "experiences" in the comments, we’re pretty sure the iPhone community would appreciate your help.

…and please, all of you goody-two-shoes out there, try to refrain from doing what you do.

This seems way more complex than it needs to be.  Head over to AT&T’s website for all of the forms and paperwork you’ll need to do. 

In case you were wondering…we were able to install 3.0 final on an iPhone (no need for your device ID to be in a list either, it works on any activated iPhone) and Tethering still works without issue.  We’re hoping there won’t be a big AT&T bill in the mail for our tester.

Apple has updated its MobileMe page. By far the most exciting feature for us is the "find your iPhone" capabilities we heard about at the show.  But that isn’t it.  There is now going to be a free iDisk.app  that will allow you to do some fun stuff on the iPhone with your files.  This includes things like the ability to view your pdf, office, etc. files (assuming over 3G) that are on your MobileMe account.  Also, you can share your MobileMe files with your contacts using the iDisk.app.

From Apple below:

Sometimes it’s your keys. Other times it’s your glasses. Misplacing things happens all the time. Now, if you misplace your iPhone, Find My iPhone can help you find it.

Locate your iPhone on a map.

Now, if you lose your iPhone, MobileMe can help you find it. MobileMe includes a new feature called Find My iPhone. Just enable Find My iPhone in MobileMe settings on your phone.* Then you can log in to me.com from any computer to access Find My iPhone and display your phone’s approximate location on a map.

Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe

Locate your lost iPhone with MobileMe. No chance of getting it back? Remote Wipe protects your privacy.

Watch the QuickTour

Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe

Display a message or play a sound on your lost iPhone.

Say you’ve just used the Find My iPhone feature, and it turns out your phone is at the doctor’s office. Not to worry. You can write a message that will be displayed on your iPhone — something like, “Oops! Left my iPhone behind. Blame it on the cold medicine. Be there ASAP to pick it up. Your grateful patient, John Appleseed.” Your message appears on the screen, even if your phone is locked. And if the map shows you that your iPhone is nearby, yet you still can’t find it, you can tell MobileMe to play a sound that overrides the silent setting on your phone.

Protect your privacy with Remote Wipe.

Addresses, phone numbers, email, photos. Your iPhone contains important and personal information — information you probably don’t want in the hands of a stranger. So if you lose your iPhone and displaying a message on it hasn’t resulted in its safe return, you can initiate a remote wipe to restore it to the factory settings.* If you eventually find your iPhone, you can restore your email, contacts, and calendars by enabling your MobileMe account on your iPhone. Or connect your iPhone to your computer and use iTunes to restore the data from your most recent iPhone backup.

Search all your mail messages.

iPhone OS 3.0 brings search capability to Mail on your iPhone. Now you don’t have to flick through your inbox, tapping messages to find the email you’re looking for. You can search messages by sender, recipient, subject, or all headers. And if the message isn’t on your iPhone, Mail searches for it in the MobileMe cloud. When the message is located, you can display it on your iPhone with no problem.

Engadget is reporting that AT&T is going to offer a tethering plan, they just haven’t worked out the details.  Plus, we have a whole week until the iPhones go on sale, what’s the big rush?  They just haven’t figured out how much extra they can get out of you suckers customers.

BGR says there will be a $70/month unlimited data w/tethering plan (so +$40 for Tethering) Also, AT&T will offer an unlimited MMS solution for $20/month.  Ouch.

We’d think Apple would have been best to highlight the speed as well. Video alone (which most of the smartphone world has had for years) doesn’t seem like it is going to be a big draw.