As the rainy season is here with a vengeance, I am looking forward this week to my second trip to San Francisco this year. To get in the mood, this week we have a preview of what we might expect from the World Wide Developers' Conference starting with selection from a quote by someone almost famous.
World Wide Developers' Conference: What we Might Expect
A lot of people criticise Donald Rumsfeld, including me for his politics and for his intransigence. His dismissal of concerns the other side of the Atlantic as "Old Europe" lost him a lot of friends. The quote I used to start the article today also gained him a lot of criticism, but the more I have looked at it, the more accurate I think it is in describing intelligence situations.
I also wanted to include, but edited out a quote from the Police Driver's Manual that is used in the UK concerning drivers' plans which are made up of "What you can see, what you can't see and what may reasonably be expected to be there." A bit more succinct than the former, acerbic Defence Secretary, but pretty much along the same lines.
I was in no real hurry last week to finish the podcast, but having changed all the information in the feed writing program I use, I forgot to change the sound file. That only affected those who subscribe, so I am sorry for that. Those who go for the text file were not affected. I ended up sending out a podcast 200A with the correct file and that worked OK.
Let's see if I can write the podcast file correctly this week.
There were some updates last week, so I am going to deal with these now. First up was a change to the specifications of the low-end MacBook, the one that still has the white polycarbonate shell. This was upped to 2.13GHz with a couple of other changes. The price stayed the same in the US, but for some reason, it was increased in the UK. Having looked at some of the prices, I am not sure that users -- nay, potential users -- in Britain are getting the best deals, even taking into consideration the VAT which is now down (DOWN) to 15%. The solution is easy: when you come to Thailand for your holidays, pick up a Mac. Dump the box and take it home as carry-on.
Software updates started with iWork, which had a few changes and is now at version 9.0.2; and I see that VoiceOver update for the iPod shuffle is still in my list. There was also a firmware update for some MacBookPros which will adjust fan behaviour. Don't worry if it is not listed in Software Update. It only shows if your machine needs it, so don't download it from Apple yourself. If you are running OS X Server, there was also an update to the Server Admin Tools software.
It looks as if we are in Update Season and we had three more early this week: Garage Band (5.0.2), iTunes (the expected 8.2) and QuickTime (7.6.2) which often goes with an iTunes update.Perhaps its best to get all these via Software Update but allow lots of time. The iTunes is 78.3MB, GB 108MB and QT, 60.3MB. It is probable that the iTunes update is part of the preparation for the new iPhone 3.0 update, if not for the next iPhone.
And for Windows users, poor souls, Apple has released a new Control Panel for Mobile Me, version 1.4.. As an interesting note, if they already have the MobileMe Control Panel installed, they can automatically upgrade to version 1.4 by downloading and installing iTunes 8.2. I did check and cannot see any immediate difference in the Mac Mobile Me panel.
One thing I did find, and I hope this was a one-off, was that iTunes refused to sync the iPod touch as it was locked with a passcode. That was true, but is that a necessary layer of security? One that might get in the way if someone forgets the passcode and wants to reset? I tried again and the next time there was no warning, so maybe that is a test to make sure that the iPod is the right one for the computer.
An important release this week is The Sims 3 which is now available for Macs with Intel processors and for the iPod touch and the iPhone. It is available for the users of the Thai apps store, but not the Thai online store. No matter, if someone wants it, they should try Phantip at the weekend: this is why piracy is so rampant here.
We did mention about the alleged 32G iPhone, but now we hear there may also be a 4G one, although what you could do with it would certainly be limited. The source for this has some credibility as it is via type approval certificates. You can't just make a phone and put it on sale. MacNN have the story and a fair bit of the background.
A feature that will be useful if the rumours are true is the enhanced ability to make online purchases for paid apps: examples may be more levels for games, magazine subscriptions or extra packages for apps. These purchases will be made via the App Store and there will be no credit card fees. Also coming is peer to peer connectivity: useful for games on the iPhone or iPod touch, generation 2 using Bluetooth. It will also be possible to embed a Google map into an app. Currently, any app with location details switches to the Google maps app. Also added is the ability to include directions via maps within a developer's app.
Just a note on the difference between the hard copy of this week's article and the original that is on the website. I was careful when writing (partly because of something I heard) to use the words, ". . . we may also expect a solution to providing a Thai keyboard." When I read the Post on Wednesday, that had been changed to "we may also see the development of a Thai keyboard." Watch this space, as they say.
This weekend was the 150th anniversary of Big Ben, which is actually the main bell inside the tower at Westminster and not the clock itself, although most people call it that. Ettore software have produced an app that was free for the first couple of days, which not only is supposed to sound the chimes, but displays the correct time on a picture of the famous clock. There are options to display a digital clock as well, plus a ticking sound and even a second hand. The purists among us leave it as-is. Not that I have heard the chimes as yet. Every time I get to the hour, there is silence from the iPhone speaker. Maybe I need the headphones.
I had this item ready for last week, but it seemed more appropriate to put John Gruber's speculative examination of the next iPhone in this week's podcast. Always a good read, the analysis here comes to some reasonable conclusions.
Bad news for Apple, Google and Yahoo! as they have been targeted by the US department of justice over the recruitment of each others' personnel. There is some antitrust problem here. I thought it was all normal. For example, for years part of the career structure at Hertz was apparently a period of time at Avis, and vice versa; while here in Thailand the opposite applies with Michelin and Goodyear: work at one and you may not work at the other I am told. IBM may figure into this somehow as some of their execs have been in the limelight over their recruitment to other companies.
At the beginning of last week, Steve Wozniack reported that he had spoken to Steve Jobs on the phone and he sounded well. I mulled the idea of putting this in last week's podcast, as well, but decided not to. It was just a phone call and we can sound efficient on the phone while sitting in the middle of a pile of papers. However, at the end of the week, there was another thread: Jobs had been spotted at Cupertino and his AMG Mercedes-Benz was seen in the car park. Speculation, I know, but is he to make an appearance at the WWDC? As before, I hope so and I hope not: the board needs to show that Apple can exist without him. We know it can, but the analysts keep taking fright and that hits the share price.
Apple has apparently extended the warranty for certain MacBook Pros with the Nvidia 8600M video cards. There had been some failures and this is to cover that. If your computer had this card and you have had problems, there is a KB article for you to look at.
A follow-up to that item on Brushes that I wrote last week after the New Yorker used an image by Jorge Colombo as its cover. The developer of Brushes, Steve Sprang, saw increased sales with apparently some 2,700 copies being sold, of which one was mine. Now if that app is $4.99, that means in 4 days he took in #$13,473. Now if Apple takes 30%, his cut is just over $9400: not bad for a week's work. Apparently, the app has now sold 40,000 copies since August. That comes to just under $200,000 which is almost 7 million Baht. The modest Mr Sprang says that some developers are bringing in higher 6-figure sums. I am in the wrong job.
Microsoft's new search engine with the nice font that is being rolled out today is called Bing, and there was a little ™ sign on the teaser page I saw last week.
But isn't that also the name of an energy drink that is sold in Thailand made by the same company that does Red Bull? A search of the web was not easy as most results came up with binge, or binge drinking, but one took me through to Petey's Bing Energy Drinkmade by the Inspiration Beverage Company in Denver Co..
I tried this -- the search engine not the drink -- to see if it matches up to Google which is the de facto standard currently. No.
I put in my own name -- and if you have never tried ego-surfing it can turn up some interesting stuff -- plus Bangkok. with Bing I got 4 pages, some of which was written by me and mainly on motorbikes or O'Reilly reviews; while with Google it just went on and on with some interesting reminders of stuff up to 13 years old when we had no www but did have newsgroups.
And on Microsoft, Redmond has apparently lifted that ridiculous restriction on the number of applications that can be run at any time on the Starter Edition of Windows 7. The Starter Edition still doesn't have support for al the graphics in other versions and is crippled in other ways too. Why don't the users get wise to this and get a real operating system, with no versions and no restrictions. Ubuntu would be a start. OS X much better.
We see from CNET (and I hope they have fixed the spelling of the headline by now) that Redmond have produced a full body motion sensitive control system, they are calling Project Natal that incorporates full body control into games. Some of the reporters were impressed and suggested it does seem to deliver what is promised. However, on his newsfeed John Gruber of Daring Fireball poured some cold water on that with his comments on the timescale before this is may be available (or if at all).
And on Wednesday morning here we heard that Microsoft has set the release date for Windows 7 as 22 October 2009.
One of Apple's suppliers in Taiwan is Wintek and there are labour problems there right now. The unions are hoping to pressure the company by demonstrating in front of Apple's office there. This is the company that is said to be producing the 10" display for whatever Apple is alleged to be releasing with it installed.
A couple of items on the heavy-handednes of security in the UK these days, leaving aside the number of youTube videos of officers assaulting demonstrators. I felt uncomfortable the moment I arrived with the x-ray gaze of Immigration: the same the world over of course. My passport being issued in Bangkok might have confused the poor dear. The discomfort lasted until the flight took off to leave as I had a few cross words with an impertinent girl running the baggage check who seemed to think that "please", "thank you" and "sir" were the sole criteria for politeness.
All over the country, even in the small market town my parents live in, are cameras for observation and for checking motorists speed, which obviously don't work to deter but only to apprehend. An article by John Ozimek in this week's Register tells us that the UK leads the world in police state surveillance. And it is not just the cameras. There was a controversy over the retention of DNA data while I was there with the government refusing to abide by a European Court decision. That got lost in the MPs expenses scandal which is still reaping resignations. A survey done announced that the UK was "the West’s most repressive regime"" what a fact to live with. Have a look at this, particularly the concluding statement.
Related to this in a way, both in terms of the idea of watching the public and the lady responsible for it, Jaqcui Smith, although she is going: another victim of the expenses scandal. She wanted all ISPs to keep a database of all online communications -- a sort of domestic Echelon. The ISPs are kicking up a fuss about this, not the least because of the scale which the government does not seem to appreciate: when do governments ever appreciate the scale when it is other people's money?
Just listen to some of the dire stuff they are trying to put in: they want "an individual customer's email activity [to be] linked to their web browsing history" and this "would then be available to law enforcement and intelligence officers as required, without a warrant". having seen what George Bush did with the courts and warrant-less wire tapping, the UK government wants a go.
Mind you, just after I wrote that on Tuesday evening, the BBC announced that Ms Smith was to step down: another victim of that expenses scandal [I know, I said that twice].
I just found that my original articles on Echelon are still on my website in three parts, How Secure are your Business Communications; How the Centre Spies on the Periphery; and The Expansion of Digital Control.
Some of what I wrote over 10 years ago is still relevant.
I am told by Macsismum News that one of my favourite programs, Fetch, which I use for uploading the podcast for example, is now updated to version 5.5 and uses Leopard's QuickLook to view stuff online; and there is also an editing facility.
There is also an update this week to Comic Life which now is at version 1.5. This is useful in many ways and not just for creating comic effects.
I see that BBC's Cluck is in LA this week for the E3 "Gamesfest": that is their term; and I bet someone from Aunty BBC pops their head round the door at the WWDC. I wonder if they will listen.
I am pretty heavy-handed when using my MacBook Pro and the surface around the trackpad is grubby. As I am going to SF next week where almost everyone will have far newer machines, I decided to clean up. I used an ordinary pencil eraser. The right side was easy to do and the grime came off easily, but the left side was not so easy as that is where my hand rests almost all the time I am using the computer. But don't rub too hard as the aluminium might come off.
And there is a reminder this week from Macsimum News about the need to calibrate the battery in a notebook computer along with the information on how to do it. When I get my new battery, I should follow the instructions as well as letting the battery do its job rather than connect to a power source all the time.
