By Graham K. Rogers

Opening Gambit:

Apple Stuff

We have been waiting for ages for a replacement for the Mac Pro, with interest heightened somewhat last year when Tim Cook said, Watch this space. Apart from a reasonable upgrade, nothing has come as yet. However, MacNN report that there are now some significant price cuts on refurbished versions of this machine and some of the accessories that could go with one. What we really need to see are price cuts on the new ones, although owing to a change in regulations, these are not available in the EU now.

The Macs with Retina display are somewhat newer than the Mac Pro, but the novel design and constructon may be causing some problems, AppleInsider report, with some users experiencing issues with the fan speed. In some cases, the fan speed suddenly goes sky high, which in my experience occurs with other Macs when the system senses something is awry, perhaps with power supply, so defaults to maximum speeds to keep things cool. There are suggestions this could be related to the SSD installations, and that a fix may be possible with a software update.

Among all the cases that Apple has ongoing, the one that the DoJ brought concerning ebook sales, some say to protect an Amazon monopoly, has had some changes as (along the way) all of the publishers caved, leaving Apple to stay with heels dug in. Mikey Campbell reports that as part of the ongoing administration processes of the court, it may be that Tim Cook ends up giving evidence. Quiet as he is, I bet he would give some evidence that could eviscerate the DoJ case.

I was in mid-chat early afternoon on Saturday when I had the 20% battery life warning. I always have everything turned on (GPS, 3G, wifi) and use several apps over the course of a working day, but I had been particularly active with messaging and Facebook during the morning as well as playing lots of music. I stopped the messaging, but kept on with the music and had enough power to last until I arrived home. This is not the first time and on a trip to Uttaradit with students, a couple of months ago, where technology was not as widely used as in the big city, I found myself with no power at all on a couple of occasions.

The reasons behind power consumption problems were outlined by Rene Ritchie on Saturday and he adds that "Battery life is the choke point of every piece of modern, mobile technology, and sadly there's little sign of radical, transformative improvement coming any time soon". This too has been reported as a possible sticking point to an iWatch, which may or may not exist, as the size of the device dictates the size of a batery: OK if all it has to do is move a watch hand once a second; but add in apps and navigation and the power just goes. This is unlikely to be fixed any time soon.

Perhaps related to battery issues is the question of in-flight use of iOS devices and Joseph Keller reports, also for iMore, that Apple devices dominate in such usage, with tablets and smartphones now make up 67% of all devices connecting to Gogo, with 84 percent carrying Apple's iOS operating system while 16 percent carry the Android operating system. The iPhone makes up 73 percent and all Android devices make up 26 percent.

It is not just in-flight for airlines that the iPad is making a hit as Kelly Hodgkins reports on an iPad that is being used on the International Space Station by astronaut Chris Hadfield. As well as using it for entertainment, he also has teleprompter software for appearances beamed to Earth. As a note here, I also use such software and the app I use (for iPad only) is called Promtr.

I often use the iMore site as a reference as it is one of the feeds that I have delivered, now using the NetNewsWire application. But I also have an app for iMore (as well as MacDaily News and TUAW) on my iOS devices. Rene Ritchie writes about the latest version of the app for iMore, now updated to version 2.0 which (he tells us) incorporates many improvements based on user feedback.

Not that I use it at all these days, but the great hope of Java seems to have diminished somewhat in recent times. There was a great flourish in the early 1990s when almost the whole of Sun turned up in Bangkok, including (then) chief scientist John Gage, whom I later bumped into in San Francisco just before he set up a project with Al Gore. Some of the tricks that Java was going to for us, cross-platform, were amazing: maybe Sun really had built a better mousetrap.

Things are not so rosy these days as John Martellaro points out on The MacObserver, in an article that suggests that for us Mac users this is the time that we and Java must part ways. Part of this, he suggests, is the arrival of iOS and the way many have taken to Objective-C; and also the way the PC is no longer the device of necessity; but there is also the security aspect and many insecurities have been discovered, only to be fixed, then another found. I have turned it off on my Macs.

While we are on security, there was a strange omission by Apple concerning the security of the App Store because - at least, until this week - Apple neglected to use encryption when an iPhone or other mobile device tries to connect to the App Store, Declan McCullagh writes. It is on now.

Last week there was some excitement with the idea that Apple and Intel were possibly tying up to produce chips for hand-held devices. However an article by Brooke Crothers seems to pour cold water over that. While Samsung is one part of the equation, another (he reminds us) is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and this company is already starting production of Apple-designed processors. Crothers lines up some analysts who also think this is not going to happen; at least not just yet.

Talking of processors, let's bring in that cheapo iPhone rumour again as AppleInsider reports that a Japanese blog citing the China Times who use an unverified source -- reliability level not high here for sure - says that Apple plans to use Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC's 28nm process for the new basic device with what is called a Snapdragon SoC (system on chip).

In an interesting article on MacWorld, Chris Barylick gives users some advice on common Mac fixes, such as the click, click sound that could indicate a failing hard disk, cables that go bad, and fluids spilled on devices.

A local user - the second one in a couple of weeks - reported that on startup all he saw was a folder with a question mark. This could mean that there is something wrong with the operating system, or that a hard disk is failing (this is what I saw with my iMac last July), but when he took it into the local computer shop he was told that whatever it was, the company (referring to Maccenter) would format the hard disk and install OS X anew.

I was horrified and in discussion it appeared that this might just be an ignorant comment from a shop assistant. I suggest at least some checks before taking such a step. It may indeed be a hard disk so a reformat and reinstall of the OS is a waste of time: best to find out first.

Half and Half

But not Seth Weintraub on 9to5 Mac. This article was my first look at this story, which has been a sort of Holy Grail for a while now, and he was decidedly negative on this: analysing the state of the (Apple) Art and suggesting we will have to wait a while yet.

One of my all-time favourite games for my last PC and for the Mac, and for the Palm and later for iOS devices, was SimCity. I even used it in teaching once. I was interested to see the announcement that a new version was to be released but when it came out (for the PC only mercifully) the fallout over its need to have an online link permanently, and the way this has been failing, has caused a lot of heartache. An early report by Christopher MacManus told us that "after the initial Origin log-in, you can play SimCity offline without an always-on Internet connection," which is a great help if you are in a car or on a bus or on the beach.

However, by the middle of last week, the number of negative Tweets on the release were making me sit up and on Thursday Christopher MacManus was reporting on these negatives, beginning with, "Good luck trying to move into the new SimCity." The main problem (apart from the obvious strategic error of demanding users be online at least to startup) is server overload and MacManus thinks the server connection need is absurd. This would appear moreso as some users logging in for help have lost parts of their saved games. They certainly will not be selling me a copy.

A later article, again by Christopher MacManus reports on the fallout from the launch and the point that it is continuing to such an extent that the company may have reached one of those critical points in its existence with "a temporary gag order on Internet-based marketing efforts for the troubled city-building game." If I read the press release right, there has been a massive miscalculation concerning server use.

This is compounded by the inability for users who bought the game online to have refunds: EA's policy doesn't allow refunds for game downloads. . . . although a report that appeared on Sunday (late Saturday over there) tells us that Maxis are promising to fix the connectivity calamity and deliver a free game as a peace offering. But some games may not suit customers and all I would want would be a (working) copy of the game I bought.

While many Mac users think of Microsoft as the enemy, and some of us like to highlight the critical thinking that goes on over at Redmond from time to time, it is well known that the company does maintain a sort of relationship with Apple and its users. It is after all in its interests, so apps like Tag Scan are a pleasant surprise (even if this has not caught on too well) and Microsoft continues to develop Office for the Mac, although the jury is out on what it will do for the iPad: maybe it has missed the boat.

As well as the iOS apps that it produces for itself, Rene Ritchies reports on the use of its Azure cloud service - and the use of Brent Simmons in promotion videos - to create apps for iOS and the Mac. Like Apple, the company shows forethought in apparently allowing some minor cannibalisation for the long-term benefits.

Well, perhaps Microsoft is not always the good guy, as a report on Patently Apple suggests that Redmond is trying to patent the Pinch and Zoom feature that was shown with the first iPhone in 2007. Apple had the patent disallowed, but is appealing the decision, and had a new one granted this week. The idea that Microsoft would in the meantime step in seems delusional (Jack Purcher writes) and I would agree with that and his adition, "the kind of legal maneuvering reserved for slime bags"

When I started reading news early on Monday morning, Jack Purcher on Patently Apple had another example of hypocrisy in patent registration, with the same pinch & zoom, but this time the attempt to claim the technology was by Samsung. As he tells us, they have tried "everything in their power to invalidate Apple's Pinch & Zoom," and with this blatant attempt at copying, he writes, "Samsung bleeds hypocrisy". Ah yes: innovation.

There was much hand-wringing and criticism over the switch from Google data to Apple's own sources for maps a few months ago and there were (or are still) errors in the data. And yes, the Bangkok Bank (Bukkhalo Branch) is still in the middle of the river by Rama 3 bridge.

However, a report by Florian Mueller on Foss Patents that I saw Friday tells us that a court is to hold Google Inc., its subsidiary Motorola Mobility LLC and MMI's German subsidiary liable for infringement of a key Microsoft patent and that the result will be the banning of Google Maps, at least in Germany. Others already have come to arrangements with Microsoft for licensing of the technology for use with that free Android OS on their devices, but Motorola decided to go to court in Germany and Google lost.

We carried a number of comments last week about the 3% investment in Sharp by Samsung, and I speculated on reasons for this. As a related follow up Shara Tibken reports that an earlier report concerning investment by Foxconn in Sharo is no longer expected to take place. The reason the deal fell through, or at least is on hold, is nothing to do with Samsung but concerns the way Sharp's stock price fell, so that the original offer did not match the reality of the company value.

Other Matters

Up to now handing over our electronic devices has also been part of this catch-all fishing trip that can be carried out; but there was a change recently, Mike Masnick reports on TechDirt, when the circuit that covers CA ports of entry, said that the 4th Amendment still applied to people coming in at borders, so fishing trips are not on. Having a quick look, is still OK, and having a deeper look when there are true grounds for suspicion is also OK, but demanding the ordinary traveller hand over the keys to the kingdom, when some of those travelling to the US may have company secrets, legitimately locked up in encrypted files, is no longer OK. Encryption is not in itself grounds for demanding the files be opened, or that the computer can be seized for further analysis.

I read through the decision as reported by Mike Masnick a couple of times and it would appear that the Justices applied some up to date and pragmatic thinking to the decision, including consideration of cloud services when the data is not actually on the device.

What difference this makes in real terms to the ways enforcement is carried out, has yet to be revealed but the two headline points - that the 4th Amendment applies at the border; and that password protected files should not in themselves arouse suspicion - are critical to treatment of passengers arriving in the US. Many governments need to consider this first point of contact as the attitude of such officials may colour one's opinions for ever more.

As an indication of the importance of China as a market to western companies and organisations, the Financial Times has announced that it had acquired Danwei Media Ltd, a Beijing-based research and analysis company. "This acquisition will enhance the FT's offering of premium market research on the Chinese investment landscape," the release comments, adding that relationships with market analysts will be strengthened, giving the FT better knowledge about China.

Local Items

Make no mistake, the army has not suddenly rolled over because of a few critical articles in trendy western publications, they have an agenda motivated by power and greed. Remember it was only two or three years ago that they turned down humanitarian aid as they were terrified that the ship offshore was part of a US invasion force.

For sure, these technical companies will spend lots of cash and set up establishments for the country; then the people will buy much of the technology that the companies will have to offer, but the idea that there is a sudden flowering of freedom needs to be treated with a certain amount of caution. This is not Thailand or India. This country already has dealings with China and North Korea and certain parts of its population (away from the headline writers) are in dire straits.

I finally had the memory on my MacBook Pro upgraded. It took a while to track down the right units - these are not readily available on many sites - and they were ordered last Monday. They two 4 GB modules were in my hands by Wednesday, but I did not have the job done until Friday. It was quite quick. As a reminder, the RAM modules were packaged as Transcend and the manager at iStudio said that these were good quality. A bit academic really as these were the only 8 GB ones available here. My source was a site called MemoryToday who have premises in Fortune Town. I had mine ordered over the phone and our technician paid the funds into Bangkok Bank for me. They were delivered by EMS.

After I shut the computer down in iStudio, the technician in the iStudio store in Pinklao, took out the screws in the base and I had a look at the inside for the first time. He just lifted out the two 2 GB modules and slid the replacements in. He first put the back on without screwing it all up and restarted the computer. When he was satisfied that the modules were recognised (using About this Mac), the computer was shut down, the screws replaced, and I went home

I must admit I treated it a little gingerly at first, starting in Admin and running it there briefly, before another restart and going into the user account. I brought up applications one by one to see how they behaved, ending with Aperture as that had been a memory hog. Unusually, a couple of days later (as I write this) and Aperture is still open. That has not happened since my first MacBook Pro in 2007. I let it import some images from Photo Stream and did some minor editing. No delays at all, so RAM was clearly the problem there.

Likewise, with all the tabs I usually have open in Safari, there has been a marked improvement in performance - as there should be - and this has extended the life of the computer for a few more months for sure.

As an update, I have been using the Mac all weekend with Aperture running all that time (inactive most of the time of course) which I would never have been able to do before the RAM upgrade. I also find a number of apps that had some annoying foibles are behaving themselves, so those annoyances were probably memory-related too.

I mentioned last week that I had been disappointed by the DTAC service in Siam Discovery: no 3G outside the iStudio store and wifi that was so slow even logging in was impossible. I reported it to DTAC on Tuesday evening, so when I went on Saturday, I was expecting an improvement. No such luck: no 3G outside the iStudio store and wifi that was so slow even logging in was impossible. I phoned DTAC there and then, but it took two attempts to get through.

The charming lady on the other end confirmed that my complaint had been forwarded to the service team responsible and said she would forward the complaint again. We did have a chuckle about this: not her fault of course, but DTAC needs to keep on top of this sort of poor service, particularly when it involves a location that many customers would go to.

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.