COMPUTERWORLD: Apple is making Macs more touch-friendly when touch makes sense. Magic Trackpad is the touch interface for desktops, but how long will it be until we see the Mac keyboard replaced by a touch-sensitive, intelligent device? What would it do?
Apple has introduced a software update designed to fix intermittent audio loss issue experienced by some users of the 27-inch LED Cinema Displays.
A previous tech note describes the problem:
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Some interesting survey results from Changewave today: While the iPad is mopping up in the enterprise today (satisfaction levels above) , it looks like next quarter is going to be even more lucrative for Apple, who have 80% of the market already..
A 1st Quarter Explosion in Corporate Tablet Demand
While 7% of business respondents say their company currently provide employees with tablet devices, an astonishing 14% of businesses report their company will be buying Tablets in 1st Quarter 2011.
In other words, the total number of companies making use of tablet devices is set to double in just the next three months – an explosive surge in demand going forward.
This breaks down into the following usage categories…
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What’s new in iTunes 10.1.1?
This release provides a number of important bug fixes, including:
• Addresses an issue where some music videos may not play on Macs equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 9400 or 9600 graphics.
• Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when deleting a playlist that has the iTunes Sidebar showing.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when connecting an iPod to a Mac equipped with a PowerPC processor.
• Addresses an issue where some music videos may not sync to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.
At 4:12 ET today Apple updated its AppleTV firmware. It should be hitting devices shortly or can be downloaded for fun below. There is no update list as of yet.
| AppleTV(2G) (AppleTV2,1) | 4.2.1 (8C154) | 12/14/2010 16:12:02 |
Update: According to Apple’s release notes the update resolves an issue regarding 480p playback as well as a video re-downloading issue.
| Feature | Summary |
| TV resolution fix | Addresses an issue that causes some high-definition TVs to incorrectly display at 480p. |
| Download fix | Addresses an issue that may cause a movie or TV show to be re-downloaded. |
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQg046aoV9Y&w=640&h=390]
For those of us who still use a Mac Mini (or other Mac) as a MediaCenter connected to our TVs, today’s hack from Erica Sadun is a blessing. She created a Mac Application that can catch Airplay from iOS devices and output the video on the screen. For all intents, AirPlayer lets your Mac do what an AppleTV does naturally.
You can download the Macintosh Application, called AirPlayer.app here.
The interesting question is: Does Apple want us doing this? They make much more money selling Minis (and other Macs) than they do on AppleTV units. However, it would seem easy enough for Apple to include this type of Application with Mac OSX. So why does Sadun have to build it instead? Are we in for another cat and mouse chase?
(update: it is a .01 release and we did have some trouble getting it to work with a YouTube video over wifi)
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