Category Archives: Software

Software

Nov 29 2012

iTunes 11 is amazing [Mini-Review]

iTunes 11 is great. That’s really the only thing that has to really be said but I will give sort of a mini review right now for all.

It’s fast

iTunes 11 launches so fast and is so smooth it feels like I am using something else. It seems they have re-written the app from the ground up

Design

The design is amazing. I love it. Actually I think it is really the first major change to the design of iTunes ever. Yes there has been features added but never a real redesign. This is a complete redesign and it’s great.

Mini-Player

The mini player was really worthless in the other iTunes. Now it’s great. You can search for songs see the next song’s in the playlist, repeat basically everything.

That’s it for the Mini Review of iTunes 11. I hope you enjoy it!

Nov 9 2012

AT&T loosens up, allows FaceTime on LTE For most

20121109-130716.jpg

AT&T is famous for annoying their customers with iPhones. At the launch of iOS 6 AT&T made it so only members with a shared data plan would be able to use FaceTime off 4G. It seems AT&T has learned that was a reason many people were leaving their network for Verizon and will make it so anyone without an unlimited data plan can use FaceTime over cellular.

Of course it says LTE device meaning iPad 3,4 and iPhone 5 customers exclusively with the upcoming LTE iPad mini as well. It says LTE models but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will not run off of AT&T 4G hspa+ networks as LTE doesn’t cover very many places. This will be available in the next 8 to 10

This means users with an LTE enabled device running on AT&T will be able to FaceTime on cellular data as long as you don’t have an unlimited data plan.

os_x_mountain_lion_sneak_peek_icon
Jul 25 2012

OS X Mountain Lion Review

Today is the day where you can finally get your hands on the newest greatest version of Mac Software, OS X Mountain Lion. Fortunatly I have had the software ever sense it was announced so I am going to tell you what’s good and bad. So lets get started.

Good: Messages

One of the things that first surfaced when iMessage was announced in iOS 5 is when was it going to be implemented into the Mac. Well mountain Lion brings that functionality. Messages replaces iChat but still has all the same features just with the addition of having all your conversations in one window and having the ability to send iMessages to every iOS 5+ device. Remember if you have the messages BETA tomorrow it will expire forcing you to upgrade to Mountain Lion for the feature.

★★★★

Good: Reminders

One of the things that a student or business man needs is a ToDo list. I will be using this app for the course of the upcoming school year. The reminders app for mac is great. All you need to do is add a what you need to do and when it needs to be done by and your done. You can also tell your reminder to go off when you leave or when you arrive somewhere. However that feature is more for iOS device syncing to your 36/LTE iPad or iPhone not your mac. The cross platforming will make sure you will get what you need to get done, well done. Notifications will also remind you to get done the item you added.

★★★★

Good: Notes

One of the things that bothered me when MobileMe and iCloud syncing came out was that you needed to go into the Mail app to get to them and syncing was TERRIBLE. Not only is the new Notes App easy to use it works very well also! It will sync automatically with iCloud throughout your iCloud enabled devices. You can also add Photos and bullet points into the application! Over all I really like it for Mountain Lion but I would love to see you be able to add photos and bullets to iOS.

★★★★

OK:Airplay Mirroring

One of the things I was really excited about was the addition of airplay mirroring for the Mac in Mountain Lion, however I have an early 2011 2nd GEN Macbook Air as my latest model with no intention of upgrading anytime soon and I was very disappointed that my Mac was not supported. Something with the processor but I bet it will be great for users who could take advantage of it but I have a feeling it will be very lagy for some which is ok. I hope maybe someday Apple will allow older Macs to be able to take advantage of this feature (one can dream).

★★★

Good: Game Center

I like game center on iOS I really do. I think that when Game Center for the mac get’s applications that are ready for it then it will be amazing. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to see how good it is so I can’t really give it a star count but I will be able to give it a rating when I get some apps that support it but I think it is going very far and will have an impact on Mac gaming.

iCloud Storage

iCloud storage was teased about a year ago and we never got it. However in Mountain Lion they gave it to the text edit app. Hopefully soon enough if not tomorrow they will update iWork so we can start having data throughout our devices. I can say across Macs with text edit iCloud storage worked very well for me though and I can’t wait to see it get into iWork so I can have my documents everywhere I go.

★★★★

Good: Notification Center

 One of the things that I really like about mountain lion is the notifications and the notification center. Taken from iOS all you need to do to access notification center is take to fingers and slide them from the very right of your trackpad and swipe left or hit the notification button in the top right of the screen! You can also hit the tweet button and send a tweet to twitter and eventually to Facebook!

★★★★

Really Bad: No more X11

x11 is used by many popular cross platform conversions from Windows. One of the most popular applications being GIMP. One of the thing’s Apple has done is totally removed X11 from Mac so GIMP and other applications that use x11 will not work and will have to be written natively unless there is a work around.

NO STARS

OK: GateKeeper

One of the things Apple added for security in Mountain Lion is Gate Keeper and new security measurements. From now on your Mac running Mountain Lion will check with Apple daily for security updates. Also with Gate Keeper you can only allow App store Apps, signed Apps from registered development companies, or software from anywhere. It is only ok because it shows that the Mac may start to be restricted from outside developers eventually but overall I like how Apple is handling security with this.

★★★★

Summary

Mountain Lion is the best operating system Apple has released for the Mac so far and with software updates coming to use many of the new features some we don’t even know about will make the entire OS better. For only $20 it is a great upgrade for your Mac as you will have security, new features, and even more. However if you want to upgrade but one of these features is a deal breaker later today I will have a video on how to make another disk partition for Mountain Lion and can keep your current OS.

Final Score ★★★★

Jul 11 2012

Tweetbot Mac goes Alpha!

Tweetbot my favorite twitter app for iOS has finally made it’s way to the mac… Sort of. Tweetbot for mac is in public Alpha meaning there will be a lot of crashes. The Alpha supports OS X 10.7-10.8 but the final will only work on 10.8. No Mountain Lion features are available yet because of code signing needed for it. There are a lot of bugs but I find it better than the Twitter App for mac.

[Download]

Gallery:

Jul 2 2012

Apple Launches iCloud Beta to developers with improved Calendar, Notes, Reminders, and Find My iPhone

Today Apple launched a beta site for iCloud.com where developers can test the new web features. The new features include Calendar improvements, the addition of notes and reminders, and improvements to the Find my iPhone application. To be able to get in you must have an iOS iCloud account running on iOS 6 beta or I believe an iCloud account running on OS X Mountain Lion. If you have an iCloud account with those then head to beta.icloud.com and sign in!

Jun 26 2012

Apple Releases iOS 6 beta 2 to developers

Yesterday (yes I am late) Apple released iOS 6 beta 2 for members of the iOS developer portal. The update contains bug fixes, more bugs added, and some new features which I will add later. To download and install you must be part of the developer portal. You can either download the software from Apple’s Developer Portal  or if you are running iOS 6 already go to Settings>General>Software Update> Download. The Gears should spin inside the settings app but no the home screen icon stays still. So go and get it if you haven’t yet!

Jun 26 2012

Apple Releases OS X Security Test Update for Mountain Lion

Yesterday Apple released a Security Update test for OS X Mountain Lion Preview 4(2). The update is an astonishing 1.18GB and has the following updates:

  • Daily Checks for required security updates
  • The ability to install required security updates automatically or after restarting your mac
  • A more secure connection to Apple’s update servers

So if you are running Mountain Lion beta 4 then go and get the update! Or wait for the push notification saying it was installed and you need to restart your mac! Happy downloading.

Jun 20 2012

iOS 6 bugs I have found in Beta 1(UPDATED)

Yes I know iOS 6 is in beta and I know it is only the first beta but I thought I would share some bugs with you that I have found so if you are running the beta you will know that I have found them as well. So let’s get started

iPhone 4

  • Safari lags when trying to change orientation to full screen landscape or will quit entirely.
  • iCloud backup will ask you for a password. Even with the right password it will keep asking
  • Purchased for Apps and Music don’t work in iOS 6
  • Apps will not install over 3G. Apps will get to “Installing” and then an error message will appear.
  • Constant Freezing.
  • (Update)When selecting messages or FaceTime in settings entire phone freezes (Thanks Jonathan!)
  • (Update)Keyboard clicks don’t always happen

The New iPad

  • Siri will post to facebook but has an error posting to twitter.
  • Turn by Turn directions doesn’t say directions when locked (Might be smart cover problem)
  • NEEDS MORE 3D buildings.
  • Purchased apps and music section doesn’t work
  • When selecting certain music to sync in iTunes the entire library will delete… Pain for quick sync and go
  • (Update) Keyboard clicks don’t always happen.

Apple TV (2nd Gen)

  • Audio will not play through airplay
  • When using airplay the entire screen will be black
  • Will disappear from Airplay List

More

If you have found any other bugs please leave a comment below saying the bug and what device you are running or use the form below.

 

Jun 15 2012

My favorite iOS 6 feature is actually the new stores

iOS 6 beta has been with us less than a week and I actually love it. I didn’t think I was because some things just didn’t make it that I really wanted it to but yes I love it.

However the reason may surprise you. It isn’t the new maps because I am running an iPhone 4 that doesn’t get then. I have Siri on my iPad but that isn’t it either. It isn’t even the way the apps look a new blue with a status bar of many different colors. It’s the redesigned App and iTunes store!

20120615-074738.jpg

Some of you are probably thinking in crazy but here’s why. I had the original 3G on 2.0 when the app store first made its debut into the world. However it has been like that from 2.0 to 5.1! However it has changed!

We all know the frustrating feeling when you are browsing for apps and you find one you like. You don’t even need to press the app section to download it anymore! Just hit the price and buy it. Also we know the feeling when we want more than one app but the app store brings you right back to the home screen. Bleh! No more! Now it will give you a little progress bar and will allow you continue to browse the store saving you some time. This is all available on the iPad too!

I love the design and the functionality in the new app store and iOS 6 in general.