By Graham K. Rogers

Opening Gambit:

WWDC

It is pointless me repeating all the information that has already been dished out -- some while the keynote speech was ongoing -- so I am trying to pick out the core items and some oddities where they exist. A streamed video was released and I watched that, taking notes during the almost 2 hours. Late Thursday evening this also appeared in the podcasts section of iTunes.

The day began with a Siri comedy act (on video) full of in jokes and complete with drum rolls to make sure we got the punch lines. From audience reactions the jokes were to the point and well-received.

Tim Cook arrived and was, well, Tim Cook. In control and slightly more relaxed these days, he had a couple of witticisms. This was the usual Apple format starting with background emphasised by mega-stats (400 million App Store accounts, 640,000 apps, 225,000 just for the iPad).

Before handing over to Phil Schiller, he mentioned that this month an additional 32 countries will get the app store. The presentation jumped to a video and those responsible for the Thai tablet program should view this and consider.

Phil Schiller introduced the notebooks starting with the new MacBook Air. Ivy Bridge up to 2.0 GHz, RAM up to 8 GB, with 60% faster graphics and a better camera, the MBA can now take up to 512 GB of flash storage. The read speed is faster, it has USB 3 but each port supports USB 2 and 3. The 11" is priced starting at $999 with the 13" at $1199 and $1499 ($100 cheaper than before)

The MacBook Air uses the 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors and has 8GB (1600 MHz) RAM, faster graphics and the USB 3 and 2 ports. The 13" is $1199 (2.5 GHz) or $1499 (2.9 GHz): the same price. The 15" models use 2.3 ($1799) or 2.6 GHzGHz ($2199) quad core processors.

There was also the MacBook Pro that has been redesigned with some legacy technology being dumped. The display was much better, but the side view got the most gasps (0.71"). Weight is 4.46 pounds. Schiller confirmed it was the Retina display and is a 15.4" screen with 2880 x 1800 resolution with 220 pixels per inch: 5,184,000 pixels. The group on Facebook that had been angling for a new MacPro were underwhelmed by this release. However, Jason Snell of MacWorld reports on an email from Tim Cook in which he writes that Apple is working on "something really great to address the professional market." With this in mind, when I had another look at the Thai online store this morning, I saw that the "New" tag that was there yesterday, had gone. Reports from other locations suggest this is worldwide. Not new after all.

Several applications have been updated and Aperture (see below) was mentioned as well as Final Cut Pro X and Apple is working with Adobe and its Photoshop, plus AutoCad and games like Diablo 3.

Shots of the inside were fascinating as this clearly has been redesigned especially the asymetric fans and the motherboard. Lots of space is taken up by battery modules. Specifications include 4-core i7 processor up to 2.7 GHz, up to 16 GB RAM, new Kepler Architecture graphics (like the other Macs updated) and space for up to 768 GB flash storage. Ports include SD, HDMI, Bluetooth 2 and 3; and there is a new Magsafe 2 power connector (the new Mac is thinner). The basic model with 2.3 GHz quad core processor, 8 GB RAM and 256 flash storage is $2199 (72,990 baht) and there are lots of options however only the 94,900 baht version with its 2.6 GHz processor, 512 GB of solid state storage can be updated to 768 GB (for another 16,400 baht).

That 2.6 GHz processor can also be upped to 2.7 GHz for another 8,200 baht. Jason Snell editor of Macworld is one of those who was at the WWDC and he reports on his hands-on with the newest Mac. Several pictures are included and one of them is a screen shot of a new preference pane for controlling the display. AppleBitch also had a few ideas on this new device. I have local prices below.

One of the little things that Schiller slipped in concerned the adapters and there is an adapter that provides gigabit ethernet via the Thunderbolt connection.

Craig Federighi came on to talk about OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion and some of its 200 new features. He concentrated on 8. Starting with iCloud he looked at the way this is going to integrate apps and iOS apps better, especially with documents. This happens in part now with apps like Keynote, but the Mac end of things is clunky. That will change: change a document on one and it will change on any of the devices we own. As well as iWork apps, Preview is to be included (useful that) as well as a couple of new ones.

The Notification Center looked a bit like Growl on steroids and replaces all the confusing separate types of notifications as is possible now on iOS. It can be disabled using an ON/OFF button, or by connecting to a projector. If you do not use a projector, you have no idea how good that will be.

There will be dictation on a Mac just like on iOS devices and Sharing of data using an arrow like the Export on an iOS app. There are to be severa improvements to Safari, not the least of which is browsing integration over devices: start on one, go on to another. PowerNap is a new feature that allows tasks to carry on while we are not using the computer, including updates. Game Center is brought over from iOS and the same account can be used.

There were several features for Chinese users like improved Chinese input, a dictionary, new fonts and (as rumoured) support for Baidu: the Chinese search engine.

There are over 1700 new APIs and Mountain Lion will ship in July from the Mac App Store (like Lion) but will be $10 cheaper at $19.99 which will cover all of a user's Macs.

Scott Forestall started with some statistics, like 365 million iOS devices sold with most running iOS 5 and compared this (to some laughter) to an Android users' chart. He outlined Twitter and Messages use and integration, mentioning that like Mountain Lion there are to be over 200 new features.

Siri was first off and there were several ways he detailed that this would be improved although some may be US-centric. However the ability to launch apps will be part of the hands-off development that is ongoing, particularly as regards in-car use. Several automakers are on board to integrate the use of eyes-free Siri integration. Nine we are told by Neil Hughes on AppleInsider.

New languages to be available for Siri include Spanish, Italian, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese. Local search will be world wide (we will see) and Siri will also be available on the iPad.

Facebook will be integrated and there will be a one-page sign on that all apps can access.

The phone in iPhone will have a number of new features, including new ways to decline a call (say in a meeting): decline with a message; remind later, and this includes geolocation, so this could work when the user leaves a building. A Do Not Disturb feature is to be available to avoid noise and calls when we are asleep but there are some essential let-outs for specific people or emergency situations.

Facetime will be (as rumoured) available over cellular connections and not just wifi. There are many Safari improvements that integrate with those on OS X, while PhotoStream will also allow streams to be shared with friends. Mail has improvements including a VIP mailbox and a Flagged mailbox.

A new app called Passbook (see below) will integrate any app that uses passes, like airline boarding passes, cinema tickets or even those that are used for payments (Starbucks -- there not here). This will also work with a locked screen and there is a neat Trash animation. Guided access is to help develop apps for those without full abilities, such as children with autism and there is a feature to lock the iPad to a single app: useful in many circumstances.

Maps came towards the end of Forestall's presentation and everyone was waiting for this. New maps are to be used (there was no mention of Google) and this is a worldwide effort. Singapore was one of the cities mentioned. There is an improved local search and a traffic service that shows the location of problems, using crowd-sourced data. Maps are vector-based which makes them load and magnify much quicker. Turn by turn navigation is built-in and a new feature called Flyover was much appreciated with its use of 3D photography.

Forestall came to the end of his time on stage and before handing back to Time Cook mentioned that the same features in OS X for Chinese language are to be available in iOS. Cook closed the proceedings with a recap of the presentations and some general cheer-leading about Apple.

Other Apple Stuff

The range of extras for the Macs is fairly wide, and I report above on how much the move to a 768 GB flash drive would cost. Jason Gilbert took this further and looked at all of the options: adding everything on to the most expensive Mac. He ended up with a price tag of $8,825.94 but he had to choose several peripherals including a printer to get it all the way up to that level so it is a little misleading, but what do you expect from Huff Post technology where headlines and hits are more important?

There were several quiet changes, including to software with a number of updates (see below). MacNN points out that a couple of other products got boosts today, like the USB SuperDrive and Airport Express. MacNN's sister publication, Electronista, focused on a job posting that suggests that Aperture for iOS may be in development. Topher Kessler also reported that some users had experienced problems after an update from Apple for Thunderbolt. Lance Whitney is also reporting that Apple has released several updates for the Macs that were just announced.

There were some useful comments from Jordan Crook on Tech Crunch concerning what he called the Top 5 features of iOS 6 and he started with the phone. A lot of this stuff is not going to become clear until we have the iOS update on our devices, but it is clear they are being developed into something that only 5 years ago (the first iPhone was announced in January 2007) was unimaginable. Also on Tech Crunch Anthony Ha has some useful information on the Passbook app. My intro (above) just scraped the surface.

Ping has gone apparently(Josh Lowensohn). Not missed at all here as those of us outside Apple's mainstream countries did not have this, like several other services that those in favoured countries are allowed.

We are told in a report on MacDaily News which cites the NYTimes that there are to be not only New MacPro computers next year but iMacs too; while another link from MDN takes us to an item by John Brownlee on Cult of Mac who reports on the return of Save As in Mountain Lion: sense prevails; and Apple does listen.

The new Macs are already in the online store for Thailand with the prices shown in baht. With the MacBook Air starting at 32,900 up to the new MacBook Pro with Retina display at 72, 900 baht. There is no 17" MacBook Pro now so that has quietly disappeared. I also saw that the MacPro was marked as "New", Starting at 84,900 there are Quad-Core (84,900 baht), 12-Core (128,900 baht) and Server (99,900 baht) models. Customizable of course which can add considerably to the price. The processors are upgraded as are the graphics cards available (ATI Radeon 5770 or ATI Radeon 5870).

I love it when people start digging around. Sarah Perez on Tech Crunch reports on some other features that will be coming with iOS 6, like Privacy settings, status bar changes and more.

Related to the announcements at WWDC were some updates. I first saw Aperture listed (there were several others that appeared later) and put something online about that. I was annoyed with the Aperture update with its new icons and changed item names. It looks like the grey icons in the Finder sidebar: gone are all those colours and the whole interface is an almost uniform grey. I had to amend that article a couple of times as the expected iPhoto and iTunes updates were not available to me

When I arrived at work iTunes 10.6.3 was available for the iMac I keep there, but I did check and 10.6.1 was shown as the installed version. Whatever happened to 10.6.2?

After installing the updates on the office iMac, I checked again and there was also an update for iMovie at 1.08 GB which I left for the next day. When I arrived home, the iTunes update was finally available with the following changes:

iTunes 10.6.3 includes support for OS X Mountain Lion and addresses a number of important issues:

• Addresses a problem where iTunes may become unresponsive when syncing an iPad (1st generation) that contains an iBooks textbook
• Fixes a problem where photos synced to a device may appear in an unexpected order
• Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly delete playlists created on a device
• Fixes issues where iTunes may unexpectedly delete apps on a device
• Improves overall performance and reliability

I bit the bullet and went for the updates: both iTunes and the mega download for iMovie which "provides general stability and compatibility improvements, including":

• Enhancements for the MacBook Pro with Retina display
• Language support for Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, Turkish and Ukrainian"

which may interest some people locally. Although the internet had seemed slow, the downloading was fast enough, leaving me to conclude that the local DNS servers were creaky again. While waiting, I viewed the keynote speech from the WWDC and made notes.

On Wednesday morning there was a further update: Java for IS X 2012-004 which configures the Java plug-in to deactivate when no applets are run for an extended period of time. If the prior update named "Java for OS X 2012-003" was not installed, this update will disable the Java web plug-in immediately. Java applets may be re-enabled by clicking the region labeled "Inactive plug-in" on a web page. It is necessary to quit browsers and Java applications to install this. Topher Kessler tells us that this was an update from Oracle that was released only hours before.

With the recent problems with LinkedIn passwords, it was no surprise to see another email with a title concerning email confirmation and with an attached ZIP file. Needless to say, this went in the trash.

Half and Half

And Google Maps? Will there be a new app from Google? Rene Ritchie on iMore poses this question and also asks would Apple approve it (would they dare not)?

A number of sources, including Kelly Hodgkins on TUAw reported on the decision that a judge made concerning HTC and its Google patents that were donated to it as a way to support HTC in its fights with Apple. No go: "HTC failed to acquire all substantial rights in the relevant patents."

Other Matters

While a lot of authors, such as Michael Moorcock do not allow (as yet) their books to be made available as ebooks, there was a ripple in the universe this week when Thomas Pynchon gave in, Julie Bosman reports on NYTimes and now Penguin will put out books like The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow (which I have read 3 times so far). I could not finish Mason & Dixon, and I now see there are two I have yet to read.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.