Tips and Tricks

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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COMPUTERWORLD: Today we’ve learned internal politics have hindered Google in its cloud music plans while Apple isn’t yet ready to make us all go ‘lala’. Meanwhile, as most of us prepare for long drives to visit family and friends: here’s some great apps for drivers.

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[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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Apple will engage in what it is calling ‘scheduled maintenance’ of its MobileMe service beginning at 10pm tonight (PT). The maintenance will affect users attempting to access their accounts, and will also impact against those trying to sync data between devices.

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Today we’re liking the BlueSLR gadget, a Bluetooth dongle that lets you control your Nikon SLR from your iPhone, and adds a few other features which justify its $150 price tag.

All you need to do is connect blueSLR to your compatible digital SLR camera and use your phone to adjust your camera’s focus, shutter speed or timer.
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Apple has patched a problem which afflicted some MacBook Air displays, in which 11- and 13-inch models would wake to a black screen or become unresponsive.

The company recommends all MacBook Air users should install the update, which addresses that problem of flickering horizontal lines sometimes appearing on the display of the 13-inch model or displays being discoloured when waking from sleep.
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Repetitive sync, record-keeping inccuracies and slow performance, for some of us that’s what we think we pay $99/year for when we sign-up for MobileMe, well, that and an over-priced image sharing service and an online storage facility that’s almost as good as Dropbox — but don’t worry, keep paying your subs because Steve Jobs says MobileMe is going to get better (next year).

Many industry watchers had hoped Apple would take a bite on the bullet and make the service free earlier this year. To an extent it did, bowing to public pressure (and potential feedback from lawmakers sick that such a powerful feature wasn’t available to every owner of an iDevice) and making ‘FindMyiPhone’ free for all.
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A new iOS tool called iOSFlashVideo found on iSpazio allows you to view Flash embedded movies on iOS devices.  The bookmarklet allows videos from Dailymotion, Flickr Video, MegaVideo and Vimeo that are embedded Flash in websites to play using their backend H.264 video.  It is basically the same trick that Apple uses to allow embedded YouTube Flash video to be played without Flash.

We hope (expect?) Apple to make this available natively at some point in the future.

If you have any trouble installing the bookmarklet, MacStories has a great step-by-step.
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What’s this we hear? Apple’s going to open up its Mac App Store for business just on time for Christmas? That’s how it seems with the latest claimed insider gossip suggesting Apple’s gonna open its doors on the new big consumer software online retail outlet on December 13, hurrah!

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COMPUTERWORLD: Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Nokia — these big name firms are locked into eternal struggle in the ever-changing world of technology, but Apple may hold the central skill in this new world order, as building tomorrow’s dreams demands that old engineering adage, “less is more”, and “better is not necessarily better than best”. Why? Because they can’t get the staff.

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(Image c/o, Wired)

Recall the heady days of last week sometime when we told you about AirPrint Hacktivator, software which let you print to OS X shared printers from iDevices? Well, early versions of the software has been removed by the developer at Apple’s request.

“While working on my next project, VPN Hacktivator, I received an email from omm.com on behalf of Apple instructing me to take down the AirPrint Hacktivator pages,” the developer explains.
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COMPUTERWORLD: Mac OS X contains many shortcuts, special keyboard combinations you can exercise to make things happen, but unless you make the effort to learn them there’s no guarantee you’ll recall the one you need at the time you most need it. Fear no more: there’s ways to make finding shortcuts easier. Bring out your inner power user!

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Remember last week when we showed you a Cydia App that enabled Airplay for all devices? Based on the ease of getting it to work at the time we said:

This is big because it means Apple could easily (and will likely) enable [Airplay for all apps] in future versions of the iOS.

Today Steve Jobs went on record (more or less) saying that indeed Apple is planning to build it into Safari and the SDK.

Until then, there are the hacks.
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Lets put this simply. Macs are better than PCs. What? You want actual proof, rather than a simple expression of opinion? PC World has it, with its latest survey showing the company ‘smoked’ the competition in PC World’s 20101 reliability survey. (Via Apple 2).

Microsoft Office 2011 is Cheapest at Amazon starting off at $88.99 (though Microsoft had promised $79 earlier) for Student and Teacher.  Three license version is $109.  For Professional (which includes Outlook) prices go up to $182 and $246.

Snow Leopard is $26 and a 5 license family pack is $50.   The Mac Box set, including iWork and iLife ’11 is $117.

Pixelmator, a great image editor is $17.99

Adobe Photoshop Elements is $45 and Premier Elements is $49.  An Adobe Photosho CS5 update is just $139.  Adobe has significant Educational discounts up to 80% off.  Adobe’s full Black Friday deals here.  Adobe’s Amazon site.

Parallels has $10 off this weekend only on Parallels 6 download bring it down to $69, and more importantly the update to $39. Amazon has Parallels 6 box for $57 so probably best to head there if you don’t mind waiting.

Smith Micro has 60% off their whole store which includes StuffIt, Poser, VMware Fusion, Anime Studio and more.

MacUpdate, as always, has great prices on smaller software downloads.

Amazon’s full Mac Software site.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is $140 at Amazon.  That is $60 off.

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Apple’s Black Friday deal is on now – but it looks as if a price competition between Apple and Amazon is taking place at the UK store. Don’t believe me? Then do take a look:

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, a 250GB Hard Drive and Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics and SD card costs you £897.90 in the UK on Amazon with free delivery.
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Hang onto your hats — we already have word of yet one more special event to close out 2010 but Apple’s already plotting to delight and surprise with another update to its MacBook Pro range and that there long-awaited move to ship a new blend of Final Cut Studio — and we only need to wait till April (some say).
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The customary series of unexpected fault reports are coming through the wires this am, with iOS 4.2 reportedly munching music on some iPhones and causing hassles with HDMI on the Apple TV. Here’s what we got so far, and we hope, nay, urge readers with further information to use comments below to help each other out on this.
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That didn’t take long, the Redsn0w team have jailbroken the final version of iOS 4.2.1 — there’s also a how-to guide, so all you more technically literate iPhone users out there can get out there and partay!
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We know it was possible to print to non-HP printers at some point during the iOS 4.2 beta testing process, equally we also know that it was possible to use AirPlay on an iPhone 3G and a second-generation iPod touch. These uses disappeared, but trust to the ever inventive Mac dev community to figure out a workaround — hurrah for them!
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We’ve waited and waited — now it is here our tipsters say — go grab it!  AppleTV is now at a newer 4.2.1 (8C150)  Who is AirPlayin?

device
current version
date found


AppleTV(2G) (AppleTV2,1)
4.2.1 (8C150)
11/22/2010 13:08:57


iPad (iPad1,1)
4.2 (8C148)
11/22/2010 13:08:57


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)
4.2 (8C148a)
11/22/2010 13:08:57


iPhone4 (iPhone3,1)
4.2 (8C148)
11/22/2010 13:08:57


iPodTouch(2G) (iPod2,1)
4.2 (8C148)
11/22/2010 13:08:57


iPodTouch(3G) (iPod3,1)
4.2 (8C148)
11/22/2010 13:08:57


iPodTouch(4G) (iPod4,1)
4.2 (8C148)
11/22/2010 13:08:57


last updated: 11/22/2010 13:20:02 EDT